About Kennington Observer

Surreptitiously observing Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant since 2012. We're fiercely independent and never boring.

Bee Urban, People!

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Kennington Observer

A few days ago we had a stroll through Kennington Park to check out the new pizza joint ‘Collective’ (which we will review, but we’re busy at KR towers) and encountered a gaggle of folk apparently in haz mat suits. We instantly thought ‘FINALLY a team has assembled to grapple with the great pong of the Kennington tube platform. As it turns out they we had stumbled upon ‘Bee Urban’, a secret garden and bee sanctuary on the Walworth side of Kennington Common.

After becoming slightly obsessed with bees following our discovery of an apiary at Walworth Garden Farm, we totted along to Bee Urban and had a conversation with manager Barnaby to find our more about their good deeds. Bee Urban is a bee centric social enterprise with a goal of promoting positive, ecologically sound gardening and greening with a focus on faming and the preservation of our buzzy friends. They are particularly skilled in offering courses and training for vulnerable people and kids.

Based in the Old Keeper’s Lodge behind the café, Bee Urban is not only a lovely refuge from our urban lives but also a place to stroll, contemplate, and to purchase honey and other accessories associated with bees. There are also many ways to get involved for both adults and kids, from making (and buying) honey to courses dedicated community gardening and biodiversity. We only have a few days of warmth and greenery lefty folks, so check it out!

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RVT/GMFA Sports Day

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Who needs to slog all the way to Notting Hill when we have our own carnival right here in greater Kennington? Just substitute Calypso with a handbag toss and move Soca aside for a drag relay and you have one of the most enjoyable days at KR towers. It’s all happening on Monday, and please let us explain.

Every year in Spring Gardens the Royal Vauxhall Tavern hosts a sports day for Gay Men Fighting Aids. GMFA is a charity that uses the Sports Day as a key part of its fundraising season. The event is free and volunteers are all about the place with buckets for contributions. It usually draws a sizeable and has been around for aeons.

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The sports day is composed of 10 or so teams, usually dressed up and with great names. As you can imagine, there is a definite comedy element to the proceedings and it is MC’ed by the hilarious Timberlina (plus some real BBC sports reporters as some people take the events very seriously). The various tasks (egg and spoon, the 50 metre mince, tug of war, etc) are constructed in a knockout format with the winning team being crowned at about 5.

The day is certainly not limited to a specific demographic and there are a number of families there with kids, older folks, and an overall sense of mirth abounds. There are bars, music and once in a while the critters from Vauxhall City Farm even come for a visit. My suggestion is to grab a blanket and some food and make a picnic out of it. The website indicates a kickoff at 1, but is usually about 1:30.

RVT Sports Day – Monday 26 August, 1 -5.

Taro Time

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Kennington Observer

As most of you are aware we’ve had a lovely, much overdue Japanese joint on our doorstep for nine months now and we recently checked it out (ok, we’ve actually been about eight times). We have to confess to a slight bias as we’ve been going to Taro’s Soho outlet for about 16 years and it’s great to see a Soho venue in our area, but without the rickshaws, sick and stag ‘dos. This was one of our predecessors’ top 10 earlier this year, but will it make the cut again?

We were in Japan earlier this year and went to Taro with our friend Mark, who actually lived in Japan for years and acted as our cultural attaché. We had sushi (both tempura-maki and other maki) which was fresh and generous on the fish side. We also had fried chicken (below), which was crunchy and equally meaty. For a veg angle we also indulged in juicy tofu steak, with a surfeit of ginger and wasabi. For sides we recommend onshinko pickles and gyoza dipped in soy vinegar.

Taro is honest, authentic ‘Izakaya’, (roughly meaning ‘pub food’) very similar to the food you get in Japan and is good value for money. While this is the best Japanese in the Runoff catchment area and it’s environs, we have to concede that *dodges brick* if you want the real deal there are more authentic Japanese places in London. So, if you like your sushi made in right in front of you by grumpy chefs, you might try venturing to Eat Tokyo. However, if you want to keep it local Taro is a firm choice, but do reserve as a few weeks ago we couldn’t get our hands on a table!

For the curious, apparently Taro roughly means ‘dude’ in Japanese and on most nights Taro himself is on the premises (his round face is the logo). He likes to talk about his lovely farming family who’s picture graces the back wall, so pick his brain.

Eleanor Coade and the Code of her Stone

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Kennington Observer

We’re going slightly off grid here to take you up to the Kennington suburb of Waterloo. If you’ve ever had the misfortunate of being trapped in a srcum of people trying to make their way into ‘Shrek’s Adventure London’ you might have noticed a remarkably pristine and proud lion on the southern end of Westminster Bridge, guarding the entrance in Lambeth. The lion was created by William Woodington but was cast in a remarkable stone invented by local resident and female pioneer Eleanor Coade and is called ‘The Coadestone Lion’.

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Our feline friend was created in 1837 to dangle at the pinnacle of the Lion Brewery. The building was pulled down in 1949 to make way for the Royal Festival Hall and the poor beast then suffered a number of indignities including having a time capsule stuck up his bum, being painted red, and then getting dropped. After a brief stint outside Waterloo station his destiny was preserved at the bridge in 1966 and afterwards he achieved a Grade II listing (talk about hard work). His noble and pristine appearance has endured due to Eleanor’s invention of a highly durable, frost and freeze proof artificial stone, which is actually a kind of ceramic. The formula was created in our backyard by Eleanor at the cusp of the 18^thand 19^thcentury. Eleanor is said to have taken the formula to her grave when she died in 1821, and it has since been lost.

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There were a number of potteries and ceramics factories experimenting with artificial stone in Vauxhall at the time and perhaps Eleanor chose to ply her trade in our area in order to capitalise on the industry. In spite of stiff competition, Coade’s stone proved very popular and was commissioned for use in Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, and the Royal Opera House. If you would like to see specimens of her craft but are afraid you might turn to stone yourself if you leave greater Kennington, check out Captain Bligh’s tomb at the Gardening Museum, the porch at the main entrance of Brunswick House, or the lovely gargoyles above the windows at 57 South Lambeth Road next to the ‘opposite of lovely’ Travis Perkins. After 1840 her formula was lost and has never been recreated.

Have a nice weekend and enjoy exploring….

Roots and Shoots

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Having just spent the past week dodging raindrops in Scotland, we fully appreciate that summer is a fleeting thing. So without further adieu we would like to make you aware, or remind you of, a wonderful little green space in our not very green patch of earth.

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.

The roughly half acre around Roots and Shoots is quite a unique space and presents itself less as a garden and more as an active, urban farm and space for insects and urban animals to grow and thrive. On our visit we saw tomatoes, marrows and blackberries ready to be harvested in addition to loads of veg which we had never heard of. Unlike Walworth Garden (which we wrote about in June) Roots and Shoots does not provide a wealth of places to sit and ponder but loads of space to wander and ponder and is open to the public daily.

If you’re keen to get involved in Roots and Shoots you can attend one of their ‘Magpie Kitchen’ pop up dinner nights or hire a room for an event. They also have a fun ‘apple day’ in early October where you can learn about apples, buy apple juice, and maybe even throw apples if the mood takes you there….

Culture Under Attack at IWM

Posted on August 2, 2019 by Kennington Observer

As busy Kenningtonians we sometimes forget that we have a massive, world class museum on our doorstep. To address this we recently decided to take a moment out of our exhausting cycle of ~~Murder She Wrote repeats~~ deadlines to pop along to the Imperial War Museum to see their latest show ‘Culture Under Attack’,

Culture Under Attack is set over three gallery spaces and grapples with the distinct ways in which our cultural lives are compromised during conflict. We spent the most time in ‘Rebel Sounds’, an immersive exhibition which deals with music censorship in four vastly different eras and cultures; Nazi Germany, northern Mali, Northern Ireland in the ‘70’s, and Serbia in the 90’s. The theme is how specific people or institutions sought to rebel against censorship and prevail. The Northern Irish story is told by record store owner Terri Hooley. The northern Mali story is told by the band Songhoy Blues, who now perform their music as exiles in the south of the country.

A second exhibtion is called ‘What Remains’, and focuses on how war kills not just the ones we love but also the cultural symbols which help make up our identity. The exhibit moves in time from the physical destruction of Hiroshima to the very conscious destruction of icons and art by ISIS only a few years ago. In each of these exhibitions you are invited to take a quiz about the importance of culture, censorship, and the protection of buildings.

The third exhibition is called ‘Art in Exile’ and it focuses on attempts by the IWM and other galleries to safeguard their works of art during WW2, and how at times these attempts failed. This exhibit also details the heroic and altruistic methods employed to protect other forms of material culture in times of conflict by undertaking activites such as concerts and plays. It poses several intriguing questions such as ‘to what lengths do we go to preserve culture’.

Culture Under Attack is free to all of us and open until 5 January. Get your good selves along this weekend as it’s a hell a of a lot better than thinking about Brexit or climate change.

Daebak – A Korean Worth Visiting

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Kennington Observer

A few days ago we popped our sweaty selves to Vauxhall to revisit a delightful Korean friend called ‘Daebak’. It is a small, delightful restaurant not to be confused with the not so charming ‘Jihwaja’ across the road. Well, unless your idea of charming involves hen do’s, stale kimchee and blaring K-Pop. And if it does then this website might not be for you…..

For our meal the three of us ordered soy garlic chicken (a speciality, below), spicy bibimbap, Katsu curry, crispy tofu, and gyoza. Let me tell you, reader, we were rolling out of there by the end of it. We could have easily dropped one of the main courses as they were huge. We highly recommend the various kinds of fried chicken on order (crunchy, subtle) and the Bibimbap is delicious and comes with two veg. options. I would also experiment with a starter like octopus balls. Great food, and pretty kind on the pocket. If you are going on a weekend it might be a good idea to book, as last time we couldn’t get in we had to go across the street and it wasn’t pretty.

Daebak is at 316-318 Kennington Lane

Pros – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

Cons – It has wide open doors overlooking Vauxhall

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The Railings That Aren’t Railings

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Kennington Observer

I thew this up on Instagram a couple of weeks ago (if you don’t follow us there, please do!) and it seemed rather popular, so we’ll post it again here.

Have you ever noticed some strange looking railings outside a number of Kennington estates? Well they are actually stretchers left over from WW2 and have found a new life. The smaller ones were probably used for children. An early form of ‘up cycling’.

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Adulis – A Mighty Fine Eritrean Joint

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Kennington Observer

We are spoilt for choice when is comes to Eritrean/Ethiopian food in greater Kennington, and there a number just on our outskirts. We have tried them all as we ~~have a problem with binge eating~~ care about or readers. The best of the lot is called Adulis and is at the top of Brixton Road. It grabbed the #7 spot in Jamie’s pick of ‘best of Kennington’ earlier this year on the Runoff and is certainly on our long list and has been for a while.

As with any cuisine that might be new, if you’re not familiar with the cuisine the best launching point is a sampler plate. At Adulis it is the ‘Kirchat’ (and there is a vegetarian version). It is fundamentally a selection of their best meat and veg dishes served on a platter usually including Kifto, which is tender meet in Ghee and to die for. All of the dishes haver have a sweet and sour, almost vinegary tinge to them. They gladly pimped our 2 person serving up to 3 as we had a third diner, and the pic is below. Please don’t let my bad photo below put you off, as not all Eritrean dishes look like cat food.

This dish is served on a platter with a base of bread called ‘injera’, which is a leavened pancake made with sourdough (and if you run out you can get more for free). Almost all meals here are served with it and the whole shebang is to be eaten with your good hands. One speciality of the house is their Adulis honey wine. We’ve had this previously and lets just place it in the category of ‘experimental’. Since then we’ve stuck to the Kenyan beer ‘Tusker’ or South African whites.

Adulis has a slightly retro Eritrean feel to it with memetoes both current and from the past. The staff are very friendly and a good chunk of the punters are (tick!) Eritrean themselves. The place also wafts with the aroma of their coffee (and popcorn) ceremony. Tsibuk E’dl!!!

St. Anselm’s Church Frieze Being Carved

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Kennington Observer

Third in our series of historic photos of Kennington takes us to St. Anselm’s church. This photo was taken during the summer of 1933 and depicts the frieze above the Romanesque doors being carved. The artist is Alfred Gerrard, who at the time was head sculptor at the Slade School of Art and is at the bottom of the photo. Carving must be very good exercise, as Mr. Gerrard lived to be 99, 65 years after this photo was taken.

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The Kennington Observer

Surreptitiously observing Kennington, including the suburbs Vauxhall, Oval, Walworth, and Elephant since 2012

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