Author: Wansteadium

Nude in Wanstead


Good luck to Wanstead band Bleech whose debut album Nude is being released on 4 June, after a period of touring and recording while gathering acclaim from people including Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq.

The band are Jennifer O’Neill (centre; guitar and lead vocals), Katherine O’Neill (bass and vocals) and Matt Bick (drums and vocals). There are three more dates in the UK tour, details of which are here.

Last week’s Kerrang! said that the band “take the soul of grunge and add flashes of power-pop and punk”. (It appears to be a compliment.) The O’Neill sisters, one of whom will be familiar to customers of the Larder, are also praised for their “wonderfully cool veneer on stage – which adds to the intrigue of their music”. The video below, though containing a single use of a Category One swearword, has a special topical theme in recognition of the timing of the release.

Wanstead jubilee weekend photos

Photos taken over the jubilee period are welcome here. Submit them to photos@wansteadium.com (or send us a link).


Determined partygoers in face of street party washout, from @Lornamedia


Above, and three below: photos from Oak Hall Road party, thanks to Sarah Boud

New mural at Nightingale Primary School

Thanks to @celestialcow.

Street party in Cranbourne Ave

Pearly Queen

Jubilee spirit in Wanstead

As more bunting is hoisted around Wanstead, there will be a number of street parties and activities going on. One such party that Wansteadium hears about will be addressing the politics of the jubilee with a royalists v republicans tug of war (we hope to bring you the result), while at least one other will be celebrating the Derby. Most street parties will be by invitation only, but there is to be an open event on Wanstead High Street on the stretch outside Nice Croissant and the Orange Tree.

That event will be on Sunday 3 June between noon and 6pm. It will coincide with the Farmers’ Market; there will be free entertainment and the restaurants will be opening late. There will also be fancy dress competitions for children in two categories (under fives and five-to-12s), and (judging the character of Wanstead pretty well) a Best Decorated Bike or Baby Buggy contest.

There will also be an exhibition of celebrated photographer Geoff Wilkinson’s prints at his gallery at Eightyfour, on Nightingale Green, on Saturday and Sunday. People are invited to turn up to have their celebratory photographs taken by Geoff, and see them later in the week (we’ll provide a link here when it’s live). More details on 020 8530 1244

Any other events readers would like mentioned are invited to submit details to events@wansteadium.com. And, as is our custom at times of collective experience (remember the snow?) we’ll be publishing as many photographs as readers send us. To photos@wansteadium.com if you please. Start right away, if you like.

This is a list of the road closures in Wanstead.

Addison Road, 1 to 70, E11 2RG 04/06/2012 10.00 am – 8.00 pm
Clavering Road, Wanstead, E12 5EX 04/06/2012 11.00 am – 11.00 pm
Deynecourt Gardens, 1 to 80, E11 2BT 03/06/2012 1.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Gordon Road, 1 to 45, E11 2RB 05/06/2012 10.00 am -7.00 pm
High Street, 117 to 127, E11 2RL – Pavement only 03/06/2012 12.00 – 6.00 pm
Nightingale Lane, Wellesely Road to Stanstead Road, E11 2HE 02/06/2012 3.00 pm -8.00 pm
Oak Hall Road, 1 to 22, Wanstead, E11 2JT 03/06/2012 10.00 am – 6.00 pm
Overton Drive, 35 to 71, Wanstead, E11 2LW 04/06/2012 11.00 am – 9.00 pm
Spratt Hall Road, 14 to 41, E11 2RQ 04/06/2012 10.00 am – 4.00 pm
Warren Road, between Langley Crescent and Colebrooke Drive, E11 2LX 04/06/2012 2.00 pm -7.00 pm
Warwick Road, 1 to 45, Wanstead, E11 2DZ 02/06/2012 2.00 pm – 9.00 pm
Windsor Road, 1 to 38, E11 3QU 04/06/2012 9.00 am – midnight

Hermon Hill becomes peacock sanctuary

(Posed by a model)

One of the joys of Wanstead, regular readers will need no telling, is that it sits near a wonderful cusp of urban and rural. Every time you turn a corner, there’s another bit of Epping Forest peeping through. Sun shining through green is among many people’s perceptions of what makes Wanstead Wanstead. Outside the thrum of the city, you can at last hear the birds singing as they have for thousands of years.

But at four o’clock in the morning? That’s pushing this whole rural thing to the limit.

Among recent arrivals at a house on Hermon Hill, one Wansteadium reader has informed us, is an ostentation of peacocks who are – as is their wont – vocal, day and night.

This is what they sound like, our correspondent (who wishes to remain anonymous) attests. This recording was made in the early evening on Monday.

[ca_audio url=”https://wansteadium.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Peacocks.mp3″ width=”500″ height=”27″ css_class=””]

Our reader writes: “These birds make a rather loud squawks at all hours of the day and night. With the recent hot weather it’s made it difficult to leave our windows open at night, as the loud squawking is enough to wake up even the deepest of sleepers.

“The noise has become a hot topic of conversation around this part of Wanstead. Just a couple of years ago a neighbour (possibly the same one) bought some cockerels who would be crowing every morning at dawn. If I’m not mistaken they were stolen.

“I do wonder if owning peacocks in a such a residential area is wise, as it really does affect a lot of people when they are making noises pretty much 24 hours a day.”

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/Stu_N/statuses/207762207616937984″]

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/historybeagle/status/207866155040387076″]

Wanstead property: Jubilympics come to Wanstead International

Wansteadium’s property blogger George C Parker writes:

Friends, Wansteadians, Countrymen, the only way is up. Temperatures? Up. Bunting? Up! Jubilympics-fuelled joie de vivre? Up!

Perhaps we have waited a little longer for their arrival this year, but the recently-beaming summer rays of 2012 have probably come as a relief to most who do not sell umbrellas and galoshes for a living. Finally, after what seemed like three months of April showers, we find ourselves on the cusp of a season of celebrations. And given the economic tribulations of the adjacent past, I think we’ve more or less earned them.

Similarly, gazillions of international visitors are coming to the capital to join the party. So let us give up our transport system to the incoming hordes, and take advantage of the verdant pastures of Wanstead while the sun shines. Commuting? Hang it high! I commend all those office dwellers who can work remotely to take advantage of the High Street, the Library or even the Greens to connect to the City over wifi or 3g. You won’t miss the train trip one bit.

• For those not currently resident in Wanstead, then please consider this very well equipped Olympic let. You could use it as a try-before-you-buy in our dearly beloved locality, or with all that built-in high-end stereo gear, perhaps even upstage the post-closing ceremony after party.

• For those planning to stay after the street parties and Games have subsided, take a look at this charming Dangan Road property. Although not all original features survive, this is a lovely example of a well-situated and handsome Victorian redbrick family home. This ticks all the boxes in terms of location and neighbourhood. And as we know, Dangan Road (like Spratt Hall Road) has basically become a private road in terms of parking.

• And finally friends, following my enthusiasm a few weeks ago for a Wanstead open-air film festival – Open Kinema, we were going to call it – I thought it was time for an update. My colleagues and I have been doing some research, and have found a number of ways this could be brought to pass. The problem is, I fear, that it’s hard to mount from a standing start. None of it comes cheaply or easily, and in the absence of someone willing to underwrite to the tune of about £2-£3,000, it’s going to be a challenge. So THAT must be the explanation for the £5 tub of popcorn. But we haven’t given up hope and will keep you informed. (And if you are a lottery winner, recipient of a big City bonus, or naked beautiful commercial interest and would like to do something good for Wanstead, drop me a line… georgecparker [at] wansteadium.com )

Thieves steal Wanstead police station roof

It sounds amazing, but police have confirmed that 10 days ago a lead roof was stolen from Wanstead police station in Spratt Hall Road. A police spokesperson told the Wanstead Guardian the theft took place on the night of Saturday 12 May but that the roof had now been repaired. No arrests have been made.

Insert jokes in the comments below, before Radio 4’s News Quiz gets there.