The Friends of Wanstead Parklands – which has been campaigning for the regeneration of ‘east London’s hidden gem’ for the past decade – is seeking to recruit new members to support their work. “Our committee needs new blood. If you value the park and would like to contribute, why not come along to one of our meetings to get some idea of what might be involved? The editor of our popular members’ newsletter has stepped down so we are looking for a someone to take over this role… Someone with experience of website management would also be welcome,” said a spokesperson. The group – which normally meets on the second Wednesday of the month from 7.30pm at Wanstead Golf Club – is involved in shaping...

Tim Armitage – who didn’t go to art school – finds inspiration for his paintings in the natural world. He is one of many local creatives to join the recently founded Woodford Arts Group I grew up by the sea, so my childhood revolved a great deal around the beach, fishing off the pier, swimming and surfing, and I suppose that’s informed what I mostly find myself painting – marine life. These days, I work outdoors as a Forest School Leader, and this has started to inform my art with more work involving trees and plants, but I would say that in all ways my work is concerned with the natural world rather than the man-made one. I work in acrylics but would one day like to...

As the children head back to school, Katie Biggs – a local homeopath with a 15-year conventional medical background – explains how alternative medicine can help anxious pupils The most recent surveys of child and adolescent mental health have shown that in an average school classroom of 30 youngsters, three will have a mental health condition. Over the last decade there has been an increase in testing pupils due to governmental shifts in educational attainment targets. Social media has also become a part of many teenagers’ lives. Both these factors add stresses and anxieties, and the pressures on our young ones are ever increasing. It’s an unfortunate truth that the school environment can present triggers for many such difficulties. We know that long waiting times and...

As Woodford Town FC prepare to return to the local area, assistant manager Neil Day explains the club’s strong community ethos and introduces a team that counts football legend Jimmy Greaves among its former players Woodford Town FC are set to make an emotional return to the local area after a 26-year hiatus. Council planning for a revamped stadium on Ashton Playing Fields is pending, with the Woods looking to move into their new home sometime during the 2019/20 season. The news has delighted and rejuvenated fans of the original club – founded in 1937 – which attracted a club record crowd of over 2,000 to their former Snakes Lane ground for an FA Cup first round tie with Leyton Orient in the 1985/86 season....

Kate Panayi started her working life as an actress. Here, the South Woodford resident and Monkey Music franchisee explains how her career path changed after becoming a parent Soon after moving to South Woodford in 2007, my husband and I became parents to two boys, Daniel and Jack (who are now much older than I remember – 10 and eight respectively!), and I started rethinking my plans regarding work. I came across Monkey Music, which seemed to encompass everything I love about the arts. I loved all the beautiful songs and instruments it exposes children to – and I was so impressed that the curriculum has been tailored to start with gentle sounds for babies of only three months and then cleverly develops alongside little ones...

When Woodford Green resident Kelvin Bathie approached family historian Linda Gough, his aim was to find out more about his father’s Scottish background, but the outcome was something quite different and proved to be a perfect example of the fascination of family history research Kelvin knew his family came from Scotland but not much more. When he told me his father’s name was Mensley Bathie, I was intrigued by the unusual first name. Bathie proved a relatively easy name to trace through the public records. I found an agricultural background and, as one relative was an auctioneer in farmland, animals and equipment, Bathie featured in newspaper articles and adverts. The Bathie name moved to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the 1870s, where the occupations became industrial: engine fitter, electro-plater,...

Francis Castro, senior nature conservation ranger for Vision RCL, is keen to champion the Roding Valley and invites you to join him for a late summer walk through this local hidden gem. Valley photo by Anna MacLaughlin The Roding Valley is one of the hidden gems of east London, part of the area’s industrial landscape but also retaining some of its rural charm. It is a great way to explore the borough and for those looking for a more rural getaway. The Nature Conservation Ranger Team, part of the Parks Team for Vision RCL, have a walk scheduled for 7 September, which will be our longest walk yet, completing the trilogy of Roding Valley guided walks we have held throughout the year. It will take in...

Never discuss politics or religion in polite company, so the saying goes. But, keeping it polite, Councillor Stephen Adams (Conservative, Churchfields) explains why Jesus is at the centre of his politics I became a Christian at the age of 21 on a park bench in Nottingham. Here’s what I came to accept: I am a broken and imperfect individual who rejected God, deserving eternal rejection from him. But God in his love sent Jesus to be punished instead of me by dying on the cross and being raised again, proving he’d paid the price and presenting me blameless before God. Jesus went to great lengths to serve me, so in my thankfulness I should be prepared to do the same for others. Many say that...

Councillor Rosa Gomez (Labour, Churchfields) spoke from personal experience when she presented a council motion on domestic violence over the summer. Here, she discusses the work ahead Since 2015, levels of domestic abuse have been slowly increasing, meaning it is essential that action is quickly taken to bring it to an end. On average, two women a week and 30 men a year die as a result of domestic violence. It is estimated to cost the UK £23 billion annually, including costs to the criminal justice system, the health service, social care and housing. Of course, this ignores the personal costs, which cannot be quantified in pounds and pence. Domestic abuse has a personal meaning for me; as a result, it is imperative to my work as a...

Councillor Clark Vasey (Conservative, Churchfields) explains why he campaigned for 60 additional school places in Woodford, and why he continues to press the council on the issue Your child starting school is a momentous moment for any parent. However, for parents across Woodford, this sense of anticipation was replaced with worry as a failure by Redbridge Council meant Woodford had a shortage of school places, while Ilford had an excess of up to 200 places. The result of this failure meant parents across Woodford saw their children dumped in schools of more than two miles away. In some cases, the distances were more than three miles away. Two to three hours of walking a day would have ruled out walking, and the location of the...

Have you noticed the new planters at South Woodford station? Attiya Thanvi explains the culmination of the energy garden project – which was over a year in the making – and invites others to help it grow. Photography by Geoff Wilkinson In June 2018, while scrolling through Instagram, I came across #undergroundinbloom, introducing me to the NGO Repowering London, which funds greening projects across London stations. I sent a recommendation for them to run a project at South Woodford Station, and then forgot all about it. In August 2018, I received an email saying they were interested in coming to survey the station and to see if we qualified for funding.  They asked questions about how many volunteers we had. This prompted me to reach out...

The Environment Agency has announced a day of community engagement in Woodford in connection with the River Roding Project, which aims to improve local river defences. “Heavy rain has caused the River Roding to flood the area eight times in the past 100 years: 1926, 1939, 1947, 1974, 1988, 1993, 2000 and 2007… Parts of Woodford and Ilford are at high risk of flooding,” said a spokesperson. The project involves the construction of a flood storage area to hold back high flows upstream in rural Essex. Enhancements along the Roding Valley are also being explored, including riverside landscaping and re-naturalising the river. “This catchment approach will reduce the risk of flooding to more than 600 homes and businesses in the local area.” Residents are invited...