Wansteadium

 Geoff Wilkinson writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “I took this picture in Nightingale Lane as I dropped some pictures off at the Gallery, I really like the way the clock tower of the old hospital on Hermon Hill stands out against the clouds. I don’t know what this type of cloud is called but it looks pretty dramatic to me…”

  Brief flurry of drama on the High Street on Thursday morning when it appeared that Boots was on fire. It wasn’t – it was apparently an accidental triggering of a smoky security device. It’s not the first time this has happened, and allied with people breaking the window, it’s beginning to feel like we have a contender for Wanstead’s unluckiest shop…

  People of Wanstead, your attention please. Mario’s Shake Shack has been gentrified.  It has lost its home-made red painted sign. It has lost its uncomfortable banquettes. It now has a cake counter and what look suspiciously like an interesting selection of gelati. (If you want a reminder of how it used to look, see this video on YouTube.)

In case this change is too much to handle, may we take the opportunity to highlight the drastic refurbishment at the much-loved Wanstead Hairdresser’s on Woodbine Place.  The yellow woodwork has been replaced with what looks like Farrow and Ball Pitch Black (number 256). Fans of original features will be delighted to know that the Wanstead Society-compliant original lettering of the sign has been retained.

 

(And in its prefurb state…)

The local scout group are at pains to explain that the building taking shape on the corner of the High Street and Hollybush Hill is not another pile of luxury apartments, but rather the rebuilding of their headquarters.

This sequence of pictures shows the old hall, now demolished, the cleared site as at 9 May, the structure taking shape, and an architects’ drawing of the finished building. The Scouts are still raising money to pay for the construction – a number of bricks have already been ‘sold’ to supporters.

With little fanfare and no apparent protest, the ticket office at Snaresbrook station closed at the weekend. It’s the latest office to close – the office at Wanstead station closed a few weeks ago. Staff are being redeployed to platforms and the ticket hall. Nevertheless, the moment should not pass unnoticed.

…unless you’re a Central Line driver.

This video is a thing of beauty, and just gets better as it goes on.

Anyone fancy a spot of Betjeman?