More on Wanstead and Wikileaks

It was true that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had his pre-arrest breakfast in Wanstead, as Wansteadium reported last week. Mark Stephens, Assange’s lawyer, told the Wanstead Guardian that he and his client went to the Bungalow Cafe on Spratt Hall Road, rather shocking some builders (and at least one PR man, our source, tweeter @maxdaviespr).

Stephens, who has lived in Wanstead for 36 years, told the paper he believed his house was under surveillance, believing it was an attempt by someone to try to scare him. (Unusually, there is no link to the story in the online version of the Wanstead Guardian.)

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Last chance for library

In these days of cuts, lots of libraries may be facing their final days. Wanstead’s too is closing – but just for six weeks as of Monday [20 December] to allow self-service tills to be installed. As Wansteadium previously reported, there are some benefits here – but most explicitly that they will allow the rather outdated practice of closing on Wednesdays to become a thing of the past.

And the prospect of whole hosts of books becoming overdue while the library was shut has been averted – all books are being stamped with a return date of 4 February – double the normal time.

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Wanstead News roundup, 16.12.10; Harry, Year, Windows

• It may seem like ancient history, but the case of former Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen, who was censured after the MPs’ expenses scandal, is not over. New evidence has come to light, the House of Commons Standards and Privileges committee has said, meaning Mr Cohen could yet claim a £65,000 award usually made to MPs who step down. More details

• The Mike Leigh film Another Year, which is set in Wanstead, is one of the films of the year as chosen by the New Statesman’s excellent film critic, Ryan Gilbey (who is also set in Wanstead).

• Who would have thought some new windows in flats above a shop could be interesting? Wanstead’s Smarter High Street campaign, now with an introductory video, below, tells the tale behind the new frames above Judith of Wanstead.

The Smarter High Street Campaign for Wanstead from Smarter High Street on Vimeo.

Wanstead primary school scores, 2010

Wanstead parents hoping for guidance (or indeed material with which to gloat) from the national primary school league tables will have been disappointed, as the table below indicates: all but two of the area’s primary schools boycotted the Sats tests on which the scores are based (South Woodford’s Churchfields included for comparison). For reference, here are last year’s scores, and for explanations about what this year’s scores mean, the BBC has more detail.

[table id=13 /]

Review: The Larder’s ginger beer

Wansteadium’s new food blogger, Suki Orange, writes:

It’s a great thing for Wanstead to have a deli/coffee shop the quality of the Larder. So like me, most E11 foodies will naturally feel obliged to support any of its enterprising ventures, cost permitting. So new on the scene, then, is Christmas Ginger Beer from The Larder (and if you don’t believe me, check out the label).

Brewed by Essex-based Pitfield Brewery, it’s organic, and though costing £3.50 a bottle will nevertheless appeal to lots of people who might want to turn up to a Christmas party bearing something more refined than a Seven-11 four-pack.

But designated drivers taking it along expecting it to provide them with some harmless fizzy pop – or worse, anyone buying it as an innocent pleasure for tweenagers – will be in a for a surprise if they fail to read the label. It’s not so much ginger beer in the Enid Blyton sense as ginger-flavoured ale; 5.0% abv. Oh yes, this ginger beer certainly has bite.

But just as it’s no ginger beer, it’s certainly no alcopop either. This is not sweet, not fizzy, and only mildly gingery. In fact for some reason ginger doesn’t actually appear as an ingredient (it’s just water, barley, hops and yeast). The label describes the taste as being “initially malty followed by a ginger finish”, but my taste buds, half expecting the rich, sweet, hit of childhood ginger beer, found it a bit hard to hide their disappointment. Will hardened ale folk think it too much a novelty? And will non ale-folk be expecting ale?

Something not quite right here


This paragraph at the end of the Wanstead Guardian’s coverage of the trial of the former music teacher who, among other things, tied up one of his pupils and filmed her while she was underwater in his bath, seems a bit odd. Wansteadium is sure that what was supposed to be written was something like:

• Were you given singing lessons by Crombie and want to talk to someone? The East London Rape Crisis Service offers long-term support and counselling to victims of rape or sexual abuse and can be contacted on 0808 802 9999. Or you can talk to the Samaritans on 08457 909090