Editor

The South Woodford Business Forum will host their second business information and networking event on 15 February (5pm to 7pm; venue to be confirmed).

It follows a popular event held in November, which saw more than 40 business owners and entrepreneurs from the local area attend. “Our event provides a platform to connect with the vibrant tapestry of local businesses. You’ll be able to exchange ideas and supercharge your network,” said a spokesperson.

The meeting is free, but booking is required.

Visit swvg.co.uk/bf

Local women raised concerns about safety in South Woodford during a walk with police, councillors and ward panel members in November.

“The main concern was a lack of lighting, particularly along Woodford Hall Path at the junction with Stanley Road, which has been reported to the council and will be remedied. We hope to organise more walks in 2024, and if residents would like to suggest different routes, please do get in touch,” said Councillor Rosa Gomez.

Email rosa.gomez@redbridge.gov.uk

Nicola Burrell is the artist behind South Woodford’s iconic flower sculptures, installed opposite George Lane roundabout 20 years ago. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

It’s lovely to be asked to write something about my flower sculptures on their 20th birthday. It is hard to believe that it was two decades ago, and that many of the school children who took part in the project will now have children of their own, who might themselves have grown up with the flower sculptures. 

What pleases me most is the obvious affection people have for the flowers. This was not the universal feeling when I first made them, when some thought them an odd intrusion between The Shrubberies and George Lane, but that is often the case with public artworks. It takes time for them to ‘grow’ into a place and become part of people’s fond memories. 

The project all began when Redbridge Council commissioned me to work with Churchfields Infants School, Oakdale Infants School, Wells Primary School and Churchfields Junior School to design a new sculpture for South Woodford, by making art together, exploring the themes of nature and flowers. We did this by making lots of flowers out of cardboard and painting and colouring them.

After working in the schools, I went away and built a big model of the whole of the George Lane roundabout and worked out the overall design with little maquettes of the flower sculptures, about two inches high. This model then led to making full-size patterns in wood for the sculpture, which I had cut out in Southend and then took to my studio near Colchester, where I formed all of the flowers and welded and painted the sculpture. 

For me, this was a very special commission. I trained as a painter and sculptress in Belfast. Up until the flowers, I had made lots of big, three-dimensional paintings and constructions, all built from either wood, thin steel metal or cardboard, but I hadn’t yet made a big, permanent public artwork for outside, and it was the first time I’d worked in thick steel. The whole project was part of a joyful time, which I think is reflected in the fun and happy character of the flowers.

I like making artworks that are visually appealing and tactile, and I trust my instincts and imagination to come up with them. You don’t need a degree in art to appreciate the flowers, and I often surprise myself in coming up with ideas. You could say they have something anthropomorphic about them, they add something fun and strange to George Lane, but when I see children playing about them, I think they have understood them, as well as me, and anybody else.

For more information and to contact Nicola, email n.burrellartist@gmail.com

More fast chargers for electric vehicles will be installed across Redbridge as part of a project with Uber and infrastructure provider Believ.

“The project is part of the borough’s bid to support local people to adopt more sustainable and greener travel choices, including making the switch from petrol or diesel to electric vehicles,” said a spokesperson for the council. A total of 174 new charging points will be created in 87 locations around the borough – including South Woodford – with installation to begin in early 2024.

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

I used to enjoy quiz nights. At the pub possibly or as a fundraiser for a good cause. I was quite useful if there was a spelling round, but when it came to General Knowledge, I often knew that I knew the answer but somehow it refused to surface. Rather disheartening. Perhaps you’ve been there yourself. But this morning, early, when I drew the curtains and saw the heavy mist (I write these diaries several months ahead), my memory turned up trumps: I recalled Keat’s Ode to Autumn: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom friend of the maturing sun.” An idea was born; would I dare to act on it? 

With the Gazette deadline approaching, I set off after breakfast, wondering how many funny looks I’d get in Sainsbury’s or Waitrose if I invited people to recall any single line of a poem they’d learnt, perhaps in childhood. Michael put down his bag and gave me his full attention. “Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man who wasn’t there. He wasn’t there again today. Oh, how I wish he’d go away.” Of course I could use his name, he said. “But everyone knows me as The Post.” After some thought, Mary volunteered just an opening line: “I wandered lonely as a cloud.” Later on, Millie was also ‘wandering lonely as a cloud’. I thought how nice it would have been if they could wander together. Rugby-playing Richard was giving his godmother a hand with her shopping. They both were intrigued and happy to give it a go. “I know I ought to be able to help,” she said. But Richard got there (beautifully) before her: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” Pauline, aged 92, needed a preparatory drink of water before delivering her chosen lines, slowly and with real feeling: “Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!), awoke one night from a deep dream of peace.” I thought that was it but she was in full, passionate flow with a second contribution: “Ye have robbed, said he, ye have slaughtered and made an end!” I had jotted down “he said” but “No,” said Pauline, “It’s said he!” Barbara was instantly far away from the tinned baked beans and tubes of tomato puree and back in her primary school days, at Christmas, I think: “Little King so fair and sweet, see us gathered at thy feet. Be Thou Monarch of our school. It shall prosper neath thy rule.” In the next aisle, Ellie looked to the future rather than to the past: “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves.”

I could almost see Darryl and Wendy putting on their thinking caps: Kipling’s poem to his son, entitled If was his favourite. “If only I could remember how it starts,” he said. (I checked it out later. I expect he did too: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…”) Wendy recalled a moving line from a poem often read at a funeral. “I have only slipped away into the next room.” A second Mary stopped and leaned on her trolley to give the topic some serious consideration. “I’d like you to include in your article the words on the Kohima Epitaph in North India: “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.” Almost as if to move from the sublime to the ridiculous, Anthony launched into one of Spike Milligan’s masterpieces: “Today I saw a little worm wriggling on his belly. Perhaps he’d like to come inside and see what’s on the telly.” Taxi-driver, Colin, was a Milligan fan too, but we settled on that much-parodied verse: “The boy stood on the burning deck whence all but he had fled.” We mulled over what possible reasons the boy had; was he heroic or barmy? In fact, evidently, it was a true story of a boy who was obedient to his father’s orders, not knowing that his father was no longer alive. Doubly tragic really! Geraldine delivered her lines with appropriate vigour: “I sprang to the stirrup, and Joris, and he; I galloped, Dirck galloped, we galloped all three.” I did wonder how many more shoppers would be ‘wandering lonely as a cloud’. Yet another Mary chose the same Wordsworth poem but leapt straight to the “host of golden daffodils, beside the lake, beneath the tress, fluttering and dancing in the breeze.”

As you can imagine, I was delighted, privileged, even, to find that so many people immersed in shopping lists, marmalade, cheese biscuits, tin foil, washing-up liquid, could switch, effortlessly in some cases, to some of the most profound and complex poetry. I certainly wasn’t expecting a small slice of EE Cummings’ poem about a couple in love: “One not half two. It’s two are halves of one.” While I was unwrapping this line, Guy came out with another offering, from Larkin, “but it’s a bit rude,” he said. “So?” I replied. “They ‘bleep’ you up, your Mum and Dad. They may not mean to but they do.” Get it? Some of my ‘respondents’ apologised, feeling like I did on quiz nights. At least three promised to catch me up if they did recall one of the many poems they knew they knew. When would Shakespeare claim his place in this day’s adventure? I asked myself. He did, when Gordon brought a spot of As You Like It to life, enjoyed by not a few others in the fresh fish queue: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts”. Time for me to exit? I think so.

(But I did remember to buy the kippers for tea.)

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

A number of roads across South Woodford and Wanstead were included in Redbridge Council’s trial of a new – and fast – low-carbon fix for potholes.

“The injection patcher carries out rapid pothole repairs using a pioneering technique known as injection spray patching. Firstly, air is pumped at speed into the pothole to remove dirt and debris. Seconds later, the hole is sprayed with cold bitumen, followed by a layer of aggregate applied at high speed – the whole repair takes just a couple of minutes,” said a spokesperson.

A design code for South Woodford is another step closer to completion following a successful online survey which sought to discover what matters most to residents and visitors.

“Over 1,600 people visited the design code community portal, with idea contributions from 369 visitors. These will be fed into the final version of our draft design code. Thank you to all who took the time to participate. Please keep an eye out in the next edition for a breakdown of the contributions received,” said Pearl Arbenser-Simmonds.

The surbey prize draw was held on 1 December, with the following winners selected: Alison G and Hannah N.

A student from Woodford Green has been awarded a £20,000 bursary by the Amazon Future Engineer programme.

Leah-Megan Chi – who attended Trinity Catholic High School before starting a computer science degree at the University of Leeds in October – was one of 30 women in the UK to receive the funding in 2023. “I was really happy when I read the email. I told everyone in the house and then recorded their reaction. It means a lot to me; I can focus on my education without worrying too much about expenses,” said Leah-Megan.

A date for the second Wanstead Beer Festival has been set.

It follows the success of the first event last October, which raised over £3,000 for local good causes. “The enthusiasm for the inaugural event meant diaries were opened and a new date fixed. The event will take place at Christ Church halls on 12 October 2024. It was excellent to raise money for local charities and, hopefully, even more can be raised in 2024,” said organiser Paul Donovan.

Cattle warden volunteer Gill James reflects on the recent return of cows to Wanstead Park, and answers some of the questions park visitors had about Quinine, Nina and Mara

When three large mammals with massive curving horns appeared in Wanstead Park in the autumn, there was shock. We did not expect to see cows here so late in the year. We had no cows at all in 2022, due to the long drought ruining the grazing. 

So, the cattle warden volunteers rushed into action. Our main aim was to tell people why the cows were there and to discourage them, and their dogs and children, from getting too close. Ten metres was the rule. Some people had never seen a live cow before. Most dogs and their owners wisely decided to keep a healthy distance. A few owners had not trained their frisky dogs to come when called, but soon learned to keep them on a lead.

We expected a few people to be angry. “Do you think you own this park?” “What about my dog’s right to roam?” “Why were there so few warning signs up?” But most people were delighted to welcome ‘our’ cows back, and many people remembered them from 2021. A surprising number were well informed already. They asked questions. “What happened to the calves they had?” “What are their names?” “Are they pregnant?” “Why are they here so late in the year?” “How long will they be staying?” “What about all these cowpats?” “Where do they go at night?” Answers: Quinine, Nina and Mara (new girl). They were delayed by the requirement for bovine TB testing as a nearby farm tested positive. None pregnant. They will stay until the grazing gives out in January or February. They stay out all night. Cowpats are very good for improving the soil and overwintering these hardy cattle encourages certain insect species. The grazing clears the habitat of encroaching scrub and biodiversity is improved. A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation explains: “The cows have an important job to do grazing the main acid grassland to remove course vegetation and young scrub, which improves the biodiversity of this special area of Epping Forest. Grazing is particularly important for Wanstead Park because to mow with machinery would destroy one of the main features of wildlife interest, the Yellow Meadow Ant hills.”

Mara, Nina and Quinine are magic in an unexpected way. Calm down, you frantic urban creatures, they say. Though not in so many words. And just a few days after that first excitement, the park went quiet. The cow-gazers still came, but now there was acceptance that this was a special space to share and enjoy. Dog walkers, strollers, cyclists, joggers, we all have to make space for each other. And smile. And look.

A heartfelt thank you to Epping Forest from the volunteer wardens for this wonderful opportunity to engage with the public, to hear so many stories about cows in people’s gardens or back home in India or Ireland or Iran, and to enjoy the park we know so well from a new perspective.

For more information about the cows in Wanstead Park, visit swvg.co.uk/wpcows

Redbridge Council is petitioning the government for financial support to repair Broadmead Road bridge in Woodford, which has been closed to traffic since July.

Essential structural repairs are expected to cost at least £25m. “The Prime Minister’s decision to cancel the northern leg of HS2 means billions are available to help fund transport projects… We are calling on the Transport Secretary to allocate urgent funding to help cover the enormous cost of this unforeseen project,” said Councillor Kam Rai.

Visit swvg.co.uk/brr