Headlines for August Issue

A season of fun at St Martin’s Catholic Primary School
The students, staff and parent community of St Martin’s Catholic Primary School in Emmer Green have enjoyed a whole host of exciting activities in recent months, resulting in enhanced playground facilities for the school as a result of some outstanding fundraising efforts by the PSA, supported by family and friends of St Martin’s.
A season of fun kicked off with the launch of a playground pirate ship and train, which saw the children and their teachers in Reception Class dress as buccaneers to celebrate the grand unveiling. Parents were invited to…. (Read more)

St Peter’s Conservation Area
On 2 July 2018, CADRA and the Conservation Area Advisory Committee presented the Draft St Peters Conservation Area Appraisal to the Strategic Environment, Planning and Transport Committee (SEPT). This document brought together com111613two years of work starting with a launch event in St Peter’s Church in July 2016.
Councillors commended the high quality of the report which is the…. (Read more)

Recycling in Reading
The SEPT committee also agreed to adopt the RE3 Strategy 2018-2020 and the Waste Action Plan for Reading. RE3 is a partnership providing waste management services to Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest. Key issues include the quality of recycled material collected and growing concern over wasted food. With fewer countries overseas willing to accept and process waste for recycling, careful sorting within the home will be ever more important. Government plans are anticipated this autumn which…. (Read more)

Historic Iron Lamp Columns
You may have noticed the Love your Lamp Post campaign which attached red bows to many of the period lamp columns. https://loveyourlamppost.wordpress.com/ The original fluted patterned posts date from Victorian times and carried gas lamps. These columns were manufactured in Reading, many of them by two foundries close to Caversham – Samuel Griffith in Vastern Road and H. C. Goodman by Caversham Bridge where the…. (Read more)

One man’s triathlon challenge: taking the fight to Motor Neurone Disease (MND)
Scott Milliken (27), from Caversham near Reading, took on his first ever triathlon in aid of MND Scotland. Scott, who is originally from North Ayrshire in Scotland, and works in Medical Affairs for a pharmaceutical company, put himself to the test on 20th May with a 750m swim, a 20km cycle and a 5km run. Scott took on the challenge in memory of his partner’s father, who died of Motor Neurone Disease in March 2018. MND is a rapidly
progressing terminal illness, which stops signals from the brain reaching the muscles. This may cause someone to lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, drink or breathe unaided. Scott’s partner, Jenny Woolfson, also lives in Reading but….. (Read more)

Caversham Salvation Army
During 1967 Caversham Corps closed and Mum, Dad and I were transferred to Reading East in Kingsgate St which was a very sad time as there were a good number at the Sunday school and Home league etc. and were all quite well attended so, with me in tow Mum visited all the Hall’s locally looking for one that would fit the bill. Eventually St John’s Hall was chosen, and the Home league continued for some years after that. The Hall key was obtained from Mrs Jordan who lived opposite in St John’s Rd and I often had to put it through the letter box after the meetings had finished. I was fascinated by the article in the Caversham Bridge referring to Baylis Shops. My Mum and I would go to Baylis in Caversham for our shopping from time to time after the Home League/Silver Threads and then….. (Read more)

About Caversham and Caversham Bridge to come!
No doubt that the very fine spell of weather we have enjoyed for some three weeks to mid-July has been something of a tonic for all, even before the start of the school holidays. Meanwhile some sporting events near and further away are (so far) another boost to those who follow them: so the summer goes on and the return to ‘a more routine life’ as summer fades. But, individuals and families all know that the realities of health, social and community life and economy are never far away and can be accessed through the media whenever we choose or allow them to intrude. In this portrait Caversham is just like…. (Read more)

Tribute to Philip d Ville.
Philip de Ville was a long-standing member of the Caversham Bridge editorial team. He died on the 16th April 2018 after a short illness. A memorial service to celebrate his life was held at St Andrew’s Church, Caversham Heights on Thursday 26th April followed by a reception at the Caversham Heath Golf Club. The service was very well attended, not only by his family, but by many friends from near and afar. Such memorial services often reveal a richness of life and experience which remains unknown to those in the pool of acquaintances who gather for these events. In Philip’s case he was no exception, even though the contributors to this memorial developed their friendship through participation in the editorial team of Caversham Bridge. Philip was a journalist by profession and his fellow editorialists in Caversham knew and respected his experience and skill which always supported ‘our’ attempts to aim to be community journalists. So as we compose this…. (Read more)

Westfield Recreation Ground.
According to the little book on ‘Caversham Names’ by John Malpas, the field was given to the
Caversham Urban District Council in 1896. In a way, it’s surprising that this corner plot was not built on. To the west, there is a pub and a row of houses dating from the 1860s, but to the east, not much development until later. The Ordnance Survey of 1877 shows that the site of Elizabeth House and the land behind it, was once a small estate with three large houses – The Firs, The Limes, and Caversham Lodge. The recreation ground is just a field, and Westfield Road is…. (Read more)

Friends of Clayfield Copse
First Sunday of the month and Friends of Clayfield Copse are in the flower meadow putting in posts to protect the young oaks growing along the eastern boundary. Also, they cleared around one of ‘Brian’s seats’ on the northern side which provides shade and a lovely view of the wild flowers in the meadow. You know Brian, he is a regular visitor and staunch ‘Friend of’ he is often up there mending the seats he has installed or…. (Read more)

Caversham’s Rock ‘n’ Ale Festival back for a 6th year!
The Caversham Rock ‘n’ Ale festival was first run in 2013 and as a result of its huge success in its first year the organisers were determined to make it an annual event. The event was inspired by the death of Angela Fung from Motor Neurone Disease in December 2012 who was a very close family friend of the festival’s organisers. The festival was started first and foremost as a community event and secondly to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and has been very kindly… (Read more)

Reading St. Andrew’s Scottish Country Dancing Society
On Saturday 14th April the society staged its annual Spring Ceilidh at Chiltern Edge School in Sonning Common. Some 80 dancers (and non-dancers) came together for an informal evening of dancing and entertainment. The music for dancing was provided by Strathallan, an excellent duo playing accordion and fiddle. The MC for the evening tailored the dance programme to suit the abilities…. (Read more)

Caversham Heights Townswomen’s Guild
We had an extremely early start in June when, at 6.45am we assembled in Valpy Street to catch a coach to Brighton armed with our passports. There we joined members from other Guilds for our AGM. Our Patron, the Princess Royal, was attending, hence the passports (or driving licences). Important matters were discussed; raising the age of marriage to 18, The safe management of…. (Read more)

Caversham WI
At our May meeting, we held our annual ‘WI resolutions discussion’. The National Federation asked whether or not we support having ‘Mental Health Matters’ as a resolution on which to campaign. A discussion followed, with views given for enabling the WI to lobby government, to act locally to encourage more discussion, and for highlighting the extent of the discussions which are already taking place. There has been a distinct increase in the amount of national conversation over mental health in recent years. We have just hosted the annual Group Meeting – where we join with our…. (Read more)

First Holy Communion of St Anne’s School pupils
On the feast of Corpus Christi, twenty-one pupils from St Anne’s school received the body of Christ for the first time. The girls were resplendent in white and the boys in their best attire. They had made their first confession in preparation for the day a couple of weeks before.
Father Patrick celebrated Mass in a church crowded with many friends and relations of the children – in some cases three generations – and some of the regular…. (Read more)

ST PETER’S CRAFT GROUP
St. Peter’s Craft group has done it again: after the success of the ‘Caversham Quilt’ last year, they have lovingly crafted a double size quilt depicting cats and, as you can see from the photo, the ‘Cats’ have been finished by hand! The Caversham Quilt was made to raise funds for Berkshire Women’s Aid. This year, as it is…. (Read more)

St Barnabas Garden Party
On Saturday 14th July from 1 until 4 in the church hall and grounds on Grove Rd, Emmer Green. Why not start your visit by having something from the BBQ before trying your hand at the various games around the grounds? Tombola, Surprise Parcels or Bottle Stall to name but a few. Beautiful crafts and cakes will…. (Read more)

 

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