Members of a local fitness club took part in a 1980s-themed mass workout at the end of 2019 in celebration their leader’s 25th anniversary in fitness and to raise funds for ELHAP, a special needs adventure playground in Woodford Bridge. “This charity event was the climax of a fantastic year – my 25th anniversary of teaching fitness classes. We managed to find an original Felicity Kendal vinyl exercise LP from the 1980s and hook it up to a sound system… we all enjoyed stepping back in time for the aerobathon,” said South Woodford resident Karen Smith, who runs Fitgirlslim in Gants Hill, Chigwell, Woodford and Clayhall “Thanks to the generosity of our club members, throughout the year, we have now raised over £5,000 for ELHAP...

Woodford Town FC officials have expressed their delight following Redbridge Council’s approval of a £1.6m revamp of Ashton Playing Fields in Woodford Green, which will enable the club – currently sharing a ground with Harlow FC – to return to the local area. “This is a real step forward and it will be a fantastic reward for a lot of effort when the building work begins,” said a spokesperson. The club, which competes in the Essex Senior League, are keen to build community ties, and have been working with local schools to create a time capsule that will be buried under the proposed 350-seater grandstand. “It’s great the wheels are turning in our return home. There has been a lot of support in the local...

Henry Scott stood as an independent candidate for the Leyton and Wanstead constituency in December’s General Election. Having recently turned 18, he was the UK’s youngest candidate. “The election has been brilliant, and it’s given me a lot of experience, but also educated me a lot on the issues in our area and in the country. From the homeless to business owners, everyone has problems that need to have a change in the way they are dealt with… I was surprised at some of the abuse myself and other parties received, but I’ve been told that’s just how politics works… I am definitely going to run for a councillor position next time. The campaign has spurred me on and built me up with enthusiasm,” said...

Redbridge Council is seeking feedback from residents as to where communal charging points for electric vehicles should be located. “The advance of this technology has been slower in this country than some others, but gradually the electric car revolution is taking off. Redbridge Council is keen to support this form of transport, providing a number of charging points across the borough. This is an ongoing process, so expressions of interest are being invited regarding possible sites,” said Councillor Paul Donovan. Figures provided by the BBC Shared Data Unit in 2019 show Redbridge has a lower than average ratio of charger ports to licensed electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles when compared to the rest of UK (21 charging locations and 426 licensed electric cars). Email evcp@redbridge.gov.uk...

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...