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Post Office seeks new home

AFTER MONTHS of rumour and speculation, the closure of the Post Office counter at the Henley Road Co-op was announced on 10 July. The counter shut on 2 August. The Post Office normally expect to give at least four weeks’ notice of changes, but this is described as ‘unexpected’ and so does not need to comply. The closure is stated as being due to ‘the resignation of the postmaster and the withdrawal of the premises for Post Office use’.
Local people were dismayed, as the post office counter in the shop was well used and regarded as an essential facility for the community. One visitor described how her 97 year old mother made a weekly expedition to the post office and met up with friends at the same time. Local business owner, Akua Woods of Shea Butter Cottage, had been part of a petition to save the post office counter and had also contacted Matt Rodda, MP, but to no avail…Read More

Never too Young!

Reader Michelle Teng sent us this photo of her twins on the way back from school before the summer break, saying “To the lovely people at the Caversham Bridge, I thought you might enjoy this photo of young readers enjoying your paper whilst out on a bike ride!”…Read More

Bells Rang Out for Joyce

NOT ALL NEWS is bad news…and September’s Caversham Bridge has dug deep to find stories and events well worth celebrating this month!
We mark the special service which was held at St Giles in July to honour Joyce Vernon, who has been ringing the bells there for 70 years (p4). Meanwhile, kind community reporter, Caroline Gratix, meets another source of inspiration, Julie Williams, who has brought together personal coaches throughout Reading through her Lighting Fires organisation (p2). Within Caversham, local group Engage Befriending is on the look-out for new befrienders to get involved with older residents (p13), and we share the fascinating war-time memories of local resident Margaret… Read More

Lighting Fires: How Julie Williams is igniting change in Reading

THIS MONTH, we shine a light on Julie Williams, founder of Lighting Fires and an extraordinary coach who’s turning sparks of inspiration into real impact across Reading. Thirteen years ago, after a successful corporate career with Accenture and Microsoft, and following the birth of her children, Julie took a pause to reflect. During this time and after reading Time to Think by Nancy Kline, she discovered her true calling in coaching. She launched Lighting Fires with the goal of helping individuals find clarity, confidence and purpose in both life and leadership.
But working solo can be isolating, and Julie, not one to keep the light to herself, created Coaching Reading, a collective of professional coaches who offer pro bono support to local charities and nonprofit organisations. What started as a small idea quickly grew into a vibrant community of 30 coaches (with a waiting list), united by a shared purpose: to give back to Reading…Read More

Off to explore the world

VOLUNTEERS FROM the Caversham Oxfam Shop in Prospect Street gathered on Tuesday 29 July to wish their manager, Toby Ralphs, ‘Bon Voyage’. Regular volunteer, Mary Tindall, hosted the event, attended by around 25 members of the team, in her garden in Emmer Green. Having just graduated with a degree in Geography, Toby took on the manager’s post at the shop in March 2024. Working with the established team of volunteers there, he has given the shop a makeover, resulting in a more than 30% increase in sales. However, he has decided now is the right time to explore the wider world and has plans to travel overland (mostly) to visit family in Singapore.
When asked what he had enjoyed most about his time at the shop, he did not hesitate. “People. It has been a privilege to work with the wonderful volunteers and to meet our customers and donors. And finding cool things hidden amongst the donations is always rewarding!”…Read More

REinspired Caversham

MY NAME’S Hannah and, at the beginning of the school summer term, I started working as a project manager for REinspired, a local Christian ecumenical project which delivers interactive RE sessions to local primary schools, supported by Churches Together in Caversham. Our sessions are designed to meet the needs of the RE syllabus, helping teachers to cover the Christian content, and are supported by volunteers from local churches, enabling the children to hear lived Christian experiences and practices.
As you might expect, the summer term for Reinspired Caversham is generally the quietest and, with the delivery of only five sessions to around 300 primary school pupils across years 2, 4, 5 and 6, it was a relatively gentle start to the role. Other than a session in a hot classroom during the early July heatwave, it was an enjoyable experience, and children engaged enthusiastically and interacted well with volunteers. Next term is thankfully bound to be cooler but also a lot busier. Last year, Reinspired delivered 24 sessions in the autumn term!…Read More

Joyce marks 70 years of Church Bellringing at St Giles

ON SUNDAY 20 JULY, Caversham resident and cherished member of the bellringing community in Reading, Joyce Vernon, celebrated an awe inspiring 70 years of service at St Giles. To mark the occasion, Joyce and ringers from around Reading rang for the service at St Giles, followed by two quarter peals (45-minute pieces of special ringing) with her grand-daughter, Lucy, and son-in-law, Steve, taking part in one of them.
A member of St Giles church for 80 years, Joyce first climbed the steps of St Giles’ bell tower as a teenager. The vicar was on a recruitment drive and had sought new talent from the youth club! Through the church and ringing, Joyce met her late husband, Keith…Read More

For Your Bookshelf…

Hello! My name’s Ben I’m 15 and currently attending Maiden Erlegh School. I’m taking a week’s work experience at Fourbears Bookshop. THE FIRST BOOK I’m going to share with you is A Sliver of Darkness, a collection of short horror stories by author C J Tudor. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read, blending various facets of horror into one book. I genuinely believe it to be one of the greatest short story collections ever written, due to its excellent use of pacing, tension and emotion.

A book I’d highly recommend if your child has ever asked questions to which you don’t know the answers about biology, chemistry or how the body works, is Kay’s Anatomy. The book is gross, goofy and genuinely funny. If you like Horrible Histories, you’ll love this…Read More

Fair Returns

THE ARTISTS & MAKERS Fair returns on Saturday 13 September to its regular venue, Caversham Methodist Church, but with a new image for the Autumn season of fairs and, as always, lots of wonderful gift ideas. Now into its fourth year, the Fair has established a firm reputation for showcasing a diverse range of high quality, unique arts and crafts at affordable prices. The Fair is committed to supporting the many talented artists and craftspeople from Caversham and the surrounding area. Their original arts and crafts provide interesting and unique alternatives to the mass-produced items …Read More

Happy Wanderer – For The Love of Ivy

I THINK IT would be true to say that most people have an ambivalent attitude towards ivy, though some are downright hostile. I have a friend who will deliver a tirade against ivy if I dare mention gardening – he suffers from invasive ivy from next door.
But there was a time when some looked on the plant growing on the walls of old buildings and ruins as something romantic and vaguely mournful. As a boy, I learned the poem about a river by Charles Kingsley, which appears in The Water Babies. He contrasts the state of the river in its unspoilt upper reaches, with its course through the dirty town…Read More

Healthy Soil, Healthy You

The health of soil, plants, animals and man is one and indivisible,” said Sir Albert Howard, botanist and co-founder of the Soil Association. In other words, healthy soil means healthy food. By choosing organic food you are choosing to support the cultivation of healthy soil systems that can benefit your own ‘gut garden’.
Organic farming focuses on maintaining and improving soil health, promoting biodiversity, and minimising environmental impact. Organic farming systems can foster greater microbial richness, higher microbial activity, and greater microbial biomass compared to conventional systems. Research findings suggest the enhanced microbial environment in organic farming could translate to healthier, more nutrient-dense crops. When you consume these foods, these beneficial microorganisms may contribute to a more diverse gut microbiome, which is good for overall health…Read More

Recipe – Easy miso noodles with crispy tofu

FERMENTED FOODS like kimchi are rich in probiotics—beneficial live microbes that can reach your gut and support the healthy bacteria already living there. During the fermentation process microbes break down carbohydrates in food in the absence of oxygen, using sugars and starches to produce acids and alcohols which help preserve the food and enhance its flavour. An added benefit of fermentation is a change in the bioavailability of nutrients, meaning it may increase how much of certain nutrients your body can absorb and use from those foods. This recipe is doubly beneficial for your gut as it contains two fermented elements: kimchi and miso.
Ingredients – 1 packet plain tofu; 1 tbsp sesame seeds; 1 packet of noodles; 2 sachets of tofu ginger miso soup 60g; 2 carrots; 2 courgettes; 1 handful of tinned or frozen sweetcorn; 1 tbsp vegetable oil…Read More

True Food Community Co-operative

I found it a bit of a struggle cycling up the Peppard Road from lower Caversham (I confess to getting off my bike and pushing up the steepest part of the hill) – my destination in Emmer Green was the True Food Coop in Grove Road, which is the subject of Janina Maher’s drawing in this month’s Organic September edition. It’s an appropriate choice as the True Food Co-op aims to provide ‘local, organic, zero waste sustainable shopping’.
Their vision and mission is to enable ‘our communities to enjoy, sustainable, ethical food and household products … to accelerate change towards more sustainable lifestyles’. These are noble aims but the atmosphere of the shop is relaxed and welcoming, with staff very happy to discuss products and offer advice. The shelves are stacked with fresh produce and ethically sourced products…Read More

Something to To

NOW DEAR reader, what sort of gardener are you? Are you one who does gardening just to keep your place looking neat and tidy, or are you an enthusiast who rushes out at dawn to water the radishes? My bet is you are somewhere in between, keen one day and possibly not so eager when the weather is unkind. I ask because September is a good month for taking cuttings, particularly of plants which might not survive through the winter or ones you would simply like to have a few more of. The enthusiast will jump at the chance to propagate their stock. Many of us will think, why bother with a lot of fiddling when, come next Spring, there will be a host of plants in garden centres and in catalogues? My own thoughts are a mixture, because I do admit to feeling smug when I succeed in taking a few successful cuttings. But sometimes rather a mug when I fail!…Read More

Swan upping returns to Caversham

July saw the return of swan upping to Caversham, a five-day procession that takes place each year along the River Thames and aims to monitor the population of young swans. This year it reached Caversham on Thursday 17th July, drawing a sizeable crowd to watch the striking group of wooden boats (and some more modern ones) making their way upriver in search of swans. Many of the crowd walked alongside the boats to watch their progress.
Now more conservation than ceremony, the focus of the traditional procession is more about caring for the birds than determining ownership. The swan uppers look for young swans and stop every time they see a cygnet, calling “All up!”, before circling the young swan to then lift it out of the water, checking its health, and taking care of any injuries, before returning it safely to the river…Read More

Have your say (and offer to help?)

THE READING CLIMATE Action Strategy and Plan for 2025-2030 are out for public consultation until mid-September. You can access both from readingcan.org.uk/public-consultation and either complete the online survey, or make a detailed response to the whole document or specific parts. This is the fourth 5-year action plan created by the Reading Climate Change Partnership; a voluntary association between organisations in Reading which have pledged to introduce changes to reduce climate emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change in our town. The partnership includes the university, the council, business groups, energy suppliers, voluntary groups and youth representatives.
The plan is divided into six themes, covering lowcarbon energy, transport, water, nature, food and waste, with cross-theme requirements for communication, education, policy and planning…Read More

Deep sea divers in Caversham

IN THE FIRST week of the summer holidays, 147 primary-aged children attended Deep Sea Divers, Churches Together in Caversham’s annual holiday club. The club is a fun-filled week interwoven with messages from the Bible, open to children of all faiths and none.
This year, Deep Sea Divers brought us ocean-themed activities, from ‘Watery Workouts’, to creating a sea creature mural out of recycled objects. As always, a wide variety of activities were on offer, ensuring there was something for every child— fencing, laser tag, wool making, dancing, archery and basketball, to name a few…Read More

Time To Engage

ENGAGE BEFRIENDING is a local charity befriending older people in the area. Have you ever thought about the neighbours in your street who might be housebound? Caversham and Emmer Green is a very community-minded area. Currently 16 older people are being visited or telephoned regularly by one of ourbefrienders. Volunteers visit an older person once a week or fortnightly for an hour or so and give support in some of the following ways; visits to medical appointments, out for lunch or a cuppa together, visiting National Trust properties and local towns, playing games, going for short walks, providing transport to our coffee mornings or just simply visiting…Read More

Margaret’s war-time memories

HER EARLIEST memory was her father collecting her from Sunday School. At home they heard Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on the radio announcing Britain was at war. Almost immediately there was an air raid siren, but the family did not have an air raid shelter.
Margaret was at junior school when World War II started and lived with her family near Hounslow Barracks. In the cul-de-sac where they lived, her father and some neighbours together dug the ground and constructed Anderson shelters for their homes. During the Blitz – the sustained aerial bombing from September 1940 to May 1941 – Margaret and her family spent the nights in their shelter.
After May 1940, Margaret remembers listening to Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s speeches on the radio. Later in the war she recollects the sound of the ‘doodlebugs’ – the flying bombs which went silent when about to hit their targets…Read More

Telling Your Professional Story

YOUR CV LISTS achievements, but can you tell good stories about them? September is a great time to learn how stories can improve your job applications. Every bullet point on your CV represents a story. The trick is telling these stories well across different formats — whether in cover letters, interviews, or networking conversations. Whilst STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) provides structure, good professional stories need emotional intelligence. Consider the human bits: What motivated your decisions? How did you navigate uncertainty? What did you learn about yourself…Read More

Never Alone

LONELINESS HAS become such a widespread problem that Silicon Valley billionaires are now highlighting it to market AI companions, with Mark Zuckerberg recently stating, “The average American has fewer than three friends”. This actually echoes what the World Health Organization has called a crisis of social isolation and loneliness. They report that around 25% of older adults are socially isolated, and 5%-15% of adolescents are lonely. But a variety of research suggests reading may be a much better solution than chatbots.

A recent survey from The Queen’s Reading Room, the charity and book club of Queen Camilla, and other surveys, have found that reading fiction and other books significantly reduces feelings of loneliness and improves wellbeing. Another survey with over 4,000 participants, in conjunction with the University of Liverpool, found reading offers powerful benefits, serving as a top method for reducing stress…Read More