I guess I'd better strike first then, and smite them all while they're having coffee at Federation...
It's not, there is plenty of free stuff for babies/toddlers. But sometimes you get something that's really good so worth paying for.
I went to Poland a couple of years ago - of the 3 restaurants we went to they all had play areas... NEVER seen that in a UK resteraunt.
What nagapie says...... there's plenty of free activities around - no real need to pay. But her class is particularly lovely so every now and then we treat ourselves.
That would be well dodgy in the UK - almost certainly run by paedos, secretly filming every moment. Waiters aren't even CRB checked!!1! Etc.
The Commercial is the best pub in Herne Hill, definitely. In what universe are The Prince Regent and the Florence in Brixton?
Brixton has porous boundaries and incorporates parts of Herne Hill, Streatham, Stockwell and Camberwell
I have absolutely no idea where HH starts and Brixton ends, just as I have no idea where HH ends and West/North Dulwich/Village starts. God knows what people in 'West/North Dulwich/Village' think. Or the line between HH/Dulwich and Denmark Hill. Or... Is Shakespeare Rd some kind of boundary (it is, in part, for the Post Office....)? /canofworms
All kids, whether put to good use as slave labour or not, should be mandatorily de-bleated. If there's one sound I can't stand it's the noise of children playing. Like witches' fingernails down an old blackboard.
Pubs that have kid-themed areas don't seem to attract locals as much as just families, certainly in London and they seem to be all about making cash. By getting predominantly just families in and charging them a lot more for food/tolerance allows parents to go into pubs with their kids, but this hardly creates an environment whereby kids have to fit in with adults in a pub - they are more like playrooms with a bar that are there to make money for the owner. It's pretty impossible for a child to be given loads of toys and room to run around and then told to be quiet/behave so all it means is that the kids can play while separate families can sit and drink. As a responsible father who NEEDS to go to the pub I prefer to take my kids (3 and 6) to a normal pub and encourage them to behave. I can take them into the Elm Park, they know my friends in the pub and they sit and draw/eat crisps/play the games at the bar while they are in the company of adults. This means that they learn to behave and know the people in our community from a whole range of ages who they would probably not meet outside of the pub (not saying that the locals from the Elm Park don't ever leave the pub I mean more that they are unlikely to pop round our house for a cup of tea). The consequences are that my kids know that behaviour when you are with an adult environment is different from that in a playroom, they know and are known by people in our local area which I believe makes it safer for them and finally they are not waiting until they are 16 and away from me before they go to a pub to drink for the first time and so hopefully by then they will have some sense of responsibility for their community and behaviour. I know and love pubs enough not to be a twat and I would never expect the pub to change for the sake of kids (mine or anyone's) so as a rule of thumb I won't take them there in the evenings. However, by being part of the group of locals, they are invited to various things that are organised by people in the pub that are sometimes on in the evening which shows a level of acceptance by the locals. The idea of hating the sound of children playing might suggest issues that you could go and see someone about. I honestly believe that kids in pubs who can join in/be accepted is far better than turning most pubs into no-go zones for kids at any time with the only other option being somewhere that is full of screaming children and ,if occassionally this means one of them might laugh while in the presence of adults, then hopefully this can be tolerated.
Great post, Griffter. When people complain about kids in pubs or restaurants, it's usually because they are running about screaming and shouting with no regard for the other customers. It's one of the big differences between this country and Europe - on the whole children in France/Italy etc are taught how to behave in restaurants.
The sound of children laughing... Like rusty nails being hammered into your ears. If ankle biters must be allowed into pubs then at least put them to good use. They should all be encased in R2D2 costumes and made to serve drinks, just like on Jabba the Hutt's sail barge.
Weird list... The Horse is fair enough, theres no better place for a sunday roast. And it's in Brixton. Unlike the other two. Even if they were in brixton they wouldnt make it on my own top 10. The regent and the florence? Jesus... dull as dishwater.. yccch.
