Category Archives: events

Roots and Shoots Goes Wild

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As our local climate slowly gravitates in the direction of semi normality after the drought, we could all use a little green patch in our lives. And what better than local institution Roots and Shoots and their annual open day called ‘Roots and Shoots Goes Wild!’. 

For those not in the know, Roots and Shoots is a registered charity and vocational hub dedicated to educating disaffected young people aged 16 -25 in Lambeth and Southwark and preparing them for the world of work through one year internships in areas such as horticulture and retail.  It’s also a green space for urban biodiversity and is frequently visited by school groups eager to learn more about plants and how much of our food is grown. In addition to all of this good work, it’s open to all for a wonder around its verdant and leafy half acre.

The Open Day is on Sunday, 9 October from 11-4. It features a display of Birds of Prey (don’t worry, they won’t prey on you), children’s storytelling, face painting, children’s art, and workshops. Also featured are beekeeping and floristry demonstrations which we saw several years ago and are very interesting indeed. There will also be food stalls and baked goods. We’re particularly interested in their promised ‘mechanical dragon’. This could refer simply to small dragonfly to enchant the kids, but we’re secretly hoping for a Komodo that pops out from behind an Oak, resulting in general chaos and people running out of the gates. 

We attended the Roots AGM a few years ago and they always have interesting things afoot. But, and we say this because we care, we hope that ‘going wild’ refers to plants and not the staff as this might result in more than a few broken hips. But, broken hips are not, these great volunteers will be on hand to answer all of your questions and ensure it’s a great day. 

Beaconsfield Gallery

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We have an intriguing exhibit and sauna (?) to tell you about at the ever avant garde Beaconsfield Gallery in Newport St. The exhibit is ‘Monica Soo – The time is NOW and it is overdue!’. Soo was a feminist Swedish painter who explored subjects which are now researched and discussed but were at the time still mostly not part of the common vernacular. Namely, anguish about the environment, systemic violence against women, and non binary ways of living. This is told through the vehicle of the celebration of the Goddess culture. This isn’t the most uplifting giggle of an exhibit, but it is thought provoking and in a way is even immersive, as the paintings and drawings snake up the wall. 

Sticking with all things Scandi, also being exhibited is ‘The Finnish Sauna’, created by architect Sami Rintala in collaboration with architecture students from the University of Westminster. We had a chin wag with gallery staff about just how in the world a mobile sauna ended up in their car park, and they explained that it has been transferred from the London Festival of Architecture, who they have collaborated with for years. Inside you’ll find all of the usual accoutrement associated with a sauna, such as coals and a giant ladle to pour water over your head. Also in the car park is a watchtower associated with the Soo exhibit. We’re not sure what it was for, but it afforded sweeping views towards Pimlico Plumbers. 

Monica Soo – The time is NOW is open until 10 September and the Sauna until October, and private bookings for the sauna can be found here. When a show is on (which isn’t very often) Beaconsfield Gallery is open Wednesday – Saturday from 12-5 and is totally free. However, getting inside the sauna costs £20 and Runoff bosses refused to sign off on it. Perhaps we approached the topic wrong when we said ‘please give us 20 quid to visit a sauna in Vauxhall’. We’ll try to be more subtle in future. 

Summer Fun in Greater Kennington and Beyond

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Its summertime and we’re on board to tell you about two free (and we love free) festivals and the first is this Sunday (the 10th) in Kennington Park. We attended the Kennington Park Festival a few years ago and departed quickly after feeling like we’d just crashed a poorly attended family reunion. However, thanks to the guilty conscience of Berkeley Homes it is now properly funded and looks to be back with a vengeance. This is a family friendly event so one can expect face painting, non scary clowns, organised games, music, dancing and of course some pretty yummy looking food stalls. 

If you’re a regular reader you’ll be aware that we greatly caution against leaving Greater Kennington. However, if you do so just once in your life you could do a lot worse than attend the fantastic Lambeth Country Fair. This massive soiree accommodates over 100,000 people and includes a mind boggling selection of food stalls, bars, loads of music and stages, real life farm animals, and a fun fair. And the best bit is that the activities reflect the diversity and eclectisim of Lambeth. Our favourite bit is the competition where people carve their garden veg into famous people or pieces of anatomy. This bit of the Fair is so heralded that its been written about in Time Out

Lambeth Country Fair is next weekend (16 and 17 July) in Brockwell Park. Our top tip for this fandango is that if you happen to own a car don’t use it as you’ll still be looking for a parking spot come Christmas. Plus, you won’t be able to enjoy all the great craft beer on offer. 

Bee Urban

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If you’ve ever seen people at the back of Kennington Park who appear to be cleaning up following a small nuclear accident, they are in fact beekeepers tending to their buzzy brood at social enterprise Bee Urban, and we’re here to tell you about them. 

Bee Urban is a secret garden and bee sanctuary located behind the pavilion in Kennington Park. We recently totted over to have a conversation with manager Barnaby to find out more about their good deeds. Bee Urban has at its core a goal of promoting positive, ecologically sound gardening and greening with a focus on farming and the preservation of our buzzy friends. They are particularly skilled in offering courses and training for vulnerable people and kids, but also for the larger community (on our visit they were having a honey beer tasting). 

Bee Urban is not only a free lovely refuge from our urban lives but also a place to stroll, contemplate, and to purchase honey and other accessories associated with bees. It’s also a place to get stung by a bee but we’re sure you can avoid that. There are also many ways to get involved on their website. And if you don’t like dirty hands, you can get involved by making (and buying) honey or courses dedicated community gardening and biodiversity.  On our visit we saw on sale honey candles, soaps, moisturisers and honey comb. And in a few days it will be high season to buy Kennington branded honey (yes, it’s a thing). The best way to find out about these is via their Insta or Facebook feeds

Apologies for the slight delay in posting but we recently had our annual team building long weekend at Glastonbury. It went off without a hitch other than Phil from accounts who, after grabbing ciders during Diana Ross, claims to have been lost for five hours. We also flew this flag our our MD’s head but we don’t think he was buying it. 

North Lambeth Parish Fete

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The North Lambeth Parish Fete is coming up on Saturday and if we weren’t on a team building retreat (more on that later) we wouldn’t miss it. It’s  the new incarnation of the dearly departed Cleaver Square Festival. Fortunately it’s now much larger thanks to the intervention of Daniel Cobb and none other than Jesus Christ himself. 

While we may have never been to this Fete, we have been to the gardens of Lambeth Palace and they are stunning, extensive and almost never open to the public. The price of the ticket itself (£4) justifies a wander around.   According to our sources, the Fete is more kid friendly than its Cleaver processor and is known for its dog show and features prizes, including fastest sausage eater and least obedient (we assume these prizes are for the dogs and not humans). There is also face painting, live music, and races for the kids. And if you don’t like kids there’s a Pimms tent to keep you sane. And if you do have kids there’s a Pimms tent to keep you sane. And there are a number of local food stalls available looking pretty delish to us. 

The Fete is this Saturday, (25 June) from 12-5. To whet your appetite we found this totally manic video on YouTube. Did somebody say ‘free coffee mugs’?

And we would be absolutely thrilled to join you for this event but, alas, we will be on a team building long weekend at Glastonbury which will prove memorable. Or perhaps unrememberable. Look out for our pics on social media and please don’t hate us. *drops mic and leaves the room*

Cricket for the Cricketless

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If you’re a regular Runoff reader (and if you are, congratulations) then you might be aware that we are not the sportiest of offices. Just last summer during our staff picnic in Kennington Park, a young man asked Phil from accounts to kick his ball back and Phil suffered a panic attack requiring medical intervention. Having said that, we know there is a world class Oval pitch in beloved patch and we recently checked it out for you. Sort of. 

Our overall mission at Kia Oval was to see if cricket was a fun event for people who aren’t actually that interested in the game, in case someone invites you. The demographic was an eclectic mix of white middle class thirty somethings who apparently had just come from work, and usually in small groups. That doesn’t define us but we fit in nevertheless. There are a number of activates to busy yourself other than watching the game such as a raffle, catching a ball to win £1000, or finding the best looking player and simply Googling ‘shirtless’ after their name. For the uninitiated it is also interesting to notice the huge amount of security on the pitch, perhaps anticipating the moment when Tarquin flings an orange slice out of his Pimms. 

What surprised us most about our trip to the Oval was the vast selection of quality food and drink available. The street food stalls were organised by the uber on trend street food specialists ‘KERB’, and we saw stalls selling souvalki (which we recommend), pizza, curry, pies, venison burgers, jerk chicken and other fare. On the drinks front there was a vast array of lagers and ciders available, in addition to wines and even a cocktail bar. As you might expect from a sports venue this stuff doesn’t come cheap, with a wrap costing £9 and a pint coming in at £7. However, you can bring you own food (but not booze). 

The event we attended was T20 cricket and there are future dates listed here. It was on a weekday evening and was all over by 9:15. While you might not want to attend with a group of people who don’t know what they are looking at, if invited by a fan it’s a fun to learn more about the sport. 

And through all of the excitement, Phil finally overcame his phobia of objects being hurled at him by catching a T-shirt thrown from the boot of a Kia Sportage. 

Bearpit Karaoke

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It seems like such a distant memory now…The Queen having tea with Paddington Bear, Prince Louis clasping his ears in agonising pain, and performances from faded pop stars who now look rather like those statues on Easter Island. But fear not Greater Kenningtonians, as there is always fun around the corner.

No, it isn’t Catherine Tate

Last summer when we took our roller suitcase over to Majestic in Vauxhall to stock up for our next Runoff ‘business meeting’, we noticed something curious in the Pleasure Gardens- there was a large audience and people were having a great time with an MC and a karaoke machine. As it turns out it was ‘Bear Pit Karaoke’ and it’s coming back this weekend. The press release states ‘Come and strut your stuff at Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens with karaoke anthems, lots of energy and even more singing (some of it in tune!) – this is not to be missed. Bring mates, stay for the atmosphere and the odd car crash’. The bit we saw looked like great, if sometimes cringeworthy, fun and a laugh for people of all ages. 

Bear Pit Karaoke takes place this Saturday (11th) from 3 to 7 and then on 16 July, 13 August, and 10 September. It’s located at that sketchy bit at the end of the Pleasure Gardens where you indeed might be accustomed to seeing people singing, but for once it won’t be men on their own bursting into song while gripping a bottle of ‘White Lightning’. 

This is sponsored by Vauxhall One and is totally free, just turn up. 

Bonnington Square Platinum Party – Friday

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This just popped up in one of our feeds. This is open to all (and how we do love free stuff) and is set in the lush and rather beautiful Vauxhall oasis that is Bonnington Square. There should be signs into this garden.

We notice with intrigue and scintillation that this is being sponsored by notorious nightclub ‘Fire’. While it would be fascinating to have lasers, smoke machines and scantily clad podium dancers in the Square, it sounds like what you’ll be getting is some very fine music and poetry. And open to everyone!

Foundation Show Frolics

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Hot off the heals from Craft Week,  City and Guilds of London Art School is at it again and having it’s annual show and we’ve had an inspection. The artists are completing their foundation year, so the work is less advanced than the much grander Degree Show (we’ll get on to that in a tic). The students are studying a more proscribed range of styles than their more advanced counterparts but are much more experimental (read, slightly mad but very interesting). The themes this year seem to be 1. Saving the planet 2. Handbags   3. Saving the planet through handbags 4. Rocks. If you want to impress your friends bring them along and when they invariably  ask ‘well, what DOES it mean’, try rolling your eyes and saying ‘its about IDENTITY’. If that doesn’t work try ‘can’t you see, it’s about UKRAINE’. 

The Foundation show is on tomorrow (Friday the 20th) from 10 – 5 and Saturday 10 – 5. It’s  in the old telephone building in Kennings Way

On 29 June to 3 July is the mighty (we’re talking huge) Degree Show in the main buildings of the college. It showcases a range of up and coming artists arranged in small rooms, so you can see a selection of their works. What we find most interesting is that you can see the work of historic wood and stone carvers in the back garden area. Also of interest is the areas dealing with conservation and restoration on the upper floors. And if you don’t care for something keep your trap shut as chances are the artist is behind you!

Getting Crafty @ City&Guilds

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Another high point on the Greater Kennington cultural calendar takes place this weekend and we’re here to tell you about it. City and Guilds in Kennington Park Road are taking part in London Craft week on Friday and Saturday and it looks as if they are hosting a number of free (and we love free) events and demonstrations. 

Various studios around C&GLAS will be open exhibiting a range of crafts and showing how stuff is made. In the paper studio students and tutors will be on hand to show paper related demonstrations and discuss paper conservation. In the printmaking studio, the head of printmaking will be hosting several (sadly now booked) workshops but others will be on hand giving demonstrations of different kinds of printing such as intaglio. We’ve been in this studio, and it is a fascinating space. Outside, students will be giving demonstrations of wood and stone carving and you can even have a go at carving yourself! Apparently there is a carving competition among students as well. This sounds frighteningly dangerous, but somebody losing a half a finger could be interesting nevertheless. 

The press release enticingly mentions a free talk and tasting event sponsored by Fabal Lager (we’ve never heard of them either) on Saturday afternoon which sounds fun. Indeed, we reached out to City and Guilds to see if they were having a launch event featuring free wine and canapés which might just influence our review. Their response was ‘no’, but we’ve picked up the pieces of our shattered dream and moved on with our lives. 

No ticket is required for this event, just turn up.