Now in its fourth year, I'm proud to be a sponsor of the E17 Art Trail, a firmly established event on the cultural calendar for Waltham Forest. This year there are 138 listings in 86 separate venues, representing an estimated 300 artists in total! The launch for the Art Trail will take place on Friday 5 September at the Vestry House Museum 6-9pm and continue afterwards at Ye Olde Rose and Crown Theatre Pub on Hoe Street.

The E17 Art Trail website is excellent and provides full details of all the different exhibitions. You may also have seen around Walthamstow the maps for the trail which show activities range from small showcases in people's houses, such as one taking place on Sunday 7 September of the work of local artist Alke Schmidt at 7 Aubrey Road between 12 - 6pm, or major exhibitions featuring a range of artists like the one at Inky Cuttlefish Studios which will showcase works by many local artists and will move on to Berlin and Durban, South Africa. You could have a go at being creative yourself at the craft workshops at the Hornbeam Centre on Hoe Street throughout the Art Trail for residents of all ages. Registration for workshops is appreciated, so to let them know you're coming or to find out more contact: 020 8558 6880, info@organiclea.org.uk.

Or if you would like to support our local artists when you're in central London, David Williams is exhibiting in the The Threadneedle Prize exhibition at the Mall Galleries. The exhibition finishes on the 6 September. David will also be part in the e17 Art Trail, exhibiting at North Tutorial, a show of Royal College of Art painters which will be taking place at a brand new space for contemporary art in Walthamstow at The Red Room, on Richards Place which is behind the Rose and Crown.

Further to my earlier post about the future of Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium, the consortium has now made a serious offer to buy back the site from its new owners the Housing Association London and Quadrant. Currently the track is due to close on the 16 August so on that saturday there will be a rally and march to urge L&Q to enter into negotiations with the consortium to see if a deal can be done to keep racing at the track.  The campaign will begin with a rally at the dog track itself at noon and will then process down Chingford Road and onto Forest Road. There'll be a wedding at the Town Hall so in order to respect the wedding party, the march will pass by the Town Hall and disperse at Spruce Hills Road. There is also a petition you can sign on-line to help show the strength of feeling on this point which will be handed to L&Q. There are 800 jobs and nearly 80 years of history at stake so I hope you will join myself and Neil Gerrard there in showing support for the Save our Stow campaign.