“Currently, there is a particular need for more O negative and B negative donors, as well as more donors of black heritage… By giving an hour of your time, you could save up to three lives,” said an NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson.
Local donation venues include Hawkey Hall in Woodford and Westfield Stratford City.
Visit blood.co.uk
Iain Duncan-Smith MP and Ajay Ghoshal“We were honoured to host this celebration at the Hawkey Hall, a venue that has become an integral part of our traditions,” said South Woodford resident and president of the association Ajay Ghoshal.
Iain Duncan Smith MP and local schoolchildren were among the guests who attended the event in early October.
Durga Puja is a major Hindu festival honouring the goddess Durga.
Lydia received a community award for her clean air campaign workIn 2020, taking my two-year-old son to local parks, I began worrying about how healthy it was for him to play outside. Usually, parents would be eager for toddlers to run around green spaces, but our nearest parks, Ray Park and Elmhurst Gardens, sit alongside the M11 and North Circular, two of London’s worst-polluted roads. We spent hours on the swings just a few metres from constant traffic, and I couldn’t stop asking: how harmful was the air we were breathing?
Determined to find answers, I discovered Mums for Lungs, a grassroots organisation founded in 2017 by Jemima Hartshorn. The group campaigns on the health risks of air pollution, particularly for children. I was shocked to learn one in 10 London children suffer from asthma, and that pollution contributes to an estimated 30,000 deaths annually in the UK. It felt like an invisible killer, yet one that rarely makes headlines.
I applied for a new community strand of the Breathe London programme and received one of their first solar-powered air quality sensors, installed in Elmhurst Gardens next to the playground. The sensor measured nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) hourly. The results were alarming: readings frequently exceeded UK legal limits and surpassed World Health Organization guidelines. Yet, because legal limits are based on annual averages rather than daily exposure, the local authority had no obligation to act.
The fact is, the London Borough of Redbridge knows there’s an issue with pollution in the borough and actually declared itself an Air Quality Management Area back in 2003. But as a borough lacking in essential bus and Tube connections, it’s no surprise many residents rely heavily on vehicles, with 72.5% of Redbridge households owning a car or van in 2023, much higher than the London average.
Air pollution became personal in other ways too. I appeared in a Client Earth video supporting the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which requires owners of the most polluting cars to switch to cleaner alternatives or pay a daily charge. I was saddened to receive online trolling in a local newspaper. It was clear the message wasn’t getting out there about the true risks air pollution posed to local people’s health.
Motivated to act, I began connecting with other concerned residents and started a branch of Mums for Lungs in Redbridge. This marked the beginning of my journey to empower local families, share information and explore practical ways to reduce exposure to harmful pollution in our borough. Understanding the problem was the first step; changing it – as I will explain in the next issue – would require community effort and sustained pressure on local authorities.
Mums for Lungs website: www.mumsforlungs.org/about-air-pollution
Breathe London Community Programme, node data: www.breathelondon-communities.org/
Redbridge School Streets: www.redbridge.gov.uk/roads-and-pavements/redbridge-school-streets/
We Care for Our Air on PWLC Projects website: www.pwlcprojects.com/wecareforourair
Redbridge Cycling Campaign: redbridgecycling.org/
Ride for Their Lives: ridefortheirlives.net/
As both a holistic practitioner and the coordinator of the South Woodford Business Network, I’ve often been struck by how many health professionals we have right here in our local area, including GPs, pharmacists, opticians, community nurses and a growing number of mental health and wellbeing practitioners. Yet, despite working towards the same goal of improving community health, many of us have never actually met.
That realisation inspired me to organise the first health practitioner networking event in Redbridge, which will take place on 7 January at Lily House in South Woodford. The aim is simple: to bring together local health practitioners from all sectors to meet, share insights and build meaningful connections that will ultimately benefit the community we all serve.
In my conversations with GPs, I’ve discovered that, even within the same area, many have never met the pharmacists or opticians they communicate with daily. The same can be said for community nurses and wellbeing practitioners, who often support the same patients but rarely have the opportunity to collaborate directly. This event is about changing that.
Dr Mary Lou Hanley, a community GP at Southdene Surgery and head of the Wanstead, South Woodford and Woodford Primary Care Network (PCN), has been enthusiastic about the idea from the start. She recognises healthcare delivery is evolving rapidly, with GP practices such as Southdene now working within a primary care team model. This means that alongside the GP, patients can now access a social prescriber, practice pharmacist and care coordinators who make up a primary care team designed to manage most primary health needs without every patient needing to see the doctor first. It’s a more holistic, person-centred approach that meets people where they are. But for it to work well, communication between the primary care team and other professionals in the community is essential. Social prescribing, in particular, relies on GPs and practice staff knowing what health and wellbeing services are available locally, so they can confidently signpost patients to the right support.
Rita Kumar, owner of Lily House, has kindly offered the venue for our first gathering. As she put it: “We are delighted this health networking event will be hosted at Lily House. It will create the perfect atmosphere for meaningful connections and collaboration.”
My hope is that this event will mark the beginning of a more connected and collaborative local health network; one that reflects the compassion and talent already thriving in our community, as well as the possibility of this being replicated in other areas of the borough.
For more information on the networking event, email healingnotesfromafriend@gmail.com
I was born in Leytonstone and I now live in Wanstead with my partner and two children. I am British-Asian, and for a small but vocal section of society, Britain is not my home and I do not belong here.
I grew up in East London in the 1980s and 1990s; my first experience of racist abuse was at aged five from someone in my class in primary school. The way racism manifested evolved as I grew up and it became socially unacceptable to be overtly racist. However, I feel that has shifted in the past few years, which is why I became involved in the Wanstead and South Woodford Against Racism campaign.
There has been a significant rise in far-right nationalism and populism in the United Kingdom over the past few years, which has been fuelled by the anti-immigrant rhetoric platformed by mainstream political parties. This has recently culminated with the largest far-right protest in Central London, and a campaign known as ‘Operation Raise the Colours’, which has seen St George and Union Jack flags illegally flying from lampposts. (The Highways Act 1980 prohibits placing or attaching anything to a public highway without consent and bans the placing of any items that could cause danger, obstruction or distraction.) Flags have also been painted on public structures across the country, including in South Woodford, Woodford, Epping and Leytonstone. This campaign has been positioned as an act of patriotism, but the intention is intimidation and division within communities. There has also been an uptick in race-related hate crimes nationally, which is reflected in the experiences of business owners and members of the public within Wanstead and Woodford.
Wanstead and South Woodford Against Racism is an initiative that was born from the broader campaign set up in Leytonstone in response to the St George’s Cross being illegally painted across the area. Wanstead and South Woodford Against Racism sets out to amplify the voices of the quiet majority that support and celebrate the existence of our diverse communities in East London.
As a starting point, we have rolled out a poster campaign to counter the far-right narrative and show that our communities will not stand for any form of racism across religious or ethnic lines. You may have seen our posters in shopfronts along the High Street in Wanstead and George Lane in South Woodford. We have had a huge, positive response from businesses, but we still have more to reach.
Our campaign is run by local volunteers and we are always looking for more people to get involved. Do get in touch if you would like to display a poster in your home or business.
The campaign is run by local volunteers and are looking for more people to get involved. Please contact wansteadagainstracism@gmail.com
If you would like to display a poster in your home, please visit the distribution hubs listed below. There is also have a GofundMe page if you would like to donate to support the activities www.gofundme.com/f/Wanstead-and-South-Woodford-Against-Racism
It follows approval for the introduction of a similar zone in Wanstead.
“We’re progressing through the process to begin public consultation on proposals for South Woodford… We aim to consult before Christmas 2025 as part of our wider programme. This initiative is part of ongoing work to create safer streets for all road users, particularly pedestrians and cyclists,” said a spokesperson.
Consultation details will be posted here when available.
©Alan Simpson“I took this photo in Claybury Park. I’ve photographed a lot in there over the years and through the seasons. This time, I was hoping for a few photos of the sunrise. Although I took this photo in the autumn, I hadn’t planned for the mist, nor for the dog walkers. It was one of those occasions where everything came together just at the right time,” said Alan Simpson.
“With rising costs and shrinking arts funding, we’ve turned to creative fundraising to keep the curtain rising,” said a spokesperson. To reflect the group’s next performance – which will take place from 1 to 11 January 2026 – the 12km walk began at the Dick Whittington statue in Holloway.
The amateur company has been performing at the Hawkey Hall since 1962.
Visit swvg.co.uk/wpf
Installed in the summer of 2024 under the Solar for Schools initiative, the panels have generated more electricity than the school uses, with enough surplus energy to power 25 homes for a year exported to the National Grid.
“We’re proud to lead locally on the environment. This project has not only reduced our carbon footprint but has empowered our pupils to understand and act on sustainability,” said Headteacher Rebecca Emeny.
To mark the success, local councillors and other school leaders met pupils from Churchfields’ Eco Committee for a guided tour of the school site, showcasing the solar array and other environmental features, including wildflower areas, a vegetable garden and a small woodland.
“We continue to explore further energy efficiency measures and remain committed to supporting other schools in their sustainability journeys.”
Janiv (left) was joined on his walks by friends and family“I started on 10 August 2016 with the Central Line, which took almost 24 hours, and finished with the Piccadilly Line on 31 August this year, which took just over 29 hours,” said Janiv Patel, who completed each walk without sleep, raising more than £23,000 for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his grandmother, Mrudula, and his aunt, Jyoti.
Visit swvg.co.uk/11lines
“Leaky dams are a natural flood management measure. Made of wood and placed horizontally across a watercourse, they mimic the natural obstruction caused by trees and branches falling into the water,” said a City of London Corporation spokesperson. The dams are designed to reduce flood risks, protect the Forest’s carbon store and improve water quality.
Volunteer sessions will take place from November.
Visit swvg.co.uk/dams
