The Alliance, Elmers End  

You start to notice things in this reviewing lark - to home in on why some places work and some don't and what the little oddities and differences are. The Alliance is a worn but tidy corner bar a spit and a bit away from Norwood Junction station and a hoofer's long ball from Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace - the team which defines the concept of the yo-yo club. It's a narrow, right-angled little place following the contours of the corner, with IPA, Abbot and Archers offering a decent choice of ales. Food is of the toastie and burger variety. Walls are festooned with prints of old Norwood and some nice mirrors while brass thingies dangle from every beam. And then you notice. They are all clean and shining - unlike the tarnished, grease covered health hazards in so many places. The delightful good-old-boy (with an incongruous for these parts West Country accent) my side of the bar explained how the previous owners had had a virtually full time cleaning programme - and how the newcomers (hard to tell if his newcomers meant new this month, year, decade or millennium) matched the standards. Drop by if you are in the area. It's nothing special, but that's its joy. Match days of course, it's probably horrible.

reviewed:
27/4/2005

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