September 2021

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 11th of a series of articles, Jean – who celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year – recalls some local coincidental link-ups. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Last month, I talked about how Wanstead feels like a village where everybody seems to know everybody.  There are so many times when the people I know seem to link up with each other in unexpected ways.

I first noticed this when my husband and I moved onto our street 60 years ago. We found that Mrs Rawlings across the road had been in my husband’s class at Wanstead High School. Harold, who lived opposite, was the son of my husband’s boss at Waltham Forest College, and just around the corner lived Ted Smith, the landscape gardener who used to be the gardener when I went to Leyton County High. Some years later, a young man moved into the end house with his family – he greeted me in the street with: “You must be Sally’s mum!” It turned out he had been in my daughter’s class at art college!

I was also once accosted by a lady in Cranbourne Avenue who announced: “I know who you are!” Her name was Kath Setchell and she was my other daughter’s boyfriend’s auntie!

When I first met my dear friend Beryl, we got chatting about the people we knew, and she mentioned that she used to look after an elderly man locally who turned out to be the father of one of my daughter’s Nightingale School classmates. When I retired, I took a creative writing class at Wanstead House, where our tutor was one Brandon Robshaw, who you may have seen on TV. And guess what – he too was in my daughter’s class at Nightingale!

Similarly, my elder daughter and myself used to go to a French film club at Wanstead House. Our tutor was a lovely lady called Yvonne. When we got chatting, she knew my husband’s cousin as they played bridge together.

The coincidences go on. Just recently, an old friend of mine named Sandra was out walking her dog and got chatting to a couple who had recently moved in. On asking where they lived, they said Colvin Gardens. She said: “I used to live in Colvin Gardens. What number is your house?” It turned out they’d moved into the very same house that she once lived in!

A year or so ago, I spent some time convalescing in Forest Dene Care Home following a broken arm. And pretty soon I heard a familiar voice; it was a lady named Beatrice, and as you can no doubt guess, her son was a great friend of my daughter at Nightingale! (I feel that if your children went to Nightingale you will not be short of friends in later life.) Not only did I meet Beatrice but another lady called Christine I had not seen for 25 years, who used to work with me at Langthorne Hospital. And to cap it all, we were in the visitors’ lounge and I saw someone whose face I seemed to recognise. We got chatting and I asked her who she was. She was the daughter of my school caretaker, who I had not seen for 75 years!

But the oddest coincidence of all took place when I engaged a new home help, Stella, who was Greek. She went shopping up the High Street, got lost and asked directions from a helpful lady, explaining that she had just arrived from Athens. By some strange chance, the lady she spoke to spoke fluent Greek! She and Stella went for a coffee together, and the helpful lady asked Stella who she was working for. “Jean Medcalf,” explained Stella, and the helpful lady replied: “Oh, I know Jean!” Can you guess who that lady was? Our very own Marian Temple!

Late Beauty
by Jean Medcalf

From my bedroom window

I can see into the heart of my tall old pear tree

My father-in-law called it Doyenne du Comice

Now in October the Virginia creeper twines carmine

Blood red among the green pendant pears

The creeper comes into its crimson beauty in autumn

At the height of its power its leaves will drop

Suddenly to burnish the brown earth beneath

It is at the height of its beauty just before death

I wonder – is this how it will be with grandparents

Best just before death?

Jean’s book To Everything There is a Season is available in paperback (£5.75). Visit wnstd.com/jean

Wanstead Fringe 2021 will include a number of stand-up comedy shows aimed at kids. It’s a genre that has become increasingly popular, says Wanstead Comedy Night organiser Jon Fentiman

In recent years, the popularity of stand-up comedy amongst younger children has seriously taken off. There are now a growing number of clubs and comedians tailoring their shows specifically to a younger, school-aged audience. However, despite stand-up giving off an edgy, alternative vibe, much of the credit for its growing popularity among primary aged kids must go to mainstream terrestrial TV, and one show in particular.

Often sneered at by the comedy industry, the producers of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent have, in fact, done more than perhaps anyone to raise the profile of stand-up comedy among kids. Broadcast before the watershed, and with the semi-finals and final often aired during spring half-term, Britain’s Got Talent has allowed youngsters to enjoy family friendly stand-up, often for the first time. And it is little surprise that in the last few years, comedians have done exceptionally well on the show.

Robert White (who has performed his club set a number of times for Wanstead Comedy Night) was runner up in 2017, and in 2018 and 2020 respectively, Lost Voice Guy Lee Ridley and musical comedian Jon Courtenay were both Britain’s Got Talent series winners. There can be little doubt that success in the competition is reliant on the thousands of votes cast by young schoolkids, armed with a mobile device and keen to exercise their democratic preference (with, of course, the bill-payer’s permission!).

In 2019, Graeme Mathews, a regular MC at our club, reached the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent with his mixture of Tommy Cooper-style comedy and magic. A talented circuit comedian, Graeme has also been a successful children’s entertainer for 20 years, and in the guise of his alter ego Bam Bam, Graeme knows exactly how to balance humour, magic and audience participation to produce a show that can be truly enjoyed by everyone, from five to 95!

Selling out when he last performed during Wanstead Fringe 2019, Bam Bam will be returning with a whole host of new tricks and family friendly comedy for Wanstead Fringe 2021 at St Gabriel’s Church Hall on 11 September from 3pm. In addition, Wanstead Comedy Night has organised a special comedy improv show for kids aged eight and over and their parents. Shoot From The Hip, one of the UK’s most talented, critically acclaimed improv troupes, will be performing their show tailored for children at The Wanstead Tap on 8 September from 5pm.

The format of Britain’s Got Talent, with its over-scripted backstories, may not be to everyone’s liking, but its contribution in bringing the enjoyment of stand-up comedy to a much younger audience certainly gets a “yes” from me.

For more information on Wanstead Fringe 2021 events and to book tickets, visit wnstd.com/fringe21

The City of London Corporation has submitted a planning application to seek permission to ‘consolidate and stabilise’ Wanstead Park’s Grade II listed Grotto.

A report on the 18th-century building states: “The landing stage at the base of the main structure is in need of immediate treatment. This area has partially collapsed on one side, whilst on the other side it forms part of the support to the base of the main masonry wall of the remainder of the structure.”

A decision is expected next month.

Visit wnstd.com/grottoplan

Giles Wilson, chair of the Wanstead Fringe – which returns this month for a 16-day calendar of cultural events – explains why despite everything, getting stuck in is the best option

Comedian Sean Lock once did a gig in which he reflected on what he had done with his time on Earth. As well as having a ‘bucket list’ of things he wanted to achieve, he had another list (which rhymed with ‘bucket’) of things he was going to stop doing.

His ambitions were idiosyncratic and timed for comic effect. For instance, he wanted, just once, to be able to kick a pigeon before it flapped out of the way. I’m sure he had other things on his list, and I hope he had a sense of satisfaction. But his death last month aged 58 was one of those periodic reminders that we only have so long here, and we really should make the most of the time we have.

At the end of July, The Times ran an encouraging review of Wanstead for househunters. “Move [to Wanstead] if you like getting stuck in,” it said. “Locals are a community-spirited bunch. Volunteer gardeners take care of the beds and planters around Wanstead Tube station, and there is also a thriving annual arts festival, the Wanstead Fringe.”

That made those of us involved in the Fringe walk a couple of inches taller. The idea of Wanstead folk as being people who like “getting stuck in” appealed to us so much, we decided to make it this year’s theme. In 2020, we were stuck at home. In 2021, we are going to get stuck in outside.

Many people in Wanstead make it their life’s work to get stuck in and make a difference. People whose service we realised we couldn’t do without – those working in hospitals, schools, food shops and other essential services.

And there’s another group who play their part without fanfare – the Akelas and Brown Owls, the sports coaches, the Tin in a Bin organisers and donors, the Saturday morning litter pickers. They, and a thousand others beside, play their part and get stuck in.

Which brings me to this year’s Fringe line-up. Comedy, talks, masterclasses, music, authors, the Kinema, the jumble trail – everything you could want from a Fringe festival. You can find details of many events in the calendar of this issue of Wanstead Village Directory, and you can get tickets from the Fringe website.

This will be the eighth Fringe – all without a penny of public money. Our patrons at Petty Son and Prestwich, Edwards Duthie Shamash solicitors, THP Accountants and the Wanstead Society have kept us on the road, as have the squad of event organisers and event attendees.

The only question left is – how are you going to get stuck in?

Wanstead Fringe 2021 will run from 3 to 19 September. For more information and tickets, visit wansteadfringe.org

Redbridge Council is giving away 50,000 spring-flowering bulbs in the return of its Big Bulb Giveaway.

“Since its launch three years ago, the much-loved initiative has continued to flourish, and we are giving away an extra 10,000 bulbs this year. Community groups, residents and schools can request the bulbs by completing an online form by 20 September,” said a spokesperson.

The giveaway will be followed by its partner event, The Big Planting Weekend, taking place between 15 and 17 October.

Visit wnstd.com/bbg

Wanstead resident Ben Harris has provided an update on his attempt to become the first person to kayak solo across Lake Tanganyika, the longest freshwater lake in the world.

“I got shipwrecked in a storm and now I’m continuing my journey to the lake’s northernmost point on foot. I have 400km through the Tanzanian bush to cover. I have just completed 160km,” said Ben in mid-August.

Ben’s expedition in the heart of Africa has raised over £7,700 for the charity Centrepoint.

Visit wnstd.com/bharris

A meadow of wildflowers has blossomed on Wanstead Flats at the site of the former Covid-19 mortuary facility, which was installed at the height of the pandemic in April 2020 and removed four months later.

The four-acre site, forming the southernmost boundary of Epping Forest, was subsequently reseeded with native species and temporarily fenced off to protect the young plants. Flowers flourishing in the meadow – which is now open to the public – include meadow pea, cow vetch and oxeye daisies.

Although there is no local art trail this year, Art Group Wanstead will be showing a display of members’ work at the Wanstead Festival on 12 September.

The artwork will be shown in the creative zone on Christchurch Green, among stalls selling a wide range of crafts, collectables and other goods.

“‘Art is a line around your thoughts,’ explained Gustav Klimt.  Consequently, some of the work on show at the festival is likely to give fresh insights into the strange past 18 months,” said the group’s founder Donna Mizzi.

Visit wnstd.com/art

Healthwatch Redbridge is running a survey to collate people’s experiences of local dental services since practices reopened on 8 June 2020, following the first lockdown.

“Since April 2021, 25% of Healthwatch calls have been to raise concerns about access to dental practices… The aim of the survey is to draw upon responses to improve services locally, but it will also help to build a national picture of dental care,” said a spokesperson.

Responses are invited until the end of September.

Visit wnstd.com/dentist

Dr Tali Artman-Partock has been appointed as the new rabbi at Sukkat Shalom Reform Synagogue following the retirement of Larry Becker, who led the Wanstead congregation for the past 13 years.

“Judaism has always had a big brain, but it could not have survived if it did not also have a big heart. This Judaism, that involved mind, body and soul, is what makes Sukkat Shalom so special,” said Israeli- born Dr Artman-Partock, who moved to England in 2015 to become a lecturer in the Faculty of Divinity at Cambridge University.

Snaresbrook Primary School pupil Ellis Gentles has set a new athletic record for the under-9s 75m sprint.

Competing at the Manchester Regional Arena in July, Ellis’ time of 11.27 seconds shaved 0.13 seconds off the previous record, which has stood since 2010.

“I was nervous at the start because this was the first time I was competing where a lot of famous athletes have raced before… I felt so happy about breaking a record set 11 years ago,” said eight-year-old Ellis, who trains with British 100m champion Dwain Chambers.

Local residents have raised over £3,700 to support Wanstead’s Big Issue vendor, Monica, whose home was flooded during the recent heavy rainfall.

“She is a single mother who has had a hard time of it, but things are looking up as she is about to gain indefinite leave to remain in September,” said Blythe Pepino, who started the fundraiser last month.

The money will allow Monica and her five sons to move into a two-bedroom flat, having moved out of their previous accommodation so the owner can renovate.

Visit wnstd.com/monica