Author: Wansteadium

Wanstead news roundup, 12.03.10; Brothel owner sentence cut, birds dying, and new houses

Atchara Nualpenyai who ran a brothel above Chicken Spot in Wanstead High St, in which she made Thai women – who had been trafficked to the UK – work off massive debts to her, and who was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison last year has had her sentence cut to five years by the Court of Appeal.

Birds have been dying on Wanstead Flats – and poisoning is suspected. More here.

A house between two other houses? An application has been made to build a new house between two other houses in Onslow Gardens on Wanstead’s Nightingale Estate in place of the existing two adjoining garages. If it’s approved, could it open the floodgates to any number of new houses being shoehorned in the gaps between Wanstead homes? The Wanstead Guardian has a picture and quotes from worried neighbours.

London Datastore, a group which aims to make as much public data free and usuable by the public, says it’s had an “amazing” meeting with Redbridge Council at which the council said they were ready to share lots of their data.

Harry Cohen, outgoing MP for Leyton and Wanstead, is being investigated by police over his expenses. Coverage here in the The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, and Daily Mail.

The Wanstead Guardian also ran a story on Wansteadium’s spotting of mistletoe in Charnwood Drive.

Bird poisoning in Wanstead

Jonathan Lethbridge, a faithful Wanstead birdwatcher and blogger, was among those who discovered a spate of dead birds this week at Alexandra Lake on Wanstead flats. The authorities are now investigating, especially after an Alsation dog died too. Jonathan wrote;

It is a deliberate case of bird-poisoning, and the eight Crows I found were just the start. They have been falling out of the trees almost constantly since Tuesday. I don’t have the exact figures yet, but so far the deaths include over 100 Crows, many Canada Geese, Coots, and particularly Moorhens, 2 Greylags, and some Pigeons.

The Wanstead Guardian is reporting that post mortems are being carried out on the bodies, and that staff from Natural England are testing the lake. The City of London corporation – which owns the lake – told the paper:

“There have been unexplained bird deaths on and around Alexandra Lake and we have also received details of the death of a dog that was taken for a walk in the area of the Lake on 8th March. The area has been cordoned off and warning signs have been erected.”

Today’s nature lesson for Wanstead


Beautiful example of mistletoe growing in the branches of a tree in Charnwood Drive. So today’s nature lesson for Wanstead is about the parasitic nature of mistletoe, how it can be spread in bird poo from tree to tree, and how in some legends, Christ’s cross was made of mistletoe but shrivelled up after the crucifixion. (All of this courtesy of Wikipedia, so may be quite fictional.)


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Wanstead news roundup, 5.03.10; The Larder, the bookies and more on Susan Boyle’s cat

The Larder has been ranked by the Independent as the 12th best coffee shop in the country.

A licensed café and very tempting deli, the owners of the World’s Larder work with small, artisan producers for everything from their delicious coffee to their daily bread (delivered each morning from French bakery Boulangerie Jade). Alan calls it a ‘great little star in the east and brilliant all-rounder’.

(Well spotted, I Heart Wanstead.)
Meanwhile bookies Jenningsbet, which became the High Street’s third bookmakers when it opened in the former Woolwich Building Society office, has ceased trading at Wanstead.
A sign on the shutters refers customers to its branches elsewhere. Jenningsbet was the subject of a Wanstead Society campaign when it opened with an illuminated sign; planning permission was later refused for it. One tweeter believes it’s going to become a cafe.

Much to-ing and fro-ing in Labour party circles has resulted in former MP and union official John Cryer being selected as the candidate to follow Harry Cohen as Leyton and Wanstead MP. TV historian Tristram Hunt was one of the losing hopefuls.

And Wanstead’s most notorious feline resident, Pebbles, better known as Susan Boyle’s cat, seems to be on her way west. The Sun has reported that SuBo is leaving Lothian to buy a flat in Chelsea, meaning cat and owner can be reunited.