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The Great British Spring Clean 2020 runs from 20 March to 13 April, and the South Woodford Society will be taking part in the initiative.

“We ran our first litter pick of the year on a Sunday in February. Unfortunately, the eight hardy souls who turned out were rather hindered by Storm Ciara! We collected eight bags of rubbish and some recycling before we were beaten by the weather,” said a spokesperson. Last year, more than 560,000 #LitterHeroes from across the nation took part in the Great British Spring Clean.

“We will be planning another litter pick very soon, so make sure you are on our mailing list and check our social media for details. Together, we can make a difference. All our individual actions can help transform our country, creating cleaner streets, protecting wildlife and, ultimately, stopping the tide of plastic that is doing so much damage to our oceans. The Great British Spring Clean is about demonstrating that you love where you live.”

Visit swvg.co.uk/sws

Members of the Wanstead, Woodford and Barkingside Marie Curie Fundraising Group have reached their £100,000 target. Jill Playford thanks local supporters and explains how the money will be used

A celebration was held in February to thank all supporters and collectors who helped us to raise the fantastic amount of £100,000 over the last few years, paying for 5,000 Marie Curie nursing hours.

We get wonderful support from our local communities with local businesses donating raffle prizes, Wanstead High School donating the proceeds from their annual charity cross country run, Wanstead House holding cake and coffee mornings to raise money and students from Forest School helping out at our Great Daffodil Appeal collections.

The group was formed in June 2013 with four members who had all been local supporters of the Marie Curie charity. The initial aim of the group was to raise awareness of the work of the charity in the local area as well as to fundraise. At that time, we did not set ourselves a target – this evolved as the amount of money raised increased each year.

Group membership has changed over the years, and we always welcome new members, as they bring new ideas and energy to our group. Members commit as little or as much time as they can, and the larger the group, the more money can be raised each year.

To raise money, the group now hosts about 20 street and store collections, runs two quiz evenings each year, has stalls at the Wanstead Festival and Disability Awareness day and holds tea and coffee afternoons. Residents have quickly come to recognise the bright yellow uniforms – especially the hats – of our collectors and can be seen proudly wearing Marie Curie stickers and daffodil pins.

The Marie Curie charity has, in recent years, widened its services to offer support to anyone with a life-threatening illness in the last few weeks of their life. A free support line (0800 090 2309) also offers help and advice to people with a terminal illness and to their families and friends. Marie Curie nurses and health care assistants work in the local area to provide free, overnight home nursing care, enabling people to make the choice to die in their own homes, knowing they and their family will be well supported and cared for. A rapid response service, as well as a day respite service, is also available in Redbridge. These are supported by the money raised by local groups. Feedback from local families acknowledges the important role nurses play in giving the patient dignity in dying.

People living in the local area have played their part too by volunteering as collectors or donating generously when they see our collectors at local venues. The street collections for the Great Daffodil Appeal will take place on 7 March, so expect to see a blaze of yellow on Wanstead High Street and George Lane. If you feel you could offer two hours of your time to help at these collections, please get in touch.

Rising at Molehill Green in Essex, the River Roding passes through the Wanstead and Woodford area en route to the Thames, bringing with it a very real flood risk to local homes. In the eighth of a series of articles, Nina Garner from the Environment Agency reports on the River Roding Project, which aims to reduce that risk. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

On Saturday 21 December 2019, the Environment Agency issued flood alerts and warnings along the River Roding due to heavy rainfall. These informed local residents of a risk of flooding and covered areas including Woodford, Ilford, Barking, Loughton and East Ham.

Although no properties were flooded in 2019, the river peaked at 7am on 21 December, reaching 1.83m. This river level reached was the highest on record since the 2000 floods. The 2000 floods caused widespread disruption to major roads across Redbridge and approximately 400 properties were affected.

The recent flooding caused some disruption to local residents and the Roding Valley parkrun was cancelled as the route was flooded, leaving the local runners disappointed.

Prepare, act, survive
Whether you live on a hill, in a flat or in an area that’s never flooded before, flooding can still affect you. Flooding not only puts homes, possessions and families at risk but can cause serious disruption to commuting routes, whether that be to school, work or a place of worship.

Due to our changing climate, there is a chance that flood events will become more common and extreme. Knowing what to do in a flood is important to help reduce the impact of flooding to your loved ones, your property and your possessions. The good news is that there are some simple actions you can take to prepare for flooding. These small actions, outlined below, could help keep you and your family safe.

Knowing what to do in a flood could save your life. Find out if your home, business or local area is at risk of flooding (swvg.co.uk/flood or call Floodline on 0345 988 1188). If you live in a flood-risk area, do what you can now to prepare for a flood. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

• Sign up to our flood warning system (swvg.co.uk/floodwarn).
• Create a personal flood plan. This plan should include a list of things you should do (like moving sentimental items to safety) and provides space for you to note down important contact details, such as your utility companies and insurance.
• Check the water level on the River Roding. You can do this by using the monitoring webcam (swvg.co.uk/rodingcam)

2,000 homes better protected by 2080
We are progressing the River Roding Project to help Redbridge become more climate change resilient and reduce flooding to over 2,000 homes by 2080.

Subject to securing full funding, we hope to submit our planning application for the project in late summer. We will hold information events for you to comment on our final plans before we submit. We will invite you once we have a date, so please keep an eye out for more information.

Ultrasound Choir has donated £1,369 to Breast Cancer Now, the UK’s largest breast cancer charity.

The money was raised at the choir’s two Christmas cabaret shows last December. “We held a raffle on each night and are very grateful to local businesses for their generous donations that made the night such a success,” said a spokesperson. Breast Cancer Now local representative Denise Dorking visited the choir at Derby Road Methodist Church – where the singers meet every Tuesday at 7.30pm – to formally receive the donation.

“Our Christmas cabaret shows were amazing evenings… We are now organising a vintage afternoon tea at All Saints’ Church on 30 May, and again we will be donating the proceeds to Breast Cancer Now,” said choir leader Lisa Tsindides.

Visit swvg.co.uk/ultrasound

Historian and author Diane Atkinson – whose latest book has become the definitive history of the suffragettes – will be discussing some ‘remarkable lives’ at Wanstead Library this March

I’m really looking forward to coming to Wanstead Library to talk about my latest book, Rise Up Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes. It is a collective biography of 200 women – there were thousands more – who worked so hard and sacrificed so much for women’s suffrage.

Women from all social class backgrounds, all ages, all parts of the United Kingdom and all life experiences ‘came out’ as suffragettes, many of them leaving their previous lives behind forever.

For many years, the suffragettes were written out of the story of women getting the vote, or dismissed as self-interested, middle-class hobbyists, but nothing could be further from the truth.

In 1907, a woollen weaver from Huddersfield, Dora Thewlis, aged 16, was called ‘The Baby Suffragette’ by the newspapers when she was arrested in Westminster by the police while trying to enter Parliament with other Women’s Social and Political Union women. Her mother had put her on the train to London, telling her to do her bit for ‘the cause.’

Kitty Marion, a music hall artiste, was one of several dozen performers who were part of the struggle: in Kitty’s case, her road to militancy came after years of enduring sexual harassment while trying to earn a living.

Lady Constance Lytton, a close friend of Annie Kenney, a cotton worker from Oldham and senior figure in the movement, deliberately put her already frail health at risk by going on hunger strike and being force-fed in prison.

I first became aware of the suffragettes when I worked at the Museum of London, which has the largest archive in the world devoted to the militant struggle. In 1992 I curated an exhibition, Purple, White and Green: Suffragettes in London 1906–1914, which told the story of their brilliant marketing and merchandising skills in promoting their demand for votes for women, alongside their daring and dangerous struggle, imprisonment, hunger-striking and force-feeding.

Sylvia Pankhurst – who lived in Woodford Green from 1924 to 1956 – makes many appearances in the book, as do her east London comrades who gave her so much support.

The centenary of the first instalment of women’s suffrage in 2018, which was an important moment to celebrate the work of the suffragettes of the Women’s Social and Political Union, also made clear that there is still much work to be done to improve women’s lives.

The Zoological Society of London is on the lookout for citizen scientists to help prevent river pollution, with a training event in Woodford Green this March. Conservation biologist Phoebe Shaw Stewart reports

Throughout March, intrepid urban explorers will be making their way along the banks of the River Roding in search of some unusual sightings. Local citizen scientists will be trained to search, not for lions or elephants, but for the telltale signs of polluting outfalls as part of conservation charity Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) Outfall Safari programme.

Despite the fact this doesn’t sound quite as exciting as searching for the African big five, heterogenous slime (sewage fungus), food waste, sanitary ‘rag’ or discolouration of water and foam are the slightly less glamorous ‘big five’ of outfall safaris we look out for.

Outfalls are discharge points for water systems into nearby rivers or seas, but all too often, pipes from washing machines and sewage systems carrying wastewater are misconnected. This results in untreated wastewater entering rivers through surface water outfalls. Surface water outfalls are typically only made up of things like excess rainwater that runs off your drive and into the drains, but largely doesn’t need to be treated. Herein lies the problem, with the crossover wreaking havoc with wildlife.

In London alone, it’s estimated that around 3% of all properties suffer from misconnected pipes, with new kitchen extensions often being the main perpetrator with poorly connected washing machines, kitchen sinks and hand basins, according to Thames Water. The misconnections are one of the core reasons urban rivers are unable to reach ‘good ecological potential’ under the EU Water Framework Directive. Large pollution events can quickly deplete water of oxygen and lead to elevated phosphate and ammonia levels. This can cause local wildlife, such as the 126 known fish species recorded in the Thames, and their habitats to become at risk.

ZSL’s Outfall Safari helps to combat this issue by training citizen scientists across London to identify these misconnections. The data is then highlighted to Thames Water, who fund the project, and the Environment Agency through an app to help tackle the issue. They’re also illegal, so once identified, they must be rectified. The method was first used on the River Crane in west London, and since then, has been carried out on over 250km of rivers within Greater London. So far, data shows an average of more than two pollution outfalls identified per kilometre of river surveyed.

ZSL is always looking for new volunteers to help identify misconnections to protect local wildlife. So, please do sign up if you would like to be involved.

From Hermon Hill to the High Road, Terry Townsend outlines where he likes to spend his money and why, in the first of a series of articles offering a resident’s view of shopping in South Woodford. Photography by Geoff Wilkinson

There’s a lot that gives South Woodford its unique identity. Its people are diverse, community-minded and proud. There are good schools and always lots of kids around.

Indeed, South Woodford is one of five recognised district town centres in Redbridge, alongside Wanstead High Street. One of our special features is the range of shopping and services available. All within walking distance. You can get your car repaired, drop off your dry cleaning, visit the post office and builders’ merchant and, of course, you can get your hair cut every 100 yards!

With Westfield, Europe’s biggest shopping mall, a stone’s throw away, you might think a traditional high street the size of South Woodford has had its day. Not a bit of it.

From Hermon Hill to the High Road and George Lane, there is a huge range of shops and services, with many of them being run as independent businesses. And in the heart of George Lane, we have The Galleria, which has a few hidden gems. The opening hours of some of the businesses seem a little odd (this visitor found almost nothing open at 4pm on a Tuesday), but Café on the Lane (180–182 George Lane) serves hearty food with a smile, and the cakes at Heron’s Nest (Unit 7, The Galleria) are delicious. Newly opened is BabyBints (Unit 2a, The Galleria), which also has a range of original, personalised gifts for babies and children.

Children are also well provided for by Sid and Evie’s (174 George Lane), which has some original toys and gifts as well as high-quality clothes. Room 22 (22 Electric Parade) always has some interesting South Woodford themed gifts and Allen’s Pharmacy (19 Electric Parade) nearby sells high-end beauty products, akin to the beauty floor in John Lewis.

Crescendo (160 George Lane) has expanded its musical repertoire to vinyl. On my last visit, the crates were well stacked with a wide variety of high-quality second-hand records. A good 30 minutes’ browsing was repaid by two long-sought purchases.

In terms of cafes, we are well served: Tipi Coffee Co (117 George Lane), Kikirocs (90 George Lane), and the ever-popular Little Woodford Café (118 George Lane) have their own identity and atmosphere and compete well against the national coffee chains (of which we are, apparently, going to get another in the not too distant future). They all sit in the heart of George Lane, among the well-stocked charity shops and home furnishings at either end.

Eating out remains easy. Too many nationalities of cuisine to name here, but the choice is extensive and covers all price brackets. South Woodford is the place to dine and there’s a mix of well-established and newer restaurants. Indian restaurants on the High Road range from the special treats of Grand Trunk Road (219 High Road) and the warmth and great value of the ‘BYOB’ Mohabir (148 High Road). The Gallery (159–161 High Road) is doing well and is a welcoming place to pop into for lobster or just a glass of wine.

A number of chain restaurants help to create the necessary balance for a high street, such as Prezzo, Zizzi and Nando’s – the latter newly opened – and all are busy on a Friday and Saturday night.

All in all, we are spoilt for choice in terms of the services and shops available – a great place to ‘shop local’.

Registration is now open for the Haven House Children’s Hospice Sparkle Walk 2020.

The 10km route – which will start on Christchurch Green, Wanstead on 15 May at 7pm (entry fee: £16) – will encompass Epping Forest and South Woodford, with a halfway Sparkle Station at the Woodford Green hospice’s grounds. The charity walk will finish back in Wanstead at The Cuckfield pub.

“In 2019, 300 local supporters turned the streets pink, and over £35,000 was raised towards our vital hospice care. We’re back for 2020 and bigger than ever before. Whether you want to remember someone special, have a great night out with friends, or get fit for your local children’s hospice, everyone is welcome to walk and #sparkleforhavenhouse,” said a spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/sparkle20

In celebration of International Women’s Day on 8 March, Redbridge Libraries will be working with local homeless organisations to supply their service users with some much-needed support.

From 2 to 7 March, South Woodford Library will join the rest of the borough in becoming a donation point for items needed by the homeless community. Residents are encouraged to ‘fill a bag with kindness’ and bring in toothpaste, shower gel, soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, sanitary towels or tampons. Additional items such as tissues, plasters, lip balm, hairbrushes, nail clippers and socks are also welcome. “Bring your unwanted women’s jacket or coat in any size and it will be donated to the homeless,” added a library spokesperson.

Visit swvg.co.uk/kindnessbag

Woodford Town FC is keen to hear from more local people who would like to be involved with the club as they prepare to move from their current ground share with Harlow FC to Ashton Playing Fields in Woodford Bridge.

At the forefront of creating a positive image behind the proposed move is their self-styled fan base known as The Cultras. “It’s not just singing and drumming that makes The Cultras stand out. They have a community ethos and proudly promote their local heritage… They have already designed and produced two kits inspired by local heroine Sylvia Pankhurst,” said a spokesperson.

Following Redbridge Council’s approval of a £1.6m revamp of the club’s proposed new home, chairman Tony Scott has described a recent meeting with the authority as ‘positive’. “There is still plenty to do before the first ball is kicked, but the future is looking bright for our team, now out of the borough for 28 years. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved.”

Visit swvg.co.uk/wtfc

The South Woodford Society’s AGM – to be held on 25 March at the Salvation Army hall on Daisy Road, South Woodford from 7pm – will have an environmental theme.

“We will be discussing the next steps to be taken regarding the Neighbourhood Plan and also ways we can help the environment and tackle the climate challenges that are becoming more and more prevalent. Please make sure you are a member of the Society (by sending an email) if you want to be involved in any of our initiatives and if you have any questions you would like to put forward to our local councillors,” said a Society spokesperson.

The South Woodford Society was founded in 2015 to ‘protect the local character of the neighbourhood and to build a stronger community’.

Email e18society@gmail.com