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In the first of a series of articles looking at historic photos of the local area found in a 100-year-old family album, historian Richard Arnopp  presents a selection of images of Wanstead Park

Since 2007, I’ve been involved in the campaign to raise public awareness of Wanstead Park, an important and historic open space. I’ve also been an active researcher into various aspects of the park’s history, to inform the development of plans for the future by shedding light on its past.

One of my projects has been to build up a collection of historic images of Wanstead Park, Bush Wood and Wanstead Flats. In 2017, I acquired an album of photographs taken by members of the Hobbs family, some of whom lived locally. The album is dated 1896–1907 on the cover. There are just over 100 photos, of which at least seven are of Wanstead Park, which was what piqued my interest.

A related album sadly escaped, as bidding pushed the price beyond what I was willing to pay. Many of the photographs in the collection were faded, degraded or damaged to varying degrees, and it took a good deal of time and effort to restore them to the extent I was able.

Over the coming months, I’m going to give you a taste of this treasure trove of unique, original images. As well as local scenes, they incidentally shed light on social history, recreational activities, costume and some interesting personalities.

What makes the Hobbs album fascinating is that most of the people depicted are identifiable individuals. Finding the album was my first stroke of luck; the second was when I was contacted by a relative of the Hobbs family, Alys Wade, from Australia. Ms Wade had come across a selection of photos from the album which I had posted on my Wanstead Image Archive.

Ms Wade told me: “George Wilson Hobbs was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, in 1838. He, with his wife Fanny and their family, moved to Forest Gate around 1880 and resided at 35 Bignold Road for many years. They had previously been resident in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. Three of George and Fanny’s children became self-employed artists like their father and worked from a studio at home. Florence Emily married Frederick Dawe, a commercial artist, in 1901 and they had one son, Cedric, who became an artist and an art director in the film industry. A large silk embroidery was worked by at least one of the daughters, possibly Fanny Marian, on a Singer sewing machine and won first prize for the Singer Sewing Machine Company in the 1900 Paris Exposition. George Edward wrote and illustrated several children’s books on the theme of brownies (elves) and also stories and illustrations for children’s annuals. He painted landscapes and portraits and illustrated cards for the publisher Raphael Tuck.”

I’ll begin the series with some photographs taken in Wanstead Park.

In the first of a series of articles by Refugee Welcome Wanstead – a community group planning to welcome a Syrian refugee family to Wanstead – Eleanor Taylor explains how local residents can help

I’m sure you will recall the dreadful scenes in the news in recent years of buildings flattened, people killed or injured and families torn apart as a result of the war in Syria. For eight years, the war has raged, creating the world’s largest refugee crisis, and forcing people into camps in Lebanon and Jordan.

Life in these refugee camps is precarious, and most families dream of being able to settle down somewhere to start afresh and rebuild their lives.

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when we see these stories, to feel there’s nothing we can do to help. The events are happening so far away, and we don’t make the decisions about how many families are rescued from these terrible conditions.

But there is something we can do. In addition to the standard number of refugee families taken in by the UK government and resettled in this country, the Home Office operates a programme called the Community Sponsorship Scheme. Communities can come together and offer the housing, support and friendship needed to welcome a refugee family into life in the UK. The scheme has already worked successfully across the country, and is currently in action in Dagenham, where a group similar to ours welcomed a family last year.

That’s where we come in. Refugee Welcome Wanstead, established by volunteers from five local parishes in and around Wanstead, is a group set up to apply to welcome a Syrian refugee family into our community through the Community Sponsorship Scheme. Together, we will provide accommodation, advice and support to a family, as well as welcoming them into our wonderful Wanstead community.

If we are to succeed, we need your help. To take part in the scheme, the Home Office requires us to raise money, which is why we have set up a crowdfunding campaign. In time, we will also need volunteers, as well as donations of items of furniture, so please keep an eye on our Twitter page to see how you can help.

With your help, we can make all the difference in the world to one family. We can’t solve all the conflicts of the world, but we believe that if we can help one family, we should.

It takes a community to welcome a family, and we know Wanstead can rise to the challenge. Please help us succeed together.

Local wild flowers will be the subject of this month’s Aldersbrook Horticultural Society meeting.

My talk will explain how historical records give clues about the native flowers that grew in the Wanstead area and their uses… I will suggest reasons why many wild flowers are under threat and how careful management of wild flower areas should be able to enhance local biodiversity,” said Tricia Moxey, whose presentation will take place at Aldersbrook Bowls Club on 10 March from 7.30pm (visitors: £5).

Visit wnstd.com/ahs

The volunteer team of organisers of Art Trail Wanstead are having a well-deserved rest this September after 10 years of running the large, community visual art event.

But, to keep the local art scene alive, there are likely to be some pop-up art displays to enjoy this year instead, with details to be announced at a later date. And Art Group Wanstead members are again set to have a strong presence at September’s Wanstead Festival. “Having a break will give us time to plan for the years ahead,” said a statement from the organisers.

Last September, about 150 artists showed work at 70 venues.

The group, which has over 300 members, is continuing to offer free membership to artists – professionals and amateurs who have a strong connection to the local area – for its future plans.

Visit artgroupwanstead.com

In the 20th of a series of articles charting the Wild Wanstead project, Susie Knox reports on a new initiative to stop the decline in British insects and encourages us all to help

Insects. Love them or loathe them, we certainly need to look after them – they are, after all, the foundation of life on Earth. That’s why one sunny lunchtime back in November, I nipped to the Museum of London to join the launch of a new report into the state of insect life in Britain.

It is known that insects are in calamitous decline across the world – ‘insectageddon’ as it has been termed by the newspapers. In 2017, a study reported that flying insects had declined by around 75% in the last 25 years on German nature reserves. But what is the situation in the UK and how should we all be responding? Those are the questions addressed by Insects and Why They Matter, a report by leading entomologist Professor Dave Goulson.

Considering their importance, there is remarkably little data monitoring insect populations. One of the best-studied groups in the world is British butterflies. Our common butterflies have declined by about half over the last 40 years, and despite conservation efforts, numbers of those needing specialist habitats have fallen by 77%. Over a similar period, the ranges of wild bees and hoverflies have shrunk dramatically. There are now large areas of the country where many species are no longer able to live.

This is bad news for birds, bats, lizards, amphibians, fishes and the many other creatures that rely on insects for food. And it’s bad news for us humans too. Insects perform an important function controlling pests on our crops. They help old material decay, recycling nutrients into the soil, and they pollinate the plants we eat. Three-quarters of food crops need insects. No insects mean no tomatoes, apples, coffee and even chocolate.

According to the report, there are three main reasons why insects are declining in Britain: loss of habitat, the intensification of farming and the use of pesticides. Nearly 17,000 tons of pesticides are sprayed on farms every year – not to mention all the chemicals used by councils and homeowners. According to DEFRA, every hectare of arable land in the UK receives 17 applications of pesticide each year.

With less habitats, fewer flowers and an environment contaminated with poison, it’s not surprising our insects are dying. But there is still time to make a difference. Many insects may have reduced range but they are still in existence, so there is scope to rejuvenate their populations. There are two main strategies proposed for addressing this: stopping all routine and unnecessary use of pesticides and creating more and better connected insect-friendly habitats in our gardens, towns, cities and countryside. So, with this in mind, what can individuals do to help? Here are a few ideas to consider:

Never apply pesticides in our gardens.

Use every bit of outdoor space we have to create a habitat for wildlife. Greening up driveways, installing green roofs, planting trees, shrubs and pollinator-friendly flowers in our gardens, and leaving some areas to get a bit wilder.

Email the council to ask them to stop using pesticides and support the creation of more wild areas (like the new Grow Zones, which are slowly being established on verges and parks in Wanstead).

Buy organic food where possible.

Sign petitions asking the government to act.

According to Insects and Why They Matter, ecosystem crashes due to a critical loss of insect abundance and diversity are a real and present threat to society, but they are not inevitable. Insect declines in the UK are mainly caused by a loss of habitat in which to thrive, and the use of pesticides on farmland, urban green spaces and gardens. These can be addressed without major economic or cultural cost. It just needs all of us to act.

In the seventh of a series of articles looking at the work of Age UK Redbridge, Barking and Havering, Janet West explains the operation of their user involvement service Voices of Experience

Voices of Experience is Age UK’s user involvement service, which has been established in Redbridge since 2004. It was set up to enable older people to have their say on a number of issues that affect their daily lives. The service consists of a questionnaire group and a citizens panel of 15 members, who meet monthly for discussion and to hear from speakers from the council, Clinical Commissioning Groups and other statutory and voluntary organisations.

The coordinator of the service engages with older people through questionnaires, face-to-face discussions with groups of older people, as well as one-to-one phone discussions, so people get the chance to have their views heard in a way that suits them. It might be about a current local authority consultation, for example, and their views can be given back to the council to ensure their voices are heard. Discussions are also held at the Allan Burgess Centre in Wanstead with older people who have popped in for a coffee and a chat or for lunch.

In fact, Alex Wilde and the Redbridge Rhymesters, who frequently attend the Allan Burgess Centre along with children from Snaresbrook Primary School, first got to know us through a chance discussion with me when I was the coordinator of the service. I had come across a poem of Alex’s and contacted her to ask permission for the poem to be used in the Voices of Experience newsletter. Alex was delighted and thereafter a wonderful relationship between Alex and Age UK Redbridge, Barking and Havering was established!

Sometimes, the group participates in Age UK’s campaigns, most notably on improving social care, accessible transport and tackling loneliness. The panel has met with MPs at Westminster and been given the chance to question them on their plans for social care. The photo shows panel members Pearl and Bert – both very active members of the group for many years – during the campaign ‘On the Buses’, which was aimed at making bus travel safer for older people by providing appropriate training for drivers to help prevent falls on buses. (Bert sadly passed away recently, but remained an active member up until the end of 2019.)

Members of the group have said it makes them feel valued and listened to and some have been with us for many years. There is now a new coordinator in post, Pat Fitzsimons, as I have moved on to another role in the organisation. Pat has some new and innovative ideas for the service and is looking forward to 2020 and new ways to include older people and give them a voice.

In the fourth 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

Preparing a new photography exhibition about London’s East End for my Wanstead gallery invariably involves a lot of walking. Cold, dark, wet nights are my preference as the light from street lamps, shops and traffic bounces in the rain and reflects on the pavements and roads, filling the pictures with energy and life, unlike daylight.

The other thing I can’t resist is an alleyway or a street with a curious name; in this case, it was Park Lane. The very name conjured up for me mental images of grand hotels and luxurious apartments overlooking London’s Hyde Park. This particular Park Lane, however, is just off Stratford High Street and is a wonderful example of the old and the new.

As you can see from the photograph, at the north end of this short road stands an old, small, white-painted building now used as a house of worship. Surrounded and dwarfed by its modern neighbours, the photograph shows a prime example of how change continues. Like the Thames that flows through it, the East End also changes continuously, albeit at a slower pace than the river.

The Huguenots, Jewish and Asian families have all passed through Spitalfields over generations. When the East India, West India and King George docks were working at their frenzied height, ships from all over the world were unloading passengers and cargo, adding to the mix of nationalities and languages. Not really surprising then that change continues, although at a faster pace, with architecture changing dramatically as well.

What I want to discover before they disappear are the buildings, streets and alleyways our parents and grandparents grew up in. There must be many more places for me to find, discover and photograph, so the search will continue.

In the first of a series of articles documenting the thoughts and work of local anti-bullying ambassador Elsa Arnold, the founder of the Spreading Kindness Through E11 initiative explains her motivation

I’m Elsa. I’m 18 and an A level student. I have been an anti-bullying ambassador for The Diana Award charity since the age of 15, but this topic has always been close to my heart because of my own experiences, which led to me struggling a lot with my mental health.

I really value being able to turn my negative experiences into something positive, and I am so grateful to have had so many opportunities to have been able to do that.

I believe school is an experience you never forget and that everyone has the right to enjoy and make the most of it. I want to be a part of ensuring that happens for everyone.

In 2017, I started doing more work in the local community, teaming up with Redbridge Libraries to deliver anti-bullying workshops, which are honestly one of my favourite things to do. I’ve been lucky enough to have also worked with some local youth groups and schools.

I’ve experienced bullying at different times in my life, but the memories from primary school cross my mind most often. I was never really aware of what bullying was in primary school, so I didn’t identify what was happening at the time. I believed I deserved to feel the way that I did, and often, one of the hardest parts was trying to find a friend in myself. So, being able to work with children now, at the same age as I was when I struggled, means a lot because I see it as my duty to be a part of ensuring the same experiences don’t happen to anyone else.

I am also a member of the youth panel for the charity YoungMinds, who do amazing work for young people’s mental health and are an amazing, inspiring organisation to be a part of.

But one of the best and most heartwarming things I feel I have done is team up with Mark Mountney (owner of Zoology) in 2018 to launch a local initiative called Spreading Kindness Through E11, because that’s what has always been at the heart of everything I have aimed to do. I have also enjoyed teaming up with local businesses over the last couple of years to continue spreading the messages about which I am passionate.

My life is dedicated to helping other people and being part of making the world a better place. I can’t wait to see where I can take this and who I can work with next to help achieve this.

I’d like to thank the Wanstead Village Directory for giving me this platform to share a bit of my story and let you know how you can get involved. I hope you enjoy reading my articles.

After cementing herself as a family favourite during Fabula Festival 2019, Mama G is back in Wanstead for LGBT+ History Month celebrations. Here, the pantomime dame explains the importance of stories

Hello lovelies! I’m so excited to be visiting Wanstead Library in February that I absolutely insisted the editor let me write something for this delightful little tome, to make sure none of you miss out.

Some of you may have seen me last time I visited, and if you didn’t, let me tell you what I do. I do fabulous! I do it all the time! And I try and encourage everyone else to be fabulous too!

And I do all of this by telling stories. That’s right: I’m a pantomime dame storyteller! My stories are all about being who you are and loving who you want. They’re aimed at children and their families but everyone can enjoy them. I always try and make sure there’s some humour that the adults will enjoy, but mostly I want everyone to leave knowing that who they are is wonderful and that everyone else is wonderful too!

My stories are about all sorts of things. I have two fairies (Fran and Vera) who fight over who their friend Silly Billy should love. Then there’s Eunice the horse who goes on quite the farmyard adventure to discover who she really is (no spoilers, but it does involve eating glitter!). And my personal favourite story is about Little Roar, the fashionista dinosaur. If you come to hear my stories, you might also meet the firefly without any fire, Valentina Tereshkova (the first lady to go into space), some goats with a wind problem and even Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (well, maybe just at Christmas).

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Why would a panto dame want to tell stories?” Well, it’s kind of what we do. We always make sure you know what’s going on when it comes to Aladdin or Dick Whittington’s latest adventures and we love being in front of an audience. Wearing a fabulous frock and making every generation of a family laugh really is a wonderful way to make a living!

And I think it’s important to tell the stories I do because everyone has the right to know that who they are is valued and loved and appreciated. My stories also promote an understanding that you should respect and appreciate everyone else for who they are too. If children grow up understanding that everybody should be able to live their lives their way, don’t you think the world and our community will become a friendlier place?

It’s only a small act, but I can’t help feeling that the impact could be huge. So, why not come and join me for storytime? You never know, it could change your life!

In the first of a series of articles celebrating the swans that reside on the lakes of Wanstead Park and Wanstead Flats, Tracey Adebowale-Jones explains her love for these graceful birds.

After some years of being captivated by and photographing the swans of Wanstead Park, I was walking one day around the Heronry Pond when I spotted a very forlorn-looking swan sitting in the reeds of a muddy, shallow estuary. I was struck by its sadness, condition and reluctance to come over to me for food (unusual for most swans).

After that first encounter, I started to take bread and seed, eventually coaxing it across the water so she would eat. Each day I went at the same time and each day she began to wait on the bank, but she seemed unable to preen, remaining dirty and unkempt and thin.  I happened to see a friend who was carrying bags of bird food and I expressed my concern to her. Immediately, she told me about Gill Walker, who rescues swans and other birds and takes them to The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton, Middlesex for care, healing and, hopefully, a return to the water. I contacted Gill and a day or so later, my swan was carried off in an Ikea bag (just the right size) to the sanctuary, where she remains to this day.

Since that swan encounter, I have become an avid swan watcher. Still taking photographs, but now much more aware of their behaviour and needs. Learning all the time about them, and wanting to impart everything I have learnt, I have begun to develop a network of swan watchers in the park so that we can all keep them safe.

Swans are vulnerable to uncontrolled dogs, foxes, abandoned fishing line and floats, and when very small, the cygnets can be carried away by hungry crows or terrapins that lurk in the waters. Their nests are sometimes ransacked by humans who smash the eggs, and we believe our swan population in the park last year was depleted because of this cruelty.

We have four lakes in the park and usually, there is an adult pair on three of them – one greedy pair takes two lakes as their own and often you will see a territorial of great drama when another pair attempts to intrude. Already this year, we have been able to rescue a juvenile from the Shoulder of Mutton Pond who was driven off by an adult pair.

Through our growing network, we are able to tell each other when we have concerns about a swan’s health or safety, and we thank the many people of Wanstead who share a love for these birds for their support in looking after our beloved swans.

In the fourth of a series of articles looking at the redevelopment of Whipps Cross Hospital, Gordon Drakes is pleased to report that being environmentally friendly will be a key design principle in the new build

Campaigners were informed last month that an environmentally friendly hospital and the lowest possible carbon footprint will be a key design principle in the new Whipps Cross Hospital, and that the redevelopment team want this to go further and enable the whole of the site to achieve a carbon neutral footprint.

To cover additional costs, a 3% uplift to the capital bid for building the hospital is to be included. They are aiming to achieve the ‘Excellent’ level of BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method). Alastair Finney, the Whipps Redevelopment Director, said they will appoint a dedicated sustainability consultant to the team for the next phase: “We will also make sure there are opportunities for expert stakeholders and local people to be engaged and involved in the work as it progresses.”

The recent election has demonstrated that, aside from the ‘B’ word, securing a sustainable future for the NHS and the planet are perhaps the two most important issues for the British public. So, this is welcome news indeed.

In the summer of 2019, the government enshrined into law a commitment to reach net zero carbon by 2050 (not soon enough, but a positive starting point), and it is clear that if governments of the future are to achieve this target, it will be because of action taken now and over the coming years. Given the scale of the task, the principle of net zero carbon needs to infuse and influence all government decision-making going forward.

How the government spends tax revenue on large-scale land development projects must surely be a prime area for implementing this new environmental modus operandi. Indeed, in the government’s response to a recent report issued by the Climate Change Commission, it acknowledged that the built environment accounts for 40% of national energy use and around one-third of emissions.

Whipps Cross is one of the six hospital developments the government has announced will benefit from a share of a £2.7bn funding allocation. The plans are still in flux and the amount of funding for Whipps is still not confirmed – do sign and share the Waltham Forest Save Our NHS petition to the Secretary of State for Health, which is to be handed in on 14 February. But by putting the environment at the centre of the plans, there is an opportunity to reap many benefits.

Members of Wanstead Climate Action (WCA)joined with local health campaigners to urge Barts Health Trust to ensure that low carbon or net zero carbon is a core principal of the Whipps redevelopment plans. Now that we have a positive response to this plea, we need to keep on the case. There are many hurdles to go through yet.

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Cricket Club players Nanette Kritzinger and Saba Nasim reflect on their experiences representing England at the Indoor Cricket Masters Series in 2019

The 2019 Indoor Cricket Masters Series proved one thing: the England women’s team made their mark on the international stage in every possible way; performance, team spirit, sportsmanship, determination, friendship and courage.

Heading into the World Series 2019, England was considered the underdog and very much a developing country in the sport of indoor cricket, about to square up against the well-established masters of the game, Australia, New Zealand and hosts South Africa.

The fighting spirit of the England team could not be dampened, and it was soon clear that we are now becoming a force to be reckoned with. In our fifth appearance, we beat the mighty New Zealand by sticking to our game plan and ensuring the basics of the game were done right.

This moment was made even more special when we realised it was not just us celebrating this historic moment (this was our first ever win at a World Series competition), but also the local crowds and teams from other countries. Everybody there had an unstoppable passion for the sport and were excited by the prospect of the sport growing and developing in England.

The experience gained by each and every player in such a high standard tournament is immeasurable. Indoor cricket has many skill sets that can transfer and improve the players’ outdoor game. Players learn more control over the shots they play while batting by finding the gaps and scoring faster; their fielding becomes faster and more accurate; bowling becomes smarter, having to react quickly to the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing   batsman; and fitness levels increase drastically. All things considered, this is the ideal sport to play during the winter months in preparation for the outdoor season in the summer.

Wanstead and Snaresbrook Cricket Club is proud to say we had four players in the England Indoor Cricket Women’s Masters squad (Nanette Kritzinger, Saba Nasim, Natasha Bourke and Jen Liu).

We are now looking forward to our 2020 outdoor season, where we will be playing in the Essex Women’s Premier League for the first time since the Women’s Southern League removed the regional divisions. This is to allow the counties to create their own leagues (so teams have less distances to travel for matches) with the winner of each league competing in a semi-final and final for a place to go up into the Southern League Championship Division in 2021.

The Wanstead and Woodford Marie Curie fundraising group has reached its target of raising £100,000 for the charity, which provides care and support to people with terminal illnesses and their families.

“This has taken six years to achieve, but we are finally there,” said a spokesperson for the group, which was formed in June 2013. To mark the achievement, a celebratory afternoon will take place at Wanstead House on 22 February from 2pm to 4pm. There will be a short talk on the work of Marie Curie, a cheque presentation and informal discussions over tea and biscuits.

“When we collect in the local area residents are so supportive and generous, and we would like to let them know how their small contributions add up and welcome them to celebrate with us if they want to drop in and meet us.”

Call 020 8989 2193

In the ninth of a series of articles looking at the developing plans for restoring Wanstead Park, Richard Arnopp of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands reflects on the recent River Roding flooding

This winter, nature gave Wanstead Park an unexpected but very welcome Christmas present. On 21 December, after days of very heavy rain, the water level in the River Roding rose to its highest level for some years and inundated the Ornamental Water. Within hours, the flood began to recede, but several years of low water levels had been resolved at a stroke, with the lake filled to capacity.

The River Roding sits in a huge valley, the relic of its past as a seasonal torrent during the last glaciation, carrying vast volumes of spring meltwater from the ice sheets just to the north. Nowadays, for most of the year, it is a placid little stream, but sometimes during the winter months, it shows something of its old mettle, with significant flooding occurring every decade or so.

The Roding and the Ornamental Water have a close historical relationship, which looks likely to be revived in a new form, as I shall explain.

Prior to the creation of the lake, the natural course of the river as it ran through Wanstead Park isn’t altogether certain, though an engraving of circa 1708 suggests that part of it roughly followed what became the eastern arm of the later Ornamental Water behind the islands. At this stage, there were also two artificial canals, which were later partly subsumed into the lake as it developed.

The Ornamental Water as we know it first appears on a plan of 1725, though construction may have begun up to a decade earlier. The new lake utilised elements of the water features already present and was directly fed by the river.

The water level was sustained by a system of weirs. The original plan of the lake was modified at various times, most radically by 2nd Earl Tylney of Castlemaine, but probably reached something like its present form around 1760.

Around this time, or slightly later, the Ornamental Water was severed from the river, which was canalised behind it. The average water level in the river is now about eight feet lower than in the lake when it is full, and the lake is retained by two brick-faced dams. The owners of Wanstead Park retained the right to temporarily dam the river to top up or flush out the Ornamental Water, and this right was exercised into the 20th century.

The purpose of canalising the River Roding may well have been to mitigate the flood risk upstream from the park. In 1768 a stone bridge, planned in 1752, had been built at Woodford. Almost immediately this was destroyed by floods and had to be rebuilt in 1771. Further canalisation of the river has taken place over the years, most recently in connection with construction of the Barking Relief Road.

As the Friends of Wanstead Parklands have explained in previous articles, discussions are being held with the Environment Agency to allow winter pumping from the River Roding into the Ornamental Water. However, as well as demonstrating the potential for winter spate pumping to manage lakes levels, the recent flood also fits into the evolving strategy of creating planned overflow areas to reduce potential flood risk for residents and businesses along the river.

Volunteers came out in strength this month to clean up Wanstead on the first litter pick of 2020.

“Some 12 adults and children gathered at Woodbine Place before fanning out to collect the debris and detritus of those who walk and drive around our streets. The result was a haul of 14 bags of rubbish collected… The turnout proves that the community spirit in Wanstead is second to none… This year will be a significant one, with new wheelie bins being rolled out and efforts increasing to clean things up,” said Councillor Jo Blackman.

Litter picks take place on the third Saturday of every month, meeting at corner of Woodbine Place and Wanstead High Street from 10am.

Additionally, litter pickers, bags and gloves are also available in the library for those wishing to pick in their own time.

Email Jo.Blackman@redbridge.gov.uk

The Woodford and District Floral Arrangement Group will hold its AGM and host the editor of the UK’s leading floral art magazine The Flower Arranger on 17 February from 7.30pm at Wanstead Library (visitors: £5).

“I will discuss the history of the magazine, how it has been inspiring floral artists for nearly 60 years and also its future now flower arranging has been taken up by the Instagram generation. Floral arrangements inspired by six decades of the magazine will also be on display,” said editor Chloë Bryan-Brown.

Call 020 8530 2427

Paul Kaufman, Chair of East London Humanists, introduces Ariane Sherine, writer, comedienne and woman of many parts who will feature at the group’s Wanstead meeting this month.

Ariane Sherine, who lives in Leytonstone, will be talking about her extraordinary and eventful life journey and signing copies of her latest book at Wanstead Library this January.

Expelled from school at 16, Ariane started hanging around with Duran Duran and played piano on two of their tracks. Her journalistic career started at 21, reviewing records for NME. She was soon contributing to TV shows,  including Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Countdown, and spent time on the stand-up comedy circuit. She has gone on to write several books and is a contributor to The Spectator, The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and Esquire magazine.

Ariane has a young daughter and is a patron of Humanists UK. In 2013 she published the ebook Give: How to be Happy. She wrote in The Guardian at its launch about her lack of religious belief and her wish for her daughter to grow up in a kinder world. The book describes 10 practical actions we can all take to help achieve this. Ariane sold half of her possessions as part of the campaign and donated the proceeds to Médecins Sans Frontières.

But perhaps the best-known achievement initiated by Ariane was the Atheist Bus Campaign. Launched in 2009, the campaign grew at an astonishing pace. A total of £100,000 was raised in four days. It was taken up in over a dozen countries. Ariane thought up the campaign in response to the use of bus advertising by the Jesus Said organisation to promote their message that all non-Christians would burn in hell for all eternity. Ariane’s message was: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” Even this simple retort was too much for some. It was criticised by George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury. Attempts to run similar campaigns in Russia, Italy and Australia were thwarted. And there was a backlash for Ariane. The hate mail she received from extreme Christians contributed to a breakdown.

The road to recovery prompted Ariane to write her book Talk Yourself Better: A Confused Person’s Guide to Therapy, Counselling and Self-Help. Reviews include: “What an excellent, long-overdue idea! A super-accessible guide, through the bewildering marketplace of modern therapy, to ease our noble search for help,” (Derren Brown); “How do we cope with this brutal world? In this witty, revealing book Ariane Sherine runs through the ways. An excellent, funny and thought-provoking read for all who seek answers,” (Arthur Smith).

There will be time for questions and discussion following Ariane’s presentation.

Wanstead has changed considerably over the past 160 years. Ahead of a talk at Wanstead Library this month, Dr Colin Runeckles discusses his work cataloguing local building plans dating back to 1858.

The Heritage Section of Redbridge Central Library holds over 40,000 building plans for Ilford and 14,000 for Wanstead and Woodford. These range from an entire area, drainage and street plans, churches and cinemas, stables and garages, down to alterations to houses including installing WCs and additional bedrooms. The majority of the plans are folded and stored in individual envelopes and numbered for identification purposes.

However, it should be noted that not all plans are available – sometimes, the original list records that the plan is missing and what has been left may be a document relating to the building. Where the original list records the exact location of the building, this still has some use to researchers, but where we are left with simply ‘one house’ in a particular street, the value of the record diminishes greatly.

Ilford Historical Society member Carol Franklin took on the task of computerising the details of every Ilford plan onto Excel spreadsheets. The details include the following: plan number, month and year, building type, house numbers, company, street name, area of Ilford, number of houses, proposer, builder and architect. So, for example, if you wanted to look at every plan held by a particular builder – Cameron Corbett, for instance – this can be done very quickly by filtering the information held on the spreadsheet.

A volunteer subsequently made a start on the plans for Wanstead and Woodford and catalogued 1,500 plans dating from 1959 to 1963. Sue Page, Development Librarian, gave me the more exciting task of going right back to the beginning of the archive for Wanstead, dating from 1858. So far, I have catalogued up to 1924, and I’m aiming to finish Wanstead up to the point it joined Woodford in the new Borough Council in 1934 by January 2020. Part of my work is to reassign houses to their modern street number as so many were given individual names or terrace numbers when they were built.

As a researcher into the streets and houses of the borough, the original plans and the lists are invaluable for my work into the growth of the area. This is especially true for the years before the earliest detailed Kelly’s Directory of 1900, where knowledge of when roads were laid out or the first houses built can be sketchy, to say the least. I am also constructing a full list of roads for the area with the date of them being laid out.

Some of my findings will be the subject of a talk at Wanstead Library this month, entitled Building Wanstead, where I will show the development of Wanstead over the last 150 years or so through a number of these plans.

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 benefit of helping wildlife too. TV gardener Joe Swift says some of his favourite garden trees include Cercis siliquastrum (Judas tree, 10m high, 9m spread), Amelanchier lamarckii (10m by 10m, but can easily be kept smaller), Malus ‘John Downie’ (crab apple, height 8m, spread 6m), Prunus x subhirtella ‘Autumnalis’ (winter-flowering cherry, 8m by 8m), Ilex aquifolium ‘JC van Tol’ (holly, height 6m, spread 4m) and Arbutus unedo (strawberry tree, 5m by 5m). Winter is the perfect time to plant a tree as a cheap, small, bare root sapling – so get that spade out!

Create a mini meadow
Flower-rich meadows support eight times more wildlife than close-cut grass. Just dig up a patch of turf and plant a wild flower seed mix this spring. Alternatively, sit back and let nature do her thing. Cut the grass just once in September – if you remove the cuttings every year to reduce the nutrients in the soil, wild flowers will gradually naturalise without you planting anything.

Plant native shrubs or a hedge
Hedges are brilliant. At the front, they provide a green barrier against pollution from cars. At the back, they create the twiggy, thorny habitat loved by small birds and hated by burglars. It’s not too late to plant one using bare root native species like hawthorn, dogwood, hazel, blackthorn and dog rose – and for evergreen, try beech and hornbeam (which keep their leaves in hedges), or yew, holly and privet. Why not work with your neighbour to swap your last fence panel for native shrubs to let hedgehogs move more easily between gardens?

Build a pond or water feature
Adding water adds a new dimension to a garden. Before you know it, it will be full of newts and a magnet for insects. Woodford Aquatics, just up the road, is great for advice and any materials you need.    

Green up hard surfacing
Nothing can live on a paving slab, so why not bring your drive or patio back to life in 2020? Lift bricks, slabs or gravel to find the earth, and plant pollinator-friendly shrubs like weigela, viburnum, sambucus nigra or hebe. Place a large, raised bed direct on the hard surfacing to create a new border (scaling up helps, but even big containers always need more watering than plants in soil). Or make the most of nooks and crannies with plants that can survive in smaller areas of soil like Mexican fleabane, Aubrieta, hardy geraniums, bellfower and thyme.

It’s not too late to stop the decline of our wildlife if we all make the most of the space we’ve got.

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 into one huge, fluted trunk. This was a practice associated with the late Georgian landscaper Humphry Repton, and the tree is known as the ‘Repton Oak’ after him. Humphry Repton did produce proposals for Wanstead Park in 1813, in one of his last major projects, and the tree was probably planted not long after.

Reservoir Wood was named after a lake which once occupied the area. In fact, it stretched from the golf course to beyond Woodlands Avenue, and from Blake Hall Road to a large embankment, which is now cut by the path a little way beyond the Repton Oak. The Reservoir was drained by 1818, probably because of problems with the water supply. Its site was planted with a wood, perhaps to block the open view of Wanstead House from the public road.

The path continues to the east, past the Heronry Pond and, as you pass the second of the two islands, the Temple comes into view. Built around 1760, it seems originally to have been planned as a small building with an earth mound to the front, making it look as though it was sitting on top of a small hill, and looking like a beautiful Roman temple you would expect to see in the romantic 17th-century paintings by Lorrain and Poussin. At a slightly later date, or perhaps even while construction was still in progress, two brick wings were added, making the structure sit heavier within the landscape. Perhaps these were intended to house the menagerie, which we know the building was later used for.

Bearing around to the left of the Temple, taking the vehicle track to Warren Road, you will notice a huge evergreen tree, which is a yew. The path here leads past a big mound in the woods, which is covered in bluebells in the spring. This path leads out onto the Great Ride, and if you walk across the ride, you will find another, larger, mound. The two Mounts, as they were known, were roughly symmetrical features on either side of the Great Ride, designed to allow visitors to get above the highly formal garden to view the formal gardens, mazes and avenues. From above you could have made sense of the complex formal garden designs. The Mounts would have had a spiral path leading to their summits and the northern one seems to have been crowned by a little temple. Today, they are overgrown sentinels of a 300-year-old landscape that once covered huge areas, with avenues radiating out across Wanstead Flats to Leytonstone and Forest Gate.

The work of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands is to reveal these secrets in cooperation with the owners of the various parts of the park, the main owner being the Corporation of London. The landowners and other stakeholders, including the Friends, have jointly created a Parkland Plan, which sets out a long-term restoration and management programme that respects history, people and nature.

It’s party time for members of Art Group Wanstead on 23 January.

“As the group plans for the 2020s after running Art Trail Wanstead for a decade, new ideas and organisers will be needed. A short meeting will be held at the beginning of the night… Please bring some finger food to share; a bar will be available,” said group founder Donna Mizzi. Artists interested in joining the group (membership is free) are welcome to attend the event, which will be held at Wanstead House community centre from 7pm.

Visit wnstd.com/art

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. My advice: book it for an hour before sunset. That way, you can capture the glass spiral staircase in a wonderful light, and believe me, it’s stunning. A favourite by architects Foster and Partners, its innovative design shows one way up and another way down. The creative flair makes it mesmerising and leaves you wondering how.

Sometimes, it’s good not to stick to one form of photography. I always aspire to try everything, then chose what I adore. At the moment, I’m photographing flowers and food. Tomorrow, it could be something else. Keep challenging your abilities.

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 a regular commitment. In an emergency, RVC can get shopping or collect prescriptions. We also have volunteers who are willing to act as escorts during a visit to the doctor or hospital. This can be of benefit to patients who are hard of hearing, visually impaired or just nervous.

We have a small band of volunteers able to change light bulbs, check batteries, carry out small repairs, sort out bills or move furniture. However, what we cannot do is gardening, decorating, regular shopping or housework, or transport people who cannot get into an ordinary car.

At present, we have over 100 volunteers. Some act as duty officers, working from their homes for a day once a month or so. A dedicated telephone line is transferred to the home, taking calls from residents who need help. The duty officer has a contact list of volunteers who are able to assist when needed. When a request for help comes in from a client, carer, Age UK or social worker, the duty officer has to match up volunteers to the request and see who is available for the required task.

New volunteers in the Wanstead and Woodford area are always welcome, and we also need more duty officers. The work is rewarding in that we are able to offer help to those who are vulnerable and who need our assistance. Volunteers meet from time to time to share experiences, and so RVC is also a means of getting to know members of your local community.

Are you up for it? Can you spare an hour or so now and then to help someone who is lonely or vulnerable? If you are interested in finding out more, please get in touch. You will be warmly welcomed.

Residents keen on beautifying the streets of Wanstead for the year ahead are urged not to miss the 2020 deadline for adopting a tree pit near their home.

“Planting bee-friendly flowers under a street tree will make your road look beautiful, reduce chemicals being sprayed and help wildlife,” said a spokesperson for Wild Wanstead, which is aiming to increase the number of street trees across the neighbourhood planted at their base to support pollinating insects.

“Just email the council by 25 January to tell them the location of the tree you’re adopting and they’ll provide a label to stop it being sprayed. Plant the base with wild flowers, geraniums, herbs or any other small plants.”

Email cleansing.services@redbridge.gov.uk or visit wnstd.com/treepit for more information and street gardening safety advice.

Volunteers are needed to take part in a World War Two community theatre project.

“The Hope and Glory project aims to explore what life was like in Redbridge during the Second World War through performance and research techniques,” said project leader Alfie James. Participants will work towards creating a show to be performed at Redbridge Drama Centre in April. “This will be a fun and enjoyable project, which will bring local history to life on stage… No previous acting experience is required.”

Call 07858 625 622