The Standard discovers Brockley again

Who needs the smug, landed classes of Brockley Central to talk-up house prices in the area, when the Evening Standard is perfectly capable of doing it for you?

Today, for the second time in as many months, the Homes & Property section has rhapsodised about the delights of Brockley; celebrating its greenery, its transport links and its "hippy-happy" nature.

The article has some interesting things to say about the history of the area, before scrabbling around rather desperately to recommend some places to eat - Fishy Business, anyone?!

The article is considerably less patronising than the Standard's last effort, in which the journalist wrote about South East London as though it was the lost kingdom of Atlantis they were discovering. However, there are some teeth-grinding puns on the theme of Brockley = broccoli (ha, ha) that you have to endure if you plan on buying a copy. We did get some free Mars Planets with our purchase, which helped to ease the pain.

Brockley's very own Marianne, Erin Essex, owner of the Broca, is also interviewed for the feature. She says:

"People live here 20 years, most never leave, so it has a real village feel - everyone says that. It's not exciting in the conventional sense, but I doubt many people living here would trade in their lifestyle for anything else."

And that, neatly put, is the point that people who accuse us of trying to boost house prices by saying nice things about the area, miss. We, like nearly everyone who contributes to the site, have no interest in leaving, so house prices are irrelevant. We feel like we have a stake in the life of the area and want to help make it a better place. That's why so many people agonise about the fate of the high street or the prospects for a gastro pub.