Features

Colin Spence runs dog training classes in Snaresbrook and has been using force-free methods to discipline man’s best friend – and their owners – for 23 years. Here he explains why such classes are important. In my view, a vital aspect of dog ownership should include responsibility for not only the animal’s welfare and wellbeing but also for their training needs. Most dog owners do train their dogs in their home and – as best as they can – in the outside environment as well. This is very good, in my opinion; at least they have done something to improve the diligence of their pet. But training a dog is not as clear-cut as some might think. To get dogs to fulfil good, solid and trusted behaviours, we first need to understand how dogs actually think and learn how the environment plays a part in influencing the behaviour of every dog, no matter where that environment may be, indoors or outdoors. Only when owners truly understand how easily dogs are influenced by – and how they learn from – the environment will they be closer to understanding how to add on the training side (operant conditioning). Dog trainers that are...

In the 19th of a series of articles charting the Wild Wanstead project, Alex Deverill encourages us all to resolve to do more to help local wildlife in 2020. The latest State of Nature report published in October paints a sorry picture of the UK’s wildlife, which is continuing to decline due to factors like modern farming techniques, use of pesticides and urbanisation. But anyone with a bit of outdoor space can make a big difference. Here are six New Year’s resolutions to help nature thrive in Wanstead. Love the trees you’ve got We’re lucky in Wanstead to have some ancient trees in the parks around us. But mature trees in our gardens are just as important. Take the lime trees where I live. These trees are like a wild flower meadow in the sky. The leaves are eaten by many moth caterpillars and attract aphids, which are food for hoverflies, ladybirds and many species of bird. The flowers provide nectar and pollen for insects, particularly bees. Long-lived trees provide dead wood for wood-boring beetles and nesting holes for birds. Plant a new tree Billions of new trees are urgently needed to address the climate crisis, and they have the added...

In the eighth of a series of articles looking at the developing plans for restoring Wanstead Park, John Meehan, chairman of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands, reveals some of the park’s secrets and surviving features of its long history. Photo of the Repton Oak by Richard Arnopp. Wanstead Park has had a variety of uses, styles and functions over hundreds of years. It has been a royal retreat, a deer park, a landscaped garden and, since 1882, a public open space managed as part of Epping Forest. Many surviving features of its long history are still there if you know where to find them! If you enter Wanstead Park from its western end, through the Blake Hall entrance, you enter an area known as Reservoir Wood. Walk for perhaps 150 yards and you will come upon a magnificent oak to the right, with huge outstretched branches and with a newly cleared ‘halo’ around it. It is believed to be a ‘bundle tree’, which means it was not grown from one sapling but a number of young trees planted together in one hole. The object was to produce a large specimen tree with a spreading form, as all the stems merge...

In the third of a series of articles, local photographer Geoff Wilkinson discusses his new exhibition – entitled ‘Quick! Before it goes’ – depicting London’s East End, an area which resonates with many residents here. A walk around London’s East End is now a fascinating experience. The changes are enormous, as I have discovered on this latest photographic odyssey for my current exhibition. Buildings and whole streets have disappeared, often replaced with modern glass and steel structures our parents and grandparents would never recognise. Visitors to my photography gallery in Wanstead had talked about their parents’ lives and childhood memories of playing on the streets of Bethnal Green, Bow, Mile End and other parts of the East End. It was the night I got off the DLR at Canning Town station to take some more photographs that it suddenly became a more personal journey. My grandfather’s house, now long gone, on Bidder Street was next to the railway line and what was known at that time as ‘Peggy Leggy Steps’, the pedestrian footbridge over the railway. This was part of my East End playground when we visited him and my grandmother. The ‘Steps’ have been replaced by Star Lane DLR station....

In the 20th of a series of articles, David Bird discusses the work of Redbridge Music Society and Redbridge Music Service, whose students will be performing in Wanstead this month. Two main aims of Redbridge Music Society are to promote and support up-and-coming young musicians, especially those residing within the borough, and to bring a diverse range of musical styles and genres to the people of Redbridge at easily accessible venues. Both aims will be realised when the students of Redbridge Music Service put on a recital at Christ Church, Wanstead this month.  Based at the John Savage Centre, Barkingside, Redbridge Music Service is the gem in Redbridge’s musical crown. It is a lead partner within the North East London Music Education Hub (NELMEH), and through the many years of its existence, the Music Service has nurtured numerous talented young musicians, a large number of which have gone on to become professional musicians. Currently, music has the status of being a statutory subject and is an entitlement for pupils up to the age of 14 in schools that follow the National Curriculum. Pupils should have access to both live and recorded music and Redbridge Music Service, via a programme of...

A consultation on an initiative to make Wanstead a Low Emission Neighbourhood launches this month. Councillor Paul Donovan urges you to have your say in making the area cleaner and greener. We are lucky to live in Wanstead – a green area, with parks, trees, waterways and open areas. There are, however, many environmental challenges. These include worsening pollution, climate change and loss of biodiversity. Redbridge Council and local people are seeking to address these challenges together. Wanstead is fortunate to have a burgeoning environmental movement looking for ways to improve life. Modern transport systems face many obstacles in seeking to improve ways of getting around, whilst also ensuring that the planet on which everyone depends for life is not destroyed in the process. There are moves afoot to address some of the problems of pollution and traffic congestion in the area. The council is encouraging electric cars, with charging points being installed across the borough. There are also plans for more cycle hangars. The Low Emission Neighbourhood (LEN) scheme is being introduced – based on the London Mayor’s target of getting 80% of journeys to be by foot, cycle or public transport by 2041. LEN for Wanstead goes out...

Ruth Martin, Chair of the Aldersbrook Horticultural Society, will be talking about winter gardens at the group’s January meeting. Here, she offers tips for keeping your garden interesting in the bleaker months. At January’s meeting of the Aldersbrook Horticultural Society, I will be speaking about gardening for winter interest, using my training  as a garden designer and my Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) qualifications to explain how to make sure the garden is as interesting in December, January and February as it is in June, July and August. For me, this has become even more important in my retirement, because now I look out on to my garden every day and not just at the weekends – the only time I used to be at home during daylight hours! At the event, I will look at using evergreen shrubs to create a framework in a bed or border, using as examples, shrubs which flourish in my own garden and in local gardens such as yew, choisya, fatsia japonica and sarcococca, as well as shapely conifers. I will also show how herbaceous perennials, which are evergreen or semi-evergreen, can be used in the border to avoid the all brown look of the...

When Wanstead Climate Action hit the streets to draw attention to the climate emergency, they also had the mammoth task of answering the public’s concerns. Vanya Marks offers an explanation. “Get a job!”“You’re a hypocrite!” “It’s all China’s fault!” Becoming a climate activist has been a baptism of fire and the Extinction Rebellion I joined in October was nothing short of an emotional whirlwind. Two weeks swinging between joy and hope to despair and anguish left me an empty husk at the end of it. I could only have got through the ups and downs thanks to the group of amazing Wanstead folk who have teamed up to form Wanstead Climate Action. During the rain-soaked fortnight of protest, we laughed, we cried, we sang, we marched and mostly, we tried to draw attention to the climate emergency – through peaceful means… and a little bit of civil disobedience. For us law-abiding citizens, this wasn’t something we did lightly. But the powers that be have known about the dangers of climate change for decades and have had years to act on the multiple threats we face. These include loss of biodiversity, species extinction, air pollution, deforestation, melting ice caps and sea levels...

In the sixth of a series of articles looking at the work of Age UK Redbridge, Barking and Havering, Priti Mistry offers more advice on how older people can prepare themselves for the winter season. Now that winter is upon us, most homes will have had the heating switched on for several months. However, for some older people on a low income, they sadly end up leaving their heating off to make ends meet and to be able to manage their money. Therefore, I want to share some tips that will help us all to get through the colder days and months. Keeping warm indoors If you’re sitting down, wrap up with a shawl or blanket. You could even pop your feet up on something as the air’s cooler at ground level. If you struggle to stay warm in bed, socks and even a hat can really help you keep warm. Use a hot water bottle, heat bag or an electric blanket to warm the bed – but never use a hot water bottle and an electric blanket together. Keeping your home warm Lower temperatures increase the risk of flu and other breathing problems and can raise your blood pressure. When...

In the fourth of a series of articles by members of the Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society, Anila Hussain tells the story behind this image of the Reichstag staircase. Architecture was one of the first things I photographed. It opened another door called perspectives. Every angle, every viewpoint; the structure looked so different to me. I challenge myself to see how I can photograph one building but use every angle possible, giving it a completely different view. Great light also plays havoc with the shadows. I find it exciting. I never look at anything head-on. I still photograph everything, but for some unknown reason, architecture pulls me in more and more. In any city I visit, I will always look for architecture and perspectives. Apart from liking what Foster and Partners create abroad and in London, my other most favourite architect is the late, great Zaha Hadid. Her curvaceous structures, which bring a feminine flair to such a male-dominated area, are jaw-dropping. The results are just superb. I think my dream job would be to travel the world, photographing her superb creations with my own added flair. When visiting Berlin, it’s a must to pre-book a tour at the Reichstag....

In the second of two articles by former local resident David Williams, the journalist-turned-tour guide and lecturer explains why he often returns to the area – as he is doing this month – to give talks to local groups. I am not a genealogist but my interest in social and oral history has intrigued me for the past 15 years. After retiring from a career in print journalism and the film and television industry, I was keen to find something which would occupy my time. A casual search on the City of London Corporation website revealed they were inviting applications from people to become tour guides and lecturers. That was for me! After qualifying as a guide in 2005, I went on a number of short courses about various aspects of London’s rich heritage. So, it was on to Birkbeck, University of London, to complete four years of part-time study in the evenings to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. The journey continued by spending two years distance learning to get a Master’s degree in Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University, Leicester, and finally, a second Master’s degree in Heritage Studies at the University of East London....

Helping others can be both fulfilling and fun, says Ron Jeffries of Redbridge Voluntary Care, a good neighbour scheme that has been running for over 40 years and is in need of volunteers in Wanstead. From time to time, most people will know someone who needs help with transport to a hospital, the doctors, a clinic or the dentist. You may be aware of someone who is lonely, sick or elderly, someone who would welcome the company of a visitor. You may have wondered if you might be able to help but are unsure how to go about it. If so, help is at hand! And it will be both fulfilling and fun for you, and a lifeline for someone who needs your support. Redbridge Voluntary Care (RVC) is a good neighbour scheme and registered charity which started in 1973 and offers help to any resident of the London Borough of Redbridge. We help residents in many ways, by visiting lonely people, sitting with the sick or elderly when their carers go out or providing transport for people to attend medical appointments. We also take people to hospital to visit their partners or relatives. This can be a one-off visit or...