This coming Tuesday we bring you another very special presentation that should be close to the hearts of all Croydonians – even us adopted ones!

Will Noble is the author of Croydonopolis: A Journey to the Greatest City That Never Was. Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

D. H. Lawrence and David Bowie struggled with being there. Comedians from Kenneth Williams to Harry Hill have found it a convenient trope for philistinism and the banal. The ‘Croydon facelift’ has become a snobbish putdown. Riots and burning buildings in 2011 didn’t help. And yet this town halfway between London and Brighton can claim a remarkably distinguished – and hidden – history at the centre of things. No fewer than 6 archbishops are buried there. Continental air travel – from London’s first airport – began there. In the sixties it was a daring experiment in futuristic brutalist architecture. Its contribution to black culture began with our most notable black composer and culminated in the first black British artist to headline Glastonbury. Its Brit School produced everyone from Adele to Amy Winehouse and Raye. Still want to diss Croydon? Croydonopolis tells the amazing story of this much-maligned town, whose only fault was to be too far ahead of the curve, and always go for broke.

You can read more about the talk from earlier publicity here, and see Captain Sensible enthuse about the book on Facebook here.

This talk comes highly recommended by members who’ve seen it. Don’t miss it!