Wanstead update: Wanna buy the George?

Wanstead’s iconic George pub is up for sale, and could be yours, it seems for a cool £2.5m. The freehold to the pub is being offered by its current owners – the JDWetherspoon lease runs until 2034, meaning there’s what you could call a steady stream of income. Though the building itself isn’t old, there has been a pub on the site for hundreds of years, and the familiar inscription on the side (In Memory of/Ye Cherry Pey etc) is fast approach its 260th annivesary in just six weeks’ time. Details here.

One of the attractions near the pub is a new contender for the title of “Wanstead’s shortest cycle lane”. Last year we reported on a short strip of lane on Aldersbrook Road: the new one is outside Belgique on Cambridge Park Road. Wansteadium reader Adam Harrison, who took the photo above, writes: “For the record this is not a continuation of, or starting point of any nearby lane. It is just that! Crazy.” Wansteadium has not yet had the time to go out with a measuring tape. Volunteers for that duty are welcome.

And a perfect segue into an award for Wanstead cyclist Carole Edrich who received an award from Cyclists Fighting Cancer for her efforts in “overcoming the most on a bike for the benefit of others”. Carole wrote about her post-chemotherapy ride to Trim in Ireland on this site last year. Anyone wishing to donate to her fundraising can do so here.

And a note of congratulations to the folk behind the Wanstead Vintage Fashion & Brocante Fair, which has made it to the top three vintage fairs in London in the Vintage London Awards. The next fair is on this Saturday, 9 June, at Christ Church, where you will be able to have your hair done in a 1940s stylee (if it isn’t already).