Major News The good and the bad

Here is a selection of Ilford news. Any major stories, national news concerning Ilford or anything that particularly catches the eye you can count on us to tell you! This is not meant to be comprehensive weekly news, for that see Wanstead and Woodford Guardian or similar. Feel free to comment on each story by clicking the link below it! Interpretation and summary by the author of this site.

Valentines Park

View Ilford and Redbridge News Headlines only

• New interactive News website idea
  From Saturday there will be a new website feature: the ability for users to read and add comments to individual news stories you see here. If a news story has wound you up, brought tears to your eyes (unlikely!!) or you have an alternative spin or just a witty remark you'll be able to leave your mark here. So get thinking and rush back here Saturday evening!
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• Council leader packs his bags!
  Council leader packs his bags! The result of the latest local council election is that the Tories have gained control of Redbridge. They now have 33 seats compared to Labour's 21. The Liberals remain on 9 seats. Muhammed Javed, Labour leader of the council resigned. Who will the Ilford Recorder get to comment on every other story they print now he's gone?
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• She came...she saw...she loved us! Who? The Queen!
  She came...she saw...she loved us! Who? The Queen! The Queen and the Duke Of Edinburgh visited Ilford on the 9th May 2002. They arrived at their unlikely destination, the Redbridge Lane West allotments. The allotments have been adapted for use by people with learning difficulties. As you would expect, the crowd was full of old people waving Union flags, and young primary school children who don't really have a clue (see below). She wore a red coat and purple hat. She went on a walkabout looking at the various plants and chatted to well-wishers. Before she left she was given a basket of vegetables that were grown on the site (£1000 bet they ended in the bin, anyone?). She left giving a smile and a wave. Some children were interviewed afterwords. What follows is not a bunch of serious typographical errors, wandering subjects or confused tenses but what they said (bless 'em!)
  "I want to see how old she looks."
  Its quite nice to see the Queen because I liked her mother and it's my birthday today so it's two nice things".
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• Jeremy Spake latest celebrity to visit Ilford!
  Jeremy Spake is to become the latest celebrity to visit Ilford. For avoidance of doubt, the word celebrity in this context is used loosely. He has been thrust into our homes in the BBC's 'docusoap', Airport. Since then he has popped up absolutely everywhere, including various holiday shows and now The Toughest Job in Britain (BBC1, Friday night 7:30pm). He has written a book about his experiences of these jobs and is signing copies of his book at Waterstone's in Ilford High Road on Friday May 10 between 12pm and 2pm.
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• The closed Gants Hill Cinema gets more customers than when it was open!
  The recently closed Gants Hill cinema enjoyed more customers through the door per hour than than when it actually open. There was an illegal rave held there last Saturday, which lasted right through until Monday afternoon. What a hangover that must have resulted.
  A rather large number of people attended. One paper reports 1000 people, another reports 2000, so either the reporters lost count using their handheld clickers, the cinema ticket machine ran out of paper or these numbers were plucked out of the air.
  The managing company said 'Last week this was a perfect cinema'. (I recon a perfect cinema lets customers watch movies - Ed).
  There was internal damage, graffiti, and chairs ripped. One resident observed: "There were people full of drugs walking around with vicious dogs.". There was disription to local business.
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