It’s farewell of a sorts to children’s clothes shop and hairdresser Knock Down Ginger which, just short of its third birthday, is going online only. It’s a shame for the Snaresbrook end of the high street, but owner Rina is offering 50% off shoes this weekend and is definitely still in business and in contact through Twitter and Facebook.
Wansteadium invited anyone who went to Thursday night’s Wanstead Comedy Night at Bar Room Bar to submit their nominations for best lines of the evening.
Wansteadium reader Clive e-mails the following:
I was a bit the worse for wear and the scribbles I wrote on a piece of paper I had in my pocket don’t make quite as much sense this morning, but some odd phrases which stood out include “how come there’s no such thing as chaps with flaps”; “We’ve got Jehovah’s Bystanders in Peckham because no one witnesses anything in Peckham”; “My tip for a happy marriage, lads? Tools – options – delete history.” Also a line from Robert White about how he came from a musical household – he lived in A Flat. And every time he moved he had to change key. At one stage (for a reason I can’t quite remember) he put a plastic poo on his head and said something about that when it came to criticism he was undeterred. This all makes me think being a comedy critic must be very hard – you need to drink to find it funny but the drinking means you can’t remember it. Well, I tried.”
You did Clive, and for that you will get a build-your-own model of Andrews Builders Merchants. Any further suggestions are welcome at wansteadium@gmail.com
Tonight the Wanstead Comedy Night takes place at Bar Room Bar from 8.30 (doors open at 7.30).
On the bill are Philberto, Robert White, Pat Cahill and others. Full details here at www.wansteadcomedynight.co.uk; tickets are £5.
And in the first of a regular collaboration between the organisers and Wansteadium, anyone who attends and successfully nominates one of the best three lines of the evening (by email to wansteadium@gmail.com) will win a luxury Wansteadium keyring (actual value 0.0001p).
A seasonal message from Wansteadium, thanks to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.
Earlier this year, the Wansteadium Hedgehog Hunt asked readers to report any sightings in Wanstead of hedgehogs dead or alive. Our initial pessimism was somewhat dispelled by a number of sightings (full coverage here) and most memorably by this photo taken in a Nightingale Estate garden.
A detailed report into the state of Britain’s hedgehog population can be found here.
Wansteadium now undertakes not to mention hedgehogs again until springtime at the earliest.
• As Anish Kapoor’s Olympic sculpture finally is completed, Freeview TV reception through parts of Snaresbrook and as far as Buckhurst Hill, is expected to start deteriorating. The blue and red lines below indicate the path of the expected disturbance. (More details here.) It would be interesting to know if anyone living on those line actually notices any difference – drop us a line at wansteadium@gmail.com if you do.
• The new owner of the former Andrew’s Builders’ Merchants says he hasn’t yet decided what to call his new shop. He says he is not planning major changes. Roger Estop of the Wanstead Society commented on last week’s Wansteadium story that the new owner intended to “to replace the old sign with a tasteful new one in the same place”.
. Police in Wanstead say they have managed to halve thefts of number plates, partly by distributing thief-proof screws. This time last year there had been 86 number plate thefts – this year just 40 so far. Even so, all a bit rum.
• You can, as ever, place free adverts for stuff you want to sell via Wansteadium Classifieds. Recent sales include a Canon 400D digital SLR. Advertise anything you want to sell, for free, here at Wansteadium Classifieds.
A regular update on what’s going on on Wanstead High Street:
• Welcome to the new picture framing shop on Wanstead High Street, Images in Frames, which is a branch of a framers on Wood Street in Walthamstow. Customers of that shop report excellent service including advice from the staff and reasonable pricing, which has to be good news.
• The newly refurbished Bar Room Bar – green now rather than grey – has successfully changed its appearance. The regular Wanstead Comedy Club returns there next week (details here).
• Great efforts from Oxfam shop on pumpkins.
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Wansteadium readers who are either shopkeepers or customers are welcome to submit titbits for this Wanstead Shopping update. Send items to wansteadium@gmail.com
