Wansteadium

There’s something about this shot which could almost feel like the 1950s. We like.

Spring in London 🌸💕 #London #Spring #firstdayofspring #hellospring #springhassprung #springinlondon #springishere #springflowers #londonstreets #eastlondon #townhouses #wanstead #redbridge #longwalks #blueskies #pbloggers #pbloggersuk #mbloggers #londonmum #outforastroll #sunday #sundaywalk

A photo posted by Life Of A London Mum (@lifeofalondonmum) on Mar 20, 2016 at 8:58am PDT

To send us a photo for Wanstead Weekly Photo, email us at info@wansteadium.com

Wanstead’s most celebrated lawyer Mark Stephens and a close encounter with Piers Morgan…

Nothing better than a bit of@@piersmorgan at breakfast pic.twitter.com/YikJPnyDV5

— Mark Stephens (@MarksLarks) March 21, 2016

Regular visitors to Wanstead Park are mourning the death of a female swan – known colloquially as Mrs Hannibal – which was killed by a dog which ran into the middle of Heronry Pond.

Mrs Hannibal, pictured above, had been a familiar sight in the pond for years. After the bird was attacked on 10 March, the Forest Ranger and a swan rescue representative went into the pond to attend to the swan, but it died as it was being taken to the Swan Sanctuary in Middlesex.

One of the regular visitors told Wansteadium: “Mrs Hannibal was a particularly beloved character in the park.

“She was known and loved by Park regulars because she had been the resident female there for so many years, and was a very calm, unaggressive bird who families loved to feed and visit. She produced cygnets every year and everyone loved to come and see the little family every year.

“Her previous mate had been named Hannibal because he fiercely defended his territory whenever an alien swan flew in and tried to spend time at the pond. Interestingly he was only aggressive to other swans but not to humans, who love to feed him also. He died of natural causes in 2012. Mrs Hannibal went on to form a new pair with another male who was ‘widowed’ that year also.”

“This male is now a widower again and has even deserted the park, though I hope this is temporary. It was almost time for nesting season for the swans.”

The Wanstead Guardian is reporting that the park authorities are ‘”gathering evidence” that it will use to prosecute the owner’ of a dog following the death of the bird. Swans are protected species and there are also park by-laws against dogs being allowed in the water and being off a lead if they are out of control.

One of the factors the paper cites is the low water level in the ponds in Wanstead Park, which might have contributed to the dog entering the water.

The Heronry Pond has been drained to allow repairs to its concrete lining. The Ornamental Water has not been receiving water via the Perch Pond because of the infestation of floating pennywort which Wansteadium reported last year.

The infestation is due to be addressed by contractors in the next few months – though complete eradication may be impossible. The Park authorities have applied to the Environment Agency to permission to take water from the River Roding in winter to help fill the Ornamental Water.

Police in Wanstead are mystified by bags of food shopping which are being left on the corner of Leicester Road and Hereford Road. The bags are from M&S and the Co-op. Who leaves them there? And who takes them away? Is it a guerrilla foodbank? Anyone who can shed light on the mystery is invited to add a comment here, or contact the Wanstead Safer Neighbourhoods Team directly.

Congratulations to the hard-working team behind the Wanstead Playground Association which has both placed the orders for new equipment AND been honoured by the Mayor of Redbridge for their good work.

The team were given the Award for Community Champions in a ceremony on Wednesday.

We've just won the Mayor of Redbridge's Award for Community Champions! pic.twitter.com/tX7syaKVi0

— Wanstead Playground (@WansteadPlay) March 16, 2016

Having successfully raised £103,000, the orders have been placed with suppliers and the new playground should be available for actual play by the end of the May half-term holiday (weather permitting).

This is a plan of the new layout (click or tap for higher resolution), with individual items of apparatus below.

 

If anyone deserves the accolade of receiving the Wanstead is Made in Wanstead award, it’s these redoubtable campaigners. Ladies, and all who have supported you, you have helped make Wanstead.

UPDATE: The Mayor of Redbridge, Councillor Barbara White, said: 

“The Wanstead Playground Association (WPA) was set up by local parents to refurbish the very tired playground equipment at the playground on Christ Church Green. In spite of funding cuts, this group has ploughed tirelessly on and has raised almost £50,000 to date through their hard work and community spirit in order to create a new playground for local children. The WPA are an example to us all and an asset to the residents in the east of the Borough; proof positive that community spirit is still very much alive in Redbridge and is working to make the Borough a better place for us all.”

“Our playground has desperately been in need of being updated for many years. Thanks to this amazing group of parents who will make this happen for our children and many more generations to come. I thinks it’s fantastic how much time they have all put in, as they also have young families and jobs. It’s great to see our community pull together and raise this amount of money.”

“They deserve this award for working so hard with the community to bring everyone together and make this a better, more inclusive place. On everyone’s behalf, making Wanstead an even more lovely place to visit, bringing more business to the local area and making it somewhere our children will be proud of!”