Author: Wansteadium

The Orange Tree, which has long been a stalwart of life on Wanstead High Street, is to close its shop. Like many things it is going online, and is hoping to offer a local click-and-collect service for its wallpaper, paint and fabrics.

Owner Rachel Root told Wansteadium: “Everyone has been very supportive so far and for many the fact that I’ll be offering a free home consultation service with the collections is a big plus.”

She has found new studio premises in Wanstead to operate from. The Orange Tree website has been prominent for a while and will be further developed.

The announcement comes in what was beginning to feel like a golden period for the High Street with the new greengrocer and butcher bringing more shoppers back into the area.

The Wanstead Fringe has always made a point of appealing to all ages, and there are again several events for children.

First up, on this Saturday morning are two drama workshops for young children led by Sprinklepunch Theatre. Details are here.

On Sunday, animator and comic artist Chris Drew will be demonstrating for children the secrets of drawing comics. Chris was one of the biggest hits at last year’s Fringe and this is sure to be popular. Make sure you get tickets.

On Monday there are two Jingle Bop sessions for pre-school children and their parents – they are fun and interactive sessions which are very popular with Wanstead families.

Then on Saturday 17 September, virtuoso guitarist Pete Black will be offering group sessions for children who are new to the guitar and to those who have been playing for a bit.

And the big family event of the Fringe is once again the Kinema, the original Wanstead open air cinema which this year will be in the grounds of Christ Church and will be showing the hit movie Zootropolis. Tickets are going fast and are limited so don’t miss out.

We asked for a link between the Great Fire of London and Wanstead. We had some answers, though not yet the one we were after.

So far we have had this from regular contributor Juan Stead:

Did you know that after the Great Fire, a May Pole that had stood in the present-day Strand / Temple area, was salvaged by Sir Isaac Newton and taken to Wanstead Park, where he used it to support his new telescope. Apparently it was over 100 feet high.

We don’t know if it’s true, by the way, but it wasn’t what we were after. But there was also this from Tom King on Twitter:

@Wansteadium ah! Owner of wanstead house in 1666 was chairman in the parliament inquiry into the fire. Sir Robert Brooke, drownd 3 yrs later

— Tom King (@zgap118) September 6, 2016

That’s not it either. Clue: it relates to Pepys. Further answers in the normal manner please.

The Wanstead Fringe – our own home-made celebration of local talents and interests – is now just five days away, and this year includes nearly 30 events of music, film, talks, comedy, cookery, photography and art.

There’s also the Wanstead Fringe Jumble Trail, the Duke Street Party, and the Wanstead Restaurant Week happening at the same time.

Full printed programmes will be distributed throughout Wanstead later this week, but you can now get tickets and further information from the Wanstead Fringe site.

The fringe includes:

COMEDY with Terry Alderton headlining

COOKERY demos with experts from Nice Croissant and Wanstead Fish

TALKS with local authors such as the Guardian’s Hugh Muir, John Rogers and Anya Lipska

A MULTI-SENSORY evening including the sights, smells (and tipples) of the glamour of Jazz Age London

EVENTS FOR CHILDREN, including a cartoon-drawing workshop, drama sessions, Jingle Bop and guitar lessons

PHOTOGRAPHY exhibition and masterclass photowalk

POP QUIZ at the Wanstead Tap

MUSIC featuring local talents in a new music night at Wanstead Tap and an acoustic climax at Manor House

and the week culminates in the ever-popular WANSTEAD KINEMA showing Zootropolis.

There are also special offers from some of Wanstead’s best restaurants, as part of Wanstead Restaurant Week. Deals include 25% off food at Bombetta and 20% off food at The Lane.

For the first time this year the Fringe has an HQ – at the Cherry Tree Cafe (thanks to Redbridge and the NELFT NHS Foundation Trust).

Some small print:

• The Wanstead Fringe is organised by the Wanstead Fringe Association which aims to encourage cultural activities in Wanstead. It’s backed by Wansteadium, Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure and by the Friends of the Wanstead Fringe, a group of people who want to support the longterm future of the Fringe and are prepared to pay £10 a year to do so. You can join them here.
• It’s also made possible by the financial support from Petty Son and Prestwich, to whom we extend our thanks. 

Just as a bit of small-minded fun, and to mark the anniversary of the Great Fire of London, can any Wansteadium readers furnish us with a Wanstead link to one of the most celebrated details of the fire? Suggestions via comments…

By this time next week the Wanstead Fringe will be well under way, with stalls for the Jumble Trail all set up and Nightingale Lane girding itself for the Duke Street Party.

The Fringe, in case you don’t know, is Wanstead’s home-made celebration which features the best of local talent and great events for people of all ages. Every year the most popular of these events is the Wanstead Kinema, and this year it will again take place in the open air of the gardens at Christ Church on the High Street.

It’s on the evening of Saturday 17 September, and will be showing the huge hit film Zootropolis. Tickets are now on general sale – £6 for adults, £3 for under-16s. You can buy tickets now through the Wanstead Fringe website here – but get in early. We usually sell out (in a good way).