Part of my work life involves planning tours and visits to places that people have either never…read morebeen to, didn't know they could go to, or have to come in a group to do. The Poppy Factory definitely fit the bill, and with this being the WWI centenary, I thought this was the time to visit the Poppy Factory! It was established after the First World War, and it's where all the poppies, wreaths, and poppy crosses are made, by disabled ex-servicemen and women. Tours run fairly often, and individuals can go - but you'll need to book. I took a group of 20, and we were joined by another group of 20. Everyone on the visit was pensioner aged (except me!). There was a snafu at the beginning with a booking issue - they told me 2pm but it should have been 1.30pm - but it only affected a few people when the visit officially started at 1.45pm. Everyone sat and listened to our guide (I'm not sure of his history as I was standing outside!) for about an hour, which detailed the history of the idea of a poppy of remembrance, the establishment of the Poppy Factory, and explanations about some of the royal wreaths, just to name a few things. After this, we went through to the actual factory. You immediately encounter the machine that cuts the paper (and polyester) for the poppy petals, as well as seeing the boxes and boxes of poppies and wreaths, all of which get stored somewhere down in Kent. Finally we got through to the poppy assembly area. A small number of workers - 10, perhaps? - make the poppies here. (Some poppies are also assembled by people who can't travel in, and we saw the pallets of the components that would be sent on to these home workers). They make numerous wreaths, poppies, crosses, etc. They were all very happy to show us what they were doing and just talk in general about their work - really approachable! We got to use the jigs - the same design as when the Factory started in the 1920s - to make poppies ourselves. The idea is that you can assemble the poppies with one hand - and yep, you can! But could I produce the 1200-1500 a day that a worker does there? Probably not! All in all, an interesting day if you have interest in the military or the British Legion in general. It's not really an area of interest for me but I could still appreciate the whole 2 hour visit - and several of the people I brought told me after that they were moved to tears.

Dukes Meadow is a collection of sporting facilities located just north of Chiswick Bridge. The…read moreaccess road is long and narrow, especially if there are cars parked on the side. Being alongside the Thames, there are rowing clubs based here with their boats being stored beside the river I played field hockey here in Saturday. There is one all weather synthetic astroturf pitch, which is ussed by different clubs including Barnes and Hounslow hockey clubs Parking was very tight - the main car park near the boat house was full but there's more parking near to the Chiswick Rugby Club clubhouse and also further up that road. I'm not sure if they had watered the pitch and/or there was a lot of overnight rain but the surface was sodden and very slippery in both Ds, causing quite a few players to slip. The pitch also played a bit bouncy. Fortunately, we were able to adjust to the vagaries of the pitch and were able to run out 5-1 winners though of course, it's the taking part, not the result, etc etc etc

Walking the Borough Market I caught a whiff of coffee beans which led us to this small coffee shop…read more Sure, London is known for tea and good beers, but at this moment I was craving a good cup of java. They have their own varieties of Columbian beans. Staff was very helpful and told us about how the profits are invested back into local social projects, so others can benefit. They promote ethical sourcing, biodiversity and sustainability. You can choose the bean for your coffee, or just get a cappuccino which I did and it was delish. A few spots to sit and some pastries to purchase.

Long lines for coffee here so I got a chai latte here. Foam was good. They move quickly, I waited a…read morefew minutes for my chai. Total £6.

I am a regular user of the Gym and football facilities here and it really is first class…read more surprisingly friendly atmosphere in the gym with people from all walks of life, regulars give you a smile and the staff are always on hand to dispense some free training advice. The football pitch outside is great, I play a couple of times a week, it's very difficult to find a good 3G pitch to play on and this is as good as anywhere I have played before. Keep up the good work.

It's just a little bit of park surrounded by roads, but Goose Green is beloved enough by the locals…read moreto have its very own committee - Friends of Goose Green (FoGG), who meet to discuss issues relating to the use of the land. In warmer months a variety of fetes and fairs take up residence for a day or two and the park is located centrally enough to pull in visitors from Peckham, Dulwich and Denmark Hill. Day to day, though, Goose Green's great for walking the dog. It's not massive but there's more than enough grass to run around in, plus lots of trees mean lots of sticks for Fido to chase after. A contentious issue in recent years was the erection of the fence that divides the park in two. One half is signposted as a Dog Free Zone though, strangely, this is the half with proper fencing and a weighted gate that closes securely. The other side of the park, where dogs are allowed, has loosely flapping gates at either end which lead directly out to busy East Dulwich Road on one side and a smaller side road at the other. Did someone put the sign up on the wrong fence?

Goose Green is a nice bit of greenery close to Lordship Lane. Occasionally there are markets and…read morestalls set up for various events which makes it even nicer. The houses over looking the green are really lovely. There is a gated play area for children which is close to shops.

The King's Fund is a charity/think tank that tries to improve healthcare. They produce a number of…read morereports per year and host all kinds of events with well known speakers, conferences, etc. Some events are free, and some you have to pay to attend, but you'll find a lot of thought is put into each event. The venue itself is very nice inside, and anything you attend you'll almost undoubtedly meet some very interesting people.

This a retroactive review for a visit I made here a few months back, but I don't think much has…read morechanged in 3 months in Victorian era cemetery I've always been drawn to big beautiFul cemeteries so when we came to London in October, Highgate was a must for me! It was about a 45min trip by subway and bus from London but easy and worth it. Beautiful cemetery! Now keep in mind, we only went to half of it, the West I believe, and I do have to say I'm REALLY bummed we didn't get to go to the other side where the pictures seem to show EXTRA impressive gravesites and mossileums... you could only visit that side if on a tour and unfortunately our timetable did not allow that. Still, it was beautiful and peaceful and very interesting!

Came here for one reason and one reason alone. The Karl Marx tomb. I don't really have much to…read moresay here about economic ideologies or the man himself, but I will say this, he has a mighty grave. I'm a big statue fan, and this is honestly one of the most well made statues I have ever seen. It's a thing of beauty to behold. As for the cometary itself, it's an old one and has many tombstones that have been around for over a hundred years. It can be creepy, if you get creeped out easily. Still, I enjoyed it, and really enjoyed the the Karl Marx tomb.

This store is in the right place for the right reasons, yet there's not much to be noted about it…read more They have a good selection of cute, fluffy toys that a child you know may hug briefly before being tossed aside in favour of the almighty Xbox 360. Most of these items appeared to be brand new too, with the clothing section remaining within the operative word of the phrase 'second hand'. The reading habits of the donators in the Putney area has to be commended: I found some cool novels by Yann Martell and Bill Bryson, two of my favourites! As always, prices are super low and if you go it's always a good thing to support a good cause. There's a load of old trinkets and household goods too, and you always get the feeling you might just pick up something old, valuable and random. Like Hitler's dinner fork.