Surreptitiously observing Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant since 2012. We're fiercely independent and never boring.
Goding Street is the unloved passage that sits between Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and the railway tracks. One associates the place with visions of wheelie bins, nitrous oxide canisters, and gentlemen who enjoy an outdoor beverage. What one doesn’t associate with the place is a world food fest, but one is about happen on Saturday the 28th! It’s free and we all love free. Details below.
We don’t have a great deal of intel about this event but it’s being sponsored by the Mayor of London and the good folks over at Vauxhall One so it should be quite well organised. The vendors will be from all around London so not necessarily local, but nevertheless small businesses who could use our trade. And hopefully it will be a mild night, allowing all of us to become people who enjoy an outdoor beverage.
If you Google this event it will lead you to an Eventbrite page stating that it is sold out. Ignore that as its free and outdoors.
Fun fact/useless information. A number of years ago we got to talking to some people who lived in the neighbourhood that was bulldozed in the 70’s to create the Vauxhall Gardens. Apparently Goding street is pronounced ‘Godding’ as opposed to ‘Godeing’. You’re welcome.
New recruit Gaz from the tech team chose the biryani for his mains and was pleased to see this arrive with an intact thin pastry top. Keen to impart knowledge in the real world, he noted that the pasty wasn’t really for eating (although can be) but instead for sealing the flavour during a gentle cooking process, giving it a super delicious taste. Gaz opted for the lamb version (chicken or vegetable also available). As his mouth was full of rice and Cobra beer, he proffered a thumbs up to the generous chunks of lamb in amongst the rice, vegetables and spices. When he was able to speak Gaz encouraged folks to add a serving of dahl for that rice-and-lentil magic.
Your scribe opted for the Bombay parsi chicken dansak. It was a spicy and sweet balanced chicken, cooked very slowly and mixed with jaggery (Indian cane sugar), lentils, garlic, roasted cumin and sprinkled with kaffir lime leaves. A good degree of spice warmth came through as did the tang of yoghurt for a soft, fragrant dish. Overall very warming and pleasing for a rainy autumnal evening. And we started the affair with chicken stuffed momos. As they are from Nepal they have nothing to do with Indian but as what KT serves is north Indian food we thought ‘close enough’. And Gaz was in agreement as he was getting a free meal out of the equation.
We would like to express a Runoff welcome to the newest arrival in Kennington Cross, Ink Beauty! While we’re not in a position to gauge the local market for bum contours, scalp tattooing and fat dissolving dermal fillers, we always support the little guy so long may you prosper.
On a recent meander down Wincott Street in north Kennington we noticed an unusual Victorian building looking not unlike a prison, which prompted us to pull out (nerd alert!) an old Ordnance Survey map. This building was constructed to be a ‘casual ward’, or a very temporary home for homeless people passing through our manor.
Before 1930 terminally homeless people were a not uncommon site in Greater Kennington. Casual wards were constructed close to workhouses, and we have written about the Lambeth workhouse before, which is around the corner from the casual ward and was once the home of Charlie Chaplin. While workhouses were places for local people (like the Chaplin family) to live while they got back on their feet and perhaps learned a trade, casual wards were intended for the totally destitute of no fixed address to stay for one night, so no one was committed to their help.
Conditions in our Lambeth casual ward were pretty terrible and people had to work extremely hard for a night in conditions barely better than the street from where they came. As their clothes were being fumigated, the inmates bathed collectively by gender and were then put to work. It is debateable as to what this work actually entailed, but was something like potato peeling for the frail or back breaking splitting of stones for the more able bodied. Folks didn’t even get to partake in the potatoes they were peeling, as dinner in the casual ward consisted of a kind of gruel made of dried oats, making the Lambeth Workhouse look comfortable by comparison.
To gain insight for his seminal work ‘Down and Out in London and Paris’, George Orwell visited casual wards very similar to the one that remains in Kennington today, and specific excerpts from the book can be found here. These remnants of social history are evaporating in the mind boggling dynamic changes we are encountering in Greater Kennington (Nine Elms being a prime example). However, with a nose around our patch you might make some discoveries yourselves if you’re clever and observant. And of course you are, as you’re reading this.
If rock splitting or potato peeling is a specific fetish of yours then you’re in luck. Casual wards, or ‘spikes’ as they were colloquially known, have their own Spike Heritage Centre in Guildford! Probably not the most cheery day out, but you can twin it with a local pub or a twirl around the Surrey Hills.
We recently visited the spanking new exhibit ‘Spies, Lies and Deception’ at our very own world class museum-that-you-probably-don’t-go-to, the Imperial War Museum. The exhibit covers the vast period from WW1 to deepfakes and AI, and like all good things in life is totally free.
In this sprawling exhibit we initially learn that the fundamental goal of spying is to control a narrative to in order get the outcome you want. And what is on offer is the manifold ways in which this achieved, from pens that shoot teargas to ghetto blasters with hidden mics and fake airfields created by Shepperton Studios. The exhibit is broken down into smaller sections handily laid out as ‘Power of Persuasion’ (or the ability to control one’s mind), ‘Hiding Something’ (an Enigma machine features) and ‘Surprising the Enemy’ (eg camouflaged to look like a scary straw man). Now if only we could harness these skills to keep another estate agent from opening up in Kennington.
At its heart this is an exhibit about personal stories. These range from superspy Kim Philby to an unassuming middle aged couple who transformed their modest bungalow in Ruislip into a Russian spy HQ. And these stories continue to our present day, with a description of the Salisbury poisonings a few years ago. There are also stories on the home front about wireless operators and people sent covertly overseas and having to conceal this to their families. But our favourite display is the footprint overshoes used to create the illusion that the soldier was a local walking in the opposite direction.
If over the years you’ve given the IWM a wide berth because you think it promotes or celebrates war, we can assure you that this is not the case. It’s much more about the consequences of conflict, how to avoid it, and human resilience in the face of it. For those reluctant a good starting are the galleries about women during wartime, who kept the country moving as the men folk were fighting.
‘Spies, Lies and Deception is on now until 24 April so you have no excuse to not see it….Or just lie about seeing it to make you look clever and cultured.
We here at Runoff Towers love nothing more that an old fashioned tour, and we’re here to tell you about no fewer than seven free tours taking place this weekend (7 October) in Vauxhall. OK, it’s the same tour done seven times, but it sounds very interesting for history buffs and others who are just generally curious.
The theme of the tour is ‘influencers of Vauxhall’. This puzzled us at first as you don’t really need to go on a tour to see people under the influence in Vauxhall, you just need hang out in front of the station for about five seconds. What it actually is about is the people and industries that established Vauxhall and made it the place we all know and love. So expect some interesting natter about Vauxhall Motors, Doulton Pottery, LGBTQI+ culture, spies, etc.
And please be aware that while these tours are technically free, they do appreciate a tip. So at the end don’t just walk blissfully into the ether (as we know what you lot are like) but pop them a fiver. Tickets can be booked by following the links on this website.
We recently took advantage of a discount to make the bold and frankly quite terrifying decision to step out of Greater Kennington to visit the Van Gogh House on the Oval/Stockwell borders. The house isn’t really a museum per se, and was described by the perky and well drilled staff person as ‘a gallery space for people inspired by Van Gogh and other artists’.
In a reality that might seem a bit surreal to the unaware, before becoming an artist Vincent Van Gogh did indeed live around the corner from the present day Lidl in Stockwell. The house outlines his life at the time through the letters that he prolifically wrote to his brother Theo, a few photos and drawings, and the efforts made to establish Vincent’s residency in the home in the 1970’s. The rooms also offer a fascinating glimpse into a busy 19th century boarding house and school, where 11 people lived.
On the gallery front, the exhibit on now until 17 December is called ‘The Living House’ celebrating the 150 years since the great man’s residency. The exhibits explore the notion that the home is still inhabited in some manner and plays on the notion that the house is a collaborator in the artistic process and toys with the concept that art and living are entwined. And you even get a bar of soap for your cerebral efforts.
Until 30 September Lambeth residents can visit Van Gogh museum for £4 and tickets can be nabbed here. If you live in Southwark then sorry, no discount for you. If you live in Wandsworth we’re not sure why you’re reading this site but should nevertheless be applauded for your profoundly good taste.
Kennington Cross has recently been endowed with our area’s second local outlet of micro chain Mexican Fridas. Eagle eyed readers will be aware that there is a second one in Vauxhall at the base of one of those hideous dominant buildings in Albert Embankment and we reviewed it last year. And if you live in one of those buildings we hope you’re very happy.
Your reporter is a particular fan of a meaty burrito, and what was chosen was the free range chicken option. On the plus side, it was stuffed with mounds of fresh chicken and some spicy pico de gallo. One could say that the copious amount of rice could have been replaced with more creative additions or cheese, but that’s just us. A real standout for both the burrito and the tortilla chips was the addition of real, straight from the avocado guacamole with a kick of coriander and lime. We can affirm that it was made fresh as your reporter accidently stuck their neck into the food prep area.
As Phil from accounts is finally meeting his targets, we treated him to the cochinita pork pibil tacos, which he sparingly described as ‘excellent’. They consisted of two yellow corn soft tortillas profusely topped with a modestly spiced slow cooked pork (think pulled pork but spicier), along with a small amount of grated red cabbage and carrot and a dollop of sour cream. The tops were adorned with pink picked onion and coriander, creating a delightfully colourful concoction. It’s £11.50 for two, but they are of a size where that seemed reasonable. The burrito came in at £11.90.
Fridas is owned by the same people who ran Rare Burger Co. on the same site and are evidence that running a restaurant is no mean feat, so they could use our support. They’ve given an admirable stab at transforming a burger joint into a maximalist, slightly bonkers yet endearing Mexican canteen, and on a previous visit we hugely enjoyed their cocktails. We can particularly recommend their cruise ship potency/stumble-down-the-road-afterwards margaritas.
If you’ve ever waltzed down Cleaver Street (the street connecting Cleaver Square to Kennington Cross) you will have stumbled upon the majestic Lambeth County Court building, which served our community loyally for 90 years until it was decommissioned in 2017. Since then it’s been shut to the public, opening its doors only tantalisingly for art exhibits, such as the one we covered in 2019. But change is afoot and we’re here to tell you all about it.
First a potted history. In 2020 owners Duchy of Cornwall appointed property developers to transform our lovely bit of early 20th century architecture to…you guessed it…. luxury flats. We saw the proposals in 2021 and it involved adding floors to the top, destroying the insides, and adding a huge wing to the back. Thanks to the unceasing exertions of neighbourhood groups and the strongarm of the 20th century society, listed buildings consent was granted at the end of 2021 which fortunately squashed the overambitious dreams of said developers.
During a recent open day inside the court building, we had conversations with folks from Fathom Architects, Rolfe Judd Planning, and most importantly an advisor on heritage who is ensuring that folks adhere to Grade II listed building guidelines. What is planned is the creation of two offices (non retail) on the ground floor and then nine flats above. This will be achieved by adding an additional floor (not easily visible from street level) and an addition at the back. The courtrooms will retain their original look with one flat built entirely inside one of the courtrooms. Most importantly, the lovely curved stairway will be retained. Full details can be seen here.
Our new neighbours will be living in nine flats that range in size from 500 to 1800 (!) square feet, with the lucky sods on top having roof terraces. When I asked how much these unaffordable flats will cost, the Rolfe Judd guy squirmed in manner which we’ll call ‘contorted’, and replied ‘300 to 400, with the top ones going for a 1.5 million’. So ending up in a courtroom is really lucky for some people. Ground will probably break on the project after planning consent later next year with a 12 to 18 month construction window after that. And please don’t ask us to wade in on planning permission, as we did that in 2021 and still can’t calm the shitstorm that ensued.
At the Runoff we pride ourselves on making our reviews totally anonymous, sometimes to the frustration of business owners, and don’t ask for freebies. So we lay our cards on the table and admit to kind of knowing Houman and Seti who run Kennington Cross restaurant staple Amici, and we’re here to tell you about their upcoming summer party because it’s fun and good value for money.
Let’s face it, few restaurants in Greater Kennington appear to be flourishing at the minute and Amici is no exception. Amici has survived the dual indignities of a pandemic and a basement flood (three if you count the time they decided to sell clothes and jewellery) resulting in its closure for almost two years, leading to it almost going under. They’re back with a mixture of Mediterranean and Iranian dishes and a few events to get more people through the door.
The Amici summer party is on Thursday, 21 September at the restaurant and costs £10. We think this is good value for money as it gets you two drinks in their cute pop up stalls in the back previously sponsored by Lillet and Beefeater, but apparently now with a rum twist. Houman and Seti will also be walking around with some of their Iranian greatest hits.* Additionally there will be a band and a host of neighbours to talk to. Tickets can be purchased here and the fun kicks off at 7pm. Your ticket also entitles you to 25% off future meals.
*We stand casually yet strategically near the kitchen to grab said delicacies as the platters emerge.
