We’ve said it a number of times before but this time of year just highlights that Wanstead’s streets and parks are paved with gold, and that it’s an annual surprise not to see impromptu bouts of conkers being played on every street corner.
Here are the much-delayed winners of the first Wanstead Fringe Handwriting Competition in which Wanstead’s primary school children were invited to demonstrate their skills by writing out a Lewis Carroll poem.
The judges were the Wanstead Fringe’s Maura Wilson and designer Bryony MacQueen of Muriel&Me.
Maura Wilson said: “We were delighted by the care and attention all those who took part put into their entries. People sometimes say that children don’t learn to write properly nowadays but this has shown that not to be the case. Well done to the winners and to everyone who took part – and thank you to the teachers who encouraged the children to enter.”
Each winner receives a £100 prize for their school’s PTA, donated by Fringe sponsors Petty Son and Prestwich, whose managing director John Wagstaff said: “It’s wonderful to be a part of such a fantastic community congratulations to all those who entered and to the worthy winners.”
Three winners were chosen:
The Early Years winner was Orson from Nightingale Primary School.
The Key Stage 1 winner was Edgar from Aldersbrook Primary.
And the Key Stage 2 winner was Xiangxi from Nightingale.
Congratulations to all the winners.
More than 50 bags of rubbish were collected from Eagle Pond by volunteers. The haul included plastic, polystyrene cups, fishing line, shoes, clothes, and an antique clay pipe and bottle. Also, bizarrely, coconuts.
A huge fire at the Chigwell Road recycling centre needed 60 firefighters and eight fire engines to be brought under control. Nobody was injured, but nearby residents were told to close their windows to keep safe from the smoke.
London Fire Brigade station commander Dave Reed, who was at the scene, said: “Around 28 tons of household waste was alight in a covered recycling shed. There was quite a lot of smoke in the area so we advised local residents to keep their doors and windows closed.”
The Wanstead Festival defied the weather forecast and its rescheduling by having a great turnout under sunny skies.
Thousands of people came along to make the most of the event on Christchurch Green, bolstered by the Farmers’ Market and closed High Street.
The Wanstead Festival is taking place on Sunday, 2 October, in what could be a bumper Sunday as it coincides with the High Street being closed AND the farmers’ market.
The forecast is not looking good and the possibility of it raining on the parade is looking real. Still, fingers crossed for a great day all round.
