The London Forest Choir, based in Walthamstow, are performing ‘Carmina Burana’ by Carl Orff this Saturday, 12 March. The performance will be at the Chingford Parish Church.
The Choir will be joined by the Southend Girls’ and Boys’ Choir for the performance. The night will also feature ‘The Passing of the Year’ by Jonathan Dove.
Tickets are £12 and there are various concessionary rates available. The performance starts at 7.30pm. More details are available on their website here.
The 2011 Census is happening in March and the awareness campaign has been launched in Waltham Forest. The census is a survey of everyone in the UK, and it happens every ten years. The information used not only builds up a picture of social change, but it helps inform government policy.
The census will be happening around the 27 March 2011. Every household will receive a form which you’re required by law to fill in. In 2001 around 86% of people in Waltham Forest returned their forms, higher than the average in London.
Waltham Forest council have set up a website to answer questions about the census. It also has contact details if you’d like the form in a different language or an alternative format. The official government website for the census is here.
There are also various websites which provide historical census information. A profile of Waltham Forest in 2001 is available here, and it shows various statistics about the local area in comparison to the England & Wales average. If you want to go further back, this website has got a wealth of information about Waltham Forest since 1880, gathered from the census.
Look out for your census forms as they come through your door over the next few weeks.
Writer Ellen Galford is coming to Waltham Forest next month. ‘An audience with Ellen Galford’ is on at the North Chingford Library on Monday 7 March.
Although the event is not strictly in Walthamstow, it is easily accessible from E17 and looks interesting. Ellen is an American-born Scottish writer who moved to the UK in 1971. She came out in the mid-1970s and will be discussing what it was like to be the author of contemporary lesbian fiction in the 1980s and 1990s. Ellen will also be reading from her 1993 work, ‘The Dyke and the Dybbuk’.
The event runs from 7.45pm-8.45pm and is free. You can just turn up on the day, or book a place by phoning the library on 020 8496 1070.
A few weeks ago we asked E17ers to tell us what their favourite takeaway curry in Walthamstow was. We were swamped with responses! The results are published in our new “Favourites” section, which is here. Thanks to everyone who responsed! We hope that it inspires you to try somewhere new and maybe even find a new favourite.
We’ll be doing something similar later in the year, so keep checking the blog and keep it E17! In the meantime, read the results of our curry crowdsourcing here.
Posted in regular
Tagged Chingford, Crowdsource, Curry, Food, Leyton, Takeaway, Walthamstow
As E17ers know, there’s always something happening around Walthamstow, and last night was a particularly busy evening. There were a range of events happening around the area, and in true dedication to the cause, we tried to get to all of them!
The Speak Easy was particularly popular
First stop was the Love Easy at the William Morris Gallery. The night was run by Craft Guerrilla, and there was a range of crafts and vintage items to check out. There was also a Speak Easy for some liquid refreshment, a tombola (had two goes, didn’t win – nightmare) and the Shellac Sisters were spinning vintage 78’s on wind-up gramophones. It was good fun and it’s great to see the Gallery busy and being used like this.
From there we were looking for somewhere to eat around Blackhorse Road. We ended up in Yasar’s, a kebab restaurant and take-away opposite The Standard. We’ve never been before, but it was lovely! Good atmosphere, nice pictures of old Walthamstow on the walls, and tasty food. I tweeted that I was there, and it turns out that it’s a bit of a favourite of E17ers! The lamb shish kebab was delicious, Mrs Stow Scene had a nice falafel kebab, and tweeters tell me that the kofte is also tasty.
Nightfires rocking The Standard
Next up was Nightfires playing at The Standard. Nightfires are a Chingford band and have been going for about a year. The gig was rocking and their material worked well live. Their sound reminds me of some of The Automatic’s heavier moments, particularly on ‘The Wreck’ and new song ‘The Christchurch Brainwash’. With gigs coming up in Islington and Camden over the next few months, Nightfires are a band to watch.
We left before the Cream tribute band to get a cab down to the Hornbeam cafe near Bakers Arms, for their Valentine music night. Acoustic folk rockers The Scumbags were half way through their first set, so we settled down with a couple of bottles of Pitfield’s Eco Warrior to enjoy. I have to say, the whole event at Hornbeam was brilliant. They had food, a DJ and the atmosphere was fantastic.
The Scumbags at Hornbeam
The Scumbags were also superb. Their second set was a bit more pacy and covers of ‘Kinky Afro’ by the Happy Mondays and ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis went down a storm. Hornbeam was open into the early hours and, after making a reservation for a vegan Sunday lunch, we called it a night.
All three events were really good fun and I love being able to have a night out like this in E17. Looking forward to the next one already!
Tagged Bakers Arms, Beer, Chingford, Crafts, Food, Gigs, Museum, Music, Restaurant, Vintage, Walthamstow
Nightfires
Chingford band Nightfires kick off their 2011 gig schedule with a show at The Standard on 11 February.
The recently formed band are Alan Porter, Tom Hutchison, Matthew Foreman and Eren Nasib. The chaps are working on their first EP and are promising new material at the Standard gig. The Nightfires sound reminds me of early Hell is for Heroes with a bit of US math-rockers Kidcrash thrown in for good measure. A teaser of their forthcoming EP can be found on their Myspace site.
Flyer for the Nightfires show
As well as a new EP, Nightfires are also playing the Zenith Bar in Islington on 26 February and the legendary Monarch in Camden on 9 March. It’s looking like an exciting year for this local band. Tickets for the Standard gig are available at the venue. Doors open at 7pm and more details are available here. See you down the front!
E17 Art Trail won the 2010 Arts Award
We know there’s a lot of you out there who figuratively (or literally) kiss the badge when it comes to Walthamstow. It’s awesome, right? So, Waltham Forest council are running the “Love Your Borough 2011” Awards.
There are a range of categories, including an Arts Award. There’s even a Best Kept Front Garden award for all you gnome-totin’ guys and gals out there. We’ve seen our share of dodgy front gardens but there’s some beauties too (all you Village kids, I’m looking at you, right).
Details of the awards are on the Waltham Forest council website. We know Walthamstow isn’t perfect, but it’s got a lot of people who are making a positive difference in it. So check out the website, download the form and nominate a Walthamstow legend. Closing date is Monday 31 January 2011.
Today Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced this year’s local government finance settlement. This sets out the budget that local councils have to spend.
According to the Local Government Information Unit blog, the Waltham Forest council budget has been cut by 5.22%. This equates to a cut of £13.4 million. Waltham Forest council recently consulted people in the borough about what services could be cut. No details are available about where the 5.22% savings will come from, so keep an eye on the Waltham Forest council website for further details.
This week, development firm L&Q published their plans for the proposed redevelopment of Walthamstow Stadium. The Stadium has been closed since August 2008.
The planned new development would provide around 300 new homes, some parking and some public and community spaces. The plans do not include retaining a dog track on the site.
L&Q had planned to run three public consultation events, but the ones on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th December were postponed. There are no confirmed dates for these rearranged events as yet.
The planning application for the site will be submitted in early 2011, according to L&Q’s website. The plans are available to view here.
If you want to share your views on the redevelopment, Walthamstow Scene recommends that you contact your local MP. Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) can be contacted here and Iain Duncan-Smith (Chingford) can be contacted here. Let them know what you think of the plans.
We’ll post the dates of the rearranged consultation events when they are announced.
Walthamstow Scene 