Alongside the music and theatre of the Wanstead Fringe, the range of talks is a real strength and this year is no exception.
On Monday, multi-award-winning journalist Peter Geoghegan, who lives locally, will be talking to Lord Victor Adebowale about his work. At times it has seemed Peter is one of the only journalists working now who is being really effective at holding power to account – and what makes it even more amazing is that he does it largely through his Substack, Democracy for Sale.
Earlier this year he was the winner of the Paul Foot award for investigative journalism for his work exposing how wealth, data and lobbying are changing politics without most people even noticing.
On Wednesday the talk about the story behind the Coin-Op factory on Nelson Road is completely sold out, but don’t despair, there will be more chances in future to hear the tales and see the pictures.
Slightly further ahead, on Monday 14th, in Wanstead Goes to Hollywood, local history Greg Roberts will be telling the fascinating tale of how Hollywood star Greer Garson had her roots right here and kept loyal to them even when she was world famous.
On Tuesday 15th, there is a live recording of the What To Do About podcast, in which Aldersbrook’s Lord Victor Adebowale and Peter Holbrook take a subject and work out what needs to be done.
And on Thursday 17th there is a discussion called The News from Wanstead in which local experts will discuss with Wansteadium’s Giles Wilson the decline in local news, what it means for our history, our politics and our identity. Can anything be done to recover a truly effective local press? If you’re into journalism, politics or community this will prove to be a fascinating debate.
As ever, tickets for these events are available through the Wanstead Fringe website.