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Cycling to Selhurst

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JRW2 Flag Dulwich 13 Dec 16 3.22pm Send a Private Message to JRW2 Add JRW2 as a friend

Kermit8 asks in the thread about Postponement of tomorrow's game whether anyone still walks to the ground. As a boy, I used to cycle. Getting up to Crystal Palace, on a pretty clapped out old bike, was a pain, but going down the other side was great. I wonder whether anyone remembers the cafe (The Black Cat, it was called), where the petrol station now stands, where you could leave your bike in relative safety for threepence - 1.25p in decimal money. On the return journey I would wait at the bus stop near the junction of South Norwood Hill and Whitehorse Lane, and grab the rail on the platform at the back of a bus, and get a lift up the hill until the driver managed to wipe me off by driving
right up against the pavement.

 

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lyeemoon Flag Girne 05 Jan 17 12.16pm Send a Private Message to lyeemoon Add lyeemoon as a friend

Originally posted by JRW2

Kermit8 asks in the thread about Postponement of tomorrow's game whether anyone still walks to the ground. As a boy, I used to cycle. Getting up to Crystal Palace, on a pretty clapped out old bike, was a pain, but going down the other side was great. I wonder whether anyone remembers the cafe (The Black Cat, it was called), where the petrol station now stands, where you could leave your bike in relative safety for threepence - 1.25p in decimal money. On the return journey I would wait at the bus stop near the junction of South Norwood Hill and Whitehorse Lane, and grab the rail on the platform at the back of a bus, and get a lift up the hill until the driver managed to wipe me off by driving
right up against the pavement.

As a boy I lived in Highfield Hill at the back of All Saints Church where you could often hear the roar of the crowd. I always walked there and back often via South Norwood Hill to the Wharncliffe Gardens footpath through to Wharncliffe Road.

18th March 1972 was a beautiful day and Palace were at home to Wolves in a Division One game. There was much trepidation at the time as John McCormick was unavailable and Bert Head had decided to play the uninitiated Bobby Goldthorpe against the wily old fox and prolific goalscorer Derek Dougan.

As I walked along Beulah Hill past the church I saw a large group of men in suits walking from Church Road onto South Norwood Hill towards Selhurst. I quickened my pace and saw it was the whole Wolves team led by manager Bill McGarry who had wisely decided, on such a lovely warm day, to take a leisurely mile and a half downhill stroll to Selhurst from their base at the Queens Hotel. Can you imagine that now?

It certainly paid dividends as Wolves wiped the floor with us and Dougan took the hapless Goldthorpe apart. I still think they eased up when they were 2-0 up and reverted to strolling on the pitch until the end. It was painful to watch and Bobby never played for the first team again. He was transferred to 3rd Division Charlton later that year and played creditably for them for 3 years.

After the game I trudged back up the hill to Upper Norwood with that familiar disconsolate feeling. The literal ups and downs of being a Palace supporter, or should it be downs and ups?

 


lo Selhurst silva felix, lo Selhurst cara nutrix, viget, vigeat, vigebit! Best team:- Jackson; Gilbert, Evans, Cannon, Sansom; Hughes, Kember, McNichol; Byrne, Holton, Wright.

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DocSavage1 Flag Brackley 25 Jan 17 6.17pm Send a Private Message to DocSavage1 Add DocSavage1 as a friend

cycled a couple of times 1969 shortlands to ground

then chose buses entrance bag of chips on way home for under a £1

12 yrs old

Originally posted by JRW2

Kermit8 asks in the thread about Postponement of tomorrow's game whether anyone still walks to the ground. As a boy, I used to cycle. Getting up to Crystal Palace, on a pretty clapped out old bike, was a pain, but going down the other side was great. I wonder whether anyone remembers the cafe (The Black Cat, it was called), where the petrol station now stands, where you could leave your bike in relative safety for threepence - 1.25p in decimal money. On the return journey I would wait at the bus stop near the junction of South Norwood Hill and Whitehorse Lane, and grab the rail on the platform at the back of a bus, and get a lift up the hill until the driver managed to wipe me off by driving
right up against the pavement.

 

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PalacePhotoMan Flag Wallington 27 Jan 17 12.47am Send a Private Message to PalacePhotoMan Add PalacePhotoMan as a friend

One person cycled back in 1924

Selhurst Park 30.8.1924.jpg Attachment: Selhurst Park 30.8.1924.jpg (156.03Kb)

 


Zaha, Williams, Murray, Ambrose, Scannell.

A 5-man forward line who scored 3 goals in 10 minutes on 27th September 2011 at .......................

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PalacePhotoMan Flag Wallington 27 Jan 17 12.47am Send a Private Message to PalacePhotoMan Add PalacePhotoMan as a friend

In fact, I've just seen a second cyclist....

 


Zaha, Williams, Murray, Ambrose, Scannell.

A 5-man forward line who scored 3 goals in 10 minutes on 27th September 2011 at .......................

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JRW2 Flag Dulwich 27 Jan 17 3.25pm Send a Private Message to JRW2 Add JRW2 as a friend

Originally posted by PalacePhotoMan

In fact, I've just seen a second cyclist....

I've seen that wonderful old photo before, but until now had never noticed either the two bikes or the little groups of women around the big gates. What are they up to? Just trying to see the football without paying?

 

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silvercobra73 Flag Christchurch 29 Aug 22 4.25pm Send a Private Message to silvercobra73 Add silvercobra73 as a friend

Great photo. I can remember that the big house with the tower on the opposite corner would open the back garden for cyclists to park bikes. Don’t know how much it was but was always full and probably a good little earner.
I remember the Black Cat cafe. Used to go in there after the match with my dad and uncle for a cup of tea. Windows always steamed up and the place full of fag smoke. Comforting, like being back in the womb!!

Edited by silvercobra73 (29 Aug 2022 6.56pm)

 

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