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Yann Corre updates on the success of the Christ Church Green communal compost bin trial, and invites residents to local composting workshops as part of The Great Big Green Week

At the end of June, Cleaner Greener Wanstead and Redbridge Council installed a compost bin on Christ Church Green. It was placed on the grass verge near the entrance of the church. 

Open to everyone, this compost bin is an invitation to reduce our waste and greenhouse gas emissions. The only thing you have to do is throw your fruit and veggie food waste into the bin. And people have been using the bin with success. Tea bags, coffee grounds and appropriate cardboard boxes and packaging have also been recycled in the compost. 

Every year, London Local Authorities collect more than 3.6 million tons of waste, and generating more rubbish for waste collection day means more lorries using more fuel and causing more air pollution and greenhouse gases to be released. Composting significantly reduces waste and greenhouse gas emissions. It doesn’t take up much space and produces a soil improver that’s great for the garden and perfect for growing your own plants.

We regularly check the Christ Church Green bin to make it successful. We mix the matter once a week, which is crucial as it is an aerobic process (with oxygen). In order to maintain optimal moisture in the system, it is recommended to add around 50% of soft green material (grass clippings, weeds, uncooked vegetables) with 50% woody brown material (prunings, wood chippings, shredded paper, cardboard or dead leaves). The composting process takes six to nine months.  

No bad smells or major misuses were observed after more than a month of use, and we would like to thank all users for respecting the few rules to make this trial a success. 

If you are interested in this process, come and have a look at the bin and start composting. You will see it is very simple and your general waste bin will be much lighter. 

The Great Big Green Week will take place from 24 September to 2 October. This is the UK’s biggest ever celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. During this week, two interactive workshops will take place here in Wanstead. This will be the perfect opportunity to share with us any questions you may have about composting. Support, advice and tips will be provided to teach you what food waste can be thrown in. We will also discuss how you can store your kitchen waste for a few days in your home before dropping it in the communal bin. We look forward to seeing you all during this week, but do not hesitate to contact us right now if you want more information about composting or if you are ready to try it!

Composting workshops will take place by the bin on 29 September (5.15pm to 6.15pm) and on 1 October (10.15am to 11.15am). For more information and advice, email yann-corre@hotmail.com

As the Wanstead Fringe limbers up for its ninth annual showcase – with a range of real-world events running from 9 to 25 September – founder Giles Wilson has one eye on the 10th anniversary next year

It’s not a pretty word, but it is powerful: meatspace. It’s the opposite of cyberspace. While for two years we conducted all sorts of social interactions online, we are now back, fully, in the world of meatspace, where real people actually meet other real people, in real life.

When we started the Fringe in 2013 it was a bit of a joke at our own expense. We loved Wanstead, yes, but we knew that cultural activities were a bit thin on the ground here, and we had a limited choice of venues. So, we decided to improvise with what we had – the open-air Kinema being the prime example.

We didn’t have any money either, so again, we improvised with some sponsorship – from its earliest days (as now) with Petty Son and Prestwich being the first to put a hand in their pocket.

Things seem to be working. Starting on Friday 9 September, there will be a wider range of Wanstead Fringe events than ever before. Three different plays; some 10 book events in the inaugural Wanstead Book Festival; pottery classes; live music; comedy; more open-air cinema; quizzes; talks; spoken word artists and the return of the jumble trail.

The number of venues has grown. For the first time this year, we’ll be in the excellent Wanstead High Theatre, something of a hidden gem.

And more sponsors have joined too. Along with Petty’s, we now have Edwards Duthie Shamash, THP Chartered Accountants, The Wanstead Society, Eton Manor RFC and The Duke – names I never tire of reciting because, without them, there wouldn’t be a Fringe.

So, as we head into a 10th anniversary year, where do we go from here? How do we embed the Wanstead Fringe as a cultural anchor? What do we need to do now to make sure it’s around for a 20th anniversary?

Part of it is having the right people involved. Part of it is having the right ambitions. Part of it is growing as Wanstead grows. But I’d be a fool if I didn’t say a large part of it too will come down to having enough money.

So, we’re coming up with some ideas for how people can join in this homegrown venture, either with their time, their ideas, or if they prefer, with their money. Thousands of people will be taking part in Fringe events this month. If you’re one of them, and you want the Fringe to be around for future generations of Wanstead people, please take a look at the website to see how you can help.

But for now, it’s back to the meatspace. I love the internet as much as anyone, but I can’t wait for this Fringe to begin, in real life.

For more information and to book tickets for all Wanstead Fringe events, visit wansteadfringe.org

The East London and Essex Electronic Keyboard Club is in desperate need of more members if its 40-year history of providing music for the Wanstead community is to continue. Club secretary Derek Farr reports

The East London and Essex Electronic Keyboard Club (formerly known as the East London and Essex Organ Society) is 40 years old. Founded by budding organ players and encouraged by their organ teacher, Martyn Rice, and David Thomas (our club president), the club was started in July 1982.

Our first meeting venue, like so many organ clubs, was a public house. For us, it was the Maypole in Barkingside. In those early days, the members entertained themselves, playing organs brought along by our president from the local music shop. Members would also bring along food they had made and a good time was had by all. The society started with a membership of 53 and this number soon rose to 74 – not bad for a new club. The pub soon became unsuitable, so a search was made to find a new meeting place. Wanstead Library, having a hall called the Churchill Room, looked promising. That was back in 1983 and it has proved very successful; we have remained there ever since.

Our first artistes were unknown players at that time. To name a few, they included David Thomas, Danny O’Sullivan and a young man called Mark Brown. Some of the first real professionals we booked were artistes you may know: Steve Lowdell, Byron Jones, Robert Beadle and Harry Jackson. The committee today still endeavours to engage the very best artistes, including some up-and-coming new faces. It is our aim to encourage new talent, as well as supporting established organists.

But with a dwindling membership following the pandemic, keeping the club going has been tough. And last month, at our AGM, we had to vote on the worst decision of the club’s existence: do we close or do we strive to find new members? I am glad to report the members voted to keep going. So, we are now making a plea to Wanstead residents and those from the surrounding area. If you enjoy listening to music, please come and visit us!

We have provided excellent music for the community these past 40 years. The music is varied, from classical to big band and up-to-date tunes, and we are now hopefully adding jazz to the shows. Artistes come from all over the country to play for two hours, with a 25-minute break when you can enjoy some refreshments and socialise.

East London and Essex Electronic Keyboard Club is well known on the keyboard circuit and, I might add, respected for enjoying the music and a social evening. This is why we have gone on as long as we have. But we need more people to come and enjoy a couple of hours away from their TVs and smartphones, and belong to something special.

The club meets at Wanstead Library on the second Wednesday of the month (doors open at 7.15pm; concert starts at 7.50pm). Annual membership is £20. Monthly tickets are £10 (visitors: £12; under-16s: £2). For more information, call 020 8530 3717

With a planning application for the development of Evergreen Field expected to be submitted this autumn, Geoff Horsnell of the Wanstead Society provides a potted history of this patch of land, which has lain unused since 1944. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

For those who don’t know, the Evergreen Field is that square patch of fenced-off land on Wanstead High Street beside Christ Church Green. The site has not been inhabited since 1944, when two homes which stood there were bombed and then demolished in 1967.

Some 25 years ago, the field was owned by the Metropolitan Police and was intended to serve as the location of a new Wanstead Police Station to replace the smaller, iconic Spratt Hall Road building. Unfortunately, before any plans could be drawn up, a new directive was issued by the Met which said any undeveloped land owned by the Met must be sold, so the site was put up for auction.

A group of local Wanstead residents clubbed together to crowdfund a bid to purchase the site. They were unsuccessful. However, not all the sponsors wanted their money back and the residents were left with approximately £10,000. It was decided to give half the money to a local charity and then, in May 1997, the remainder was used to form the Wanstead Society. 

A committee was formed and their first task was to try to look after the site that had eluded their bid. When the successful developer submitted a planning application, the Wanstead Society lodged an objection. Redbridge Council agreed the proposal was not in keeping with the area and refused the application. The developer took the matter to the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol on appeal. After a site visit, the inspector dismissed the appeal (the planning inspector decided the view of the spire and the east end of Christ Church – a Grade II* listed building – from the High Street was of paramount importance). At this point, Redbridge Council issued a CR1 protection order for the site, declaring it to be an “important open urban space” that should not be developed.

In 2012, a local businessman purchased the site saying he could overturn the protection order. He met with the Wanstead Society saying he would ‘donate’ half the site to public use if the Society would lobby the council to have the protection order lifted. We responded by saying we would get our solicitors to meet with his and agree the terms of the transfer. This was not what he wanted. He would retain ownership of the entire plot. The society was not prepared to spend money maintaining a plot they did not own and which could therefore be reclaimed at any moment, so the ‘deal’ fell through.

A couple of months ago, some 10 years after that meeting in 2012, a very similar proposal emerged from Caerus Developments, this time being put to local residents with a quasi consultation. The plans now are for a four-storey building containing 24 homes (nine one-bed, 11 two-bed and four three-bed apartments) and a ground-floor nursery, again with half the site being ‘donated to the community’.

There is insufficient detail in the glossy brochure that has been issued which, frankly, raises more questions than answers. For example, we need to know exactly what is meant by the word ‘donate’ used in the brochure to whet the appetite of some land for public use. Who will own the ‘donated’ land? Presumably, it should be Redbridge – especially if it is an adjunct to Christ Church Green. Has the council been approached to determine the viability of this proposal? Who will pay to make the land safe for public use? Who will maintain the land over time?

These are just some of the questions raised by this proposal and a recent meeting with the developers did little to enlighten us. Without all the answers, the consultation is meaningless. So, just as we did in 1997 and 2012, we’ll be watching this space very closely indeed.

For more information on the Wanstead Society, visit wnstd.com/ws

To view the Evergreen Field development proposals, visit wnstd.com/field

The popular Wanstead Fringe jumble trail will return this month.

“This is a great opportunity to clear out your wardrobe and free up some space in the toy cupboard – assuming you dare to open it! It also provides a great excuse to get out there and meet the neighbours, steal ideas for your garden and just have a general wander around the area. Who knows who you might meet or what you might find?” said a spokesperson.

The event runs from 11am to 2pm on 17 September (£5 per house with goods to sell).

Visit wnstd.com/jt22

More planes will be flying over Wanstead if London City Airport’s latest proposals for expansion are approved, says John Stewart of campaign group HACAN East

Wanstead will be hit with more London City planes on Saturdays and in the early morning and late evening if the airport’s expansion plans are approved. 

London City Airport wants to:

• Get rid of the current curfew on flights (12.30pm Saturday to 12.30pm Sunday) to allow flying on Saturday afternoons and evenings.
• Double the number of flights permitted between 6.30am and 7am.
• Have ‘more flexibility’ for delayed departures and arrivals in the last half hour of operations each day (10pm to 10.30pm). 

The measures are to accommodate an annual increase in passengers from 6.5m to 9m. It will mean that, by 2031, the airport will be just short of the annual cap on flight numbers of 111,000. That is more than double the flights expected this year and up from the 80,000 that flew in 2019, the last full year before Covid.

The reason behind the proposals is London City’s desire to attract more leisure passengers. For many years, City was seen as a business airport but the proportion of business passengers fell before Covid and, post-Covid, the growth is in leisure.

London City is claiming that ‘quieter, cleaner’ planes will be used. But the aircraft will only be noticeably quieter in areas fairly close to the airport, and only on departure. Wanstead can expect, at best, a two- to three-decibel reduction in noise from each plane, barely perceptible to the human ear.

The proposals will also result in an increase in climate emissions.

The big problem for Wanstead is that since 2016, when London City concentrated its flight paths, the area gets no relief from the noise. On days when the prevailing west wind blows, all departures come over Wanstead, at a height of around 3,000 feet. London City is looking again at its flight paths with a view to alternating them to give communities like Wanstead some relief. The airport is also being urged to work with Heathrow to separate the two airport’s flight paths. At present, City flights over Wanstead are lower than they need be as they are held down by Heathrow flights above them.

I welcome those moves, but the new flight paths are unlikely to be in place before 2027, three years after City’s current growth proposals would come into operation.

The current consultation is open until 9 September. Whatever plans London City takes forward will need to be submitted to Newham Council, the planning authority.

To take part in the London City Airport consultation, visit wnstd.com/lca22

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
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High Street Wanstead will be closed to traffic between Grove Park and Wanstead Place on 18 September (from 8am to 8pm) to create a car-free Wanstead Festival.

“We’re really looking forward to this year’s Wanstead Festival and Fringe. These events go from strength to strength, with more visitors each year. The road closure means more people can explore the High Street, and children can play and try out bikes in the cycle fun zone. There will also be information stands about electric vehicles, active travel and recycling,” said Councillor Jo Blackman.

The annual festival takes place on Christ Church Green from 11am to 6pm, featuring two entertainment stages, a classic car display, children’s rides, a petting zoo, craft hub, dog competition, holistic zone, sporting activities and local business and community group stalls.

Visit wnstd.com/festival22 

In the 14th of a series of articles by plot holders at Redbridge Lane West allotments – which are under threat from the adjacent gas works – Sally Parker takes a look at Cadent’s planning application

Those of you who have been following the story of our 18-month battle with global gas giant Cadent will know we have been successful in preventing them from taking over the whole site while they carry out upgrade work on their adjacent gas station. They are, nevertheless, planning to use nearly a quarter of the allotment site for the duration of their works, with a slice of allotment land along the current boundary being permanently added to the Cadent site. 

Cadent submitted their planning application to the council in early August, with a deadline at the end of that month for comments. The application is for ‘Installation of new fencing upgrades at the existing Gas Transmission Station facility off Redbridge Lane’, but additional works, which are not part of the planning application, include upgrading pipework and ladders in an inspection pit on the allotment. The new fence will be much higher than the current one and will be electrified with CCTV. It will require the removal of all trees, bushes and other greenery, as well as the seven allotment plots along the boundary. Two other plots will also be taken out of commission for the two-year duration of the works, currently scheduled to start between April and June 2023.

The nine plot holders who will be losing their land have negotiated individual agreements with Cadent. Upon completion of the work, we had been told that four of these plots will be permanently reduced in size. However, the planning application appears to show that six plots will be affected and we have queried this, among a number of other details.

Fortunately, four of the plot holders whose plots will be smaller after the work has finished are being moved to other vacant plots on the site. This is at a time when allotment plots are in very short supply. Waiting lists for local authority allotments are at an all-time high and many sites have been closed. A total of 41 have shut for good in London since 2013, according to a 2020 study by Imperial College. Allotments remain in such short supply that, in many cases, people are having to wait years to get one.

Cadent has told us they will leave our allotment site as a whole in a better condition than before. We don’t yet have any specific details about what this will mean in practice and hope our environmental concerns will be fully addressed. 

From the outset, none of us plot holders have been opposed to necessary upgrade works. We are just very sad that Cadent hasn’t been able to find a less intrusive way of carrying out their plans. We are not looking forward to the next two years of inevitable noise and disruption while the work is being done, and wish we had all been left to enjoy our plots in peace – with everything that means.

For more information on the planning application, visit wnstd.com/cadentplan

A consultation over plans to build two linked blocks of flats on part of Snaresbrook Station Car Park launches on 7 September.

TfL has previously announced they will be closing the car park to allow development.

“We are holding three consultation events for residents to take part and find out more. We have two online events on Wednesday and Thursday 7 and 8 September. We also have a drop-in event, being held within Wanstead Library on Spratt Hall Road, on Wednesday 7 September (between 4pm until 7pm),” said developers Pocket Living.

Visit snaresbrook.communityuk.site

Ron Filer is well known on the local art scene, running classes at Wanstead and Aldersbrook venues. As he gradually retires from tutoring duties, he is keen to find a replacement that will keep the community creating

Hi friends, I’m Ron Filer. I was born in Buckhurst Hill and have lived in Aldersbrook for the last 53 years. I enjoyed painting when at school and was an original member of Bedford House Community Association, with famous art tutor Walter Spradbury (1889–1969).

Scouting was always a joy, pulling the trek cart from Buckhurst Hill to Gilwell Park (not so much traffic in those days). After leaving Walthamstow Technical College, I joined J Sainsbury’s as an apprentice refrigeration engineer. I served as scout leader in the 45th Epping Forest group, then called up for the RAF as an electrician on National Service duty for two years.

I married Margaret in 1959, who I met at Scottish dancing at 15 years of age through the Scouts and Guides. We moved to Aldersbrook, where I again took up Scout leadership with the 21st group and with three young children of our own! We are still happily married, now with grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.

I retired at 65 from the refrigeration industry but continued until this year to be on the committee of the 65-year-old London Refrigeration Society, which sadly had to close through Covid and a lack of new members.

 I continued many activities in retirement, including attending painting classes at Wanstead House. I’m now a long-standing committee member and president of Wanstead House Community Association, where many classes and clubs meet weekly for handicrafts, flower arranging, languages, dancing and art. I went on to become involved with Art Group Wanstead – formed in 2011 by Donna Mizzi – as treasurer and committee member. 

I have also been guiding folk at Age UK in the Corner House (Allan Burgess Centre) on Thursday mornings for over 11 years, where more senior guests do watercolours, chat and socialise. Then, each Tuesday afternoon, I do something similar at St Gabriel’s Church hall in Aldersbrook (as is the subject of my painting here) with a group at which anybody is welcome to ‘knit, paint and natter’ over a cuppa. 

I love to encourage painting activities through outdoor visits or working from photos or magazine articles. Interested? Why not give one or more of these Wanstead-based groups a try? These are local venues at which you can meet new friends whilst gaining new skills to share with others. 

All these local groups need new blood to organise and supervise and ensure many more years of friendly activities. I still paint, but I’m getting less mobile, so are you interested in helping me guide and teach others? Please get in touch if so.

For more information and to contact Ron, email ronfiler91@gmail.com

Redbridge Museum will open a new permanent exhibition later this year exploring 200,000 years of local history. In the seventh of a series of articles, Museum Officer Nishat Alam looks at some of the items on show

In this article, I’m revisiting the stately Wanstead House, once part of what is now Wanstead Park and whose wealthy owner I wrote about some months ago. This time, I’m skipping forward in time to the Regency era of the early 1800s to look at the story of one of its later owners, Catherine Tylney-Long.

Catherine was born in 1789 in Draycot, Wiltshire, where she spent her early life. She was a descendant of Sir Richard Child, 1st Earl Tylney, who had rebuilt Wanstead House 100 years earlier. In 1805, she inherited the estate as part of the Tylney-Long fortune, amounting to over £200,000 (around £20m today). She became the wealthiest heiress in the country.

Catherine’s new status attracted many eligible suitors, including the Duke of Clarence, who later became King William IV. In the end, she fell for William Wellesley Pole, a nephew of the Duke of Wellington. He was handsome, fashionable and well connected. Catherine adored William, although it was clear to others he was trouble. Although William was charming and of noble birth, he had a reputation as a rake, addicted to gambling and womanising. But despite warnings about his improper behaviour, Catherine was in love. She learned who he really was through his many scandals but remained smitten. The two exchanged love letters, many of which are now in the collections at Redbridge Museum and Heritage Centre, like the Valentine’s card from William pictured here. 

The marriage in 1812 ultimately led to Catherine’s downfall and the end of Wanstead House. In their pre-nuptial agreement, William had gained control of over half of Catherine’s inheritance, including her properties, and was legally entitled to her earnings. 

Stories about William and Catherine’s lavish wedding and extravagant lifestyle appeared in gossip columns, a sign of success for the celebrity couple. William’s career also flourished when he became an MP. Yet he was still partying and gambling, squandering away Catherine’s fortune. The family travelled across Europe where William could avoid his creditors, and it was from Naples in 1823 that he sold Wanstead House for demolition for only £10,000 to ease his debts. He eventually abandoned a humiliated Catherine and their children in pursuit of a married woman. 

Catherine separated from William and returned to Draycot without him in 1824, resolving to “assert [her] rights” when he threatened to remove the children from her. Burdened by stress, her health deteriorated until she died in 1825, aged 35. 

Personal stories like Catherine’s – about the people behind the borough’s houses, shops and institutions – will be explored in the new Redbridge Museum, re-opening later this year.

Redbridge Museum is located on Clements Road, Ilford. Visit wnstd.com/rm

To complete a survey on what else should go on display, visit wnstd.com/rms

Tim Harris from the Wren Wildlife Group describes some of our most fascinating insects: dragonflies and damselflies, which thrive in Wanstead Park, like this four-spotted chaser photographed at Perch Pond

Take a stroll along one of the lakes in Wanstead Park on any warm, sunny day from May to October and you have a very good chance of seeing one of our many local dragonflies or damselflies – perched on a lily pad, grasping an iris blade, sunning itself on a path, or whizzing past in pursuit of prey. 

Collectively known as the Odonata, according to fossil records, these flying insects have been around for some 350 million years. There are 46 species in the UK, and 21 have reliably been seen in Wanstead.

Unless we take up pond dipping, we only see the last and shortest stage of their fascinating life cycle. Dragonflies and damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis with three life stages, rather than butterflies’ four: egg, larva, and adult. Fertilised females inject many tiny eggs into aquatic vegetation near the water surface, or – depending on the species – deposit them loosely in water. Within a few weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae. This is the longest stage of a dragonfly’s life. Over the course of one, two, or even five years in the case of the golden-ringed dragonfly, they are active underwater predators in freshwater lakes and rivers. As they grow, the larvae are able to eat ever-larger prey, including other insects, snails, leeches, tadpoles and even small fish. 

When they are ready, the larvae climb out of the water and up the stalk of an aquatic plant and squeeze themselves out of their larval ‘skin’. Sometimes, these discarded exuviae can be found still attached to vegetation. The newly emerged adult dries its wings and legs in the sun and, when strong enough, takes its first tentative flight.

The first species to emerge locally is the large red damselfly, which can sometimes be seen by tiny garden ponds in late April, while common and ruddy darters can even be seen on warm days in October. Adults typically live no more than a fortnight, though some may fly for eight weeks before they perish. If they successfully mate during this time, they will have kick-started another generation. 

In Wanstead Park, the margins of Shoulder of Mutton, Heronry, and Perch ponds are alive with these colourful insects on warm summer days; the bank at the east end of Perch Pond is as good a place as any to watch a variety of behaviours. There, aggressive male dragonflies can be seen chasing off rivals, while females lay their eggs among the waterside plants. And sometimes, dozens of coupled pairs of damselflies can be seen mating on the wing or on mats of weed. 

With global climate change, some continental species are colonising southern England. Others seem to be struggling. In our area, they have both unpolluted water and emergent vegetation, and that’s why they’re thriving. If you see anything interesting, you can report your sighting to the British Dragonfly Society (BDS). Better still, join the BDS and help their efforts to conserve these beautiful creatures.

For more information on the British Dragonfly Society, visit wnstd.com/bds

For more information on the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wnstd.com/wren

Iain Ambler updates on the recently restored Redbridge Lane West allotment pond, which has become a biodiversity hotspot. Photo by Stephen Lines

In the December 2021 edition of the Wanstead Village Directory, I wrote about how a group of 15 plot holders had restored the main pond on our Redbridge Lane West allotment site so it is wet year-round and a great habitat (again) for wildlife. We were sparked into life by the proposal of our neighbour Cadent, the global gas company, to use part of the site as a compound to support their works and to permanently acquire a strip of allotment land along the current boundary.

Having a year-round wet environment is critical for native amphibia (frogs, toads, newts) and insects. There was already a very overgrown and dried-out pond on the site. So, in 2021, we cleared the pond surrounds (including felling two large willow trees that were overgrown), relandscaped the pond and relined it with a butyl liner. Then, we added pond plants so they could establish.

Over the winter, the pond lay dormant, save for the odd visit by passing waterfowl. But then, when spring arrived, slowly wildlife returned to the pond and it’s now a real biodiversity hotspot.

It was not long before we spotted many baby newts, now at an age where they will shortly leave the pond as ‘efts’ to seek out other damp areas in the allotment (several plot holders installed mini ponds on their plots during 2021 which we hope they will find).

Frogspawn and then baby frogs also appeared and some large dragonflies – male and female broad-bodied chasers with stunning, bright blue and yellow abdomens – have become regular visitors, as are common blue, large red and emerald damselflies. Bees of various kinds and hoverflies are regularly seen drinking at the water’s edge, and water boatmen row over the surface.

We also found evidence that larger mammals, possibly foxes, are using the pond as a water source, and Nathusius pipistrelle, a nationally scarce bat species often found near water, has been recently surveyed overflying the site.

The plants we added have all survived and blossomed, including yellow flag irises, water lilies, marsh marigold and purple loosestrife (common yellow loosestrife has also magically reappeared, a result of the scrub clearance by the side of the pond), and these are all attracting pollinators.

What’s next?
New ponds need maintenance to ensure they stay free from blanket weed – this has meant regular weeding by our volunteer group. Eventually, we hope that a combination of oxygenators and shade from plants and trees will self-regulate.

The pond surrounds will continue to require some work – this includes strimming and the clearing of brambles around the pond to ensure they don’t grow back.

We have also created two mini-wild flower meadows alongside the pond, with plants grown from seed over the winter (to varying degrees of success), and plug plants funded by Vision RCL, and we will continue to add to and maintain these. 

We are considering what we might do in partnership with Vision and Cadent to further enhance the site for wildlife, as Cadent will be required to demonstrate a biodiversity net gain from their works. 

For me personally, I’ve enjoyed seeing how such a small area – the size of a small back garden – can do so much for wildlife, even when only metres from the busy A12. It has also been great to see the interest in and enjoyment of wildlife from many plot holders.

We have continued to receive expert advice and support from Vision’s allotments officer Simon Litt and his team, as well as from Tim Harris of the Wren Group, to whom we are very grateful.

For more information on allotments in Redbridge, visit wnstd.com/allotments

From small spotty-eyed drone flies to a rare jumping spider and pink moth, chair of the Wren Wildlife Group James Heal reports on some of the highlights of the recent bioblitz in Wanstead

The Wren Wildlife and Conservation Group is 50 years old this year. Fifty years of helping to promote and protect the wildlife of the Wanstead area and its surrounds, and helping to bring the people of east London closer to the wildlife that can be found on their doorstep.

One of the most popular activities of the Wren Group in recent years has been an almost annual ‘bioblitz’, a range of family-friendly wildlife surveys and walks to get a snapshot of what flora and fauna can be found here.

On the last weekend of June, we spent a day each on Wanstead Flats and Wanstead Park. Saturday 25 June started very early, with an ‘almost dawn chorus walk’. Several people set their alarms to walk into Bush Wood to listen to the birdsong at 5.30am. Chiffchaff, blackcap, song thrush and blackbird serenaded us as we walked, but a highlight was a singing reed warbler, not in a reed bed where they are more usually found, but in a rose bush.

A few hours later, a larger group joined us for a walk on Wanstead Flats. Amongst other things, we found green-eyed flower bees (Anthophora bimaculata), small spotty-eyed drone flies (Eristalinus sepulchralis; pictured here) and yellow 22-spot ladybirds (Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata – try saying that after a few sherries!).

Later in the day, we were joined by spider expert David Carr. The conditions weren’t great for spiders as, despite the warmth, it was windy and the branches we were checking were clear. However, David’s eagle eye spotted the tiny, nationally scarce jumping spider Salticus zebraneus on a tree in one of the Flats’ plantations. This is a stripy, zebra spider and is closely related to its more common and similar but larger cousin Salticus scenicus, which you may well find in your homes and gardens (one to look out for). 

Later that day, we put out two moth traps near the Temple in Wanstead Park. The next morning was another very early start to check the traps. The highlight was a beautiful salmon pink and black moth called a rosy footman (Miltochrista miniata) – the first time it has been found locally. Later in Wanstead Park, we watched the macabre sight of beewolf wasps (Philanthus triangulum) carrying paralysed honey bees down to their nest holes in the ground to feed their larvae.

We were also joined by local school children to do some pond dipping, where the kids marvelled at being able to hold a young newt in their hands. The day ended watching and listening (using electric sonic detector technology) to bats near Perch Pond.

If this brief snapshot whets your appetite, do join the Wren Group to find out about more wildlife activities coming soon.

For more information on the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wnstd.com/wren

With the dry, cracked bed of the Ornamental Water once again on show, Benjamin Murphy, chair of the Epping Forest & Commons Committee, explains the inherent difficulties in managing the water levels of Wanstead Park’s lake system. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

The water bodies in Wanstead Park were created in the 18th century, originally as a cascade of nine lakes. They were filled by a diversion from the River Roding,
which has long since been lost.

Today, five lakes remain. They run in a semi-circle in an anticlockwise direction. First is The Basin, which is the head of the cascade in the ownership of Wanstead Golf Club. The next four lakes running down the cascade are Shoulder of Mutton Pond, Heronry Pond, Perch Pond and the Ornamental Water, all under City of London Corporation ownership.

The catchment area for surface water naturally draining into the ponds has vastly diminished in size since their creation due to housing and roads that have since been built. Essentially, we are now dealing with a series of artificial water bodies that, for over a century, have not had a sustainable water source. 

For many years, the City of London Corporation’s Epping Forest charity has helped to alleviate the water shortage by pumping directly from the underground water aquifer. However, there are legal limits on how much water can be pumped and this is subject to licensing from the Environment Agency. 

We have now had over six months of notably low levels of rainfall. The River Roding is at 39% of its normal level. Ponds throughout the Forest, which rely on rainfall and sit on clay soil, are at notably low levels or have completely dried up. 

In Wanstead Park, the borehole from the aquifer tops up water levels to the Heronry Pond. A second pump takes water from the Heronry to Perch Pond. When the Perch Pond is full it overtops and spills into the Ornamental Water. 

The pump used to extract water has a limit on the capacity of water it can pump. Therefore, it can be alternated to fill either Heronry Pond or Perch Pond. The pump has been working on Perch since June. It normally takes around four days to fill Perch enough to flow into Ornamental, but the heat and dryness of the earth means that even when the small amounts of water do flow into The Dell and on to Ornamental Water, this is rapidly absorbed or evaporates. Simply put, there is neither enough rainfall nor surface water naturally, nor enough water being pumped artificially from the aquifer, to resolve the problem. 

Even if we could pump directly into the Ornamental Water, the dryness of the lake would absorb most of the water into the ground without the help of additional rainfall. 

The Epping Forest trustees are committed to finding a strategic solution to identify alternative water sources and to improve water retention. Actions taken include: 

• A series of expert engineering surveys have been commissioned to consider options available. 
• Created plans to replace the pumping infrastructure at the River Roding to reinstate water pumping during the wetter winter months.
• Designs to install more land drainage to take rainwater into the Ornamental Water.
• A successful grant award from the Mayor of London for a study into a Sustainable Urban Drainage Scheme (SuDs) as part of developing wetland habitats.
• Contingency plans have been put in place to protect animal welfare.

For more information on Wanstead Park’s lakes, visit wnstd.com/parkwater

The Wanstead Park Liaison Group has identified three ways to improve protection for the park’s iconic bluebells, which have drawn increasing visitor numbers in recent years. Richard Arnopp reports

Last month, I wrote about Wanstead’s bluebell season, which is a major attraction for visitors to Wanstead Park. As I explained, bluebell management is discussed every year by the Wanstead Park Liaison Group, which consists of Epping Forest management and other stakeholders. In recent years, they have taken measures to protect the bluebells from trampling, notably by demarcating paths through Chalet Wood with logs.

Bluebells are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981), and are easily damaged by trampling, taking several years to recover and flower again. It is therefore important park visitors are encouraged to respect these iconic wild flowers.

This year, the perception of increased visitor pressure raised anxiety among local people, several hundred of whom signed up to a letter of concern on Facebook, asking Epping Forest to look at ways to protect the delicate flowers better. Links to the Facebook discussions were circulated to members of the Liaison Group, and bluebells were on the agenda of the meeting on 25 May. A number of new initiatives were agreed.

Firstly, there is an area within Chalet Wood that has long been used for den-building by children, using fallen branches from trees. Nobody wishes to stop children from playing and, in fact, the lack of play facilities locally has led to plans for a new play area in Wanstead Park. However, in this instance, the location was felt to be inappropriate. Accordingly, the den-making material will shortly be moved elsewhere and the existing location, which has been badly trampled, will be fenced off. A soil regeneration project is being discussed.

Secondly, the current arrangement of paths delineated by logs has been generally successful, but more and heavier logs will be brought in for future years.

Thirdly, it was agreed that signage in Chalet Wood needed to be reconsidered. At the moment, it is present for two months of the year. However, it was felt that permanent signs may be a better option, rather like those used on Wanstead Flats in relation to the skylark area. Design options will be worked up. Also, small temporary signs may be appropriate to warn the public off little meandering paths and bare patches created by people in the past. It was often not understood that walking on those areas prevented the plants from recolonising them.

The Liaison Group continues to feel a balance has to be struck between protecting the bluebells and preserving the natural feel of Chalet Wood. They hope the changes they propose will get this balance right for 2023 and future years.

For more information on Wanstead Park, visit wnstd.com/park

Handwriting is not an art of the past, says Maura Wilson, and this year’s Wanstead Fringe is giving Wanstead’s primary school children the chance to prove it with a handwriting competition

Like me, most readers of the Wanstead Village Directory can probably remember sitting in a classroom as the teacher stood writing beautifully shaped letters on the blackboard. As pupils, we followed suit, repeating the same letter formations time and time again.

By right, everyone’s handwriting should be identical. And yet, even though the days of elegant copperplate script are long gone, we all have our own styles, each of which says something about us. I don’t buy the notion that your handwriting reveals deep secrets about your personality, but you can’t deny that you reach certain conclusions about someone when you see their writing.

Even though we prod our phones all day long, and rarely, if ever, write even so much as a cheque, our handwriting still matters. It still says something, whether that’s a message that you’re carefree, confident or fastidious. It still shows how much attention you are paying to the way you’re presenting yourself on paper. And it’s still a joy to see someone’s beautiful handwriting, even if nowadays they only really get to exercise their talents when writing postcards from a sunlounger or Christmas cards to Aunt Jane.

Which is why, as part of this year’s Wanstead Fringe, we’re inviting the primary school children of Wanstead to pick up their best pens and start writing, and really show the rest of us what they can do. They stand the chance to be named as Wanstead’s best handwriters and to win prizes for their school, courtesy of our sponsors Petty Son & Prestwich.

The rules for the competition are simple. Any pupil up to Year Six can take part, as part of their class or individually. All they have to do is write out the Lewis Carroll poem The Crocodile, as reproduced below. All submissions must be made by the end of the summer term and will be judged over the holidays. The winners will be announced during Wanstead Fringe fortnight, which this year is running from 10 to 25 September.

Full rules and entry forms are available on the Wanstead Fringe website. You’ll also be able to sign up for the Fringe newsletter and be among the first to hear about all the cultural activities being planned for this year. Though I tried my best, I’m afraid the newsletter will be sent by email and will not, unfortunately, be handwritten!

The Crocodile by Lewis Carroll
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws!

For more information and an entry form, visit wnstd.com/handwriting

From oxeye daisy to yellow rattle, Richard Strange explains how he has been increasing floral diversity on Christ Church Green as part of Wanstead’s Grow Zones initiative. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

I spend a lot of time in Wanstead and have taken an interest in the Grow Zones within Christ Church Green, which I regularly check up on during dog-walking duties. These zones are areas where the grass is not mown, so a variety of wild flowers and grasses can establish undisturbed. They could be described as mini-meadows.

Grow Zones were created as part of a project by Wild Wanstead, Redbridge Council and Vision RCL, and form a network across the borough. From time to time, volunteers add plants to the areas to further improve their diversity. It’s a great initiative, and part of the project is to encourage residents with gardens to take a similar approach. Through intensive maintenance of our open spaces and gardens, we have allowed the variety and quantity of wildlife to rapidly diminish. This is a way to help reverse that trend.

In 2020, after getting permission from the Grow Zone team, I started helping enhance some of the zones, as I love all things related to meadows and the resulting wildlife they attract, especially the butterflies.

There is an unseen and unnoticed chain of life that, given time, slowly develops in meadows, as each species of wild flower supports a wide range of insects, forming part of their life cycle. These insects are, in turn, food for birds and bats. Long grass also creates cover for small mammals, thus providing foraging habitat for owls.

The process I use to enhance the areas is to remove small sections of turf, picking areas where there is just grass growing currently. I then seed the bare soil with wild flower seed to introduce more diversity, interest and flowers. In the first summer, a few new plants established and flowered, but this year, there are many more. The plants so far established include ragged robin, lesser knapweed, wild carrot, oxeye daisy, musk mallow and yellow rattle.

Yellow rattle is one of the species especially treasured by those wishing to develop meadows. Its name comes from its yellow flowers and the rattling sound made when the seed pods dry out. This plant is unassuming but plays an important role and is known as the ‘meadow maker’ because of its parasitic properties, especially to grass. This means the plant causes the grass to weaken, allowing other plants to establish, thus improving the meadow. I have managed to establish yellow rattle in a few of the Grow Zones on Christ Church Green.

Working by hand is a very slow process, so the areas will slowly improve over the years, but I take great pleasure in watching how they develop. Once species are established, they will also hopefully spread without my involvement.

I encourage everyone to follow the Grow Zone principles and allow part of their lawn to grow long and see what comes up.

For more information on Grow Zones in Wanstead, visit wildwanstead.org

Swan Sanctuary volunteer Louisa Green reports on a busy few weeks of swan rescues in Snaresbrook and Wanstead, and welcomes any donations to the swan ambulance fuel fund. Photo of Eagle Pond by Geoff Wilkinson

It’s been an eventful few weeks for local waterfowl, and as Swan Sanctuary volunteers, that means it’s been a busy time for us. We are on call 365 days a year to keep our swans and water birds safe.

Over on Eagle Pond, off Snaresbrook Road, a new dynamic is in place this year; a flock has taken over one half of the pond, with the long-term resident family retaining control of the island. This unusual set-up hasn’t been without drama.

Cygnets of the resident pair made their arrival on 16 May, and on 17 May the new parents took their babies to the water for the first time. The presence of the flock didn’t make this an easy task, and in the panic, the parents struggled to guide their new brood back onto the island later in the day, with one cygnet sadly succumbing to exhaustion. Fellow swan rescuers Gill and Ulf managed to quickly assemble a small ramp and install it on the island. The little ones soon got the hang of it, and were very grateful for the chance to dry off after a full day of swimming! The remaining five cygnets are all thriving.

The presence of such a large flock on Eagle Pond is a significant hazard, given its proximity to a busy main road, and on Sunday 5 June, a low-flying swan was hit by a W12 bus. The driver failed to stop and the incident has been reported to TfL. The swan was taken to The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton, where she made a full recovery and has since been returned home. Many locals are now calling for the installation of signs and speed bumps along Snaresbrook Road to slow down the traffic.

In Wanstead Park, there have been a series of highs and lows in equal measure. May saw the arrival of five cygnets on the Ornamental Water, making it a significantly more successful brood for the pair than last year. Four cygnets remain and are doing well. Soon afterwards, five cygnets hatched on the Shoulder of Mutton Pond, although one was badly attacked by a swooping gull very early on and sadly died. Four cygnets remain and all is well.

The long-standing Perch Pond pair have had a very difficult few weeks. At the start of the season, two new pairs arrived in the park, which have taken up residence at the Grotto end of Perch Pond and Heronry Pond, leaving the original Perch pair sandwiched in the middle. This pair have sadly had a failed nest; none of their eggs have hatched this year. Furthermore, during the week of 6 June, both Mr and Mrs Perch were badly beaten by Mr Heronry and Mr New Perch, respectively, and so were rescued by Gill and Ulf and are now recovering in The Swan Sanctuary.

Lastly, I’d like to say a huge thank you to mother-daughter-duo Helen and Katie O’Rourke of Wanstead, who ran the London Vitality 10k in May, raising nearly £2,300 for the swan ambulance fuel fund. Being volunteers, and with the cost of diesel rising almost daily, this sum was very gratefully received. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.

To donate to the swan ambulance fuel fund, visit wnstd.com/swanambulance

To report an injured swan to The Swan Sanctuary, call 01932 240 790

In the 12th of a series of articles by plot holders at Redbridge Lane West allotments – which are under threat from the adjacent gas works – Stephen Lines talks about negotiating with nature

Our current allotment plot is the fourth my partner and I have had, the second on Redbridge Lane West. On first viewing, it was clear the plot offered a daunting challenge. The site was characterised by anthills and craters from previously removed fruit trees. Half of the plot was covered in briars and overgrown with sedges and grasses. Carpets laid down to suppress weeds had a thick covering of soil, and white, waxy roots had established themselves among the weave.

However, it is a sheltered plot, bordered on two sides by a hedgerow of hawthorn, spruce, rowan, a young oak and a willow. To the rear of the allotment, a designated wild area is populated by crab apple, rose trees and blackberries. In spring, the blossoms fill the air with a heady fragrance. In autumn, amber leaves and ruby-coloured berries add a hint of warmth on cold, darkening, misty days.

I feel privileged to have the opportunity to work on this small plot of land, not just for the chance to grow fruit and vegetables, but also to do what I can to maintain the natural environment on and around the plot with as little human interference as possible. Allotmenteering is essentially negotiating with nature. There is no real choice in this as nature will always have the upper hand!

You can plan to manage the predictable, but you can only adapt to the unpredictability of nature’s whims. Last year provided opportunities to adapt. Late frosts damaged the bean crop. An unusual abundance of ants successfully harvested blackfly, which dined frequently and well on tender green shoots, drastically reducing some crops. A couple of hours of torrential rain last summer all but destroyed the potato and tomato crop. The usual suspects arrived punctually; slugs, snails and birds enjoying tasty green leaves and juicy soft fruits just hours before the perfect picking time.

Adapting to the unpredictable is something all of us plot holders on Redbridge Lane West have needed to do over the past months. Cadent, whose property adjoins the allotments, is seeking to reduce the number of plots to enable them to undertake necessary improvements to their gas works.

It has taken some time and effort, but my partner and I have now created a plot that we can work on and enjoy. Using physical activity to achieve something creative and to be able to take pleasure in what you have grown and what you have left to nature are among the main motivations for having an allotment plot.

It is for these reasons, along with the other benefits of being on a community allotment, that negotiations continue with Cadent, aiming to minimise the loss and disruption to plot holders on Redbridge Lane West.

To view the petition to save the Redbridge Lane West allotments, visit wnstd.com/sta

In the fourth of a series of articles, Thames21 Catchment Partnership Development Officer Will Oliver explains why he is in search of brown trout in the River Roding

The brown trout is a species of fish native to UK rivers. Unlike some other native fish species which have wider tolerance levels, brown trout are ‘picky’ when it comes to exactly where they call home.

In general, they will only be found in rivers that have clean, unpolluted water with a range of high-quality habitats. The riverbed must also have areas of loose gravels free from fine sediment for the trout to spawn in. Some brown trout, for reasons still not fully understood, migrate out of rivers and into the sea to feed, before returning to rivers to spawn later in their lives (in a life cycle similar to that of a salmon). Known as sea trout, these fish require a river channel to be free of barriers, such as weirs and dams, to complete their migration. For these reasons, brown trout require the entire river system to be healthy and functioning as close to its natural state as possible.

On the face of it, it may therefore seem misjudged to mention the River Roding in the same sentence as brown trout. The Roding has suffered degradation throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries and has been affected by sediment pollution from the intensively-farmed upper catchment, as well as pollution from road run-off, wastewater and combined sewer overflows in the more urban stretches. Sections of the river have also been dredged through history, removing the gravels that brown trout depend on for spawning.

However, it’s highly likely the Roding would have once held good numbers of brown trout and there are still some areas in the upper Roding where the habitat and water quality remains good enough to potentially support some small, relic populations of the species. Additionally, compared with many of the other major tributaries of the Thames, the Roding has the fewest barriers to fish migration.

It therefore seems possible that trout could still exist in isolated populations within the Roding. If this is true, then work to improve the habitats and water quality of the Roding could encourage these populations to expand. If this is not the case, and pressures on the Roding have caused trout populations to undergo localised extinctions, then it is possible that by improving spawning habitats and making barriers to migration passable, sea trout – which are known to be present in the Thames Estuary – could be encouraged to return to the river to spawn. Generally improving the water quality and health of our rivers will, in turn, attract a greater variety of wildlife and plants.

If you have seen or caught brown trout in the Roding or any of its tributaries, then we would love to hear from you.

For more information on the Thames21 project and to get in touch, email will.oliver@thames21.org.uk

Marian Temple of the Wanstead Community Gardeners leads the farewell tributes to Maz Beg, who is retiring after 24 years behind the counter of Heads ‘N Tails, the High Street shop that sells ‘everything’

In 1998, Maz Beg arrived in Wanstead to open the ‘everything’ shop, Heads ‘N Tails. It sold pets, pet food, pet paraphernalia and just about everything else. How pleased we were to have an ‘everything’ shop. Wanstead had been sadly lacking in such a thing, especially after Brian Jobber of the much-loved Andrews hardware and everything else shop had retired. An ‘everything’ shop is what every high street needs and many are sadly devoid of such a thing.

The first thing Maz did when the shop opened was to invite customers to list what they would like him to stock. He has continued in that vein ever since. Maz will get anything for you. If it’s not at the wholesalers, he’ll order it on Amazon. Either way, it will arrive at the shop or at your door if bulky. At some time, the ‘everything’ expanded to include plants, seeds and associated garden stock, wool and haberdashery.

The Wanstead Community Gardeners have greatly appreciated Maz’s unfailing generosity over the years. Any spring bulbs not sold came to us. Thus, the daffodils along the fence by the wide grass verge in Wanstead Place are all from Maz, and more get planted every year.

In the Gravel Garden over the far side of George Green, the first spring flowers that appear are the hyacinths, all from Maz.

We have never paid full price for anything bought for the community gardens, whether plants, hose connections, water butt taps or whatever. Joy of joy, he was always happy to lend us his battery drill. So useful when a trailing cable would create all sorts of problems. Maz’s generosity to our group has been a generosity to Wanstead.

Now, after years of working long hours, it’s time for Maz to retire. How lucky we were to have him for the past 24 years! The new owners have a similar shop in Queen’s Road, Buckhurst Hill and hopefully will continue with the same stock, but without the wools and maybe the plants. That would be a pity! Perhaps we can persuade them to continue with the plants. So many people buy them from Heads ‘N Tails and the display makes a welcome splash of colour in the High Street.

Well, Maz Beg will be a hard act to follow. A person who has gone so many extra miles for his customers that he must have worn a groove somewhere.

We will miss him, but he goes with our very best wishes and appreciation of the difference his presence has made to our community. Well done, Maz. Enjoy your retirement, whatever you do.

Heads ‘N Tails is located at 21 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2AA. For more information, call 020 8989 6945

As the nation celebrates the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Wanstead resident Eileen Flinter reflects upon her memories of the monarch’s 70-year reign

When I was six, I saw my mother cry for the first time. We lived in a tenement in Glasgow and I was in bed suffering from chickenpox when Mum came into the room, wiping her eyes and crying. “The King is dead,” she told me. It was February 1952.

By June 1953, we had moved and our home was a fish and chip shop in Manchester. My parents, like millions of others, bought their first television to watch the Coronation. I can remember perching on the arm of a chair in our crowded sitting room as the young queen was crowned and family and neighbours watched in reverent silence.

My brother and I were two of the many children who were given Coronation mugs at school. We used our Coronation mugs on a daily basis for years. One of the mugs still survives. As the Queen passed more and more milestones, this shabby piece of crockery was elevated to the status of family treasure and put away for safety.

By the time of the Silver Jubilee in 1977, I was married and living in Dublin. This was not the easiest place to look for red, white and blue bunting or Union Jacks, so I watched the events in Britain on the BBC and spoke to my parents on the phone.

When the 2002 Golden Jubilee took place, I was living in Wanstead. My daughter remembers that everyone in the estate agents where she then worked was told to wear red, white and blue that day. She also remembers I bought her Union Jack shot glasses which she and her friend used as ashtrays when I was out one night. Apparently, I was mad with them for abusing the gift – and for smoking!

Ahead of the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, my granddaughter was taken to see the Queen and Prince Philip in Valentine’s Park. Niamh had her photo taken wearing a Union Jack hat and clutching a flag. This photo is stored in her memory box, along with the mug she got at the Cranbourne Avenue street party, and the 1953 mug from her grandmother.

Fast forward another decade to the Platinum Jubilee. From Brexit to the pandemic and an 11-year-old asking me if we are going to have a nuclear war, the intervening 10 years have been tumultuous and unsettling for many, and tragic for some. And the Queen has not been exempt personally, losing her husband and enduring the most tragic of all funerals for anyone, let alone doing so in the glare of cameras. She is left dealing with the fallout of the shameful behaviour of her favourite son and the absence of her cheerful grandson.

Around these landmarks, I have grown up and grown old, but the young girl who inherited the Crown whilst on holiday in Africa has gone on doing the same job, day after day and year after year. It is a formidable employment record. For all of us, there have been good times and bad, happy times and sad over the last 70 years.

Royalist or republican, it is hard not to offer the Queen respect and admiration for a life lived in complete dedication to a job and way of life that came to her accidentally. Elizabeth’s recent birthday photo with two ponies signalled the life she would have chosen for herself. Most of us have no memory of another monarch. So familiar that she is just there, an unconsidered part of our lives. We owe her our very warmest wishes. She has done us proud. Take care, ma’am.

Ask not what your council can do for you, ask what you can do for your community, says Councillor Paul Canal as he updates on the appeal to replace the benches damaged by the Christ Church Green arson attack

Setbacks and challenges always bring the best out of people and communities. As bleak as the Covid pandemic was, people across Wanstead and Woodford rallied round in a remarkable display of mutual support. From foodbanks to shopping, hospital lifts to home visits, our community came together as never before.

The recent arson attack on the Christ Church Green children’s playground elicited a similar fantastic response, with an outpouring of sorrow and generosity raising over £5,500 through the crowdfunding appeal I launched after the act of vandalism.

It was suggested by some that we should have sat back and demanded the council – through the parks’ operator Vision – fund the repairs and replacement of the damaged benches. After all, we pay more tax and rates per person than most of the borough, goes the argument, and deserve our fair share back. That is a valid view, but I would suggest there is a bigger picture to consider.

Resources are constrained, and Vision simply don’t have the capital budget to do all they want to do, let alone what we would like as a community here in Wanstead.

We also live in one of the wealthier areas of Redbridge, where people have the capacity and the will to contribute to their community, which has been demonstrated time and time again.

I would suggest the kindness of our community, exemplified by generous donations from businesses such as Nightingale on the Green, Smile In London dental clinic and North London Loft Rooms, along with dozens of individual benefactors, has had a positive effect that extends beyond our borders.

Not only has our local community funded the repair and replacement of equipment on Christ Church Green, but we have also allowed Vision to invest in playgrounds for less well-off children in a more deprived part of the borough. This seems particularly fitting for a playground named after a church.

Vision will receive £3,000 of the funds raised, £2,000 to replace the benches in the playground and £1,000 to provide a new bench on the green. The balance will be donated to the Wanstead Fringe, allowing Giles Wilson to put on an even more ambitious programme for 2022; our community at its best.

Wanstead and Woodford, thank you. I am humbled to live in such a great community.

For more information on the Christ Church Green Playground Arson Appeal, visit wnstd.com/arsonappeal

Paul Canal is a Conservative councillor for Bridge ward.

Richard Arnopp explains why the Wanstead Park Liaison Group will be reviewing the latest bluebell season, which has once again raised concerns over how best to protect the delicate flowers from being trampled

Every year, from mid-April to early May, visitors to Wanstead Park are treated to a memorable spectacle as great drifts of bluebells come into bloom, carpeting the ground with a blue haze. The colour builds to its maximum intensity for just a few days, during which the flowers pervade the air with a subtle, delicate scent. It’s a very visible sign of the new life brought by spring, and perhaps Britain’s nearest equivalent to Japan’s celebrated cherry blossom season.

The British Isles are a stronghold of the bluebell, with perhaps a fifth of the plant’s global population growing on these islands. The mild, damp climate on Europe’s Atlantic seaboard suits them best – further east, and the winters are too cold for them, or the weather too dry.

Bluebells like dappled shade and are widespread throughout the less densely wooded areas of Wanstead Park. They are often hidden among brambles and other undergrowth, but in Chalet Wood, large areas have been kept clear by members of the Wren Conservation Group so the flowers can be seen at their best. In recent years, paths have also been demarcated by tree trunks to encourage visitors not to step on the main areas covered by the plants. These are easily damaged by trampling and may take several years to recover and flower again.

The first Covid lockdown in 2020 was followed by a huge surge in visitors to our open spaces, including Wanstead Park. Even during the gradual normalisation in recent months, numbers have remained elevated, as the new visitors keep coming back. The bluebell display, which is one of the best in the London area, has received attention both on traditional and social media. This has doubtless attracted additional visitors from outside the area.

It’s good to see Wanstead Park becoming better known and appreciated, and it’s important to emphasise that most visitors keep to the demarcated paths. Unfortunately, some don’t and, given the increased visitor pressure, this has raised anxiety among local people who understand the fragility of the bluebells and feel passionate about protecting them. This year, several hundred people signed a letter of concern on Facebook.

The main problem comes from people succumbing to the temptation to step over the barriers to take photographs among the flowers. Some trample the visible plants, perhaps not realising the damage they are doing. Others try to keep to little meandering paths and bare patches – not realising these have been created by people in the past and that they are preventing the plants from recolonising these areas by walking on them.

The bluebell season is discussed every year by the Wanstead Park Liaison Group, which consists of Epping Forest management and other stakeholders. They will be looking at whether signage and barriers have been adequate this year and whether anything can be done differently in the future. We’ll keep you posted.

For more information on Wanstead Park, visit wnstd.com/park