The end of one era, and the heralding of another

Having hung up my newbie's boots, I have also moved from the Waltham Forest paper to the Wanstead and Woodford paper - thereby necessitating the first blog in months.

Ostensibly, not much will change from now on. There are still three reporters at Waltham Forest, as they also welcome a new face this week, but there are now also three at Wanstead and Woodford, which (I hope) will help even things out.

We are now six months on from becoming 'mobile journalists' and I'm sure readers will have noticed how much things have moved on since July last year. The website is now the first port of call for news and (again, I hope) we're bringing you the stories as they happen, often from the scene. This is not to say, of course, that the print edition is any less important, but the deskbound reporter is dead and buried - we're now out in the community more or less all day every day and, for me, this now means getting to know a new patch and new people.

It will also mean a whole new host of ongoing tales and a whole new slant to bring to the blog. I haven't much to offer in the way of a 'news rundown' yet, as was my wont while in Waltham Forest, but I'm sure this will soon change, especially if the people of Wanstead and Woodford are as kind and accommodating as those across the border have been up to now.

I'm writing this blog, therefore, by way of an introduction. From next week, I will be contactable, as ever, by email and telephone, but it will also be possible to find me in various cafes around the area. When in Wanstead, I will be in Nice Croissant. When in South Woodford, I will be in the Soul Stop Cafe. And when in Woodford, I will be in Cafe Belgique. Give me a call and maybe drop by for a chat.

To pass on a story in the Wanstead and Woodford area, contact me on 07768 507 739 or email chack@london.newsquest.co.uk

To pass on a story in the Leyton/Leytonstone area, contact new reporter Sian Harrison on 07795 308 149 or email sharrison@london.newsquest.co.uk