Rocking the right mask

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We  here at the Runoff know what the most important thing in life is. Love? No. Giving birth? No, it’s looking good. And come Friday you’ll be spreading the love in all the wrong ways if you’re not rocking a face covering. So we’re here to lead you in the right direction. 

The other day we were sitting in Vanilla Black and noticed that the staff were sporting some quite fetching head gear. Avoiding the temptation to say, ‘hey is that a coughy filter’, we kept it professional and asked the manager for more information. She led us in the direction of a local creative type who started making masks as a side project when her business dried up as a result of The Event.

Hannah Walley doesn’t actually live in Greater Kennington (we all make mistakes, hey ho) but she worked here for many years and has a understandable fondness for the place. She started making the masks in May for friends and now they are catching on like a viru…..umm….wildfire. 

 

Hannah’s face coverings are 100% cotton, have soft elastic, machine washable, and come in a variety of patterns or made to order. At  1 for £12.50, 3 for £33 or 5 for £50 they aren’t the cheapest things out there, but we have a feeling face coverings are the new normal. It’s also best to be at the cusp of a fashion wave while keeping it local.

Hannah can be reached via Instagram at @hannahloveslondon or you can pop her an email at  Hannah@hlwconsulting.co.uk. Or if you like the face to face treatment they sell an assortment at Vanilla Black itself. 

Vauxhall Food and Beer Garden

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When the Vauxhall Food and Beer Garden opened a few years ago in the bin storage area behind London’s most notorious nightclub, we said to our bemused selves ‘right, so we’re supposed to eat and sip cocktails in an alley behind Fire, surrounded by empty kegs and nitrous oxide canisters?’

Since opening in 2014 the Food and Beer garden has been incrementally upping its game, and last year even started hosting comedy nights. As they’ve been plugging themselves relentlessly on social media recently we went over to inspect. Additionally, we liked the fact that the space allows people to eat and drink more safely by being outdoors (with big marquees if it rains). 

We timed our visit to coincide with the ‘after work’ crowd, but when we arrived we realised that the ‘after work’ crowd really doesn’t exist anymore. Undeterred, on our mission we discovered no fewer than 40 beers on tap, with wines also available On the street food front we spotted Greek, Mexican, Chinese, French, Wagyu burgers and ramen. Even if it had been buzzing there was plenty of space to distance yourself. This extended to the toilets, which are the spacious toilets of Fire (but we suspect a lot cleaner). 

Before the world turned upside down one of our favourite pastimes was sitting in Starbucks of a Monday morning and watching people falling out of Fire at 9am. We called it ‘Fire damage’. 

The Vauxhall food market is open daily from lunchtime to 10:30pm and is great for a quick drink with friends or a ‘I don’t want to cook tonight and I have to get out of the house’ meal. We have also strolled past on a Friday night recently and it is rather lively. 

Popup paella in Elephant?

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If you told us a new restaurant had opened in the soon to be demolished Elephant and Castle shopping centre we’d suggest you rush off to your nearest hair salon to have your temperature checked. But it has! A new pop up paella place (say that 10 times fast) has just opened on the former site of the rather dreary caff ‘Sundial’ next to Boots. 

For the uninitiated, paella is a rice based Spanish dish and one of those things god placed on this earth to make us happy. A bit like Lorraine Kelly. Paella Shack is run by the London Paella School (who knew?) and has been open for a few weeks. It offers seafood, chicken and vegan paella for £6/7 and they also do a side treat in bits of tapas. 

My associate had the seafood paella and she/he described it as being stuffed with seafood, well cooked rice, good portion size, nice oily pepper, and just the right amount of saffron. Your scribe opted for the chicken paella which was presented with big chunks of chicken, saffron, paprika turmeric and oil. A lot of non authentic paellas include things like onion and chorizo, but this one was the real deal and a perfect size for a hearty lunch. 

Paella Shack is open daily and available for takeaway and you can also eat in. We chose the eat in option, which is probably what it feels like to eat in a prison canteen, but there you go. Pop up places are almost by definition not pretty, but this food certainly is.

How much has the Kennington pub scene changed?

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As much as we’ve cherished the experience of standing in the middle of Kennington Cross drinking takeaway beers out milk containers, we were brimming with giddy thrill when we learned that pubs would be re opening  on 4 July. Unfortunately the top brass at Kennington Runoff got wind of our excitement and demanded we work over the weekend undertaking a covert pub crawl. Oh, we do suffer for our craft. 

Yesterday your intrepid reporter and three safely selected associates began our journey at the Dog House, as there is outside seating. Ordering is at the bar behind a Perspex screen and you can drink by spaced seats either indoor or out. It didn’t feel different to many other afternoons there, and if anything was more quiet (and they were even showing football). Afterwards we decided to move to the Duchy Arms, as they seem to be the perpetual underdog in the area. With a large garden they are perhaps having their long overdue moment, and the manager at the door explained that they were at ‘safe capacity’ (pic below), which was about 60%. He also helped us to clarify a puzzling riddle we’ve had of late – ‘can you book a table just for a drink’. And the answer is yes.

  • Dog House
  • Duchy Arms

Undaunted, we then moved into Vauxhall and tried to get a table at the ever popular Black Dog. The chirpy doorman explained that they were also at safe capacity and he suggested that we saunter to the other end of Spring Gardens and try the Vauxhall Tavern. The place was very buzzy, gay and straight, and we sat on a table on the stage (!). This was unusually the only place where we needed to leave our name. It also had a very handy method of scanning a QR code and ordering at the table. Afterwards we went to The Pilgrim, but to be honest dear reader this is when our journalistic skills became a bit compromised. But we do remember that people were standing and drinking at the bar, which we’re not really sure is recommended. Hand sanitisers were readily available everywhere.

  • The Black Dog
  • The Vauxhall Tavern

Overall our little tour revealed a pub landscape that, while different, was more normal than we had previously believed. For instance, we thought the toilet situation would be a ‘raise your hand like you’re in year 6’ affair, but it seemed very straightforward. And while people sitting at tables were not distancing, different tables were spaced apart adequately. The success of Kennington pubs and the livelihoods of the people who work there depend entirely on our ability to use them safely, and our verdict is that you can. 

The Pilgrim. Not so sure about this.

Archbishop’s Park

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The other day we popped over to Archbishop’s Park to see if the frightening 10 storey zip wire had made a return to our storied patch. This was borne not out of a nihilistic desire to see our fellow Kenningtonians endure a near death experience, but rather to see if The Event had closed it down…..Your neighbours will live to see another day because it hasn’t returned.

Perhaps because it isn’t on a main road Archbishop’s Park is, in our humble opinion, a bit of an unsung hero when it comes to local amenities. The park has tennis courts, five asides, cricket nets, netball, ping pong, playgrounds, public sculptures and, amazingly for London,….toilets! (but not right now). It is a delightful way to spend an afternoon working or an evening picnic. And the best part is that it is at least 50% quieter than the ‘Ed Sheeran is about to take the stage’ crowds in Kennington Park. 

At the Millenium, 24  interesting plaques were placed in the pathway that winds through the middle of the park commemorating 1000 years of milestones in our area, from Hardicanute to, err.. Ken Livingstone . Did you know that Charlie Chaplin left Kennington Road School (now the Lycee) to join a clog dancing troupe? Well consider yourself enlightened! 

The park is next to Lambeth Palace and well with the trek. 

A celebration of Kennington pubs

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Do you remember a halcyon time when we could go to a place and have a drink with people we didn’t live with? Well those days will be upon us again in some kind of fashion on 4 July. Some of these pubs are gone forever, some others rebuilt, and few looking amazingly familiar. We could stare at the pictures all day, and enjoy….

The Victorian Elephant and Castle pub in Vauxhall, 1970. Same building, but now ‘Starbucks’.
The King’s Arms pub, Chester Way and Kennington Lane, 1880. Destroyed in WW2, rebuilt 1946.
The Horns Tavern, Kennington Road and Kennington Park Road., 1910. A local institution damaged in WW2 and never really recovered. That and a dislike of Victorian architecture meant its demise in 1965. Now JobCentre Plus and Nisa Foods.
The Roebuck pub, 1972. Still very much there and known as The Dog House.
The Cricketers pub in the Oval standing proudly on game day, 1957. Closed for aeons, but the building is still there.

The Tankard pub, Kennington Road, 1880. Altered through time, but looking amazingly familiar.
The Vauxhall Tavern, 1950. The RVT had shops on either side of it and a thriving community behind until cleared for Spring Gardens in the late 1960’s.
The Prince of Wales, Cleaver Square, 1973. The only thing different is the cars (and the house prices).

Theo’s Encore

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Astute readers have probably noticed that we are slightly obsessed with Theo’s Pizzeria in Elephant and Castle. Indeed, it nabbed the #2 spot in our recent ‘top ten’ list a few months back. So on a rainy night recently we decided to recreate the feeling of actually dining there by having a takeaway. 

Theo’s is similar in many ways to other indie artisan setups such as Franco Manca and Pizza Pilgrims. But unlike those, Theo’s isn’t propagating like head lice; in fact there are only two outlets. Their regular menu is strategically small and while they are officially closed features just six of their pizzas. At the heart of these pizzas is their chewy, Neapolitan sourdough base which is crispy but at the same time thin enough that we ate them with a fork. Don’t judge us. 

My associate had the ‘Sausage and sweet roast peppers’ which featured tomatoes, capers, mozzarella, olives, oregano and garlic. The tomato sauce had a good sweet and savoury flavour and the mozzarella was springy and fresh. Your scribe had the ‘Anchovy’ pizza which, in addition to the anchovies, featured tomatoes, capers, oregano, garlic, and mozzarella. You might be thinking ‘salt overload’ here, but the balance was just right. And as you can see in the pictures below, the pizzas are slightly charred, giving them a smoky quality which rounds off the whole affair nicely. 

  • Anchovy
  • Pepper

The two pizzas came in at £23. They are available for collection in person or by delivery (we have suspended our opposition to Deliveroo due to lockdown but don’t worry, it will come back). They are open Wednesday to Saturday, 17:00 to 21:00. As we’ve mentioned before, if these places are going to survive they need our custom now for than ever….Because if they close we’ll all be doomed to a world of…..PAPA JOHNS! 

To burn off the calories from a Theo’s pizza you might need to binge watch Joe Wicks workout videos for the next nine days but what the hell, these are strange times. 

Moore for the people

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Did you know there’s a Henry Moore sculpture in Kennington Park? You did? Well we didn’t, so we’re here to tell you moore about it.

The sculpture is called ‘Two Piece Reclining Figure #3′ and it isn’t actually in Kennington Park, but rather nests peacefully in the Brandon Estate (the tall buildings to the back of the park). It is one of five that were cast by Moore, probably in 1961. It was purchased in 1962 by Southwark under a scheme to place artworks in post war estates called ‘The Abercrombie Plan’. The plan was surprisingly modern in hindsight; acknowledging that the psychological perception of a place isn’t just down to basic amenities, but also creative detail. We wrote about other works of art purchased by the plan a few months ago. 

For those of you not familiar with Henry Moore, he is best known for his semi abstract bronze and marble works, usually depicting women at rest. He was from Yorkshire, and it is speculated that his figures were influenced by the rolling hills of his birthplace. To us, ‘#3’ appears to be influenced by the female sculptures of the Elgin marbles, but who are we to put ideas in your head. A well known Socialist, Moore believed that art was to be enjoyed by the masses and he must have been very proud that this casting of ‘#3’ can be seen by everyone on the Estate. 

Sadly a number of pieces of public art have been stolen and in 2012 Southwark council had to take some quite expensive measures to prevent our Moore from the same sad fate. The residents of Brandon Estate also deserve credit. A bit of free culture while the museums are shut, and It’s a perfect place for a serene picnic without the worry of getting hit on the head with a non socially distanced football. 

KR visits the Oval Village show home

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If you’re  a regular reader you are probably aware that we have been closely following the development of Oval Village and the surrounding area, which we call ‘Uptown KenVo’. Well, you’ll be pleased to know that the marketing suite is now open on Kennington Lane, and we just went on a guided tour for you.  

We were determined to approach our visit in a more mature and nuanced manner than when we visited the site previously. On our first visit an architect was imagining an independent bike shop on site, and we asked if the shop could also contain a small concession of ‘Subway’. On our second visit another architect was telling us about the flats to be erected inside the gas holder, and we commented ‘oh, so THAT’S what they mean by life behind bars’. 

The first building to be completed, ‘Phoenix Court’, will occupy roughly the same footprint as the former Tesco, and the ground floor will be the site of a new Tesco. Estimated completion is the first or second quarter of 2023. However, our chirpy tour guide let us know that Tesco will be opening next year. Flats range from £565k for a studio at 423 sq. ft. (!!!) to £1.56 million for a three bedroom at just over 1,000 sq. ft. As you can see from the pics the finish is high and the ceilings are over three meters. When all of the buildings are complete there will be public walkways through the development linking the Oval to Kennington Lane.  

The sales and marketing video can be found below. However, if you want a real giggle then watch the hilarious video  ‘A day the life of Oval Village’ at the bottom of their homepage and here. The video depicts a typical day in the life of a young man who goes about his day eating at Sally Whites, reading at Durning library, and then attending a lecture. He’s smiling throughout and you would be to if, at 25, you could shell out over half a million quid for a 400 square floor flat.  

https://youtu.be/Qy0YVogP-zI

From Russia with love

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We here at the Runoff are an absolute minefield of vaguely interesting trivia, but some of it happens to be fascinating indeed.  Did you know that the Russian word for a major rail station is ‘Vokzal’. Remind you of anything? Here’s a clue…think of a lot of dazed clubbers, bus fumes, and a ski ramp. 

Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (and if you haven’t heard of it, there have been whole books written about it) was one of several  pleasure gardens in London which were enjoyed by the masses until they fizzled out in the mid 19th century. The activities at Vauxhall included fireworks, balloon rides, concerts, and candlelit walks. Vauxhall was hugely influential on the continent and its attractions replicated many times over. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen was originally called ‘Tivoli and Vauxhall’, in fact. 

The grounds of Pavlovsk Palace near St. Petersburg were converted into pleasure gardens in the 1840’s and called ‘Vokzal’ as a nod to its inspiration in London. The first railway in Russia served the Imperial family and ran between St. Petersburg and the palace itself. When the railway was opened to the public the station was emblazoned with the word ‘Vokzal’. The purpose of this was to indicate the terminus of the train, but the station itself became known as ‘Vokzal’ and this eventually became  the generic term for all rail termini in Russia. 

There are plenty of interesting theories about  how the Vokzal name stuck, including an incorrect one from The Independent about a visiting Russian delegation.  (the Russian railway predates Vauxhall station by a year). Today the name seems to crop up quite a bit across the old USSR, from restaurants to clothing stores…Это увлекательно или как?