Headlines for July Issue

Emmer Green under pressure: ‘Keep Emmer Green’
This month our front page story highlights Emmer Green: one of the four territories of ‘Caversham’. Each part of Caversham is different in many ways – delightfully diverse in history, urban fabric and community. North of the Thames, Caversham shares an administrative boundary with South Oxfordshire District (SODC), a near neighbour but one subject to a different regional planning regime and with its own priorities and problems. Notwithstanding, Caversham people feel that those who live in Sonning Common, Peppard, Kidmore End and Woodcote are close to and part of us! But, we appreciate the nature of the space that separates us because the majority of it is within The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It provides the ‘green lung’ for us all, services many recreational needs in…. (Read more)

Peppard Road GP surgery to close: symptoms of stress and challenge to GP services
Healthwatch Reading has reported (News – 22nd May 2019) that a popular Caversham GP practice is to close on June 30th https://healthwatchreading.co.uk/news/2019-05-22/popular-caversham-surgery-close-june-30). Drs Harold and Janet Chadwick are retiring after 28 years’ service. Their surgery had been popular with patients, who had praised the personalised service and easy access to appointments. Just a year ago Caversham Bridge, (July 2018) highlighted ‘access to GP services in Caversham’ in a front page story. The Peppard Road closure charts a continuing decline in services in Caversham through immediate financial constraints and structural issues of service provision and management. It may be a long time before promised additional funding ‘trickle down’ to communities such as ours. In the meantime, the resumption of house building in Peppard Road GP surgery to close: symptoms of stress and challenge to GP services the…. (Read more)

Reading Family Aid appeal
Reading Family Aid (RFA) is a very committed local charity that does fun things for hundreds of disadvantaged families in the wider Reading area. They provide several Outings during the year taking up to 600 family members on trips to the seaside, to zoos, theme parks, Camp Mohawk and the Panto. RFA are also responsible for running the…. (Read more)

Road junction changes in Caversham Heights: the Albert Road / Highmoor Road junction
Since April, drivers in Caversham Heights have experienced changes to the signing and markings at the Albert Road / Highmoor Road junction. The changes introduced imply modifications to previous driving behaviour. Although a known accident spot there has in reality been little consultation with local users: a consequence of this has been much conversation, but with little conclusion as to the reasons for the…. (Read more)

The return of Roman Catholicism in Reading: a talk by the History of Reading Society
The subject of the May talk was ‘The return of Catholicism in Reading’. The speakers were John and Lindsay Mullaney. Both John and his wife, Lindsay, were teachers at the Blessed Hugh Faringdon Roman Catholic School in Reading. Later, they opened a bookshop in Caversham and cofounded the Scallop Shell Press and therarily’ from Trish Gregson, who died twenty years ago, the…. (Read more)

The Caversham Heights Society: annual mini-holiday
The annual mini-holiday by coach went to Kent from the 20th to 24th May. Visits ranged from famous houses and gardens to wine tasting and a trip on the Kent and East Sussex railway. Accommodation was in the comfortable Ashford International Hotel. On the journey to Ashford on Monday 20th May we made two visits. The first at Down House, the home of Charles Darwin, in…. (Read more)

Caversham Lawn Tennis Club Centenary
Caversham Lawn Tennis Club (CLTC) celebrates its centenary with a series of special events throughout the summer of 2019 and publishes a new booklet exploring its history. The Club has around 500 Members, about half of which are Junior members. Members range in age from 4 years to 80 years and…. (Read more)

Hemdean House School celebrates 160 years of educating children in Berkshire
Hemdean House School is an Independent Co-educational Primary School based in the heart of Caversham. It was founded in 1859 by Mr Francis Knighton who had been the proprietor of Caversham House Academy for boys for many years. His care for his pupils was well known and in stark contrast with most boys’ public schools at the time. Francis entrusted the running of the new school to two of his daughters, Rosa and Matilda. The school was so successful that larger premises were needed and a plot of agricultural land just north of the Academy was bought for £320. The new school building, named Hemdean House, was ready by 1862 and the girl boarders, Rosa and Matilda Knighton moved in during April starting an…. (Read more)

A Day on Holiday: 2019
Wednesday 29th May dawned bright for ‘The Day on Holiday’ for elderly visitors to Caversham Heights Methodist Church. Lifts were arranged for those who needed transport, and everyone was welcomed with a smile plus tea or coffee and biscuits. During the morning guests had the…. (Read more)

Memorial Mass at the The Oratory School for John Joseph Eyston: a personal reflection
A memorial mass was held on Friday 31st May (the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary) at The Oratory School in Woodcote for John Joseph Eyston (27th April 1934 to 23rd April 2019). Better known as ‘Jack’ Eyston he was a long-time parishioner of Our Lady and St Anne RC Church in Caversham, which includes the…. (Read more)

‘Me and my carbon footprint’
You may have heard of the term ‘carbon footprint’ in discussions about climate change and the environment. But what does it mean for us? We all have a ‘carbon footprint’, an estimate of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of our lifestyle choices. Carbon dioxide is a so called ‘greenhouse gas’, because it acts to keep energy in the atmosphere, increasing…. (Read more)

William Marshal’s 800th Anniversary celebrated at Pembroke Castle
While we in Caversham have been celebrating the life of William Marshal, he was born near Newbury and died in Caversham, the people of Pembroke have been doing just that as well, with a festival at the Castle and the creation of a unique tapestry. William ‘the Marshal’, a hereditary title, was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman and he served five English kings. He was knighted in 1166 and considered to be ‘the greatest knight that ever…. (Read more)

News from Highdown School
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award When most of us were leaving the site to begin our Easter holidays the intrepid Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award participants returned to start their first expedition as preparation for a forthcoming final. They made a two day trek through the Chilterns, carrying equipment and navigating by map and compass to the Path Hill Outdoor Activity Centre. They spent the night in tents and cooked a nutritional a two course meal using only a small spirit stove. After a night under canvas they spent a…. (Read more)

St Anne’s School F1 cars success in regional finals
Year 5 pupils have worked on their F1 project since last November and their hard work paid off in May when they swept the board in the regional finals. Two teams of five pupils, ‘Firebird 6 5’ and ‘SuperSonic 64’, were put through their paces at the event, hosted by UTC Reading. As well as…. (Read more)

Caversham Road Railway Bridge
I suppose that I must travel under this bridge around 300 times a year, and over it, on a train, around 30 times. The engraving was made soon after the railway west of the station was opened in 1841, and it seems incredible that at the time, Caversham Road had the appearance of a country lane with little traffic. On the other side of the arch, a hay cart is approaching – it looks as though it will barely go through – and a man, woman and child stand in the middle of the road, waving to the driver and fireman of the new-fangled locomotive. It is one of the ‘singles’, with one very large…. (Read more)

Supporting Wateraid in Caversham
Each year Pam and Phil Chatfield open their garden in South View Avenue to host a plant sale in support of the work of Wateraid. This year the sale was held on 17th and 18th May, and despite the cool weather was well attended. Tea, coffee and home-made cakes were enjoyed in the garden and trays and bags of plants were dispatched to new homes. They also had a wide range of Traidcraft fair…. (Read more)

Couple step down after 35 years as ‘the caring heart’ of Grace Church, Caversham
Warm tributes have been paid to a married couple stepping down after giving unstinting service at the Grace Church in Caversham for more than 35 years. Grace Church, Caversham, is part of Newfrontiers International, a worldwide family of churches. At a special service marking Derek Medd’s resignation as an elder, he and his wife Linda were described as ‘the caring heart of this church’, continually helping people through…. (Read more)

SVP events at Our Lady and St Anne’s
Our Lady and St Anne’s Saint Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) have organised two events recently. The first was a coffee morning on Saturday 27th April which was held in the Cenacle to celebrate the birthday of the founder of the SVP, Blessed Frederic Ozanam. Michael Offen, a parishioner, played unobtrusive background music on a keyboard and…. (Read more)

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