Wansteadium

We’re delighted to announce the launch of something new, a way for people like the sensible folk who read Wansteadium to show their support for the long-term development of the cultural life of Wanstead.

The thing in question is the Friends of Wanstead Fringe, a new scheme which invites supporters to become members (individually, couple or families) and in return get some benefits, the most important being the assurance that your backing will do Wanstead some good.

You can read more about it – and sign up – on the Wanstead Fringe site here

The Fringe is taking place this year from 10-17 September, and in a significant development is going to have a regular home for events at the Cherry Tree cafe which is currently being renovated. More on that to come.

But for the meantime, thanks for your support and if you can become a Friend of the Wanstead Fringe, so much the better.

Anyone have any information? Has another high street newsagent bitten the dust?

Wanstead is back on top of the league table of the place where you are most likely to fail your driving test in the UK.

The Guardian (the actual Guardian) reports that more than two-thirds of learner drivers fail when taking tests in Wanstead, describing it as “highly congested” with tricky features such as the A12 and “a series of complicated roundabouts”.

It was the result of a study done by the Privilege insurance company. A spokesman for that company told the paper:

“Wanstead’s driving test routes incorporate up to four major roundabouts, including the Redbridge roundabout, which is particularly problematic due to multi-lanes and heavy traffic flow. Getting into the correct lane is a problem for lots of drivers and this can cause even bigger issues for learners.”

It´s a dubious return to the top for Wanstead which has previously been rated as the most difficult place in the country. It’s a subject though which is surrounded by conventional wisdom, myth and rumour. One theory we’ve previously reported is that Wanstead is a popular venue for tests because the test centre doesn’t have a car park, meaning learners only have to demonstrate on-street parking ability.

Whether that will be affected by changes to the driving test announced earlier this month which will mean it now includes parking and ability to follow satnav instructions is not clear.

Redbridge roundabout can be tricky to manoeuvre, as plenty of drivers demonstrate each day, but it can’t surely be the trickiest roundabout in the country? Theories about what it is that makes Wanstead tricky are now officially welcome, in comments below.

Wanstead’s new Ginger Pig is opening 9am Friday. The refurbishment is nearly complete, and the produce is now on show.

And if you’re interested, this is how to install a mahoosive shop window: a big machine with suckers on it.

An 18-year-old Wanstead High School pupil has reportedly been given a U-grade for one of her A levels because someone else leaked details of the exam questions on a WhatsApp group.

Fabienne Ruttledge fears the fail means she will not now be able to study law at university, where she has an offer conditional on getting three A grades. She told the Times that while revising for her A levels, she joined a WhatsApp thread which was discussing past papers and revision techniques. Before the exam, though, someone posted the actual questions. It’s thought someone might have sat the exam earlier than everyone else because of a scheduling clash.

The paper reports: [Paywall]

Ms Ruttledge saw the message before the exam and posted a reply saying that she thought it was a hoax. “I just presumed this was posted maliciously by someone who wanted to put us all off,” she said. “How could they know these?”

She was later told that the examining board had decided she would not receive any marks for the subjects mentioned in the post. The paper says that Wanstead High School told her she should have reported the leak, but told her that it would appeal against the examining board’s decision.

Wansteadium reader Beryl Darling writes:

In Belgrave Road I have just witnessed all the carefully recycled cans, paper and garden waste being put together with general waste into a lorry going to landfill. The council sent a letter to residents to say that all collections would be early on Monday morning due to the temporary traffic lights on Blake Hall Road. They did not say it would all being going to landfill! They did not give residents the option of taking their own recycling to the recycling dept. This is an insult to those of us who care about the environment and spend time and effort making sure that as little as possible of our rubbish goes to landfill.