Editor

A number of local residents will be opening their gardens to the public this summer as part of the National Garden Scheme.

“Please continue to visit the open gardens, not only locally but all over London. The library has a supply of booklets that detail locations and dates… I am also keen to hear from more people across Wanstead and Woodford who would like to open their garden next year,” said Teresa Farnham, a local organiser for the scheme, which raised over £3m for nursing charities last year.

Visit swvg.co.uk/ngs24

Central Line managers will be at South Woodford station on 21 May to answer questions about Central Line stations and services.

The event will take place in the ticket hall from 4.30pm until 7pm.

“If you are unable to attend, you can find out further information by visiting our Central Line webpage,” said a TfL spokesperson.

Some South Woodford scribbles from DD, our resident diarist and observer of all things local. Illustrated by Evelyn Rowland

I can’t remember, or even imagine, a time when I didn’t love words. Perhaps some of you were at the ‘Red School’ when I was, with the formidable Miss Read ruling the roost. If so, you may remember listening to How Things Began on the radio in the final year. We had to turn our notes (starting from Neanderthal Man in the Palaeolithic Era) into a complete book. I still have mine. Writing letters has never seemed like a chore to me. My younger brother, Michael, moved abroad many years before the email revolution and we regularly filled those small, blue, lick-round-the-edge airmail forms with family news on each side of the four-thousand-mile divide. He also still writes and has several books to his name. But that’s quite enough chat.

I would like to say a big thank you to those of you who have written to me on my Gazette email address. Nothing warms my heart more than realising someone actually reads the stuff I write. Thoughts, comments, suggestions as to possible themes: all welcome. Your letters are like gifts, which brings me, by a somewhat convoluted route, to this issue’s theme: gifts.

“I’ve been in gifts for 25 years.” This was Sue speaking, one of the long-serving staff at Room 22 (directly opposite the approach road into Sainsbury’s). “I love this shop,” she continued. “Look outside: people rushing by, heading to the station, or the bus stop. Wondering if they’ve remembered everything they meant to include on their shopping list. Now look at those who have walked in here. You can’t help noticing it: they have slowed down, they are relaxing, they are winding down. I feel this myself when I arrive in the morning. A sense of contentment. There’s nothing not to like! Compare this with sitting at an office desk all day! I am handling lovely things. I have the opportunity to be creative, to think about the best way to display newly-arrived stock: William Morris porcelain, Gistella Graham tableware, special items for Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day. Warm mohair scarves in bright unusual colours and designs, dresses, woollens.” “I didn’t know you sold clothes as well,” I managed to interrupt the enthusiastic flow. “Not many left just now. Sundresses, hats even; they disappeared fast.” 

Another happy South Woodford shopkeeper is Olga. “I always longed to run my own business with lots of regular customers and high-quality goods. And what a joy when a corner shop became available!” (It’s at the junction of George Lane and Pulteney Road.) Olga is a balloon seller with long experience and a huge range of sizes, colours and shapes. But I quickly realised this was a mere fraction of the breadth of services she offers. She can plan and design and create in every detail the special party you have in mind, tailored individually to the occasion, balloons and much more. An anniversary? A birthday? An engagement? She is happy to visit the party venue, perhaps your sitting room, perhaps somewhere bigger, to measure up the space and provide you with a sketch of how the venue could look on the day. The shop has a really fun atmosphere. All sorts of party and gift ideas and paraphernalia fill the shelves around the walls. Olga was glad to chat: “I trained as a physiotherapist in Lithuania but jobs were hard to find.” “Was that because you were a woman?” “No, not really.” “Perhaps your heart wasn’t in it? You were dreaming of your corner shop and party plans?” Olga smiled. “I think there’s some truth in what you say. I suppose really I’m a bit of a softie. I admit it. Most of my patients in the hospital were severely disabled. I would go home with a broken heart. Often tears. Look at me now just recalling what it was like. Now I go home with a smile on my face and a spring in my step. What could be better than helping people to celebrate? And I do have lots of lovely regular customers!”

Located in the station forecourt is what must be the smallest shop in South Woodford. Proof positive that ‘good things come in small packages’. “A perfect gift for special people” it says above the window. I had always assumed that all the special gifts were necklaces, rings and brooches. I know better now. Just three years ago, this ‘boutique’ changed hands and here was Irem sitting behind the mini counter with fresh flowers and a welcoming smile as I stepped in. Irem is Turkish but has lived in the UK for over 20 years, is married to an Englishman and has a teenage daughter at a local school. Lucky daughter to be bilingual. Irem is, first and foremost, an artist: “Even when I’m cooking, I love arranging the food on the plate as an artist. And it’s the same when I lay the table. That too can be a work of art.” All this was delightfully evident in the shop. It was like a mini art gallery, with her own paintings displayed on the walls between the showcases of jewellery. “I have continued the tradition of the previous owner,” she told me. “I specialise in gemstones and silver. Absolutely fine for customers who find they are allergic to other metals.” Along with her paintings, Irem sells handcrafted gifts: unusual Turkish bags, small, beautifully carved olive wood boxes on which she has painted her unique designs. Even all the displays of her gemstones in all their different colours look like the work of an artist with a capital A.

I think it’s time to wrap this up. (Sorry! I couldn’t resist that.) There’s a cluster of birthdays coming up. Between us, we share six children and 12 grandchildren. Mostly, they prefer their gifts to be a surprise. But ever-thoughtful Sophie rang today with a helpful message: “I expect you may wish to know what I’d like for my birthday.”

To contact DD with your thoughts or feedback, email dd@swvg.co.uk

Ruth Rendell was best known for her crime novels featuring Chief Inspector Wexford. Less well known is that the author was born in South Woodford. Emily Allen explores the life of our local queen of crime

Cosy crime and detective fiction is well and truly having a moment, with whodunnits by authors such as Richard Osman, Reverend Richard Coles and Janice Hallett selling by the millions. Yet, local lovers of crime fiction don’t have to look too far from home for a nearby link to the genre, as one of the 20th century’s most prolific crime fiction writers was born right on our doorstep.

Ruth Rendell, née Grasemann, was born in South Woodford in 1930. Both her parents were teachers and she attended the County High School for Girls. After leaving school, she worked as a feature writer for the Chigwell Times, but was forced to resign after reporting on a local sports club dinner she hadn’t actually attended, and was therefore unaware that the after-dinner speaker had died midway through his speech!

Following her marriage to Don Rendell, a reporter whom she met when they were both covering an inquest, and the birth of their son Simon three years later, Ruth set out to try her hand at fiction. Over the next few years, she wrote six crime novels, all of which were rejected by publishers. Her seventh, From Doon with Death, was accepted by John Long Publishing House and published in 1964, for which she received £75. Ruth’s inaugural novel also marks the first appearance of the popular character for whom she is perhaps best remembered: Chief Inspector Wexford.

Chief Inspector Reginald Wexford lives in the fictional town of Kingsmarkham, Sussex, and solves the uncharacteristically high number of murders that befall the village. Over the next 50 years, Ruth published 24 Inspector Wexford novels; the final title in the series, No Man’s Nightingale, was published in 2012, and sees Chief Inspector Wexford retired and acting as a police consultant. The novels’ rural village setting, clever plots and surprise endings have drawn parallels with Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Miss Marple and Dorothy L Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey novels.

Ruth also published standalone psychological crime novels and thrillers to much acclaim, some under the pen name Barbara Vine, including A Judgement in Stone (1977) and A Sight for Sore Eyes (1998), and she set the last novel published in her lifetime, The Girl Next Door (2014), in Loughton.

Ruth died in May 2015, only six months after the death of fellow crime writer PD James. The Ruth Rendell Award was introduced in 2016 by the National Literacy Trust and honours authors whose work influences and champions children’s literacy. Ruth’s novels, in particular her Inspector Wexford series, are some of the earliest works in today’s incredibly popular crime fiction category. So, the next time you curl up with a crime novel, you can be proud that a forerunner of this much-loved genre was one of South Woodford’s own.

Emily Allen is a freelance writer. For more information, visit swvg.co.uk/allen

In the seventh of a series of articles featuring the images of local photographers who document the wildlife of Wanstead Park and the surrounding area, Mark O’Dell presents his shot of a Mute Swan in flight

I took this image of a Mute Swan flying towards me in Wanstead Park. I find photographing wildlife is a fantastic way to capture the beauty of the natural world, get out in the fresh air and exercise both body and mind. 

I’m a professional photographer and content creator based in Woodford Green. I’ve shot a diverse range of subjects for commercial and editorial clients and the occasional wedding, too. I enjoy photographing people, both professionally and those I meet in day-to-day life. I love telling stories through my images and my love of photography allows me to connect with awesome companies and individuals. I also provide one-to-one photography training sessions, covering aspects such as setting up your camera, learning about exposure, flash or anything connected to photography. I now also provide advice and tuition on getting to grips with wildlife photography. When I’m not working, you’ll find me out and about photographing the wonderful wildlife we have locally. 

We are so lucky in Redbridge, having access to fantastic parks and, as individuals, there are numerous ways we can engage with and support wildlife conservation efforts. I support the RSPB and regularly visit their reserves throughout the country. I also photograph birds and insects that exist within the borough and share my images with the local community (some of which are housebound) through social media. Bringing the outside world to them through my images and words is particularly fulfilling. 

On my regular walks in the local parks, I’ve met and photographed some interesting people and made some long-lasting friendships, too.

A lot of our parks in Wanstead and Woodford rely heavily on volunteers to keep them looking shipshape by litter picking and other manual labour, so a big shout-out to those who give their time freely to maintain and improve these green spaces.

To view more of Mark’s wildlife photos, visit swvg.co.uk/odell

For more information on Mark’s portrait photography, visit markodell.com

As the South Woodford Design Code continues to develop in earnest, Pearl Arbenser-Simmonds reports on the work underway to create an online map of community assets 

A Design Code is a collection of design principles to help local areas deliver beautiful and sustainable places. It enables the community to lead the way in shaping the design of their own neighbourhood. The document will eventually provide guidance for development, covering the design of streets, public spaces and buildings, as well as spaces for nature.

The South Woodford Society and Neighbourhood Forum are progressing well in developing a digital version of the Design Code for the area. We are in the process of creating a new, user-friendly website so residents, community groups, businesses, developers and other interested stakeholders can explore what matters to people locally. It will also set out guidelines for new development and our targets for 2040.

One of the things we are doing is mapping community assets using the web-based ArcGIS. A graphic information system (GIS) is a spatial system that creates, manages, analyses and maps all types of data. It is a complete system for discovering, consuming, creating and sharing geographical data maps and apps designed to fulfil particular objectives. It connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). For example, Crossrail is using ArcGIS to develop maps and data for public-facing information.

Here in South Woodford, we are mapping everything from street benches to tree canopy cover to better understand what we have and what we need. This digital map will document our journey towards South Woodford as a green and active neighbourhood, which inspires people to walk and cycle, with a vibrant town centre filled with opportunities for the community to socialise.

With a series of road maps as our basic tools, we have walked the streets within our boundary, noting the locations of street benches (including bus stop seats), cycle storage and trees. The image here shows a basic view of the work we have carried out thus far. Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue this process using online tools, as well as our base maps, to document more assets, such as cycle routes, cycle storage and walking routes. Our aspiration is to eventually map pretty much anything that is of interest to our local community. You will then be able to access this information via an online map.

This project is a lot of work, so we are always happy to have additional volunteers to help. If this is something you would like to support, please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!

For more information and to get involved, email sowodeco@gmail.com

Jo Cullen from local solicitors Edwards Duthie Shamash takes a look at the improvements to employee rights following recent changes to the flexible working request regime

Flexible working is a way of working that suits an employee’s needs, for example, having flexible start and finish times, or working from home. All employees have the legal right to request flexible working. On 6 April 2024, changes to the new flexible working request regime came into force. The headline changes include:

• An employee can request flexible working from their first day of employment; there is no qualification period.
• When making a request, an employee no longer has to explain what effect, if any, they think their requested change will have on their employer and how any such effect might be dealt with. 
• An employee is entitled to make two requests in any 12-month period. 
• An employer will not be permitted to refuse a request unless the employee has been consulted. 
• The time for an employer to make a decision is reduced from three to two months.

The new rules are very much to the benefit of the employee, giving them the ability to request flexibility from their first day of employment. There has been much debate about this Day One right and the impact the change may have on employers. However, flexible working is increasingly a topic for discussion during the recruitment process, and the impact may not be as great as initially expected with prospective employees looking to agree varied terms before starting employment.  

Whilst an employee has the right to request flexible working, an employer does not have to agree to the request if it is not feasible and the rejection reasoning falls within one of the business reasons that continue to apply as set out in the legislation.  

Employers will have to deal promptly with requests within the new set time limits, although there is still scope to extend this time by agreement. Any request must be fully considered and discussed. Where a request is not to be agreed, a full consultation must take place and all steps taken clearly documented, including details around variations to the proposed changes or alternative roles to reduce the risk of an appeal and, ultimately, a claim being issued.  

Employers will need to be ready to implement these changes and ensure they are familiar with the new rules and the updated Acas statutory code of practice on requests for flexible working.

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

In the second of a series of articles to mark Churchfields Infants’ and Junior School’s 150th anniversary, former pupil Carol Elsbury (class of 1972) reflects on her memories of Miss Francis and Mr Baker  

People often say schooldays are the best days of your lives. I felt a sense of security and happiness at Churchfields, which was a testament to the staff. We had recently moved from Swindon and starting a new school was terrifying. At the end of the first day, the school phoned my parents to congratulate them on my grasp of English, which confused my mum until she realised they thought I had come from Sweden, not Swindon!

I have hazy memories of the infants, where Miss Hollis presided over us one day in the playground, dividing our class into birthdays. We had no idea this would mean some of our friends would ‘disappear’ and our class would be altered going forward. We soon adjusted and my real memories begin clearly when we went into the junior school.

Our classroom was one of the huts built at the rear of the school, near the large field, to cater for the ever-growing student body. I can remember that hut as being so colourful, with paintings on all the walls, a large nature table on the right-hand side of the room and mobiles hanging from the ceiling. The tiny tables faced the blackboard and to the rear was the reading area. The teacher was Sheila Francis; she was one of two cherished teachers at that school who did so much for me.  

I was okay until someone raised their voice; then I was scared. When Miss Francis would admonish someone, I would be upset but try not to show it. Finally, my mum spoke to Miss Francis, who came up with a simple but very kind plan. If she was going to raise her voice, she would walk over to me, hold both my hands and smile, and then tell someone off over her shoulder! It might seem silly now, but to me, it made all the difference in the world. 

In my last year at juniors, we were supposed to have our first male teacher, Mr Baker. However, when we came in on that first morning, we were greeted by an elderly teacher, who I think was Mrs Mangham. She explained Mr Baker had been on holiday and had tragically lost his son in an accident. She taught us for a few weeks and said it was essential we did not say anything to Mr Baker about the accident and that we must be well-behaved upon his return. And we were. I found Mr Baker an encouraging and positive person, which was extraordinary given what he must have been suffering. He developed my love of reading and writing and my last report said I had a very “chatty” style! 

I think the greatest sadness for pupils of our era is that when we return for the reunion in June, the buildings we remember will no longer be there. I can close my eyes and see the high windows, the painted bricks, the classroom doors surrounding the hall and the gigantic TV stand, which was ceremoniously wheeled out. But mostly, I remember a feeling of happiness, and for that, I am truly grateful.

A school reunion will take place on 8 June from 11am. For more information and to register, visit swvg.co.uk/c150

Redbridge Council’s enforcement team have urged residents to report fly-tipping.

It follows issues with rubbish dumped by the bus stop at the junction of St Alban’s Road and High Road.

“We are monitoring this location as part of our patrols and have issued a number of penalties for fly-tipping. I would request residents use the council’s ‘report it’ function to report such instances so this can be passed to the correct team to be investigated quickly and action taken before evidence is lost,” said a spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/reportit

South Woodford resident Kim Rix became a gemologist to fully indulge her passion for gemstones. Ahead of a gemstone discovery tour to Tanzania this summer, she offers some insight into her work 

I’ve always loved gemstones. There’s just something magical about wearing a mineral that was created by Mother Nature over millions of years. In my forties, my passion was so intense, I became addicted to buying jewellery just so I could take a closer look! In 2017, after naively buying a glass ‘ruby’ on holiday, I took my hobby further and qualified as a gemologist with the world-renowned Gemological Institute of America (GIA).

What is a gemologist? I hear you ask. Gemology is the identification of gemstones. It involves testing a gemstone with specialist equipment, which eventually gives you the necessary clues to make an identification. A gemologist can also assess synthetic versus natural gemstones. 

At its most basic, the rule of thumb is this: the rarer, the bigger and the more naturally beautiful a gemstone is, the more it will be worth. The problem is you cannot properly analyse a stone with the naked eye or gemologist’s loupe (magnifying glass). This is where the gem labs come in. In a laboratory, experts using high-tech equipment will be able to give you definitive information. 

A gemologist can also advise if a gemstone is imitating a more expensive gemstone. An imitation stone might be a less valuable semi-precious stone or it might simply be coloured glass. If I believe you have something valuable, I might suggest you seek further advice for insurance purposes.

Is it a good idea to buy a gemstone as an investment? There is no simple answer to this and you should bear in mind all investments involve a degree of risk. Gemstones are hard assets. Historically, they have been seen as a hedge against inflation and the breakdown of more abstract forms of investment. Prices fluctuate, but over the long term, gemstones have risen in value significantly. So has the price of gold, which recently hit an all-time high.

Caring for your gemstones and jewellery is important. Gemstones have different levels of hardness, so some can damage others if thrown together. Each piece of jewellery needs to have a separate compartment, with room for necklaces and bracelets to be fully laid out. This way you’ll avoid your favourite jewellery becoming tangled and scratched.

When it comes to cleaning, you must know exactly what each gemstone is and what treatment it has undergone. Some gemstones can be irreparably damaged by harsh cleaning agents. Diamonds, sapphires and rubies are hard enough to be cleaned at home. To do this, mix distilled water with some mild soap and use a soft toothbrush to gently remove dirt. Dry and polish your gem with a soft, lint-free cloth to prevent water stains.

For more information and to apply for Kim’s gemstone discovery tour, visit gemstonedetective.com

Iain Duncan Smith MP has launched a Central Line satisfaction survey.

“Right now, Central line services outside of Central London are only running every 15 minutes. And they’ve no idea when this will return to normal… That’s why I’m doing a satisfaction survey. I’ll collect all the responses and share them directly with the Mayor of London and the Commissioner of TfL… Please tell me how the delays and overcrowding are impacting you,” said the Chingford & Woodford Green MP.

Visit swvg.co.uk/idscl

Redbridge Council’s External Scrutiny Committee met with TfL recently in light of planned changes to local bus routes.

“We raised several concerns, including the impact of a reduced service to the Nightingale Estate and the new W14 not stopping inside Whipps Cross. TfL acknowledged the issues but reiterated points in the consultation response. We did manage to secure a commitment to review the impact after a year,” said Councillor Daniel Morgan-Thomas. The new routes take effect from September.

Visit swvg.co.uk/bus