Wansteadium

Good luck to the team behind another new Wanstead enterprise born in lockdown. Spence Hall is a fresh food retailer which bills itself as being “set up by cookery enthusiasts for fellow food lovers”.

It sources its items directly from London’s food markets – fruit and veg from New Spitalfields Market, meat from Smithfield via Leyton’s MeatLove, and fish from Brixham. Bread comes from Hackney’s Breadstation, another Wanstead-born business.

Spence Hall takes orders online and delivers directly to homes in homes in E10, E11, E12 and E17. Founder Ben Sherbrooke (who – full disclosure – sent Wansteadium a sample veg box, pictured) says: “Spence Hall is one-stop-shop for fine ingredients, with a firm belief that fine ingredients shouldn’t cost the earth, be that economically or environmentally. Shortening the supply chain is a key factor that is a massive enabler of this. Everything is delivered by bike, with zero emissions targets firmly in place.” Good luck to Ben and team.

Wansteadium likes the look of this. Not sure what it is, but it looks cool. Not as cool as this, granted, but still. Cooler than this.

Longtime readers will know of Wansteadium’s mild obsession with shop signs and shopfronts. Some will probably roll their eyes at it too.*

So we can’t miss out on cooing over the frontage for the new City Place Coffee shop. Could it be more on trend? It all augurs well.

Meanwhile the Ginger Pig has responded to the person or persons unknown who smashed its front window by installing this metal grille.

It’s not pretty (high streets which become like a row of lock-up garages after closing time have a depressing effect) but who honestly can blame them?

^{*Wansteadium sees you rolling your eyes and doesn’t care.}

This picture is from 1921 and shows a band playing for the crowds in #wanstead. Sidney Jackson, my Grandfather on the piano. @thegentleauthor @ShopEatWanstead @WansteadParish @lovewanstead @FWP2009 @Wansteadium pic.twitter.com/324Z4YXSBr

— Philip Jackson (@pjacksonphilip) March 13, 2021

This is very cool – thanks to @pjacksonphilip for sharing it. Clicking on the tweet will let you see the photo in detail. Can anyone work out where exactly it was taken? Bearing in mind the presence of Sidney Jackson’s piano, we’re tending to think it’s in the Christ Church gardens.

As Percy Ingle is redeveloped into a café and bakery, new owners Mark and Jane Farrier are trying to dig into the history of the spot.

Longstanding residents of Wanstead: Please apply your memories and add your comments… what was there in times gone past?

The Poppy Pantry cafe, set in the grounds of the City of London cemetery and the site of many contemplative cups of coffee and wakes, is appealing for support in its bid to have its lease renewed. Boss Paul Charters fears a chain operator might be brought into the site, and is asking for people to sign his petition, which is available here:

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-poppy-pantry