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On the buses

IT’S GOOD NEWS for bus users in Emmer Green and Caversham, with an improved timetable from 1 September. This sees a welcome increase in the frequency of buses serving Kidmore End Road and Courtney Drive, and a new low price fare for the trip from the centre of Caversham and central Reading.
The changes in our area are based on both customer and driver feedback. Customer requests regarding services in Emmer Green have been answered, with the circular Berry services (routes 23 and 24) and the Pink service (route 25 to Peppard Common) swapping their routes through Emmer Green. The Berry services will return to Courtenay Drive and Kidmore End Road, and Pink 25/25a will now run directly along Peppard Road. In addition, the Berry services will use Caversham Bridge in both directions. As a result, both sides of Caversham Park will have links to central Caversham in both directions…Read More

Summer goes out with a bang

AFTER MONTHS of dry weather, heatwaves and hosepipe bans, the summer ended suddenly in thunderstorms and showers as September started. Sunshine and showers combined to create this perfect rainbow early in the month. The football season has started, and this October edition of the Caversham Bridge has several related articles. Happy Wanderer looks back at the football ferry, which brought Reading fans to see games here in Caversham, and our wordsearch has a football theme (both p7). We find out more about local team RG4 FC which gives young people a chance to play the game and, for older players, we report on Rotherfield United Walking Football Club and their charity fundraising efforts (both p13)…Read More

Putting on a show

FOR ME THERE is always a period of anxiety in the run up to the Caversham Horticultural Society Autumn Show. Will there be enough entries and will a decent number of visitors turn up? Both factors have the weather in common. This year has been particularly tough on gardeners, with periods of prolonged drought.
Normally a mainstay of this show, many potential entries of soft fruit and annual vegetables such as runner beans had gone over by the end of August. Incidentally, this early arrival of native berries before autumn could have a detrimental effect on wildlife which relies on autumn berries to fatten up before the winter.
Ironically, the long-awaited rain appeared over the show weekend, which could have reduced the number of show visitors. Thankfully this was not a major factor, and a healthy number of people came to support the show, to meet with friends, and enjoy the tea and homemade cakes. It was also very encouraging to view the trestle tables ‘groaning’ with ornamental plants, fruit, and vegetables on display…Read More

Concerts in Caversham

ST ANDREW’S CHURCH in Albert Road will once again be the venue for the Concerts in Caversham Autumn Festival of Music and Art between 24 October and 1 November. The four concerts start on Friday 24 October with The CinC Ensemble, lead by violinist Ellie Fagg with Tom Norris – viola, Naomi Watts – cello and Jennifer Walsh – piano. They will play trios by Haydn and Dohnanyi and the piano quartet in G minor by Brahms. On Saturday 25 October The Pelleas Ensemble, with Henry Roberts – flute, Luba Tunnicliffe – viola and Rosanna Rolton – harp, take the stage. On Friday 31 October, bass baritone Dingle Yandell, with Adrienne Black on piano, perform opera highlights and Wagner’s Wesendonck Leider, as well as lighter numbers…Read More

Dusting off the red boxes

THE 89th READING Scout group will once again be providing a Christmas Post service to the residents of Caversham, Caversham Heights, Emmer Green and Caversham Park Village.
The exact locations of our boxes is not yet finalised, but we will announce them on our website in the coming weeks. Each year we use this opportunity to raise money for the benefit of both the community and the scouts at the 89th.
We will announce the recipient of the 2025 postal fund on 28 November when our bright red Scout post boxes will open across Caversham and Emmer Green. All post will be delivered by our Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers and leaders over the weekend of 20 and 21 December. Full details of postal box locations and how the service works will be available on our website: www.89th.org.uk…Read More

Remembering a loved one

ON THE Sunday nearest to All Souls Day it is common for churches to hold a special service to remember those we have loved and lost. For many, it is a way of honouring their memory and giving thanks for their lives and all they meant to us. Everyone in the local community is invited to this act of remembrance.
Some come on their own, others come with friends or family members. Some people just come for a year or two after a loss, whilst others come every year.
During the service, the names of those we are remembering are read aloud, and there is an opportunity to light candles in their memory. Those attending can’t always put their finger on why this matters, or why it’s helpful, but many find this service a comfort and a step towards healing. This can be especially so if it was not possible to attend the funeral of a loved one.

Remembering a Loved One services this year will be on 2 November, 16:00 at St John the Baptist, Gosbrook Road, RG4 5AN, and 18:30 at St Peter’s, The Warren, RG4 7TH…Read More

Mission Romania August 2025 Shine! (Woo!)

I’VE RECENTLY returned from leading a group from St John’s and St Peter’s Churches in Caversham on a week-long mission trip to Romania – and what a week it was! I couldn’t be prouder of the team. For most it was their first mission trip. One had never owned a passport; another had never flown before! Saying ‘Yes’ took courage. For God promised, ‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid… for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ (Joshua Chapter 1 verse 9).
We served with The Smiles Foundation (Smiles), a Christian charity whose aim is to “Put smiles on faces in the name of Christ” and to show people they are loved and not forgotten…Read More

For Your Bookshelf

ONE BOOK which received some attention at the start of the year due to a TV adaptation was Miss Austen by Gill Hornby. The TV show was aired by the BBC and was brilliant. Following Jane Austen’s death, her sister, Cassandra, destroyed a number of letters Jane had written. This book is based on a literary mystery which has long puzzled biographers and academics. Miss Austen is a wonderfully original and emotionally complex novel about the loves and lives of Cassandra and Jane Austen.

My children’s choice is local author Iszi Lawrence and her popular Time Machine Next Door series. These books are perfect for ages 7+ and fans of Horrible Histories. There are multiple books in the series following two children, Sunil and Alex. Alex has built a time machine, so they travel back for various adventures. The two latest books released in August are Inventors and Dinosaurs and Artists and a Disappearing Dog…Read More

On the move

COLIN BAKER, who wrote our August Talking Point, has since left Caversham Baptist Church to take up ministry in Burgess Hill. In recent years, Colin has played an active role in Churches Together in Caversham, in particular helping with the Holiday Club and the planning of Nativity Live. His last service was 7 September.
Colin wrote, ‘I have been called to Sheddingdean Baptist Church in Burgess Hill. It is a church plant from Gateway Baptist in Burgess Hill itself. The church currently meets in a school and has very strong links into schools, the community centre and the local football club. This takes me back to my church planting roots both prior to and during training at Spurgeons College and of course my first four years of ministry in Scotland.’…Read More

Happy Wanderer discovers The Football Ferry

RECORDS SHOW that, in the Middle Ages, the Thames at Reading could be forded, probably using a paved causeway, but they also show that people were sometimes drowned in the attempt. It seems likely that the fords were only passable in safety when there wasn’t much water coming down, even for people on horseback. Ferries were probably used as well.
The first mention of a ferry between Caversham and Reading comes in 1231 when King Henry III directed the Keeper of Windsor Forest to deliver an oak to Andrew, Sergeant of Caversham, for a boat to ferry poor people across the water at Caversham. In 1238, timber was granted for a ferry to carry pilgrims to Caversham – presumably to the Chapel and Shrine of Our Lady, which had a collection of holy relics, but not so impressive as the holy relics at Reading Abbey…Read More

Henley Road Post Office – Update

FOLLOWING THE closure of the Post Office counter at the Henley Road Co-Op, local MP Matt Rodda has launched a consultation to find out the impact on local residents. You can
access this at mattroddamp.com/henleyroad Matt met an External Affairs Manager at the Post Office on 29 August to discuss the closure, and to find out what the Post Office is doing
to restore services in this area. Apparently, the Post Office recognises the concerns of local residents and is actively seeking new partners in the immediate area to host a new Post Office Local branch. If your business is interested, please visit www.runapostoffice.co.uk
Matt said: “Post offices provide a vital local service and it is very important for residents to have access to a post office close to where they live”, and has offered to support the Post Office in their search for a new partner…Read More

The day my prints appeared

CAVERSHAM PICTURE Framer owner, Alex Foster, is an etching enthusiast; he has a mine of knowledge about practitioners old and contemporary and is very keen to share his love of the art-form through weekly practical sessions at his Print Club studio. Situated in a small building behind his Church Street shop, the studio opened in March 2025. As well as offering an opportunity to create etchings, Alex also organises one-off courses in a range of arts and crafts.
Curious to find out more, I was thrilled to be offered the chance to take part in the weekly Wednesday Print Club meet and find out more about the skill of etching. Alex has amassed all the equipment necessary to make and print an etching; he offers support and encouragement for beginners and the experienced alike…Read More

Church House and The Barber Shop

CHURCH HOUSE, situated on the busy junction of Church Street, Prospect Street and Gosbrook Road, has been an active centre for the community since 1943, when two sisters, Annie and Jessie Haslam, gave the property to the Parish to support the Church and Christian worship. The building provides two commercial units, there is a flat, a large meeting room, an administration office, and spaces used by charities. These include Sport in Mind, which promotes mental health and therapy through sport for children and adults, and Caversham Good Neighbours who provide transport for the elderly and disabled – a team of volunteers are available to drive clients to appointments. The various rents and hire fees produce an income, and the profits generated provide grants for activities in the Parish. Throughout the day the building is buzzing with activities for young and old…Read More

What to try when it’s dry?

WHAT DO YOU think? Has 2025 been a bad year for us gardeners? As I write now in August my mood is certainly one of despondency, with a ban on using a hose and my garden looking absolutely dried out. Climate change is taking place whether we, or our politicians, like it or not. Are you old enough to remember those days when we had no central heating, when there was frost on the windows and the glorious days when there was enough snow to build a snowman? The summers were perfect too, or so my faulty memory tells me, when as youngsters we played outdoors all day…Read More

Celebrating 250 years of Jane Austen

IT IS A TRUTH universally acknowledged’ that anyone writing about Jane Austen in 2025 has to begin with those famous words. Of course, this is true not just now but in any year – however, this year in particular has been embraced most ardently by Austen fans because it marks 250 years since Austen’s birth in December 1775.
In case you missed it, this year has seen a great variety of events timed to mark the 250 years, with readers around the world making the most of it by planning all manner of celebrations and getting started as early as January…Read More

What can we do about plastics?

ON 14 AUGUST this year, UN delegates failed to agree an international deal to reduce plastic pollution. It might have been possible to agree on increasing plastic recycling, but not on reducing production of plastics. On the whole, oil producing states want to increase production of plastics because of falling fuel sales. World-wide plastic production is set to increase and consequently so will plastic waste.
Plastics are everywhere, from gas and water pipes and medical equipment through disposable nappies to packaging and clothing. They are extremely useful, with a wide variety of properties, making ‘recycling of plastics’ fairly unhelpful, since different types of plastic require totally different recycling technologies.
The plastics issue is three-fold:
● Emissions during production (some hazardous). Many are being addressed through green chemistry projects (including manufacture of new plastics from non-oil substrates)
● Poor waste management practices with limited recycling, export of mixed or contaminated plastics, and too much plastic waste strewn across the planet on land and at sea
● The amount of microplastics accumulating in the food chain and found in all living creatures, including us…Read More

In the News

THE ROYAL SOCIETY for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) publishes an online ‘Bird of the month’ feature on their website, with photos taken around the country submitted by members. In August they published a selection of the best photos submitted in the previous six months, which included this spectacular shot of a Firecrest at Clayfield Copse. Described by the RSPB as a ‘tiny, restless jewel of a bird’ which ‘vies with the Goldcrest for the title of the UK’s smallest bird’…Read More

Team Spirit

RG4FC WAS SET up in 2022 to make football accessible to kids who would normally miss out. We wanted to be as inclusive as possible, so it runs on donations as opposed to fixed fees. This means children who cannot normally afford the fees get to play football. We also have children with Special Educational Needs who have been rejected elsewhere. We have a small group of amazing volunteers who give up a lot of time to coach, fundraise and even make the kits in order to keep costs as low as possible. In just three years, we have gone from six children in our first session to having now approximately 50 children. We also have approximately 20 men who play in our 6-a-side teams to help promote mental health and fitness…Read More

But not teen spirit

FOR OLDER football players, Rotherfield United Walking Football Club (RUWFC) offers the opportunity for anyone to play in a team but at a more relaxed pace. Founded in 2016, the Club has grown into a thriving community with members drawn from around the area. It holds training and playing sessions twice a week at their own Bishopswood ground, Highdown School, and Rivermead Sports Centre, offering players the chance to stay active and engaged. RUWFC competes in Oxfordshire leagues, and boasts a vibrant social scene, welcoming family and friends to its events. It is a self-funded club, and also raises significant funds each year to support both local and national charities…Read More

A window on the past

IN OUR AUGUST edition, we looked back 50 years into our archives. This month our time travel takes us back 40 years to the October 1985 edition. Having just visited the Balmore Park surgery for a vaccination, it is interesting to learn it opened at the end of August 1985. It replaced Balmore Hall, which had itself been at the centre of the community for many years. The same article noted the moving of the Bridge Street doctor’s practice to Priory Avenue. Whilst the Balmore Park practice has thrived and grown, the Priory Avenue practice closed a few years ago and is undergoing a lengthy conversion to flats. The campaign to save Hemdean Bottom from development continued, with a public enquiry starting at the Civic Offices on 22 October…Read More

Get a Grip

IN THE LAST few years, grip strength has become increasingly established as a trusted marker of health, with studies citing it as a better indicator of all-cause cardiovascular mortality than blood pressure, and highlighting the association between forearm strength and a longer life. One research study conducted in 2019 showed weaker grip strength could reveal if you were at risk of problems ranging from diabetes and sleep problems to cognitive impairment and depression. A 2022 study analysing 1,275 participants then showed those with lower grip strength also aged faster, measured by age acceleration of DNA methylation, or chemical ‘tags’ on your DNA that control which genes are turned on or off.
The test:
All you need is any object that you can grasp and can be deformed without causing pain or discomfort. Simply squeeze it for as long as you can before your grip fatigues. Being able to maintain a maximal squeeze on something like a tennis ball for 15-30 seconds would be a good standard to strive for. Noting how long you squeeze can help you track progress…Read More