I was down Perry Hill today for the first time in quite a while.

Good Lord, what a ghastly slum it is. What's with the run of boarded-up shops, and why do so many residents like to store old mattresses and sofas in their front gardens?

I know there is a bit of a running joke on here about the neighborhoods either side of the tracks but I'm not sure I'd realised how disgusting it really now is down this road. I really can't think of anywhere else in London that is as much of a dump, except perhaps parts of Newham or somewhere like Selhurst or Thornton Heath. You'd certainly have to look hard to find somewhere.

It does pick up a bit in the middle, away from Catford and Bell Green, and in the circumstances the people behind The Perry Hill are to be commended. They are brave and I wish them every success. I wouldn't invest in a chicken shop down there.