your independent community newspaper waltham n · ship with global street art, won just under...

NewsA new migrants centre has opened and aims to give support and advice P . 3

NewsThe voluntary sector in Waltham Forest is in a ‘dire situation’ P . 4

InterviewWe meet some of the people trying to make the borough a greener place to live P . 6

PreviewLooking ahead to the fifth annual Stow Festival, a weekend of live music P . 11

FeatureLiving on benefits in Waltham Forest? We talk to people hit by government cuts P . 12

Sept / Oct 2015No 7, FreeWALTHAM

FOREST ECHO

Your independent community newspaper

www.walthamforestecho.co.ukfacebook.com/WalthamForestEchoT: @WFEchoE: [email protected]

enerous donors have pledged more than £800 to help a homeless man “with a good heart”

get off the streets. Marian Hargas, who goes by the nickname Harry, was promised a job in London to help him start a new life following a family tragedy in his native Slovakia. But the job was a con and Harry ended up homeless in Waltham-stow with no money and no friends in a foreign country. Massage therapist Fran Dewar saw Harry on the streets and was so moved by his story she not only gave him some change but set up an online campaign via the char-itable website Just Giving. The campaign aims to raise

£1,000 to fund YMCA accommo-dation for six weeks, long enough for the 36-year-old to find a job. Harry can speak basic English and is skilled in computing but cannot work without a proof of address. In her heartwarming appeal, Fran said: “After meeting Harry I was inspired to help him. “He is a gentle man, with a good heart, and despite his situation still remains positive and proac-tive in trying to help himself. He just needs a helping hand to get him started. “Harry has the right to work and live in the UK and wants to make a life for himself here. All he needs is enough money to get him into accommodation so he is off the streets and can apply for a job. “Harry does not drink or take any drugs. The funds will get him started so he can make his

own income. There are so many people we can’t help, but we can help Harry.” Speaking to the Echo, Harry said Fran was “a nice human” and was surprised by the generosity of people in Walthamstow. “I met this woman and she said she wanted to help me,” Harry said. “I don’t know why, she must

be a nice human. A few other people promised to help me as well but Fran really wanted to. “I have met someone who might give me a job but I need accommo-dation. I don’t want to speak about what happened to me but I have nobody to go back to in Slovakia. “I want to start a new life here. There are a lot of nice people here.”

G

Money pours in for homeless HarryHundreds of pounds donated through a crowdfunding campaign to help get vulnerable man off streets

To help Harry find accomodation.Visit: https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/new-start-for-harry

You can also donate to Shelter, the housing and homelessness charity that helps homeless families find somewhere to call homeVisit: http://england.shelter.org.uk/donate Tel: 0808 800 4444

Harry was promised a job in London but it never materialised, leaving him homeless

Colour the capitaltreet art continues to spring up all across Waltham Forest, and now another local group

has joined in the fun. Forest Recycling Project (FRP), which has an enormous store of secondhand paint in Bakers Avenue, unveiled the first of a series of street art murals in Elm-field Road, near Coppermill Lane in Walthamstow.

The colourful artwork was created by renowned Italian street artist Huntoland, whose “unique style and abstract workings” are expressed throughout the piece. It is part of FRP’s “Colour the Capital” project which, in partner-ship with Global Street Art, won just under £50,000 from the Big Lottery Fund last year. Nine murals in total will be painted across three East London boroughs.

In conjunction with the project, FRP is also giving away 2,000 litres of free paint for not-for-profit organisations and community groups based in Waltham Forest.

SFor more informationEmail: [email protected] or Email: [email protected]

by James Cracknell

Advertisement

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 No 7No 7 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO 32

“Firstly, to provide support and advice for migrants in Waltham-stow, and we hope that the support centre will be part of achieving that. “We also wanted to provide opportunities for migrants and non-migrants in Walthamstow to be engaged in positive integration – we often talk about how Waltham-stow is a multicultural community, but we were wondering if some-times, although we talk the talk, do we really have the relationships? So we wanted to be intentional about bringing people together.

“Finally, we wanted to challenge negative narratives in the political scene and in the media around mi-gration. Whatever the complica-tions and difficult issues around migration, we want to engage the community in the long term and help people to see that migration is not a negative issue but a positive one which enriches our community. “We’ve been working with different groups to get them on board too, so that people don’t see a fringe group, but a community working together.” The chairman of the group, Dr

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015: No7The Waltham Forest Echo is an independent community newspaper for the borough. We publish every two months and distrib-ute 20,000 free copies of each issue through shops and community spaces.

Editor David Floyd

Deputy Editor Amy Croome

Online EditorAmina Ahmed

Art DirectionJonathan Duncan

ContributorsAndy MirrorAnn WilliamsDeborah NashDiana KorchienEd SwanJames CracknellJames WoodJane DuranKatie RobinsonSarah JonesShelly BerryTamzin Ivie Grace IyayiTayba HussainZakiya Abbas

Advertising SalesT: 020 8521 7956E: [email protected]

The member organisations of WFWellComm CIC are:Age UK Waltham ForestCommunity Transport Waltham ForestHEETLearning Disability ExperienceSocial Spider CICStreetlife Radio CIC

WFWellComm CIC Management Board:David Floyd (Social Spider CIC)Stanton Lafoucade (Streetlife Radio CIC)Tom Ruxton (HEET)Helen Tredoux (Community Transport Waltham Forest)Ann Weekes (Learning Disability Experience)

Exciting times for the EchoFrom the editor of the Waltham Forest Echo

by David Floyd

elcome to issue seven of Waltham Forest Echo. It’s a time of change

and excitement for the Echo. As you may have noticed, we’ve begun our second year of publication with a redesign, as explained by Jonathan Duncan above. We hope you like it. The redesign is the first stage in a bigger process of change. Having started as a quarterly pub-lication last year and moved to bi-monthly in January, as of No-

vember the Echo will be coming out every month. It’s a big leap but now is the right time to take it. One consequence of our move to monthly publication is that there will be editing to be done and I will no longer be able to edit the Echo as part of my job at Social Spider. The good news is that James Cracknell, a local journalist who has been writing for the Echo from issue one and has recently become more involved as a free-lance editor, will be taking over in

November. He’ll do a great job. I will continue to manage the project overall and, hopefully, do a bit more writing for the paper. One subject I’ll be writing about is the challenge facing the local voluntary sector. As the story on page 4 makes clear, local charities and social enterprises are current-ly facing major difficulties, due both to reductions in funding and ongoing uncertainty about when and how further cuts will happen.As a newspaper owned by some local charities and social enterpris-

es, we’re keen to explain what this means for local people but also to offer some ideas about what can be done to improve the situation. Thanks for reading. Please get in touch to tell us what you think of our redesign and let us know what you thinking we should be covering in future issues.

An introduction to your redesigned newspaperDesigner Jonathan Duncan has led the new redesign of the Waltham Forest Echo and here explains how local history has helped shape it

ny design approach that seeks to meaningfully engage with an area, community or place

should be committed to revisiting its past, to read into what is, and what was, present, and how the local people shaped it. Neglecting this stage of a design process would result in an impo-sition, a projection of what one assumes of many, which would mis-guide the process and ensure the results are poorer for it. Above Vestry House Museum, like an attic for the collected memory of the area, is stored

the local archives that initiated the research that later informed the design of the newspaper. While a family studied 18th century maps to recover a picture of a distant relative’s life, we researched Waltham Forest’s newspaper past and present, accelerating through decades of time on microfilms, and learning the historical symbolism of Waltham Forest’s coat of arms.Research which has been distilled for the modern day and is echoed in the newspaper’s mark as well as the layout. The fundamental conflicts that had to be navigated during the

process of redesign was to avoid the newspaper feeling ‘corporate’, while also ensuring that none of the visual references were in any way muddled or suggestive of the endemic transformation that gen-trification is having on most bor-oughs in London. The design and layout has hence been conducted with a confident sense of simplicity, preserving only what is functional, and nothing more. This simplicity has been imbued by the Royal Institute of Blind People’s guidance on design and typography for people with low vision or sight difficulties. These considerations preoccu-pied the design decisions and led to the clear typographic hierarchy that soberly distinguishes between the various elements on the page, while using typefaces that have been specifically designed for editorial use to maximise readability. The ‘white space’ of the pages – thought of not just as the paper the newspaper is printed on – has been left quiet where possible, and has instead been used to bring an overall sense of lightness to the pages and transparency to the articles. The headline typeface, ‘Doves Type’, is a digital recreation of a typeface reclaimed from the river-bed of the Thames. The metal type, as was used in the day, was com-

mitted to the river off Hammer-smith Bridge between the dates of August 1916 and January 1917, by Cobden-Sanderson following the collapse of his relationship with his business partner and co-own-er of Doves Press, Emery Walker.Both men were part of a group of artists and craftsmen that gathered around William Morris - who was famously born in Walthamstow - and are considered to have been sig-nificant contributors to the Arts and Crafts Movement. Using some 150 pieces of the original metal type, de-signer Robert Green has resurrected that typeface, considered by some to be forever lost. It has been our attempt to rede-sign the newspaper with a neutral, open and approachable stance that has given a suitable form to the writing within the newspa-per, written by the community, for the community.

AIf you find that you are unable to read the newspaper fluently, articles will later be made available online where they can be read at your preferred type size, or through a diction programme.

Visit: www.walthamforestecho.co.ukComments on the redesign to

Twitter: @tobe_averb or Email: [email protected]

New migrants’ support centre opensWeekly advice sessions now taking place in Walthamstow

by Ed Swan

new drop-in centre for migrants has begun weekly sessions provid-ing support and advice

in the borough. Walthamstow Migrants’ Support Centre is a project organised by the Walthamstow Migrants’ Action Group, a team of community members dedicated to support-ing migrants, fostering commu-nity integration, and challenging the negative political discourse around migration. Every Tuesday morning from 10am to 1pm, anyone who needs support or advice on issues of mi-gration will be welcomed by the group in Saint Saviour’s Church in Walthamstow. It is a friendly and comfortable setting, an opportunity to relax and chat with tea and coffee, as well as the chance to get one-on-one support from experts on issues around migration. Canon Steven Saxby, the secre-tary of the group, explained the objectives behind the foundation of the group, and how these led to the new project. He said: “When we launched the group we had three aims.

ith many London boroughs facing major shortages for primary school

places because of rapid population growth and under-investment, the recent announcement that three local schools are to receive a multi-million-pound expansion has been widely welcomed. Waltham Forest Council has ap-pointed Willmott Dixon Construc-tion Ltd with a contract worth £12.5million to expand Jenny Hammond Primary School in Worsley Street, Leytonstone; May-ville Primary School in Lincoln Street, Leytonstone; and Ching-

ford Hall Primary Academy in Burnside Avenue, Chingford. Jenny Hammond will receive £5.25m, Mayville £3.7m, and Chingford Hall Primary £3.6m. When complete each expand-ed school will have an extra 210 places – a new class for every year group. The move comes two years after research suggested Waltham Forest would have 25 percent more chil-dren than it could provide a place for by 2016. Local teachers say schools are already struggling to cope with ever-rising numbers. Temporary buildings have been used and in some cases playground space has been reduced to allow for expansion.

Shaukat Khan, agrees. He said: “The political culture around mi-gration is so much more hostile now than it has been at any point in the post-war period. Immigra-tion has been used as a tool by most of the political parties, and this has created fear. Now people are uncertain and afraid they will be a target. This creates an envi-ronment where people feel unwel-come. This is not the kind of com-munity we want. “There’s the problem of rogue solicitors, who take a lot of money from migrants regardless of whether they’re actually going to help them with their immigra-tion status. People are concerned about the legality of practices such as stop and search. “These are all issues we have dealt with in previous workshops, and which the support centre will continue to provide advice on.” Father Salvador Telen, the vicar of St Saviour’s and member of the group, is delighted that his church is the venue for the support centre. He said: “A lot of people are scared because they feel they do not know where to turn to ask for help. “When people come here they feel that it’s a confidential and wel-coming place where they can talk about the issues they face, get one-

Many children have to find places far outside their catchment area contributing to fears of increased absence and lateness particularly if they have a sibling at another school across the borough. Councillor Mark Rusling, the council’s cabinet member for chil-dren and young people, said: “Lon-don’s fast-rising population is in-evitably putting more pressure on school places, and local authori-ties have a statutory obligation to provide sufficient places within their areas. “The government has made it more difficult for us to do that, by banning us from opening new schools. Despite these restrictions we’re committed to providing what our parents want - places at local

schools that can provide their child with an outstanding education.”Since the Education Act intro-duced in 2011, all newly-built state schools must be either ac-adamies or free schools operated independently from the council. There are also incentives for existing state schools to convert to academy status. As a result, in Waltham Forest the number of academies has risen from just one to 22, nearly one in every three of the borough’s state schools. Chingford Hall, one of the three primary schools being expanded, converted to academy status in 2012. Cllr Rusling said: “Proposals for new extensions and alterations have been developed in consulta-

tion with the schools, to enable each of them to offer an addition-al 210 places. “Work has already started, with minor adaptations taking place in the summer holidays so that an ad-ditional reception class can be ad-mitted this September. “And, this building work is supplemented by proposals to provide additional furniture and ICT equipment at each school.” Having recently celebrated the A-Level success of record numbers of Waltham Forest students – 1,795, an increase of 38 per cent compared to 2013/14 – it is essen-tial that those children about to embark on their school careers this September are given the same op-portunities for academic success.

to-one support, and share their ex-periences with others.” Mariko Hayashi – a founding member of the group – found taking part in its activities helped her to feel more connected to her local community. She said: “As a migrant myself from Japan, I know how over-whelming it can be for migrants, even something like dealing with paperwork, which always seems to be written in the most complicat-ed language. That’s why projects like this can make a big difference to the way migrants feel.” While the political discourse

around migration is overwhelming-ly negative and migrants continue to face huge challenges, the work of the Walthamstow Migrants’ Action Group shows that, by bringing people together, a lot can be done to reduce the stress, anxiety and isolation faced by migrants, and at the same time, strengthen com-munity relationships for migrants and non-migrants alike.

Schools expand as pupil numbers soar

A

FeatureJames Cracknell meets the people working to make the borough greener P . 6NEWS

Waltham Forest Echo Social Spider CIC, The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow, London, E17 7HA

Waltham Forest Echo began with funding by The National Lottery through Big Lottery Fund

FELLOWSHIP IS LIFE

Members of the new migrants’ support centre Credit: Mark Burton

Walthamstow Migrants’ Support Centre is open 10am-1pm every Tuesday at Saint Saviour’s Church, 210 Markhouse Road, E17 8EP.

by Sarah Jones

The Doves Type metal punches Credit: Sam Armstrong ” We want to challenge the negative narratives around migration“

WW

COMMENT


lfred Hitchcock report-edly said of his early life in East London: “The sky was always grey, the

rain was grey, the mud was grey, and I was grey.” But there’s no dispute that the in-fluence of London was central to his style of filmmaking, and several of his films, such as The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog and Frenzy convey a sense of deep affection, in particular a respect for the tradition of dark and sinister history and urban legends that have long been part of London’s popular narrative. As a native of Leytonstone, Hitchcock had his earliest experi-ences in and around what is now the borough of Waltham Forest. There are several hidden ways in which the effects of the area on his up-bringing can be found in his films, just as there remain clues to the identity of one of Waltham For-est’s most famous sons imprinted on the local area. Hitchcock was born in Leyton-stone in 1899, the youngest of three sons in a working-class Anglo-Irish family. He was born at 517 High Road Leytonstone in the house above his father’s grocery shop. The place where the house stood is now a petrol station. By the time of his birth, the area had already largely been trans-

formed from a rural Essex town to an industrial and residential suburb by the arrival of the Eastern Coun-ties Railway at what is now Leyton-stone tube station in 1856, which linked the area to central London. The young Hitchcock was said to have been fascinated with the transport system, memorising every station on the route by the age of eight. Fans will know that transport and stations are a recur-ring motif in many of his films, with his famous director’s cameos often involving him getting on or off different forms of transport. A defining moment in the young Hitchcock’s life took place at Harrow Road police station which once stood near the intersection of Harrow Road and High Road Ley-tonstone, a site which is now oc-cupied by a branch of Costcutter. When he was five years old, Hitchcock’s father sent his son to the station with a note requesting that he be locked up there for five minutes because of his bad be-haviour. Harsh and authoritarian police actions and wrongful accu-sations would be another recur-ring motif in his films. In the words of the director himself: “I’m not against the police, I’m just afraid of them.” Perhaps the most striking testi-mony to the director is the series of

17 mosaics in the underpass at Ley-tonstone station, commissioned by the council to celebrate the cen-tenary of Hitchcock’s birth. The mosaics feature scenes from his best-known and best-loved films including Vertigo, Psycho and The Wrong Man, as well as scenes from his life. The council also commis-sioned the large mural depict-ing The Birds opposite the site of Hitchcock’s birth at the corner of High Road Leytonstone and Lynn Road. Nearby, the Sir Alfred Hitchcock pub and hotel on Whipps Cross Road stands imposingly over a corner of Epping Forest and em-bodies a slightly bleak grandeur that also characterises some of his films. Inside, photos and memorabil-ia from his films make it an atmo-spheric place to meditate on the local legacy of the director. It was once said of Hitchcock: “Like Freud, he diagnosed the dis-contents that chafe and rankle beneath the decorum of civilisa-tion. Like Picasso or Dali, he regis-tered the phenomenological threat of an abruptly modernised world”.By going back to his roots in Ley-tonstone, we can still imagine how he first experienced these discon-tents of civilisation and newly modernised world.

Aby Ed Swan

Demands to improve end of life care

by James Cracknell

etter hospice provision and community support is needed for people in Waltham Forest at the

end of their lives, a national charity has warned. The National Council for Pal-liative Care called for local health bosses to do more to help those with serious and terminal illnesses – and reduce the high rate of hos-pital deaths in the borough. In Waltham Forest 66.8 percent of people die in hospital, rather than at home or in a hospice where most say they would rather end their lives. This is the highest rate of hospi-tal deaths in the country, according to Public Health England, with a national average of just under 50 percent. Claire Henry, chief executive of the National Council for Palliative Care, as well as the Dying Matters Coalition, said: “Given the choice, just five per cent of people nation-ally say that they would want to die in hospital, which is why it’s so con-cerning that Waltham Forest has such a high proportion of deaths in hospital. “This appears to be part of a wider issue for East London, with Newham, Redbridge and Barking and Dagenham having the next highest rates of hospital deaths in the country and disproportionate-ly few people dying at home or in a hospice. “There are likely to be a variety of reasons behind this, including levels of hospice provision and the availability of community support, and we very much hope that un-derstanding why this is happening

and what can be done about it is a priority for clinical commissioning groups and other local partners.” Waltham Forest Clinical Com-missioning Group (CCG), the organisation responsible for ad-ministering NHS services in the borough, says it is aware of the problem and is working to give people more choice at the end of their lives. A spokesperson said: “Increas-ing choice around end of life care is a priority for NHS Waltham Forest CCG.

“Working with our health and social care partners, local people now have more choice and support so that they can choose to die at home, in a hospice, in a care home or in hospital. “The latest statistics on where people in Waltham Forest die are from 2011 to 2013, so we cannot be sure of what has happened more recently. However, we know that one of the reasons it Waltham Forest has a higher rate than other parts of the country because our local hospital, Whipps Cross, has a palliative care ward that is de-signed to support people at the end of their lives.”

People in Waltham Forest who have had experiences with loved ones being cared for during the end of their lives are being asked to contact the CCG to share their experience and help shape services in the future.

Visit: www.walthamforestccg.nhs.uk/getinvolved

EventFormed in 2011, the fifth annual Stow Fest is the biggest yet P . 11 FEATURESNEWS

Making a bee-friendly meadowby Diana Korchien and Ann Williams

ork is underway to turn a large open space in Chingford into a

bee-friendly meadow sown with native wildflowers. Secluded by woodland, Pimp Hall Nature Reserve in Kings Road is one of the brightest gems in Waltham Forest’s crown. It already boasts a 16th-centu-ry dovecote, pond, and wetland area. Now, as part of a project to increase biodiversity across the reserve, as area rife with common weeds, nettle, deep-root-ed comfrey, wild carrot and layers of litter, is being transformed into a wildflower meadow. The catch-all solution of choice to clear sites such as this is usually the application of the herbicide glyphosate, widely used worldwide for over 40 years, but now scientifically proven to have

a detrimental effect on the forag-ing and eating abilities of the bee population. Knowing this, Green Party member Mick Holloway pointed out to Waltham Forest Council’s environment and regeneration department that exposing bees to glyphosate at Pimp Hall would bring about the reverse of what they were hoping to achieve. Happily, they listened, and agreed to explore the eco-friend-ly but more labour-intensive method of hand-digging the site. Thanks to the co-operation of the council, teams of volunteers have been busy clearing the roots and turning the soil, in prepara-tion for sowing. Pimp Hall Nature Reserve is a truly magical site and the wild-flower meadow will add to its charm and beauty, as well as pro-viding educational facilities.

Visit: www.pimphallpark.weebly.com

W

•

•

Advertisement

Mosaic at Leytonstone tube station

Leytonstone’s most famous son leaves his mark

B

A new mural depicting Hitchcock’s film The Birds on Leytonstone High Road

” This appears to be a wider issue for East London“

Voluntary sector in ‘dire situation’by James Cracknell

oluntary groups in Waltham Forest that receive money from the council are

nervously awaiting the outcome of a town hall spending review. Waltham Forest Council claims it must reduce its budget by £45million by 2018 and began a voluntary and community sector (VCS) service review in March this year. The results of this review are expected by the end of Septem-ber – making for a nervous wait by those charities and not-for-profit services that rely on council funding to survive. Voluntary Action Waltham Forest acts as a voice for the sector and its general manager Barbara Bishop told the Echo about the challenges being faced.She said: “Local authorities are suffering massive cuts from gov-ernment. Waltham Forest has to make savings of £45million, so it has to look somewhere to make those savings and it is inevitable that there is a knock-on effect on the voluntary and communi-ty sector. “Voluntary Action, along with the wider sector are now looking at additional ways of raising money so that we aren’t

fully reliant on the local authority. “Although there are some areas of service delivery, for example in health and social care, that will still require substantial support from statutory agencies, some organisations are looking at be-coming social enterprises as well as approaching external funders. “While we are all naturally concerned, it has also made us look at our own funding and find new ways to raise money.” Helen Tredoux is chairman of Voluntary Action and also the director of Waltham Forest Community Transport, a service that has already been told it will lose a £27,000 council grant from next year. “Our elderly shopping service will be cut,” Helen said. “We have about 65 regular users and 200 members. “We pick them up and take them shopping and drive them home again, it helps them live in-dependently at home for longer. “We did brace ourselves for massive cuts three or four years ago, but the loss will be huge. The council has been very cagey about what is in its review, some groups don’t know if they will be funded beyond September. “It is a dire situation.”

The Waltham Forest branch of charity Age UK is another group left in limbo. It plans to hold a fundraising day on 3rd October to help prevent the closure of its adult exercise classes, and has launched a petition demanding the council continue funding the £30,000 the programme costs to run each year. Consultants Rocket Science have been undertaking the VCS service review on behalf of the council. Councillor Liaquat Ali, cabinet member for commu-nity safety and cohesion, said: “The voluntary and communi-ty sector is extremely important and plays a vital role across Waltham Forest. “The council is conducting a review of its relationship with the voluntary sector to look at how we can create capacity and opportunity in the sector going forward. “Our voluntary sector partners have been engaged in the review process, and we look forward to discussing the outcome of the review with them later this year.”

V

Community Transport Waltham Forest’s elderly shopping service is one of those under threat of closure

” We braced ourselves for massive cuts, but the loss will be huge“

No 7 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO6

Going green in Waltham ForestReporter James Cracknell meets some of the people working to help make the borough greener

Forest Friends of the Earth, Forest Recycling Project, Waltham Forest Cycling Campaign, as well as Organiclea. There’s also a vegetarian cafe and a series of events that includes live music and skills workshops. One of Hornbeam’s directors, Brian Kelly, told me how it came to play such a pivotal role. “It started as a fire-damaged building,” he said. “It was taken on around 25 years ago and reopened as an envi-ronmental centre and cafe. “In the last five or six years it has become much more active and the cafe is very busy. The hope is that Hornbeam can be used as a space for groups to connect and move forward. Most of them have an en-vironmental focus. “We also want to run our own projects. We are currently developing something around low-cost living.” Whether it’s Transition Ley-tonstone, Organiclea, the Horn-beam, or any of the other commu-nity organisations in the borough, there’s plenty going on in Waltham Forest to keep any green-fingered, or green-minded, resident happy.

oncealed by a footbridge and a railway line in Leytonstone is a green oasis producing nearly

every fruit or vegetable you could wish to eat. Amid the rumbling and screech-ing of the adjacent Central Line grows sweetcorn, squash, spring onion, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, beans, callaloo, gooseberries, kale, pak choi, broccoli, beetroot, carrots, radishes, plums, apples, apricots, mint, sage, rosemary, lime, rhubarb and courgettes. To name a few. This is the Church Lane Com-munity Garden, run by a group of volunteers from Transition Ley-tonstone. Using a derelict triangle of land owned by Waltham Forest Council, over three years they have created a thriving green space that can be used to help educate and inspire local people. It is open to the public every Tuesday and Saturday, and if you’re lucky there’ll be some fresh produce you can take home. There are regular workshops to attend and there’s usually a project or two you can get involved with. Rain water is harvested and reused, while a solar dryer helps preserve the garden’s produce. When I visited, garden co-ordina-tor Shannon Thaden and volunteer Phil Mason showed me around - and let me sample the delicious organic scrumpy they’d made using the gar-den’s cider press. “Because it is quite small it is not going to produce a substantial amount of food,” said Shannon, “but as an education space and

something to inspire people to grow food and change the way people shop it is a great way to do it. “People in London don’t often have the space to grow their own food now but there are many bene-fits to doing it. “It improves public health but also it is a social resource. People who are new to the neighbourhood can meet people through the garden.” The Church Lane Community Garden is a centre of activity for Transition Leytonstone, a green group aiming to help the community become self-reliant and sustainable - a transition away from fossil fuels. It is part of the Transition Network and one of 479 such ini-tiatives around the world that have all sprung up over the past decade.Phil explained more. He said: “The Transition movement is summed up by the mantra ‘think global act local’. “A lot of the things you can do to mitigate your carbon footprint, which has a global impact, are on the local level. “As a Transition Town we have helped people insulate their homes, support the local economy, support local growers, and here we grow food ourselves. “If there are people who have ideas on localising food and being more efficient and helping with the transition to a more sustainable community they are very welcome to join us. “A lot of people ignore the issues around sustainability because they think there is nothing they can do about it, but there are a lot of

things that can be done and we are showing that. “There isn’t one big solution to it all, there are thousands of small solutions.” Transition Leytonstone is just one of several successful green groups in the borough. While they might be run separately, many are intercon-nected and share resources. A weekly food stall in Leyton-stone is run jointly by Transition Leytonstone and Organiclea, a com-munity food project based at Hawk-wood Nursery in Chingford. The stall sells organic fruit and veg grown at the nursery, by other local growers in the borough, or by farmers dotted around the English countryside. Volunteer Rosemary Warrington helps out at the stall on Saturdays, outside Matalan in the High Road. She said: “The supplies for the stalls all come from organic growers. One function is to publicise our veg box scheme where we deliver food to people’s doors each week.” You might have already seen Or-ganiclea delivering veg boxes in its striking mode of transport - an old milk float using a battery charged by solar panels. Rosemary adds: “There’s also a crop share scheme for local growers who have got an excess amount of produce to swap for someone else’s.” The Leytonstone stall is one of two run by Organiclea, the other’s in Walthamstow outside the Horn-beam Centre, a hub for community groups in Waltham Forest. Among the local organisa-tions that use the centre for meet-ings and activities are Waltham

C

Transition LeytonstoneChurch Lane Community Garden, Harold Road, open Tuesdays 11am-4pm, Saturdays 10am-4pmW: www.transitionleytonstone.org.ukE: [email protected]

OrganicLeaOrganic fruit and veg stalls every Saturday 10.30am-3pm at Hornbeam Centre and at 829 High Road LeytonstoneW: www.organiclea.org.ukE: [email protected]

Hornbeam CentreCommunity cafe, 458 Hoe Street, open 10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday (11.30am on Thursdays)W: www.hornbeam.org.ukE: [email protected]

Forest Recycling ProjectRecycling centre and reclaimed paint shop, 2C Bakers Avenue, open Tuesday to Friday 10am-4pm, Saturday 10am-2pmW: www.frponline.org.ukE: [email protected]

Waltham Forest LetsA local exchange trading system, meetings held at Hornbeam Centre every last Saturday of the month at 10.30amW: www.wflets.orgE: [email protected]

Waltham Forest Cycling CampaignCampaign for better cycling facilities in the borough, meetings held at Hornbeam Centre every fourth Tuesday of the month at 8pmW: www.wfcycling.org.ukE: [email protected]

Greenpeace Waltham ForestLocal network of the international campaign group Greenpeace, meetings held every second Wednesday of the month at Ye Olde Rose & Crown pub, 55 Hoe Street, at 7.30pmW: www.greenwire.greenpeace.org/uk/en-gb/groups/waltham-forest-greenpeace

Waltham Forest Friends Of The EarthLocal branch of the environmental campaign group, meetings held every third Tuesday of the month at Le Delice cafe, 117 Hoe Street, at 8pm

INTERVIEW

Church Lane Community Garden Shannon Thaden (left) and Phil Mason (right) at Church Lane Community Garden

Chris Heaton in the Organiclea milk float

”

There’s not one big solution, there’s thousands of small solutions

“

Tel: 0203 397 9797 / Web: stowbrothers.comEmail: [email protected] / Twitter: @stowbrothers

236 Hoe Street, Walthamstow E17 3AY

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 No 7 7

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 No 7No 7 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO 98

Latchingdon Court, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £360,000 Leasehold Two bed penthouse apartment

Ringwood Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £375,000 Leasehold Two bed Victorian conversion

Dawlish Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £475,000 Freehold Two bed Victorian terraced

Manor Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £450,000 Freehold Three bed mid terrace

Brettenham Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £400,000 Leasehold First floor Ex Warner

Castleton Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £500,000 Freehold Four bed Victorian terraced



Bunyan Road, Walthamstow £1,525 PCM Two bed mid terrace

Borwick Avenue £1,400 PCM Two bed apartment conversion



Carisbrooke Road, Walthamstow £ 2,500 PCM Four bed Victorian terrace

Exeter Road, Walthamstow £1,175 PCM One bed apartment conversion

Northbank Road £2,100 PCM Four bed semi-detached

Fleeming Road, Walthamstow £1,150 PCM One bed apartment- Purpose built

Latchingdon Court, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £360,000 Leasehold Two bed penthouse apartment

Ringwood Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £375,000 Leasehold Two bed Victorian conversion

Dawlish Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £475,000 Freehold Two bed Victorian terraced

Manor Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £450,000 Freehold Three bed mid terrace

Brettenham Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £400,000 Leasehold First floor Ex Warner

Castleton Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O £500,000 Freehold Four bed Victorian terraced



Bunyan Road, Walthamstow £1,525 PCM Two bed mid terrace

Borwick Avenue £1,400 PCM Two bed apartment conversion



Carisbrooke Road, Walthamstow £ 2,500 PCM Four bed Victorian terrace

Exeter Road, Walthamstow £1,175 PCM One bed apartment conversion

Northbank Road £2,100 PCM Four bed semi-detached

Fleeming Road, Walthamstow £1,150 PCM One bed apartment- Purpose built

WALTHAM FOREST ECHO SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 No 7 11FeatureShelly Berry examines how cuts to the welfare state are affecting people P . 12EVENTS

hen the Leyton-stone Festival trust-ees meet to give out the boxes of

printed programmes this usually signals that, for them, most of the hard work is done. This year it was the day they learned that the hard work was about to get much harder. Funding from Waltham Forest Council, which had been the mainstay for many years, had been refused. This had a knock-on effect of losing other outside funding, leaving organisers trying to deliver a £25,000 festival on just £6,500 and just one week to go before the festival launch. Every artist and organiser taking part was contacted and told payment of any kind was extremely unlikely and, with a handful of exceptions, all agreed that “the show must go on”. And what a festival it was. From the samba parade, which caused quite a stir, to the What’s Cookin’ picnic on the final Sunday, there were over 120 events across 19 days, most of them complete-ly free. There was music of every kind alongside a variety of other cultur-

al activity – comedy, film, drama, children’s activities, poetry, dance, food events, arts and crafts, talks, walks and culture from across the world. New events in 2015 included Jumble Trail, a fantastic event which encourages re-use and re-cycling and which, according to the organiser, “brings people to-gether, helps people meet their neighbours and brings commu-nity to life”. In all, 120 local residents signed up for stalls. Hitchcock’s Home also proved a great success – three nights celebrating Alfred Hitchcock, the Leytonstone-born master of suspense, in the church-yard of St John’s. A different film was screened each night and every night was a sell-out. One of the most exciting things about the festival is that we see some brand new work getting its first ever public performance. For 2015 we had A Leyton-stone Suite, a classical suite for piano and cello; a preview of a new musical work, The Secret, a Leytonstone based story written by local perform-ers; and the premiere perfor-mance by Poetic Justice of Scam-

early five years ago a few friends got together to discuss how best to harness

Walthamstow’s thriving music scene and decided the town needed an event to showcase its talent. This is how Stow Festival was born.Taking place over a long weekend in September, the first event in 2011 featured 35 acts per-forming over four days at various venues in Walthamstow. In 2015, the number of performers has trebled - to more than 100. Nick Bason, who is part of the management team for the event, said: “The festival has really found a place in the heart of the com-munity in Walthamstow. Stow has something for everyone, and every event is different.

polo, an Italian play, in its first ever English translation. All the Festival favourites were there too including the St John’s Tower Tours and concerts, the Woodhouse Players, the pop-up cinema, playreading group, and charity fundraisers. Leytonstone festival is run entirely by volunteers and has a legacy that benefits local people way beyond the few hectic days in July that it runs. Local groups and charities use the festival to promote themselves and their activities, it showcas-

“This year we have an origi-nal electro composition at the William Morris Gallery called Arsenic Mines and a range of world music with Waltham-stow Acoustic Massive in the town square. “At Ye Olde Rose and Crown and the Wild Card Brewery we have some bigger acts such as Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind, Attila the Stockbroker, Sisteray and Cherry White. “We also have singer/songwrit-ers, jazz, metal, hip-hop... any-thing you fancy.” As well as a vast range of per-formances, this year’s Stow Fes-tival will feature a walking tour which will take in the musical history of Walthamstow. Former Hacienda DJ Dave Haslam will

es local talent and promotes our area, people can learn new skills by being one of the volunteer team, and local businesses get a boost. The trustees would like to thank all the venues, all the artists and particularly the generous people of Waltham Forest who dug deep in their pockets to help make up for the shortfall in funding.

give a talk at Waterstones, while musical workshops will be run by Waltham Forest Community Choir and Forest Philharmonic Orchestra. Stow Festival’s founder, Emma Betts, will manage proceedings with help from Nick, DJ Kat Rich-mond, and Julian Marzsalek, gui-tarist in The November Five who are on the line-up. “Whatever your musical taste,” said Nick, “great music and a wonderful atmosphere make Stow Festival the place to be in September.”

The show must go on

Fifth annual Stow Fest is biggest yet

by Jane Duran

by James Wood

Visit: www.leytonstonefestival.org.uk to make a donation

Leytonstone Festival continues despite loss of funding

Dancers performing outside Leytonstone tube station

‘This is Cleo’ performs at last year’s Stow Festival Credit: Pamela Hutchinson

althamstow Village Festival returns on 19th September for a day of com-

munity fun.The free festival features live music, arts and crafts, food stalls, and family fun including face painting and a bouncy castle. Children’s entertainment starts in the Vestry Road playground at 12pm courtesy of ‘Tumble in the Jungle’ and all their cuddly jungle friends who will be singing on stage. It is great to have the festival back again as for 15 years it had not been running. It was revived last year by local charity Waltham Forest Community Hub, former-ly known as The Asian Centre. The aim was to bring the com-munity together and raise the profile of Walthamstow Village as a beautiful untouched part of the borough. Last year’s festival was a huge success as everyone came togeth-er and showed superb communi-ty spirit. Monwara Ali, from Waltham Forest Community Hub, has really been the driving force in the fes-tival and we are very pleased she decided to do it again this year.

Family fun in the villageby Andy Mirror

N

Stow Festival 2015 takes place on 17, 18, 19 and 20th September. Visit: www.stowfestival.com to find out more

No 7 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO10



W W


Design shop backs new artists by James Wood

n entrepreneur has made it her mission to help discover and promote emerging artists.

Borough resident Laura Lea opened a temporary design shop next to Leytonstone tube station this summer and says she is deter-mined that local creativity is sup-ported and allowed to flourish. The site, formerly occupied by Boots, was made available by Transport for London and Waltham Forest Council for viable ‘pop-up’ business concepts, as part of a drive to make more creative use of the borough’s unused spaces. Laura knew her experience of running a temporary boutique in

Tower Hamlets and an exhibition at the Dreamspace gallery near Old Street could help her submit a strong application. The bid was successful, and by regularly attending arts fairs across London to find products which inspire her, Laura careful-ly selected 19 artists to sell their work at the pop-up boutique for six weeks, ending on 31st August.A vast array of lighting, kitchen-ware and signage went on offer, as well as print designs and original art. About 40 percent of of it was made exclusively for the project. Ensuring artists get a fair price for their work is important to Laura. “I’m almost religious about making sure people get what they deserve,” she said. “One of the reasons I embarked on this business to begin with was that a lot of my friends weren’t getting a good deal, they were being taken advantage of and they weren’t being given proper representation. “It was the fact that they were really struggling to get out there and sell what I could see were

really amazing products that inspired me to start out on this road.” The story behind the products also matters greatly to Laura and she encourages people to find out about them before buying anything. “This is based on a philosophy of telling a story,” she said. “It’s about connecting the client with the artist. “When people come into the store, they learn about where the thing that they’re buying has come from and who has made it. “I look to develop my relation-ships with artists and designers and I’m very invested in what they’re doing.”

Visit: www.lauraleadesign.com to find out more

A

CommentPlaywright Deborah Nash on the return of Walthamstow Mysteries P . 16

Advertisement

’m a big fan of environmen-tal charity The Conserva-tion Volunteers’ award-win-ning Green Gym scheme.

As a regular at the Lloyd Park session, I can verify that it really does tick all the boxes. Want a bit of exercise but find yourself breaking out into a cold sweat at the mere thought of a treadmill? Looking to help the environment but want to con-tribute to the local community too? Keen to meet new people and learn new skills? Then look no further. And if you don’t live in Waltham-stow, then I have good news, because the second Green Gym in the borough has just kicked off at Ridgeway and Mansfield parks in Chingford. Held every Tuesday from 10.45am until 2pm, each session starts with a warm up and ends with a cool down, with plenty of activity in-between to suit all abilities, from tree planting to improving footpaths.

In fact, according to research-ers from Oxford Brookes Uni-versity, a session at the Green Gym can help you burn a third more calories than in a tradition-al aerobic workout. But it isn’t just your health that will reap rewards, as area co-ordinator Gareth Chalmers points out. He said: “The benefits from taking part in a Green Gym are not just purely physical – new practical skills can be developed and working together with other people can help to improve social contact and boost self-esteem, all while making a positive contri-bution to the local community.” There you have it – an opportu-nity to learn new skills, get active and add to your social circle, all in one place. Oh, and it’s absolutely free.

Dig for fitness by Shelly Berry

I

For more information Email: [email protected] or Visit: www.tcv.org.uk

All names in this article were changed as the people interviewed did not wish to publicly identify themselves. You can follow writer Shelly Berry on Twitter: @ShellyBerryUK.

The opening of the pop-up shop in Leytonstone

Kate Whitfield (left) and Laura Lea (right)

hurches and pubs don’t make for an obvious union but that was exactly the

pairing seen in Walthamstow this summer. For one weekend, St Barnabas Church in Lansdowne Road con-verted its Stafford Hall into ‘The St Barnabas Arms’. The pop-up pub was the brainchild of the church’s vicar, Canon Steven Saxby, as he sought to raise money for a restoration project.

He said: “Pop-ups are becom-ing increasingly popular in E17 and this was one way for us to connect with the changing de-mographic of the neighbour-hood, raise the profile of the building, and raise some funds to smarten it up.” With beer provided by Walthamstow’s Wild Card Brewery, Greek street food, and live music, the St Barnabas Arms helped raise £1,500 toward the church and its restoration of Stafford Hall.

The building is an iron-hut structure purchased and moved from Battersea in 1901 and used as a church while St Barnabas itself was under construction. It then served as the church hall until 1927, until the Foster Hall was built next door, and was then used as a special school by the local council. For the last 45 years it has been the home of a film club. Now the church is seeking to make more use of the building for its increased community activities.

A pew and a pint by James Cracknell

C

Living on welfare in Waltham ForestWriter Shelly Berry examines how cuts to the welfare state are affecting people in the borough, and talks to some who have seen these impacts first hand

are so many hurdles now,” she said. “People have to fill in a form about 100 pages long and detail their entire history. A lot are then told they’re not entitled as they don’t have a disability or illness.“You don’t say that to someone who’s depressed and suicidal. We’re supposed to be support-ing people to get their lives back together and these attitudes about mental health don’t help.” Anthony, who lives in Waltham-stow and is currently claiming ESA, is nervous about having his benefits stopped. “I’m worried they will try to push me back into work before I am ready,” he said. “If you resist you’re told you don’t want to get better. “I do want to get better and do this and that to help make it happen. My mate works but, after he has paid his rent, people on JSA [Jobseekers Allowance] are better off than him. “I don’t want to sound like a bum, but I need enough money.”Sam shares Anthony’s unease about labels used to describe claimants. He said: “One of my biggest concerns is how the reforms have been marketed. “For example, the media still describes people out of work as ‘feckless’.” Lauren has been on the receiv-ing end of these preconceptions.

She said: “I was on JSA in No-vember and December last year and it was the most depressing experience of my life. “At the Jobcentre there were cameras and security guards everywhere and my advisor wouldn’t even make eye con-tact with me. We were treated like criminals.” While most people agree some-thing needs to be done to reduce the number of people who rely on welfare benefits, questions need to be asked about how the current government is going about it. “Cut, cut, cut, is not the right approach,” argues Sam. “There’s no support to get people back into work, and that is what we need to be investing in, along with out-of-school activities to allow poorer children to socialise and develop skills in order to achieve in the future.” A new welfare reform bill, making even further cuts to state benefits, was voted through to its next stage of reading by the House of Commons in July. For residents in Waltham Forest already strug-gling to keep their heads above water, it means things could get even worse.

he last five years have been tough, especial-ly for those on a low income – or no income

at all. The coalition government made significant changes to the welfare system, introduc-ing universal credits and re-placing council tax benefit with local schemes. Following its victory in the general election this year, the Conservative Party has taken this further, pledging to freeze working age welfare benefits for four years, introducing a benefits ceiling of £23,000 per London household, capping child tax credit to a family’s first two chil-dren, limiting universal credits to six months for younger people

and introducing market rate rents for people in social housing on a higher income. For many people, these are just facts and figures that have no real meaning. But for others across the borough, these changes will hit hard. While a lot of people bemoan the gentrifica-tion of Waltham Forest, a 2013 report named it the sixth most deprived London borough and the 15th most deprived in the entire country. The same report showed Waltham Forest’s economy was the smallest in the capital and, although unemployment reduced since then, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) states that 11.4 percent of working-age people are unemployed, compared to

8.9 percent in London and 7.8 percent across the country. According to the London poverty profile, 39 percent of families claim tax credits to make ends meet, compared to 31 percent across London. This is particularly worrying as, three years ago, 31 percent of children in Waltham Forest were report-edly living below the poverty line.Sam, a support worker from Walthamstow, works with fam-ilies who are feeling the pinch. “I’m working with one single parent with four children who will see her benefits go down,” he says. “They are already struggling to manage. Her relationship broke down and she’s in this situation through no fault of her own. She can’t go back to work because she has to look after her young-est children.” It isn’t just people with families who are facing tough times. Ac-cording to ONS, in 2012/13 seven percent of adults in Waltham Forest claimed incapacity bene-fits. This has now been replaced by the Employment Support Al-lowance (ESA), but those enti-tled to it are finding it harder to make a claim and many have been ordered to look for work despite recognised health problems. Lauren, a mental health worker from the borough, has seen the effects of this first hand.“There

TThe Jobcentre Plus in Westbury Road, Walthamstow

The St Barnabas Arms and the volunteers who helped create it

”

I’m almost religious about making sure people get what they deserve

“

FEATURESFEATURES


Imagine a world...Tayba Hussain

Imagine a world where there were no fights where all humans had equal rights

Imagine a world where there were no warsnot only because they’re bad but they also make others sad

Imagine a world without poverty where everyone won the lottery

Imagine a world where everyone is treated as an equal so that everyone’s life would be peaceful

Imagine a world where everyone had shelter because it would be better

Imagine a world where designer labels didn’t define us because no-one could make a fuss

Imagine a world where there was equal education so it would make a stronger nation

Imagine a world where there was no racismand where there was no such thing as terrorism

Imagine a world where there was no such thing as slaves where nobody would misbehave

Imagine a perfect world…

Family Poem Zakiya Abbas

Having a family that really cares about you,Is an amazing gift that will last forever,They’ll help you when you’re feeling quite blue, Wherever, whenever,

Families will be there no matter what,Your memories will stay and remain,There may be memories from the day you were in your cot, Or from the day you were first on a plane,

Families may have their ‘ups’ and their ‘downs’But no matter what they’ll stay strong,You might think you’re the family ‘clown’,But, you never know you could be wrong,

Always remember how grateful you are,Because your family is always there for you,No matter where you live, near or far,You all have each other, stuck together like glue.

Hey! I’m square,I have 4 sides on me,I’ve got attitude. Yeah,All around me!

Excuse meI disagree because I’m triangleI’ve got 3 sides on me!Now listen here, squareYou’re like a weird smelly pearOh wait, you’re like a weird disease that spreads everywhere!

How dare you triangleI’ll tell my mum of youHere she is,The wonderful cu cube!

Miss triangle,You’re like a wonky right angle,So don’t talk about my son like thatYou little 3-sided rat!

Don’t talk about my daughter like that,I’m triangular based pyramidYou’re going to payFor telling my daughter the words you say.

Hello, I’m circle and my cousin, sphereWe are to help this problem right hereShapes, we’re great,We’re all in maths,Perfect mates, so don’t feel worried, and don’t feel sadWe are here, meant to be glad!

Circle and sphere are rightI’m rectangle, aren’t we bright?So next time let’s not fightOtherwise peace won’t be here, won’t be right.

I’m triangular-prismCome on, listenMaybe we should play a little game,All be good,Don’t be lame!

So there you goConversations are troublesome with relations.So next time be peaceful and happy, like one nation,I’m rhombus + this is kiteWe taught you about mathsOKAY, ALRIGHT?

Shape Conversation Rap Tamzin Ivie Grace Iyayi

id you know that the current Young Poet Laureate is from Walthamstow?

Aisling Fahey, 22, has spent the last year working with primary school students and pensioners, in writing groups and on build-ing sites, performing alongside UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and others. She said of the experience: “I’ve loved being able to connect with such a wide variety of commu-nities in London, helping people

from all over the capital discov-er how best to tell their stories through poetry.” Maybe some of Waltham For-est’s even younger writers will one day follow in her footsteps? Writing development agency Spread the Word is looking to appoint a new Young Poet Laure-ate for next year. Sadly, we editors are a little too long in the tooth to enter the contest, but it’s definite-ly time for the borough’s young writers to step up to the plate! This issue is the second of our two-parter featuring poems by local children. All the poems printed here were written by pupils

attending Connaught School for Girls, Leytonstone, aged 12 to 15, and are just as surprising and varied as in the last issue.

Could you be the next Young Poet Laureate for London?Spread the Word is on the hunt for London’s next Young Poet Laureate. The programme is open to applica-tions from poets aged between 21 and 30. Six shortlisted poets will be invited to take part in a week-long residential workshop. The deadline for applications is 7th October.

Search for Young Poet Laureate

Jon Stone and Abigail Parry

POETRY

For more information visit:www.londonlaureates.co.uk

OngoingUpcoming

Woodhouse Players present Little Women 18th, 19th, 25th, 26th September, 8pm each evening plus 2.30pm showing on SaturdaysWelsh Church Hall, 881 High Road, Leytonstone E11 1HR

Leytonstone theatre company Wood-house Players perform the stage adapta-tion of Louisa May Alcott’s much-loved literary classic, Little Women. Set in New England during the American Civil War, Little Women brings to life the trials and tribulations of the March family as four girls learn to become women in extraor-dinary times. Generations of readers have laughed and cried following their journey via sisterly squabbles and fashion disas-ters, setbacks and successes in love and careers, tragedy and happiness.

£8 adults, £5 concessions, in advance; £9 or £6 on the door

Web: www.ticketsource.co.uk/woodhouseplayersTel: 020 8504 3872 Web: www.woodhouseplayers.co.uk

Apple Day 10th October 11am-4pmVestry House Museum, Vestry Road, Walthamstow E17 9NH

Are you interested in market garden scale vegetable growing and local food enterprise? Come join us on a tour of Hawkwood Plant Nursery to see and hear about OrganicLea’s enterprise work. Here at OrganicLea we grow over £45k worth of vegetables a year on 1.5 acres of land whilst running successful food enterprises including a veg box scheme, two weekly market stalls and supplying 15 resaurants, cafes and grocers. We also support Waltham Forest growers to find small plots of land and train them to grow to sell, supplying produce to our outlets. Come and find out more.

Free EntryVisit: www.facebook.com/VestryHouse

Family Board Games Saturday 10th October 11am-6pmSt Mary’s Welcome Centre, 8 Church End, Walthamstow E17 9R

Family board games day, hosted by Echo17 Events. More than 80 games available.What better way is there to spend time with family and friends than playing board games? We will have some all-time favourites and some games you may never have tried before. There is something for every-one whether you are 4 or 104. Join us for a fun filled session of board games galore.

ESL Sew and Tell St Gabriel Family Centre, Every Tuesday from 10am-12pm between 15th September until 20th OctoberLeytonstone Library, 6 Church Lane, Leytonstone E11 1HG

Waltham Forest Community Choir Saturday 19th September, 1-5pm (registration 12.30pm)Gnome House, 7 Blackhorse Lane, Walthamstow E17 6DS

PMSL Comedy Nights Every second Wednesday, next show – August 26thBojangles Brasserie, 1 Old Church Road, Chingford E4 6SL

A beginner’s English as a Second Lan-guage (ESL) class within an associated social sewing circle. Because sewing is a great way to socialise and practise your language skills.

Waltham Forest Community Choir is hosting a “learn to sing” workshop as part of Stow Festival. Develop your singing skills in a friendly environ-ment, followed by a concert in which you can perform!

Fortnightly stand up comedy show fea-turing a variey of hugely talented come-dians. Because laughing is fun and you’re a fun person aren’t you?

Suggested donation is £3Web: Visit www.significantseams.org.uk

FreeEmail: [email protected]

£3 with a flier, £5 without (fliers can be printed off from Facebook or picked up locallayEmail: Kirstie Summers on [email protected]

The Warrant Officer Choir Every Monday at 7.30pm starting 7th SeptemberThe Warrant Officer, 318 Higham Hill Road, Walthamstow E17 5RG

Ye Olde Rose and Crown Open Mic First Wednesday of the month, 7.30pm.Ye Olde Rose and Crown, 55 Hoe Street, Walthamstow E17 4SA

Join our community choir. Absolutely no auditions, all abilities welcome. Raise your voice and lift your spirits as part of an adult choir where you call the tunes.

An open mic night at a great pub. This popular event attracts performers of all descriptions from far and wide. Come and cheer on some raw London talent at this magnificent theatre pub.

Taster session free. Then £6 per session in advance. £7 pay-as-you-go.Email: [email protected] Tel: 07813 686 980 (Laura)

FreeEmail: [email protected] (Andy)Tel: 07940 260 558 if you are interested in performing.

Eldery and disabled people’s skills and social session Foster Hall, Barbabas Church, Wellesley Road, E17. (Tuesdays, 20:30 – 22:00)Quaker Meeting House, Jewel Rd E17 (Thursdays, 20:15 – 21:30)

Supportive Social Stitching Thursdays 1–3pmSignificant Seams, 131 Wood Street, Walthamstow E17 3LX

Elderly people and those with special needs are being given the opportunity to learn new skills, pick up a hobby and make new friends during a series of free sessions. Attendees will be able to take part in a range of activities such as re-laxation, physical philosophy, and music therapy, as well as have a healthy lunch.

A welcoming session for anyone interest-ed in knitting, stitching or craft. Come along to learn a new skill, contribute to a community project and make new friends! Significant Seams is currently facilitating towards a major art instal-lation in 2016.

FreeTel: To book call 07599 937 114

£3 suggested donation Web: www.significantseams.org.uk

Queens Boundary Community Ceilidh Saturday 19th September, 7–11pmFoster Hall, Wellesley Road, Walthamstow E17 8JZ

A ceilidh is an informal social gathering at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and dancing. Beer from Wildcard Brewery and food by Cyprus Kitchen. All proceeds will be donated to local char-itable causes.

£8 adults, £5 children

Tickets: To book tickets go to www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/queens-bound-ary-community-ceilidh-tick-ets-17738444164 Email: [email protected]

Leytonstone Litterpickers Sunday 6th and 27th September 12–3pm Meet at the top of Colworth Road

We are a group of residents who hold regular litterpick events around Leyton-stone. Equipment is provided and there are often drinks afterwards at a local pub.

Free Email: [email protected]

Next issue listings:

To have your event or activity listed in the next issue email the details:

Date, Type of Event, Title of Event, Venue/Address, Short Description, Time, Cost and Contact Information, to [email protected] by 23rd of October

LISTINGS

Adults £2, under-14 children £1, family ticket £5 for four people, £6 for five.

Email: [email protected]: www.echo17events.co.uk

We are gardeners based in Walthamstow working in East and North London. We are qualified, friendly and

we love gardening.

Get in touch, we give free quotesTel: 07500 204 562

Email: [email protected]: www.e17organicgardens.org.uk

We can help you with:Garden Maintenance

Planting DesignLandscaping

Sustainable Gardening

Lawn CareUp-cycling gardens

Edible gardensHealing gardensGarden Design

Advertisement

We’re here to help.We are out there talking and listening to people from every part of the community, we tell services about your experiences of care, which will work towards changing services for the better.

We want to hear what you think about all health and social care services such as:

Healthwatch Waltham ForestWaltham Forest Resource Hub (Central), 1 Russell Road, London E10 7ES

Tel 020 3078 9990 | [email protected]

www.healthwatchwalthamforest.co.uk

Company No 8395175 | Charity No 1154603 | Registered in England

Ambulance servicesCare HomesDentistsDoctorsHome CareHospitalsMental Health ServicesOpticiansPharmacies

Advertisement

D

RecipeA meal to make with kids, Katie Robinson’s sweetcorn soup P . 16

No 7 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2015 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO16

reating a show cus-tom-made for a particu-lar space, or site-specific theatre, is an increasing-

ly popular art form. There are plenty of companies out there championing it. Punch-drunk, for example, brought us The Drowned Man, an epic Hollywood thriller in which the audience wore sinister beaked masks and roamed through mul-tiple scenarios on four floors of a derelict warehouse in Pad-dington. The audience is rarely sitting passively watching the action on some distant stage; it is usually physically involved in the play, sometimes an active protagonist. But the distinguishing charac-teristic of a site-specific show at its best is that it cannot trans-fer anywhere else, this would run counter to its very definition. One particular idea I like is the concept of ‘host and ghost’.

Welsh performance company di-rector Cliff McLucas explained: “The host site is haunted for a time by a ghost that the the-atre-makers create. “Like all ghosts it is trans-parent and the host can be seen through the ghost. Add into this the witness, the audience, and we have a kind of trinity that consti-tutes the work.” Last year, I decided to make a site-specific piece for Waltham-stow. Such was its success that the team is bringing it back for one final run on 5th and 6th September. The marshes at the bottom of Coppermill Lane make a stun-ning set. After the frenetic ac-tivity of the High Street, the marshes bring an odd respite. Big skies, flat drained grassland, a river, a railway track, a rare ad-der’s-tongue fern, Belted Gallo-way cattle in the summer, plus Dog walkers, cyclists, railway

workers and haystack makers. The way nature rubs up against aggressive urban intrusion creates a bristling tension, reflected in the history, included in the play. The trains cut through and the skyline is dominated by chloride contain-ers, electricity pylons and spiked metal fencing. The Walthamstow Mysteries mixes history with characters drawn from Walthamstow’s past, with the magic of the marshes tossed in. Structurally, it is a promenade to five different spots in Coppermill Fields where five scenes or chapters from a local history book are brought to life in a sequence of plays within a play.The picnic table becomes the ne-gotiating table where the Saxon Earl Waltheof and William the Conqueror duel it out in a game of cards; the changing usage of the copper mill is charted in a song and dance routine; the 1815 case Clarke vs Biggs is dramatised as the Trial of the Trespassing Cow. And the finale takes place beneath a willow tree where the iron dragon of industrialisation and development fights a little boy who uses a twig as a sword. His name is William Morris.

Drama on the marshes A meal to make with kids

Sweetcorn soup and garlic breadServes four as a light meal, cooking time 30 minutes

The Return of The Walthamstow MysteriesSaturday, 5th September at 3pm and Sunday, 6th September, at 4pmPlease meet at the Coppermill Pub at 2.30pm prompt for a short 15-minute walk to the marshes. Please dress appropriately for the weather.

altham Forest is an endlessly brilliant place to get kids involved with what they eat, from picking a great value fish from the local fishmongers, choosing fruit from the market, trying exotic cakes in a cafe or picking

blackberries in the park. For this edition, here is a simple, budget-friendly sweetcorn soup and garlic bread recipe. Young children can spread the bread with the garlic and herb butter and tip in the soup ingredients, and older kids can help with the chopping and stirring. And by the way, when I say “cooking with kids” what I actually mean is “maybe getting your kids to join in for two minutes before running off”! I never get long out of mine, but I believe every minute counts.

This dish is healthy, tasy, colourful and quick so makes a perfect midweek meal. It takes 20 minutes and costs around £3.70 in total. My kids loved the natural saltiness of the cheese and the Mediterrea-nean flavours of the capers and olives, so much so that they happily accepted the presence of the beans and vegetables.

IngredientsFor the soup:2 tbsp butter2 small tins of sweetcorn1 onion, chopped280ml milk2 vegetable stock cubes, crumbledSalt and pepper1 tbsp of chopped black olives1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled.

For the garlic bread:1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped1 clove garlic, crushed50g butter, slightly softened (still spreadable!)Small baguette (or other bread), chopped in rings

MethodFor the soup, fry the onion in the butter for about five minutes, until soft. Add the sweetcorn (putting aside a tablespoon of sweetcorn if

you want the soup to have texture) and then the milk and simmer for five minutes. Crumble in the stock cubes. Use a hand blender for a good while to make it smooth. If you want, add the remaining sweetcorn afterwards so there are a few bits visible in the soup. Otherwise blend all the sweet-corn. Add a little hot water if you think it is too thick. If you want to tart the soup up a little for your adult portion top it with some chopped fresh parsley and chilli flakes.

For the garlic bread, mix the softened butter with the parsley and garlic and spread it on to the rounds of ba-guette/bread. Bake the garlic bread in the oven on gas mark 6/200 degrees for approximately seven minutes (maybe longer), until the bread is lightly browned and the garlic butter has melted in to the bread.

Email: [email protected]: www.katielovescooking.comTwitter: @ktlovescooking

If you have any comments, ideas or tips about food in Waltham Forest, please drop me a line at

C

Get involved with the Waltham Forest Echo

Would you like to get involved in The Waltham Forest Echo? We are looking for writers, photographers, artists, poets, advertisers and volunteers. Further details: www.walthamforestecho.co.uk

COMMENT

Playwright Deborah Nash on the return of her site-specific theatre production, Walthamstow Mysteries

Local food blogger Katie Robinson explains her child-friendly soup recipe

The Trial of the Trespassing Cow

The Waltham Forest Echo is an independent community newspaper and does not make a profit. It was established in 2014 by Social Spider, a local social enterprise based at The Mill in Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow. The first four editions were funded through a grant from the Big Lottery Fund. Although advertising now finances most of the paper’s publishing costs, it is still reliant on donations. Anyone who would like to contribute a regular sum of at least £2 per month will become a registered supporter of the Waltham Forest Echo and have their name published in future editions. By doing so you will be helping to provide an important media platform for voluntary and community organisations across the borough. You will also be welcome to join our editorial meetings and make suggestions for future editions of the paper. Please visit www.walthamforestecho.co.uk/supporters to become a supporter and to find out more.

Support the Waltham Forest Echo

W

your independent community newspaper waltham n · ship with global street art, won just under...

Documents