Over at the Garden Museum on Sunday (the 12th) they’re having a Neighbours Day and we think its something that you might just want to get your hands dirty for as its yet more free stuff. There will be workshops on flower arranging and pressing, seed bomb making, face painting, and live music. This is mostly kids stuff which we’ll avoid but is great as some of us in the office were once kids ourselves.
The best part of the day is that the museum itself will be open for free (usually £17, which we think is a bit steep) and there will be periodic tours of the exhibits and the beautiful decommissioned church in which it is set. For those who haven’t been, the museum encompasses bedding design, implements, seeds, old lawn mowers, FlyMos, and descriptions of how certain plants were brought to the UK. There is also a small art gallery and you can climb the medieval tower. The garden gnome collection is particularly impressive
Neighbours Day is on Sunday from 11-4 and is totally free. And by ‘neighbours’ we think they’re liberal in their definition. And this will be your chance, and these chances don’t come by very often, to meet a scary garden gnome that looks JUST LIKE TONY BLAIR.
As most staff here at the Observer are on a very low wage, we spend a large part of the day researching free things with the flimsy pretence that we’re trying to help people. And today we take a healthy departure from our usual ‘eat and drink until you’re broke’ posts by telling you about Mr. Bike. Mr. Bike is an initiative by Cycling UK with an aim to get people back on the cycling road by providing simple repairs and to teach you how to do them yourselves. Here are the upcoming clinics. Free, just turn up!
Tuesday, 7 July (today, people!) from 4pm at the Pimlico side of Vauxhall Bridge
Saturday, 11 July from 11:00am Outside the Costcutter in Stockwell Green, SW8
Monday, 13 July from 4pm at the Pimlico side of Vauxhall Bridge
Tuesday, 14 July from 4pm at St. Annes church, Vauxhall (in front of Vauxhall Park)
Saturday, 18 July from 10am Corner of Vauxhall and Jonathan St. Vauxhall
Saturday, 25 July from 10am Tea House Theatre, Vauxhall
Tuesday, 28 July from 4pm Dog House Pub, Kennington
And if all this healthy business wasn’t enough, London’s Santander Cycles will be free on Sundays throughout July, as Transport for London is offering unlimited 60-minute rides every Sunday all month from 5th to 26th July and all the codes you need are on their website. And as you are all responsible adults here, we would like to remind you that cycling on the pavement and hitting people is illegal. And yes, this includes intolerant Jehovah’s Witness people flogging books.
We’ve just donned our crimson berets and sunglasses to attended the opening of the degree show over at City and Guilds. For the unfamiliar, City and Guilds is our own world beating arts school in Kennington Park Road, and twice a year they fling open their beautiful Georgian doors to allow us a glimpse into what their students get up to. And you can buy what you see, but buying is by no means obligatory.
The BA show is a celebration of the work of current students as well as current work from fellows of the institution. It tends to be more circumscribed than the huge and quite zany foundation show in the spring and concentrates its efforts not only on painting, but fascinating shows of woodwork, restoration, stonework, and carving. We find the work of restorers upstairs in the main building to be particularly interesting. Themes often dominate these shows, and this year they appear to focus on, in no particular order 1. Boobs 2. Dirt 3. Rotating shopping bags 4. Serious men with non serious eyewear.
Along with the exhibits there are handy notes offering a bio of the artists and their approach to their craft. And if you don’t like what you’re looking at keep it to yourself, as the artist might be nearby – but very handy if you want to ask them anything. And if you have no idea what you’re looking at but want to look as if you do, take a long dramatic breath, look at your friend, and say ‘It’s about IDENTITY’. Then throw down that crimson beret and march out of the room.
The City and Guilds degree Show 2026 is on now and open tonight (Friday) until 19:00. And the following days –
Saturday 20 June | 13:00 – 17:00 Sunday 21 June | 10:00 – 17:00 Monday 22 June | 11:00 – 18:00
Tuesday 23 June | 11:00 – 18:00 Wednesday 24 June | 11:00 – 18:00 Thursday 25 June | 11:00 – 18:00 Friday 26 June | 11:00-20:00
As a person who lives near the Oval you may at some point be asked to attend a cricket match, and if cricket isn’t exactly your wicket then this piece is for you as we’ll introduce you to other things going on there. Recently some of the Observer staff attended the T20 Blast series at the Oval. This was booked through our underused colleague Mark over on the sports desk. Or his name might be Mike. Anyway, we wholly thank Mark/Mike for making this unusual sports foray possible.
The primary feature of T20 cricket is that the matches are compressed into three hours, and are fast past and undertaken in the evening, making it more appealing to neophytes such as us, and we used AI to teach us the basics. We saw the London Derby of Surrey vs. Middlesex and the punters were certainly more, shall we say, energetic than the punters we saw on a previous daytime session, who appeared to engage with the sport primarily whilst snoring.
One fun activity is to wander around and learn about the history of the grounds and cricket greats such as Alec Bedser and Ian Ward. We frankly have no idea who these people are but they have very interesting stories. On the pitch you can grab £1000 if you catch a ball, which appeared highly unlikely given the sobriety level of the crowd. There were also fireworks, ozone destroying fireballs, a T-Shirt cannon and of course nothing could yell ‘Greater Kennington’ more than the addition of a drag queen. As a bonus, cricket appears to be one of the only sports that you can enjoy while chatting with people around you or even on the phone. It was a wonderfully lively bunch.
No day out for us would be complete without stuffing our face, and it was provided by the excellent Kerb catering, who do a more upmarket version of football grub. We saw venison burgers, loads of hot chicken, Indian, Greek, fish-n-chips, loaded fries, BBQ and more. Your scribe had a chicken shish wrap from Lil Watan and intern Paul had a delicious Punjabi naan wrap from Baby Dhaba. One place where they sting you is at the bar. They have fancy craft beer and fine wines, but our Brixton Pale Ale and a can of wine (they’re a thing) was over £18. However, on some fixtures you can bring in your own booze but sadly not T20. This probably explains why Phil from accounts vanished when it was his round. But as it was Phil he could have just been kicked out.
We greatly admire any sport that you can observe while scrolling on your phone, talking, sleeping, or being flogged a car. So if you’re feeling inspired by this article, admission starts at £20 and there are many other matches available. If you want to discover more about the history of the Oval, including the man who walked 1000 miles around it fuelled only by brandy infused tea, we’ve got you covered.
As frequent readers are all too aware, we here at the Observer love nothing more than anonymously sticking our noses where they don’t belong. So why not join the merry ranks of middle class white people and partake of our passion/dysfunction? We’re talking, of course, of the great Pullens Yard Spring Open Studios weekend taking place on 5-7 June (that’s next week and not this weekend, folks. Keep up) in Walworth. It might just prove to be the last warm weekend of the year.
Pullens Yards (Clements, Peacock and the large Iliffe Yard) are an amazing collection of 1880’s workhouses which were originally designed for the people who lived in the nearby Pullens Estate. We wrote about the fascinating squatting history of the estate a few years ago. Instead of being converted into luxury flats, the Yards serve the same purpose as they did 140 years go, and the cabinet makers and blacksmiths have been replaced by potters, jewellery makers, card makers and folks who make things that you want but by no means need. We once bought moth balls disguised as little knitted mice. And as we know crystals are just rocks, but the stall holders might just convince you that they have the power to heal.
The studios at Pullens Yards are usually not open to the public, but twice a year they fling their doors open to give us a glimpse into their creative universe and this is the Spring iteration. The artists are more than happy to show you what and how they create, and of course you can buy what’s on show. And buying is by no means compulsory, as at the end the day these folks just want to show off how clever they are and it’s totally free. Have we mentioned how much we love free?
A visit to the Yards is a fun way to spend a morning or a late afternoon searching for quirky and unusual gifts for yourself or loved ones. In the past we’ve encountered live music, food for sale, a bar provided by Orbit Brewery(!) and live music. A sunny late spring day is an exceptionally optimistic way to see the Yards. And who knows, you just might discover a previously unrealised desire to own a necklace made out of forks or a room deodoriser fashioned as a piece of cheese.
Pullen’s Open Studios is open Friday evening and in the daytime over the weekend. And if you’re overwhelmed by that necklace fashioned out of forks, take a break and check out the great and very quirky Electric Elephant Café. And no, its not a charity shop. It just looks like one.
We love Amici as they never run out of novel concepts to get people through the door. Bands! Singles nights! Jack Straw! And now they’ve done it again….Just when you thought Kennington couldn’t get any more camp they’re hosting…..wait for it….. a Eurovision night!
Amici will be taking their enormous TV outside and it will be viewed in their otherwise quiet garden where, according to the press release, drinks will be flowing and food will be served (it’s not free, we know what you’re like). The food served is Persian and Italian. You can get Italian anywhere so we always stick to the Persian, which is to die for. Office favourites are any of the grills, and also the Persian stew called Khoresh. The owners are Iranian and can give you the full low down about what you’re about to encounter. Well maybe not if it involves dancers emerging from under a giant skirt.
Amici if you’re reading this (and if not you’re missing out) we have some tips to make it a better night. You could try a ‘who’s replaced Scott Mills’ drinking game or, even better, have a former UK representative do a PA! There are plenty of them who have a LOT of time on their hands. Try reaching out to Gina G, she’s getting on a bit but stranger things have happened.
The UK entrant is the disturbingly catchy ‘Eins, Zwei, Drei’ by Look Mum No Computer. The chorus features the lines ‘Darlin’ I need somethin’ salty, with a slice of pepperoni’. See for yourself.
A nice springtime walk is a great way to discover more about our storied manor. We here at the Observer get little time outside of our locked chamber but when allowed day release we’ve actually been to several of the walks outlined below. They’re being sponsored by the Lambeth Local History Forum and over 120 walks can be found on their website so you could actually be walking for four months. However, as most of the walks involve leaving Greater Kennington to places like, gasp, Clapham, we don’t recommend it. You’ll notice that some of these events are listed as being free. By ‘free’ they don’t actually mean the event is free. They expect a well deserved tip and their work heralded on social media. We say this as we know most of you lot would nick an ice lolly off a toddler given half a chance.
11 APRIL Saturday 2.30pm
Remembering the Chartist Rally on Kennington Common 178 Years Ago
Friends of Kennington Park
Meet Prince Consort Lodge (Trees for Cities), Kennington Park Road, SE11 4AS
Artists’ Footsteps: A guided art tour of Vauxhall and Kennington
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, Kennington Lane, SE11 5AW Led by Lucia van der Drift Cost £15
Booking bit.ly/4jlCoTG
We attended this last year. It’s primarily about the supper boxes and art around the Pleasure Gardens in the Victorian era, but also references contemporary spaces and artists.
25 MAY Monday 1pm
Lambeth Rocks: Music nostalgia and legendary lyrics
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Oval tube station, SE11 4PP Led by David Turnbull Cost £10 Booking LambethRockWalk.eventbrite.co.uk
4 JUNE Thursday 1pm
Unseen Vauxhall (1) – The Vanished and the Unnoticed
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Vauxhall Bus Station
Led by Geoff Fairbairn
Cost £12
Booking UnseenVauxhall4Jun.eventbrite.co.uk
For added comic value it would have been hilarious if this tour had commenced outside ‘Fire’ nightclub just after it closed on Sunday morning. That’s when the real unseen Vauxhall emerges.
14 JUNE Sunday 12noon
Pride and Protests: LGBT+ History Walk of Kennington
Lambeth Tour Guides Association
Meet Triangular traffic island, opposite Oval tubeLed by Adrian Gibson & Clare Truscott Cost £15
Booking bit.ly/4qoQsxK
Someone from the team attended this last year and it was primarily about cruising and the Pride festivals in Kennington Park in the 80’s. Very insightful.
Orchestral music is often inaccessible to many people for a variety of reasons, but this weekend we’re about to be blessed yet again in the Brandon and China Walk estates for Christmassy concerts which are free and open for everyone (that means you)!
Brixton Chamber Orchestra is a diverse group of 25 Brixton based instrumentalists who provide and create music across a range of genres including…wait for it….classical, disco, gospel, grime, rap, swing, pop, drum & bass and others, and often have guest vocalists. They usually ply their trade in community halls and churches in Brixton, but two times a year they hoist their trumpets northward to grace our soil.
Funded by Arts Council England and, surprisingly, by Lambeth Council, BCO is in the midst of a Christmas estates tour of 11 estates in Lambeth. They will be gracing us with their presence on Saturday at Jack Hobbs Hall in Brandon Estate (those large buildings at the back of Kennington Park) and inside Chandler Hall in Lambeth Walk.
BRANDON ESTATE Sat 20th December @ 3:00 PM Jack Hobbs Club Hall Maddock Way, London SE17 3NH
CHINA WALK ESTATE Sat 20TH December @ 7:00 PM Chandler Hall 15 Lambeth Walk, London SE11 6DU
These events are indoors but might be chilly so dress accordingly and buy your warming tipple from a local corner shop.
We attended this event in 2023 and it was great fun. Each show is unique and they’ve been known to feature guests musicians. They also encourage folks to get up and sing along, which should be made easier with that bottle you bought from the offie. And if this is sounding like a kids event, trust us it isn’t. Not that there is anything wrong with kids, as a few Observer staff were once kids themselves. If you can’t make it or shockingly don’t live in Greater Kennington there are more dates on their website.
Did we mention it’s free? Did we add that we love free? The clip below is the streetband gigging around Brixton recently, which we equally love.
If you like carols, or indeed if your name is Carol, you’ll be please to know that the annual Cleaver Square ‘Carols in the Square’ takes place this Tuesday (16th) from 19:00 and the best part is that you don’t even have to live in Cleaver Square to take part! Or even look like you live in Cleaver Square. It is open to everyone and has raised over £10,000 over the years for local charities, so bring a few extra pounds if you can, but they also have a card reader. Also bring your mug to save the hard working volunteers a bit of time.
We attended the Carols last year and it was great fun. We were treated to homemade mince pies, mulled wine, and sang along with the lovely Fever Pitch choir, who will be performing at 19:30. One of the traditions at the Cleaver Christmas Carols is funny hats. We’ve used funny hats and glasses to deflect from the tedium and underpayment of Observer life for years, so you can imagine we’ve accumulated quite a few. Office staff will be sporting these on the night so good luck spotting us. If you’re struggling locate the team, one of the hats retains bloodstains from last week’s Christmas ‘do when Phil from accounts face planted in Kennington Lane after downing five Spicy Palomas.
It’s that time of year again and one of our favourite activities here at the Observer….sticking our noses where they don’t belong! From 13 September to 21 September ii’s the Open House London Festival, celebrating London’s housing, architecture and neighbourhoods by flinging open doors and streets not usually open to the public. We have a few suggestion for you and they are all FREE, and we love free. Well, the last two aren’t free.
Most Open House venues have friendly staff on hand to tell you more about what you’re seeing and there are often things to read. If you look on the website you’ll see some local bookable things, but we’re afraid you’ve mostly missed the boat on those babies. The localish venues listed below are open to the public on specific dates, so look at opening times. However, if you possess the audacious gaul to travel out of Greater Kennington you might find there are hundreds more free things to stick your head into around the capital. But we couldn’t possibly encourage that kind of behaviour.
London Fire Brigade Memorial Hall (perhaps your last chance to see it before it is turned into, you guessed it, flats and a luxury hotel).
