Wokingham Today, March 2, 2023

Do you have responsibility for supporting older relatives and don’t know where to begin? We can help

Charity curry night to support Chris’ family

EXCLUSIVE

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokingham.today

A fundraising dinner to support the family of a man who died following a collision in Wokingham will be held at a town centre restaurant later this month.

Tickets are now on sale for the event, which will feature a menu created for the occasion and featuring some of Chris Smith’s favourite Indian dishes.

Chris was 41 when he died following a collision on the A329 Reading Road at the junction of Larch Avenue on Monday, January 2.

A JustGiving campaign has been launched by Chris’s friend, Kevin Paintin, to support Mr Smith’s wife, Lucy, and two young children, Dylan (10) and Isla (6).

At the time of writing, nearly £40,000 had already been raised from 380 supporters. The target is to raise £50,000 which will go directly to the family.

Raja Majid, owner of the Sultan restaurant in Market Place where the fundraising meal will be held on Wednesday, March 29, said: “I recognised Chris from the restaurant and this made me want to do something to support his family.

“It must be an incredibly difficult time for them, and I hope the fundraising meal will help achieve the goal of the JustGiving campaign.”

Tickets are £55 each and diners can make additional contributions at their discretion.

There will also be a raffle.

n For more details, call the Market Place restaurant on: 0118 977 4397.

n To donate to the JustGiving campaign, visit: hwww.justgiving.com/ crowdfunding/dylanandislasfuture

COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS

WITHOUT A BED

Charity’s plea to support 20 Wokingham families in need of help

EXCLUSIVE

By EMMA MERCHANT dblackham@wokingham.today

THE COST-OF-LIVING crisis is biting hard in Wokingham, forcing a charity to appeal for help on behalf of 20 families.

First Days Children’s Charity is asking borough residents for donations of new or nearly new beds, cots, Moses baskets, mattresses and bedding.

There is also an Amazon

Wishlist set up on the online retailer, and the charity is also collecting money to help others in the same desperate situation.

It says many of the families who need help currently don’t have beds, forcing children to sleep on the floor, or even on cardboard boxes.

The situation is made worse by energy bills soaring, which is leading to homes seeing an increase in damp and mould as families leave the heating off.

n Full story on page 3

PARSONS,WilliamakaBill

PassedawaypeacefullyattheRoyalBerkshire Hospitalon12thFebruary2023.Muchloved husbandofthelateAgnes,fatherofDonnaand GrandadtoMegan,MelanieandCallum.Hewillbe sadlymissedbyallofhisfamilyandfriends.

Funeralservicetobeheldat EasthampsteadCrematorium,Bracknellon Thursday16thMarchat3.30pm.

Familyflowersonlybutdonationswelcomein memoryofCancerResearchUKandSCAScanbe madeviawww.jbhallfuneraldirectors.co.uk Allenquiriestotel:01189793623

Foreverloved.

Approval for 200 homes plan at Bridge Farm

By JAMES ALDRIDGE Local democracy reporter

A DEVELOPMENT of 200 homes will be built in Twyford after planning permission was granted, despite concerns over the traffic it will generate.

A meeting of Wokingham Borough Council’s planning committee approved the scheme at Bridge Farm, opposite The Big Plant Nursery in New Bath Road.

Residents raised road safety and flooding near the River Loddon as reasons to object.

Lillian Pearson-Bishop said: “With 200 new houses, 400 plus cars, and 800 people the Bridge Farm site is not safe to be built on, and all of the villagers around it will be impacted, there’s no doubt about it.”

Twyford parish council’s Cllr Bridget Ditcham said there had been no mention of an affordable housing provider by the developer.

The farm site was not allocated for development in the council’s Local Plan which was adopted in 2010.

A decision had meant to have been taken in December, but was deferred for more information on traffic modelling and the proposed pedestrian and cycle routes in the scheme.

After revisting the plan, it was approved.

Chris Roberts, an agent on behalf of Croudace Homes said the reasons for deferral have been addressed, with the plan adjusted to provide better pedestrian and cycling

provision along the A4, as well as footpath, signage and speed control improvements.

“Benefits include an approximate 30% biodiversity net gain, the planting of around 350 trees, a new riverside park, a full mixture of homes of different sizes and 40 per cent of affordable housing,” he said.

“Overall we consider this to be a very good scheme, it’s in a sustainable and walkable location.”

Addressing Cllr Ditcham’s concerns, Mr Roberts said an affordable housing provider would be chosen from the borough council’s approved list.

Cllr Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford) sided with neighbours in opposing the development, introducing a motion to refuse the plan, but as no-one would second it, it failed.

Cllr David Cornish (Liberal Democrats, Finchampstead South) said: “I think I have a reputation within our group of being the patron saint of lost causes, and I have a desperate desire to stand firm with Cllr Conway on this one, but I’m reminded of the ancient words of the Duke of Wellington which was ‘never reinforce defeat’, and I fear that is where we are heading for on this, and we should perhaps desire that discretion is the better form of valour.”

As this was an outline plan, further details will be provided in reserved matters applications, including the mix of housing provided on site.

The meeting was held on Wednesday, February 8.

Mothers monthly meeting

THE MOTHERS’ Union meeting is open to current members, supporters, and anyone considering joining.

It takes place in the De Vitre room at Wokingham’s Cornerstone Building on the fourth Wednesday of each month (not December or August).

Doors open at 7.45 pm for 8pm start, for talks on a variety of topics. This month’s meeting is on Wednesday, March 22.

For more information visit: www.mothersunion.org and www.muoxford. org.uk

APPEAL: CHARITY WANTS TO HELP FAMILIES IN NEED

‘There are children in Wokingham sleeping on the floor’

EXCLUSIVE

By EMMA MERCHANT emerchant@wokingham.today

A CHARITY that helps children across Wokingham borough has put out an emergency plea for help – they need beds.

With more than 20 children on its waiting list lacking the most basic of household equipment, First Days Children’s Charity asked residents to donate essential items and funds.

“There are children sleeping on the floor, and others taking it in turns to sleep in the one bed in the house,” says the charity’s CEO Emma Cantrell.

“And babies who have outgrown their cots that can’t even stretch their legs out.”

The charity has urgently requested single beds, new single mattresses, new duvets and bedding, cotbeds, and toddler beds.

“We have seen this sort of situation before, but it was rare,” Ms Cantrell says.

“Now, we have a long list of children who desperately need help.”

The charity needs donations of good quality second hand items. Alternatively, bedding and beds can be purchased online, and donations can be made to a bed fund.

Toddler beds are especially useful as they can be adapted as the child grows.

New mattresses, bedding, single beds and cot beds can be purchased via the charity’s Bed Appeal 2023, which can be found on the online retailer Amazon, where the charity has a Wishlist.

“When we put out the appeal, we were all feeling pretty desperate,” says Ms Cantrell.

“It’s awful to know that you should be able to help but haven’t the resources.

“We do occasionally hear of children sleeping on the floor, or in a cardboard box, but it’s usually only once or twice in a year.

“Over the last couple of months, requests for beds and mattresses have been coming in thick and fast.

“The storeroom was emptied.”

Ms Cantrell believes that one of the reasons for the greater demand for children’s beds, is a knock-on effect of the energy crisis.

“People haven’t been putting the heating on,” she says.

“And in the cold weather, they have kept their windows closed and their rooms less ventilated, so mould has become a problem.

“We’ve never had so many requests for a new mattress because the child’s current one is affected by mould.”

The other reason for the increased need for help, Ms Cantrell says, is the cost of living crisis.

“Where people would somehow have managed before, and could budget for items like a second hand bed, they simply have no wriggle room any more,” she says.

“And where they might have

300 homes for Amen Corner

PLANS to build 302 homes at Amen Corner have been submitted to neighbouring Bracknell Forest Council.

Persimmon Homes wants to create the development on land between London Road and the A329m. The site does not take in the former John Nike ice rink.

Documents were first submitted in March 2018, and it has seen several iterations since then.

In June 2018, it was for 422 homes, but a request by the neighbouring council’s planning department for more time to determine it saw it revised to the current scheme.

In all, 226 homes would be on the private market and 76 would be affordable, broken down into 23 shared ownership, 32 affordable rent and 21 social rented properties.

The development would comprise of a mix of 190 houses and 112 apartments contained within 11 apartment blocks.

As well as the homes, Persimmon has applied to build a three-storey tall commercial unit with parking and a building for residential and retail use to the northeast of the site.

Vehicular access would be provided from London Road, with a spine road linking the development with Beehive Road, Cain Road and John Nike Way.

The site has been allocated for development in the Bracknell Forest Local Plan from 2013, designated Policy SA8, for 725 homes, a neighbourhood centre and a primary school. The development also stretches across the border with Wokingham Borough, with an area far to the west of the site being proposed as public green space falling in the neighbouring borough’s jurisdiction.

borrowed from another family member in the past, that is often no longer possible.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘I would have asked my mum to help out, but she has no money to spare.’ “

Since the charity put out its plea to the community to support its bed appeal, there has been a surge of support.

“The video I put out on our Facebook page has been viewed over 60,000 times,” she says.

“Lots of people have donated beds, and items on our Amazon wish list.

“People’s response has been fantastic, and, as a result, we should be able to get all of the 20 children into new beds by the end of this week.”

The charity was recently able to help a household that needed a set of bunk beds.

“We don’t normally take these, but as the family had specifically requested bunk beds it was so lovely to be able to provide them,” she says.

“I was able to collect the bunk beds from the donor and take them straight round to the house where they were needed, along with two new donated matresses.”

But Ms Cantrell does not think the issue is by any means resolved,

despite the help received so far.

“We still need people to please keep giving to this bed appeal,” she says.

“The demand is very likely to continue, and even to increase, as more people in need hear about the help we can offer them, and come forward.

“So we are expecting even greater demand for children’s beds in coming weeks.

“We want to be able to provide help for all those who need it, but we rely on the continued support of the community.

“Please keep giving.

“People can still visit our website to donate second hand items, buy new items, or donate funds.

“And we are in need of volunteers too, to make deliveries, and to carry out safety checks on items.

“We’d love to hear from anyone who can come and give their time in this way.”

Moses baskets, cots, cot beds, and toddler beds, all in excellent condition, and other

donations can be delivered to Unit 9, The Business Centre, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham.

n To make an online purchase for the charity, visit: www.amazon.co.uk

n To donate to the charity’s Beds for Children: Mattress Appeal, which will only be used to buy mattresses, bedding and beds, visit:www. localgiving.org/appeal/Beds4kids

n For information about First Days, for links to the appeal, or to volunteer, visit: www.firstdays.net

CHALK RESTAURANT, WOKINGHAM

Weekend Get-Togethers, Special Occasion and Informal Meets

Chalk is a new neighbourhood restaurant and bar based in the heart of Wokingham, only a stone’s throw away from the Town Hall.

Chalk Restaurant offers residents and locals the perfect place to come together and catch up while enjoying a range of quality drinks or some food from our mouthwatering menu that focuses on simple fresh ingredients done well.

www.chalkrestaurants.com

Chalk Restaurant, 31 Broad Street, Wokingham,

A letter submitted by Wokingham Borough Council’s planning department supported the principle of new green space being created, but raised questions over Persimmon Homes’ traffic modelling of the cross junction between London Road, John Nike Way and Russell Chase.

No expiry date for the application has been set yet, so it is unclear when it will be determined by Bracknell Forest Council’s planning committee. The planning application can be seen by searching for 18/00242/OUT into Bracknell Forest Council’s planning portal.

And the green space can be found on Wokingham borough’s website, searching for reference 180711.

HELP: First Days says need has been much greater in the past few months. PIcture: Paul Hanaoka via Unsplash

Free Monday friendship club for seniors at WADE

WOKINGHAM town’s day centre for people over 60 is inviting seniors to join its Friends Table club.

The group meets once a week to chat, read newspapers, play board games, and try new crafts.

The club is free to attend, with lunch afterwards available to purchase.

Those wishing to stay on for a meal should book in advance.

The event takes place on Mondays weekly at the WADE Day Centre, Reading Road, from 10am to noon.

n For more information and to book a lunch, visit: www. wadecentre.org.uk

Coffee and crochet evening in Crowthorne

A COFFEE and crochet evening is coming to Crowthorne next month.

The Two Sisters Cafe will host the event at their High Street location on Thursday, March 2.

There are two admission options with a beginner course to show attendees the basics and a social crochet class.

The beginner class cost £20 and includes wool and new crochet hooks.

The social event cost £5 to attend.

Both ticket prices include one drink and must be purchased in advance.

n or more information, or to book a ticket, visit: www.tickettailor. com

‘You gotta have soul’: fears plans for sports pavilion are just bland

EXCLUSIVE

By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today

A WOKINGHAM councillor has backed a campaign group’s calls to revise plans for a community facility.

Cllr Gary Cowan supported

Yes to the Hub’s plight against Crest Nicholson’s proposed Arborfield Green Sports Pavilion, which the group believes will only benefit a small portion of the village’s community.

The Arborfield Independent councillor described Crest’s designs as “without character” and “an opportunity missed”, but believes there is still time to improve the proposals.

Yes to the Hub have been pitching an alternative solution, which is based on a pre-existing pavilion used by Oxfordshire Cricket Club.

Cllr Cowan said: “I welcome a sports pavilion, admittedly four years late, but as a design it lacks any soul and is out of character with the surrounding environment.

“Internally it lacks sufficient changing rooms for all its users and high windows one cannot look out of is very impersonal.

“There is a lack of storage facilities for the users and one EV charging point is totally inadequate.”

He believes that the sports pitches by Whitehall Drive and Barid Road should remain as an

open space, as detailed in the agreement between Crest and Wokingham Borough Council, rather than be used as a car park.

Cllr Cowan added that a communal bar, restaurant or cafe would encourage members of the community to use the facility and generate funding to support it.

“Although I do welcome the scheme, sadly I think it’s a lost opportunity to build the best pavilion possible, dictated by funding it can,” he said.

“The design is actually without character when the opportunity to build something residents and users would be proud of will be missed.

“It’s not too late to make changes for the better.”

Yes to the Hub’s suggested facility would include a cafe and hireable space which w ould be open to residents seven days a week with both recreational and communityfacing uses.

It claims its alternative proposal will cost £250,000

All Saints Church: a chance

to

SPORTY SITE: Crest Nicholson’s current plans for the new pavilion. Picture: Wokingham Borough Council

more than Crest’s building and believes the differential can be sourced through grants, loans, donations and fundraising.

Resident Martin Prodger said: “Crest Nicholson aren’t interested in loneliness, mental health and anti-social issues in the area. They couldn’t give a monkeys.

“The big fear is that if the building is only used by a few people, there will be no social ownership.

“It’ll get vandalised if people aren’t using it – it’s about

creating a space where we can nurture young people, introduce them to soft sports and ultimately integrate them into the society.”

Members of the public were able to offer feedback on the live planning application for the pavilion until the deadline on February 17.

A spokesperson from Crest Nicholson said the developers would review all comments made and “take them into consideration.”

see the new arts space I get knocked down, but I get up again at skittles night

A CHURCH in Wokingham town centre is opening its doors at the weekend to anyone who is interested in seeing the latest developments of its Spaceforall project.

All Saints Church in Wiltshire Road has a vision is for its main church building – its sanctuary –to be made available as an open-plan daytime community café, as well as a substantial arts venue.

Construction work has been ongoing and it is due to open later this spring.

The open day is at All Saints Church on Saturday March 4.

Doors will be open for visits from 10am through to midday. Visitors are advised to wear sensible shoes, and will be provided with hard hats and high visibility jackets on arrival.

Entry is via the church’s Cornerstone building.

BARKHAM residents of all ages are set to showcase their skills at a social event on Saturday, March 25.

Barkham Village Hall will play host to a fun-filled skittles evening, which will surely get visitors’ competitive juices flowing.

Organised by Barkham Village Residents Association, the event will be an opportunity to catch up with friends and family while

also meeting new people. A ploughman’s supper is included with admittance, with a raffle and licenced bar available to adults.

The event takes place from 7.30pm-10.30pm, with visitors encouraged to arrive at 7pm. Tickets cost £12 for adults and £5 for children.

n For more information or to book tickets, contact: Gill Powell via social@barkham.org.uk

Singing evening for female voices

A MUSIC group led by music teacher and choir director Suzanne Newman will hold a singing evening for female voices.

There will be a medley of songs from the musical My Fair Lady, arranged for two part choir.

Songs include: On The Street Where You Live; Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?;Get Me To The Church On Time; I’ve Grown Accustomed To Her Face; and I Could Have Danced All Night.

“We do these singing events around four times each year,” says Ms Newman.

“It’s a fun, relaxed singing

evening for women and girls who like singing, but don’t have the time to be able to commit to a choir.

“The medley of songs isn’t difficult, and people will recognise many of them.

“It will be fun, with a vocal warm up, followed by working on the pieces, and a run through.”

The event takes place at Charvil Village Hall, on Sunday, March 26, from 6pm to 8pm.

Tickets costing £10 include music and light refreshments. n Places need to be booked in advance by contacting Suzanne by emailing: suzanneynewman@btinternet.com

Homes left without phone and internet for 11 days

By SUE CORCORAN news@wokingham.today

RESIDENTS struggled without wifi when phone lines and broadband were cut for 11 days by a car fire that police have been investigating as an arson.

John Edwards, who lives close to the blaze site in Hogmoor Lane, Hurst, said households had been forced to rely for a long time on mobile phones in an area where mobile coverage was appalling.

“I had to keep driving off to knock on friends’ doors, asking to use their wifi,” he added. Four homes had been affected.

James Girdler who runs Old Things New, a metal and timber fabricating company, said: “I didn’t receive payment for three or four jobs because the people involved hadn’t even received the invoice emails I did on my phone.”

Firefighters were called to a blazing vehicle left on a grass verge in a usually quiet lane in the early hours of Valentine’s Day (Tuesday, February 14).

One resident said: “A car was heard driving past really

BLAZE: The aftermath of a suspected arson attack in Hurst. The vehicle was a Range Rover

fast. We heard crackling and saw an orange glow getting bigger and bigger.”

The next day a petrol can was seen leaning against the wrecked remains of what another resident identified as a Land Rover vehicle.

The vehicle fire was so

fierce it burned the telephone cables above it. Mr Girdler said the roadside hedge, which Hurst Village Society planted, was damaged by the fire.

“Mr father is going to offer to help revive it. We laid [trimmed and rejeuvenated]

the hedge years ago,” he added.

After the fire Openreach said they needed to organise temporary traffic lights so their engineers could work safely to replace the overhead cable.

They added: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience, and fully understand how disruptive not having internet can be.”

Residents said the repairs were made last Saturday.

Last week Thames Valley Police said: “This [fire] is being investigated as an arson, and anybody with any information should call 101, quoting reference number 43230068339.”

There has been speculation that the fire might have been connected to ram raids in the early hours of February 12 at Wokingham Superbowl in Carnival Hub at Wokingham and at Cherry Local Convenience Store at Bean Oak Road, Wokingham.

There was also a raid on a Co-op store in Overdown Road, Tilehurst on Tuesday, February 14. But police were called to this at 3.40am, but this has not been confirmed by the police.

Christmas concert raises more than £300 for Multiple Sclerosis charity

A SINGING group’s festive entertainment has raised money for a charity that supports people living with MS. Wokingham Choral Society presented a cheque for £315 to Sheila Butler, who received the sum on behalf of the Berkshire MS Therapy Centre, Reading.

Choir members had been invited to propose organisations before choosing to support one of them.

“We’re delighted to be able to make this donation to The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre,” says the choir’s chair Alison Sears.

“The money was raised from the retiring collection held at our Christmas concert.

“We are donating half of the total to this, our chosen charity, and the

other half to Wokingham town mayor, Cllr Maria Gee’s chosen charity, Kaleidoscopic UK.”

The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre aims to make life with multiple sclerosis easier.

It has more than 30 years of experience, and offers specialised treatments for people who are newly diagnosed and seeking help for the first time, as well as those who have lived with MS for a while.

n For more information about The Berkshire MS Therapy Centre visit: www.bmstc.org

n For information about Wokingham Choral Society visit: www.wokinghamchoral-society.org.uk

n For more about Kaleidscopic UK, visit: www.kaleidoscopic.uk

CHEQUE PLEASE: Sheila Butler from the MS Therapy Centre accepts a cheque from Wokingham Choral Society. Picture: Wokingham Choral Society

Cafe at hospital closes

THE CAFE at Wokingham Hospital has been closed as it was felt to be no longer viable.

Run by the Royal Voluntary Service, it had its last day of trading on Thursday. It was the only food outlet at the Barkham Road healthcare centre, serving staff, patients and visitors.

The site offers rehabilitation and physiotherapy services and has a unit for children with mental health conditions.

The Royal Voluntary Service has been running cafes since 1938, and is one of the largest operators of catering services in the NHS, with more than 200 sites largely staffed by volunteers. The charity feels it is not possible to carry on brewing in Wokingham, saying the covid pandemic has changed things.

Chris Gray, the charity’s head of retail operations, said: “We have been pleased to see trading return to many of our cafés and shops, following the pandemic. There are however some sites where there is reduced footfall and customer spend, including our café at Wokingham Hospital. This means we have had to make the difficult decision to close it.

“As a charity operating in a challenging environment, it’s no longer viable to run this service.”

He added: “Our focus remains on supporting the rest of our retail estate as well as on helping the NHS and vulnerable people in the community.”

“We are sad to see this service go and would like to thank all our staff and volunteers who have supported the cafe over the years.

“We are working with the Trust and our volunteers to identify other volunteering opportunities at the hospital and in the community.”

Is your old vase a treasure? Find out at charity valuation

By EMMA MERCHANT emerchant@wokingham.today

PEOPLE are invited to bring their antiques to be valued at an event that will raise money for children in India.

The valuations are being made by Martin and Pole Estate Agents and Chartered Surveyors.

As well as conducting house sales, the company also carries out antiques assessments and probate valuations.

They will be inspecting items brought to them at the charity event, with a fixed price for each item valued.

Each person may bring a maximum of two antiques for examination.

Funds raised will go to SalGO Assist, a charity that supports orphanages and very poor families in Bapatla, India.

The UK registered group is run by volunteers who send money, and raise awareness in the UK of the needs in the towns and villages in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

They encourage sponsorship

of widows, orphans and children at risk, and organise fundraising events throughout the year.

The money is spent mostly in Bapatla, a coastal town in Guntur District, and the many surrounding villages, with a total population of over 200,000.

Many people, especially in the villages and roadside communities, are dalits who live in huts or

TIMELY EVENT: A valuation day for potential antiques is to be held in Winnersh this Saturday

Picture: Felix Mittermeier via Pixabay

structures liable to collapse in the rainy season. With little or no education they are limited to low-paid or seasonal work.

HIV/Aids is also a serious issue, and children from affected families are often ostracised.

The charity works to change lives, encourage children to stay in school and, where appropriate, take up college places.

Anne Warner, one of the event organisers says, “We’re grateful to Martin and Pole, who are giving their time free of charge.

“We’ve done these events several times over the years.

“It’s a bit like the Antiques Road Show, with people queuing up to meet the experts.

“There are refreshments available, and it’s all very light hearted.

“A few years ago, someone had a big clock which turned out to be expensive, and was put up for sale.

“If anything is sold following the event, Martin and Pole give us a percentage of the value.

“You never know who will turn up, and what they will bring with them.”

The event takes place at St Mary’s Church Hall, Winnersh, on Saturday.

Valuations will be carried out from 2pm through to 4.30pm. The cost of assessment is £2.50 per item, with a maximum of two items.

n For information about the charity, visit: www.salgoassist.org

n For information about the valuers, visit: www.martinpole.co.uk

Twyford churches raise £2,800 for Ukraine generators appeal

EXCLUSIVE

By SUE CORCORAN news@wokingham.today

A MOTHER given shelter in Wokingham borough has described the horror of living under war – and how her fellow Ukrainians living in darkness and cold need generators.

Determined to tell her story despite her tears, Iryna Shuhalieieva, 45, spoke at a poignant church service in Twyford last Thursday, a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Generous donations at the service and afterwards resulted in £2,800 to buy generators to go to Ukraine.

Iryna’s bravery at the service at St Thomas More Roman Catholic Church was nothing compared with what she and her family have shown in the past year.

Iryna, a lawyer, and her daughter Varvara, 12, are now safe, as guests of Charvil couple Cyndy Gray, 71, and her husband Steve, 70. Varvara is a pupil at The Piggott School, Wargrave.

About 70 people at the service heard how the family had kept moving hundreds of miles trying to find peace. They’re now

spread across four countries.

Iryna told the parishioners of St Mary’s, Twyford, St James, Ruscombe, Twyford United Reformed Church and St Nicholas, Hurst, that her family had lived in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, occupied by Russia in 2014.

“We were forced to leave our home, jobs, schools and kindergartens. Thank God, at that time there were peaceful territories in Ukraine, and we moved to Kviv,” she said.

Her elder son later went to the Czech Republic to study and then find work.

On February 24 last year everything changed. “At 5am we heard explosions. Our friends started calling us and shouting that the war had begun … Our elder son called and cried. He did not understand.

“Then I felt bad with my heart and I lost consciousness. I kept the fear in myself and my heart could not stand it. My husband helped me to recover…

Women’s tap takeover Sir John talks housing with Michael Gove

A CELEBRATION to mark International Women’s Day is coming to a craft beer and coffee shop in Crowthorne.

The Tap Takeover will take place at The Hive on Thursday, March 9. There will be a range of products available, including special International Women’s Day (IWD) beers from local brewers Elusive and Double-Barrelled.

IWD is a global holiday celebrated annually as a focal point in the women’s rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights and violence against women.

The event will get underway at 6pm at the Dukes Ride location and admission is free. n For more information, visit: facebook.com/thehivecrowthorne

Railway Club talk on three bridges

A RAILWAY club will be treated to a presentation by speaker Doug Irvine.

about the UK sponsorship scheme. In September she and Varvara arrived at the Grays’ home. Iryna’s husband remains in Kiev.

“My family and I are very grateful to the people of Britain,” she said. “For me, Cyndy is like a mother. Steve, like dad. For me, these are the kindest and most decent people. I really hope that we will win soon and everyone will be able to return home.”

She appealed for help to buy generators to provide lighting, heating and cooking after destruction of electricity systems. At the service representatives of the churches led prayers for Ukraine, Russia, the world and victims of war.

Amy Buxton sang the Magnificat.

His talk will highlight Three Victorian Rail Bridges: the Dee, the Tay and the Forth Rail Bridge.

The Wokingham

Methodist Railway and Transport Club meets at the Bradbury Centre, in Rose Street, on the third Tuesday of the month, March 21.

Doors open at the new time of 7.30pm.

n For more information contact programme secretary, Jim Dunning on: 0118 977 175, or visit: www.wokinghammethodist. org.uk

Toddler sessions

KINGS Kiddies is a group for children from birth to five years.

“The children are sleeping, I’m taking heart pills, my husband is trying to be strong. Emptiness, fear, and nearby explosions again.”

A month later, Kyiv was surrounded on all sides. Their younger son, a judo expert, then went to Spain for training. In Kyiv, the explosions were getting closer.

In April, the family went to the Czech Republic and Spain, but finding a home was hopeless. Then Iryna heard

Caragh Booth and Pip Holmes of fundraising group UKtoUkraine said the generators would leave Hungerford later in March. St Thomas More Deacon, the Revd Michael Jackson, said afterwards: “We’re grateful to everyone who gave to buy the equipment.”

Cyndy Gray said: “We’re very pleased to host Iryna and Varvara. There are still lots of people of all ages wanting to come from Ukraine to the UK. Please contact the charity if you can help.”

They meet for play, songs, crafts and a story with Christian biblical focus. Mums, dads, grandparents and carers enjoy time together while the children play.

Kings Kiddies meets on Mondays during term time.

Doors open at 10am at Kings Place, in Station Road, Wokingham.

It costs £1 per child per session.

n To join the group and to find out more, email: admin@kingschurch. org.uk, or call: 0118 961 9876.

THE MP for Wokingham has met with a Government minister to discuss housing numbers in the borough.

Sir John Redwood saw Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, earlier this month. He said it was to discuss the new planning system and how it would impact the borough moving forward.

He said: “I sought clarification that the new system will allow a council like Wokingham to settle its own numbers of additional homes to be built in the next Local Plan. There will be no override from national estimates or guidance.

“He (Michael Gove) stressed the importance of any council producing a new plan, and confirmed the local ability to set the housing targets, without of course engaging on any detail over the specific Wokingham position.”

Last year, the Government confirmed it would shake-up housing targets so they are more flexible.

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill would be amended to allow ‘the right homes in the right places with the right infrastructure’, and would give residents a greater say on where news developments would be placed.

At the moment, Wokingham borough has to look to build nearly 800 new homes every year, but under the new proposals this will no longer be a fixed target.

Council leader to meet water firm

THE leader of Wokingham Borough Council is set to meet with Thames Water next week.

Cllr Clive Jones will discuss a number of issues with senior management at the water company.

Cllr Jones said: “I want to make sure there is an understanding at the highest levels of Thames Water of the depth of feeling that there is in Wokingham against pumping raw sewage into our local rivers.

“I also want to talk about leaking pipes and the lack of water pressure in houses in parts of the borough.

“I am also concerned about the number of sinkholes we have experienced recently and need assurance that ageing pipework around the borough is not failing.”

Thames Water has faced criticism in recent months after an Ofwat report revealed the company was losing more than 600 million litres of water.

In October last year, a sinkhole opened up on Evendons Lane and swallowed a tanker after a sewer collapsed. It reopened last month.

Cllr Jones is inviting the borough’s residents to email him any questions they have.

He said: “Residents can write to me with specific concerns that they want me to raise at my meeting with Thames Water management.

“Contact me on: clive.jones@ wokingham.gov.uk”

SUPPORTED: Pictured on a day trip to London are Varvara, 12, and her mum Iryna Shuhalieieva. Originally from Ukraine, they have been staying with a Charvil couple for much of the past six months

VOTED “THE GREATEST RADIO COMEDY OF ALL TIME” The Radio Times

Jack Dee hosts an evening of inspired nonsense with Rory Bremner, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones & Marcus Brigstocke

WHAT’S BREWING INFINCHAMPSTEAD?

CANyoubelieveit’sMarch already?!Springisalmost uponusandthatmeans thestartoflongerdays andbetterweather.

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Councillor ‘shocked’ at poor condition of new development

EXCLUSIVE

By DANIEL BLACKHAM dblackham@wokingham.today

A WOKINGHAM Borough councillor has written to the developer of Finchwood Park in Finchampstead after a recent walkabout revealed the poor condition of the site.

Cllr Rebecca Margetts, Conservative councillor for Finchampstead South, penned the letter to the managing director of Cala Homes following a visit to the area on Saturday, February 11.

The photo survey conducted by Cllr Margetts shows a number of issues including incomplete footpaths, raised ironworks in the roads and trip hazards.

She also highlighted some landscaped areas that had been “left with rubble, uncovered pipework, sharp objects, dead trees, heras fencing dumped in hedges and piles of litter in the ditches”.

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After speaking with residents, Cllr Margetts found that some homes still had many “snagging items”, despite being built more than a year ago.

She said: “I was shocked with how limited progress has been made on issues relating to the development over the past several months.

“It is clear from residents’ testimonies that they are very frustrated with the poor afterpurchase customer service from Cala Homes.

“Additionally, residents have been taking to posting their dissatisfactions on Facebook groups and throughWokingham Today

“Even to the untrained eye you can see areas of poor workmanship around the exteriors of the properties.”

Cllr Margetts explained that some residents had “given up” on the issues being resolved.

She said: “I had two separate homeowners that didn’t want to discuss any of their issues because they have given up with Cala Homes and have decided that they must move – this is heart-

Sonning Friends’ AGM with quiz

FRIENDS of St Andrews Church, Sonning, will soon hold their Annual General Meeting.

It will be followed by a quiz night and a fish and chip supper, to raise funds in aid of future repairs to St Andrews Church. Quiz teams will be in tables of four.

The closing date for numbers is on Tuesday, March 21, at 10am, to allow for the meal to be ordered.

The event is at The Ark, St Andrews Church, Sonning, on Wednesday, March 22. Doors open at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £17.50

Payment can be made in advance to any trustee member of the group, or by card on the door.

n For more information about the church, visit: sonningparish.org.uk

breaking for a family that a year ago were excited about moving into their new home.”

Cllr Margetts has called on the developer to resolve the problems “expeditiously”.

She added: “Cala Homes has historically had a reputation in the industry as a good housebuilder providing a quality product for families.

“It is disappointing that Cala Homes has fallen so short of

the expectations set before the commencement of the development at Finchwood Park and it is disturbing that there is little or no action being taken to make it right.”

Following the letter, the company’s area managing director has agreed to meet with Cllr Margetts at the site to discuss the issues further.

A Cala Homes spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on our customer service and quality and

Round up your shopping and help health charities

TESCO customers in Wokingham can choose to round up their shop to the nearest £1 at self-service tills to help support an in-store fundraising campaign for three leading health charities.

Since 2018, the partnership between Tesco and Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK has raised more than £22 million to support life-saving research.

In addition to the funds being raised, the campaign aims to increase awareness across Wokingham about the importance of making sustainable lifestyle changes that can help people to lower the impact of cancer, heart and circulatory diseases, and diabetes.

The campaign, which runs until Sunday, March 5, will also provide Wokingham customers with information and advice to empower them to take small steps to help improve their health.

Oonagh Turnbull, head of health campaigns at Tesco, thanked Wokingham shoppers for their support, which will make a significant difference to many people’s lives.

She added: “There has never been a more critical time to raise funds for our health charity partners. Their work relies heavily on donations from the communities in which we operate.”

n For more, visit: www.tescoplc. com/sustainability/taking-action/ community/charity-partnerships/

we regret that on this occasion that we have fallen short of our usual standards.

“A programme of works is underway to resolve the issues highlighted as quickly as possible, with some already completed. Cala Thames’ managing director is in communication with Cllr Rebecca Margetts and will be meeting on site very soon.”

Sparkles: monthly playtime for toddlers

SPARKLES is a monthly playtime session for toddlers and their carers.

The faith-based group offers an hour of play, toys, crafts and instruments, along with a Bible story, and snacks for the children.

Children can have fun, and parents can meet other carers. The group welcomes all toddlers and their grown-ups.

Sparkles is held at Wokingham’s Salvation Army Church on the second Wednesday of every month.

The next event takes place on Wednesday, March 8, at 2pm.

n For more information, email community centre manager Marina Brain, at: marina.brain@ salvationarmy.org.uk or call: 07786957195.

PROBLEMS: Issues highlighted by Cllr Rebecca Margetts at Finchwood Park include roads being left unfinished, and rubble dumped on the greenways. Cala Homes is promising to fix the issues and meet with the councillor Pictures: Rebecca Margetts

Sir John will be Tory candidate in next general election

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokingham.today

HE’S BEEN Wokingham’s MP since 1987, and if voters agree, he will still be the MP in 2025 – Sir John Redwood has been selected as the Conservative candidate in the next general election.

The Boundary Commission review means that seats have been redrawn, and Wokingham borough will go from four MPsBracknell, Maidenhead, Reading East and Wokingham - to just two, Wokingham, and Woodley and Earley.

At a selection meeting held at Wokingham Town Hall on Friday, February 24, party members opted to stick with Sir John.

It will the 10th general election he will have contested.

John Redwood MP said: “I was delighted and honoured that the representatives on the Wokingham Selection Council chose to adopt me as the Conservative parliamentary candidate.

“I will continue to work hard for my constituents and encourage anyone in need of my help or wanting to share

their views to contact me.”

John Redwood MP said: “I was delighted and honoured that the representatives on the Wokingham Selection Council chose to adopt me as the Conservative parliamentary candidate.

“I will continue to work hard for my constituents and encourage anyone in need of my help or wanting to share their views to contact me.”

The decision was welcomed by fellow Conservatives.

Wokingham Conservative

borough has just two MPs rather than the current four.

“John is our champion in Westminster and fights hard for Wokingham’s residents.”

The Liberal Democrats have already announced that council leader Clive Jones will be their candidate.

The party has Wokingham as one its Blue Wall target seats, after gaining control of the borough council following last May’s local elections.

In that vote, the Conservatives lost their majority.

The council is currently No Overall Control, and the Lib Dems formed an executive after creating the Wokingham Borough Partnership agreement with Labour and the two Independents, giving them enough votes for a

Since then, national opinion polls have given Labour a near 20-point lead over the Conservatives, suggesting there could be a landslide similar to

Other research suggests that a swathe of traditionally safe Conservative seats, including Wokingham, could be won by

MP helps Nationwide mark its 50th

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokingham.today

ONE OF Wokingham borough’s four MPs showed a lot of interest when he visited a building society in the town centre.

Sir John Redwood popped into the Nationwide branch on Broad Street, to help staff celebrate its 50th anniversary.

He was given a tour and learnt more about some of the various services the building society offers to its members. And being an MP, he also had the opportunity to highlight some of the issues mentioned by constituents.

“I raised the importance of retaining face-to-

face services and learned how the Nationwide is supporting those who are not comfortable with online banking,” Sir John said.

“I heard how the Nationwide is supporting their mortgage holders and helping renters to enter the housing market.

“They are also offering support to Nationwide members with money worries through their freephone cost-of-living hotline.”

The veteran MP added: “I was very interested to learn about their Money Lessons programme which is targeted at students from Year 1 to Year 13, and works with schools to deliver sessions on a wide range of topics including savings, budgeting and staying safe online.”

VISITOR: Wokingham MP, Sir John Redwood (centre), with Nationwide branch manager Morgan Milner, and Lisa Harley, a member representatives. The Broad Street bank is celebrating its 50th anniversary

MOTHER'S DAY LUNCH

Mothers Day

12PM - 7PM

Spoil your mother this Mother's Day with something a little more special than a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. Book a table at our Mother's Day lunch at Chalk

Treat that someone special this Mother’s Day to spectacular two or Three course menu with glass o f Pommery Brut Royal Champagne on arrival.

Two Course Menu at £32.95

Three Course Menu at £39.95

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MIDWEEK LIVE MUSIC

For great live music minus the hassle of expensive tickets, crowded concert venues, and the headache of trying to escape once the show is over, then transplant yourself to Grasshopper which is alive with the buzz of conversation and live music to soundtrack your evening from 6pm until 9.30pm, see our dates on our website.

Church launches new dementia friendly choir

By EMMA MERCHANT emerchant@weokingham.today

A CHURCH has started a new singing group that creates space for those living with dementia, and their carers, to enjoy making music together.

The Salvation Army Lower Earley opens its doors once a month for a Singing By Heart choir that is especially designed to support people at all stages of dementia.

“We started only last month,” says Lieutenant Jacqueline Coates. “The group is for people with early diagnoses as well as those who have lived with the condition for longer.

“Although the majority who came to our first meeting are older, we are well aware that dementia can affect younger folk too.”

The choir is a resource produced in 2018 by The Salvation Army’s Music And Creative Arts and Older People’s Ministries teams.

It offers a programme of music to help people connect with others and bring back memories.

Called Singing By Heart, it mixes hymns, such as Joy In My Heart, with popular songs like Moon River, each one carefully selected to be easily recognised.

The sessions are designed to encourage communication, recollection of memories, and happy thoughts for those taking part.

It is also hoped carers will find the sessions beneficial, as an opportunity for them to relax, make friends, and share experiences.

Music is known to be a powerful trigger for past memories and feelings in those living with dementia.

“One lady really enjoyed the session,” says Lt Coates. “Her carer said that they had never seen her smile so much.

“And another person was up on their feet and dancing to Bring Me Sunshine.

“The idea is to stimulate beautiful memories.”

Lt Coates and her fellow group leader are able to run the group having undergone training by the Salvation Army.

“It’s very well organised,” Lieutenant Coates says. “We have to train not only in leadership, but in dementia awareness, as part of the Older People’s Ministry Services.

“Even the building is checked to make sure that it is helpful for those living with dementia - that there are not too many doors, for example.”

Salvation Army Lower Earley is connected to the NHS Social Prescribing scheme, whereby local agencies such as charities, social care and health centres

Appeal over Adwest site

A FACTORY building in Woodley that was used to make aircraft during the Battle of Britain could still be demolished and replaced with five modern industrial units, writes James Aldridge, local democracy reporter

The Adwest building was formerly part of the Miles Aircraft factory and is based on Headley Road East, Woodley.

The site was used to build nearly 6,000 aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s, and during the Second World War was used in the construction of training aircraft.

Later, it became the base for making Biro pens. Most recently, Thermal Management Solutions (TMS), used the space to produce thermostats for cars. It has since switched production to Europe.

A petition calling for the building to be retained received 4,866 signatures on Change.org.

Developers HE2 Reading 1 GP had applied to demolish the building and replace it five modern industrial units, this was refused by Wokingham Borough Council’s planning committee.

Wokingham’s planning committee refused the plan

because the demolition of the buildings on the site would remove ‘any physical link to their former aeronautical use’.

HE2 Reading 1 GP has appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate.

Woodley Town Council leader Cllr Keith Baker has urged residents to call for the appeal to be dismissed.

He said: “It is the last remaining piece of architecture relating to the airfield from World War Two.

“One of the reasons why it was refused was its historical basis.”

The plan for the demolition and new buildings is reference 213106 on Wokingham Borough Council’s planning portal.

In order to comment on the appeal, you will need to use reference APP/ X0360/W/22/3306963 on the government planning inspectorate website to comment, or by post to Sara Burke, The Planning Inspectorate, Room , Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Bristol, BS1 6PN.

The deadline for representations is Monday, March 20.

refer people to activities, groups and services in their area.

“We work with our local GPs,” says Lieutenant Coates.

“We initially saw a need for dementia friendly activities in our church, and soon realised that it was very likely to be welcomed by our local community too.

“So we approached our GPs, who thought it was a great idea to start a Singing By Heart choir here.”

The Singing By Heart dementia friendly group meets at the Salvation Army church, Chalfont Close, Lower Earley on the first Tuesday of the month. Doors open at 11am n For more information call: 0118 931 0760 email: lower.earley@salvationarmy. org.uk or visit: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/ reading-lower-earley

Quiz night to help First Days

A CHILDREN’S charity is holding a pub quiz tonight to support youngsters in the borough.

First Days is holding round four of its quizzing series, and says the event will be fun.

Quiz teams can have a maximum of six members, and there is the option to enjoy a pizza dinner beforehand - this must be booked direct with the pub.

Ellie Gosling from First Days says: “The evening is hosted by First Days’ very own fun manager, Camilla, who definitely makes the evening fun.

“People can expect high levels of banter, and challenging questions - along with the ‘I know this one’ variety.

“Each quiz night brings different rounds of questions.

“In the past we have had Sporting Cities, Name That Tune, and Who Am I.”

First Days supports families who are living with a low income or are experiencing financial hardship, It provides everyday essentials for children who need them, and works to ensure that all youngsters can feel safe, confident and have fun, while peer support and one to one coaching is available for parents.

The quiz will take place in Wokingham town centre’s Rose Inn.

The charity thanks The Rose Inn for hosting the event in the upstairs Oak Room.

Tickets cost £10, and include entry for a prize draw for a meal for two at The Rose Inn. n For more, visit: www.firstdays.net

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OLD FAVOURITES: Singing By Heart is a monthly dementia friendly choir. that meets in the Lower Earley Salvation Army Picture posed by models: protestantsbarr from Pixabay

Another view Neil Coupe

Unzipping traffic jams

OUR roads seem to be busier and more congested than they have ever been.

Roadworks lead to greater interaction between drivers. Small but necessary acts such as changing lanes or even being allowed onto a road depend on the kindness of strangers.

I can never understand the mindset of the drivers who, in stationary traffic, stare defiantly ahead, pretending to be oblivious to fellow road users as they try to join them in the queue.

Will they reach their destination more quickly if there are 47 cars ahead of them in a queue instead of a mere 46?

Does being awkward help in boosting their self-esteem?

Is this something to boast about when they arrive home and share the highlights of their day?

Surely a slight appreciation that we are not alone on the roads should elicit at least a little consideration for others. Whose day is not brightened by a quick wave of appreciation when a car is allowed to join the carriageway?

There is the effusive gratitude when not one, but two cars are invited to come out on to the road. The look of surprised delight by the driver of the second car, often augmented by a mouthed ‘thank-you’ or even a coquettish wave can be a tiny joy to behold.

Last week on the M4 I slowed down in order to allow a car to cut in front of me. Imagine my delight to discover that this was actually an unmarked police car which proceeded to give me an elaborate light show of appreciation which would not have looked out of place on top of a Christmas tree.

I am all in favour of courtesy on the roads, but I am starting to question the etiquette when a sign announces that a motorway lane will close in say 500 yards.

The decent and honourable thing to do appears to be to slow down immediately and join the queue at the back of the inside lane that remains open.

This feels like the polite thing to do when queuing for an ATM or waiting for a bus. Is it the right thing to do on a motorway when two lanes become one though?

Apparently in Germany, in such circumstances, they follow the concept of a zip, in other words, the traffic merges when motorists use both lanes until the outside lane closes and then the vehicles alternate on a one-by-one basis into the lane that remains open.

Logically this makes sense as it means that both lanes are being used as normal until the last minute and the drivers politely allow one car to proceed ahead of them.

‘Apparently’ (my only evidence is a comment on the internet) the continued use of the two lanes with no significant difference in speed between the two lanes reduces the length of the delays by around 40%, so this is great in theory.

The question remains whether we could culturally cope with this in the UK.

On the one hand, both lanes are moving at the same pace, so there is at least a sense of fairness.

At the point of the ‘zip’, assuming an absence of road rage and unreasonable behaviour, there is the opportunity for some polite ‘After you, no I insist!’.

The problem is to reach that point, it feels that something a little too close to queue jumping is taking place, which as we all know is a total anathema to us.

Or maybe I should spend less time in a slowmoving car thinking about such matters?

‘Superheroes’ ‘reason to wake up

By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today

A COMMUNITY GROUP is not only changing the lives of its service users, but also its workforce.

Apprentice follows in his father’s footsteps

A FORMER apprentice is living out his dream by helping to oversee a major Wokingham housing development.

Sam Sawyers, 22, spent a lot of his childhood tagging along with his father, who was a bricklayer, wherever possible.

He is now assistant site manager at Vistry’s Shinfield Meadows estate, following in the footsteps of his father, Mark Allen, a build director for the company.

Sam said: “I would mainly sit in the van or maybe sometimes be allowed to lay a brick.

“It was this that was the main thing that made me want to get into the trade as I can remember looking at my dad and the people he was working with while sitting in the van and just wanting to be there doing what they were doing and having the fun they seemed to be having while working.

“That’s when it clicked in my mind, I thought working on a building site – that’s what I want to do. I’ve never been interested in sitting at a desk.”

Sam, who lives in Wantage and grew up in Leicester, started his career working alongside bricklayers as a hod carrier, also carrying out labouring work for an agency.

While working on these jobs,

he was inspired by watching the site manager leading the team and ensuring tasks were completed efficiently, something Sam was keen to try his hand at.

He went on to approach Vistry about enrolling on an apprenticeship, and the fact he was already working at the company location worked in his favour.

Sam explained: “If they can already see you working hard, they know you’ll work hard on the apprenticeship.”

He began his programme in June 2021, and learned about different aspects of construction including groundwork, scaffolding, bricklaying and carpentry, as well as the administrative side, including regulations and health and safety procedures.

While balancing his Higher National Certificate studies, Sam has successfully stood in for his site manager when he was on annual leave for two weeks.

He said: “My dad has always taught me to keep calm and collected. The thing he says is if you’re ever panicking, take 10 seconds and carry on after that.

“If I’m finding a problem I can’t get around, I always stop and take 10 seconds to think about it.”

His considered approach ultimately led to a promotion to assistant site manager last autumn.

Wokingham is the safest place for pedestrians

IT’S OFFICIAL, Wokingham has been recognised as the safest place to be a pedestrian in the UK.

Research by Bollards Direct shows the market town to be top of the pops when it comes to protecting those who travel by foot.

The data considers factors such as the number of pedestrian accidents involving vehicles and crime rates, normalised against each area’s population.

It also looked at safety concerns pedestrians may have, such as being mugged, walking alone at night and worries of being attacked to get an indication of which places are the safest for the average pedestrian.

Wokingham was comfortably top with an overall safety score of 9.44 out of 10.

In terms of crime rates, Wokingham ranked in the top five

Helping Hand volunteer Lorraine Smith, who once struggled to muster the courage to leave her house, has flourished into one of Shinfield’s brightest stars. She is now helping others come out of their shell and gain access to any help they need, particularly crediting organisers Sarah O’Neill and Rachel Walker.

Lorraine said: “They’re Shinfield’s superheroes, they really are. Without these ladies, I would still be sitting behind my front door not going out or doing anything.

“It’s been amazing. I can come out, talk to people and be in big crowds. I’m just a different person. They’ve changed my life, 200% definitely.”

The School Green resident was encouraged to volunteer with Helping Hand just over a year ago, shortly after it was launched.

She described feeling hesitant at first and even remembered her hands shaking at the thought of being surrounded by so many people. But the Shinfield resident has only gone from strength to strength and is now a vital member of the team.

Helping Hand organises a weekly foodshare, carries out essential tasks for those in need and signposts service users to advice and practical help. The majority of the group’s activity takes place at Shinfield Community Church.

As a talented creator, Lorraine has made Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day and birthdays extra special for members of the community through themed homemade cakes and cards.

“I know what it feels like not to have birthday cakes or Mother’s Day cards,” she explained.

“A lot of people are single, so they might not get a card, so I just make

them at home and the arts and crafts keep me busy.”

Organiser Rachel said: “Getting involved builds up your self-esteem, no doubt. Seeing it and watching other people socialise, it does build you up because you start to think that you can do it too. It gives you so much confidence.”

This renewed self-belief has led to Lorraine becoming one of the administrators on the Shinfield Community Facebook page, which boasts more than 7,000 members.

Sarah added: “Lorraine has a real gift for really seeing people. There was a lady on Facebook who had said she had not left her house properly for years until she met Lorraine at the community cafe.

“She saw her and saw the pain she

Two new varieties of apple identified

nationwide with 407 per 10,000 people between 2012 and 2021.

The town also ranked well for a low number of pedestrian accidents with 165 per 100,000 people from 2012 to 2021.

Residents commented on feeling safe walking alone at night, scoring 66.67 out of 100 on that index.

They also reported having “little worry” about being mugged or attacked due to their ethnicity, race or gender.

Perth & Kinross and Telford & Wrekin shared the honours for second place with an overall safety score of 9.20 out of 10.

Neighbouring Reading was tied for 30th on the list with Bristol, achieving an overall safety score of 5.33 out of 10.

Attributing to the rating was a crime rate of 997 per 10,000 people and 406 pedestrian accidents per 100,000 people between 2012 and 2021.

TWO new apple cultivars have been discovered in the borough by gardeners.

Thanks to allotment tenants Roger and Sue Gook, two new varieties of the fruit can be added to the 2,500 already identified in the UK.

Curious about the two apple trees on their plot, the couple invited experts to test their plants’ DNA.

“The apples have always stored well, but we didn’t suspect that they would be particularly unusual,” says Roger.

“Sue is a member of Wisley, and at their autumn fair in 2021 there was an opportunity to take apples to be identified by the experts, so we took some along.”

But specialists at the Royal Horticultural Society of Gardeners at Wisley didn’t recognise the specimens sue and Roger showed them.

Instead, they advised the couple to have the plant DNA tested to find out

more, so Sue and Roger contacted East Malling Agricultural And Horticultural Research Institute.

“We sent a sample cutting to them in May, “ says Roger: “and six months later they told us we have two completely new varieties of apple tree.

“I’m not the best of gardeners, but the trees have always fascinated me.

“The quality and taste of the fruit is average, but they find an honourable place in my homemade chutney.”

Sue and Roger have also made apple sauce and apple jelly with fruit from their trees.

“They’re very good fruiters,” says Roger.

The trees are growing in an area thought to have been the site of an extensive orchard until around 1935.

Cuttings have been taken from the varieties, six from one tree and three from another.

“Paul Smith, allotments officer at

LIVING THE DREAM: Sam Sawyers on site at Vistry’s Bovis Homes development at Shinfield Meadows. Picture: Vistry Group

resident up in the morning’

was in at the time and really connected with her. It was amazing.”

Lorraine also described handling a request from a resident struggling to replace a broken freezer. Thanks to a grant from Wokingham United Charities, Helping Hand were able to source a new one within a week.

Things have truly come full circle for Lorraine, who is now empowering those who are in the position she was once in.

Through her role, she has asked people to reach out to her over the phone, or even chat one-to-one on the steps of the church if they feel uncomfortable coming in.

She was full of praise for Helping Hand, saying: “Our community is so grateful for them. People are always asking who they need to go to for this,

Wokingham Town Council has been very helpful,” continues Roger.

“The new trees will be planted out next spring, and Paul will make sure they’re sited in the right places.

“I might put one in my garden, too.

“It’s been fun, an interesting journey, and not something we expected to happen.”

Sue and Roger have been invited to name their two new cultivars, which currently have only identification numbers.

A cultivar, or cultivated variety, is a type within a species, that has been created by plant breeding rather than

COMMUNITY: Lorraine Smith (back, second to right) has credited Helping Hand organisers Sarah O’Neill (front left) and Rachel Walker (front middle) for changing her life.

Picture: Ji-Min Lee

Prizes on offer for young book reviewers

READ ON: Jenny and an ABC to Read child enjoying a book.

Picture: ABCtoRead

ISLE OF WIGHT ‘Royals & Rails’

Departing Mon 29 May ‘23

On this fantastic break we enjoy the Isle of Wight’s peace, tranquillity and natural beauty as well as a nostalgic journey on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and a visit to fascinating Osborne House, Queen Victoria’s former holiday home - a relaxing few days away.

A CHILDREN’S competition has been launched by reading charity, ABC To Read.

To celebrate World Book Day the group wants to inspire primary school aged youngsters to engage more with this critical pastime.

Children are encouraged to tell everyone about their favourite book and enter the competition, My Truly Amazing Book Review.

libraries, and the winning class will take part in an assembly or class visit with AF Harrold.

Your break includes

that and the other and they [Helping Hand] sorts them out.

“It’s just like a map, SHARE and the church are in the middle, and there are so many amazing things going on around it. Without Helping Hand, a lot of people would be without what they have now.”

Lorraine wants to continue encouraging others to break free from their inhibitions and to come along to visit the group.

“It is daunting and it can be very frightening,” she said. “But at the end of the day, I’m living proof that they can do it. If I can do it, anyone can.

“It’s true when they say that SHARE is a family. We’ve got each other’s backs and that’s all that matters. I’ve never had someone have my back before until this.”

They can win prizes for their school library, as well as for themselves. Schools can also win a visit from poet AF Harrold.

Marcia Rowlinson, ABC to Read CEO, says: “Competitions are a fun way to motivate youngsters.

“We are so pleased to be able to offer some wonderful prizes for our children and schools.”

ABC to Read volunteers invest an average of 12,000 hours each year into improving children’s reading ability.

It also increases their enjoyment of the pastime as well as their general attitudes and confidence. The competition aims to boost both.

Winners and runners up will receive Waterstones gift cards, and their book reviews will be featured on ABC To Read’s social media pages.

Two Usborne Illustrated Dictionaries can be won for school

POETRY CORNER

Centrica’s profit

Centrica are the owners Of good old British Gas, ‘N with energy prices soaring They’ve raked in loads of cash.

£3.3 billion quid of profit To be exactly precise, But they sent me an email that I thought… seemed quite nice:

by natural means.

Most supermarkets stock only a limited variety of fruit, but hundreds of different apple cultivars grow in the UK.

Historic varieties include: Blenheim Orange (1740), Beauty of Hants (1850), Flower of Kent (1629) and Jonathan (1864).

It has been suggested that Roger and Sue’s apples might be suitable for making cider.

“I like apple trees, they’re fabulous in spring,” says Roger.

“And yes, cider would work very well.”

Sign up here if you’d like to make savings on your bill, Use less lecky during peak time: A discount to sweeten the pill.

So up I signed and we waited To hear the details of our slot, It was only going to be an hour, All-in-all: not too much of a lot.

At 5pm precisely we switched Off the TV and … the WIFI box, Thought we’d whole-hog-it...

Gosh … too dark to see the clocks!

Book review forms can be downloaded from the ABC to Read website, and emailed to the charity at: info@abctoread.org.uk and subject titled ‘competition’. Entries may also be posted to: Competition ABC to Read, St Marks Church Hall, 94 Cranbury Road, Reading RG30 2TA, or given to a child’s ABC fieldworker.

Submissions must be received by 3pm on March 10.

The child’s name, age and adult’s contact details must be included with each entry, as well as the child’s primary school and/or volunteer’s name.

The charity must also be advised about photographic permission, as pictures taken may appear in the media.

ABC to Learn has spaces for new volunteers to take part in training and for schools to sign up to the scheme.

n For more information about training days or joining the scheme as a school or volunteer mentor, email: abctoread@btconnect.com, or visit: www.abctoread.org.uk

n To download a book review form, visit: www.abctoread.org.uk

Return coach travel and ferry crossings from Reading

4 nights at the Royal Pier Hotel, Sandown with dinner & breakfast

Entertainment some evenings

Heritage train journey on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway

Excursions to Osborne House, Cowes & Ryde

5 Days by Coach only £329

NORTHUMBERLAND Holy Island & Alnwick Castle

Departing Mon 5 Jun ‘23

Join us to explore the best Northumberland has to offer. The rugged scenery and seascapes of this lovely region with its ancient castles, vast sandy beaches and rolling moorland are not only spectacular but some of the most unspoilt of coastal Britain.

Your break includes

Return coach travel from Crawley

4 nights at the Leonardo Hotel, Newcastle with dinner & breakfast

Guided tour of Hadrian’s Wall Excursions to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, Alnwick Castle, Hadrian’s Wall & Chesters Fort

I walked around like a Dalek With a beanie torch on my head, My son gave up completely And … he cleared off to bed.

I’d forgotten to put the kettle on So I couldn’t have a cup of tea, Thank god loo-flushing’s not ‘lectric...I was busting for a wee!

With bated breath I tapped on The new email from British Gas: 81p saving … doubled to One pound sixty-two hassle-free cash.

Pam Ski

We love receiving your poems and have set up a dedicated email address - poems@wokingham.today

Optional excursion to Durham (£13pp)

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033 numbers are free within inclusive minutes packages otherwise standard rates apply. For more information, or to book, please call Operated by Just Go Holidays Ltd. Coach package holidays and short breaks are subject to Just Go! Holidays terms and conditions. Your booking is protected by Bonded Coach Holidays (BCH) and the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT); this is a government approved consumer protection scheme. Tours offered subject to availability and government guidelines. Errors and omissions excepted. Prices per person, based on two people sharing a double/twin room. Calls to 033 numbers are free within inclusive minutes packages otherwise standard rates apply.

Government must act on housing

THE IMPASSE over the local plan continues, and with it the threat of more inappropriate developments for the borough.

The five-year land supply, a fig leaf that helps protect Wokingham, expired this time last year.

The previous administration’s local plan – detailing where housing will go to 2036 – was delayed after the Ministry sunk plans for Grazeley’s garden village.

The new adminstration has had to pick up the work already done and make its own mark. But presentation can’t happen until there is more certainty over housing policy from central government.

The instability of the past year has seen a revolving door of cabinet ministers for housing. At least Sir John Redwood has been able to meet Michael Gove on Wokingham’s behalf.

Despite the pressure, this government is still fiddling while Rome burns.

Rishi Sunak has proved this week he can deliver on difficult issues. We need him to act now over housing.

In the meantime, we lose. Bridge Farm in Twyford is just another example. We need our green spaces.

CHURCH NOTES

Wrong turns

WE were aware of the road closures for the Wokingham half marathon and that the road from our house was on the route. Naively we thought it wouldn’t affect us - how wrong we were.

Thanks to the very helpful stewarding staff we eventually managed to return home. But not before finding our way blocked in multiple places and needing to turn round.

The instructions were helpful, but the listening was suspect.

Instead of finding the process frustrating, which given my impatience behind the wheel was a marvel, it caused me to reflect on how much those 20 minutes around Cantley Park are a microcosm of my life.

How often I find the need to say sorry for something I’ve got wrong, look back on past mistakes and cringe or find cause to regret some of the ways I’ve behaved.

I suspect all of us know the heaviness of this baggage. So how grateful I was to be (attempting) to return home from the church where I’m minister.

A church where we’d just sung and proclaimed and rejoiced in a God who is a fountain overflowing with undeserved favour and unmerited kindness. Instead of treating me as I deserve, he has showered me with loving kindness and merciful forgiveness.

This powerfully changes how I understand my own baggage and past, for while I often hold it over my own head, and while sadly we often hold each other’s mistakes over each other, the LORD has ‘put them behind his back’.

Such grace helps me to lift my head each day and begin to show the same grace to others.

In a world that increasingly seems reluctant to offer forgiveness how very precious this is.

Joel Knight is minister of Christchurch Wokingham, writing on behalf of Churches

Together Wokingham

Your letters

We love to hear from you! Send us your views on issues relating to the borough (in 250 words or less) to Wokingham.Today, Crown House, 231 Kings Road, Reading RG1 4LS or email: letters@wokingham.today We reserve the right to edit letters Views expressed in this section are not necessarily those of the paper

This reader is delighted to see a multi-party coalition come together to deliver a reasonable Borough budget during difficult economic times.

Yet it comes under constant attack from the Conservatives for nonsense (read partisan) reasons. What do I mean?

The most common complaint is about waste moving to fortnightly collection via wheelie bin. Oh, how can we expect the citizens of Wokingham Borough to cope with weekly inconsistency, waste buildup and unwieldy bins? But let’s remember it was the Conservative-led council that introduced Garden Waste collection fortnightly via... you guessed it, wheelie bins. When you get past the manufactured outrage and see that 80% of councils have fortnightly or longer collection, the argument dissipates and the cost/recycling savings make it an easy choice.

Next is the outrage over higher parking prices and new evening/ weekend fees. But it was only a few years ago when the Conservativeled council introduced evening and weekend parking charges - the very thing they now declare unacceptable.

Of course, no one likes to see prices rise, but the Conservatives left a hole and were chipping away at bus services to subsides drivers.

Here in Wokingham, the parking rise is not out of line with increases in most businesses and parking rises in Bracknell, Camberley and Reading.

Having a functioning multi-party Wokingham Borough Council is a wonder of democracy - a model designed to balance competing interests. For too long, we’ve had a one-party government that sold off green space and overdelivered housing while feigning outrage over it. Let’s support the sensible compromises in this budget. And, let’s

Why attack the budget? From the chamber

all turn out to vote in May and give this democratically-elected coalition more time (don’t forget your ID).

Tom

Ross,

via email

Climate change always with us

Regarding Cllr Kerr’s comments on climate change, we have always had it.

Hundreds of millions of years ago we had tropical forests and Dinosaurs, millions of years ago we had glaciers halfway down England, hundreds of years ago the Vikings planted grapevines in NE England and a couple of hundred years ago the Thames froze over.

I am a volunteer driver for a lot of people who cannot walk far or cycle and don’t have any public transport near to them.

Unlike the Cllr, they cannot use the path and cycleways that are taking over. I live near a new road where the path/cycleways are wider than the road but are seldom used (about half a dozen cyclists max. in an hour last summer when I monitored the road), whereas the road has moderate traffic through the day, including some cyclists. Do those few cyclist reduce the effect on climate change?

One could obliterate the UK from the global map and there would be virtually no difference to climate change (we produce less than 3% of the pollution). We would mitigate nothing.

Why punish the residents and penalise struggling businesses in Wokingham with things like moving traffic enforcement charges, more expensive unused cycleways and costly Adaption plans?

Derek Harding, Wokingham

Crosfields crossing

Having read your article on ‘The Crosfields Crossing’ I am not surprised to see Cllr Fishwick’s comments and also not surprised to see that again WBC are manipulating data for their own benefits.

Cross reference with the new

Arborfield traffic improvement scheme in which they have used past traffic data to prove traffic has decreased on the A327 and through Arborfield Cross, are then using future projections to conclude that Church Lane traffic is not at a dangerous level and current data to deem a crossing unnecessary in Shinfield. . . investigation in to safety is done to suit their agenda rather than address the proper needs of the residents. We would absolutely walk or cycle to school if it was safer.

It appears from reports that there needs to be at least one fatality on a road for a safety audit to be considered and even then safety measures may still not be deemed necessary. We can have traffic lights to protect the workmen laying fibre cables but not even a crossing for school children to get to school . . . the more exposure these ridiculous rules get hopefully we can affect change.

Barbara Mumford, via email

On potholes and buses

Last week’s Letter from Councillor Imogen Shepherd-Dubey, plus a chance to actually talk to her at my front door, enabled me to have a good nag about a couple of issues many of our society worry about.

We are part of the countrywide concern about potholes. I will never forget tram-lines in London –Mitcham as my residence was in the 1940’s - having fallen off my bicycle several times!

The AA figures for breakdowns of motor vehicles totals 73,000 this year so far – average 1,400 per day.

Over a period of years roads may suffer undulations, which are not nice to drive on, but we take care and drive slowly. Arthur Road in Wokingham is an example. Such is the surface that I understand garages use it for testing cars.

Having investigated what can be done quickly, especially on roads such as the Reading Road, there is

freedoms of people of all sexualities, and continues to do so today.

It’s worthwhile remembering how far we have come. As many of you will know, homosexuality was illegal in the UK until 1967. What is less well-known is that the landmark report that prepared the ground for the change in the law was chaired by one of my predecessors as Vice-Chancellor at Reading, John Wolfenden.

a process in the “Local Government articles list”, which enables a very fast repair to take place and reduce traffic delays. From the engineering point of view, I love the design and use of the product, called “Tough Patch” from UltraCrete. It has a long life. Perhaps Highways need to study it.

The other issue is buses. Apart from wondering they last very long on our roads, the services from Wokingham to Reading is sadly very bad – frequency a serious “nag”. I have complained before, in suggesting we revert back to something like a 15-minute service – e.g. especially on the 4/4X service.

We need for priority control for buses, second only to Blue-Light and Fire Brigade services – those who must suffer stress from traffic delays or in the way in Emergencies, as things are. A dream maybe, but a possibility.

As our population grows rapidly, I would like to see a traffic management system on our main roads, which given our technology is not difficult to adopt. Imagine one of our marvellous Ambulance drivers leaving RBH to get to Wokingham, knowing the main road is clear for him/her all the way. Reg Clifton, Wokingham

Clive, buy them a tank

“Standing With Ukraine”. Fine words from wannabe MP, Councillor and Leader of the Ad-Hoc Coalition, Clive Jones.

Of course, what the Ukrainians really need is heavy weapons. So, how about Cllr Jones showing that he really stands with Ukraine by having a Challenger Tank fund for Wokingham? It could be like a town’s Spitfire fund during World War Two.

They only cost about £5 million pounds. This tank could be donated to the Ukrainian people and would show that Wokingham residents are willing to support President Zelensky on the battlefield. It would also demonstrate to Putin that Wokingham Borough really means business after he got

like this.

At Reading over the past month, this included having a public lecture on the landmark theatre productions in Britain that have been used to tell LGBT+ stories; holding training sessions to encourage inclusion and allyship; and a Student Pride event hosted by our students’ union.

EVERY day seems to bring a different World Day, celebrating something or other.

Today, Thursday, March 2, as I’m sure you know, is Dr Seuss Day, and of course, International Rescue Cat Day. It is also World Book Day.

Those of you who have been feverishly stitching and gluing together last-minute costumes have my sympathies.

With thousands of students and academics from all over the world, at the University of Reading we can find things to celebrate

every day of the year.

But there are some days, weeks and months that we find particular reason to highlight.

At the moment, this includes Fairtrade Fortnight, currently running to promote positive global trade, and International Women’s Day next week, with a month of activities in March to mark it.

We’ve just come to the end of LGBT+ History Month, which is a particularly meaningful celebration for the University of Reading. We are proud that the University has a long history of promoting the rights and

The Wolfenden Report recommended in 1957 that “homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence”. It took another decade for the report’s recommendations to make it into British law.

While much progress has been made since then, issues and prejudices towards LGBT+ people remain. LGBT+ History Month exists to raise awareness and combat prejudice, while also celebrating achievement and diversity.

The exciting thing about working at a university – and hopefully, the interesting thing about living near one – is that you get to tap into so many different perspectives on issues

It was fantastic to see our wonderfully diverse community come together to show support and solidarity with each other. This spirit of allyship continues throughout the year. This year, it will also be backed up with a new scheme providing funding for projects that promote inclusion on campus, which we recently launched.

Let’s not mistake this for following some ‘woke’ agenda.

Whatever some people may believe, people at universities delight in challenging and questioning orthodoxy. It’s something everyone should do.

And we don’t have to wait until the official World Day to spark our own discovery.

Professor Robert Van de Noort is the vice-chancellor of the University of Reading

The spirit of allyship and inclusion is rife

Robert Van de Noort

away with deploying Polonium and Novichok, weapons of mass destruction, in the UK.

I read the letter by Cllr Sarah Kerr about Climate Change. She states in it that she still has a car.

Where I live there used to be a bus stop about 300 metres from my front door. This bus service ended some years ago and now my nearest bus stop is about half a mile away.

As Cllr Kerr, the Ad-Hoc Coalition’s Climate Change Czar, is keeping a motor car for personal use and the bus stop is some distance away from me I therefore feel under no obligation to leave my nice warm and dry motor car at home on the drive.

Also, as Cllr Kerr is keeping a motor vehicle in use, the buses can’t be that good, can they?

Paul Clarke, Wokingham

Tasteless notes

I found the article on “Where is God” (Church Notes, Wokingham Today, 16/2/23) quite offensive, and certainly less than compassionate, when referencing the plight of people experiencing the trauma of major earthquakes in Southern Turkey and Northern Syria, with the tragic loss of life and the heartbreak that followed.

To weave into the narrative the implication that the cause of such suffering is due to humanity’s need to be “reconciled” with “God” is, in my view, insulting, derogatory, and hostile. Perhaps, if it is felt necessary to think in terms of “God”, when thinking about the known universe, and our place within it, it might be better to replace the ancient and, surely by now out of date definition, that God is a person, by an understanding that “God” is being, rather than a being? Or consciousness, if you will.

I really don’t believe that a person’s low self-esteem and self-worth, brought on by painful life experiences, is aided in their recovery by religions and philosophies that are taking the negative view that humanity is born bad, (“fallen” & “sinful” are other words often used). In my view, it renders them vulnerable to such cliques who peddle the view that they have the solutions to their inability to love themselves.

David Chapman, Wokingham

Sorting out SEND

WHEN the Liberal Democrats began running the council last May, we were faced with rising demand for school places, for accommodation for care leavers and, especially, a demand for more Special Educational Needs provision.

Too many of our children with special educational needs and disabilities have to travel a long way out of the borough for their education.

A new special school in Winnersh was on the way, and is due to open in September, but it had been obvious

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen

This budget sees residents get worse services for higher costs

TWO weeks ago, Wokingham Borough Council’s Liberal/Labour Coalition presented a budget for 2023/24 that demonstrates that they are not delivering on the priorities of local residents.

Their budget is built on a falsehood that has been repeated since the Liberal Democrats took power with the help of their allies.

They claim that they have no choice because of the state they found the Council’s finances in.

Every poor decision, that is their excuse. It’s always somebody else’s fault. And it’s simply not true.

But don’t just take my word for it.

At January’s Executive meeting, the Council’s own Chief Financial Officer said that the Council’s Finances were in good shape under the previous Conservative administration.

The CFO’s report set out that, in 2020, Wokingham Borough was rated in the top 20 for financial sustainability by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy.

What the Liberal Democrat/ Labour budget offers residents is worse services for higher costs.

Your bins will be collected

for a while that this would not meet all the extra demand for special school places.

But there were more issues than that for Special Educational Needs.

The funding comes as part of a government grant via the council to schools. Wokingham Borough is the third worst funded area for education in the country.

The SEND budget has been overspent every year since 2017, and the overspends are getting worse. By the end of this financial year, the accumulated deficit in the Dedicated Schools Grant will amount to a colossal £16.5 million.

For the time being, we are allowed to carry that deficit forward, but there are signs that the government intends to stop that happening. If they do, the council

less often, projects such as the solar farm to generate an income significantly delayed, Bohunt School expansion delayed and now under threat, real terms cut in road maintenance, and no progress on housing numbers or the Local Plan.

In return for this catalogue of failure, people will pay more Council Tax, higher fees, and increased charges.

When residents made the decision to leave this Council as no overall control last May, they signalled that they wanted something different.

We accept that.

But almost 10 months on, it’s becoming increasingly clear to local people that the Liberal Democratled experiment has not only failed, but it is also one that they can ill-afford.

At the Budget meeting I and my Conservative colleagues proposed £2.1 million of savings from the Liberal Democrat-led Coalition Budget, offering a prudent and fully costed alternative to the administration’s Budget while being able to invest more in services that are important to residents.

The savings were all found by reducing proposed increased spending on back-office staff, on projects in the budget but no longer

will become liable to find the money to fill the hole.

Trying to find £16.5 million would be hard enough. But the real problem was that if the upward spiral in the size of the deficit were to be allowed to continue it would risk literally bankrupting the council within the next five years.

I talked about the overspend in my budget speech last year, when the Lib Dems were in opposition. The Conservatives knew about it. But they had not made any plans to deal with the problem.

So it falls to us to try to sort it out.

And we are tackling it.

But - and I cannot stress this enough – we are not tackling it just because of the money. We are tackling it because we have to improve our SEND service for the sake of the children.

Wokingham Borough is not the worst performing local authority on SEND, but we can, and should, be better. We need more specialist provision locally. And we need better support for children in mainstream schools.

By supporting children more effectively and much earlier, we will do better by the children, the parents

progressing, removing expensive interim posts, and saving of £341,000 extra spending from the Council’s PR machine.

These are all areas where residents want to see the Council make savings, not spending more.

By finding these savings we were able to demonstrate how a Conservative administration would be able to fully fund our promises, including freezing car parking charges this year, and an above inflation increase in road and pothole repairs as well as keeping weekly bin collections and we would have still been able to save more than £600,000 after doing all that.

We would do this without the need to cut residents services or support for the most vulnerable, which the Lib Dems and Labour have been scaremongering about.

Conservatives have had a 20-year record of maintaining and improving local services you value whilst saving money on overheads, we can do it next year if you give us the chance.

The residents of Wokingham Borough deserve better.

They deserve an administration that will invest in services, not cut them.

They deserve to have their taxes and charges kept to a level they can afford.

They deserve to have a Council Leader who will actually act to cut housing numbers and plan for future development, not just talk about it.

They deserve to have a Council that will deliver on local communities’ priorities.

They will get all this if a Conservative administration is elected in May.

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives and ward member for Hillside

and the schools, but also, save money through preventing escalation of need.

That’s why we will be working with our partners in education and health, and with parents and carers, to completely overhaul SEND services. This will be genuinely transformative for the service and ultimately it will also transform the spending, gradually bringing it back into balance over the next few years.

To enable this to happen in the long term, we need to invest now. That’s why this council budget – the first one set by the Liberal Democrats for 20 years – has committed 1% of Council Tax to go towards supporting our SEND system this year – with the intention being to do that for the next five years.

We are only at the start of the journey and there is a long way to go. It will take time to reconfigure services and make the badly needed improvements. But we hope that children and their parents will welcome these much-needed changes to a system that has not been good enough for far too long.

Cllr Prue Bray is the executive member for children’s services, and ward member for Winnersh

Cllr Clive Jones

Our young people – our future

THE highlight of my last week was attending a Youth Council event in the council chamber of the Wokingham Borough Council Offices at Shute End.

I listened to excellent questions from the young people in the audience to a panel of party representatives.

The young people present asked the panellists about their views on the voting age (should it be lowered to 16); the cost-of-living crisis and what the council was doing to help; mental health problems for young people, and how to tackle them; and the climate emergency.

Members of the Youth Council gave very moving accounts of the subjects that most concerned them - poverty, mental health, and becoming involved in developing the borough vision of what Wokingham should be like over the next few years.

I was struck by the maturity of the contributions from the young people and their passionate commitment to making Wokingham (and the world) a better place.

I was also struck by my deputy leader Stephen Conway’s observation (he was a panel member) that we needed to hear the voice of young people more loudly, as they represented the future. I couldn’t agree more.

Liberal Democrats want young people to be more involved in local politics, so it addresses their priorities and not just those of their parents and grandparents.

The key is for young people to recognise the power that comes with voting. Politicians - of all parties - are much more inclined to listen to people who turn out to vote than those who don’t use their votes.

Moved

The event last week began with party representatives giving a brief statement of what their party was about. All those present, Stephen for the Lib Dems, and spokespersons for the Tories, Labour, and the Greens, put their cases well.

But I’m sure you’ll understand that I was particularly moved by Stephen’s pitch for the Lib Dems.

“The Lib Dems,” he said in his opening statement, “Believe that everyone deserves to be given the chance to reach their true potential, regardless of their race or ethnicity, sex or gender, or wealth and social status.

“That benefits individuals by giving them the opportunity to live happy and fulfilled lives, and it benefits society by making the most of the talent available to make us as a community more innovative, more dynamic, and more prosperous.

“To achieve opportunity for all we have to break down the barriers to people realising their potential. That means raising people out of poverty, where the struggle to make ends meet squeezes out time and energy to improve oneself. That means giving everybody the best education they can receive. That means fighting prejudice of all kinds that block people from achieving their best.

“We want a society where people are judged not by the colour of their skin, or the faith they hold, or who they love, or the size of their bank balance, but the goodness of their character.”

Those words summed up my core belief, and I hope yours.

The whole event lifted my spirits and made me feel that the future is bright and hopeful. With so many thoughtful, engaged and interesting young people in our community, how could it be otherwise?

Cllr Clive Jones is the leader of ~Wokingham Borough Council, and ward member for Hawkedon

Letters extra

Let independents have their day

MARTIN Luther King’s celebrated speech celebrated “I Have a Dream” in 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial got me thinking having read Wokingham Today It got me thinking Conservative Cllr Charles Margetts lists 13 bullet points where the Conservatives would have done things differently and finishes by saying the council exists to serve its residents.

What a joke – the Conservatives had over 20 years to pick up on these points but now whinge when residents rightly gave them the boot.

Lib Dem Sarah Kerr majors on climate emergency while Cllr Imogen Shepherd Dubey talks of a budget journey heading in the right direction.

What is really happening is blue wheelie bins are on the way and car parking charges are going up. A new Special Needs School is coming to Wokingham to meet the needs of Reading’s Children, but what about our needs?

An 1,800 residents petition is kicked into the long grass by a Lib Dem administration that seems happy to keep a plan for 4,500 houses to be build on the side of a river that floods under a big dam. 2,200 of these they don’t need to have in their plan at all. All in a climate emergency.

Don’t forget residents in Edney’s Hill fighting 40 houses being made to take their banner down. More madness but the list is endless.

Back to I have a dream and this is it. For 26 years as a Councillor I have seen concerned residents raise all sort of questions/petitions to both of the main political parties only to see their questions/petitions all kicked into the long grass

More recently one resident was classified by the Council as being vexatious so he was put on the Council’s naughty step. The implications of this is he has rights removed. What did he do that was so wrong? He asked a question on allotments. What a naughty person.

Where is all this leading to well simply put the Conservatives and the Lib Dems seem to think its their divine right to run Wokingham Borough Council. No one else.

Independent Councillors have shown that they can influence the idealogical excesses of the two main parties that are not working for the benefit of our residents.

If residents only got together and put forward candidates in next May’s elections they could rein in the excesses of the big boys. The winners would be Wokingham’s residents. The

process is very simple and Wokingham’s Electoral services are very helpful. 10 signatures does the trick.

Local politics are very different to national politics and locally any vote for anyone as long as they are not Conservative or Lib Dems is a vote for a more democratic Borough Council. Independents, Greens, Labour or any residents action groups it does not matter.

Lets show the big two that they are not the only game in town.

Council budget

In his letter in last week’s paper, Conservative Councillor Charles Margetts details all the things he thinks are wrong with the Liberal Democrat’s budget for Wokingham Borough Council.

As a member of the opposition, he is entitled to have different priorities to the council’s new leadership.

Presumably, his priorities are those that his party leader proposed in her budget amendment, which were described by council chief financial officers as adding sizable risk on top of the challenging targets and subsequent risks already included in the budget.

I note his criticism of our commitment to integrated transport schemes – the very budget which would fund the improvements to school travel that he and councillors of all parties have been campaigning for.

He criticises our commitment to walking and cycling schemes, while simultaneously delivering leaflets in his name calling for a new cycleway in his ward in Finchampstead.

His claim that we are reducing road and pavement maintenance in real terms is carefully worded, knowing that we are maintaining the funding set by his party last year.

However, we are unable to increase funding in line with inflation due to the very serious economic challenges that the council faces.

Inflation is over 10%, but the Government grant to Wokingham Borough council has risen by a meagre £1.8m.

This goes nowhere near to covering the increases in budgets needed for next year for essential services such as Childrens services and Adult social Care of nearly £10m.

Wokingham Borough Council continues to be the lowest-funded unitary authority in the country. We get £30m a year LESS than the average Unitary authority.

How many pothole and road repairs could we do if

we were treated fairly by the Conservative government?

Councillor Paul Fishwick, Executive member for Active travel, transport and highways

It’s not uncaring to ask where the money goes

It’s common in politics when calling for better financial management that you’re labelled by those spending the money as simply ‘uncaring’.

I led the creation of Wokingham Borough Council’s Tackling Poverty Strategy so I find this accusation by Cllr Imogen Shepherd-Dubey in last week’s paper disappointing.

As I said in my speech at Council on February 16, the choice to spend £250,000 of local taxpayer’s money on helping residents through cost of living pressures is wellmeaning. But where is the data to show this specific sum will make a significant difference in getting residents out of poverty, on top of the over £1 million Household Support Fund that central Government is providing Wokingham Borough Council for this very same purpose.

In autumn, the Council couldn’t spend the full amount of Household Support Fund it had then, so used it up buying air fryers.

If the data is there then show it to us.

If there’s a plan then tell us what it is.

Conservatives knock on residents’ doors throughout the year and hear loud and clear that Council Tax is a big burden on them so the Lib Dem Administration has a duty to justify how they’re spending their money.

The Lib Dems keep saying that there’s no money and they have no choice but to put Council tax up and cut services and yet they can add a late addition quarter of a million pound spend to the budget.

What?

Decisions haven’t been made on what this year’s Household Support Fund will be spent on, let alone the crowdfunder which aims to hit £75,000 to help local charities’ projects.

In the normal world of work and volunteering, it’s unheard of to be given a lump sum and asked to simply say how you feel it should be spent.

This is what was put to councillors and local charities a few weeks ago.

First should come clarity on the objective, then justification of why other available funds can’t deliver it, then exploration of what data evidences how it should be spent to ensure it hits that objective and an understanding of what specific figure is needed.

The core goal of the Tackling Poverty Strategy is to lift people out of poverty and stop

them falling into it in the first place. Conservatives will keep pushing for this to drive the £250,000 spend and hold the Lib Dems to account to justify what data is being used to inform how best the money should be spent. Residents are sympathetic to taxpayers’ money being used to make a significant difference to people’s lives but they need to know the spend is being driven by data and evidence.

I’ll also use this letter to publicise the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, Discretionary Section 13a Relief and the Local Welfare Provision, all funds which have low take up by those financially struggling and could do with a publicity boost. Please search Wokingham Borough Council’s website for more details.

Cllr Laura Blumenthal, Shadow Executive Member for Levelling Up, Equalities and Social Housing and Conservative Ward Member for South Lake

Not all sums add up

In last week’s paper, Cllr Paul Fishwick claimed that the gap in the Highways budget is £850,000, and accused the Conservatives of our sums not adding up, referring to figures he gave in the Autumn.

Let’s be clear.

At the call-in for car parking charges last October, Cllr Fishwick told councillors that a “do-nothing” scenario would result in a gap in funding between £600,000 and £800,000 – not £850,000 absolutely as he now says.

He added that the Executive had agreed proposals “at the lower end of the funding gap” –i.e. £600,000. Suddenly that gap has jumped by £250,000.

How can he have got his numbers so wrong?

The Lib Dems’ paper on increasing parking charges also made no assessment of how much additional income the Council would have received had charges not been increased, and usage figures affected by covid, continued to return to normal.

So, it’s perfectly possible that this £350k spending is unnecessary. Likewise, Cllr Fishwick won’t be honest about how much the usage of car parks will drop as a result of his increase in charges. The Council’s Chief Finance Officer confirmed to us that the cost of freezing car parking charges this year would be £500k.

In attacking my colleague Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, Cllr Fishwick is trying to deflect that he refuses to publish the document that would answer these questions – the business case.

We’ve repeatedly asked him to publish it, and he won’t.

What does he have to hide?

Conservatives proposed

nearly £2.2 million of savings in the Lib/Lab budget, demonstrating how we would reallocate money to pay for our promises including freezing car parking charges this year.

As Cllr Fishwick saw in black and white when he read our proposals, we left £600k prudent contingency surplus precisely for this purpose.

As the Opposition, we do not have access to all the figures the administration has.

In short, we found more than enough money to cover the car parking charges increase by cutting backoffice bloat and PR spending increases. Putting up charges was never about the Lib Dems protecting services. For them it’s an ideological choice.

We have been transparent with our figures. I ask Cllr Fishwick to do the same. Publish the business case.

Cllr Stuart Munro, Swallowfield Ward

Misrepresenting solar plan

It is disappointing, but not a surprise to learn that Wokingham’s MP, John Redwood, is not only misrepresenting what we’re doing at the council on his social media platforms, he’s also emailing constituents in the same manner.

With regards to Barkham solar farm, which in some correspondence he has called a wind farm (you’d think he’d know the difference), he need only look at the publicly available business case to understand why and how this investment is being made. And if he’s still scratching his head over it, why not come and talk to us or even his Conservative colleagues who sit on the cross-party project board and were the instigators of this project when in power?

Energy generation is undergoing a huge transformation in terms of production, the market, transmission and distribution, and consumers are shifting from being passive to active. In terms of production, we are moving from a few large power plants to many smaller renewable energy power producers, making the system more diverse, agile, efficient, and cost effective, as well as reducing the reliance on damaging and expensive fossil fuels.

WBC has a number of assets that collectively needs to deliver on identified needs for our communities, whilst ensuring we remain financially solvent as an organisation. Underpinning this is the need to consider all decisions through the equality and climate change lens. Sometimes our assets will be utilised to deliver vital services, sometimes to deliver on environmental projects, and sometimes our assets are used to generate income to plug the

funding shortfall.

Barkham solar farm is being paid for out of capital (so not council tax money) with a return on investment in excess of £1million per annum over 25 years which will be used to deliver vital council services where costs are increasing considerably to deliver them.

The financial business case has been through a robust governance process including scrutiny which was a public meeting and can still be viewed on our You Tube channel.

The council has a lot of expertise in renewable energy generation and has also sought external expertise (costs included in the business case) to ensure this project is robust and deliverable with minimal risk. The procurement process (publicly available to read), was vigorous and has ensured the appointment of a company that not only has a wealth of experience in this area, is strong on social value and antislavery in the supply chain.

Currently, just 0.1% of all land in the UK has solar farms on it, and if we were to reach our net-zero targets, this would rise to just 0.3%, which is equivalent to 0.5% of land currently used for farming.

To put that in perspective, this is around half the land currently taken up by golf courses. Combined with solar directly on buildings (which in itself isn’t enough to meet our energy demands), decentralised, community renewable energy projects like this are the way forward, and John Redwood would be better off using his time to lobby his own government to make the transition easier and quicker.

Cllr Sarah Kerr, Wokingham Borough Council ward member for Evendons

Diabetes and Ramadan

Diabetes UK are offering advice and support to anybody living with diabetes who is preparing to fast during Ramadan, to help them manage their condition safely.

Choosing whether to fast is a personal choice and getting information ahead of Ramadan is very important.

So, ahead of the holy month, which is due to begin on or around March 22 this year, Diabetes UK is encouraging anyone living with diabetes who is preparing for Ramadan to speak to their diabetes team and their Imam, to help them to decide what is best for them.

It is also important to check your blood sugar levels more often than usual and if they drop too low, you should break your fast.

For more information on diabetes and Ramadan visit: diabetes.org.uk/ramadan

Phaedra Perry, Head of Diabetes UK – south west and south central

Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Wokingham Borough Councillor for Arborfield

‘We will be heard’: Residents to stand in elections as independents

By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today

A CAMPAIGN group has said it will put forward Independent candidates in May’s local elections following Wokingham Borough Council’s decision not to debate its petition.

SOLVE (Save Our Loddon Valley) Hall Farm’s hopes of having a 4,500-home development reconsidered were dashed after the council decided not to raise their petition in full council, despite collecting more than 1,800 signatures.

The group was told the council would not debate the issue as it would “go against its constitution”.

A spokesperson for the group said: “First, there is our anger at the utter contempt shown to the hard work put in by the SOLVE Hall Farm members who pounded the streets at weekends collecting signatures.

“To hide behind weasel words like “predetermination” when the previous administration spent thousands of pounds of our money on posting letters to the entire population of Wokingham extolling the virtues of Hall Farm is almost unbelievable.”

It added that precedents

indicated live planning matters should be debated in the Wokingham Council Chamber after gaining 1,500 signatories.

SOLVE also believes it should have been notified that the issue could not be heard before it had spent time, effort and money on the petition.

“The simple fact of the matter is that you cannot, in a free country with a free press, simply shut down debate because you don’t want to hear what people are trying to tell you,” the statement continued.

“We have moved on. We will be heard, and we will stop the 4,500 houses at Hall Farm.

“The Council for the Protection of Rural England has pointed out that there are millions of potential homes that

could be built on brownfield sites across the country.

“There are many thousands of homes that could be built on brownfield sites in Berkshire. Destroying our countryside is not necessary, not wanted and will not be tolerated any more. To quote an ex-adversary of ours: ‘Enough is enough’.”

SOLVE Hall Farm intends to put forward Independent candidates in May’s local elections, informing the council it would be “hearing from us at the ballot box”.

The majority of the Hall Farm site is owned by the University of Reading and is shared with the Centre for Dairy Research (CEDAR), which conducts research in combating hunger, poverty and climate change.

‘Asleep at the wheel’ on crime

LWOKINGHAM’S Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservatives of being “asleep at the wheel” of tackling community crime.

The comments come after Home Office data revealed that only 4% of domestic burglaries in the Thames Valley resulted in a criminal charge or summons in the first three quarters of 2022.

In the same time period, 2,359 burglaries went unsolved, amounting to 69% of all burglaries in the Thames valley.

Cllr Clive Jones, leader of Wokingham Borough Council and the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Wokingham, described the statistics as “terrifying”.

He said: “This Conservative Government’s inaction has

Repair cafe back on Sunday

THIS month’s Spencers Wood repair cafe will take place on Sunday.

The Arborfield local plan development will see the university sell 580 hectares of agricultural land.

SOLVE had penned an open letter to the university voicing their concerns and conducted two protests at its Whiteknights campus at the end of last year.

The group had been optimistic that their concerns would be debated in full council after handing over their petition to the leader of the council, Cllr Clive Jones, on December 21.

Resident Richard Ingham was heavily involved in the efforts to collect signatures. He said: “I feel the same as everyone, we’re very frustrated that we find ourselves in a situation that doesn’t make much sense really.

“I was in a debate that took place in January 2019 on a matter related to the South of Cutbush Lane planning application, near where I live. The claim by the council that we could not have a debate seemed strange because I had been in one, sitting in the public gallery.

“Are the council ready to listen to us? They are happy to listen to developers. They can make their case, they can talk to members of the Council. We can’t – that doesn’t seem fair.”

led to thousands of burglars getting away with it – and thousands of families waiting endlessly for justice that may never arrive.”

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes. The government must make that possible by giving police forces the officers, time and resources they need to tackle domestic burglaries.”

“To do this, Conservative ministers must finally recruit the extra 20,000 police officers they have promised but so far failed to deliver.”

Matthew Barber, the police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley, has defended the statistics.

“Burglaries are down by 47% in Wokingham since 2019 and the new Crimefighters strategy I will be unveiling in

the coming months will refocus the police’s efforts onto community policing,” he explained.

“There are now more police officers than ever before in Thames Valley.

“We have already met our target for the Home Office funded recruitment and are going further, with an additional 80 officers funded through my budget this year.”

Mr Barber has also promised that he will continue to hold the force to account to improve outcomes of investigations.

He added: “Overall, charges and cautions are up by 17% across the force compared to last year.

“Across Bracknell and Wokingham that has meant 155 more cases going to court than the previous year.”

Thumbs up for Woman Up

A PERFORMANCE group is putting on a cabaret show that will highlight strong women in musical theatre.

The evening will include solos, duets, trios and group numbers from classic and contemporary shows.

Audience members at East Berkshire Operatic Society’s show can enjoy songs from Juliet, Hamilton, Sound of Music, Made in Dagenham and more.

And to celebrate the roles of women in musical theatre, the show enjoys an all-female cast, crew and production team.

The project has been conceived by director Sophie Horrox and musical director Abi Burrows.

Ms Horrox says: “I went to see Six The Musical, the show about Henry the Eighth’s wives.

“I was so inspired by the performance’s girl power that I decided to put together a

female cabaret evening. “It started as just a couple of songs, but then it snowballed.”

The group’s show has been planned to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. The event takes place at Wokingham’s Pinewood Theatre, with performances from Wednesday, March 8 through to Saturday, March 11.

Shows start at 7.45pm, with tickets at £13.

n For details, visit: ebos.org.uk

A Wokingham Borough Council spokesperson explained the petition had been accepted but, having sought legal advice, it was deemed that a full council debate would go against its constitution.

The spokesperson said: “Our councillors are required to take part in certain discussions, including live planning issues, without bias or any suggestion that they’ve already made up their minds before considering the facts.

“We’re currently updating our local plan, which will shape all kinds of development in the borough for years to come, and the possibility of development at Hall Farm could form part of these discussions.

“To ensure we’re operating democratically, councillors have a duty to remain openminded throughout the process and make decisions based on the evidence in front of them.

“We recognise that residents put significant effort into organising the petition and know this will come as disappointing news, and we apologise that this issue wasn’t made clear to them sooner.

“Our members have seen the petition so they’re aware of the local strength of feeling.”

Residents can bring broken household items to be fixed by the group’s able team of volunteers at Spencers Wood Village Hall, Basingstoke Road. Visitors can watch and learn how their items are mended and enjoy refreshments next door in the Communi-Tea Room. A book swap will run. The initiative provides both economical and environmental solutions to product waste. The repair cafe takes place between 10am-1pm.

n For more information, visit: www.spencerswoodvillagehall. co.uk

Dementia cafe

A BERKSHIRE charity is inviting those with dementia and their carers to attend a monthly support meeting. Age UK Berkshire holds monthly dementia cafes in the Grazeley Room at School Green Centre, Shinfield. The project is part of an initiative to make Wokingham dementia friendly. The meet-ups take place on Wednesdays, with the next on March 15.

Visitors are asked to book places before attending. Sessions cost £2.50 per person.

n To book: dementiawokingham@ ageukberkshire.org.uk or call: 0118 959 4242

STANDING: SOLVE Hall Farm took to the University of Reading to protest plans to build 4,500 houses at Hall Farm. Picture: Ji-Min Lee

Teachers take on Wokingham Half for Whitley charity

By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today

FUNDRAISERS from Leighton Park School swapped suits for singlets as they ran the Wokingham Half Marathon in support of a South Reading community group.

Led by Maths teacher Duncan Laurie-Pile, the team completed the 13.1 mile race for the Whitley Community Development Association (WCDA), an organisation which runs a food surplus and other outreach initiative.

The group had raised £540 at the time of writing, exceeding its initial target of £500.

Mr Laurie-Pile explained: “WCDA is an important charity to us, right on our doorstep. They are the beating heart of fantastic projects

in the community and we are keen to help them hit the ground running in 2023.

“Leighton Park continues to have a close relationship with WCDA, since first working together with the charity throughout the pandemic, where the school was able to help in supporting individuals and families.

“In 2023, the soaring cost of living is introducing new challenges for the local community.”

He completed the race in one hour, 28 minutes and 46 seconds, placing 523rd out of the 2,500 participants.

Leighton Park’s PSC (parent teacher equivalent) handed over a cheque of £4,848.77 to the WCDA at the start of February, having raised the funds at its quiz night and auction.

Are you missing out on a benefit worth £370/month?

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Attendance Allowance is paid to people who have reached state pension age if they have a disability or health condition. Exactly how much someone receives depends on how their condition affects them, and there are two weekly rates. A lower rate of £61.85/week is paid if you need help during the day, and you may receive up to £92.40/week if you have health issues that disrupt your sleep. That’s up to £370/month tax-free. It’s not means-tested, and it doesn’t matter where you live, or if you have savings.

Attendance Allowance - Who can claim it?

I offer an initial free 30-minute confidential consultation to allow us to assess whether we can help and for you to decide if you’d like help. If we both agree that claiming Attendance Allowance is right for you, then we will look after you every step of the way.

Attendance Allowance is also known as a ‘gateway benefit’ as other benefits and opportunities are opened once you start to receive it.

We complete all the necessary forms and explain the process of claiming in straightforward, plain English so that you understand everything and are in complete control.

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Clock is ticking on Help To Buy for first-time buyers

By Daniel Blackham dblackham@rdg.today

FIRST-TIME buyers could be left high and dry by Help to Buy as the cost of missing the final deadline has been revealed.

Research by the gradual homeownership provider, Wayhome, shows that first-time buyers in danger of missing the final Help to Buy completion deadline of Friday, March 31, could have to find an additional £52,218 in order to complete their purchase.

Although the Help to Buy application deadline passed in October, those who applied for a loan before are still able to benefit from the scheme.

While it’s unknown how many buyers could be impacted, hundreds have signed a petition calling for a deadline extension, with hundreds more also joining a Facebook group called “Lost out due to Help to Buy equity loan build deadline. Extension Required”.

For those who fail to meet the deadline, they will no longer be eligible for the five-year interest-free loan and will be required to find the additional funds that would have been fronted by the scheme in order to complete on their purchase.

They will be able to have their reservation fee and deposit refunded, but will incur any additional costs such as legal or financial advice, as well as seeing their property purchase collapse.

The average first-time buyer who applied before the October deadline, and utilised the full 20% Help to Buy loan, could have done so based on the

average first-time buyer house price of £261,091

This means that should they fail to meet the completion deadline, they will need to find more than £52,000 to fill the Help to Buy void and keep their property transaction afloat.

This potential additional cost climbs as high as £186,199 in the capital, where London’s first-time buyers were able to borrow as much as 40% of a property’s value with a 5% minimum deposit.

Failing to find the funds previously fronted via the scheme would see firsttime buyers forced back into the market at a time of higher costs.

Based on the December average firsttime buyer house price of £262,527, new homeowners could be forced to borrow a further £27,330 to cover the marginal increased cost of homeownership and bridge the gap left by Help to Buy.

The cost of their deposit and their mortgage repayments would also increase by a combined £38,621 over the

WARNING: The Help To Buy application deadline was October, but people who have failed to complete the scheme’s end will no longer be eligible for a fiveyear interest-free loan Picture: Jens Neumann via Pixabay

first five years of homeownership.

Nigel Purves, co-founder and CEO of Wayhome, said:“The Help to Buy clock is ticking and those that are yet to complete their purchase are running the risk of having the carpet pulled from beneath them come the end of March.

“If they don’t complete in time, they face the huge task of finding thousands of extra pounds in order to keep their purchase alive. If they fail to do so, they have no other choice but to let the transaction collapse, returning to the market in search of a new home which will also see the cost of homeownership jump dramatically.”

Mr Purves believes anyone finding themselves in this predicament is facing “a very tough choice” but insists there are other routes to getting on the property ladder.

He added: “Although it may certainly seem like a huge step backwards, don’t panic, there are other options that can help give you a financial foot up on to the property ladder.”

New training programme launched

A NEW learning academy has been launched to develop the skills of people in the Bracknell area by independent window and door specialist, Home Hub.

The Home Hub Academy is an 18-month programme which combines classroom learning, coursework, and hands-on workshops in the company’s dedicated 2,000 sq ft facility in Bracknell.

01189516800

The programme aims to broaden the knowledge and skills of local installers from product knowledge to customer service, providing the

recruits with the right skills to thrive in a local business. There is currently nine people taking part, with the aim of 28 to be fully qualified each year.

Curtis Lockyer, 24, who is currently taking part in the academy, said: “I’m excited to finish the Home Hub Academy and be a fully qualified installer. It’s a great opportunity to be part of a growing company, that wants to ensure they offer the best for their customers and employees because they care about the future.”

As well as being salaried, trainees taking part in the programme benefit from an energetic learning environment where they build their skills under the wings of a team of fully qualified installers.

Upon completion, trainees will receive a fenestration apprenticeship qualification.

Laurence Tuck, founder and managing director at Home Hub Group, said: “We wanted to create our own training programme to ensure the windows and doors we supply,

from award-winning brands like Origin, are installed the right way, every time and to broaden the opportunities available to those who want a career in construction.

“Our training programme is open to anyone, and we are really excited to have created a safe environment where people feel valued, learn a new skill, and will be financially rewarded from day one.”

n For more information about Home Hub’s window and door installation academy, visit: www.homehubgroup.co.uk

Classifieds

ROADTRAFFICREGULATIONACT1984 WOKINGHAMBOROUGHCOUNCIL (VARIOUSROADS,WOKINGHAMBOROUGH) (TEMPORARYPROHIBITIONOFDRIVING)ORDER2023

NOTICEISHEREBYgiventhatonthe23rdFebruary2023WokinghamBorough CouncilasTrafficAuthoritymadeanOrderunderSection14(1)(a)oftheRoadTraffic RegulationAct1984theeffectofwhichistoprohibitanyvehiclefromproceeding along:

1.A329RectoryRoad,WokinghambetweenitsjunctionswithA329BroadStreet andA329WiltshireRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaA329Shute End,A329ReadingRoad,B3030RobinhoodLane,B3030DavisStreet,B3030Lodge Road,BroadwaterLane,A321Ward’sCross,A321WokinghamRoad,B3034Forest Road,WarrenHouseRoadandWiltshireRoad.

2.GreatLea,ThreeMileCrossbetweenitsjunctionswithMereoakLaneandHartley CourtRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaMereoak Lane,LambwoodHill,BloomfieldhatchLane,CrossLane,TheStreet,VictoriaRoad, ReadingRoad,BurghfieldRoad,AmnersFarmRoad,PingewoodRoadSouth,Kybes LaneandHartleyCourtRoadorbythisrouteinreverse.

3.A329WiltshireRoad,WokinghambetweenitsjunctionswithA329RectoryRoad andA329PeachStreet.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaWiltshire Road,WarrenHouseRoad,KeephatchRoad,BinfieldRoadandA329LondonRoad.

4.EasthampsteadRoad,WokinghambetweenitsjunctionswithA329PeachStreet andMurdochRoad.

Thealternativerouteforallnorthboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia OldWokinghamRoad,PeacockLane,VigarWay,A329BerkshireWay,A329London RoadandA329PeachStreet.

Thealternativerouteforallsouthboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia A329PeachStreet,A329MarketPlace,A329BroadStreet,A329RectoryRoad,A329 WiltshireRoad,A329LondonRoad,A329BerkshireWay,VigarWay,PeacockLaneand OldWokinghamRoad.

5.B3030MoleRoadandB3030KingStreetLane,Sindleshambetweenitsjunctions withLongdonRoadandMillLaneRoundabout.

Thealternativerouteforallnorthboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia B3030SindleshamRoad,A327EversleyRoad,LangleyCommonRoad,B3349Barkham Road,A321StationApproach,A329ReadingRoadandLongdonRoad.

Thealternativerouteforallsouthboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia LongdonRoad,A329ReadingRoad,A321StationRoad,B3349BarkhamRoad,Langley CommonRoad,A327EversleyRoadandB3030SindleshamRoad.

6.A329ShuteEnd,WokinghambetweenitsjunctionswithA321StationApproach andA329BroadStreet.

Thealternativerouteforallwestboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia A329RectoryRoad,A321GlebelandsRoad,A321MiltonRoad,A321TwyfordRoad, A321WokinghamRoad,A321Ward’sCross,BroadwaterLane,B3030LodgeRoad, B3030DavisStreet,B3030RobinhoodLaneandA329ReadingRoad.

Thealternativerouteforalleastboundvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbevia A329ReadingRoad,B3030RobinhoodLane,B3030DavisStreet,B3030LodgeRoad, BroadwaterLane,A321Ward’sCross,A321WokinghamRoad,A321TwyfordRoad, A321MiltonRoad,A321GlebelandsRoad,A329RectoryRoad,A329WiltshireRoad, A329MarketPlaceandA329BroadStreet.

7.BarkhamRideandBarkhamStreet,WokinghambetweenitsjunctionswithB3349 BarkhamRoadandCarolinaPlace.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaB3349 BarkhamRoad,LangleyCommonRoad,BiggsLane,ParkLane,NineMileRide Extension,NineMileRideandB3016FinchampsteadRoadorbythisrouteinreverse. Worksrequiringtheserestrictionswilltakeplacefrom6thMarch2023.

ThereasonfortheseprohibitionsistoallowWokinghamBoroughCouncilcontractors toundertakesurfacing,associatedroadmarkings/studs,planeinlayresurfacingand ancillaryworksinsafety.

Accessforresidentsandbusinesseswithintheboundariesoftheserestrictionswillbe maintainedatalltimes.

TherestrictionimposedbytheOrdershallonlyapplyduringthoseperiodswhentraffic signscomplyingwiththeTrafficSignsRegulationsandGeneralDirections2016are lawfullydisplayed.

TherestrictionscontainedintheOrdershallcomeintooperationonthe6thMarch 2023andshallcontinueinforceforaperiodnotexceeding18monthsoruntilthe workshavebeencompleted,whicheveristheearlier.

Dated:2ndMarch2023

ChrisEaston

AssistantDirector–HighwaysandTransport

WokinghamBoroughCouncil

CivicOffices

ShuteEnd

Wokingham

BerkshireRG401WL

ROADTRAFFICREGULATIONACT1984 WOKINGHAMBOROUGHCOUNCIL (WOKINGHAMANDWINNERSH, WOKINGHAMBOROUGH) (TEMPORARYPROHIBITIONOF DRIVING)ORDER2023

NOTICEISHEREBYgiventhatonthe23rdFebruary 2023WokinghamBoroughCouncilasTrafficAuthority madeanOrderunderSection14(1)(a)oftheRoad TrafficRegulationAct1984theeffectofwhichisto prohibitanyvehiclefrom:

1.ProceedingalongKeephatchRoad,Wokingham betweenitsjunctionswithPigottRoadandWarren HouseRoad.

2.TurningleftfromPigottRoad,Wokinghamatits junctionwithKeephatchRoad.

Thealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythese restrictionsshallbeviaWarrenHouseRoad,Diamond JubileeWayandWheelerAvenueorbythisroutein reverse.

Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplaceon10th March2023.

3.ProceedingalongB3030KingStreetLane, WinnershbetweenitsjunctionswithB3030MoleRoad andLongdonRoad.

4.TurningleftfromLongdonRoad,Winnershatits junctionwithKIngStreetLane.

5.TurningrightfromHatchFarmWay,Winnershat itsjunctionwithKingStreetLane.

Thealternativerouteforallnorthboundvehicles affectedbytheserestrictionsshallbeviaB3030Mole Road,B3030SindleshamRoad,A327EversleyRoad, LangleyCommonRoad,B3349BarkhamRoad,A321 StationApproachandA329ReadingRoad.

Thealternativerouteforallsouthboundvehicles affectedbytheserestrictionsshallbeviaA329Reading Road,A321StationRoad,B3349BarkhamRoad, LangleyCommonRoad,EversleyRoad,B3030 SindleshamRoadandB3030MoleRoad.

Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplaceon13th March2023.

ThereasonfortheseprohibitionsistoallowThames Watercontractorstoundertakecarriagewaysewer coverandframereplacementworkinsafety. Accessforresidentsandbusinesseswithinthe boundariesoftheserestrictionswillbemaintainedatall times.

TherestrictionimposedbytheOrdershallonlyapply duringthoseperiodswhentrafficsignscomplyingwith theTrafficSignsRegulationsandGeneralDirections 2016arelawfullydisplayed.

TherestrictionscontainedintheOrdershallcomeinto operationonthe10thMarch2023andshallcontinuein forceforaperiodnotexceeding18monthsoruntilthe workshavebeencompleted,whicheveristheearlier.

Dated:2ndMarch2023

ChrisEaston AssistantDirector–HighwaysandTransport WokinghamBoroughCouncil CivicOffices

ShuteEnd

Wokingham

BerkshireRG401WL

ROADTRAFFICREGULATIONACT1984 WOKINGHAMBOROUGHCOUNCIL (VARIOUSROADS,WOKINGHAMBOROUGH) (TEMPORARYPROHIBITIONOFDRIVING)ORDER2023

NOTICEISHEREBYgiventhatWokinghamBoroughCouncilasTrafficAuthority proposestomakeanOrderunderSection14(1)(a)oftheRoadTrafficRegulationAct 1984theeffectofwhichistoprohibit:

1.AnypersonfromproceedingalongWARG16fromitsjunctionwithHighfield Road. Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplacebetween21stMarchand22ndMarch 2023.

2.AnyvehiclefromproceedingalongNutbeanLane,Swallowfieldbetweenits junctionswithSandpitLaneandChurchRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaChurch Road,SwallowfieldRoad,BunglersHillandSandpitLaneorbythisrouteinreverse. Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplaceon22ndMarch2023.

3.AnyvehiclefromproceedingalongTagLane,HareHatchbetweenitsjunctions withA4BathRoadandBlakesLane.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaBlakesLane andA4BathRoadorbythisrouteinreverse.

Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplaceon22ndMarch2023.

4.AnyvehiclefromproceedingalongBinfieldRoad,Binfieldbetweenitsjunctions withDiamondJubileeWayandB3034ForestRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaB3034 ForestRoad,WarrenHouseRoadandDiamondJubileeWayorbythisrouteinreverse. Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplaceon28thMarch2023.

5.AnyvehiclefromproceedingalongGipsyLane,Wokinghambetweenitsjunctions withFairviewRoadandSouthlandsRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaFairview Road,MurdochRoad,EasthampsteadRoadandSouthlandsRoadorbythisroutein reverse.

Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplacebetween29thMarchand30thMarch 2023

ThereasonfortheseprohibitionsistoallowBTcontractorstoundertakeexcavation andreplacementofpolesinsafety.

Accessforresidentsandbusinesseswithintheboundariesoftheserestrictionswillbe maintainedatalltimes.

TherestrictionimposedbytheOrdershallonlyapplyduringthoseperiodswhentraffic signscomplyingwiththeTrafficSignsRegulationsandGeneralDirections2016are lawfullydisplayed.

TherestrictionscontainedintheOrdershallcomeintooperationonthe21stMarch 2023andshallcontinueinforceforaperiodnotexceeding18monthsoruntilthe workshavebeencompleted,whicheveristheearlier.

Dated:2ndMarch2023

ChrisEaston AssistantDirector–HighwaysandTransport WokinghamBoroughCouncil

CivicOffices

ShuteEnd Wokingham

BerkshireRG401WL

ROADTRAFFICREGULATIONACT1984

WOKINGHAMBOROUGHCOUNCIL (A3032HIGHSTREET,TWYFORD) (TEMPORARYPROHIBITIONOFDRIVING)ORDER2023

NOTICEISHEREBYgiventhatonthe23rdFebruary2023WokinghamBorough CouncilasTrafficAuthoritymadeanOrderunderSection14(1)(a)oftheRoadTraffic RegulationAct1984theeffectofwhichistoprohibitanyvehiclefromproceeding along: A3032HighStreet,TwyfordbetweenitsjunctionswithA321WargraveRoadand A3032OldBathRoad.

ThealternativerouteforallvehiclesaffectedbythisrestrictionshallbeviaA3032Old BathRoad,A4NewBathRoadandA321WargraveRoadorbythisrouteinreverse. Worksrequiringthisrestrictionwilltakeplacebetween8thMarchand14thMarch 2023.

ThereasonfortheseprohibitionsistoallowThamesWatercontractorstoundertake newserviceandconnectionworkinsafety.

Accessforresidentsandbusinesseswithintheboundariesoftheserestrictionswillbe maintainedatalltimes.

TherestrictionimposedbytheOrdershallonlyapplyduringthoseperiodswhentraffic signscomplyingwiththeTrafficSignsRegulationsandGeneralDirections2016are lawfullydisplayed.

TherestrictionscontainedintheOrdershallcomeintooperationonthe8thMarch 2023andshallcontinueinforceforaperiodnotexceeding18monthsoruntilthe workshavebeencompleted,whicheveristheearlier.

Dated:2ndMarch2023

Thousands turn out to compete in Wokingham half

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

THOUSANDS of runners turned out to hit the streets of Wokingham for this year’s half marathon event.

More than 3,000 participants ran in Sunday’s race which started at Cantley Park, while many also turned out to compete in the minimile, a family race for children and parents to race together.

Race organiser Chris Sumner, who was in charge of the Wokingham half marathon for a third successive year with Race Solutions, was delighted after another successful event.

He said: “We were really pleased with the event. We’ve been at the site this morning doing the last little bits of cleaning up and we’re delighted with how it all went.

“There were 19 people that finished inside one hour, 10

minutes, which is pretty quick.

“The mini-mile was really good. It is always one of the highlights with the mums and dads running with the kids and it went off perfectly.

“It’s definitely something for us to look at for the future to grow and perhaps get some more children in for the race.”

After another fantastic event, they are already looking ahead to how they can make next year’s race even bigger and better.

Chris continued: “We literally sent out the email on Monday morning telling people to enter now. Because this year we were full and lots of people who wanted to get in couldn’t.

“So we made the point that we are now open and that means they can avoid disappointment for next year.”

n wokinghamhalfmarathon.com

Scott Cousins was the first person home, with a time of 1:05:10

AND THEY’RE OFF: The start of the Wokingham Half Marathon on Sunday. Held at Cantley Park, thousands of people took part in the annual event with many running for charity Pictures: Steve Smyth

LEISURETODAY

Your guide to what’s on across Reading and Wokingham

31-year-old dad, TikTok terrifies me’

Comedian Jacob Hawley talks Piers Morgan, personal comedy, and playing the Purple Turtle

COMEDIAN Jacob Hawley is touring his latest standup show, Bump, in venues across the UK, including Reading’s Purple Turtle.

The show is a culmination, he says, of “a funny couple of years– I wanted to focus on live work.

“I did three series of my podcast, I was doing a lot of radio stuff and scripted stuff for TV, but I missed live stuff.

“Somewhere like the Purple Turtle: a small room, low ceiling– you can see the whites of everyone’s eyes and that’s what I’ve wanted so much.”

He says also that he likes to have something to build towards, such as a show, as a comedian: “This term ‘special,’ I think, is a big deal in America and a lot of British comics are following that pattern now.

“I really liked the idea that you kind of build towards that– it’s like music in that there isn’t much of a market in digital sales, from an economics perspective.

“You don’t really think about how you make money from a special until

you take it on the road, as a comedian.

“But there is still a gig economy–I’m still performing five nights a week, which is the best way of finding and reaching an audience.”

As social media continues to drive so much engagement in sectors of every profession, Jacob admits it scares him still.

“I’m a 31-year-old dad, so TikTok terrifies me– but at the same time what’s more scary: setting up a TikTok account and putting out a few clips or trying to impress one person who works at Radio 4 who has about 3,000 show ideas submitted to them.

“This new way of working certainly created a kind of democracy and meritocracy that wasn’t there before.

“It’s the reason I’m touring; it’s tour or die – you don’t need someone to put you on a stage any more, you build an audience and they’ll find a stage for you.”

Jacob says that his show, Bump, isn’t as topical as previous works have been:

“When I started a few years ago, I had a focus on socio-political topics.

“In the four years since my first hour

I’ve become a lot more personal on stage, but even that is changing again.

“Naturally, my politics and my opinions have changed, and that’s something that I’ve found really inspires the material, things really click.

“It’s been really inspiring in terms of allowing myself to change and develop with the show.”

The show deals with Jacob’s personal life, too: “It’ll be daft not to acknowledge it– my show’s about a false start at becoming a parent.”

It deals with Jacob’s response to a miscarriage, which lends context to the title, Bump.

“I really didn’t want kids, but it turned my life upside down in ways that were so surprising, and for the better.

“If you’re someone who’s had children, someone who never wants children, someone who’s ever just thought about whether you would or wouldn’t, this is a good show for you to see.”

Speaking on the personalisation of stand-up, such as with Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette, Jacob said: “Fifteen years ago, Sean Walsh was on Live at

the Apollo with brilliant, high-energy, relatable routines about shopping and cheese toasties.

“But now his specials look at things like the public persecution of his character, with a much more personal angle, and I think something like Nanette might have influenced standup like that.”

As well as a personal angle, much of Jacob’s work has examined a range of facets of modern life, including his series of podcasts on love and another focusing on drug use.

In both, he shares peoples stories and experiences to examine in depth the social impact and culture around things like drug-taking.

“NME described me as a ‘comedian and journalist’ after that series, which started with a few pieces of material, but it wasn’t about being journalistic.

“I had a topic and I wanted to cover it, but I think there’s an appetite for it, and it was inspired by Mark Thomas.

“You have people like Jamali Maddix on Hate Thy Neighbour – we absorb so much journalism, documentaries are so

much bigger than they were 20 years ago.

“If you can diversify the way you deliver your research, we can do that in a way that’s funny, accessible, and even vulnerable – that helps you connect with people.”

When it comes to some topics, Jacob says it can be “really hard to get a grip of where people stand on some things, and it can feel like a tightrope.

“The way that public opinion is swayed by culture wars, and its sad to see; we wanted people to see those involved with drug culture or in the sec industry differently,” he says.

“Public opinion feels like it’s gone back two decades, when Piers Morgan is on Good Morning Britain using people as strange discussion points.

“I’m debating for people to be treated as human beings, not on their behalf, but these things have become entertainment.”

n Jacob Hawley is performing at the Purple Turtle in Reading on Thursday, March 30, from 8pm, organised by Mates Rates Comedy. Tickets are available via: fatsoma.com

‘I’m a

Levellers prepare to return to Hexagon

ENGLISH folk rock band The Levellers embark upon their latest Acoustic Tour, joined by New member Dan Donnelly.

The band are excited to be introducing their new acoustic album, along with some of their older material reworked for the event.

The concert takes place at Reading’s Hexagon Theatre, on Wednesday, March 8.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets available at £29.50 and £37.

Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: whatsonreading.com, or call the box office: 0118 960 6060.

Stretching the vocal chords to find Talent

THE Talent, by Action Hero & Deborah Pearson, is a new show about the legacy of the human voice in a non-human future.

A woman in a sound booth talks, to herself, or perhaps to everyone.

Her voice can create any kind of world.

Is she selling something, telling a story, performing a cereal ad, a cartoon, a meditation tape?

The event can be seen at Reading’s South Street Arts Centre, on Wednesday, March 8.

Doors open at 8pm, with tickets available for £14, or £12 for members. Suitable for age 12 and above.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: whatsonreading.com, or call the box office: 0118 960 6060.

Two’s company, Norden’s a crowd

ROB AUTON’S Crowd Show is an evening of comedy, theatre, and spoken words about crowds, people and connections.

The award-winning writer, actor and podcaster has been named the Brian Cox of Comedy by the Guardian.

His eight Edinburgh Fringe shows have led to nationwide tours and television and radio appearances. Audiences can catch him at Norden Farm Arts Centre, Maidenhead on Saturday, March 4.

AT THE THEATRE

Bracknell

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets available at £15.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: norden.farm, or call the box office on: 01628 788977.

The cruellest cut? Just ask Robin

In Robin Morgan: Snip Snip, Bitch, the comedian shares all.

A lot has happened to him since the last tour.

He’s moved back to Wales, and is happily married with two kids.

So what happens next? A vasectomy of course.

Robin is deemed to be on the verge of nationwide fame, according to Chortle.

The event takes place at The

His television and radio credits include Mock The Week (BBC Two), Richard Hammond’s Brain Reaction (Comedy Central), and The Now Show (BBC Radio 4).

Audiences can catch him at Norden Farm Arts Centre, Maidenhead on Saturday, March 11. Doors open at 8pm, with tickets costing £13, or £10 for concessions. n For more details, or to book, log on to: norden.farm or call the box office on: 01628 788977.

Ode to joy as Europe’s music celebrated

AN ORCHESTRA of musicians from many European nations performs works

Legend: The Music of Bob Marley. Sat 4. Anna Rose Dance School: Into The Spotlight.

Sun 5. Classic Rock Show. Tues

7. Total 90s. Thurs 9. Hellfire

Comedy Club. Thurs 9. Kate

Mosse: Warrior Queens and Quiet Revolutionaries. Fri 10.

Fanny’s Bingo Brunch. Sat 11.

01483 440000

Someone Like You. Thurs 2. The Banshees of Insiherin (15).

Thurs 2. The Lost King (12). Fri 3. She. Fri 3-Sat 4. Joyride (15). Fri 3. The Story of Soul.

Fri 3. Lipstick On Your Collar. Sat 4. Minions: The Rise of Gru (U). Sat 4. Lyle Lyle Crocodile (PG). Sat 4. Emily (15). Sat 4. Elvis (12). Sat 4. All My Sons

- CANCELLED. Tues 7-Sat 11. The Unicorn. Wed 8. A Room of One’s Own. Fri 10-Sat 11.

High Wycombe –Wycombe Swan

Mamma Mia and More Dinner

Dance. Sat 11. Sensational

60s Experience. Sat 11. Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. Sun 12.

Henley – Kenton

www.kentontheatre.co.uk

01491 525050

Beatlkemania: here, There and Everywhere. Fri 3. Showtime!.

Sun 5. Blackadder: The Whole

Damn Dynasty – Almost.

Wed 8-Sat 11. Henley Youth Festival. Thurs 9-Sat 11. Sold!.

Sun 12.

Camberley

www.wycombeswan.co.uk

01494 512000

Magic of Motown. Thurs 2. Thank You For

Fri 3.

Maidenhead –Norden Farm

www.nordenfarm.org

01628 788997

Hexagon Theatre, on Thursday, March 9. Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets available for £27, £34.50, and £42. Tickets are selling fast, but returns may be available.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: whatsonreading.com, or call the box office: 0118 960 6060.

for strings by Bach, Corelli, Mozart, Nielsen and Rachmaninoff.

Audiences can also hear Hummel’s trumpet concerto, with soloist Cyrill Gussaroff.

Maidenhead Music Society: Chamber Philharmonic Europe can be heard at the Courtyard Theatre, Norden Farm Arts Centre.

The event is on Thursday, March 9. Tickets cost £20, or £5 for under 16s. n For more details, or to book, log on to: norden.farm or call the box office on: 01628 788977.

A chance to dance with The Little Prince

CHILDREN can enjoy a dance

retelling of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic tale.

The story of a pilot stranded in the desert, The Little Prince is brought to life with mix of dance, humour and spoken word.

Adapted and Directed by Luca Silvestrini, the enchanting story of love and friendship, for children and grownups alike, can be seen at Bracknell’s South Hill Park Arts Centre.

The event is on Sunday, March 5 at 3.30pm, and Monday, March 6 at 10.30.

It is suitable for children aged 5 and above.

Tickets cost £14.50, or £11.50 for under 16s.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: www.southhillpark.org.uk, or call the box office on: 01344 484123

Imogen and Setiadi to go on a Solo Fantasy

FLAUTIST Imogen Royce on flute and pianist Setiadi will perform a programme of music, with works from Mozart’s Magic Flute, Bizet’s Carmen and Malcolm Arnold’s Solo Fantasy.

Audiences will also be able to hear Schubert Lieder arrangements and Taffenel’s Fantasie on Weber’s Der Freischütz.

The event is at Bracknell’s South Hill Park Arts Centre, on Friday, March 10.

Doors open at 7.30pm, with tickets available at £16.50, £12.50 for concessions, and £5.50 for under 18s.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: www.southhillpark.org.uk or call the box office on: 01344 484123

Discover a century of swing at South Hill Park

SWING band Down for the Count All-Stars celebrate the musical genre with their show: A Century of Swing. They will perform instrumental songs from Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller, and vocal classics from Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald.

The show is presented with Down for the Count’s own brand of humour.

The event is at Bracknell’s South Hill Park Arts Centre, on Thursday, March 9. Doors open at 7.45pm, with tickets available at £24. n For more details, or to book, log on to: www.southhillpark.org.uk, or call the box office on: 01344 484123.

Charlie Baker - SOLD OUT.

Thurs 2. Fleetingwood Mac

- SOLD OUT. Fri 3. Norden Farm Market. Sat 4. Women Talking (15). Sat 4. Rob Auton: The Crowd Show. Sat 4. The Clare Teal Four. Sat 4. EO (15).

Tues 7, Wed 8. Maidenhead Music Society: Chamber

Philharmonic Europe. Thurs

9. The Vinyl Frontier: Another Evening with Martyn Ware.

Fri 10. Martin Turner exWishbone Ash. Fri 10. Hulla Balloony Moon Time. Sat 11. Blue Jean (15). Fri 10, Sat 11.

Robin Morgan: Snip, Snap Bitch. Sat 11.

Newbury – The Corn Exchange

www.cornexchangenew.com

0845 5218 218

The Pasadena Roof Orchestra.

Thurs 2. Rock For Heroes. Fri 3. Something About George: The George Harrison Story. Sat 4.

Dementia Friendly Screening:

On The Town. Mon 6. On Track.

Tues 7. An Evening With Kate

Mosse. Wed 8. Rosie Holt: The Woman’s Hour. Thurs

9. Vincent Simone: Tango Passions. Fri 10. Come What

May: A Tribute to Moulin Rouge. Sat 11. Made March Hares. Sun 12. Newbury – Watermill www.watermill.org.uk 01635 46044

Notes From A Small Island. Until Sat Mar 18.

Reading – South St

www.whatsonreading.com 0118 960 6060

On Track. Until Fri 3. Nick Mohammed as Mr Swallow (warm-up). Sat 4. The Talent by Action Hero and Deborah

Pearson. Wed 8. Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen. Thurs

9. Sophie Duker: Hag. Fri 10. Poets Cafe. Fri 10. John Kearns: The Varnishing Days. Sat 11.

Reading – Hexagon

www.whatsonreading.com 0118 960 6060

Jon Richardson. Thurs 2. Fisherman’s Friends - SOLD OUT. Sat 4. Levellers. Wed

8. Tim Peake: My Journey to Space. Thurs 9. 90s Live. Sat 11. WASMA. Sun 12.

Reading – Concert Hall

www.whatsonreading.com

0118 960 6060

Lunchtime organ recital. Mon Mar

6. Tine Thing Helseth: Open rehearsal. Thurs 9. Tine Thing

Helseth Trumpet. Thurs 9. Art of Believing: Flamenco. Fri 10.

Reading – Progress

www.progresstheatre.co.uk

0118 384 2195

The Lonesome West. Fri 3-Sat 11.

Reading – Reading Rep

www.readingrep.com

0118 370 2620

Hedda Gabler. Until Mar 11.

Shinfield – Players

www.shinfieldplayers.org.uk

0118 975 8880

Sonning – The Mill

www.millatsonning.com

0118 969 8000

We’ll Always Have Paris. Until Sat 11. Gimme Gimme Abba. Sun 5. Windsor – Royal www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk 01753 853888

The Grass Is Greener. Fri 3-Sat 18.

Wokingham – Theatre

www.wokinghamtheatre.org.uk

0118 978 5363

Things I Know To be True. Thurs 16-Sat 25.

Wokingham – Whitty

www.thewhittytheatre.org

0118 974 3247

Wokingham Film Society: Emily (15). Thurs 2. Wokingham

EUROPEAN Space Agency astronaut Tim Peake is to share stories about his visit to the International Space Station. He will guide the audience through a series of photographs, never-beforeseen footage, and personal insights into what it’s really like to be an astronaut.

An evening for anyone with a passion for aviation, exploration and adventure, it promises to reveal the secrets, the science and the everyday wonders of how and why humans journey into space.

Happy Birthday to Blue: party for anniversary

ACULINARY corner of Reading is gearing up for a party as it celebrates its first year in its current place.

Blue Collar Corner is celebrating 12 months of being in its permanent home on Hosier Street with a big birthday bash.

Four days of events will see live music, sports fixtures, DJs, food favourites, and new boozy offerings from the site.

On Thursday, March 9, Double Barrelled Brewery will unveil its speciallybrewed beer in honour of the occasion with DJ Rich Sloman performing.

On Friday, March 10, The Showhawk Duo will take to the stage, flanked by festival favourites Rum & Donuts DJs, for the official 1st Birthday Party event.

The party continues on Saturday, March 11, which will kick off with Indie Brunch before a live streaming of the England vs France fixture of the Six Nations Rugby.

On Sunday, Blue Collar will wrap up its weekend of events with an intimate, stripped-back performance by Third Lung, who will be joined by Loveless, Reliant, and Who Ate All The Crayons.

Speaking about the event, Blue Collar’s Glen Dinning announced “After the year of our lives, of Summer boozing, next level street food, rotating beers and cocktails, a Winter refurb, a cost of living crisis, World Cup screenings, massive DJ sets and live music, our baby will celebrate it’s first birthday on Friday, March 10.”

Collar will celebrate its first year in the corner with a four-day birthday bash from March 9-12.

“We’ll be going big that weekend,” Glen continues. “We’re starting on Thursday, March 9, with the return of Thursday DJs and the launch of a special first birthday beer from Double Barrelled Brewery. On Friday it’s the big birthday bash with The Showhawk Duo, and Rum & Donuts DJs.

“Saturday starts with an Indie Brunch followed by Six Nations rugby on our big screens then a party set from DJ Acronym.”

“On Sunday we are raising funds for homelessness prevention charity,

Launchpad, one of our partner charities, alongside local indie band Third Lung.” Blue Collar Corner holds a range of regular events as well as its rotating offerings of street food, with a St Patrick’s Day event, Six Nations Super Saturday, and Big Jay’s Big Drag Brunch all set to take place in March, too.

n More information about Blue Collar’s upcoming events and offerings is available via: linktr.ee/blue.collar or via: bluecollarstreetfood.co.uk

The Lonesome West is showing at Progress Theatre from FridaySaturday, March 3-11.

Are you Lonesome West tonight?

READING’S longest-producing theatre is examining life in Ireland with its latest production, The Lonesome West.

Written by Martin McDonagh, the play follows two brothers, Coleman and Valene, as they recoil from the death of their father.

As they struggle to come to terms with the reality of the incident, they begin to find it impossible to coexist.

Arguments over Tayto crisps and dogs without ears escalate, turning sibling rivalry into unbridled animosity.

Coleman will be played by

Damien Passmore, Valene by Progress regular Paul Gittus, Father Welsh by Adam Wells, and Girleen by Imogen Lilley.

The play is one of a trilogy by McDonagh which also includes The Beauty Queen of Leenane and A Skull in Connemara.

The Lonesome West is showing at Progress Theatre, The Mount, from FridaySaturday, March 3 to 11.

Tickets are available via: progresstheatre.co.uk/2023the-lonesome-west

Progress features a number of accessible show dates,

including socially distanced performances.

Relaxed performances are adapted to make provisions for families with young children and people with physical or special needs.

This includes a relaxed attitude to audience noise, adaptations to the production to reduce anxiety and sensory stimuli.

It also holds Come As You Are nights, which feature earlier opening times and space to change for trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming people who can feel excluded

or unsafe in certain public spaces.

Progress Theatre will see the rest of the season out with productions of Moira Buffini’s Dinner, Sandi Toksvig’s Silver Lining, and a performance of Twelfth Night for its annual open air event in the Abbey Ruins.

n Tickets and information about The Welkin can be found via: progresstheatre.co.uk

n Information about inclusive performances can be found via: progresstheatre.co.uk/ accessibility

Things I Know To Be True is an unusual and lyrical performance at Wokingham Theatre

Wokingham Theatre’s unusual lyrical performance from down under

THINGS I Know To Be True, by Andrew

Bovell, tells the story of an Australian family whose members appear to be very close, but whose relationships are fraying.

“Our reading committee loved this 2016 play, and felt it had to be included in the season,” says director Jeremy Radburn.

“It’s such an interesting and unusual piece, with a very accessible and beautifully crafted script.”

The play observes the Price family, whose four grown-up siblings gather in the parental home after one of them returns from a gap year in Europe.

“Each of the four is struggling with issues that their parents don’t know about,” continues Jeremy.

“But even when the parents do find out, they don’t know how to deal with their children. Their love is, at the same time, embracing and oppressive.

“It’s a very moving play, and we are surprised to find ourselves still very choked by the story, even after so many rehearsals.

“But there are points where it is really funny, too.”

The piece was created by the same UK theatre group, Frantic Assembly, that co-produced The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time at the National Theatre.

The company employs movement and music to enhance clear storytelling.

“Things I know To Be True mixes naturalistic dialogue with their unusual lyrical movement style,” says Jeremy.

“We’re very lucky that Chloe Collins is choreographing the performance.

“She took a dance internship with Frantic Assembly, and really knows their style and work.

“Because she is so familiar with their process, she has been able to help our actors convey what is going on beneath the surface of the words.”

With the emphasis placed on the actors and their movements to reflect the difficult issues raised in the play, Jeremy is keen to preserve a simplicity on stage.

“Very early on in rehearsals, we realised that props didn’t support the story at all,” he explains.

“So we did away with props and furniture, keeping only the bare minimum.

“For the same reason, there is no fixed set, but the performance is instead beautifully enhanced by music for cello and piano, along with some very sophisticated lighting techniques.”

Things I Know To Be True is on the GCSE drama syllabus.

It can be seen at Wokingham Theatre from Thursday, March 16 through to Saturday, March 25, with the exception of Sunday.

Doors open at 7.45pm, with tickets available at £15.

n For tickets and information, call the box office on: 0118 978 5363, or visit: www.wokinghamtheatre.org.uk The event contains very strong language and adult themes.

Symphony Orchestra to visit a galaxy far, far, away

A JOURNEY to the stars, via early 20th century Paris is promised at a special family-friendly concert taking in Reading this spring.

Members of the Reading Symphony Orchestra are welcoming the Orchester der Landesregierung Düsseldorf for the show.

The programme starts off with a musical journey down the Vltava river in Smetana’s work of the same name.

It starts as two small springs and meanders through woods and meadows, past nymphs dancing in the moonlight, beneath ruined castles and further onwards as it flows through Prague.

Thel Rautavaara Clarinet Concerto will then be performed by soloist Nicholas Shipman, a piece that aims to showcase the full range of the clarinet’s capabilities.

The second half of the concert starts in the 1920s, with Gershwin’s

An American in Paris, which tells the story of a visiting American exploring the hustle and bustle of the streets of Paris.

Organisers say listeners can picture themselves walking down the street during the Parisian rush hour - car horns and traffic noise combined with the blues and jazz of the Roaring Twenties.

And then the show will blast off with music from John Williams’ score for Star Wars.

It includes the main themes for characters such as Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Yoda combine in this musical suite to finish our concert with a Death Star-sized bang.

The event takes place at 4pm, on Saturday, April 1, at Reading Town Hall. Tickets cost £16, or £5 for students and under 16s.

n For more details, or to book, log on to: whatsonreading.comor call the box office on: 0118 960 6060.

PARTY TIME: Blue

Picture: Blue Collar Corner

EMMA MERCHANT

Picture: Emma Merchant

Picture: Richard Brown, Courtesy of Progress Theatre

Magic moments promised when The Stylistics perform

MAGIC moments are promised when an internationally renowned band come to Reading this autumn.

The Stylistics started out in Philadelphia, and crafted a number of hits that earned them seven Gold albums, five Gold singles, two Double Gold singles, eight Platinum albums, one Double Platinum album, and four Platinum singles.

They also received a Grammy nomination in 1974 for You Make Me Feel Brand New, and a plaque on the Walk Of Fame in 1994, in Centre City, Philadelphia.

All-in-all, a massive band.

Now, two of the original members, Airrion Love and Herb Murrell, along with Barrington ‘Bo’ Henderson and Jason Sharp, are bringing some of their greatest hits to The Hexagon.

The evening will include I Can’t Give You Anything; I’m Stone In Love With You; You Make Me Feel Brand New; Let’s Put It All Together; You Are Everything; and their UK No.1 single I Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love).

The gig takes place from 7.30pm on Thursday, November 23, and tickets cost £34 or £37. n For more details, log on to: whatsonreading.com, or call the box office on: 0118 960 6060.

A one-woman take on Little Women

IT’S ONE of the most famous pieces of literature of all time, and it’s about to come to Bracknell.

Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, needs little introduction: holed up in the attic of her Massachusetts home just after the American Civil War, Jo struggles with writer’s block, until the arrival of an old friend helps her to unlock a lifetime of memories.

Laugh and cry with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy in this comingof-age tale packed with adventure, drama, love and loss.

The story has been given a unique update in the play which will be performed at South Hill Park on Tuesday, March 7.

For every role is performed by just one person: Hannah Churchill.

Accompanying her is music performed by actor-musician Reece Webster.

Originally performed at Cheltenham’s famous Everyman Theatre, the show is from Jenny Wren Productions.

Its director, Jenny Wicks, says: “The original idea came about during lockdown. Hannah has been in a number of my shows and we both needed a creative project to keep us going.

“Little Women was on my ‘list of shows I want to do at some point’, and I started considering how it could work with one performer and Hannah rose to the challenge.”

It was using 21st century technology that the 18th century story came to life.

They perfected the script and set-up over Zoom, before getting together for rehearsals and the premiere in June 2021.

Jenny says: “It was a huge passion project for us all and having received such excellent feedback after The Everyman Theatre performances, we wanted the show to have a longer life.

“I am delighted to be embarking on a national tour. It’s such an uplifting tale, with laughter, as well as pathos and we are excited to share it with audiences around the country.”

Jenny Wren Productions have had rave reviews for their previous touring shows including The Hound of the Baskervilles, Emma and Burke and Hare.

The show is performed at 7.30pm and tickets cost from £12.50.

n For more details, log on to: www.southhillpark.org.uk, or call the box office on: 01344 484123.

PHIL CREIGHTON

LO-FI PEACH: Funke and the Two Tone Baby is coming to The Face Bar on Thursday, March 16

Folky Funke

A FUSION between a DJ, an acoustic opener and the gig’s main band is promised when Funke and the Two Tone Baby come to Reading.

And it’s all done to one man.

The show, at The Face Bar, sees Funke fuse together folky singalong anthems with blistering blues riffs, juxtaposed with fat bass, big beats and sub kicks.

A lo-fi peach with orchestral depth, a DJ without decks and a blur to the eyes, Funke generates huge sounds from seemingly nothing and sweeps up audiences in an awestruck wave of power, energy and sweat. A truly unique act that needs to be seen to be believed.

Organisers from Club Velocity promise a frenzied amalgamation of organic and electronic that defies all preconception.

Born from festivals and knocking on the door of 1,000 shows, F&TTTB has wowed audiences from Glastonbury to Sziget, WOMAD to Boomtown and Alexandra Palace to a Bahraini Princes’ private studio.

He has also secured support tours and shows with Skinny Lister, Dutty Moonshine Big Band, Comet is Coming, Beans on Toast, Hazel O’ Connor, Ferocious Dog, Hayseed Dixie, Mark Chadwick (Levellers), among others.

Support will come from Uncle Peanut.

n The event takes place on Thursday, March 16, at the Ambrose Street venue. Tickets are available by searching for Funke And The Two Tone Baby on wegottickets.com.

ReadiPop tickets on sale

ONE OF Reading’s festivals has released its first wave of tickets.

The festival is returning to its home in Christchurch Meadows, bringing with it three days of live music and performances, street food, and beer from Berkshire breweries.

The stage is now set for the event to take place from Friday-Sunday, July 14-16, with all of the proceeds going towards Readipop’s charity work.

Readipop works to support

artists and young people in Reading with a range of programmes, including its own music label which helps musicians access career and skills support as well as musical equipment and spaces.

It also provides one-on-one support, workshops, events, and community projects to help develop musicianship and foster creativity for young artists.

As well as internationally renowned artists such as Badly

Drawn Boy, Transglobal Underground, and Morcheeba.

Last year’s Readipop saw highlights from Reading’s own Third Lung, Khyren Kane, Readiophonics, BeatRoots, OSP, and The Pink Diamond Revue.

n Early Bird tickets give access to all three days of the event, costing £37.50 for adults and with concessions to be announced. For more details, log on to: readipop. co.uk

The Beat goes on … ska and reggae icons heading to Reading’s SUB89

SKA and reggae icons The Beat are heading on tour this spring, and Reading is on their list of places to be.

Ranking Junior is now taking centre stage as the group look to energise audiences with some of the most famous ska and reggae tracks ever written.

Based in Birmingham, The Beat released their debut single Tears of a Clown through The Specials’ 2-Tone label in 1979.

The single went Top Ten in the UK and they struck a deal with Arista to distribute on their own Go Feet label.

Their debut studio album Just Can’t Stop went Gold in England, and included the now-cult single Mirror In The Bathroom.

The band’s live performances and clever blend of personal and political lyrics continue to make them stars to this day, and they’ll be diving into their back catalogue at these shows.

One of the key bands in the UK ska revival of the

1970s and 80s, this is a chance to see the mix of pop melodies and taut rhythms that made them stars and won them worldwide acclaim.

They will be at Sub89 in Friar Street on Friday, April 14, and tickets have gone on sale.

n For more details, log on to: www.sub89.com

PERFORMANCE: Little Women is coming to South Hill Park

LIVEMUSIC

Raw Sounds

Today Chris Hillman bit.ly/raw soundstoday

FESTIVALS are always great places to discover bands, and the act at the top of this week’s playlist is one we discovered at Wokingham Festival last summer.

Here is a chance to hear their new single, with fab lyrics.

Counterpointing is a song by Chumbawamba, a 1990s band that need little introduction. The diversity is fabulous.

As ever, we’re on a mission to champion and showcase great music from acts that have a connection to Reading and Wokingham (that’s the RaW in our Sounds Today name).

It’s a mixture that will help you discover something new. All you have to do is find it on Spotify.

To hear this week’s selection, simply head to https://bit.ly/rawsoundstodayand enjoy the music.

OSP – Tun Up

One of our fave live performances last year was OSP at Wokingham Festival and they have just released this new single for 2023.

It’s another good one with a brilliantly uplifting energetic track featuring excellent vocal performances.

As per their previous singles this Reading based collective have again created a single that makes you feel good with an infectious melody and positive lyrics.

This opens with ‘New vibes, good energy around

GIG GUIDE

Thursday, March 2

BRACKNELL – The Acoustic Couch, The Ring RG12 1JG. Alpha Line and Support. Details: www. theacousticcouch.co.uk

READING – The Butler, Chatham Street RG1 7DS. First Thursday Funk Soul Jazz Blues: p’jam. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Fisherman’s Cottage, Kennet Side RG1 3DW. Argo Jazz. Details: 07866 251216.

READING – Pitcher & Piano, Friar Street RG1 1DB. Open mic night with Kristian Wilkins and friends. Details: 0118 958 8964.

WOKINGHAM – The Grasshopper, Rose Street RG40 1XU. Live at the Grasshopper: Mark Warner’s Full Swing. From 6.30pm. Details: 0118 901 2678.

WOKINGHAM – The Victoria Arms, Easthampstead Road RG40 2EH. Open mic night. Details: 0118 979 9437.

Friday, March 3

BRACKNELL – The Acoustic Couch, The Ring RG12 1JG. Some Kind of Metallica with support. Details: www. theacousticcouch.co.uk

BRACKNELL – The Keller, Coppid Beech Hotel, John Nike Way RG12 8TF. Ultimate RnB tribute: a flavour of the old skool. Details: 01344 303333.

BRACKNELL – South Hill Park, Ringmead RG12 7PA. Bracknell Jazz: Martin Pyne Quartet. Details: 01344 484123.

READING – The Butler, Chatham Street RG1 7DS. Open mic night. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – The Face Bar, Ambrose Place RG1 7JE. Punk and Bass: Skank Your Face Off.. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Hope and Bear, London Road RG1 5DE. Midnight Rebel Band. Details: 0118 935 4095.

READING – Lola Lo, Friar Street. Waiola.

me, I wanna pick fruit from the tree of life’ – They are certainly doing that and it’s wonderful – https:// www.facebook.com/ospmusicuk

Chumbawamba – Timebomb

As well as promoting great gigs, Reading promoters Club Velocity/New Mind Promotions put on some very interesting musical events and one coming up is a Q&A with Dunstan Bruce of legendary anarchic rockers Chumbawamba with a showing of I Get Knocked Down, a film about the incredible story of the band.

That’s a good excuse to remind ourselves of this classic from their 1994 album, Anarchy – https:// www.facebook.com/thatwasthenandthisisnow

READING – Pitcher & Piano, Friar Street RG1 1DB. Stars in the their Minds karaoke. Details: 0118 958 8964.

READING – South Street Arts Centre. 303 – XOX project presents Saytek and guests. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – Sub89, Friar Street RG1 1EP. AC/DC UK. Details: 0118 959 5395

WOKINGHAM – Broad Street Tavern, Broad Street RG40 1AU. Tequila Chase. Details: 0118 977 3706.

EMMBROOK – The Dog and Duck, Matthewsgreen Road RG41 1JT. Karaoke. Details: 0118 978 0544.

WOKINGHAM – Hope and Anchor, Station Road RG40 2AD. Daviid B & Dinos. 7.30pm. Details: 0118 977 0918.

WOKINGHAM – The Station Tap, Station Road RG40 2AD. Karaoke with Waynie. Details: 0118 977 4548.

Saturday, March 4

BRACKNELL – The Acoustic Couch, The Ring RG12 1JG. Red Tape Resistance.

Details: www.theacousticcouch.co.uk

BRACKNELL – The Keller, Coppid Beech Hotel, John Nike Way RG12 8TF. Dance Cult 10 DC10. Details: 01344 303333.

BRACKNELL – South Hill Park, Ringmead RG12 7PA. The Gill Love Band. Details: 01344 484123.

CROWTHORNE – The Crowthorne Inn, High Street RG45 7AD. The Cherries.

Details: 01344 530615.

READING – The Butler, Chatham Street RG1 7DS. Plato and the Bees. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – The Face Bar, Ambrose Place RG1 7JE. March of the Mods 2023: The Junction, The Echo, Wardour Street, The Highwasters, Personal Issue. DJs: Neally, Tim Marr, Gilo, Ken Brookes.

Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Grosvenor Casino Reading, Rose

Daviid B – Midnight Wine

If you enjoy jazzy/bluesy original and covers with guitar sax and flute, it’s well worth popping along to the Hope and Anchor in Wokingham this Friday, March 3, where you can see a live performance from Daviid B & Dinos.

Daviid has released a couple of singles already this year and here’s one of them which features a wonderful sax intro before a song which has a very cool blues club feel – https://www.instagram.com/ daviidbmusic

BDD – Dream for the Future

This is from Songs for an Angel Vol 1 – Music for Eric Bouillette, a tribute album to the late guitarist. BDD is the alter ego of The Room bassist

Andy Rowe – https://www.ftf-music.com/de/ tributetoericbouillette/tributetoericbouillette.htm

Mark Harrison – Tribulation Time

Mark is a unique singer-songwriter, an excellent guitarist and a wonderful story teller and he will be bringing his distinctive style to Wokingham Music Club on Friday, March 10 – https://www.markharrisonrootsmusic. com/

Small Town Heroes – Only 18

Here’s a new single from this young Berkshirebased band and it’s a very good piece of melodic uplifting indie pop.

It was recorded in Generation Studio and features guest guitar from Jake Slack – https://bio.site/ smalltownheroes

Dakorra – All Eyes to the Floor

Based in the Reading area, Dakorra (aka Kate Herridge), has established herself as a talented and dynamic performer and this features a catchy melody, driving rhythm, and emotive lyrics – https:// www.facebook.com/dakorraband

Dennis Siggery & Neil Sadler – I Paid the Price

A classic blues voice and a brilliant guitarist come together on a new album, Testify – https://www. ericstreetband.com/

Eloise Kate & Matthew Little – Just One Night

This is a beautiful mellow song which features a soulful vocal performance. https://www.instagram. com/eloisekatemusic/

One

Last Day – As Time Stands Still

Here’s a great live rock band with their latest single. They have a tour coming up so check them out – https://linktr.ee/onelastday

Roof presents Kings of the Juggling on 4 March 2023. Darkcide (Spawn & Marlon) Junior Blues (Leicester No1 Juggling Sound) DJ Velvet (Black Metro Sound) DJ Canibus (Doctor D Sound).

Details: 0118 402 7800.

READING – The Hexagon, Queens Walk. Fisherman’s Friends. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – Lola Lo, Friar Street. Lost Saturdays.

READING – O’Neill’s, Friar Street RG1 1DB. Bellissima Bollywood Events club night. Details: 0118 960 6580.

READING – The Purple Turtle, Gun Street RG1 2JR. Sound Jam. Details: 0118 959 7196.

READING – Queens Head, Christchurch Road RG2 7AZ. Gimme Gimme Abba.

Details: 0118 931 0232.

READING – The Queen’s Head, Christchurch Road RG2 7AZ. The Ewen Baird Group. Details: 0118 931 0232.

READING – Salisbury Conservative Club, Kings Road RG1 4HX. Offcut and Out of Order. Details: 0118 926 5804.

WOKINGHAM – The Station Tap, Station Road RG40 2AD. DJ Bounce. Details: 0118 977 4548.

Sunday, March 5

PANGBOURNE – Woking Men’s Club, Whitchurch Road, RG8 7BS. Pangbourne Jazz Club: Ben Cummings with the Terry Hutchins Quartet.

7.30pm £10.

READING – Community Hall, Watlington House, Watlington Street RG1 4RJ. Readifolk presents: Singers Night. Details: www.readifolk.org.uk

READING – The Face Bar, Ambrose Place RG1 7JE. The Oozes. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – The Purple Turtle, Gun Street RG1 2JR. Reggae Sundays. Details: 0118 959 7196.

READING – The Retreat, St John’s Street RG1 4EH. Low-Key Sundays. Details: 0118 376 9159.

SONNING – The Mill at Sonning, Sonning Eye RG4 6TY. Big Girls Don’t Cry.

Details: 0118 Music

Monday, March 6

READING – The Purple Turtle, Gun Street RG1 2JR. The Old Purple Whistle Test. Details: 0118 959 7196. WOKINGHAM – Hope and Anchor, Station Road RG40 2AD. Acoustic Cafe. 7.30pm. Details: 0118 977 0918.

Tuesday, March 7

PLAYHATCH – The Flowing Spring, Henley Road RG4 9RB. Unplugged Night. Details: 0118 969 98978.

Wednesday, March 8

BRACKNELL – The Acoustic Couch, The Ring RG12 1JG. Open mic night. Details: www.theacousticcouch.co.uk

READING – The Castle Tap, Castle Street RG1 7RJ. Monthly Shanty Session.

Details: 0118 958 0473.

READING – The Hexagon, Queens Walk. Levellers. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – Phantom Brewing, Meadow Road RG1 8LB. Centre Stage: celebrating Reading’s top female performers for International Women’s Day 2023. 6.30pm. £18, in aid of PACT. Details: www.phantombrew.com

STOKE ROW – Crooked Billet RG9 5PU. John Etheridge and Christian Garrick.

Details: 01491 681048.

Thursday, March 9

BRACKNELL – South Hill Park, Ringmead RG12 7PA. A Century of Swing with Down For The Count All-Stars. Details: 01344 484123.

READING – The Butler, Chatham Street RG1 7DS. Hugh Turner Funk Quartet. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Concert Hall, Blagrave Street. Tine Thing Helseth, Trumpet. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – Sub89, Friar Street RG1 1EP. Heavy Pop presents The Go! Team.

Details: 0118 959 5395

Friday, March 10

BRACKNELL – The Acoustic Couch, The Ring RG12 1JG. No Good Sons album launch party with Dead Jackals. Details: www.theacousticcouch.co.uk

BRACKNELL – The Keller, Coppid Beech Hotel, John Nike Way RG12 8TF. Solid Groove Foundation: Soul, Motown and RnB. Details: 01344 303333.

EMMBROOK – Emmbrook Sports & Social, Lowther Road RG41 1JB. Wokingham Music Club presents Mark Harrison. Details: www. wokinghammusicclub.co.uk

GORING – Community Jazz Club. Debby Bracknell. Details: https://www. ticketsource.co.uk/goring-communityjazz-club

READING – The Butler, Chatham Street RG1 7DS. Open mic night. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Concert Hall, Blagrave Street. Art of Believing: Flamenco. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – The Face bar, Ambrose Place RG1 7JE. InAir, All Ears Avow, Bitter Kisses. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – Lola Lo, Friar Street. Waiola.

TWYFORD – The Golden Cross, Waltham Road. BAT. Details: 07889 226309.

TWYFORD – The Golden Cross, Waltham Road. The Bullfrogs Sunday Session.

Details: 07889 226309. Karaoke with Waynie. Details: 0118 977 4548.

Saturday, March 11

BRACKNELL – The Keller, Coppid Beech Hotel, John Nike Way RG12 8TF. NBS.

Details: 01344 303333.

CAVERSHAM – Caversham Park Village

Social Club, Northbrook Road, Caversham Park Village RG4 6PF. Wardour Street. Details: 0118 334 1040

CHARVIL – The Wee Waif, Old Bath Road RG10 9RJ. Moon Hill presents karaoke and disco.

READING – The Face bar, Ambrose Place RG1 7JE. The Coles Family and Black Market. Details: 0118 959 5500.

READING – The Hexagon, Queens Walk. 90s Live. Details: 0118 960 6060.

READING – The Jazz Cafe, Select Car leasing Stadium RG2 0FL. The SoulTones. Details: 0118 968 1442.

READING – Lola Lo, Friar Street. Lost Saturdays.

READING – The Turks, London Road RG1 5BJ. Syn City Rockers. Details: 0118 957 6930

READING – Zerodegrees, Bridge Street. Live music with Amanda’s Music Events.

TILEHURST – The Royal British Legion Club, Downing Road RG31 5BB. Evolution party band Details: 0118 942 9606.

WOKINGHAM – The Gig House, The Plaza, Denmark Street. Rila’s Edge.

WOKINGHAM – Hope and Anchor, Station Road RG40 2AD. The Tim Shez Band. 7.30pm. Details: 0118 977 0918.

WOKINGHAM – The Station Tap, Station Road RG40 2AD. DJ Bounce. Details: 0118 977 4548.

Sunday, March 12

READING – Blue Collar Dining, Hosier Street RG1 7JL. Launchpad fundraiser with Third Lung and special guests.

Details: www.linktr.ee/blue.collar

READING – Community Hall, Watlington House, Watlington Street RG1 4RJ. Readifolk presents: Bass and Taylor.

Details: www.readifolk.org.uk

READING – The Purple Turtle, Gun Street RG1 2JR. Reggae Sundays. Details: 0118 959 7196.

ENERGETIC: OSP at the 2022 Wokingham Festival Picture: Andrew Merritt

WHAT’SON

Friday, March 3

EARLEY – St Luke’s Church, Erlegh Road RG1 5LR. World Day of Prayer service, featuring material created by women of Taiwan. 10.30am. Details:

Gaye Rees 07974 943908.

EARLEY – St Nicolas Church, Sutcliffe Avenue RG6 7JN. Re:Fresh cafe with Friendship Table. 10amnoon. Details: linkvisiting. org

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West. 7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

READING – Reading Minster

Of St Mary The Virgin C

Of E Church, Chain Street RG1 2HX. The F-Word: Stories of Forgiveness. An exhibition, 11am-6pm. A conversation with Albie Sachs on the nature of forgiveness via Zoom on Friday 3 March, 7.30pm.

Details: readingminster. org.uk

SHINFIELD – Shinfield Players Theatre, Whitley Wood Lane. Last Tango In Whitby. 7.45pm. £16, concessions £15, child £9. Details: www.shinfieldplayers. org.uk

SHINFIELD – St Mary’s Church, Church Road RG2 8BY. World Day of Prayer service, featuring material created by women of Taiwan. 2pm. Details: Gaye Rees 07974 943908.

WOKINGHAM – Salvation Army, Sturges Road RG40 2HD. Cafe Refresh Friendship table. 10am-1.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – Norreys Church, Norreys Avenue RG40 1UU. T&C at SHARE Wokingham Friendship table. 12.30pm-2.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – St Paul’s Church Parish Rooms, Reading Road RG41 1EH. Coffee and Chat: a warm welcome, a listening ear and refreshments. 2pm4pm. Details: 0118 979 2122 or church.office@ spauls.co.uk.

WOOSEHILL – Acorn Community Centre, Fernlea Drive RG41 3DR. Acorn Cafe with Friendship table. 10.30am-noon. Details: linkvisiting.org

Saturday, March 4

FINCHAMPSTEAD – Siren Tap Yard, Alberto House, Marino Way RG40 4RF. Street Food Saturday: Funky Pickle. From noon. Details: www. sirencraftbrew.com

PURLEY – St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Avenue RG8 8BJ. John Adams Trio. 7pm. SOLD OUT. Details: www. stmaryspurley.org.uk

READING – Broad St Mall, Broad Street. Paddington visit for World Book Day. Storytimes: 11am, noon, 2pm. Booking essential. Appearances 1pm and 3pm. First-come, first-served. Details: broadstreetmall.com

READING – Cattle Market, Great Knollys Street

RG1 7HU. Reading Farmers Market. 8.15amnoon. Details: www. thamesvalleyfarmers market.co.uk

READING – Great Hall, university of Reading London Road RG1 5AQ. Reading Phoenix Choir presents Majesty! Music for a King and More. Includes I Was Glad, Crown Imperial, Coronation Gloria, Zadok The Priest.

7.30pm. £15, under 16s £3, family tickets £16 or £30. Details: www. readingphoenixchoir.com

READING – Reading Minster Of St Mary The Virgin C Of E Church, Chain Street RG1 2HX. The F-Word: Stories of Forgiveness. An exhibition, 11am-6pm. Details: readingminster. org.uk

READING – OpenHand OpenSpace (OHOS), Oxford Road RG30

1HL. Confronting the Disappearances: an exhibition by Polam Chan, Carrie Shen and Wai Hang Siu, Hong Kong born artists who are now based in the UK. Until March 26. Open event 3pm-5pm. Details: http://571oxfordroad.org/

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West.

7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

READING – St Joseph’s College, Upper Redlands Road RG1 5JT. The Music of Flight, a concert with Trinity Concert Band, some proceeds to go to charity Thrive. 7pm, doors 6.15pm. £13, students £7, under 16s, Ukrainian refugees, and newcomers free.

Details: www.trinityband. co.uk

SHINFIELD – Shinfield Players Theatre, Whitley Wood Lane. Last Tango In Whitby.

7.45pm. £16, concessions £15, child £9. Details: www.shinfieldplayers. org.uk

WINNERSH – St Mary’s Church Hall RG41 5NA.

ANTIQUES VALUATION with Martin&Pole, 2pm4.30pm, £2.50 per item (max of 2) SalGOAssist charity1101811, supporting orphanges and very poor families in Bapatla, South India.

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT –Pinewood Bar and Cafe, Pinewood Leisure Centre, Old Wokingham Road RG40 3AQ. Friendship table available. 9am-4pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOODLEY – Crockhamwell Road precinct. Woodley Town Centre presents Saturday market. 9am3pm. Details: www. woodleytowncentre.co.uk

WOOSEHILL – Woosehill Church, Chestnut Avenue RG41 3RS. Sip and Share with friendship table. 11am-noon, every second Saturday. Details: linkvisiting.org

Sunday, March 5

CAVERSHAM – Waitrose Car Park, off Gosbrook Road. Caversham Artisan

& Farmers Market. 10am3pm.

PANGBOURNE – Woking Men’s Club, Whitchurch Road, RG8 7BS.

Pangbourne Jazz Club: Ben Cummings with the Terry Hutchins Quartet. 7.30pm £10.

READING – The Biscuit Factory, Broad St Mall, Queen’s Walk RG1 7QE. Reading Film Theatre presents All About My Mother (15). Details: readingfilmtheatre.co.uk.

READING – Rising Sun Arts Centre, Silver Street RG1

2ST. Dreading Poetry Slam. 7.30pm. Free entry. Details: www.risingsunartscentre. org

WOKINGHAM – St Crispin’s Sports Centre, London Road RG40 1SS. Crispin Antique and Collectors Fair. £1. 10am-3pm.

Details: 07723 068189.

READING – Reading Minster Of St Mary The Virgin C Of E Church, Chain Street RG1 2HX. The F-Word: Stories of Forgiveness. An exhibition, 1pm-6pm.

Details: readingminster. org.uk

WOODLEY – Crockhamwell Road precinct. Woodley Town Centre presents car boot sale. 8am-1pm. Cars £10, tables £8. Details: 07943 510108 or www. woodleytowncentre.co.uk

Monday, March 6

ARBORFIELD – Pop-up Library, Royal British Legion, Eversley Road RG2 9PR. BookTrust Storytime session. 10.30am-11am. Free, booking essential.

Details: 07801 664 520.

ARBORFIELD – Royal British Legion, Eversley Road RG2 9PR. Friendship table. 9.30am-11.30am. Details: linkvisiting.org

CROWTHORNE – Baptist Church, High Street RG45 7AT. Coffee Stop for Ukrainian refugees and their hosts: socialise and take part in English lessons. 12.30pm-2.30pm. Details: 01344 761725.

READING – The Outlook, Kings Road. Mates Rates Comedy Raw – open mic night. 7.30pm.

READING – Concert Hall, Blagrave Street RG1 1QH. Lunchtime Organ Recital: Marilyn Harper from Christ’s Chapel, Dulwich. Programme to include music by Celia McDowall, Madeleine Dring, Buxtehude and Franck. 1pm. £6, £5 in advance.

Details: 0118 960 6060.

WOKINGHAM – Caudwell Hall Theatre, Holme Grange School, Heathlands Road, RG40 3AL.Wokingham Rock Choir free taster session.

7.30pm. Booking essential.

Details: www.rockchoir. com/join/Wokingham_

Late_Session

WOKINGHAM – Salvation Army, Sturges Road RG40 2HD. Cafe Refresh Friendship table. 10am-1.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – Norreys Church, Norreys

Wokingham Friendship table. 12.30pm-2.30pm.

Details: linkvisiting.org

WOODLEY – Woodley Baptist Church, Hurricane Way RG5 4UX. Four Seasons cafe Friendship Table. 1.30pm-3.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

Tuesday, March 7

BEECH HILL – Memorial Hall, Beech Hill Road. Village teas: sandwiches, cakes and tea. 3pm-4pm.

EARLEY – Earley CResCent Resource Centre, Warbler Drive RG6 4HB. Friendship table. 2pm-3pm. Details: linkvisiting.org.

FINCHAMPSTEAD – FBC Centre Cafe, Gorse Ride North RG40 4ES. Friendship table. 10amnoon. Details: linkvisiting. org

FINCHAMPSTEAD – FBC Centre, Gorse Ride North RG40 4ES. Art group. 1pm-3pm. £3 per session.

Details: 0118 973 2484.

LOWER EARLEY – Salvation Army, Chalfont Close RG6 5UG. Singing By Heart: For those living with dementia and their carers or if you just want to come and sing. 11am. Details: 0118 931 0760.

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West.

7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

WOKINGHAM – Town Hall, Market Place RG40

1AS. Women’s Equality Party celebration of International Women’s Day. 7.30pm. Speakers, refreshements, arts and more. £5. Details: https:// allevents.in/wokingham/ 10000512988722077

WOKINGHAM – Bradbury Centre, Wokingham Methodist Church, Rose Street RG40 1XS. CLASP Wokingham cafe with Friendship table. 10am-noon. Every third and fourth Tuesday of the month. Details: linkvisiting. org

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT –Pinewood Bar and Cafe, Pinewood Leisure Centre, Old Wokingham Road RG40 3AQ. Friendship table available. 9am-4pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

Wednesday, March 8

EARLEY – Brookside Church, Brookside Close RG6 7HG. Open Door cafe with Friendship Table. 2pm4pm. Details: linkvisiting. org

READING – The Biscuit Factory, Broad St Mall, Queen’s Walk RG1 7QE. Reading Film Theatre presents All About My Mother (15). Details: readingfilmtheatre.co.uk.

READING – From Talbot House, 55 Castle Street RG1 7SN Terry’s Walkabout: Special International Womens Day ‘Vote 105’ PART 1 Women of Reading Walkabout with 2023 additions. £5, children £2, family £12. In aid of charity. Booking

essential. 1.30pm. Details:

07505351517

READING – Phantom Brewing, Meadow Road RG1 8LB. Centre Stage: celebrating Reading’s top female performers for International Women’s Day 2023. 6.30pm. £18, in aid of PACT. Details: www. phantombrew.com

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West.

7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

TWYFORD – URC Hall, Church Street, RG10 9DR. Twyford Arts Group Life Drawing Sessions. 7pm. Details: www. twyfordartgroup.co.uk

WOKINGHAM – Bradbury Centre, Wokingham Methodist Church, Rose Street RG40 1XS. Cafe Mosaic with Friendship table. 11am-noon. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – Salvation Army, Sturges Road RG40 2HD. Cafe Refresh Friendship table. 10am-1.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – St Paul’s Parish Rooms, Reading Road RG41 1EH. Wokingham Rock Choir free taster session.

12.15pm. Details: https:// www.rockchoir.com/join/ Wokingham_Morning_ Session

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT – Pinewood Theatre, Pinewood Leisure Complex RG40 3AQ. Pinewood Theatre presents Woman Up: Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History. 7.45pm. £13. Details: www.ebos. org.uk

Thursday, March 9

CROWTHORNE – The Hive, Duek’s Road RG45 6DS. Elusive Brewing and Double-Barrelled international Women’s Day tap takeover. From 6pm. Details: 01344 771199.

CROWTHORNE – Two Sisters, High Street RG45 7AF. Pie & Mash Night.

EARLEY – Trinity Church, Chalfont Close RG6 5HZ. Re:Fresh with Friendship Table. 2pm-4pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

EARLEY – Edith Morley Building, University of Reading. University of Reading Chaplaincy’s Annual Public Event. Chaplain Mark Laynesmith interviews Marina Cantacuzino MBE about her inspiration and her recent book ‘Forgiveness: An Exploration’. Also on Zoom: u.nu/chaplaincyx 7pm. Details: chaplaincy@ reading.ac.uk

FINCHAMPSTEAD – Siren Tap Yard, Alberto House, Marino Way RG40 4RF. Siren Beer Discovery: An Introduction to Siren through the exploration of the various beer styles of the core range. Includes third-pints of each of the five core range beers. Tickets from £11.37. 7pm8pm. Details: https://www.

sirencraftbrew.com/

READING – Start point to be confirmed. Terry’s Walkabout: a foodie tour of Reading. £5, children £2, family £12. In aid of charity. Booking essential. Details: 07505351517

READING – The Centre for Heritage and Family History, 2nd Floor, Reading Central Library, Abbey Square RG1 3BQ. Tracks to the Trenches, a talk organised by the Berkshire Family History Society. 2pm-3.30pm. £5, £4 members. Details: 0118 950 9553.

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West. 7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

SPENCERS WOOD –Spencers Wood Pavilion, Clares Green Road RG7 1DY. Social Seniors Tea and Coffee with Friendship Table. 10am-noon. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – Bradbury Centre, Wokingham Methodist Church, Rose Street RG40 1XS. Cafe Mosaic lunch club with Friendship table. Noon-1.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – The Cornerstone, All Saints Church, Norreys Avenue, Wokingham RG40 1UE. Wokingham and East Berkshire Camera Club meeting images from club trip to Oxford and Brighton. 7.30pm. Details: www.webcc.org.uk.

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT – Pinewood Theatre, Pinewood Leisure Complex RG40 3AQ. Pinewood Theatre presents Woman Up: Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History. 7.45pm. £13. Details: www.ebos. org.uk

Friday, March 10

EARLEY – St Nicolas Church, Sutcliffe Avenue RG6 7JN. Re:Fresh cafe with Friendship Table. 10amnoon. Details: linkvisiting. org

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL. Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West. 7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

READING – South Street Arts Centre. Poets Cafe. 8.30pm. Details: 0118 960 6060.

WOKINGHAM – The Whitty Theatre, Luckley House School, Luckley Road RG40 3EU. Wokingham In Need presents CLASP talent show spectacular. 7.30pm. SOLD OUT.

WOKINGHAM – Salvation Army, Sturges Road RG40 2HD. Cafe Refresh Friendship table. 10am-1.30pm. Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – Norreys Church, Norreys Avenue RG40 1UU. T&C at SHARE Wokingham Friendship table. 12.30pm-2.30pm.

Details: linkvisiting.org

WOKINGHAM – St Paul’s Church Parish Rooms, Reading Road RG41 1EH. Coffee and Chat: a warm welcome, a listening ear and refreshments. 2pm4pm. Details: 0118 979 2122 or church.office@ spauls.co.uk.

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT – Pinewood Theatre, Pinewood Leisure Complex RG40 3AQ. Pinewood Theatre presents Woman Up: Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History. 7.45pm. £13. Details: www.ebos.org.uk

WOOSEHILL – Acorn Community Centre, Fernlea Drive RG41 3DR. Acorn Cafe with Friendship table. 10.30am-noon.

Details: linkvisiting.org

Saturday, March 11

BURGHFIELD – The Hatch Gate, Reading Road RG30

3TH. Holi Party with Indian buffet. 12.30pm-5pm. £18, children five-10 £5, under fives free. Details: 0118 983 2059.

CAVERSHAM – Caversham Methodist Church Hall, Gosbrook Road RG4 8EB. Artists and Makers Fair. 10am. Free entry. Details: jean@alljazzedup.com or 07808 966928.

ENGLEFIELD – Englefield House RG7 5EN. Christopher Burrows piano concert. 7pm. £25. Details: https:// allevents.in/reading/ 10000445998502527

FINCHAMPSTEAD – Siren Tap Yard, Alberto House, Marino Way RG40 4RF. Street Food Saturday: Fat Tabby. From noon. Details: www.sirencraftbrew.com

PANGBOURNE – Falkland Islands Memorial Chapel, Pangbourne College. The Magic of Mozart, performed by Pangbourne Choral Society. £15, under 18s £8. Details: pangbournechoral.org.uk

READING – The Biscuit Factory, Broad St Mall, Queen’s Walk RG1 7QE. Club Velocity presents I Get Down followed by a Q&A with Dunstan Bruce. Details: readingfilmtheatre. co.uk.

READING – Phantom Brewing, Meadow Road RG1 8LB. Brewery tour and tasting. Noon. Booking essential. Details: www. phantombrew.com

READING – Rivermead, Richfield Avenue RG1 8EQ. Holi Festival of Colours: dance performances, talent show & DJ Dance. Noon-5pm. £6, under 8s £3, group of 10 £5, on the door £8. Details: 07877 243109.

READING – St John & St Stephen’s Church, Orts Road. Amnesty International barn dance with the Scamping Rogues. £13, £5 primary school aged children. Includes vegetarian meal. Booking essential. Details: https:// www.trybooking.co.uk/ CDOZ

READING – Progress Theatre, The Mount RG1 5HL.

Progress Theatre presents The Lonesome West. 7.45pm. £14, concessions £11. Details: www. progresstheatre.co.uk

SONNING – Reading Cricket Club, Sonning Lane RG4 6ST. Reading Indian Community presents Holi Milan 2023: Bollywood DH, food stalls, dance performances, fun fair, children’s entertainment and more. £10. Noon-5pm. Details: ticketsource.co.uk/ artcelebration

WOKINGHAM – Holme Grange School, Heathlands Road RG40 3AL. Artemis College presents The Greatest Showcase. 3pm and 6pm. £12.50, concessions and under 10s £9.50. Details: https://artemis.college/

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT – Pinewood Theatre, Pinewood Leisure Complex RG40 3AQ. Pinewood Theatre presents Woman Up: Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History. 7.45pm. £13.

Details: www.ebos.org.uk

WOKINGHAM WITHOUT –Pinewood Bar and Cafe, Pinewood Leisure Centre, Old Wokingham Road RG40 3AQ. Friendship table available. 9am-4pm.

Details: linkvisiting.org

WOOSEHILL – Woosehill Church, Chestnut Avenue RG41 3RS. Sip and Share with friendship table. 11am-noon, every second Saturday. Details: linkvisiting.org

Sunday, March 12

CAVERSHAM – Waitrose Car Park, off Gosbrook Road. Caversham Artisan & Farmers Market. 10am3pm.

READING – The Biscuit Factory, Broad St Mall, Queen’s Walk RG1 7QE. Queen of Glory screening + panel discussion for International Women’s Day. 2pm. £6.50. Details: readingfilmtheatre.co.uk.

READING – Phantom Brewing, Meadow Road RG1 8LB. Vintage Bazaar. Free entry, cash for stalls, card for bar. 1pm-6pm. Details: www. phantombrew.com

READING – The Retreat, St John’s Street RG1 4EH. The Pickled Onion contest 2023. 3pm-6pm. Details: 0118 376 9159.

READING – St Joseph’s College, Upper Redlands Road RG1 5JT. Reading Youth Orchestra spring concert: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and Bob Good’s Silver. 6pm. Details: https://www. readingyouthorchestra. co.uk/future-concerts/

TILEHURST – Meadway Sports Centre, Conway Close. Baby & Children’s Market selling goods, clothes and toys for pregnancy up to eight years. 11am-12.30pm.

WOKINGHAM – Market Place RG40 1AS. Sparkle Vegan Events presents vegan market. 11am3pm. Details: www. sparkleveganevents.com

TEST YOUR BRAINPOWER

Quiz Challenge

1. Who won 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year’s Lifetime Achievement Award?

2. The TV crime drama series Happy Valley is set in which county?

3. Margrethe II became queen of which country in 1972?

4. What H is a sharp bend in a road and a beauty accessory?

5. ‘And now the end is here, And so I face that final curtain’ is the opening of which Frank Sinatra song?

6. Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder and Major Major Major Major are all characters in which satirical war novel?

7. Which insects feed solely on mulberry leaves?

8. In which section of an orchestra might you find the marimba?

9. The Six Nations Championship is the premier European event in which sport?

10. Who are the main beneficiaries of the privy purse?

Here are two miniature five-square crosswords using the same grid –but the letters have been mixed up. You have to work out which letters belong to which crossword.

1. One has no hurdles to face here in contest for accommodation (4,4)

6. Heavenly body does not quite arrive (4)

8. First coat is red, say, at infants’ school (6)

9. China follows Georgia in the betting (6)

10. Error Pete and I somehow made on range of pieces (10)

12. Eight in outskirts of Sydney are slightly mad (6)

14. Has the broken case (6)

15. Cook sent in more for soup (10)

19. Unconventional exit (3-3)

20. British leader in test of group loyalty (6)

21. Need to remove the sandy tract (4)

22. Allergic reaction to excitement about harvest (3,5)

2. Enticement to misrule? (4)

3. Egg device to merit adjustment (5)

4. It’s a waste of a prize (7)

5. Enthusiastic idea Gerry held (5)

6. Write music about some cop (7)

7. Fewer young people are found in this category (8)

11. Liven up fourth part of play before tea break (8)

13. Sees what has been dug perhaps as a blot on the landscape (7)

14. In an abrupt manner soon (7)

16. Small person goes to church with bird (5)

17. Select group taken from among the literati (5)

18. Time for a fruit (4)

Each number in our Cross Code grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. You have three letters in the control grid to start you off. Enter them in the appropriate squares in the main grid, then use your knowledge of words to work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you get the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and control grid. Check off the alphabetical list of letters as you identify them.

Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9, and so must each 3 x 3 box.

How many words of four letters or more can you make from this Nonagram? Each word must use the central letter, and each letter may be used only once. At least one word using all nine letters can be found.

9 28 4 83 6 65 9 1 3 7 8 23 367 25

6 8 7 4 41 2 7 83 946 1

ACROSS DOWN

inthecathouse

Thames Valley Animal Welfare

www.tvaw.org.uk

Spoiling a cat amid the cost-of-living crisis

Our feline friends can enjoy a life of luxury, even on a budget. Here, STEVE CHARNOCK looks at ways you can continue to spoil your favourite feline without busting the bank

AUSTERITY, recessions, inflation… There’s always some sort of dastardly outside influence putting pressure on our finances, isn’t there?

The latest one’s so serious it even has the word ‘crisis’ in its name.

The Cost of Living Crisis™ that we’re all currently experiencing, with prices shooting up and wages shooting absolutely nowhere, is putting a strain on many of us. For some, it’s even impacting their status as pet owners.

As sad as it is, many people with cats are in such dire economic straits that they’re having to give up their beloved furry friends in order to cut costs. Something that’s heartbreaking for them and their families and far from ideal for the moggies themselves.

Like many other things, it’s a situation compounded by the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Between March 2020 and March 2021, with everyone stuck at home, bored, dog and cat ownership soared. The UK’s pet population rocketed by more than three million.

The return to normality was welcome, but caused many new pet owners to realise that their new addition wasn’t practical for their ‘normal’ lifestyles.

This surge in cat ownership (26% of all households in the UK currently serve a cat), coupled with recent financial pressures has seen a big spike in cats being handed into rescue charities like ourselves.

To make matters worse, donations to charity are down too. According to research by the Charities Aid Foundation, 2022 saw five million Brits report having donated less money to charities than they had three years ago.

If you’re feeling the pinch and are worried that, should things get worse, you may have to give your cat up, we feel for you. We’d also like to see that fate avoided, just as you would.

As such, as a small gesture of help, we’ve come up with some tips on cost cutting and money saving when it comes to looking after our feline pals…

Get pet insurance

Wow, what a way to start our advice, by telling you to spend money. The thing is, while pet insurance is yet another unwanted

IN THE GARDEN Sow those seeds F

OR most of us March is the start of the gardening year.

It’s a month of digging and sowing and a time to get busy preparing seed beds, cutting back winter shrubs and generally tidying up around the garden.

In addition to getting vegetable and flower seeds started in the greenhouse or undercover, you can also sow hardy seeds outside into their final positions … depending on where you live in the UK.

Your garden’s climatic conditions will affect when you sow and plant out. In the south that’s going to be March, but the further north you live it will be early or even late April, dependent on frost.

So, thrifty tip for the month is … make seed sowing your garden mantra this year. Seeds are cheap, or free if you harvest your own, and once you have mastered seed sowing you can create a glorious floral or veg haven for almost nothing. A packet containing about 100 seeds can cost a fraction of the price of one plant and will keep you going for a couple of years as it’s unlikely you will use them all in one go.

Many seeds can be sowed straight into the ground either in rows or simply scattered, but some prefer to start off life in seed trays under cover and then be planted out once seedlings are robust enough for the outdoor environment.

You can recycle plastic food trays for growing seeds inside or in a greenhouse – just make a few holes in the bottom for drainage.

monthly or annual charge, it can be a Godsend when it comes to settling up vet bills.

Of course, how well you’re covered and how much you can claim will depend on your premium, but packages start from as little as £10 a month. Which barely gets you two tubs of Lurpak these days.

Buy into a pet health scheme

There’s that word again - ‘buy’. Unfortunately you can’t eradicate costs, but you can keep them down.

If you sign up to your vets’ pet health scheme, a monthly fee will cover you for flea and worm treatments, as well as check-ups, boosters and even things like claw clipping.

petparade

Shop around

You may be surprised to find out just how huge the price ranges of items such as cat litter can be.

Don’t just accept that 10 litres of the stuff costs 15 quid just because that’s what you last paid.

Do a little research.

So long as it works and your cat(s) is happy to use it, there’s nothing wrong with using an own brand at a fraction of the cost. It’s just going to be piddled and pooped on, anyway.

Buy food in bulk

A bit of basic economics here, but worth bearing in mind.

Think ‘economies of scale’ when buying cat food. Order your

pouches or tins en masse to save on the per unit price.

Investigate pet food banks

More than two million people are forced to regularly make use of one of the 3,000+ food banks in this country in order to keep their cupboards and fridges stocked.

Increasingly, British pets are relying on donated food to fill their bowls and bellies, with demand for pet food bank food doubling in the past year.

Currently, the only local one is The Berkshire Pet Food Bank, based out of the Bank Best Friends Pet Store on Crowthorne High Street.

Thinking of adopting? Thames Valley Animal Welfare can help

Missy

Age: 10 years

Sex: Female

Microchipped: Yes

Neutered: Yes

Vaccinated: No

Can live with other cats: No

Can live with children: No

Missy is a sweet little cat, who is looking for a new home due to her owner’s change of circumstances. She has been checked out by a vet and is in good health. She enjoys fuss and attention on her terms.

It could take Missy a while to settle in her new home so she will patient, understanding owners to give her time and space to settle

If Missy could be just what you’re looking for please register online or call us on 0118 972 2082.

Hebe

Age: 13 years

Sex: Female

Microchipped: Yes

Neutered: Yes

Vaccinated: In Progress

Can live with other cats: No

Can live with children: No

Hebe is a lovely cuddly cat who is looking for a new home due to her owner’s change of circumstances. She enjoys attention and likes to be around or in close contact with people she trusts. She is also surprisingly playful for her age and, before coming into the care of the charity, she used to go outside a lot and is a big hunter. She has been checked out by a vet and is in good health but because of her age will be homed under our Golden Oldie Scheme, which means the charity will cover the

costs of treatment for any future age-related illnesses.

We believe Hebe would best suit a calm and quiet house with people around to give her attention and cuddles and a garden so she can enjoy the outdoors too. As she lived all her life at the same place, she might take a little time to get used to her new environment, but once she is settled she will be a great company.

If Hebe could be just what you’re looking for please register online or call us on 0118 972 2082.

Interested in adopting or fostering? Call TVAW now on 0118 972 2082 Or email: tvawcats30@gmail.com | More cats available at: tvaw.org.uk

Always read the seed packet for sowing instructions and if you can get hold of some seed compost that can make a difference to your success rate. And don’t forget to label.

If sowing in rows straight into the ground, break up large clods of soil, remove stones and rake over then using a taught string line as a guide make a shallow trench. Sprinkle seeds carefully and evenly along the row so that they fall to the bottom of the trench.

Cover seeds with a layer of soil then gently water using a watering can with sprinkler head. Sow seeds to the depth recommended on the packet.

Annuals are prime candidates for scatter sowing, and you can easily fill a bare border or space with a riot of colour in just a couple of months. From mid-spring to early summer simply scatter your flower seeds directly onto finely raked garden soil in a sunny spot, rake them in and water well but gently. No nonsense easy annuals to grow from seed include nasturtiums, sweet peas, cosmos, nigella, marigolds, californian poppies and cornflowers.

Spring flowers such as daffodils are now coming to the end of their flowering period. Advice from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) is that March is a time to think about deadheading daffodils as a little care now will keep bulbs healthy. Let the leaves yellow and wither naturally, so they return nutrients to the bulb. If the weather turns dry, they will benefit from watering, and if they are growing in pots, feed weekly with a potassium-rich fertiliser such as tomato feed.

Favourite varieties include Narcissus ‘February Gold’ that has early bright-yellow flowers in February; Narcissus ‘Fragrant Rose’ with a scented, soft pink daffodil flower that appears in April; and Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’ the much loved miniature with bright yellow trumpet flowers that show in March and April.

The RHS Gardener’s Checklist for March

n Plant onions, shallots and potatoes

n Chit early and main potatoes

n Plant out strawberries

n Plant summer flowering bulbs

n Lift and divide large clumps of perennials

n Top dress containers with fresh compost

n Mow lawn on dry days if needed

n Hoe and mulch weeds to keep them under control

n Start feeding pond fish

n Protect new spring shoots from slugs

PAMPERED, ON A BUDGET: Your cat can still life the life of Riley, even when you’re watching the pennies Picture: Pixabay

LATE

BEAT

ROYALS MAINTAIN STRONG HOME FORM

CAPTAIN CARROLL

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

Ince scored twice against his

READING FACE THREAT OF ANOTHER POINTS DEDUCTION

READING FC are on the brink of facing another points deduction if found guilty of breaching the EFL’s business plan, according to reports.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that the Royals are again under threat of receiving what would be their second points deduction in 18 months.

Reading were deducted six points last campaign and had a suspended points deduction of six points if they failed to comply with the EFL’s business plan.

In that season, they finished just one place and four points above the relegation zone in a tense fight for survival, while relegation rivals Derby County were deducted 21 points.

The Royals have been under a transfer embargo for the last two seasons which means they have been limited to signing only free agents and loan players after breaching the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules in previous years.

Reading were put under a business plan by the EFL in order to comply with financial rules, but it has been alleged that the club has broken certain regulations.

A punishment of deducted points this season could see the Royals dragged into another relegation scrap.

former club, while Carroll kept up his 100% record from the spot to see the Royals move up to 14th in the Championship table.

Paul Ince’s men are now 13 points clear of the relegation zone, but will need to fix their troubled away record to keep away from relegation danger.

“We’ve had a brilliant record at home this season,” said Carroll.

“We just have to take that into the away games now and we know that.

“There was a lot of confidence out there. The lads passed it and moved it, we changed it up a little bit and we played really well.

“The penalty that I scored kind of killed it off and Tom Ince scored again right after that. That’s what good teams do – they dominate when they need to and take their chances.”

Reading face a tricky test this weekend when they travel to face third placed Middlesbrough.

Paul Ince’s team are currently in 14th position on 44 points from 33 games.

A six point deduction would see Reading drop down to 20th in the current standings and would put them just seven points above the drop zone with 13 Championship games still left to play.

ANDY CARROLL led by example with the captain’s armband, while a Tom Ince double helped Reading maintain their outstanding home form with victory against Blackpool.

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BIRMINGHAM 21-24 RAMS

By RICHARD ASHTON sport@wokingham.today

RAMS gaffer Seb Reynolds said it wasn’t the ‘prettiest’ victory, as the side overcame Birmingham Moseley with a bonus point win.

Having fallen 14-0 down early on to a brace of converted Ryan Roach tries from the maul, Rams began to take control of possession and territory and crossed the whitewash twice before the break through Max Hayman and captain Robbie Stapley.

They continued to put pressure on their opponents throughout the third quarter. After hitting the front through Hayman’s second –added to by Rowan Grundy – Moseley hit back with an excellent Jide Ajayi score.

A Dan Lewis conversion pushed the Midlanders 21-17 in front, but with four minutes remaining, Hayman smashed his way over for

a hat-trick and despite another home rally, Rams were able to see the game out for a seventh straight bonus-point victory.

The director of rugby said Birmingham deserved credit for their performance and the way they played.

“They took their chances early on and it gave them a decent lead,” Reynolds said.

“They also came back well towards the end when they scored a lovely multi-phase try which really got their crowd behind them.

“Any team which beats Cambridge and puts 40 points on Cinderford is a very good side, so we knew what was coming.

“We gave them a headstart which led to a tense fixture – probably not the prettiest.

“With all that being said, we came through it very well and it’s a sign we’ve got a good group of players.”

Having suffered the double early setback, Rams enjoyed the bulk of the play.

“On a different afternoon we perhaps could have been 15-20 points up at one stage,” Reynolds said.

“We had territorial pressure at the end of the first half before we coughed up the ball on their line, and the same in the second where we gave away a freekick, lost field position and then they scored.

“If you knew every week you were going to take your chances and it would be plain sailing there’d be no point playing the game because it would be boring, but (in National One) wherever you go you could lose.

“We’re just glad we pulled through and got the result.”

“Our bench really added to the game, Paul Englezos added energy, Connor

Stapley did well, and the halfback change just triggered something.

“It’s always tricky doing that, but I thought Rowan (Grundy) was good bringing the ball to the line and getting runners into the game.”

The last of the substitutes, hooker Ollie Moffitt, celebrated his 50th cap off the bench and Reynolds ended by praising both him and starting No. 2, hat-trick hero Hayman.

“Max has kicked on again and it’s what we hoped he’d do when he came across from Newbury (in 2019), so in many ways he’s just doing what I thought he would,” Reynolds said.

n Rams are back at Old Bath Road next Saturday as Leeds Tykes visit for the third-last home contest of the season (3pm).

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

South Central Women’s Thames 2

SONNING 4S lost ground on the top two in the table after they were held to a goalless draw at home to Yateley.

The stalemate means that Sonning remain above Yateley in the table having played one more match.

Sonning are in third position on 29 points from 17 games, six points behind second placed Henley 3s and 15 points behind leaders Amersham & Chalfont 5s.

South Central Men’s North Division One

SONNING kept up their title push

by smacking eight past Banbury 2s with an emphatic victory.

‘WE PULLED THROUGH AND GOT THE RESULT’: RAMS WIN AGAIN SONNING LOSE GROUND ON TOP TWO IN STALEMATE

The 8-1 success, which is Sonning’s 10th win of the campaign, gives them a two point lead at the top with five more matches left to play.

READING 3s picked up three points in their Tuesday night win at home to PHOENIX READING.

The win sees Reading climb up to fifth on the table on 26 points from 15 matches.

Phoenix Reading are in eighth position on 19 points from 15 games.

South Central Men’s North Division Two

SOUTH BERKSHIRE stay in the relegation fight after they lost out away to Eastcote 2s.

Connor Hayhow in action for Rams Pictures: Tim Pitfield

Sonning were unable to find a way past Yateley in their league match

Sonning Ladies 4s v Yateley Ladies 2s Pictures: Steve Smyth

Max Hayman’s second try put Rams in front at Birmingham Moseley

Robbie Stapley dives over for Rams’ second try

Ollie Moffitt (fourth left) won his 50th cap for Rams

Ellis Jones tries to make ground for Rams

HOCKEY

FA WOMEN’S CUP

WADE HITS WINNING PENALTY TO SEND ROYALS THROUGH TO LAST EIGHT

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

Spurs 0 Reading 0 (4-5 Pens)

READING FC WOMEN moved through to the FA Women’s Cup quarter-finals with a penalty shootout victory away at Tottenham Hotspur.

After the sides were unable to be separated throughout 120 minutes of football, the cup tie had to be decided from the spot.

In a tense shootout, Lauren Wade hit the winning penalty for the Royals after Kerys

Harrop struck the crossbar for Spurs.

Spurs went close to grabbing a lead early in the match when Ashleigh Neville burst forward on the overlap after stealing the ball from Emma Mukandi, but her shot rolled across the six-yard box and just evaded her onrushing teammate.

Moloney had to stay on her toes to keep out an acrobatic effort from Nikola Karczewska which turned out to be a comfortable stop for the Royals keeper.

The Royals worked an opening on the left and were

able to test the goalkeeper with a shot from Charlie Wellings that was easily saved.

Kelly Chambers’ team got on the front foot and almost grabbed a lead with an outrageous effort from Jade Moore. She spotted the keeper off her line and tried to catch her out despite being wide on the right, but the keeper recovered to make the stop.

Moving into the secondhalf, midfielder Rachel Rowe strode forward with purpose, skipped past two challenges before unleashing a fierce strike that lifted just over the

target in what would have been a spectacular solo strike had it found the net.

With the game still level after 90 minutes, the teams moved into 30 minutes of extra time to try and find a winner.

Spurs again tested Moloney with a shot from distance from Rosella Ayane that was turned behind for a corner.

The best chance of the game came late in the day for Spurs when Ayane’s burst down the right followed with her picking out Kit Graham in the middle. The forward did well to bring the ball under her spell,

but couldn’t apply a finish as she skewed her shot wide of the post.

But neither side were unable to break the deadlock and the game had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

The penalties were on a knifes edge, similar to the game after 120 minutes of football, with four successful penalties from each side.

However, it was Reading who had the advantage when Harrop stepped up and narrowly missed the top corner when her shot bounced off the crossbar, giving the Royals

the chance to take the tie with their next kick.

Wade accepted the challenge and dispatched her spot kick beyond the keeper into the bottom right corner to send Reading through to the last eight of the competition.

TOTTENHAM: Korpela, Turner, Bartrip, Harrop, Karczewska, Ale, Bizet, James, Iwabuchi, Spence, Neville

Subs: Graham, Ugogagu, Ayane, Zadorski, Houghton, Gunning-Williams, Spencer READING: Moloney, Mukandi, Evans, Wellings, Eikeland, Harries, Mayi Kith, Moore, Rowe, Vanhaevermaet, Woodham

Subs: Caldwell, Alexander, Wade, Troelsgaard, Bryson, Burns, Hendrix

Lauren Wade’s hit the winning spot kick as Reading beat Tottenham in the FA Cup Pictures: Neil Graham

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YELLAMEN SNATCH LATE WIN TO SINK SUMAS

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

Combined Counties

Premier North

League leaders ASCOT UNITED strengthened their title push with a last-minute winner to beat WOKINGHAM & EMMBROOK

It seemed as if the Sumas would earn an impressive away point to ease their relegation fears, but they suffered a heartbreaking end to the match.

But with the game in the 93rd minute and with time running out, the Yellas found the winner when Marcus Mealing found Rob Gerrard who smacked the ball past the goalkeeper to break the deadlock in the dying seconds.

Ascot are eight points clear at the top of the table after 24 matches.

The Sumas are one place above the bottom of the table on 17 points and have played two more matches than bottom side Oxhey Jets.

READING CITY maintained their push near the top of the league by defeating Oxhey Jets. With the game goalless right up until the final few moments of the match the Cityzens found a winner in the dying embers of the game.

Dan Davies popped up with the all important goal to head in from Eddie Lazarczuk’s corner to help the Cityzens to a 1-0 win.

City are in third on 57 points, level on points and with two games in hand on second

placed Egham Town.

Combined Counties

Division One

EVERSLEY & CALIFORNIA added three points to their total with a comfortable victory over CB Hounslow United.

Ben Anderson scored the opener after 15 minutes to get the Boars off to a fine start and it didn’t take long for them to add to their lead when Ross Mckernan got on the end of Luke Cox’s corner to make it 2-0.

The Boars found their third of the game with virtually the last kick of the match when Dionis Pipero was fouled in the box and Brad Brown smacked the penalty down the middle to seal a 3-0 success.

Eversley are in 12th on 35 points from 25 games.

WOODLEY UNITED dropped down a place into 14th after they missed out against Molesey.

Pedro Monteiro scored the opening goal of the game to put Woodley in front, but the

hosts levelled the game before half-time.

The home team scored twice more in the second-half to take a 3-1 lead and despite a stoppage time goal from Woodley to make it 3-2, they weren’t able to grab a point. BERKS COUNTY lost ground on the top three after losing to Westside.

After finding themselves two goals behind at the break, an improved second-half saw Luke Hayden grab a goal back for the Swords.

Ascot United got the better of Wokingham & Emmbrook in a crunch clash Pictures: Andrew Batt

Eversley & California v CB Hounslow United Pictures: Richard Milam

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From the middle

They were unable to salvage a point in just their seventh league defeat of the campaign.

Berks are in fourth on 49 points from 26 games with games in hand on all the sides above them in the standings.

Southern Region Women’s Division One North

EVERSLEY & CALIFORNIA climbed into sixth place by beating Kidlington Youth.

Goals from Frankie Boekbinder, Joey Harfield-Brown and Mia Caulcrick saw the Boars take a 3-1 win.

The Boars are in sixth on 12 points from 11 games.

Thames Valley Women’s League Cup

TILEHURST PANTHERS progressed to the final four of the competition after knocking out ASCOT UNITED RESERVES

Leah Why scored the decisive goals by putting the Panthers ahead just before the hour mark and she sealed the win with her second goal in the 84th minute.

WARGRAVE moved through to the next round with a magnificent win in a nine-goal cup tie.

Goals from Alison Richarsdhon, Millie Bilcliff and a double from Hannah Sheehan gave Wargrave a 4-1 lead at the break.

Sheehan sealed her hat-trick in the second-half and Bilcliff added a sixth goal for Wargrave to confirm a 6-3 win.

EVERSLEY & CALIFORNIA RESERVES booked their place in the next round with an away win at Denham United Reserves.

Laura Comerford netted a double and Katie Rebecca Sayer scored the other to help the Boars to a 3-1 victory.

Thames Valley Women’s Division Two

S4K BERKS COUNTY lost out on the road at Stonesfield West Oxfordshire.

S4K are in seventh position on 12 points from 12 matches.

Thames Valley Women’s Plate

CAVERSHAM AFC progressed with a penalty shootout victory against Ruislip Rangers 2s.

After a 1-1 draw in normal time, Caversham were winners of the shootout by 4-2. BURGHFIELD ensured they moved through to the next round with a shootout success.

THAMES VALLEY FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS: YATELEY CAPTURE TITLE AS PERFECT RECORD STAYS INTACT

Thames Valley Premier League

YATELEY UNITED sealed the league title by making it 16 wins from 16 to continue their faultless record.

In a seven-goal contest against BURGHFIELD, a brace from Myles White and goals from Charlie Westell and Joshua Hennah ensured that Yateley claimed the points with a 4-3 success.

Yateley’s remarkable record sees

them confirm themselves as league champions with four games to go after building an unassailable lead at the top.

WARGRAVE got the better of FINCHAMPSTEAD with a spectacular performance.

Despite Wargrave being eight places behind Finch, they managed to produce a stunning display as doubles from both Joe Wigmore and Sam Wild helped them to a 4-1 victory.

The win sees Wargrave move 10 points clear of bottom side Reading City U23s.

Thames Valley Division One

HURST lost ground on the top two after suffering just their third defeat of the season.

Shaun Bannon and Jamie Broadley both netted for Hurst, but they were beaten 6-2.

They remain in third position, five points behind second placed AFC Winkfield and trail top of the table Tadley Calleva Reserves by seven points, but have two games in hand on both.

WOODLEY UNITED ROYALS stay rooted to the bottom of the table

after they were edged out by league leaders Tadley Calleva Reserves.

Ryan Rowlands and James Armstrong both scored for the Kestrels, but in a tight contest, they lost out 4-2.

Thames Valley Division Two

BURGHFIELD RESERVES maintained their spot at the top with a win over SB Phoenix Reserves as Lorenzo Medford scored the only goal of the game to give the Fielders three points.

THIS week I would like to pass on my own reminisces of John Motson, the greatly admired football match commentator for the BBC who sadly died last week.

I first met John when as chairman of the Reading Referees Association, I invited him to be our guest speaker.

Perhaps as to be expected the hall was packed with members.

I still recall one comment that he made “referees and television commentators have one thing in common when faced with an incident on the pitch.

We will only have split seconds to make up our mind and sometimes we are going to get it wrong”

John was known for his list of statistics which he researched himself. Mark Lawrenson, who often shared a commentary box with John, said everything had to be 100% correct and he never got it wrong.

Perhaps I am the only person to correct him, although I must admit that it wasn’t his fault.

The original manager of Premier League’s referees, before Mike Riley, but who’s name I forget, told his assistant referees not to flag for offside unless there was day light between the attacking and defending players.

After hearing this John criticised an assistant referee for flagging when only half of an attacker was in front of the second last defender.

I pointed out in my weekly column that the assistant referee was quite correct. The law states a player is in an offside position if any part of his head, body or feet is in the opponent’s half, nearer the opponent’s goal line than the ball and the second last opponent.

A week later I received a phone call from John. I ought to point out that if I criticised anyone in my column about a point of law, I send them a copy as I don’t want anyone thinking I am going behind their back.

John told me that on receiving it he showed his thoroughness by contacting a FIFA referee who told him that I was right.

Some weeks later I got another phone call from John inviting me and my wife to a dinner at Bletchley for a presentation of a medal to a BBC colleague from the FA for fifty years of refereeing.

As he knew I too was a long serving referee he thought I would be interested. But that is another story.

Picture: Gordon Flood

Remembering football legend, John Motson

Kate Stewart and Natalie White scored for the Fawkes, but they lost out 3-2.

Dick Sawdon-Smith

How they rated

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CHAMPIONSHIP

INCE HITS DOUBLE TO BEAT

READING 3

BLACKPOOL 1

Joe Lumley

Made a smart save to keep out Gary Madine at the end of the first half. Was visibly disappointed to lose the clean sheet.

Amadou Mbengue

Went about his business diligently. Perhaps fortunate to stay on the pitch after a poorly-timed challenge in the second half.

Scott Dann

A competent display from the defender who was rarely troubled. Contained Madine and Carey for most of the game.

Naby Sarr

No frills in what was an assured performance, barring a couple of moments of uncertainty.

Commanded the back four well.

Tom McIntyre

Struggled to handle the threat offered by Josh Bowler early on but grew into the game. Did well in the left-back role.

Jeff Hendrick

Did the simple things really well throughout the afternoon, giving Casadei and Ince the licence to get forward.

Cesare Casadei

Really positive showing from the Chelsea loanee. Kept things tidy in midfield and made some useful runs into the box.

Tom Ince

Snatched his eighth and ninth goals of the season against his former side. A fantastic performance from the midfielder.

Junior Hoilett

Did not have as much joy in the left wing position as he would have liked. Was replaced on the hour mark by Femi Azeez.

Yakou Meite

Phenomenal down Reading’s right. Skipped past his marker time and again, winning the penalty and setting up Ince’s second.

Andy Carroll

Another great showing from the stand-in skipper. Slotted home his penalty with aplomb.

SUBS

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

READING FC continued to flourish at home as a brace from Tom Ince either side of Andy Carroll’s penalty gave the Royals three points against Blackpool.

Ince put the Royals in front after 12 minutes after his shot took a deflection on its way in.

They then struck quickly with two goals in two minutes as Andy Carroll slotted in from the penalty spot before Ince grabbed his second to put the game beyond Blackpool.

6 9

7 7 8

8 7

The Tangerines notched a consolation goal deep into stoppage time to prevent Reading from keeping a clean sheet.

The win moves Reading up to 14th in the Championship table, 13 points clear of the drop zone.

Paul Ince made four switches from Reading’s late defeat at Cardiff City last Friday night.

A new-look midfield saw Jeff Hendrick return from illness, while Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei was handed his second start since joining in January.

Yakou Meite was given a start up top to partner Andy Carroll, while Tom Ince returned to the line-up having missed out at Cardiff through fatigue.

The Royals boss set his side up with a four-at-the-back system opposed to the usual formation of deploying five in the back line.

The hosts won a couple of early corners but were unable to make anything of it.

Naby Sarr then went close for the Royals when he latched on to

REACTION

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokingham.today

GAFFER Paul Ince said there were lots of pleasing aspects after the Royals’ comfortable 3-1 win over Blackpool.

A double from Tom Ince and a successful penalty from Andy Carroll lifted Reading up to 14th, 13 points clear of the relegation zone.

“There was a lot (to be pleased about),” said Ince.

“The way we passed the ball and the chances we created.

“I still feel we start games pretty slow sometimes and Blackpool had a good chance before we clicked into our play so we could have been 1-0 down.

Match stats

READING: Lumley, Mbengue, Sarr, Dann, McIntyre, Hoilett, Hendrick, Casadei, Ince, Meite, Carroll SUBS: Bouzanis, Abbey, Guinness-Walker, Fornah, Loum, Azeez, Long

BLACKPOOL: Maxwell, Lyons, Nelson, Thorniley, Husband, Garbutt, Carey, Connolly, Bowler, Madine, Lavery SUBS: Grimshaw, Gabriel, Dougall, Hamilton, Rogers, Poveda, Patino

GOALS: Ince 12’, 72’, Carroll 70’ (pen), Carey 90+4’

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Tom Ince

“Our home form is one of the best in the league. That’s not bad for a misfit team.

“The only disappointing thing is in the first half we didn’t kill off the game, we should have been two or 3-0 up.

“We then defended deep and couldn’t get the ball, but we never looked like we were really under any pressure.

“With the second goal I could breathe and start looking forward to Middlesbrough.”

Ince picked out the performances of Yakou Meite, Tom Ince and Cesare Casadei who contributed greatly to the victory.

He continued: “Yak was outstanding. You can see he enjoyed that position.

Ince’s free-kick and headed just over the target.

Having missed the creative spark that Tom Ince provides that the side dearly missed last week, it took just 13 minutes for Reading’s star man to make his impact.

After drifting into the box and working the ball onto his right foot, Ince drove a low shot goalwards that took a deflection off a defender to defy Chris Maxwell and find the net to put the Royals in front.

There was reluctance from Ince

“He flies past people and was back to his best.

“I was really pleased with him because he hasn’t played for three or four weeks.

“In a 4-3-3 you have to get back and defend and he did that very well.

“If you give him a one on one, he can cause so many problems.

“I was pleased with Ches (Cesare Casadei). When you come from Italy the tempo of football is a lot different to Championship football.

to celebrate having netted against his former side who he played for more than 100 times during a threeyear spell.

The home team went in search of a second goal when Ince tried to pick out Carroll in the middle with a cross that just evaded the forward. A burst down the right from Yakou Meite should have led to Reading’s second, but the Ivorian was unable to pick out a teammate with his cut back that was swept away by Mick McCarthy’s side.

“He’s had a couple of weeks of training to get into that tempo and you saw he was getting there.

“I wish was our player, but he’s got to go back to Chelsea.

“He did really well and will get better.

“His (Tom Ince’s) influence was immense. We all appreciate him.

“He’s capable of scoring goals, he’s a goalscorer.

“What he’s added now is work rate. He moans a lot but he’s a winner.

“He wasn’t happy because I took him off, he wanted to get a hat-trick.”

Reading celebrate Ince’s opener

Junior Hoilett on the wing

Ince seals the game with Reading’s third

Yakou Meite lunges to win the ball

The Royals kept up their strong

‘He was outstanding’ Ince praises Meite’s impact

Femi Azeez 6, Shane Long n/a, Mamadou Loum n/a, Nelson Abbey n/a, Tyrese Fornah n/a

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RELEGATION BATTLERS

‘He was incredible’

READING FC forward Andy Carroll praised the individual performances of Yakou Meite and Cesare Casadei in the Royals’ win over Blackpool.

Meite played his part and was a livewire in attack for Reading, while Casadei showed his creative influence in just his second appearance for the club since joining on loan from Chelsea.

“Yakou Meite was brilliant today (Saturday),” said Carroll, who captained the side in their home victory last weekend.

“Cesare Casadei was brilliant, I thought he was fantastic in midfield.

“Cesare was everywhere, he was defending, attacking and all sorts. Same with Yakou, he was incredible.

“All the lads were great, we all grafted and everyone played their part.

“All the lads are dancing around happy in the dressing room, that’s what we’ve got as a team in the dressing room.

“When we’ve played poorly we know and we put it right.”

Carroll expressed his delight to take the captain’s armband in Andy Yiadom’s absence, but is looking forward to the club captain returning to the team this weekend.

He continued: “We’ve got some really good players and we’re still missing some of the lads too.

“Andy Yiadom is one of those and of course I’ve been really happy to take the armband for a couple of games and take that responsibility, that’s no problem, but we’ve got a club captain ready to come back next weekend at Middlesbrough.

Carroll did excellently to bring down a crossfield ball from Amadou Mbengue on his chest, but couldn’t find a finish to match as he smacked a half volley over the top.

The Tangerines had the final chance of the half to try and get into the break level when Gary Madine got the ball under control in the box and forced a late corner after his shot was deflected behind after narrowly missing the far post.

Tricky winger Josh Bowler continued to cause problems throughout the second-half and won his side a free-kick on the right after skipping past Casadei attempted challenge.

PREVIEW

With plenty of Blackpool players waiting in the box for a delivery, Luke Garbutt wasted the opportunity with his effort falling into the grateful arms of Joe Lumley.

The visitors established control to get on the front foot in the early proceedings of the second-half as Reading struggled for possession.

Reading broke at pace through Meite who sprinted down on goal and with two defenders in pursuit of the Ivorian, he was tripped in the box, leading the referee no choice but to point to the penalty spot.

Carroll stepped up and confidently stroked the ball into the

bottom right corner to double the lead.

Just minutes later, the game was all but done when Blackpool’s clearance from Meite’s cut back fell into the path of Ince who slotted into the net to give the hosts a commanding lead.

With the win wrapped up, Reading made a triple change with 10 left to play as Shane Long, Nelson Abbey and Mamadou Loum replaced Casadei, Mbengue and Meite.

The visitors scored with virtually the final kick of the game to prevent the Royals from keeping a clean sheet.

ROYALS FACE AWAY TRIP TO PROMOTION CHALLENGERS

READING FC face a tough test on the road to try and amend their away troubles against promotion pushing Middlesbrough.

Paul Ince’s men have boasted a stellar home record this season, with the fourth best in the division, but are at the other end of the scale on their travels.

Reading have won just three away matches from 17 attempts which means they have the second worst away record in the league.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s opponents have been consistent both home and away and are pushing to win promotion

to the Premier League.

Boro started the season with Chris Wilder at the helm, but he was sacked in October with the club sitting in the relegation places after 11 matches.

It has been a dramatic turnaround on Teeside since then as they have flown up the Championship table under Michael Carrick.

After being appointed in his first managerial position, the former Manchester United midfielder has captured the attention of many by transforming the fortunes of the side.

Despite suffering defeat to West Brom last weekend, which brought an end to a run of five successive wins, Boro are knocking on the door of the automatic promotion places.

After 34 matches, Middlesbrough are on 57 points which puts them seven behind second placed Sheffield United.

Boro’s form has been in part thanks to striker Chuba Akpom who is the league’s top scorer.

Akpom has netted 19 goals in 27 matches and seems to have found his feet in the Championship after his loan

spell in Greece last campaign.

In the reverse fixture, it was the Royals who went away with all three points when the team’s met in August at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Tyrese Fornah’s 28th minute strike proved to be the only goal of the game to help Reading continue their superb start to the season.

Reading’s last trip to Boro, in January 2022, ended in defeat.

Andy Carroll had given Reading the lead, but Matt Crooks broke Reading hearts with an 84th minute equaliser before he netted a dramatic 95th minute winner.

“I say it all the time - it’s a tough league. It doesn’t matter if you’re playing the top team or the bottom team, it’s going to be a difficult game.

“We’ve just got to play like we did against Blackpool and give 100%, not fall into the trap of thinking we’ve won a game and can relax.

“We’re going into the next game to win and the one after that again. That’s what we need to have in this team.”

Royals striker Andy Carroll Picture: Luke Adams

home form Pictures: Steve Smyth and Luke Adams

Cesare Casadei impressed

McIntyre Carroll scores from the spot

Jeff Hendrick

Femi Azeez holds off his marker

Carroll hits the bottom corner

Joe Lumley watches a shot go wide of the mark

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WESTMINSTER 75-96 ROCKETS

ROCKETS STAY FOURTH WITH AWAY WIN

By STAFF WRITER sport@wokingham.today

READING ROCKETS ensured they kept their season on track with an away win at Westminster Warriors.

With a late tip-off due to a facility issue coupled to a game the evening before, the Rockets weren’t disrupted due to their meticulous preparation, they took off with a pair of steals which Jordan Jackson finished with a dunk and lay-up sandwiched with a big rejection of Warriors first offense.

The hosts responded but the mercurial Jermiah Jenkins sent an assist to Reis Pinnock to score with a reverse lay-up before he himself rejected another Warriors effort.

A brace of trebles by Jenkins and Zack Powell couped to strong defence saw Rockets enjoy a 28-13 first quarter lead.

Warriors struck first in the second period with eight quick points to just four from Rockets but Finleigh Porter spun twice to score before Jenkins gave an assist to Jackson prior to a superb bounce pass from Pinnock to Ben Dixon to finish and see Rockets retain their double digit advantage at 38-27.

Troy Cracknell finished a great three man play drawing a foul as he finished, so making it a threepoint play but this was bettered moments later with a Rockets five man play finished with a treble for wide out

by captain Dixon.

Rockets lit up this latter part of the second quarter with some scintillating basketball as Pinnock went coast to coast , Jenkins spun away form his opponent , drove and finished well as Rockets headed to the interval 52-35 ahead.

Again Warriors scored first but a Cracknell buzzer beating spin score hurt the hosts before a pair of great floor recoveries kept the ball in play for Dixon to hit another treble.

Though Warriors hit three

trebles in this third period Rockets play remained fast and pleasant to watch as they maintained a 15-18 lead and despite a buzzer beating floater form Pinnock found themselves just 70-56 ahead as the final stanza approached.

Warriors were arguing amongst themselves, even the coaches so having received one technical call and exchanges between the Coach and Assistant the Head Coach left the arena. Moments later the Assistant got his second technical

TABLE TENNIS PREVIEW

KINGFISHER MOVE CLOSER TO CAPTURING LEAGUE TITLE

By NIGEL MALTBY sport@wokingham.today

KINGFISHER A now need just a few more points to confirm their title defence as they breezed past bottom club READING FC 10-0.

Mike Childs came close to upsetting Ross Saxby as he spurned a couple of match points going down 11-6 11-7 8-11 16-18 3-11.

Second met third when

OUR LADY OF PEACE A hosted KINGFISHER D but it was the visitors who came out on top in a fantastic tussle. Both Ryan Chung and Graham Mendick overcame Ian Cole, Justin Mead and Mo Cook to seal the 4-6 result.

Elsewhere Young Theo Kniep helped Kingfisher B to a 6-4 victory over two-player

SONNING COMMON & PEPPARD

A team including a comingof-age performance over Neil Hurford 11-5 11-5 11-8.

Another Prayrit Ahluwalia

maximum, including the scalp of Ed Lush, could not stop a 4-6 defeat for struggling KINGFISHER C at Sonning Common & Peppard B, while Dave Croucher’s triple saw SONNING SPORTS A through with another 6-4 win, this time over TILEHURST RBL A

In the SC&P local derby league leaders SONNING COMMON & PEPPARD D consolidated their position at the top of the division two table with a 7-3 win over SONNING COMMON & PEPPARD C with Danny Dockree getting his customary maximum, alongside Jon Abbott.

The tightest set of the night was the D team’s Jonathan Abbott just edging out Nigel Maltby in four very close games 6-11 14-12 15-13 12-10.

TIDMARSH B moved up to second place in the division with an 8-2 win over relegation threatened OUR LADY OF PEACE C with Dale Ballard getting a very good maximum.

The highlight set was OLOP’s Sanket Dave recovering from two games down to beat Francois Durand in five.

KINGFISHER G jumped up into third place and into the promotion battle with a comprehensive 9-1 win over a weakened TILEHURST METHODISTS A team with Satej Jaywant and Savva Chistodoulou getting maximums for the Kingfisher side.

Tilehurst’s Bill Stamatiou had a good comeback win in five against Kingfisher captain Andrew Adair. In a mid-table clash TILEHURST RBL B beat OUR LADY OF PEACE B 6-4.

The highlight set was Tilehurst’s Nick Lean overcoming the difficult to beat Darak Kaminski 11-9 in the fifth after losing the fourth 14-16 from a commanding winning position. OLOP’s Dave Godfrey had a good comeback win against John Willcocks winning 11-8 in the fifth having lost the first two games.

foul was forced to leave the arena too. Rockets stayed calm as Head Coach Samit Nurzade played his full roster with the academy young men not only scoring but seeing Rockets to a 96-75 victory keeping Rockets in fourth place in the league.

Top scorers for Rockets were Troy Cracknell with 22 points, Jermiah Jenkins with 21 points and Reis Pinnock with 17 points.

ROYALS HOST HAMMERS IN RELEGATION FIGHT

READING FC WOMEN will be looking to ease their relegation fears in the Women’s Super League when they host West Ham United on Sunday.

The Royals returned from the latest international break with a spring in their step after making it through to the FA Cup quarterfinals with a penalty shootout success away at Tottenham Hotspur.

Kelly Chambers will be hoping her side can now take that momentum into the league where they face a tense relegation battle to try and preserve their top flight status.

Reading go into Sunday’s match just one point above the drop zone, ahead of Leicester City having played one game more.

Sunday’s visitors to the SCL have managed to avoid getting dragged into the relegation battle having won five of their 13 WSL games.

The teams have already met once this season in the league in October as the Irons collected three points.

In a disastrous first-half for the Royals, West Ham stormed into a three-goal lead with goals from Dagny Brynjarsdottir and a double from Viviane Asseyi.

Reading came out after half-time with a renewed vigour and spirit and clawed back two goals, firstly from Charlie Wellings before Sanne Troeslgaard scored from the penalty spot with eight minutes to go.

But Reading were unable to complete the turnaround to claim a point.

RESULTS

Saturday, February 25

FOOTBALL Championship

Reading 3-1 Blackpool

Southern League Premier South

Bracknell Town 0-2 Poole Town

Isthmian South Central Binfield 1-2 Westfield

Combined Counties Premier North

Ascot United 1-0 Sumas

Reading City 1-0 Oxhey Jets

Combined Counties Division One

Eversley & California 3-0 CB

Hounslow United

Molesey 3-2 Woodley United Westside 2-1 Berks County

Thames Valley Premier League SB Phoenix 3-0 Reading City U23s

Wargrave 4-1 Finchampstead

Yateley United 4-3 Burghfield

RUGBY UNION

National League One Birmingham Moseley 21-24 Rams

HOCKEY

Men’s National Premier Division

Holcombe 6-0 Reading

Women’s National Premier Division

Reading v Uni of Nottingham

Sunday, February 26

FOOTBALL

Women’s FA Cup

Tottenham 0-0 Reading (4-5 on pens)

Southern Region Women’s Division One North

Eversley & California 3-1 Kidlington Youth

Thames Valley Women’s League Cup

Ascot United Reserves 0-2

TIlehurst Panthers

Larkspur Rovers 3-6 Wargrave

Denham United 1-3 Eversley & California Reserves

Thames Valley Women’s Division Two

Stonesfield 3-2 S4K Berks County

Thames Valley Women’s Plate

Caversham AFC 1-1 Ruislip Rangers (4-2 pens)

Launton 1-1 Burghfield (2-4 pens)

Tower Hill 1-3 Shinfield Rangers

Thames Valley Women’s Division 3S

Yateley United 4-2 Hawley

Thames Valley Women’s Development Division

Burghfield Reserves 1-2 Stanford in the Vale

FIXTURES

Saturday, March 4 FOOTBALL Championship

Middlesbrough v Reading

Southern League Premier South

North Leigh v Bracknell Town

Isthmian South Central Sutton Rovers v Binfield

Combined Counties Premier North

Ascot United v Edgware & Kingsbury

Reading City v Spelthorne Sports Sumas v Wembley

Combined Counties Division One Berks County v CB Hounslow United

Bedfont v Woodley United Spartans Youth v Eversley & California

Thames Valley Premier League

Reading City U23s v Burghfield Reading YMCA v Wraysbury Village

Westwood Wanderers v Wargrave

RUGBY UNION

National League One Rams v Leeds Tykes

South West Regional 2 Reading v Witney

HOCKEY

South Central Men’s Premier 2 South Berkshire v Wycombe

South Central Women’s North Division 2 Staines v South Berkshire

Sunday, March 5

FOOTBALL

Women’s Super League Reading v West Ham

HOCKEY

Men’s National Premier League Reading v Surbiton

Women’s National Premier League UOB v Reading

Southern Region Women’s Premier Winchester City Flyers v Ascot United

Southern Region Women’s Division One North Kidlington Youth v Woodley United Milton United v Eversley & California

Thames Valley Women’s Division One New Bradwell v Tilehurst Panthers

Wargrave v Ascot United Reserves

Thames Valley Women’s Division Two

S4K Berks County v Goring United

Thames Valley Women’s Division 3S Burghfield v Hillingdon Abbots

Ben Dixon of Reading Rockets

Jordan Jackson of Reading Rockets

Troy Cracknell of Reading Rockets. Westminster Warriors VS Reading Rockets in NBL action.

Jermiah Jenkins moves forward for Rockets