Wansteadium

Guerrilla gardener Marion Temple, subject of several posts here, has been awarded a Redbridge gong for being a good egg. Congratulations to her.

The council’s citation for the “Making a Greener Redbridge” award was: “Marion is Wanstead’s very own guerrilla gardener! She sows cuttings and seeds from her own garden in planters all along Wanstead High Street. Marion gives her time freely to care to the planters and this really makes a difference to the high street, is good for morale and for local business too. Marion brings colour and life to other unloved spots within the neighbourhood. Marion is a committed member to several local green groups and societies as well as opening her own garden annually in aid of Amnesty International.”

A glimpse of what the Duke, formerly the Duke of Edinburgh, at the end of Nightingale Lane, could soon look like. The new boss, Ronnie Finch, who since taking over in November seems to have succeeded in attracting an almost completely different clientele to the pub’s previous incarnation, is about to undertake some renovations which are being styled “upcycling”. (“Refurbishment” sounding too much like stripping out fixtures and fittings.)

There will, however, be significant changes outside: not just the exterior shot above, but also the conversion of an enclosed courtyard with outbuilding into a more usable beer garden with booths and an outside grill. The kitchen will soon start serving dinner and Sunday roasts, with the aim of becoming a cafe-style lunch menu. The works should be completed in time for Easter.

As is traditional for Wansteadium, we wish the venture a hearty dose of good luck.

Geoff Wilkinson writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “There’s a new road in town. Well it’s not actually a new road rather a new ‘Row’. I spotted it last weekend as I was walking along Nightingale Lane, it’s at the top end opposite Wanstead United Reformed Church. Stables Row as it’s now called always provided rear access to the shops on the High Street and presumably in the past to stables. At the far end on the right hand side was a warehouse that the late antique shop used for storage, next door was a collection of smaller buildings that were once the premises of a wholesale butcher. Excellent sausages so I am told. Anyway as you can see from the pictures it has now been given over to a building project that appear to be low rise flats. I’ll be interested to see how they look when completed, no sign of an agents board just yet.”

Commuters were relieved that things were back to normal on Friday morning. But fans of the Snaresbrook Tube cinema run by Malcolm Parker, a member of the station staff, would have been disappointed to see the above sign.

Malcolm’s films from train drivers’ cabs – a bit Night Mail to some – and his collection of London Underground posters of various vintages was celebrated on the web in 2011 when he started his curating.

As well as wishing him the best for his retirement, Wansteadium will now be trying to persuade Malcolm to bring his collection to make an installation for this year’s Wanstead Fringe, if indeed there is one. After all, we are on the brink of Snarebrook Station’s 150th anniversary.

Congratulations to the new owner of Wanstead’s newest home, the former coal merchants’ office on Sylvan Road. And since the asking price for the one-bedroom bungalow was £300k, congratulations to the vendor and agent too! No word yet though on Wansteadium’s idle thought on how nice a donation to Wanstead’s guerrilla gardener Marion Temple would be. One report received on Wednesday suggested Marion was spotted tending the plot even now.

Very sad to note the closure of Wanstead Toy Box, a noble little venture which many in Wanstead were delighted to see and support. Whatever the reasons for the closure it certainly doesn’t help cure the impression that trading at the Snaresbrook end of the high street is very tough.

Meanwhile, another beautician is set to open in the spot vacated by Angels Hair and Nails when it moved up next door to Judith’s (and close to the Wanstead Beauty Clinic). It raises the question of how many beauticians can one high street support? Whatever the answer, it’s clear that, ladies of Wanstead, your nails are looking lovely and it’s great you support the local traders.