On Saturday 17 March the Holy Family Spring Indoor Table Top Sale takes place between 10am and 1pm, at their Walthamstow site, 1 Shernhall Street, E17 3EA (next to Thorpe Coombe Hospital). Tables are £15 (reduced to £ 10 if prepaid before the event). To book a table, email the Friends for a booking form or phone the school office on 020 8520 0482.
The Forest Recyling Project 'Give or Take Day' is taking place on Saturday 17 March from 12pm- 3pm at Wood Street Plaza, E17 3HX. Bring your unwanted items which someone else could use, and take what you need, for free!
E17 Designers' Market will be holding a Mother's Day Special on Saturday 17 March at The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, E17 7HA. Come along between 1pm and 4.30pm for a unique opportunity to browse and buy handmade arts and crafts from local community of artists, makers and designers.
Vestry House Museum hosts 'Magical Spells!', the last in the series of Magic and Witchcraft events on Saturday 17 March from 1pm to 4pm. Free, at Vestry Road, E17 9NH.
Also on Saturday 17 March Walthamstow Cricket Club will be raising money for Haven House Children's Hospice. There will be a kids' disco between 5pm and 7pm (£1 entry) followed at 8pm by a band and buffet, also auction and raffle (£10 a ticket).
Finally on Saturday 17 March the London Forest Choir will be performing a programme of English music at the Church of St Michael & All Angels, Northcote Road, E17 6PQ. At 7:30pm. Tickets £10 (concessions £8, students £5, accompanied children £1), available from 020 8531 4837, online, or at the door.
Julian Ball is holding an E17 Bake Off competition to support his bid to raise £2000 for the NSPCC by running the London Marathon. It will be held on Sunday 18 March, between 1pm and 4pm, at the Rose and Crown Theatre Pub, 55 Hoe Street, E17 4SA. Details at Julian's JustGiving page.
On Monday 19 March Ken Livingstone will be holding a Fare Deal Rally for his supporters in central London, highlighting his pledge to cut transport fares. Many Walthamstow residents will be attending this event which will start at 7pm at the Old Vic Tunnels, under Waterloo Station (Leake Street entrance) SE1 8SW.
Chloe Redmond's taken Zumba onto the streets of Walthamstow – see the video of her flashmob in the town centre. She's holding a new class from 7pm on Tuesday 20 March at Church Hill Studios, 6 Church Hill, E17 3RY.
Fancy meeting new people in E17? Why not buy a ticket for 'speed acquainting' on Thursday 22 March? It's an opportunity for people in their 30s, 40s and 50s to meet lots of new people over a drink. 8pm- 10:30pm, at Orford House, 73 Orford Road, E17 9QR, tickets £5 available online.
On Saturday 24 March Waltham Forest NCT are holding their nearly new sale. Items for sale include used clothes, maternity clothes, toys and equipment for babies & children. 10am- 11:30am at the Asian Centre, 18a Orford Road, E17 9LN. £2 entrance per family. Refreshments available. All welcome.
Walthamstow Village Residents' Association 10th annual Spring Clean takes place on Saturday 24 March. They will be meeting on the Village Square (on the corner of Eden & Orford Roads) at 10:30 am to spruce up the Village ready for summer. For more details please email Helen.
This year's William Morris Birthday Lecture takes place on Saturday 24 March at 2.30pm, in the chapel at Forest School, Oakhurst Gardens, E17 3PY. Acclaimed Morris biographer Fiona MacCarthy will deliver this year's lecture, 'Telling Stories: Burne-Jones, William Morris and the Love of Narrative'. The talk will be followed by refreshments in the great hall. The lecture is free but you will require a ticket – available from Vestry House Museum, the reception desk at the school and by post (please send a stamped addressed envelope to Martin Adams 45 Lloyd Road London E17 6NP).
On Sunday 25 March Walthamstow Toy Library are holding a new and nearly new table top sale, from 10am-12pm. Children's toys and clothes, DVDs, handmade local products, and craft packs for kids. Tea, coffee and cakes galore! At Comely Bank Community Clinic, 46 Ravenswood Road, E17 9LY. Adults: £1, Children: free.
Where to find me this week..
• Friday 16 March Taking part in a citizenship lesson at Kelmscott School and then meeting with local healthcare representatives.
• Sunday 17 March Attending St Patrick's Day celebrations at the Catholic Parish of Our Lady and St George Church
• Monday 19 March Taking part in Home Office Questions in the House of Commons and then speaking on the need for action on stalking and human trafficking in the debates on the Protection of Freedoms Bill.
• Tuesday 20 March Training more young people in community organising techniques for the Youth Crime Pledge campaign. To join this campaign call James on 020 8521 1223.
• Wednesday 21 March leading another training session for the Youth Crime Pledge.
• Thursday 22 March attending the Walthamstow Labour Party General Committee
Improving Sexual Healthcare Services in Walthamstow: What Happens Next
Thank you to the 80 Walthamstow women who attended the community coffee morning I organised last Saturday to discuss access to sexual health services and the volunteers who helped collect data on this issue. Their comments echoed the emails and complaints i have had regarding access to contraception, STI testing and smear tests. You can also see some photos from the coffee morning on Facebook.
I followed up these concerns in the House of Commons in Tuesday's debate on the Government's plans to reform the NHS. You can read my intervention here. I will be sharing the outcomes of this event with our local healthcare providers and GPs. If you would like to see these and are interested in supporting the campaign to improve access to sexual health services in Walthamstow, please email me.
1200 Pupils: Help Lobby Boris to back our Campaign!
Over the past few months I have been working with local parents and teachers to campaign to for the shortage of school places in Walthamstow to be addressed. Waltham Forest has now been allocated £25 million which the local authority is using to provide increases in forms of entry across primary schools, with the majority of expansions in Walthamstow. However there still remains uncertainty regarding secondary school capacity. It is estimated that 800 of the 1200 shortfall will be in secondary school places by 2015.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has launched a year-long investigation into education in schools, including the school places shortage issue. The results of the investigation are due to be reported in the autumn of 2012. Members of this campaign have been writing to the Mayor to ask he commit to supporting our campaign to tackle Walthamstow's school place shortage as a matter of urgency.
If you'd like to lend your support to the campaign to ensure there is space for all our young people to be educated, please email me for a copy of the brief on this campaign and draft text to send to the Mayor.
Last chance to register for the Waltham Forest Welcome Olympic Volunteering Programme
The Waltham Forest Welcome Olympic Volunteering programme still has space for a few more people to register for the final workshop which is on 24 and 25 March. It is an opportunity for residents to represent the borough to visitors from across the globe. Apply online, or find out more by emailing or calling 07791 831103.
Compost Bin Giveaway!
London Community Resource Network is teaming up with the North London Waste Authority for a compost bin giveaway this Saturday 17 March from 10 – 4pm. Any Waltham Forest resident can get a free compost bin so long as they email Manuela Romeo before the date. Pick up of the bins will be from the Enfield Reuse Centre, Suites E4, 5 and 6, Harbert Road, N18 3QP.
Stella Creasy, Labour and Co-Operative MP for Walthamstow
23 Orford Road Walthamstow E17 9NL 020 8521 1223
www.workingforwalthamstow.org.uk
