admin

The newly formed Friends of Aldersbrook Riding School is seeking community support to help the much-loved venue jump the lockdown hurdle. Tracey Adebowale-Jones reports

Nestled among the woodlands of Wanstead Park, in an unlikely corner of east London, you will find Aldersbrook Riding School and Livery Stables. Founded in 1973 as a way to engage children with the joy of horses, the school has grown over the years into a place where young and old alike can learn or improve their horse-riding skills.

From beginner to professional, the stables offer a range of activities. The large indoor school provides all-weather provision and owners Steven Kiley and Jack Seager offer instruction for all levels.

Many in the local community have learned to ride there, as have the children and grandchildren of those horse riders, and there are many tales of adventure and fun to be told. Sara remembers: “I absolutely loved being at Aldersbrook in the late 1970s… my favourite was Tzar, but Rusty was adorable too. Fantastic memories… my daughter has the horse bug now… wonder how that happened!”

But, of course, like all businesses, the current pandemic meant the stables had to close its doors to the public. Staff (and horses) were furloughed and the stables ran on fresh air and determination. So, as a way of supporting the school, a group of volunteers set up Friends of Aldersbrook Riding School as both a way of advertising the venue and raising funds. To keep people, especially children, engaged with the horses, we ran a painting competition and placed information posters around the perimeter fences. So many people were visiting the horses that ‘Do Not Feed’ signs were needed to stop the horses growing too fat from carrots!

As we enter the new phase of lockdown, the school has been able to reopen in a small way, offering individual private lessons as opposed to the many group lessons that keep it going.

The school is a much-loved fixture of the community of Aldersbrook and Lakehouse residents. It offers access not only to riding skills but also to nature. But all of these are on hold until we are fully out of lockdown, so can you help?

We would like to invite businesses or individuals to sponsor a horse or buy a bag of feed. You could also support children in poverty to ride by ‘paying it forward’. Donations of plants, buckets, wheelbarrows or timber will help us to keep the stables well maintained. There is also a large indoor arena where we can display advertising banners. And as we head into 2021, the stables will be running small shows and sponsors will be able to appear on rosettes and trophies.  

In the second of a series of articles celebrating the swans that reside on the lakes of Wanstead Park and Wanstead Flats, Tracey Adebowale-Jones welcomes new life, locally and across the waterways of Britain

In Wanstead Park, we have three breeding pairs of swans on our four lakes (known to swans as territories), Perch Pond, Heronry Pond, Ornamental Waters and Shoulder Of Mutton Pond. Over on Wanstead Flats, we have a breeding pair (and very unusually a mistress!) on Alexander Lake, and on Jubilee Pond, we have a non-breeding flock.

Swan pairs will nest on the same territory every year unless they are driven away by another pair looking for a nesting site. The early months of spring often see many territorial spats on the lakes, which can result in injury or even death. Once established, however, it is a journey of hard work and waiting for the breeding pair.

The swans will spend many hours building their nest from twigs, leaves and vegetation. Sadly, as our litter problem becomes more of an issue, we will see plastic and bits of rubbish in the nest, so it is important that we keep our parks clean. The female (pen) will create a hollow in the middle of the nest as she builds the walls higher to keep safe from predators. The nest will usually be surrounded by water and hidden from sight as much as possible.

From late April, the pen will start laying and incubating, leaving the nest only to eat and bathe – but only for short periods. The male (cob) will be seen displaying his feathers as a sign to stay away and will stay close by to protect his mate and soon-to-be new family. Swans will lay up to 10 eggs; hatching occurs from May to June/July. Once the cygnets are hatched, it is a testing time for the parents as they protect them from gulls, pike, terrapins and, sadly, humans.

Last year, Wanstead Park saw eggs taken and smashed and the Perch pair lost all their cygnets to predators. The Ornamental pair were much luckier, having immediately moved their clutch to a safer nest site following hatching, and managed to keep seven of their eight cygnets.

It’s a difficult time for the swan volunteers too, as we keep close guard over the breeding pairs and monitor their nests and their cygnets. We all feel a sense of loss when we see one cygnet has gone missing, let alone all of them. Within a day of the Perch pair hatching eight eggs this year, one went missing.

This breeding season has obviously fallen in the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, and the park has attracted so many more visitors.  The swans and their cygnets have become used to a number of photographers at any one time, bringing their youngsters onto the bank for food and attention. But this leaves them vulnerable, as people still do not put dogs on leads or children run to see them.  It is at this point that swans can show their more protective side and hiss and raise their wings. It is not only humans who are sent off; Canada geese, coots and ducks are all sent away, often by the cob, if they come within a wing length of the swan family. Their little downy, fluffy babies are well protected by their large parents.

By eight to 10 weeks old, if they have survived, the cygnets will have reached half their adult size and have their grey-brown plumage. At 13 to 17 weeks, those once tiny cygnets are ready to learn to fly, and by September they are practising their flight techniques with the help of mum and dad. In the park, you are often able to witness the whole family taking off and returning after a flying lesson.

In the next article, I hope to be able to show a chronicle of the new swans of Wanstead as those who survive grow up and become independent.

With first-hand experience of domestic abuse, Councillor Rosa Gomez (Churchfields, Labour) knows only too well how important Redbridge Council’s Reach Out service is

It all started in a subtle way – criticisms regarding cooking, how I dressed, my hairdo – and progressed, so that before I realised it, I had been physically abused and was running for my life with the help of the police.

Somehow, in between, I had slowly got used to the drama in my life, struggling to remember living without an abusive relationship. Dependent upon my abuser, I struggled to escape. My home had become a prison where I was not safe and my children were silent victims. I lived in an abusive relationship for too long, afraid that peace and safety would never exist for me.

We have been in lockdown to keep us safe and to protect ourselves and our communities from the COVID-19 pandemic. But as I know, lockdown may be forcing some of us closer to a danger we can’t shut the front door on.

The Met Police recently reported making an average of 100 arrests a day for domestic violence under lockdown, a 9% rise on figures from the same period last year. In addition, they are receiving a third more domestic violence calls.

As well as violence and threats of violence, there are victims who are being controlled financially or emotionally, so these increases represent the tip of the iceberg.

I am proud Redbridge Council has worked proactively to address this side effect of COVID-19. Our Reach Out service was launched in April, designed to help families and couples struggling in abusive situations. It offers support not just to victims but also to perpetrators, helping both to break free from the cycle of abuse.

If you feel the fear I felt all those years ago, please don’t allow yourself to be isolated. Share any concerns you may have with friends or the local agencies. Never put up with words that put you down. Like me, you can make it alone and discover a world out there which will recognise your worth and potential.

Government legislation allows you to leave, and to use public transport to do so if necessary; just take the first step. Reach Out is available Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Refuge can be contacted 24 hours a day for support. If you are in immediate danger, please call 999 for help.

I know how great the communities of South Woodford and Wanstead are at supporting each other, having seen the care shown for those vulnerable and in need during lockdown. If you have a concern about possible domestic abuse, please share the details of Reach Out so those who need help can get it and stay safe.

The Rotary Club of Leytonstone and Woodford are keen to welcome new members to progress their charity work in the local community and further afield.

“Despite the cancellation of two major fundraising events, our club continues to meet via Zoom and find ways to help the community at large, and we are still making important decisions benefiting charities… One of the heart-warming aspects to the present crisis has been the amazing public response to support our wonderful NHS,” said Rotarian John Bracken.

Call 020 3597 2921

While the South Woodford Community Gardeners are unable to meet up and tend to the public flower beds, the group are encouraging passers-by to help out.

“If you’re passing the A406 bridge beds [opposite the entrance to Waitrose], please deadhead a few marigolds to help keep them flowering. And if there are any obvious weeds, please yank them out! We’re hoping to be back again before too long,” said a spokesperson for the group, which also looks after the gardens along the centre of George Lane.

Local artist Karen Humpage has been raising funds for charity by painting house portraits.

“I started painting architecture after visiting London’s historic cemeteries, and was inspired to paint some of the ornate and crumbling monuments… I get just as much enjoyment from painting people’s homes, particularly those with period details and traditional brickwork,” said Karen, who has donated £5 from every commission to The Corner House Project in Wanstead, an initiative which supports the homeless.

Visit wnstd.com/kh

Haven House Children’s Hospice has been chosen as a charity beneficiary in a sponsorship deal between Harry Kane and Leyton Orient.

As well as sponsoring the shirts for the 2020/21 season, the England star has also donated the fee to three good causes, including the Woodford Green charity, which will appear on the club’s away kit. “The hospice will receive huge coverage during the season… and 10% of the proceeds of each shirt sale will be passed to the charities,” said a spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/kane

An initiative that allows the public to directly thank individual NHS workers has been set up by local student Soumya Krishna Kumar.

“Letters For The NHS allows you to nominate any individual key worker you know to receive a letter of support that could be a light in these dark times. Others sign up to write letters, and spread some love… All I want is to reach as many key workers as possible,” said Soumya, a former Bancroft’s School pupil.

The project produced over 100 letters in its first two weeks.

Visit swvg.co.uk/nhsletters

Fairlop Brass Band has rescheduled its debut performance at Forest School in Snaresbrook, following the cancellation of their June event.

The band held regular concerts at Kenneth More Theatre for over 40 years, but when the future of that venue was in doubt, they sought a new home.

“We were thrilled to be able to secure the use of Forest School, and we would like to thank them for allowing this concert to be rebooked for next summer. We now look forward to our debut there in November,” said a band spokesperson.

Visit wnstd.com/fbb

Snaresbrook resident and teacher Chris Pallet will be glad when schools (safely) reopen. Here, Mr Pallet, who is also chair of Redbridge Liberal Democrats, explains the biggest lesson he has learnt from lockdown

Life has changed for everyone since lockdown started. As a teacher in a local primary school, that is certainly true for me. Leaving the house every morning, ready to greet my class at 9am, has transformed into sitting down at my computer in my living room to upload lessons to an online classroom. I spend the rest of the day giving my children feedback and offering what encouragement I can via the chat function. 

I have more time to spend in the garden, but I really miss seeing the children. And I don’t like the thought that I can’t (physically, at least) be there when my children need help with their work.

So, how has this switch to online learning impacted their education? On the plus side, the children that are able and motivated to engage with online learning are getting a crash course in IT that will serve them well in the future. Every day, they are writing emails, creating and editing documents, developing their typing skills and more.

As is always the case, those who are motivated to learn and well supported at home are doing okay.

On the negative side (and it is a huge negative), it is very hard to support those children who are not able to engage with online learning effectively. These are often the children who were already attaining below their potential. They are the ones who needed school the most in the first place, and they are the ones who are falling further behind now.

And, of course, all the children are missing their friends.

So, I will be glad when schools (safely) reopen. The lesson I will take with me from all of this is that some children will thrive in almost any situation because they have the motivation and the supportive home environment to succeed. But for some, school makes all the difference, and I (we) always need to remember that.

Like many who are working from home, I also have a child of my own to support. My advice to parents is, firstly, if possible, allocate a short amount of time every day (30 minutes can be enough) to sit with them. Secondly, read or watch the material set by their school or from elsewhere (BBC Bitesize, for example) and discuss it together. Get them to tell you what it means to them.

Talking is such a powerful part of learning.  It allows children to practice using the right vocabulary and to develop their ideas about what it all means. Don’t worry too much about minor misunderstandings – they can be ironed out later.

Woodford-based women’s organisation Soroptimist International of East London is going from ‘strength to strength’ in lockdown with online meetings.

“Far from suffering, the group has started new projects during this time, including exploring women’s history in east London and providing online support to a charity in Kosovo… Members are also working with COVID-19 community support groups in their neighbourhoods,” said the group’s president Nathalia Berkowitz.

Visit swvg.co.uk/siel

Woodford Arts Group has launched a travel-themed virtual exhibition following the cancellation of their spring display at Packfords Hotel.

“You are able to view this exhibition from the comfort and safety of your own home,” said exhibition organiser Julia Brett. The software allows viewers to navigate their way through a virtual gallery, to select works to view in detail and to hear the artists discuss their pieces. “Most works are for sale and we have the facility to take credit cards over the phone.

Visit swvg.co.uk/tt