In the 10th – and last – of a series of articles celebrating the Woodford and Wanstead Photographic Society – which is now in its 126th year – club member Alan Simpson continues to offer an insight into the group’s history. Photo by club member David Tyrrell. When the opportunity came to move club meetings to Wanstead House Community Centre in 2014 – only 70 years after it was first suggested – the chance was taken. Once there, it was not long before the club had outgrown its ground-floor meeting room and moved into the much larger room in the attic (once the home of the defunct Leytonstone and Wanstead Camera Club). The only downside of the move to Wanstead House was that the change of...

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 fourth of a series of articles charting the River Roding Project – which aims to reduce that risk – Andy Naish from the Environment Agency offers advice on protecting your property. River photo by Geoff Wilkinson. The River Roding Project recently held a community drop-in event at Kelvedon Hatch Village Hall, near to the proposed flood storage area in Essex. This was a chance for local residents, community groups and landowners to find out more about the project, how we plan to minimise disruption and how it will reduce flooding impacts in...

Circles, colour and the trees of Epping Forest are among the inspirations for self-taught artist Sue Mayne, one of many local creatives to join the recently founded Woodford Arts Group. As a traveller, I have always enjoyed looking at art as an art tourist, and it was while in Madrid in 1988 that I went to the Prado Museum and saw The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch. I was captivated and my love of art history began. Frustrated with my career in the banking industry, I decided to return to study in the 1990s while still working full-time. I did an A level in Art History and the following year enrolled with The Open University and studied all the art history modules available at that time....

Some South Woodford scribbles from DD, our resident diarist, commentator and observer of all things local. I have just bought a new broom. The old one was shedding bristles, so it was more of a hindrance than a help. My neighbour observed that it was “follically challenged”. I enjoyed that, and was prompted to head for Wickes without delay. (Sadly, no longer any hardware store locally.) I bought the one described as ‘heavy duty’. New brooms have developed a rather scary reputation. For doing away with what others, perhaps, had established before: “Making a clean sweep of things.” Not applicable, of course, in this instance, as that was exactly what I wanted. But on my drive over to Loughton, I found myself thinking about new...

‘This is Essex’ is the theme for an Essex Art Club competition, which will be judged at the group’s annual exhibition at this November. Mary Springham invites artists to join the historic club and enter. Image July-Thaxted by John Tookey. Essex is the theme for our special competition for members of Essex Art Club. The prize is £120 for a picture of 120 square inches, to celebrate the 120th year of the club. We are pleased to announce the submitted works – which will be displayed at our November exhibition at Wanstead House – will be judged by Professor Ken Howard OBE, who was our club president for many years and is now our patron. Essex Art Club has been encouraging artists and holding exhibitions since 1899, and...

South Woodford’s Young Writers Club is nurturing the creativity of local budding authors, under the guidance of the group’s teacher Shameem Aziz, who knows to never underestimate a child’s potential. The Young Writers Club was the brainchild of Agnieszka Kazmierczak, a friend of mine who was looking for a club that would encourage her son’s love of writing. There were no such clubs already in existence, so being the determined person she is, she set one up herself! Prospective attendees submitted samples of their writing and were picked from these submissions. What was the criteria? Excellent  grammar? Sentence structure? High-level vocabulary? All of these elements had a bearing, of course, but the real requirement was a passion for creativity, ideas and a love of writing. The...

Thanks to the work of the South Woodford Community Gardeners, it will be hard to walk down George Lane this summer without noticing the floral beauty that bisects the road. Judy Noble tells the story behind their work. On many a Friday morning when you walk down the high street, you can spy us busy weeding, planting, cutting back and pruning the lovely gardens we are so lucky to have right down the centre of George Lane in South Woodford. We so enjoy it when you, the local public, come up and tell us how much you too enjoy these gardens. Some of you stay and chat awhile, giving us a chance to straighten our backs, or give us tips and plants you can spare...

Woodford Green resident Linda Gough explains how what began as an interest in family history some 30 years ago has now developed into a satisfying vocation reuniting families Television programmes like Who Do You think You Are? and Long Lost Families have tapped into a very human interest in who we are and where we come from. Added to this, many families have mysteries to solve, missing people to trace and information and stories which they would like to check for accuracy. I became interested in family history about 30 years ago, when I researched my partner’s family who came to England from Germany in the 1830s. This research, undertaken in school holidays when I was a teacher, involved a Tube ride from South Woodford to...

Karen Humpage announces the launch of her book featuring artwork and anecdotes of the cows that once roamed the streets of Woodford. Woodford residents may already be familiar with my work. My paintings of the cows that used to wander the streets have been shown nearby during Art Trail Wanstead and the Wanstead Festival. I recently finished writing my book on the subject, entitled Common or Garden Cows, which is due for release on 28 July. I’m very excited about the book coming out, and keen to know what everyone thinks about it. I’m hoping to organise a ‘meet the author’ afternoon in a local establishment, and possibly do some readings from the book. It’s too early to give definite details yet, so check my...

Sue Page from the Redbridge Heritage Centre invites you to a reminiscence session at Woodford Green Library this August, to share your memories of food, glorious food Our eating habits have changed a lot over the last 80 years. If you lived through the Second World War, you will remember the dietary restrictions brought about by rationing, which began in January 1940. If you lived in Woodford, you would have had to register with a particular retailer in the area to purchase bacon, cheese, fats and sugar. Rationing meant some foodstuffs were traded on the Black Market.   A Woodford café owner was charged in 1946 with obtaining rationed foodstuffs “in excess of points allocated”. He had received 480 tins of salmon and 24 tins...

Counselling and psychotherapy training institute TA East will be hosting a listening post at South Woodford Library this summer. Victoria Baskervill explains what it means to be truly listened to. We all need to talk, be listened to and be in contact with each other, to thrive in this world. “Listening is about being present, not just about being quiet.” Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise, 2016. In contemporary society, we often don’t have or take the time to stop and listen to the birds sing, to hear children’s laughter, or to look up from our phones and really listen and hear each other. There have been moments in both my personal and professional life which I can pinpoint being truly listened to, heard and understood. Sometimes, these have been chance...

Library Development Officer Christine Thompson invites South Woodford’s children to take part in a space-themed reading challenge this summer and read six library books over the holidays. The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge is aimed at children aged four to 12 years and helps get almost three quarters of a million children into libraries to boost their reading skills and confidence. Children’s reading can ‘dip’ during the summer holidays if they don’t have regular access to books and encouragement to pick them up. In 2019, children across the UK will be able to take part in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, entitled Space Chase, an out-of-this-world adventure inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. It is also the 20th anniversary of...