March 2023

More than 45 people attended a Wanstead Climate Action community discussion earlier this month.

“Marilyn Taylor of Extinction Rebellion gave a talk in Christ Church about the dire climate situation, and on the day of the event, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also delivered his ‘final warning’ on the climate crisis. Following breakout discussions, Marilyn encouraged the audience to join The Big One, a mass demonstration that will take place outside Parliament from 21 April,” said a spokesperson.

Visit wnstd.com/wca

Redbridge Council’s garden waste collections will resume from 3 April.

Waste can be left in up to five open black sacks (garden waste must be visible), two reusable garden waste sacks, or one reusable garden waste sack and up to two open black sacks. Waste presented in any other way will not be collected. The fortnightly service runs until 27 October.

To check address-specific dates for all waste collection services, visit wnstd.com/waste

Parents still have time to book their children to attend the Easter Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in Redbridge.

The Redbridge HAF programme provides healthy food and enriching activities for children and young people over the school holidays, with free places for eligible children.

Each HAF location offers children and young people a range of activities from football and basketball to arts and crafts and drama. There is also an opportunity to learn about food and nutrition, meet new people, have fun, and make new friends.

Is my child eligible? 

Children must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a HAF place:

• In Reception up to Year 11
• In receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM)

The programme runs from Monday 3 April until Thursday 6 April.

For more information, click here.

Earlier this month, over 250 residents attended a public meeting to discuss the future of Wanstead Youth Centre with Redbridge Council. Kate Sloan from the Save Our Wanstead Youth Centre campaign reports

It is clear that residents from across Redbridge are very worried about the proposal to close Wanstead Youth Centre. Approximately 1,200 people use the venue per week, including young people, vulnerable groups and the wider community. It provides a safe space for social interaction and makes an invaluable contribution to the well-being of its users, with facilities including a main hall, a large sports hall and a fully equipped music recording studio.

At the public meeting on 7 March, Mark Baigent, Redbridge Council’s Corporate Director of Regeneration and Culture, said the reason for considering the closure was due to the £2.4m required for maintenance and repairs (as outlined by a surveyor’s report dated 22 April 2022), and the £86,000 a year the centre receives in subsidies to run it.

Whilst we accept the centre does need repair, we feel this is because, sadly, maintenance and repairs have not been properly undertaken over the years. We also feel that if the centre was advertised more, it could be used to its full potential and then little or no subsidy would be required. John Cryer MP has also expressed a similar view, recently tweeting: “[Vision] do not advertise the facility as far as I can see and make it very difficult to book, unlike all their other facilities.”

Key concerns from residents who packed the venue for the meeting included:

• Why more had not been done to maintain the centre over the years.
• That there was no suitable alternative location or provision that accommodated users’ needs available in the borough.
• That no work had been done to look at external sources of funding, such as grants or other investment.

Local young people also spoke passionately about the positive impact of the venue on their well-being. One centre user, Ellie, 15, asked: “Is the mental health of young people who use the centre being taken into account?” Concerned about the warnings young people receive about gangs, exploitation and mental health, she added: “This is one of the few places that holds our society together.”

The council’s proposal was to close the centre by May, so we called for a 12-month moratorium so we can engage with them and work together to secure the retention of the venue. At the time of writing, we are awaiting the council’s decision. Whatever the outcome, please get in touch if you would like to join the fight to save this valuable community facility.

Details of the council’s decision will be posted here when available.

For more information on the Save Our Wanstead Youth Centre campaign, email SaveWansteadYouthCentre@gmail.com or contact Liz Martins on 07403 649 306

To stay up to date on the campaign, join the Save Wanstead Youth Centre Facebook group, or follow the campaign on Twitter

A Wanstead Community Coronation Festival will take place on Christ Church Green on 7 May in aid of the Mayor of Redbridge Appeal and supporting Tin in a Bin.

“This will be a fabulous opportunity for the community to come together and celebrate the King’s Coronation. There will be music, entertainment, fairground rides, stalls, food and refreshments,” said Suzi Harnett, who is helping to organise the event. Volunteers, performers and stallholders are invited to take part.

If you would like to have a stall at this event,
contact Melissa: melissa.titre@treehousenurseryschool.com or call 07714 947 210 

If you would like to perform or get involved and volunteer on the day,
contact Suzi: suziharnett@btinternet.com or call 07917 670 664

Stand-up comedian Stephen Catling will be performing in Wanstead this April as part of the Laugh-Able Comedy Night to mark Autism Awareness Month. He believes people with autism need to speak up 

I am autistic and came from the North to live in London in 2016. I have been a comedian performing regularly on the London and general UK circuit since 2017. I am known for being an alternative act, who uses clowning and inventiveness on stage on the mainstream circuit. I’ve achieved several accolades including at the Stand-up for Cider comedy competition (finalist, 2023) and from both the South Coast Comedy Awards and the Student Comedy Awards (semi-finalist, 2022).

My earliest pathway into comedy was through watching Monty Python in high school, where friends and I wrote our own Pythonesque parodies of biblical stories, such as Noah’s Tardis. But I didn’t start performing solo until I joined the Lancaster University Comedy Institute during my studies in biomedical science and psychology. There I discovered a particular aptitude for surrealism. When I started performing in London, I began to hone my craft by incorporating other forms of comedy, such as clowning. I am now taking my solo show Beehavioural Problems: Something Something Autism to the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

I will be headlining the award-winning Laugh-Able Comedy Night at Wanstead Library this month, where the wonderful Mark Nicholas (promoter, comic, host and fellow autistic) has curated a line-up of comedians with autism spectrum disorder as part of Autism Awareness Month. Mark has hosted many amazing comedians at Laugh-Able over the years, some being very established on the scene, such Joe Wells, Andrew O’Neil and even Rosie Jones. While the commonality of the comedians is having a disability or being neurodivergent, the comics who perform are quite an eclectic mix.

How has autism made my life harder? As a child, I was bullied a lot for being weird and sensitive, but even as an adult I have found many employers (or would-be employers) make mistakes, usually out of blatant ignorance, but the result is the same and many have caused a great deal of harm (even when they’ve tried to do right). One research company did send a particularly problematic manager on an autism training course, but this was an exception in my career.

Many people get information about autism from inaccurate stereotypes in the media. Even today, Rain Man is people’s go-to idea of autism, but Dustin Hoffman’s character in the 1988 film had savant syndrome, which is very specific and very rare. And there are also issues with characters like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, who perpetuate the common stereotypes. So, my advice for other autistic people is to speak up and tell people more about our condition. The more diverse they see it, the less they treat us with misunderstanding and ignorance.

Stephen will perform at Wanstead Library on 5 April from 7.30pm (tickets: £3). Visit wnstd.com/laughapril

A controversial plan to build two blocks of flats on part of Snaresbrook Station car park was approved by Redbridge Council earlier this month.

Developers Pocket Living are due to start the two-year construction project in the spring of 2024, creating 74 homes, all of which will be available to first-time buyers in Redbridge at a 20% discount compared to the local market.

Residents who formed the Real Snaresbrook campaign opposed the development for a number of reasons, including the height of the buildings. 

A large cedar tree at the Shrubbery apartment blocks on Grosvenor Road has been felled for safety reasons.

The tree was at least 15m high and was a familiar landmark in Wanstead. Planning officers gave permission for it to be removed because of the risk of branches falling. There was a 1.5m crack in the tree’s main stem at 6m above ground level, likely caused by a storm, which meant the weight of the crown could not be supported by the trunk.

A replacement tree is to be planted on the site.

If we all love living in Wanstead as much as we say we do, then we all need to do more about the litter problem. It’s not the council’s job to clear up what we can’t be bothered to, says Jennie O’Beirne

Redbridge Council’s ‘Don’t be a tosser’ anti-litter campaign may be a bit crude for upmarket Wanstead – and it is certainly low profile – but the message is important. Litter is a huge problem, with more waste than ever being produced globally. The volume of dropped waste is an eyesore and has knock-on effects.  

If you don’t really see litter as a problem, try taking a short walk anywhere and consciously look for it. You won’t get far before you see rubbish thrown ‘away’. But there is no ‘away’; it’s all still out there somewhere! And it will affect you whether you ignore it or not. That beer bottle someone discarded can easily smash, leaving glass shards for your dog to walk on. That dropped sweet wrapper can blow around until it eventually finds its way into a drain, adding to blockages that increase the chances of your home being flooded. That thrown-away takeaway attracts rats and diseases. It’s no easier to ignore if you’re driving – look at Redbridge Roundabout and see the piles of litter thrown from cars.

Plastic bottles take around 450 years to break down, drinks cans take 100 years, takeaway coffee cups take 30 years and plastic bags can take up to 1,000 years! They all cause massive litter problems and they are everywhere. The rubbish we are surrounded by comes from the general public, not factories or industry, so we only have ourselves to blame.  

We can’t constantly blame the council for the problem of litter. Yes, the bin men can be a bit careless sometimes, but it’s easy to take responsibility for the rubbish outside our own doorsteps and clean up our streets and pick up rubbish when we see it. Everyone has a bin in their house. We all have multiple bins outside our houses and all around Wanstead.  There are rubbish bins on most main street corners and in the parks. There are 11 rubbish bins on the High Street between The George and Gail’s alone. So why is there still rubbish on the ground there? If a bin is full, any overflow will just blow ‘away’ and cause a problem. Empty packaging weighs nothing to take home to your own bin. Landfill isn’t ideal, but it’s better than ending up in our waterways and then in the sea.

Do schools teach the problem of littering?  Do parents make sure their children don’t litter? Do children make sure their parents and grandparents don’t litter? Do you pick up litter when you see it? Would you ask someone to pick up their litter if you saw them drop it?

It’s not OK to drop your litter on the street. It’s not OK to throw your litter out of your car window. It’s not OK to litter! Despite the kindness of a few local litter pickers, the problem is far bigger than they can handle, so we all need to take action. Let’s take responsibility for the rubbish all around us and make Wanstead clean again.

For details of community litter pick events in Wanstead and Wanstead Park, visit wnstd.com/events

The Epping Forest Heritage Trust will host a guided walk through Wanstead Park on 23 April.

“Join historian Georgina Green for a stroll around the lakes and woods to see some of the historical features from the Georgian heyday of the park’s palatial building, which was demolished in 1824. Hopefully, the bluebells will be at their best and we will find other signs of spring,” said a spokesperson.

Tickets for the free two-hour walk – which starts at 10.30am – will be available from 12 March.

Visit wnstd.com/aprilwalk

In the second of a series of articles featuring the images of local photographers who document the wildlife of Wanstead Park and the surrounding area, James Ball presents his close-up of a long-tailed tit

I’m James, a local estate agent with a passion for photographing all types of wildlife and, in particular, birds. I find it amazing the variety of wildlife we can see almost on our doorsteps.

Here’s an image I took earlier this winter in Wanstead Park. It was an overcast day, which didn’t provide brilliant light but did mean the light was evenly spread with little shadow.

This bird is a long-tailed tit, resembling a pink, white and black ball of fluff, with a long tail. Like candy floss with wings, they can be very photogenic. Gregarious and noisy residents, long-tailed tits are most usually noticed in small, excitable flocks of about 20 birds.

Like most tits, they rove the woods and hedgerows but are also seen on heaths and commons with suitable bushes. They move quickly and rarely stop for longer than a second or two, so you have to try and get a step ahead. I positioned myself in front of the flock and took this image when the bird landed on an isolated branch with a clean foreground and background.

Here are some of my top tips for taking better wildlife photographs. 

Patience
You’ll be lucky to stumble across your target subject on the first attempt, even the second or third. Learning your subject’s habits will help you put yourself a step ahead.

Eye-level
Try to position yourself as close to the subject’s eye level as you can, even if it means lying on the ground! This connects your camera to the subject, creating a more emotive and often dramatic image.

Fast shutter speed
This will allow you to capture wildlife whilst it’s on the move. Birds all move at different speeds, depending on their size and how much of a rush they are in. So, you’ll need to adjust your settings accordingly. Gulls over a lake are a great entry subject for capturing birds in flight.

Use ‘continuous shooting’ mode and ‘continuous focusing’ to take multiple bursts of photographs and to continually track the subject. These modes will have different names on different brands of camera.

Sunlight
In my opinion, the best lighting is at dusk and dawn during the ‘golden hour’. The sunrises over Wanstead Flats and the sunsets in Wanstead Park are beautiful, and when you can time this with passing birds, you can achieve great results; well worth the early alarm!

Position yourself so the sun is behind you and you’re facing the bird you’re photographing for the best lighting setup. Shooting into the sun can also sometimes create lovely photographs, especially when the sun is low and the light is less harsh, making perfect conditions for artistic silhouettes.

To view more of James’s wildlife photos, visit wnstd.com/jamesball

Derek Inkpin from local solicitors Wiseman Lee looks at the concept of private nuisance and reflects on a recent court case which determined Tate Modern’s viewing platform invades the privacy of nearby flats

A 2023 Supreme Court decision (Fearn and others vs Trustees of the Tate Gallery) has highlighted the law in relation to ‘private nuisance’. What’s wrong with the following?

Your neighbour has an adjoining garage to his home which is used for the purposes of a business, where he continually operates noisy machinery.

Your neighbour owns kennels where there is continual barking, preventing you from enjoying the quietness of your home.

Your neighbour has a tree growing in his rear garden close to the flank wall of your house, which causes damage to your property.

The common denominator of these examples is the word ‘neighbour’. Whilst we still cling to the notion that an Englishman’s home is his castle, and that private nuisance protects a person’s use and enjoyment of their land, for a successful claim in tort to be brought for damages and an injunction, there must be a clear, unreasonable use of the land. Nuisance may therefore be caused by inaction on the part of the neighbour, such as escaping water or something which is intrusively unpleasant. 

There are three elements of the tort of nuisance, which is either an act or omission, interference or damage. To succeed, a claimant must firstly own the land where they claim their use and enjoyment have been interfered with. However, the blocking of a pleasant view or a TV signal which has caused the nuisance has failed in court.

Whilst each case is judged on its own merits, it is perhaps easy to see that it cannot be predicted with certainty that a court case will succeed where private nuisance is alleged. One-off instances will not be enough but continuous activity that really harms the use and enjoyment of a neighbour’s property will likely succeed. The real problem with private nuisance is the apparent right of the judges to decide each case on its merits, as opposed to a set of concrete definitions of legal principles, which therefore makes it difficult for legal advisers to assist on how a particular case will be decided.

In the recent Fearn case, it was decided the owners of flats which can be seen from the Tate’s viewing gallery succeeded in their appeal where the Supreme Court held that visual intrusion into a home can be considered a private nuisance. Looking from a viewing gallery across the London skyline seems, on first thought, to be a normal enjoyable activity, but not, the court has decided, into someone’s home. However, the Fearn case is not over yet. It has been referred back to the High Court to determine the appropriate remedy. Watch this space!

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

In the 12th of a series of articles looking at the redevelopment of Whipps Cross Hospital, Charlotte Monro reflects on NHS funding issues, strike action and the need for improvements in end-of-life care 

Amidst uncertainty over funding for the national new hospitals programme, the Whipps Cross Redevelopment team is still waiting for money to be released for the next phase, the multistorey car park. The underfunding of the NHS over the years is at such a point that impossible pressure has become the norm. 

It has never been more urgent to fight for our NHS. Thousands of nurses, ambulance staff and therapists are taking strike action for this reason. I am inspired by the courage and determination of my health care colleagues who are taking this stand because the shortage of staff means their patients are suffering and they cannot deliver the care they want. Nurses’ real pay has fallen by £5,200 compared to 2010, whilst paramedics’ real pay is down by £6,700. They are asking to be treated as caring human beings and valued for the vital work they do. 

Our campaign for the future of Whipps is not only for the best buildings and spaces to meet our health care needs, but for its dedicated staff, without which there is no future. The work to save the Margaret Centre brings this home. In January, councillors on the Joint Scrutiny Committee discussed a review of end-of-life care in the Whipps catchment area. I was one of five members of the public who addressed the meeting, calling for the Margaret Centre to be reprovided within in the Whipps redevelopment. 

Despite all the evidence gathered by the review from service users, their carers and staff clearly showing how highly valued our end-of-life and palliative care unit in Whipps is, the options proposed did not include reproviding it as a dedicated unit in the new hospital build. It seems there is a missing piece in the report’s conclusions: the expertise that has been built in the Margaret Centre, the understanding of needs and the human-centred care. This must be the launch pad, and the ongoing beacon, for much-needed improvements in end-of-life care. I suggested that a unit next to the hospital linked by a bridge be considered. 

A GP – who said local doctors had not been consulted about the Margaret Centre– added: “The centre provides an invaluable resource for the community, particularly for dying patients. It also provides respite care. For doctors like myself, it’s such a wonderful place to go to and share grief. Yes, some people want to die at home and that’s their choice, but there are some that need this centre.”

If you have experience of end-of-life care or feel strongly about this, make sure you have your say. The review is ongoing with engagement sessions being planned and a consultation to be launched later this year. 

And please support our health staff!

To join the campaign or share views, email whipps.cross.campaign@gmail.com

In the 30th of a series of articles, David Bird discusses the work of Redbridge Music Society and introduces violinist Ana Popescu-Deutsch and pianist Leona Crasi, who will perform in Wanstead this month

One of the core aims of Redbridge Music Society is to promote and support talented musicians, especially those living and working within the borough, in the earlier stages of their careers. This month, Woodford Green musicians Ana Popescu-Deutsch (violin) and Leona Crasi (piano) will give an eclectic recital of popular violin classics and Transylvanian folk music, including Bartok’s famous Six Romanian Dances.

Romanian-British violinist Ana Elisabeta Popescu-Deutsch started violin lessons at the age of six, going on to study at the prestigious George Enescu Music High School (Budapest) and later at the Royal Academy of Music, where she received her BMus (Hons) and MA degrees. During and after her studies, she was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra and Southbank Sinfonia. A keen performer of Romanian classical and folk music, Ana continues to direct a chamber music series called Enescu & Friends, aimed at introducing audiences to George Enescu’s work in the musical context of his epoch. 

Ana also performs with the Scordatura Collective, a mixed chamber ensemble that promotes music composed by women. She performs in diverse orchestral projects and is frequently a guest violinist in other chamber groups. Ana is part of the Morello String Quartet, a group that has played in numerous venues and festivals across the UK. She is also a committed pedagogue, teaching violin and viola at the North London Conservatoire.

Leona Crasi is a progressive Romanian-American pianist, performance curator and educator based in London. She began to play piano at the age of three, studied in Romania, the USA and in the UK, where she graduated at the Royal Academy of Music (BMus, MMus). Leona has performed internationally as a soloist and chamber player, her performing experience ranging from historical and classical repertoire to noise and jazz improvisation. She has won numerous awards at competitions and festivals across Europe and America.

In 2021, Leona founded the Institute of Contemporary Performance, a collective dedicated to the expansion of contemporary practices in classical music performance. During 2020 and 2021, Leona was part of DNA Contemporary Music Festival in London as a coordinator and performer. She is currently appointed as a cultural officer at the Embassy of Israel.

This month’s recital promises to be a very special evening of music-making. Please come along to experience and enjoy this unique event.

Ana and Leona will perform at Wanstead Library on 14 March from 8pm (tickets on the door; visitors: £12; members: £8). Call 07380 606 767. Redbridge Music Society is supported by Vision RCL and affiliated to Making Music.

Redbridge-based Valentine Singers are celebrating 25 years of choral performances. Their anniversary year begins in grand style in Aldersbrook this month with Music from Vienna. Christine Gwynn reports

To mark the start of our 25th anniversary, Valentine Singers will be hosting a concert of Music from Vienna at St Gabriel’s Church in Aldersbrook. We will be joined by Writtle Singers, the excellent Jericho Ensemble (led by Tina Bowles) and a superb line-up of professional soloists: Anita Wilson, Madeleine Sexton, Bene’t Coldstream and Alistair Kirk. As conductor, I will lead these combined forces in a programme of music by Beethoven, Haydn and Martines.  

If you’re even remotely familiar with classical music, the first two composers will be household names, but maybe not the third. Marianna Martines was born in Vienna in 1744 and spent her whole life there, growing up in apartments in the Michaelerhaus by the central church of St Michael and very close to the famous Spanish Riding School. Other residents in the capacious property included the poet and librettist Metastasio (who played a key part in the education of Marianna and her siblings), the acclaimed singing teacher Nicola Porpora and, for a while, a young, struggling composer who lived in the attic, one Joseph Haydn, who was Marianna’s first piano teacher.

Martines was highly esteemed in her lifetime as a pianist, singer and composer; Mozart was a regular visitor to the family’s musical soirées, often playing piano duets with her.

The work which we shall be performing in Aldersbrook is Marianna Martines’ 1773 Dixit Dominus, a setting of Psalm 110, on the strength of which she became the first female composer admitted (since its foundation in 1666) to the prestigious Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna – a 250th anniversary worth celebrating!  

Though Martines was an active and highly accomplished performer and composer, she never sought an appointed position; it would have been unacceptable for a woman in her social class to seek such employment. Her last known public appearance was on 23 March 1808, attending a performance of Haydn’s oratorio Die Schöpfung in tribute to the composer. She died on 13 December 1812.

The other works in the programme are Haydn’s sparkling Te Deum, written for Empress Maria Theresa, Beethoven’s glorious Mass in C and his serene and poignant Elegischer Gesang, a short elegy composed for the wife of a friend. 

If you haven’t been to St Gabriel’s before, you are in for a treat. It is light and warm, with good, accessible facilities and comfy chairs; refreshments will be available at the interval. The church is on the corner of Park Road and Aldersbrook Road, opposite Wanstead Flats.

Valentine Singers will perform Music from Vienna at St Gabriel’s Church, Aldersbrook on 25 March from 7.30pm (adults: £18; students and those on benefits: £10; under-16s: free; booking required). Visit wnstd.com/vs or call 01277 364 772 

Famous women from Redbridge will be celebrated at an event at Wanstead Library on 21 March.

“You’ll hear about the lives and achievements of Sarah Ingleby of Valentines Mansion, Dr Aimai Cooper-Parsee, the only Indian woman doctor in England circa 1910, actress Greer Gardson and many more,” said a spokesperson.

The free event starts at 2pm and will be hosted by Jef Page, chairman of the Ilford Historical Society

Call 020 8708 7400 

Over-55s poetry group the Redbridge Rhymesters will be joined by pupils from Snaresbrook Primary School at their meeting on 21 March.

“There will be no theme for this session, it will be a free choice, and I am sure whatever our members and the children write about, they will produce some imaginative poetry,” said group founder Alexandra Wilde.

Taking place at Age UK’s Allan Burgess Centre in Wanstead from 10am to 12 noon, the free event is open to any over-55s with an interest in creative writing.

Call 020 8989 6338

Those recently moved to Wanstead and long-term residents alike are invited to join the Wanstead Society committee and help protect, preserve and improve our local area. Eileen Flinter reports

You are more than halfway qualified to join our committee if you are reading this! At present, there are six regular members on the committee, several of us are of long-standing and we are now looking to expand, possibly to double this number, and thus bring some new ideas to the Wanstead Society.

If you live, work, study or regularly visit Wanstead, if you like or, possibly, have even grown to love this area and would like to see the best of it maintained whilst changes and developments chime with the atmosphere and environment that makes it one of the best places to live in London, then you would probably enjoy contributing to our work. 

What do we do? We are lucky to have two committee members who are particularly interested in keeping track of planning applications. They look, but not exclusively, at those applications and schemes which do, or may, impact on the Conservation Area. We are in contact with local councillors and, on occasion, attend council meetings concerning planning issues. And during local elections, we organise hustings.

With the invaluable help of photographer Geoff Wilkinson and the generous sponsorship of Petty Son and Prestwich, we produce a calendar, which is sold from our stall at the Wanstead Festival and also in Memories on the High Street to boost our funds each year. In turn, we have sponsored trees on Christ Church Green and the High Street. We also contribute to the Wanstead Community Gardeners and promote the regular litter picks as well as responding to one-off events, including collecting new socks and underwear for homeless people last winter and contributing to provide food for the swans on Eagle Pond during the avian flu episode. We also contribute articles to this publication and to the local press about our work. We produce publicity materials promoting the Society and have a website that would really benefit from some TLC. And then there are the social events for our members we organise. 

In short, we are involved and work with – and for – the local community over a diverse range of projects. Some are ongoing, such as planning, and others when the need arises.

Maybe there are some things you would like to see more or, indeed, less of, in Wanstead. If so, please consider donating some of your knowledge and time to our committee. We hold meetings at Wanstead House on the last Wednesday of every month (except August and December). Thanks to email, there is no pressure to attend every single meeting. 

Wanstead is changing and we would really welcome new arrivals, whilst always valuing the experience of those who have been involved in the area for many years.

For more information on joining the Wanstead Society committee, email eileenflinter@yahoo.co.uk

Local knitting group Social Knitworks recently celebrated its fourth anniversary.

“Bringing together a diverse group of knitters and crocheters, we support a variety of projects. Beneficiaries of our handmade items include Whipps Cross Hospital, the Magpie Trust and Celia Hammond Animal Trust. And through our sales, we’ve raised around £15,000 for charities, including the Corner House Project, Haven House, CHAOS, St Mungos, Magic Breakfast and St Francis Hospice,” said group founder Liz Hickson.

Visit wnstd.com/knit

Swan rescue volunteers are urging dog owners to keep their pets on a lead when near water birds in Wanstead Park and by Eagle Pond in Snaresbrook.

“As cygnets are being chased off by their parents it makes them vulnerable on the bank, and nesting season is approaching, which makes the swans fiercely protective of their territories. You may feel your dog is no threat, but the swans don’t know that. Any interaction with birds causes massive stress to them, even when there is no physical contact,” said Helen O’Rourke. 

2023 marks 100 years since women were permitted to join the Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society. To mark International Women’s Day this month, club chair Sue Rosner will be giving a talk about the group’s female members, past and present. Images by club members Rachel Dee Smith (portrait), Carole Milligan (sunset) and Ro Ward (beach scene)

The Woodford Photographic Society was formed in 1893 (Wanstead was added to the club’s name much later) by seven men who met in the coffee tavern by George Lane station, now South Woodford station. But it would be another 30 years before women could join.

Initially, in April 1921, ladies could be invited as visitors to the more ‘suitable’ meetings and the programmes of the time are asterisked with a note which said: “These lectures are illustrated with lantern slides and are suitable evenings on which members might bring their lady friends.” It is interesting to speculate what the ‘suitable’ evenings contained.

At the AGM on 25 April 1923, it was agreed that women could join the club. Miss Gertrude Emma Powers became the first female member later that month. She was born in 1889 in Stepney, so would have been 34 when she joined. In 1911, her family moved to Woodford and Gertrude graduated from the University of London with a BSc (III class), and the following year from Newnham College, Cambridge with a BA (II class). On 22 December 1923, Gertrude married Charles Wood at the church of St Mary the Virgin, Woodford. The couple subsequently moved to Wilderness Corner, Quidenham, Norfolk, where Gertrude died on 18 October 1934. 

In August 1923, Gertrude was followed by Miss R Eastgate (proposed by Miss GE Powers), who became our second female member. Then, in February 1924, Miss Dorothy Norah Cross and her stepmother Grace were elected as members. Norah was born in 1889 in Hackney and by 1901, after the death of her mother, the family had moved to Woodford. She later worked as a school teacher. Little more than a year after joining the society, Norah was elected to the society’s council (what we call the committee today) at the AGM in April 1925, and at the AGM in 1928 she became the society’s first female president. She was still president in 1932. Norah never married, and at the time of her death on 4 February 1957, was living at 54 St Ronan’s Crescent, Woodford Green.

For the first 105 years of the club’s existence, it met in a variety of locations in Woodford. In 1998, we began meeting in Wanstead, initially at the former dance studio Dulverton, and since 2014 at Wanstead House. And so it made sense to add Wanstead to our name, but it was not until 2017 that the name on the club’s chequebook was updated.

I took over as chair from David Tachauer in October 2020, and there have been four female chairs before me. Out of a membership of 50, we now have 17 women members. We meet in person twice a month and on Zoom for the other two weeks. All are welcome to join, but I would still like to encourage more women to come along and take part.

Sue’s presentation on women becoming members of the Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society will take place at Wanstead House on 13 March from 7.30pm. Visit wnstd.com/wwps

With thanks Alan Simpson for research.

Plans are being made for a series of exhibitions to be located in three London parks – including Wanstead Park – as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture.

“Running throughout June, each exhibition will display stories and opinions of locals about their relationship with their park,” said a spokesperson for exhibition organisers Eser Gungor Studio. Residents are encouraged to send in their answers to the question: “What does your local park mean to you in your life?”

Email info@esergungor.com 

The Corner House Project – a Wanstead-based initiative that supports the homeless in east London – is appealing for more volunteers.

“Drivers are needed to collect unsold food from the Co-op and deliver it to local foodbanks and hostels. We have a rota and would love to add more volunteers to share the load,” said a spokesperson.

Founded in 2019, the charity aims to ‘relieve hardship and distress of those persons in need by reason of their social and economic circumstances’.

Email lizcalvert@tiscali.co.uk

Eddie Heath chose the gentrification of Wanstead as the subject of his A level geography coursework. Here, the 18-year-old student presents some of his findings

Recently, as part of my A level geography course, I conducted a study analysing the extent to which gentrification had taken place in Wanstead, and how this was linked to people’s thoughts about Wanstead as a place to live.

The two primary sources of data I collected were surveys to assess people’s views about living in Wanstead, and photos of the area to compare with historical images to see how the place has changed over time. I had over 220 responses to the survey, which significantly helped with my investigation. I then collected secondary data on house prices to help assess gentrification and I also looked at present and historical crime rates to compare with residents’ perceptions of crime in the area. 

Analysing house price data led to some interesting conclusions. The majority of houses tended to increase in price at around £19,000 a year, only slightly above average Redbridge levels and indicating little gentrification. However, one-third of the houses were increasing, on average, at £42,000 a year, more than double the borough’s average, and these houses were in the highest price bracket at the start of my data collection. This indicates that whilst gentrification may be taking place, it is not necessarily happening at the same rate in all of Wanstead. 

Comparing current and historical photos showed there is now more greenery in the streets, as well as more upmarket shops, showing gentrification taking place here. 

The crime data showed that three of the four crimes surveyed have increased from 2010 levels, although levels have stayed relatively stable since 2016. However, this is difficult to compare due to changes in the way crime data is reported. How long someone has lived in the area also affects their perception of how crime has changed; 71% of people who have lived in Wanstead longer than 10 years think crime rates are worsening, compared to just 36% of those who have lived in Wanstead less than two years.

Apart from this, most people’s thoughts on how the area has changed over time were positive, with many people talking about the Wanstead Fringe events, the sense of community and the friendliness of the neighbourhood. Thoughts on the quality of the High Street have also improved, with many people mentioning more upmarket shops and cafés. Most residents enjoy living here, with the three most common words used in response to ‘how would you describe Wanstead in five words?’ being ‘friendly’, ‘green’ and ‘community’.

Finally, thank you so much to all who replied to my survey – it greatly helped with my investigation.