O perfil de Berry

I wouldn't recommend this place to any of my friends' children. Educationally it is average - it used to take mostly the less academic children of well-off businessmen, so didn't have the high grades that other local private schools achieve, but it was strong in languages, Classics and literature. It fell short on welfare - poorer children with scholarships were told they should feel "grateful" to be allowed there, and children with family problems, abusive homes or depression were treated very unsympathetically. Some of the most spiteful of the teachers are still there, so it probably isn't a pleasant place to be.

This community garden has huge potential, although it is sometimes let down by its apathetic management committee and a lack of staff and funds. Its building hut has remained half burnt since an arson attack two years ago. Funding and support are clearly desperately needed.
The gardens are beautiful, with a pond full of frogs and seasonal ducks, a wildlife meadow, and lawn areas for picnics and summer festivals.
It remains the only environmental project for people with disabilities and mental health difficulties, so is desperately needed in the community. It provides opportunities for gardening and other activities in a friendly atmosphere. However, this is sometimes dampened by the presence of management who harangue people with disabilities and try to bully them into work.

This vintage clothing shop has been here for as long as I can remember. I once bought a 50s ball gown reminiscent of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, brown with a big bow and tiny white polka dots, to wear to a Cambridge ball. Though small the shop is packed inside and has a basement area with more men’s clothing too. The clothes are more theatrical/party/evening than everyday wear, and they sell unusual vintage jewellery and accessories too.

This pub is a fancy pub at the far end of Highgate. It is overpriced but if you want a quiet drink it is perfect as it is off the main shopping street. Small inside, but very warm as it has a roaring fire on cold nights.

Quite possibly the best pub in the world, with cosy wooden benches inside and tables outside facing the beautiful Tamar river. A very local pub, hosting half the village, it seems, most nights. People sit with their locally brewed beers and friendly dogs on the quayside. The food is pretty good. There is a pool table inside too. Calstock is a pretty village on the Devon-Cornwall border, easily accessible from Plymouth.

Utterly pointless and unwanted chain coffee shop undermining the lovely local shopping area. Ok, the Brunswick Centre now contains many chains, but Marchmont Street nearby is full of wonderful coffee shops and cafes. This Starbucks would not even allow us to advertise a local community garden enterprise. Bah. And as with all Starbucks the coffee is overpriced crap in a cup.

I recently discovered this wonderful little cafe on Cleveland Street. It does amazing smoothies, porridge, fried egg sandwiches, toasted focaccia, and has a picture saying, “LOVE” on the wall. The cafe hits the right mixture of healthy and comfort food, fried breakfasts and smoothies, porridge or bagels. All the hot chocolate, teas and coffees are fair trade too. The staff were extremely friendly and made my order to order, as it were, toasting my avocado in my bap for me. Perfect!

This is my favourite takeaway. It does great vegetarian food all cooked in olive oil (hence the name) and they do free delivery if your order is over twelve pounds. The aubergine dishes are delicious. Every dish comes perfectly cooked, and they will even do a takeaway mango lassi!

Another of the Rockit retro, second-hand clothing shops. This one is narrow and smaller but has some bargains at the back where there are jackets, and sometimes has affordable jeans. It sells hats and gloves and belts, and olden-days (60s 70s) dresses and jumpers. It is occasionally worth a rummage, though a lot of the clothes are over priced.

This Rokit is slightly cheaper than its sister shops (one in Camden and one in Brighton). It has a large basement room filled with retro clothing delights, the usual scruffy, scratchy dresses made of plasticy stuff, detective jackets (or flashers’ raincoats, depending on your fashion-taste) and cool hats and belts. There is the predictable C&A style nerdy jumper collection, with snowflake-patterned red winter mittens to match. But hey, I like it. As long as you’re a size six and don’t mind the itchiness of seventies’ clothing materials, it’s for you!