Pubs often undergo refurbishment but they rarely reopen under a new name, However, this is exactly what has happened to the Black Horse, in Sidcup High Street.

The pub has had a terrible reputation in recent years. So bad, it seems, the owners decided to try to turn things around and present the drinking public with a plush new boozer, wielding the less sinister name of the Blue Rose.

But, despite a lick of paint on the outside and a clean up inside (something which should have happened long ago), I couldn't see much evidence of any great improvement. A better pub has not materialised.

There were lagers and Guinness on offer, which can be found at any other sub-standard watering hole, but the only ales on tap were London Pride and Courage Best. The bar staff even managed to ruin the, until now, incorruptible London Pride, which was murky and tasted of vinegar.

The new look is combined with endless sport on wide-screen TVs and weekly events including an Abba tribute band, DJs and, of course, karaoke.

Reformers have tried to civilise the Black Horse but if they think providing pub wine, cappuccino and a fake log fire goes some way in resembling culture they are wrong and time will prove this.

The rowdy element may never be banished from this old stomping ground, particularly as there are precious few other places to visit in Sidcup on a night out.

Far from breaking with a murky past, the Blue Rose has taken the baton firmly in hand from the Black Horse. I am sure it won't be long before the plush new leather sofas and clean carpet are well worn in as we return to the kicking-out-time fracas of past years in Sidcup High Street.