Headlines for May Issue

Bishop Andrew leads Palm Sunday walk from Mapledurham to Caversham – with donkeys
On Palm Sunday, 25th March 2018, the Bishop of Reading, Andrew Proud, walked from St Margaret’s, Mapledurham, via St Peter, Caversham, to St John the Baptist, Lower Caversham. This was part of the Easter Celebrations focusing on the ‘Journey with Jesus’, and Bishop Andrew was accompanied by two donkeys: Buffy and Solomon. The walk was to recall and retell Jesus’s entry to Jerusalem. There was a service at each church on the way with Communion at St Peter’s, and Bishop Andrew preached at each service. The route, from St Margaret’s to St John’s, covered about five miles, and each church provided refreshments for…. (Read more)

FRIENDS OF THE HOLY LAND: spreading the word in Caversham and beyond.
At the times of the major Christian festivals especially Lent, Easter, Advent and Christmas,
minds are drawn toward the Holy Land. Not only the Holy Land of the past, but also the Holy
Land of the present (and by implication its future). Friends of the Holy Land (FHL) was established in 2009 to support the Christians in the Holy Land. FHL works in close cooperation with the Christian churches in the region and in the UK. Their work is entirely non-political and is carried out with the backing and blessing of Anglican and Catholic Bishops in England and Wales. FHL has a very active ‘head office’ and staff in Kenilworth (Warwickshire) and more than one hundred local groups in churches up and down the country. Its major objectives are both…. (Read more)

Anthony Williams celebrates Duke of Edinburgh award success at St James’s Palace.
Anthony Williams lives in Caversham Heights and is currently in his final year of a BSc in Astrophysics at Queen Mary University, London. He completed his Duke of Edinburgh Award through the Berkshire Scout Association and was an Explorer at 89th Reading Scouts
in Emmer Green. On Monday 19 March, Anthony, 21 attended a presentation at St. James’s Palace, London, where he received his Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award from celebrity presenter, Dwayne Fields (the first black Briton to walk to the North Pole), after sharing his experiences with Trustee for The…. (Read more)

Caversham Buses: route 22 update.
Caversham Bridge has kept readers informed about Reading Buses revisions to Caversham bus services and in particular to the much reduced provision for the route 22 serving Caversham Heights. The April issue reported the actual impact of the new service regime for
route 22. There is some evidence that Reading Buses are spreading their operational interests to Slough and a commuter service between Bracknell and London. The legitimacy of these activities is being questioned by those who understand that Reading Buses Limited has a core goal to provide…. (Read more)

Garage art sale for a good cause: one venue of many on the Caversham Arts Trail
Caversham resident John Joyes will be turning his garage into a gallery for a special sale of work by his artist sister Jacqueline Currell who died from Motor Neurone disease. John’s tribute will feature a display of her lino cut prints at his home, 20 Woodcote Road, during
the popular Caversham Arts Trail weekends in May. All proceeds will help boost the work of the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Jacqueline died in March 2017 after a long battle
with the progressive neurological condition which is fatal and has…. (Read more)

An evening of English Choral Music.
Erleigh Cantors, a local Chamber choir comprising about 25 singers, will be performing its next concert at St Peter’s Church Caversham on Saturday May 12th at 7.30pm. The choir, which was formed in 1990, draws its membership from all over southern England and in 2017 sang to much acclaim at the….. (Read more)

Eagles fly over Mapledurham.
Have you been to Mapledurham recently? My first visit, in 1970, was not entirely happy. I’d walked there from Caversham along The Warren, and when I got to the gate by the mill it
was open. I had read about the mill and ventured in only to be chased off by a man telling me that I was trespassing, and that the mill was derelict and dangerous. He was probably right.
The incident came to mind the other day, when someone kindly…. (Read more)

BEE-FLIES.
It’s only in recent years that I’ve noticed these strange-looking insects in my Caversham garden. They appear in April, when the sun is shining, and go away in June. I first came across them around twenty years ago in France and suspect that they may be spreading northwards in the wake of global warming, though it’s possible that I haven’t been observant enough to notice them before. It’s certainly true that in Britain, they become…. (Read more)

History of Reading Society.
The subject of the February talk was the History of the Abbey Baptist Church, Reading. The speakers were members of the congregation. The talk began with a brief history of the Baptists in England. The Baptist church emerged in the religious reforms which swept through Europe in the sixteenth century in the wake of the proclamations of the German monk Martin Luther. Luther and his followers believed the Roman Catholic Church had
become corrupt and its theology debased through the worship of saints and…. (Read more)

Reading Abbey ruins open soon and the link to Caversham.
The much anticipated re-opening date of Reading’s oldest gem, the Abbey Ruins, has
been announced. The ruins closed in 2009 as they were no longer safe to be open to
the public. After nine years and thanks to £1.77 million funding support from the
Heritage Lottery Fund and match funding of £1.38million from the Council, the ambitious
project to reinvigorate Reading’s pre-eminent and nationally important heritage site will…. (Read more)

Caversham Horticultural Society
Whilst writing this in a cold gloomy February day, I, like many gardeners had look forward to the burst of Spring flowering plants that started March which finally signalled that Winter was over. To help us to achieve this, Caversham Horticultural Society’s April talk on
the 25th is given by Rosie Hardy of Hardy Cottage Plants, Whitchurch, Hampshire. In this illustrated talk she will inspire and inform us about suitable…. (Read more)

Coppice and bean poles.
For hundreds of years hazel trees have been used by man. An area of hazel was cut down to provide people with material for building, furniture, fodder, fencing and fuel. A fence would then be built around the ‘coupe’ to protect the new growth from nibbling deer and rabbits. The Hazel would be ready for re-cut in seven to ten years’ time. These days much of the woodland coppice has been neglected, but conservationists are aware of the wildlife value of
coppice woodland, and some areas are being restored. Great news for bluebells, fritillary butterflies… (Read more)

Beanpole Day: 21st April Get your garden ready for summer!
Econet’s annual gardening event takes place on April 21st at Caversham Court Gardens by the River Thames from 10-3. Come and buy very reasonably priced plants and plant stakes whilst supporting local charitable organisations, enjoying the views and, perhaps, learning something new from interacting with environmental organisations, including bee-friendly and wildlife gardening and grow-your-own. We have vegetables (this is the place to buy a large range of tomato plants and grow on the assortment of shapes, colours and…. (Read more)

Concert at St Barnabas Church, Emmer Green.
On Sunday 29th April, Glass Ensemble make a welcome return to St. Barnabas Church, Emmer Green RG4 8RA, for their Spring Concert. The concert will feature Renaissance motets by Victoria, Palestrina and Josquin des Prez, contrasted with folk songs from across the world, including…. (Read more)

Caversham WI.
For Caversham WI’s February meeting, we welcomed John and Lindsay Mullaney to talk about Reading Abbey. The talk set the scene of what Reading Abbey would most likely
have looked like, and even sounded like, before covering the most recent discoveries and some of the stones found through the Hidden Abbey Stones project. It is not so surprising that some of the most visibly interesting stones from the abbey ruins have made their way into personal collections or into the safe keeping of local churches, over…. (Read more)

Caversham Heights Society.
There was only one meeting of the society during February which, appropriately enough, was a talk on 100 years of Reading Weather. Despite the bitter cold there was a good turnout to hear Dr Stephen Burt, from the department of meteorology at the university, talk about the weather records that have been kept since 1907. Rainfall and climate recordings were made at the London Road site of the university from 1908 until 1963 before they were moved to the geography department. Now there is a large observatory site, monitored daily on the Whiteknights campus. Rainfall has been measured since 1908; grass frost since 1960; and the wind speed and direction more recently. Barometric pressure and hours of sunshine are logged every second and sent to the Meteorology Office. This used to be in Bracknell but was moved to…. (Read more)

News from St Anne’s School.
At the beginning of February, 23 pupils from years one to four at St Anne’s School took part in a Change4Life Sports Festival at the John Madejski Academy. They engaged in a wide range of physical activities, practising skills such as throwing, catching, hitting targets and scoring goals to increase their agility, balance and co-ordination. Stamina and…. (Read more)

Caversham Heights Townswomen’s Guild.
Established as an afternoon women’s group. We held our AGM and afternoon tea in March, when it was decided to move the starting time of our meeting from 2pm to 2.15pm to allow more time between the departure of the playgroup and setting things up for our meeting.
The social studies group enjoyed a fascinating talk by Alan Copeland about Eccentric London.
International Women’s Day was celebrated this year by a lunch in Banbury. Members of our guild attended and were inspired by the speakers: a professor and expert on…. (Read more)

Chazey WI.
Our February meeting was well attended for a cold winter evening. A welcome was given to members, new members and Suzanne Stallard our Speaker for the evening. Suzanne spoke about her love for knitting and yarns starting when young and learning to knit at the age of five with her grandmother as her teacher. Suzanne had brought samples of her work to show us. Her Fair Isle knitting was amazing and her use of colours fascinating. Thank’s were given to Suzanne by Valerie Holden. Refreshments were available for everyone and then the business of the…. (Read more)

Rosehill WI.
President Margaret Pyle welcomed all members and visitors to our February meeting on
a cold but sunny afternoon. She then handed over to secretary Mary Robinson, who drew our attention to various items in Berkshire WI News, including the Spring Annual Council meeting to be held on Monday 9th April at the Palmer Building of the University of Reading where the speaker will be Rabbi Baroness Julia Neuberger DBE. There will also be other speakers and topics covered so it should be an interesting morning. Mary also mentioned a photographic workshop (on Friday 23rd March) and a talk about glaucoma (on Tuesday 27th March), plus other items…. (Read more)

 

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