Features

As the Wanstead Society prepares to celebrate its silver jubilee, the group’s chair Scott Wilding reflects on their work to date and looks forward to the next 25 years of ‘protecting and enhancing Wanstead’

Wanstead resident, hypnotherapist and emotional freedom technique master practitioner Loveleen KPS encourages us to leave our stresses and anxieties in the past and lead a life filled with inner peace

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the sixth of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Alex Deverill reflects on Wanstead’s skylarks

In the first of a series of articles providing an update on the Cleaner Greener Wanstead initiative, Councillor Paul Donovan (Wanstead Village, Labour) looks at how local biodiversity is being improved

Wanstead resident Jean Medcalf published her first poetry book last year. To Everything There is a Season is a collection of lyrical, spiritual poems about nature. In the 10th of a series of articles, Jean – who celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year – recalls some well-known Wanstead people, past and present. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Elsa Arnold, founder of the Spreading Kindness Through E11 initiative, talks about her summer projects in aid of charity and invites local children to spread joy in the community over the holidays

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the fifth of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Susie Knox is in awe of the stag beetle

Moving to Wanstead four years ago was a creative turning point for Art Group Wanstead Member Leila Skye, who takes inspiration from local scenes I was born in Forest Gate 72 years ago. I come from a creative background and very much lived under the shadow of my father’s artistic family. My Uncle Maurice was an artist in Whitechapel in the 1930s. His sketches appeared in the Evening Standard and his paintings are in the Cardiff Museum, highlighting the miners’ plight during the war years. His commercial work also appeared in the comics Eagle, Bunty and Judy in the 1950s and 1960s. My life as a young artist, from the age of nine, was disrupted many times due to my parents’ own restless lifestyle, until the age of 16. I had been to eight different schools by the age of 15, with undiagnosed dyslexia. At 17, I followed in my uncle’s footsteps and enrolled in evening classes at St Martin’s School of Art. My charcoal life drawings were very well received. But life took over and in those days I had to work. I feel I never found my voice educationally until 1994 when I was in my late 40s and...

The latest stamp duty holiday is over, meaning buyers need to be aware of the implications to their chain and mortgage offer, says Derek Inkpin from local solicitors Wiseman Lee

As well as managing The Cuckfield, Lizi Arnold is proud to be part of another Wanstead icon, The Corner House Project, which is now a registered charity thankful for all the community support it receives

Earlier this year, April Mehmet founded Walk It Out, a project dedicated to empowering women in Redbridge. Organised walks offering a safe and supportive environment now take place in Wanstead Park

As Redbridge Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Planning Enforcement, Councillor Sheila Bain (Wanstead Park, Labour) explains why the Aldersbrook Conservation Area was extended last year