Walking past the Olympic Park on the way to Bow you see over to the right the Bryant & May match factory.

The Lea Valley contains a lot English history and the match factory was the location of a landmark strike which became part of trade union history.

In 1888 the match girls who worked in very alarming conditions went on strike and won both public support and better workplace safeguards.

An oddly titled exhibition in London E1, The Match Women’s Strike 1988: Alison Marchant’s Wall Paper History, is a re-staging of a centenary show seen at Rochdale Art Gallery.

Included are original prints, photographs, etchings and collages inspired by archival imagery.
New exhibition

The exhibition is at Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives, 277 Bancroft Road, London E1 4DQ until Friday 6 May.

Open Tue 10am-5pm, Wed 9am-5pm, Thu 9am-8pm, First & third Sat of month 9am-5pm.

The River Lea track in Adele’s third album just released is already a proving to be a favourite.

Peter Bradshaw wrote in The Guardian on Saturday about Adele’s ‘River Roots’:

“There’s a new reason for getting excited about Adele’s new album 25. It has loads of vivid psycho-geography. One of the most striking tracks is River Lea, in which Adele finds the mystic source of her inspiration not just in the north London district of Tottenham, where she was born, but in the nearby River Lea itself, which flows from the Chiltern Hills through east and north London before joining the Thames.

“I’ve always found it wonderful: when our son was very little, we used to take him for bike rides by the Lea: it has an eerie rus in urbe feel. Here’s what Adele sings: ‘When I was a child I grew up by the River Lea / There was something in the water, now that something’s in me … But it’s in my roots, it’s in my veins / It’s in my blood.’

“Iain Sinclair is going to love Adele’s song. He is passionate about the Lea. Here’s how he wrote about it in 2002: ‘The earlier spelling … was Ley, which is even better. Lea as ley, it always had that feel. A route out. A river track that walked the walker, a wet road. The Lea fed our Hackney dreaming: a water margin.’ I think Adele should invite Sinclair up on stage to sing a special River Lea duet.”

The Matchbox Toys factory next to Marshgate Bridge has been replaced by Matchmakers Wharf.

It is interesting to see this change featured in An A-Z of Planning and Culture published today by the Mayor of London. The guide outlines the practical steps that can be taken to protect culture and support new activity.

At Matchmakers Wharf there are 49 purpose-built affordable artists’ studios in the building which has views of the River Lea and across Hackney Marsh.

Walkers intending to follow the tidal Lea from Three Mills to East india Dock should note that the handy Gasworks Bridge near the start is not open.

You should follow the alternative route, advised in a note on page 112 of the new guide, by walking up Three Mill Lane past Tesco. Go left up the main road past Bromley-by-Bow station and left into Twelvetrees Crescent. Keep ahead past the school (right).

From Bromley-by-Bow Station: Of course if you arrive at Bromley-by-Bow Station go left down the subway outside the station and under the road. On the far side turn right along the road and left into Twelvetrees Crescent.

The good news is that the other new feature here is open: the Cody Dock bridge.

At Last!

The lastest edition of The Lea Valley Walk guide is now available direct from the publisher post free.

This is the third edition with new photographs and new text featuring all the changes and improvements up and down the river which have followed on from the Olympic Games.

Thanks to The Line art trail and the reopening of Cody Dock there is the chance to follow the tidal River Lea to the most southerly tip of the valley’s regional park by the River Thames.

First stop on the walk is a moated pub open for breakfast. The last stop could be the View Tube cafe overlooking the Olympic Park. Perfect for this month’s Bank Holiday weekend.

The natural cycle of growth and pasture is maintained on Walthamstow Marshes.

Cattle are removed at Candlemas, 2 February. At Lammastide, starting on Lammas Day 1 August, the grass is cut or cattle brought back.

This weekend Lammas Day will be kept on Walthamstow Marshes with a series of events including a scything competition.

This evening Saturday 1 August, between 7pm and 8pm, visitors are invited to bring a picnic to hear an informal talk about the history of the land and commoning.

The idea to hold this and other events came from two local artists, Kathrin Böhm and Louis Buckley, who work in close collaboration with the Lee Valley Park rangers.

The tragic death of 17 year old Jack Susianta near Lea Bridge on Wednesday afternoon is the front page story in today’s Daily Mirror (Friday 31 July 2015).

Jack drowned just below a footbridge, known as King’s Head Bridge, after running away from Police who had been called to help him. He jumped into the River Lea having run across North Millfields from his home in Clapton.

The subsequent search was between the footbridge, now decorated with flowers, and downstream Lea Bridge.

There are suggestions that the police were slow to enter the water. Around a hundred spectators, walkers and residents in the new flats, were allegedly advised not to jump into the water.

Today Lucy D’Orsi, the Metropolitan Police Commander for East London, made a long statement:

“Today’s headlines concerning the tragic story of Jack Susianta who drowned in the River Lea offers a clear picture of a complex situation. Or does it?

“Our thoughts are with Jack’s family – it is hard to comprehend the pain they must be feeling after losing a loved one so young. It’s also a traumatic event for the people on the river bank who witnessed the events unfold and the police officers involved in the incident. The call was not to investigate a crime but to help someone in distress. Reflecting on this point reminded me that policing is not all about crime. In fact over 60 per cent of what we are called to deal with in London is not crime. I, like my colleagues, joined policing to help people and that’s often the bit that is forgotton when people debate police activity.

“The Daily Mirror’s front page headline this morning, Friday 31 July, offers a definite conclusion – Police Refuse To Save Drowning Boy. No quotation marks, nothing to reflect our statement last night, Thursday, 30 July, that officers first tried to use a life aid and throw lines to him before an officer, who then needed assistance himself, entered dangerous water to try and safe Jack’s life. Met divers also entered the water in a rescue operation to try and save Jack. I saw no mention of this.

“When police have been involved in an incident where someone has died we must refer ourselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission so they can look at the circumstances of what has happened. We have done this and this means that the detail and context around what exactly happened and the actions that were taken may take time to come out. Often when this happens the story is no longer front page news. It is only fair to Jack’s family and all those concerned in this case that we do not try to pre-empt the investigation by providing more detail than the brief description of events offered in yesterday’s statement. This feels frustrating but right.

“Our world is one of immediate news at a fast pace. We accept that headlines will be written before investigations have had time to run their course but this is sometimes disappointing and hard to understand. I think it is only fair on those involved in this incident to make sure that the way it is reported does reflect, for very valid reasons, the full context and the facts. Of course newspapers should quote the views of others but surely it would also be fair to reflect that the situation may, or may not be, more complex than some of the stories concerning this incident are reflecting. That might include putting quotation marks around a headline which is presented as a very factual statement.

“My colleagues across London deal with high risk situations everyday, putting themselves at risk and running to things that most would run from. It’s not easy for them or their families and therefore when judged I believe they deserve to be judged fairly.

“Followers of our Facebook pages will regularly read stories of officers who have been involved in incidents where lives have been saved, including water rescues. They are humbling stories which make me proud of the service we provide to Londoners. These rarely get reported in the national media but I recognise that in a democratic society which is proud of freedom of speech it is not for the police to suggest what is or is not editorially important. As it happens these Facebook posts are among our most popular.

“Our officers deserve a fair and independent investigation into how an incident such as this has unfolded but most importantly so do Jack’s family who are dealing with grief which most of us hope never to have to experience. A proper explanation of the circumstances surrounding the incident is required for everyone and I don’t think that has been reflected in the way it has been presented so far in the media.”

Last week Country Life sensationally revealed a picture of William Shakespeare as a young man.

This week’s issue (May 27) contains an article by Mark Griffiths who claims to have found an unknown Shakespeare playlet.

Its only performance was in the the Lea Valley.

Mark Griffiths says that in May 1591 Queen Elizabeth I travelled from Greenwich via Hackney to Waltham Cross where she stayed for ten days at Theobalds.

She was the guest of her chief minister Lord Burghley but he did not greet her. That task was left to William Shakespeare.

The Queen arrived on Monday 10 May. The playlet, with a cast of three at most, was performed later in the week with Shakespeare playing the gardener and another actor the mole catcher. A non speaking part involved presenting Elizabeth with a box.

Elizabeth’s successor James I swopped Hatfield House for Theobalds and it was at the former that Griffiths found part of the script.

We learn that after breakfast on day of the Queen’s departure, Thursday 20 May, she knighted Burghley’s son Robert Cecil who was soon to succeed his father as secretary of state.

The play has an interesting reference to Sir Robert’s own home Pymmes Park which was to the south at Silver Street. Pymmes Brook, which runs through  the grounds, can be seen entering the River Lea at Tottenham.

The remains of the original Theobalds, Cedars Park, is near Theobalds Grove Station, or a short walk from the riverside White Water Centre.

Entrance to Cody Dock at South Crescent

The sculpture trail known as The Line has at last opened.

The first day was marred by lunchtime rain and the afternoon remained overcast.

But people did begin to make their way to Cody Dock and other sites between Three Mills and The O2 Arena.

The bridge at Cody Dock

The project has resulted in the bridge at Cody Dock opening and so allowing for more of the riverside path to be available to walkers.

The gate on the riverside path open at last

A further improvement is imminent upstream at Twelvetrees Crescent Bridge where it should be possible to pass more easily from the navigation towpath to the tidal path.

At Cody Dock not only is the long locked gate now open daily but on the grass there is  Damien Hirst’s Sensation first shown at Tate Britain in 2004.

Abigail Fallis’s shopping trolleys are by the tidal River Lea

Outside the Amazon building, on the promenade between Twelvetrees Bridge and Cody Dock, is Abigail Fallis’s DNA DL90 which consists of 22 shopping trolleys.

The The Line art trail, which has improved and liberated a stretch Lea valley Walk path, is open daily. Cody Dock, near Star Lane DLR Station, is open daylight hours.

Lord Brocket is looking to regaining control of his family seat Brocket Hall a little earlier than expected.

This follows the surprise news that the hotel company leasing the mansion has gone into administration.

The peer had to leave his home after being jailed in 1996 for fraud. The house was due to revert to the family in 2056 but Lord Brocket has said that he is now  interested in buying it back.

The Broadwater, the great feature of Brocket Park on the Lea valley Walk, is fed by the River Lea.