WANSTEAD DAILY PHOTO: March 2014

Monday, 31 March 2014

THANK YOU...

I spend a lot of time just wandering around Wanstead looking for pictures. Sometimes in the car but more often than not walking which is usually the best way to discover picture opportunities. One of the things about blogging, is

Sunday, 30 March 2014

CHESS OR DRAUGHTS ?

Popped into Starbucks in the High Street the other day for a quick latte just to keep my energy levels up. I had never noticed before that some of the tables are marked out in squares. Is this just a design feature or are they the real thing following some of our continental friends who play chess in public? A thought for the next Wanstead Fringe perhaps? Oh and Happy Mother Day!

Saturday, 29 March 2014

END OF THE DAY..

I took this photograph at the very end of the day at the junction of Wellington and Wellesley Road. The sun had just about gone down transforming everything into silhouette. I liked the way that the shape of the trees echoed the spire of Christ Church.

Friday, 28 March 2014

FLYING HIGH, er LOW ACTUALLY...

Did you see the helicopter on Monday? If you were in the eastern part of Wanstead over by the river Roding it was difficult to miss, if you couldn't see it you would almost certainly have heard it. It hovered in the same spot for ages, at first I thought it was the Police dealing with a problem on the A406. It turns out it was from the National Grid and it spent the afternoon slowly following the course of the power lines that run along the Roding Valley. Just checking I expect.

Wednesday, 26 March 2014

HAIL..

Did you get caught up in the hail last weekend? I was driving through Wanstead and the noise on the car roof was tremendous. It stopped just before I turned into Wigram Road, as I pulled up at first glance I thought all these white spots on the floor were hailstones. As it turned out though, it was just blossom that had been blown off the trees. Sad to see it go but our Cherry tree is in an exposed position so flowers late, we have lots of blossom to look forward to.

Tuesday, 25 March 2014

CHALK DRAWING..

I haven't seen this for years, not since I was a child, a pavement artist working in chalk. I remember seeing them on days out in 'the West End' but on Monday I came across one here in Wanstead High Street. I asked the gentleman about the picture he had drawn, he explained that 'it was a generic English scene not of anyone place' and invited me to take a picture. His skill in calligraphy was also obvious as you can see by the 'thank you' note next to his hat. He was reading, I enquired about the book, he explained that it was about Medieval architecture and garden design. I said goodbye and left him in peace to continue reading his book.

Monday, 24 March 2014

PASSING BY..

As I passed Wanstead underground station earlier today I saw a crowd gathered. On the opposite side of the road were photographers waiting for the funeral cortège of Bob Crow. The cortège travelled from Woodford to the City of London Crematorium through Wanstead High Street.

Saturday, 22 March 2014

CLOUDS OR WHAT...

World © Geoff Wilkinson - All rights reserved

I really like the shapes and swirls in the picture, they could be clouds, waves or anything your imagination can conjure up. They are of course just swirls of whitewash put on windows by builders, while refitting the site of the former Cinnamon Restaurant in the High Street.

Friday, 21 March 2014

GORDON ROAD..

I came across these four houses in Gordon Road when I was out taking pictures. I find them interesting because they are a completely different style to all the other houses in the road, is there a story? if anyone has any information about them I'd be very interested to hear from you.

ANOTHER POEM...

I seem to remember Edward Lear's poem goes 'The owl and the pussycat...' As you can see, in this case it's two owls and a lamp. I found this illustration on the wall of a house in Gordon Road, it's up very high so it must be the work of a dedicated owl lover.

Thursday, 20 March 2014

ITALIAN JOB..

As anyone who knows me well will tell you I have very little interest in cars. If it goes forward, backward and hopefully stops I'm pretty happy. However, I do like a little Italian style, so you can imagine my delight when I discovered this Maserati parked in Wanstead, aside from the car I just liked the way the sun was cutting across the bonnet.

Tuesday, 18 March 2014

"A HOST OF GOLDEN DAFFODILS"....

Wandering down Grosvenor Road yesterday and seeing this profusion of daffodils brought to mind the famous William Wordsworth poem. A walk in the Lake District was not necessary, it is all here in Wanstead.

Monday, 17 March 2014

BLUE SKIES, NOTHING BUT BLUE SKIES...

Fabulous day yesterday, lots of people out and about in Wanstead, shopping, sunbathing and playing with the children on the green. I was walking along Chaucer Road when I spotted this blossom, although it's past it's best it still looked stunning against the blue sky. I haven't forgotten, Happy St Patricks day!

Saturday, 15 March 2014

THE HIGH STONE...

I have been meaning to put this picture on for some time. Its The High Stone at the junction of Hollybush Hill and New Wanstead. It was originally a mile marker showing the distances to Epping, Ongar, Whitechapel and Hyde Park Corner on three of its faces. Sadly time, and I suspect the weather has taken its toll on these. The stone however has been reset and looks rather grand. According to the legend recorded on a plinth situated by the stone, 'in 1757 a highway man by the name of Matthew Snatt robbed a mail coach near the stone. He was executed and his body left hanging in chains as a warning to others'.

Friday, 14 March 2014

NEW "BASIC WORKSHOP" DATE.

For those interested in photography, I have just put out a new "Basic Workshop" date please check it out on the Workshop Page.

Thursday, 13 March 2014

VOILA....

At first glance you may think that I took this picture on the beach at Southend or some other pebbled location. It is however, the new surface on the paths of Nightingale Green. For the last few weeks it was thought we would look at a sea of black tarmac. A sigh of relief our new pebbles look wonderful.

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

A GRAND ENTRANCE..

The piers at the start of the drive that led to Wanstead House still stand, they can be found at the junction of Overton Drive and Blake Hall Road. With the volume of traffic that pass by now it's difficult to imagine grand carriages progressing along the drive to the house. The piers are still in good condition although some of the carvings are faded, it's worth stopping though to have a close up look.

Monday, 10 March 2014

BRAIN TEASER 1...

Hopefully, you all had an enjoyable weekend in the sunshine like the residents of Wanstead. If you are refreshed and raring to go I thought I might give you a little brain teaser to start the week. What do you think this picture is of and where is it coming from? It's a two part answer and here's a clue, the picture's also upside down.

Sunday, 9 March 2014

LOVELY SURPRISE..

I spent all day yesterday photographing in the studio at the Gallery, I didn't even take a break at lunchtime, there was so much to do. Consequently I hardly saw any daylight, so what a wonderful surprise when I got home last night to see that this beautiful Star Magnolia had come out in bloom. Worth being in the dark all day.

Saturday, 8 March 2014

THE BODYGUARD..

This sentry box stands in the church yard of the wonderful St Mary the Virgin Church in Overton Drive, Wanstead. It provided shelter for the guard whose job was to look out for body snatchers should they venture into the grounds. In the mid 1800s as I understand it there was a lucrative trade in digging up recently buried bodies and selling them on to hospitals for dissection.

On a brighter note, if you have never visited this church you really should, it's a real gem. Take time to wander through the ground's its wonderful.

This is the view from inside the sentry box, can you image what it was like on a cold dark night? There is also modern graffiti on the inside, one piece intrigued me it looks much, much older. Could it be from a night watchman many years ago.

Friday, 7 March 2014

THE SKY...

You'r probably thinking "what's happened, where's the picture"? Well this is the picture, it's of the sky Wednesday morning, it was such a fabulous start to the day, I just pointed the camera up and shot the picture. It was just a mass of blue, the only clouds were over on the horizon. It was quite mild with a very light breeze and there was a real sense of an early summer day. To make it perfect a bird appears to have set up home in the tree next to our house and so we have bird song every morning as we wake.

Taken as a whole it was just a perfect morning.

Tuesday, 4 March 2014

A LITTLE EARLY...

Good news for bees in Wanstead, Friends of the Earth plan to distribute wild flower seeds around Snaresbrook to 'plant corridors of pollen bearing flowers'. You can see more of the story on Wansteadium. I found this little chap in my front garden the other day resting on the edging.

Geoff Wilkinson’s Really Simple Photography Handbook now on Kindle. To purchase a copy click here

Monday, 3 March 2014

I'M HOPING..

I took this photograph of Alexandra Lake, Wanstead Flats in May last year, a classic, lovely scene. I checked the lake out again a few days ago to see how the rain had affected it. As you can see from the pictures below it has changed a lot. The edge of the lake that was about 6 or 7 meters from the pavement is now lapping the edge of it! I assume the ground is so saturated in can't absorb any more, it didn't however deter the Saturday morning football teams and the joggers. The photographs were taken from roughly the same spot to give you some indication, I'm hoping this will be the last wet weather picture for some time but I double it.

Sunday, 2 March 2014

MOVING MUSIC..

I spotted these young musicians walking along Cambridge Park yesterday. Not quite sure where they were off to, whether a performance or a rehearsal, a nice picture for Sunday morning I thought. Maybe West Ham supporters?

Geoff Wilkinson’s Really Simple Photography Handbook now on Kindle. To purchase a copy click here

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