Headlines for September Issue

Caversham Bus Services: update on changes from September 3rd
Early in July, Reading Buses contacted Councillors and then a number of community contacts to advise of planned changes from 3 September 2018 and the reasons for them. For Caversham, these are as follows:…. (Read more)

Caversham bus services: still many unresolved questions and few answers
Matt Rodda MP convened a public meeting in response to Reading Buses latest proposals which was held on the evening of Wednesday 1st August at Caversham Baptist Church. The meeting was very well attended and an overflow room was used to accommodate the maximum number. Concerned of Caversham (who have provided a focus for residents over the past year) have been very worried about the latest wave of cuts that have swept across North Reading. The group have recently been passed a response from Reading Buses to a Freedom of Information Request made by a member of the…. (Read more)

Churches Together in Caversham: Children’s Summer Holiday Club 2018
The CTC holiday club drew 175 Caversham children to Thameside School in the first week of August. Thirty-six adult and 21 young leader volunteers from 12 different Caversham churches were involved. For the seventh since it started for the 2012 Olympics, we followed the Scripture Union ‘Teambuilders’ programme….. (Read more)

A.B. Walker nominated for regional Funeral Planner of the Year Award
Independent Funeral Director A.B. Walker has been shortlisted for an award at this year’s Funeral Planner of the Year Awards, run by one of the UK’s leading funeral plan providers, Golden Charter.
Taking place on Saturday 15th September at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, the annual event celebrating the achievements of independent funeral directors will be hosted by Scottish radio broadcaster and journalist Ken Bruce. Julian Walker, Director of A.B. Walker, said: “We are at the heart of the community and delighted that the service we provide…. (Read more)

Visiting Savill Gardens
If you are a keen gardener, or simply one who likes to visit gardens and view what is going on then you may have already visited the Savill Gardens in Windsor Great Park. On the other hand there are likely to be many in these two ‘classes’ who have not visited the Savill Gardens nor have heard of their reputation and what they offer ( your reporter, had not visited, but had heard of them and with very little idea of what awaited!). Eric Savill (later Knighted) became the Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park (1937 – 1959) and remained as….. (Read more)

The Caversham Heights Society
On a surprisingly cool and cloudy Wednesday morning, the 11th July, a coach load of members of the Caversham Heights Society set off to visit the house and gardens of Woburn Abbey, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Bedford. Driving through Bedfordshire we were able to appreciate the beauty of the rolling English countryside. This was even more dramatic as we entered the vast estate of Woburn Abbey, landscaped by Humphrey Repton, a….. (Read more)

‘Living Well, Staying Healthy in Body and Mind’ event
On Tuesday 18th September Balmore Park’s Patient Participation Group are holding a ‘Living Well, Staying Healthy in Body and Mind’ event at Caversham Heights Methodist Church from 10.00 to 12.30 am. Our aim is to raise awareness on how much is readily available to help people achieve these goals. In doing so they will meet others and help one another to enjoy the benefits…. (Read more)

Our Lady and St Anne’s summer garden party
Father Patrick opened the presbytery garden for the annual garden party after Mass on Sunday 15th July. Many people joined the party after attending the Sunday morning Mass. The sun was very hot and people gathered in the shade of the trees away from the stalls, apart from the BBQ selling bacon butties in the shady corner. There were hot and cold drinks and cakes for sale. Pimms Cups sold quickly as a welcome cooler on this…. (Read more)

St Andrew’s visit to South Street Mosque.
About fifteen St Andrew’s parishioners and their friends travelled to the South St. mosque, on Tuesday 17th July. After being welcomed, we removed our shoes and were shown upstairs to witness the 4th prayer of the day, it being 7.00 pm, which was taking place down stairs and being shown on a TV screen for us. After prayers a young ‘searcher of knowledge’ Mohammed Hussein, (a full time student of Islam), and the Iman of the mosque gave us an outline of the Islamic faith, the 7 pillars of Islam , and the…. (Read more)

Festival of Flowers at Dorchester Abbey
‘Footsteps – Journeys of the Soul’ is a Festival of Flowers at Dorchester Abbey to be held between the 28th and 30th September, which will include 54 stunning floral designs depicting journeys of many kinds – real, imaginary, current and historical. The festival is being staged by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Area of NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies). Footsteps Foundation is a Dorchester based charity which offers specialist physiotherapy…. (Read more)

The River Thames – a study of change
CADRA is delighted to welcome Terry Marsh as the speaker for the autumn open meeting to be held at 7.45p.m. on Tuesday 6 November in Thameside School. Terry is a Caversham resident and a graduate of Reading University. He has spent most of his working life on the Thames floodplain – successively at the Water Resources Board, the Department of the Environment, the Institute of Hydrology and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology where he led the National Hydrological Programme for over 20 years. He has authored a very wide range of scientific papers and commissioned reports on water resources, floods and droughts with a particular recent focus on the impacts of climate change. Terry writes that in global terms the Thames is a mere stream, but it has played a central role in the history and culture of… (Read more)

Reading Family Aid: can you help?
Our charity is in desperate need of new committee members interested in really taking responsibility for some of their projects and also someone to get involved in the more computer technical aspects of
their work. Reading Family Aid (RFA) provides several outings and toys at Christmas to many hundreds of disadvantaged families across the wider Reading area. We are a small charity run entirely by volunteers and have been going since…. (Read more)

Rivermead Indoor Bowls Club
Rivermead Indoor Bowls Club, Richfield Avenue, Reading re-opens on 29th September 2018 for our new season. New Members are welcome (no experience necessary) – coaching and help are available. There are two Open Days – Sunday 21st October – 2pm to 5 p.m. and Saturday 27th October – 10am to 1pm Bowls are provided, but please bring along your own flat…. (Read more)

Remembering the Grosvenor
Its very name conjured up wealth and opulence! The Grosvenor family were related to William the Conqueror. They came to own and develop Mayfair and Belgravia in west London in the eighteenth century, and were created Dukes of Westminster in 1874. So perhaps it is not surprising that their name should be given to the hotel that opened on Kidmore Road in 1935. Though you couldn’t actually stay the night there, it was always a hotel, and obviously intended to be a cut above an ordinary drinking- house. H. and G. Simonds, the Reading brewers, knew it would be an uphill task to get the magistrates to agree to the…. (Read more)

Bugs Bottom Ragwort
One of the brightest of flowers at Bugs Bottom in July is Ragwort. As Bugs Bottom is adjacent to grazing land it has to be removed for the safety of livestock. Livestock don’t often eat ragwort while it is living, the danger comes in cut grass, hay containing cut ragwort. The animals cannot detect the poison in it when it is dried. As ragwort seeds profusely, it travels to the adjoining grassland. So the CRoW conservation volunteers are asked to remove the ragwort at Bugs Bottom. Not the most pleasurable task during the high temperatures of this July, in fact quite daunting, however at each step in the long grass a wonderful colourful variety of butterflies, bees and other bugs flew up. Long sleeves and long trousers are essential here. Ragwort is the favourite food of…. (Read more)

Caversham Rock’n’Ale Festival
On a warm, sunny evening in July, the sounds of the sixties echoed through Caversham as the 6th
Caversham Rock’n’Ale Festival got under way on St Anne’s School playing field. In anticipation of fine
weather, tables and chairs had been placed outside the big white marquee on the field and within
an hour of the opening time all available places had been filled. As the evening wore on, more
and more people arrived and spread out picnic blankets and family groups gathered to enjoy the
atmosphere of a wonderful community event. The event was attended by over 500 people this…. (Read more)

Caversham WI
For our July meeting, we welcomed Susan Pitts who told us all about the myths and mysteries of pain. It was a good chance to think about how our bodies and brains communicate pain to us, and how we react to the ‘messages’. Susan pointed out that the pain we feel, whilst being a very important safety tool, is not always accurate! There are certainly times I can recall – and you can too? – when I haven’t felt an injury because I hadn’t yet actually realised it was there… and the opposite too, when something felt awful and yet was only a small thing. Next month we will be taking our usual summer break, reconvening in September for a harvest celebration. As I write this, the sunshine is set to continue, with scattered thunderstorms…. (Read more)

Caversham Church fete
England’s football fans were readying themselves for one last World Cup match, Angelique and Serena were due on court at Wimbledon, yet still the crowds flowed into Caversham Court Gardens. The annual Caversham Church Fete, on July 14, was another great community day for Caversham. People came from far and wide to enjoy home-made cakes and savouries, afternoon tea or Pimms, coconut shy or hoopla and not one but three tombolas. As the sun blazed down, the crowds were entertained by the Wright School of Dance, the Tadley Brass Band and the inimitable Fred in the Shed (well, tent this year). Come 2.00 p.m, all eyes turned to the Western horizon to catch the first glimpse of Sqd. Ldr Mark Discombe AFC in the Battle…. (Read more)

Chazey WI
The President welcomed members and guests and introduced our speaker Reverend Dr Nicholas Henderson who gave a talk on the first two wives of Henry VIII. A fascinating insight followed on these ladies aided by a power point presentation. In her thanks, Carol wondered why her history lessons were not as interesting. Refreshments followed and then the business of the afternoon. A report was given about the successful outing to Waterperry Gardens, wall to wall sunshine, good food and of course plants! WI Conference feedback…. (Read more)

St Barnabas summer fair
St Barnabas Summer Fair, held on Saturday 14th July was once again a great success. Over £1,100 was raised to be shared between, ‘Education for life’, ‘Christian Engineers in Developmen’t and ‘Masiphumele’, the 3 African charities that the church supports. The pictures show the…. (Read more)

End of School Year at St Anne’s School
For our July meeting, we welcomed Susan Pitts who told us all about the myths and mysteries of pain. It was a good chance to think about how our bodies and brains communicate pain to us, and how we react to the ‘messages’. Susan pointed out that the pain we feel, whilst being a very important safety tool, is not always accurate! There are certainly times I can recall – and you can too? – when I haven’t felt an injury because I hadn’t yet actually realised it was there… and the opposite too, when something felt awful and yet was only a small thing. Next month we will be taking our usual summer break, reconvening in September for a harvest celebration. As I write this, the sunshine is set to continue, with scattered thunderstorms…. (Read more)

50 years of St Andrew’s Pre-school
St Andrew’s Pre-school are marking their 50th birthday with a celebration on Friday 28th September, in St Andrew’s Church Hall, from 2.00 to 4.30pm. Anyone who has had connections with the pre-school is welcome to come along. Whether you worked there, volunteered on the committee, used to come to the pre-school/playgroup or had children who did, the pre-school would love to see you during the afternoon. It will be a tea party with a…. (Read more)

 

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