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Sixty Years of Service

CAVERSHAM GOOD NEIGHBOURS (CGN) was started in 1965. Local GP Dr Beale knew some of his patients found difficulty attending his surgery, the hospital or collecting prescriptions. Local priest Rev Eastman had experienced an innovative scheme to help housebound people in his previous parish.
This idea was among several discussed by the Caversham churches at the time, as part of a drive to develop services in and for the community. A May Day conference provided the momentum for the creation of the Caversham Bridge newspaper, the Link Group providing services for isolated elderly people, and CGN.

It was always intended this independent voluntary organisation should be broadly based, and Bill Vincent, a lay Reader at St Andrews, was charged by the Rector with seeking the cooperation of all the churches in Caversham…Read More

SUMMERTIME

OUR JUNE paper starts by looking back at sixty years of service to our community by Caversham Good Neighbours (left). In May, we remembered the end of the war in Europe in 1945. One local group, based at the Weller Centre, knitted a special post box ‘topper’ for the letter box on Hemdean Road opposite the library. A delighted reader sent us this photo, but sadly the ‘topper’ went missing within a day or so. If you can help track it down, please email us at editors@cavershambridge.org
Shortly after the end of the war, the Reading Düsseldorf Association was set up to foster friendship between the two communities. Many local people have been involved with the Association since then…Read More

Announcing exciting new chapter for theatre group

JUST OVER A year ago, theatre group RABBLE, then based at The Stables at Caversham Court, found itself about to become homeless, having been part of our community since 2022. Fortunately, the nationally acclaimed theatre group have now found themselves a new base and have moved across the river from Caversham to South Street Arts Centre, using the offices upstairs for the admin side of their work in education as well as developing and putting on new drama in and around Reading.
RABBLE had some thrilling news at the start of this year with the announcement that Arts Council England will be investing £30,000 in the development of a new play, William The Conqueror, which RABBLE plan to take on a nationwide tour in time for the Conqueror’s 1000th birthday in 2027. More recently, the company revealed a launch event for the project will take place in one of Reading’s historic churches at the end of this June…Read More

Cycling for Science and Charity

A UNIQUE CHARITY cycling event, Tribute Audax, took place in Caversham on 26 April. Themed as a tribute to science pioneers, the rides raise funds for local charities. Founded in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year marked the sixth edition of the event, supporting Launchpad Reading and Thames Valley Air Ambulance. The event is organised under the regulations of Audax UK, the Long Distance Cyclists’ Association, which oversees non-competitive endurance cycling events across the country.

There were three themed routes:

• A Tribute to Alan Turing: A 200km ride to Bletchley Park (Milton Keynes)
• A Tribute to Robert Boyle: A 100km ride to Oxford
• A Tribute to Johnson and Matthey: A 50km route around the Chilterns

Over 175 cyclists took part this year…Read More

New drawing class at Picture Framers

FOLLOWING HER successful exhibition at Caversham Picture Framers at the end of last year, artist Christabel Forbes got into discussions as to how else she could get involved. ‘The logical answer was for me to set up a drawing course, using the new Print Club space. It will be for a small class (maximum 10), and for people at any level, and I will be helping them to gain confidence in drawing’, Christabel explained.
‘The two-hour classes will run for four Thursdays through July, and we will go outside – not far, but to draw from observation, and we will also spend time in the studio. We will use mixed media and colour and, once people find a subject, they will learn what they can do with their observations, in a friendly supportive class’…Read More

Celebrating Kind Community Champions: Wendy Howell

WENDY HOWELL has spent decades quietly shaping and supporting the community of Emmer Green with tireless dedication, compassion, and an extraordinary gift for bringing people together. Since moving to the area in 1996, Wendy has become an integral part of parish life at St Barnabas Church. She is a member of the church choir, contributes to the church’s flower arranging team, serves on the parish council, and plays a key role in organising three major fundraising events each year, as well as the regular Tuesday morning craft group.

These include the Summer Garden Party on 12 July – complete with traditional games, raffle, and strawberry cream teas – and the festive Christmas Fayre on 6 December, offering seasonal items and handmade preserves…Read More

A local pilgrimage

THE CHURCH of Our Lady and St Anne’s welcomed its first group of pilgrims since the refurbishment of the Church on 12 April. During the warm, dry spell we had then, a group from Our Lady and St John, Goring and Christ the King, Woodcote visited. Most of them walked from Goring whilst enjoying the glorious day. Mass was said by their parish priest, Fr Kenneth McCabe, in the small chapel of Our Lady of Caversham within the church. After enjoying tea, coffee and packed lunches, and a visit to our parish shop, they set off for home…Read More

For Your Bookshelf

SOUND THE ‘Kate-Wells-New-Book’ Klaxon! We were delighted to see a new Kate Wells book Killer at the County Show. For those unfamiliar with the series, it centres around Jude, who owns a farm in Malvern, and attracts dead bodies and murder investigations. Jude is at the Three Counties Show, where she is showcasing her sheep, and one of her neighbouring farmers turns up dead. Of course, it wouldn’t be a murder investigation in Malvern if Jude didn’t get involved. I think this is one of my favourite Malvern Farm books to date.
Our children’s pick is You Can! by Alexandra Strick and illustrated by shop favourite Steve Antony (of Rainbowsaurus fame). You Can …be brave, challenge yourself, overcome your fears, be kind, be brilliant… be YOU! Come on an amazing journey with 14 children as they grow from birth to 18 years old, learning new skills, exploring new worlds, standing up for their own and others’ rights – and following their dreams…Read More

Inspiring Young Writers

ON THURSDAY 3 April, Reading and Wokingham Today journalist, Andrew Batt, visited Kendrick School in Reading to talk about his experiences in journalism, the current landscape of local news, and to advise Kendrick’s aspiring journalists. Andrew spoke about his career pathway, starting at Emmbrook School, Wokingham, when, as an avid supporter of his local football club, he took photos at each of the matches. He was noticed by a local newspaper, who asked to publish his photos. This moment catalysed a lifelong dedication to journalism.
Over Andrew’s decades-long career, journalism has changed in immeasurable ways. As a generation growing up in a digital age, it was fascinating to learn about the complexities of photojournalism without mobile phones. It takes milliseconds to snap a photo now, but during the early 90s, while Andrew was a trainee photographer, he used film…Read More

Happy Wanderer on Crawshay, Courtenay & Tredegar

IN EMMER GREEN we have three streetnames connected with collieries and ironworks in South Wales, which seems curious. These names were allocated at different times between the 1930s and the 1960s.
The connection between the Crawshay family and Emmer Green is well known. The family were ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Castle near Merthyr Tydfil, who purchased Caversham Park in 1838. Here they had clean air, extensive views over the Thames Valley and, once the railway to Reading had opened in 1840, easy access to their London offices…Read More

Our Village: Taking a Leaf from Mitford’s Book

RECENT NEWS reports of outrage over a certain bakery/coffee shop chain opening new stores in various parts of England included background about how they choose new locations. Apparently, a computer algorithm identifies desirable postcodes using criteria such as transport links, schools, churches, parks, farmers’ markets, local butchers and bookshops. Unsurprisingly, the media coverage focused mostly on residents who felt the absence of exactly that bakery/coffee shop chain in their town made it desirable to live in. It should be noted Caversham does not seem to have made that chain’s list (yet), something that may fill you with disappointment – or gratitude…Read More

Making a Splash

THE READING Amateur Regatta (RAR), one of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious rowing events, returns to the River Thames for a two-day celebration of sport and community. First held in 1842, the regatta welcomes top rowing clubs, schools, and future Olympians. On Saturday 14 June, they compete on the river’s fast-paced 1,500m course, with a shorter, 1,000m course in use on Sunday 15. This year, for the first time the Regatta includes novice events.
While the rowing takes place on the Thameside Promenade side of the river, this year the Caversham side will also spring to life! Angel Bar and Feeling Crafty are teaming up with Hub Cap Promotions to host a vibrant vintage market, in Caversham Court Gardens, with garden games and delicious food and drink available. Market stalls include Caversham’s own Fanny’s Antiques, Sheabutter Cottage and Georgina’s Vintage Couture, with many more, offering something for everyone…Read More

Water hygiene in the garden

WITH OUR weather patterns changing, the risk of ‘foreign’ diseases coming into the country increases. The Usutu virus has moved gradually across Europe from South Africa, carried by mosquitoes. It infects birds and humans and has been found in dead blackbirds in Greater London since 2020.
There’s a £1.15 million project Vector-Borne RADAR running until 2026 looking at the emergence and transmission pathways for zoonotic mosquitoborne viruses of wild birds in the United Kingdom. West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes in the Netherlands, and it’s thought to spread in the same way as Usutu and through the same bird species as hosts. This virus can be a killer for humans, and we must assume that it will get to the UK in the coming years.
We can’t stop mosquitoes expanding their range as weather patterns change, but we can reduce the numbers breeding around the home through better water hygiene…Read More

Wild About Festivals

A ROUNDUP OF environmental events in Reading this June:

• The Reading Climate Festival runs from Saturday 7 June until Show Your Stripes Day at the University on 21 June.
• There are talks, workshops and the Big Lunch in the Forbury Gardens on 14 June with vegan food stalls, help with grow-your-own and activities for children.
• There’s a school’s day at Whiteknights Park, and a workshop for small and medium-size enterprises.
• The Draft Climate Action Strategy and Plan for Reading will be open for consultation after a talk in the council chamber on Tuesday 10 June, and there is a fascinating talk on the misinformation circulating about climate change, which will take place in the Town Hall and on zoom on Wednesday 11 June. Other Zoom talks include heat pumps, identifying UK butterflies and House Martins.

All activities are free, and more details are on the What’s on in Reading website or readingcan.org.uk  …Read More

No Time to Rest

ONE OF THE silly things I do is spending too much time watching the local weather forecast. I have spent hours waiting for the rain to come, just because the Met Office predicted a 40 percent chance of a shower. If I actually went out into the garden and did something, rather than stand around waiting, then my garden would be perfect. Well perhaps not, but it might be better. I believe that forecasts should be more positive and tell us, for example, there is a 60 percent chance it will be dry.
We all know one of the secrets of good gardening is doing the right things at the right time. Weather forecasts do warn of threatening weather. There is nothing worse than going out and realising the gusty wind which kept you awake during the night has blown over those lovely hollyhocks or the beautiful delphiniums….Read More

Art Hunt Comes to Caversham

GAME OF SHROOMS is a yearly world-wide art and seek event, created in 2019 by Daniel ‘Attaboy’ Siefert. Artists all over the world hide original, mushroom-themed artworks in public places and leave clues on their social media for people to find and keep for FREE, creating an art-based Easter egg hunt that celebrates the spirit of unexpected surprises. Anyone of any age or ability can take part. The only rule is ‘Don’t be mean-spirited’.
The 2025 event takes place on Saturday 14 June and, at the time of writing, two Caversham-based artists have signed up to take part: Michelle from Evangeline’s Emporium, and Natalie from Pick n Mix Creations…Read More

Nood Stores

CAVERSHAM OWES a lot to Jodie Anderton and Claire Anderton-Bell, two entrepreneurs who have helped to add new enterprises and character to our shopping streets. It’s great that Caversham has so many individual and interesting shops and cafés, in contrast to the chain stores and fast-food outlets of Reading.
Janina Maher’s drawing this month is of Nood stores in Church Street. Jodie and Claire opened the shop in 2021, taking over the lease from the Caversham Emporium, which was full of vintage and ‘arty’ items. Prior to the Emporium, the premises, which date from the 1960s, were a dry-cleaning business for many years. Jody and Claire wanted a permanent outlet for their ecolifestyle products, which they had already been selling in various street markets in Berkshire for some time…Read More

Düsseldorf and Reading Links

ON SUNDAY 27 April, five runners from Reading participated in the 2025 Uniper Düsseldorf Marathon. They were among 16,000 runners in the first marathon in Düsseldorf since 2019. All five completed their chosen half marathon distance (21.1km) in glorious sunshine while soaking up the vibrancy and electrifying atmosphere of Düsseldorf.
Olga Toušová, 21, Charlotte Bridger, 19, and David Barnett, also 19, are students at the University of Reading; Andy Towse, 44, is a local teacher, and Tom Hawkins, 32, a freelance creative born and bred in Reading. Charlotte and David completed the race in 1 hour 35 minutes and 1 hour 36 minutes respectively, and both commented on the beauty and warmth of the city. Tom said, “There was such a great buzz around the city – I couldn’t figure out if it was the race, the nice weather, the football, or whether this is just what Düsseldorf is like every weekend!”…Read More

Choirs join forces to celebrate 80th anniversary of Reading’s oldest choir

READING’S OLDEST choir, Reading Festival Chorus (RFC), is celebrating its 80th anniversary in style in June with a grand concert in the Great Hall of Reading University, joined by choirs from Reading’s twin town of Düsseldorf.
Founded in 1945, RFC has performed with many international stars over the years, including Yehudi Menuhin, Kathleen Ferrier, and John Shirley-Quirk.
To this day, RFC remains a dynamic, friendly choir, performing a wide range of music, spanning from the Renaissance to contemporary works. It is celebrating its anniversary with a performance of Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius (which itself is turning 125 this year), joined by its twin choir, the Johanneskantorei Düsseldorf, as well as a youth choir from Düsseldorf…Read More

The Secret to Application Success

AS A CV WRITER who has helped hundreds of job seekers transform their applications, I’ve noticed that many people miss crucial opportunities by skimming job descriptions. These aren’t just lists of requirements – they’re treasure maps leading to application gold!  Most job adverts follow a similar structure – knowing what to look for in each section will help you craft a winning application:

• “What You’ll Bring” or “Requirements” Section – This contains the must-haves. Look for required technical skills, qualifications, or experience levels, and address these explicitly in your CV and cover letter.
• “What You’ll Do” or “Responsibilities” Section – This outlines your daily responsibilities. Pay attention to the order – tasks mentioned first are typically priorities.
• Benefits and Company Information – The benefits section reveals what the company values. Flexible working options suggest work-life balance is important, while training opportunities indicate they value development. Refer to these values in your cover letter to demonstrate cultural alignment.
• The language reveals workplace culture too – ‘Fast-paced’ and ‘dynamic’ suggest an environment suited to those who thrive on pressure, while ‘supportive’ and ‘structured’ indicate a steadier workplace. Match your application’s tone accordingly.
• The ‘About Us’ section provides valuable clues about company values. Referencing these shows you’ve done your homework and genuinely connect with their mission…Read More

Shared Meals

RESEARCH HAS revealed that the more often people eat with others, the more likely they are to feel happy and satisfied with their lives. The importance of sharing meals is recognised across cultures, from the Jewish Shabbat meal to the fast-breaking Iftar meals during Ramadan. The known link between food and social relationships is ancient. The English word companion, the French copain (friend), and the Italian compagno (partner) come from the Latin cum and pānis – literally ‘with-bread’. The Chinese term for companion/partner stems from a similar term, which literally translates to ‘fire mate’, a reference to sharing meals over a campfire.
Not only do countries where meal sharing is more common tend to report higher levels of wellbeing, but this is true even when comparing people who live in the same country. With every passing year, many of us are dining alone more often, particularly young adults and the elderly. Those who eat at least one meal with others report higher levels of happiness and lower levels of stress, pain and sadness on that day. When dining alone, people may be more likely to opt for convenience foods or skip meals altogether…Read More