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Judy Noble is one of several volunteers from churches in Wanstead and South Woodford who have been hosting Bereavement Cafés since 2016. Having stopped in lockdown, sessions will now resume virtually

We are about to start up our Bereavement Cafés again – by Zoom! We had been running these cafés for several years before lockdown, and now see our way to opening up again. The cafés offer a safe and friendly place for people who are struggling with the feelings of loss after the death of someone close to talk with others.

We are a group of volunteers from St Mary’s in South Woodford, Christ Church in Wanstead and St Gabriel’s in Aldersbrook. Anybody, with any faith or none, who wants a chance to talk about these things can join us.

“Grief doesn’t end with the funeral, but that is the point at which the level of community and social support we get from those around us can sometimes begin to lessen. As life for others returns to some sort of normality, it can be hardest for those experiencing the grief most profoundly to continue to process the thoughts and feelings they continue to feel, in many different ways and at unexpected times,” said Fr Martyn Hawkes when he helped found the cafés in 2016.

We are not therapists but we are very good listeners. We have some training and we have experienced something similar ourselves.  Before lockdown, we offered these meetings in a café meeting space at St Mary’s or Christ Church. The atmosphere of quiet peace there created the calm which helps these conversations.

We know that, for many reasons, it can take a long time after a death to feel enough at ease with ourselves to get on with living our lives alongside our memories and thoughts about those we loved. You may have lived with this person for a long lifetime, had complex and important relationships with them, and experienced an unexpected and shocking loss. More so, perhaps, after COVID-19. We offer people space to talk about their situation over a cuppa when often this may be difficult to do within their own circle.

It’s not quite the same by Zoom but you can join us, in a comfortable chair, with your own cuppa to hand. In a few months, we hope to return to meeting properly, face to face. In the meantime, we hope you will join us online. The meetings are drop-in, so you can come once, come occasionally or come often. You’re always welcome to join in, share and listen. This starts, and sometimes finishes, in a group, but even on Zoom, we can organise space to talk to one another in a ‘break-out room’.

We will be offering a morning and an afternoon session every month. Mornings will start on 16 March from 10.30am to 11.30am (continuing on the third Tuesday of each month). Afternoon sessions will start on 6 April from 2pm to 3pm (continuing on the first Tuesday of each month). We look forward to meeting you there.

To join the Bereavement Cafés on Zoom, use the following Meeting ID and passcode:
Meeting ID: 883 9411 1083
Passcode: 12345

A black swan – named Bruce – took up temporary residence on Snaresbrook’s Eagle Pond recently.

“Black swans are native to Australia. They were brought to the UK as ornamental birds for collections but, like other captive species, occasionally escape. This bird was seen at Walthamstow Reservoirs and Hollow Ponds as well. Their habitat requirements are not dissimilar to those of mute swans, so they could turn up on any stretch of fresh water,” said Tim Harris of the Wren Wildlife Group.

Essex Art Club unveiled its first-ever online exhibition in February.

“Our club has held annual exhibitions locally for many years – and survived two world wars – but we had to cancel our Wanstead House exhibition in 2020. In its place, we have rewritten our website to host our first online exhibition, with works for sale… We hope to be able to resume some activities in spring, and be back in Wanstead with a real exhibition in October,” said club chairman Mary Springham.

The virtual display will run until April.

Visit swvg.co.uk/eac

Redbridge Council is analysing responses to its School Streets consultation.

If the initiative is implemented, it will see non-residential traffic banned from certain streets near schools – including Oakdale, Snaresbrook and Nightingale Primary Schools – for an hour at the start and end of each school day.

“We are grateful to all who took the time to input into the consultation. We are now considering the responses as we decide how to proceed,” said Councillor Jo Blackman, Cabinet Member for Environment and Civic Pride.

Local police are seeking new members to join the South Woodford ward panel.

“In order to ensure the work of each Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) is focussed on resolving problems in the ward, each ward requires a panel, made up of people whose role is to assess local concerns, identified through community engagement and analysis. The panel gives direction and local advice to the SNT. This allows us to establish priorities for policing in that ward,” said a police spokesperson.

Email SNTJI-South-Woodford@met.police.uk

South Woodford Village Gazette’s resident diarist is keen to hear lockdown stories from local residents.

“Composing 1,000 words gets increasingly tricky under lockdown. Next time round, how about some ‘South Woodford scribbles’ that reflect the spirit of our community? Drop me a line with your stories, your positive strategies that keep you going. I’ll put them in my melting pot and produce a piece to represent more of us. No names, of course,” said DD, whose diary series has been running since 2013.

Email dd@swvg.co.uk

The police have issued a message for residents.

“The South Woodford area has seen a recent spike in overnight burglaries. In a lot of cases, entry to properties has been made through the front door, where occupants have either failed to lock the door at all, or in the case of UPVC doors, they have not been double-locked from within. Residents are urged to securely lock all doors and windows, including porches,” said a police spokesperson.

The South Woodford Society is raising funds to erect two village signs in the local area.

“Hopefully, this will make South Woodford a more defined area, create an even better community feel and be good for our businesses… We are applying for funding from various bodies, residents and businesses through the Spacehive crowdfunding platform,” said a spokesperson.

A number of materials are being considered, including traditional wooden signs, as found in Wanstead and Woodford Green – which cost upwards of £10,000 each – and cheaper aluminium signs (the group’s preferred option at around £1,000 each).

“Possible sites include opposite the Railway Bell pub, on the island at the top of George Lane or outside the Co-op, George Lane East.”

Community input will be sought for design ideas.

Visit swvg.co.uk/sign

Woodford Arts Group founder Julia Brett reflects on the winter blues and the seasonal ups and downs of creative motivation

Winter is often considered by artists as the most difficult season to depict. This is possibly true for those artists who prefer to work en plein air, but you do not need to have your feet buried in snow to convey the spirit of a place. For me, it’s the forest and woods surrounding us. The atmosphere and beauty are revealed through trees and branches stripped of their leaves. 

The winter scene shows itself at its most dramatic. The soft greens of summer foliage and the golden cloak of autumn leaves are all gone, revealing each tree’s individual characteristics. Of course, ideally, drawing these trees and the landscape provides great source material, but cameras are also invaluable as aide memoirs. The reality is, at this time of the year, most artists are working in warm studios or cosy dens.

Blue is often the colour most associated with winter, which many artists convey through snow scenes. There is a scientific explanation for why snow appears to be blue, but suffice to say, snow, like the sky, is not white but clear, and generally reflects the colours around it. Two of the most famous works of art which illustrate this are Bruegel’s Hunters in the Snow and Kandinsky’s very colourful Winter Landscape.

My own work from the forest ranges from Winter Glade in watercolour, Knighton Birches in oils to Forest Shadows in acrylic. The former two works show the contrast in the depiction of snow, whilst Forest Shadows was actually painted in snow but left open to interpretation.

Winter, with all its difficulties, is still a very beautiful season – if desolate at times – and especially at this juncture, perhaps we are all looking for something to give us some optimism. That is very true for many artists at present who are lacking in creative motivation.

But now may be the perfect time for us all to look for that beauty which we often ignore but is right here on our doorstep.

To view more winter-themed work by members of Woodford Arts Group, visit swvg.co.uk/winterart

A trust allows you to place assets under the control of chosen trustees, either during your lifetime (by deed) or on your death (by will). Hollie Skipper from local solicitors Wiseman Lee explains

A Discretionary Trust allows you to leave a portion of your assets under the control of your trustees. These should be people that you trust implicitly, such as friends, family or professional advisers, who may also be the executors of your will.

You will choose exactly who the beneficiaries of the trust are and exactly how much the fund will be. You can create a trust over a percentage of your assets, over a specific sum of money or over your entire estate. The fund can be held in a simple bank account or invested.

Your beneficiaries are not entitled to any part of the fund until your trustees decide. Their decision will likely be based on the needs of the beneficiary. Your trustees will have the discretion to decide how much your beneficiaries receive and when, and payments can be small and regular or in lump sums. You are able to leave some written guidance to your trustees, although they are not bound to follow this.

Why create a trust?

• Future flexibility: you may be unsure how you would like your assets to be distributed in years to come, so leaving this to your trustees to consider in the future may be more practical.
• Beneficiary receiving benefits: if your beneficiary receives an inheritance, this could be considered when they are financially assessed and mean they lose some, or all, of their state benefits. Your trustees can pay your beneficiaries just enough money to ensure their benefits are not affected.
• A beneficiary unable to manage their own affairs: your trustees could use the trust fund to ensure your beneficiary is cared for during their lifetime. If your beneficiary has lost capacity and does not have an attorney or deputy appointed, then the trust arrangement could prove beneficial.
• Concerns about a beneficiary receiving a large sum of money: whether it is a young or irresponsible beneficiary, a beneficiary who may be vulnerable or subsequently needs to move into care, you may decide it is not sensible for them to be given their inheritance in one go or be immediately entitled to the money.
• Protecting the money from creditors: as your beneficiary will not be absolutely entitled to the funds until your trustees decide, the money is protected in the event of bankruptcy.

Depending on how much you settle into trust and when, there will be potential inheritance tax consequences or benefits. Specialist advice is needed.

Wiseman Lee is located at 9–13 Cambridge Park, Wanstead, E11 2PU. For more information, call 020 8215 1000

Healthwatch Redbridge is asking people to complete a survey about COVID-19 vaccines.

Two vaccines have now been produced and approved for emergency use and the NHS has begun vaccinating people against coronavirus at numerous hospital hubs in the country’s biggest immunisation programme in history.

“We are aware that some communities and individuals are slightly reticent about having a vaccination. With this in mind, we are currently asking people to tell us if they were offered the vaccination would they have it, and if not, why not? Once you have completed the survey, we would appreciate if you could share the link with people you are in contact with, including colleagues, family and friends in order for us to understand where there might be concerns and to ensure we can provide specific information for individuals to make informed choices on being immunised,” said a Healthwatch Redbridge spokesperson.

The survey itself is anonymous and has an optional section where you can leave your contact details if you wish to say more on the topic.

“We feed back information to NHS and care providers to ensure they understand the issues that local people face.”

The survey takes about four minutes to complete.

Click here to take part.

Do not contact your GP for a COVID-19 vaccine. The NHS will contact people directly and there will be extensive public information announcements about how, where and when you can get vaccinated.