Author: Wansteadium

Wanstead’s WWII bomb census

An online map – Bomb Sight – has been produced which shows the location of every bomb which fell on London during WWII. Backed by the National Archives it has extremely detailed information about the bomb sites down to which street they fell on.

In 2010-11, 70 years after the bombs were falling, we ran the Wansteadium Blitz Project in which we published a note of each bomb which fell on Wanstead on the same date and time as the actual incident. It felt to us a vivid way to notice the extended period of weeks and months that our forebears endured with nightly uncertainty.

The new map makes a different point, demonstrating the sheer number of incidents London saw. It’s definitely worth a look – this link should take you directly to the map of Wanstead.

Announcing the Wanstead Gift List 2012

It’s time again for the increasingly annual tradition of the Wanstead Gift List. The rules are the same as last year:

• Wansteadium readers are invited to nominate anything suitable for a Christmas gift which can be bought in Wanstead
• The best and most original gifts will make up a top 10 which we will publish here
• The reward for nominators will be a warm glow of community spirit and, one might hope, a thriving High Street.

Please send nominations as soon as possible, and by close of play on Monday 10 December, using the form below or by e-mail to wansteadium@gmail.com. Include whatever details of the item you can.
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Homelessness in Wanstead

A poster on a Redbridge-i forum has raised the subject of homelessness in Wanstead, something which was mentioned in passing at the Area One committee last week. The post reads:

I am finding it both upsetting and surprising to see the incongruous site of beggars/homelss men in Wanstead High Street in the mornings on my commute to work. Twice in the past few months I have given some change. Although I am alwasy quite cynical of whethter they are genuine or not, my philosophy is that if you are desperate enough to be losing your diginity by having to asking people for money, then there must be at least something wrong…and besides, it’s only a few quid. I am wondering where these guys are coming from, as leafy Wanstead is hardly the place you expect to see them, and I would imagine that because this is the case, Wanstead doesn’t have many facilities in place to direct these guys to…such as hostels, support services etc. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I could tell these guys to go to get help within walking distance of Wanstead High Street?

With suddenly much colder nights, the last point deserves some useful information if Wansteadium readers can share, via the comments form below.

Wanstead Magazine Club’s new frontier

The Wanstead Magazine Club – which recycles interesting magazines in public places in Wanstead for the benefit of anyone who’s interested – is from today available in a third venue, Provender.

The club has also been offering a wider range of magazines, including the clearly highbrow (Prospect, New Yorker and London Review of Books), and more populist (Vanity Fair and Wired). Anyone with copies of Elle Decoration, GQ, National Geographic, Good Food, Which or the Beano out there? We think you might, if you examine your conscience, find a small voice telling you that you really ought to share your riches with your Wanstead fellows. Find out more at the Wanstead Magazine Club.

And in the meantime, what better way to make the most of the Farmers’ Market than enjoying a latte and pain aux raisins at the Larder or a spot of petit dejeuner at Provender in the company of some fine reading material.

Is Costa coming to Wanstead?

Rumours abound that Costa Coffee is coming to Wanstead.

A planning application for the Enigma Hairdressers at Clockhouse parade to change its use – which would allow it to prepare and serve food – is currently being considered by Redbridge Council. Enigma is believed by Wansteadium to be closing at the end of January, and rumours circulating around the High Street are that a Costa branch will be taking its place.

The application is made by a firm of planning consultants who list their previous clients as including B&Q, Sainsbury’s, several banks and other clients. Costa (or its parent company Whitbread) is not listed, but with 1300 branches around the country it would be no surprise if they were interested.

Wansteadium has contacted Costa to ask them if the rumours are true. We’ll let you know what they say.