• Added: 16th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Restaurants

Liverpool L3 5SD
0151 709 2355

jennypea7 said
Kimos, Mount Pleasant
Kimos, which serves Middle Eastern food from a couple of sites in the city, moved to new premises not so long ago just along the road on Mount Pleasant. They have a café on Myrtle Street by the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Community College arts centre as well as the more posh venue on Mount Pleasant.

I used to like the slightly down-at-heel feel of the old restaurant, but the great decor in the new place has grown on me and as the prices are still really good I'm happy! (And the toilets are much nicer than they used to be!)

You can guarantee that if there are any big events happening in the city centre Kimos will be busy, so arrive early if you have something to go on to. On really busy occasions the downstairs room is also open for seating.

There is a real mix in the clientele, as it is middle eastern they don't serve pork so you get families looking for halal meals, students, workers in for business lunches and just about anyone who appreciates tasty food at good prices.

My favourites are the breakfasts and the tabbouleh, but this is a great place to find something a bit more out of the ordinary and more filling, such as Moroccan Harira or a dish made with okra.

• Added: 16th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Arts and Culture

Liverpool L1 4AQ
0151 709 9460

jennypea7 said
Open Eye Gallery
Open Eye Gallery is a photography gallery established in 1977 and currently located on Wood Street in the city centre. The gallery, which has moved location three times before, is due to relocate to the waterfront in 2009.

Although Open Eye Gallery was one of the UK's first photography galleries and still primarily focuses on photography, its exhibitions also include video and film installations. Recent exhibitions have featured work related to Liverpool and nearby: I enjoyed "The Water's Edge" portraits of women who have worked around the Liverpool waterfront. The coming exhibition as part of Liverpool Biennial 08 will again focus on local people - workers at the Jaguar car plant in Halewood.

The gallery often features exhibitions developed in collaboration with other organisations such as Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival, FACT, National Museums Liverpool, so that a whole programme of connected cultural activity can be accessed across the city.

This is a small gallery in comparison to others in the city, but is well worth a visit. In spring 2009 they will move to new premises at Mann Island where they plan to increase their exhibition space, develop workshops and courses in photography, and expand their programme of screenings and talks.

• Added: 11th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Arts and Culture

Liverpool L1 4DQ

jennypea7 said
Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT)
FACT is an arts centre housing galleries and cinemas, as well as a café and bar. The galleries show film, video and new media work by internationally known artists. Every two years you can catch Liverpool Biennial and in between exhibitions have included a retrospective of the development of video art through the Video Positive Festival, interative projections which react with users' shadows and work by Pipilotti Rist, one of Europe's leading female artists.

The work can sometimes feel a bit inaccessible to those used to flat paintings on a wall, but the interpretation and enthusiasm of the staff on hand to explain should you need, more than compensates for any confusion you may feel and once you get used to the idea that a moving image can be a painting too, it is easy to see this as art.

To support access to this world of new media art, workshops for schools, families and young people are run alongside the gallery programme and FACT also hosts tenantspin, an internet television channel devoted to discussing issues relevant to the communities of Liverpool whether this be culture, housing or political debates.

Picturehouse at FACT runs the cinemas, screening films from around the world including work from the Spanish Film Festival, the UK Jewish Film Festival and many others.

• Added: 10th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Food and Drink

Liverpool L18 9UU

jennypea7 said
Home Bargains
You'll always end up coming out with more than you bargained for...

This is the best place for recycled toilet rolls, I don't shop anywhere else.

You'll find branded, sometimes close date or time specific, (Christmas/Easter etc treats) food products as well as toiletries, over the counter medication, household and garden lines and toys here. As with most shops the toys are usually heavy on packaging and plastic but there are some quality things to be found.

You have to drop in on a regular basis and buy at the time if you want something as some items might not be there next time you are in. This is a great shop for money savers but remember that just because it is cheap(er) you don't _have_ to buy it - don't spend more than you can afford on products you don't really need!

• Added: 10th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Bars and Pubs

Liverpool L1 4DQ

jennypea7 said
FACT Bar
A good place to have a drink before or after watching a film, FACT's bar is on the first floor of the arts centre and you can buy beer on tap or bottled, wine and spirits as well as tea and coffee. They run film quizzes and host other special events around film releases. Because the building is licensed you can even take your drink into the cinema! The atmosphere is usually really laid back in the daytime, you often see older people playing cards or having a free cup of coffee after the 'silver screen' films and occasionally one of FACT's celebrity Patrons will be in there reading the paper too before popping in to the galleries to have a look around.

• Added: 10th of September 2008
• Area: Liverpool
• Category: Cafes and Coffee Shops

Liverpool L1 4DQ

jennypea7 said
Café at FACT
FACT's café is on the ground floor of FACT, an art gallery and cinema complex in the centre of Liverpool. It serves soups, salads, hot and cold sandwiches, jacket potatoes and nachos as well as the usual variety of hot and cold drinks to take out or eat in. If you do eat in you can also use the free wifi, there's always people typing away...

It is in a good location to drop into on the way to work, or to have a meeting out of the office, as it is open from 8am on weekdays and they have very tasty (and enormous) muffins and cakes as well as fruit salad and hot breakfast sandwiches. You can also buy alcohol and the centre is licensed so you can take your drink into the cinema!

And as FACT is a charity, any money you spend in the café goes to support the exhibitions and community collaboration work that FACT does.