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@dubkev
So I had a look around some other courts in Lambeth, I needed to get out of the house last Saturday.
The first one is at Kennington Park near the Oval, mentioned previously. The surface is good and the size is fine, maybe about the same size as Newington, possibly a bit smaller - but the gaps in the fence are bigger than a ball, so every time the ball goes off the fence, there's a good chance it will slip out. There's also a huge gap beneath the fence at either end where the goals are, and this also slopes down, so this would have to be boarded up or blocked somehow. Its a potential for use at a stretch but not great, and also the smaller height of the fence around the edges could see people going over the top of it if there's a bit of checking / crashing going on. The curved posts also stick out a bit, like Downs. Not ideal.
The next one was at Lawn Lane in Vauxhall Park. Its nicely closed off from the rest of the park, but the surface is not great, quite scratchy, the whole court is on a slope, the goals are pushed right up against the wall with no space behind them. A non-runner unfortunately.
The last one then is at the back of the Vauxhall Tavern (Tylers Street) - next to the slope where there are always people still caning it from the night before. I was there at 11 in the morning and there were still about a dozen people, off their faces, having some cans and talking saucer eyed nonsense... (I'm just jealous, thats all).
I saw it and thought, fuck - this could be the best court in London. Unobtrusive fencing, floodlights, no goal posts in the way, really big size, brand new as well from the looks of things... and then I stepped onto the surface. Its some sort of rubberised / spongy surface, like the stuff you see in some kids playgrounds. I vaguely remember someone here saying that they played on it before in a court, maybe somewhere in Bermondsey. What's it like to play on? I was on a road bike with no mallet and ball. Maybe it might be good for a beginners court? Shame it isnt a harder surface, I think it would be brilliant otherwise.