Editor

St Aubyn’s School celebrated diversity by holding a ‘Wear Your Story’ earlier this month.

Pupils donned outfits to showcase their hobbies, culture, religion and family traditions, sharing the stories behind their choices with peers and teachers.

“This day was more than just an opportunity for pupils to wear something personal – it was a chance to be seen, heard and valued for who they truly are,” said a spokesperson for the Woodford Green school.

As part of the celebrations, donations were also collected for The Woodland Trust.

The recording of a question and answer session about community safety in Redbridge is available to watch online.

The event – which took place in January – was hosted by council leader Councillor Kam Rai and the Met’s East Area BCU Commander Stuart Bell. Along with residents’ questions, the session highlighted how to report specific issues and explained what happens to reported information.

Visit swvg.co.uk/safetalk

Woodbridge High School is raising funds for the refurbishment of its sports hall.

“The heating system requires repair and the gym floor, which is currently unusable, needs replacing. Although we have applied for a bid from Redbridge Council, it is unlikely that any funding we receive will cover the estimated £40,000 cost. The gym is not only used by our PE department but is also used for exams throughout the year,” said headteacher Steven Hogan.

In addition to the school’s own fundraising events, a parent has set up a crowdfunder for donations from the wider community with an initial target of £10,000.

“We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone for your support, and if your workplace offers match funding, please get in touch. This refurbishment will make a significant difference for our students.”

Visit swvg.co.uk/whsgym

To donate to the ArtHouse Social fundraiser, click here.

To book tickets for the ArtHouse Social Fundraising Disco on Friday 25 April, click here.

To donate to the fundraiser, click here.

For match funding, email Mr Frank Gordon: FGordon@woodbridgehigh.co.uk.

Residents are invited to join the South Woodford Society’s AGM, which will take place on 26 February.

“The AGM is a great opportunity to find out first-hand everything that we’ve been working on, from the Christmas lights switch-on to the Summer Festival and our Neighbourhood Plan and Design Code work; and, of course, it’s always nice to meet fellow residents!” said a spokesperson.

The meeting will take place at the South Woodford Salvation Army hall on Daisy Road from 7pm.

Visit sowosoc.org

Construction site accidents can result in serious injuries, but taking the right steps after can help secure the compensation you deserve, says Bradley Wright from local solicitors Edwards Duthie Shamash

Accidents at work can happen to anyone. When it comes to the workplace, building sites are unfortunately environments where the chances of suffering an injury are higher than that of many other workplaces. Some 61,000 workers are injured on average per year whilst carrying out their duties on building and construction sites.

Accidents on construction sites can have serious consequences and usually involve life-changing injuries, such as spinal injuries, brain injuries, electrocutions, burns and, in the worst-case scenario, fatalities. The most common types of injury that take place on building sites are falls, usually from ladders or scaffolding that has been erected negligently. 

Employers and site managers have a duty of care to ensure all reasonable steps are taken to avoid accidents on building sites, but unfortunately, they can fail in the following ways:

Failing to carryout an appropriate risk assessment on the building site.

Failing to provide employees and subcontractors with sufficient personal protective equipment.

Failing to maintain equipment and machinery efficiently.

Failing to ensure scaffolding and ladders are erected safely and maintained in an efficient state.

Failing to enforce health and safety regulations and failing to train employees appropriately.

If the employer or site managers do not fulfil their duties to provide a safe workplace, then you can make a personal injury claim for compensation.

If you have suffered an accident on a building site, it is vital you seek medical attention. There should be a first aider on site and it is imperative you obtain treatment from them immediately. You must report your injury to your employer or site manager. If they have an accident book, make sure you complete an entry and keep a copy of this. You should take photos and videos of your injury and, more importantly, of the accident site and any defective equipment you were using at the time. Lastly, obtain witness information. 

If you are self-employed, you will still be able to pursue compensation as a claim can be made against the site manager or main contractor for whom you have performed duties.

Edwards Duthie Shamash is located at 149 High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL. For more information, call 020 8514 9000 or visit edwardsduthieshamash.co.uk

South Woodford artist Sharon Quinton explains her journey from office work to a whole new world of creativity, community and craft

I am a self-taught artist living in South Woodford. In 2022, after spending over 40 years in various administration and managerial roles, I left behind that career to pursue my passion for art and crafts full-time.

I take inspiration from a variety of sources, including various social media platforms, popular fiction, fantasy and nature.

When something I see particularly piques my interest, I use the skills and experience I’ve gained over the years as both a hobbyist and in a semi-professional capacity to create something brand new. This allows me to explore different mediums, creating artwork that invokes interest and intrigue in others, with my own personal flair.

I have been able to creatively curate various immersive, themed events for birthdays, weddings and other gatherings, providing everything from decor to props and costumes. Examples of my work include two life-sized trees that currently reside in the classrooms of a school in Romford, various Victorian bonnets and festival hats that were commissioned pieces and some costume accessories for an aerial artist.

Additionally, I took on a role as creative designer for Chilled in a Field, a small family festival, working alongside the production and decor team. This involved creating immersive concepts, putting together storyboards for specific public areas and managing several volunteer workshops making sets, backdrops and props. I will always be grateful to the festival for giving me the opportunity to explore different artistic avenues and for the positive impact it had on working with other like-minded people. Sadly, however, the pandemic brought an end to the festival and so I sought new ways to be creative, express my inner visions and keep producing artworks that are both inclusive and thought-provoking. Being part of a group of creative people was pivotal and I wanted to find an art group that was local. And just like that, Art Group Wanstead appeared in one of my newsfeeds. Algorithms can be useful sometimes!

I joined the group in February 2024 and went straight on to do my first exhibition. The art group members are lovely. There’s lots of knowledge, support and guidance within the group.

Recently, I have been experimenting with acrylic paint, creating contemporary, three-dimensional pieces of artwork – like the one shown here – using die-cast models from Star Trek’s Deep Space Nine series. I used specific models – a Nightingale, a Swarm Ship and a Bird of Prey – that tied in with a Winged Wonders-themed exhibition at Wanstead Library in December.

Every piece of art I create is an original and although inspiration can be drawn from other works, both my own and from others, no two pieces are the same.

To view more of Sharon’s artwork, visit swvg.co.uk/quinton. For more information, email SQArt13@gmail.com

To celebrate the reopening of Notre-Dame, Valentine Singers invite you to join them for a day of singing in South Woodford as they prepare for a concert inspired by the cathedral. Oliver Mason reports

On 15 April 2019, Parisians looked on in horror as the roof of the cathedral of Notre-Dame was consumed by fire, and the famous flèche collapsed and crashed through the ceiling of the nave. The damage to the cathedral was extensive and regarded as a cultural disaster across France and the wider world.

Immediately after the fire, President Macron promised that Notre-Dame would be restored, and called for the work to be completed within five years. An international architectural competition was announced to redesign the flèche and roof. The work has now been completed, and the cathedral reopened in December.

To celebrate the reopening, Valentine Singers, with organist Jonathan Dods, will perform two works for choir and organ, which have close links with Notre-Dame: Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle and David Briggs’ Messe pour Notre-Dame. The concert will take place at St Gabriel’s Church in Aldersbrook on 15 March. But before this, on 18 January, we are holding an all-day open workshop, where we will be exploring and singing one of the works, the Messe Solennelle. This will take place at St Mary’s Church in South Woodford and anyone who enjoys choral singing – or would like to sample the experience of singing with a large chorus – is invited to join us (observers are also welcome). The day will be led by the choir’s musical director, Christine Gwynn, with pianist Tim Smith. 

Vierne composed his rich and thrilling Messe Solennelle in 1899, setting the mass text, minus credo, for choir and two organs. For practical reasons, arrangements of the mass for choir and one organ have since been published. The mass was premiered in 1900 at Saint-Sulpice, in Paris, with Widor and Vierne playing the glorious organ parts. By this time, Vierne had become organist of Notre-Dame, where he remained in post until his death in 1937. 

David Briggs studied with Jean Langlais in Paris and was profoundly influenced by the playing of Pierre Cochereau, organist titulaire at Notre-Dame (1955–1984). Briggs’ Messe pour Notre-Dame features four movements – the Introït, Offertoire, Élévation and Sortie. This is a mass with a difference: not only does it have four interpolated organ improvisations as part and parcel of the setting, but also the composer estimates that 15% of the scored material is ‘sampled’ from organ improvisations by Cochereau. 

Valentine Singers is a friendly choir based in Ilford. We relish the challenge of singing a wide range of choral music and we are proud to bring high-quality music to Redbridge for the local community to enjoy.

Valentine Singers will hold an all-day open workshop at St Mary’s Church, South Woodford on 18 January from 10.30am to 4.30pm (tickets: £25). For more information, call 020 8504 1261 or visit valentinesingers.org

A new series of monthly music recitals will launch at Holy Trinity Church on Hermon Hill this January.

“Our first Music on the Hill event will feature soprano Meliza Metzger and pianist Blanca Rodriguez, who will be performing a varied programme of opera arias, West End musical favourites and Latin love songs,” said a church spokesperson.

The event will take place on 24 January, with doors opening at 6.30pm for an hour of socialising before the performance (bar available; tickets: £10; under-18s: £8).

Visit htsw.org.uk 

There was much excitement about recent sightings of otters in the River Roding. It was particularly astonishing given the state of the river, but is a reassuring sign of nature’s resilience, says Councillor Jo Blackman

The River Roding and its tributaries are critical features of Redbridge’s environment and a vital haven for a range of wildlife and biodiversity. They are also valued by residents and form a distinctive part of Wanstead Park and Roding Valley Park, as well as plans for the Ilford Arrival scheme, a Greater London Authority part-funded programme to open up access to the Roding near Ilford, and wider regeneration.

Sadly, the River Roding has suffered similar challenges to other waterways across the country and has some of the highest number of sewage discharges in London, after the Thames. Information on permitted sewage outfalls is now made publicly available on the Thames Water website. 

Recent testing undertaken by Thames21 and the River Roding Trust in collaboration with local citizen scientists shows levels of E. coli and intestinal enterococci bacteria regularly exceeded safe limits during dry weather conditions (sometimes by a factor of over 20). These results are likely evidence of Thames Water spilling untreated sewage in addition to the outfalls authorised by the Environment Agency. Thanks to the work of the River Roding Trust, we are aware of at least two unpermitted sewage outfalls (located on the Aldersbrook and at Little Ilford). Further work is needed by Thames Water to identify any other unknown outfalls in the Roding. 

Thames Water and Environment Agency officials recently appeared in front of the Redbridge Council’s External Scrutiny Committee, chaired by Wanstead Village Councillor Daniel Morgan-Thomas. The real special guest at the committee was the Roding itself. Paul Powlesland from the River Roding Trust brought a container of water from the Roding with him – a powerful reminder that we need to ensure all agencies are acting in the best interests of the river, which has too often been neglected.

Whilst some progress has been made by Thames Water, officials at the meeting were unable to provide the committee with much detail, nor was the Environment Agency able to tell us if they had taken any action against Thames Water for the pollution of the Roding. I have therefore joined forces with Calvin Bailey MP, Chairman of the Epping Forest and Commons Committee Ben Murphy and Redbridge Council Leader Kam Rai in a letter to Thames Water and the Environment Agency demanding urgent action in the interests of the environment, public health and our residents. 

If we want the otters and other wildlife to thrive in the Roding, we need Thames Water and the Environment Agency to step up and take action to address the sewage scandal.

Jo Blackman is a Labour councillor for Wanstead Village and Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability. Visit wnstd.com/blackman

Acting Inspector Reshma Sher shares how local Safer Neighbourhoods Teams are addressing South Woodford’s crime issues and encourages residents to help make a difference

Hello everyone. My name is Reshma Sher and I am currently the Acting Inspector for the Safer Neighbourhoods Teams (SNT). I cover North Redbridge. I am based at Barkingside Police Station, where I oversee neighbourhood policing for South Woodford, Churchfields and nine other surrounding wards. Prior to this, I was a sergeant on SNT covering the same area, so I have a good understanding of neighbourhood policing and this is something that is so important to me.

I have been a resident in Redbridge for my whole life and I have seen and experienced issues as a resident of Redbridge as well as a police officer. I joined the Met in 2014 and I have served on a variety of teams within the East Area Command Unit.

The community is important to me and my teams. We want everyone to feel safe where they live, work, go to school or college or when they are out socialising with friends and family. Your neighbourhood teams complete reassurance patrols, community engagement events, weapon sweeps, execute warrants, tackle antisocial behaviour and take positive action in relation to any criminal incidents.

We aim to prioritise the community’s needs in all we do. I am aware concerns have been raised about motor vehicle crime and robberies taking place in South Woodford. We are carrying out plain-clothes, proactive patrols as well as providing a uniformed presence during the various times of day the crimes are being committed. The local policing team is working in partnership with other neighbourhood teams, as well as British Transport Police, Safer Transport Teams and the local authority to tackle the incidents as best as we can. 

The local team will be arranging crime prevention stalls to provide advice on stopping the theft of motor vehicles, such as using steering wheel locks combined with signal-blocking pouches. They will give advice on keeping your mobile phones safe and some tips, such as making a note of the IMEI number. They will be publishing dates on social media and the Redbridge WhatsApp channel. The local teams will also be putting their contact details in your local shops.

We also hold quarterly ward panel meetings. If you are a resident or work in the area, why not come along? You can really make a difference and have a say in what you feel should be the ward priorities to help us with our community crime fighting. Please contact your local SNT if you would like to be a part of this.

To contact South Woodford SNT, email SNTJI-South-Woodford@met.police.uk
or call 07887 626 647 

To contact Churchfields SNT, email SNTJI-Churchfields@met.police.uk
or call 07407 492 729 

To join the Redbridge WhatsApp channel, visit swvg.co.uk/rwa