How a determined Tai Chi teacher helped a quirky, little-known green space come into its own, changing hundreds of lives for the better.
Tucked away behind a recycling centre, Pimp Hall Nature Reserve in Chingford is a small but cherished patch of green space that was taken under the protection of Fields in Trust in 1994. Despite being blessed with a wildflower meadow, ponds, an orchard, a historic dovecote and a tiny lending library, it was a secret to many in the area for a long time. “For every ten local residents, maybe eight didn’t know this little gem existed,” says Tai Chi teacher Aileen Hamdan, who has helped raise the profile of the reserve in recent years by running outdoor classes in the space.
For Hamdan, introducing Tai Chi to her adopted country was a way of reconnecting with her childhood in Shanghai. She learned the discipline herself soon after moving to the UK, while dealing with postnatal depression after the birth of her second daughter. “It was so helpful to me,” she says. “When you feel you’re burning out, it gives you the skills to calm down.” Keen to spread the benefits of Tai Chi, she trained as a teacher and was tipped off about Pimp Hall by a martial arts-loving local authority officer in Chingford a decade ago. “He said ‘This place is absolutely made for you to do classes’,” says Hamdan. “And he was right!”
Hamdan offered her initial classes for free. “We recruited many local residents and, after the first ten-week course, some of them stayed – and we had our first core students who really thought this was their cup of tea,” says Hamdan. Since then, more than 800 people have come to do Tai Chi in the open air at Pimp Hall, at regular morning classes and special events.
At one such event, a day-long celebration of the Lunar New Year in February 2025, members of Hamdan’s classes are dressed in bright red clothes and put on outdoor demonstrations for the public. Dhesna Wise, who has been attending sessions for a year, enthuses about the combination of the ancient art and the beautiful surroundings of the reserve. “I loved it the minute I joined Aileen’s class,” she says. “It’s good for the mind, the body and the soul. People at all different stages can do the movements together, there’s no pressure to get there quickly. And the setting is lovely, you’re in the middle of Chingford, but you could be in the middle of nowhere.”
Also taking part in the session is Jason Monero, who suffered a brain tumour when he was young which left him severely visually impaired, and prone to seizures that make him stiff down one side. He says that the Tai Chi classes at Pimp Hall help him in regaining his balance afterwards. “My mum, dad and I do it as a family,” he says. “When I started, I was in a wheelchair, and it’s been amazing for me physically. There’s a community spirit too, I’ve met so many different types of people.”
The Tai Chi crew are only one set of locals who have discovered the space in recent years: a Friends Group now meet to keep the reserve litter free and work on conservation projects, nature photographers hold exhibitions in the dovecote and a beautiful double-decker Play Bus makes regular visits to keep kids entertained. Local enthusiasts run workshops in watercolours and stained glass, films are screened at a pop-up outdoor cinema and family craft sessions are combined with rambles around the grounds. An incredible amount of community value is wrung out of this place and – thanks to Fields in Trust – will continue to be for years to come.