Hey, Wanstead Community Gardeners…
things are looking good
Gardening nod
That’s some review
A.K. Turner’s new crime novel, which is being was to have been launched in Wanstead on Wednesday, has had a major boost from the Sunday Times books review, with this glowing write-up:
There are still tickets available for the launch which is taking place upstairs at the Bull at 6.30 on Wednesday. (Tickets are £3 and will count towards a copy of the book.) UPDATE: The event has now been postponed and will be rescheduled for an evening during the Fringe, which is taking place between 10 and 25 September.
Good boy Friday
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.