No drama in Nutter Lane

Windy Tuesday in Wanstead almost resulted in drama in the comically named Nutter Lane near the tennis club, when a falling tree landed on a white van, narrowly missing a Wansteadium reader walking by with her children.

@janeclapton reports: “The tree fell across the road on to the van, luckily falling on top of the roof and only slightly shattering the windscreen in the corner. The driver and another van man moved the tree to the side of the road.

“A tree surgeon was working in the lane at the time and after examination diagnosed ‘black spot disease’!”

She adds: “I could sensationalise further by commenting that my young children and I narrowly avoided potential tragedy by crossing over to the other side of the road only seconds earlier! Ha ha – technically true although ‘seconds’ a slight exaggeration!”

That’s the kind of understatement that does E11 proud.

The Pryce is Wright

It’s a bit of a comedown since the heady days of Horsfall and Wright, but estate agents Elizabeth Pryce is now comfortably settled in the shop next door to its former offices. As such it’s a bit of a zero sum gain for Wanstead High Street diversity, but on the plus side it does free up a very attractive corner office which should be tempting for all sorts of interesting shops (fingers crossed).

Wanstead news roundup, 24,08.10; Artists, white lines, and TV

• The full list of artists participating in the Wanstead Art Trail – a fantastically enlightened bid to give Wanstead artistic buzz (rather like the regeneration-inducing Folkestone Triennial) – has been published by the Wanstead Society. It shows 63 venues in Wanstead which will be showing works by more than 130 artists, both professional and amateur. It will take place between 19 and 26 September and more details, including the full map, can be found at the Wanstead Society website.

• Rumours that the Metropolitan Police had started marking out the part of Wanstead Flats where they want to site their Olympic operational headquarters were scotched when it turned out the lines had been painted by the Showman’s Guild for the Wanstead Flats Fair. Opposition to the Met’s proposal is increasing in volume; the force is making its case online.

• Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, the decision will be made about the Arcelor Orbit sculpture, which, in June, Wansteadium revealed risks interfering with the Freeview TV signals of people living in Snaresbrook.Details here. It now appears that if there did turn out to be a significant effect, the Olympic Delivery Authority would be required to pay for corrective measures, though it’s not clear what this could be.