# 'Nappy Valley'?



## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

Wtf? Some div radio London reporter called some area in south London this nickname.


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## quimcunx (Feb 11, 2011)

Clapham used to have the highest birthrate in the world, or europe or the UK or south london, or something. 

Nickname's been around for 15years or more.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

Evidence?


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## Steel Icarus (Feb 11, 2011)

I like your tagline, quimcunx. Apart from the product placement.


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## newbie (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> Evidence?


 
simply walk along Northcote Road


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

The only difference I see is that it's full of posh folk.


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## Kanda (Feb 11, 2011)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nappy_Valley


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

So it's a posh in-joke.


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## Kanda (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> So it's a posh in-joke.


 
Wouldn't say it was a posh in joke, I thought it was a derogatory term said by people that don't live there.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

How is it derogatory? You have to be minted to live there. 
Posh joke for posh folk.


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## Kanda (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> How is it derogatory? You have to be minted to live there.
> Posh joke for posh folk.


 
No you don't. It's full of antipodeans renting as well.


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## newbie (Feb 11, 2011)

in that case you should learn to be a bit more observant.  There are more prams, strollers, buggies etc per square inch than other local streets, more clusters of young mums gathered in the coffee shops, more nannies etc.  

That doesn't noticeably translate into more infant/junior school age kids- they're presumably packed off to prep school- and it's not somewhere you see lots of teenagers, the parents are long gone by then, to 'good' schools elsewhere.  But there are plenty of babies.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

They have to be minted Aussies to afford to live like that. Not exactly bogans are they.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

No more babs around there than in Croydon, Sutton, or Woolwich but I guess working class families are off your radar.


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## Kanda (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> No more babs around there than in Croydon, Sutton, or Woolwich but I guess working class families are off your radar.


 
I think it's probably the amount you see around on weekdays in coffee shops/bars with prams etc.. you  know, the sort of thing Urban is fantastic generalising about, especially when talking about places like Herne Hill and how they can't get into a coffee shop due to all the yummy mummy's lunching etc... complaining about gentrification whilst flicking out their thousand quid laptops and ordering a double shot latte...


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## newbie (Feb 11, 2011)

don't be silly.  it's a local nickname for something that is locally observable.  The fact that someone on the radio drew it to your attention some decades later doesn't mean it's got widespread importance.  Comparison with outer London places like sutton is futile, go look at the census age profile or stats about the number of school places.


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## Oswaldtwistle (Feb 11, 2011)

No! This is just too much http://www.nappyvalleynet.com/index.php

Yuck indeed!


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## Ms Ordinary (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> *No more babs around there than in Croydon, Sutton, or Woolwich *but I guess working class families are off your radar.


 
Maybe, but the ones in Wandsworth are mostly in gigantic off-road buggies, out for the day with nanny rather than tucked away in daycare while the parents go out to work.

And because the parents are affluent, there are lots of child friendly cafes with names like "Egg & Soldiers" where toddlers can go and paint egg cups and eat free range eggs.

So it is a noticeably babyfied area, of a noticeable type.


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## southside (Feb 11, 2011)

I live in East Dulwich which has been coined nappy valley in the past bugaboo village etc etc.  Its a sort of yuppy hell where snobs that have paid over inflated prices for their homes.

Oh we own our own home, its a new build. built out of a pre fabricated amalgima called weetabix its now worth 7Squilion ponds.

Most of the pubs have gone gastro and are full of kids the locals have all had humor bypasses and vote Lib-Dem.

But its a nice place to live, the people are friendly.

Gentrification has caused it, I blame the Tories.


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## Streathamite (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> The only difference I see is that it's full of posh folk.


same here. I'm baffled by this


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## kabbes (Feb 11, 2011)

oh noes ern is angry about something.


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## kyser_soze (Feb 11, 2011)

It's the area that stretches from East Dulwich around the A205 and up into Battersea, and it's called that because it's got a higher index for young familes than the rest of London, in the same way that Tooting has the highest number of 20-30 year old singles in London, and it has done for at least the last decade.



> complaining about gentrification whilst flicking out their thousand quid laptops and ordering a double shot latte...





Did you see *someone's* FB update last night about there being 'No stupid hipsters' at an event? Deserves an award for least-self-aware posting 2011...


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## kyser_soze (Feb 11, 2011)

> Oh we own our own home, its a new build. built out of a pre fabricated amalgima called weetabix its now worth 7Squilion ponds



The reason E/Dulwich is so popular is because it's got some of the best preserved Victorian & Edwardian housing in London, which is an eternally popular style. The number of newbuilds in ED is pretty low.


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## quimcunx (Feb 11, 2011)

kabbes said:


> oh noes ern is angry about something.



If I've read correctly I think he's angry about valleys or nicknames, or both. 



kyser_soze said:


> Did you see *someone's* FB update last night about there being 'No stupid hipsters' at an event? Deserves an award for least-self-aware posting 2011...


 
I definitely did not see that and I definitely did not roll my eyes when I didn't.


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## southside (Feb 11, 2011)

kyser_soze said:


> The reason E/Dulwich is so popular is because it's got some of the best preserved Victorian & Edwardian housing in London, which is an eternally popular style. The number of newbuilds in ED is pretty low.


 
It was a joke ffs and I was poking fun at the people who live here.

You must live here, do you?


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## Santino (Feb 11, 2011)

Nice healthy dose of paedophobia in there too.


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## cybertect (Feb 11, 2011)

quimcunx said:


> Nickname's been around for 15years or more.


 
Yep. I remember it being in common use for the area round Northcote Road when I lived at Clapham South in the latter half of the 90s (before it got too expensive). It did seem to reflect some sort of reality.

Wandsworth Council are using the term now.

Sustaining Northcote Road as a Special Place: A report for Wandsworth Borough Council August 2008 [PDF]




			
				LB Wandsworth said:
			
		

> Some of the newer specialist shops are unusual especially the Hive Honey Shop with its colony of bees on display. As a result of the large numbers of young families in the area it has become known as Nappy Valley, with a large number of baby related shops. As a consequence the street is turning from an essentially local resource for day to day shopping into more of a leisure destination with convenience, comparison shops and places to eat and drink. The street’s enterprise offer has widened



Meetings on ‘nappy valley’ school plans 12th November 2010




			
				 LB Wandsworth said:
			
		

> Parents living near two popular primary schools on the border of Balham and Battersea are being invited to two public meetings next week where the possibility of changing their admissions rules will be discussed.
> 
> The council is consulting local parents on proposals that could affect Alderbrook and Belleville primary schools.


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## kyser_soze (Feb 11, 2011)

southside said:


> It was a joke ffs and I was poking fun at the people who live here.
> 
> You must live here, do you?


 
Tulse Hill. Not quite so much a part of nappy valley, altho with a 6mth old we're doing my part to expand the region


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## TruXta (Feb 11, 2011)

Huh? I always thought it referred to Maida Vale and thereabouts.


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## tommers (Feb 11, 2011)

Santino said:


> Nice healthy dose of paedophobia in there too.



Who's a paedo!?!?


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## Oswaldtwistle (Feb 11, 2011)

Ms Ordinary said:


> And because the parents are affluent, there are lots of child friendly cafes with names like "Egg & Soldiers" where toddlers can go and paint egg cups and eat free range eggs.


 
Here it is http://www.welovelocal.com/photo/16679/


EDIT: Some vandals with a sense of humour? O God about sums it up. Or coincidence?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...49&ll=51.458486,-0.160353&spn=0,0.019205&z=16


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## oryx (Feb 11, 2011)

This thread has reminded me why I moved out of Battersea!


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

balham is full of posh cunts having loads of kids then wheeling them round in formation as they traipse from cafe nero to some wanky deli. i would move but can't afford to.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

You live in Balham? Used to drink there loads about ten years ago. Was posh then.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> You live in Balham? Used to drink there loads about ten years ago. Was posh then.


 
yeh. i moved down six years ago when i was shagging someone who aspired to clapham but couldn't afford it. it was a disaster. and now all my friends have moved away because it's too dear and i'm stuck here because i can't get the money together for a deposit. it was full of twats when i moved here but it gets worse every day.


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## TruXta (Feb 11, 2011)

You could come to Brixton, kermit.


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## krtek a houby (Feb 11, 2011)

I worked in Balham in the late 80s, don't remember it being posh at the time


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

TruXta said:


> You could come to Brixton, kermit.


 
no deposit money. and my jobs a bit iffy.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

jer said:


> I worked in Balham in the late 80s, don't remember it being posh at the time


 
used to be quite 'rough', apparently.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

Brixton's full of poshos too. 
Went back to Balham a few months ago wtf have they done to the Dev? Bedford was nice though.


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## Oswaldtwistle (Feb 11, 2011)

I bet most of the population of 'nappy valley' consider themselves to be struggling 


Hey this is twice in one day I've agreed with Ernie


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> Brixton's full of poshos too.
> Went back to Balham a few months ago wtf have they done to the Dev? Bedford was nice though.


 
It's been well poshed, nice garden though.

Gone are the days of the back room banging out trance


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> Went back to Balham a few months ago wtf have they done to the Dev? Bedford was nice though.


places that were decent get shit, the shit places get shitter. bedford on a weekend is full of braying rugby shirted cunts.


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2011)

jer said:


> I worked in Balham in the late 80s, don't remember it being posh at the time


 
Did you ever drink at the Horse and Groom or Foresters (i think it was called) in Tooting?

had my first pub drinks in there pretty much, in the late 80s. was a bit of an eye opener, funny irish pubs. 

both gone now.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

I only went on a weeknight. Eclipse was cold and dead.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

tooting seems better, or streatham. i saw somebody having a shit in the street in streatham though, so maybe not.


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## TruXta (Feb 11, 2011)

discokermit said:


> tooting seems better, or streatham. i saw somebody having a shit in the street in streatham though, so maybe not.


 
Tooting can be well posh too, spesh around the common. As for Brixton being posh... let's say that opinions are divided on that. Divided as in Ern on one hand and people who live there on the other.


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## quimcunx (Feb 11, 2011)

jer said:


> I worked in Balham in the late 80s, don't remember it being posh at the time


 
Balham def got posher in the last 20 years.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

this is the band cymande in balham in the seventies, doesn't mean anything, it's just an excuse to put up a pic of cymande,


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

and it was supposed to be a bit of a stronghold for the richardsons in years gone by.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

and it's the birthplace of british trotskyism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_League_%28UK,_1932%29


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## ernestolynch (Feb 11, 2011)

Brixton is posh look at them going on about coffee shops for joe's sake. 

I saw someone shit on the pavement in Streatham too, filthy bitch.


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## discokermit (Feb 11, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> I saw someone shit on the pavement in Streatham too, filthy bitch.


could have been the same one.


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## ash (Feb 11, 2011)

There was a Horse and Groom and a Foresters one had a massive back room and played the national anthem (Irish of course)at the end of the night. .  The Horse and Groom is now a pub called 'the far side' (I think) the Foresters is the Antelope.

  There was also collecting for the IRA (armered cars and tanks and guns and other 'rebel songs' were played.  Pre 24 hour drinking these were the establishments to have a late drink.  Having Irish friends when I lived in Tooting in the 80's I sometimes had a lock in and left in the early hours (5ish).  There was also a members club called the 100 club at Amen corner that was good for a late one if you knew a member (now a pub called the corner House)
.
The only 24 hour Offie I know then was at Clapham North (where the Post Office now is) owned by Afghanies and we would travel there from Tooting to get supplies. 





Dan U said:


> Did you ever drink at the Horse and Groom or Foresters (i think it was called) in Tooting?
> 
> had my first pub drinks in there pretty much, in the late 80s. was a bit of an eye opener, funny irish pubs.
> 
> both gone now.


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## London_Calling (Feb 11, 2011)

Decent amount of LA/HA housing off the Northcote Road area as well - was very popular with the Luftwaffe as the Junction obviously goes down to various coastal destinations.


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## Dan U (Feb 11, 2011)

ash said:


> There was a Horse and Groom and a Foresters one had a massive back room and played the national anthem (Irish of course)at the end of the night. .  The Horse and Groom is now a pub called 'the far side' (I think) the Foresters is the Antelope.
> 
> There was also collecting for the IRA (armered cars and tanks and guns and other 'rebel songs' were played.  Pre 24 hour drinking these were the establishments to have a late drink.  Having Irish friends when I lived in Tooting in the 80's I sometimes had a lock in and left in the early hours (5ish).  There was also a members club called the 100 club at Amen corner that was good for a late one if you knew a member (now a pub called the corner House)
> .
> The only 24 hour Offie I know then was at Clapham North (where the Post Office now is) owned by Afghanies and we would travel there from Tooting to get supplies.


 
yeah i remember the tin rattling, was the same in some Croydon pubs too like The Star. Pound for the cause sir.


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## ash (Feb 11, 2011)

I frequented some pubs in Croyden at the same time; I thinnk 'the George' I am sure The Cartoon can't remember the others but remember some heavy metal type place (one in particular with a lot of headbanging but not a clue what it was called).  I had a boyfried who lived in Thornton Heath and was into Marillion -  say o more!!!



Dan U said:


> yeah i remember the tin rattling, was the same in some Croydon pubs too like The Star. Pound for the cause sir.


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## cybertect (Feb 11, 2011)

ash said:


> I frequented some pubs in Croyden at the same time; I thinnk 'the George' I am sure The Cartoon can't remember the others but remember some heavy metal type place (one in particular with a lot of headbanging but not a clue what it was called).  I had a boyfried who lived in Thornton Heath and was into Marillion -  say o more!!!


 
Possibly The Gun on Church Street? (hopelessly underpowered PA system IIRC from when I played there)

The only other pubs (outside of The Cartoon) I can recall with live music in Croydon in the 80s/90s were low-key events at the Swan and Sugar Loaf in South Croydon and more regular gigs at The Oval Tavern (which tended towards Blues).


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## southside (Feb 11, 2011)

ash said:


> I frequented some pubs in Croyden at the same time; I thinnk 'the George' I am sure The Cartoon can't remember the others but remember some heavy metal type place (one in particular with a lot of headbanging but not a clue what it was called).  I had a boyfried who lived in Thornton Heath and was into Marillion -  say o more!!!


 
I think ash might be talking about The Harp that was a proper heavy rock place, the guy who run it was called John and he was an excellent guitarist.  They were on neighbors from hell.  I remember the narator saying John isn't a neighbor from hell, he just loves music.  He did a moonlight flip in the end with all the pubs takings.


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## lang rabbie (Feb 12, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> So it's a posh in-joke.


 
I suspect the journalist who first coined "Nappy Valley" was someone whose audience would make the link to the debauched upper classes of the "Happy Valley set" made (in)famous by _White Mischief_.


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## Andrew Hertford (Feb 12, 2011)

Clapham is one of those places that the middle class like to live in so they can pretend they're not middle class. I lived in Peckham for years partly for the same reason. I bet a lot of urbs live there.


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## Red Cat (Feb 12, 2011)

Andrew Hertford said:


> Clapham is one of those places that the middle class like to live in so they can pretend they're not middle class. I lived in Peckham for years partly for the same reason. I bet a lot of urbs live there.



Except that Clapham _is_ very middle-class. Have you actually been there?


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## Andrew Hertford (Feb 12, 2011)

Red Cat said:


> Except that Clapham _is_ very middle-class. Have you actually been there?



Not for some time to be honest. It was certainly like that in the 70s and 80s.


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## cybertect (Feb 12, 2011)

lang rabbie said:


> I suspect the journalist who first coined "Nappy Valley" was someone whose audience would make the link to the debauched upper classes of the "Happy Valley set" made (in)famous by _White Mischief_.


 
Or maybe they like their wine from California

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_Valley_AVA


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## cybertect (Feb 12, 2011)

.


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## girasol (Feb 12, 2011)

kyser_soze said:


> The same way that Tooting has the highest number of 20-30 year old singles in London, and it has done for at least the last decade.



Does it? I didn't know that...  In terms of nightlife what Tooting has to offer is lots and lots of Indian restaurants and a couple of pubs   It's a very mixed area though, just like most of London


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## Yossarian (Feb 12, 2011)

Andrew Hertford said:


> Clapham is one of those places that the middle class like to live in so they can pretend they're not middle class. I lived in Peckham for years partly for the same reason. I bet a lot of urbs live there.


 
What class did you pretend to be in?


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## Andrew Hertford (Feb 13, 2011)

Yossarian said:


> What class did you pretend to be in?



Why, working class of course. I lived on pie, mash and Angel Delight for nigh on eighteen months until one day I had a craving for pasta alla genovese with watercress pesto and that was that.


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## London_Calling (Feb 14, 2011)

Andrew Hertford said:


> Clapham is one of those places that the middle class like to live in so they can pretend they're not middle class. I lived in Peckham for years partly for the same reason. I bet a lot of urbs live there.


 
You are def at least 20 years out of date.


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## kyser_soze (Feb 14, 2011)

girasol said:


> Does it? I didn't know that...  In terms of nightlife what Tooting has to offer is lots and lots of Indian restaurants and a couple of pubs   It's a very mixed area though, just like most of London


 
I don't think they all go out in Tooting


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## Andrew Hertford (Feb 14, 2011)

London_Calling said:


> You are def at least 20 years out of date.



Yep, I've already admitted that.


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## London_Calling (Feb 15, 2011)

I thought we could share the futility of posting anything.


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## krtek a houby (Feb 15, 2011)

kyser_soze said:


> I don't think they all go out in Tooting


 
Spirit was my local, think I spent more time there than the flat


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## girasol (Feb 15, 2011)

kyser_soze said:


> I don't think they all go out in Tooting


 
Yep, I bet they go to Balaham, for pubs are that way!


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## George & Bill (Feb 15, 2011)

I think it is pejorative, with various motivations. Its used by childless people who genuinely don't like or want children, and by those who are secretly envious of parents. It's used by people in their late 20s/early 30s who want to extend their status as young people and resist becoming cuddly early-middle-aged people. It's used by men who think that women with kids should stay indoors, and by women who want to emphasise how career-minded they are.


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## discokermit (Feb 15, 2011)

slowjoe said:


> I think it is pejorative, with various motivations.


maybe the motivation is a dislike of young people, old people and single people being priced out of the market in a huge swathe of south london that used to be a lot more affordable.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 15, 2011)

Huh? That's nowt to do with families is it. It's posh folk, who are also single, old, young and gay.


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## discokermit (Feb 15, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> Huh? That's nowt to do with families is it. It's posh folk, who are also single, old, young and gay.


 
small flats at stupid prices are more likely to attract posh couples than anyone else. i reckon.

and there are no old people in balham. the first time i went to a supermarket here, every single person there was between twenty and forty five. it freaked me out a bit. in bilston it would be full of pensioners.


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## spanglechick (Feb 15, 2011)

discokermit said:


> small flats at stupid prices are more likely to attract posh couples than anyone else. i reckon.



not if they have kids. the absolute motivator for people with kids is to have more space and hopefully a garden. if you want more for your money you move somewhere cheaper that's til a bit 'nice'. Clapham was that, once upon a time.  When I heard the phrase 'nappy valley' first, in about 2004 it was being used for earlsfield...  it's moved, spread, following the cheaper, slightly larger properties. absolutely not the small flats.


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## discokermit (Feb 15, 2011)

why is balham full of poshos with kids then?


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## ernestolynch (Feb 15, 2011)

Cos of all the big fuck off houses there and the tube.


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## discokermit (Feb 15, 2011)

ernestolynch said:


> Cos of all the big fuck off houses there and the tube.


 
most of the houses are flats though.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 15, 2011)

Not for posh folk, they aren't.


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## George & Bill (Feb 16, 2011)

discokermit said:


> maybe the motivation is a dislike of young people, old people and single people being priced out of the market in a huge swathe of south london that used to be a lot more affordable.


 
As others have said, it's not young people, old people or single people being priced out, it's people on lower incomes in general, so I don't see where you're coming from.


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## spanglechick (Feb 16, 2011)

discokermit said:


> why is balham full of poshos with kids then?


 
cos it's cheaper than clapham, dulwich, herne hill and lots of other desirable places, but still feels quite 'nice'. Also, the ground floor of a victorian house, while technically a flat, is not 'tiny'. then you have the smaller terraced houses round the back near that pub that does the live music and comedy...  which are quite often whole and not flats.

and it has really good transport connections. 

there are cheaper areas in south london - peckham, nunhead, forest hill etc, but they don't feel so 'nice' - and people choosing a place to bring up their kids are prepared to pay a little extra to feel safe, and to protect little josh and ella from unpleasant sights.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 16, 2011)

They don't have to mix with working class white cockneys as they all live in Kingston, Sutton, Croydon and Bromley and beyond.


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## TruXta (Feb 16, 2011)

Racist.


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## krtek a houby (Feb 16, 2011)

spanglechick said:


> cos it's cheaper than clapham, dulwich, herne hill and lots of other desirable places.... there are cheaper areas in south london - peckham, nunhead, forest hill etc, but they don't feel so 'nice' - and people choosing a place to bring up their kids are prepared to pay a little extra to feel *safe*.


 
Is there anything wrong with wanting to feel safe?


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## London_Calling (Feb 16, 2011)

Used to have everything to do with school catchment areas - middle class parents offering right legs, left arms, etc, don't know the property and school dynamics of the specific Balham area.


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## Chz (Feb 16, 2011)

No, catchment areas is why boring, Zone 5 Sutton is so fucking expensive. Balham at least has reasons outside of that to be expensive.


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## London_Calling (Feb 16, 2011)

If you mean catchment is one of a wider number of reasons, then sure. To entirely exclude catchments seems to not makes complete sense.


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## Chz (Feb 16, 2011)

I'd say so - there are no good state schools in Balham. Not secondary anyhow, which is what people pay for.

Edit: I should say no outstanding schools that anyone sensible would pay extra for. Graveney down in Tooting is a perfectly acceptable school.


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## Ms Ordinary (Feb 16, 2011)

Chestnut Grove is outstanding - is it not the type of outstanding school that people* would pay extra for 

* meaning 'people who could pay extra for houses in Balham' not just 'people'


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## Chz (Feb 16, 2011)

Most people move to catchment areas long before they've given up hope on their kids and let them go to an arts school. 

That being said, this whole "English Bacc." nonsense has done horrible things to their usually good table results.


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## girasol (Feb 16, 2011)

Chz said:


> I'd say so - there are no good state schools in Balham. Not secondary anyhow, which is what people pay for.
> 
> Edit: I should say no outstanding schools that anyone sensible would pay extra for. Graveney down in Tooting is a perfectly acceptable school.


 
Chestnut Grove is meant to be very good and heavily subscribed these days, maybe because it is in the heart of Balham...  I think your info is a bit out of date.

There was a teacher strike in there today, as they are against turning the school into an Academy...


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## Chz (Feb 16, 2011)

Again, Chestnut Grove is a special case. No-one in their right minds sends their kids there unless it's a Fine Arts degree they're after. They've never been much good at maths or English, which is why the E.Bacc was so punishing to their table results.


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## girasol (Feb 16, 2011)

Chz said:


> Again, Chestnut Grove is a special case. No-one in their right minds sends their kids there unless it's a Fine Arts degree they're after. They've never been much good at maths or English, which is why the E.Bacc was so punishing to their table results.


 
bullshit mate... once again, you are wrong.  I suggest you do a bit of reading on their more recent results when it comes to university entrance.

start from here: http://www.chestnutgrove.wandsworth.sch.uk/

"The League Tables have given us real cause to celebrate! Our CVA (Contextual Value Added) of 1071 has placed us 7th in the country and 3rd in London. This means that Year 11 last year made more progress from Year 7 to Year 11 than almost all children in the whole country."

Given the school's demographic, the results its students achieve are quite impressive.  Not that league tables give the full picture of a school, but it seems that you are fixated on that 

And finally 

"Contrary, it seems, to the national picture, all our students have been successful in entering the universities of their choice, and we wish them all the very best!"

(obviously my son goes there )  We actually had the choice between Chestnut (our first choice) and Graveney (second choice)... We picked Chestnut as first choice for being smaller, and also having much nicer teachers and a happier atmosphere.


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## ernestolynch (Feb 16, 2011)

Sutton is way cheaper than Balham you plum.


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## Chz (Feb 16, 2011)

League tables have their problems, but CVA is the most worthless measurement ever invented. 

I didn't claim Sutton was more expensive than Balham, but that its prices are more grossly inflated due to the several Grammar Schools there. Balham's lovely, on the Tube, and not too far out of town. Sutton has bugger all going for it, other than schools. (Yes, I've lived in both)


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## ernestolynch (Feb 16, 2011)

Bean


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## newbie (Feb 17, 2011)

don't unnerstand why you're all talking about secondary schools in Balham when Nappy Valley covers the 'tween the commons' area centered on Northcote Road (valley of the Falconbrook) and one of the defining characteristics of the area is that the parents almost all clear off when their offspring reach the end of primary school.  The key primary school on the Clapham Common side is Honeywell, and the catchment for that is very instrumental in both house price churn/inflation and the number of small children. It's been drawing people into the area since at least the 80s and still does sfaik- certainly when I've been past at chucking out time it's still littered with 4x4s, mercs and nannies.


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