Wansteadium

Our man with pebbles in his pocket writes:

Two young cricketers sandwiched a fine weekend for Wanstead men’s cricket. Sunday saw under-16 batsman Finlay Chesney-Brown (right) scoring a superb undefeated 68 in the win against Woodford Green.

On Saturday, against a strong Upminster side Kishen Velani, who has also played for motley teams such as England U19, scored a fine century to set up victory in the club’s effort to retain the Premiership title.

Steve Ramdial’s half-century in the 2nds and three young players’ 50s for the 3rds led to wins against respective Woodford Wells sides.

The Herons’ 4th XI just scraped a draw against visitors Chingford, Sriram Pathmarajah continued his habit of avoiding buying jugs of beer by scoring 48 runs in the 5th team draw, and the 6th XI were simply not strong enough against Fives & Heronians 4th team.

The Heronettes headed for Harrow on Sunday but had to come away humbled.

Wansteadium reader and expert in children’s publishing Jodie Marsh (not that one, this one: @Jodiemarsh31) writes:

This website community and blog have been recently discussing the problems Wanstead High Street is facing with some of the current retailers moving off to pastures new, or just not managing to survive the difficult time. So, with that in mind and as a relatively new resident (seven months) I thought I’d throw my two-pence in. It’s idealistic, perhaps, but it’s simple – Wanstead needs a children’s book shop!

Children’s bookselling is the only part of independent book retail in growth, and in comparable areas of London there are indie specialist children’s bookshops are not just surviving, but thriving: Tales on Moon Lane in Herne Hill; Victoria Park Books in my old stomping ground of Hackney; Pickled Pepper Books in Crouch End… I work in the children’s book industry as a literary agent and I know these bookshops well. They are proper hubs of the community; running social events, high profile author events and mini literary festivals, book clubs for adults and children, they work closely with the local schools to promote reading for pleasure and are just a joy to have on the high street. In the right premises such a shop could have a cafe to give The Larder a proper competitor and as an area with a high proportion of affluent young parents it seems to me a no-brainer. If I had the capital I’d start it up tomorrow! I hope someone takes up the challenge.

Last week we featured photographs of the Corner House Garden which Marian Temple and others have been tending for the past 10 years. Wansteadium reader Rohini Wahi, an ace design blogger herself, visited Marian’s own garden during an open afternoon, and says she was “completely smitten”.

“Good old-fashioned community spirit delicious cakes and the most enchanting country garden. I wish I could visit every weekend.”

Was the same person responsible??

As economic conditions continue to struggle back into life, the news from Wanstead High Street is – to say the least – mixed.

• Judith of Wanstead will be shrinking from its generous double-frontage to a single shop
• The Old Cottage Antiques is looking distinctly antiqued (not to say empty)
• L’Infinito seems to have turned out decidedly finito
• Rio shoe shop is heading off to Brazil Buckhurst Hill

Not all is doom, however. The residents’ only parking restrictions on several streets are to end imminently, creating an estimated 120 spaces which will (in theory) be available for people making short trips to Wanstead High Street.

And in another sign of hope, Wanstead is to get its own Mary Portas-inspired “Town Team”.

This week it was reported that, despite the efforts, most of the dozen pilot towns across the UK under Portas’s regeneration scheme had nevertheless suffered economically. However, the Town Team idea seems to be one with legs. Cllr Thomas Chan told Wansteadium that Redbridge plans to allocate funds to support the town centres in Redbridge, setting up Town Teams with membership drawn from businesses, public sector organisations, community groups and the community. “The Town Team idea recommends local town centres to work in partnership with all stakeholders in order to make our high streets more vibrant, improving not just footfalls but also promoting the cultural, environmental, health and wellbeing – among other aspects of the area.”

Views expressed this week on WansteadTalk.com are divided. User Am_Hayer wrote: “[The] state of the food scene in Wanstead is shocking. Shop/Restaurant owners need to seriously up their game otherwise the discerning consumer will continue to hop on the Tube and take their custom elsewhere. Orford Rd, Walthamstow, has managed to create an attractive little strip with good quality eateries. I struggle to find a single comparable example in Wanstead.”

Sean Farrell responded: “I think Wanstead shapes up quite well… [It] has to do battle with Westfield. Gioberti told me people were, inexplicably to me, spending a day at Westfield and having lunch there. I bet it’s partly to blame for the closure of the men’s clothes shop in Wanstead.”

Am_Haher replied: “Wanstead is now full of city professionals with deep pockets and high expectations. I suggest some of our local business people take a trip to Lordship Lane or Marylebone High St. See what these streets offer and the prices they charge. I for one think there would be nothing wrong with some of the better quality chains adding to the mix….Strada, Giraffe…”

In that, at least, he/she will be getting his or her way – Costa Coffee will arrive in August.