September 2023

Derek Inkpin from local solicitors Axiom DWFM takes the law seriously, but even he knows sometimes the law can be an ass… especially if you get a bit tipsy in a pub

We are surrounded by laws and regulations every day of our lives, the dos and don’ts which regulate society and all of us in it. However, against the serious background of most rules, the following bizarre laws still exist.

• The Licencing Act 1872 makes it clear you can’t be drunk in a pub, and since 2003, bar staff cannot legally serve drunk people. Time to practice your sober face. 
• The Madhouses Act 1774 restricts property owners to one “lunatic” per residence.
• If you fire a cannon within 300 yards of residential properties, you will commit an offence under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839. (So, measure out 301 yards to avoid an issue).
• If you want to avoid a library fine, confirmation that you have cholera should do the trick under section 25 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1985.
• If your alarm goes off at 3am, failing to stop it breaks the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005.
• You can be annoying in public, unless you go to the library, in which case, irritating someone there would be contrary to the Library Offences Acts of 1888 and 2005.
• Unless you don’t mind a £500 fine, don’t carry a plank or ladder on a pathway. That would be against section 54 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.
• Knock down ginger (you remember, knocking and scarpering for fun) is illegal and could land you with a £500 fine.
• Whatever you do, don’t beat your dusty rug in the street. Pollution is OK, but giving your neighbour a tickly throat is definitely out.
• Singing obscene lyrics in the street is an offence; just hum the dodgy parts to avoid a fine. Yes, it’s that Metropolitan Police Act 1839 again.
• Everyone knows you cannot open someone else’s mail, but delaying the post contradicts the Postal Services Act 2000, so no chatting to the postie, please.
• Looking guilty holding a salmon suggests you are a poacher and therefore liable for an offence under the Salmon Act 1986.
• A bye-law passed by Daventry District Council in 2015 prescribes that failing to produce an empty poo bag when challenged could result in a £100 fine.

So, now you’ve been told.

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

Wren Wildlife Group member Nick Croft shares his experience of breathing life back into Cat and Dog Pond on Wanstead Flats. Additional words by Tony Morrison. Photo by Mary Holden

Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don’t, but if you walk across Lake House Road from Jubilee Pond, or take the rough route over the ant hills in that same direction, you may discover a small, semi-permanent pond that goes by the curious name of Cat and Dog Pond. The site presumably gets its name from the fact that it’s only visible when it’s been raining ‘cats and dogs’.

First shown in an 1863 map as a body of water with a course going towards Harrow Lane (now Harrow Road), it was possibly a sluice to help drain the road. Another line on the map shows a ditch or water course running toward an area of the Flats known as the Brickfield. Early reports, when the area was used for mining clay and gravel for brickmaking, mention a water course there.

If you’re lucky enough, you will see the pond filled with water, and then next time you visit, it’s gone, choked by undergrowth and lost from view.

It may have come to your attention that a few of us have being doing a bit of work at this old, neglected site over the past few years. The pond was in danger of drying out and becoming scrubbed over, threatening the amphibians, invertebrates and water birds that depend on it. In an effort to reverse this onslaught and restore this historic landscape, channels have been dug around the pond to form a network of ditches – a Wanstead Flats Wetlands – with tall rushes rising around the edge of the waterscape and birds fleeting between the reeds and bushes. 

Getting permission from the authorities to go ahead with the project was, I assumed, going to be the hardest part. That naive assumption was put to bed the first day of diving into the reeds. Get a fork in, dig out the reeds, plant them further down the ditches – easy. Not!

So, here we are, three years on, seven pairs of wellingtons, one broken fork, one spade, six pairs of trousers, many gloves, three buckets, a visit to A&E and the unavoidable conclusion that I hadn’t a clue as to what I was doing.

It did look quite impressive over that first winter as the rain filled the pond. Water actually remained throughout the first summer, bringing in the butterflies, damsels, dragonflies and, of course, frogs and newts. 

Last year, the weather turned against us and warned of what’s coming down the line as the climate catastrophe takes hold. The frogs managed to get out before the pond dried up, but I’m not sure the newts were so lucky. The drought also clobbered the planting we’d done around the site and, at one point, it looked like we lost most of the 200-plus trees and shrubs we had put in. Come the rain in August and September, we were pleased to see many bouncing back. Not that you’ll see many of them this year as the grass has swamped everything and – with the help of burrowing critters – has made it a bit dangerous to guess where the paths are, so take care!

We will be back (once the autumn migration is over in October) as this is a job that keeps on giving! Thanks to all my team of volunteers, especially Mark Thomas, Sean K, Sean T (aka JF), Tony Abbott and not forgetting Trevor ‘The Mole’.

For more information on the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wnstd.com/wren

In the second of two articles looking at the work taking place to improve Wanstead Park, the Friends of Wanstead Parklands’ chairman Peter Brimson expresses concerns over the condition of the park’s lakes

I was elected as chairman of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands earlier this year. Last month, I reported on the positive developments in the works concerning Wanstead Park’s Temple (the visitor centre) and the historic Grotto remains.

The condition of the park’s lakes, however, gives fewer grounds for optimism. The City of London Corporation (who manage the park) has made a firm commitment of £1.15m to strengthen the dams in the lake cascade. The finance is committed as a requirement of the Environment Agency to prevent dam failure in the event of flooding or the earth dams drying out in a drought. These works are necessary, and should start in autumn 2024, but will do nothing for the most visible problem: the drying out of the Ornamental Water.

The City of London Corporation is prepared to fund pumping water from the River Roding into the Ornamental Water during the winter months. Unfortunately, this requires a licence from the Environment Agency, which has not so far been forthcoming. We hope the Environment Agency will grant a licence in the foreseeable future, but there is no guarantee. If the licence is withheld, there is no other major source of water replenishment, which would lead to the current state of drying remaining indefinitely. 

Another possible source of at least some water for the lakes was a series of small drainage schemes that would channel excess water from roads, the golf course and other adjacent land into the water bodies. The scheme failed to attract funding from the Greater London Authority. At the June Epping Forest Consultative Group, the City of London Corporation was asked about how the scheme might be taken forward. The reply was that a further consultant’s report would be commissioned. No doubt the search for funds for this scheme will continue, but once again, there are no guarantees.

Looking at the longer term, I have to flag up the risk to the future of both Perch Pond and Heronry Pond. At present, the Heronry Pond is prone to considerable leakage. There has been a long-term failure on the part of the City of London Corporation to fix these leaks. However, both Heronry Pond and Perch Pond are kept full by pumping water into them from an underlying aquifer. This is a most welcome arrangement, but again, it does depend on a licence from the Environment Agency to continue pumping. The current licence expires in 2028 and there is no guarantee the renewal will be granted given the looming water shortages in London and the South East. I sincerely hope pumping will continue post-2028, as without this water supply – and the leaks being repaired – the lakes will simply drain away.

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

Redbridge Council is proposing to deliver an education and youth hub at Wanstead Youth Centre.

“This week, we published a report recommending a way forward for the centre, which includes the delivery of education services, a tuition centre and an Early Years Play and Development centre, alongside adding youth services,” said a council spokesperson.

The proposals will go to Cabinet for approval on Thursday 14 September, which has been billed as decision day for the centre’s future. It follows a building condition survey, which highlighted that ‘considerable structural work would be essential to bring the facility up to modern standards’, something many campaigners have questioned.

If the proposal is agreed upon, the building on Elmcroft Avenue will temporarily close to outside hirers from Sunday 15 October 2023, so work can begin.

Kids In Charge, a childcare service currently based at the centre, will now be located in Nightingale Primary School.

“We’ve listened to local people who have shared how important the centre is for local young people, and we’re keen to explore ways to provide additional educational services and hire space that operates in a financially sustainable way,” added the Leader of Redbridge Council, Cllr Jas Athwal.

A range of drop-in art workshops and demonstrations for all ages will take place at the Wanstead Festival on 17 September.

“Tutors and artists will be showing techniques with watercolours, calligraphy, portrait paintings and a clever way to put together mixed-media designs that can be transferred to T-shirts. Botanical subjects always intrigue. No real insects are hurt for tutor Katherine Poluck’s amazing mounted butterflies (pictured) – learn about her realistic techniques,” said a spokesperson for Art Group Wanstead.

The Aldersbrook Horticultural Society’s new season of talks kicks off this month with a presentation by Danny Clarke, aka The Black Gardener. Here, Ruth Martin introduces some of the other names on the bill

After a break in August, the members of Aldersbrook Horticultural Society are looking forward to another great year and a busy programme from September.

Our last eventful year ended with a fun social with good food and prosecco, hosted by Jane Batey and Rob Owen, which followed a fascinating walk in Wanstead Park led by John Meehan. He pointed out the origins and development of a number of interesting trees and explained that the park was established in the early 1820s after Wanstead House was demolished. No doubt we will learn more about the origins of Wanstead Park at our November meeting, when Hannah Armstrong, author of Wanstead House, East London’s Lost Palace, will talk to us about the gardens of Wanstead House. Hannah is among a number of excellent and interesting speakers we have lined up for the coming year.

Things get underway with Danny Clarke, also known as The Black Gardener, speaking at our September meeting about ‘gardening on a budget’. Danny is a garden designer and appears on ITV’s Love Your Garden. We will also hear from Fergus Garrett, the head gardener at the iconic Great Dixter Garden in East Sussex, who will talk at our February meeting about succession planting. Fergus is described as one of the most influential living garden designers and horticultural educators in Britain today, and is the chief executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust. 

As well as hosting nationally known speakers, we are continuing to use our many local enthusiasts and experts to talk about aspects of gardening and horticulture on a range of topics, including a talk by Mark Kenny about his garden in Ilford that he opens for the National Gardening Scheme, two local gardeners, Barry Reeves and Elaine Fieldhouse, talking about composting, and a keen allotmenteer, Celia Parker, taking us through a ‘year on the plot’. At least two garden visits will be organised over the next year: to Sissinghurst Castle Gardens in June and to The Gibberd Garden in Harlow in January to see the snowdrops and early-spring bulbs. Cerith Lowery from The Gibberd Garden will also speak at our January meeting. 

Aldersbrook Horticultural Society was re-established in 2018, a hundred years after the original society was set up. We regularly work in our two community gardens at the Aldersbrook Medical Centre and the Aldersbrook Bowls Club (where we hold our meetings). Over the last year, we opened 20 gardens locally and raised more than £5,000 for local and national charities. We are a friendly bunch of keen gardeners, novice gardeners, allotmenteers, and those interested in the natural environment. All are welcome.

Aldersbrook Horticultural Society meet at Aldersbrook Bowls Club on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm (membership: £35 per year; visitors: £5 per meeting). Visit wnstd.com/ahs

Residents looking to enhance their communication skills or conquer their fear of public speaking are invited to join the Woodford Green Speakers’ virtual open house event on 26 September.

“We recognise the profound impact public speaking skills can have on personal growth and professional success, so join us for an enlightening session and gain confidence,” said a spokesperson for the club, which is affiliated with Toastmasters International. The free online event runs from 7pm to 9pm.

Visit wnstd.com/speak

Over the last 40 years or so, a lazy mythology has built up around the evolution of stand-up comedy in the UK, says Jon Fentiman, organiser of the Fringe’s comedy nights

The lazy mythology goes something like this: up until the late 1970s, stand-up comedy was dominated by nasty, bigoted white men telling sexist, racist and homophobic jokes and was essentially a right-wing enterprise. Then, suddenly, in 1980, the revelation that was alternative comedy exploded onto the scene, pioneered by the likes of Ben Elton and Alexei Sayle, who wrestled stand-up from the hands of these nasty comedians and comedy became an essentially left-wing progressive enterprise. 

The reality, however, is far more nuanced. Without a doubt, casual racism, sexism and homophobia were woven into the fabric of many comedy routines before the advent of alternative comedy, but only a few comedians made outright bigotry the mainstay of their acts. After all, the 1970s were the heyday of comedy greats such as Les Dawson, Ken Dodd, Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise. 

It should also be recognised that whilst alternative comedy helped pioneer a different approach to stand-up, it wasn’t particularly left-wing politics that provided its original inspiration.

Rather than simply telling jokes – mostly written by other people – the new comedians began writing their own material and gave themselves license to talk about real-life experiences in amusing and entertaining ways. The vast majority of acts were hilariously anarchic, and they seemed to take inspiration from the energy and irreverence of the punk era and the spirit of the old music hall rather than leftist politics. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, there was tension and sometimes even animosity between the old-school and new comedians, with the latter often satirising the formulaic structure of the former’s routines. But gradually, over time, a more respectful relationship ensued, with many of the new comedy acts acknowledging the influences of and respect for their predecessors. 

Now, despite alternative comedy becoming the mainstream, against the odds, some old-school comedians have survived the test of time. And these comedians can still have modern-day comedy club audiences in hysterics. Mick Miller, whose career stretches six decades (a regular on 1970’s TV show The Comedians), is one such comedian. Now in his seventies, Mick has adapted and honed his material, and with the emergence of TikTok and Instagram, his comedy genius is wooing a new generation and proving himself as the ultimate survivor of stand-up comedy. 

If you want to see old-school, bigotry-free comedy for yourself, Mick Miller will be headlining Wanstead Fringe comedy night on 17 September. You won’t regret it!

For more information on Wanstead Fringe events, visit wnstd.com/fringe

From rugby to robots, Fiona Gordon takes a look at some of this year’s Fringe theatre offerings, and thanks the local venues that will make these performances truly memorable 

When actors take a bow, they are receiving thanks on behalf of people behind the scenes who make a show possible. This year, before the shows even started production, the thanks firmly belong to two well-loved venues in Wanstead. Because of them we have some cracking shows at this year’s Fringe, and one venue in particular is hoping to delight audiences for many years to come. But more of that later.

Wanstead Theatre Co has been gaining a reputation for producing West End-quality shows in local venues on or near the High Street. Their play about a jumble sale was performed in Our Lady of Lourdes church hall and their play about pub life was performed in The Bull. This year, they read a lot of plays trying to find one that matched a Wanstead venue, and thanks to Eton Manor RFC, a long-term collaborator with the Fringe, they have found the perfect comedy. Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson is set on that glorious morning when England won the Rugby World Cup for the first and only time. Dave’s position as chairman of his local rugby club is being challenged by an extremely loud Australian. Why does Jake, the club’s best player, keep disappearing? Why has Nigel’s wife stopped him from wearing a nun’s outfit? And why have only seven people turned up to watch the game of the century?

What gives this production an extra kick is not only that it marks the 20th anniversary of that momentous event, but that the day before the Fringe starts, so does the Rugby World Cup 2023. Shows are on non-match days, however, so they don’t clash with any on-pitch dramas!

Baloney Theatre are back this year after their compelling A Non-Emergency with not one, but two very special shows. The Room Upstairs explores the invisible illness of ME through the lens of a mother-daughter relationship with lots of puppets, a self-deprecating actor, far too many biscuits and a sprinkle of absurdity. And Robot Penguin, winner of the Baloney Award 2023, is a bizarre, irreverent comedy about depersonalisation and the neurodivergent experience through the ‘lens’ of an undercover robotic penguin called Emperor Spy Cam A10N3. 

The two shows will be performed at The Bull and here is why this particular collaboration deserves a special thanks. At the kind invitation of The Bull, the Fringe planning team have spent many hours discussing ideas, compiling research and using funds to fit out the upstairs bar with theatre lights and a lighting deck to create a more permanent home for Fringe theatre. To provide a dedicated venue for theatre on our High Street all year round is amazing and a great reason to take a bow!

For more information on Wanstead Fringe events, visit wnstd.com/fringe

In a Wanstead Fringe travelogue with a difference, Carole Edrich invites you to sample some of the wines emblematic of her experience of cycling to every winery in Argentina

Salta Province has sub-tropical weather. That means either pouring rain or hot sun and humidity in the lowlands or hot sun with more hot sun everywhere else. Salta is mostly desert. The thermal amplitude makes for amazing wines. 

Downhill towards the city. Wet and humid. On a normal trip, humidity would have been welcome. Humidity is useful when so many people smoke because it makes the smoke – and all smells – stick to the people who cause them. Not this trip. Cycling in this humidity is like swimming through treacle. Exhausting, sweaty and no sane person would do it.

I find my hotel in Salta – the only one in the entire five-month adventure that the local PRs have organised – and immediately go for a shower. The pipes grumble. I wait. The water comes out a bright, vivid green. I decide to go without. No energy for grumbling. Tonight, I decide that sweaty is betty-er.

There are few excitements to compare with one’s first night in a strange new place. Despite my weariness and a deplorable urge to throw off my cycling kit and watch Latin soaps on the probably black-and-white portable TV in my room, I set out to immerse myself in the town. After all, I might never come here again. Live this precious moment to the full! I think. Savour the experience. Meet people. Make notes. Crush each ripe fruit of sensation against the palate until the appetite is cloyed in intoxicating richness.

Richness. Savour. Palate. Appetite… That brings me to food. The restaurants are closed when I eventually find them, what with it being a Sunday, half-past March and everyone being at home for their weekly family asado (directly translated: ‘bar-b-cue’ or ‘grill’, culturally translated: more meat than you can eat and then some). In the end, in a garage that has run out of petrol, I find a couple of boiled cardboard media lunas (pasties) and two dented plastic bottles of water in slightly-less-than-two-litre holders.

That night, I wake up to scuttling. After being run over by cockroaches in bed in the ‘pleasantly intimate’ cupboard they have booked for me to share with said cockroaches, the minutes of the luminous green clock that I can neither turn off nor cover creep to 6am. I make the decision to get up and cycle through horizontal rain to my next destination, leaving the cockroaches to feast on the second media luna, which I haven’t been able to face.

Onwards, and uphill (again), to Cafayate. This is the penultimate stage of my nine-stage bike ride through the wine trails of Argentina. On 12 September, we’ll have time to talk about four of the stages – and we’ll be tasting four wines that match my experience that covered 4,500km through the wineries of Argentina. Which four sections we cover will be up to you (interactive, innit).

For more information on Wanstead Fringe events, visit wnstd.com/fringe

The Guide Dogs’ Redbridge hub is seeking volunteers from the Wanstead area to foster a dog.

“Our fosterers provide loving homes for our dogs to relax in while they are in training. It can be a great way to add a dog to your home without long-term commitment,” said Volunteer Coordinator Phoebe Coles. Volunteer fosterers drop off their dog at the Woodford Green centre on weekdays between 7am and 9am and pick them up between 4pm and 6pm. All costs are covered and training is provided.

Call 07795 106 874

Age UK is keen to raise awareness of its activity centre in Wanstead (also known as the Allan Burgess Centre).

“The centre has struggled to replenish visitor numbers since reopening after COVID. We run daily exercise, games and craft classes, and our fabulous new chefs, Teresa and Julie, prepare freshly cooked meals Monday to Friday,” said centre manager Jackie Balman. Located at 2 Grove Park (opposite the Co-op), the centre’s two-course lunches (£7) are available to any Redbridge resident aged 55 and over.

Call 020 8989 6338