Wansteadium

The 2023 Wanstead Fringe will be taking place from Saturday 9th September to Saturday 30 September – running for an unprecedented third week.

It will be the TENTH Wanstead Fringe and will be bigger than ever with plans going on all over Wanstead for events. There will be comedy, plays and music staged throughout the Fringe – here are some key dates for you:

Wanstead Kinema: Saturday 9 September
Wanstead Festival: Sunday 17 September
Wanstead Jumble Trail: Saturday 23 September
Wanstead Book Festival: Events from 9-30th all through the Fringe.

If you want to organise an event or be part of it, please fill out this Google Form – Fringe organisers will get back to you. Alternatively you can contact them on info@wansteadfringe.org

They are particularly keen on hearing from:

An enlightener: to help advise us about theatrical lighting

A details person: to help make sure administration is in tip-top condition

A persuader: to help convince people why they should support the fringe

Some doers: to help ensure Wanstead is fully bedecked with fringe decorations 

The Bungalow Cafe, long the favoured destination for coppers who used to work at the former Wanstead Police Station, is back in favour with the boys in blue – kind of. The new BBC comedy Black Ops features the cafe in episode 2.

Thanks to serial spotter Eithne. Any sightings or mentions of Wanstead on film or TV or in the press, please inform us – info@wansteadium.com.

It’s going to be a difficult week for anyone who wants to travel between Aldersbrook and Wanstead for the next week as Blake Hall Road is to be completely closed in both directions until 23 May.

A burst water main will mean the road being closed between Bush Road/Overton Drive and Aldersbrook Road. The delay is caused in part by new concrete needing time to set.

Buses are to be on diversion but it’s going to be a difficult week for many people. Blake Hell Road returns.

Blake Hall Brook. On the brighter side it's very quiet and makes an excellent circuit for cycling. @jonburkeUK pic.twitter.com/EQITXDP4By

— Wanstead weather (@wanstead_meteo) May 17, 2023

Wanstead musos will be watching with interest the progress of four-piece jazz collective oreglo which includes Wanstead drummer Nico Saggese. The band recently played Jazz Refreshed at Brick Lane and the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, and took part in this programme on BBC Radio 1xtra.

You can hear their latest release here on Spotify.

Wanstead-bred chef Alyn Williams gives a massive shout out for Robins Pie & Mash in The Times. Treble liquor all round.

(Thanks to Eithne for the tip.)

The summer hasn’t really got going yet – but just in time Wanstead Cricket Club is celebrating the installation of its first artificial strip which will allow some games to go ahead even when conditions are damp. It’s been installed at the Nutter Lane ground, with help from a grant from the England Cricket Board.