Wansteadium

Marion Temple writes:
On Sunday 12 March, 12 enthusiastic would-be gardeners met with some of the up-and-running Wanstead Community Gardeners to form a commuter gardening group to maintain and improve the little garden behind platform 2 at Snaresbrook station.

This was started by staff members a few years ago but seemed doomed to oblivion when London Underground staffing structures changed. This leaves Snaresbrook Station with an ever-changing rota of staff. Gardens don’t survive under these circumstances.

Wanstead Community Gardeners could not take on this patch but we could use our expertise to start up another group specifically for this garden. It was a good mix of interested people, of various ages and experience but all sharing a desire to be part of this project.

We now have a steering group, an e-mail network and address and hopefully soon, somewhere to store tools. The general agreement seemed to be that ad hoc working parties of groups or individuals would work better than a regular work party. We wish this new group every success in maintaining this little patch which could give so much pleasure to station users.

Anyone interested in finding out more about this group, contact Snaresbrook.station.gardeners@gmail.com or drop a note into Wanstead Library. And if you want to contact Wanstead Community Gardeners here’s our address wanstead.community.gardeners@gmail.com.

One of the sights of Theatreland as taken by friend of this site, Geoff Wilkinson. An exhibition of his photographs showing London and local theatres after dark “when all the lights and colours turn the buildings into something quite magical and everything seems to come alive” is now running at his gallery at 84 Nightingale Lane.

#theatreland #photography #exhibition at gallery 84 nightingale lne #wanstead for 6 weeks weds to sun 10.30/4 #theatre pic.twitter.com/oOQyJvxzYJ

— Geoff Wilkinson (@GeoffWilkinson7) March 7, 2017

Some brave soul has pitched a tent on the Evergreen Field – Wanstead’s lost green. Good luck to them – but anyone who has ever walked along any of the paths on the field’s boundaries will know that the camper will never be far from other lifeforms.

They clearly don’t want anyone noticing, but we believe Domino’s in Wanstead is opening. Lots of people (presumably Domino’s execs) hanging around on Monday morning, hoping no one would notice.

Even the sign appears to conform to the letter and the spirit of the regulations for Wanstead High Street, with no internal lighting to the sign – getting a cautious approval from the Wanstead Society’s Scott Wilding on the Wansteadium Facebook page:

“They have made an effort with the shop front as far as I can tell, which is good.”

The shop was for years occupied by the Dun Huang takeaway but has been standing empty for too long.

There is even a mandatory ‘L’ plate visible if you look carefully.

As always on this blog, we wish congratulations and good luck to the new venture.

Unconfirmed rumours have been swirling round Wanstead for months now, with M&S themselves given little information about their intentions away.

But this planning application, rather strangely gaffer-taped to a lamp-post near the George, seems to give the game away.

157 Wanstead High Street is the new building bring finished next door to the George, the site of the original Kinema.

So, unless this is part of an elaborate hoax, it looks like it’s takeaway crème brûlées all round!

(Thanks Dave Buba)

Marian Temple writes:

A few years ago the staff at Snaresbrook station started a little garden behind platform two.  Commuters loved it and brought plants so it developed into a nice little higgledy piggledy community effort.

However, a garden only lasts as long as the gardeners and now that London Underground has changed its staffing structure with staff being sent to different stations on a daily basis, the gardeners are no longer there.

It doesn’t take long for a garden patch to deteriorate and if we lost this, we’d lose something which adds interest and character to the station.

Wanstead Community  Gardeners can’t take it on, we’re full to the gills already. However, we have met with the Area Manager and suggested a Commuter Gardening Group to take care of this platform garden. She was very keen on the idea. Anyone interested in helping?

Meet us as Snaresbrook Station this Sunday, 12 March, at 11.30 and be in at the start of this project.  Any queries, contact wanstead.community.gardeners@gmail.com.”

“Local residents as well as community groups including the Wanstead Society, Clean Up Our Neighbourhood and Goodgym Redbridge took part in the initiative.

Armed with litter pickers, sturdy gloves and heavy duty rubbish bags participants tackled areas such as George Green, Christ Church and Cambridge Park as well as local footpaths.

There are now plans to hold regular litter picking events.  If you would like to be involved please get in touch.