Gareth's reviews
Review of Sugar Reef
02 Sep 08, 10:29
Unexpectedly unpopular 
Looked quite nice from the outside. If you like large, underground bars which smell a bit like a gents (a gents toilet that is), with little personality and no buzz - then you'll feel at home here. Didn't seem to be many people in here when I dropped by - looked like a hen party and some geeks/media people getting lashed on expenses - they seemed to be having fun though. Outside of 'happy hour' prices seem a bit steep. Conveniently placed in 'Tourist Central' - I guess it fills up on Friday nights with people celebrating their last night in London before flying home and hoping for some action, sorry guys, might be better off somewhere a bit groovier.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Octopus
18 Jul 08, 09:53
Little shop of b*llocks
One of those places that sells gifts of a non-determinate nature. Chintzy, initially funny. If you need to buy someone something a bit funky, perhaps something bright and colourful for a friend who's moved into a new house, and you think what they're missing from their otherwise complete lives is a set of brightly coloured salad servers with realistic looking fisheads on the top, then you'll strike gold coming in here!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Fen Farm Caravan & Camping Site
07 Jul 08, 11:40
Well equipped family campsite
Not really a 'getting away from it' campsite, but very good for young children. Good points: 1) 5 mins walk to the sea 2) Decent playground for the kids 3) Decent showers/toilets/hot water etc 4) Plenty of water taps!
Bad points Bit busy, and I got bitten to death by mosquitos, but I'm not blaming the campsite.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Just Williams
25 Jun 08, 16:19
Good local toy shop
Assuming you can't stand the idea of going to Toys R Us as it is an utterly nauseating experience, then local toy shops are where it's at for non-digital kiddy fun. This places sells Lego, Brio, Doctor Who stuff, all the usual stuff, plus the odd wooden scooter, plastic sword, mad things to throw and catch etc. Not a great range, but helpful staff.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of The Sundial
19 Jun 08, 11:10
ah, the Scumdial
Was the office pub when Yahoo was based round the corner. Unremarkable place, except it shoulkd get a blue plaque for being the place where the turbo shandy was invented.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Mountain Warehouse
17 Jun 08, 10:38
Cheap camping gear
Basically a discount shop selling the kind of clothes and gear you'll need if you're going camping. I wouldn't suggest you buy stuff here if you need 'technical performance' - but if you want stuff like lights, water bottles, and fleeces etc, then stock up from here
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Studio 45
16 Jun 08, 21:16
Good, reasonable picture framers
Have done a decent job of the things I've taken them, and they have a fairly random selection of prints, worth popping into if you're in the area and... you either need something framed, or fancy buying a print.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Grove Vale Filling Station
16 Jun 08, 21:13
It's a petrol station
Not much to say here. The petrol has always been first class! Because of the relatively small size of the forecourt you do get a higher amount of impatient gobshites who think beeping their horn at you will somehow make the petrol come out the pump faster - the results of my experiments indicate this doesn';t happen, sorry guys.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Majestic Wine Warehouse
16 Jun 08, 20:52
Sells single bottles!
Yes, the only Majestic I've found in London which sells individual bottles of wine, which is great, as I have been known to drink less than a full case at a time. Best thing for about this place is it's an ideal stop if you're heading home after going for a stroll along the Thames. Now, many of you young people out there will probably say "Well, what about the pubs like the Market Porter? Go for a drink in there!" Well, when you've got kids, pubs aren't always the easiest of places to visit. So pop in here, grab a couple of bottles of something tasty and head home. I find the layout in here a bit weird, but the staff are generally pretty helpful and cheery, which is nice!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of K & V News
13 Jun 08, 14:48
The perfect pre-train stop
If you commute from East Dulwich train station, this is your perfect stop-off before climbing aboard a horrendously crammed train into central London. The shop is well stocked with mags and papers, an exotic range of smokes and drinks are also on hand, top-up your oyster card, and buy lethal looking kids toys.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Post Office
13 Jun 08, 11:51
Nasty queues
You always have to queue in a post office, this one I think holds the inner London queueing record as i've been there a few times, and each time the queue was out the door and took at least half an hour to get served. I have found the staff very helpful here, hence three stars.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of British Airways London Eye
12 Jun 08, 11:59
Nearly shat myself above London
Well, I didn't know I had vertigo until I'd got in here, and of course, you can't get out halfway round. It was a suprise present from my then girlfriend. How romantic. Unfortunately I ended up remembering it for all the wrong reasons, as I sat, fixed to the bench in the middle of the pod, staring at my shoes, my hands, anything except looking out into the void, certain in the knowledge that any second now the whole wheel would start to pivot round and crash, apparently in slow machine, smack into the Thames. London looked great, well, the bits I saw through my fingers when i didn't have my eyes screwed tight. I was going to give this place 2 stars, but for the sheer rush of euphoria I had as I sprinted off the eye at the end of my 30 minutes of torture they get another mark. Once was more than enough...
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Grove Vale Library
11 Jun 08, 16:03
Small, but perfectly formed
Good selection of kids books, Small collection of adult books, but covering enough genres to make it worthwhile popping into. Even have a few graphic novels! Very handy if you live in the Dulwich/Camberwell/Peckham hinterlands
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of East Dulwich Deli
05 Jun 08, 11:51
great deli, but oh those prices!
I'm used to paying over the odds for things in East Dulwich, but this place seems to take that idea and run with it. If you compare like for like, which admittedly, you can't do with a lot of their stuff as they're the only guys stocking it, they seem to charge between 30-40% over what other people in the area might charge. OW! The staff are sometimes a bit stand-offish, despite the fact there's a lot of them standing around. On the plus side, it's like an aladdin's cave in here, so many pots and packets of things you never even knew existed. But yes, as Lorraine points out in her review, you can get stuff like salad, bread and cakes/pies on North Cross road for a realistic price if the markets on. I fear for the future of guys like this with the credit crunch kicking in.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Brindisa
05 Jun 08, 11:46
Good tapas
but when it's busy you're so crammed in and it gets so loud, you have to shout across the table. Sherry - lovely, and then shed loads of ham, ham, and yet more ham. This trades on being authentic, I'm sure the ham is, some of the other dishes were decidedly under-spiced/seasoned. I need more garlic gawd-dammit!
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Health Matters
05 Jun 08, 11:31
Does what it says on the tin
I have a problem with places like this, in that as far as I'm concerned the staff are dispensing a load of nonsensical b*llocks. If you believe in crystal healing and thwe power of flowers, great, otherwise it's good to get stuff if you're trying to avoid lactose, or need some organic choccy.
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Forbidden Planet
02 Jun 08, 15:17
Geek out
Forbidden Planet - this is a bit of a love it or hate it kind of shop. If you like comics, sci-fi, cult tv and films etc, then this should be the perfect shop for you, and in fact, it must be the biggest geeky shop in the country. i've been coming here for 17 years off and on, and though I acquired a girlfriend at one point who refused to step inside the place as the sheer geeky overload terrified her, I guess i'll keep going until my comics vouchers expire. It has a huge choice, and they relocated a couple of years ago from a cramped, dank shop round the corner to this brighter, cleaner store. so why three stars? Staff - Tills are largely unmanned. Staff are generally of the surly, unhelpful variety, who all look like they're killing time between audtions to get on 'who's the biggest emo fan in the country'. I've nothing against how these guys look - but come on, it's a shop, help me buy your stuff! Music - Instore music is of the 'emo/alt' variety - that's great for probably about 40% of the customers. Come on, try playing something else once in a while! Prices - You can't argue with the prices of comics in here, as there's not a lot of give in new comics prices, so fair dos. But books/graphic novels, Cds, DVDs - if they can charge full whack they will. So a DVD boxed set that you might pay £20 for on amazon ends up being around £35 here, luncacy. Unless you have a deadline to buy 'crazy manga stuff vol 7' that day, get on the web. The smell - I'm not sure if it's in the building, the staff and/or the customers, but some people here should learn to wash on at least a semi-regular basis and invest in some deodorant. surely being into sci-fi, comics, whatever doesn't preclude you from some decent personal hygiene! Christ, maybe i should just give up comics? Might be easier....
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of Dulwich Tandoori
30 May 08, 15:27
Good, dependable curry house
Nothing special, but it deserves special mention as they coped admirably with an early evening visit from my massed family which resulted in lots of rice being flung about by the young whipper snappers, let's hope the tip softened the blow of the clean-up!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Bloomsbury Ballroom
30 May 08, 14:39
Booze clouded memories
Went here for the 'works xmas party' - which consequently means my review isn't worth the HTML it's written on as I was already sozzled when I turned up, and I tried in vain to keep up with the sales team who were on their traditional mission to top up their bonuses by necking as much free hooch as possible.
So, what can I remember? Erm, not much, the head of the company gave a lacklustre speech which did little to bloster the troops of a businessgoing through a rocky patch..
Oh, the venue? Well, it had an art deco vibe to it as I recall, perhaps even a touch of the neo-classical??
I was forcibly ejected from the place when I tried to spark up a fag inside, which is fantastic as I don't even smoke.
I'm looking forward to returning and casting another drunken eye over the place...
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Cafe In The Park
21 May 08, 16:21
Need tea and cake? Get in!
If you've spent your time hiding in the bushes and staring at the birds, or whatever it is you've got up to in the Country Park, recharge those batteries with some tea and buns. Nothing spectacular, but, you do get a good view, and if the weather's good you can sit outside!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.