Are you sitting comfortably? Former teacher and Woodford Green resident Jessica Norrie has a story to tell. Her novel – The Magic Carpet – was inspired by her experiences of teaching and living locally I’ve lived since 1988 in Walthamstow or Woodford, and taught Redbridge pupils and adults until 2016. Teaching’s a two-way process; we learn from students while they learn from us. I liked and celebrated them, but by retirement, my head was crowded with three decades of lives brought into my classrooms. Thousands passed through, from all income levels, speaking over 50 languages, practising at least 10 religions or none, with single parents, step-parents, carers…    It’s a teacher’s job to help pupils organise their thoughts by telling or writing news or stories...

The Woodford Festival Association (WFA) is appealing for new volunteers to help ensure the next event – planned for October 2020 – can go ahead. The biennial festival – which takes place over the course of a week – embraces a wide range of performing and visual arts, presented mostly by local residents. WFA chairman Geoff Seeff was delighted with the community’s positive response to the nearly 100 individual events that were staged in 2018 and believes that, since its launch in 2008, the festival has become one of the defining features of the local area. “It’s great fun. We are able to provide a forum for some amazingly talented musicians, artists, poets and speakers and they in turn are able to give much pleasure...

More than 100 people gathered at Latchett Evangelical Church in South Woodford recently to mark the handover of the building to a new congregation. Church elder Tim Smith explains why Nearly 90 years after Latchett Evangelical Church was founded in Maybank Road, the building has been handed to The Bridge Church, a group which has been worshipping in Woodford and Buckhurst Hill for many years. Older readers may well remember the original ‘Tin Tab’ in Latchett Road, then known as Latchett Hall. This was bought in 1933 by Dr David Smith to be a place of worship and community action. In 1961 the rebuilding scheme we see today was completed with funds raised entirely by the congregation. Over the years, the church has had its...

The Woodford and District branch of the National Trust is inviting new members to join them on their winter London outings. Membership costs £15 per year, which includes the trips and access to a series of monthly talks at Woodford Memorial Hall and All Saints’ Church. Upcoming excursions include a trip to the Bank of England on 5 November, a visit to the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul in Greenwich on 11 December and a tour of Whitehall’s Banqueting House on 23 January. Call 07774 164 407...

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 sixth of a series of articles charting the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Laura Hepworth from the Environment Agency reflects on the project’s recent community events. River image by Anna MacLaughlin Since the last edition, the River Roding Project Outline Business Case has been approved, which means we are now working to produce detailed designs. We are aiming to apply for planning permission by spring 2020. We have also submitted a bid for funding to the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, and should hear if we are...

The local community are invited to pay their respects at Remembrance ceremonies across Redbridge this November. South Woodford will host the first of the borough’s six wreath-laying events with a service at the Woodford War Memorial in front of St Mary’s Church on 9 November from 9am. Three more services will take place the following day: at Ilford War Memorial (10.50am), Hainault War Memorial (10.45am) and Wanstead War Memorial (12.30pm). On Remembrance Day itself, Fairlop Waters Country Park and Snaresbrook’s Garden of Remembrance will be the setting for two minutes of silence at 11am. “It is only fitting that we pay tribute to all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice… We owe them a debt of gratitude,” said the Mayor of Redbridge, Councillor Zulfiqar...

Members of a local slimming and fitness club competed in a dragon boat race in September to raise funds for charity and to celebrate their instructor’s 25th anniversary year of teaching fitness. “We recruited 17 of our members, aged 26 to almost 70, to take part in #Dragonfest 2019 – a day of fun, food and excitement in aid of good causes. Thirteen other teams, including nursery staff and cleaners, battled for first place on the day,” said South Woodford resident Karen Smith, who runs Fitgirlslim in Gants Hill, Chigwell, Woodford and Clayhall. The Fitgirlslim Flyers – who were the only all-female team in the event – raised over £2,400 for Woodford Bridge charity ELHAP, which supports over 600 disabled children, young people and adults...

A public consultation on South Woodford’s Neighbourhood Plan is due to start in November. “There is currently a formal review of the paperwork, after which the consultation will start. This will be publicised both on our website and by Redbridge Council,” said a spokesperson for the South Woodford Society. “Once we hit this milestone, we will be seeking volunteers to assist in putting together the actual plan, which we anticipate will take quite a few months.” Visit swvg.co.uk/sws...

Local author Eithne Cullen has published a collection of short stories. “Over the years, I’ve had some success with my short stories. Some have won or been commended in competitions, others have been published in anthologies. I decided to find a home for them and came up with this collection. There are a variety of stories: a couple are a modern reworking of fairy tales, one was inspired by my favourite Jane Austen book Persuasion, one is set in the beautiful Harpa Concert Hall in Iceland and others were inspired by stories I’d heard, which invited themselves to be written,” said Eithne. Pencils and other Stories (paperback: £2.99) is the South Woodford resident’s third book to be published, having released The Ogress of Reading and...

As Woodford County High School For Girls marks its centenary, Deputy Headteacher Colin Jenkins reflects on 100 years of history and traditions, which have been encapsulated in a new book by the Chairman of the Old Girls’ Association Woodford County High School has changed a great deal over the years. On 29 September 1919, it opened its doors for the first time. On that day, the seven teachers in the school welcomed their new intake of 110 girls. Now, 100 years on, the school is 10 times bigger, but many of the values and traditions that inspired the founders live on today. The founders of the school had a clear vision: to educate girls to the highest standards possible and to equip them to be self-confident, socially responsible adults, ready...

Local resident Charlotte Monro explains why campaigning must continue for the redevelopment of Whipps Cross Hospital, despite government funding confirmation At a public meeting on 15 October, Barts Health Trust presented their current proposals for the new hospital and the other developments on the Whipps Cross site. There was intense interest from the 200 people attending, with pertinent and searching questions asked, and discussions continued as the meeting was breaking up. Whipps is one of the six hospital developments the government has announced will benefit from a share of a £2.7bn funding allocation. A letter has been received from the Secretary of State for Health confirming government support for a ‘brand new hospital’. “We don’t know how much yet,” said Alastair Finney, Director for Whipps Cross...

A packed hall gave London City Airport representatives a tough time over their expansion proposals at a public meeting in Wanstead earlier this month. “London City is proposing to almost double flight numbers from their current level, end the 24-hour weekend break and operate more planes in the early morning and late evening… Parts of Wanstead and South Woodford are directly under these flight paths,” said John Stewart of campaign group HACAN East. The proposals are part of City’s Master Plan, which sets out its vision for the airport until 2035. Tim Halley, Director of Planning, argued the airport believed the demand would be there to justify its expansion proposals, but stressed the airport would take account of consultation responses before coming out with any...