Over the years we’ve seen Oval Farmers Market become smaller and less relevant, which is an inevitable symptom in the evolution of our cherished patch. Well, maybe not so inevitable given that a lot things there are overpriced. So we welcome the new outdoor market that’s popped up in Elephant Park. Elephant Park Market is in the new park located just south of Elephant Road, the home of some amazing South American joints and sometimes home to gentlemen who enjoy an outdoor beverage.
Elephant Park Market is a new neighbourhood market for street food and drink, artisanal food and designer-makers, bringing together and supporting independent, local, ethical and sustainable food producers and crafts traders (yes, we’ve cut and pasted from the press release). On our visit we saw traders selling cards, pastas, biltong, honey, juices, coffee, beauty products and, umm, pencils. We have a particular weakness for those soaps with things stuck in them which look strangely edible, and they’re on offer as well.
The Market at Elephant Park runs every weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 5, and features over 20 independent traders. But keep going as there is plenty of room for growth and it appears to be getting larger.
Nosh is one of those wonderfully overstuffed deli/sandwich joints that you really only get in London and New York, with every corner rammed with delicious looking oils, pastas, wines, and cheeses. Located at the top of Brixton Road, Nosh used to be Mimi’s Deli, best remembered for the giant murals depicting women eating pasta and balancing boiling cups of espresso on their heads. After a brief period of renewal it has now been reimagined as Nosh at Marcello’s. Fear not, dear reader, as Marcello is Mimi’s brother and he has the same enthusiastic fervour for his products as did his sister.
As an Italian deli Nosh sells the usual items of antipasti, meats, cheeses, pastas, wines and coffee. However, Bettina from IT and your scribe came for the sandwiches. It was Bettina’s wish to consume her sandwich at work, but as we’re already struggling to get dust, crumbs and wine stains out of our keyboards she settled for the small yet delightful seating area at the back of Nosh. She had the Italian sausage with roasted peppers, Napoletana sauce and mozzarella. She commented on the generous amount of filling saying it had the flavour profile of a sausage ragu in panini form. It was rich, filling and had a lovely sundried tomato tone to it.
Your scribe had a tuna melt in panini form which was so well dressed with parmigiana that we thought it had been dropped by accident. It was lightly grilled and served with a salad with balsamic glaze and Italian tomatoes. A lighter but no less filling feed than Bettina’s. At around £8 to £10 we thought it was good value considering that we live/work in central London and it’s independently owned. The café is adorned with some pleasing objet d’arts and is a prime spot for just a coffee or a tempting cannoli that you can inhale with one hand whilst gliding through Kennington Park.
Nosh also has a tempting array of dried pastas and sauces, oils, breads and panettone that would work well as Christmas gifts. They would also act as suitable pressies for Runoff staff. Just DM us.
When we take a needed break from our subterranean office beneath Kennington Cross we like to inspect the offerings at the never boring Gasworks Gallery in Oval. Previous exhibits have seen the space transformed into a gay cruising area, and another featured a giant Styrofoam coffin. The current show is called ‘Mirage’ and was created by Indonesian artist and filmmaker Riar Rizaldi.
The exhibit is composed of two film reels, and the first is Mirage – Eigenstate. It weaves together analogous investigations into the nature of reality, positioning western science as just one of many worldviews. The film then explores different interpretations of reality, from Sufi mysticism through to theories of quantum mechanics. We frankly have no idea what any of this means but the film is certainly nice to look at, with lots of Arabic fonts and words spinning around.
The second film is called Mirage – Metanoia which is set in a kind of 1970’s Hanna-Barbera retro cosmic animation, where astronauts survive rocket crashes and pixie/cricket creatures wax philosophical about the presence of god in atoms, as you do. Again the artist visits Sufi metaphysics by means of a lady crawling out of a crater. Both films are presented in an immersive setting which includes a lovely Persian tiled floor and a wall mural based on the teachings of a Persian mystic.
If this sounds like your kind of thing, and we really have no reason why it wouldn’t, Gasworks are putting on a symposium called ‘Strangelet’ over the weekend of 16 – 17 November and tickets are available on their website. The press release describes the symposium as ‘a weekend of presentations, talks, screenings and performances that are categorised as gharib which means ‘weird or strange’ in Sufism (no, we didn’t know that off the top of our heads).
They are also hosting a much less strange sounding breakfast exhibition tour on 27 November and tickets for that on are their website
Riar Rizaldi – Mirage is on now until 22 December and is totally free. And they have a lovely, popup giftshop as well.
In anticipation of our upcoming highly-scientific-yet-wholly-subjective Top 10 Best Places to Eat (+ one Sunday Roast) countdown in early 2025, we recently paid a visit to Kennington Cross stalwart The Tommyfield to inspect their Sunday Roast. The Tommyfield has had a few ups and downs with its kitchen over the years but here at Runoff Towers we think it’s on an up right now. Our last few weekday evening visits have seen us enjoy consistently good quality of output from the kitchen, whether it is the top notch pies or reliable burgers and fish & chips or some of the more adventurous offerings.
As getting Phil from Accounts to go to a pub in the daytime is about as easy as getting a cat to drink milk, he joined us for our roast experience. Phil had the pork belly and it was generous and nicely roasted, the carrots and parsnips were a concentration of roasted perfection, cabbage still had some bite (good) and the roast potatoes were crispy and neat. The gravy was of a high standard and served in a little jug which we had to remind Phil was not, in fact, a shot glass. It was thick and poured over the whole plate.
Your scribe had the chicken roast which was a huge slab of meat with a skin that was satisfyingly cooked almost to crackling stage. It was also served with carrots cooked just to the point of being sweet, roast potatoes, and cabbage. It was dutifully served with bread sauce and gravy. Note that the chicken roast doesn’t come with a Yorkshire pudding but can be ordered at an extra cost *wags finger and points at Tommyfield*, and this was our only gripe as everyone on planet earth loves a Yorkie.
We don’t see a Yorkie. Can you see a Yorkie?
The Sunday roasts also come in a beef and lentil format and are priced at £19. However, we took advantage of their special offer and for £20 had a roast and dessert. We had very fresh banoffee pies which we managed to convince ourselves was the healthy option as it had a banana stuck into it. The Tommyfield Roasts are delicious, but is it enough to dethrone 24 The Oval from its longstanding perch as best Roast in the area? All will be revealed in February.
The Tommyfield is also home to Always Be Comedy; a stonking comedy night that now runs most nights of the week. Over the years we’ve seen (oops better pick up that names we’re about to drop) Harry Hill, Romesh Ranganthan, Sara Pascoe and Joe Lycett, to name a few. And laughing with the people onstage is only half the fun, as all the punters resemble a giant casting call for the ‘Apprentice’.
The Runoff recently attended a consultation for the proposed development of what is probably the ugliest building in Greater Kennington. That of course is the Job Centre Plus at the corner of Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road, across from the post office. However, it appears that the new erection might just be uglier than the one it replaced, but we’ll leave that up to you.
Now you see, now you don’t!
409 Kennington Road is the name of the project proposed by Standard Securities Ltd, who now own the site, and their concept is to provide 200 student rooms over 16 floors. After consultation (this is where you come in) the build will commence in 2028 with completion the following year. The general rule of these developers is that that they sweeten the deal by telling local stakeholders that in a sense the building will be benefitting them. So with classic Runoff candour, at the consultation we handled this head on.
Developers – The ground floor will be commercial. Probably something like local businesses.
Us – You mean like Papa Johns? That’s a local business.
Developers – Ummm no. More like a place where local people can get together.
Us – Oh you mean like Starbucks?
Developers – Umm….no.
As a rule the Runoff doesn’t lodge an opinion on planning matters as we want to leave it up to our readers. However, as nice as it is to see rosy cheeked 20 years bopping around with their youthful exuberance and great hair, they don’t exactly contribute much to our community and have a niggling habit of moving on after a few years. There is already an abundance of student housing in Greater Kennington and we wonder if this is another example of cramming as many people as possible into a small space. In addition to the building being, well, brown.
The 409 Kennington team want to hear your thoughts, and this can be undertaken by giving feedback at the bottom of their website or emailing them at 409kenningtonroad@kandaConsulting.co.uk . But before you go all full Guardian reading NIMBY mode, remember that real people read these emails and the most effective course of action is subtle discretion. Just like us at the Runoff.
For the history buffs amongst you, for centuries the site was home to the beautiful Horns Tavern and a massive, 1000 seat assembly hall (where the present day Nisa foods current resides) next to it. A community gathering spot and the place where Surrey cricket club was founded, the Horns was rebuilt several times, most recently in 1887. It was bombed during the Blitz but the damaged building remained well into the 1960’s. But unlike mini skirts, Victorian architecture wasn’t exactly in vogue in 60’s Britain and the building was destroyed.
It is now established dogma that a place is in trouble when they start to have bingo nights. And they’re in even more trouble if anything they do involves a drag queen. So when our friends over at Kachori, the newish Indian in Elephant Park that we checked out last year, announced they will be having a drag bingo night, we knew that something very dire was happening and here’s how you can help.
Drag bingo is hosted by Party with Ginger and for £45 a head you have a two course, drag inspired meal (???!!) with free flowing prosecco. On top of a £10 admission this comes up to £110 a couple. Now we would never tell you how to spend your dosh, but for that kind of money we reckon you could get Ginger herself over to your gaff to rustle up a few curries while shouting out numbers. However, this for a good cause so please support them if you can by popping in for a poppadum or a drink. Drag Bingo at Karchori is on 30 October and tickets can be grabbed on their website.
Another reason we can’t allow Kachori to fall by the wayside is that its perhaps the only restaurant in London where you can eat the table wear. We kid you not.
Staying in Elephant Park and remaining on drag, a new bar and comedy club is opening and we couldn’t be more excited. The bar is listed as being gay, with cabaret and drag, but if that’s not your handbag the comedy appears to be more mixed. They’re having an opening party on 11 December and if you want to join the waiting list then enter your details over on their website. They fling open their majestic doors later this year, so stick that in the little sparkly diary we’ve been telling you to buy for ages.
When you wake up on a lazy Saturday the first thing that comes to mind probably isn’t ‘ooh I think I’ll pop out for a quick exhibit about psychological warfare’. So we might need to deploy a rather cunning sales job to convince you see the latest offering at the best museum we bet you’ve never been to, the Imperial War Museum.
We unfortunately live in a time of polarising political opinions where people constantly feel as if they have a moral high ground. Convincing a majority to engage in war therefore requires the use psychology in order to achieve a consensus. War and the Mind begins with what is referred to as ‘the fallacy of the righteous cause’ which can delude people into believing that war is something virtuous. This also works the other way, which brings to mind protests against the Iraq war in 2003.
The exhibit gets more personal as it progresses and delves into how psychological warfare is used to frighten and therefore weaken a population. This can be achieved by drones (more on that later), propaganda, rumours, gassing people, spying and cutting of essential services. And not to forget the psychological warfare perpetrated against soldiers in the field to demoralise them in the midst of terrifying situations.
On a lighter note, in a war zone danger and disorientation can confound the brain. So near the end of the exhibit theres a rather hilarious illustration of how mind altering drugs such as LSD are used as a means to determine how soldiers remain focused when they are, frankly, off their face. Don’t miss the film where soldiers are laughing so hard they can’t pick up their rifles. Now there’s a way to end armed conflict!
While this exhibit might not possess the unbridled fun of as scarfing down a pizza by the seaside, War and the Mind is on now until 25 April and is totally free. And (nerd alert!) for those of you who can’t get enough of the topic, from 7 November IWM will have en exhibit about the psychology of drone warfare.
Over the years our ever changing manor has been captured in many ways, and one of those is by music videos. The videos below depict our space over span of almost 40 years.
For those of a certain age the first video is of course ‘Come on Eileen’ by Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Circa 1982, after the first minute the video is shot at the corner of Brook Drive and Hayles Street near Elephant and Castle. Note the kids playing by the still existing bomb damage, later replaced by mid 80’s housing. The cornershop featured sadly didn’t survive the pandemic.
Our second video is ‘Marks to Prove It’ by the sadly defunct band Maccabees and depicts an Elephant and Castle in 2015 which was already in a confusing and quite bewildering stage of redevelopment. We must admit to a slight bias in this case as we’ve seen these boys at Glastonbury, but is very unlike us to brag.
Our final video ‘Anakin’ from the grime artist Blanco and was shot in the Kennington Estate close to Oval in 2020. Note the shops in Kennington Park Road. The three videos are testament to our dynamic and ever changing environment.
Chocolate Dino Company is an independent bakery/sandwich joint/cocktail bar (whew) in Kennington Road. Owned by two local guys who live behind the place, we last visited Dino for a sweet treat during their embryonic opening days. Now that they’re established we’re revisiting for their savoury options….and of course to enjoy another giant cookie.
When entering their very stylish premises, what you initially encounter are voluminous offerings of croissants with various fillings, brownies, muffins, cookies, and things made to look vaguely healthy by the inclusion of a piece of fruit. But we were here for savoury fare, and Karen from Finance chose the bacon and egg bagel with cheese, which she excitedly chose to have toasted. It was presented with two omelette style eggs and the bacon was proper and crispy. The sauce was in a Dino manner properly inventive and involved sweet onion jam and Sriracha mayonnaise.
Your scribe enjoyed a pastrami bagel with caramelised onion, pickles, and a mustard/mayo sauce. It was generously stuffed and kept us going through the endless stream of faxes received later in the day. These particular bagels might not be available when you visit, but they will doubtless have other offerings and the boys can talk you through the options. And as we have the discipline of an unneutered cat, we of course had a white chocolate cookie with an strange looking yet delicious smear. Heated to perfection.
We tried to upload images of our bagels but they rather looked like snaps from a prison canteen. Please enjoy these stock photos from their Insta feed.
Dino is an independent bakery/restaurant/bar and they’re throwing everything they can to exist in a very crowded and increasingly uncompetitive market. Their price point for baked goods (£5 for an eat in cookie) puts them very much at the ‘gourmet’ end of the market, but you can easily pop over for a coffee or something at the lower end of their price spectrum. And in a way a trip to Dino can be quite efficient, as where else can you knock out two sins by eating a cookie and drinking a glass of wine at the same time?
Chocolate Dino Company is open Thursday to Sunday. Check out their socials for the precise timings.
Do you ever find yourself in aisle five at Tesco and want to shout out at the top of your lungs ‘what am I DOING HERE’? Well you’re in good company, and that is where the well established food cooperative called ‘Fareshares’ in Walworth is about to come into your life to help, and we’re here to tell you all about it.
Fareshares emerged from the thriving squatting movement established in the Pullens Estate in the 1980’s (and we wrote about it a few years ago) and continues as a volunteer based experiment to provide mutual aid and as a counterbalance to capitalist shopping. Most items are sold at 15% above cost and overheads are kept to a minimum, as there are no shareholders or profit, and the place is run more or less like a cooperative. All foods sold are animal, sugar and GMO free. And, when possible, organic and locally sourced.
We recently paid Fareshares a return visit and what struck us was the abiding sense of family, support, and joy that permeated the place. We saw a range of veg, lentils, seeds, pantry staples, rice, and even (eco) cleaning products. We also saw few things that we didn’t know existed, so we just flung our hair back and said ‘great for a salad!’. The best place to find out about their current offerings is their Instagram feed and website. And at the end of the day, wouldn’t you find fishing your pulses out of giant bins quietly rewarding?
As Fareshares is volunteer based, on a previous visit we asked how our illustrious readership can get involved. Before even finishing the question, the reply was ‘money’, which means ‘please do at least part of your weekly shop with us’. However, there are also ways to get involved by working the till, stock taking, or helping to clean up. They can be contacted by their social media feeds or just by popping into the shop and talking to them. But be aware that they trade for only a few hours at the end of the week. Hours below. Finally, we asked the volunteers if all hell would break loose if a person rocked up with a Tesco bag for life. They confirmed that this would be acceptable, and in a strange way even collectively embraced by the family of customers.
Fareshares also operate a Museum of Anarchy and bike repair shop, as you do, at the back. It is all open Thus 2-8pm Fri 4-7pm Sat 3-5pm
