Tea House Theatre is open(ish) - and you absolutely must visit...

So, I know, Tradescant Road beat me to it, and discovered that the Tea House Theatre had opened(ish) earlier this week.  He has a fantastic post with photos here.  Not to be done outdone, I had to pay a visit myself.

Well, wow.  What can I say?  The place is positively spiffing.  I even visited twice in one weekend (once for breakfast and once for afternoon tea).  Food is absolutely top notch.  Cakes are to die for (even rivalling @CakeHoleLondon at Oval Market).  Decor is exquisite (if still receiving finishing touches).  The other SE11 Lurker was insistent that I mention the fabulous finish in the lavatories too.  So, there we are... Staff are friendly and welcoming.  It was a little quiet, but that's to be expected, and business was reportedly good over the weekend.  And they're experimenting with the menu (of which I have a "this will continue to evolve") version to upload later.  It's currently the only place (I think) it's possible to get a cream tea (ingredients all fresh, homemade jam too) in Kennington or Vauxhall.

Tea House Theatre is currently open from 9am - 6pm, seven days a week.  They'll also be opening from 6pm-9pm on a Monday for Knitter Natter, for folk who want to knit, chat and drink tea.  They're happy to open on other evenings too for special-interest groups and would obviously like to build up a fanbase of  actors, artists and general tea-drinking Kenningtonian layabouts...

You'll love the teapots in their hand-knitted tea-cosies, and there was a great selection of tea which increased between visits on Saturday and Sunday.  If you don't like, tea, I recommend the smoothies.  Apparently, they will eventually offer coffee, but that won't happen for a while yet:

And if tea isn't enough, you can purchase some old fashioned sweet-shoppe goodness, weighed on old fashioned real scales (none of that digital nonsense here, thank you): 

By one of the fire places (just out of shot as not quite finished) is this fabulous gentlemen's drinking corner...  Looking forward to winter already.  Pass the port old chap:

 The new logo, to be emblazoned all over the shop.  They've not yet finished the lettering outside, but I expect this to feature prominently.  What I want to know is when the Tea House Theatre old-school-tie will be created.  And preferably a scarf in blue and gold too.

All I can say is that civility has returned to Vauxhall.  Fine bone china, and, dare I mention it, linen napkins.  Yes, linen.  This is a major competitor with Oval Market for lazy Saturday morning custom now.

In my bid to deliver you every last detail, I even photographed the rather attractive new bathroom.  You're right.  That probably wasn't strictly necessary, but with Tradescant Road hot on my heels, I'm clearly going to have to go just that bit further:

Tea House Theatre is slightly tucked away behind Vauxhall Spring Gardens, based on the site of the former Queen Anne strip pub, just next to Glasshouse Walk playground.

Royal Wedding Street Party at Tea House Theatre in Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens

The yet-to-open Tea House Theatre will be holding an all-day (9am - 6pm) Royal Wedding Street Party on Vauxhall Walk on Friday 29th April.  There'll be tea, cake, jelly, icecream, cricket, special guests, animals from Vauxhall City Farm, bingo and free entry to the after party at the Black Dog pub.  What more could anybody possibly want?  Oh, and local residents are invited to bring a cake for the cake-judging competition.  (The day is held in association with VGERTA, The Friends of Spring Gardens, The Vauxhall Society, Black Dog pub, Vauxhall City Farm, PJ Frankland (our local butcher) and Blueberry Hill Cakes.)

The Tea House Theatre is situated on the corner of Laud Street and Vauxhall Walk and can be accessed from Kennington Lane by strolling across Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens (formerly Spring Gardens).  The theatre is based on the site of the old Queen Anne pub.

See poster below for the same info in a more attractive format:

I also understand that there's a Royal Wedding Street Party taking place in Cleaver Square, but it's only open to those who hold tickets, and tickets were only distributed to neighbouring residents associations, so if you're looking for something open to the public, it would be better to head to Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens!

Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens: £250k for a gold statue & Tea House Theatre refurb

(Photo taken from Tea House Theatre blog)

The Tea House Theatre (formely the Queen Anne strip pub) are moving ahead rapidly with their renovations.  They've got a new Tea House Theatre blog, where you can view photos of their renovation work and track their progress.  They've uncovered centuries of old wallpaper, discovered original fire places and cleared and cleared and cleared to reveal 1200 square feet of space.  It's very positve and will hopefully encourage further development of an "arts quarter" in SE11.

(Photo taken from Friends of Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens site)

What are they building on Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens?  Two 18 metre lit-columns to mark the entrance to the park.  Last night, as I was waiting for a lift outside Vauxhall station, I noticed that the two Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens "columns" appear to be surrounded by scaffolding, but progressing quite well.  They look a bit tall and rather strange in comparison with the surrounding buildings (reminding me of two down turned cigarettes), but art appreciation has never been my strong point.  What do readers think?

(Photos from Cinema Museum website and Bangalore.metblogs respectively)

Finally, how much does it cost to erect a statue of your favourite guru (or guruette) in Lambeth?  It appears that all you need is the backing of the Mayor and a £250,000 bribe (or, ahem, offering) to a local "friends of" group for regeneration of the Gardens.  Obviously, with looming council cuts, the money is attractive to the Friends of the Pleasure Gardens, but it does beg the question of whether local residents want a 3.5 foot bust (on plinth) of Basavanna, a 12th century Indian philosopher, on the Albert Embankment?  (I must make it clear that I'm not against public busts of important cultural figures from all over the place, and this Indian chap sounds like a thoroughly progressive guy, but I question the manner in which this has been proposed.  Which councillors would consider objecting and upsetting the mayor?)  It seems that the bust won't technically be in the Pleasure Gardens (which only accepts busts of local dignitaries), but on a grass verge opposite the Texaco garage which is not quite in the park, and therefore qualifies as an appropriate place for the statue.  Sounds a bit, well, below the belt...  Thanks to Vauxhall Society for the heads up on that story, and read more information about the proposal here.

All of this does lead me to wonder whether Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens might accept money for the often proposed (and somewhat unattractive) giant 20 foot outline of Charlie Chaplin that frequently does the rounds?  Will Charlie look down from the park on Basavanna?  And who will have the last laugh?