Wansteadium

When you walk through the front door of the George and Dragon, one of the first things you’ll see is a portrait of George Orwell, a picture which used to hang at the back of the old George.

Pictures of famous lefties aren’t what Wetherspoons was known for – it was cheap booze. So the question on every drinker’s lips as they crammed into the pub for opening night on Thursday would have been: what are the new place’s prices like?

The answer is – not much like Wetherspoons. There are three real ales on sale, at £5.50 a pint. Guinness is £6.90. Others are upwards of £7.

Councillor Paul Donovan, who led a campaign attempting to keep the old George open, was one of the Wanstead residents in the pub on opening night.

“The food is not cheap but a good range,” he said. “It’s a different offer from Wetherspoons but we did know that. They’ve done the place up nicely keeping and enhancing the character. The George Orwell pic has been given a position of welcome prominence. It’s certainly rammed today.

“The main point is we still have a George pub which Wanstead people seem excited about.”

The refit does look rather magnificent – and not much trouble has been spared. A lengthy effort was taken to paint a sign on the back of the building and then ‘age it’ so that it looks truly authentic. The words “LIVE SPORT” are something of a giveaway, but at least it doesn’t also mention “FREE WIFI”.

Wansteadium always wishes new ventures good luck, and we know for sure that we won’t be alone in wishing the new George and Dragon all the best.

Reviews are welcome in the comments below.

Redbridge has released its plans for converting the former Wanstead Youth Centre on Elmcroft Avenue into an education hub.

The redevelopment includes the conversion of the large gym hall at the back of the site into classrooms, including a new second storey. The hall with stage at the front will also be turned into rooms plus dining area. The neglected tennis courts in Roding Valley Park will be refurbished and will have basketball courts installed.

Part of the plan includes making the facilities available for community hire in the evenings, at weekends, and during school holidays.

Planning permission has not yet been applied for the scheme but the council is undertaking a consultation in advance of that.

The council says the new facility will support “the growing need for a range of specialist education facilities for children and young people… through a dedicated and spacious learning environment while providing high-quality facilities and resources for families with babies and children under five”.

It adds:

The Education and Youth hub will also provide high-quality youth and community facilities for local young people, adults, community groups, voluntary agencies, and private providers in the evening, at weekends, and during school holidays.

The Early Years Play and Development Centre, a unique feature of the new facility, will be located at the front of the hub. It will host a kitchen, lounge area, community cafe, playroom, and sensory room. There will also be an infant feeding room, reception, office space, therapy space and a music recording studio. As part of the plans, the main gymnasium will be retained. The rear gymnasium will be converted into further classrooms, a dining hall and multipurpose practical space for the alternative provision.

The plans are available to view online here, with an online questionnaire available for comments and reactions..

Planning applications for two additional digital ad screens on Wanstead High Street are being considered by Redbridge Council following the installation of two last year.

Redbridge fought and lost a battle against allowing the screens to be sited on the high street, saying they would detract from the conservation area status. But it was over-ruled by the Planning Inspectorate.

The new applications are for signs outside Gail’s (though one is already outside Tesco, barely a wicket’s distance away) and outside M&S.

We told you you would find good stuff on Bluesky, the alternative to the bin fire which Twitter has become. (Wansteadium is having no part of X or Facebook/Instagram). There is a starter pack of Wanstead people you can follow here.

But in the meantime here is something from a distinguished local historian which you won’t find anywhere else:

I’ve always been intrigued by Lord Tylney’s decision to build a penis-shaped lake in #Wanstead Park

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— Dr Greg Roberts (@d-profundis.bsky.social) January 9, 2025 at 11:33 AM

Parents of children at Wanstead High who have been frustrated by the start of what could be a long series of strikes by teachers have taken matters into their own hands in attempting to get things back to normal.

A group of more than 200 parents has been lobbying for a return to normal schooling, holding meetings with Leyton and Wanstead’s new MP, Calvin Bailey, and with representatives of the National Education Union which is staging the action.

Though not taking sides in the dispute, the group has been dissecting the union’s stated claims, which involve workload, hours and new initiatives from the head. The group appears to be reaching a consensus that whatever the validity of the unions demands, prolonged industrial action is a disproportionate response.

Though not actually a party to the dispute, some of the parents believe they are helping to impress upon the parties the importance of reaching a resolution, not least because of the impact on children whose education has already been disrupted by lockdowns.

The school was closed for two days because of strikes this week, with more days’ action planned for next week and the week after. Only pupils with GCSEs and A Levels this year have been attending.

We’re 15 this year. Actually our first posts were just before Christmas in 2009 – when Wanstead still had a Thresher’s and didn’t yet have a Tesco’s.

In honour of this landmark, we have done exactly what Tesco’s itself did in its recent refit, ie we’ve been closed for a couple of weeks, and have stripped everything down to its constituent parts, only to rebuild it as an exact replica of what was there before, so much so that it will be difficult for even the most loyal customer to spot a difference.

Actually there are two differences. We’ve had enough of Twitter X and so will no longer be posting any of our links there. And as of this morning we’ve had enough of Facebook too, so you won’t find Wansteadium there either.

You will find us instead on Bluesky, a Musk/Zuck-free network where you will be able to find a starter pack of accounts of Wanstead people and organisations at this address: https://go.bsky.app/48VN9Ej.

It’s the kind of place you will see posts like this, which is just charming.

Very pleased to have photographed an Otter today along the River Roding at Wanstead. Even just a few years ago I thought it wouldn’t be possible to witness this on a London river!

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— Tony Brown (@thecowboybirder.bsky.social) Nov 30, 2024 at 14:27

But on this anniversary a word of thanks to our readers old and new. Here’s to the next 15 years, though we’re not sure if that’s something to look forward to or not.