Author Joanne Vigor-Mungovin, who is related to the showman who exhibited Joseph Merrick as the Elephant Man in the 1880s, recently discovered the location of Joseph’s final resting place… in Aldersbrook

Following the recent death of Wanstead resident and jazz drummer Clive Fenner – who founded the East Side Jazz Club – Robert Maitland explains how he and fellow musicians will keep his legacy alive Clive Fenner was a popular, respected and well-liked figure on the Wanstead scene and many local people, as well as those from far-off places, have remarked on the sad news of his passing away on 28 April following a two-year battle with cancer. We have lost a warm personality in our neighbourhood and beyond. Clive was born in Writtle, Essex in 1949. He went to teacher training college in Walsall and later went on to complete a Masters in Philosophy. Clive moved to Wanstead after marrying and taught Philosophy of Education at Havering College for 15 years. Clive worked hard at being a jazz drummer, educator and promoter. He founded the East...

Artists with a link to Wanstead are invited to join Art Group Wanstead this month for the opportunity to take part in their art trail in the autumn. Taking place from 7 to 22 September, the event – which is now in its 10th year – will show all types of visual artwork by local amateurs and professionals in shops, businesses and community centres. Extra events are also being planned for this year's anniversary trail, sponsored by The Stow Brothers. "The chosen theme (not compulsory) for this community art event is ‘Time’. A wide interpretation is encouraged – it might be inspired by a time-travel TV series or your own futuristic vision of Wanstead," said event organiser Donna Mizzi. "Everyone who joins the organising group (membership is free) will be given the option of paying a fee to take part in the trail." Visit artgroupwanstead.com...

As part of Local History Month, Lynn Haseldine Jones will be leading a walk around Snaresbrook to discover the history of this commuter suburb, starting with the Georgian period and then looking at later developments in Victorian and Edwardian times. Here, the local historian describes some of the sites that will be visited. Photo of Snaresbrook Crown Court by Geoff Wilkinson We begin at Snaresbrook Station, where the railway first came in 1856. Changing the nature of the village from a predominantly Georgian settlement to a bustling Victorian suburb, there is still evidence of the Great Eastern Railway, hardly noticed by passengers on the busy Central Line. Along Hollybush Hill are a few Victorian houses. Mornington Lodge has changed its name to Kingsley Grange, but Staffa and Iona are still there, though no longer Barnardo’s homes. The great feature of the Hill, though, is Snaresbrook Crown...

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 were closed. We were stuck in the town, we couldn’t go up the mountain, couldn’t go down, so what to...

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. Just 13 years ago Whipps Cross Hospital was fighting for its existence. Staff and the local community came together in...

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 as ours. She’s so "tall/short/fat/skinny" or I’m so "stupid/kind/fat/amazing" etc. These are all labels that become our inner voice –...

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 wavidi.co/ourstreets...

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 and, in common with the other open spaces, had since been funded by the City using the interest from assets...

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 and by a greater valuation of us – and by us – of what it is to be a woman....

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 the A-Z street map in 1936. The creation and publication of the A-Z was revolutionary in a time before GPS...

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 borrowing items will be unaffected during the update....

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...

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Cricket Club has launched a fundraising drive called Project Heron. "To help us build on our recent achievements on the field, our facilities need to be upgraded urgently. We have identified what we need: new, state-of-the-art ECB-certified nets, the same kind the players use at Lord’s… We also plan to complete the refurbishment of our clubhouse by the start of the 2020 season," said a spokesperson for the Overton Drive club, which is looking to raise £75k. Visit wavidi.co/prheron...

Redbridge Council is installing 30 public access defibrillators in a bid to save lives. “The locations are being finalised and we will be able to share the information very soon… The project will include four on our housing estates across the borough and installations at Redbridge libraries in partnership with Vision,” said a council spokesperson. An online map shows the current location of the borough’s defibrillators – including one at Wanstead Leisure Centre – to be updated as the new equipment is rolled out. Visit wavidi.co/defib...

Wanstead Church School has won £3,750 from the Aviva Community Fund, having reached the final round thanks to online votes from local supporters. "Our bid for funding for our reflection garden project was voted a judges' choice winner and means the project can now go ahead," said a school spokesperson. The garden – which it is hoped will be in place by the Easter holidays – will be called Derek’s Garden, in memory of lollipop man Derek Jarvis, who helped children cross Wanstead High Street for 10 years before he died in 2017....

A public meeting on climate change will take place at Wanstead House this month. Featuring speakers from Extinction Rebellion – an international social movement that aims to bring about change through non-violent resistance – the event on 26 March (7pm to 9pm; free) will share the latest climate science findings, discuss some of the current psychology around climate change and offer solutions through the study of social movements. "The planet is in ecological crisis: we are in the midst of the sixth mass extinction event this planet has experienced. Scientists believe we may have entered a period of abrupt climate breakdown. This is an emergency," said event organiser Kathy Taylor. "Everyone is welcome, and there will be time to ask questions and discuss afterwards." Email wansteadclimateaction@gmail.com...

Join historian Nick Dobson on a trip back to 1950s London at Wanstead Library this month and discover a decade during which wartime austerity gave way to growing optimism It is tempting to look at the 1950s as the dull decade bracketed by the battlefield of the forties and carnival of the sixties. If the London of the 1960s is in glorious psychedelic colour, then surely the fifties remain in drab black and white? However, the decade which started in austerity ended with Harold Macmillan telling us we had never had it so good! It was a decade of steady progress towards new confidence and prosperity; a march towards modern Britain, seen with greatest clarity in London. At the start of the fifties, the average weekly wage for a man was £9-5s-11d, but meat cost an average of 2/- per pound, butter 4/- per pound...

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 first of a series of articles charting the ideas and hopes of the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Laura Hepworth from the Environment Agency is keen to seek community support for the project. Photography by Geoff Wilkinson The River Roding has a long history of flooding. Flood events have been recorded since 1926, occurring in 1939, 1947, 1974, 1988, 1993, 2000 and 2007. In 2000, over 400 properties flooded in Woodford. Charlie Brown’s Roundabout was shut for over a week, impacting access to schools and supermarkets. Broadmead Baptist Church on Chigwell Road was out of use for 18 months. Do you remember the floods? We would like...

With a new shop to open in Wanstead this month, Saint Francis Hospice will raise its profile in the area. But the service provided by the Havering-based charity has always been here for us, says Amanda Green. This time two years ago Saint Francis Hospice entered my life as my mum entered Saint Francis Hospice. It was life-changing on many levels. Mostly, of course, because my beloved mum was dying and went into Saint Francis to receive end-of-life care. But it was also life-changing because once I and my family experienced what a hospice does, and in particular the care which Mum received, there was no way we couldn't feel anything but compelled to support the charity by raising funds and awareness. For me, this awareness takes on two forms. General awareness about the differences between a hospital and a hospice as well as awareness...

Before the internet, boredom was something to be feared. Today, experts are wondering whether it is good for us. Wanstead resident Steve Wilks examines why this may be the case. Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard thought it was the root of all evil. Writer Mary Renault considered it intellectual defeat. French sociologist Jean Baudrillard declared it the world's second-worst crime. But where boredom might once have been something to fear, today we are never truly bored. In our era of non-stop notifications, how can we be? According to a survey, the average Brit checks their smartphone 28 times a day – at least once per hour. That's more that 10,000 times a year. "Those little spaces of 'no work', like walking through a park, are disappearing," says Tom Hodgkinson, founder of cult journal The Idler, which advocates a slower-paced approach to life. "You can now work...

Independent local travel advisor Jack Leaf offers an overview of his recent luxury cruise around Cuba, which allowed him to tick off a music-related travel ambition. Whilst cruising between the Spanish colonial cities of Trinidad in Cuba and Cartagena in Columbia, it struck me that I should be writing about MV Silver Cloud and the Silversea expedition cruise I am currently enjoying. I have long wanted to visit Cuba but the rumours of food scarcity and poor quality deterred me, until I heard about this cruise itinerary. Silversea is one of the finest international cruise lines, so one is assured of a high standard of accommodation and cuisine on relatively small ships (300 to 400 passengers) and their expedition cruises include a full itinerary of shore excursions, interspersed with on-board lectures and an absence of on-board formal entertainment. The cruise was scheduled to depart from...

Wanstead resident Peter Luscombe and other members of the Essex Art Club will be exhibiting their work at the Barbican Library this month. Here, Peter explains how his training as an architect led to a lifelong hobby

Gemma and Sandy Sanderson have created their own self-sustainable oasis at the Redbridge Lane West allotments. Paul Donovan, a member of the Wanstead Transition Initiative, meets them