Gareth B.

Review of Liberty and Co

12 Nov 08, 18:03

Not for me, for her!

I can't really claim Liberty as favourite shop for me, it's a bit too floral for my liking, though i have bagged myself the occasional Liberty floral print shirt in the past, mainly to be worn whilst reading poetry under a tree on a river bank, whilst wooing. Anyway, this is the perfect shop for buying 'lady presents' - in essence, you can't go wrong. The staff are generally very helpful, and if you can avoid rush hours it's a pretty nice shopping experience. The ways of ladies remain a mystery to me, and I think they always will, but Libertys is rammed to the roof with all the non-essential stuff they like filling their lives with, apart from men - ho! ho! Perfect for christmas shopping.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Coram's Fields

23 Sep 08, 11:16

Fantastic central London park for kids

Coram's fields appears to be a little known gem, a genuine one-off, and a great place to visit. But terms and conditions apply!!

You absolutely cannot get in here if you're an unaccompanied adult, you have to have kids, yours, or somebody else's with you or you won't be let in.

So what is this place? Well, it's on the site of the 'foundling's hospital' - which was built to look after the many unwanted children left in London in years gone by. That got knocked down many years ago, and with a legacy this area for children was built.

In essence it's like a giant playground - a couple of tree lined grassy areas for running around in, a large sand-filled play area, swings, slides, adventure playground, fountains (when they're working). There's also a sensory play area - mirros, things to bang etc

Animals - a whiole load of them - a couple of sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, a load of goats, geese, chickens - all of whom can be fed.

There's also a cafe which does really great coffee, but also pretty decent food for the family, pasta, pizzas and sandwiches etc

What's wrong with it? Nothing. It's free, there are always staff around, the kids toilets are ideally sized for little ones, and in my opinion this is a simply fantastic place for kids as they have a degree of freedom combined with safety to play in which is rare outside of school or home.

It's only about 7 mins from the British Museum, so if you're kids get bored looking at ancient marbles, drag them down here to run riot for a few mins whilst you grab a coffee and watch the rotters knacker themselves chasing a chicken round the grass.

This also gets more bonus marks as its located over the road from the back of Great Ormond St Hospital, and provides some space for families to come to during breaks from treatment.

In conclusion - faultless.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Centre for Wildlife Gardening

23 Jul 08, 14:11

Wildlife haven in darkest Peckham

I pop in here at least a couple of times a month. The garden itself is great to walk around, and there are various different gardens within the area - including a sandpit for the kids, and a pond (remembering to hold hands with the little ones as the temptation of jump in with the frogs can be huge on a hot day). The centre building itself will sell you seeds and dispense advice, and you can also buy plants for your own garden here - one of the advantages here being the plants have been grown in the same environment as your own garden, so if it works here, it will work at home! But the main reason to come is to be inspired about what you can do with your own chunk of ground at home.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Horniman Museum and Gardens

22 Jul 08, 13:20

Fantastic museum for kids and parents

In summary, this museum was built with the money from a Victorian tea-trader, Mr Horniman to you and me. Some of the original collections are here, and it is fascinating to see these at a time when most museums seem to have fallen over themselves to clear out the old and make everything a multimedia experience. the main gallery is a cornucopia of animals, insects, birds of a feather - all stuffed and mounted for your persual. The centrepiece is an enormous stuffed Walrus - reason enough to visit. Other reasons to come - cafe - normally full of squaking kids, but get here early or when the schools aren't on holiday and you can sit down with a very decent coffee. Music Room - There's a little music room for the kids hidden downstairs where they can let some energy off by banging drums, xylophones etc Gardens - the museum is set in very lovely landscaped gardens, chock full of plants and trees to give you a bit of year round interest to your walk. Goats/chickens/geese - there's a little animals section in the park - walk up the hill past the museum and there you go, by the bandstand, some squawking things to go and stare at. Aquarium - pretty big aquarium for such a small museum - kids love it, especially the coastal section with the whooshing waves. Anyway, it's free, kids love, and there's plenty here for everyone, whether it's an angry goose or a paleontological ramble round the home counties.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Condor Cycles

09 Jul 08, 11:11

Great service - been around since the 40s

Bike shops seem to be a bit hit and miss as regards to service. I've seen some fairly scathing reviews of this place online, so approached with trepidation, ready to run out the door and hand my hard-earned over at Evans Cycles (perish the thought!). I think some of the negative reviews can stem from people who expect to be served the minute they walk in, and, well, in a shop like this, it isn't going to happen. A busy shop is a good sign, so if the staff are busy with other people, you need to wait your turn. Difficult, i know, in this times of choice, of the customer coming first etc etc, but unless you're simply buying something off the shelf, get in line. I was buying a new bike, and the guy who served me, Rob, clearly knew what he was talking about, and rather than sell me what he wanted to, was able to listen to what I was after, and within the price range i'd given him, dsicuss the options. i didn't feel pressured, and the advice he gave was spot on. They've been in business for 60 years for good reason in my opinion.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Berry Bros and Rudd

16 Jun 08, 20:58

One of a kind, unique wine merchants

totally, genuinely unique. Worth a visit even if you don't plan on buying anything. Ok, key points: they've been doing this for a couple of hundred years so they know their stuff. The building is fantastic, looks like it should be condemned but has got away with it so far. If you know your wine, then prepare to spend some time nosing about, but even if you don't, Berrys do a great range of their own house wines, which taste great and you won't need to remortgage your house to buy. They also have great range of spirits here, I'd single out their own brand whisky and some fantastic armagnacs. You can even taste a few should you so desire. Staff are beyond reproach - they know their stuff, are very helpful and will carefully help you make a purchase even if you've never had a drink before. Their website is a also very useful, stuffed full of tasting notes and podcasts, so if you can't make it down to St James' then crawl along there.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Great Ormond Street Childrens Hospital

11 Jun 08, 15:56

World famous, for a reason

It feels a bit weird writing a review of a children's hospital, as if you've spent any time here, either as a parent or visitor, odds on it wasn't under the best circumstances. Anyway, having one of my kids spend the best part of 6 months in here a couple of years ago, i think I am pretty well qualified to comment, and yes, I am biased. Facilities and staff are fantastic - some parts of the hospital are pretty old and are undergoing a phased period of repair, so no, it's not all PFI money and bells and whistles (I often thought how they could justify spending millions on the NHS homeopathic hospital nextdoor - dispensers of diluted flower juice to the idiotic - whilst GOSH was trying to raise enough money to upgrade some its pre-war wings so they could be more effective saving the lives of children). But the bits that really matter - trained staff, secure and safe rooms, and equipment, is here. It even has a decent Costa cafe in the middle, and there are loads of decent places to eat nearby (Brunswick Centre!) should you be 'living in' or visiting, something that makes long stays in hospital more bearable. It's pretty well connected with a tube stop nearby, buses galore, taxis, and, oh yes, ambulances!

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of The Sea Cow

02 Jun 08, 15:03

Favourite family place to eat

So, faced with the plethora of choices on Lordship Lane, in the final reckoning, I'll go for this chip shop. but no odinary chip shop. Fresh fish - the fish actually tastes like it should, it's not destroyed by manky batter, and they'll fry the stuff for you on request rather than leaving it baking under a hot light for a while. Chips - everyone has their own definition of the perfect chip. these ones are sized write, and tried the right line between cripsed and soggy. Takeway - lots of room to sit down and read the days papers laid out for you. Eat in - pay a little bit more, sit down, have a beer. Lots of bench seating, and kids are welcome. and the kids here are generally pretty quiet, as they're all bust stuffing chips in their mouths. Why settle for what the majority of chip shops in this country churn out - this is how it should be done.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Monmouth Coffee House

02 Jun 08, 14:14

best coffee in the world

Absolutely the best coffee i've ever had. Originally i thought they might have been tipping some heroin in here, but it's just down to focussing on one thing - coffee. Yes, the pastries are nice, they come from patisserie Paul. These guys just do coffee, and what incredible coffee it is. They even fly off to visit their suppliers and see how the plantations are doing. An ever changing roast of the day, but the espresso based drinks are also fantastic. Buy some freshly roasted beans - ground how you want them, and you get to sample the delights of Monmouth at home, though clearly it doesn't match up to the in-store experience. Oh sweet baby jesus, I could do with a cup of this stuff right now....

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Ganapati

28 May 08, 16:22

Always fab food

This isn't the kind of Indian restaurant that serves lots of Chicken Korma and Tandoori chicken. They specialise in Southern Indian food, which means the focus is on fish, vegetables and some meat, but not huge portions of battery chicken. The food is great, they have some really good beers available, staff are super helpful and relaxed and it's a very easy going place. They do good, filling lunch offers, and if you're travelling to get here it's just a 5 min walk to Peckham Rye train station. Top place to eat in Peckham, no contest.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of Terry's DIY

28 May 08, 16:16

fantastic for diy

This shop is great because a) it's enormous - going back about half a mile behind the shopfront, they've stocked everything i've ever needed, and seeing as i've lived and renovated a couple of crumbling Victorian houses in the area that's not bad b) the staff know their stuff and can really help c) the staff are also polite and helpful to women - which can be rare in this kind of shop d) they sell lots of stuff to keep foxes/rats/moths/cats out of your garden/house - which is nice. give them a go

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of James Hull Dental Care

28 May 08, 16:04

Ease the pain - with cash!

Dentists. I am absolutely terrified of them. With their white coats, mouth rinses and instruments of torture. I was ok with dentists as a young child, but the combination of hitting puberty at the same time as being made to wear a brace, coupled with seeing the dental torture scene in marathon man ("Is it safe!?!") combined to scare me off dentists for about 20 years. Then came the day I had to go back, my teeth resembled the limescale coating inside a kettle and i thought it was time to face the mouthwash. Based on a friend's recommendation I went here. Let me be honest here - it's pricey - it's in Chelsea, what did you expect? What do you get for your money? Nice staff, a great dentist, and a TV set into the ceiling so when they dig around in your mouth you can zone out and watch the bit of the telly that remains visibile beyond Mr Dentist's hairdo. I would remortgage my house to avoid physical pain, and through fillings, and teeth cleaning etc, this has been about as pain and stress free as you could expect. I really can't fault them, and after avoiding the dentist for 20 years it turns out the brushing and flouride must have helped as there was nowt wrong with my gnashers that a bit of a high-pressure clean-up couldn't fix.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.