Author Archives: Kennington Runoff

Greengrassi Gallery

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We have to admit that we were only made aware of this Kennington gallery by a tourist website (and its usually them nicking ours ideas). So after we did a bit of research we discovered that Greengrassi is a rather enigmatic independent gallery with rotating exhibits by groundbreaking artists such as Turner Prize winner Tomma Abts. So under the guise of sunhatted local art aficionados, we recently popped over to inspect their latest offering, ‘nightlight’ (poor punctuation not ours) by Karin Ruggaber and Simon Ling. 

Karin Ruggaber is a professor at Slade and works in sculpture. Working with a range of different media, her work explores aspects of touch, feeling, and our relationship to architecture. She’s been exhibited at Tate Modern so she probably knows what she’s talking about. Simon Ling is a studio based painter who depicts materials mostly found but sometimes made. Ling’s subjects include rotting pieces of wood, undergrowth and (stick with us) circuit boards. He gives these unloved items a sense of agency by adding beauty, thereby making them valued again. 

Karin’s work at Greengrassi is an edit of 75 photos she took following in the footsteps of two amateur photographers in Rome in the early 20th century. The pictures depict fountains and buildings in Rome and are manipulated into quite stunning and tiny sepia/silvery images. Simon’s quite monumental paintings depict rotting and unwanted plants in a setting somewhat like a deserted garden centre. In a sense these captured plants exist somewhere between life and death and create a dystopian yet optimistic view or our green world. 

Greengrassi is at 1A Kempsford Road behind the Cotton’s Garden Estate and is totally free and open to the public. It is located behind some rather sinister looking black doors but don’t let that put you off! Open Tuesday to Saturday 12-6. nighlight is on until 29 July. 

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Return of the Duchy Arms

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We sometimes worry about the fate the Duchy Arms pub in Sandcroft street as it suffers from BPL syndrome (Bad Pub Location) and people forget that it exists. It also appears to have had more chefs than Boris Johnson has kids.  However, it very much does still exist and has a huge beer garden for us all to enjoy in this warm weather. 

When we arrived we were a bit unsettled by the lack of people in the garden (which used to be a car park). That didn’t prevent us from drinking quickly and then ordering food. Your scribe chose from the a la carte menu and had the breast of chicken with roasted potatoes. The substantial chicken was lemony and lightly crusted and served with a rich and creamy wild mushroom sauce. The roasted potatoes were slightly peppery and pleasingly greasy. Our new intern Pam had the creamy mussels marinière which she deemed to be good quality and generously sized, with plenty of garlic.

Phil from accounts chose from the pub menu as he spends most of his life in pubs and it offered pub classics: burgers, fish and chips. The burgers were also substantial and featured bacon and cheddar as standard. The meat patties were thick and homemade, there was a good Mac-style burger sauce, and the fries alongside were decent. However, when we asked the server if the fries had ever been in a VERY cold place she giggled and changed the topic. As the evening continued it appeared that the BPL curse had been lifted as the Duchy began to fill up with people relaxing after working out, dates, and people generally out for a good time. 

In addition to the satisfying food and quiet atmosphere, the Duchy also has nice staff and they even brought our drinks to the table. And if that isn’t good enough, all of their meat is sourced from PJ Frankland & Sons in Vauxhall. And you haven’t discovered it yet, then get with the programme as Franklands is a friendly family business run by a sister and brother.

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Brian Clarke at Newport St.

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Most of us equate stained glass with ecclesiastical feelings of guilt, forgiveness, penitence and, in our case, parental disappointment that we’ve chosen to work at a publishing house that might not actually exist. However, the newest offering at Vauxhall’s Newport Street Gallery takes stained glass out of the church and challenges us to consider it as a stand alone form of art, and we’ve just checked it out for you. 

Brian Clarke is regarded as the most significant figure working in stained glass today and the current show, ‘A Great Light’, is an overview of his output over the past 20 years. On the ground floor we encounter a quite mesmerising new work called ‘Ardath’, a huge wall of mouth blown glass depicting a floating, flowering meadow in springtime. A selection of Matisse like cut outs complement the work on the opposite wall. The other downstairs rooms feature skulls in a variety of settings. 

Upstairs we are presented first with an aquatic theme, in which a warship and men on a beach appear to be oscillating and moving in dot matrix compositions. The final rooms are the most interesting, and consist of a series of folding screens which possess a kind of ethereal beauty. Screens are intended to prevent us from seeing something, but these screens invite us to look through them with their depictions of jellyfish, heraldry, and flowers. Also in these galleries are smaller, jewel like panels presented on plinths. 

A Great Light is foremost an uplifting and life affirming body of work (in spite of the skulls) and feels quite appropriate for a sunny summer’s day. And if you don’t like stained glass they have an ace selection of merch to make your friends think you’re a real art connoisseur. 

Brian Clark, A Great Light is open now until 24 September at the Newport St. Gallery and is totally free. Just turn up.

Some of the merch
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Mystery of the Vacant Lot

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Ever wondered about the existence and future of that giant gravelled eyesore of a vacant lot next to the Beefeater Distillery in Montford place? Well we’ve just been on a tour with the developers and we’re here to fill you in on what’s in store

For many years the site was occupied by Hayward’s pickle factory until it was partially destroyed in 1944. The bit that survived lives on as the Beefeater Factory. After changing hands a number of times, the lot next to it was purchased by TfL in order to have a place to store equipment and lorries working on the Northern Line extension. TfL have now partnered with Grainger Homes to deliver 139 homes, 40% of which will be dedicated to affordable living. It will be 11 floors and occupy most of the footprint of the site, with grasses and trees included. Construction will started by the end of 2023 and it will be called Montford Mews

Not what it will look like, This is the pickle factory

My first question to very peppy and well informed TfL developer Susanne is probably the question that almost all Runoff readers are thinking right now. Namely, what do you call ‘affordable’ and why is it that only people in high earning jobs appear to be living in these allegedly affordable flats? She said that Lambeth Living determine what is affordable and it is usually between 40 to 60% of the market rate. She added that people are allocated the flats based on their earnings the previous year and preference is given for people already living or working in Lambeth. 

  • Gripping site photos

On our previous tours of Oval Village across the road we asked about access to the general public and if people will offer a short cut between Kennington Lane and the Oval. They confirmed that it will, and Susanne confirmed that the public will be able to walk through the Montford site as well. There will be businesses on the ground floor, but they will be light industrial (ie offices). We were heartened to discover that the affordable living people living in the affordable flats will have access to the same amenities (gym, etc) as folks paying the full whack.  

Susanne also mentioned another very similar project that will see 450 (!!) new homes built above Nine Elms tube station. However, dear reader, it was long ago we became unable to keep up with the vertical insanity of Vauxhall,  so if you want more details click here.

Planning permission has been granted for both the Montfort and Nine Elms sites. But please don’t ask us to weigh in on planning consent as we did that once and we still can’t get that toothpaste back in it’s tube. 

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Pot and Rice

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As a Runoff rule, when we hear the name ‘pan’ added to any restaurant cuisine we run and hide for cover. However, we’ve been hearing favourable things about pan Asian joint Pot and Rice and we recently checked it out for you. Pot and Rice can be found hipster foodie haven Sayer Street (as it turns out sadly not named after the washed up 70’s pop star) in Elephant and Castle. 

We’re big believers in sticking to what a restaurant does best, and in the case of Pot and Rice it has to be their traditional clay pot rice dishes. These bowls of goodness are a staple in south China and adjoining countries such as Laos and Vietnam. If rice isn’t your thing they also offer a selection of Udon dishes, Cheung fun, and Bao buns. But you’re on your own with those. 

Your scribe and dining partner Karen from Finance started with four beef dumplings, which were well grilled and heartily stuffed. I continued by ordering the chicken and shitake mushroom pot, filled with a ginger and soy marianated chicken thigh, and a combination of dry and fresh mushrooms with a topping of spring onion. The pots come with an ample side of soy sauce, which boiled and sizzled when poured into the aforementioned pot.  

For her mains, Karen opted for the Chinese sausage and chicken pot, with the chicken also marinated in soy sauce. The sausage was made from duck, and the deep flavour of the fat bled into the rice mixture. It was topped with some broccoli which pleasingly created the illusion that you were eating something healthy. The pot is actually hot in the very literal sense, resulting in lovely, chewy burned rice at the edges, so a bit like a Chinese paella. Karen so eagerly consumed her clay pot dish that she then had a go at mine. This resulted in an unsightly yet very entertaining sword fight involving chop sticks and flying soy sauce. Wine may or may not have been consumed. 

Pot and Rice has a casual and informal atmosphere with ambient music and well drilled, informed wait staff. There were also a number of patrons speaking Cantonese/Mandarin which is an accolade in itself, with a smattering of East Asian students.  Best of all, it’s a family run business. 

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Bank Holiday Fun

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Looking for something to undertake over the May bank holiday? We’ve just been sent the press release for The Chelsea Fringe Festival taking place this weekend in Elephant Park. Link below. It does have the uncomforting whiff of an event organised by a multinational property development company. But it has free stuff and as regular readers are well aware we here at the Runoff regularly lower our standards. In fact we have a banner above our desks reading ‘we’re all cheap our prices are just different’.  And it looks like the new square will be pretty vibrant with live music and the like. 

Unfortunately the cocktail masterclass is sold out, but one is being held at hipster haven Bobo Social, who do have some killer cocktails. We love Bobo if for no other reason than it sounds like the name that some posh lady gives to a tiny dog sticking out of her handbag (Bobo, STOP THAT).  While you’re in that neck of the woods check out our reviews of great pizza joint 400 Rabbits, retro gaming haven 4 Quarters, Central Chinese Murger Han, and Brazilian brunch spot Tupi. All worthy stop offs. We do get around, don’t we? 

Chelsea Fringe is this Saturday, the 27th, from 1 to 6. 

https://www.elephantpark.co.uk/eat-drink-and-shop/events-and-fun/chelsea-fringe-at-elephant-park/

Sausanna and Nine Elms Laundry

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Next time you pop over to the big Sainsburys at the top of Wandsworth Road in Vauxhall, look across the street and beyond the soulless high rises that surround you. If you were in that spot 150 years ago you would have been met by raucous female ex convicts and the smell of starch and soap. This is all due to an extraordinary enterprise by a campaigner named Sarah Meredith, and we’re about to tell you what she did. 

When forced deportation of prisoners to Australia was outlawed in 1857, the government had to decide how to reintegrate people who had served their time. Work for men was plentiful in places such as factories, but a unique dilemma was posed for females. People didn’t want them working in their homes for reasons of trust, and Susanna was aware of this. She started Nine Elms Laundry in a disused and shabby Victorian building with a goal of giving jobs exclusively to women who were trying to piece their lives back together. 

Some women lived at the laundry and others commuted to their daily 10 hour shift. The rules of the laundry were prominently displayed but not enforced punitively. These included no alcohol or money on site, and the expectation that they would not leave the premises without permission. Women who served a subsequent sentence were not judged and welcomed back into the fold after they’d served their time. Women from all denominations were accepted, which was unusual at the time. 

The laundry was arranged as a self financing enterprise with mostly middle class patrons. Such was the success of the business that Sarah was able to offer to clean the clothes of poor people in Vauxhall at a discounted rate. This was crucial at a time in which your appearance alone could determine whether you could put food on the table. Susanna was also able to off free laundry services to people living with infectious diseases. 

Records show that Susanna and her sister were living in South Lambeth Road at the time so were close enough to keep an eye on the shop and give a little extra support to the vulnerable women in her employ. We all need a Susanna Meredith in out lives now and again, and we hope there are more folks out there like her. 

Thank you to the good people over at Vauxhall History who wrote most of this article. They are a great place to explore.

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City & Guilds Foundation Show

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Another milestone has arrived on the Greater Kennington cultural calendar (it’s a thing, trust us).   City and Guilds of London Art School is having its annual show and we’re on the case. These 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. Dirt 3. Saving the planet through dirt 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 ‘it’s about IDENTITY’. Or make it newsworthy by saying ‘what’s wrong with you, it’s about THE PRICE OF EGGS’. 

24 to 30 June brings 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 larger 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 are the upper floor areas dealing with conservation and restoration. And if you don’t care for something keep your trap shut as chances are the artist is behind you. And there is an even bigger MA show from 2 to 9 September. 

`The Foundation show is open 18,19 and 20 May from 10 – 5 in the old telephone building in Kenning’s Way and is totally free. Of the three, we find this the most fun as you never know what you might encounter when you turn a corner. For example, an armchair sprouting grass (below) or fake children worshipping broken glass (also below).

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An Homage to Oval Farmer’s Market

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Greater Kennington businesses come and go and contribute to the eclectic framework of our anointed patch. However, when some of these places become part of our identity we need to fight to keep them. One of these is Oval Farmers Market, which in our opinion has never really recovered from the pandemic. At one point it stretched around St. Mark’s Church in Oval, and now it has reduced to a much smaller patch in front of the church. Nevertheless, they still have some very unique offerings and are worth your custom. 

If you haven’t been to the Market in a while most of the old standards are still on offer; olives, biltong, a range of gluten free things, cheese stalls, fresh fish, coffees, organic wine, and meats. The large veg stall that used to be there is no more, but a few smaller ones compensate for it. There is also a French/Caribbean food stall that looked pretty delicious and has the buzz. 

After a recent visit we popped across the street to an old favourite,  Mimis Deli, with memories of a delicious sandwich we had there which was the size of a baby’s leg. The former seating area at the back now includes a very tempting Italian food market/gift shop scenario, which is more experimental than Italo Vauxhall. We ate our mighty ciabatta wrapped sandwiches snugly in Kennington Park in the company of runners who had obviously never eaten a bay leg sized meatball marinara sandwich in their lives.

Oval Farmers Market is open on Saturday from 10 – 3 and a few stalls are open later in the week. We’re aware that we are in a cost of living crisis and buying a chunk of cheese for £8 might not be the top of your priority list. But there are more affordable offerings. Sourdough, anyone?

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Ginger Provisions

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By @milestothegallon

Today we hand over our exceedingly slippy reins to guest editor and noted vegan Miles. Miles is apparently another of our work experience staff here at the Runoff who must be lost in our labyrinthine complex beneath Kennington Cross as we’ve never met him in the flesh. We appreciate his erudite review, below, and hope he’s found his way out.  

So following their remodelling of the Zeitgeist  and the creation of sandwich bar Simply Bread, the team at the Jolly Gardeners have bought what was Millar’s General Store… and rebranded it ‘Ginger Provisions’ – maybe another sly fanboy wave at titian lovely Mick Hucknall? Or maybe not. 

Either way, I was finally allowed on my first mission out of Runoff Towers, having spent the first six months of my placement in the ‘reprographics suite’ – or the photocopier on the fourth floor. 

To my and a lot of my neighbours shame, we had kind of thought that Millar’s General Store had given up the ghost during the lockdown, as we huddled outside the various Sainsbury’s Local, and Tesco Express, waiting for Ocado to start delivering again. 

As it happens, Millars thrived across this period (they told me), but as the labour of love of one chap (presumably Mr Millar), when the Jollys came a-knocking , he was interested in selling. This wasn’t before he had introduced an Ecover refill station, sourced a delicious bread supplier in Tottenham (which I guess counts as local these days) and maintained the best stock of fresh veg this side of New Covent Garden Market. 

Millars was also the purveyor of an excellent range of vegan foods –  with real thought into what was available, from ready meals, to vegan cheese, to basics like yeast flakes and vegan fish oil. Along with a wine section and regular cheeses, Millar’s packed a huge variety into a tiny space, and was very reasonably priced – especially when you realise that most of fruit and vegetables was organic. 

So how is Ginger Provisions any different? Well since the sale was announced, the stock of Millers was being run down – as a weekly visitor, I would see things that I had bought not being replaced.  Following the reopening, the old shop has been moved forty five degrees counter clockwise, so that the counter is now at the back, bread on the other side of the window.

This has allowed them to squeeze in another fridge, which is going to be used to sell ready meals made by the kitchens of the Jolly Gardeners. There was only one available when I popped by, which was roasted vegetables and giant couscous. That was delicious, but being the rookie reporter that I am I forgot to take a photograph, so you’ll just have to take my word for it. 

Other than this and the big ‘EasyJet’ coloured sign outside, there wasn’t much else changed, certainly in the case of stock. The shop rearrange has made the space more negotiable and make more sense, but there didn’t seem to be anything else new bought in – they promised me that they would be continuing a ‘full vegan range’. The refill station had been dumped behind a display unit, and I was just able to refill my multi-surface cleaner bottle.