May 2021

In the first of a series of articles by plot holders at Redbridge Lane West allotments in Wanstead, Ged Heeney reflects on the site’s long history and emphasises how devastating it would be to lose it

I was recently sent an old map of Wanstead as a gift from my sister. It was an Ordnance Survey map, compiled in 1915 during the First World War. Wanstead was still in Essex, and much of the land to the east was rural. I found it fascinating to see so much that I recognised from having lived in Wanstead for the past 25 years, but also to see how much has changed.

The Hainault branch of the Central Line had not yet been built, so there was no Wanstead Station. The A406 and the A12 did not exist. Instead, the road leading east from The George pub was known as George Lane and went as far as what is now the footbridge over the A12, before turning left into what later became Nutter Lane.

The site which is now Wanstead High School was occupied by the rectory of St Mary the Virgin, Overton Drive, and the land opposite was ‘glebe’, used to support the parish priest. This use is reflected in the roads in that area, which were named after former rectors. Wigram and Drummond Roads were the only ones in 1915, but would later be joined by Corbett Road and Rectory Crescent.

There was no leisure centre either, and Redbridge Lane curved through the fields to the Red Bridge, which crossed the River Roding, and eventually gave its name to the local borough.

One thing that has not changed in over a hundred years, however, is the use of the land at the bottom of Redbridge Lane West, next to what is now River Close. The map shows this area as allotments. However, this could all change. The gas company, Cadent, which has a site adjoining the allotments, have said they wish to take over the allotments to use as a base for upgrade work. This would involve paving over the site for turning HGVs or for employee parking. This would be a devastating blow to us plot holders who have spent years nurturing the land.

Cadent met with the tenants to present their plans and listen to suggestions. I fear that if the planned developments take place, the land may never be returned to its original use.

If you value the green spaces in your neighbourhood, where wildlife such as toads and newts can live undisturbed, where people with learning disabilities are provided the chance to grow their own produce by local charity Sprout There!, and where the best fruit and vegetables in Wanstead can be found, then please sign our petition and pass it on!

For more information and to view the petition, visit wnstd.com/rlw

John Sharpe of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands reports on the Wanstead Park Action Plan and the group’s ongoing collaboration with the City of London. Photo by Collette Curry

Once again, regular and casual visitors to Wanstead Park have been marvelling at the compelling display of bluebells this spring, and during last summer, a similar level of widespread entrancement was induced by the magical arrival of long-horned cattle in the park.

Many people using the park give little or no thought to the machinations underpinning the staging of these activities, which fundamentally rely on City of London management (through Epping Forest) and the stakeholder groups which interact with them.

Both the Friends of Wanstead Parklands and the Wren Group make significant volunteer contributions – for example, the Friends through supervision of cattle grazing and monthly litter picks, and the Wrens through seasonal briar clearance from the bluebell wood and other vegetation removal.

An equally important role of the Friends is our ongoing collaboration with the City of London concerning the management of the park. For over 10 years, the Friends of Wanstead Parklands has been urging the City to invest in Wanstead Park to remove it from the Heritage at Risk register and provide it with a sustainable future. A consistent perceived barrier has been the plethora of City committees through which park improvement proposals have to travel to reach approval.

In September 2020, the City of London was presented with a highly critical “warts and all” report by Lord Lisvane, criticising its model of governance, and specifically, the number of committees. This report is ostensibly already having an impact on how the City, through Epping Forest, interacts with the Friends. Three nominal City of London committees dealing with Wanstead Park have now been condensed into one, with options for ad hoc strategic meetings as and when necessary. This may turn out to be a positive development, which provides the opportunity for Wanstead Park business to be streamlined and associated actions speeded up.

Immediate indicators are good. The single stakeholder meeting for Wanstead Park is now headed up by a Park Verderer, and for the first time, this liaison group has been presented with a Wanstead Park Action Plan, scheduling what will be done and when for the period 2021 and 2022. This includes operational and capital works covering water management, entrances and paths, and major and minor projects, including renovation of the Grotto. A real statement of accountability.

So far so good… The potential reality, though, is that this will not be an easy transition for the City, as engrained cultures and working practices are difficult to change with any degree of speed.

Some staging points targeted on the action plan are already looking stretched. Initial work to the Grotto landing stage supported by the Heritage of London Trust is delayed, as is the replacement of park signage. The progression of both these projects and the works identified in the action plan will be a genuine test as to whether the City can become a more fluid and responsive organisation, which will enable them to meet their own objectives and get things done.

The other main challenge continues to be access to City funding. The risk to future park funding has now been exacerbated by the uncertainties arising from the impact of Covid-19 on City of London income, which has caused a brake to be applied to all but the most essential capital expenditure. This has been equally frustrating for both the Friends and Epping Forest management who – in addition – have had to manage the environmentally damaging consequences of an estimated 350% increase in Wanstead Park and Epping Forest users over the last year.

In the present environment, it is possible future projects will have to consider alternative mixes of private and public funding, with additional working party support from volunteer groups very much part of the package.

On behalf of Wanstead Park users, the Friends will be closely monitoring developments.

City Limits is a regular column featured in the Friends of Wanstead Parklands’ newsletter. For more information and to join the Friends, visit wnstd.com/joinfwp

In the eighth of a series of articles looking at the redevelopment of Whipps Cross Hospital, Charlotte Monro encourages residents to view and comment on the planning application, which has now been submitted

A new Whipps is desperately needed, but the proposals as they stand cannot meet the needs of our population. This is the conviction of a growing body of MPs, councillors, clinicians and the communities the hospital serves. More space needs to be reserved on the Whipps Cross site for healthcare, for present and future needs.

The plans show a residential tower block next to the hospital on land which earlier plans had reserved for the hospital itself. More beds are needed – not 51 fewer – and all the valued services we currently have should be retained and developed.

At least 10 north-east London MPs have expressed concerns. Redbridge Council’s own Health Scrutiny Committee has formally raised the bed reduction issue with Barts Health Trust, along with concerns over the loss of the Margaret Centre (a specialist palliative care unit) and inadequate public transport links and public consultation. “We are seriously concerned that forecasts make unsustainable assumptions about the developments in primary care, community healthcare, and social care… the assumption that integrated care systems will reduce [hospital] demand is not evidenced,” said Neil Zammett, chair of the committee.

John Cryer MP has spoken in Parliament: “[Hospital] rebuilds are welcome… but there are also concerns that a number of the projects imply reductions in bed numbers. Particularly after the pandemic, that seems to me… very misguided. Indeed, people were saying that even before the pandemic.”

Regarding The Margaret Centre, Iain Duncan Smith MP – along with other MPs and Neil Zammett – has made clear the outstanding care the unit provides. Subsuming it into general end-of-life care is not a viable option.

A group of us – including local people who have experienced the care the Margaret Centre provided for their loved ones – have met with senior nurses, clinical leads and Whipps redevelopment directors, who are reviewing the new palliative and end-of-life care plans. We explained why a specialist unit like the Margaret Centre must be provided in the new hospital, and why disbursing this care to side rooms on general wards will be an unacceptable loss of quality and access. We found empathy and appreciation of the value of the model of care from the clinicians, but also had the impression of pressure from government level against providing a specialist unit. We received no commitment it will be provided. We have to ensure it is, and call on your support. We agreed to meet again.

Whipps is our hospital. We cannot allow this once-in-a-generations opportunity to fall so short and leave our hospital care under the same pressures as today.

For more information and to comment on the planning application, click here and search for Application Reference Numbers: 211245 and 211244

Watch video testimonies on the Margaret Centre here.

Read the Redbrdige Scrutiny committee’s letter to Barts Health Trust here.

The Woodford and District National Trust Centre is planning for a return to in-person meetings on 22 September, when keen gardener Ed Fairey will be talking about the National Garden Scheme (NGS) in Essex.

“We have managed four Zoom events during the pandemic, but these have reminded us of how much we have missed the communal emotion of being together! More news will follow with the rest of our winter season meetings and outings,” said a spokesperson for the group.

Email speller643@btinternet.com

The Corner House Project – a Wanstead-based initiative that supports the homeless in east London – has become a registered UK charity

“The Corner House Project was started in 2019 by a small team in Wanstead and has gone from strength to strength. We now have a huge team of volunteers who have worked hard throughout the pandemic to help the vulnerable. We are now branching out into other fundraising areas, with a huge summer event planned for 4 July at Eton Manor RFC,” said Lizi Arnold.

Visit wnstd.com/cornerhse

Redbridge Council is consulting residents on the introduction of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) for parks and green spaces across the borough.

“A PSPO for parks will enable the council to take enforcement action against the minority who cause a nuisance, for the benefit of the majority who do the right thing and respect our parks and other park users,” said a spokesperson. The consultation closes on 11 June.

Visit wnstd.com/prkpspo

To support young people who may have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Redbridge Council has launched the Redbridge Youth Hub, a one-stop virtual shop for people aged 16 to 24.

Users will have access to information and advice on employment opportunities, education, apprenticeships, training, managing money and well-being services in and around the borough.

Visit wnstd.com/ryh

A mobility hub designed to encourage sustainable travel will be installed on Wanstead High Street this summer.

The hub – a small-scale transport interconnection – will include an electric car club bay and an electric vehicle charging bay, as well as an outdoor seating area, cycle parking and plants.

“We’re keen to promote active travel in Redbridge, as well as supporting the transition from diesel and petrol to electric vehicles, and providing more street space for residents and local businesses,” said Councillor Jo Blackman.

Women and girls in Redbridge are invited to attend a virtual ‘listening event’ to share their thoughts on what they want and need to feel safe.

“The aim is to provide local women and girls with a comfortable space to share their experiences and their views on how our borough can be made safer, for example by identifying areas that need to be better lit or pathways that feel unsafe to walk along,” said a spokesperson for Redbridge Council, which is hosting the sessions on 2 June at 7.30pm and 9 June at 5.30pm.

Visit wnstd.com/listen

Plans are being made for the return of the Wanstead Festival on 12 September, subject to government guidelines at the time.

“We’re looking forward to this year’s festival and accompanying events, including the Wanstead Fringe. It will be great for the community to come together after all the challenges of the pandemic,” said Councillor Jo Blackman.

The annual community event has been running since 2003 and attracts thousands of residents and visitors to Christchurch Green for a day of music and activities.

The Wanstead Park Liaison Group is to discuss the latest bluebell season and consider whether anything can be done differently in the future to better protect the flowers from being trampled.

“Wren Group volunteers work hard to clear undergrowth, so the bluebells are visible, and lay paths to deter people from walking on them. It’s not surprising that people become annoyed when they see visitors behaving inconsiderately. That said, the informal barriers have been largely successful,” said a spokesperson.

Redbridge Council officers have met with Cadent to discuss the proposed works to the gas company’s Redbridge Lane West site and possible impact on the adjacent allotments.

At the time of writing, a schedule of the work and the areas affected were not available. “Both the council and Cadent have agreed to joint communications as this project develops in accordance with feedback from the community,” said a council spokesperson.

A ‘save the allotments’ petition has received 4,000 signatures.

Visit wnstd.com/sta

Vision RCL has updated its plans for a new café on Christchurch Green.

“Following feedback from the Licensing Committee, it was encouraged that we submit a full planning application. This advice has been followed and an application is to be submitted shortly,” said a spokesperson.

It follows a delay in a previous application earlier this year.

Councillor Jo Blackman added: “We are pleased Vision has listened to concerns raised by ward councillors and residents and will be proceeding with plans for a kiosk without an alcohol licence.”

A memorial bench in honour of Jill Stock – who died in a road traffic collision in 2019 – has been placed on Wanstead High Street outside the Co-op.

“Mum was visiting family in Somerset when tragedy struck. The impact of her death extended far beyond her immediate family and friends – it was also a huge loss for many people in Wanstead… Mum loved Wanstead – she said it was “a very special community” – and she put her heart and soul into it ever since moving here in 1975,” said Jill’s daughter Kate Gloudemans.

Wanstead Parish has launched a consultation about plans for the future of St Mary’s and Christ Church.

“The Parish is in the final phase of a year-long project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The aims of the project are: to better understand what urgent repairs we need to make over the next five years to our two churches, to improve access, to see how we could make the most difference to our communities, to increase our capacity to do more, and to reduce our carbon footprint… We’re looking for views from the whole wider community,” said a church spokesperson.

The plans include making the churchyard at St Mary’s more accessible, internal changes to the layout of Christ Church and emergency repairs to its spire.

Information boards are on display in both venues and can also be viewed here, with the consultation open until 10 June.

Click here to take part in the consultation.

Plans for a jumble sale along Cowley Road in Wanstead have been expanded to a jumble trail, incorporating several surrounding roads.

“You may have seen posters about the jumble trail to be held in Cowley Road on Sunday 16 May. Since then, residents from several other streets have asked to join in, including Nightingale Lane, Gordon Road, Addison Road, Chaucer Road, Dangan Road and Spratt Hall Road,” said organiser Jennie O’Beirne.

The event will start from 11.30am and run until 2.30pm.

“We’ve all had a chance to have a good clear out of our old treasures so come and make them your new ones!”

For more information, call 07733 312 782

When two people buy a property together, it is essential to agree how the property is to be owned, says Gary Gillespie, Senior Conveyancing Executive from local solicitors Wiseman Lee

Imagine you cohabit as an unmarried couple and the two of you buy a weekend cottage together. You each have your own properties and you are financially independent of each other.

Your partner funds the whole of the cash purchase of the cottage and the Land Registry ownership details do not record that it is a tenancy in common to confirm the property is owned by both of you in shares.

At the pre-exchange contract meeting between the two of you and your solicitor, you confirm that it is not an investment purchase and you will be joint tenants. What is not discussed with the solicitor is that the payment of the purchase price is being made solely by your partner.

So, what would be fair when, years later, the two of you separate and you cannot agree how the proceeds of sale are divided? Are you entitled to part of the money or does it all belong to your partner? After all, you have not contributed to the purchase price but you are joint owners and you might think it was intended that your partner had, by implication, gifted half of the purchase money to you.

If you cannot agree how the proceeds of sale are divided, it may be necessary for you to ask the court for an order of sale. These kinds of cases are unique on the facts applying to the couple concerned, but the general principle arising from a 2007 Supreme Court case called Stack v Dowden is that the person who pays receives the net proceeds of sale, or it is split according to your financial contributions.

In cases like these, the question is whether each of you intended that you would receive a beneficial interest in the property. The difficulty is that a beneficial interest is different from a legal interest, and what the court did in the Stack v Dowden case was to examine the party’s intentions by looking at all the circumstances to arrive at the decision.

Therefore, if you intend you should each receive a share of the sale proceeds, please ask your solicitor to draw up a Declaration of Trust, agreeing what each of you will receive when the property is sold. If nothing is mentioned about this you could become embroiled in a time-consuming and expensive court case, which will likely cause a great deal of worry.

It is essential that when two people buy a property together you agree beforehand how the property is to be owned between you and therefore how the proceeds are to be divided on sale.

Wiseman Lee is located at 9–13 Cambridge Park, Wanstead, E11 2PU. For more information, call 020 8215 1000

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the third of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Nicola Steele offers tips for saving our sparrows

The RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch 2021 revealed that sparrows remain the UK’s most frequently spotted bird. Yet their numbers have declined dramatically in recent years. Wanstead’s streets must have been alive with their noisy conversations when hedges and front gardens were the norm, and the species was able to flourish on our doorsteps.

House sparrows are social birds and live together in big groups called colonies. They build their nests in the eaves or crevices of buildings, and in ivy, bushes and hedges. Nests are made from a variety of materials like dry grasses and feathers. They lay around three to five eggs and will have at least two clutches a year. The chicks are fed on regurgitated insects.

Sparrows are on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern and are a priority species under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework. Around 60% of house sparrows have been lost since the mid-1970s, and declines have been particularly acute in large cities like London. Research is underway to find out why. Starvation of chicks due to a lack of insects may contribute to the problem. High nitrogen dioxide levels from traffic pollution have also been linked to declines. There are colonies of sparrows peppered around Wanstead. There is anecdotal evidence that some may be increasing from a low base, but in other locations, they continue to be lost as people remove the hedges and other places where they live. If you’re lucky enough to live near a colony, sparrows can seem ubiquitous because of the number and the energetic and noisy nature of the birds. However, there are huge gaps around our local area where you walk for long periods without encountering a single sparrow; this would likely have been unthinkable until recently.

How to help:

• Provide food and water for sparrows in your garden. They’ll happily visit bird feeders, but if you can, feed them mealworms or waxworms, especially when they’re rearing their chicks in late spring and early summer (April to August).
• Make your garden a haven for insects – that means one thing, lots of foliage. Large areas of paving for drives and patios, along with plastic grass, are disastrous for city insects and wildlife more generally – dig some of it up or cover it with planters to re-green your plot. Ground-dwelling insects, such as beetles, generally benefit from dense vegetation, including evergreens. Flying insects need flowers across the year – look out for ones with the Plants for Pollinators logo. Find ideas at wildwanstead.org/star-plants.
• Other great habitats for insects are long-grass areas, mini wild flower meadows, leaf and log piles and bug hotels. Never use slug pellets or pesticides.
• Plant hedges and shrubs to provide shelter and foraging habitats for sparrows, such as hawthorn or viburnum.
• Have a bird bath – sparrows love a communal splash-about when it’s warm.
• Install a sparrow nest box terrace.
• It’s really important to protect colonies, as house sparrows can take a long time to return to areas from where they’ve disappeared. If you’re lucky enough to have sparrows living nearby, work with your neighbours to ensure everyone understands how important it is not to damage their nest sites.

For more information about the 10 species under threat of extinction in Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/the10

Independence is something all children need to learn, and the best way to help them develop this vital skill is to encourage exploration and other healthy risk-taking, says Shona O’Neill of Little Bear’s Nursery

Independence is a key component of your child’s early development and essential for developing other key life skills, such as social skills, self-reliance and perseverance, which, in turn, enhances self-esteem and feelings of belonging. So, how can parents help support their child’s independence?

Offering informed choices
The secret to offering informed choices is to choose the right battle. Start with allowing your child to choose what to wear. Assist the choice by stating what the options are and why they would be a good choice, such as wellies in wet weather as they are waterproof.

Providing flexibility within structure
Predictability and consistency help children feel safe; however, rigidity can be counterproductive. Providing opportunities for your child to choose activities where practicable builds up a spirit of co-operation and creates an atmosphere that values other views and opinions.

Encourage healthy risk
Children’s safety is paramount; however, we must balance the desire to keep our children safe without squashing their desire to develop essential skills, like using scissors or other tools. There is a difference between a ‘hazard’ and a ‘risk’. A hazard is something unpredictable and unmanageable that can and likely will hurt your child, such as traffic or poisonous substances. A healthy risk is something that might make you cringe a little but supports your child’s growth and development. Examples might include riding bikes or scooters after you’ve talked with your child about safety rules and highlighted the potential dangers. In a healthy risk, you’ve done your part to ensure your child’s safety and your child knows how to moderate potential dangers.

Embrace mistakes
When children are little, it’s appropriate to offer plenty of support; however, we must allow children to make mistakes because they learn the most from those trial-and-error moments. We should be mindful not to squash our children’s desire to explore and learn without the fear of scrutiny.

Set up an environment for success
How your home is organised can make a big difference to your child’s independence. Organise your home so your child knows where everything goes. For instance, shoes and coats go in the cloakroom and toys go in marked bins in the playroom or bedroom. In the kitchen, keep plastic dishware at child height and teach your child how to get a simple snack or cup of water.

Little Bear’s Nursery is located at 14 Seagry Road, Wanstead, E11 2NG. A free registration offer is available until 15 May. For more information, call 020 8530 7541 or visit littlebearsnursery.co.uk

A local child psychotherapist will be offering her top five self-care tips for parents in a post-pandemic world during a free virtual event on 10 May from 12 noon.

“I will explain why self-care is not self-indulgence, and you will walk away with lots of strategies to create your own self-care plan,” said Usha Chudasama. The presentation is part of Wellness Festival 2021, which has been organised by Wanstead resident Elsa Arnold and features a range of events to ‘help residents through the final straight of lockdown’.

Visit wnstd.com/well21

Redbridge in Bloom – the borough’s annual amateur gardening competition – returns this year with a rainbow theme.

“Whatever your level of gardening expertise, help us spread a message of love in support of the NHS by creating your very own rainbow garden. Fill your front gardens with flowers bursting with all the colours of the rainbow,” said a spokesperson for Vision RCL, which organises the competition. The closing date for entries is 5 July, with judging to take place between 12 and 16 July.

Visit wnstd.com/bloom21

Historian and author Dr Hannah Armstrong talks about her earliest memories of Wanstead Park and her personal journey to writing Wanstead House: East London’s Lost Palace

My mum tells me that she took me to Wanstead Park just days after I was born. We lived in Langley Drive, just a stone’s throw away; in fact, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t going to the park as a child! I have a very vivid memory of looking up at the Grotto and my mum telling me about a house. I remember thinking the Grotto was the house and then later feeling surprised at how large it actually was. My dad’s job took us overseas and I left Wanstead at eight years old, so it was not until about 15 years later that I was reunited with this interest.

I have always loved art and design, so it seemed only natural to me to apply to art school. I studied at Camberwell, specialising in textile design, specifically embroidery and screen printing. In my second year, I wrote a dissertation about William Morris and his ideology of art for all. That really set something alight for me. From that point, it became clear I wanted to turn my attention to the history of design and so applied for the MLitt in Decorative Arts and Design History at Glasgow University. That year changed everything for me.

During my Masters, I developed an interest in 18th-century interiors and domesticity, specifically, how they were represented in conversation pieces (informal group portraits). I would occasionally come across references to Wanstead, and I was amazed and excited to learn that such a significant house once stood in the park I used to visit as a child. Realising it was relatively understudied in academia, I applied for funding and was delighted to be accepted to study for my PhD at Birkbeck College, University of London. I was incredibly fortunate to be supervised by Kate Retford, a wonderful historian who has written much on Georgian conversation pieces and the country house.

The part of my PhD I most enjoyed were my archive days at the Essex Record Office and the Wiltshire and Swindon Record Centre. It is an incredible experience to hold a letter in your hands written by someone you have spent so much time thinking and writing about. I find those moments very moving, as if we are connected in time through one artefact. Other highlights included having access to visit a house in Hills Road, Cambridge where I could finally encounter real fragments of building fabric from Wanstead House.

If I could go back in time, I would love to meet Richard Child, 1st Earl Tylney, and watch Wanstead House being constructed and see its interior flourish. I would be really interested to see the Elizabethan manor that stood on the site prior to the building of Colen Campbell’s classical mansion. And I wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall when Richard and Campbell met!

I have really enjoyed writing about the furnishing of Wanstead House, transporting myself into Wanstead House and imagining how it must have felt to experience the house. It was great fun piecing together its interior through reading visitor accounts, studying floor plans and analysing famous portraits by Hogarth and Nollekens.

My plans for the future include giving some talks later in the year at St Mary’s Church, Wanstead, the Copped Hall Trust and at Wanstead Fringe. I am also excited about the new developments at Wanstead Park, in particular, the restoration of the Grotto boathouse structure. I hope my book will help to generate interest and support for the park’s long-term preservation.

This article was based on an interview with Nigel Franceschi of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands, which commissioned the book.

Wanstead House: East London’s Lost Palace will be published in March 2022. Pre-orders receive 40% off the £45 retail price. For more information, visit wnstd.com/palace

Wanstead resident Jean Medcalf published her first poetry book last year. To Everything There is a Season is a collection of lyrical, spiritual poems about nature. In the seventh of a series of articles, Jean – who celebrates her 90th birthday this month – shares a photo of herself in Wanstead Park in the 1950s

The ‘merry month of May’ is my birth month, and this year is a special one as I will celebrate my 90th birthday. May is also one of my favourite times of the year, when nature has sprung into life, the weather is warm, the garden is full of flowers, and summer is on its way. 

May is also my favourite time to visit Wanstead Park. I have loved going there since I was a little girl, when my mother used to take me in the summer and we would meet my Aunt May and cousin Audrey for a picnic of sandwiches and rock cakes. Audrey and I used to climb up a little hill we called the ‘mountain’. This was part of the landscaping of the original grounds of Wanstead House when it was a stately home. I also remember, of course, the Grotto, which is the ruins of the old boathouse and the lovely old Chalet tea house, which sadly burned down.

Later, as a teenager, Wanstead Park was the place where we girls would go for a romantic evening walk with our boyfriends. However, we had to be careful not to stay out too late – the park keeper locked the gates in the evening and we would then have to climb over to get out!

When I had children of my own we would often go there in the summer for a picnic with our wicker picnic basket, a big thermos of tea, sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs, and later, we took our little granddaughter. The poem presented here is about the first time she came to Wanstead Park with us and hugged her first tree.

Wanstead Park in May is bursting with fresh new life. Everywhere are the ‘darling buds of May’, the lacy white froth of cow parsley, the delicate bell-like flowers of wood anemones, furry grey catkins, ferns unfurling, brimstone yellow flag irises by the fringe of the lake. The birds are singing their hearts out and “the green woods laugh with the voice of joy.”

But above all, the park is at its loveliest in May when the bluebells are flowering. There is something almost holy about the bluebell woods, which reminds me of the feeling one has when entering a cathedral. The peace and stillness, the tall tree trunks soaring up to the heavens like stone columns, the soft shafts of light filtering through the leaf canopy, and the bluebells in azure drifts of hazy smoke-blue, giving up their fragrance to the air like incense. And, as in a place of worship, I sit quietly, drinking in all the beauty around me, and feel very close to God, who has created it.

Take and Give
by Jean Medcalf

Last Sunday afternoon we took a walk
My family and I
Plus, for the first time, Victoria.

We fed the ducks, then walked into the woods.
I found a chestnut tree – as is my wont
I put my arms around it for loving help.
It took from me my fears and uncertainties
And gave to me tranquillity and love.

I said goodbye and turned to walk away
And as I did I saw my actions copied.
Like a small bright butterfly clinging to the trunk,
Face pressed to the bark, a small girl
Laughed in imitation of her grandmother.

She took nothing from the tree
But gave to it her sparkling love of life
Her joy and champagne laughter.

She was so small as to be near the roots.
Her brightness will be stored
In readiness for future visitors
Seeking hope, and calm, and love.

Jean’s book To Everything There is a Season is available in paperback (£4.75). Visit wnstd.com/jean