A little place called Old Malden

So, I have been reading Claire and Bill’s blurbs about their London and have to say that Bill seems awfully defensive about North London. I believe this is because he simply realizes that the south is better. I lived north of the river once, but otherwise the south has always been my home. I am not one to develop ties to an area necessarily as I have always moved around a lot and still do. In the past three years I have lived in three different towns. Currently, I am in a place called Old Malden, which is very near New Malden where I lived last year. This area has the largest South Korean community in Europe. It has a large Korean supermarket, endless Korean restaurants and shops. The South Korean ambassador’s former residence was in Wimbledon so many of the South Koreans wanted to live near the ambassador, but house prices were too high so they opted for the more affordable New Malden.

Old Malden apparently doesn’t exist, according to the post office, so my address actually states that I live in a place called Worcester Park. To be fair the train station I use every day is Worcester Park train station (3 minute walk away) yet I do not live in the same borough as most of Worcester Park. Personally, I am not quite as keen on Worcester Park as I am on New Malden. By this I am actually referring to the high street. Every town, be it in London or not, has a high street. In fact I still go back to New Malden to get my hair cut despite there being plenty of hairdressers in Worcester Park and this is not because I have any particular loyalty towards my hair dresser.

Now, I don’t want you getting the wrong impression. Worcester Park is a nice place. I’ll have you know that our nearest supermarket is Waitrose. When you all get to London you will learn about the supermarket hierarchy here in the UK. Waitrose is quite pricey, but does have good quality produce. It is just not where you would do you weekly shop as it all adds up. Where I live is actually quite secluded and quiet, yet right near a giant pub and the train station. I have Korean neighbours here. I haven’t officially met them but I hear the little girl scream “mom” in Korean at least 5 times a day so know for a fact that they are Korean. She is a very polite little girl (well to me, not so sure what she is like with her mother) so she can get away with it. After the “mom” bit my knowledge of Korean is a bit lacking.

I want to give you a bit of idea about where I live, but sadly forgot the camera. Thankfully a website that ends in ‘edia’ came to the rescue. Amazingly they know what Old Malden is! (p.s. this image has been released to the public domain). This is actually a picture of the local Harvester, which is a pub and a restaurant. They hold little fairs on the green outside the Harvester. I have not been to one, but have seen them whilst driving past......to go to New Malden.

I love how this makes it seem like I live in a little village in the country side. Not quite true, although some of you may consider zone 4 miles away. I also want to include a link to the Worcester Park blog, because I find it quite amusing. I can’t quite believe that there is a blog about Worcester Park. Who would have thought there could be so much to say about one smallish high street?
http://www.worcesterparkblog.org.uk/

- The British Dog.