Peaceful  negotiations between Labour and Conservatives on Wanstead High Street.
Wanstead in three words
A new hobby is stalking the internet – finding out the three-word code for different slots of the earth’s surface.
A company called What3Words.com has devised the scheme which allocates a string of random words for each 3m x 3m square. It’s primarily been designed for places in the world where normal addresses don’t work, but the sport of finding apt or amusing strings is very diverting.
For example, various spots on Wanstead High Street are the weird “trap.artist.overnight” outside Judith’s, and include these weird collections:
The entrance to Wanstead Tube is scare.churn.stop
The Duke caters for all tastes, with chair.stud.whips, luxury.quiz.oils, and frock.large.award.
A modest prize for the most apt three-word address will be forthcoming.
A year of gardening
Guerrilla gardener Marian Temple writes:Â
It’s our Anniversary! I can’t believe that it’s only a year ago that a group of people met at Wanstead station after a piece appeared in Wansteadium asking for volunteers.  The idea was to make the area around the station just more pleasant especially for commuters.  Among the bushes were 10 empty spaces where shrubs had died. These had become weed filled with the usual detritus bottles, cans, dog ends, chewing gum and general mank. 10 nice little patches, waiting for something to happen. I’d arranged with the council that this area could be taken over by the community just hoping some community would turn up on the day. They did.
Our first job was to get rid of the mank.  After that… planting.  Stuff from our own gardens, hardy, needing little care. Each patch was adopted by a family or individual and began to develop its own character. Many thanks to flower shop Daisy who donated their “past sell by date†plants.  All went into our patches and are delighting us with colour now. The station staff were in on the act, filling our watering cans and overwintering our geraniums on their window ledge. They are delighted at the transformation. Something worth looking at.Â
The little hand painted slate signs with “Wanstead Community Gardeners†on, were the inspiration of one of our more artistic volunteers. They just finish off our patches and much to my amazement, they have stayed there.  This isn’t just about plants.  It’s about community, people coming together to make something rather lovely out of nothing much.  We’re taking ownership and that means a lot more people keeping the patches litter free.Â
Well, this is all worth celebrating so a couple of Sundays ago we met at the Victorian water trough/ drinking fountain opposite the station  to set up the last empty flower bed. This has stayed empty for seed sowing. We, weeded, raked, dug in some good stuff and seeded. WATCH THIS SPACE.  With a specially made cake and fruit juice, we toasted ourselves to another successful year.Â
Anyone wanting to join in the fun, contact me via marian@wansteadium.com and I’ll put your name on the email network for future work parties. No experience needed. Â
Hear your potential MP
The general election debates might not have set the country alight, but on Saturday the candidates for Leyton and Wanstead are taking part in hustings which do the job for Wanstead. The debate is in the Churchill Rooms at Wanstead Library, starting at 11am.
These are the candidates for our constituency – you might know them from leaflets which have been posted through your door. Though you probably don’t know them from posters in windows since there seem (unusually) to be no more than a handful visible. This tabulation of candidates are as compiled by the BBC.
The BBC has also provided a quiz for each constituency – you may wish to test your knowledge of Leyton and Wanstead before you vote.
Wanstead’s first £2.5m house?
Can this be the first house in Wanstead to go on the market for more than £2.5m? If so this is a landmark moment of sorts. The listing which has recently gone on Rightmove says that the house in Wanstead Place “arranged over eight levels” and is “superbly appointed in one of Wanstead’s most prestigious streets”.
It continues: “This stunning house offers breath-taking views over Christ Church Green via a balcony off the reception room. This property benefits from being a ‘smart house’ and offers facilities such as; remote control curtains and blinds, under floor heating throughout, surround sound music system (including the gardens and the balcony), remote control roof windows, CCTV operation, electronic gated entrance, driveway and garage with electronic door, outdoor TV to garden, bi-folding doors to garden, bespoke fitted kitchen with integrated hob with two double ovens and beautiful electronic remote control fireplace in reception.”
Wanstead, welcome to the age of the beautiful electronic remote control fireplace.
(Thanks, Kat Hopkinson!)
A k for us
Not a misprint. Wansteadium is delighted to have reached a thousand likes on Facebook, to add to the 2,840 followers on Twitter and 1,173 e-mail newsletter subscribers. Thank you to everyone.