http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34323 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/34323 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33955 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33955 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33556 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33556 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33533 The collection includes everything from microscopic slides to mammoth skeletons, a dinosaur gallery to Darwin’s work on natural selection and an enormous life-size model of a blue whale.
The National History Museum also offers special exhibitions, an outdoor ice skating rink (in winter) and a wildlife garden. Admission to the permanent collection is free.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33533 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33520 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33520 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33519 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33519 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33518 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33518 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33515 There is a vast array of pickled body parts, the skeleton of a 7’ 7” ‘Irish giant’, the tooth of an extinct giant sloth, and a slightly grisly display of pickled foetuses. More recent additions include Churchill’s dentures.
There is also the opportunity to try your hand at simulated keyhole surgery, and watch footage of brain surgery. Educational and fun at the same time!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33515 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33460 It's an incredibly artistic experience, with bands playing, poets reading, actors swooning and tales of life and love being shared- all set in the beautiful and intimate chapel of the House of St. Barnabas on Greek St.
There's plenty of excellent drink flowing too, especially the exotic cocktails with hilariously unbelievable names- I just wish I could remember them!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33460 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33418 The bar has the appearance and feel of a dark basement untouched since Pepys left. Nicotine stained walls of tongue-n-groove boards, history-stained stone floors, and rickety tables and chairs under the low, brick-domed ceiling of the original wine cellars are not retro but original features. Candles light the reticent faces of illicit encounters. The staff are efficient and friendly and pull schooners and beakers of sherry, Madeiras, or port from the barrels stacked behind the bar. Excellent wines are also available by bottle or glass. Recently homemade food has been introduced, and the tables spill out into Watergate Walk to the side. But stay indoors to enjoy the uniqueness and excellence of Gordon’s Wine Bar, and drink deep the history of London.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33418 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33228 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33228 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32457 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32457 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32312 I recently bought tickets to Lion King:The Musical, and the tickets were a lot cheaper than anywhere else! You can't argue with that.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32312 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32023 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32023 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32021 It's gone.
Poundland has now replaced its smashed windows, however the Peace Wall will be preserved as a piece of local history in Peckham Library.
Some of my favourite messages were/are:
'Well luv Pecknam' (sic)
'Diversity + jerk chicken'
'Stop the riot, allow Greggs, man' (referring to the trashed bakery)
'Love is the key']]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/32021 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31747 The pub is still popular with London's literatti, including Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Ian McEwan and Clive James, who titled his second book of literary criticism 'At the Pillars of Hercules', allegedly because most of the pieces were commissioned, delivered or written within its very wooden walls. The beer is excellent, the craic always witty and the Hungarian barmaid particularly charming, especially if you say 'egészsegedre' ... !]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31747 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31575 The artistic area, all around the factories and estates, offer galleries and bars and cafes. And the natives are friendly having been priced out of Shoreditch/Hoxton.
Hackney Wicked is an open weekend of the residents' work on display.
Also see Folly for a Flyover - an arts centre built inbetween two flyovers of wooden bricks - offering cinema, children's art sessions and a cafe.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31575 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31557 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31557 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31556 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31556 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31555


All in all it’s a good time to visit the area and make up your own mind about the dramatic developments. Visit the German Gymnasium, the development’s marketing suit, which not only provides images and models of what the area will look like but also has a great exhibition space invariably showcasing work of value (it’s currently showing the first UK exhibition of recently discovered street photographer Vivian Maier). It also overlooks the site and you can see progress in action.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31555