Strike Factory

Huh was reading through The Argus and there was a special piece on Crawleys 60th anniverseary, was a good piece highlighting the good and the bad sides of the town. The most intresting comments I found was the comments of one of the most famous people to have lived in the town Robert E Smith, whose comments seemed to sum up how I feel about Crawley. He took a lot of words out of my mouth.

Like Robert despite Crawley being the only place I have really lived in my formative years, I have never really considered it as my home town, thinking of Burgess Hill where I went to school as more home than Crawley which I have for most of my life seen as a cold grey soulless violent unfriendly mini-London, as Robert E Smith described it. But he also said the reasons he did not like the town much like how he felt he was not properly rooted to Crawley due to having a northern accent ( he lived in Blackpool prior to moving to Crawley). in his early years that resulted in him receiving a ton of stick at school in Crawley, plus so did not help in him intregrating and mixing with locals in the town. Same thing with me did not help I spent my early years in Broadfield living in a real dodgy part, so did not really mix with most of the locals around there.

Plus due to complications with schools in Crawley ended up getting sent to school at Burgess Hill at the age of seven, mixing with the youth hailing from Mid Sussex and surrounding areas rather than Crawley which did not help with my intregration with Crawley folk. After leaving school in 2002 I went to Crawley College, and worked at a local sports shop. Whilst I got on with a few people at the college and the sportsshop. I could not mix with a large number of people, who would for starters take the piss out of my non Crawleyian accent I had through school in Burgess Hill thinking it was 'posh' when in reality it was a basic Sussex accent. I never really have considered myself posh. Possibly middle class but always a average lazy hard working human being.  It also did not help their music, clubbing,  and sporting tastes were quite different to mine, as well as character. Plus did not help I was the victim of some unprovoked physical attacks in the town. Which would give me negative and bad memorys of the town that I am still trying to escape to, feeling most of the locals were not my type and unfriendly .

The last few years I have continued to frequent my old school town, and mix with locals and feel at home whenever I am down there, plus been down Brighton a fair bit again have fallen in love with Brighton. But anyway, Crawley is not exactly the cross between Beirut/ Hell as some would make out. (mostly Horsham people or people that have only been in the town for 30 seconds). But I still would not call it nice.

It is good for shopping (but then so is Reading and that is shyte). Got a good leisure centre, but that is all its got going for it. Gatwicks near but you can be near Gatwick living in Horsham and Mid Sussex. Not forgetting the quick train from Brighton.

Shame most Crawleyians (not all) are unfriendly and got bad attitude (compared with the attitude of nearby Sussex towns). Nightwise Crawley is crap ( the few clubs play crappy commercial or Urban rubbish), with its known drink problem. Most locals look more north towards London, giving them a screwed up view on lovely Sussex. Crawley is just not the fine Sussex country town my family thought they were moving to in the 60's to get away from the big smoke. Its too much like a mini London for my liking now. Well thats my personal opinion. End of rant, anyway beers up for Crawley. LOL