It’s early in January, so it’s our annual New Year public service announcement.
To request your Christmas tree to be collected from outside your home, you need to request the collection from Redbridge Council. And you do that by entering your details at this page: Request Green Waste Collection. Once booked, trees should be collected within 10 days, though you will have to leave the tree at the edge of your property.
And before you thank us, the pleasure was ours.
© Geoff Wilkinson who writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “Walking past the River Roding, the muddy appearance of the water and the speed at which it was flowing gave me the impression that the river is still inching up. I wish I had shot some video to show how fast it was moving. Another time.”
Closing down time for Vintage as eager bargain hunters make the most of the last few hours. The shop closes today, Sunday, and rumour suggests the Enigma hairdressers will relocate there. No confirmation yet from Costa as to whether it will be opening in Enigma’s current spot.
From Monday, 5 January, the price of parking at Snaresbrook and Wanstead station car parks is going up again, to £6 and £5 respectively, rising from £4.50 and £4.
It was in September 2010 that Wansteadium last reported on price hikes at these carparks, when they rose from £2.70. It means that in less than three years, Snaresbrook prices have risen by more than 100%.
Different prices will apply in both car parks at weekends and on Bank Holidays. But during the week – even in the evening – the flat rate approach used means the full whack even if parking for only an hour. This means technically one could park more cheaply for an hour near Harrods (£3.60) than in the carpark near the Ironing Board.
A spokesman for TfL which sets the rates told the Wanstead Guardian that it was bringing them in line with local competitors. “This is the first increase in charges in more than two years and our charges remain below the market rate,” he said.
However, the rate at Grove Park car park, run by Redbridge Council, is 80p for the first hour, rising to £5 for longer than three hours.
The future of on-street parking in Wanstead is still undecided, with a number of roads currently in the middle of a 12-month trial of residents’ only parking in a bid to deter commuters. The price rises may, however, simply make it more worthwhile for commuters to walk further to pick up the Central Line, potentially spreading the parking into other Wanstead roads.
It’s time for our annual end-of-year report on ourselves. You may be interested in knowing that in 2012, there were:
visits in total, from
different people (“unique users”), and a massive
pageviews in the year. (Figures from Google Analytics.)
The top ten most-read stories were:
1. Reviews of Wanstead’s new Provender  (February)
2. Farewell 62 Spice (March)
3. New to Wanstead High Street – three reasons to be cheerful (January)
4. Tea for Wanstead (September)
5. A great day for Wanstead (February)
6. Wanstead News roundup; Parking, buses, pews, tapas hogs (May)
7. Wanstead: the new City bonus haunt (March)
8. Thieves steal Wanstead police station roof (May)
9. Inside Wanstead’s new teashop Time for Tea (November)
10. Come back Chicken Spot, all is forgiven (October)
(*For reference, here are the 2011 figures.)
Our most retweeted tweet was this one. Our top follower on Twitter (ie the person who retweeted us the most) was a gentleman by the name of @nick_affleck.
Finally, our thanks to everyone who played a part in Wansteadium in the past 12 months. It’s been a year in which we’ve launched our messageboard, Wanstead Talk, the Wanstead Magazine Club, the Wanstead Weekend Photo and more besides, all without having any distraction of filthy lucre or commercialisation. We have some rather over-ambitious plans for the year ahead – who knows if they will come to fruition. But if you are interested in getting involved with Wansteadium we’d be delighted to hear from you especially if you have an interest or ability in web product development, php, data harvesting/presentation, or hedgehogs. Also, if you’re a Wanstead property obsessive, we should talk. Get in touch via the usual method – wansteadium@gmail.com. And since you’ve read this far, you’re really missing out if you haven’t yet signed up for our excellent e-mail newsletter, which is published not more than once a day, and usually only about three times a week. Sign up here – it’s free and thoroughly spiftacular.
It’s been a long time coming, but Wanstead’s ‘new’ pet shop is now open for business, as the shelves are gradually filled and stock is moved from its decrepit former premises next door. The new shop is modern, clean and massive by comparison, with plenty of room for animals (in an air conditioned section at the rear of the shop) and for general household goods too.
Owner Mas Beg, who was named shopkeeper of the year by the Wanstead Society in 2010, and his fellow gerbilmeister Trevor Spicer are busily getting the shop ready. New attractions include items long missing from Wanstead High Street, including boxes of nails and screws and small electrical bits. And they are open to suggestions for items that people would like to be stocked.
When Wansteadium asked this question first in May 2011, nominated items were Polyfilla, Evo-Stick, string, sink plungers, dustpans, mothballs, lightbulbs and clothes pegs. You’re welcome to add anything, using the form below. Mas says he’s watching…
The former shop, now ripe for redevelopment.
The view from the rear – the new brick building is the complete development, meaning what the new shop gains in floor space it loses in outdoors room at the back. Mas says he will continue to stock plants at the front.
