Headlines for January 2020 Issue

A year in the life of Caversham: Caversham Bridge reflecting the Caversham community
When the majority of our readers receive this copy of the Bridge it will be just before Christmas Day or a few days after the New Year has broken. The remaining days of 2019 will deliver to us what they will. A new government (of whatever composition and colour) will follow the General Election result after Thursday December the 12th and will begin to set the various agendas for 2020. But for the time being let us look back over the columns of Caversham Bridge and review events and possible consequences and continuations into 2020. Looking at our page one stories with hindsight and perspective can both remind and stimulate thoughts and even suggest some pointers for the coming year. This has proven to be the year when we have been able to deliver 10 out of our 12 issues in a larger 16 page format: more stories, more pictures and a wider range of coverage. We have tried to combine successful regulars like the Reading and Caversham society reports, with….. (Read more)

Les Cooper in the garden
It is a new year and just what should we be doing in the garden? How about suggesting… not a lot? At least not much outside but possibly quite a bit inside the house?  Perhaps you have already received a few seed catalogues and don’t they do a good job of whetting your appetite. Enjoy yourself and browse through all the delights they offer. Dare I make the suggestion that when you make out your seed order you become a little bolder and go for something a bit different: for example why not try growing a couple of climbing plants. Personally I really like Chiltern Seeds whose catalogue lists thousands of types of seed for you to…. (Read more)

New Residents parking scheme – Lower Caversham
A new residents parking scheme came into force on 2nd December in parts of Lower Caversham. Streets including South View Avenue, St John’s Road, Ardler Road and Washington Road now have a two hour limit on daytime parking. The scheme was introduced following informal and formal consultations, partly in…. (Read more)

‘The Heroes of Woodley Airfield’: a report from the History of Reading Society
The subject of the November talk was ‘The Heroes of Woodley Airfield’. The speaker was Joy Pibworth, a member of the Society’s committee and who lives in a house built on the site of the former airfield.  Today, the site of Woodley airfield has been absorbed by the relentless urban sprawl of Reading. The western half is now a trading estate; some of the surviving airfield buildings have been put to new uses there. The eastern half was acquired for residential development in 1979 by the house builder Briants. Many of the…. (Read more)

Reports from the Caversham Heights Society for November 2019
The Caversham Heights Society held three events during November, two lectures and a theatre trip. On 6th November members were exposed to some history that most of us were ignorant about, namely ‘the Contribution of Indian Soldiers during World War 1’. The speaker was Interpal Dhanjal, a Sikh who now speaks on behalf of ‘Legacy for Valour’ which seeks to set the record straight about the contribution that Indian soldiers, sailors and airmen have made to supporting British armed forces in various wars, especially the two World Wars, but also to the Boer War and the Afghan wars. The talk was informative, illuminating and… (Read more)

Old Man’s Beard
When I looked in the mirror this morning, combing what’s left of my hair, I saw something that looked not dissimilar to the seed-heads of this plant, and decided it was time to write the January article for the Caversham Bridge.  Before doing so, I had recourse, as so often, to ‘The Englishman’s Flora’ by Geoffrey Grigson. My copy is falling to pieces through long use. He gives the old English names for wild flowers, and tells you in which counties the names were used. The Berkshire names for Old Man’s Beard are…. (Read more)

Highdown School – November
An update on progress and activities at the school…. (Read more)

North Reading Schools Partnership
The North Reading schools partnership provide an interesting update on activities in schools from Caversham…. (Read more)

Friends in high places! Witnessing the Canonisation of St John Henry Newman in Rome 
Sitting in the golden early-morning Mediterranean sunlight, surrounded by some of the most magnificent architecture in the world, in temperatures that would soon soar to a very acceptable 28C might seem like something from a travel magazine but this was no ordinary holiday. This was a Pilgrimage to Rome to be part of the Canonisation of our very…. (Read more)

New name for group aiming to increase friendliness in North Reading 
Just over 2 years ago ‘Caversham Champions to End Loneliness’ was formed following a work-shop in Caversham library. With the help of Reading Voluntary Action (RVA)…. (Read more)

Rosehill WI
President Arlene Riley welcomed all members and guests present to our November meeting held on 6th November… (Read more)

Chazey WI
Madame Tussauds wax museum has long been one of London’s major tourist attractions and many will remember school trips when we were led nervously into the notorious Chamber of Horrors, never to forget what we saw there.
Believe it or not, today Tussauds has …. (Read more)

Caversham church receives Bronze Eco Church Award
The June issue of CB included an article on a new ‘Eco Church’ award scheme established by ‘A Rocha UK’ to encourage churches to consider the environmental impacts of all aspects of their activities.
Caversham Heights Methodist Church registered for the scheme in April 2019 and undertook a variety of projects to prepare their application for a … (Read more)

News from St Anne’s school
In the middle of November, Year Three went on an amazing trip to Butser Farm, where they tasted life for Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age man and undertook a variety of wonderful activities. Having gathered in a Stone Age hut, complete with camp fire and animal furs, the children learned first about daily life and the construction of houses for early man. This was followed by a fantastic opportunity to undertake some archaeology; the children dug for… (Read more)

£3,500 raised for The Yemen Crisis Appeal
On 7th December at the St Peter’s Christmas Market the magnificent sum of £3,500.00 was raised for The Yemen Crisis Appeal. Yemen is in the midst of the worst famine the world has seen this century(UN).  War has cut off food supplies, power and healthcare and an estimated 24 million people are in need of … (Read more)

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