In the third of a series of short stories by members of South Woodford’s Young Writers Club, A White Christmas is a tale of adventure, an evil king and snow, by 10-year-old Viva Sastry I had always wanted a white Christmas, ever since Grandma had told me about snow. My mother, too, had never known snow. In fact, she had wanted snow so badly, she made my name Snowdrop. My full name is Snowdrop Winters. I was an only child, but I had a cat called Everest, so I was rarely bored. Not with my Grandma’s stories anyway… “Snowdrop! There’s two days until Christmas Eve!” a voice shouted. “We need to go and get a tree!” the voice said. “Snowdrop!” my mother yelled again. I was down the stairs...

Calling all panto fans! Woodford Pantomime warmly invite you to let your hair down as they proudly present their 2020 production, Rapunzel, at the Sir James Hawkey Hall. Karen Kelsey reports Remarkably, this will be the first time in our 59-year history that the amateur dramatic company has performed this fairy tale favourite, and the cast and crew are looking forward to putting on quite a show! Taking on the role of director this year is Ellouise Dennis. Ellouise is no stranger to Woodford Pantomime. She joined the cast in 2010 as a dancer, and since then, has had principal roles as Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty. In 2016 she jointly choreographed Robin Hood, followed by Jack and the Beanstalk in 2018, and last year’s Treasure Island....

In the first of two articles, local photographer Geoff Wilkinson discusses his new exhibition – entitled ‘Quick! Before it goes’ – depicting London’s East End, an area which resonates with many residents here Growing up in London’s East End was a fascinating experience for a young boy. In the 1950s, bomb damage from the war was still very much evident. Living mostly in Stratford, I remember the area just to the right of the old Angel Lane street market which had been completely flattened. No houses or buildings remained; it was just a playground or used for parking vans and cars, such as there were. Perhaps it is the memories of this loss of buildings and architecture that has made me so determined to photograph what...

At this time of year, local resident and member of Woodford Arts Group Darren Evans – who goes by the name The Suburban Artist – likes to spend his time painting festive homes I am a local artist and father of three living in Woodford.  My journey to becoming a full-time artist has been an interesting one. From as early as I can remember, growing up in Wolverhampton,  I was interested in buildings and drawing and painting the environment around me. This led me to study architecture at St John’s College, Cambridge - but I graduated into a recession in the building industry and so headed off to seek my fortune in London. I spent more time than I care to remember working in the banking...

Christine Clark will be talking about her experiences of volunteering at Redbridge Foodbank at an East London Soroptimists event this month I volunteer at Redbridge Foodbank, one of the 1,200 Trussell Trust foodbanks in UK. We provide a food and hygiene parcel for clients, designed to last around three days. The intention is to tide them over until their situation has improved. Most of the people who come to the foodbank are in financial difficulties due to low income or benefit changes or delays. However, we also have people who are sleeping rough on the streets, or who are having difficulties due to bereavement, health issues, redundancy, or who are asylum seekers.  Last year Redbridge Foodbank gave out over 6,000 food and hygiene parcels, an...

Residents are invited to reminisce about Woodford at a heritage coffee morning organised by Vision RCL at South Woodford Library on 3 December. “Do you remember South Woodford when shops had half-day closing and shut at 5.30pm? Today, shops come and go, but in the past, many remained for a long time. You may remember Hedges the drapers, which first opened in the 1890s and eventually closed in the mid-1970s, or Warnes, the school outfitters at 128 George Lane. Woolworths, Freeman Hardy Willis, Posners and the LEB have all long gone… Perhaps you remember the Plaza Cinema or the Congregational Church, which were replaced respectively by Sainsbury’s and Bejam, the freezer shop, in the 1970s and 1980s? Bejam became Iceland and then M&S. Do you...

Councillor Beverley Brewer (Labour, South Woodford) explains why she thinks South Woodford resident Omar Salem was right when he confronted Boris Johnson at Whipps Cross Hospital in September South Woodford resident Omar Salem was in the news recently when he confronted Boris Johnson at Whipps Cross Hospital. Omar was absolutely justified to complain about understaffing. I was delighted to hear that the government has finally relented and agreed to fund new buildings at Whipps. All credit to those who have tenaciously campaigned for this, not least the hospital’s constituency MP John Cryer. But I am concerned this will do nothing to address the urgent need for increased funding for the hospital’s day to day running costs. Accident and emergency waiting times have been unacceptable for...

Councillor Suzanne Nolan (Conservative, South Woodford) talks about her caseload, her work to get policies changed and her battle against the ‘black hole’ that is the council website We are living in interesting times, with many long-standing issues continuing to dominate nationally. However, despite these discussions, life here in South Woodford continues, with residents getting on with their lives, dealing with the important issues that affect their daily activities. We have continued our work doing walkabouts with officers around South Woodford, knocking on doors, talking to residents, and holding our regular stall in George Lane, discussing local issues with all those who come and talk to us, and replying to the many emails and telephone calls we receive. There are some common themes continually being raised...

In the first of two articles by former South Woodford resident David Williams, the journalist-turned-tour guide and lecturer explains why he often returns to the area to give talks to local groups Whether I am talking to a genealogy group or local history enthusiasts, I know that at some stage there will be a discussion with someone who wants to tell me how far back they have traced their ancestors. The common factor here is their enthusiasm. I suppose we have to thank the TV programme Who Do You Think You Are? for encouraging family history research and I can only imagine how long people spend trawling through census forms, parochial documents, workhouse records and the Old Bailey online. Without access to the mass of...

Two Christmas-themed markets will provide South Woodford residents with additional gift-buying opportunities this festive season. The Woodford Craft Market will return to Woodford Memorial Hall on 30 November (10am to 4pm; free entry), with 30 talented designer-makers offering handcrafted goods, including jewellery, decorations, clothes and homeware. “With so many local makers showcasing their artisan gifts, it’s the perfect place to do a spot of Christmas shopping,” said organiser Ghene Snowdon. And as Christmas gets closer, George Lane’s monthly farmers’ market will be complemented by seasonal products on 15 December (10am to 3pm). “We’re hoping this event will bring a real Christmassy community spirit to South Woodford. The monthly farmers’ markets are still relatively new here but are quickly becoming a great addition to South Woodford...

In the second of a series of articles by members of the Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society, Robert Gibbons tells the story behind this image taken on the South Bank A few years ago, I had booked to see The Wizard of Oz at the Festival Hall on the South Bank and had arrived early for the afternoon matinee, which was due to start at 2.30pm. I always carry a small compact camera with me and decided to kill time by wandering around on the off-chance of seeing any photos worth taking. Squeals of laughter drew my attention to an area where multiple jets of water were squirting from the ground at random intervals with children running in and out, trying to guess the right...

The popular South Woodford Farmers’ Market has been running since the summer and December’s Christmas event is set to be the best yet, says Louise Burgess of the South Woodford Society as she updates us on the group’s hopes and plans for the local area Whether you’re looking for festive food, classic decorations, arts and crafts or that last-minute gift, you can find all you want for Christmas at the South Woodford Christmas market – and at all our other local businesses, of course!   We are hoping to regale you with traditional seasonal tunes and jazz, mulled wine, jolly bangers from the Giggly Pig and scrumptious cakes, pies and cheeses. Come along from 10am to 3pm on 15 December and join in the festive fun. And do get...