Wanstead Fringe organisers decided on Friday that the fringe should proceed, following government advice on holding scheduled events during the period of national mourning for Her Majesty the Queen.
They decided events should proceed respectfully, and musician Joe Walters, opening the Fanfare to the Fringe event at St Mary’s church, showed elegantly what that meant in practice by playing the following.
Wanstead United Reformed Church on Nightingale Lane has become the first church in Redbridge to be registered to conduct same sex marriages.
The church members agreed to taking the step some time ago but have now received the official confirmation that all couples who wish to have a wedding in a Christian ceremony may do so.
The church’s lead minister, the Reverend Dr Tessa Henry-Robinson said: “It is a proud moment for us here at Wanstead URC to be the first to bring this good news to its community.” Church Secretary Grace Smith added, “It is important to us to be able to welcome all members of the local community on equal terms. We also hope this will provide an opportunity for couples currently unable to marry in their own churches.”
Following government advice about events after the death of her Majesty the Queen, organisers of the Wanstead Fringe have decided the fringe will go ahead in a respectful attitude.
However the Duke Street Party, scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed and will not now take place this week. In its place a smaller ‘beer garden’ and barbecue event will take place. The Duke’s Ronnie Finch posted: “We hope to offer a moment to reflect, and an opportunity to come together. We’ll save the party for another day.”
Government guidance on the period of mourning until the Queen’s state funeral is that the decisions about events are at the discretion of individual organisations and that there is no obligation to cancel or postpone events. Having considered that, the Wanstead Fringe Association decided to proceed respectfully.
The Wanstead Fringe starts on Friday evening and continues until Sunday 25 September. This weekend’s other scheduled events will go ahead, including:
FRIDAY
* Fanfare to the Fringe
* The Stars from Wanstead
* A Non-Emergency
SATURDAY
* The Children’s book workshop with Karin Littlewood
* Wanstead Pottery sessions
* The Wanstead Kinema
SUNDAY
* The Climate Picnic on Christchurch green
* A Non-Emergency
Meanwhile, one of the speakers at the Wanstead Book Festival, Otto English, has seen an obituary he wrote for the Queen become one of the most popular stories on social media. For Politico, he wrote an obituary in which he describes how the young princess, upon becoming Queen, had to substitute her own life for that of being the monarch.
Otto English is speaking on Friday 16 September. A number of discounted tickets for sixth formers and other school pupils are available.
The Wanstead Fringe doesn’t start until Friday, but the play A Non-Emergency is kicking off a bit early with performances starting tonight (Wednesday).
Written by Wanstead resident Marissa Landy, left, the play has been playing at the Edinburgh Fringe before coming home, and will be on in the upstairs room at the Bull. Reviews for its Edinburgh run were excellent, including the following:
Marissa wrote the play based on her own experiences working in the ambulance service and follows two crewmates as they deal with five patients during a day’s work. Tickets for all performances can be bought at this page.
It’s now less than a week before the Wanstead Fringe kicks off with double-header events on Overton Drive.
In the churchyard of St Mary’s, Lucy Crowe and Joe Walters – the pair whose impromptu doorstep recitals delighted people during lockdown – will be making their Fringe debut.
Not that it will be their biggest performance of the week. On Wednesday they are both performing at the BBC Proms – Lucy is the soprano in a performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.
You can get tickets for their Wanstead event here:
Next door to St Mary’s, at Wanstead Cricket Club, will be a fascinating family event all about the stars and planets, including a talk about the role of James Pound in astronomical discoveries. (Pound was rector of Wanstead from 1707 and made crucial observations about Saturn and Jupiter and more). There will also be a blow-up planetarium and rocket-building fun.
A plan to build a block of 74 flats on Snaresbrook station car park has been published following TfL’s decision to sell the land for development.
Residents are being consulted on the plans at meetings next week. The developers, Pocket Living, say that all of the flats would be affordable – costing 20% less than local prices – and would be sold to first-time buyers.
It would be the developer’s second site in Wanstead, following the flats built at Gardner Close, behind the Bull pub.
Earlier this year that development won an award for “Best Use of Brownfield Land” at the 2022 Planning Awards. That site has 20 flats, so the new proposal is significantly larger.
