posters about local landmarks including a brothel. I am uncomfortable.

Have just googled and the bees is apparently the Eddie Izzard one.

I hadn't realised that the Cynthia Payne is adorning the frontage of "Chariots Roman Spa" the local gay sauna and, allegedly, home to just the sort of nefarious activities that used to take place under Payne's roof. Even more of a confusing message.

Another Streatham-ite here.

I hadn't seen the Madame Cyn one although had spotted Naomi Campbell and (bizarrely off theme) another shop front painted with bees.

I think the basic idea is a good one - smarten up the high street by painting murals on closed down shops so that they are less of an eye sore but agree they could have picked better people.

I doubt the BID team had the cash to pay any trendy hipsters to design a campaign for them. As far as I can see it is run by middle aged white men which may be why their attempt to be edgy is a bit off key.

Shame as we have a really great "Where the Wild Things Are" that's been here for years.

I'm not sure Streatham's affordable any more - I was talking to friends who are both junior lawyers who were very impressed by my postcode as it was beyond their price range!

The White Lion in the High rd is almost opposite the entrance to Sunnyhill Rd and is a great pub which features lots of up and coming bands and is also run as a community venue for classes and workshops and has a hostel attached.

The Greyhound has become another pub I think.

And one of the best pubs now on that end of the High Rd is....Pratts and Payne, owned by the Antic chain of trendy but good pubs.

The Streatham BID isn't doing a great job. They commissioned an 'arty' Christmas tree that was a laughing stock and pictures shared far and wide (though it wasn't that bad, IMO), and they have managed to do nothing about the failure of new Megabowl owners LondonSquare, to do what they promised and bring serious retail wellie to the development.

Cynthia Payne? It can't be denied that she was a high profile resident. You can go on tours looking at Jack the ripper landmarks - is that celebrating the murder of multiple women?

I think noting a local fact is not the same as celebrating it. It's just a bit desperate if you have to try and sell an area on such facts.

I await the rush of tourists.....

Streatham IS up and coming, because it is a decent enough place to live with great schools while still being relatively - sic - affordable. There are some excellent cafes and restaurants on the high rd and a great community spirit in the residential areas off it. I doubt any connection with Cynthia Payne will either enhance or stain (further) it's reputation.

The good news is that the very dangerous situation of prostituted women around the top of the common, and other numerous places in the area has now been stopped and there are many services and charities working with prostituted women in the area. Perhaps the BID could be encouraged to support them!

The ice rink is back and there is a new pool they knocked it down and built a massive tesco next to it.

Yes, thanks for starting the thread OP, sorry to derail it for a trip down memory lane

I think the White Lion is a weird 'community' sort of pub at present, and the ice rink has gone (I live in Croydon so often go through Streatham on the bus).

Actually, OP, thanks for starting the thread as it made me realise that googling 'famous people/location' actually does bring up a list and I have been scrabbling about trying to find a list of Croydon people famous for certain things for a project of my own.

I think I know which one your talking about and yes it's still open. Never been inside myself.

It's on the High Street, about halfway between the station and the common. The other is opposite the common, but I'm pretty sure it's gone now. I will be sad in the White Lion's gone though, many happy hours in there as a teenager!

Oh and YY SGB's link has loads of excellent people on it.

Is it the white lion the one near Argos?

Just out of interest, Streatham dwellers, is the White Lion still going? Or The Greyhound?

Actually SGB, there are many people from that list who would be better. Norman Hartnell was the Queen's dressmaker for years, if they were trying to make Streatham look like an up and coming place, surely that would be a better choice?

Having lived in that part of London, I know that a lot of people are actually bored/ashamed of the Cynthia Payne link in a way that the East End isn't about the Krays.

I went to Streatham Ritzy once in about 1992.

I saw that the other day was bit about it. I think they are trying to turn streatham high road into another Brixton Village, [YUCK].

I am sure whoever invented that campaign has never set foot in Streatham, probably some bearded 30 something who lives in Brick lane, wear jeans that are far too tight and listens to Taylor Swift ironically.

There is a lot of glamorization of gangstsers, especially the Krays and horrible wankers like David Courtney and Frankie Frazer.

Mind you, OP, whoever came up with that list is a lazy bastard (to be fair, probably some poor little intern on no pay). It took me all of 30 seconds to find a perfectly good list with a wider variety of people on it.

I agree with Puffins the Krays are treated as some kind of legends, local heroes, that sort of thing, much of the time. Having really infamous people linked is often as good from a tourist etc POV than famous people. Think of the fame and excitement over Jack the Ripper.

There was a massive deal made when one of the Krays died not so long ago wasn't there, with a big procession and people turning out etc? I remember in the press some fairly horrified commentary and also plenty of why not type articles.

Still, I wasn't in any way having a shot at you. Please feel free to report me if that is honestly what you believe. Or apologise. I don't much care which.

It's pretty clear that you don't understand what I was referring to. The Krays are big business in large parts of the East End, I have absolutely no doubt at all that they would appear on anything similar done there.

Just had a google

I knew that the film personal services was about her, I didn't know wish you were here was about her as well.

She is certainly famous (infamous) enough I'd have thought.

Maybe the issue here is not with streatham council but with a media who had her on chat shows and so on, made her famous?

Dunno.

Oh yes obv your neighbours assertion that it is impossible for a woman to exploit other women (people?) is bollocks.

Cynthia payne must be about 30 years ago or more now I'd have thought? 80s wasn't it?

Of course the Krays were more than 30 years ago - I knew that.

Honest.

If you think puffins was having a go, still, report it.

Tbh, if the Krays had been born in streathham, I wouldn't have been too surprised to see them on OP's list. I think the thinking went as far as "who's been famous here in the last 30 years or so?"

I don't think that they are citing it as a business model; I imagine, having selected her (why??) they found it hard to produce a publically acceptable image (I imagine lots of people wouldn't get the reference either)

Yy to it being quite possible for women to exploit women.

Puffins there are individual businesses who exploit their notoriety. This is is a collectively led initiative. Adding the Krays to such a list being drawn up now would be liking adding Glasgow razor gangs to an initiative in Easterhouse. But never mind gives you a chance to take a shot at me.

"Yet what actually happened is that the men paid £25 on the door, were given a luncheon voucher as a token, had sex using the voucher which the sex worker would be given £8 for at the end of the night.....less than a third of the money." - Apart from anything else, I would hate to think that this measure of exploitation of other people's labour was being propagated as an acceptable business model.
"it can't be exploiting women if a woman was in charge" - disingenuous, fallacious bollocks to that. Exploitation of women is still exploitation - even if one woman profits.

Well I was going to say, she is famous, or infamous really, so from that perspective people might be quite interested, so well OK.

But I blanche at the euphemistic title of "party hostess" even if it what she described herself as, at the time she was described as a "madam" iirc and she did go to prison so...

That description makes her sound like some kind of socialite