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Residents are invited to join the Wren Wildlife Group for a bird spotting walk through Wanstead Park as part of this January’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

“We’ll be looking at a variety of wintering ducks – including gadwall, shoveler, pochard and tufted ducks – on the park’s lakes. And we’ll be searching through the bare trees for fieldfares, redwings and siskins. And there may be the odd surprise as well!” said Tim Harris. Participants will meet at the park’s Temple at 10am on 25 January (free; call 07505 482 328).

The Big Garden Birdwatch started as an event for children in 1979 when the RSPB joined forces with BBC’s Blue Peter and called on kids to report what birds they saw in their garden. The annual event has since highlighted the decline of house sparrows and starlings. These birds have dropped by 56% and 80% respectively since the event began. But there have also been increases in some species, such as great tits, which are up by 68%.

Visit swvg.co.uk/birdwatch

Former fashion designer Terry Rumak – who counts Lady Diana Spencer among her past clients – is now a member of Woodford Arts Group and spends her time creating patchwork quilts and geometric paintings.

Born in the North East of England, surrounded by rugged landscapes, seascapes and heavy industry, inspiration for painting was all around me.

I studied at Middlesbrough College of Art, and then St Martin’s School of Art in London, where I gained a BA in Fashion Design. After leaving St Martin’s in 1968, I worked with a number of established designers. London in the 1970s and 1980s was the epicentre of fashion design and it was therefore relatively easy to open my own boutique. A friend and I designed and made 24 garments, put them on a rail in a tiny shop within an arcade on New Bond Street, and Rumak & Sample began trading. Success was followed with a shop in an arcade opposite Harrods, on the Brompton Road, and then my own shop in Walton Street, Knightsbridge, where I began trading as Rumak & Rumak.

Focusing on evening and wedding gowns, plus special occasion clothes for Ascot, balls and concert appearances, my garments were bought by many actors, film stars and well-known people, including Lady Diana Spencer.

My designs and colour sense were influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, 1940s fashion design and abstract artists. I travelled extensively in search of unusual fabrics and braids for inspiration, and loved the cultures, colours and smells of the places I visited. I was inspired by the fine silks, chiffons, gorgeous braids and ribbons I brought back from my travels. In 2018, one of my designs was shown in a Sunday Telegraph colour supplement and featured in an exhibition at Chatsworth, displaying the dresses of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire.

From 1984 to 2018 I worked in advertising, media and market research, and over the last 10 years, I’ve reduced my working hours to return to a more creative lifestyle, initially designing patchwork quilts, which allowed me to use intense colours and geometric patterns. Quilts are a labour of love as each one takes six to nine months from concept to completion. I’ve accepted several commissions, mainly for children, commemorating their date of birth. Each design is highly individual.

Presently, I am refining my drawing skills by sketching everyday objects and developing geometric paintings using strong colours and bold shapes. Most of my paintings are like a sculptor’s maquette since I envisage them on a large scale but produce the first idea on small canvasses. Recently, I was commissioned to paint a very large canvas which was shown in Woodford Arts Group’s last exhibition at Packfords Hotel.

As newcomers to South Woodford, my husband and I joined the Woodford Arts Group to establish friendships with local artists. Since most artists work in isolation, I feel the group offers an opportunity for feedback from people dealing with similar issues and the opportunity to exhibit my work as part of a group.

To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, local pianist Yuki Negishi – a Juilliard School and Royal College of Music graduate – will be performing a series of piano recitals in South Woodford.

I started my lunchtime piano recital series in March 2019 at St Mary’s Church, South Woodford, and have gratefully (with the support of the church and local audiences) attracted a regular audience attendance of about 50.

The year 2020 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great and prodigious German composer Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), one of the most influential figures in classical music. To mark this anniversary, I will be doing a series throughout the year showcasing his music for solo piano and chamber music.

Beethoven’s career is conventionally divided into early, middle and late periods. The early period is typically seen to last until 1802, the middle period from 1802 to 1812, and the late period from 1812 until his death in 1827.

Beethoven’s hearing deteriorated from about 1802 when he wrote the Heiligenstadt Testament, a letter to his brothers recording thoughts of suicide and a resolution to continue living for and through his art.

By 1811 (aged 41), he was completely deaf, when he gave up performing in public until the premiere performance of his Ninth Symphony in 1824 (he had to be turned around to see the thunderous applause of the audience because he could not hear the audience, nor the orchestra).

Beethoven wrote 32 piano sonatas – I won’t be playing them all in South Woodford, but I will be playing some of the more well-known ones, such as the Pathetique Sonata, and later in the year, the Waldstein Sonata, the Moonlight Sonata and the Appassionata. I will also be playing the colossal Hammerklavier Sonata, which was deemed to be ‘unplayable’ at the time of composition due to its length (45 mins) and technical difficulty! So, this is a personal challenge for myself as well.

I will be inviting my colleagues from my regular Solomon Piano Quintet (which includes violinists Tadasuke Iijima and Ayako Yamazaki, violist Yohei Nakajima and cellist Matt Strover), along with other musicians to join me throughout the year for some of the chamber music works: the String Quartet Op. 131 (which has seven linked movements without a break), the String Trio Op. 9 No. 3 and the Piano Trio Op. 70 No. 1, known as the Ghost.

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 seventh of a series of articles charting the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Nina Garner from the Environment Agency encourages us all to prepare for winter.

Over the last few editions of this publication, we have discussed different ways you can prepare for flooding. We have recently seen significant flooding across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands, with some parts of central England receiving a month’s worth of rainfall in early November alone.

Flooding can have long-term effects on lives, livelihoods and property. The threat of flooding is real and can have devastating impacts on communities, so protecting people, property and things like roads and rail continues to be the Environment Agency’s top priority. Climate change is likely to increase the frequency and intensity of flooding – floods which destroy lives and property. This is why it is more important than ever to be prepared for flooding.

In England there are over five million homes at risk of flooding. The average cost of flooding to a home is £30k. Flooding also brings a significant risk to life. The mental health impacts of flooding can last for two years or more after flooding has happened. Depression, anxiety and PTSD can affect up to a third of people who have been flooded.

But, crucially, taking steps to prepare for flooding, and knowing what to do in a flood can significantly reduce the damages to a home and possessions (by around 40%), reduce risk to life, and reduce the likelihood of suffering from mental health impacts in the future.

Our campaign is focused on helping people know what action to take in a flood, based on our ‘Prepare, Act, Survive’ flood guide.

Are you prepared for winter?
Our flood defences reduce the risk of flooding but we can never eliminate the risk entirely. So, as we enter the heart of winter, we have put together a summary of flood advice to help you prepare to protect yourself, your loved ones and your home.

• Find out if your property is at risk (swvg.co.uk/flood).
• Sign up to receive free flood warnings (swvg.co.uk/floodwarn).
• Create a personal flood plan. This could include preparing a bag of essential items if you need to leave your home, such as medication, warm clothing, chargers and important documents like passports.
• Find out how you can ‘prepare, act and survive’ (swvg.co.uk/pas).
• Create a community flood plan. This helps coordinate responses by helping you decide what practical action to take to support each other before, during and after a flood. Plans like these are great in helping the community get back on their feet after an incident.

If you’d like to find out more information about volunteering in your community or flood planning, please contact your local flood resilience team.

The east London branch of Soroptimist International – which meets at Woodford Memorial Hall – will host an event about women’s mental health in the community and in the criminal justice system on 21 January.

The talk will be led by Joyce Kallevik, director of WISH, the only national, user-led charity working with women with mental health needs in prisons, hospitals and the community. “Joyce is a widely recognised authority on the reality of women’s mental health provision. She’ll be sharing her extensive experience working as a mental health advocate and the unique insights she’s gained through her own experience of mental illness,” said a Soroptimist East London spokesperson.

The event, which starts at 7.15pm, is open to all (tickets: by donation; booking required).

Visit swvg.co.uk/wish

Julia Brett, who founded the Woodford Arts Group one year ago, looks at the group’s successes to date and their plans for the year ahead, and explains why the local area has always appealed to artists.

This time last year, the Woodford Arts Group consisted of a few local artists who had responded to a call-out on the Next Door app.  This was for Woodford-based artists who were interested in getting together for mutual support and the possibility of starting an art-exhibiting group.

Within five months, we had our first exhibition. We had no idea what to expect and I suppose neither did any of the 250 visitors who came along to Packfords Hotel to see what we were about. We had lots of local interest and sales and were constantly asked when the next event was going to happen. We quickly followed up with an autumn exhibition with a pop-up cafe, again at Packfords, thanks to Debra Packford’s support. This time we exhibited for a week and it was gratifying to see repeat visitors as well as new ones.

Of course, we are not setting any precedents; Woodford and its environs have attracted other artists over the years. So, what is so special about Woodford and how does it influence artists?

One thing is Woodford being part of the forest and another is its historical context. Tudor queens have lodged nearby and many famous and infamous artists have been captivated by its verdant scenery. Jacob Epstein falls into the latter category. He scandalised society by keeping his mistress nearby and painted many scenes here and here about. I came across one of Epstein’s immediately recognisable Epping Forest paintings at the recent Tate Modern Van Gogh influences exhibition. In the same exhibition, Pissarro also had a painting from the same area, and he rented a number of properties locally. Twentieth-century artists include Churchill, Morris and Pankhurst. One of the newest artistic endeavours is that of Marsha David and her partner Digby, who have just started life drawing classes on a Tuesday evening locally.

Members of Woodford Arts Group are equally as influenced. Each season brings its own beauty, which we interpret in different styles. Sometimes, my own work is representational, like Summer Shadows in Knighton Woods (main image above). Others are more abstract, like the winter pond reflections in Lords Bushes (top inset image).

Group member Darren Evans portrays Woodford in a more illustrative style, such as his Woodford montage (bottom inset image). He says he takes in the views while walking with his family and dog. He captures the elements of Woodford, especially the chestnut trees, which are so emblematic of the area.

Shelagh French lives opposite Knighton Woods and is captivated by it and it shows in her work, while Cheryl Gabriel photographs the forest and last year produced a calendar showing the community of dogs in Knighton Woods.

So, how to follow up on our 2019 successes? In spring 2020, we will be travelling the world! Well, Traveller’s Tales is going to be our theme. We will be doing this over a weekend and offering tiffin, tea and tapas. We also plan some plein air painting sessions to encourage people to come and meet our artists so the community can get involved with us.

The best thing about us as a group is that we’re very flexible and open to anything. So, we’ll see what the rest of the year holds for us and respond in a creative way.

Residents keen on beautifying the streets of South Woodford for the year ahead are urged not to miss the 2020 deadline for adopting a tree pit near their home.

“Planting bee-friendly flowers under a street tree will make your road look beautiful, reduce chemicals being sprayed and help local  wildlife,” said a spokesperson for South Woodford Gardeners, which is aiming to increase the number of street trees across the neighbourhood planted at their base to support pollinating insects by creating stepping-stone habitats between surrounding green spaces.

“Just email the council by 25 January to tell them the location of the tree you’re adopting and they’ll provide a label to stop it being sprayed. Plant the base with wild flowers, geraniums, herbs or any other small plants. They can be really successful, even if there isn’t much soil.”

Email cleansing.services@redbridge.gov.uk or click here for more information on what to plant and street gardening safety advice.

Members of the South Woodford Young Writers Club were enthralled by author Andrew Michaelides, who visited their group recently. Teacher Shameem Aziz was equally inspired.

At the South Woodford Young Writers Club recently we had the pleasure of hosting Andrew Michaelides, a self-published children’s author. Andrew (known as Mr Michic) has published a series of three books based on the adventures of Tramp, a talking dog.

Of course, we were delighted to have him, and his visit was informative in so many ways. The children had pre-prepared questions they wanted to ask him. What inspired him? Why did he become a writer? What were his stories based on? What advice would he give someone who wants to write? All answered with patience and understanding.

It is probably true to say of children’s authors that they have certain characteristics in common. They manage to retain a sense of the wonder of life and  of adventure that can so easily be eroded as one grows up. This was certainly clear to see from meeting Andrew.

The visit also debunked the belief that success as an author must be immediate. Andrew wrote his first book over 30 years ago. Having got on with the business of life, work and family, he went back to it, and after a few changes and selection of an illustrator, proceeded to publication. Interestingly, Andrew’s job in ‘real life’ had nothing to do with writing – he became an accountant.

The children were rapt throughout – we could hardly believe how much time had passed! Andrew took them on the story of his life and managed to achieve in person what a good book should do – the children were lost in their imagination and fascinated by his story.

There were bigger life lessons that I am sure they took away from their meeting – whether they decide to become authors or not – most important of which was this: whatever your goal or dream, don’t give up. You, or circumstance, may delay it, you may take detours, you may refine and revise the plan, you will meet doubters along the way, you may have a dip in confidence and self- belief, but always keep the dream alive – whatever that dream is – until your will, circumstance and time come together in perfect symmetry to make it real. Andrew was a manifestation of this philosophy, sitting in front of the young writers.

As someone who loves writing but has spent most of her working life in schools, there were many salutary lessons in the visit for me too. Chief of which was it is never too late to return to delayed dreams. You are fortunate indeed if you manage to marry your passion and purpose and manifest it into your working life, which I have done; blessed again if you manage to do it twice… watch this space.

A nationwide water refill scheme has been launched in South Woodford to help shoppers stay hydrated and to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

“South Woodford is now part of the network set up by Refill, and a number of local businesses have already signed up, including the recently relocated Tipi Coffee (117 George Lane), Atkins Physiotherapy (154 High Road) and Greggs (168 George Lane).  So now, whenever you are out and about in South Woodford, look for the refill droplet logo and you can ask for your water bottle to be refilled,” said Louise Burgess of the South Woodford Society.

By downloading the app, users can search for their nearest refill station wherever they are. “This makes it easy to reduce the number of plastic bottles you need to buy and join the increasing number of people whose individual action will have a global impact. According to the Environmental Audit Committee, seven billion plastic water bottles are used each year in the UK.”

Visit refill.org.uk

Volunteers are needed to take part in a World War Two community theatre project.

“The Hope and Glory project aims to explore what life was like in Redbridge during the Second World War through performance and research techniques. We are also looking for anyone who might have any family stories or memories of what life was like in Redbridge during the war,” said project leader Alfie James.

Participants will work towards creating a show to be performed at South Woodford’s Redbridge Drama Centre in April. “This will be a fun and enjoyable project, which will bring local history to life on stage… No previous acting experience is required.”

The project – which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Redbridge Museum and Heritage Centre – will launch in January.

Call 07858 625 622

A meeting of the Woodford Festival Association (WFA) will take place this January to decide how to take the community event forward.

It follows an appeal in the previous issue of the South Woodford Village Gazette for volunteers to come forward and help organise the next festival, which may not go ahead in October as planned if the WFA decide the workload is too great for the current committee.

“The call for volunteers brought us two people who have expressed an interest in joining the committee, but in both cases will not be able to take a leading role. We will meet in early January to make a final decision as to whether to take the Woodford Festival forward in 2020. More volunteers are welcome in the meantime,” said WFA chairman Geoff Seeff.

Email geoffseeff@cix.co.uk