Good boy Friday

Pic: @OLOLE11

A rather large dog, apparently stray, wandered in to Our Lady of Lourdes church on Friday as Wanstead churchgoers of all denominations joined together in their traditional Good Friday procession and service.

The dog took advantage of the open doors, boldly strolled in to the church, roamed around the altar and where the joined clergy were sitting, and sniffed a few of the worshippers – who were starting to look alarmed at the animal.

The dog didn’t appear to have a collar, and to some looked rather wolfish with the kind of blue-eyed stare you normally only see on TV or from behind a fence.

He took himself off in search of sustenance elsewhere and all was well.

And its name is…

The much-debated kiosk on Christchurch Green could, we gather, be open for business on Friday. A Redbridge children’s event, The Great Easter Egg Hunt, on Friday and Saturday is inviting participants to get refreshments from the kiosk which – we can reveal – they are calling The Green Café.

It’s a pretty good name for it, we think*. The container beneath the cladding is green, after all, and it is on the Green. It also promises to be plastic free, and because it has an electricity supply it also means the ice cream van will be able to run from the mains rather than a diesel generator, which will be welcomed by parents of playing children. Following a residents’ meeting last month, the council has also promised that there will be “enhanced” litter picking.

Fringe organisers will be looking to see how the facility for small events such as recitals, which was a central part of the plan, will develop.

Though it has been controversial, and will be watched closely by High Street cafes and nearby residents, we wish the venture well, as we traditionally do. Let’s hope it turns out to be a really good thing for Wanstead and that everyone benefits from it.

* Our choice was The Jas Café.

Welcome, tree

Welcome to this newcomer, just planted outside Gail’s. However, there is an appeal for someone kind to look after it. If that could be you, please follow the instructions on this label which Redbridge has put on the tree.

Update: The tree was paid for by the Wanstead Society, we’re told, who bought it to mark their 25th anniversary.

Big book day

Congratulations today to Wanstead’s favourite crime writer, A. K. Turner, also known as Anya Lipska. The second instalment of her Cassie Raven series, Life Sentence, is being published today and, because we’ve had a sneak preview, we know it will delight people who like their crime writing a bit macabre.

A.K. (or Alison as she is also also known as) was a much celebrated resident when writing as Anya Lipska, with novels set near to Wanstead, and sometimes even mentioning it.

Her new protagonist Cassie Raven is a young mortuary technician who lives on a house boat in Camden and believes she has an uncanny knack of somehow hearing what a deceased person’s last thoughts might have been. Imagined or not, she does has a real ability to look at cases in different ways and also to find some answers.

The series (which fellow crime writer Ellie Griffiths has enthusiastically endorsed, saying: “I love this series!”) started with Cassie’s debut in Body Language. It’s now being published in seven different languages.

The launch for Life Sentence is being hosted by Wanstead Bookshop and will take place next Wednesday in Wanstead at the Bull at 6.30pm, when Alison will read from the book and answer questions. Tickets are £3, available below, but this will be refunded against the cost of a copy of the book.

POSTPONED – Book launch for Life Sentence by A. K. Turner

A portrait of our High Street

Photographer Russell Boyce has brought his exhibition of portraits of Wanstead High Street shopkeepers to Christchurch Green. The portraits, compiled into a book which he has published, tell the story of some of the best known faces in Wanstead and is a great record of the high street during difficult times.

People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Pictures by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce
People look at the exhibition of documentary pictures by Russell Boyce titled ‘A Portrait of the High Street’ on Christ Church Green, Wanstead, in London April 13, 2022. Picture by Russell Boyce

The book is available from the Wanstead Bookshop stall inside City Place Coffee on the High Street, price £6.

Kiosk takes shape – with pledges

Christchurch Green’s new kiosk is taking shape, along with new pledges from Redbridge about the impact it will have on the green.

A meeting held between residents, councillors and council officers resulted in assurances that the kiosk will not be serving alcohol except for during occasional events such as the Wanstead Festival. The kiosk will also avoid using single-use plastics, and there will be “enhanced litter picking”.

There will also be a new team patrolling all Redbridge green spaces, including Christchurch Green, to tackle anti-social behaviour. And, as we reported last week, the toilet block is to be refurbished.

A new Friends of Christchurch Green group has been set up – anyone interested in taking part can reach them on friendsofccgreen@gmail.com.

Jo Blackman, one of the Wanstead councillors, said they would continue to raise residents’ concerns about the kiosk and said: “We hope the friends group will provide a constructive forum for direct engagement between residents, Vision and the council about the use of the green for the community.”

Meanwhile as the kiosk takes shape, early signs are, in Wansteadium’s view, that it does not look like it will be the visual offence that some feared based on the planning document’s projections.