Penge

Yesterday I went over to Penge to visit Reginald, informing Father and Emma of my whereabouts just in case Reginald had plans to abduct me and use me as a sex slave.  I don't know whether you've ever been to Penge, but it's located in south-east London and it's one of those areas which has risen and fallen, depending on the economy.  Penge boasts a mixture of housing stock from Victorian Villas to 1960s housing through to modern apartments.  Reginald had previously informed me that he lived in a garden flat.

I met Reginald at Penge East Station (as opposed to Penge West Station which is on a completely different train company's line..)  He was wearing a t-shirt with The Grateful Dead pictured on the front, faun jumbo cords which showed at least two inches of white sock and finally, large white Hi Tec trainers.  He looked relaxed, but comfortable.  We walked toward his flat, but after about five minutes of strolling along the pavement, we turned into a very scruffy looking road indeed with wheelie bins strewn all over the place and rubbish piled up in front gardens.  We stopped about halfway along the road and descended into a basement flat with skeletal frames of two wheel-less bicycles affixed to the railings, as we descended, I could see that the stone steps were uneven and uncared for.  Reginald took out a bunch of  keys and unlocked the door.

The smell inside was the intoxicating scent of vegetables, decay and cat food.  The furry inhabitants who caused such a rich, meaty smell, made themselves known to me and were introduced as Mr Ginger and Mr Tabby respectively.  They rubbed themselves delightedly against Reginald's trousers until he fed them with some suitably stinky food.  The flat itself was surprisingly roomy, but Victorian properties such as this usually were.  Being a basement flat, it was pretty dark and a solitary pendant light provided a small glow in the gloom of the high ceilinged hallway.  There were a series of doors leading to: a front parlour, a back room, a galley kitchen and two bedrooms - the bathroom was located right at the back of the property where the outside toilet would have been when the property was first built.  To be honest, it really reminded me of the set for the film 10 Rillington Place, but I didn't say so to Reginald's face.

We enjoyed a cup of tea and biscuits in the front parlour which was slightly marred by a deep moaning sound coming from elsewhere in the building.  Reginald stated that his upstairs neighbour was 'a harlot' so such utterances were commonplace.  After about an hour we went out to a local pub, The Jolly Pengeman to share a meal.  Reginald walked me back to Penge East Station at about 4pm after we'd had a turn around a nearby park.