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Local resident Lorna Paterson first began helping others to learn sign language during lockdown. This month, she launches a monthly group at Wanstead Library to help more people communicate

I bumped into a neighbour at the supermarket during the first lockdown in March 2020. Unable to communicate, we gazed helplessly into each other’s eyes. The neighbour, who has impaired hearing, was unable to read my lips because we were both wearing masks. 

I’m a hearing person with British Sign Language (BSL) Level Two. My neighbour suffered hearing loss in later life and has had no opportunity to learn how to sign. Sadly, I was unable to use BSL to chat with her. That was when I decided to seek ways to share my skills with other Wanstead residents.

In a post on the Wanstead Community Hub Facebook group, and via an article in this magazine, I asked if anyone was interested in learning some common BSL signs. More than 30 people responded. 

While the pandemic ran its course, it proved to be difficult to arrange for small groups to meet in person to share and practise basic BSL. However, several people met with me on Zoom once a week to learn finger-spelling and share conversational signs: weather, family information, numbers and time. Over Christmas 2020, I took part in a signing choir at the Romford Festival and shared the carols we signed with the Zoom group.

The deaf community is proud and independent, but for many people, the experience of hearing loss is isolating. Children born with hearing impairments benefit from the amazing ‘deaf tech’ now available, but they also need community support. Loss of hearing is especially troublesome if it happens in later life, when it takes longer to learn new ways to communicate.

I have lived in Wanstead for 40 years. Until I chose to retire early, I was head of English in a high school in Waltham Forest. Now I’m employed by a Department for Education approved tuition agency as an academic support tutor for university students with disabilities. As a qualified teacher, in theory, I’m qualified to teach BSL Level One, but I don’t intend to run formal lessons. I am equally as keen to keep my own signing skills up to date as I am to help others to acquire them. BSL Wanstead is all about sharing. 

Wanstead Library has kindly agreed to reserve a space for BSL Wanstead to meet from early October onwards. Initially, these meetings will take place once a month on a weekday afternoon, but I hope as the project develops, there will be opportunities to meet in the evening as well. All BSL Wanstead activities are completely free.

The BSL Wanstead project welcomes anyone interested in learning, sharing and practising conversational BSL. If you would like to take part, please do get in touch.

For more information and to contact Lorna, visit patersonloarn.co.uk

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

The Wanstead Infant Orphan Asylum opened in Snaresbrook in 1843. The building is now known as Snaresbrook Crown Court, but for over a century it was a boarding school. In this article, I look at the history of the asylum, later called the Royal Wanstead School, which will be explored in a new display about the borough’s historic institutions when Redbridge Museum re-opens in the next few months. 

We usually understand ‘orphan’ as someone who has lost both their parents, but the pupils of the Infant Orphan Asylum were children whose fathers had died and whose mothers could not afford to take care of them. The asylum only took in children from respectable, middle-class families, who could often buy the vote of the private donors who funded the asylum, ensuring their child’s admittance.

In this way, the asylum was not a traditional orphanage. The building itself is not the kind of place we tend to picture when we think of homes of its kind. Now Grade II listed, it was designed by two prominent architects and its foundation stone laid by Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who was the institution’s first royal patron. But despite its status amongst royals, the Infant Orphan Asylum was, after all, a boarding school where children were sent away from their families, often as infants. Pupils had a strict, disciplined schooling by the teachers and nurses who took care of them and, as with many in similar schools at the time, may have been quite miserable.

Donald Grist, who was there from 1903 to 1919, wrote in his memoir, A Victorian Charity: “Meals were simple and sparse: mince or stew with one vegetable… Drinks were cocoa, water and watered milk.” Meals were served on plates like the one pictured above, which will feature in the new museum display among other material, having been donated to us by a local resident who, in 1990, recovered various pieces of crockery used by the asylum from the shores of Eagle Pond. They paint a picture of a rather grim experience hidden behind a grand façade.

The asylum’s slightly ominous Victorian name was abandoned for the more inviting Royal Wanstead School in 1938. At this point, it began to operate as a school rather than an orphanage as social attitudes on education and care changed. Pupils attending at this time probably looked back at their time more fondly than their Victorian counterparts. 

As welfare provision improved in the 1950s, more children began to attend local schools and the Royal Wanstead School saw a decline in income and attendance until it could no longer afford to stay open. It finally closed in 1971. The building opened as a Crown Court on 26 November 1974.

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

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