John Cryer (Labour) – so no surprises there.

In the local elections, Labour pretty much swept the board in Leytonstone, with the Conservatives doing likewise in Snaresbrook and Wanstead.

Bit of strange constituency really Leyton and Wanstead, with such a big political contrast across it. The folks in Wanstead must be pretty frustrated – they return a full house of Conservative councillors every election but have no chance of ever voting in a Conservative MP … made more sense when it used to be Wanstead and Woodford really I guess.

In our recent poll, 60% of people who responded rating current Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen in the “Glad to see the back of him” category. So, time for a fresh face, and with the 2010 General Election looming, who are the main contenders to replace him?

John Cryer (Labour)

Born in Yorkshire but moved to London when he was 18 and has spent most of his time since then in East London.

In 1997 he was elected as the Member of Parliament for Hornchurch.

He is on the left-wing of the Labour Party and is a member of the Socialist Campaign Group. He has worked for the left-wing “Tribune” and “Morning Star” publications, for Aslef and the Transport and General Workers Union (now Unite). He is a Eurosceptic.

As Member of Parliament for Hornchurch, he had a record as a rebel. He voted against tuition fees and top-up fees for higher education, against cuts in lone parent benefits (the first major rebellion under the Blair government) and against the Iraq war. He led the successful campaign to save the Ford Dagenham car plant.

For further info see www.leytonandwansteadlabour.org.uk.

Ed Northover (Conservative)

Originally from Liverpool, Ed moved to London in 2001 to become a corporate lawyer after graduating from Oxford.

He moved to Leytonstone several years ago, and has been a Waltham Forest councillor for Larkswood Ward since 2009.

For further info see www.ednorthover.com.

Farooq Qureshi (Liberal Democrats)

A local resident for 35 years, Farooq is a Waltham Forest councillor for Forest Ward.

Farooq served as mayor for Waltham Forest from May 2006 to May 2007.

For further info see leyton-wansteadlibdems.org.uk.

Google’s Street View which adds street-level 360 degree imaging to Google Maps has gone live in the UK, including full (well, almost) coverage of greater London. E11 is included, so you can now stroll virtually down our local streets.

Here are a few examples…

• Welcome to Leytonstone
• The High Stone
• Eagle Pond
• Wanstead High Street

It’s quite amazing going through Stratford every day on the train and witnessing what amounts to a whole town rise up from nothing. Work on Stratford City seems to be progressing apace with much of the steelwork for the major buildings now in place. One of the many conundrums facing the planners was how to link in “Old Stratford” (i.e. Stratford Centre and the bus station), given that numerous railway lines will lie between it and the the new development. The solution is a bridge, a big bridge, spanning all of the existing railway platforms and leading directly into the heart of the new shopping area.

Read more…

The Woolworths in Wanstead has been taken over by Tesco – they’re currently fitting it out as a “Tesco Metro”. Bad news for existing local shops as they’re sure to feel the squeeze once the new store opens. One of the best aspects of Wanstead is its almost village-like charm, partly due to the wide range of local shops and cafes and the relative absence (bar Somerfield) of the big supermarkets. Hopefully this isn’t the start of the slippery slope towards a high road like Leytonstone’s.

Speaking of Leytonstone, the Conservative Party have been sending flyers out regarding the Woollies shop there, concerned what the council are planning to do with it. One of their suggestions, a book shop selling coffee was already attempted on Church Lane a couple of years back – Prospero I think it was called. Nice enough place, but didn’t last very long. Their other suggestion, a shopping arcade, sounds more promising to me – maybe something along the lines of the arcade near Liverpool St. Station, sympathetically built in an art deco style to match Leytonstone Library. Well we can dream can’t we … I’m betting it ends up as a cheap supermarket like Aldi or another 99p store

UPDATE – At the January Leytonstone Community Council meeting, Cllr Jenny Gray “assured residents that the site, which was owned by the Council, would be turned into good use. She added that the Council was in contact with a number of companies (including Peacocks, Argos and Sainsbury) and Woolworth’s administrators in order to ensure that quality shops would come into the area.”

Currently, despite being the birthplace of one of the greatest film directors of all time, Alfred Hitchcock, E11 can’t boast a single cinema, not one. However, things were not always that way. In fact Leytonstone once boasted four large cinemas, how times have changed…

Rink Picture Palace/Rialto/Granada

Originally opened in October 1909 as a roller skating rink located next to St. John’s Church, Leytonstone. The owner, Mr. James White enlisted architect P. Cornish to convert the building into a cinema and ”The Rink Picture Palace” opened on 15th June, 1911.

Seating capacity, after some modification to the interior in 1913, was 1000 all on a single floor. The main entrance was next to Bearman’s department store on Leytonstone High Road and was reached via a long arcade.

In 1926 the cinema was purchased by Bernstein Theatres, a successful chain headed by Sidney Bernstein who, in 1921, had inherited control from his father, Alexander. The Cecil Masey and Theodore Komisarjevsky re-designed “Rialto” opened on 6th January, 1927.

Capacity had been increased to 1760, still all on one floor. Stage facilities and a cinema orchestra, including a Compton theatre organ, allowed for variety shows as well as films. The Compton from the Rialto is still in existence today – see www.wizardcompton.org.uk for further details.

Read more…

We went to St. Andrew’s Church for the Christmas Day service this year – normally we go to midnight mass, but with a couple of youngsters in tow that’s a bit impractical at the moment. Now, we’re not exactly regular churchgoers by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, to be honest, outside of weddings, christenings and funerals, a couple of times a year is about as much as we manage (at best). We do try to make an effort at Christmas time though as, at the end of the day, that’s what its really about (isn’t it?). Anyway, the point is, we were quite shocked to see the lack of numbers in the congregation there – I counted about 35 people which, for the big day itself, seems like a pretty poor showing. The service itself was great, the church looked fabulous inside (St. Andrew’s has some very nice stained glass windows), everyone was in good voice for the carols, all in all a thoroughly enjoyable part of our Christmas Day experience.

St. Andrew’s has played a major part in the history of Upper Leytonstone, its development as a community, and is also an important (grade 2 listed) building in its own right. At the risk of sounding “preachy” (and possibly somewhat hypocritical to boot), if you think that’s worth preserving, then consider supporting it!

For more information on St. Andrew’s, their website can be found at www.standrewsleytonstone.org.

“Stratford City”, the lesser-known twin of the London 2012 Olympic development will completely change the face of East London. In the hands of Westfield (they’ve just opened another huge shopping centre in West London), Stratford will be transformed, providing major retail outlets including John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, hotels, restaurants, as well as a huge new shopping mall. Now, while this is all good news as far as I’m concerned, I am wondering what the impact is likely to be on Leytonstone.

Read more…

Shame to see that Long Chang, the Chinese supermarket on Leytonstone High Road appears to have closed down – it only opened earlier this year. Not sure why – probably (as with many local shops that have fallen by the wayside) lack of support and/or the impact of the nearby Tesco.

Two historic fountains which are part of Snaresbrook and Wanstead’s Victorian heritage have been spruced up by Redbridge Council’s Area 1 Committee.

The fountains began life as horse troughs for the mounts of thirsty travellers in an age when horses were the majority form of transport and are a well loved part of the local scenery and a reminder of a bygone age.

The earliest, which still has its trough, stands on George Green, Wanstead, and was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond jubilee in 1897.

The other stands at the other end of the High Street at the junction with Holly Bush Hill in Snaresbrook, and was erected in 1872.

Councillors representing the two wards of Snaresbrook and Wanstead formally reopened the fountains following their makeover.

These included Councillors Michelle Dunn, Allan Burgess, both for Wanstead, and for Snaresbrook ward, Councillors Christopher Cummins, Peter Goody and Mrs Suzanne Nolan.

Chairman of Area 1 committee which covers both wards, Councillor Chris Cummins, said:

“It is great to see these beautiful features restored to their former glory. They help to remind us what a historic place this area is.”