In the sixth of a series of articles following the progress of the Wanstead Environmental Charter, Councillor Paul Donovan (Wanstead Village, Labour) looks at how the council’s Local Implementation Plan will help. The Wanstead Environmental Charter has been gathering pace since its launch at the start of May. Most of the local schools attended the launch and signed up for the principles of making Wanstead a cleaner, greener place. Each has been taking things forward, with Wanstead High School working toward the internationally recognised Eco-Schools Green Flag award. Litter pickers continue to clean up the area – maybe one day people will stop dumping the waste in the first place. There has been great support for the charter from The Stow Brothers, who hosted the launch and promotes the campaign on its front window and with the distribution of the leaflet. We need more businesses to...

Rising at Molehill Green in Essex, the River Roding passes through the Wanstead and Woodford area en route to the Thames, bringing with it a very real flood risk to local homes. In the fourth of a series of articles charting the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Andy Naish from the Environment Agency offers advice on protecting your property. River photo by Geoff Wilkinson. The River Roding Project recently held a community drop-in event at Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall, near to the proposed flood storage area in Essex. This was a chance for local residents, community groups and landowners to find out more about the project, how we plan to minimise disruption and how it will reduce flooding impacts in the Wanstead and Woodford area. Once we know which existing defences need refurbishing, we will hold a similar community drop-in...

Steve Wilks is a volunteer for the St Francis Hospice boutique in Wanstead and looks at the practical ways residents can support the charity by donating their time… or unwanted clothing. Having had the obligatory spring clear out this year, the result was that I had accumulated bags of unwanted clothing and linen, which has been sitting in the cupboard but never seen the light of day. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to reduce clutter, and I then decided it would be better served taken to a local charity shop where someone could benefit from using it and a charity could make some money from it. St Francis Hospice is one of the latest shops to open up on Wanstead High Street, and given its size and range of items sold, I thought it would make best use of the items to display....

This month, professional stuntwoman and local resident Lucy Allen will be giving a presentation about the suffragette movement, partly inspired by her window-smashing work on the 2015 film Suffragette. This month, I shall be returning to the Wanstead Park Women’s Club to give my latest talk ‘Suffragette and the Petticoat Rebellion’. I have already shared my adventures as a stuntwoman with this group and also told tales about ‘The Ship of Dreams’, the doomed liner Titanic and what it was like to work on the Oscar-winning film. This time, I will be in window-smashing mode talking about my experiences working on the 2015 film Suffragette and telling the story of the suffragette movement in, I hope, a lively ‘Lucy-style’ way, using the actual voices from the women themselves. Last year was the centenary year of some women getting the vote, which inspired me to produce this...

Ahead of a family learning workshop about hedgehogs at Wanstead Library this month, Anna MacLaughlin, a nature conservation ranger for Vision RCL, explains how you can help these spiny mammals. The humble hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is one of our most beloved mammals, but sadly, we’re seeing worrying declines across the nation. Evidence shows that over the past 15 years populations have declined by nearly a third in the suburbs and cities and by over half in the countryside, with estimates suggesting there are less than one million hedgehogs left in the UK. Whilst hedgehogs are legally protected from trapping or intentional harm, the legislation does not directly deal with the key drivers of decline. Hedgehogs face a multitude of threats across both urban and rural landscapes. They are faring poorly in the countryside due to an increasing loss of hedgerows and high levels of pesticide...

‘This is Essex’ is the theme for an Essex Art Club competition, which will be judged at the group’s annual exhibition at Wanstead House this November. Mary Springham invites artists to join the historic club and enter. Image July-Thaxted by John Tookey Essex is the theme for our special competition for members of Essex Art Club. The prize is £120 for a picture of 120 square inches, to celebrate the 120th year of the club. We are pleased to announce the submitted works – which will be displayed at our November exhibition at Wanstead House – will be judged by Professor Ken Howard OBE, who was our club president for many years and is now our patron. Essex Art Club has been encouraging artists and holding exhibitions since 1899, and the post of president has been held by Royal Academicians, such as Sir Alfred Munnings and Professor...

Jef Page, president of the Ilford Historical Society, will be talking about William Hogarth’s painting The Assembly at Wanstead House at an event organised by Redbridge Heritage Centre this month. In April 1728, Lord Castlemaine – Sir Richard Child (1680–1750) – wanted to celebrate his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife Dorothy (nee Glynne). Nothing too grandiose, he chose a tea and card party held in the ballroom of his sumptuous palace: Wanstead House. To mark the occasion, he decided to record it by having an up-and-coming artist record the event. Twenty-five years earlier, to record his betrothal, he paid for portraits of his wife (sadly, sold on before I had a chance to see them) and himself. Looking resplendent in full-bottomed wig and bright-blue silk gown, he looks self-assured. Those paintings were completed by an unknown artist in the circle of famous painter Michael Dahl....

Library Development Officer Christine Thompson invites Wanstead’s children to take part in a space-themed reading challenge this summer and read six library books over the holidays. The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge is aimed at children aged four to 12 years and helps get almost three quarters of a million children into libraries to boost their reading skills and confidence. Children’s reading can ‘dip’ during the summer holidays if they don’t have regular access to books and encouragement to pick them up. In 2019, children across the UK will be able to take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, entitled Space Chase, an out-of-this-world adventure inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. It is also the 20th anniversary of the annual reading challenge itself. Children taking part will join our super space family, the Rockets, for a thrilling mission to...

A series of talks will take place at St Mary’s Church this month exploring the building’s history. Canon Professor Mark Chapman, Professor of the History of Modern Theology at Oxford University, is one of the speakers. In the middle of the 19th century church architecture was big business – there was a wholesale rebuilding of medieval buildings and many celebrity architects. Only about a hundred churches were left untouched by the Victorians. Our ideas of what a church should look like come from their rather vivid re-imagination of the Middle Ages. When the Victorians built or ‘restored’ church buildings they had a particular set of ideas they wanted to put into practice: almost always they used Gothic forms, which they felt were properly ‘Christian’ (rather than pagan) and they tended to emphasise ritual, symbolism and colour. This was quite different from earlier church layouts in...

In the first of a series of articles looking at Age UK RBH’s Allan Burgess Wanstead Activity Centre, manager Jackie Balman outlines a week of workouts and classes and invites anyone over 55 to pop in. Hello, my name is Jackie Balman and I manage the Allan Burgess Activity Centre in Wanstead for Age UK Redbridge, Barking and Havering (RBH). The centre is located on the corner of Grove Park and Wanstead High Street. We are open from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday and from 9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays for coffee. In this article, I would like to give you some idea of what we offer here at the centre. For Redbridge residents over 55, this place is an absolute must! The activities we offer for a small charge will help to keep you active both physically and mentally. Mondays are all about...

Ahead of a series of wool art workshops for children at Wanstead Library, Guli Hamra explains how growing up in Kyrgyzstan provided her with an intrinsic connection to wool and how her creativity unravelled. My name is Guli and I have been living in England for 17 years. I am originally from Kyrgyzstan, a country in Central Asia. People in my country have traditionally been nomads and they have always used wool in their life. I grew up where people make carpets from wool, as well as yurts, clothes and many different things which we still use in modern life. In my childhood, I used to help my mum, our neighbours and relatives to make carpets. So, I know how to work with wool! I used to have lots of craft hobbies until I saw a picture made out of wool on the internet. I couldn’t believe...

James Knight has been experimenting with colour and abstract paintings since his childhood, experiments which have helped prepare him to take part in the 10th Art Trail Wanstead this September. My early years were spent in Shoreditch, and I always had an interest in drawing, painting and colour. My family were printers and worked with colour and form. I remember helping my mother spread ink onto a letterpress printing plate during my childhood. The form of the spread ink was one of my earlier experiments with colour. When I entered secondary school, my two main influences were art teachers Mr Wesley and Mr Swindon. Mr Swindon was a great portrait and caricature artist, whilst Mr Wesley was wonderful with colour and pattern. Both encouraged me to feel free artistically and to experiment. Upon leaving school, I worked for Panoramic Pictures taking photos of entire schools. Anybody...

Despite missing out on the league title, Snaresbrook FC are still a squad of winners, says Millicent Brown, and they count Frank Lampard Snr among their supporters. It’s been another fantastic year for the historic local Wanstead football team Snaresbrook FC, which has been playing on the Nutter Field for decades. Originally named RAFARNO – short for Royal Air Force Army Royal Navy Officers – the club was set up at the end of World War One to provide sporting activities for the local community. Even these days, a fenced-off section with a fir tree remains at the top end of the ground, marking the area where horses and carriages used to drop off passengers. This season, the team has been competing in one of the top divisions of Essex’s highest-flying leagues – the Essex Olympian Football League – and for a long time looked...

Aldersbrook Lawn Tennis Club held a 24-hour hit-a-thon last week, raising funds for children’s mental health charity Carefree Kids and the club. “Tennis and social members kept a ball in play during 24 hourly slots; either a tennis ball, a table tennis ball or a pool ball,” said a club spokesperson. Running from 6pm on 21 June until 6pm on 22 June, the event has raised £800 so far and was supported by local bands Replay, Breakfast Bunch and Major 3rd. Located on Blake Hall Road, the club boasts six all-weather courts. Visit wnstd.com/altc...

Residents who have been involved in anti-war movements in east London are invited to participate in oral history project ‘Not on our Watch’. “We will be recording stories of campaigning, struggling and building relationships within the grassroots peace movement from post-WWII to the present day,” said a spokesperson for Eastside Community Heritage, a charity which promotes an understanding of inter-generational experiences through historical explorations. Call 020 8553 3116...

The new president of a local public speaking club is encouraging any residents keen to improve their confidence and leadership skills to join them. The Woodford Green Speakers are affiliated to Toastmasters International and meet fortnightly at Wanstead Golf Club. “Toastmasters has helped thousands around the world to overcome their fears of public speaking,” said Pamela Odukoya, who was elected as the group’s president in June. Meetings will take place on 9 and 23 July from 6.45pm. Visit wnstd.com/wgs...

A memorial plaque has been placed in the City of London Cemetery at the recently discovered location of the final resting place of Joseph Merrick, who was exhibited as the Elephant Man in the 1880s. After his death in 1890, Joseph’s bones were removed of flesh and stored for medical study. What happened to the rest of his remains had been a mystery for over a century, until author Joanne Vigor-Mungovin studied the Aldersbrook cemetery’s burial records in April this year, which ultimately led her to the grave’s location....

The Battle of Agincourt (25 October 1415) will be discussed at next month’s meeting of the East of London Family History Society at Wanstead Library. “King Henry V’s wet, cold, tired, hungry and scared army inflicted a massive defeat on the French. Their knights charged into heavy, wet ground and were slaughtered, many even after they were captured. But when he returned home, Henry received a hero’s welcome,” said Jef Page, whose presentation will take place on 24 July from 7pm (visitors: £1.50). Call 020 8554 8414...

An annual operatic event will return to Christ Church next month. “Glamour on the Green is an evening of operatic singing in the church from young professional musicians, with two sessions of music surrounding a 90-minute interval for picnics in the garden,” said a church spokesperson. The performers for the event on 20 July (from 6.30pm; tickets from £20) are: Jessica Norton (lead soprano), Lydia Haynes (mezzo-soprano), George Ireland (piano), Clem Hetherington (tenor) and Tom Mole (bass). Visit wnstd.com/gotg...

Members of the Wanstead Youth Club – which meet on Thursday evenings at Wanstead Youth Centre – took part in the launch of a gardening project earlier this month. “Participants designed their own plant pots and filled them with their choice of flowers and shrubs. Other plans include putting up bird boxes and bird feeders, which the youngsters will have responsibility for, and installing trellises on the walls for climbing plants to add colour to the area,” said the club’s new leader Keith Cranmer. Email keithc@essexboysandgirlsclubs.org...

More than 20 people took part in a clean-up day at Eagle Pond in Snaresbrook earlier this month. Wanstead Village councillor Jo Blackman organised the litter pick with the City of London Corporation – who owns the site – after a number of residents expressed concerns about the state of the pond. “It’s great to see what a difference we can make when we work together. A group of residents are now joining forces to make lasting improvements,” said Councillor Blackman. Email jo.blackman@redbridge.gov.uk...

Redbridge Council is consulting residents over the possible extension of the WA and WB permit parking zones. “Parking in some residential roads in Wanstead is becoming increasingly difficult as a result of commuter parking and displacement from adjacent controlled areas. A number of requests, together with signed petitions, have been submitted… asking for us to work with local residents to develop suitable solutions,” said a spokesperson. The consultation closes on 19 July. Visit wnstd.com/consultjul19...

Wanstead resident Matthew Lee completed the Three Peaks Challenge while blindfolded earlier this month, raising over £22k for the Royal Society for Blind Children. Matthew was inspired to take on the challenge – which requires climbers to reach the summit of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon within a 24-hour period – by his nine-year-old daughter Alexa, who is losing her sight due to brittle cornea syndrome. “The climb was incredibly tough… but nothing compared to what Alexa has to tackle,” said Matthew....

The Archdeacon of West Ham will be displaying his Triumph Bonneville at a St Mary’s Church BBQ on 20 July (11am to 3pm). It is hoped the event – open to all, including motorbike groups – will help to raise £2,300 to buy a Yamaha 125 for a priest in the Marsabit diocese in Kenya. The vehicle will help church workers better serve their parish, which covers an area the size of England. “These bikes are equipped to take the punishment that African tracks can inflict on a machine,” said the Venerable Elwin Cockett. Visit wnstd.com/bk...

Tributes have been paid to Wanstead resident Jill Stock, who died on 25 May following a road traffic collision while visiting family in Somerset. Jill worked as a nurse for some 46 years, and her hobby of making photographic collages developed into a small enterprise, creating jigsaw puzzles of Wanstead, which she sold at the farmers’ market. “She will be deeply missed. She was a beacon for a model citizen looking after her neighbourhood,” said Steve Wilks. She leaves husband Mick and three daughters, Kate, Samantha and Polly....