Author: Wansteadium

Revival of Jubilee Pond

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Across the gardens and parks of Wanstead, Spring is springing and the blossom is .. blossoming. The lissom bluebells of Wanstead Park are due, and so presumably are the first droning lawnmowers of the season.

Over at Jubilee Pond on the Western side of Wanstead Flats, the vernal overtures are slightly behind schedule, due to a body of works being carried out by the Corporation of London (@COLEppingForest).

This is easily explained; last summer this general area hosted a temporary Metropolitan Police base, which accommodated the extra cohorts of Police officers who came to safeguard the Olympic Games in Stratford.

Though originally controversial with local nature lovers (and firework aficionados – the ground was still too damaged for Newham’s Bonfire Night celebrations to go ahead) at the time, these pictures show how the Corporation has chosen to invest the compensation received.

Hopefully as the pond matures, bird life will recover and generations of local people including the nascent Wanstead Nature Club (see pic) will be able to appreciate the seasonal comings and goings centred on our rich local habitats.

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New trees for St Mary’s Ave

The source of much angst to many Wanstead residents – the cutting down of iconic chestnut trees on St Mary’s Avenue – achieved some closure on Wednesday with the planting of new saplings.

Wansteadium reader Caroline Barkus writes: “Just to let you know that the trees were replaced down St Mary’s Avenue today [Weds]. Yesterday they were digging the holes and today they planted. Looks like they have opted to plant sweet chestnuts (castanea sativa) instead of horse chestnuts. This is probably due to the infection that is blighting horse chestnuts in the UK.”

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Mark Stephens: Today Wanstead, tomorrow the world

Mark Stephens, probably Wanstead’s most famous lawyer (and the man who took pre-arrest Julian Assange to breakfast at the Bungalow Cafe), has been made chairman of the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association at their conference in Cape Town.

Mark, who was appointed CBE in 2011, and makes frequent appearances on TV and radio as an expert in media law, said: “I am honoured to be inaugurated as the Chairman for the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association.  It is a fantastic body with whom I have enjoyed working with for over thirty years.  In my new role I will begin by predominantly focussing on the decriminalisation of homosexuality across the Commonwealth; the abolition of the death penalty and the independence of lawyers; the independence of the Judiciary; and corporate Governance and transparency through the Commonwealth.  I am an advocate for Human Rights and look forward to beginning my new role as Chairman of the CLA and making a difference.”

Mark can be followed on Twitter at @markslarks, where he tweets about press freedom, developments in the law, and the state of Wanstead’s roads.

On which point it should be noted that Redbridge Council last week agreed to spend an extra £650,000 on fixing potholes in the borough.

Wanstead Cricket: Under way

The belated cricket season started thanks to the better weather at the weekend. Sanjay Batra writes: “The sun shone as Wanstead welcomed so many new and returning junior members and their families to the first coaching session on Friday.

“Saturday saw Overton Drive receive a visit from Ilford Cricket Club, old rivals and very good friends who won’t mind a mild gloat over a very hard-fought victory. Waseem Qureshi made an early impression with 98 runs in the 2nd XI win away at Broxbourne. Upminster came to Wanstead on Sunday and gave the home side a proper fright before falling just 6 short of their target.”

Results
Saturday 20 April
1st XI v Ilford (Friendly) – 45 overs match. Wanstead won by 28 runs.
Wanstead 217 all out.
Adnan Akram 52
Ilford 189 all out.

2nd XI v Broxbourne (Friendly) – 40 overs match. Wanstead won by 11 runs.
Wanstead 201 all out.
Waseem Qureshi 98
Broxbourne 190 all out.

Sunday: 21 April
1st XI v Upminster (Friendly) – 45 overs. Wanstead won by 6 runs.
Wanstead 231 all out
Matthew Smith 71
Petrus Hattingh 64
Upminster 225 all out.

More details from the Wanstead and Snaresbrook Cricket Club website.