Fringe roundup (and release of more tickets)

A wonderful photo of the astronomy night at Wanstead Cricket Club on Sunday night, and you can hear more about what was seen there by listening to the second episode of the Wanstead Fringe podcast, which is here.

On Monday evening it was Bake Off time as the La Bakerie team show some of the secrets of breadmaking (and Geoff Wilkinson shows his skills too). It was a full house – and there’s a second chance to learn some of the tricks of the trade later in the week. See below.

Fabien and Franck at La Bakerie

At the other end of the High Street, radio and podcast star Annabel Port attracted an audience from miles away as well as close to home. Her book, Annabel versus the Internet, was written partly in the Larder, and much of it set in and around Wanstead and Snaresbrook.

Housekeeping notes

Tuesday’s events are:

ADDITIONAL TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE

  • There are now a further five tickets available for the Hands On Cakemaking at La Bakerie on Wednesday night. Get them here.
  • And there are a further 50 tickets available now for the children’s comedy on Saturday afternoon starring Britain’s Got Talent star Johnny Awsum. They are expected to go quickly. You can get them here. 

Fringe day 2: Jazz, theatre, stars

One of the photos in Hidden London, an exhibition of photos by Geoff Wilkinson, now showing at 84 Nightingale Lane. Details at wansteadfringe.org

Day two of the 2018 Fringe includes photos, jazz, theatre, comedy AND another chance to learn about our place in the universe.

The final two performances of The Secret Garden will take the total of people having seen the production in Wanstead up towards four figures. And the presence of a star actor has been an added delight. Tickets are still available on the door for the 3pm performance.

There is afternoon jazz at Luppolo, comedy at the Manor House (sold out) and an extra event. The Astronomy night on Saturday was hindered slightly by cloud cover. But brilliantly Ricardo Cerezo will be at Overton Drive again tonight from about 8pm with his super telescopes to take advantage of a clearer forecast.

Fringe day one

Audience ready for The Secret Garden

The 2018 Wanstead Fringe kicked off in great style with delighted audiences at The  Secret Garden’s first performances, while the Makers Market and Duke Street Party kept the rest of Wanstead buzzing with activity.

Duke Street party

 

Stargazers gathered on Overton Drive to take part in Saturday’s Astronomy evening

 

Wanstead’s phantom coffee shop

Wanstead has a new coffee shop, but it’s not clear it actually exists.

On Thursday, a new Twitter account started posting images under the name @coffee_wanstead, saying it was the “Wanstead Coffee Shop”. Offers it’s making sound a bit like they’ve been written by a computer: eg

or

or

But there are no further details. It’s a mystery. Could it be spam, or could it be from one of the other Wansteads around the world (we know of at least two). Can anyone elucidate?

 

Comedy star joins Fringe line-up

Imran Yusuf, described by Time Out as a “comedy star” has joined the line-up for the Fringe’s Wednesday comedy night. A veteran of the Edinburgh Fringe and much TV, including Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow, he will be bringing his act which is described as “captivating, energetic, and animated” to the gig at the Wanstead Cricket Club.

He will be joining Milo McCabe, singer-songwriter Kate Lucas (Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2014) with her hilariously crafted songs, and Mark Silcox, fresh from his recent appearance on BBC Two’s The Big Asian Stand Up. You can get tickets here.

One of the Fringe’s comedy nights has already sold out, but there is also still chance to see Marcel Lucont (who has been on the John Bishop Show and Russell Howard’s Good News) on Sunday evening. Tickets here.

And tickets are still available to see Johnny Awsum, one of the stars of Britain’s Got Talent in 2017 – and the man whose act was David Walliams’ “favourite moment of the series”. He is headlining the Fringe’s first children’s comedy afternoon. Details and tickets are available here.

Sharp eyes for Wanstead

Keen followers of Wanstead on screen will be watching ITV on Sunday for the start of its production of Vanity Fair, part of which was filmed at St Mary’s Church in Overton Drive (as Wansteadium reader Melanie Hartt memorably captured in the above photo).

The church has been the site of regular weekly worship for 800 years but is currently under threat from a proposal to shut its doors save for a handful of occasions. It is Redbridge’s only Grade 1 listed building and is an architectural and cultural gem, as anyone who has ever been inside knows. Supporters are campaigning to keep the church open.

One opportunity people will have to see the setting comes next week with the Wanstead Fringe. Amateur astronomer Ricardo Cerezo will be pointing out some of the heavenly bodies visible to those who know what they should be looking for in the night sky. It promises to be a fascinating event, and appropriate too since one of history’s great astronomers, James Bradley, is one of the residents of the church yard. The event is free, and details are available here on the Wanstead Fringe website.