August 2023

Following the recent death of Jean Maestri – the proprietor of the Wanstead Park Tea Hut for over 30 years – the Maestri family reflect on the life of the Queen of Wanstead Park

Jean was born on 22 September 1944 in Dagenham. She was the youngest of three children. Her childhood memories were playing on the bomb sites and having games of rounders with her friends between four trees in the street. She went to school with Terry Venables (the famous footballer), who was a year above her. She left school at the age of 15 and surprised everyone by getting a job as a medical receptionist at the Royal London Hospital, where she worked for eight years until she had her first baby.

She met her husband Giovanni in a crowded Trafalgar Square on Bonfire Night back in 1960. He asked her if she had seen his cat. It was a chat-up line and she fell for it (and him). Jean and Giovanni were together for the rest of her life. They got married in 1965, and a year later bought the house they lived in ever since. Jean and Giovanni went on to have five children and fostered 60 others.

As her husband was Italian and worked in the ice cream trade, this inspired Jean to get an ice cream van with her friend and go back to work. In 1986, after many years of working in the ice cream van, Jean came across the old wooden boat house cafe in Wanstead Park. It was in a right old state and the cafe needed a lot of love and TLC, which is where Jean came in. She applied to the Corporation of London to get it rebuilt and their architect designed the building to match the Temple nearby.

Jean continued to run the Wanstead Park Tea Hut for 37 years. She loved this cafe and dedicated her life to it, working seven days a week. She became the life and soul of Wanstead Park and would have her regulars, who loved coming over to see her daily for a cup of tea and a chat. Jean loved baking and all her cakes were homemade. She was especially known for her homemade bread pudding, an old recipe handed down from her mum. People would get very upset if they turned up and it was sold out!

When the pandemic hit, Jean took a back seat, retired at home and bought herself a Pomeranian dog to keep her and her husband company. She loved her little dog, Fluffy, so very much and she became the apple of her eye. Jean was also very lucky to have 10 grandchildren, who all absolutely loved and adored her.

We would like to thank all of the customers, the people of Wanstead and the Corporation of London for all of the kind messages, love and support we have received. Jean died on 30 June 2023. She was a wonderful, kind and caring lady who will be sadly missed by all.

The Wanstead Park Tea Hut overlooks the Heronry Pond, near the park’s Wanstead Park Avenue entrance. For more information, visit wnstd.com/teahut

Campaigners have launched a petition to save the Margaret Centre at Whipps Cross Hospital.

“This is a specialist end-of-life and palliative care unit. In the current plans for the new hospital, this award-winning centre will not exist. We want the centre to be provided in a new purpose-designed building close to the hospital. This option should be included in the forthcoming consultation,” said an Action4Whipps spokesperson.

Visit wnstd.com/mcp

An injured swan known as Clyde has been permanently removed from Wanstead Park’s Perch Pond.

“Sadly, the top bone of his wing is broken from a high-impact incident, probably sustained whilst defending his family. He is moulting, so it’s not a flying accident, and we had a report of three dogs harassing the family. There is no chance Clyde will fly again, so he will remain at The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton. He was very distressed at leaving his mate, Bonnie, and cygnets,” said swan rescue volunteer supporter Helen O’Rourke. 

Ahead of an evening talk about Sir Alfred Hitchcock for the Wanstead Historical Society this month, Gary Lewis reflects on his journey to becoming a tour guide and speaker centred around the iconic director

Good evening (as Leytonstone’s favourite son himself would say). My name is Gary Lewis. I’m a local historian, public speaker and tour guide on the subject of the late, great film director, Sir Alfred Hitchcock.

Hitchcock was born on 13 August 1899 in Leytonstone. Known as the Master of Suspense, he directed over 50 feature films before receiving an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. He made his directorial debut with the silent film The Pleasure Garden in 1925. His first successful film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927), helped to shape the thriller genre, while his 1929 film Blackmail was the first British ‘talkie’. He died in California on 29 April 1980.

I’ve been a resident of Leytonstone for over 40 years, but my fascination with Hitchcock really began when I was a teenager in the late 1970s. One Sunday night, I stayed up late to watch Psycho on TV. I remember jumping out of my chair at the shower scene and the screeching violins have stayed with me to this day. After that, I was hooked. Fast forward to October 2015, I was forced to take early retirement from London Underground as a Tube driver due to ill health. For the next year, I wondered where to turn for my next career move. Inspiration struck in September 2016 when I joined the Alfred Hitchcock of Leytonstone Society. At a meeting of the society in early 2018, I proposed presenting a slide show on the early life of Hitchcock, entitled ‘Hitchcock’s Leytonstone’. They enthusiastically agreed, and in May 2018, I gave my first talk at The Birds pub. Three more talks followed and soon I was hired by local groups, keen to hear about Hitchcock’s roots. On 4 September 2019, I gave my biggest talk yet to over 100 people for the Leyton and Leytonstone Historical Society.

Having developed my illustrated talk on the early life of Alfred Hitchcock, the next logical step was to start a guided tour entitled ‘Walking in the Footsteps of Hitchcock’. On 29 September 2019, as part of Leytonstone Loves Film, I guided 60 people from all over the world – including six from Mexico – on my first 90-minute tour.

Sadly, on 11 November 2019, I parted company with the Alfred Hitchcock of Leytonstone Society. I felt it was time to move on and I saw this as a golden opportunity to start my own business. On 12 January 2020, the dream became a reality and Hitchcock Talks and Tours was born. The pandemic followed shortly after, but I kept going when lockdown allowed. Now, my talks and tours are generating interest not only from local residents and local clubs but from all over the globe. I look forward to bringing Hitchcock’s Leytonstone to the world!

Gary’s presentation will take place at Wanstead Library on 4 September from 8pm (visitors: £3). Call 07949 026 212 

For more information on Gary’s talks and tours, visit wnstd.com/hitchcock

The historic High Stone at the junction of Hollybush Hill and New Wanstead was damaged in a car crash earlier this month.

Originally a mile marker showing the distances to Epping, Ongar, Whitechapel and Hyde Park Corner, an obelisk has stood in roughly the same location since the 18th century, although the current High Stone dates from the 1930s after the original stone was also damaged by a vehicle.

A Redbridge Council spokesperson said: “The monument is currently being repaired off-site and will be reinstated soon.”

A planning application to build a four-storey block of flats on Evergreen Field has been submitted.

The site – a patch of fenced-off land on Wanstead High Street next to Christ Church Green – has not been inhabited since 1944, when two homes that stood there were bombed and then demolished in 1967. Redbridge Council is due to make a decision on the application in October. If approved, the development will include a nursery on the ground floor along with 24 flats and a new public open space.

Visit wnstd.com/efapp

Tickets are available for the first Wanstead Beer Festival, taking place in the halls of Christ Church on 14 October.

“The festival will include a number of real ales from the local area and beyond. There will also be craft ales, lagers and cider, and some carefully chosen wine and prosecco for non-beer drinkers,” said organiser Paul Donovan.

Proceeds from the event – which runs from 1pm to 10.30pm – will be donated to local charities. The £12 ticket price (£10 in advance) includes a commemorative pint glass.

Visit wnstd.com/beer 

Residents wishing to take any waste to Chigwell Road Reuse and Recycling Centre in a van or trailer must now book a slot in advance.

“This system is aimed at relieving congestion and improving recycling performance. You can make up to 12 bookings over the course of 12 months and up to two bookings in any one month,” said a spokesperson for ELWA.

Booking is not required for cars.

Visit wnstd.com/booktip

Tricia Moxey takes a look at Muntjac Deer and urges residents to report any local sightings to help the London Wildlife Trust map their distribution and population growth

A number of local residents have been reporting sightings of a small deer in their gardens, in Bush Wood, the City of London Cemetery and Wanstead Park. These are likely to be Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi), named in 1838 after the naturalist John Reeves (1774–1856).

John Reeves was the son of Reverend Jonathan Reeves of West Ham. John was educated at Christ’s Hospital, becoming a tea expert and respected natural historian. In 1812, he was dispatched to China by the British East India Company to search for plant and animal specimens of potential economic value. He sent a pair of live Chinese deer to the Zoological Society in London and so this species was named in his honour. Further specimens were introduced into large estates such as Woburn Park in Bedfordshire, where their ability to scale fences ensured many escaped into the wider countryside. Over the years, others were deliberately released so that Muntjac Deer are well established in southern counties, living in woods, farms and other green spaces, including urban gardens. Muntjac Deer were classified as an invasive, non-native species in 2019. They are protected in the UK under the Deer Act 1991.

Muntjac Deer are small, stocky mammals about 45–52cm tall, their long back legs causing a hunched back. Adults weigh about 14kg. The main coat colour is a coppery brown with a creamy white underbelly. The bucks have black V-shaped stripes on their heads and 20cm long, backwards-sloping antlers. The does have black diamond-shaped stripes on their heads. Both have protruding canine teeth, but those of the bucks are longer and used in territorial battles. Largely solitary animals, both bucks and does mark their territory with scent from special glands on their faces, which become inflated when in breeding condition. 

Muntjac are crepuscular mammals, feeding either at dawn or dusk on trees, shrubs, shoots, herbs, berries, nuts and fungi, eating at least 85 different plants and consuming as much as 8% of their body weight in a day. They also like eating bluebells! Although mainly vegetarian, they have been observed to consume insects, snails and other ground-dwelling creatures. Their penchant for stripping bark off young trees and eating woodland plants has serious consequences as suitable nesting sites for birds are removed, leaving the ground unvegetated.

When trying to deter predators or to attract a female, the bucks will bark for some time, sounding similar to a human with a smoker’s cough!

Muntjac Deer do not have a set rutting season and mate throughout the year. The gestation period is around 210 days, with the does usually giving birth to a single fawn. A doe can become pregnant again just days after giving birth and her fawn is weaned after eight weeks. Young females reach sexual maturity within their first year. 

This species was first recorded in the northern parts of Epping Forest in the mid-1960s, and in subsequent decades have dispersed into the more urbanised areas, often seen eating rose bushes in gardens. They do feed on roadside vegetation and nationally may account for 25% of deer collisions with vehicles. As they are much smaller than Fallow Deer, such collisions are less likely to immobilise a vehicle or cause injury to its occupants, and many such incidents may go unrecorded.

Muntjac Deer have no natural predators in the UK. Wild deer numbers in Britain are now the highest they have been since post-glacial times, and populations of all species are increasing both in number and geographical distribution, but exactly which species and where is not accurately known.

The London Wildlife Trust, therefore, needs your help in recording sightings of wild deer across the capital so their distribution can be mapped, along with an idea of population densities. This information will be used to develop future management strategies.

For more information and to record deer sightings, visit wnstd.com/deer

Derek Inkpin from local solicitors Axiom DWFM looks at how keeping your building work paperwork organised may save you a lot of time and stress in the future

The English language is rich in idioms and proverbs which we hear throughout our lives. “A stitch in time saves nine,” means, of course, that if you resolve a problem immediately, it may save a lot of extra work later. So, how does this impact on home ownership?

If you are selling your house or flat and you or a predecessor have undertaken alterations, such as the creation of a through-sitting room or the removal of a chimney breast, is there a problem if you cannot produce the paperwork? Planning permission for alterations may not have been needed, but compliance with building regulations and the need to have a completion certificate to confirm observance will be vital.

What is called a Regularisation Certificate application may be required if no building regs consent has been issued. Applying for this will cause delay to your sale and could sour the whole process and badly affect the chain both above and below you. You could be blamed by all concerned because the buyer or their surveyor are calling for evidence that the building works were done to a professional standard, and without proof that the regulations have been complied with, obtaining an indemnity insurance policy may not be an adequate answer. This is because the structural integrity of the property may have been affected by these works and your buyer may be concerned that they are buying a problem, which may not be answered by an indemnity policy. It all sounds like a potential headache.

As a seller, you can provide an assurance you had a good builder all those years ago but his paperwork may now be mislaid. Part of the problem here is that if you approach your council building control department and ask for a retrospective building regs consent and completion certificate, once the council engages with you, they may insist on ‘opening up’ the works to make sure the RSJ supporting the through-sitting room works has been properly done. If not, the building work may be condemned as inadequate and, at that stage, if you are unlucky, the whole chain may start to fall apart.

Another issue is that approaching the council will likely negate the terms of getting indemnity insurance because the insurer may likely not insure you because the council knows there is a problem. Admittedly, the council cannot prosecute after two years, but that may not be much comfort to your buyer.

The stitch in time therefore is if you get your paperwork organised at the time the building work is completed. It may save you a lot of worry many years later.

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

In the 17th of a series of articles by plot holders at Redbridge Lane West allotments, Sally Parker explains her frustration with Cadent’s lack of communication as the gas company delays work on the site

In March 2021, the energy infrastructure company Cadent announced to plot holders that they needed to take over the Redbridge Lane West allotment site for a couple of years or so while they carried out upgrade work to their adjacent gas station. Part of Cadent’s proposals included creating a car park for their contractors, as well as putting heavy equipment on site, thus ruining our plots and the biodiverse habitat.

Following pressure from plot holders and Redbridge Council, together with a well-supported petition, Cadent found an alternative site for their compound, but they still said they needed to use allotment land while they built a new electrified security fence. It was only later that it became clear that the loss of some allotment land along the current Cadent boundary, including many large trees, would be permanent.

The works were scheduled to start in spring 2023, but we have recently discovered that it may now be this winter before that happens. We also learnt that a contractor has not yet been appointed. Cadent has not had the courtesy to communicate this to plot holders and has not provided the promised updates. One of the consequences of the delay is that those tenants who vacated their plots last summer at Cadent’s request could in fact have enjoyed a whole year of gardening; instead, their vacated plots are now completely overgrown, unsightly and, of course, not productive. Cadent have made no apology or explanation or indeed offered compensation.

Meanwhile, the work by Cadent to establish new plots for five of the plot holders who have lost their land permanently has been excruciatingly protracted, taking over 10 months longer than the original target date of summer 2022. Cadent had promised to provide “experts to help with soil, planting, landscaping, making an inventory and matching the conditions of plots as closely as possible”. This statement is still on their website. It is far from our experience. The management and provision of resources for establishing the new plots has been woefully inadequate and some of the specifications agreed by Cadent with individual plot holders at Cadent’s request have not been fulfilled. Cadent’s communication with plot holders throughout the process has been poor.

It has been and still is a miserable experience and we have at least two more years of disruption to endure while Cadent takes over about a quarter of our site and then returns not quite all of it in a supposedly improved condition.

I read very recently that Cadent made a profit of £344m in 2022, so I don’t expect that a little allotment site or the people who use it are really of much consequence to them. It certainly feels like that.

For more information on Cadent’s plans, visit wnstd.com/cadentplan

In the first of two articles looking at the work taking place to improve Wanstead Park, the Friends of Wanstead Parklands’ new chairman Peter Brimson reports on the park’s Temple and Grotto

I was elected as chairman of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands earlier this year, after the resignation of our previous chair John Sharpe. John did a fantastic job, bringing hard work and problem-solving skills to the task, which increased our effectiveness as a group. I hope I can do at least half as well.

I am no great expert on Wanstead Park, but I take great confidence from the experience and knowledge within our current committee. We have expertise on the park’s history, event organising, botany, ecology and wildlife.

Looking to the future, it seems we will have a crowded agenda given recent developments against the continuing backdrop of the Corporation of London (who manage the park) reorganisation and the consequent depletion of Epping Forest staff. This has led to more uncertainty about how and when some forest projects will be taken forward. The Corporation assures us that all vacancies will be filled by September this year.

Despite this backdrop, some projects are being taken forward. Epping Forest staff have worked hard despite the above difficulties to implement the Woodland Play Area in Wanstead Park, which was formally opened on 16 June. All of the money to fund the playground was raised by local groups, especially the Aldersbrook Families Association; and the Friends pledged £5,000 to fund construction of a path able to take buggies and wheelchairs into the site. 

Other notable positive developments in the works concern the park’s Temple and Grotto. The future of the Temple is under active consideration as the building fabric is fragile and its future functions need to be determined. A working party has been established by the Corporation of London to create a comprehensive management plan and a report is being drawn up to provide some options. One meeting of the working party has taken place and Friends representatives are keen to attend more to discuss possible uses of the nearby vacant park keeper’s cottage as a more substantial education and expanded visitor centre, together with a café.

A project manager has also been appointed to move Grotto stabilisation on to the next stage. Walkers in the park will have noted recent work to the landing stage of the building and the recovery and on-site storage of original stonework. Further work is now needed to restore the historic building and prevent its collapse. Initial work will be undertaken to assess soil conditions underlying the site. The results will be used to generate options for the stabilisation of the Grotto structure. We all hope these efforts will prevent any further deterioration.

For more information on the Friends of Wanstead Parklands, visit wnstd.com/fwp

In the third of a series of articles by those who have benefitted from attending Wanstead Youth Centre – which is under threat of closure – Jenny Steedman reports on the work of Forest Twins and Triplets Club

I am the chairperson of Forest Twins and Triplets Club, a friendly, welcoming and supportive playgroup for parents of multiples. We have been running for 48 years this year and we meet weekly at Wanstead Youth Centre. 

The centre is a lifeline for parents of multiples.  I joined the club when I had my twins in 2016 and it was such a relief to find somewhere to go and meet other multiple parents that was easily accessible with a twin pram. The help, advice and support given has benefitted so many families over the years and is invaluable.

If the youth centre does close, then it is highly unlikely our club can continue. We have specific venue needs due to how much equipment we have to store, as well as access and safety requirements. So far, we have failed to find any other venue that can meet our needs. If our club didn’t exist, it would have an extremely detrimental effect on our members. Parents of multiples need our group to have a safe and supportive place to take their children to play and talk to other parents in the same situation. It’s hard enough to get out of the house with one baby; imagine having two or three! I have often had parents say they are too scared to leave the house on their own, but once they have been to our club, they are so pleased they did and are very grateful.

If the centre closes, many new parents will just stay at home, which is really sad. They will miss out on a multitude of help, advice, friendship and support, and their children will miss out on socialising with other children. If the past few years has taught us anything, it is the importance of having a supportive community we can meet up with in person. To think these parents and children could be denied that is heartbreaking. And it is not only our group who would be impacted. There are lots of other groups for older people and children run there, which are so important to the mental health and well-being of all.

The effects of the centre closing would be catastrophic for the wider community! Where will all the fantastic groups go? Will their members just give up on their favourite activity? Will people lose touch with their friends and become lonely? The effect on people’s mental health, fitness and well-being would be very serious and put additional strain on the NHS.

I ask the council to invest in the community by refurbishing and updating the building so it can be kept as a vital centre for the people of Redbridge.

For more information on the Forest Twins and Triplets Club, visit wnstd.com/fttc

Wanstead Youth Centre is located at 144 Elmcroft Avenue, Wanstead, E11 2DB. For more information on the Save Our Wanstead Youth Centre campaign, visit wnstd.com/sowyc or call 07403 649 306

After reading Paul Canal’s article about local car use in last month’s issue, Kris Sangani felt compelled to write a reply. Here, the Aldersbrook resident says motorists, cyclists and pedestrians must learn to share

After reading the article by Paul Canal in the July 2023 issue of the Wanstead Village Directory, I felt I needed to write a reply. In his article, Paul claims ‘idealists’ have declared a war on cars. While some may wish to blame an alliance of local government, cyclists and climate ‘do-gooders’, the real reason it takes longer than ever to get from A to B is because there are more cars than ever before.

Redbridge Council, TfL and Westminster – through a newly anointed agency Active Travel England – are trying to deal with the fact we’re not able to build more roads or allocate more parking spaces to accommodate a growing population in Redbridge and elsewhere in London. This isn’t an attack on civil liberties; framing it as a war on motorists has real-world consequences that could be fatal for more vulnerable road users, such as cyclists and pedestrians.

No roads are being narrowed; some are being shared with other modes of transport. On Aldersbrook Road, for example, there were two lanes – one for each direction – 40 years ago, and today, there are still two lanes. But now, the council have managed to squeeze a cycle lane on either side. Residents are happier that motorists are not racing down the road between 40 and 50 miles per hour as they did when I was a child. The speed limit is now 20. It’s easier to cross over to Wanstead Flats on one side or Wanstead Park on the other.

Paul’s article also claimed the parklet on Wanstead High Street costs the local economy £120,000 a year. Where on earth did that figure come from? A parklet is a pavement extension designed to provide more space and amenities for pedestrians who make up the vast bulk of visitors to our High Street and who spend the most in our local shops. The simple fact is motorists, cyclists and pedestrians must share the road. That often means encouraging motorists to use other forms of transport if they can do so. A cyclist takes up less space on the road. Therefore, each car journey substituted means more room for disabled motorists who have fewer opportunities to replace their journeys. It’s up to all motorists to ration their car journeys.

My parents were blue badge holders in Redbridge. In addition to free and priority parking on streets with meters, there were disabled parking bays, and you could often park on single and double yellow lines for up to three hours. The criteria for blue badge holders has recently widened to include people whose disability may be hidden. Additionally, blue badge holders get a free allocation of visitor permits if they live in a controlled parking zone – there should be no fear of isolation and loneliness.

Given all the challenges we face, let’s have a sensible debate on road infrastructure.

To read Paul Canal’s article published last month, visit wnstd.com/canalcar

A local naturalist has recorded over 2,000 butterflies on a patch of land adjacent to Wanstead Park.

“Scruffy sites can sometimes be overlooked for their value for nature. One such site is the area of old football pitches near Royston Gardens. I call this Royston Meadow. I did a butterfly transect there and counted an astonishing 2,330 Essex and Small Skippers, plus a smaller number of other species. And this count is just of those close to the path, the true number in the area can only be guessed at!” said Tim Harris.

Local councillors are urging NatWest to reconsider the proposal to close their branch in Wanstead.

“This well-used branch provides a critical service for local people, including those who may struggle with online banking and find it difficult to travel further afield,” said Councillor Jo Blackman. The branch – the last remaining bank in Wanstead – is scheduled to close on 31 October.

In a statement, NatWest said: “We’re getting in touch with customers and engaging the local community to talk through our decision.”

Call 0131 380 6528 

Rainy Day by Satomi McHale was awarded first prize in an art competition at Wanstead House last month. Here, the nature lover introduces her wor

It is an honour for me to receive recognition for my work. It has been said that observation skills occupy a significant percentage in the painting process; I would say I have spent more than 50 years observing the target of my creative desires: nature. I observed the magic of changing colours from sunrise to sunset, shapes and tones, from my insipid office window, being unable to enter that amazing world of creativity for lack of time. 

I dreamt of that day of freedom when my hands would finally make my artistic desire a reality. That day came one year ago. That amazing world of colour and beautiful nature ceased to be a postcard but a part of my life. When I started, I was fearful of being disappointed with the results for lack of experience, but, surprisingly, observation had been working all these years! 

Birds are a masterpiece for me; their colours, perfect shapes and movements are a call for the brushes and paints. 

After having satisfied my first creative experience on my own using watercolour, I decided to enrich my artistic journey with technical knowledge. So, I enrolled on an art course at Redbridge Institute. However, it didn’t last long because of the pandemic, so I continued on my own. When lockdown ended, I enrolled on courses at Wanstead House every Friday with Karina Laymen, and this was a game-changing point in my creative journey. I learnt many mediums and techniques, my favourite being soft pastels, which give a great scope of possibilities and the ability to correct mistakes, due to their malleability. Since I attended that lesson on soft pastels, I fell in love with the medium.

For this picture, I used Rembrandt Soft Pastels. I took my inspiration from a picture of birds in an English landscape after a rainy day, where the drops of water left a string of diamonds decorating the delicate branches that hold this adorable couple of House Sparrows.

Painting nature is, for me, a kind of humble admiration and participation in such a perfect creation, where we can find sophisticated architecture formed by the petals of a flower, the depth of a cat’s eyes or the amazing transition of light crossing the drops of the dew sparkling many colours and glares. All of that is made possible by our own hands, through observation and technique. I strongly recommend these courses to make your creative desires come true.

The competition was organised by art tutor and illustrator Karina Laymen (visit wnstd.com/karina). The judges were Christopher Thomas, Anna Bisset, Brenda Coyle and Patrick Purcell.

For more information on art courses at Wanstead House, visit wnstd.com/house

As plans continue to brew for the first Wanstead Beer Festival, Revd James Gilder samples some of the ale currently available in Wanstead

Ale brewing has a long and illustrious history throughout the UK. Well into the 20th century, many a working-class Londoner would have ‘enjoyed’ a few weeks of hop-picking in Kent, which served as a kind of paid holiday (for a good account of what back-breaking work it actually was, George Orwell’s A Clergyman’s Daughter is a pretty good read).

By the 1960s, brewing had become a rather miserable affair. The advent of the pressurised metal keg, which could be transported more easily than the traditional larger wooden cask, and the disappearance of small local breweries in favour of the huge national corporations, meant that almost the only beer produced commercially in the UK was insipid, gassy and tasteless. However, this homogenisation also led to a brave backlash amongst those who wanted to save local brewing and preserve the ancient recipes and methods that brought subtlety of taste and significant variety to real ale. Nowadays, there is a huge flourishing of small breweries, many of them in London, and new technologies have meant both keg and cask ales have come a very long way from the dark days.

As anyone who has ever watched Father Ted knows, clergy and alcohol together can be something of a mixed blessing, even if it is also a combination almost as old as the art of brewing itself! Monks were often master brewers when brewing ale was a healthier alternative to the often-brackish water that was available to drink. In later years, church bellringers became famous for storing casks of ale in their towers, which they consumed during services. I’m partial to a real ale myself, and as our very first Wanstead Beer Festival is due to be held in the parish halls at Christ Church in October this year, I thought I’d see what good beer Wanstead has to offer.

My first stop was at the newly renovated Cuckfield for a pint of Neck Oil, an IPA that has become so popular in the 10 years since its inception that it can now be found canned in supermarkets. Brewed by Beavertown, just down the road in Tottenham, this is a beer to make the purists howl (particularly as the brewers have recently sold out to the mighty Heineken). Whilst Neck Oil might not truly qualify as a real ale, it is undoubtedly a quality beer: it’s light and citrusy, with an aftertaste of mango that strikes all the right notes on a summer’s evening.

Next stop was The Duke, a pub which always has a great community feel and lots of events. Here, the pint of choice was Hopspur, a cask ale from Redemption Brewery Co, again Tottenham-based. Another citrusy ale, this time with a delicious grapefruit taste which seems to be all the rage at the moment. Not everyone likes their ale as sweet as this but I thought it was definitely worth its apparent Gold Medal.

Sadly, the best beer in Wanstead cannot be purchased from any of our public houses, for it is brewed by the ‘Wanstead mystery brewer’. Famous for their beer deliveries on Oak Hall Road, the mystery brewer apparently regularly delights residents with free gifts of a range of home-brewed ales to rival any artisan brewery. Fortunately, the rector of the parish was able to sample a selection and can attest to the quality! We can see why house prices in Oak Hall Road are on the up!

It’s clear there is a strong demand for good beer in Wanstead. If you like tasting fine ales, do come along to the first Wanstead Beer Festival. There will be an opportunity to savour a wide range of ales as well as other drinks, and to collect a Wanstead Beer Festival pint glass (no doubt soon to become highly collectable). Tickets will be on sale soon, so watch this space.

On a more serious note, it should, of course, be acknowledged that a lot of people do struggle with alcohol, and if you’re reading this and wondering whether your drinking has become a problem, Wanstead Alcoholics Anonymous meet regularly (call 020 7407 0700).

The Wanstead Beer Festival will take place in the halls of Christ Church on 14 October. For more information, email beer@wnstd.com

Local councillors called a meeting with TfL last month to discuss the proposed changes to the W12, W13 and W14 bus routes.

“We highlighted concerns about the adverse impact on some residents who would get a reduced service, including a longer route around Leytonstone that would increase the time it takes to get to Whipps Cross Hospital on the W12. TfL said they’d take these concerns on board and will likely announce final plans in October, for implementation in September 2025,” said Councillor Jo Blackman.

Visit wnstd.com/bus