Two forms of ID to go to the tip

It sounds like a joke, but from today, Monday 9 May, you will need to take two forms of identification before you are allowed to take rubbish to the Chigwell Road tip recycling centre.

You will need to take a council tax bill AND your driving licence, though the FAQ on Redbridge-i indicates there might be some flexibility if you haven’t got the document for some reason. Failing that, though, if you don’t have both there will be a £10 charge for a car-load.

It seems that drivers will have to provide the ID before they enter the site – rather than there being spot checks – and so there is clearly a chance of queues forming. However, the council site says that the reason the ID checks are being introduced is that lots of people from outside the area are using the tip – and so the amount of traffic going there will, they hope, be cut.

One Wansteadium reader Wendy said: It seems ridiculous to me, and surely guaranteed to increase fly-tipping, but also very annoying if you turn up after the 9th May without your ID

Further details here.

• From today, cardboard can be included in the blue household paper recycling boxes.

Quantum physics in Wanstead

Wansteadium reader Thomas Downey writes:

Last night as part of the Redbridge Book and Media Festival, Wanstead library provided the venue for an interesting discussion entitled Quantum Theory Cannot Help You.

The event was organised by the Newham bookshop and the invited speakers were Marcus Chown and ManJit Kumar. Both are well known authors who have written books on the topic. The event was well attended with additional seating required just before the off to cater for latecomers.

The first order of business was for hosts from Newham Books to apologise for the typo in the title, it was supposed to be a play on the title of one of Marcus Chowns books “Quantum Theory Cannot hurt you: A guide to the universe” this was a nice way of opening a potentially tricky evening.

Marcus gave an interesting overview of Quantum theory; it covers the micro world of atoms and electrons. Primarily it tries to explain theory of particles and waves. As someone who has an interest in the discipline but not the requisite undergraduate degree, he lost me when discussing the concept of the Superposition. Marcus was a good speaker and tried to explain his complex topic in an interesting and informative way.

Manjit Kumar was the second speaker and has written a well received book called “Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality” – this is the history of the people who created modern physics. Manjit was an engaging speaker and told the story of the key players well. It was very interesting how the giants of the field could accept the mathematics of a theory but not like its outcome and believe there other possible alternatives. This lack of belief lead to tensions and fall outs between the main protagonists in the field.

Some of the takeaways from the evening for the audience was how much we don’t know about the universe; apparently its estimated that we only understand 4% of our universe and that the world is really full of big empty spaces.

This was illustrated by the quote that if you squeezed all the empty space out all the people bodies on planet earth, we would all fit in a single sugar cube, mind you a very heavy one.

The Q&A session at the end was lively and I hope that the authors sold many books which was the purpose of a very entertaining but in the end for me a confusing evening.

Reprieve for St Mary’s Avenue trees

Redbridge Council has told Wansteadium that it is giving a temporary reprieve to the horse chestnut trees on St Mary’s Avenue which have been earmarked for the axe. Wansteadium highlighted this issue last week.

A statement from the council reads:

We understand residents are concerned about the planned felling of 11 trees in St Mary’s Avenue and due to the high level of interest we have put this work on hold. Discussions will be held with local ward members to explain the reasons for removal in more detail and a replanting proposal. However, the trees will still need to be removed to ensure the safety of local residents and road users as they are on a busy main road. This is due to internal decay identified following an inspection by one of the Council’s Arboricultural officers. If any local residents have any further concerns we would be happy to discuss this further. Please email trees@redbridge.gov.uk

Resident Pete Daly, who has started a campaign to save the trees, is going to watch matters closely, and in particular is wanting to know if the plan would be to replant with new or mature trees. Councillors are due to discuss the replanting plan this month.

What if church school shake-up came to Wanstead?

The proposals to change the way children are admitted to Church of England schools might, when heard on news bulletins, sound a bit arcane. But if carried through they could be dramatic for the character of schools and indeed the towns the schools are in.

Take Wanstead Church School. Current admissions policy has 11 categories of child, with places being awarded in order.

• Top of the list is “looked after children”, eg children in care or those who have been adopted.
• Then come cases of special social or pastoral need.
• Third in line are children whose families are at the heart of the church – firstly those who attend Christchurch or St Mary’s, and secondly those who attend St Gabriel’s Aldersbrook or Holy Trinity Hermon Hill.
• Fourth are children who aren’t classed as being “at the heart” of the church but are nevertheless “committed to it”. Then come other categories of being siblings of existing pupils, being at the heart of or being committed to other churches in Wanstead, being known to the church, and…
• Finally, category 11, “Remaining places will be offered to those living closest to the school as defined by the local authority.”

Readers might like, for the sake of diversion, to estimate the numbers of children admitted to Wanstead Church School – which has an annual intake of 30 – for the year 2010/11.

If you’ve given up guessing, here are the answers, (as recorded in Redbridge’s Primary School Admission to Reception 2011/12 document, available here):
• Looked after children – none
• Special social need – none
• Children of families at the heart of Christchurch or St Mary’s – 29
• Children of families at the heart of St Gabriel’s or Holy Trinity – 1
• Remaining categories – none, obviously.

The proposals are that 10% of places are reserved for churchgoing children would, if accepted by the church’s educational board, need to be accepted by the school governors. But if they were adopted, with just three places reserved for children of church families, it is clear to see the impact on families with young children who live in Wanstead, whether or not they go to church.