The Bungalow Cafe, long the favoured destination for coppers who used to work at the former Wanstead Police Station, is back in favour with the boys in blue – kind of. The new BBC comedy Black Ops features the cafe in episode 2.
Thanks to serial spotter Eithne. Any sightings or mentions of Wanstead on film or TV or in the press, please inform us – info@wansteadium.com.
It’s going to be a difficult week for anyone who wants to travel between Aldersbrook and Wanstead for the next week as Blake Hall Road is to be completely closed in both directions until 23 May.
A burst water main will mean the road being closed between Bush Road/Overton Drive and Aldersbrook Road. The delay is caused in part by new concrete needing time to set.
Buses are to be on diversion but it’s going to be a difficult week for many people. Blake Hell Road returns.
Wanstead musos will be watching with interest the progress of four-piece jazz collective oreglo which includes Wanstead drummer Nico Saggese. The band recently played Jazz Refreshed at Brick Lane and the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and took part in this programme on BBC Radio 1xtra.
You can hear their latest release here on Spotify.
Wanstead-bred chef Alyn Williams gives a massive shout out for Robins Pie & Mash in The Times. Treble liquor all round.
(Thanks to Eithne for the tip.)
The summer hasn’t really got going yet – but just in time Wanstead Cricket Club is celebrating the installation of its first artificial strip which will allow some games to go ahead even when conditions are damp. It’s been installed at the Nutter Lane ground, with help from a grant from the England Cricket Board.
Residents campaigning against Redbridge’s plan to close Wanstead Youth Centre are mystified by the council’s plan after it announced it wanted to open new facilities in the borough.
Redbridge Council leader Councillor Jas Athwal told the Evening Standard last week about plans to open a new lido and gym in Valentine’s Park, as well as of the new Wanstead Leisure Centre which is currently under construction.
But the campaigners say they cannot understand what is the point of opening new venues when the council is planning to close an existing facility which is used by 1,200 people each week.
A spokesperson for the campaigners said: “The Wanstead Youth Centre is the only one of its kind in the West of the borough and if it closes many of the activities that happen there for young people and vulnerable members of the community won’t be able to continue. The Council has repeatedly stated there is no money for maintenance and repair so closure has to be considered.
“How can the Council can find the money to invest in new leisure facilities but not to maintain an exiting well used and well-loved community leisure asset?”
It is also not clear what the council’s current position is. The original plan – first proposed in January this year – was for the centre to be closed by the end of April. But so far as is known, no decision has yet been taken. Campaigners have called for a 12-month moratorium on the decision to allow proper consultation and consideration of all the options.
