Things you didn't know about... Catford

Catford is cool for cats...
The name Catford is Saxon and refers to the fact that it was the site where the River Ravensbourne was shallow enough for wild cats to cross to come and maraud villages closer to London. It has kept its link to cats—a huge fibreglass black cat hangs above Catford Shopping Centre.

... though some would say Catford has gone to the dogs
Between 1932 and 2003 the name Catford was synonymous with greyhound racing, with an impressive stadium. The last race at Catford took place in November 2003—now if you want to go to the dogs in London you need to travel to Walthamstow or Wimbledon (though Catford residents would probably find Crayford in Kent easier to get to).

Catford has been enjoying a ruby for longer than most
Though curry houses have become prolific throughout the UK, it's claimed that the first in Britain opened in Catford in 1824.

Catford is definitely not Calais
In the 1970s one of PG Tips long-running ad series starring chimps has the boys attempting to dig their own Channel Tunnel. When they finally emerge, they find themselves in someone's back garden, and one of the hairy diggers utters the immortal line: "This ain't bleedin' Calais—this is bleedin' Catford!"

Catford—you have been evicted
Darren Ramsay, who appeared in the first series of Big Brother, is a Catford boy. A short media career followed and a post as an Aids ambassador for Christian Aid. These days, he lives with his partner and three children in Catford.

Catford boys made good? That's funny...
The late funnyman Spike Milligan attended Catford's Brownhill Boys' School, while writer and former stand-up comic Ben Elton was born here.

Stars of ring and stage have links to Catford, too
Former boxer Sir Henry Cooper is from the area, while the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens lived above a Catford furniture store in the early 1960s.