Headlines for our May issue

Emmer Green fights virus with gazebos
The last few weeks have seen a transformation in our daily lives. Efforts to slow the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic have affected everyone. In a matter of days we learned to keep our distance from each other and to follow the simple rules to reduce the risk of infection. Trying to avoid touching your face is a real challenge and you become aware of how often we do so involuntarily.
In Caversham and Emmer Green we are now queueing in an orderly and well-spaced out manner for chemists, supermarkets and greengrocers. In Emmer Green, Dudmans the wholesale greengrocer has set up gazebos… Read more

Delivering your Caversham Bridge
Several people have asked if it is safe to deliver and receive the paper. Our volunteers made a real effort to deliver the April edition at a very worrying time. As an immediate response, the paper is now freely available on-line at: www.cavershambridge.org:5154 but, of course, some of our readers will not be internet users.
In whatever we do, we all need to follow the current Government advice. It has to be for individuals to decide, but it is in order for newspapers to be delivered as part of our daily exercise “allowance”. They may also be delivered on the way to or from essential shopping….Read more

Churches adapt to the challenge
Our churches have had to close their doors during the Covid-19 outbreak, possibly for the first time ever. For some, their normal pattern of regular worship has been disrupted, something which is particularly difficult in Lent and through Easter.
Churches and clergy have been finding new ways to connect with their members and the wider community. The ubiquity of smart phones and laptops with cameras make virtual links much easier. It is not the same as physically worshipping together…Read more

Churches in Caversham this Easter
As we are making final preparations for the publication of the April Caversham Bridge, it is clear the Covid19 pandemic will affect every aspect of our lives. In normal times, we would list Easter Services on this page. However, most churches have decided to put on hold their usual pattern of mid-week gatherings and Sunday services. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have issued a letter to all Church of England clergy…Read more

Support your local National Trust properties
I am writing at the beginning of April as we enter the second week of the Coronavirus “lockdown”. Right now it is difficult to think too far ahead. But we all hope for a return to something more normal later in the summer, and perhaps it is time to plan for some local trips out.
Like many other charities and businesses, the National Trust has been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic. We are very fortunate in Caversham in having a number of their properties within 10-12 miles of us. All would make a great trip out …Read more

Tackling Loneliness – the Firtree Club
Loneliness is a major problem for older people nowadays, especially after bereavement, when it is hard to cope with the many changes that will be needed in your life. Retirement also brings many challenges and opportunities, but learning a new way of living is not easy for many people. There are many groups set up in Reading, especially under the Age UK umbrella, or U3A and the local authority. Local churches are very good at setting up lunch clubs and giving pastoral support as well as opportunities for older people to meet together. The main challenge is to take the steps to join in. …Read more

Do you like butter?
For the merry month of May, I thought I’d write about a plant that you won’t have to travel far to see, and that might remind you of “normal” times when you could get to see it growing en masse, as here, without feeling guilty. There are three common species of Buttercup that grow in grassland in our area. The most frequent, the Creeping Buttercup, is actually a nuisance weed in some gardens…Read more

The Bells of St Peter’s and St Margaret’s
If you live in the vicinity of St Peter’s Church you may well be familiar with the sound of the church bells. The church has eight bells, the heaviest of which weighs 8 hundredweight (400 Kilogrammes), in its bell chamber. The bells are controlled by ringers in the ringing chamber below the bells. They use ropes with special grips woven into them called ‘Sallies’. These help the ringers grip the rope …Read more

World Book Day at St Anne’s school
At the beginning of March, St Anne’s School celebrated books for a whole week about but ‘World Book Day’ was very special. As Head teacher, Sarah Bento, said in her newsletter, “The children had vanished; they were nowhere to be seen and, in their place, appeared a myriad of characters…Read more

Kicking the plastic habit
A group of local residents have set up a group to steer Caversham towards becoming an accredited plastic free community. Their aim is to protect the environment by reducing our plastic footprint. They are part of a nationwide initiative ….Read more

Give your clothes a second chance
Every year an estimated 336,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK. And it is thought we have £30 billion worth of unused clothes in our wardrobes. The Waste and Resources Action Programme report “Valuing our clothes” presents estimates for the carbon, water and waste footprints of clothing. The annual footprint of a household’s newly bought clothing, along with the washing and cleaning of its clothes, is thought to be…Read more

Les Cooper in the garden – Lupins
In June 1937 an exhibition in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Vincent Square Hall caused a mini sensation. It was all about lupins. On a stand of five hundred square feet were great numbers of beautiful and stately lupins. They were, of course, Russell lupins. It is hard for us to understand the excitement of that time. We are now well used to new flower introductions with novelties coming out every year and, as a cynic might say, being forgotten the next…Read more

The end of an era
At the end of March, Whitings the Butcher in Coldicutt Street, Lower Caversham, finally closed its doors after a century of trading. The business was originally set up by a Frederick Coldicutt…Read more

A tale of two museums – The Caversham Heights Society
The meetings or events of the Society are now suspended because of the corona virus restrictions. For further information, see the web site at www.cavershamheights.org or cavershambridge.org:5154/local-info/whats-on in the “What’s On” pages on the Caversham Bridge web site. The Caversham Heights Society held two events during March…Read more

Butterfly bonus on the allotment
Caversham boasts several allotments – which, thankfully, allotment holders have been allowed to tend during ‘lockdown’. Not only do the allotment holders grow a range of vegetables, fruit and flowers, the allotments can also…Read more

Give your old tools new life
As April started, we were told we should stay at home to save lives. Many of us are taking the opportunity to tackle those long-postponed jobs, such as tidying the garage, shed or loft. If you are having a sort out and have any old tools, sewing machines or garden equipment, rather than sending them to landfill, could they have a new life?…Read more

Weller Centre says let them eat cake
During the first few weeks of the Covid-19 outbreak and the start of social isolation, the Weller Centre recognised that its role in the community was changing: the need for us to become a food bank and local support centre was obvious. We began by becoming…Read more

Proposed development at Reading Golf Club
Proposals for the construction of nearly 250 new homes on the Reading Golf Club (RGC) site were the subject of a public exhibition in early February. The club is in Emmer Green, although the golf course includes a substantial area in Oxfordshire…Read more

School’s out – but not for all
Most of our school children have been sent home, although schools have remained open to provide for the children of key workers and some others. For those who cannot attend school, a whole new world of home learning has opened up. For many of these pupils, learning in structured sessions continues with on-line lessons: P.E. with Joe Wicks (on YouTube) and work submitted by e-mail or as photos sent to teachers. Here we bring you some different views on this