Wanstead’s pet owners – and indeed its pets – can breathe a sigh of relief.
Heads n Tails, Wanstead’s longstanding pet shop, will be remaining after Mas Beg’s imminent retirement. The shop is being taken over by owners of a nearby pet shop whose intention, we understand, is to continue the tradition he has set.
We wish them, and of course Mas (left), all the best.
A crowdfunding effort to make good the damage to the playground in Christchurch Green following a fire last month has raised more than £5,000 from Wanstead residents.
It was much more than was needed to replace the equipment (and squidgy ground) and, as promised by the crowdfunded’s organiser Paul Canal, the surplus has been donated to the Wanstead Fringe to help fund this year’s activities.
Giles Wilson, chair of the Wanstead Fringe Association, said it was hoped the donation would help fund some theatrical activity at this year’s Fringe. “We’re really grateful to all the donors whose generosity will be further helping the cultural life of Wanstead – and also to Paul who helped it happen.”
This year’s Wanstead Fringe is taking place between 10 and 25 September, with the Wanstead Festival happening on Sunday 18 September. The open air Kinema will be on Saturday 10 September and the Jumble Trail on Saturday 17th.
Following up the shots of a pseudo Wanstead High Street, with bakery fakery, fishy frontages and fake newsagents, is this Sky News local election coverage advert, kindly captured for us by reader EJ.
Wansteadium has a special affection for hedgehogs, as longtime readers know. It’s not so much the animals themselves as the indication that living things were here when Wanstead was all woodland and fields and farms and the like.
For a number of years we’ve invited readers to send in pictures of hedgehogs, though in the past couple of years there haven’t been very many sightings of them, dead or alive. But reader Ruth King has just kicked the season off in style.
Eighteen months ago she bought a trap camera to see if she could find evidence of hedgehogs. But it wasn’t until last week that she set up a feeding station – a plastic storage box with a lid – and put some meat-based cat food and water inside. Then she waited.
For two nights.
And these photos are what she discovered in the morning (click/tap picture to enlarge).
Labour’s solid support in Wanstead has continued with all five Redbridge seats which were up for election going to the party. That seems to have been replicated across Redbridge with, at the time of writing, only four non-Labour candidates being elected. Full results below from redbridge.gov.uk and here.
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| ACTON Crispin William | Liberal Democrats | 841 |
| BLACKMAN Jo | Labour Party | 2,058 Elected |
| CHAMBERS Gavin | Conservative Party Candidate | 958 |
| DONOVAN Paul Francis | Labour Party | 1,817 Elected |
| HEPWORTH Neil | Liberal Democrats | 804 |
| HUSSAIN Fatema | Conservative Party Candidate | 863 |
| KALSI Sharn | Conservative Party Candidate | 822 |
| LAFFERTY Richard William | Green Party | 394 |
| MARSHALL Susanne | Green Party | 504 |
| MORGAN-THOMAS Daniel Huw | Labour Party | 1,713 Elected |
| ROWLANDS John Herbert | Green Party | 293 |
| WILDING Scott Raymond | Liberal Democrats | 694 |
| Vacant seats: 3 | Electorate: 9570 | Ballot papers issued: 4082 | Turnout: 42.65% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes |
| ALABA Bayo | Labour Party | 1,463 Elected |
| BAIN Sheila Agnes | Labour Party | 1,541 Elected |
| BRUCK David | Liberal Democrats | 200 |
| CORNISH Janet May | Liberal Democrats | 296 |
| GUNSTOCK Ashley | Green Party | 548 |
| MCWATT Duncan | Conservative Party Candidate | 560 |
| VORA Zak | Conservative Party Candidate | 490 |
A weird pseudo-Wanstead in which the fishmonger is called Jenny, la Bakerie is called La Bakery and the BHF shop is a fake newsagent is being seen on tv in a new advert.
The ad, for Sage Accounting, flashes the doctored view of Wanstead High Street briefly (and was spotted by sharp-eyed Wansteadium reader Ruban Kumarachandran).
It’s not the first time Wanstead High Street’s picturesque attractions have featured in adverts. Who can forget the old laundrette (now Bare Brew) becoming a flowing meadow in a bottled water ad? Or Wanstead Barbers in a bookie’s advert?
