Wansteadium

Wansteadium reader Nick Dixon proves the claim that Wanstead is indeed in the Bible:

“My God, my soul is vexed within me : therefore will I remember thee concerning the land of Jordan, and the little hill of Hermon.” – Psalm 42:6

Vivid photos and memories apparently of Wanstead Fair in the 60s have turned up in a box in an antique sale, and now have ended up online. The My Found Photos blog, run by @Bruce_M_W, features discarded but interesting pictures and tries to discover as much of a story behind them as possible.

After posting several atmospheric shots from an unknown fairground, which Bruce found in a sale in Hitchin, he found some pages of writing among them. They seemed to indicate that the picture were of Wanstead Fair. The writing is jaded, alienated, and clearly of its time – which appears to be the 1960s. One part reads:

Half a dozen assorted cretins spin the cars to the delight of the sex starved girls riding within. The spinner, who collect the fares from the coloured cars and place the money in the corresponding coloured circles in the cash desk (a simple check to stop the spinners stealing), have various dated states of hair, earrings, scattered tattoos, waistcoats or leather studded jackets or just shirts, ill fitting trousers, jeans, crushers, sneakers, winkles, battered hands, bad eyes, heavy smoking and beer drinking regularly. They are paid very little but short change the clientele and place small blocks of wood under the car seats to allow the dropping money to fall to the bottom of the car, to be collected at the end of the day, 18/- a car, 12 cars in all. That money plus numerous combs, buttons, pens, rings, knives, lipsticks, house keys and dirt congregate in the cars and slip to the ground under the waltzer.

The article in full, along with the photos, can be seen at My Found Photos. Bruce writes: “When reading it, he comes across as a bit angry, but it’s important to remember when it was written. I share many of the memories of fairgrounds that are written here, but it is clear how times have changed. I wonder why he kept only this piece of writing in the box and no others. It’s all a bit of a mystery, but a really interesting one at that.”

If by some miracle you can identify photos, writing or even the handwriting, it would be some miracle.

Wansteadium’s food blogger Suki Orange writes:

Now this is what I call austerity dining with a bit of style. An inspired move from Queens British Grill.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/QueensBritGrill/status/178483679734153216″]

Wansteadium reader Catherine writes: “There has been a film crew set up outside Wanstead Golf Club all day. Could you find out what is being filmed please?”

Answers on a postcard please. Or, actually, via comments or e-mail.

• The commander of Redbridge Police, Detective Chief Superintendent Sue Williams, is inviting residents to ask her questions via Twitter on Wednesday 14 March between 3pm and 4pm. Wansteadium will post some of the questions and answers here in case you miss the event.

• The supposed cinema at Snaresbrook Tube, which has been much tweeted in recent weeks, is likely to have been a touch disappointing to anyone who came to E11 specifically to see it. As hardened commuters from here will know, it’s not quite a cinema, and it’s only when it’s one of the station staff, Malcolm Parker, on rota. Wansteadium has wondered how long it will take someone in head office to notice, but the signs for this charming distraction continuing are good (literally, & thanks to Alan Perryman for the photo).

• Council Tax in Redbridge has been frozen for the third year in a row, following cost cutting by the council.

• While residents are celebrating the news that Wanstead CC’s Overton Drive grounds are not now to be used as a 500-tent campsite for Australians visiting the Olympics, the club itself is having to recalculate without the money this would have brought in. Also it will mean fewer Australians being around Wanstead, which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your point of view.

• Redbridge Book and Media Festival 2012 has been announced – programme here: www.redbridge.gov.uk/bam. This year’s speakers in Wanstead including Julian Clary, Sandy Gall, and Esther Freud.

• BBC Newsnight’s Paul Mason will be talking about his book Why It’s Kicking Off Everywhere at Wanstead Library next Saturday, 17 March, at 7pm. Tickets are £5 and available either from the library itself (020 8708 7400) or Newham Bookshop (020 8552 9993).

• There was a fire in Aldersbrook above a chip shop whose opening was celebrated in Wansteadium last year.

• Photo of the week, as taken by Wansteadium regular @nutterlane Dan.