Wansteadium

Pizza restaurant Luppolo, above, is joining the refit movement, meaning it will be closing for a few weeks while new kitchens, toilets and bar area are installed.

When the George & Dragon reopens later this morning month it’s expected to be a big draw so there is a clear logic to refresh the restaurant.

Meanwhile, further down the High Street, nosy passers-by have got a glimpse of how extensive the refurbishment in the former Larder is, with all of the insides having been removed.

No news yet on when renovations for the Bull will take place, beyond what was originally said by its new owner, Livelyhood, that work would be scheduled for Winter 2025.

Update: Otto joins the movement…

Our traditional rundown of the stories which were read the most in the previous 12 months.

The George is saved, and will become the George and Dragon (Oct)

Wetherspoons confirms The George is ‘under offer’ (March)

The end of the W12 as we know it? (Sept)

The squat is over (Oct)

Dozen staff to return to the George & Dragon (Dec)

Squatters take the George (Oct)

An open letter to Wanstead Society members (Nov)

Wanstead Society is closing down (Oct)

New path from Wanstead to Ilford (Aug)

First glimpse of the Wanstead Curtain (Sept)

W12 route preserved but only hourly (Sept)

So long to the Larder (June)

Wanstead Fringe 2024: The FULL programme is now live (August)

Evergreen Field flats approved (June)

A dozen former George staff will be returning to the pub when it re-opens as the George & Dragon in the third week in January. They will be among 40 full-time and 20 part-time positions at the pub, which is now nearing the end of its refurbishment. External decoration looks excellent, and the bar has re-relocated to the middle of the pub where it used to be.

The pub was saved from oblivion after Wetherspoons decided to shut it. It was acquired by Urban Pubs and Bars, the largest independent pub chain in London, which has 52 pubs, bars and restaurants.

Santa Claus’s annual early trip to Wanstead on the back of Steve Hayden’s milk float takes place on Thursday afternoon/evening. Full details of streets and times are below.

Santa Drive-by in Wanstead

A few remaining tickets for Wanstead’s only pantomime are available. Peter’s Pan – A kitchen sink panto is being staged at the Wanstead Curtain on the afternoon of Monday 23 December. Staged by Maps, Myths and Monsters, a duo who spent the summer at the Edinburgh Fringe, it promises to be unlike any panto you might have been to before.

Fascinating bit of local knowledge in this week’s Private Eye.