A bit of creative journey planning – but seems a long way to go to avoid Leytonstone. Spotted by Pavendeep Singh earlier this week. (Pav on Flickr)
Author: Wansteadium
Parking dispute becomes a row. Almost.
Wanstead blogger Mark Samuels has recounted in literary style his dispute with the South Woodford Waitrose over a £25 parking fine he received for overstaying the two hour limit – even though he spent all of that time in the shop.
But he writes that even though it’s left him “angry and push[ed] me to write a load of stuff on my blog about how disappointed I am”, he’s not going to change his shopping habits. “I’m not going to cut off my nose to spite my face; I like your shops,” he tells them.
Wanstead Pot Idol update
Great to see the Wanstead Guardian has noticed Wanteadium’s Pot Idol competition. It’s a few weeks ago now since those first photos were published – it was just after the worst of the snow (this BBC story explains graphically why snow and frost cause potholes) – and to give credit where it’s due, the council has now patched them up. There are still some nasty examples around Wanstead that you wouldn’t want to come across on two wheels, though. If you want to nominate any cases, either leave a comment here, on our Facebook page, or put it on Flickr with a tag “wanstead”.
And if you are feeling really constructive, you can use the MySociety FixMyStreet service to report to the council any potholes needing repair.
Wanstead power cut in pictures
Five hours after the power went out on the park side of Wanstead High Street it still wasn’t on. Which wasn’t good news for lots of shops, the doctors and dentists, and Starbucks. But good news for the Olive Branch.
UPDATE 1530: Some details here now at the Wanstead Guardian.
UPDATE 1800: Guardian now reporting power all restored.
Power cut hits Wanstead
Parts of the centre of Wanstead including the High Street have been hit by a powercut, which started at about 7.20am and is – unless anyone knows better – still going on. Any updates welcome, electricity permitting, via comments below.
‘Enjoying Wanstead life. No bookshop though.’
He certainly has a point. zzgavin writes the following on Twitter:
It would take a feat of imagination to think anything could change about it now – the Times reported last week that three independent bookshops around the country were shutting each week – so who would bet on one opening in Wanstead in a hurry? But in other news, the Christian bookshop in South Woodford, which, as we reported here, churchgoers were rallying to save, has now been taken over by a charity and will continue selling Christian books. It might even expand to include a cafe, they say.