The E List - December 2017 by Paul Lindt

E list

December 2017/New Year 2018

the

The origins of the modern bicycle

ISSN 2058-2196

Winter. No 55

Your cultural life in and around Walthamstow, Leytonstone, Leyton and Wanstead

David Bowie joins local band!

Fellowship is Life

COVER STAR Simon Pemberton What sort of artist are you? Not sure how to answer that one! I suppose a mixed media artist and illustrator. I currently work mostly with inks, acrylic paint, drawing and collage elements though in the past I’ve built 3 dimensional constructions, used photographic emulsions and paint, welded metal sheets, collaged with found objects. I like to experiment with media and work digitally to combine them. Alongside being commissioned by the E List for this month’s cover you work with other well known magazines like the New York Times. What’s been your favourite illustration job? Another tough one! I suppose I’m most proud of the re-branding of Taylors of Harrogate coffee I did a few years back as it was such a big project and to be involved with the development of the re-branding right from early tests and roughs through to producing a whole range of packs was great experience and generated a lot of work. In particular it helped develop my landscape work as so many images were based on the regions that grow the coffee beans. I’ve worked with landscape much more since. In a way it re-branded me as much as the coffee packs!

Your Shackleton cover for the Folio Society (above right) has been shortlisted for the V&A illustration prize this year. Yes I previously won the V&A Editorial Illustration Award in 2015 for an image I produced for Financial Times Magazine about a stormy sea journey to the Shetland Isles called The Blackest Isles (above left). It was a great awards night, very glamorous with canapes made from ice and flower petals! Feels great to win something like that and hear so many nice things said about your work. It’s obviously fantastic to get the recognition especially as it’s the V&A. I took my 9 year old daughter along to the ceremony. She loves drawing and it’s just a great buzz to be involved. Taking my parents to see my work displayed in the V&A was a really proud moment too especially as my Grandad was a local artist in Liverpool and I spent my childhood exploring his studio and stealing his pencils. I was always given a ream of paper and pencils whenever we visited! I’ve won quite a few AOI Best of British Illustration awards too over the years. It’s always great to win an award! Tell us about your work appearing across the world. It’s much easier to get work internationally now as everything is digital. Commissioning is easily done and images easily sent and printed. I’m represented

by Heart Artists’ Agency too who simplify things as they can deal with contracts and payments. They have an office in New York too so have a good profile in the USA. They saw my work when I won an AOI (Associaition of Illustrators) Best of British Illustration Award for an image I produced for the Adobe calendar. I really embraced paintbox programs and working digitally when it was very new and combining painting and drawing was quite revolutionary and earned me the Adobe commission. I love seeing work published and get a great buzz when it’s something prestigious like the New York Times. It’s great knowing it’s being seen by so many people. Tell us about this month’s E List cover. Lovely job to work on! I’d not yet been to the Walthamstow Wetlands when I was commissioned and it was a fantastic subject to draw. I loved the sense of space which is what I tried to capture. There are some sweeping panoramas and I love the way the skyline of the city and nature combine. You’re so close to the city but could be miles away and easily lose yourself. I love that about Epping Forest too. The futuristic skyline of the city rises out of the ancient forest like the cover of a sci-fi novel.

Your style looks very immediate and free, a visceral reaction to a subject. How do you approach a project and tell us how the finished piece is created. If I try to control it too much it goes wrong. I need to let things happen and make mistakes - allow for happy accidents that surprise me. I need that expressive side to my work or I’m not happy with it, I need to see movement and for the work to make me feel good. My working method allows for this as I’m never quite sure how textures/colours/painting will combine. I have a vision of what I want and work fast trying different things over and over until something happens. I think the trick is recognising when something good happens sometimes almost by itself! Sometimes I feel like my best work made itself. I was just there to witness it! Yet your drawing and figurative elements are very tightly drawn. What is your training? I have an MA in Illustration from St Martins College of Art though I think my best development came after I left college and had to find work. Commercial work pushes you a lot. I have always drawn texture obsessively even as a child so I think the whole process of my art education and personal work has been about moving from obsessively drawing

texture to using texture to make things and now to creating texture. I don’t know why but it’s always been about texture in everything I’ve ever done. What about colour in your work, and your choice of media. I love colour. I spent years working with Polaroid emulsions, fighting with them, trying to incorprate colour with them in collages and not having any control. So when I finally started working digitally with my images I could generate and layer so much colour it’s been fairly joyous ever since! Media - anything goes basically! Whatever it takes. A lot of your work is for publishing and editorial but you have also been commissioned to produce imagery to appear on packaging. You mentioned Taylors Coffee earlier. How was it? It was a long process from initial tests to briefing on the finals. Took almost a year! But in

Cover: Walthamstow Wetlands illustration commissioned by the E List. Page opposite: Right: The Blackest Isles illustration for the Finacial Times Magazine. Left: Shackleton’s Boat Journey book cover illustration for The Folio Society. This page: Above: Refugees illustration for New York Times. Right: Packaging for Taylors of Harrogate coffee. 1

the end I had three weeks to do all 20 or so final images. That’s always how it goes. Pearl Fisher saw something in my work I didn’t even see myself and they were brilliant to work for. They had a very clear idea of how my work would work across the range in terms of painterly texture and drawing so gave me a perfect framework to be creative within. It was so well briefed it went really smoothly and they loved everything. I’ve kept all the briefing sheets and mood boards and colour swatches and given talks in colleges using them as examples of a perfect briefing for a large scale project. Tell us about your personal work. Your series inspired by Epping Forest is stunning. Thanks! I love the forest and would live IN it if I could. I mountainbike there all the time and know the trails like the back of my hand. That’s why it was inevitable I’d start drawing and painting there. It has so many hidden places. So much dense texture and amazing colour especially in Autumn when it is a carpet of orange. I lose myself there. It’s good for the soul and its where I escape to. It feels a million miles from London, especially when you see a herd of deer run through in front of you, but you actually cross the M25 at the top of it! It’s so old and it feels ancient in places. I love the history of the commoners fight against greedy landowners trying to fence it off and the writing of John Clare who loved the forest too. Finally where can people see more of your work? I’ll put a few pictures up in the Epping Forest View gallery this Christmas - they always have a show and I’ve had a solo show there. Recently I had a big show at the Gibberd Gallery Harlow which is on my website. And of course I’ll be doing the next E17 Art Trail! I’ll also try for one of the residencies at the Wetlands over the next year, so see how that goes! Simon was talking to Paul Lindt.

simonpemberton.com

This page: Above right: Personal work Epping Forest Night Stars. Bottom Left: Two of the sketches for this month’s cover. Bottom Right: Cover illustration for New Scientist Magazine.

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Welcome to the most magical time of the year. A time of candlelight and ruddy cheeks, where warmth can come from a mug of mulled wine, the sound of a brass band or a group of locals singing carols in a Village Square. This year magic will also be found in the Walthamstow Village Window Gallery on Orford Road where artist Magnus Irvin, featured on page 9, will create something fantastical with a cast of characters who’ll come alive like toys in The Nutcracker. The gallery is always worth a visit at this time of year especially after dark where its warm glow will warm the heart of any Scrooge.

Like it or loathe it this is also the time for the large stores to wheel out their mega budget Christmas ads. John Lewis started a trend a few years ago for just about everything since, with its bitter sweet tale accompanied by Gabrielle Aplin’s gentle cover of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s The Power of Love. Lloyds Bank chose another cover of an 80s classic for their advert with Jennifer Ann’s version of Tears For Fears Mad World which achieved over a million streams. Jennifer has recently moved to Walthamstow and has used Aplin’s producer for her new EP. Read her story of an American abroad on page 7.

Next month sadly sees the second anniversary of David Bowie’s death, so it seems fitting that we publish an early version of Neal Mead’s interview with Butch Davies of Waltham Forest-based band The Riot Squad. Butch tells the early story of the band and the fleeting appearance of the future Ziggy Stardust in their line up! (see page opposite). A special thanks to picture researcher Nancy Harrison for tracking down the rights for the very rare image of the band with Bowie.

The Riot Squad with David Bowie

Magnus Irvin and City Studios

Finally for any bike lovers or for those hoping for one from Father Christmas, read on page 32 the fascinating story of how the modern bike came into being thanks to one Walthamstow born young man. He saved us from a world of boneshakers and the ridiculously tricky Penny Farthing. Then ride off to see the exhibition at Walthamstow’s Vestry House Museum.

Sport, heritage and food combine in Leyton

Jennifer Ann

No ordinary bicycle

A new comedy musical about the loss of pubs

So now to close the book on another year, to hibernate for a while before emerging, dreaming of better things for the coming one. Paul Lindt, Editor editor@theelist.co.uk

@TheEList_e17

The E List

Inside this issue… The Riot Squad and David Bowie

US singer-songwriter Jennifer Ann

Magnus Irvin and City Studios

Local Hero – Maud Milton

E-VOLVE: Health and Fitness Directory

John Kemp Starley and the two-wheeled revolution

Walthamstow Diary

Tom Gaul’s A Spotter’s Guide to Local Streetlife

The Magpie seeking out the shiniest, funniest remarks from local social media

E~DEN: The Home Directory

Exciting plans for the Victorian Cricket Pavilion in Leyton

The Christmas Forest and Tree Aid

I wonder a poem by Eithne Cullen

House Doctor – Making space for house guests this season

Last Orders at The Dog & Dumplings a new comedy musical 38

Perculiar Times: Leyton’s Etloe House

Listings

For the latest listings including a link to download the app, a digital version of the E List magazine and back issues

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The E List is available for FREE at approx 100 venues across E17, E11, E12, E10 and E4. See theelist.co.uk for your nearest venue. As copies disappear quickly we aim to restock the most popular venues during the month so please keep trying. If you would like your venue to be a distribution point email listings@theelist.co.uk

“When I found out Bowie had agreed to become our lead singer I wasn’t that happy…” And so what could be called the ‘Waltham Forest Riot Squad’ came into being with two Walthamstow boys, Butch from Cleveland Park Avenue and Terry Clifford (guitar) from Billet Road. Tottenham’s Del Roll on drums along with Chingford boys, Rodger Crisp (bass) and Nero (vocals).

David Bowie with the Riot Squad at Tiles Club, April 1967. From the book Starman: David Bowie by Paul Trynka, www.trynka.com. Clockwise from top left, Del Roll, David Bowie, Butch Davis, Rod Davis, Bob Flag and Croak Prebble.

least - to be very short lived. A little over six months later ‘The Chevrons’ were gigging in Edmonton when a member of the audience made them an offer. Bob Evans - sole remaining original member of the just disbanded ‘The Riot Squad’ - liked what he saw and asked if the entire band could join him and become the new ‘The Riot Squad’?

On Friday, 3 February 1967, he killed his landlady Violet Shenton with a shotgun and then turned the barrel on himself. “He seemed quite perky when we saw him the week before to discuss plans for the future. Next thing we were driving to a gig in Woolwich and there were newspaper placards saying he was dead!” Shocked and without a producer, the band split again with Nero, Rodger, and Terry leaving and Bob, Butch and Del holding auditions for replacements. “We were lucky to get a guitarist and a bass player really fast but we had great problems finding a singer. I was getting a bit panicky because I had all this work lined up and I don’t sing, Del don’t sing and well, Bob does a bit but how can you go out for an hour and half with no show... no singers!?”

‘We were playing for £20 a night when Bob Evans saw us. He said he knew Joe Meek and he thought he could get us a contract. We jumped at the chance!’

Band leader Bob Evans turned his mind to a young singer called David Bowie who he’d been impressed by when the Riot Squad supported his band The Buzz at the Marquee the

all the young dudes In 2004, reel-to-reel tapes - said to feature David Bowie rehearsing with The Riot Squad in a Leytonstone flat - were listed at Bonhams with a guide price of £30005000. The group’s Hammond player Butch Davis talked to Neil Meads about the future Ziggy Stardust’s little known stint with the Waltham Forest based band.

“When I found out Bowie had agreed to become our lead singer I wasn’t that happy. We’d supported him the previous year and although his presentation was fantastic, I thought his material was terrible” Davis laughs and says he knows what I’m about to say… ‘but he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time!’ Well, yes he was but not in 1967. Back then he was still learning his craft, on the cusp of greatness. The Riot Squad were a band with many incarnations, fifteen in all during their five year existence. Butch recalls seeing their stickers ‘all

over’ Walthamstow’s famed Granada, they played several of the venue’s star studded line ups, on the bill with acts like The Yardbirds and The Kinks. Davis himself was performing in the venue’s foyer when the Beatles arrived in October 1964: “the Granada’s manager came to us (‘Four Adams and Eve’) and said ‘The Beatles are coming... as they walk up the stairs I‘d like you playing on the platform at the top’. Butch and lead singer, Nero Gladman were soon poached by another local band, who were destined - in name at

In all The Riot Squad recorded over twenty sessions at ‘Meeksville Sound Limited’, Joe Meek’s legendary studio come home at 304 Holloway Road. They released four singles on Pye, the last of which Gotta Be a First Time would prove to be Meek’s final single.

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The Riot Squad - The Toy Soldier featuring David Bowie EP available from www.acidjazz.co.uk

previous summer. The pair met at a favourite haunt of David’s, ‘La Gioconda’, an Italian cafe in Denmark Street, Soho and despite already signing a solo deal, Bowie agreed to help out. He’d not played live for three months and had been holed up recording his debut album, it was a chance for him to experiment, and his manager didn’t need to know. An intense four days of rehearsals followed at The Swan in Tottenham learning Bowie’s tracks and a select few covers. Bowie’s charisma and cool instantly won Butch over: “He was wonderful, from the moment he walked in at 10 AM. He had flares on… so modern, afro hair, he looked great... slim. He brought a folder with all his stuff, and he said to me, ‘Do you read?’, I said well a bit. He said, well the chords are there, this is the stuff I do, this is my music!” The new look Riot Squad made their debut, supporting Cream at a youth centre in Basildon on March 17th, 1967. ‘I always kept a gig diary - for tax rather than sentimental reasons. I’d put the line up of the band for each gig and for

Bowie it doesn’t even say his name for the first few, it just says ‘the new boys’.’ Band leader Bob Evans had moved into a house in Wallwood Road, Leytonstone and the ‘new boys’ often stayed with him. The three spools of reel-to-reel tape listed at Bonhams are recordings of rehearsals at the house, the arm of the settee doubling as a drum. Anyone frequenting Waltham Forest circa 1967 may also recall the group magnificent bullnosed Bedford Sun-Coach - complete with built in beds - crisscrossing between their Leytonstone HQ, Del in Tottenham, Butch in Walthamstow, and Cafe Rodi’s at Blackhorse Lane where Bob Evans was a known worshipper of their lunches. Bowie played around twenty gigs with The Riot Squad, transforming them both visually and musically. “He was a joy to work with... he had so many creative ideas” says Davis, “He’d constantly want to experiment... let’s try mime, or painting our faces and this would spark others in the band to come up with things too” With their ever present flashing

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blue police light on stage and Bowie’s magnetism upfront, he would push The Riot Squad to make their shows more and more theatrical. Midway through Bowie would begin painting the bands faces, the cue being the now familiar but then virtual unheard refrain of The Velvet Underground’s Waiting For My Man. Bowie’s manager Kenneth Pitt had met Warhol in New York in late ‘66 and had given him an acetate of the not yet released Velvet’s album, which he duly passed onto David. A lifelong infatuation in Reed was born and he returned to the song throughout his career but The Riot Squad’s live cover (and subsequent studio recording) was the first by anyone, practically before the album was even released!

added by sound engineer Gus Dudgeon. Dudgeon and Bowie had arranged to sneak the band into Decca’s studio for a hurried afterhours recording session from which Toy Soldier, Silly Boy Blue, I’m Waiting For My Man and Silver Treetop School For Boys were eventually released by Acid Jazz records in 2013.

His own composition, ‘Toy Soldier’ pilfered lyrics, melody and it’s sadomasochism from The Velvet’s ‘Venus and Furs’ and Butch recalls how Bowie would stalk a heavily padded Bob Evans round the stage, whip in hand, lashing him.

He was just full of creative ideas, mime, painting your face, put glasses on… He was a star, his charisma shone out to the audience.”

Their recorded version features exaggerated whipping sounds and a plethora of other sfx

His presentation was so great in my eyes, it took over the songs, you’d see a man out front and you weren’t actually listening to the songs, you were just watching him! ‘I remember a guy at a gig at Bury St. Edmunds, I came off stage at the interval and he rushed over. I thought oh-oh what’s happening here but he said “that man is going to be the biggest star in the world’.’

An extended version of this article will appear on Neil Meads’ blog musiclikedirt.com in the next few months.

Transatlantic Homesick Blues

Photo © Mark Levin

Her 2015 version of Tears for Fear’s Mad World was used on a Lloyds Bank ad and achieved one million streams. Jennifer Ann’s latest EP is inspired by themes of homesickness and letting go of the past and is a reminder of the power of music. Franki Black chats to the Walthamstow-based singersongwriter to find out more. Photographs Mark Levin. “It’s those warm early summer evenings with the scent of blooming lilacs in the air and spending every possible summer’s moment on the water that I miss the most about my home, Minnesota,” explains Walthamstow-based singer-songwriter, Jennifer Ann, during a recent interview with the E List. “We are called the Land of 10,000 Lakes after all.”

Jennifer Ann moved to London from Minnesota, four years ago to study music therapy. Since then she’s married an Englishman, produced two albums and launched her music career through a collection of commercial partnerships with the likes of Lloyds Bank, UNICEF and Boots. Her brand new EP, ‘Take Me

Home’, blends her classical training with contemporary pop. This self-released album draws on the piano, orchestraland-string instruments and vocal harmonies to form a poignant expression of homesickness. “Being away from home and family can be very challenging,” she says. “I know that many people in London can relate to this

and I hope to express our shared experiences through my music.” The tracks on her new album tell stories of topics close to Jennifer Ann’s heart. ‘Take Me Home’ (the lead track on the album) was co-produced alongside Edd Holloway and Nick Atkinson, and delves into how Jennifer Ann still feels a deep pull to all the memories she’s left behind in Minnesota, while ‘Lighthouse’ illuminates the transformative power of being in a relationship. “There’s this whole notion in Western society that we have to be strong independent individuals. I actually disagree to some extent, because we evolved to be social beings and to rely on each other.” Jennifer Ann’s musical training started from a very young age with her parents listening to artists such as Neil Young, The Beatles and

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Crosby, Stills & Nash. Since she was a little girl, she’s sung in community choirs, played the piano (obsessively, she admits) and performed the flute in an orchestral band. Her song-writing career started when she was a teenager. “It was an incredibly powerful way to express myself, a bit like therapy,” she adds. As her love affair with music flourished behind an antique upright piano, she became increasingly passionate about composers, in particular David Lanz. “His heart-wrenching piece ‘Leaves on the Seine’ takes me back to sunny Sunday afternoons after church when I was a kid, lying on the couch and feeling so moved by his piano music that I would cry,” Jennifer explains, “his music inspired me to compose and write music to express my emotions.”

Having moved to Walthamstow just over a year ago, Jennifer Ann is starting to discover its many hidden gems and attractions. “One of my favourite hidden live music venues is St Mary’s Church –

the acoustics are beautiful. I’ve also joined the She17 community, which is about celebrating women musicians in live acoustic expression,” she explains. “Since moving to Walthamstow, I’ve been struck by the strong sense of community in the area. I love the fact that there are so many independent shops and businesses in Walthamstow and that local people actively support them.” For the time being, Jennifer Ann is on a commercial path as she continues to compose songs for a range of clients, but she’s still intensely interested in the power of music therapy. “I think I’ll always be involved in it – music has a very important role to play in mental illness.” During Jennifer Ann’s nine-month practical in musical therapy, she worked closely with a schizophrenic patient. I’d place a variety of instruments on the floor and my patient would take his pick. He always chose the bass guitar. Even

though he’d never played it before, it acted as a catalyst and enabled him to open up to me about his emotions,” Jennifer Ann explains. “Our connection to music starts when we are infants - mothers communicate with their babies through sound, which is a form of music,” Jennifer Ann adds. “My hope is for the stories shared on my new album to resonate with listeners and to make them realise that they are not alone.”

jenniferannmusic.com

Photo © Mark Levin

London may have taken Jennifer Ann far away from her homeland, but it has also launched her musical career to new heights. In 2015 she

successfully released her first instrumental album, ‘Reflections’, and soon after landed her song, ‘Mad World’, on a Lloyds Bank commercial. It received over one million streams, sold over 21, 500 copies and reached 67, 000 Shazams. After the initial success of ‘Mad World’, she was asked to arrange and produce a cover of Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ to be performed by singersongwriter Hannah Grace and the London Contemporary Voices. “I’m overwhelmed by how welcoming the music community in London has been, but I also find that the more recognition I get, the more walls I’m up against. As a musician, rejection is a very real part of life – you have to learn to move beyond that.”

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Walthamstow is awash with makers, artists and creative types. But while we all know about places like Blackhorse Workshop and the Winns Gallery, there are still a few hidden gems to be found in Walthamstow where artist’s studios are hidden right under the noses of their neighbours. Nestled behind terrace houses on Borwick Avenue, just a stone’s throw from the market, City Studios is one of those secrets. From the outside it may just look an old factory, but inside there’s an incredible variety of artisans from jewellers to sculptors, photographers to ceramicists all working under one roof. It’s a real warren of corridors as you go from one unique workspace to another and it can definitely feel like you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole when you see some of the weird and unique creations being worked on. Artist Magnus Irvin is the chairman and one of the founding members of City Studios who found their home in Walthamstow after moving from Dalston five years ago. As the gentrification of east London spread, the group worked its way further out after they found their original studios being bought up by developers. Magnus, who has been a working artist for over 40 years after leaving Walthamstow Art College when he was 21, is proud of finding the group a new home in E17 “The core group has remained the same, there are a few of us who have shared studios since we left the Barbican Arts Group and set up our first space in Underwood Street,” explains Magnus.

Magnus Irvin and friends – magnusirvin.com

Photo © mcandrewphoto.co.uk

Art in the city This month artist Magnus Irvin is producing the Christmas installation for the Walthamstow Village Window Gallery. His studio is part of the Tardis like City Studios tucked away in a corner of Walthamstow. Karen Dunn visited Magnus to find out more about him, his work and possibly one of the last affordable work spaces in town and its diverse range of artists. Photography by Chris McAndrew

“We now have about 38 different artists working here, from all sorts of different disciplines. We are secure for another five years and as far as I know this is designated as a working estate, so it can’t be developed into flats. “We’re still a bit of a secret. When we opened the studios up for the last Art Trail we had our neighbours coming in from the houses nearby and lots were saying, ‘Crikey, we had no idea you were here!’” It may be far from a sleek modern workspace, but that’s because City Studios is one of the few affordable artist’s spaces left in the city. “When we moved in it was just a big empty space and there was a lot of clearing to be done, “ says Magnus. 9

“All the walls to split up the space needed to be put in, but luckily we’re all practical people, everyone knows how to use a drill.” Magnus who is charming and eccentric in equal measure has had an incredibly varied career. As well as creating a variety of pieces for different clients, many of which are currently displayed in The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities in Hackney, he has also worked as a scenic artist in the theatre and creating work for Michael Jackson’s world tour not to mention going on the road with Jimmy Paige and Robert Plant. He even painted the giant Freddie Mercury for We Will Rock You outside the Dominion Theatre. “My work is usually on a large scale. I make cakes too although you wouldn’t want to eat them! I did a 7ft one of Pamela Anderson and Paul Robeson. It started to rot in the studio and got a little bit nibbled by mice, so I simply added some muscle and made the most of the change,” he laughs. Magnus’ latest project is a Christmas installation for the Walthamstow Village Window Gallery. The space will be adorned with his giant automated cardboard figures, which sum up his playful and cheeky style. Magnus explains, “I have a band called the Twits. We only play once a year and we don’t rehearse. Musically we’re not great, but visually we’re really rather good. I made the automated Nativity scene for our gig last year, so that will be making up part of the window display.” While Magnus’ studio is full of his unique creations, the rest of the inhabitants of the studios varies wildly. Along one winding corridor you will also find Bobbie Fenwick, an accomplished stonemason, where you can spy her current works in progress including memorial stones and plaques, carved out of huge hunks of stone. One area of the studios, which welcomes visitors to their space is Made By Ore, an open jewellery workshop where you can book workshops or hire bench space. Lucie Gledhill who moved her workshop there three years ago admits she was attracted by the freedom the studio was offering. “I love being able to live and work in the same area, which is only made possible by the affordable rents,” says Lucie. “We’re an open jewellery workshop and offer supported or independent hot benching, so people can have as much help as they require. We also offer private tuition and classes such as our monthly 10 To advertise your business contact ads@theelist.co.uk

workshop Silver Saturday where students can make a silver ring as well as design and make something of their own invention. We also teach master-classes which focus on specific techniques such as wax carving or sand casting or chain making.”

Magnus Irvin’s Christmas Installation

In another corner, Saena Ku has her wood carving studio, where she creates intricate, bespoke carvings and gildings, many of which end up adorning the walls of historic buildings as part of her restoration work. Saena also has her eye on the future mixing her traditional work with more contemporary projects and say the studios are the perfect place for her to do this. “When we moved in we all had to pull together to build our space and this has created a good vibe,” she says.

Walthamstow Village Window Gallery, 47 Orford Road E17 9JN

12 December-5 January

A street-facing exhibition, visible daily during daylight hours and lit until midnight. FREE.

wvwg.co.uk

Photos © mcandrewphoto.co.uk

“We now have a great community of artists and crafts people. There’s real support and respect for each others work.” With so much creativity under one, slightly shabby, roof, City Studios may still be a secret, but it’s a creative quarter that we should treasure. City Studios Unit 2, 30a Borwick Avenue E17 6RA

citystudios-e17.com

Opposite page: Top: Studio space of Bobbie Fennick, stonemason and carver. The busts of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are part of work created by Nina Bilbey for Canterbury Cathedral. – bobbiefennick.com Middle: Left: Wood carver Saena Ku – thewoodcarvingstudio.co.uk Right: Ute Kreyman – utekreyman.com Bottom: Artist, illustrator and maker Evelyn Albrow’s studio – evelynalbrow.wordpress.com

A SPOTTER’s Guide to LOCAL streetLIFE for Waltham Forest’s people watchers.

From a series by Walthamstow resident, illustrator Tom Gaul. Instagram account tomgaul_doodles

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Founder of The Christmas Forest, Kelty Caston, says he firmly believes that Christmas is a time for giving and their customers love that they can easily do their bit. “People want to feel they are helping others at Christmas, whether that’s to give their time or money to charity. They like to do something positive and give something back to the less fortunate.

The true do-gooders of

“But with Christmas being a hectic time for everyone, we wanted to make it as easy as possible to give a little bit and get that warm and fuzzy feeling easily which is why we teamed up with Tree Aid.”

CHRISTMAS

London’s favourite ‘treetailer’ The Christmas Forest has stepped up its efforts to plant hundreds of thousands of trees in poverty-stricken areas of Africa as part of a special season of goodwill campaign. Working alongside Tree Aid they donate one tree for every Christmas tree they sell, both in-store and online, in a bid to restore land and provide families with a means of earning a living in some of the poorest parts of the world.

The Christmas Forest sell a fabulous range of sustainably grown trees all displayed in a forest like setting from outside the Lee Valley Ice Centre store.

The Christmas Forest has already planted 205,206 trees in the drylands of Africa over the last ten years with a target of 300,000 donations by 2020. They have ten stores across London and run a national online service and all trees sold are included in the campaign.

The store will be open from the 24th November from 8am – 10pm. For tips and tricks on how to look after your Christmas tree, pop over to

www.christmasforest.co.uk. @xmasforest

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Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy & prosperous New Year! That’s it for another year — we would like to say a massive thank you to all of our customers (old & new) for working with us in 2017. Also a big thank you to everyone in our local community - we’ve met some amazing people and we throughly enjoy getting involved in the great events going on in the area.

236 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 3AY / Tel: 0203 397 9797 / Email: hello17@stowbrothers.com 117a High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL / Tel: 0203 397 2222 / Email: hello11@stowbrothers.com Web: stowbrothers.com / E17 Twitter: @StowBrothers / E11 Twitter: @StowBrothersE11

Springfield Road, Walthamstow O.I.E.O ÂŁ525,000 Freehold Two bed, mid terrace 236 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 3AY / Tel: 0203 397 9797 / Email: hello17@stowbrothers.com 117a High Street, Wanstead, E11 2RL / Tel: 0203 397 2222 / Email: hello11@stowbrothers.com Web: stowbrothers.com / E17 Twitter: @StowBrothers / E11 Twitter: @StowBrothersE11

House Doctor Penny Fielding offers creative solutions to everyday niggles you may have with your home.

The Christmas season approaches and many of us are looking forward to having friends and family to stay, so, along with all the other festive preparations, accommodating your guests needs to be planned and sorted. Having a designated guest space is not always possible and the spare room often doubles up as an office or dressing area. Spare rooms just seem to invite clutter: laundry, ironing, suitcases etc. Is the storage space in this room full of those clothes that you don’t wear? Now is a good time to go through these and let go of what you don’t need. Free up some space for all the new things that will come into your life this coming new year, and in the meantime your guests will have room

to hang up their party clothes. Provide them with an empty drawer (or two), or some baskets to use for their stay. There are many spare beds on the market including: Truckle (one part of the bed slides under the other), sofa beds, day beds etc. If you are buying a spare bed consider one with storage drawers or a lift up mattress for spare linen. There are some really comfy blow up beds on the market too which flatten down to the size of a (full) carrier bag. If coming by car ask your guests to bring their own bedding perhaps? if you have decided to buy gifts only for the children in your Christmas gathering, and the grown ups are doing a secret Santa, think about buying each other food. Any thing from a super hamper to a humble gingerbread man. Unwanted presents will end up in landfill via the charity shop. Try an experience type gift, give something that involves you too. Giving time to someone is very special and much, much more memorable. What niggles you about your home? Email penfielding@gmail. com with your thoughts. To book a session with the House Doctor please email: penfielding@gmail.com or call 07725 645 359.

IK Constructions Ltd An established construction company specialising in basements, extensions, loft conversions, refurbishments and a range of other building services. We pride ourselves on the high level of service we provide, professionalism and delivering on customers’ expectation.

IK Constructions Ltd

16 To advertise your business contact ads@theelist.co.uk

www.IKconstructions.co.uk

info@IKconstructions.co.uk 07984 795787

17 December gallery 020 8520 9300 estates17.co.uk

Randolph Road E17 3 bed end of terrace house for sale Guide price £775,000 Fleeming Road E17 1 bed flat for sale Offers in excess of £350,000

Maynard Road E17 2 bed cottage for sale Guide price £600,000 St. Barnabas Road E17 1 bed flat for sale Guide price £399,000

What a great location this house enjoys. Just a few moments walk from Orford Road, it’s perfect for kids and adults alike. If you’re feeling energetic, why not join the Walthamstow Family Bike Club? Their Newcomers’ Bike Ride sets off from the Village Square once a month, and is perfect for making new friends.

10 December gallery

To the rear is the dining room, which like the hallway and reception room has beautiful stripped wood flooring, and offers views of the garden.

020 8539 4213 estates10.co.uk

The rear garden is tranquil and private, and the purrfect spot to relax with a good book and a glass of something cold once the summer months return.

Oakdale Road, Leytonstone E11 4 bed terraced house for sale Sstc £725,000 Newport Road, Leyton E10 2 bed flat for sale Sstc £440,000

Francis Road, Leyton E10 2 bed flat for sale Sstc £440,000 Lea Hall Road, Leyton E10 2 bed flat for sale Sstc £440,000

40 Orford Road E17 9NJ 020 8520 9300

Orford Road E17 2 bed house to rent £1,450 pcm This well presented flat is incredibly close to all the trendy pubs, shops and restaurants in the Village and other amenities. The flat has been kept to a high standard and has great space.

Grosvenor Rise East E17 2 bed cottage to rent £1,750 pcm A fantastic property for anyone looking for a charming home in Walthamstow Village, just a short walk to the welcoming cafes, restaurants and pubs of the Village.

Lettings

17 December lettings

10 December lettings

185 Francis Road E10 6NQ 020 8539 4213

Buckingham Road E10 Property to rent £1,300 pcm We are barricading the doors for this new instruction. Seriously! This is the kind of building dreams are made of for all you young local entrepreneurs. Enough said.

Guernsey Road E11 2 bed flat to rent £1,300 pcm In a quiet residential turning in Leytonstone, this beautifully presented two bedroom ground floor garden flat has a spacious reception, fully-fitted kitchen and bathroom.

Oakfield Road E17 2 bed house to rent £1,500 pcm

Longlands Court E17 1 bed flat to rent £1,250 pcm

The through lounge is light and airy, thanks to the bay window to the front, whilst also offering access to the garge private rear garden.

The property is presented in great condition and features a spacious lounge/diner, large double bedroom, contemporary fully fitted kitchen with breakfast bar and stylish bathroom.

M ARSH

STREET

Mortgage advice that’s right up your street Marsh Street provides comprehensive mortgage advice for everyone. We source from a wide range of lenders and have access to a number of different products. We pride ourselves on offering a friendly and high quality bespoke service that ensures that you are treated fairly at all times. We have the experience and ability to identify your needs, to cut through the fine print and explain the pros and cons of each product to make life easier for our customers.

Marsh Street was the original name of Walthamstow High Street where a number of large manor houses were used as weekend or summer retreats. Samuel Pepys’ bosses had houses here, and after visiting one of them Pepys described how they had drunk wine from a local vineyard and “the whole company said they never drank better foreign wine [than this one] in their lives”.

Not only will we help you find the right mortgage, but we will use our knowledge and expertise to ensure your mortgage transaction is completed swiftly and effectively, so you can concentrate on the other parts of buying your dream home.

Traditional values and good advice

M ARSH enquiries@marshstreetmortgages.co.uk 0208 509 8626 40 Orford Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9NJ

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There will be a fee for the advice given, the exact amount will depend upon your circumstances but we estimate it will be £495 or 1%.

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020 8503 6060 walthamstow@churchill-estates.co.uk www.churchill-estates.co.uk

Sales

Lettings

141 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, London E17 3AL

2 Church Hill, Walthamstow, London E17 3AG

Spot on,* a again*** & * E17 Housing Awards Best Estate Agent 2017

** E17 Housing Awards Best Lettings Agent 2017

020 8520 0033 info@ central-estates.co.uk 179 Hoe Street London E17 3AP central-estates.co.uk

again,** & again**** ** *allAgents Awards Best Estate Agent 2017

** **allAgents Awards Best Lettings Agent 2017

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Definition: things that are strange; queer; odd; uncommon; unusual; distinctive in nature or character from others; characteristic of; belonging exclusively to an area. Architectural historian, Karen Averby seeks out such things from this corner of London’s rich and varied past

An eccentric retreat in Leyton Passengers of the Number 58 and 158 buses may well have spotted the curious three-storey turreted building at 180 Church Road, Leyton as they trundle past. This rather whimsical edifice is Etloe House which was converted into apartments in the 1980s, after over 200 years of a rather eclectic ownership and occupancy. It was originally built as a square brick house in 1760 by esteemed Oxford scholar, antiquarian, and historian of printing Edward Rowe Mores, on his family’s Leyton estate which he inherited in 1756; the house’s plans were apparently conceived by Mores himself, based upon the plan of a house he had seen in France. Mores was an interestingly eccentric character with many peculiarities in both professional and personal life. He excelled academically at Merchant Taylor’s School, London and Queen’s College, Oxford, where he produced several significant works, and was instrumental in establishing what became the Equitable Society, although his quarrelsome nature later led to his departure. In 1753 he married his stepsister Susannah Bridgman, who died several years after moving into Etloe House. They had a son, and a daughter, Sarah; Mores spoke mainly in Latin to Sarah when she was young, and his later anger when she converted to Catholicism at a Rouen convent was apparently pretence. In his latter years Mores ‘fell into negligent and dissipated habits’ and died at Etloe House Edward Rowe Mores

Hall, Walthamstow. Wiseman was a renowned advocate for the Roman Catholic religion: in 1836 he established the Dublin Review, which fostered aspirations and ideals of Catholicism for English Catholics, and in 1847 Wiseman returned from Rome as an informal diplomatic papal envoy, working for the reclamation of Roman Catholic criminals and strongly supporting the formation of religious communities for women and men.

Etloe House ©Vestry House Museum

in November 1778, of ‘a mortification in his leg.’ He was buried at St Mary’s Church, Walthamstow.

Following Wiseman’s departure, Etloe House remained a private residence for just a few decades more, and circa 1907 the house became a Convent for the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus; accommodation and a working laundry was built in the grounds for 100 destitute women and girls. By 1916 the Home was used as an Institution under the Mental Deficiency Act 1913 for Roman Catholic women. The home closed in the 1970s and the Sisters moved to Chigwell. The building remains a significant part of Leyton’s built heritage and is Grade II Listed.

Etloe House was subsequently home to several occupants, and was extended and remodelled in the early or mid-19th century with the addition of two flanking wings, archangelheritage.co.uk and the insertion of Tudoresque features to the front, notably House Histories mullioned windows and Gothic-arched Have you ever wondered who used to live in your house, or porch. These works how it has changed over time? may have coincided with the leasing of the house in 1858 as a country retreat for Spanish-born Cardinal Packages telling the story of your house available Nicholas Wiseman to suit all budgets. the first Roman For a FREE consultation email Karen Averby info@archangelheritage.co.uk Catholic Archbishop of www.archangelheritage.co.uk/house-histories Westminster who lived discount for EList readers there until 1864 after (Quote REFELIST) Cardinal Nicholas Wiseman moving from Shern

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LOCAL HEROES

Maud Milton Film pundits recently feted the Wonder Woman film about the self-styled superhero who celebrates strong femininity while solving the problems of our time. The Stow has its own very version in Maud who organises food for refugees in Calais, and creates magnificent mosaics in local schools. Here Adam Taylor finds out what drives her on. Photo by Paul Tucker. Let’s jump straight in. What three words describe you? Mum, Artist, Foodie, Gardener. That’s four! I was thinking more like, buzzy or grafter - full-speed ahead! You’re like me and have a fear of ennui. Thanks! I’m not sure what that means. More a feeling of time being short. This is it. And, I have a fear of death and being chased. Right... let’s move on. What gets you up in the morning? Coffee. My son. Yoga. Food. I remember, you’re a great cook. Don’t you own some weird sourdough culture? Yes. ”Mama Lampo”. 100 years old from Italy. It means Mother Flash. Appropriate. Let’s go way back. Despite your urban credentials, which we’ll come onto, you strike me as a country girl? Horses? Haha. Well, the folks grew up in Covent Garden when it was still fruit and veg, but yes, they decamped to Stroud. I did ride (but not my own horse). So you were like me, a west country bumpkin? Were you barefoot at Glastonbury as a 7-year-old, too?

Photo © www.paultucker.co.uk

Sadly not. My nearest festival was the Elephant Fayre in Cornwall, I used to watch the peace convoy travel down to it. Sounds similar. Quite. What inspired you to organise the Walthamstow collections for the Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK), then? I read reports of a family living in the mud in the winter. Meanwhile I had flu and so did my 4-year-old and I felt so ill in my warm flat. I kept thinking, what if that was me and

my son? I felt like death warmed up. How could they cope? So what did you do? I’m a single parent and busy running a business, I can’t afford time to go there to volunteer, but I can help get together collections of food and clothing to send over. How does it work, then? I’m a small cog in a big, well oiled wheel. Without others helping, organising and donating this end, there wouldn’t be people volunteering and feeding thousands of people daily in Calais. E17 people are generous and supportive, thoughtful and kind. You only have to look at some of the stories on Walthamstow Sell or Swap to see that. What do you say to people who think we should help people closer to home? I can understand why you might say that. But I don’t see it as an either / or. We are all people. We should help where we can. Anyway we work closely with the Eat or Heat food bank. So anything that comes to RCK that we don’t need, goes straight to them. No matter how hard our lives are here, we aren’t fleeing war and living in a cold muddy tent in the winter: although people are homeless here (so wrong), we could all do more to help our neighbours and community. I’ve seen that Walthamstow

people are very community minded. It’s stirring stuff Maud, and a mile away from sticking bits of pots together to create mosaics. That’s your day-job? Yes, it is. Since 1999 when I founded Artyface Community Art which organises fundraising and then creates mosaics for schools. But the two aren’t necessarily that far apart. Lots of small parts coming together to make something. A belief that many hands and attention to the detail makes the larger daunting end result possible. A belief that we can all make our environments a little nicer and more beautiful. Whoa. Peace out! So what makes a great mosaic? Contrast of texture, colour and tone, flow of tiles and grout lines, variety of surfaces, interesting imagery. Best of all a site that’s public 24/7 and seen by loads of people. Like a school! What we want to know is: where do you get all the pieces from? Lots are handmade with the pupils - made in stoneware clay, using slips and textural techniques, glaze fired to 1280 degrees. My degree is in ceramics. Some pieces are donated, some bought. Oh. So you don’t get to smash loads of pots. Where can I see one? We do that, too. One of my favourite projects is in Tower 27

Hamlets, Globe Road, which was featured in The Monocle Guide to Better Living, one of 49 examples worldwide of ‘How to Improve Your City’. But you can see one through Winn’s Primary School railings. And we’re looking at one for the Walthamstow Girls School. Plus we’ve got pending projects at Barn Croft, Edinburgh and Woodside Primary Schools in E17, and I’m fundraising for some others down the line. What’s the process for creating one? Long! Consultation for the space and imagery, helping schools organise funding (which I do for free), drawing workshops with pupils, design drawn up and approved, clay workshops with pupils. I glaze the tiles and fire them then we go in for mosaic workshops for one to ten days depending on size, working with pupils, staff and parents. Sounds exhausting. I love them though. Ah thanks. It’s great that they are so appreciated. We work with more than 4000 people a year across so many different communities, so we’ve probably worked with close to 80,000 people since

Refugee Community Kitchen: The lowdown Every month, Maud organises a van to take collections of vital and useful supplies from Walthamstow to Calais (these get distributed as far as Paris). The camp may have been ripped apart by the French authorities but thousands of people are still living in the woods and streets. 28

1999. And trained a fair few volunteers and artists in mosaics. We both need to rush off. But how long have you been in Walthamstow and why? Since 2003. It was east, great transport links. I had a few friends living here. It’s definitely home. You’re always out and about, particularly in all those new pizza places I avoid, but where else do you like to go? East of Eden yoga classes. William Morris Gallery and Lloyd Park. Mirth Marvel and Maud for the architecture and cocktails. God’s Own Junkyard always makes me happy and amazes any visitors. And with that, one of Walthamstow’s many Wonder Women was gone.

Refugee Community Kitchen Walthamstow Branch m.facebook.com/ groups/1041024369252622

artyface.co.uk instagram.com/maudmilton

The Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK) ensures that these men, women and children get hot food. Other agencies distribute clothing, bedding, medical help. RCK is the only hot meal provider and provides over 2,500 meals a day.

Current situation Winter is coming, refugees are sleeping rough as the main campus is not there and so mud, rats, disease, hunger and cold will be difficult for thousands of people. When is the next trip? We will send a van out

on 1 Dec and another in January (date tbc).

thermals • Men’s hats, scarves,

How can people help? Donations can be dropped off at the Labour Party Office in Orford Road 9.30am5pm weekdays or join the RCK facebook group E17 where other dropoff points are listed.

gloves • Sleeping bags • Small tents (with all the pieces) • Blankets, any kind • Shoes/ trainers/ boots for men tied together in pairs size 5-10 • Rucksacks small and medium

What stuff is useful? Clothes and gear – clean and in decent condition please • New men’s pants and socks • Men’s clothes small to medium - think camping - jeans, hoodies, coats, jumpers, waterproofs

Food • Nuts and dried fruit especially dates • Tinned fish, fruit or chick peas, ring pull cans • Cereal bars • Tea coffee UHT milk • Honey (in plastic) • Golden syrup (for flapjacks)

• Plain chocolate • Biscuits

Toiletries: • Baby wipes • Men’s deodorant • Washing up liquid and black bin bags, washing up gloves Direct donations to RCK with GiftAid bit.ly/rckdonate Cash donations can be dropped at Debbie Bliss Home, Orford Road E17 A BIG Thank you to to all the individuals that help and regular donors.

E~VOLVE a Directory for a Healthy Mind & Body Fitness Sundays NEW This Mum Runs Walthamstow Meet in Lloyd Park, Forest Rd E17 4PP Free group run! We are an awardwinning community inspiring thousands of women to run together every week. Join us for a 30min run at the speed of chat. Your time. Your space. Your pace. 8-9am. FREE. thismumruns.co.uk Facebook: This Mum Runs London Wednesdays NEW This Mum Runs Leytonstone / Wanstead Meet on Wanstead Green, Wanstead E11 2NT As above but different day, time and venue. 7.30-8pm. FREE. Saturdays Parkrun Wanstead Flats Playing Fields, Harrow Road E11 3QD and Peter May Sports Ground, Wadham Road, Walthamstow E17 4HR Weekly 5km run against your own clock with an optional post-run coffee. 9am. FREE, but first-timers please register to get your barcode. parkrun.org.uk/wansteadflats parkrun.org.uk/walthamstow Mondays & Thursdays HIIT E17 Parent & Baby Waltham Forest Community Hub, 18a Orford Road E17 9LN High-Intensity Interval Training involves quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. Getting and keeping your heart rate up, burning more fat in less time. Babies welcome but not crawlers or walkers please. Mondays 7.30-8.15pm and Thursdays 6.45-7.30pm. £10, discounts for block bookings. hiite17.co.uk Fridays HIIT E17 Parent & Baby Quaker Meeting House, 1a Jewel Rd E17 4QU As above except different day, venue and time 10-10.50am.

Events marked

kid friendly

Sundays Zumba Forest YMCA, 642 Forest Road E17 3EF Wear low tread, supportive trainers and bring a bottle of water to enjoy this exhilarating dance fitness class in a low pressure atmosphere! 9-10am. £6. dancechloe.com Saturdays Zumba Fitness All Saints Church, 47 Melbourne Road, Leyton E10 7HF A dance based fitness class with a mix of different rhythms, heavily influenced by Latin grooves. Zumba is for everyone, work at your own pace in this no pressure, friendly class. 12-1pm. £4. Andrea 07939 873518 Tuesdays Sazzercise: Dance Aerobics & Body Conditioning Leyton Youth Centre, Crawley Road E10 6PY Suitable for anyone looking to improve their fitness. The class will improve your cardiovascular health, burn fat, as well as develop overall muscle strength, endurance, core stability and flexibility. 7-8pm. £8, 5 classes for £30 or bring a friend and pay just £4 each. sazzercise.co.uk

Yoga, Meditation & Tai Chi Tuesdays (term-time only) Dru Yoga Class Winchester Road Methodist Church, Winchester Road E4 9JP Dru Yoga is a graceful form of yoga based on flowing movements, directed breathing and visualisation. 7.308.45pm. £11, book 6 get 1 FREE. eyespyyoga.co.uk Tuesday 5 December NEW Sparkling Crystals The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA We will focus on the most popular crystals and their innate roles. We will learn how to safely cleanse and program crystals to our advantage in daily life through healing, enhanced meditation, protection, and more. Part of the ‘Start Divining’ series. 6.308pm. £12. freya.ingva@gmail.com 07578 506317 freyaingva.com

ﬁnding it

hard to cope Helping you take control of your career to achieve the success you deserve. Julie Greaves info@carrot-coaching.co.uk

carrot-coaching.co.uk

Psychotherapy can help you overcome difficult situations and improve the quality of your life. Valeria Bonfiglio Psychologist MBPsS

Tel 07912 887588 www.valeriabonfiglio.co.uk Offering a sliding scale of fees English and Spanish

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Tuesdays Baby Massage and Yoga Quaker Meeting House, 1a Jewel Road E17 4QU Lovely mixture of mum stretches, baby massage and yoga where you get to bond with your baby and have fun too. 6 classes per week. Class Pass available. Cake and chats with other mums afterwards. 11.15am-12pm. £10. Jo Redmond 020 8503 7794 thehealthworks.co.uk Wednesdays Tai Chi for Health and Balance Leytonstone United Free Church, 55 Wallwood Road E11 1AY Learn Tai Chi in a fun, comfortable environment. Suitable for all, beginners welcome! Please wear loose, comfortable clothing. We can accommodate all fitness levels. 12.301.15pm. £6, first lesson FREE. Gemma 07916 334670 taichi_e11@outlook.com

Tuesdays E17 Yoga CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Come and enjoy a gentle flow community yoga class suitable for all levels. Bring your own yoga mat. 7-8pm. Suggested donation £5. yogenayoga.co.uk Thursdays Pilates Leyton Yoga, First Floor (above USSR), 691 High Road, Leyton E10 6RA An exercise system developed by Joseph Pilates to strengthen muscles, increase flexibility and improve overall health. 11am-12noon. £10. leytonyoga.com

Sundays NEW Yoga - A Tool For Life The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA All levels welcome. Small classes for more individual attention. My teaching style incorporates a variety of yoga traditions; weaving breath, Wednesdays alignment and meditation into the Pregnancy Flow & Restore Yoga practice and giving individuals space to work at their own level and pace. Class Health Works, 111a Hoe Street PT studio, 5 minutes from Lloyd 10am-2pm. £10. (entrance on Cairo Road) E17 4RX Park Come and enjoy weekly classes Contact to book your session focusing on your baby, breath, lornamacphail@hotmail.com movement, restoration and relaxation. Perfect midweek morning class to leave For more dance and you feeling rejuvenated. A lovely small fitness classes please visit class - maximum 4 students. 10.45am11.45am. £12, or 6 for £66. theelist.co.uk thehealthworks.co.uk

30 To advertise your business contact ads@theelist.co.uk

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A gathering of cyclists at Chingford Mount Road c1892

No Ordinary Bicycle John Kemp Starley and the two-wheeled revolution

You don’t need to spend much time in Walthamstow to discover its associations with some of the most important inventions of modern times, including the motorcar, the aeroplane, and more recently two-ply soft toilet paper. What is not so well known is its link to the development of arguably one of the era’s most significant inventions - the bicycle. 32

John Kemp Starley’s uncle, James Starley, the Coventrybased inventor, industrialist and ‘father of the bicycle’, spotted his nephew’s potential as a teenager. The son of a Walthamstow market gardener had won a grammar school scholarship because of his maths ability, but it was his technical drawing skill that inspired his uncle to invite him to relocate to Coventry and live with his

Penny Farthings

All images courtesy of Vestry House Museum

December marks the 162nd anniversary of John Kemp Starley’s birth in Walthamstow. Hardly a household name, his influence on the design of the bicycle however has been immeasurable. Exhibition curator Julia Spicer considers his legacy.

Leading biologist Professor Steve Jones ranks the drop in bicycle prices of the 1890s as the most important event in recent evolution, allowing the gene pool to widen as people were able to afford to travel further to socialise beyond their immediate environs and meet new partners.

Photographs from the museum’s collection demonstrate the strong tradition of social and sports cycling clubs that have been active in the area since the last century. As Starley himself asserted “thousands are found who cycle for the mere pleasure they derive from it as a pastime…, and obtain most healthful and pleasant recreation which no other means of exercise would afford them”.

And the bicycle’s impact was also international. John Kemp Starley cannot have envisaged how it would prove transformative for people in less developed parts of the world, both as an affordable means of transport and a source of energy and mechanical power.

So whether you’re just considering getting back in the saddle, are a seasoned cyclist, or interested in the social impact the bicycle continues to have, visit Vestry House Museum and explore for yourself the legacy of Walthamstow’s John Kemp Starley.

women’s access to cycling aided their suffrage and even influenced a change in fashions.

Cyclist in Leyton High Road 1959

family. There he was given a position at one of James Starley’s bicycle factories. The search for a viable form of human-powered transport during the 19th century involved a number of individuals and design permutations but by the time John Kemp Starley became involved, he was working on the ‘Ordinary’ or Penny Farthing bicycle, a development by his uncle of the Michaux brothers’ ‘boneshaker’, a notoriously uncomfortable ride. No one who has seen a Penny Farthing (and if you haven’t seen one recently, there’s one in the exhibition) can help but wonder how on earth anyone managed to ride one. And the simple answer is, not many people did. Harry Lawson, a rather short inventor from Brighton, had patented a ‘safety’ bicycle with smaller wheels that could be mounted from the ground, but it wasn’t

until John Kemp Starley completed his design of the Rover Safety in 1885 that the bicycle craze really took off. Utilising his uncle’s spoked wheels and bicycle chain, he added the now familiar diamond-shaped frame, crank mechanism and pedals. There were a few further tweaks: Dunlop invented pneumatic tyres, a chain guard was added, the frame tubing was hollowed and the handlebars curved – and the bicycle we recognise today was created. Coventry Transport Museum has loaned a Rover Safety to the exhibition so visitors can see for themselves how the bicycle’s design has essentially remained unchanged. The growth in cycling’s popularity meant a lowering of prices so that it become accessible to a much wider section of society, and here John Kemp Starley’s legacy becomes really interesting. The exhibition reveals how

No Ordinary Bicycle John Kemp Starley and the two-wheeled revolution Until 25 February Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road E17 9NH Wednesday - Sunday 10am - 5pm. Free entry.

Woodford Meet 1912

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Walthamstow Diary Between forest and marsh lies the glorious Stow. These are the tales and meanderings of a proud resident of E17 I’m fascinated by change and how people react to it. I’m even more fascinated by how people can turn against change, even if they were a part of making that change happen. Look at Walthamstow, people were crying out for ‘nice’ places to eat and drink. But when cafes and smashed avocado on sour dough arrived on the scene, oh no, not that, that’s a hipster invasion. Orford Road is another good example of this. I remember when the likes of La Ruga and Eat 17 were just fledgling businesses. Change was in the air and Orford Road was hailed as new and exciting. These days of course there is a bit of reverse snobbery about Orford Road. It is, some would say, a Yummy Mummy super highway. A Middle-Class Mavis heading nowhere but up its own behind (some would say). So then, with opinions about change subject to change, I can’t help but wonder what fate awaits Francis Road in Leyton. If you don’t know Francis Road, it’s a bit like Orford Road used to be. It has been home to independent cafes and restaurants for a while, but its popularity is growing. Independent businesses are popping up left right and centre, and it is also being part pedestrianised (shh! Don’t mention Mini Holland). Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Francis Road is still on the edgy side of cool, but I wonder if the tide will turn? It’s a bit like the story of Frankenstein’s Monster, isn’t it? We want something new, we crave it. But when what we made grows out of our control, the creators sometimes turn against their creation. It’s like we want change to go so far then stop, but it doesn’t work like that. Change is like a ball rolling down a hill, once it’s on the move it won’t stop. The thing to remember is that the ball didn’t start rolling by itself, we gave it a kick to start it on its way, so we can’t really be angry now that it’s rolling at a hundred miles an hour. walthamstowdiary.com 34

The Magpie’s beady eyes are on the look-out for the shiniest, funniest remarks, witty retorts and bizarre sightings to share and retweet from the borough’s social media channels. Thanks this month to Twitter, Leytonstone Life and Walthamstow Toss

Photographs: @claretohere; @dannycoope; @lucyharrison; @stowdiary; Walthamstow Toss; Lorris Wallpaper by Sam Fenn etsy.com/uk/shop/FenntasticArt and instagram.com/sam_fenntastic

@lucyhharrison “Biggest morning in Lea Bridge since the Dungeons” a lady said of the @AldiUK opening today #leabridgeroad

@CuriosE17 Cycling would be more popular if the arrows on quietways gave you a Mario Karts speed boost. One for #miniholland? @bushell Homebase Walthamstow closing down. People wildly grabbing tins of Farrow and Ball at 1/3 off. Is there going to be a house left in E17 that doesn’t have a room in Moles Breath or Clunch @Umweltbeds Could get a nice little housing estate on that site #E17

Oh dear. Christmas lights on a house in Frith Road and it’s not even Advent! JP: must be almost time to get some hot cross buns for Easter SG: I bought some in Sainsbury’s the other day JP: Me too! Had one this morning.. AC: Went to the Harvester at Larkswood on Sunday, house opposite is like Blackpool illuminations inside AT: It’s not really Christmas until Argos produce their annual spectacular window display on Church Lane SS: Tatty Xmas trees there. I guess they’re leaving the ‘spectacular’ bit until later in case we all get over excited MC: Who are you to judge ? DC: I’m Judge Judy and Executioner Leytonstone Life @harris1881 Astonished by the number of people who think that Walthamstow Reservoirs has somehow ‘opened to the public’ today. I’ve enjoyed it for 25 years @StowDiary The menu at Still on St James Street started well but it lost me at Stomach Soup

Capital & Regional release new visual of their proposed Walthamstow Mall redevelopment... RG: Is there someone in the Council Chamber mumbling “My precious” ? JM: Oooo! Lovely, didn’t realise there was going to be so much green space JK: Where are the pigeons, eaten by Smaug? GT: Somebody find the ring & cast it into the fires of Edmonton incinerator before we lose the Walthamshire forever. DD: But is there a Waitrose? Walthamstow Toss

@ClareToHere So St Petersburg shares Walthamstow’s taste in blue Christmas tree lights. But there the similarities end. This is a shopping centre btw(!) @DannyCoope I love how the 4 faces of @C_Parade_E17 ‘s clock tower tell us the time in Waltham Forest’s four timezones #Leyton #Leytonstone #Walthamstow and #Chingford

@marcusjdl The Piccadilly line. Considerably smellier than the Victoria Line @owenbooth My train is currently stuck on Walthamstow marsh because of a swan strike and I STAND WITH MY SWAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS @emmylouscutt: Not something you expect in London. @wlate17: The swan strike or the solidarity? @WMGallery Never has a dodgy pun looked so beautiful! A big thank you to local illustrator @sam_fenntastic for designing this amazing William, ahem, Lorris wallpaper... 35

Barker and Dodds ,Essex v Middlesex 1957

First class match! Plans have been announced to turn the beautiful but decaying Victorian Cricket Pavilion in Leyton into a food hub – our very own miniature version of Borough market.

The Grade II listed building will house a restaurant, café and training kitchen serving locally sourced food. Meanwhile, the historic tin hut and former dining room on site will become a food market selling local produce. Cricket legend Graham Gooch who’s played for Essex at the ground, said: “Being born in James Lane Leyton I think it is absolutely fantastic that funding is going to be put into an iconic venue for cricket in inner London. Leyton county ground was the home of Essex cricket in a bygone age and it will be brilliant for it to be restored to its past glories.” The pavilion was built in 1886 influenced by Tudor and Indian architecture and the tin hut was built ten years later as a dining hall. Waltham Forest Council leader Cllr Clare Coghill said: “The aim is to revive these dilapidated facilities before they fall 36

into further disrepair. This is a fantastic opportunity to put new life into a place that was a key part of Waltham Forest’s heritage and to turn it into facility that will offer the community the chance to come together to enjoy great food. “I am really excited that so many work and training opportunities will be offered in an area with high levels of social deprivation and that there will be an emphasis on healthy eating to address high levels of obesity. ” The site was home to Essex County Cricket Club until 1932 with county games played there until 1977 and the original wickets remaining in place today. Historic victories include Essex’s defeat of Australia by 126 runs in 1899. The ground is still used for cricket and football matches, although half of the pavilion is no longer in use. The team from Waltham Forest Council who worked on the restoration of the William Morris Gallery in Waltham Forest 2012 are behind the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) supported project. David Pracy, a retired local studies

librarian, who has been a regular visitor to the ground since he was a child said: “I am thrilled that the HLF bid has been successful. The pavilion building has always impressed me. “I get a shiver down my spine every time I go there. On one occasion I was offered the chance to go up the stairs at my own risk when I was giving a talk for the Leyton Historical Society. I could not resist. The detail I most remember is seeing the pattern of the cricketers’ studs on the wooden floors. And the view out to the cricket ground was breath-taking. “I am really pleased everyone will be able to go up there and that the building will be brought back to life, as it has been half asleep for too long. “It is wonderful that this has happened just as Essex won the County Cricket championships for the first time in 25 years.” An activity and volunteering programme will bring communities together to celebrate different cultures through heritage, food and sport. Leyton is ethnically diverse, with 80 per cent of

Photos: top left © Paul Lindt; top right © Vestry House Museum and the Waltham Forest Guardian

Waltham Forest Council has just been awarded a £1.5million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the project. This funding comes as Waltham Forest bids to become London’s first Borough of Culture.

Photo © Peter Edwards Museum and Library at Essex County Cricket Club

residents coming from Eastern Europe or black or minority ethnic communities. More than 1,000 local people were involved in a consultation with the council and more than 80 per cent supported the idea of a food hub. There was also significant support from the business community from food businesses and local entrepreneurs who want to share their skills and expertise.

will get more attention. The venue, which is right next to Leyton mainline station and a short walk from Leyton underground, will also be used for film production, cooking competitions and weddings.

The consultation also found that many elderly people had fond memories of being part of a crowd visiting the grounds on match days. Their stories will be recorded as part of an oral history strand. It is hoped that the cricket World Cup in 2019 will be screened at the pavilion and that cricket matches hosted there

A singing group rehearsing at the ground 1932

I wonder by Eithne Cullen

“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says “Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” Lewis Carroll I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently. I wonder if the leaves love the line, to throw the trains into chaos. I wonder if the bare trees shiver with cold, gazing at the leaves beneath them. I wonder if the icicle loves the eaves, hanging on in desperation. I wonder if the logs love the flame, as its dance of death engulfs them. I wonder if the fog loves the streetlights, gathering round the glowing lamps. I wonder if the ice loves windscreens, laughing as the drivers have to scrape. I wonder if the cold loves my breath, writing it in the air before my face. I wonder if witches really want it to be ever winter and never Christmas. I wonder if chapped hands love gloves and mittens, deeply. I wonder if the frost loves the grass, where it plants its hoary footprints. I wonder why lone winter evenings are bleaker than spring nights. I wonder how the world stands still when winter has wrought a silence. Eithne Cullen has lived and worked in Waltham Forest for many years, she writes stories and poems and is a member of Forest Poets. Find Forest Poets on Facebook and on Twitter @ForestPoets

“Deadly serious content, delivered with inspired silliness and irreverence; clever, funny, unmissable stuff.” Mimi Banks co-director Home Live Art

Last Orders at The Dog & Dumplings Boogaloo Stu’s new comedy musical is an uproarious and merciless exposé of the cold-blooded takeovers striking our communities in the name of regeneration. With funding from Arts Council England, Last Orders is a comedy musical set in a pub which aims to raise awareness, at community level, of escalating pub closures and the risks of gentrification to our towns and cities. The show tells the story of publicans Kevin and Babs Chisholm from the Dog & Dumplings who, faced with imminent closure, take on the big boys. It is a musical tale of a busy boozer doing battle with dodgy developers. As the wrecking ball swings ever closer, could Kev and Babs end up under cling film in their own Meat Raffle, or will they make mincemeat of the developers? Performed by Boogaloo Stu and Flick Ferdinando, 38

Last Orders At The Dog & Dumplings is a riotous kneesup showcasing new writing, character comedy and original music, all the while underlining the serious risks faced by our beloved British pub culture. With pubs being shut at an alarming rate, gentrification continues apace; and it would seem that our communities, both urban and rural, are being hollowed out and left for dead by developers driven by greed. Boogaloo Stu is touring the show in the very spaces which find themselves at risk - in pubs, bars and clubs around the country.

Last Orders At The Dog & Dumplings 8pm 15 & 16 December The Birds, 692 High Rd, Leytonstone E11 3AA Tickets doganddumplings.co.uk

ART

BOOKS

CRAFTS

DANCE/FITNESS

FAMILY

FILM

GARDENING

HISTORY

MUSIC

FOOD

SHOPPING

THEATRE/COMEDY

This month in town

December

Exhibitions & weekly events Arts, crafts & film Until 25 February 2018 NEW No Ordinary Bicycle Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road E17 9NH Walthamstow-born John Kemp Starley played a key role in the development of the modern bicycle. This exhibition explores Starley’s developments, still reflected in bicycles today, and celebrates his legacy in terms of the bicycle’s unimagined social impact on health, social mobility and sustainability throughout the decades both here and abroad. Weds-Sun 10am-5pm. FREE. vestryhousemuseum.org.uk 1 Dec-7 Jan 2018 NEW Red is Beautiful by Miyuki Kasahara The Stone Space, 6 Church Lane, Leytonstone E11 1HG Miyuki Kasahara, a Japanese artist based in East London, has produced a series of artworks which examine factors affecting the global environment, including those arising from politics and societal change. Thurs-Fri 2-6pm, Sat 12-5pm, Sun 12-4pm. FREE. thestonespace.wordpress.com Until 21 Dec NEW Ged Wells: Epoch of the Succulent Anarchipelago Hucks, 81 Grove Road E17 9BU An exhibition of brand new handworked, narrative collage from East London artist Ged Wells on show and for sale. Daily 8-5pm. FREE. Instagram @insane_emporium insaneemporium.com

1-23 Dec NEW Walthamstow Watercolours Emma Scutt’s Pop-up Gallery, Central Parade, 6-10 Hoe Street E17 9EH Emma Scutt exhibits the 12 new paintings from her fifth Walthamstow calendar. Weds-Sat 11am-5pm. FREE. emmascutt.co.uk Until 13 Jan 2018 NEW Winter Wonderland The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA Art from students at Whitefields School celebrate all things wintry! Tues-Fri: 9.30am-6pm. Sat-Sun: 10am-2pm. FREE. themille17.org

Events marked

kid friendly

12 Dec-5 January 2018 NEW Magnus Irvin’s Christmas Installation Walthamstow Village Window Gallery, 47 Orford Road E17 9JN Timed to coincide with the carols on the Square, Magnus’ festive installation of motorised cardboard figures will amaze, amuse and delight (see feature on page 9). A streetfacing exhibition, visible daily during daylight hours and lit until midnight. FREE. wvwg.co.uk 1-24 Dec NEW Chocolate Box Pictorem Gallery, 383 Hoe Street E17 9AP Solo show from Patrick Falaniko, a self-taught freelance art director of Samoan descent, who has worked in advertising and related fields for over 25 years. Expect primitive Pacific island art - abstracts, supremacist, minimalist. PV Dec 1. Tues-Sat 9-5.30pm. FREE. pictoremgallery.com Until 28 January 2018 May Morris: Art and Life William Morris Gallery, Forest Road E17 4PP This landmark exhibition explores the life and work of May Morris, daughter of William Morris, and one of the most significant artists of the British Arts and Crafts movement in her own right. Funded through Art Happens, the Art Fund’s crowdfunding platform. WedsSun 10am-5pm. FREE. wmgallery.org.uk/whats-on Until 23 Dec Makers Presents Blackhorse Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF The Makers Presents exhibition will be celebrating crafts of Christmas, from hand crafted gifts to extraordinary decorations, and useful creative makery by Blackhorse Workshop members. Mon-Fri 7.30-10am, Sat 10am-2pm. Bar open Fri & Sat 7-11pm. FREE. blackhorsesideshow.co.uk Thursdays Throwback Thursdays Film Night at The Birds The Birds, 692 High Road Leytonstone, E11 3AA Thursdays are for classic and FREE showings of films with good food and drink and great company. December promises Gremlins, Die Hard, Elf, The Goonies and more. Check website for full list and start times. FREE. facebook.com/pg/thebirdsleytonstone

NO ORDINARY BICYCLE JOHN KEMP STARLEY AND THE TWO-WHEELED REVOLUTION

9 September 2017 - 25 February 2018 Vestry House Museum Vestry Road, Walthamstow E17 9NH Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 5pm. Free entry. Image: JK Starley on a Rover bicycle outside Meteor Works, Coventry, 1888 © Coventry History Centre

starley a3 poster.indd 1

07/08/2017 13:27:41

Books & writing Wednesdays NEW Writers’ Workshop The Northcote Arms Pub, 110 Grove Green Road E11 4EL Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned scribbler, come along every Wednesday, where local writer Andrew Fraser will be helping to squeeze out those creative juices. Bring a pad and pen. 8-9pm. Donations accepted of FREE to those who cannot afford it. Andrew Fraser 07857 989957 bistobovril@mail.com

Music, theatre & singing Until 17 Dec Panto: Robin Hood and The Outlaws of Waltham Forest Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre Pub, 53 Hoe Street E17 4SA A local and exciting twist on the classic pantomime. Expect a feast for the eyes and bellyaching fun as our troupe of outlaws bring this world to life. Singing, dancing and laughter. A family show. All children must be accompanied by an adult. Performances Weds-Sat 7-9pm, and Sat-Sun 2-4pm. £10, children £7. yeolderoseandcrowntheatrepub.co.uk

Tuesdays East Side Jazz Club Leytonstone Ex-servicemens Club, 2 Harvey Road, Leytonstone E11 3DB Weekly modern jazz club featuring the UK’s best jazz musicians in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Hosted by drummer Clive Fenner. The Music Room has its own bar with Real Ale. 8.3011pm. £6, cash on the door only. eastsidejazzclub.blogspot.com Sundays (term time only) Natural Voices: Advanced Teen Plus Choir Orford House Social Club, 73 Orford Road E17 9QR New choir for teens and singers who love harmony and great contemporary music to join a strong group of singers. For budding singer songwriters! 121pm. £6, £5 paid termly, FREE taster. Lizzy Renihan 07950 204338 naturalvoices.co.uk Tuesdays Singer-Songwriters’ Night with Guests Luna Lounge, 7 Church Lane, Leytonstone E11 1HG Every Tuesday is the perfect day to come and see some great unsigned, talented performers. Different performers each week. 8-11pm. FREE. lunalounge.info/events-calendar

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ART Wednesdays Choir17 Walthamstow CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Mixed choir with a focus on feeling great and sounding great. Fun sessions, modern music (rock, indie, soul, pop). No need to read music, just need a love for singing! Adults only. 7-8.30pm. First 3 sessions FREE, then £9. Enquire first as spaces are limited. Rosie 07789 908483 choir17.com/join Wednesdays (term time only) WAVE Community Choir Harmony Hall, 10 Truro Road E17 7BY We’re funky, jazzy and recruiting. All welcome, no auditions. Over summer we’ve worked with rising R’n’B star Byron Gold so we’re raring to go. Jazz, gospel, classical, folk etc. 7.30-9.30pm. First rehearsal FREE, then £10, £8 conc. Virginia Firnberg 07813 116505 facebook.com/WAVECommunityChoir

Quizzes, Games & Social Tuesdays Quiz Night The Royal Oak Pub & Kitchen, 320 Hale End Road, Highams Park IG8 9LN A very enjoyable, fun-filled quiz night with prizes and more prizes. 8pm. royaloakhighamspark.co.uk Mondays Quiz Night The Red Lion, 640 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA Creative challenges, general knowledge and mystery and bonus rounds. £50 cash prize and super rolling jackpot. 7.30pm. theredlionleytonstone.com/events Wednesdays Leyton Technical Quiz Night 265b High Road Leyton E10 5QN £50 cash prize for the winners, bottle of house wine for the runners up plus a cumulative bonus round rollover prize and spot prizes too. 8pm start. £2 each. leytontechnical.com facebook.com/leytontechnical Weds & Fri Cafe Life The Cornerstone, 149 Canterbury Road E10 6EH A warm and welcoming place for everyone in the community, activities such as art, board games and quizzes; complimented by hot/cold drinks and snacks. Weds 11am-3pm and Fri 1-5pm. FREE. sabbir.ahmed@cgl.org.uk Mondays & Thursdays Waltham Forest Bridge Club Community Hub, 18A Orford Road E17 9LN Are you new to the area, looking for a bridge club, or a social player wanting to try club bridge? Not got a bridge partner come along on Mondays. 7.1510.30pm. £5, £4 for members. bridgewebs.com/walthamforest

BOOKS

CRAFTS

Family & Young People Tuesdays NEW The Baby Group Leyton Jubilee Park, Seymour Road/Marsh Lane, Leyton E10 7BL A welcoming, local parent-run group for you and your baby. Friendly chat, support, cake and a range of activities available for 0-24 months. Free tea, coffee and biscuits for the adults. Ends with ‘tidy-up time’ and a short story or a song. 9-11am. £1 for first child, 50p per subsequent child. Megan 07966 718036 megancadmantaylor@gmail.com facebook.com/TheBabyGroupLeyton Tuesdays NEW Kids and Parents Art and Craft Sessions Homemade Community Cafe, Higham Hill Park E17 5QT For children ages 1-5 and their parents. We learn by doing! Join us for an hour of creative play. Let your child roll out, fold, cut and stick using playdough, cardboard and other materials that are provided. 10-11am. £3 for first child, 50p for siblings. yaniresd@gmail.com yaniresd.com Saturdays Kathak Kids - Leyton Kukoolala, 3 Marsh Lane, Leyton E10 7BL A wonderful opportunity to participate in high quality creative storytelling and Indian classical dance, using imaginative and creative ways into discovering Indian classical dance as a cultural alternative to ballet. Ankle bells provided but please being a bottle of water. 10.45-11.30am. £5. khyalarts.org.uk/kathak-kids Fridays Baby Discover/Little Explorers LLoyd Park Community Room, Forest Road E17 4PP From the creators of Creation Station above except 10am-12pm. £9, discounts for block bookings. Thursdays Baby Discover/Little Explorers Once Upon a Time Book Cafe, Station Road, off St James Street E17 8AA From the creators of Creation Station (above) except 10am-12pm. £9, discounts for block bookings.. Wednesdays Creation Station Froth & Rind, 37 Orford Road E17 9NL For children 15months-5yrs. Inspire your child’s imagination and nurture their creativity with fun, hands-on art and crafts in our exclusive and safe activity programme. Other classes available for younger children. 10-10.45pm. £9, discounts for block bookings. 07976 778215 thecreationstation.co.uk

DANCE/FITNESS Mondays (term-time only) Acting Bugs St Johns Church Hall, High Road Leytonstone E11 1HH Interactive story-based drama sessions for pre-school children and their grown ups. 1.50-3.30pm. £7 and first class FREE when booked termly. 25% discount for siblings. actingbugs.co.uk Fridays (term-time only) Acting Bugs Peterhouse Centre, 122 Forest Rise/Upper Walthamstow Road E17 3PW As above except 10am-12pm.

Food, markets & shopping Saturdays E17 Village Market Waltham Forest Community Hub, 18a Orford Road E17 9LN Indoor market brought to you by local residents and micro businesses, showcasing the best in artisan produce, international street food, homeware, clothing and gifts. 10.30am-3.30pm. e17villagemarket@gmail.com facebook.com/e17villagemarket Sundays Farmers’ Market Town Square, Walthamstow E17 4HU Stalls offering a changing, seasonal selection of meat, game and poultry, cheese, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cider, baked goods, honey, plants and herbs, seafood, pies, quiches and cakes. Please note, some stalls may take a week off without notice. 10am-2pm. lfm.org.uk/markets/walthamstow Saturdays Community Local Produce Stall St John’s Church, Church Lane E11 1HG Delicious, locally grown organic fruit and vegetables, and other local produce for sale. A partnership between Organiclea and Transition Leytonstone. 10.30am-3pm. stall@transitionleytonstone.org.uk transitionleytonstone.org.uk Saturdays OrganicLea Market Stall The Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street E17 9AH Organic and local sustainably grown fruit, vegetables, homemade bread, jams and preserves. Healthy Start vouchers can be used. 10am-3pm. organiclea.org.uk/we-sell-food/ our-market-stall

Calendar of events Friday 1 December Cosmic Sounds The Hornbeam Cafe, 458 Hoe Street E17 9AH In the final Cosmic Sounds of 2017 two very special DJ Selectors hit the decks with dub and smooth grooves, new jazz, deep house and garage. 7.30-11.30pm. FREE. hornbeam.org.uk/events

FAMILY

FILM

SPOTTED AN ERROR? PLEASE LET US KNOW Email corrections to listings@theelist.co.uk Christmas Tree Lighting & Late Night Shopping Various venues, Highams Park E4 Local shops will stay open late for business tonight as the Christmas lights are switched on. Local cafes are providing festive fayre and goodies with carols sung by Harmony E4. Switch on 7.30pm, with shops open until 8pm. Hanoi Ca Phe: Vietnamese Pop-Up Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace, Unit 18 Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street E17 9HQ Back with her deliciously comforting Pho Nights supper, vegan options available. No need to book, just turn up and tuck in! Repeated tomorrow. 6-10pm. Dish prices vary. mothersruin.net Makers presents Festive Launch Party Blackhorse Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF A sparkling celebration of festive creativity! Play with our interactive installations, buy a Christmas pressie made by the makers of Blackhorse Workshop and the Record Roulette DJs will be keeping the dancefloor busy! 7-11pm. FREE. blackhorsesideshow.co.uk Candlelit Tours of the Ancient Parish Church St Mary’s Church Walthamstow, Church End (top of Church Hill) E17 9RL Experience St Mary’s by candlelight and discover the fascinating stories behind the stones with a guided tour lasting 30-40mins. Unsuitable for children under 8yrs. Tours start at 7.45pm, 8.05pm, 8.25pm. Free refreshments. No need to book. FREE. walthamstowchurch.org.uk

Saturday 2 Festive Wreath Making for Adults Community Room, Aveling Centre, Lloyd Park, Forest Rd E17 4PP Create a beautiful wreath. Willow and foliage will be provided but bring bows, berries and baubles to add if you wish. Please bring foliage to share if you can. Meet in Community Room next to cafe and playground. No children please. 10am-12pm. FREE, donations welcome. 07870 678571 v.peet@tcv.org.uk Events marked

kid friendly

40 The E List makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. Please confirm with the venue before setting out.

FOOD & DRINK

OUTDOORS

HISTORY

Leytonstone Christmas Market Trail Various venues, High Road Leytonstone E11 3DA All of Leytonstone’s markets, including Leyton&Stone Designers, get together for a one-day extravaganza of Christmas shopping and entertainment. 70+ stalls, street food, Santa’s Grotto and children’s activities, festive food and drink. 11am-4pm. FREE. admin@leytonandstonedesigners.co.uk

Saturday Stitching Club Waltham Forest Disability Resource Centre, 90 Crownfield Road E15 2BG On the first Saturday of the month the club is open to beginners and more experienced sewers. We particularly welcome disabled sewers and sewers learning to cope with changes to their abilities. 11am-3pm. £6. Peri 020 8534 1589 wfdrc.org p.stanley@wfdrc.org.uk

Flamingo Fairs Christmas Fair Wanstead Library, Spratt Hall Road E11 2RQ You’ll love the range of goods for sale, from pretty to precious. Vintage-style or shabby chic including jewellery, shiny and glittery items ideal for special presents. Something for everyone at this child-friendly fair. 11am-4pm. FREE. events2visit@gmail.com

Storytime with Mike Forbes Harrow Green Community Library, The Epicentre, 41 West Street, Leytonstone E11 4LJ Ideal for children between 3 and 11 years old. Stories and singing for the Christmas season. Free entry with refreshments in the interval. 2-3.30pm. FREE, no booking necessary. milenedziuk@outlook.com

Barn Croft Winter Fayre Barn Croft Primary School, 2 Brunel Road E17 8SB Father Christmas will be joining us in our wildlife garden grotto. There will be crafts, yummy food and drinks, stalls, a kids’ cinema and much more. 12-5pm. £1 donation raising money for the Barn Croft’s Music Education. Barncroftfriends@gmail.com

Variety Show: A Shot of Christmas Spirit WF Community Hub, 18a Orford Road E17 9LN A variety show with all the fun of the Christmas season. A mini panto; sketches; songs and of course a Christmas singalong. 7.30-10pm. £10, or £8/£6 in adv. starlighterstheatre.wix.com

Turning Earth Winter Market Turning Earth E10, 11 Argall Ave E10 7QE The East London ceramics makerspace is holding a huge market in its beautiful studios where 120 makers will peddle their wares. 12-6pm. FREE. Repeated Sunday 3 Dec. e10.turningearth.uk/events Stow Film Lounge presents SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937, cert U) Centre17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB The Grimm fairy tale gets the Technicolor treatment in Disney’s classic first animated feature. Doors open 10.30am for crafts, film 11am, close 1pm. Children £5.50 (inc crafts), acc adults £4, under 2s FREE. Buy online at billetto.co.uk or on the door. stowfilmlounge.com

Norman Jay (MBE) Mirth, Marvel and Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Norman Jay is unquestionably one of the most respected and popular DJs in the world today. Co-founder of the legendary Good Times Sound System and London dance music station KISS FM. 8pm-midnight. £12. mirthmarvelandmaud.com/tickets Voodoo Doll’s Rockin’ Christmas Bauble The Red Lion Ballroom, 640 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA A festive feast of good time 40s/50s rhythm’n’blues and swing and rock’n’roll from top vintage DJs Jumpin’ Jim and Voodoo Doll plus live music from Juke Joint Jump. 8pm-1am. £15 on the door. theredlionleytonstone.com/events Across the Tracks The Red Lion, 640 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA DJ Andy Smith’s monthly adventure through the legend’s vault of 45s. Funk, soul, hip-hop, reggae, rock & roll and much more. 9pm-1am. £6. Search billetto.co.uk for tickets Hanoi Ca Phe: Vietnamese Pop-Up Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace, Unit 18 Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street E17 9HQ Details as Friday 1 Dec Genius John and Krix Panx: The Return King William the Fourth, 816 High Road Leyton E10 6AE Another night of live looping and mashups of your favourite tunes. Featuring two of London’s finest loopers. 8pm-midnight. FREE. geniusjohn.com

MUSIC

SHOPPING

Stow Film Lounge presents LONDON SYMPHONY (2017) + Director’s Q&A Centre17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB A brand new silent film offering a poetic journey through the capital, an artistic snapshot of London as it stands today, and a celebration of its rich diversity of culture, architecture and religion. Plus post-film Q&A. Doors open 7.15pm, film 8pm, close 10.30pm. £8, £6. Pre-book optional pizza/lasagne at extra cost. Buy online at billetto.co.uk or on the door. stowfilmlounge.com St Mary’s Music Hall & Side By Side with Refugees present a Christmas Showcase St Mary’s Music Hall, 8 Church End E17 9RL Music, comedy and spoken word featuring Mari Wilson, Tanita Tikaram, Pete Anderson, Simon Callow, Chizzy Akudulo, Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw, James Mayhew, Alice Zawadzki, Citizens of the World Choir, Tim Woodward and Hassan Akkad. Light bites and glass of Prosecco included in the ticket price. 7.30-10.30pm. £15. stmarysmusichall.co.uk

Events marked

FREE listings are available for events under £16, visit theelist.co.uk and select “List your event”.

kid friendly

COMEDY/THEATRE

The Barker Band / Tom Bull What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB The Barker Band are a West London folk rock band offering up a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, country rock and blues. 8.30-11.30pm. FREE with collection. whatscookin.co.uk

Sunday 3 Winter Tree Dressing Meet by stables, the building beside tennis courts, Lloyd Park, Forest Road E17 4PP We’ll celebrate National Tree Dressing Day by making beautiful decorations with natural materials and dressing a tree in Lloyd Park. 10am-2pm. FREE, donations welcome. 07870 678571 v.peet@tcv.org.uk Turning Earth Winter Market Turning Earth E10, 11 Argall Ave E10 7QE Details as Saturday 2 December. Samaritans’ Christmas Craft Fair Orford House Social Club, 73 Orford Road E17 9QR Shop local and support designers, crafters and makers - all for a good cause - your local branch of Samaritans! Includes Kids Craft Corner. 2-5pm. £1. samaritanswalthamforestfundraising @hotmail.com

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ART

BOOKS

CRAFTS

Sunday 3 continued

Tuesday 5

She17 presents She’s Eclectic Wild Card Brewery, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street E17 9HQ Live semi-acoustic lady music. This month features Sam Kurt, Natural Voices Choir, Cara, Eva & Julia, Katt. B and Countess Bassey. 2-6pm. FREE. she17.com

Waltham Forest Music School Christmas Concert St Saviours Church, 210 Markhouse Road E17 8EP Details as Mon 4

Experimental Film Festival Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum, 10 South Access Road E17 8AX Free film showing in the Underground train at the Pumphouse Museum! Experimental food, poetry and more. 3-8.30pm. FREE. E17Films.org The Red Lion Games Night The Red Lion, 640 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA Retro games, board games, video games, NES, SNES, Megadrive, PS2, XBox, Wii, chess, Scrabble, Jenga, Kerplunk and more. On the first Sunday of the month. 4-10pm. £2, plus 5 membership helps buy more games. theredlionleytonstone.com/events Forest Philharmonic Orchestra Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Road E17 4SY Tonight’s concert features Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, Khachaturian’s Masquerade Suite and Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kije - including its famous sleigh ride! Free pre-concert talk at 5.30pm. 6.30-8.30pm. £12, conc available. tickets@forestphilharmonic.org.uk forestphilharmonic.org.uk Variety Show: A Shot of Christmas Spirit WF Community Hub, 18a Orford Road E17 9LN Details as Sat 2 Dec. Julie Felix at Walthamstow Folk Ye Olde Rose & Crown, 53 Hoe Street E17 4SA A legendary folk singer with a career stretching back to 1964. A household name, TV star and Top 20 recording artist. There is no nostalgia here, you get to be a legend for a reason. 7.3010.30pm. £8, £6 unwaged. walthamstowfolk.co.uk

Monday 4 Waltham Forest Music School Christmas Concert St Saviours Church, 210 Markhouse Road E17 8EP Join us for two fun, festive family concerts showcasing local musical talent. Our Music School Groups and Ensembles will entertain you with a variety of melodies guaranteed to get you into the Christmas spirit. Two concerts: 5pm and 7pm. Tickets on the door £5, £3, under 16s FREE. 020 8496 1584 music.service@walthamforest.gov.uk

Waltham Forest Civic Carol Concert Walthamstow Assembly Hall, Forest Road E17 4JD Join children and young people from Waltham Forest Music Service who will perform all your favourite carols interspersed with traditional readings from the Christmas story. Doors 6.30pm, 7-9.30pm. FREE.

Wednesday 6 Under 5s, Lloyd Park Nature Explorers: Stickman Christmas Party Meet in the Community Room next to the cafe, Lloyd Park, Forest Road E17 4PP Begining with a simple craft on our monthly theme then a ramble in the park before stories and a healthy snack back indoors. 10am-12.30pm. FREE, but donations welcome. Vicky 07870 678571 v.peet@tcv.org.uk Pop-Up to Grown Up? Blackhorse Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF Radical architecture publication Matzine invite you to debate the topic of regeneration and ‘meanwhile’ spaces. A fun and thought-provoking evening; have your say, and be part of an innovative evolving publishing project. 7.30-11pm. £5. blackhorsesideshow.co.uk I Will Sing Joy: WAVE Choir’s Christmas Concert St Mary’s Church, Church End (top of Church Hill) E17 9RL A fun and interactive mix of jazz, gospel and popular songs to celebrate the joys of Christmas and singing. Special guests: Alicia Wilkins and Megan Kyei. Free Refreshments. 7.309.30pm. £10, £8 conc, children 16 and under £5. wave-choir.com Christopher Rees / Anne & The Hacker What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB Rustic traditions of Americana, country, blues, gospel. “A spit and sawdust holler that’s as close to a Southern hell-fire preacher as you can get hailing from Cardiff” Mojo Magazine. 8.3011pm. FREE with collection. whatscookin.co.uk

Thursday 7 Studio Eleven Christmas Party Studio Eleven, 745 High Road, Leytonstone E11 4QS A fun evening of fine wine and live jazz. Everyone welcome. 6-10pm. FREE. studio11.london Events marked

kid friendly

DANCE/FITNESS Blackhorse Workshop Christmas Market Blackhorse Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF Unique gifts and products by local designers and makers. Leatherwork to ceramics, wooden toys to terracotta homeware. Christmas trees for sale, delicious mulled cider and the best hot dogs in town from Walthamstow Dogs. 5-9pm. FREE. blackhorsesideshow.co.uk Bahla / Spindle Ensemble / St Peter’s Choir St Mary’s Music Hall, 8 Church End E17 9RL Bahla, who play a unique blend of cinematic jazz with Jewish influences, launch their album tonight. Support comes from Spindle Ensemble, an experimental acoustic group from Bristol and St Peter Choir from Bethnal Green. 7-10.30pm. £14.50. stmarysmusichall.co.uk Speed Dating at Leyton Technical Leyton Technical Pub, 265 High Road Leyton, E10 5QN Our monthly, loved up, speed dating night. Tired of wasting time and money on Tinder dates that tank?! Why not go on 10 in one night? Join a small group of mid-20s to mid-30s singles for a series of 3 minute dates. It’s relaxed, fun and efficient! Plus there’s a FREE drink with every ticket! 8-10pm. billetto.co.uk/users/love-comes-fast Grace Nicol Dance - Woman SRSLY The CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB A programme of bold new female-led performance curated by Woman SRSLY. Prepare to be delighted, amused and inspired in an evening of sex, solidarity and sisterhood. Enjoy carefully selected interdisciplinary work spanning film, dance, theatre, cabaret and all round female power. BYOB and your male allies! 7.30pm. £9 via Ticketlab. ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/935 Hornbeam Herbals: Solidarity Medicine The Hornbeam Cafe, 458 Hoe Street E17 9AH Let’s make medicine together to support those in need in our community: Winter immune tonics to go towards the Herbalists Without Borders medicine making campaign. Learn new skills to share healing. Please book in advance, places limited. 7.30-10pm. £10. ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/927

Friday 8 Count Skylarkin Mirth, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH From compiling TDK D90s in the early 90s to touring with The Wailers. Count Skylarkin specialises in new and vintage reggae, rocksteady, Jamaican ska, hot swing, jump blues, dancehall, hip hop and jungle vinyl, turntablism, pork-pie hats, dapper suits and guaranteed good times. FREE. mirthmarvelandmaud.com

FAMILY

FILM

Night Feast in Highams Park Hale End Library, Castle Avenue, Highams Park E4 9QD After a successful night in September, Night Feast returns to Highams Park for another evening of great local street food, along with a fully stocked bar and some great entertainment. 5-9.30pm. facebook.com/NightFeast17 Canned Laughter 2 The CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Six more of the biggest names in comedy come together to raise food and funds much needed by the local food bank Eat or Heat. 7.30-10.30pm. BYOB and 5 food donations. SOLD OUT. eatorheat.org/food-donations thecentre17.com

Saturday 9 Christmas Bazaar All Saints Church & Hall, Church Avenue Highams Park E4 9QD This year’s bazaar boasts antiques, brica-brac, books, cakes, decorations, face painting, raffle and tombola, Santa’s grotto, refreshments, games, games and more games. 10am-3pm. 50p, children FREE. Christmas Table Top Sale Waltham Forest Resource Hub (North), 58 Hall Lane, Chingford E4 8EU Grab a bargain and help us to raise funds for our work in Waltham Forest. Homemade Christmas cakes and puddings; books, DVDs and CDs on sale; Charity Christmas cards; handcrafted blankets and cuddly toys. 11am-3pm. FREE. ageuk.org.uk/walthamforest Christmas at The Mill The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane E17 7HA Join us for Christmas crafts for kids, Christmassy cakes and warming drinks. Jolly jingles on the turntable. Gift stall, handmade knits and momentos. 2-5pm. Children £2, adults FREE. info@themille17.org Wanstead Vintage Fashion & Brocante Fair Wanstead United Reformed Church, Nightingale Lane E11 2HD Our spectacular Christmas fair: Everything you need for your home and wardrobe. Two halls filled with vintage fashions and accessories, furniture, homewares, collectables. Onsite cafe. Free parking nearby. 11am5pm. £2.50, £1.50 conc, u14s FREE. lovevintage.co.uk Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB For ages 2-5. Learn to love counting during an endlessly surprising riot of music, numbers and clowning in a madcap monkey puppet zoo! From the creators of smash-hit Dogs Don’t Do Ballet. 10-10.35am and 1-1,35pm. £8.50, £6 over 2s, family ticket £25 (2 adults/2 kids). ticketlab.co.uk/centre17 thecentre17.com

42 The E List makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. Please confirm with the venue before setting out.

FOOD & DRINK

OUTDOORS

Shoppers’ Carol Service St Michael and All Angels Church, Northcote Road (corner Palmerston Road) E17 6PQ Calling all Christmas shoppers! Take a break from the rush to sing your favourite carols and enjoy a glass and a mince pie. With collection at the end for Haven House Hospice. 3-4pm. FREE. Glynne 07770 665475 Natural Voices Christmas Concert St Mary’s Church, Church End E17 9RL Our biggest event of the year. Singers aged 5-85 perform an uplifting set that will get you into the Christmas Spirit. 6-6.50pm. FREE, for all the family. naturalvoices.co.uk Georgia & The Vintage Youth King William the Fourth, 816 High Road Leyton E10 6AE Jazz, soul and ska from this ever-popular local band who return to promote their recent EP release, which is receiving both excellent reviews and radio airplay. 8.30-11.30pm. FREE.

Sunday 10 Ho Ho Hoe Street Christmas Market Walthamstow Trades Hall 61-63 Tower Hamlets Road E17 4RQ Buy unique presents from local artists, makers and bakers. We have art, jewellery, homeware, ceramics, plants, glassware baby accessories, Christmas cards and decorations, cakes and more plus hot food stalls, music and a cheap bar. Free parking.12-5pm. FREE. Follow on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram @HoeStMarket Christmas Fete William Morris Community Centre, 6-8 Greenleaf Road E17 6QQ A range of beautiful gifts to purchase and delicious treats to taste. Gifts include hand made artifacts, cards, books, jewellery, bags, massage and plenty more.12-5pm. FREE. wmccua.org Emily Askew Band Christmas Show at Walthamstow Folk Ye Olde Rose & Crown, 53 Hoe Street E17 4SA A special Christmas show with folky versions of medieval and Renaissance music to get us in the mood for the festive season. 7.30-10.30pm. £8, £6 unwaged. walthamstowfolk.co.uk Family Activities at Vestry House Museum Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road E17 9NH Festive fun at Vestry House! Recreate the spirit of yuletides past with traditional Victorian activities and festive food. Plus young visitors can collect an early Christmas present from Santa. 1.30-4.30pm. FREE, but suggested donation £3 per child’s gift. Just drop in but call ahead to book a slot to see Father Christmas! 020 8496 4391

HISTORY

Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Stow Film Lounge presents REBECCA (1940, cert PG) Mirth, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Alfred Hitchcock’s first American film (and his only Best Picture winner), Rebecca is a masterpiece of haunting atmosphere, Gothic thrills, and gripping suspense. Starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier. Doors open 2.15pm, film 2.30pm, close 4.30pm. £7, £5 conc. Buy online at billetto.co.uk or on the door. stowfilmlounge.com E17 Designers Christmas Market Waltham Forest Community Hub, 18a Orford Road E17 9LN Ever popular makers’ market sees 30 different artists and designers selling one-of-a-kind gifts, Suzie Cakes with tea, cakes and Christmas puds in the kitchen, DJ Tony Tunes and mulled wine from In Vino Veritas. 2.305.30pm. FREE. e17designers.co.uk

Monday 11 Christmas Candlelit Concert St Mary’s Church Walthamstow, Church End (top of Church Hill) E17 9RL Waltham Forest Community Choir sing carols, traditional and not-sotraditional seasonal songs in the presence of the Worshipful the Mayor of Waltham Forest, Cllr Yemi Osho. Seasonal refreshments available. Doors 7.30pm. 8-9.30pm. FREE with retiring collection towards diabetic services. singwithus.net Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec.

Tuesday 12 Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Stowtellers: The Walthamstow Storytelling Club Orford House Social Club, 73 Orford Road E17 9QZ Come to listen or let us know if you’d like to tell a story of your own, up to 10mins max. 7.30-9.30pm. £5, £4 conc. Contact stowtellers@yahoo.co.uk or search Facebook for Stowtellers Family History Talk Spruce Hill Baptist Church Hall, Brookscroft Road E17 4JP Learn about the resources of the Bishopsgate Institute Library in east London. Books, documents, maps and more. Wheelchair accessible venue. 8-9.30pm. FREE. wffhs.org.uk

Events marked

MUSIC

SHOPPING

Christmas Carols & East London Brass Village Square, Corner of Orford/Eden Roads E17 9JN Bring your family, friends and neighbours to this beautiful, atmospheric event that really heralds the start of the festivities. Wrap up warmly and bring lanterns and some coins for East London Brass. Mulled wine and mince pies available. Download and print song sheets from the website. 7-8.30pm. FREE. walthamstowvillage.net

Wednesday 13 Sankta Lucia by Norrsång Choir St Mary’s Church, Church End (top of Church Hill) E17 9RL The East London Norrsång Choir invite you to a special candlelit concert to celebrate the Scandinavian tradition of Sankta Lucia. Tickets can be bought via norrsangchoir.eventbrite.com. All profits go to St Mary’s charity work. 6.15-7pm. £8, £3 children, £20 family ticket. facebook.com/NorrsangChoir Magnus Irvin’s Christmas Installation Walthamstow Village Window Gallery, 47 Orford Rd E17 9JN Not so private view – see page 9. Child, dog and cycle-friendly outdoor venue, please dress for the weather. 7-9pm. wvwg.co.uk The Big Fat Christmas Quiz The Dog & Duck, 222 Chingford Road, E17 5AL The Big Fat Quiz Co. will be holding a big fat christmas quiz with an evening full of festive fun. An unforgettable night of laughter, trivia and a 5 piece brass band playing a live music round and Christmas carols with a selection of presents (prizes), Santa hats for every participant and a bumper Christmas quiz. 8-10pm. £5 per person, maximum 6 per team. facebook.com/thedogandducke17 Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Pixie presents: Christmas Cabaret with Scarlett Diamonte William Morris Bar & Kitchen, 807 Forest Road E17 4JD Join us for our Christmas cabaret show with drag queen Scarlett Diamonte who’ll be on stage at 9pm. Arrive before 8.30pm and Christmas dinner is included. 7-11pm. £5. pixiepresents@yahoo.co.uk Eclectic Shock at the Victoria The Victoria, 188 Hoe St E17 4QH Wildly varied new music by: Simon and The Spears (house punks extraordinaire); King With No Throne (swooping melodies and serious drums); Naomi Sullivan (virtuosic saxophone creations) and Joseph Ware (uplifting electronica). 8.30-11.30pm. £5 on the door. Over 18s only.

COMEDY/THEATRE

The Christmas Number Ones Show Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH An interactive live music show that could feature any of the 64 years of Christmas Number Ones. Featuring resident band at Zedel in London’s Piccadilly the Thomas Hamilton Band & Singers. Our fabulous year picker machine will randomly select a year and the band will play that year’s christmas top seller! Lots of fun to be had, and pre- and post-show dinner available. No reserved seating. 7.30-10.30pm. £15 plus BF via eventbrite.co.uk. Repeated 14 and 15 Dec too. mirthmarvelandmaud.com Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB Led by UK string king Sir Bald Diddley, Hipbone Slim and the Kneetremblers take rock’n’roll and rhythm’n’blues and give it a good kickin’! 8.30-11pm. FREE with collection. whatscookin.co.uk

Thursday 14 Creative Kids: Glow of Good Cheer! William Morris Gallery, Forest Road E17 4PP Free, hands-on session for children under 5. Make colourful Christmas decorations inspired by William Morris’s stained glass windows. 10-11.30am and repeated 1-2.30pm. FREE but booking essential via eventbrite.co.uk wmgallery.org.uk Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Festive Charity Performance Evening St Michael and All Angels Church, Northcote Road E17 6PQ Music and theatre - some classical, some festive, some escaping categorisation - in aid of Unicef’s Mayanmar Crisis emergency fund. Mulled wine, spiced apple and mince pies. Older kids welcome. 7.30-8.45pm. £10 donation or what you can afford. The Christmas Number Ones Show Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Details as Weds 13 Dec. Stow Film Lounge presents BAD SANTA (2003, cert 15) Blackhorse Workshop Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF A miserable conman (Billy Bob Thornton) and his partner (Tony Cox) pose as Santa and his Little Helper to rob department stores on Christmas Eve. Doors open 7.45pm, film 8.30pm, close 11pm. £8, £6 conc. Buy online at billetto.co.uk. Licensed bar and streetfood also available. stowfilmlounge.com

kid friendly

To advertise your business contact ads@theelist.co.uk 43

ART

BOOKS

CRAFTS

Thursday 14 continued

Saturday 16

General Echo’s Christmas Party The Victoria, 188 Hoe St E17 4QH Monthly reggae disco spinning dub, roots, rockers and other bass transmissions on two turntables and a space echo. 8pm-12am. £3. generalechoes.tumblr.com

Gnome House Winter Warmer Gnome House, 7 Blackhorse Lane E17 6DS Festive family day with brass band, carols, Father Christmas, coffee, craft beer, art exhibition, dance perfomance, face-painting and African drumming. 11am-3pm. FREE. gnomehouse.org.uk

Friday 15 Shams’ Kitchen Mother’s Ruin Gin Palace, Unit 18 Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street E17 9HQ After a trip to the source of her inspiration Shams is back with her fabulous Pakistani street food supper. Veggie and takeaway are available. 6-9.30pm. Dish prices vary. mothersruin.net The Christmas Number Ones Show Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Details as Weds 13 Dec. If On a Winter’s Night: 9 Artists & 9 Carols St Mary’s Music Hall, 8 Church End E17 9RL Unusual take on a ‘Nine Lessons & Carols’ Advent service. Features a professional choir and performance artists. Heritage Lottery Fund supported and curated by the St Mary’s Arts Collective. 7.30-9pm. FREE but a ticketed event. Reserve via website. stmarysmusichall.co.uk Unfinished Things Festival CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB A cabaret-style event dedicated to the beautifully incomplete, half finished and barely started. Showcasing exciting talent and fresh ideas, from mermaid puppets to musical inventions. This is a unique, fascinating, celebration of the creative mind, with a mix of professional performers and those who have never had a chance to show their ideas before. This is a night that will guarantee thought, entertainment, and laughter. It’s uplifting, productive, anarchic, amazing, and most of all it’s fun! 7.30pm. £8 via Ticketlab. ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/903 Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Dial M for Music Sir Alfred Hitchcock Hotel, 147 Whipps Cross Road E11 1NP Monthly music club.This month features the Spangle Gang and Shiver. 7.4511pm. FREE, with collection. You Should be Dancing! At the Office Xmas Party! Walthamstow Trades Hall, 61-63 Tower Hamlets Road E17 4RQ It’s YSBD! Office Xmas Party for people who cut their dancing teeth in the 70s and 80s. Younger friends welcome! Expect our mix of classic sounds from the era plus Christmas cheese and cheesy bingo! 8pm-midnight. £7 on the door. doloresrocket.com/ysbd.html

Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. Past & Present Vintage, Antique & Craft Fair Christchurch Hall, Wanstead Place E11 2SW Collectibles, antiques, vintage jewellery, perfumes and handbags, household items, toys, curios, greetings cards and lots more. Find a unique item or gift in two halls of stalls. Friendly atmosphere and homemade refreshments. 10am4.30pm. £1, u16s FREE. pastandpresentchristchurch.weebly.com Booth of Truth Blackhorse Sideshow, Forest Works, Forest Road E17 6JF The Booth of Truth is a travelling vinyl recording installation. Enter the Booth to make a unique vinyl record via the 1950s technology of a Recording Lathe. Book a 20 minute slot! 10am2pm. £5. blackhorsesideshow.co.uk DJ Andy Smith (Ex-Portishead) Mirth, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Andy used to DJ with and supply samples for Portishead and even one for The Prodigy. Now into 50s R&B, Northern Soul, ska and rockabilly but still plays all the old hip hop, disco, boogie, reggae, soul, jazz and some older pop/ rock too. FREE. mirthmarvelandmaud.com Who Got The Funk? The Heathcote and Star, 344 Grove Green Road, E11 4EA Who Got The Funk? AKA DJs Brendon Nultiply and Owen DP return to The Heathcote and Star for another session of funk, disco, hip hop and everything in between. So come down for a beer and a break from awful xmas music! 9pm-1am. FREE. facebook.com/heathcotestar East London Brass presents Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman Trinity United Reformed Church, 58 Orford Road E17 9QL Back by very popular demand, screenings of the classic festive animation with live accompaniment. All five performances SOLD OUT. facebook.com/EastLondonBrass

Events marked

DANCE/FITNESS E17 Designers Christmas Market II Mirth, Marvel and Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Can you shop locally this season? Try our Makers’ Market part two! Save money and miles, kitchen and bar open, plus a special pop up choir with Natural Voices at 2pm. 12-4pm. FREE. e17designers.co.uk Big Joe Louis What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB With numerous awards he’s one of the UK’s foremost blues performers. 8.3011pm. FREE with collection. whatscookin.co.uk The 12 Gays of Christmas: Fundraiser for Positive East The Victoria, 188 Hoe Street E17 4QH 12 acts performing at the Victoria, to raise money for Positive East. 9pm-1am. FREE but donations welcome.

Sunday 17 Stow Film Lounge presents HOME ALONE (1990, cert PG) Mirth, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH A young boy named Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind when his family heads abroad for the festive season. He soon learns to fend for himself and protect his house against two bumbling burglars. Doors open 2.15pm, film 2.30pm, close 4.30pm. Children £5.50 (inc crafts), acc adults £4, under 2s FREE. Buy online at billetto.co.uk or at the Mirth bar. stowfilmlounge.com The Highams Park Christmas Fayre Signal walk (outside Tesco) & Highams Park Station carpark, E4 Annual Christmas market brought to you by The Highams Park Planning Group. This year even more craft and gift stalls, food and drink stalls, live music and kids’ entertainments spanning both sites. Community carol signing at 4pm on Signal Walk and a Festive bike ride. 11am-5pm. Five Little Christmas Monkeys CentrE17, 1 Church Hill E17 3AB Details as Sat 9 Dec. The Lime’s Christmas Fair The Limes Community and Children’s Centre, 6 Somers Road E17 6RX Artisan gifts, street food, natural decorations, fresh coffee, Christmas tunes, face painting, adventure playground and SANTA! 12-4pm. FREE. For stalls or enquiries 020 8509 8985 or tommy@thelimes.org.uk Michael Chapman What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB One of the UK’s best finger picking style guitar players. 7-10pm. £13, or £15 on the door. whatscookin.co.uk

FAMILY

FILM

Monday 18 Sing17 Seasonal Orford Road Social Club, 73 Orford Rd E17 9QR Sing17 Community choir (and guests) will be ho-ho-hosting their end of term celebration for your entertainment. Expect melodies, mashups and seasonal sounds. 8-10pm. FREE. sing17.com

Wednesday 20 The Future Shape Of Sound What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB Crime gospel and primitive blues from the 9-piece influenced by Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Slim Harpo. 8.30-11pm. FREE with collection. whatscookin.co.uk

Thursday 21 Red Imp Christams Special with Gina Yashere Ye Olde Rose & Crown Theatre Pub, 53 Hoe Street E17 4SA Two TV comics Gina Yashere and Gary Delaney both fresh from recording the latest Live at the Apollo series. Amazing bill, not to be missed. Limited tickets at the venue. 8.30-10.30pm. £13.50. redimpcomedy.com LGBT Night at The Chequers The Chequers, 145 High Street/Storey Road E17 7BX This month we are joined by cabaret star Kelly Wilde, live on stage at 9pm. 8pm-1am. FREE. Western Front Association Christmas Celebration Walthamstow Cricket, Tennis & Squash Club, 48a Greenway Avenue E17 3QN A talk from Antiques Road Show medals expert Mark Smith, Chris Daughters’ Bumper First War Christmas Quiz and lots of refreshments. 8-10pm. FREE but £3 donation appreciated.

Friday 22 Librarian Theatre presents Walthamstow Library, High Street E17 7JN Librarian Theatre’s new play is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It explores the theme of psychosis in the world of Alice’s library. Accompanied children aged 8+ welcome. Doors 5.45pm, 6-7pm. £10, £5. librariantheatre.com

The latest Christmas & New Year events visit theelist.co.uk

kid friendly

44 The E List makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information it publishes, but cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from errors or omissions. Please confirm with the venue before setting out.

FOOD & DRINK

OUTDOORS

Saturday 23 Swing into Christmas Maud, 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH A festive afternoon for all the family, featuring Christmas favourites such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer performed by a swinging 11-piece big band and singers Ray and David. Children’s performance 3-4.30pm (no interval) children £8, acc adults £10, family ticket £30. Adults performance, doors 5.30pm 6-7.50pm inc interval. £15, £12 conc. mirthmarvelandmaud.com/event/ swing-into-christmas

Monday 25 Xmas Day Rock’n’Roll Routemaster Tour The Old Walthamstow Garage, Omnibus Way off Chingford Road (near Sixt car hire) E17 4QE A musical ride with songs from the 50s to the 90s played on our bus with commentary, drinks and refreshments. See website for more info. 3.307.30pm. £15. Repeated Boxing Day. ter105.wixsite.com/rock-n-roll

Tuesday 26 Boxing Day Rock’n’Roll Routemaster Tour Details as Christmas Day.

Sunday 31 NYE New Year’s Eve at the Zoo The Red Lion, 640 High Road Leytonstone E11 3AA Run wild with the animals in four enclosures of party delights over two floors. Music courtesy of Oliver Sudden, Mr Christos, DJ Sugai, Dave Koor and Lazy Bones. 8pm-3am. £12.50 via billetto.co.uk. theredlionleytonstone.com/events New Year’s Eve at The Heathcote & Star The Heathcote and Star, 344 Grove Green Road, E11 4EA There’ll be DJs spinning the best in disco, funk, soul, hip-hop, house, RnB and all the party starting classics. This NYE is all about dancing, expect to P-A-R-T-Y. Don’t stop til you drop. 9pm3am. Early bird tickets from £5. facebook.com/heathcotestar New Year’s Eve at Mirth & Maud: New York Brass Band Mirth & and Maud 186 Hoe Street E17 4QH Mirth and Maud are both open for NYE with New York Brass Band, Mighty Atom, Jack Hollywood and more. Plus walkabout performers, Glitter Secrets and more glitter! 8pm-3am. £10. mirthmarvelandmaud.com New Year’s Eve: Watchnight Service St Gabriel’s Church Centre, Havant Road E17 3JF Look back on the past year and resolve to be even better in the New Year. Prayer and song to bring in the New Year. 11.15pm-midnight. FREE. Events marked

HISTORY

Hoppy New Year 2018 at Pillars Brewery Pillars Brewery, Unit 2 Ravenswood Industrial Estate E17 9HQ Party into 2018 in true, lager-loving style! FREE ENTRY, glorious craft beer, big tunes, terrible dancing and local street food that will blow your mind. No booking required. Kids and dogs welcome until 9pm. 11pm-2am. pillarsbrewery.com

Monday 1 JANUARY New Year’s Day Stow-cial Walthamstow Trades Hall, 61-63 Tower Hamlets Road E17 4RQ A family friendly day-into-night celebration of the New Year with the cream of E17’s DJs and food from Pat’s Soul Kitchen. 1-11pm, with kids curfew at 7.30pm. Adults £3, kids FREE. contact@dominicmandrell.co.uk facebook.com/Soulpicnic.e17

Wednesday 3 TriccaMcNiff What’s Cookin’, Leytonstone Ex-servicemen’s Club, 2 Harvey Road E11 3DB Emma Tricca and Jason McNiff are two of the UKs most respected folk guitarists and singers. 8.30-11pm. FREE, with a collection. whatscookin.co.uk

Sunday 7 Family Activities at Vestry House Museum Vestry House Museum, Vestry Road E17 9NH Join local artists for hands-on crafting inspired by Vestry House Museum’s collection and special exhibitions. 1.304pm. FREE, just drop in. 020 8496 4391

MUSIC

SHOPPING

Mondays for 10 weeks Mini Musicians for Children aged 4-6 Waltham Forest Music Service, 12 Church Hill E17 3AG Children will experience and enjoy music as listeners, creators and performers, whilst laying the foundation for future instrumental and vocal training. 4-4.45pm. £58 for a 10 week course, £29 for those on a low income. walthamforest.gov.uk/music-service Saturdays (term time) Music Groups and Ensembles for Children Waltham Forest Music Service, 12 Church Hill E17 3AG Take your musical instrument playing onto the next level by playing in a group with other musicians. Beginner, intermediate or advanced groups available. See website for full timetable. 9.15-10.15am. £29 for 10 lessons, , £14.40 for those on a low income. walthamforest.gov.uk/music-service Mondays Life Drawing in Leytonstone Sinbin at The Plough & Harrow, 419 High Road, Leytonstone E11 4JU An unconventional, untutored drawing class with professional models. Drop in any time. Can be messy! 7.30-9.30pm. £10 or £5 for members. Art materials provided FREE of charge. meetup.com/Life-Drawing-inLeytonstone

COMEDY/THEATRE

The East London

Sausage Co.

Sensational

Sausages

57 Orford Rd E17 9NJ Tue-Fri: 08.30-19.00

Sat: 08.30-17.30 Sun: 10.00-14.00

For the latest up-to-date listings please visit theelist.co.uk

Got an event? Tell us about it! Simply submit online at theelist.co.uk Classes/Courses Wednesdays Bridge Lessons for Beginners 22 Horsley Road, Chingford E4 7HX Bridge is a card game of skill and chance played by four players who form two partnerships. It’s a social game of strategy, trust and teamwork, developing friendships and sharpening the memory. Pre-booking essential as space is limited. 7.30-9.30pm. £10. Ray 020 8281 8376 eastlondonbridge.co.uk

kid friendly

FREE listings are available for events under £16, visit www.theelist.co.uk and select “List your event”. To advertise your business contact ads@theelist.co.uk 45