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WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

Email [email protected] /WalthamForestEchoTweet @WFEcho Visit walthamforestecho.co.uk

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Report slams council as 'willfully ignoring extremist activity'

Founders return to celebrate 25th birthday of the Hornbeam Centre

How penalties for dropping rubbish are being driven by profit

Comedy charity night announces Edinburgh preview shows

Promotion back to Football League beckons for plucky Orient

FreeMay 2019, No. 50

Your independent community newspaper

ocal activists from Ex-tinction Rebellion (XR) persuaded Waltham Forest Council to declare

a 'climate emergency' and take action to slash emissions. More than 300 people attend-ed a protest outside Waltham Forest Town Hall two days before the council was due to debate whether or not to agree to the group's demands – a flower bed of lavender was even planted by the activists in the shape of the campaign's logo. Earlier in April they had also pro-tested outside the Walthamstow branch of Barclays, demanding

borough-wide report into youth violence is calling for early interven-tion, a halt to cuts and

the prevention of school exclusions. The report by campaign group Waltham Forest Citizens has been produced through talks with more than 1,200 young people, schools and youth services, and calls for more youth workers to be made available to help troubled children. It says there is an urgent need to reverse cuts to youth services, provide greater support for children who have had adverse experiences early in life and to intervene to prevent school exclusions. One finding was that funding cuts to schools and youth services is “costing lives.” Kamahl Sami-Miller, a 22-year-old member of Waltham Forest’s Youth Independent Advisory Group, said: “The first time I saw a stab-bing was a family friend; at the time he was only 13, I was ten. The stab-bings turned him into a vegetable and after a few days the machine had to be turned off. Instead of waiting for these young people to commit a crime or worse, prevent it. “Send them to interventions, offer counselling. Never forget preven-tion is better than cure.” Schools including Leyton Sixth Form College and Connaught School for Girls helped draw up

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Climate emergency declared

Youth violence report published

the bank cancel its investments in fossil fuels, including fracking. A spokesperson for XR Walthamstow said: “Instead of digging more coal mines, drilling more oil fields and building more pipelines, we need to radically transform our energy infrastructure and build a green economy that benefits the many.” Prior to the XR protests in central London that attracted worldwide attention, schoolchildren had been going on strike to call for action to tackle climate change, including in Waltham Forest. Around 200 chil-dren also turned up at last month's town hall protest, with the demands made by XR Walthamstow being handed to Clyde Loakes, the council's cabinet member for the en-vironment, by four-year-old Aniela.

the report, titled Waltham Forest Citizens Commission on the Civil Society Response to Youth Violence. Waltham Forest Citizens is already acting on some suggestions and is increasing the availability of men-toring opportunities, encouraging greater youth dialogue with the police and offering work experi-ence through local organisations. Leyton Sixth Form headteacher Gill Burbridge, who helped lead on the creation of the report, said: “Schools have a duty to protect stu-dents and staff from risks posed by other students. However, the con-sequences of excluding vulnerable students must also be considered. “Young people who have been excluded are often more suscep-tible to being drawn into harmful behaviours. A specific proposal of this commission is to urgently find the funds to shore up the loss of youth services across the capital.” At the end of April Waltham Forest Council was due to launch a new Waltham Forest Violence Reduction Partnership, bringing together professionals from the council, Met Police, local schools, NHS and charities.

by James Cracknell

by Alice Richardson, Local Democracy Reporter

The demands include declaring a climate emergency, reviewing the council’s carbon reduction plans, setting up a citizens’ as-sembly, creating a public action plan to achieve zero carbon emis-sions by 2025, and protecting the borough's biodiversity. A motion to declare a climate emergency, proposed by Cllr Loakes, was due to be agreed at a council meeting on Thursday 25th April, as the Echo went to press. It states: “We now face a ‘climate emergency’ and urgent action is re-quired to restrict global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C. This council calls on the UK government to provide the necessary powers and resources to make local action on climate change easier.”

A climate demonstration outside Waltham Forest Town Hall was attended by more than 300 people

"Never forget prevention

is better than cure"

Celebrating our 50th edition – turn to Page 2

2 No. 50 MAY 2019 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

MAY 2019 – No. 50Waltham Forest Echo is an independent community newspaper. We publish monthly and distribute 12,500 free copies of each issue to libraries, cafés, pubs, and other places around Waltham Forest.

PublisherDavid Floyd

EditorJames Cracknell

DesignerJonathan Duncan

ManagerPenny Dampier

ContributorsNorma Dudley, Alice Richardson, Sally Brincklow House, Gill Poulter, Charlotte Palmer, Sue Wheat, Leo Lawrence, Irena Barker, Ian Waterman, Stephanie Waterman, Louise Krzan, Sandrine Ceurstemont, Helen Bigham, Michelle Edwards, Youssef Taha, Sara Shokra, Jess Howe, Deborah Nash, Shelly Berry, Jim Nichols

The member organisations of WFWellComm CIC are:Community Transport Waltham Forest, Social Spider CIC, HEET.

WFWellComm CIC Board:David Floyd (Social Spider CIC)Tom Ruxton (HEET)Helen Tredoux (Community Transport WF)

Waltham Forest EchoThe Mill, 7 - 11 Coppermill Lane, E17 7HAE [email protected] 020 8521 7956

Advertising EnquiriesContact Ben Cawthra:E [email protected] 020 3892 0061

The Echo began with Big Lottery funding.

COMMENT

Local service collapse shows NHS outsourcing doesn't work, argues Norma Dudley from Waltham Forest Save Our NHS

An introduction from Echo editor James Cracknell

eremy Hunt, in 2016 when he was the health secretary, promised that maternity services in England would enable women to choose

personalised continuity of care, from a small team of named mid-wives, throughout their pregnancy, labour, and post-natal experience. Although this sounds wonder-ful, health professionals found it difficult to see how it could be achieved when we were experi-encing the biggest sustained fall in NHS spending for any period since 1951. That same year Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) agreed a two-year contract with Neighbourhood Midwives; a social enterprise and private provider whose chief executive, Anne Francis, was a member of NHS England’s maternity review team at the time.

ello and welcome to Issue 50 of Waltham Forest Echo. To celebrate the

landmark of reaching the fiftieth edition of the paper, this month we are hosting an event at Today Bread in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, when we will be premièring a short film about the paper and how it is valued by local people. We'll also be running our annual 'Article of the Year' competition, for which you can now send your nominations to me at [email protected]. It takes place from 6.30pm until 8.30pm on Thursday 23rd

This was Neighbourhood Mid-wives’ first NHS contract, and they started caring for pregnant women in Waltham Forest in November 2016. The service was popular and clinically effective. A report to Waltham Forest Council's health scrutiny committee in March 2018 found that the number of home births and use of the midwife-led Lilac Unit at Whipps Cross Hos-pital had increased among women using Neighbourhood Midwives. The contract was therefore extend-ed until November 2019. So imagine the shock when expectant mothers were given one week's notice that the service would close on 31st January. During the remainder of their preg-nancy the women would have to rely on mainstream NHS services, mostly from Whipps Cross. The sudden demise of Neigh-bourhood Midwives demonstrates why outsourcing NHS services ul-

May and everyone is welcome. When we launched the Echo as a quarterly publication in July 2014 it was a bit of an experiment – we didn't know if it would be popular, sustainable, or how local people would respond. Since then we have increased the paper's fre-quency to monthly; launched a paid membership scheme that, by complete coincidence, now has 50 members; provided a platform for hundreds of local voluntary groups to promote their work; and broken dozens of important news stories, from threats to green spaces and community centres, to

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Waltham Forest Echo is a member of IMPRESS: The Independent Monitor of The Press. For more information on the Echo’s complaints policy and how to make a complaint visit: walthamforestecho.co.uk/complaints

The problem with NHS outsourcing

Celebrating our half century

timately does not work, either for patients or taxpayers, if we want a safe reliable and comprehensive public healthcare system. Despite what's often said, the NHS has been rated one of the most cost effective healthcare systems in the developed world. Private providers are required to make a profit, which they can only do either by charging more to the taxpayer or by reducing the quality of healthcare pro-vided. Neighbourhood Mid-wives, while providing excellent care, ran into serious financial difficulty reporting that “the payment system based on tariffs was not designed for small in-dependent providers”. This exemplifies the risk of independent providers going bust; the NHS then picks up the pieces. It cares for sick patients with complex needs that the

council scandals and big wins for local campaigns. Launching a new print publi-cation, and making it successful in the long-term, is no mean feat in this era of sharp decline for the regional press. We're doing it the hard way, surviving without any support from Waltham For- est Council as it continues to publish its fortnightly taxpayer-funded publication against government orders, and constantly fighting to persuade potential advertis-ers that print is indeed still alive. There is frankly no guarantee that we will still be here in another five years – the pressures and chal-lenges for print media remain extremely difficult to overcome – but through our unique social enterprise model and the contin-ued determination and resource-fulness of my colleagues David Floyd, Anna Merryfield and Penny Dampier, in finding new funding sources and solutions to keep this paper going, I believe that we will be here for a long time to come. On 23rd May I look forward to seeing lots of our fabulous readers,

private sector will not touch, and however much it is overstretched and faces funding cuts, it never closes for business. Importantly, outsourcing also un-dermines the NHS, by diverting funding from local services. The only realistic way that any health minister could ensure all women have a personalised maternity service would have been to sig-nificantly increase the funding of all NHS maternity services across the country; a strategy which Waltham Forest Save Our NHS would wholeheartedly recommend.

members and contributors, who all help make this paper an en-tertaining and informative read every month. My job as editor often feels like putting together a jigsaw, trying to put the various pieces of the puzzle together and hoping that the final result is one that is reasonably comprehensible and pleasing to the eye! By relying largely on voluntary contributors – who still write three-quarters of our articles – it makes the paper an incredibly varied read from month to month. While there are the usual familiar issues that crop up on a regular basis such as housing, health, transport and education, we have also run articles on everything from environmentally-friendly wedding dresses to hurricanes in the Caribbean, community food growers, Victorian steam engines, female genital mutilation, the borough's best pizza restaurants, and the plight of Leyton Orient Football Club (for whom there is finally some good news on Page 15 of this month's paper)! Here's to the next 50 editions.

"It exemplifies the risk of independent providers going bust"

FELLOWSHIP IS LIFE

3No. 50 MAY 2019 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

£20,000 reward on offer one year on from Walthamstow killing

NEWSFeaturesFounders return to celebrate 25th birthday of the Hornbeam Centre

ew 'pocket parks' could soon be created in Wal- tham Forest after the

council received a grant of £70,500 from the government. The 'Pocket Parks Plus' grant will fund four parks in different parts of the borough after plans were drawn up by growers' co-operative OrganicLea, Love North Chingford Community Interest Company (CIC), and Wood Street Walls CIC. The council will work with these groups to design and create the pocket parks, which will be open for everyone. Clyde Loakes, cabinet member for the environment, said: “Pocket parks provide small areas of calm in our bustling borough, where anyone can take a few minutes to relax and enjoy the natural surroundings of grass, plants, and trees.”

he junction between Blackhorse Road and Forest Road, one of the borough's

busiest, is set to be revamped. Work will start this month on a set of plans for the junction that were consulted on two years ago. Thousands of homes are being built in the surrounding area. Changes will include new segregated cycle lanes, wider pavements, tree planting, and better bus facilities. The work is due to be completed in summer 2020 – Waltham Forest Council has warned of additional congestion until this time.

hipps Cross is one of ten London hospitals in polluted areas to receive

new air quality monitors. The monitors will help target measures to reduce patients, visitors and staff’s exposure to toxic air pollution, as part of a wider ‘Breathe London’ project to create a comprehensive citywide network of air quality monitors. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Vulnerable hospital patients are more susceptible to the harmful effects of our toxic air pollution health crisis that harms lung growth and is linked to asthma, cancer and dementia.”

Pocket parks

Junction revamp

Air monitor

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olice have offered a £20,000 reward for anyone who can help catch the person who murdered a Waltham-

stow teenager one year ago. The family of 16-year-old Amaan Shakoor made an emotional

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Police appeal over teenager's death

appeal last month, on the anni-versary of his death. He was shot outside Kelmscott Leisure Centre on 2nd April 2018 and later died in hospital. Mohammed Shakoor, Amaan’s father, said: “It all seemed to happen so quickly. Going to the scene, being at the hospital, talking to the doctors, family and friends

arriving at the hospital, being told there was no hope, being told that my beautiful son was surely going to die. “We love Amaan very much and almost a year later we are struggling to carry on with life without him. Every day is a constant reminder of how much he meant to us and how much we all miss him. “Amaan was still a child, he came from a good family and was raised with endless amounts of love and affection. He had a stable family and a good home. He was an innocent victim of a despicable and brutal crime. “Our family will only gain some peace when the murderers of our beloved Amaan are serving a life sentence. Anyone who knows anything about what happened, however small, please contact the police either directly or indirectly via Crimestoppers.” Police were called at around 10pm on Monday 2nd April 2018, to Markhouse Road. Officers and paramedics attended and Amaan

by James Cracknell

was found injured outside the leisure centre along with a 15-year-old boy. They were both taken to an East London hospital, where Amaan died. The 15-year-old boy was treated for non-life threatening injuries. A post-mortem examina-tion gave Amaan’s cause of death as gunshot injuries to the head. Since the launch of the murder investigation by the Metropoli-tan Police’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, two people have been arrested, but both were subsequently released without charge. Detective Inspector Darren Jones said: “We believe Amaan was the victim of a targeted attack, with the chief suspects being two teenage males. “Amaan was on the brink of an exciting time of his life and was a member of a close-knit, loving family. It is our understanding that Amaan was on the periphery of activity linked to gangs, and we believe his death may be linked to this. “It is important to talk about this element of the investigation, as we believe the key to solving his murder is held by those he may have had links with through gang activity, whether this was directly, or indirectly. “Nothing excuses or justifies the taking of a life, and Amaan’s death is a tragedy. At only 16 years old, he was callously shot in the head at close range. These individuals must be caught and removed from our streets.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Met Police's incident room on 020 8345 1570 or via 101, quoting reference 6727/02APR2018.

To give information anonymously contact the independent charity Crimestoppers:Call 0800 555 111Visit crimestoppers-uk.org

Amaan Shakoor was killed outside Kelmscott Leisure Centre on 2nd April 2018

"Our family will only gain some

peace when the murderers of our beloved

Amaan are serving a

life sentence"

Leyton great hall

Leyton Great Hall is the jewel in the crown of the Legacy Business Centre in Leyton, E10; a Grade II listed building, fully restored. Leyton Great Hall is arguably one of (if not) the finest venues in east London and stands as a testament to the glamour of the era of Art Nouveau.

For all Leyton Great Hall hire enquiries please contact Maria on 07484 916080 or visit our website on www.leytongreathall.com.

Leyton Great Hall is suitable for all kinds of celebrations and occasions. It is suitable for weddings, birthdays, christenings, bar mitzvah, anniversaries, theatre and concerts and many more events! Charitable organizations, leisure and corporate clients will be able to cater for any of their requirements for their event in Leyton Great Hall.

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FEATURES4

CStan's the lollipop man

Stan Silverston with schoolchildren, teachers and parents on his crossing patrol Credit Nicky Bamber Photography

Chingford school bids farewell to retiring crossing warden by Sally Brincklow House

hildren, staff and parents at a Chingford school gathered in their hun-dreds to say a massive

'thank you' to their lollipop warden who has retired after 21 years on the job. Stan Silverston, 86, started as a crossing patrol officer in 1998 on Winchester Road in Highams Park, later moving to the crossing on the busy Kings Road outside Ching-ford Church of England Primary School. He has never been late for a shift and has had to contend with not just wind, rain, snow and occa-sional heatwaves, but traffic pollu-tion and rude motorists. Stan said he is going to miss all the children “immensely”. Over the years he has seen the children grow into young adults, including his own grandchildren who went to the primary school. Stan’s family have many links with the school; his wife, Ann, worked there as a midday assistant for 25 years and

his daughter, Sarah Lawrence, is cur-rently a learning support assistant. When asked what he’s going to miss least about the job, Stan said: “The rude motorists, the traffic pollution, and having to take holidays during school breaks!” Stan went on to say he has fond memories of the life-saving role and appreciates the kindness and gener-osity of parents and children with presents at Christmas time. Pupils presented him with cards and gifts at their end-of-term church service. Headteacher Lindsey Lampard led the school in their thanks and appre-ciation for Stan, saying: “You really care about all the children and we are going to miss you very much.” Stan recently helped the parents at the school launch a road safety campaign demanding the council act to reduce the speed limit outside the school to 20mph and add traffic calming humps to slow vehicles down. To sign the petition visit: chingfordcofe.org.uk

esidents in the St James Street area have bid a heartfelt farewell to one of Walthamstow’s best-

loved shopkeepers. Narendra Jadeja, known as ‘JD’ to his customers, has run the busy Londis grocery shop on Coppermill Lane, with his wife Lata, since 1989. During his three decades behind the counter, he provided locals with everything from sweets and drinks to washing up liquid and – impor-tantly – a listening ear! Now, JD and Lata have sold the shop to a new family and hope to spend a relaxing and well-earned retirement in the leafy streets of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. JD told the Echo: “I will miss the con-versations I have with my custom-ers and most of all the children, I will miss their smiles.” JD, who is 63, first moved to London from Malawi in 1976 and worked in a warehouse and even afactory making darts. He also turned his hand to cab driving and ran a petrol station, then finally

bought the Coppermill Lane shop after seeing it advertised – following in his parents' and grand-dad's footsteps. The shop sale went through when Lata was in labour with their second son, Pranavraj. Their older son Shailraj was aged five. There followed some tough years bring-ing up two sons, running the shop, and arranging delivery of 500 newspapers a day. “When I first came here up to 50% of the customers were pensioners and they did not have a lot of spare cash, so it was really hard work,” he said. But the shop is now a thriving hub and meeting spot for everyone from young children to pensioners, parents, commuters, and sports players from nearby Douglas Eyre.“The area has improved a lot,” says JD, adding: “The community is friendly and supportive.” Without his wife Lata, JD may not have succeeded with the shop at all. “She had to look after the children, look after the house, feed us, and help me in the shop as well, so she had a lot on her plate.” Younger clients’ favourite sweet

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Friendly shopkeeper retires after 30 years

Narendra Jadeja has run the Londis grocery shop in Coppermill Lane with his wife Lata since 1989

by Irena Barkerpurchases at Londis are Kinder Surprises and Chupa Chups lollies, according to JD, although his own favourite is Cadbury’s whole nut chocolate. The business has now been bought by Jagdeep Singh, who has plans to extend opening hours. Jan Rowles, a resident of Morland Road who has known JD for eleven

years, said: “I’ve never heard him utter a bad word. He was always up for a little chat, asking about elderly customers, and seemed to remem-ber a lot of local children by name. He has been such a caring, consid-erate member of our community.” Natalie McCormack, from Salop Road, who has been visiting the

shop for 19 years, added: “JD and his family have been part of our lives for so long we are going to miss their friendly smiles, and their ability to greet our children by name, even remembering their favourite treats. “My son’s first trip out of the house alone was to Londis and I knew I could trust JD to see him right.”


FEATURES

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Happy birthday, Hornbeam! Ditching plastic

Walthamstow environmental charity celebrates 25 years

NewsNew report slams council as 'willfully ignoring extremist activity' P . 6

lastic-Free Leytonstone is a new campaign to support the area in leading the

way in tackling our reliance on single-use plastics. Co-ordinated by Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth, the cam-paign kicked off in March with a survey that aimed to understand local residents’ views around waste and the use of plastics. It is clear that our community is concerned about this important issue and that there is an appe-tite for action. Collectively we can make a change at the individual, house-hold, business and council level. We consume single-use plastics every day; in coffee cups and plastic bags, packaging and straws. Although these prod-ucts tend to be used for just minutes, they have a devastat-ing and long-lasting impact on the environment, polluting land and water, harming wildlife and people, and contributing to climate change. At Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth, we recognise the enormi-ty of this challenge. Nat Harding, group co-ordinator, says: “Our plastic consumption globally is out of control. Around eight million tonnes of plastic end up in the world’s oceans every year – around one rubbish truck every minute! “But we can all help to make a change. We have a responsibility to think about the impacts of our everyday habits and we’re excited to be launching Plastic-Free Leytonstone to see what changes we can achieve together locally.” If you’d like to get involved, or hear more about or contribute to the campaign, all are welcome at the next Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth meeting at Luna Lounge in Leytonstone on Tuesday 15th May, from 8pm. Our survey is also still open if you'd like to give us your views at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/2Z7SRDG

by Leo Lawrenceby Sue Wheat

he Hornbeam Centre – 25 years old last month – is a story of environ-mental passion, com-

mitment, and fun. On St George's Day 1994, at the Bakers Arms end of Hoe Street, something special happened. A group of concerned environ-mentalists had coalesced around an idea of an environmental centre for Waltham Forest – and opened the doors to The Hornbeam Centre and Café. Forest Recycling Project (still going from strength to strength after nearly 30 years) had just started out, so Jowanna Lewis and Diane Sizer, who’d met at a Palmerston Road café, decided an old newsagents in Hoe Street would be the perfect venue for the new centre. Their enthusiasm soon rubbed off on other people. With a small amount of funding, a lot of vol-unteer effort, and an incredible amount of dust, they turned that newsagents into a centre for envi-ronmental causes. It’s still going strong today, with its vegan café and restaurant (previously called Gannets) and a community space that provides a vital venue for envi-ronmental action in the borough.

Last month some of those original idealists met up at The Hornbeam to see how their vision has evolved. Jim Craddock, a local Greenpeace volunteer in the early 1990s. was among those who came back to the centre for the first time in almost 20 years. Jim said: “We didn’t realise what we were getting into back then, but there was something infec-tious about giving up your week-ends to build the place, and then – once it had opened – volunteer-ing at the restaurant once you’d

For information about Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth and their new campaign:Email foe.walthamforest@ gmail.com Visit friendsoftheearth.uk/ groups/walthamforest

For more information about The Hornbeam Centre and Cafe:Twitter @hornbeamcafeVisit hornbeam.org.uk

finished your day job. “Seeing it thriving 25 years later has made that investment so worthwhile.” The Hornbeam now has many more strings to its bow. It con-tinues to run a vegan café from Tuesday to Sunday, using veg now grown by its sister organisation, Chingford growing co-operative OrganicLea, but also champions the use of surplus food by running a food rescue project which distrib-utes food that would otherwise be thrown away. On Mondays, volunteers prep and cook food for a sit-down pay-as-you-feel lunch for anyone to come and enjoy. The Hornbeam provides a space for all sorts of community groups to use. Events in May include workshops with Hedge Herbs learning how to make herbal medicine, a session on how to minimise food waste at home, and the café and meeting room is being used by various commu-nity gatherings from book clubs to knitting meet-ups and envi-ronmental campaign meetings. The Hornbeam also now runs the Learning Lodge at Pimp Hall Nature Reserve, which hosts family events on weekends and during school hol-idays at this beautiful green space in Chingford. Sunday Family Club is every first and third Sunday of the month, and during May there’s an eco-printing and weaving work-shop using food dyes and an Afro- Brazilian drumming workshop. Anne Redelinghuys, Hornbeam’s co-ordinator, says: “The aim of The Hornbeam is to strengthen and inspire and we’ve had so many success stories over the last 25 years. “For instance, one of the groups we have supported through to independence recently is the Hornbeam JoyRiders Women’s Cycle Club. They have just been awarded 'Club of the Year' by London Sports and are now able to leave the Hornbeam fold and run the group independently.” SpiceBox, an amazing vegan Indian food business, also had the same experience – they were supported to run a vegan pop-up kitchen at the Hornbeam for three months so successfully that they now have their own restaurant in Hoe Street. The Hornbeam founders were way ahead of their time and should be proud of the legacy they left.

To still have this amazing, cosy, friendly, supportive environmen-tal space, is one of the things that makes Waltham Forest so special. Here’s to the next 25 years!

The Hornbeam's founders outside Gannets in 1994, before being renamed the Hornbeam Cafe

A 25th birthday party was held at the Hornbeam last month and was attended by the charity's founders

"Seeing it thriving 25 years later

has made that investment so worthwhile"


NEWS

Report slams council's record on extremismNationwide investigation into hate groups highlights borough's role

by Local Democracy Reporting Service

A former counter extrem-ism co-ordinator for Waltham Forest Council is writing a national

report that singles the borough out as having a “grim history of extremism and terrorism”. The report, as yet not published, highlights incidents in Waltham Forest including a prominent Islamist being given an award by the council and collection boxes in high street stores for groups advocating extremist ideologies. Charlotte Littlewood, 27, was at the council for almost two years before being dismissed after facing a disciplinary hearing on allegations that she breached her employment contract – something she denies. All local authorities now have a duty to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism under the Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 – and counter-extremism co- ordinators help do that. In Charlotte's report, funded by anti-hate charity Ahmadiyya UK, she states that Waltham Forest is considered a priority borough with

regard to extremism and there-fore benefits from greater govern-ment resourcing and support. But the former counter-extremism co- ordinator, who now works for community cohesion group Faith Matters, said: “Despite this the local authority has appeared to have wilfully ignored extremist activity.” In the past, Charlotte has accused the council of “colluding in sec-tarianism” for its failure to act when claims were made of discrim-ination against Ahmadi Muslims in the borough, namely on the Waltham Forest Faith Forum – an allegation the authority said was “misleading and inaccurate”. Now, in her report, she cites a number of incidents over the years to show how she believes the council has turned a blind eye. One incident in 2016 saw the current head of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami Islamist party, Siraj Ul Haq, receive an award from the council to “honour” his visit to the borough. Two current cabinet members, councillors Liaquat Ali and Ahsan Khan, were photo-graphed with Siraj as he received his award in the council chamber of the town hall. When it was found Cllr Khan’s father had ar-

"The local authority has appeared to have wilfully

ignored extremist activity"

Waltham Forest Town Hall, where Siraj Ul Haq, head of Pakistan’s Jamaat-e-Islami Islamist party, was invited to in 2016 to receive an award from councillors Liaquat Ali and Ahsan Khan

ranged the visit and use of the town hall, the cabinet member for community safety told the Evening Standard he “completely disagrees with [Siraj Ul Haq’s] views”. According to Charlotte’s report, the borough’s links to other Islamist groups promoting extreme views is an ongoing issue. A number of high street stores in Leyton have been found to have collection boxes on their till counters to raise money for groups such as Dalwat- e-Islami and Madani. Extremist organisations have also held conferences in Walthamstow, includ-ing Khatm-e-Nabuwwat, an anti- Ahmadi group based in Pakistan. In November 2015, Channel 4 documentary ISIS: The British Women Supporters Unveiled also found a council-owned building was being used for meetings by three sympathisers of the terror-ist organisation. The Asian Centre Waltham Forest later banned the sympathisers' group, Islamic Circles for Women, from meeting there after its “shocking” preach-ing was revealed. A foiled terrorist plot to plant bombs on trans-Atlantic planes in 2006 was also partly planned in Walthamstow. According to The

Guardian, a flat was purchased on Forest Road by a group of Islamist terrorists in what judges called a “somewhat opaque” transaction. Several Islamist martyrdom videos were then uploaded to the inter-net from that address. Two of the plotters later jailed for life had been arrested close to Waltham Forest Town Hall. Charlotte's report extends across the UK, investigating instances of anti-Ahmadi extremism in Cardiff, Birmingham and Glasgow, and is due to be published in June. It is understood the government is also preparing a cross-party report into the discrimination faced by the Ahmadi-Muslim community that is due to be published this month. A spokesperson for Waltham Forest Council refuted the alle-gations made and said: “We host regular visits from officials from around the UK and abroad to learn from what we do and were the first local authority to secure an Anti-Social Behaviour Order against a hate preacher. Our origi-nal programme has gone on to form part of the national approach.” They said the council had respond-

ed quickly to criticism following the visit of Siraj Ul Haq in 2016 and brought in a new protocol to ensure the incident wasn’t repeated. “We have a strong record in tack-ling extremism in the borough and have been nationally recognised for our work to oppose the terror threat. “Waltham Forest Council does not support hatred or extrem-ist views of any form or nature, and condemn them entirely. We are proud to be a tolerant and welcoming borough where residents from all walks of life, cultures, and countries can make the very most of their life chances.”

LICENSING ACT 2003Application for the Grant of a Premises LicenceNotice of application for the grant of a Premises

Licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003Notice is hereby given that St James Street Limited has applied to the London Borough of Waltham Forest for the grant of a Premises Licence at: 18-20 St James Street, Walthamstow, London E17 7PF. The nature of the application is to permit the following:

– Films, Live music: 17:00–23:00 daily– Recorded music, opening hours: 08:00–23:00 daily– Sale of alcohol consumed on and off the premises: 08:00–23:00 Mon–Fri, 09:00–23:00 Sat–Sun

Interested parties or responsible authorities can make written representations regarding this application and must give notice in writing to:

– The Licensing Section, Magistrates Building, 1 Farnan Avenue, London E17 4NX– Email [email protected]– Internet www.walthamforest.gov.uk

The date by which an interested party may make representations to the relevant licensing authority: 16th May 2019.

This application and register held under the Licensing Act 2003 may be inspected during normal office hours at the above address.

It is an offence to knowingly or recklessly make a false statement in connection with an application. A person is liable to an unlimited fine on conviction should such a false statement be made.

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PHOTOGRAPHY8 No. 50 MAY 2019 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO

We are local photographers and members of Walthamstow and District Photographic Society, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year and is always looking for new members. It's a great place to meet other photographers and develop skills and ideas – check out WDPS.org.uk. We have been photographing local music events for eight years and Stow-a-Thon is the most challenging – a 24-hour music marathon – but the atmosphere and raising money for local charities make it worthwhile. These pictures are from previous events – see Page 13 for a preview of this year's Stow-a-Thon, taking place on 5th and 6th May.

To submit your photos for consideration: Email [email protected]

Photographs by Ian and Stephanie Waterman

Send us your photos

9No. 50 MAY 2019 WALTHAM FOREST ECHO 9Arts & CultureComedy charity night announces Edinburgh preview show P . 12

Our fears over new incinerator

Litter company is abusing power

A campaign has been launched against the construction of a new waste plant near Chingford

How penalties for dropping rubbish are being driven by profit

COMMENT

ousehold waste has to go somewhere, but in this era of climate change protests and

ultra-low emission zones, we have a huge opportunity to develop sustainable, clean, environmen-tally-friendly waste solutions for the future. So why, as the current Edmon-ton incinerator comes to the end of its life, has the government agreed plans to replace it with one of the largest incinerators in Europe? The Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now campaign aims to challenge this decision. The proposed new incinerator, branded an ‘Energy Recovery Facility’ (ERF), is the brainchild of

the North London Waste Author-ity (NLWA). Estimated as costing taxpayers around £650million, it could lock us into burning 700,000 tonnes of waste, much of it recyclable, every day for the next 30 years. A study last year by the UK Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) estimated one tonne of CO2 was emitted by incinerators for each tonne of waste burned. Stop the Edmonton Incinerator Now is a campaign started by concerned local mothers from Walthamstow and Chingford. Worried about the air pollution children are already exposed to, an incinerator rebuild also locks future generations into huge carbon emissions without fully exploring the alternatives. Despite using advanced emis-

H

E

by Louise Krzan

by Sandrine Ceurstemont

sion filters, incinerators still contribute considerable amounts of harmful toxins, pollutants and ultra-fine particles into the atmosphere and the monitoring results are not adequately open to public scrutiny. The more we looked into this, the more the decision to build a new incinerator seemed like an archaic way to deal with waste. The planned incinerator con-tradicts the Mayor of London’s pledge to increase London’s household recycling rate to 65% by 2030. Imagine how far just half of that £650m would go if spent on education and support for residents and businesses with low rates of recycling? The incinerator’s high capacity and financial viability depends on a constant supply of waste to burn,

arlier this year I received a litter fine in Waltham-stow when I accidentally dropped a receipt after

doing some shopping. I was charged £150, which is the maximum amount for an on-the-spot fine. If I didn’t pay promptly, it was set to increase to £2,500 with the risk of a criminal conviction. As a science journalist who often covers environmental issues, I support efforts to clean up the area. But with numerous cases of fly-tipping and intentional littering, it didn’t seem right that I had been given a hefty penalty for something so trivial. Furthermore, these fines can’t be appealed, although there is an email address for complaints. After digging deeper, I real-ised that the scheme isn’t run by Waltham Forest Council itself; it is outsourced to a private company called Kingdom Services Group. This could explain the rigid approach taken by officers. Although the council claims to have “zero tolerance” for littering, their interpretation of this and the values behind it seem to clash with Kingdom, which has a bad

which, combined with generous gov-ernment subsidies – as evidenced by other boroughs with incinerators – actively discourages investment in recycling and other more sustain-able forms of waste management. The Stop the Edmonton Incin-erator Now campaign, support-ed by UKWIN, is raising aware-ness and providing information to

reputation. The company's tactics have been questioned by the press, where they are suspected to seek out easy targets such as elderly people who are likely to pay up. The firm also makes a share of the profit, which can vary from 50% to 100% in different areas, so officers have an incentive to collect more fines. A recent investigation by The Guardian reported that Kingdom collected £1.4million in fines over a period of eight months in one area where they operate. Profits do seem to be overshadow-ing reason. In other cases, Kingdom has dished out penalties for unin-tentionally dropping a bookmark and even feeding the birds. The officer that stopped me didn’t use any discretion when I explained that it was a genuine mistake and wanted to pick up the receipt and keep it for my records. Instead he kept pointing to the bodycam he was wearing, saying that he had filmed me committing the offence and was just doing his job. The complaint process didn’t seem to be impartial, either. When I emailed to explain my case, I received a reply from Kingdom over a month later, saying that they were confident the penalty had been issued correctly. It quoted the law,

locals about what the incinerator rebuild would mean for them and to challenge the notion that in-cineration is the only way to deal with London’s waste.

saying that even dropping some-thing by accident was an offence. The council does seem to have a different attitude. Determined to fight my case, I emailed them directly and got a reply a few days later. My fine was cancelled. I was told that the council wanted to target people who deliberate-ly drop litter, making the area untidy, and not accidents such as in my case. Councils using private companies for such schemes can be a money- saving tactic. Kingdom guaran-tees no cost to the local authority, because it recovers its costs from penalty fines issued. But the power they are given risks being abused when their ultimate goal isn’t to look out for the public good.

For more information on the campaign:Visit stop-edmonton-incinerator.org

Litter often ends up clogging waterways Credit Wikicommons

"It didn’t seem right that I had

been given a hefty penalty for something

so trivial"

How the new Edmonton incinerator will look, as seen from the Chingford side of the River Lea


LETTERS

In March you published an article about the council exporting our waste plastic to Turkey and the Philippines (Act to combat plastic pollution, Page 2, Issue 48). I would like to draw the attention of your readers to a petition by SumOfUs.org, which tries to put a stop to that practice. In early May, governments from around the world will meet in Swit-zerland for a vote on international rules to help force wealthy states and corporations to stop treating developing countries like dumps for their plastic rubbish. In the past two decades, not only rich govern-ments but also their businesses have been exporting millions of tonnes of plastic waste overseas. That’s how European and North Amer-ican plastic ends up choking the rivers and coasts of countries like Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. Together, we can fight that plastic flood and environmental

I am trying to make contact with a cousin who I last met in the 1960s. She lived at Trevose Road, Walthamstow. Her name was Elaine Slater, and her best friend was Jenny Hatchard. These were their maiden names. Today she would probably be in her late 60s or early 70s, like me. Her father was my 'uncle Bert'. I am part of the Slater/Cole family. If anyone can put me in contact with either of them, or their family, please email me: [email protected]

Philip StevensSt Ives, Cornwall

I’m sure many of your readers will know of someone with dementia or are directly affected by it – in Waltham Forest there are 2,055 people living with the condition. Our research shows that every three minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia. Despite almost all of us knowing someone affected, two-thirds of people living with demen-tia report feeling isolated and lonely. Alzheimer’s Society is working with the Mayor of London to make London dementia-friendly. We want to make our vibrant capital a place where people living with dementia feel supported and able to take part in all that London has to offer. But we need everyone to get involved, to take an action and support those living in their local communities. Many people are worried about ‘saying the wrong thing’ to someone with dementia, yet a friendly face or listening ear can make the world of difference. This Dementia Action Week (20th–26th May) Alzheimer’s

It is a scandal that air pollution is causing thousands of premature deaths each year in our capital and stunting the lung development of our children. This is why I am sup-porting the roll-out of the Mayor’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). The ULEZ will have a hugely

Stop dumping waste overseas

Help find my cousin

Do something for dementia

Mayor is cleaning up our streets

Dear Waltham Forest Echo




racism – but we need a majority of governments to back the proposal. Please sign the petition! Go to: actions.sumofus.org/a/stop-fake-plastic-recycling-now

Betsy Campbell-CraigHighams Park

Society is encouraging everyone to take action by starting a conversa-tion; whether it’s calling a relative with dementia or visiting a neigh-bour, it’s time to start talking! We understand that it can be diffi-cult to know what to say. But we’re here to provide information and tips on how you can start a con-versation. To find out more about dementia and events taking place across London visit alzheimers.org.uk/DAW

positive impact on our ability to tackle air pollution now that is has been introduced. Diesel cars manufactured before 2015, along-side most pre-2006 petrol cars, will be charged £12.50 to come into central London at any time. This will be in addition to the existing £11.50 congestion charge, which operates from Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm. Buses, coaches, lorries and motorbikes will also need to comply with European emissions standards or face charges. The implementation of the world’s first ULEZ is a significant facet of a package of measures that City Hall is taking to clean up London’s toxic air. In taking drastic action now, the Mayor of London can ensure the capital is firmly on the path to achieving zero emissions from road trans-port by 2050. You can access the ULEZ vehicle checker via tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/vrm-checker-ulez

Jennette ArnoldLondon Assembly Member for Waltham Forest

Call us to book an appointment

Willow Brook Primary School & Nursery 190 Church Road, Leyton, London E10 7BH

Something special is happening at Willow Brook Primary School and Nursery! All children flourish in our Early Years. They have excellent relationships with staff and it is normal for children to exceed their expected levels of progress. Willow Brook provides a happy and secure environment in which to learn, and our pupils enjoy their time at school so much they don’t want to leave!

Why not come and see for yourself? There are tours and stay and play sessions every Wednesday 8.30am to 9.30am and 12.30pm to 1.30pm, or parents can book an appointment for a one-to-one meeting with the head.

@WillowBrookGST

Tel: 020 8539 [email protected]

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Linda O’SullivanHead of London Region, Alzheimer’s Society


COLUMNS

Children enjoy making a den in Epping Forest

Finding the forest

Last ordersMarlowe Road Estate resident Michelle Edwards reacts to some more bad news from the council

Helen Bigham reflects on how nature can play a part in Waltham Forest's year as Borough of Culture

his year we celebrate Waltham Forest being the first London Bor-ough of Culture. A

he Echo's editor recent-ly reminded me that I have left new and seasoned readers of

this column hanging since July 2018. What, he asked, has happened since I was served a Notice of Seeking Possession – essentially an eviction order – on my birth-day last year? There are good reasons for the absence of an update. So many things happen week-by-week on the Marlowe Road Estate that it's often difficult to balance what I experience as a stand-alone occupant against the collective experiences of other tenants, lease-holders, businesses and stakehold-ers. Never one to take centre-stage, I prefer to walk you through the 'us' aspect of the estate's redevel-opment. Having also instructed a solicitor, I shouldn't go into too

definition of culture is: “The 'way of life' of groups of people, meaning the way they do things... the outlook, attitudes, values and

much detail. Waltham Forest Counci l instructed Sharpe Pritchard Solic-itors and Parliamentary Agents to 'advise' the remaining residents and leaseholders on the estate that the authority had made a Compul-sory Purchase Order (CPO) on 13th March 2019, to acquire the remaining land. As if it were on purpose, these bombshells always drop during my short getaways. I can spot bad news just by the pack-aging; a white A4 franked envelope and a red stamp with the word 'im-portant' in bold and capital letters. In the council's 'statement of reasons' for making the CPO, they regurgitate the lie that “consulta-tion responses from residents on the estate indicated widespread support for the council's propos-als”. It's the same bullshit they used to counter my piece for ITV

News London last year – we had only been asked to participate in a “fact-finding exercise” for which “our answers were not decisions”. Cleverly, the CPO is being further justified because the estate has “poor housing stan-dards, poor public realm, high crime levels, anti-social behaviour issues and high levels of deprivation”. This has man-ifestly happened because the council conducted a lengthy pro-gramme of 'managed' decline. The mass evacuation of Marlowe Road Estate is not dissimilar to how Margaret Thatcher's closest ministers came close to writing off Liverpool in the aftermath of the 1981 inner-city riots, although the genuine attempt to destroy council housing estates in London has more to do with tax. As Anna Minton explains in her

T

T

book Big Capital, a key incentive for developers and local author-ities to pursue demolition over refurbishment is the fact that new-build homes are exempt from the 20% VAT to which refurbish-ment is subject. After being lectured by residents for the last seven years about their lack of transparency, mis-information, legal breaches, and inability to perform their duties, the council eventually scrapped its monthly steering group meet-ings – silencing dissenting and marginal voices. It's no coin-cidence that the move follows the victory of Northwood Tower residents to retain the security gates around their block, on the back of a weighty petition supported by the Metropolitan Police. The council and estate developers Countryside are still

customs shared.” I like this description as it encompasses more than just ‘high culture’ such as the arts. Of course,

we should be excited about the many artistic events on offer – my personal favourite being the E17 Art Trail. They all rightly hold a place in the Borough of Culture legacy. However, I hope that experiences and new places local people are introduced to during the year will not be one-off. For me this means recognising the importance of making full use of the woodlands in our borough. One project encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors is the Suntrap Forest Centre's work with secondary school students in Walthamstow, exploring their own imaginative response to Epping Forest. Through the 'Great Place: Creative Connections' scheme (funded by Arts Council England and National Lottery Heritage Fund) the team will be running fun practical activities to help young people discover and learn more about our diverse local her-itage and natural environment. The free outreach sessions will be full of inspiration, ideas and advice aimed at providing the perfect guide to develop a deeper understanding of their local area.

Big Creative Education, a creative college in Walthamstow that spe-cialises in the creative industries and provides apprenticeships and training, has taken up the offer for their 'Wild about Art' programme. Speaking to a friend while showing them around Suntrap, they explained that although they work in the borough, it has never occurred to them to stay on the train and get off at Chingford to experience the forest. They described it as “eye opening” and wanted to encourage everyone to take advantage. We talked about the Forestry Com-mission’s bid to tackle the lack of diversity in both conservation and British nature writing; one strategy has been the appointment of writ-er-in-residence Zakiya Mckenzie. She’s committed to increase the involvement of black and minority ethnic communities in the environ-mental sector and has talked about her feelings as “the only black face in the forest”. This was something my friend also identified with and I hope that when our year as Borough of Culture ends, part of the legacy will be a change in this viewpoint.

"I can spot bad news just by the packaging; a white A4

franked envelope and a red stamp"

fuming at the unexpected inter-vention of a 'designing out crime' police officer who alleged that he had been lied to by the council about the preferences of North-wood Tower residents.


ARTS & CULTURE

T

Taste of the Middle East

What the Fattoush? Is hosted at Hornbeam Cafe, 458 Hoe Street, from 8.30am until 4pm on weekdays (except Mondays) and 10am until 4pm on weekends, plus 6pm until 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.Visit hornbeam.org.uk

Harry's Heart is on display at The Art Pavilion, Mile End Park. Harry’s Brain will be shown at No 70 Hoe Street as part of this year’s E17 Art Trail, 1st-16th June.

Canned Laughter’s Edinburgh preview shows run on 13th, 14th, 20th and 21st June. Tickets are £5 per show, £8 for two or £14 for all four. For more information:Visit cannedlaughter.co.uk

he Hornbeam Café is set to welcome its first plant- based Palestinian kitchen.

What the Fattoush? serves vegan meals where 10% of the profit is donated to SkatePal, an organisa-tion supporting young people in Palestine through skateboarding. Myself and Meg Maule are the driving force behind it. We were taught to cook authentic Middle Eastern food when volunteer-ing at refugee camps across Europe and Palestine. Starting as a six-date supper club to raise money for aid charity Help Ref-ugees, the success of What the Fattoush? encouraged us to take it full-time. We've hosted charity dinners at House of Vans, take-over kitchens in East London, and are planning our first international art exhibition. Palestinian human rights are at the core of what we do. With Middle Eastern inspired cocktails and our famous Pales-tinian breakfast (including vegan ‘woke yolks’) the menu caters for those who know Palestinian cuisine and those who can’t tell their kibbeh from their maqlubeh. We aim to put Palestinian food on the Walthamstow map! The Hornbeam and What the Fattoush? are a match made in foodie heaven. We've noticed through our supper clubs that there is no better place to open up a con-versation than over a plate of food. Cooking Palestinian cuisine is more than sustenance to us, but a way of bringing the importance of Palestinian human rights into our everyday experience. The Horn-beam’s community-orientated roots mixed with our charitable back-ground means you’ll leave with a full heart as well as a full stomach. While maintaining the organic and plant-based ethos of The Hornbeam, What the Fattoush? will support other local businesses in Walthamstow, from breweries to greengrocers, as well as buying products from Zaytoun; a Fairtrade organisation dedicated to support-ing farmers and growers in Palestine.

by Jess HoweKHeart of the matter

Kicking the comedy can

by Deborah Nash

by Sara Shokra

nitter Harriott Knuck-les, winner of Waltham Forest’s 2018 Art Road Show, has her winning

entry on display at a new exhibi-tion in Mile End – ahead of her new artwork being a star attraction at this year's E17 Art Trail. Harry’s artwork is a giant-sized human heart made in her custom-ary ragbag style of assorted materi-als (silk, wool, acrylic, metal, plastic threads), chunky shapes and vivid colours. Harry's Heart was origi-nally created for a Valentine’s Day window display at a Clapton wool shop. Since then, it has acquired some sylvan branches and neatly fits the current exhibition’s theme We Grow into the Forest – a group show of artists inspired by nature. Harry’s catalogue entry reads: “An oversized pouch sprouting thick scarlet and patched-up blue blood vessels that look a bit like the branches of a tree. It’s in all of us, this pump, sending fresh new blood round our bodies. Do you

know how many times a heart beats in a minute? And what is it doing when it beats? And what can the root of a tree or a leaf or a seed do in the same minute? I like to think of this constant motion inside us as time.” Harry worked as a set builder until spinal stenosis forced her to stop and she took up knitting for “something to do”. By interpreting the body’s organs in wool, Harry had to understand their function and how they worked. As well as Harry's Heart, she has made a series of dead heads, eyeballs, hands, fingers, intestines and kidneys. Currently, Harry is working on her most challenging piece; a larger-than-life size human brain, a com-mission for the Alzheimer’s Society.

A charity stand-up night in Walthamstow has announced a string of Edinburgh preview shows

taste of the Edinburgh Fringe is coming to Walthamstow with nine acts, including

Suzi Ruffell, Sindhu Vee and Gabby Best, gracing the stage at The CentrE17 over four nights in June. Canned Laughter is a commu-nity organisation that has been fighting food poverty through comedy since October 2017. It is the brainchild of three friends – Kenny Tanner, Ali Severs-Ruiz and Helen Taylor – who came up with a simple concept; they invited audiences to pay £5 for a night of stand-up comedy and asked them to bring along five items to donate to the local foodbank. The show is now run by Kenny, Ali and friends Amelia Vickery, Josh Grant and Ronan Shiels. Kenny, a long-standing comedy fan who works in TV produc-tion, said: “People lead busy lives – they want to do good for their community, but not everybody knows where to start, so we like

to think that's where we come in. “Canned Laughter gives them a chance to help out and watch some great comedy at the same time. With some comedy nights in London charging over £15, our audiences often comment on the quality of the acts for such a small entry fee.” The team has partnered with Eat or Heat, a local foodbank established in 2011. The charity tackles food poverty, helping families who are forced to reg-ularly make the difficult choice between heating their homes and feeding their families. Since its inception, Canned Laugh-ter has raised more than £11,500 for Eat or Heat – audience dona-tions stocked the foodbank for 36 weeks last year. Every show has sold out and a host of famous acts including Nick Helm, Aisling Bea, Russell Kane and Josie Long have headlined over the past 18 months. Kenny adds: “Max and Ruth, the duo behind The CentrE17, have been incredibly supportive of us since day one. We really couldn’t have achieved all this

A

without them.” As well as the Edinburgh pre-views, Canned Laughter will continue to run its regular stand-up nights. Their next show is on Friday 24th May and will star Steen Raskopolus and Mawaan Rizwan.

Canned Laughter comedy nights ask audience members to bring foodbank donations with them


ARTS & CULTURE

Going back in tin

Making my Markhouse

ifty is the number of protons in an atom of tin, and interactive event Atomic 50 – Time

Travels in Tin celebrated Waltham Forest’s heritage as a centre for metalworking, linking it with a universal message of protecting the environment and saving the planet for future generations. In the 20th Century Waltham-stow was home to leading toy companies Britains and Wells Brimtoy, where some of the world’s most collectible tin toys were made. In collaboration with acclaimed performance artist Abigail Con- way and set designer Soraya Gilanni Viljoen, Blackhorse Work-shop created an immersive expe-rience to inspire local children. The experience began with a pro-jected film of the borough’s metal-work heritage, combined with three actors dividing children into three groups – all colour-coded. The group clocks in before visiting the 'Future Mart', where food is pack-

s a resident of the Markhouse Road area I was really pleased to see Norah Zeale Studio

opening at the end of last year. Close to the junction with Queen’s Road, it is a much-needed addition to a part of Walthamstow

Shelly Berry at Norah Zeale Studio

'Atomic 50: Time Travels in Tin' took place at Blackhorse Workshop last month Credit Ellie Kurttz

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aged in plastic accompanied by a discussion of how harmful that is to our planet and oceans. Next was a visit to 'Grandma’s House', complete with a gramo-phone and chandeliers made of tin utensils. A few minutes sat at a large dining table made the chil-dren think about how to cut waste and replace plastic with recyclable and natural materials. They then visited the 'Tin Factory', where they were introduced to classic machin-ery used in metalworks, producing their own cones which they punch and rivet and take with them to the 'Shed'. There the message of recy-cling and using natural materials was highlighted again, underscor-ing the performance’s ingenious merging of practical teaching with immersive theatre. The children completed the finish-ing touches to the Atomic50 badge, made of tin of course, and were all excited to stamp their own ini-tials on it before pinning it to their clothes. In the studio, the children

that seems to be lagging behind others. As well as selling crafts and vintage homewares, owner Sounia is also keen to engage with the local community, arranging workshops and residencies for local artists – a position that I was really excited to take on this spring.

As well as having my work on show throughout April and May, on 13th April I set up camp in the shop and invited residents to come along to talk to me about my art – and their own creativity. Although at first a little self-conscious as I got down to some painting, I soon got into my groove and made a start on four pieces while residents looked on. I always have a meaning in mind when I start a piece of work, but it’s always interesting – and rewarding – to hear how others interpret the end result. As an artist, the symbol-ism of colour is really important to me, but hearing how someone saw the red in Child as represen-tative of blood and loss, and how the blue and pink in Sky One and Two was linked to questions of gender made me look at my own work through a different lens. Musings about the use of naked figures being “free”, yet often turned away, also made me con-sider sub-conscious messages that I hadn’t even realised I was making.

SMusic marathon

Stow-a-Thon starts at 12pm on Sunday 5th May at Ye Olde Rose and Crown in Hoe Street

Find out more about artist residencies at Norah Zeale Studio:Email hello@ norahzealestudio.co.ukInstagram @norahzealeVisit norahzealestudio.co.uk

Follow artist Shelly Berry:Instagram @shellyberryoriginal Twitter @ShellyBerryUKVisit shellyberryoriginal.co.uk

tow-a-Thon is back with 24 hours of free live music at the Rose and Crown pub on

Sunday 5th and Monday 6th May. This annual bank holiday event is fundraising for local charity, The Haven – an organisation that supports, assists and empowers individuals who have suffered from sexual violence. The event is now in its sixth year and proceedings are opened by the irrepressible Graham Larkbey on guitar. Local collectives Electronic 17, She17, Waltham-stow Folk, Waltham Forest Voices, and Big Creative Academy, are all taking part. The bill this year also features local favourites Cowboy Flying Saucer and The Outbursts. Catering for all tastes, music is performed by everyone from talented youngsters to ageing rockers, choirs, and singer song-writers. It’s also plenty of fun with a ceilidh by Jig17 and a turn by local drag artist, Victoria Sponge. Chris Casey, founder of The Haven, said: “It's an honour to be involved in the event again. When we first linked up it all sounded a bit improbable to be honest. But they pulled it off and we couldn't believe how friendly and welcom-ing everyone was. “We run an important service for local people, so it's great to get out into our community and see just how much support there is. “Our charity is the only survivor- led organisation in Waltham Forest that supports victims and survivors of all forms of sexual and domes-tic violence. We are thrilled that the Stow-a-Thon has chosen to support our vital work in the borough!” The event was originally set up by Adam Taylor as an offshoot of the now defunct Stow Music Festival. He said: “You don't have to go to Chestnuts Field to experience the Borough of Culture – it's actually everywhere. Just go to your local café, pub, park, church or mosque. Something will be going on. “Where else could hundreds of performers put on live music for 24 hours and actually all walk to the venue. Not even Camden could manage that!”

Artist Shelly Berry puts her work on show at a new local art studio

used the cones to record their per-sonal messages to be stored in the archive. The youngsters unani-mously voiced their excitement about what they described as one of the “best days of their lives”. Show creator Abigail Conway said

she wanted the audience to be at the centre of the experience, which she designed to be “engaging, par-ticipatory and physically tactile.” Atomic 50 has been one of the highlights so far of Waltham Forest's year as London Borough of Culture.

Hearing that one visitor to the shop had commented that I clearly had “issues” was quite a revelation – and learning the (often hidden) creative passions of others, from poetry to photography, was also a privilege as well as an inspiration. Norah Zeale Studios is taking part in the E17 Art Trail in June, as will I, this time at the recently restored St Saviours Church further down Markhouse Road. After that, who knows where my artistic travels will take me! In the mean-time, I hope to see you at Norah Zeale Studio or the church soon.

With help from local children, Youssef Taha discovers the history of the borough's toy-making industry

SportPromotion back to Football League beckons for plucky Orient P . 15


LISTINGS

Upcoming OngoingThe Craft of GamesThursday 9th May, 7pm–9.30pmWilliam Morris Gallery, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4PP

Des and Ken's Old-Ass Reggae RecordsEvery last Saturday, 8pm–11.30pm Sinbin at the Plough and Harrow, 419 High Road, Leytonstone E11 4JU

Leyton Jubilee Park MarketSaturdays, 11am– 4pm KuKooLaLa Café, 3 Marsh Lane, Leyton E10 7BL

Women's Silver Exercise GroupTuesdays, 11.30am–12.15pmLloyd Park, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4PP

Japanese Flower ArrangementFriday 24th May, 12pm–5pm, and Saturday 25th May, 10am–5pmOne Hoe Street, 1 Hoe Street, Walthamstow E17 4SD

Inspired! An exhibition for E17 Art TrailThursday 30th May, 9:30am– 6:00pmThe Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA

Disco Rani: Bollywood Bhangra R&B Mujra PartyEvery third Friday of the month, 10pm until lateSinbin at the Plough and Harrow, 419 High Road, Leytonstone E11 4JU

Beating the BoundsSunday 26th May, 1.30pm– 4pmStarting outside the Princess of Wales, Lea Bridge Road, Leyton E5 9RB

St Barnabas Sunday Concerts Presents: Musicians Without BordersSunday 26th May, 4pm–5pmSt Barnabas Church, St Barnabas Road, Walthamstow E17 8JZ

Librarian Theatre presents The Green ShipTuesday 21st May, 6pmWalthamstow Library, High Street, Walthamstow E17 7JN

We host an evening of discussion and performance exploring video games as a contemporary craft discipline, plus a live performance by award-winning com-posers and percussionists Louise Anna and Zands Duggan. Booking essential.

Come skank to some dusty old Jamaican records. Trojan, Studio One, lovers’ rock, roots, rockers, rock steady, ska, dancehall, dub – all strictly vinyl! Caribbean food until 9pm by The Groves Kitchen.

A range of affordable stalls including hot food, local produce, handmade goods and pre-loved items, as well as music, bouncy castle and other entertainment for children. Takes place behind Ku-kooLaLa Café in Jubilee Park. Parking available. Stalls available.

Women’s fitness class, ideal for over-55s. We do exercises specific for bone health, muscle toning and resistance, and pelvic floor health and strengthening. All exer-cises can be easily practised in your own home. This is a great way to meet other local women while enjoying the outdoors. We meet by the basketball court.

Ohara School of Ikebana England Chapter is delighted to showcase the art of Japanese flower arrangement. Come and enjoy different styles of arrangements created by the members.

E17 artists of all abilities celebrate their world and all its wonders. A mix of work in all media exploring nature, science and the imagination. From the personal to the universal – the world is ours!

A Bollywood Bhangra R&B Mujra Party for Asian LGBTQ lovers and allies. We’re treating you to free entry before midnight. And your host Asifa Lahore is giving the first 25 people free drinks too!

Join Save Lea Marshes and take part in an ancient tradition that celebrates our open spaces and marks parish bound-aries. The walk will take a couple of hours, ending at the Hare and Hounds (E10 7LD). There will be willow deco-rating, music, a little bit of local history and children are welcome to come in fancy dress.

Fabulous music by composers who thought outside the box and followed more than one profession, from Alex-ander Borodin, Charles Ives, Franz Liszt, and more. Gillian Keith, soprano, Tom Randle, tenor, František Brikcius, cello, George Ireland, piano.

A groundbreaking arts organisation, Librarian Theatre is breathing life back into libraries on a national scale by temporarily transforming them into theatres. The Green Ship is a beauti-fully illustrated, heartwarming story by Quentin Blake. Librarian Theatre’s production of the book is its first-ever stage adaptation.

Tickets £12, concessions £8Visit wmgallery.org.uk

Free entryVisit facebook.com/events/2247059092242881

Free entryEmail [email protected] thecreativesideoflondon.com

Tickets £5Email [email protected]

Free entryEmail [email protected] oharaikebana.eventbrite.co.uk

Free entryCall 020 8521 3211Email [email protected]

Free entry until midnight, £10 afterVisit facebook.com/discoraniclub

Free entryVisit saveleamarshes.org.uk

Free entry, donations in support of Mental Health UKVisit stbarnabassundayconcerts.weebly.com

Tickets £7 Visit thegreenship.co.uk

Changing the way you see lawyers. 02081 311 204 [email protected] www.qualitysolicitors.com/mirza

216 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London, E17 3AY*Terms and conditions apply. Free set of second searches if your purchase falls through and you instruct us on another purchase within six months.

Instruct us on a sale or purchase before 29 June and receive a £75 discount on each transaction.

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Time for table tennis

Promotion beckons for plucky Orient Going to bat

Paralympian visits Wathamstow school for a game of ping pong

althamstow Cricket Club is launching its first-ever women's team.

The 157-year-old club announced its intention to be “genuinely representative” and offer women the chance to play competitively at Leyton Cricket Ground, where Waltham Forest Council is set to create a new ‘sports hub’. Club chairman Derek Steward said: “I am absolutely thrilled that we are in a position to announce plans to field a women’s cricket team. This follows a significant amount of work, and the support of Waltham Forest Council, who share our ambition to make cricket accessi-ble and available to everybody in the local area. “Cricket clubs which are not working hard to adapt and advance run the risk of losing relevance in the hearts and minds of the community in the modern era. The key to this is being genuinely representative of the community in which it exists. “In particular, we would like to encourage women and girls of all ages and abilities, whether experi-enced players or novices to the game, to get in touch to find out more.” Indoor training sessions take place on Tuesday evenings at Willowfield School, with both women and girls welcome to attend.

able tennis is becoming a big hit at a Waltham-stow school after two outdoor tables were

donated by a national charity. The tables were gifted to Kelm-scott School by the Jack Petchey Foundation, which runs its own table tennis programme and organises competitions. The school already has four indoor tables, but because of demand they are not always available. Pupils at the school in Markhouse Road were recently inspired by the visit of paralympian Ashley Thomp-son. Ashley, from Bethnal Green, is currently ranked ninth in the world. Mark Smith, assistant head teacher at Kelmscott, said: “These

hen you become a Leyton Orient supporter you know it is never

meant to be easy. The last few weeks have tested the nerves of even the most calm O's fans, as the 2018-19 National League season has drawn to a close. After winning both legs of the FA Trophy semi-final in late March to seal a trip to Wembley, Orient found themselves clear at the top of the league with a couple of games in hand over an improving Salford City and a consistently solid Soli-hull Moors. But defeat at Bromley in a tetchy Tuesday night encounter in the first of those extra games opened the door to their rivals. From then on Orient stayed ahead of the pack, but they did it the hard way. Cracks appeared in the previously watertight defence and during one week they thrill-ingly clawed back deficits against Halifax, Eastleigh and Sutton respectively to take a vitally important seven points. The result at Sutton felt partic-ularly huge, with a last-minute penalty gifted by the opposition keeper and slotted away nervelessly by top scorer Macauley Bonne in front of the Orient fans. Perhaps not the textbook way to do things, but this was title-winning form. A

For more information about Walthamstow Cricket Club and to get involved:Email [email protected]

tables are a roaring success and we are pleased table tennis is proving so popular with our students. They consider it a safe and comfortable sport to play. “All the tables are being well used and we can now offer inter-school games and tournaments with our local adult education centre, the college, and our local primary schools. Our wheelchair users are fans and we plan to run tailored clubs during school holidays. “Having Ashley here has been a real bonus. He is passionate about table tennis and the students really enjoyed their session with him. You never know one day we might have our own champion to celebrate thanks to Jack Petchey and Tennis

Table England.” Meanwhile, a table tennis player from Leyton took top honours at the annual Jack Petchey London and Essex Schools’ Table Tennis Singles Finals. Held last month at the University of East London, the competition brought together 109 players from 58 schools across London and Essex. In the girls' under-19 competition, Highams Park School pupil Tiana Dennison beat defending champion Natalia Ianau, from west London. Tiana, 17, has been playing since the age of nine and is coached by her dad John. Tiana said: “I love this game and want to play at the top one day. I love winning and the trophies look good on the shelf too!”

by Jim Nichols

more routine win in front of the television cameras at home to Har-rogate followed, but Salford sealed a late win to keep the pressure on Justin Edinburgh's battling squad. However, on Easter Monday, a large contingent from East London packed Solihull's small ground for what they hoped would be their last away trip as a non-league club. The team's fighting spirit was on show again as they ground out a goalless draw against their com-

bative opponents. The O's were now so close to sealing their return to the Foot-ball League, two years to the day that their 112-year membership of it was ended in such sad and unnecessary circumstances. They would still require a positive result at home to relegated Braintree on the final day of the league season – just after the Echo went to press – to seal promotion. But to have bounced back from the manner of

Orient fans celebrate a late goal against Sutton during the club's chase for promotion Credit Simon O'Connor

Kelmscott School students with paralympian Ashley Thompson, centre, with head of PE Maria Mandoza, centre left, and assistant headteacher Mark Smith, centre right

that relegation two years ago is a spectacular achievement. Praise goes to the owners Nigel Travis and Kent Teague, who not only stepped in to save the club when all seemed lost, but learned quickly from some early setbacks to build a squad and culture that has contributed massively to this season's successes. A promotion and FA Trophy double would be just reward for their efforts and for the supporters' loyalty.


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