Damien Hirst at Newport St.

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We originally posted this in October 2020, and this thought provoking exhibit closed just a few days afterwards. Newport St. Gallery is opening on Wednesday of next week, again with little fanfare. Once Time Out (if they still exist) and others review this it will sell out very quickly and we cannot reccommend it enough. It is totally free and available for now, but not for long!  Book here.

Without a great deal of fanfare, on Wednesday Newport Street Gallery reopened with  a survey of Damien Hirst’s early work called ‘End of a Century’. The timing of this retrospective might be a coincidence or an intentional and very prescient observation of the world around us in 2020, as Hirst’s early work explored themes of death, healing, life saving medication, infection, and anatomy.  We checked out the show on it’s opening day. 

In the first gallery we were introduced to one of Hirst’s trademark dissected animals; this one being a baby shark in formaldehyde. Moving into the main galleries you might think you’d just wandered into aisle three at Iceland, as there were several freezers stuffed with frozen cow heads (we asked, and they are real). Also on show were Hirst’s trademark medication cabinets and a variety of medical implements. After an enormous anatomical model we’re left to ponder the slightly humorous ‘Shut Up and Eat Your Fucking Dinner’ (pictured at bottom) which was fashioned as a butcher shop window featuring a variety of meats encased in formaldehyde. Is meat murder? 

On the first floor we got to grips with several of Hirst’s spin and dot paintings, with one actually spinning in the room. Surprisingly, there were several cubist inspired collages of found materials which Hirst created before he was a student at Goldsmiths, even then showing his early interest in mortality and resurrection. The most arresting work upstairs was ‘A Hundred Years’, in which a bloody severed cow head is being eaten by maggots who turn into flies who then get executed by  an insect-ocutor. We’re not making this up. 

Some of these works are almost 30 years old and don’t have the shock value they once possessed. But if your artistic taste embraces decapitated cow heads, meat, pills, blood, dead flies, and medical implements then this show will be right up your street. Vegetarians might want to steer clear. And lest you don’t give your mortality much of a thought during the pandemic, this show is a reminder of the profound fragility of organic matter. 

Getting Curious in Walworth

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We’ve experienced an inordinate amount of giddy thrill at the recent opening of Walworth Library and Southwark Heritage Centre in Walworth Road. Granted, when the biggest thrill of the day involves matching Tupperware containers to lids the threshold is pretty low. But this is a library with a difference. 

The library offers your usual library accessories in an open and quiet environment on several different levels. These include quiet places to read or work, bookable PC’s, a kids area, a curiously large travel section, and individual rooms to book. On our visit all of the seating was occupied as some chairs had been removed for obvious reasons. Intriguingly, set amongst the books are curios and artefacts from Southwark’s collection that very cleverly match the subject matter to the books around them. 

As we know you inhale your Runoff articles like a freshly baked brownie from Sally White’s, you’ll be aware that last year we wrote about the most curious man in Greater Kennington, Richard Cuming. The man collected everything from Egyptian mummies to rail tickets to harpoons. Upon the death of his son the collection was bequeathed to Southwark where it was mothballed for several years following a fire. A number of pieces have now been resurrected and form the backbone of the Heritage Centre It’s a fascinating collection of artefacts and artwork from around the world, interspersed with more recent history from Southwark’s past. In future the library will also have rotating art exhibitions. Check it out and maybe you can be the next most curious person in Greater Kennington.

Yard Cafe at Jamyang Buddhist Centre

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Some of you might remember the vegetarian/vegan café at the Jamyang London Buddhist centre in Renfrew Road. It sadly went under just before we had a chance to review it, which is unusual as most places we review go under just after we review them. Well, it is now back with a vengeance and has just been taken over by the gastronomically acclaimed restaurant Louie Louie, curiously located in the less than gastronomically acclaimed Walworth Road. The new venture is called The Yard, and is open for lunch on weekdays, 10 to 4. 

The menu continues to be totally vegetarian and vegan and they also sell ice cream sandwiches and a few groceries. They also sell…..wait for it…..ice cream for dogs. Your scribe had a feta, labneh, roast carrot and tomato sandwich with rocket, with a bread that also rocked. My dining partner had a salad of chickpeas and chard with baba ganoush, roast carrot and tomato, green beans and leaves. Bagels and toasties were also available and looked good. 

The building that houses Jamyang is an old courthouse dating from 1869, in its later days used as a maximum security court for special remands, including IRA terrorists, the Kray twins, and members of the gang who seized the Iranian Embassy. Despite that, when the sun is shining, Kennington has nowhere more peaceful to eat your healthy lunch. 

Kenny, the Kennington Bowl Skatepark

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If you’ve ever walked into Kennington Park from the Kennington tube end you might have noticed a large concrete edifice on the right. It’s a rare survivor of what used to be in many parks in the 70’s and 80’s, a skatepark. Our unloved relic, affectionately known as ‘Kenny’, was one of the earliest and opened in 1978. Unfortunately, Kenny was fitted out with poor railings and skaters had the inconvenient problem of falling out of Kenny and injuring themselves (which we thought was half the thrill but there you go). It was opened and then closed by Lambeth for a number of years afterwards.  

Fast forward to 2012 and Converse arrived to refurbish and renew Kenny under their ‘fix to ride’ scheme, and this included resurfacing the concrete. While the spiffy looking Kenny was great PR for Converse, it wasn’t so wonderful for poor Kenny. After Converse had their moment the resurfaced concrete soon became chipped and cracked and it was worse than it was before. Lambeth were forced to send Kenny into skatepark purgatory. A Youtube video of Kenny in its Converse heyday can be found here. 

Fast forward to 2021 and the Runoff are having a socially distanced and intriguing conversation with Friends of Kennington Park Secretary Rita Sammons. The Friends, working in partnership with Lambeth, are currently undertaking exploratory work to restore Kenny to its former glory. Lambeth has funded an initial survey to inspect the concrete plates that hold up Kenny (which is why at the moment Kenny has a giant hole in him). If it is stable the goal is try to find a way to gently skim off the concrete that Converse left behind. 

Rita explained that the vision of the Friends and Lambeth is to create a skate area that can be enjoyed by everyone, not just skaters. The could include a viewing area or a ramp up to the bowl, enabling access to people who can’t climb the stairs. In addition to recreating a free amenity for all Greater Kenningtonians (well, those who don’t mind having broken ribs), Rita and the Friends are also trying to preserve a piece of local history. One of the best features of Kenny is some very fine retro street art on the sides. Here is a sample but there are plenty more for you to discover. 

At the moment the Friends are not undertaking a fundraising campaign for Kenny but this might change. For more details and to get involved email skatebowl@kenningtonpark.org/. For other things the Friends are doing have a gander at the flyer below. 

2021_FoKP_Make a diff_08.04.2021_PMDownload

Greater Kennington Opens Up – Above the Stag

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The last in our series brings us to LGBT+ theatre ‘Above the Stag’ in Vauxhall. They are a small, independent but highly acclaimed theatre that has, as you can imagine, been more or less shut for over a year. Over the past few weeks we have watched them build a large outdoor area and it opened over the weekend for drinks and nibbles. The clever idea is that now you can go to the venue and enjoy a drink without seeing a show. 

Saturday night we just walked up without a reservation. As it turns out the servers are often actors themselves and they knew what was going with the place. The crowd was an eclectic mix of young women taking Instagram shots of their cocktails and lads who’d just finished football practice. We’re going to assume this is not the precise Above The Stag demographic. Our point being that it really doesn’t matter what your sexuality is, if you have one in the first place, to have a good time there. 

The terrace is open Thursday to Sunday from 5 – 10 for drinks and nibbles. They have Heineken on tap, bottled beers, wines and they make cocktails. The also had several enormous umbrellas so you can drown your sorrows even if its raining. 

Positives –  It is very open and has sweeping views across Vauxhall

Negatives –  It is very open and has sweeping views across Vauxhall

Greater Kennington Opens Up – The Duchy Arms

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We’ve always felt a little sorry for the Duchy Arms and have developed a soft spot for the place. Located off the main drag, its never enjoyed the passing trade of other venues and has seemed a bit, well, lost. However, it has benefitted from one quirky trait not enjoyed by other pubs…..it has a car park. The car park has now been transformed into an umbrella strewn beer garden, so it’s moment has arrived. As it is truly outside the area has more space and circulation than the Dog House and you do not feel fork to fork next to your fellow diner. Although more spread out, it still has a lively ‘we’ve just come from football practice’ vibe about it. And great staff. 

Your scribe and a Runoff colleague enjoyed the lamb kofta with couscous, flatbread and little bowl of tzatziki. It was well spiced lamb and they brought more tzatziki when requested. Another colleague had beer battered haddock with mushy peas and hand cut chips. It was described as ‘lovely, nice and fresh with a crisp batter’. As for the chips, they were definitely made fresh and had not visited the north pole. Our French colleague had the pie of the day, which was creamy chicken and leek. When asked to describe the quality, the colleague shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat. We’ll interpret that as ‘pretty good’. 

If you are planning an outing to a Greater Kennington pub in the next week or so if it is within popular hours we strongly suggest that you book first. And after our sub polar dining experience we think it might good to idea to book earlier in the evening.  And please remember to bundle up. Humans can do many great things, but eating dinner in a 7 degree car park requires a degree of forward thinking. 

Greater Kennington Opens Up – Vauxhall City Farm

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On it’s second day of opening we paid a lunchtime visit to glorious local institution Vauxhall City Farm. In case you haven’t been, VCF is a charity and home to over 100 farm animals. They have a breeding programme, a riding school, education programmes, work experience and school tours, amongst other things. 

One of the invaluable things about the Farm is that it allows, for free, young people in Greater Kennington to experience farm animals who they might have otherwise never seen. It’s also fun for adults just to stroll around, but right now you can’t feed them (the animals, not your fellow adults). On our visit we saw chickens, lambs, sheep, turkeys, rabbits, goats, pigs, ducks and birds. They additionally house larger animals such as donkeys and horses. Later in the spring they will be selling fresh eggs from the chickens. They are actually green, and wonderful. 

In addition to the animals, the Farm also has a café/gift shop which are vital sources of revenue for them. So after comingling with the critters we sat down for a bite to eat. The food unfortunately is not vegetarian, but fortunately it is not made onsite. It would be a little distressing to build up a relationship with little Louie the lamb only to later encounter Louie in a kebab format. They do have homemade cakes, however, and the nice man at the counter assured us that in a few weeks their regular onsite kitchen and menu will be up and running. 

The Farm is totally free and as a registered charity VCF relies on donations from the likes of us to keep it afloat, and as you can imagine the past 12 months have been pretty grim times for even the most upbeat bunny. There are several ways to donate onsite by text message, or multiple ways you can get involved financially by clicking here. Moooo! 

Greater Kennington Opens Up – The Dog House

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Over the next week we’ll be visiting five diverse Greater Kennington establishments that have been partially or totally closed since Christmas. We’ll be giving you the KR lowdown on how safe they feel, how seating works, improvements in their menus, issues of overcrowding, and we might even have a cheeky drink or two or six. Our handy guide to how pubs and restaurants are operating is at the bottom of this post.

As you likely already know, from now until 17 May all food and drink served must be outdoors. However, unlike the last time pubs were open, which feels like 45 years ago, you do not have to order food. Also, venues no longer have to close at 10:00pm. First on our journey across Kennington Land is the Dog House in Kennington Cross, which for the record is open until midnight and 2:00am at weekends. Neighbours must love that.

Your scribe and five selected interns and sales people from the KR office had dinner and drinks on Monday night and it was very full. In terms of social distancing, well, lets just say at least people weren’t licking one another. As you can see by the picture below, the benches were packed tightly under the awning, and if this makes you feel a bit uneasy you might want to opt for the uncovered seats. And if you go this week it is best to reserve. 

The food at the Dog House has always been a bit on the ‘meh’ side, but on this outing it was suspiciously ‘meh’. People in our group had burgers, pies, and chicken escalope. We all agreed that the poor quality food could not just be a result of just opening again, and the chips had definitely seen some freezer action which did not used to be the case. The service was slow, but we attributed this to the crowd, and the server was apologetic. The apologetic server appeared new, as did all the other staff that night, and that got us thinking. We asked the server if the pub was under new management. The server excitedly explained that the pub is now operated by mega chain ‘Punch’. Oh dear. 

Unfortunately we cannot recommend a meal at the new Punch operated Dog House, but it’s still a great place to people watch and have drinks with friends. When thinking about the new Dog House don’t lose heart as at least it isn’t a boarded up shell. Or worse, a Foxtons. 

The Other Dance for Joy in Greater Kennington

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Next week we take our biggest leap yet into the realm of semi normality when outdoor dining and pubs open. Over the first week or so we will be exploring several different venues (for purely professional reasons) and will be giving you the lowdown on how the venues are making it work and how safe it feels. We feel that spring is going to herald a new sense of merriment and optimism in Greater Kennington, redolent of a time when this happened before.

For decades Lambeth Walk was arguably the most famous street in London: people sang, strutted and whistled in it’s honour, many without the faintest hint of where it was. Folks in Greater Kennington were ‘doing the Lambeth Walk’ long before the phrase became a nationwide symbol of the proud, working class Londoner. 


By the 1860’s Lambeth Walk was home to a major street market, with more than 200 yards selling everything from fish to books to soap. Our ancestors liked a good time, and would often promenade between the stalls, and this became known as ‘The Lambeth Walk’. The silver screen brought our little local strut to international viraldom with a movie adaptation of the musical ‘Me and My Girl’ called, you guessed it ‘The Lambeth Walk’ in 1939, and people copied it from New York to Berlin

While The Lambeth Walk might have been charming the world, the same couid not be said of the street and it was in serious decline. From the1930’s through to the 80’s old buildings were pulled down and replaced with modern blocks. Of course, WW2 hastened this transformation greatly. By the end of this summer we will be in the opposite of decline and perhaps Greater Kenningtonians can create a modern version of The Walk to celebrate all that we’ve lived through. 

The Lambeth Walk is an exaggerated rhythmic swagger, with ‘plenty of arm swinging, copious hat-play and elements of slapstick’. This sounds a bit erotic to us, but there you go. For the curious amongst you, or if you’re just bored, here’s a very early clip of people doing the Walk from ‘Me and My Girl’ –