Wansteadium

Right, here’s the first information about the Wanstead Fringe dates. Consider it your privileged information as a reader of Wansteadium.

As you may be aware, the third Wanstead Fringe takes place between Sat 5 September and Sat 12 September, the eight days leading up to the Wanstead Festival, which is on Sunday 13 September.

There are more than 25 events planned for that week, with possibly more to follow. But here are some key dates you won’t want to miss.

* The Wanstead Kinema returns for THREE NIGHTS!! That is officially more cinema than Wanstead has had since 1956 when the original Wanstead Kinema klosed having shown Laurence Olivier in Richard III. Yes, three nights, including
+ Weds 9 September – Kinema for lovers of cycling
+ Thurs 10 September – Kinema for lovers of cricket
+ Fri 11 September – Kinema for lovers of cinema and magical family nights out

Put those dates in your diary now.

*There are again two nights of comedy, Thursday 10 September and Saturday 12 September, the Fringe finale at which Paul Sinha will make a triumphant return

*A night of local accoustic bands – Fringe Benefrets – returns on Friday 11 September, held for the first time at Manor House

*There’s food for your brain too, with conversation about memories of fathers (starring our local MP) on Weds 9 September, and a night of bring-your-own poetry on Monday 7th.

*This time next week there will be Wanstead’s first Jumble Trail, across the whole of Wanstead, Aldersbrook and Snaresbrook. More than 50 people are already signed up – you can see a map of them and sign up yourself here.

*A big picnic on Sunday 6 September for the whole of Wanstead on Christchurch Green with musical treats. Plus the first Wanstead Fringe Book Swap – come along and give a book to someone you don’t know. Any leftovers will be donated to our friends at the Oxfam shop.

*Photo and craft events galore, plus puppetry for children, champagne tasting, opera for the more discerning, and more besides (including a street party).

The whole line-up is now available at wansteadfringe.org and the programmes are now being distributed. Make sure you get one – among other things it will let you get discounts/treats during Wanstead Restaurant Week.

Yes, you may be wondering what you did, as a Wanstead resident, to be this lucky.

The answer is that a group of your neighbours decided to get together to arrange things. It’s as simple as that. Some local businesses – in particular Petty Son andPrestwich – coughed up to pay the bills. And then people like you decided to come along.

“But is it too late to get involved?” you may be wondering. “No!” is the answer. We have need for people with the following skills/callings:
*Flat bed truck and driver – we need to transport hay bales for the Kinema
*Hands – we need to hand out programmes to commuters
*Windows – we need people with windows to display our posters (download and print your own here)
*Actors – we have a plan that we don’t want to say too much about at this stage, but do get in touch. Actors who are prepared to have a go with a new script especially written for the occasion
*Stewards – we need DBS-checked people to help at one of our bigger events
*Jumble trail participants – will you set up a stall, or visit those others are running?
*Money. To be honest although this list of events sounds impressive and we’re grateful to our sponsors, this whole thing is run on a shoestring. If you have some money, the longterm viability of the Fringe would be grateful of it. You can donate using the button below. Or if you would like to take out an advert on the Fringe website and app, get in touch with us at info@wansteadfringe.org

On a glorious summer morning on Saturday, Wanstead Park’s first wedding cavalcade in living memory delighted the well-wishers who turned up in good numbers to cheer the occasion. Anticipation had built gradually as the expected departure time of 11:30 arrived, to a crescendo as the expected wedding time of midday also passed.

Then suddenly, in a splendidly thunderous approach, the wedding carriage drawn by a pair of white horses hove into view, covering most of Wanstead Park Avenue at an extremely impressive clip.

Due to the carriage’s brisk rate of progress across the park, there were scant opportunities for photography, but Wansteadium is extremely grateful to Melanie Hartt for this photo of the scene.

aturally the wedding party were all smiles, especially the bride to be Luisa, to whom we wish every happiness in her marriage to Graham. Congratulations!

  Harry the 40-year-old tortoise with a traumatic backstory who went missing last week has been discovered safe and sound. 

Wansteadium reader Tina Nieman Da Costa, Harry’s custodian, writes: “Harry was found on Saturday by a lady who went to investigate her barking dog who had been intrigued to see a walking stone coming out of the forest. He spent a whole week on holiday, but was tempted out by the sunshine and because he couldn’t find any strawberries. Thank you so much to that wonderful lady and her dog and to everyone who called about the terrapin sightings in Eagle Pond, we were really touched with all your concerns.” 

Stephen Lewis, the actor famous for playing Blakey in the 1970s sitcom On the Buses, has died in the Cambridge Nursing Home in Wanstead, where he lived. He was 88. Rashid Ebrahimkhan, manager of the home, told reporters: “He still had his sense of humour, very much so. He was very resilient until the last.”

@Wansteadium a Wanstead man. Did you know?"@KerryAlexandra: On The Buses actor Stephen Lewis has died aged 88 http://t.co/7p3tSRWoag

— Jim Martin (@JimSpim) August 13, 2015

  
 This is Harry, a 40-year-old tortoise who has gone AWOL from his Snaresbrook garden, probably now tramping through some Epping Forest undergrowth. His owner person, Tina Nieman da Costa, has been hunting for him without joy. 

Tina says: “We hope he comes back to us. We can’t imagine house without him.  He’s not very big – 7×10 inches at his shell – and although he’s 40, he was a rescue tortoise. Sadly his previous owner put a hole in his shell and painted him. There is now a missing shell segment and the paint is all gone but he never grew very big. We took him to a specialist who says he suffered a trauma when young (probably dropped). That being said, he is very friendly for a tortoise and loves strawberries and cucumber.”

Anyone in the vicinity of the Rivenhall Estate is asked to check their gardens and let Tina or husband Troy know. Tina’s on 07841 421267 and Troy is on 07735 577399.

Last Tube strike Wansteadium shared a map of walking times from Wanstead stations. But for those who might be brushing the cobwebs off a mostly unused bike, here are some tips from avid cyclists Robert Dineen and Nick Affleck.

1. Skip Leytonstone High Road. For many Wansteadites, the northern tip of Leytonstone High Road will be the shortest way to get to central London but the contra-flow there makes it among the most dangerous urban roads we’ve encountered. By encouraging cyclists to ride in the opposite direction to the traffic, you forever take pedestrians and drivers by surprise, and sharply increase the risk of an accident as a result. As for Blake Hell Road which is beset by roadworks and traffic jams, careful cyclists should be able to pick their way through the stranded masses. (Anyone hoping to hop on a 101 bus to Stratford or a 308 to Manor Park should remember this.)

2. There’s a reasonably calm route west from Wanstead Flats via Cann Hall Road, and Honour Lea Avenue in Leyton which takes you to the Olympic Park. Continue west across a connecting flyover into Victoria Park, which then joins the Regents Canal, allowing pleasant pedalling all the way to City Road. Go steady, and use your bell liberally on the towpath!

3. Consider cycling to Stratford for DLR and Overground connections. There are 500 cycle parking spaces at Westfield.

4. Avoid Whitechapel High Street if you can. Roadworks building the new cycle lanes here have reduced the lanes available to traffic and made the ride into the City much longer. Better to use the Cycle Superhighway that links the Docklands to Tower Hill and can be accessed at Mile End. Be warned, though, it has only one line in each direction and tends to get busy at rush hour, so you will probably need to curb your inner Mark Cavendish and avoid overtaking.

5. Give way to buses. There will be 200 extra buses on the roads during the strike and they will have the right of way priority, despite the number of cyclists who refuse to halt and allow buses to leave a stop. Buck that trend and you will contribute to improving cyclists’ reputation on the road, as well as help to keep the flow of traffic moving.

6. Be especially vigilant around Boris bikes. The demand for the hire bikes that have popped up across central London will presumably spike during the Tube strike. Though a welcome addition to the city’s transport network, the bikes are heavy and unresponsive, making it hard to respond quickly to dangerous situations.

• Robert Dineen is author of Kings of the Road: A Journey into the Heart of British Cycling. He will be taking part in a special cycling evening during the Wanstead Fringe – more details to be announced.