How the Wanstead Guardian reported the closure of Wanstead Sauna.
Wanstead conkers? In July??
Last August, some newspapers got excited by the early falling of conkers, a combination of unusual seasonal conditions. Conkers shouldn’t fall until September, they said. And this is August.
Well, this was the scene on Wanstead’s Christchurch Green on Thursday. Which was definitely in July. Fleet St can’t be far behind.
Wanstead news roundup, 14.07.10; Music in Wanstead Park, Learner drivers, Olympic policing
The Music in Wanstead Park event is taking place on Saturday. The line-up includes pop, indie rock, folk, blues and 30’s swing, modern & classical, string & sax, Indian sitar and tabla. Also It’s a Knockout style events and blues band Nine Below Zero in the evening. It’s from 2-11pm, and details are here.
Nice observation from Yenwod Samoth, who took this picture, right, and commented: “Conservation at it best in Christchurch park, Wanstead. Nice to them saving the old wood.”
The Drive and nearby streets in South Woodford have been highlighted as the most popular for learner drivers, according to this story in the Daily Telegraph which claims 409 learners in one hour. Wanstead, of course, is no stranger to L-plates, some of which are on the same test routes from the Wanstead Test Centre on Hermon Hill.
People opposing a Metropolitan Police application to build a temporary Olympic policing base on Wanstead Flats held a public meeting in Forest Gate on Wednesday. Here is a Q&A from the City of London Corporation, which owns Wanstead Flats. And here is a Facebook group opposing the plan.
World’s oldest profession in Wanstead?
The Wanstead Guardian now has a story about the raiding and closure of the Wanstead Sauna, due (as Wansteadium pictured last week) to a magistrates order following “activities relating to one or more specified prostitution offences”.
Regular commenter on the paper’s stories, Rubbernecker of Walthamstow, comments:
Not that I have been there, honest, but I am told by a friend who also has not been there that this place has been there for over 40 years and if this is an example of ‘swift action’ by police to stamp out crime we have no hope!
He raises an interesting point – just how long has Wanstead Sauna been in business? Anyone who knows can e-mail in confidence to wansteadium[at]gmail.com
How to get ejected from Wanstead Tube
Photographer Ian Cowland discovered one way was to use a mono-pod to lean his camera right over the rails to get this almost literally arresting image. He writes that doing this is “frowned upon by employees of the London Underground” – so much so he was escorted from the premises. Imitation is not recommended. It is, however, a startling photo.
More on the closure of Wanstead Sauna
In case anyone was wondering why Wanstead Sauna is closed, a notice now pinned to the door explains:
(Click image to enlarge it.)