Following East London Wine School’s recent launch at Wanstead Golf Club, school director and wine expert Sam Alder explains why a trip to the Aosta Valley left a pleasant aftertaste that lingers to this day So, how did I end up working in the wine industry and owning a wine school? Not a traditional career choice and certainly not an option on the career day at school! My first job was in banking. I loved it and suspect it was there I discovered wine. We ‘drank’ wine, a lot of wine, but only after work, of course! My passion for ‘tasting’ was thanks to some bad weather and a great sommelier. Halfway through our annual Italian ski trip there was an avalanche; the ski slopes...

Wanstead resident Charlotte Monro explains her involvement in the campaign to ensure the community has a strong voice in Whipps Cross Hospital's redevelopment plans. A new hospital is being proposed for Whipps Cross with a health ‘campus’ on the site. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. We want a hospital designed to the best of standards, and which will meet our health needs of the future. But with the resource-starved NHS of today this won’t happen unless we all fight for it. I have worked in the local health service as an occupational therapist since moving to Wanstead in the mid-1980s with my husband Stuart and our young daughter. For much of that time, I have also been a union rep and campaigned to protect services....

Happiness is a choice based on our internal representations, says psychotherapist Usha Chudasama, who is hosting two workshops at Wanstead Library this month as part of Mental Health Awareness Week. Internal representations are the pictures, sounds, feelings, tastes, smells and self-talk that our brain sifts through when information comes via our five senses. Our brain is bombarded with so much information that it will delete, distort and generalise all that input and form an idea of what it all means – this also creates our belief systems and plays a large part in our perception, self-talk and level of happiness. Positive self-talk is essential for success and happiness. We judge other people and ourselves by the messages we receive and the perspectives we take on...

A spring clean-themed community picnic will take place on Christchurch Green on 11 April from 2pm to 4pm. The council-organised event will feature local stall-holders and a number of activities for both children and adults, including a live story-telling session at 2.15pm, a free yoga workshop at 3pm and origami, seed bomb making and other craft activities throughout the afternoon. And being part of Keep Britain Tidy's Great British Spring Clean campaign, attendees will also be invited to join or host a litter pick on the day. Children and community groups taking part will be presented with a certificate (register before 2.30pm). "The event is our way of celebrating local volunteers' clean-up efforts," said Krisztina Vamos, Neighbourhood Engagement and Education Officer at Redbridge Council. Visit...

In the first of two articles outlining the speeches given at the Friends of Wanstead Parklands' AGM last month, Richard Arnopp recounts the words of the City of London’s Director of Open Spaces Colin Buttery Colin Buttery explained how his department’s remit involved managing the protection and conservation of the City of London Corporation’s green spaces in London and South East England. Among many others, these include Hampstead Heath and the ancient woodland of Epping Forest. Mr Buttery said that the City of London had acquired several large open spaces by Acts of Parliament during the 1870s and 1880s. These had been vested in the City’s care on account of its long-standing record as a focus of charitable activities. Epping Forest had been acquired in 1878...

To mark Women's History Month, this issue's welcome address comes from Helen Pankhurst (see page 22). Over the last 100 years, women's opportunities in the UK have improved dramatically. It is now illegal to pay women less for doing the same work as men. We now lead from the top of all professions, have become heads of the most traditional universities, been consecrated as bishops and launched into space. We can have careers in the army and box at the Olympics. Many of the taboos about our roles have changed. We have gained control over our fertility and glass ceilings at work have been shattered. Meanwhile, our roles at home have been transformed by technical innovations, by the increasing engagement of men in the domestic sphere...

To mark Women’s History Month, an Eastside Community Heritage exhibition at Wanstead Library will uncover the stories of local women inventors this March. Judith Garfield reports The world of invention and enterprise has been male-dominated throughout history and the lives and creations of female inventors have frequently been overlooked, glossed over and ignored. Women have consistently had their contributions swept under the rug and hidden in the background while their male counterparts have stood in the foreground as standalone pioneers. Women from east London who were behind four revolutionary innovations – which changed the way we eat, dress, love and find our way home – have now had their stories discovered in our new exhibition. One such story was that of Phyllis Pearsall, who invented...

An informal reunion for those who attended Wanstead High School between 1970 and 1977 – and who will therefore be turning 60 this academic year – will take place at The George this month. "This will give our year group the opportunity to meet and re-meet with old friends, have a king-sized catch-up, reminisce and raise a glass to our days at school… If you have any photos you’d be happy to share, please bring them along," said organiser Francesca Fenn. The event will take place on 13 March from 7pm. Visit wavidi.co/class77...

Libraries across Redbridge are being upgraded to improve online and interactive services for library users. “The new system will make it easier and quicker for residents to download eBooks and search for books and services online, as well as incorporating a brand new app so customers can access their library on the move… This is also an opportunity for budding authors and local publications to share their work online as the system change will give them access to online facilities,” said a spokesperson. During the upgrade – which is expected to be completed by mid-March – it will not be possible to renew items and a fine amnesty will be in place until the end of the month. Joining a library, using public computers and...

An annual 10km women's walk in aid of Haven House Children's Hospice will begin and end in Wanstead on 10 May (£15, plus sponsorship), with this year's participants following a new route encompassing Epping Forest, South Woodford and a halfway Sparkle Station in the grounds of the Woodford Green charity. "Our Sparkle Walk is back, and it’s bigger, brighter and packed with even more glitter," said a spokesperson. Last year's event, which raised more than £21,000, saw more than 200 women take part. Visit wavidi.co/sparkle19...