Wanstead news roundup, 5.9.11; Art, hope, murder and mystery in Wanstead

• It’s festival week in Wanstead, with the annual party on Christchurch Green taking place next Sunday, 11 September. That is also launch day for the Wanstead Art Trail, an ever-more ambitious showcase of art in shops and other buildings across Wanstead. A fantastically produced brochure is widely available, and is also online here.

• The proposals to introduce pay and display parking restrictions to central Wanstead have, in case you haven’t heard, been dropped. It follows a campaign and mass petition, organised by Michael and Valerie Powis of Grosvenor Road.

• The former Russell’s cafe bar, currently undergoing renovation, is reportedly becoming a Turkish restaurant.

• Could this be another sign of a green shoot in the Wanstead micro-economy? Cafe Voyage at Snaresbrook station has extended its opening hours: now 6am-5pm on weekdays and 8am-2pm on Saturdays.

• Hedgehogs, a cause close to Wansteadium’s heart, are still being spotted. Alasdair Bain sent this photo, reporting: “Saw this little guy trying to hide behind the bamboo in my garden.” Coming soon in Wansteadium, what you can do in your garden as autumn approaches, to make it a hedgehog friendly zone.

• Meanwhile mink are still being spotted in Wanstead Park. Last week one was seen dragging a coot to an untimely death while perplexed parents and toddlers were feeding the ducks. Other coots watched on.

• An item of interest in Wanstead Oxfam: a double vinyl EP of Magical Mystery Tour in near mint condition, with the original booklet and artwork – a snip at £100. Contact the shop directly if you are interested. 020 8530 3413 or oxfamshopf8092@oxfam.org.uk

• And items recently added to Wansteadium Classifieds include a piano, an iPhone 3GS and a tumble drier. Details here, at wansteadium.com/classifieds, where you can also sell your unwanted goods to other Wanstead residents, for free.

Sell your stuff for free on Wansteadium

Announcing a brand new feature for Wansteadium – Classified adverts.

Using our simple new webpages, you can advertise your unwanted stuff to fellow Wanstead folk, all for free. On offer at the time of writing are various bits of baby kit (cots, tricycle etc), a camera, a bike, books and other items.

Here’s how it works. Click on the blue Classifieds button in the site’s top banner. When there, you will be able to place an advert, or browse through adverts other people have placed. If you’re placing an advert, you enter the item’s details, plus a photo if you’ve got it, along with the price you want and your e-mail address. Your e-mail address is not publicly visible. But anyone who wants to buy your items enters their details and our software automatically sends you an e-mail. It’s up to you, as the seller, whether you get in contact to arrange the sale.

Wansteadium has no part in this other than introducing buyer and seller. And it’s all free, the kind of selfless gesture which gives Wansteadium a warm glow.

Remember, though, if you want to give stuff away rather than sell it, there are a number of excellent ways to do it. On Wanstead High Street there is Barnados, the British Heart Foundation and the Oxfam Bookshop. And there’s always the wonderful Freegle Redbridge, a network of local people who give away all sorts of things to people who need them.