The Wokingham Paper, April 9, 2020

COVERING WOKINGHAM, FINCHAMPSTEAD, EARLEY, WINNERSH, SHINFIELD, WOODLEY, TWYFORD & SURROUNDING AREAS

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WOKINGHAM.TODAY

Thursday, April 9, 2020 No. 256

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SUE RYDER CENTRE UNDER THREAT P5

Police still tackling domestic abuse calls

By DAISY HANSON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

FOUR-YEAR-OLD’S HEART SURGERY P18

THAMES VALLEY POLICE has affirmed its commitment to tackling domestic abuse during the coronavirus pandemic.

Officers are able to provide help and support round the clock, seven days a week.

The police’s call comes as local charities including Berkshire Women’s Aid report record numbers of pleas for help as relationships are strained during the enforced shutdown.

Officers say that anyone at risk as a result of abuse in the home, they should call 999. If they can’t speak at the time of making the call, they should add 55 to the call. This is called the Silent Solution, and the call taker will sensitively manage the police response.

While government advice is to stay at home, anyone who is at risk of, or experiencing, domestic abuse, is still able to leave and seek refuge.

Detective Superintendent Rebecca Mears, Thames Valley Police’s head of public protection, said: “You are likely to be feeling more alone than ever right now, but be assured that Thames Valley Police and all local agencies are extremely conscious of this and have put plans in place to support you.

“Reach out, whether it be to the police or another agency that is right for you. We can help you.

“Families, friends, colleagues and neighbours are also encouraged to be vigilant and call the police if they believe domestic abuse is affecting the lives of their loved ones or of their neighbours.”

Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said “I would like to assure victims that support through Victims First and other contracted service providers is available for those that need it.” � The local response: Page 4

DIY PPE

To help staff at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, teachers at schools across Berkshire have been making protective face masks to a kit designed by Leighton Park school – find out how on page 6 Pictures: Leighton Park

HOW YOU CAN HELP HEROES Council calls for donations of masks, gloves and aprons for its frontline staff

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

AN URGENT appeal for residents to donate face masks and other vital protective equipment has been launched

by Wokingham Borough Council.

Its social workers, care home staff and key workers get through 27,400 disposable aprons and the same number of gloves every week.

They also use 9,000 masks and 1,300 clinical waste bags as they care for some the Wokingham’s most vulnerable citizens.

But supplies are running low – the council has around a month’s supply left – so before a crisis can be made out of a drama, they have asked for a helping hand.

The council says that, as a result of the coronavirus and pressures on NHS staff, supplies are not coming from Government as they should.

It is appealing to any business that has appropriate PPE equipment or can supply it, to get in touch.

The most urgent need is face masks, but the list also includes aprons,

goggles, hand sanitiser and wipes.

Executive member for adult social care Cllr Charles Margetts said: “The situation is causing concern. We have what we need now – and people receiving care from our staff are safe at the moment – but we need more and area appealing for help.

“There is a real risk to life if frontline workers don’t have the protective clothing and equipment they need – so it is vital that we hear from anybody who can help.” � Continued on page 6

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WHAT WE’RE DOIN THE CORONAVIRUS Helping the voluntary sector to meet the community’s needs Community and voluntary groups and all the volunteers across the borough are doing a fantastic job.

Wokingham Borough Community Response is a partnership of community and voluntary sector organisations with town and parish councils and the borough council.

Via the single point of contact through Citizen Advice Wokingham, the community response team have been contacted by more than 600 people seeking help or advice and has delivered more than 600 food parcels and collected and delivered more than 80 prescriptions.

The borough council is supporting this effort in a genuine partnership

with the community and voluntary sector to meet our communities’ needs Jake Morrison, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Wokingham said: “It has been such a great experience working with Wokingham Borough Council to provide this community response.

“I’m really pleased at how quickly we’ve been able to mobilise and get all the organisations round the table to respond to this crisis, and that is in large part due to the quick response of the council.

“If you look around the country, other councils are a good step or two behind us. It’s amazing what we can do when we all pull together!”

Meeting the huge challenges in adult and children’s social care Our social care teams provide vital support to older people, those with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and mental health issues.

Children’s services also protects children at risk or abuse or neglect. These needs are increasing during crisis.

What we are doing: � Welfare checks by phone – more than 4,000 vulnerable adults are being contacted.

More than 200 identified as particularly vulnerable and have a named worker who is in regular contact. Many others then passed on to the LINK befriending service for additional contact.

� Regularly calling about 160 care providers to offer support where we can. We are helping them financially to ensure vital services continue � Helping the NHS through swift discharges from hospital – we are now providing sevendays-a-week hospital discharge despite losing staff ourselves � Providing ongoing adult social care support to about 1,850 people � Children’s services are keeping in contact with about 1,600 families to ensure they have the support they need and making sure young carers are provided ongoing help and support.

Moving staff to where they are most needed As some services temporarily close or reduce we are making sure staff affected are moving into the most vital areas.

So far more than 40 staff have been redeployed to areas such as: � Working with the Wokingham Borough

Community Response, including at the Community Distribution Hub � Joining our customer contact teams to make sure residents queries and being answered � Helping adult social care make contacts with vulnerable people

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G DURING CRISIS

What YOU can do � Help your friends, neighbours and families. Please find out who in your community needs support and help. It may be to do shopping, collect medicine or other essentials. � If you or somebody you know needs more help contact the Wokingham Borough Community Response via Citizens Advice Wokingham’s website or by calling 0300 330 1189 (entering 0118 978 7258 if prompted).

Phone lines will be staffed Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm � If you need a Wokingham Borough Council service, please contact us online if you can - visit the website, use contact forms or email if you can.

Only call us if you have to. � Stay home and stay safe: please keep social distancing and, if you need to, self-isolating.

Keeping other essential services going We’ve moved as many of our services online as we can and are adapting to make sure we can provide the vital services people need: we are still here for you. � You can still contact us via our Contact Us form on the website at www.wokingham.gov.uk and we are responding to emails (there may be a delay but we are getting through them) � Our recycling and waste collection services are still running, including food recycling and garden waste (although to relieve pressure on this service we are asking people to compost garden waste or share a neighbours bin if they can)

� Our highways contractors are carrying out essential work to keep the roads safe and open � Our Public Protection Partnership (shared service with West Berkshire and Bracknell) is supporting the police to ensure businesses that should not be open are not and investigating scams seeking to take advantage of this crisis. � Although we have had to close libraries (and most staff have been redeployed) we are offering online services such as library membership, increasing the

number of e-books available, masking material to help people with mental health issues available and running children events virtually and uploading home workouts on our Facebook page � Our team are still out dealing with anti-social behaviour issues such as fly-tipping and have put more CCTV at potential hotpots � We are also supporting local businesses through the Government’s grant scheme and business rate relief.

To date more than £2million in grants has gone to businesses in the borough

To get help, call 0300 330 1189

Enter 0118 978 7258 if prompted

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HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US Due to the coronavirus, our offices are closed to the public. The best way to contact us is by emailing us Newsroom: 0118 327 2662 Advertising: 0118 327 2662 Write to: The Wokingham Paper, Crown House, 231 Kings Road, Reading RG1 4LS

Email: news@wokinghampaper.co.uk Editor • Phil Creighton Reporter • Jess Warren Sports reporter • Andy Preston

From the editor Once again, your Wokingham Paper appears in a reduced form again as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

With no sport or arts events taking place, we have reduced pagination accordingly, and thank you for your understanding during this time.

We thank also our advertisers who are sticking with us through these strange and difficult days.

We are making every effort to ensure that your favourite local newspaper is available to you in printed form throughout the lockdown situation – you will be able to buy The Wokingham Paper from all good supermarkets, newsagents and petrol stations as normal.

There is also a digital version of the paper, which will be available on Friday evenings.

And our website is updated seven days a week, visit Wokingham.Today.

At times like this, it is important that the community has a local voice and we are proud to be yours. The best way for you to support us is to buy a copy each week.

Thank you for your support.

Correction Regarding: Our report on drug abuse in youth, published in last week’s Wokingham Paper, quoted Cllr Margetts as saying: “The statistics are now calculated differently, which means the increase is greater than the reality.” For clarity, Cllr Margetts said: “The statistics are now calculated differently meaning it looks like the increase is greater than the reality.” Cllr Margetts did not say the increase is more than 95%.

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WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

Calls to abuse helpline rise as strains of self-isolation shows

By DAISY HANSON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

ABUSE helplines are reporting growing numbers of calls as relationships suffer under the strains of long-term social isolation – but they want people to know that help is available if they need it.

As the country locks its doors in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus, some people are at an increased risk due to vital government measures.

Berkshire Women’s Aid, a charity that provides accommodation and support for victims and survivors of abuse, says it received a week’s worth of calls in one day from people seeking help.

The organisation’s Wokingham shelter is full, and its accommodation in Reading is likely to reach capacity in a few days, said chief executive Andrea West.

Kaleidoscopic UK, a Wokinghambased charity that aims to break the cycles of domestic abuse, has

Questions to ask if unsure about a relationship: � Do you walk on eggshells? � Do you change your behaviour around them? � Are you scared to say no or upset them? � Are they jealous or possessive? � Do they not like you having friends? � Are they stopping family contact? � Do you feel isolated or alone? � Do they make fun of you? � Do they make you unsure of your own judgement, or make you think you’re crazy? � Do they tell you what to wear? � Do they monitor your social media? � Is nothing ever their fault? � Do they throw in the odd reward, such as family time or a takeaway, for good behaviour? � Do you fear them coming home? Does the sound of their car pulling up make you dash around the house to make sure they don’t find a problem? � Do they constantly message you, and do you fear to leave them unanswered? � Do they always lie? Can they sometimes not even remember their lies? � If you have left that relationship, do you find yourself missing them, despite how awful they were?

Kaleidoscopic UK says one of these things may not equate to an abusive relationship, but these behavioural signs can add up to one.

seen a 40% rise in case referrals.

Founder Vickie Robertson said: “Covid-19 is not the cause of the increase in abuse, but isolation has given perpetrators more opportunity”.

Ms West agreed, adding: “Lockdown means that many people have lost their safe spaces and have fewer opportunities to reach out.

“There is an enormous pressure on people now, but they should realise that they are not on their own, and there is help.”

Ms Robertson explained that domestic abuse statistics are at an all-time high.

She said: “So now – more than ever – it is vital to educate ourselves on how to spot signs of abuse”.

Abuse does not have to be physical; it can include monetary control, emotional manipulation and gaslighting, and can involve children and pets in the violence.

She added: “Abuse is incredibly hard to see because you’re living it – it’s extremely subtle sometimes”.

Isolation is now the norm, so spotting signs of abuse in your loved ones is harder to do.

Ms Robertson said: “Abusers often go for strong people for the challenge of breaking them down, so your loved one might be putting on a brave face”.

She said some telltale red-flags of abuse in the victim are acting and dressing differently, a shift in demeanour or withdrawing from others.

To discern whether someone is a perpetrator, she said some clues can

reveal a pattern of abuse; behaviour change, always being around their partner when speaking to friends, and inappropriate jokes or putting their partner down.

Both charities recommend setting up a code-word with a trusted person, so if there is danger they know to send the help that is needed.

Ms Robertson also suggested packing a bag with essentials, such as toys for children and cash, and leaving it with someone that would keep it safe.

If you, or a loved one, is in an abusive relationship, contact Berkshire Women’s Aid on their 24/7 helpline: 0118 950 4003, email helpline@bwaid.org.uk, or over Facebook messenger.

Alternatively, contact Kaleidoscopic UK by email kaleidoscopicuk@gmail.com, use the referral form on their website www.kaleidoscopic.uk/contact/, or use Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter direct messages.

The organisations stressed the importance of reaching out in the safest possible way.

For more information, visit: www.berkshirewomensaid.org.uk, www.kaleidoscopic.uk, or ring the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247.

Charity organisations remain fully operational, and the police will answer emergency calls despite lockdown.

If your life, or that of a loved one is in danger, dial 999. If you cannot speak, add 55 after. The emergency services will trace the call.

In a non-emergency, people can: � Call 101 or make a report on the Thames Valley Police website � Call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 � Contact Women’s Aid via: www.womensaid.org.uk � Call the Men’s Advice Line: 0808 8010327 � Call Mankind, a helpline for male victims: 01823 334244 � Call Galop, for members of the LGBT+ community: 0800 999 5428 � Contact Victims First via: www.victims-first.org.uk � Call Flag DV for free legal advice for Domestic Abuse: 0800 731 0055 � Call SAFE! For victims of crime aged 5 – 18: 0800 1337938

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Time capsule to move to new location 28-years after burial

Day Hospice under threat of closure

EXCLUSIVE

A CHARITY that offers palliative and day therapy care says it could be forced to shut down its services due to a £12 million funding gap, after its usual fundraising activities have been put on hold due to the coronavirus.

Sue Ryder, which runs services at Wokingham Day Hospice and the Palliative Care Hub Berkshire in Newbury, says the emergency appeal aims to save to save its end of life services.

It says that statutory funding only covered approximately one third of the costs involved in running the charity’s end of life care.

The charity raised the rest from fundraising events and income from its 450 shops nationwide.

But events are now cancelled and shops are closed – leaving it with a £12 million funding gap over the next three months.

Sue Ryder warns that without immediate financial support, the critical end of life care that it provides to thousands of families each year will cease and it would be forced to close its hospices and hospice at home services across the country.

The funding shortfall comes at a time when the NHS is relying on Sue Ryder to support them in caring for thousands of families as part of the fight against Covid-19.

The charity continues to plead with the Government for emergency funding, but in desperation has now turned to the public in a bid to save its hospices.

Heidi Travis, Chief Executive at Sue Ryder, said: “We have been calling on the Government to support us but no funding has materialised.

“The country will lose its hospices at a time when they are needed most.

“This is a plea and no less, we cannot wait any longer.

“Our doctors and nurses are working night and day to provide end of life care to more people now and in the coming weeks, than ever before.

“We are a critical front-line support service in the fight against Coronavirus yet we are on the brink of closure.

“We are all facing something we have never faced before and we are asking the public to give whatever you can afford to help us to help those who need it most.”

To make a donation, log on to www.sueryder.org/donate

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

WHEN the new Carnival Pool opens in two years’ time, it will have buried in it a touch of the past.

Cllr Michael Firmager, deputy executive member for environment and leisure, said: “The time capsule, which is positioned in the wall of the current dance studio, was intended to be opened in 2092.

However as you know, we have ambitious plans to transform the area to feature a new larger leisure centre and library. Work will start this summer.

“Before the centre is demolished, we will remove the time capsule safely as it’s full of nostalgic memorabilia from the 1990s.

“We’re planning to either relocate it on site or rehome the contents in a new time capsule, as well as some exciting initiatives to mark the new era.

“We’re delighted Sue has come forward with her story about winning the competition.”

Sue English was presented with a £100 cheque as part of the Time Capsule prize (circle).

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Back in 1992, when the new centre opened, Wokingham District Council (as it then was) held a competition with our predecessor, The Wokingham Times.

Readers were asked to compile a list of items to go into a time capsule to join a copy of the Wokingham Times and a list of names of people who were involved in the rebuild project.

The contest was open to individuals or groups

by November 14, 1992.

There wasn’t much time for Sue English and her family: the topping out ceremony was held on Friday, November 27, 1992.

Sue recalled: “They put in stamps, newspapers, coins, photos of our family at the time and a cassette tape recording of our family – us and our then two children – all talking about the potential future.

“It was quite a while ago.”

The family won £100 for their troubles, as well as a place in Wokingham’s history books.

And they recorded a cassette tape of themselves talking about life in Wokingham.

“At the time, I was entering lots of competitions,” Sue recalled. “We used to get three papers through the door every five minutes back then.

I entered every contest I liked the look of, and every now and then I would win something.

“They said I won because it was the most reasonable (list of ideas for the capsule’s contents). Other people wanted to do videos of themselves.”

Ironically, Sue admits that she had been one of the people campaigning against the closure of the Martin’s Pool.

“It was such a lovely facility for the children,” she recalls.

While Sue had never forgotten about her brush with fame, she was worried some people had.

“A few years back they changed the entrance to the pool and I enquired about the whereabouts of the capsule as it had been behind a brick in there,” she said, adding that staff at the centre didn’t know and she should contact the council.

But thankfully the council hadn’t forgotten and the capsule, which is not due to be opened for another 72 years, will take pride of place in the new Carnival leisure centre.

The existing pool, which is currently closed due to coronavirus, but expected to close for good this summer, is to be replaced with a new leisure centre which will include a library and a performance space.

“I’m relieved,” Sue said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the new capsule in place.”

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CORONAVIRUS LATEST CORONAVIRUS LATEST Resident launches PPE crowdfunder

Schools make safety gear for RBH

EXCLUSIVE

By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokinghampaper.co.uk

AFTER hearing about the national lack of personal protective equipment for NHS staff, an Earley resident launched a crowdfunding campaign to help.

Akhil Gupta — who is friends with a doctor at Royal Berkshire Hospital — launched the campaign seven days ago, to help address the PPE shortage.

He said: “My friend, who is a GP in the A&E Department of Royal Berks, said his team doesn't have enough of the correct equipment.

“Everyday in the news I was hearing about how the NHS is underfunded, and there isn’t enough PPE. “So I decided to source PPE from private sellers, to buy them for the NHS.” Mr Gupta is buying the equipment from nonNHS suppliers and privately held sources, including eBay sellers so that his crowdfunder does not disrupt NHS supply routes.

But the equipment bears a higher price this way.

“The respiratory masks are so expensive,” he said. “On the private market they cost £20 each — and they’re disposable so they only get worn once. So I’ve just spent £600 on 30 masks.”

Since its launch, the crowdfunder raised £1,130 in donations.

With this, Mr Gupta has bought 2900 disposable gloves, 2500 disposable overshoe covers, 50 safety glasses and 10 protective hoods.

He added: “To ensure that the items meet the strict NHS standards, I have been following the guidance of my friend, before purchase.

“The people in this community are so generous, one anonymous person even donated £500.”

Mr Gupta hopes to continue raising money for PPE for the staff at Royal Berkshire Hospital for as long as is needed.

To donate to the crowdfunder, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/rbh-nhscorona

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

IT’S a partnership that fuses the best of Blue Peter with Tomorrow’s World and it’s going to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

Last Thursday, a school teacher started making facemasks for NHS staff using not sticky backed plastic, but clear PVC sheets supplied by a stationery firm.

They are held in place using plastic headbands made to size by a laser cutter. These can be sterilised and reused, while the faceguards can be safely disposed It is the brainchild of Mark Smith, the head of design technology at Shinfield-based school Leighton Park.

Since he started last week, he has been making up packs containing 10 headbands with 100 A4 PVC sheets, which have been donated by the school’s Reading-based stationery suppliers Frasers Office Supplies. It is hoped that each headband can be re-used a minimum of 10 times.

The school said that the original template for the faceshields was created by a company called Kitronik who had a three-piece design for the laser cut element.

This was modified substantially and redesigned by several skilled DT teams in a variety of schools including Leighton Park and Abingdon School to create a two-piece laser cut design which is both quicker to produce and more efficient as it uses less polypropalene.

The original target was to make 200 face shields for the Royal Berkshire Hospital, but it has also supplied six GP surgeries, and two other public facing organisations who care for vulnerable people.

It is now planning on creating 10,000 such kits and has set up a GoFundMe page to pay for additional materials – more than £7,000 has been donated since Friday. The link for donations is bit.ly/LP4NHS The staff team at Leighton Park are now able to create 48 headbands in 90 minutes. The school says that would be a total of 768 headbands over a

24 hour-period and if each headband is used 10 times, it creates almost 8,000 useful faceshields for the NHS per day.

And other schools in the area are keen to help by donating their laser cutting equipment.

Signed up are: � Denefield School, Tilehurst � Prospect School, Reading � Reading Blue Coat, Sonning � Holme Grange. Wokingham � Forest School, Winnersh � Brakenhale School, Bracknell � The Holt School, Wokingham The intention is that Leighton Park will supply materials and the cutting template to other schools and any other organisations who are able to get involved. They will manufacture the headbands on their laser cutters and Leighton Park will collect the machined headbands.

These will then be assembled into packs of 10 bands/100 sheets and distribute to where there is need within the NHS. At this stage Leighton Park has manufactured more than 500 headbands and benefitted the following NHS facilities and organisations for vulnerable people: � Westwood Road Health Centre � Loddon Vale Practice � Melrose Surgery � Parkside Family Practice � Chancellor House Surgery � Royal Berkshire Hospital � Observatory Surgery � Mike Wilson � Gabriel's Angels Elderly Care Home � Keron Voight, Elderly Care � Kennet Surgery Mr Smith said: “Never happy to sit around twiddling our thumbs, (my colleague) Myles and I, ably assisted by various other resident staff, have decided to go into mass production of face shields to help local frontline staff using our laser cutter in DT. “The initial response from nurses at the RBH and local GPs has been absolutely overwhelming – I knew they were struggling, but I had no idea how

desperate they really are for this equipment.

“We had initially set ourselves the challenge of 200 shields, but it has become evident that this will be nowhere near enough, so we have gone into overdrive and plan to make 1,000 pieces.

“We have the equipment, materials and willing helpers to make this happen, but as you can imagine, this target will come at a (financial) price.

“There has been some interest already from parents of our students asking if they can help contribute towards this venture. As a result, I have set up the Go Fund Me page.”

Leighton Park is keen to hear from anyone else who may have a laser cutter and wants to get involved.

To help, email faceshields@leightonpark.com with your

Council appeals for health supply from the public � Continued from front page

Cllr Margetts added: “We are aware we need a continuous supply, and that currently the government requires a higher standard of PPE, and that means a greater use.

“We are not saying that we are running out, we need to build up our stock. The government supply is so stretched, we’re not 100% sure they will be able to cover our needed.

“This is not panic: the appeal is to ensure that we have enough supplies to get us through this point.”

And Cllr Margetts was not blaming the government for the shortage of PPE equipment: “They are trying their best under difficult circumstances.

“And we have to act in the best interests of residents.”

He said that council leader, Cllr John Halsall, had been holding virtual meetings with the borough’s four MPs to impress on them the importance of maintaining the supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s being raised continuously, they are meant to help us at a time like this,” Cllr Margetts said.

He added that anyone could help by sharing any supplies with the council.

“Any quantity, any amount will be gratefully received: the safety of our staff is absolutely imperative.

“Please do get in touch if you can help. You might, quite literally, be saving people’s lives.”

PPE donations list The most urgent need is for face masks, but the full list of essential items is: � Surgical masks IIR (fluid resistant) � FFP3 Mask � FFP2 Mask � Coveralls / Gowns (disposable) � Aprons (disposable) � Gloves (disposable) � Goggles � Hand sanitiser � Clinical Waste Bags � Wipes (Pack) Anybody, businesses or organisations that can help should contact the council by emailing: ppe.appeal@wokingham.gov.uk

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CORONAVIRUS LATEST

workers

Yes, your rainbows How to get help: bring sunshine To access the ‘One Front Door’

contact details.

And the school wants to hear from NHS organisations who need faceshields – email faceshields@leightonpark.com To make a donation to help cover the cost of the materials being used to create the faceshields and support this initiative please do so via the GoFundMe page at bit.ly/LP4NHS

WINDOWS, pavements and walls across the borough are adorned with rainbows created as a thank you to NHS and other keyworkers.

Children have created the colourful displays, often with messages thanking the NHS, as a way of acknowledging the efforts of those on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

And with the pressures on healthcare staff at this time, not least with the lack of PPE equipment, the pictures play an important role in helping the teams know their efforts are not being taken for granted.

Alongside the pretty pictures, many households across the country have been coming out of their homes at 8pm on Thursdays to take part in a round of applause for keyworkers.

And they are being appreciated by the staff.

Steve McManus, Chief Executive of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, said: “When I do my walk around the wards at the hospital, and also our other Trust sites, the staff are all telling me how lovely it is to see so many rainbows as they travel to and from work.

“It is these many little acts of kindness and thoughtfulness that are giving us all a bit of a boost through this very difficult situation.

“I would like to say a really big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to create some fantastic rainbows.

“They are giving us a ray of hope and a show of solidarity for the NHS which is very welcome at the moment.”

service, call Citizen’s Advice on 0300 330 1189 Those calling from a mobile phone should enter if prompted: 0118 978 7258

How to help: � Sign up to volunteer by calling 0118 977 0749 or visiting wokinghamvolunteercentre. rg.uk � Cut out and send the note below to your neighbours

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WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

CORONAVIRUS LATEST

NHS triage data made available to public DATA HAS now been published on the total number triages and online assessments carried out by the NHS which have received a potential Covid-19 final disposition.

The information has been collected from potential Covid19 symptoms reported through NHS Pathways, 111, 999 and online assessments.

The data has been backdated to Wednesday, March 18, and is intended to inform the public and support the health and social care system in planning ahead.

Importantly, this data is based on potential Covid-19 symptoms reported by members of the public, and is not based on the outcomes of tests for coronavirus.

Last week, the BBC reported that the Government had tested 143,186 people for coronavirus since the end of February, the majority of which have been on seriously ill

hospital patients with symptoms of the virus.

To qualify for the SARS-CoV2 test, hospital inpatients must have either clinical or radiological evidence of pneumonia, or acute respiratory distress syndrome, or a fever above 37.8°C and acute onset persistent cough, hoarseness, nasal discharge or congestion, shortness of breath, sore throat, wheezing or sneezing.

Nationally, the data for potential Covid-19 symptoms reported through NHS Pathways and 111 online is 1,740,198.

This can be broken down into 243,547 potential Covid-19 triages and 1,496,651 potential Covid-19 complete online assessments.

In the West Berkshire NHS region – which Wokingham borough is part of – 2,702 triages have received a potential Covid-19 final disposition, and 12,460 online

assessments have reached a potential Covid-19 final disposition.

The data is not a true representation of the population, as it is not a count of people.

Users may have accessed the service multiple times with different symptoms, and via different routes.

However, it is hoped that the online tool will prove useful for the health and social care system to plan and prepare for the months ahead.

The figures are updated every 15 minutes from a live system and the data in the article was correct at the time of writing.

The live data can be viewed by logging on to: https:// digital.nhs.uk/data-andinformation/publications/ statistical/mi-potential-covid19-symptoms-reportedthrough-nhs-pathways-and-111online/latest

Two care centres launched TWO NEW primary care hubs have been set up to help local people showing signs of the coronavirus.

The two hubs have been created to support people who don’t need immediate hospital treatment, but have already gone through a structured medical assessment.

They will be located in the Walk in Centre in Reading’s Broad Street Mall, and a new contained area at Newbury Racecourse’s East entrance.

Anyone starting to show the coronavirus symptoms of a constant cough and, or a high temperature, will still initially be asked to self isolate for seven days and seek advice from NHS 111 online if required.

Patients will then be referred on to their GP practice or one of the hubs where appropriate.

The hubs are due to open this week, and are being organised by health officials from the Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) in partnership with local GPs. It is hoped they will ease the burden on other healthcare facilities, and free up hospital doctors to deal with more urgent coronavirus cases.

The Reading and Wokingham Primary Care Hub at the Walk in Centre will be open every day from 8am to 8pm.

Patients who are registered at the Centre are being temporarily moved to the neighbouring Milman Road surgery.

No walk in care will be available at the Centre at this time.

Cathy Winfield, chief officer for the CCG said: “This virus is placing huge, constant and ever changing demands on our healthcare services both within GP surgeries, and at our local hospitals.

“These hubs will be specifically for patients who have, or are likely to have, coronavirus. They will not be able to cater for the public looking for general medical support.

“The advice to these people is very clear – if you have the constant cough and/or high temperature you must stay at home, keep your distance from other people in the house and contact the 111 online service if you want extra advice.”

For full details on the hubs and how they will operate, visit: www.berkshirewestccg.nhs.uk

Virtual bingo for Me2 Club A WOODLEY charity has been lifting the spirits of teenagers with additional needs by hosting online Bingo sessions.

Me2 Club runs a monthly mobile youth club for young people aged 13-19 but has had to cancel this due to social distancing restrictions. As a way of brightening up their time in isolation, Me2 piloted their first online youth club, to help combat the sense of loneliness being experienced during this challenging period.

Nikki Tee, activities and volunteer coordinator at Me2 Club said: “A lot of our young people get particularly anxious,

this is an uncertain time and many of them struggle with the change of routine. It’s very unsettling for them, we wanted to address that and make things more manageable at such a difficult time.”

For the first session, the group of seven were split into two separate video calls; with young people and several members of staff, allowing everyone more of a chance to talk.

Ms Tee said: “We started the session off with a catch up, getting them to talk about the fun things they’d been doing.

We wanted to put a positive

spin on the group.

“We then played two rounds of Bingo, then at the end had a general catch up, to try and restore some normality. They were able to catch up with their friends and have a laugh.

“It was really successful,” she added. “We asked for their thoughts at the end and it seemed a really positive experience for everyone. They all really enjoyed it and wanted to do another one.”

Staff will host the online sessions fortnightly, and plan to run a pub quiz event next time.

For more information, visit: me2club.org.uk

Hundreds helped by EXCLUSIVE

By ANGELA GARWOOD news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

CHARITIES and organisations across the Borough have been working together with the Wokingham Borough Council to form a multi-agency campaign supporting the community during the Coronavirus crisis.

Over the last two weeks, Citizens Advice have helped more than 700 households through One Front Door, which signposts people in the appropriate direction to get the help they need.

The organisation offers guidance and support on a range of issues from benefit and employment enquiries to food and prescription requests.

Jake Morrison, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We are maintaining relationships with the relevant charities and organisations.

Our most common requests are for food parcels and over a quarter are for prescriptions. We refer people to the distribution hub and the food banks.”

“We want to reiterate that we are a safety net for people who need support. We haven’t reached a peak yet with the Coronavirus. Don’t wait till you’re at crisis point, just give us a call.”

Mr Morrison expressed his gratitude on behalf of Citizens Advice, to everyone who has contributed to the joint response: “We do want to thank everyone, including The Wokingham Paper who has helped share our message. And to the council for coordinating the response. The efforts have been remarkable.”

If you need support, contact Citizens Advice on 0300 330 1189 (entering 0118 978 7258 if prompted) Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm.

Alternatively, visit citizens a d v i c e wo k i n g h a m .o rg .u k / coronavirus/ and complete the online form.

Wokingham Volunteer Centre The Wokingham Volunteer Centre is focusing on helping vulnerable people get their prescriptions from pharmacies.

With approximately 55 volunteers across the borough, the organisation is working hard to ensure clients receive their medication as quickly as possible.

Helena Badger, Volunteer Development Coordinator said: “We are getting busier with prescription requests, we get around 15 a day. We try and make sure volunteers don’t do more than two prescription deliveries a week, especially because there can be two-hour queues at pharmacies.”

The centre is working

together with Wokingham Borough Council and reports that most referrals come from Citizens Advice, with some from the council, The Link Visiting Scheme and others through selfreferral.

Mrs Badger said: “We’re all working well together. We’ve had very positive feedback from clients, who say they are really grateful and from the volunteers, despite the queuing!

They know that they’re making a difference to the community.

“We have a mix of old and new volunteers which is great.

We’re hoping going forward people will think more about volunteering, even when everyone’s back to the rat race, that they’ll be able to spare some time in the week to help out.”

Visit wokinghamvolunteer centre.org.uk for updates on specific roles that are needed.

The Link Visiting Scheme The charity is currently running a telephone buddy system offering social support and friendship over the phone, is encouraging anyone who is feeling lonely to give them a call. The charity is experiencing an increase in calls and will need more telephone volunteers in the coming weeks. (DBS checks are required).

Marjie Walker, manager at Link said: “It has definitely gotten busier this week, across all charities.

“We don’t want anyone to feel alone or like they’ve been forgotten.”

To refer someone for support

or to apply to be a volunteer visit www.linkvisiting.org or call 0118 979 8019 (weekdays from 9am-5pm).

The charity is seeking your help with its new Goody Bags, introduced to help cheer people up.

The Wellbeing Goody Bags are being put together for vulnerable older people and families who seek support during social isolation. You can support your community by putting together a bag of goodies and treats in supermarket ‘bags for life’.

Ms Walker said: “This is a treat for people who are shielded, who cannot go out and might be starting to get fed up.

People can nominate someone to receive a goody bag by visiting our website.”

Donations can be delivered to the Wokingham Borough Community Hub (in the outside bins at St Crispins Leisure Centre Monday-Friday 9am4pm). They will then be safely distributed.

Suggested donations for older people include handwash, hand

Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

CORONAVIRUS LATEST

charities’ efforts

Food distribution hub The Wokingham fooddistribution hub has fed more than 600 people over the last two weeks.

The community hub, based at St Crispins Leisure Centre, London Road, is taking donations of both fresh and non-perishable food, toiletries

and other living essentials and delivering them to people unable to leave their homes.

Staff report they are currently running low on toiletries and laundry detergents, so donations of these would be kindly appreciated.

Emma Cantrell, founder of children’s charity First Days, who is running the hub said: “It’s been very very busy, we’ve got lots of volunteers, we’ve fed over 600 people.

“Waitrose and Morrisons have been really really generous.”

Ms Cantrell added that those that are able can do their bit to help: “Keep looking out for friends and neighbours. We had people last week who needed

our help, but have said this week their neighbours have reached out and taken food for them, which is good.”

Donations can be left in boxes outside St Crispins Leisure Centre, Monday-Friday between 9am and 3pm. To contribute financially to the response visit the Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/ c a m p a i g n / Wo k i n g h a m BoroughCV19 All money raised will go to fund food parcels and any funds left over once the food hub has closed will be distributed to the voluntary sector organisations involved in this combined response.

For more informationvisit w w w. f a c e b o o k .c o m / wokinghamcommunityhub

New community hub for Earley Churches in Earley and Lower Earley have come together to form a community hub to help those most affected by the Coronavirus.

With support from Earley Town Council, the Earley Help Hub aims to link volunteers with vulnerable people in the area.

Volunteers, who are mainly from across the churches, are able to help with practical and social support, such as collecting shopping and prescriptions or a friendly chat over the phone.

If the service cannot help with a particular matter, they are able to signpost people to the most appropriate agency who can.

Churches involved include Trinity, Brookside, Lower Earley Baptist, St Nicolas, Bright Hope, Our Lady of Peace and Earley St. Peter’s.

The pastor of Brookside Church, Steve Prince, said: “It’s really a connecting place and a point of contact for people who need their shopping done, prescriptions collected or even a prayer, we are a church-based initiative.

Volunteers are offering different kinds of support, we link people up to the volunteer with the skill-set the person needs.”

Mr Prince continued: “Community support networks are already active, we’re trying to work alongside these and

encourage these at the same time.

We’re amazed and encouraged by the amount of spontaneous support that’s arisen within the local community.”

Cllr David Hare, mayor of Earley said: “It’s here to help people, especially those most disadvantaged by the Covid-19 problem.

“We want to try and reach people who are often missed, those not on government lists but still need our help and support.”

To volunteer or access the service, contact 07493 784 091, email earleyhelphub@gmail.com or visit www.facebook.com/ earleyhelphub/

WHAT’S BREWING

IN FINCHAMPSTEAD?

W MP’s praise for the great work of the hub

cream, puzzle books, jigsaws, magazines, handwritten notes/ letters, colouring books/pencils, hamper style goodies and sweet treats.

And for families: Hamper style goodies, colouring books/ pencils, jazzy pens, magazines (adults/children), drawing paper/ sketchbooks, sweet treats, puzzle books, educational books, little games e.g. Top Trumps.

NEWS | 9

To advertise call 0118 327 2662

BRACKNELL MP James Sunderland has been the latest person to praise the efforts of the Wokingham Borough Distribution Hub. Over the past few weeks, local charities and churches have been working together with Wokingham Borough Council to coordinate the most effective response for borough residents to the coronavirus crisis.

Scores of volunteers have come forward to enable vital services to be run over the coming weeks, including getting help for people who need food, medicines and friendship at this time.

People needing help can call 0300 330 1189, which links to a hub set up by Wokingham Citizens Advice. Lines are open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday.

And the central coordination point for practical help, with food parcels, has been set up at St Crispin’s Leisure Centre in London Road, Wokingham.

On Friday, Mr Sunderland – whose constiuency includes parts of Wokingham Without, Finchampstead and Crowthorne – put on one of the volunteer’s T-shirts to give some help and support to the project.

He tweeted a short video of himself at the hub.

“If you look behind me you can see this fantastic array of food and supplies going out to people right across the borough,” he said.

“I commend everybody here for their hard work. I'm privileged to be part of it.”

And he added: “Big shout to the Wokingham Community Hub. You are doing great work in delivering supplies to those who need support, including to wards in Bracknell constituency – Thank you!”

Tips for rubbish from borough council WASTE collection services need the help of the community to stay running.

Recycling centres in Bracknell and Reading are closed, so Wokingham Borough Council posted tips on its social media, explaining how people can keep the flow of rubbish from building too high at their homes.

The tips include helping drivers by ensuring waste is out for collection by 6.30am, parking considerately and breaking down large cardboard boxes.

When having a big clear out — the council added — do not put all the rubbish out at once, but spread it out over a few weeks to not cause stress to the service.

The advice also recommended sharing blue bags with neighbours who are running low until they receive their supply.

The council, on its social media, said: “We are assessing our waste collection service on a daily basis and will reconsider our decisions depending on the availability of our collection staff.

“Our priority is to keep our services running and you can help us.”

ELL, what a fortnight.

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the lives of our team, customers, friends and families in quick and dramatic fashion.

Fortunately, we have not had any serious health implications here at the brewery so far, but the wider picture is vastly different.

From a business point of view we thought we’d give you an overview of where we’re at, as well as tell you the exciting news of two new releases out this week!

With hospitality being one of most immediately hit sectors, we have experienced, quite frankly, a catastrophic drop-off in income.

Between our export sales and on-trade market – approximately 85% of our regular business has effectively been wiped out overnight.

We’re just one of many local businesses in the area battling to stay afloat.

But where there’s a will there’s a way. Our team acted quickly to make the best of the situation, seeking out all possible routes to market and pivoting to make our web shop our focal point of sale.

The reaction has been unbelievable and in March we broke all previous sales records. Enough to cover the overheads of a brewery this size? To be honest, no.

But a glimmer of hope and positivity to keep driving forward with, and the motivation to keep good beer coming in these most difficult of times.

You can read our full candid report online: sirencraftbrew.com/businessunusual In the meantime, and talking of keeping the good beer coming, we’re stoked to announce these two new beers making their way on to the webstore.

Firstly, it’s a collaboration with Vibrant Forest, a great brewery from down on the South Coast.

Together we’ve brewed Grand Designs, a nod to the fact that we use the same designer for our cans and branding. This beer is an 8.2% Imperial Red IPA, full of malty flavours, deep rich intensity and highlighted with fruity hop notes. It’s a great beer for those cooler lockdown evenings.

Next up, a popular beer that has previously only gone out in keg and cask, but needs must and times change so we’re delighted to introduce Suspended in Cans.

Our “Suspended in…” range gets brewed every two weeks, with an ever changing focus on different hops.

It’s a 4% Hazy Pale Ale that is always super refreshing, fruity, light and eminently drinkable. It’s the perfect summer pint in the pub, and now it can be poured at home.

Both beers will be available on the Siren Craft Brew website from Friday, April 10. Those who sign up to the mailing list will be sent a code for 10% off their first order.

As, like so many others, we try to get through these turbulent times, it is the support from you at home that’s keeping us going. Thank you, please keep the orders coming and enjoy the new beers!

SIREN CRAFT BREW 18 Marino Way, Hogwood Lane Industrial Estate, Finchampstead RG40 4RF 0118 973 0929

sirencraftbrew.com

10 | NEWS

New scheme offers grants for youth work A NEW scheme has been launched, offering community groups thousands of pounds for youth projects, writes Daisy Hanson.

Up to £100,000 is being offered to organisations that target under-18s by Persimmon Homes Thames Valley.

The house building company, in a partnership with the British Olympic Association, is taking applications for projects with a focus on sport, health, education and art in young people.

Ben Felton, Persimmon Homes Thames Valley director, said: “We are looking for groups, charities and individuals to come forward with their amazing ideas on how to spend the big cash prizes.

“We will consider anything from new clubhouses and kit, to education and arts centres, medical research and support groups.”

The winners will be decided by a national online vote, with third place receiving £20,000, second place £50,000, and first place £100,000.

Alongside the top awards, smaller grants of £1,000 will be gifted during the next couple of months, and 87 shortlisted finalists who do not win one of the main prizes will receive £5,000.

To apply, visit www.persimmonhomes.com/ building-futures

For the latest news visit

To advertise email advertising@wokinghampaper.co.uk

WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

Card shop closes in Peach Place parade EXCLUSIVE

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

A CARD store has folded its Wokingham branch, saying it would be too “cost prohibitive” to keep it open.

Clintons Cards opened a branch in Peach Place in August last year, returning to the town as part of its regeneration.

It had previously been located in one of the buildings knocked down to create the new shopping arcade in Wokingham’s town centre.

The new store was a flagship for the development and situated next to Oliver Bonas and Waterstones.

However, it closed during the coronavirus pandemic, and signs and fixtures have been removed, leaving an empty unit.

A spokesperson for the chain, which sells novelties, greetings cards and cuddly toys, said that the company had been sold late last year and the new owners conducted a review of the business.

As part of this, it had struggled to come to agreement over the Wokingham branch with store owner Wokingham Borough Council, leading to the sudden closure.

The representative told Wokingham.Today: “Following the sale of the business to Esquire Retail Limited in December 2019, we are reviewing the leases in our store portfolio. We can confirm that the Wokingham store on 6 Peach Street has closed as we were unable to agree commercial terms to support the long term viability of the store.

“In this case, the terms of the lease renewal for our Wokingham store were cost prohibitive and we have been

forced to take the difficult decision to close the store. Our staff have been informed and we will make every effort to redeploy staff members wherever possible.”

Wokingham Borough Council is hopeful that a new tenant can be found quickly.

Cllr Charlotte Haitham Taylor, executive member for regeneration, said: “Following Clinton’s going into administration last December, the council was approached by the company appointed to handle their affairs.

“We have been supportive of the administrators and it is unfortunate that they have taken the decision to close this store.

“The council is unable to comment further at this stage, as we are waiting for more information on how the administrators plan to proceed given that the lease continues.

“Should the unit revert to the council, it will afford an opportunity to bring another great new business to the town.”

MP’s praise for Starmer READING EAST MP Matt Rodda has praised his party’s new leader, saying he is “a very impressive man” who will be very effective in the role.

On Saturday, it was announced that Kier Starmer was to take over from Jeremy Corbyn after winning the Labour party’s election.

His deputy will be Angela Rayner.

Mr Rodda had originally nominated Emily Thornberry for the leadership role, but was pleased with the election of Mr Starmer.

“Kier is the best candidate, he has a lot to offer, he is a very impressive man and will be very effective in the role,” he said.

One of Mr Starmer’s first appointments is Anneliese Dodds as shadow chancellor, a promotion from her previous role of Shadow Treasury Minister. She served as a South East MEP until her election to parliament in 2017; she had also stood for election in Reading West in 2010.

Mr Rodda praised her: “I am very pl;eased Anneliese is the new shadow chancellor. I have enormous respect for her, she will do well in that role.”

Mr Rodda, who has been MP since 2017, and served as Shadow Minister for Local Transport, with responsibility for buses, cycling and walking. Like other junior members of the shadow cabinet team, he does not yet know if he will carry on in the role, moved to a new position, or return to the backbenches.

Whatever happens, Mr Rodda will offer his support.

“We’re waiting to hear,” he told Wokingham.Today. “I would be very happy to serve in whatever way, be it in the same role, on the backbenches or in the shadow team.”

And Mr Rodda also took time to thank Jeremy Corbyn for his work in leading the party over the past five years.

“I have a lot of time for Jeremy,” he explained. “He will be seen as someone who did a lot of good things for the party.”

Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

To advertise call 0118 327 2662

NEWS | 11

Superintendent says police continue to tackle crime

Retired officers return to help force

By JOHN WAKEFIELD news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

On Friday, April 3, Mr Campbell explained that 20% of their workforce are off work due to preexisting medical conditions, or the need to self-isolate.

He added that over the last few days, more than 500 staff have come back to work, having previosuly been self-isolating.

He talked about ensuring future resilience for the Police Force, and ensuring that officers do not contract or transmit the coronavirus.

To help build resilience, Mr Campbell explained that some of the patrol and response teams have been merged together. And TVP are keeping a reserve of officers — available at short notice — to assist in a potential surge in demand.

He said: “We’ve also asked whether or not any recently retired officers would want to come back and work with us over the next few weeks and months.

“And we’ve had over 200 officers make contact, and my thanks to them.”

Mr Campbell explained that the Police would hold Special Constabulary Officers in reserve.

He added that the Police have seen a decrease in demand over recent weeks, as the nighttime economy has closed and they’re not being called out to pubs and clubs.

“That’s quite important, because we are then able to use some of that

THE AREA superintendent for Wokingham has sought to reassure residents that officers are still tackling crime, as well as working to keep people at home, adding that officers will carry out routine checks on people’s journeys to ensure they are necessary.

In a message posted on Thames Valley Police’s alert service, Supt Felicity Parker thanked people for staying at home, adding that she knew it is “a difficult and worrying time for a lot people”.

Her message comes as police carry out random spot checks. Last week, Wokingham.Today reported that a roadblock had been set up on Reading’s London Road.

And Police have tweeted: “Our officers have been undertaking checks on drivers to ensure that only essential journeys were being made in order to lower the risk of spreading #coronavirus.

“Our officers are always happy to explain/engage so thanks for understanding, we’re in this together.”

“You will be aware that the police were given new powers to help reinforce these measures and whilst these are an option to us, we will only use them as a last resort,” Supt Parker said in her letter.

“Officers will routinely be stopping members of the public and vehicles to ensure the Government’s advice is being adhered to so please don’t be alarmed if you are stopped and work with us if you are told to return home.”

The Commander for Bracknell and Wokingham police area said that officers were patrolling areas such as parks, villages and shopping areas.

“I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for staying inside and keeping our streets clear and for all the messages of support you have been giving our PCSOs and officers over the last few weeks,” she wrote.

“Although a large part of our work currently is to make sure people are staying at home, we are also investigating crime, arresting offenders and holding them to account.”

Superintendent Felicity Parker thanked the public for staying at home although it is a difficult and worrying time for a lot people. Picture: Thames Valley Police

Man left with fractured Appeal for information jawbone after assault after Winnersh home A MAN was left with a fractured jawbone after a was smashed into late-night assault in Lower Earley which police say “substantiate to grievous bodily harm”.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to come forward.

The incident took place around 10pm on Thursday, April 2.

The victim was a man in his twenties, and was attacked at the junction of Bradmore Way and Cutbush Lane in Lower Earley.

The attacker told his victim to handover what he had in his pocket. The victim refused and the man punched him to the left side of his head.

The victim sustained a fractured jawbone and received hospital treatment for the injury.

Thames Valley Police said that the man has since been discharged.

The offender is described as a white man in his twenties, of slim build with an unkempt beard.

He was wearing a dark coloured hooded top and a loose bandana around his neck. He was also walking a medium sized black dog, similar to a pitbull.

Investigating officer PC Philip Davies, based at Loddon Valley police station, said: “This assault has left the victim with injuries which substantiate to grievous bodily harm.

“I am appealing to anyone who saw this incident or who has any information about what happened to please come forward.

“Anyone with information can get in touch with police by calling 101 quoting reference 43200103108.

“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

POLICE ARE now appealing for witnesses following a burglary in Woodward Close, Winnersh at the weekend.

On Sunday, April 5, at 6.44pm, three men were seen running away from a property on Woodward Close after smashing a rear window.

The men were seen leaving the area in a grey Audi S6 with the partial registration SP07***.

It is not known whether anything was taken from the property at this time.

Earlier on Sunday, a grey Audi with the partial registration LP07*** was also seen parked on Jigs Lane North in Warfield.

At 5.47pm, an elderly resident saw two men with their faces covered looking through her window.

The two men walked away when they saw her inside and left in a vehicle.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Terry Dixon, based at Loddon Valley police station, said: “I believe that these incidents may be connected and I am appealing to anyone who has any information to come forward.

“If you noticed a grey Audi and people acting suspiciously in either of these areas, or have any other information that could help with my investigation, please get in touch.

“You can report via our online reporting form, quoting reference number 43200105846. If you are unable to report online, you can call the nonemergency number 101.

“Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokinghampaper.co.uk

LAST WEEK, Thames Valley Police Chief Constable, John Campbell addressed concerns of Police resilience and vulnerability in a video message.

capacity to enforce the new powers we’ve been given,” explained Mr Campbell. “These powers came in quite recently, and they’re very important because they’re about protecting the community and protecting the NHS. “And that’s why my officers are going about, and engaging with members of the public.”

The new powers work to engage, explain, encourage and enforce — the latter will be a last resort.

Mr Campbell added that a member of the public directly coughed at officers, and that he is now in prison as a result.

Although most call-outs are decreasing, Police have already seen a rise in fraud and are anticipating a rise in domestic abuse cases — due to people being confined within their homes.

Anyone experiencing domestic abuse is urged to call 999, and if unable to speak, press 55 whilst on the phone. Police will then respond accordingly.

12 | BUSINESS

To advertise email advertising@wokinghampaper.co.uk

Got a business story? Email news@ wokinghampaper.co.uk. or write to The Wokingham Paper, Crown House, 231 Kings Road, Reading RG1 4LS

Small business emergency ac�on plan

N

ot all businesses are going to survive the next three months. For many businesses there is the reality of reduced or no sales for the next three or so months and even beyond if the virus remains.

What you can do is stay healthy and ensure your loved ones are too. A�er all, if the business closes and you are healthy you can start again.

The reverse is not true.

So, here’s what you need to do if your sales are going to take a hit: � Stay healthy, follow the Government guidelines for you, your family, co-workers, employees and community. Work from home where you can manage administra�on � Work out your expenses (including salaries) for the next three months � If you are in retail – work out your breakeven point by dividing your costs by the Gross Profit margin. That’s the sales figure you must achieve to cover expenses � If you are in the service sector add your expenses to how much do you need to live on and that’s the breakeven point in terms of billings or fees you need to charge over the next three months � For manufacturers, work out product sales and do the same calcula�on � If it looks like you are not going to be able to operate at break-even look at your cash or bank balances – have you got enough money saved to survive a�er paying anyone you owe money? � Es�mate your cash flow over the next three-six months. We have a free template available on our website under Covid-19 resources � If you need help in doing these calcula�ons talk to us. Without the figures you cannot make clear decisions � Once you have a grasp on your figures and you consider you have a “viable” business (can you survive for the next 3 months) you can consider the following: • Government support: www.gov.uk • Talk to your bank if you have loans or an overdra�. They will be suppor�ve of viable businesses • Get your members of staff involved in a discussion of likely trading condi�ons and get their input on reducing costs and maintaining revenues • Review your list of products and services and eliminate those that are unprofitable or not core products/services • Get rid of won’t pay customers • Review your debtors list and chase up overdue invoices (if appropriate) • Offer exis�ng debtors extended payment terms and/or discounts • Agree extended payment terms with all suppliers in advance • Put extra effort into making sure your rela�onships with your be�er customers are solid. � If your business is not viable – talk to us and we will run through the op�ons.

Above all stay strong! Remember your health and welfare is more important than anything else just now.

The Accountwise team is here to help you every step of the way. Together we will beat this!

We have set up a dedicated webpage containing lots informa�on and links to help you - h�ps:// www.accountwise.co.uk/c19-informa�on/.

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Talk to Rob and the team at Accountwise on 0118 962 3702 email rob@accountwise.co.uk

WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

Business profile

Steve is making sense of LinkedIn to grow your business

By TAZ USHER tusher@wokinghampaper.co.uk

LINKING Business is a Wokingham company providing businesses with the tools to increase their sales using LinkedIn.

LinkedIn – described by the company as a “powerful sales and marketing tool” – is a digital business platform which allows individuals and organisations to connect, advertise jobs and build professional networks from their phones and laptops.

With a 35-year pharmaceutical career behind him, owner of Linking Business Steve Doyle has established himself as a marketing and sales professional.

Describing the service he offers Steve said: “I show businesses how to use LinkedIn more effectively so that their profile is found and adds value.

“I show them how to find, connect, and engage with

potential customers to generate leads.”

Having first used LinkedIn in 2005, Steve has since become an expert in its use and utilised the platform to form his own consulting business.

“With over 600 million uses worldwide and 25 million in the UK already, LinkedIn is continuing to grow fast at the rate of two new users every second,” he said.

And as well as using LinkedIn to strengthen his own platform, Mr Doyle has applied his knowledge and experience to helping others.

He said: “I really love helping local businesses to become more effective at gaining new leads.

“When I left my last role after 30 years of sales and marketing in a corporate environment I decided to use my skills to help them become more effective.”

Founded three-and-a-half years ago, the local company runs workshops for in-house teams as

Positive about virtual meetings Members of Wokingham Positive Difference during their online catch-up last Friday

NETWORKING group Wokingham Positive Difference proved their worth this week by continuing to bring together local business leaders, government representatives and charities.

Instead of its regular monthly face-to-face event, the group embraced technology by utilising video conferencing. Representatives from all three sectors came together to support each other and share information and expertise.

Graeme Hobbs from Hobbs Granger Roitt LLP, chaired the meeting, held on Friday, April 3, and introduced three key speakers: Jon Yates, Chief Operating Officer of Berkshire Community Foundation, who highlighted current areas of need in the charity sector and promoted the newly launched Vital for Berkshire – Coronavirus Appeal.

Ray Best, director of Wills, Tax and Trusts, who talked about how

individuals might recover from the financial impacts of the virus currently affecting investment and pensions prospects, emphasising the need for planning and sensible action.

And Wokingham Borough Council’s Gary Cranford updated the meeting with the help available to local people.

Other attendees from the insurance, HR and IT fields were also able to share views on how to tackle the many challenges faced by the audience.

Wokingham Positive Difference will continue to run a fortnightly series of virtual events throughout the crisis, with the next due on Friday, April 17. The topic will be cashflow.

To take part, or to learn more about Wokingham Positive Difference, email wokinghampositivedifference @gmail.com

well as one-to-one coaching sessions for individuals or small groups in person or via the online conferencing software Zoom.

Commenting on the power of LinkedIn, Steve said: “Fifty per cent of buyers on LinkedIn will check out a suppliers LinkedIn profile before even making contact. So, if your profile is not found or read you could be missing out on a lot of business.”

Linking Business’ local client base includes Wokingham, Bracknell and Reading businesses such as Advantage PrintRoom, uSports and Sanzen Digital.

Steve added: “Most business people do now have a profile the issue is that many people don’t know how to use LinkedIn effectively.

“Often their profile is incomplete or reads like an online CV, or they have lots of contacts but don't know what to do with them.”

“I show them how to not be simply on LinkedIn but how to use it by teaching them simple techniques and messages that can help them generate sales leads from LinkedIn.” When not sharing his business wisdom, Steve enjoys attending Reading FC games, fishing and is currently tracing his family tree.

To get in contact with Steve and find out how you can make improvements to your company’s LinkedIn profile, call 07595 704392 or email steve@linkingbusiness.co.uk.

Steve also has a free eBook featuring hints and tips for your LinkedIn which you can read at linkingbusiness.co.uk/9-points/.

LEP offers business support AN UMBRELLA group designed to help business across Berkshire flourish has pledged to play its part during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (TVLEP) said that it recognises that Coronavirus is causing significant concern and disruption to businesses of all sizes and will do for the foreseeable future.

It wants to ensure that businesses in Berkshire are able to run as efficiently as possible and remain productive.

As part of this, it has established a Covid-19 Task & Finish Group of key stakeholders – including the Thames Valley Berkshire Business Growth Hub, Thames Valley Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, Institute of Directors, the CBI and local authorities – to work collaboratively to ensure businesses are kept up-todate with developments.

They will also have access to finance available and are provided with as much support as we are able to.

TVLEP is also working with the Southern LEPs and London LEP in sharing best practice and intelligence.

The Business Growth Hub – berkshirebusinesshub.co.uk – is working with these partners across the LEP area to provide guidance and support via a daily updated service on its website.

Martin Hall, Growth Hub manager, said: “We want businesses

to know that whatever sector they are in and regardless of whether they are a sole trader, an SME or scale-up company, that there is support available.

“Before making any decisions about your business please visit the Berkshire Business Growth Hub website which continues to be updated with the latest government advice as well as information on the local and national support available.

“In addition, our business advisers can provide further advice via email, telephone or video conferencing – details of which can be found on our website.”

Alison Webster, CEO for Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, said: “At a time where difficult decisions are having to be made, it is more important than ever to work together and be a collective voice.

“As a business-led partnership, which brings together both private and public sector organisations, we want to work with you to help our area respond.

“Businesses are hearing from Government about the help available to them, but we want to ensure, at a local level, that everyone has access to the information which applies to them and that the process of acquiring that help is as straightforward and streamlined as possible.

“To feedback your businesses needs and give your views please email the Business Growth Hub at info@berkshirebusinesshub.co.uk”

Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

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Postmasters lose £400 each week to fund essential services for Yateley community EXCLUSIVE

By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokinghampaper.co.uk

STAFF at Yateley Post Office are funding the service out of their own pockets in a bid to provide essential services to the community.

Leena Dattani, who runs the Post Office on Harpton Parade with her husband explained the struggle their business is facing since the strictest social distancing measures were introduced on Monday, March 23.

She said: “Usually we have a footfall of 3,000 per day. But since the toughest lock down measures, it’s gone down to about 100 per day.

“Post Office as a brand has been struggling for a while. So many of us are struggling to keep our heads above water.

“There are 8,000 Post Offices owned by independent retailers.

And Post Masters aren’t paid an hourly wage or a salary, only commission on each transaction. You’d be hard pushed to find a Post Office making a profit.

“So the shop is our bread and butter, and Post Office transactions are the cream on top.

“It’s costing us £400 of our own money to run the shop each week. We still have rent to pay.

“Each day we do a 60-mile round trip to come and open that Post Office. For 10 years we’ve been doing that. We’re part of the community.

“We also run a mobile Post Office on a Friday morning too.

We do that as a community gesture as it’s easier for some of our elderly customers to reach.

“The people that come into the shop aren’t just our customers, they’re our friends.”

Mrs Dattani explained that her Post Office helps lots of people to access benefits and their weekly pensions.

“And we’re the only place in Yateley to do gas and electric top-ups,” she added. “Where are these people going to go if we close?

“Ramesh and I will continue to keep the Post Office open to serve customers until we are advised not to do so, or have exhausted all funds.

A spokesperson for Post Office explained that they are supporting Postmasters during this time.

They said: “We have launched a comprehensive scheme where the Post Office guarantees independent Postmasters remuneration to help Postmasters during these unprecedented times.

“We have informed our Postmasters that business rate holidays and Governmentadministered grants are available through their local authority.

Mrs Dattani said: “We’ve applied for a grant from Hampshire Council, and we’re not the only ones struggling.

“The Government bail out is brilliant, nobody is knocking it.

But how do we make it work from now until June?

“We’ve got to put food on the table and that’s looking harder to do.”

“Unfortunately, the grant may come through too late, after we’ve closed our doors.”

Mrs Dattani posted on social media about the shop’s struggle to remain open, in the hopes to encourage local people to shop in smaller businesses.

“We want to do everything we can before we turn our hand to the public.

But we ask people to shop local if we’re the same price or cheaper — please come spend with smaller retailers.”

Responding to Mrs Dattani’s concerns, on Friday, April 3, Yateley resident Zania

Leena Dattani outside her Post Office in Harpton Parade, Yateley

Ballentine launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the Post Office.

Mrs Ballentine has been using their services to post out orders from her candle-making business, and got to know Mrs Dattani and her husband over the past months.

She said: “I was just unaware that these two are such troupers and using their own money to run essential services. It was such a shock to find out about.

“It just so happened that the day before, my daughter had to calculate the number of houses in Yateley for her homework.

“We worked out that if every household in Yateley donated just £1, we’d have over £8,000 for them to help keep our local services open.

“I don’t like the idea that there’s people out there unable to use such an essential service, and I felt the need to

‘Wave of waste could surround homes in the coming weeks’ RESIDENTS are being asked to be mindful of their refuse as councils expect a spike in household rubbish.

A “wave of waste” could surround homes in the coming weeks as a result of the nation isolating, warned the District Councils’ Network.

This coincides with the reduction of services such as garden waste collections, as more staff are self-isolating and many recycling centres are closed.

Wokingham Borough Council posted tips on its social media pages, explaining how people can help collection services to stay running.

The tips include ensuring waste is out for collection by 6.30am, parking considerately and breaking down large cardboard boxes.

The council added when having a big spring clean, residents should not put all their rubbish out at once, but spread it over a few weeks, as this could cause stress on the service.

The advice also recommended sharing blue bags with neighbours who are running low until they receive their supply.

Residents have also been advised to take glass bottles home with them, if they find the bottle banks are overflowing when they go to drop off old jars and glass bottles for recycling.

In a post on social media, the borough council said: “We are assessing our waste collection service on a daily basis and will reconsider our decisions depending on the availability of our collection staff.

“Our priority is to keep our services running and you can help us.”

Residents have also been reminded that collections at clothing banks have been suspended, and the re3 recycling centres in Bracknell and Reading are now closed for the foreseeable future. For more information, visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/rubbish-and-recycling/

help as much as I can.

“My heart went out to them, they are selflessly spending their own money right now to keep it open. We need to help them as a community, sometimes life starts right in front of your nose.”

So far, the crowdfunder has raised £161 for the Post Office.

Mrs Dattani urged customers visiting the shop to be aware of the coronavirus risk.”

“We serve many vulnerable customers, and we also have

vulnerable family members who rely on us.

“Every additional interaction increases the risk to us, and to you, our customers and the postman or woman that we and you have to interact with.”

Ms Dattani explained that customers visiting the branch are advised to wait by the door until they are called in.

While waiting, customers should continue to keep a two metre distance from each other.

Anyone showing symptoms of the coronavirus, such as a persistent cough or fever, however mild, should not come to the Post Office.

A spokesperson for the Post Office added: “Our postmasters have been provided with all the latest advice from the UK Government as to how to stay safe.

“Post Offices have been provided with floor markers and other information on posters to help customers stay two metres apart.

“Yateley Post Office already has a fully screened Post Office counter. Additional money has been provided to buy hand sanitisers.”

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THEWOKINGHAMPAPER NEWS WITH A HEART FOR THE BOROUGH

The most surrealist of Happy Easters possible USUALLY, we’d be looking forward to a fourday weekend.

DIY stores would be busy selling the latest in home improvements, farms would be promoting lambing days, egg hunts would be in full flow and churches would be cleaning, polishing and tidying ahead of sunrise breakfasts, watchnight vigils and stations of the Cross.

But not this year.

Due to the coronavirus, many of us are unsure what day of the week it is, let alone if it’s a bank holiday or normal day.

With shops shut and car parks closed, it is easy to make this surreal Easter a stay-athome one.

Last weekend, the good weather meant people were taking to the parks and breaking the rules on leaving home: games of football, meeting friends and sunbathing.

It is wrong at this time: every meeting outside of your immediate family group and inside that magic two metre radius prolongs the coronavirus’s sweep through the globe.

Staying at home is not easy. With gorgeous weather, it is blooming hard.

But even in these strange, surreal times, we need to stick with the plan: save lives, help the NHS and other essential workers by making this surreal Easter a happy one by staying at home.

CHURCH NOTES

The triumph of hope over fear

A

T the heart of the Christian faith is a fundamental and essential belief that God is love.

Christians are people who know that they are loved by God and required to share that love with others, to live lives which are reflections of the love God has for the world.

The reflection is partial, inadequate, incomplete but the love that Christians are called to show for the community and the world is not a choice, an add-on, an optional extension.

It is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus.

Love is made visible in two main places this week. One is in the events of this Holy Week.

This week is the most precious and important in the whole year of the Church. This is the week when Christians all over the world remember (on Thursday) the way in which Jesus called his disciples together and instructed them to love others in the way that he loves them. And if they wanted to know how he loved them then the answer came the next day, in his death on the cross, and then on the Sunday, in the triumph of hope over fear and life over death and light over the darkness.

And the second is all around us, in what I have seen described as the most remarkable act of global solidarity and selflessness we have ever seen.

It’s love all around us, made visible in every note pushed through a door and every phone call made and every neighbour chatting across the road and every volunteering hour and every decision to stay at home and every round of applause for those who are showing such everyday courage by going to work in the NHS or a school or a shop or for the council.

It’s love, it’s selflessness, it’s humanity at its very best.

Happy Easter. Love wins.

Father Richard Lamey is rector of St Paul’s Church, Wokingham, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Wokingham

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Your letters

WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

Send your thoughts to letters@wokinghampaper.co.uk

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

Devastating impact of coronavirus on Sue Ryder My name is Danielle Gregory and I am a nurse at Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice.

I am writing to you to tell you about the devastating impact the coronavirus crisis is having on us and how we urgently need your help.

We are facing a huge challenge in the next few weeks.

All of our shops have closed and nearly all of our fundraising activities have stopped resulting in a massive drop in our income.

For the very first time we are finding ourselves in the position where we might not be able to afford to continue providing end of life care.

We are so very proud of the work we do, the expert care we give and the vital support we provide to the NHS, thanks to our generous supporters.

Today, we find ourselves needed more than ever before.

It is devastating to think we might not be able to continue. I cannot imagine what our patients would do without us.

This is why I am asking for your help. If we can raise enough money to help us get through the next few weeks we stand a chance. It will make all the difference.

We are all facing something we have never faced before, which is why Sue Ryder has launched an emergency appeal. I am asking you to please, give whatever you can afford. Every pound you give could make the difference to whether we can continue to be there when it matters for local families in the future. It is that simple. Please donate at www.sueryder.org/donate Danielle Gregory, Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice.

Ever since gunpowder was invented in ninth-century China, mankind has, with its help, been doing its best to blow itself to smithereens.

From crude muskets and artillery pieces and, at the cost of millions of lives, the black powder, rather like the world wide web, has proved to be a can of worms whose lid cannot be resealed, allowing the human race to continue with its efforts to self-destruct by creating increasingly obscene weapons of mass destruction costing trillions of pounds, dollars and roubles.

The irony of all this is that some 12 centuries later, for just the price of a couple of caged, culinary bats, a weapon was purchased, silent, invisible and with the destructive potential for beyond the imaginings of those alchemists of yesteryear.

In spite of the shade of coronavirus continuing to spread gloom, fear, sacrifice, shortage and lockdown keeping some families and loved ones apart, while darkening the lives of others, no-one appears to have told the blackbird, whose liquid notes fill the air as he croons from the cherry

More bad news – Sue Ryder Apart from all that is happening around us, especially the health of our Prime Minister, I was so upset to read today (Tuesday) of the funding threat to Sue

tree at the end of the garden, or the little Jenny wren busily building its nest behind the downpipe outside the kitchen door.

Both going about their business, seemingly with not a care in the world.

As the trees green and roses bud, perhaps while the world is on hold, we

Ryder’s Hospices.

Six years ago, my wife was dying of terminal cancer. Looking after her, I had reached the stage that I could no longer manage to lift her etc., due to needing a hip replacement. Our doctor speedily arranged for her to go to the Duchess of

should take advantage of this enforced interlude and ‘take time to smell the flowers’.

When the virus is eventually defeated, as it will be, life and its gifts and freedoms all to often taken for granted will seem that much sweeter.

JW Blaney, Wokingham

Kent Hospice in Reading.

Witnessing how they looked after her and eased her path to Heaven, was an experience of care I did not believe existed! Such lovely staff and doctors.

If Sue Ryder and potentially others providing such care fail and are unable to

WESTMINSTER DIARY Matt Rodda

W

E are living through difficult and challenging times and I want to thank you for your support for the NHS and our community. I would particularly like to thank all those working in the NHS, social care, other vital services, including volunteers and key workers.

I wanted to update you on my work during the crisis and this email is the second weekly round-up from me, I hope you will find it helpful.

I should add that I am proud of the way our community has responded to this crisis, with so many people putting others before themselves.

Helping support our NHS It is crucial that we all support the NHS at this difficult time by maintaining social distancing. The lock down is difficult, but vital, in order to reduce the spread of the virus.

I support the lock own and believe action should have been taken earlier I also believe in regular reviews (see below under holding Government to account) I am calling for more protective equipment and testing to protect staff

and to help tackle the spread of the epidemic And, I am raising concerns with the Health Secretary and other Ministers I’m also offering what support I can to our hard working NHS staff, such as promoting the clap for our NHS which has taken place on Thursdays

Working with councils and other services Local councils are distributing food to vulnerable people, working with care homes and providing other vital services.

I am working with Reading and Wokingham borough councils and local charities I am raising their concerns about the quality of food provided, as items have not added up to a balanced diet In addition, I am calling for more protective equipment for social care workers in our care homes

Supporting food distribution Maintaining food supplies is vital, particularly for vulnerable people.

Listening to residents and charities working with vulnerable people I am passing issues to Ministers and urging them to speed up supplies

Help for businesses and workers A huge number of jobs and businesses are at risk and urgent action is needed to protect jobs and incomes I’m pleased the Government has listened to calls to take action I am now calling for more help, such as for the self-employed and some businesses Government schemes need to be extended and updated to remove gaps and loop holes

Support for people in distress People should not be left without help at this difficult time and I am calling for more support.

I am urging the Government to respond sooner to people who face hardship such as those who have lost their jobs

And, I am calling for more Government help, through increasing benefits and Government help for local charities to provide support I am also raising cases of people stranded overseas with the Foreign Office, to help get them home

Holding the Government to account I support extra powers being used during the crisis, to enforce social distancing. However, I believe any extra powers should be regularly reviewed and ended after the crisis.

It is important the Parliament holds the Government to account even if it has to meet virtually Government Ministers are consulting with opposition parties and need to maintain an open approach and to listen to other points of view I would like to thank you again for everything you, your family and neighbours are doing to tackle the corona virus.

Please contact me if you want to discuss these or other issues, by emailing my office on mattroddampcasework@partliament.uk

continue, we shall have lost something very special, and an example I wish was available to anyone at the end of their life.

Reg Cliﬞon, Wokingham

A swift recovery I would like to wish our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson a swift recovery. I like many of you was extremely concerned to see him now in intensive care at St Thomas's Hospital in London. When someone at the head of Government is impacted, it shows how it can affect anyone.

We are in unprecedented times and the need for all of us to adhere to Social Distancing is even more important over the coming weeks. We have to be patient to ensure the worst this unpleasant virus has does not take too many of us.

Here in Wokingham we have, to date, been relatively spared, but we cannot be complacent.

As opposition councillors on Wokingham Borough Council we have been regularly briefed and have had the opportunity to raised areas of concern on a wide range of important issues.

I should like to thank the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council for their clear, concise and honest approach to how this virus is impacting all of us.

Arrangements have been put in place to provide help for local residents and for local people to offer their services via the Wokingham Community Hub based at St Crispin’s School.

Many hundreds of local residents have offered their services and several hundred food parcels and many peoples prescriptions have already been delivered.

I would like to thank everyone involved especially those at the CAB and various Volunteer Groups across the Borough. Officers and councillors from WBC have been also assisting in this activity.

If you are a local business who needs additional help please go on to the WBC website and here you should be able to find a route to gaining some financial assistance especially for those businesses who have either had to close, or have experienced a significant drop in business.

There are local schemes now in place to assist with Council Tax, council rents and others for those of us who need financial help at these difficult times.

We do not know how long this virus is going to impact us, but current plans are for at least three months, but it could be more, so it is vital that we continue as we have been over these past two-three weeks and keep our distance.

Hopefully in time we will beat this unseen monster. I wish everyone well over these coming months.

Cllr Lindsay Ferris Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Wokingham Borough Council & Member for Twyford

New immigration rules New immigration rules are coming into place, barring “unskilled” workers from the UK. The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the idea of “unskilled” people being of less value to our country is not only uncompassionate, but evidently untrue.

As well as those on the frontline in healthcare such as carers or cleaners, we

now know that bus drivers, supermarket and delivery workers have more than proven their essential status.

According to recent research by the IPPR, two-thirds of the EU migrants currently contributing to our healthcare system would not have been allowed into the country under the new system.

In the transport sector, the figure is 85%.

The people currently holding Britain together could be sent back later this year. Who will fill their jobs?

That’s why I fully support Best for Britain’s campaign to extend the Brexit transition period until after the Coronavirus outbreak.

That way, we can make sure we get a deal which works for Britain, and the immigrants who choose to make Britain their home.

We mustn’t turn our back on those who’ve helped us through this crisis.

I think if someone risks their safety to care for Britain, we should care for them.

Vanessa Rogers, Wokingham

suspended until at least June 26, i.e for the entire three-month self-isolation period, which may be extended further.

Mike Stredder, director of Blood Donation, who signed my letter, should have made this clear, as should the NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson quoted in your article.

Michael Storey, Wokingham

Giving blood

Schools now closed more kids at home.

We will soon be out of space to roam.

Pubs and Restaurants all shut down.

Without meals and drinks a quiet town

I am a regular blood donor and had made an appointment to donate on 20 May 2020, about 16 weeks after my last donation.

On April 2, l I received a letter from NHS Blood and Transplant cancelling my appointment. The letter states that the cancellation was due to events outside of their control.

I logged into their website and learned that I am barred from donating until at least 26 June - no explanation given.

I then phoned their helpline and was told that all donors aged 70 or more are

Corona Days The virus spreads and we are confined.

We have left our freedom well behind.

With TV and Tablets our saving grace.

We wash our hands don’t touch our face.

We look for food which we can’t find.

No loo rolls now for a clean behind.

Shelves are empty On Line all booked.

Can’t have the things at which we looked.

We use our windows even ever more.

Watching birds and while squirrels store.

Deliveries left on steps without a word.

Nothing spoken and nothing heard.

Three more months of this is set to come.

With an untouched face and dirty bum.

Our hands all clean and as smooth as silk.

Please allow us to have our bread and milk.

Jeff King, Wokingham

TONYJOHNSON There is such thing as society

T’S been a week of realisations as communities show that there is such a thing as society and that we do care about others – whether or not we know them personally.

I

However it’s become apparent that supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for carers need to be stepped up if we’re all to cope with the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The arrival of the Keir

Anti-social distancing

At a national level, the Labour Party have elected Sir Keir Starmer as their new leader.

The proof of his politics will be tested by events, but his opening article in The Sunday Times along with his first interview on TV appeared pragmatic and plainly spoken.

Behaviour in the supermarkets is improving as we realise that staying two metres apart really does matter. But there’s still an oblivious or inconsiderate few who decide that they don’t need to follow the guidelines.

One person was observed wandering gormlessly round the store concentrating on a phone call rather than keeping their distance. Then at the checkout not one but two people separately decided to come back into the store, brushing past those waiting to be served.

And while reaching across someone else to get a product off the shelf is less frequent it still happens and for some of us, particularly those with underlying health conditions, it’s very frightening.

Clearly the message hasn’t fully sunk in.

Shute-ing up and around Locally, Wokingham Borough Council’s social media channel has continued to publish information and has included guides on how to give help and where to get it.

The overarching message has continued to be Stay Home – Save Lives.

Meanwhile, the legislation banning elections until May next year has now been passed and the new laws also allow Councils to hold meetings without Councillors having to be present in person.

WBC’s first virtual meetings (Executive and Special Executive) are hoped to be on April 22nd.

Tea supplies assured …

Thanks to limits on numbers of people and numbers of items allowed to be purchased, along with slightly more considerate shopping, supermarket supplies are slowly returning to normal.

On the home front There’s evidence on social media that we’re finding practical ways of helping each other cope while staying home.

Some took old ideas online, with the ERDB Juke box set up by Earley Residents getting more than 50 songs with Pink Floyd’s “Wish you were here” being a poignant reminder of what’s temporarily missing.

There was also the first Great #WOKY Pub quiz which proved

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Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

successful enough that a second one is being organised and it’s planned for today - Thursday, April 9, at 8pm (https:// www.facebook.com/events/ 667079240770570).

Even an online baking group started up, with just as much fun from sharing disasters as triumphs, plainly evident when a pavlova looked more like a polavva instead.

But as one enterprising family showed, you don’t have to wait for others to organise things and they decided to use Houseparty to run a family trivia quiz.

Under pressure As the numbers in hospital mount, individual health service workers are telling their stories in their own words, describing what’s going on.

It’s clear that without their dedication, things could be far worse.

Someone described it graphically, so I’ve paraphrased their words : “When you come off a 12-hour shift utterly exhausted, all you want to do is sleep.

The last thing you want to be thinking about is getting over to a supermarket or struggling with online shopping where the next delivery is in the middle of a shift – long after you’re out of food”.

Perhaps it’s an opportunity for an enterprising supermarket manager to find a way of getting the shop to the staff?

Clap for Carers Thursday saw many of us on our doorsteps to clap, toot, shout, sing and

even bagpipe for carers round the Borough.

In the face of some critique about ‘do gooders’ on one of the local social media channels this week (since taken down by the moderators) one lady openly declared her opposition to the meanspirited by appearing on BBC news wearing a T-shirt with ‘Do Gooder’ blazoned across her chest.

She’s asked us to recognise all of the volunteer sorters and drivers at the Community Hub who have given so much of their time and effort to make it work and support those in real need across the borough.

We should also recognise the Woodley and the Twyford volunteer groups who’ve now got their local support networks up and running on a road by road basis to ensure those who need help – get it.

What the neighbours said Staying at home is now in its third week and the British sense of humour is now rated ‘wobbly’.

My cat-loving neighbour told me that the parrot has now learned to say “walkies”. Apparently the cat then runs into hiding and just hisses at them when they try bribing it to come out.

Meanwhile cartoonists have started work on the socialist distancing between the new Labour leader and the old one.

Excepting ‘les dits du voisins’, that was week three of the lockdown – that was. caveat.lector@icloud.com

Angela Garwood

HONEST MOTHERHOOD

Sunshine and ice creams, a moment before lock-down

I

T WAS weeks ago, not long before lock-down.

We were told to avoid public places, but that big, open outdoor spaces were fine.

So on a bright and beautiful Saturday afternoon, we took Maia to Virginia Water, for a blissful long walk in the sunshine.

I did not fully appreciate, on that glorious afternoon, that this would be the last time I went anywhere quite so picturesque, in a while. I did not realise, how much I would miss the sight of strangers and families or the weird sense of comfort simply being around groups of people brought me.

I was always grateful for the often-uplifting conversations I had with mummy friends in the playground, and enjoyed the little bits of chit chat I often got with mums I’d never met before about our children.

I miss those spontaneous connections now, at a time when I know they’re unlikely to occur.

(Though I did exchange a knowing smile with another Mum today as I went for my once-a-day walk, while she guided her two little girls across the road.)

Upon arrival that afternoon at Virginia Water, Maia very quickly spotted several people with ice creams, and politely, though rather directly requested one of her own.

“When we’ve walked round, then you can have an ice-cream”. (We’d only just arrived, it was too soon to be dealing with spillages and sticky fingers).

We proceeded to use the promise of ice cream as a bribe to encourage her to walk. It’s remarkable how many miles a six-year-old can achieve with a strong enough incentive.

Hydrated Now that I am more than a little bit pregnant, (passed the halfway mark but still a while to go) I find myself needing the toilet significantly more frequently. This is fine when I am at home, if not slightly tiresome, but when I am out and about, it can be a real pain.

Given the degree to which I stay hydrated, it didn’t take long before I needed the toilet for the second time post-arrival. There were none in sight. And after a few minutes pacing round the place, none to be found either. I was getting desperate.

“Just have a wee in there Mummy!” said Maia, pointing to a less-than-private bush just next to a very public footpath.

“It’s too open darling”.

“We’ll find a better one...” My partner reassures me. Well, we did, and minutes later I am squatting in foliage almost designed for such emergency situations. A wonderful little patch, off the beaten track, deep in the heart of a giant bush.

Bladder sufficiently emptied and anti-bac generously dispensed, we headed for Maia’s sacred promised ice-cream, then back to the car.

We didn’t realise how lucky we were that day, in so many ways, though we know now.

So much has changed over the last few weeks and the next few aren’t particularly certain. We know we are to stay at home, support the vulnerable in any way we can, and be abundantly grateful for our amazing NHS. While we won’t be spending our Easter weekends out and about in the sunshine or visiting friends and family, the majority of us still have a great deal to be grateful for.

16 | XXXXXX NEWS

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WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

Primary school children send rainbow paintings to care home

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

KETTY LESTER knew what she was singing about: “Love letters straight from your heart keep us so near while apart”.

Her 1961 B-side was also a hit for Alison Moyet in the 1980s, and residents of a Swallowfield care home appreciate the sentiment after they received a very special delivery from a local primary school.

The Postcard Pals scheme sees youngsters from Farley Hill Primary School create regular missives to send to brighterkind’s Woodbury House Care Home. And their latest special delivery – not romantic, but still sent with love amid the coronavirus lockdown – hit the spot.

The talented pupils, working from home, dug out their paint pots, colouring pens and pencils to create a series of pictures to bring cheer to the home while visiting is restricted.

Staff at Woodbury House say that the cheery messages have certainly brought big smiles to everyone’s faces.

The residents have got to know the children really well over the last year or so during regular get-togethers for arts and crafts activities, games and a good old natter.

Although everyone at the home is really missing seeing their young friends, Woodbury Houses said it had been such

a treat to receive all the cards and letters.

Upon opening a picture with the words “You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain”, resident Paula Morris exclaimed, “Oh how wonderful - I love this rainbow, it’s made me

so happy.”

Home manager Samantha Bell said: “A huge thank you to our friends at Farley Hill Primary School.

“Your letters are putting smiles on our all faces and the paintings are wonderful.

“It’s so important to keep our residents connected to their local community at this time and we are all very grateful.

“Our residents would be delighted to hear from anyone who has a moment to spare to send in their news. It could be a drawing or little message, something about your hobby, interest, favourite food, pets, animals, travels – almost anything goes.

“Your cards and creative work will be shared with all our residents.

“Thank you in advance for any postcards of happiness sent into our home, they really do bring us all such joy!”

To send some messages to the residents, write to: Woodbury House Care Home Jouldings Lane, Farley Hill Swallowfield RG7 1UR

Twyford commun to celebrate village EXCLUSIVE

By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokinghampaper.co.uk

A TWYFORD woman was overwhelmed with birthday messages over the weekend, as the community wished her a happy 50th.

Helen Ferguson thought she was going for her one, Government approved walk on Sunday, April 5.

But her family had surprised her with a secret trail of birthday messages.

She said: “It was an overwhelming surprise to have a three-mile walk around Twyford seeing my birthday being celebrated.

“There were over 40 displays,

some were sheets in the window, entire window decorations, a car covered in bunting with a number plate changed to Helen50, balloons and there was even a box of chocolates hanging from the tree.

“My family sent a poster out to everyone in the street in secret. And people played music and came out and sang happy birthday.

“It was just so lovely that the neighbourhood did this — everybody felt connected.

“I felt surprised, shocked, overwhelmed and a bit tearful too. I was just amazed at the efforts of everybody.

“Over the last couple of weeks, everybody has had to adjust and Helen’s family distributed birthday posters in a three-mile radius of their home for the community to display on her walk. Pictures: courtesy of Helen Ferguson

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NEWS | 17

Why there’s wind in the sales of The Ship THREE Wokingham pubs battled it out to become the pub of the year before judges set sail for The Ship.

Just before the coronavirus lockdown, members of Berkshire South East branch of CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) made their verdict.

Judging was tight but, as Anthony Springall said: “It is very pleasing to report that Dave Jennings and his team at The Ship came out a well deserved top beating previous winners of the award, both of whom are fantastic pubs in their own right.

“It was only last year when The Ship was judged as the best community pub in the area, reflecting the huge amount of work done by the team to

nity join together ger’s 50th birthday

rebalance. To have something so heartwarming made me so happy, and it helped lots of other people living alone to feel connected to something.”

Mrs Ferguson was amazed at her family’s ability to plan such a huge surprise without giving it away.

“I don’t know how they managed it, we’re all on lockdown together,” she said. “I guess they must have printed the posters when I went for a run.

“And then the night before, they said they were wrapping presents in the garage but I think they were out delivering the posters.”

But Mrs Ferguson attributes the

success of the day not just to her husband and children, but the people of Twyford.

“This is about the community. My family had no idea they would make it what it was,” she added.

“What a great surprise it was during this awful time.

“They came to their windows to clap and cheer and my neighbour with dementia came out on her driveway to sing Happy Birthday’ with her carer too.

“The local people have been amazing and people not formally joining in, soon did, asking if I was the mysterious Helen and then wishing me happy birthday too.”

make the pub as inclusive as possible.

“Being judged Pub of the Year is the ultimate accolade that the branch can award a pub and it will now go forward to the regional round bearing in mind that Berkshire currently has the national

winner in its midst with the Bell at Aldworth.”

The certificate will be presented to Mr Jennings and his team once the pandemic is over and pubs are allowed to open again. � It wasn’t the only award the local CAMRA branch has issued recently.

A long service honour has been presented to Graham and Dawn Howarth in recognition of their 18 years’ tenure.

Mr Springall said: “The Rifle is a great example of an enjoyable community local, so they must have been doing something right for the last 18 years.”

The presentation (pictured) was made before the lockdown by Kevin Lenton, CAMRA branch chairman.

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Family praises charity’s support after little girl has emergency open heart surgery EXCLUSIVE

By ANGELA GARWOOD news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

THE FAMILY of a little girl with a life-threatening illness have thanked Sebastian’s Action Trust for their ongoing support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Four-year-old Nancy Rockell recently left hospital after having emergency open heart surgery.

As a baby, she was diagnosed with Heterotaxy syndrome, a rare condition that affects the heart and other organs.

And over the four years she has had ten operations, the most recent at Evelina London Children's Hospital.

Despite the coronavirus crisis, the Rockell family have said they feel just as supported

by Sebastian’s Action Trust as they always have been — especially during Nancy’s most recent surgery.

They have praised the Crowthorne-based respite charity for helping them cope with their daughter’s diagnosis.

Kirsty Rockell, Nancy’s mother said: “We are far more supported by the charity than by anybody else. They get it, they’re amazing. They’re doing everything they can at this

uncertain time.

“There have been regular phone calls to and fro. When Nancy was in hospital she was isolated away from the ward, she was very poorly.

“I dropped a text to Sebastian’s and soon after I had my outreach worker calling me, this was at 7:30pm at night, so not office hours. They go above and beyond.”

The family have also been receiving support for their eldest child, Oscar.

The six-year-old has been struggling with anxiety surrounding his sister’s illness and has one-to-one support from the charity.

Mrs Rockell said: “Claudia, Oscar’s key-worker has sent him a personalised activity pack with things they used to work on in school together.

“She’s been in regular contact and has always said she’s available for a call or video chat.

“She used to go and spend time with Oscar once a week in school — the difference in him is incredible.”

She added: “Everybody has been amazing, the whole team.

There’s a real sense of family, it doesn’t matter what role, everyone gets involved, they are incredible.

“They’re still doing as much as they can at the moment. It’s an uncertain time but we’re all in the same boat.”

Usually, Sebastian’s Action Trust provides outreach and specialist support at The Woodlands centre in Crowthorne, one of their two facilities aimed at reducing isolation and helping families.

Some of the centre’s facilities include a sensory room, cinema and garden. But The Woodlands has temporarily closed its doors, and all respite breaks, day visits, events and activities have been cancelled for the foreseeable future.

Mrs Rockell said: “Nancy was born without a spleen and is immuno-compromised, so catching a cold could be life threatening.

“Playing at the park, with children running around and coughing, it’s worrying.

“At The Woodlands, we don’t have to worry as we’re all aware of each other’s children. You know you’re in a safe boat, no one will think I’m being neurotic about hand-washing.”

Since the centre’s closure, Nancy and Oscar have been desperate to return, pestering their mum about playing at the park.

Bohunt School Wokingham Sheerlands Road Arborfield, Reading Berkshire, RG2 9GB

t: 0118 907 6237 e: info@bohuntwokingham.com twitter: @BohuntWokhingham www.bohuntwokingham.com Head of School Mr B D Godber, MA, BSc

Pastoral Support Assistant- T erm Time Contract (Commencing May/June2020) FTE Salary:

Working Hours:

£20,830pa FTE (£17,465 actual salary) 35 hours per week / 39 weeks (Term Time + INSETdays)

FTE £20,830 – £23,411 pro rata 35 hours per week, working between 8.30 am and 4.15 pm term time only Applications from suitably motivated and skilled applicants are welcome. This post is ideal for those who are considering a career in teaching and are thinking of applying for a PGCE or School Direct course, or you could be an experienced teacher looking for the flexibility of a part-time role. No experience is necessary as appropriate training will be provided.

We are seeking to appoint a well organised person to work within the pastoral duty team by supporting students within the school. If you are passionate about supporting young people, enjoy variety in your role and thrive working in a busy environment, this is a great opportunity for you. The successful candidate should have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, relate well to young people have the ability to work on own initiative.

Responsibilities: Meeting and greeting vulnerable students and parents on a daily basis Taking follow up actions following incidents To supervise our inclusion room with students who have been temporarily removed from a mainstream classroom setting.

Maintaining and updating sensitive data and records We offer: Local Government Pension Scheme The opportunity to make a difference in a new School The benefit of being part of a multi-academy trust offering the support of experienced colleagues across our schools and greater opportunities for career progression Training to become an additional safeguarding lead for the school

Bohunt is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Any successful applicant will be required to undertake a Disclosure check by the Disclosure and Barring Service at an Enhanced level.

Applications are welcome as soon as possible. Closing date 31st March 2020.Applicants are welcome to visit the school by arrangement with ldavis@bohuntwokingham.com. For any other questions or more information about the role please contact Laura Brooks at lbrooks@bohuntwokingham.com.

Bohunt School Wokingham is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young students and expects all staff to share this commitment. The successful applicant will need to undertake an Enhanced DBS check.

Proud to be part of the Bohunt Education Trust

Nancy Rockell smiles after a successful open heart surgery at Evelina London Children’s Hospital. She is being supported by Sebastian’s Action Trust in Crowthorne

Due to new social distancing measures, the charity is finding new ways to support its vulnerable families.

Now, they have launched an online fundraising campaign to provide emergency supply packs to families of seriously ill children.

Each emergency support pack costs approximately £40 and includes items such as bread, milk, eggs, tinned foods, toiletries and baby care products including nappies and wipes.

Jane Gates OBE, Sebastian’s Action Trust CEO, said: “We know that everyone’s lives have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic, but if you can give anything, your donation will help us bring emergency provisions to our vulnerable families.

“As we cannot initiate our own fundraising efforts at this time, we are entirely dependent upon the generosity of our supporters to help us finance the emergency support we are giving.

“Sebastian’s Action Trust is still at work, supporting vulnerable families each and every day.”

Sebastian’s Action Trust is appealing for support to help fund emergency support packs to help keep families safe and nourished.

To donate, visit: www.justgiving.com/campaign/ SATstillworking.

For more information about the charity, contact info@sebastiansactiontrust.org

Online bookworms welcomed USAGE in libraries has been booming during the coronavirus pandemic – despite them having shut their doors to the public, writes Phil Creighton.

Many, like Wokingham borough’s, offer a range of digital services, including audiobooks, magazines and ebooks.

And the Local Government Association (LGA) says that some libraries have seen a 600% increase in newly registered users.

The increase in use has been seen in Wokingham, leading the borough council to launch a new online registration scheme to make it as easy as possible for residents to join.

The LGA, which represents councils across England, says many libraries are restricted in the number of e-books and audio books they can provide for their residents because of licensing limits with publishers.

It is calling on the Government and publishers to work together to unlock an additional £5 million in

investment to enable libraries to increase their capacity in loaning more online material.

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “The number of people registering to use digital library services across some parts of the country has rocketed.

“Councils are doing everything they can to protect their residents’ wellbeing during this difficult time. Extra funding would help libraries extend their licences and meet this growing demand.”

In Wokingham, Cllr Parry Batth, executive member for environment and leisure at Wokingham Borough Council, said: “In the first week of the national lockdown we saw a 35% increase in our download services for e-books, audiobooks, newspapers and magazines.

“We also quickly moved our children’s Storytime and Rhymetime sessions online via social media, with the Storytime on March 24,

attracting more than 3,000 views and the Rhymetime on March 27, more than 1,500.

“This is amazing when you consider these sessions can normally only accommodate 20 to 30 attendees because of the size of the rooms where they’re held.

“And this week we’ve launched online registrations to join our libraries, giving you instant and free access to all our downloadable e-books, audiobooks, newspapers, and magazines.

“We were planning to introduce this later this year but moved it forward to help our residents during the lockdown.”

To join Wokingham’s libraries online visit: www.wokingham.spydus.co.uk/ cgi-bin/spydus.exe/MSGTRN/ OPAC/JOIN. To check out all virtual events and resources visit: www.wokingham.gov.uk/ libraries/online-library-eventsand-activities/

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Dancing couple look to inspire others to twist away the blues EXCLUSIVE

By ANGELA GARWOOD news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

A WOKINGHAM couple have shared a video of themselves dancing the coronavirus blues away.

Terry and Mary Wilkins, aged 77 and 76 respectively, wanted to inspire others during the isolation period with their twisting and shaking.

The couple, who met as teenagers at a bus stop and have been together for 60 years, live in a retirement home close to the centre of Wokingham.

They enjoy staying active, and said: “We know it’s a good way of keeping fit during isolation. For us, it was very therapeutic.

"We can’t go out for a walk at the moment, so we have a dance most

days. We’ve won the odd competition with our jiving.”

The Wilkins have loved dancing throughout their marriage and share an appreciation for upbeat music and other activities.

“We like lively music, it suits our personality,” said Mr Wilkins.

“We’ve got a very eclectic taste, we’ve got so many CDs, though we probably lean towards country music.

“We do a lot of things together, we’re best friends. We cruise a lot, we play cards and other games.

I usually win,” said Mr Wilkins.

“We just thought if the video inspired others during social isolation, then that’d be good. We’ve had a fantastic response to it."

The video can be viewed at twitter.com/Renaissance_RL/status/ 1243585827613167617

Police appeal after laptops stolen from university LAPTOPS have been stolen from the University of Reading, and police are hoping newly released CCTV will help them track down the culprit.

The incidents took place on Monday, February 10.

The first took place at 3.37pm in the library.

The thief gain access to the library and stole two laptops.

The same offender then went to the nearby Henley Business School and stole a further two laptops.

The CCTV contains images of a man who Thames Valley Police believe can help them with their investigation.

Investigating officer PC Julie Susel, based at Loddon Valley police station, said: “I am appealing to anyone who has

Body found in river believed to be missing man POLICE believe they have found the body of a man who went missing in Sonning in January.

In a statement released earlier this week, Thames Valley Police said that a body was seen in the river by Charvil on Friday, April 3.

Although formal identification has not yet taken place, officers believe it to be that of Alexander Stern, who was last seen on January 11. CCTV showed him drinking in The Bull Inn and walking through the village.

The force said that Alexander’s death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner. Alexander’s next of kin has been informed and is being supported at this time.

They wish to express their gratitude to the community for their support throughout this difficult time.

information that could assist with this investigation to get in touch.

“There was a large number of students inside the library of the University of Reading and Henley Business School that day, so I believe someone may have seen what happened.

“Furthermore, I believe the man in this CCTV image may have important information. If you recognise the man in this CCTV footage, or believe it could be you, please come forward.

“You can contact us using our online form quoting reference number 43200047023.

“Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

Learning resources with cattitude ANIMAL lovers can get a helping paw with homeschooling, thanks to the Cats Protection charity.

It has launched Moggy Modules, five new online learning tools aimed at children.

Each pack includes cat-themed worksheets, quizzes, creative writing exercises, feline facts, recipes and other fun learning activities linked to one of the five cat welfare needs; a place to live, behaviour, the right diet, good healthcare and space.

The packs have been created by Cats Protection’s educational experts to help young learners discover more about our feline friends and their welfare needs, with age-appropriate learning tools for children aged five-seven and seven-11.

On completing #TheMoggyModules, children can download and print a colour certificate to celebrate their knowledge of the five cat welfare needs.

The Moggy Modules support Cats Protection’s call for animal

welfare to be included as a mainstream topic in the National Curriculum to give children a basic understanding of how to respect and care for animals.

Shelley Brown, Cats Protection’s education team manager, said: “Children learn best and stay focused longer if they enjoy what they are doing. Home schooling can be fun for families.

“Our Moggy Modules are designed to give parents a helping hand, while teaching children about better animal welfare and encouraging them to be better stewards of our environment for years to come.”

To download the free resources, log on to education.cats.org.uk/ moggy-modules-for-learning-athome/

NEWS | 19

20 | NEWS

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Do you know this man?

POLICE have released CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to, following a number of burglaries in Wokingham.

On Saturday, February 29, between 2.30am and 3.30am, two offenders gained entry via letterboxes or insecure doors to a number of properties on Holmes Crescent, Meadow Road, Meadow Walk, and Oaklands Drive, Wokingham.

Once inside, offenders took handbags, cash, bank cards and electronic equipment.

Case investigator Victoria Burgess, of Loddon Valley police station, said: “I am appealing to anyone who has information that could assist with this investigation to get in touch.

“If you recognise the man in these CCTV images, or believe it could be you, please come forward.

“We are also urging anyone living in the targeted areas to check their CCTV or dashcamera footage and to get in touch with us if they have recordings of suspicious behaviour or of the two offenders.

“If you have information which could help, you can also contact the non-emergency number 101 or make a report online, quoting reference numbers 43200069662.

“If you would like to remain anonymous you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Land Army initiative launches to find 70,000 workers for harvest

By JESS WARREN jwarren@wokinghampaper.co.uk

CONNECTING growers and workers, a new service launched today to help this year’s harvest.

The Land Army initiative has been created by UK-based company, Home Grown to bring farms and workers together in real-time.

The initiative uses existing technology, so that farms and workers can put themselves on a map and see where local opportunities are.

It is hoped this method will take out the need for lengthy recruitment processes, leaving the farms to recruit at the speed required.

Already on the map is Heathlands Farm, Wokingham who are looking for fruit pickers to start in May. The initiative aims to reignite the pleasure of field to fork home-grown produce, and ensure that local production is understood.

It comes as the British Growers Association estimated the UK needs 70,000 seasonal workers this year to help with the harvest.

And Government and industry figures show that each year, over 60,000 of these seasonal labourers come to the UK from other parts of

the world.

Without enough workers, it will not be possible to get the food out of the ground, and into our supply chain — potentially resulting in food shortages.

Edwina Mullins, vice-chair for #ClubHectare, an online rural network supporting the Home Grown initiative, said: “Helping our domestic sustainability is crucial.

We have many people in the country out of work, especially in the hospitality, construction and retail industries.

“At the same time, we have farms desperate for workers.

“There is a need to build community relationships to create a thriving home marketplace for British farming and British workers.

“In these disruptive times, we all need new ways of thinking and dynamic engagement and I love the

passion of this project to keep food on our plates during this difficult time."

James Patrick, head of service delivery at Home Grown, said: “Home Grown is a starting point.

“A place where we can reach out beyond political divides and break through the noise of headlines to have real conversations about our countryside, our food supply, and our economy, and how it is all kept secure.

“We are connecting production and produce to the community in new sustainable ways.

“Elevating farms, farmers, and the community, and helping both to work as one unit – a land army — to feed the nation.”

For more information, to become worker on the Land Army map or register a farm, visit: homegrown.earth/land-army/

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Caversham artist wins national Manga comic competition AFTER years of drawing, a local woman had her artwork showcased at the Embassy of Japan last month.

Tori Jones (21), from Caversham entered the 13th annual Manga Jiman competition earlier this year, and was declared the winner on Friday, February 14.

Her entry, titled ‘A Heart of Gold or Some Other Metal’ features a young android woman, drawn in an eight page comic.

She said: “My comic is based on an android girl who’s showing compassion. It was open to any style and lot’s of people have a very classic manga style.”

As part of the winning prize, Ms Jones has been given flight tickets for her and a friend to visit Japan, courtesy of All Nippon Airways.

Although she has already visited Japan, Ms Jones is excited to return to Tokyo and explore the city further.

At the event, shortlisted artists, judges and manga creators from across the UK and beyond gathered in the Embassy of Japan to hear the results.

This year, seven first time entrants make the short list. The judges praised Ms Jones on her lucid art style and thoughtfulness in her interpretation of the theme of union in her work.

“It was a really wonderful evening for me,” added Ms Jones. “And I'm so glad to have been lucky enough to share it with some amazing friends of mine and my ever supportive family.”

Henley Festival line-up postponed for 2021 HENLEY’S glamorous black-tie summer festival will not be returning this year, writes Daisy Hanson.

Organisers have moved the 2020 line-up to next July, after the event was cancelled to comply with government advice on social distancing.

Henley Festival will be contacting ticket holders to assure them that they will be valid for next year.

Organisers have confirmed that this year’s artists including

headliners James Blunt, Madness, Sophie EllisBextor, Sara Cox, will perform next summer.

Henley Festival CEO Nick Mattingley said: “We understand the immense disappointment after all the extraordinary work that has taken place to bring this much loved festival to Henley for its 38th year. We look forward to welcoming festival goers and artists back to the festival in 2021.”

Tori Jones was presented with first prize in the national competition.

(Circle) And her entry about a young andorid woman.

Pictures: courtesy of Tori Jones

NEWS | 21

Sonning Festival cancelled this year THE SONNING festival will no longer be running this year due to the coronavirus crisis.

The biennial family-friendly festival, which was due to start on Saturday, May 23 will not go ahead as previously planned.

This includes the Sonning Regatta, Sonning Scarecrow trail, and the Cherished Car Show — all of which were due to take place over that weekend.

Barbara Carr, of the Sonning village scarecrow committee, said: It’s very unfortunate but it had to be done.

“Even as a committee, we couldn’t get together to plan the event at all.

“It’s very sad, I know there were people in the village who were looking forward to it. But scarecrows are nothing when you compare them to other, big events such as the Olympics.”

Ms Carr explained that there are no plans for the future yet, because the committee is unable to meet.

But they hope to decide a new date for the event in the future.

22 | SOCIETY

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BBC Berkshire makes a difference

By JOHN WAKEFIELD news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

A HELPLINE set up by BBC local radio stations has been called more than 100,000 in a fortnight – and the corporation is also giving away thousands of digital radios in a bid to combat loneliness.

Since adopting a special schedule as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, stations such as BBC Radio Berkshire have been sharing community initiatives and ideas as part of its Make A Difference strand.

The corporation says that this is its biggest-ever response to a local radio campaign and says that successes include helping get essential items to a terminally ill father of three, find a lift to work for an NHS worker whose car had broken down and stopped a man from getting evicted from his home.

Locally, it has also seen an isolated man who lives in Cemetery Junction make daily calls to

lunchtime presenter Sarah Walker, and also help staff at the Royal Berkshire Hospital get walkie talkies.

It is part of a revamp of the schedules that has seen muchloved presenters, including Phil Kennedy, Bridgitte Tetteh, Vernon Harwood, Paul Coia and Bill Buckley, host four-hour shows across the day offering phone-ins, advice and music.

BBC director general Tony Hall said: “The response of the British people in this difficult time has been phenomenal and we are glad to do our bit by helping people help each other.”

“Millions of people are isolating but that doesn’t mean they have to feel isolated. That’s why from today you can nominate someone who is over 70 for a free DAB radio.

“We hope this will give some of society’s most vulnerable a constant companion.

“Local radio is vital for keeping people connected and we want to

Wokingham Horticultural Association The lockdown has not phased Wokingham Horticultural Association who were forced to cancel their Spring Show, which had been due to be held on Saturday, March 28.

In the capable hands of webmasters, Nick Hills and Rachael Burrows, they devised a Virtual Spring Show for their members and friends to enter online.

The Show runs over four weeks and the overall winners can look forward to a Virtual Certificate to be virtually presented by Wokingham Town Mayor, Cllr Lynn Forbes In the first week, 120 entries were received, some coming from as far away as France from where Show Secretary, Pauline MacBrayne, has encouraged her family to enter.

Winners are to be decided by popular vote, based on a criteria of best effort in the class.

Voting takes place Sunday to Saturday and Week 1 winners will be announced this weekend.

“We wanted to keep in touch with Members and provide some interesting activities for everyone confined to home because of the lockdown, the idea of a Virtual Show developed from there,” explained Pauline.

“We are developing ideas as we go along so we should be quite good at this by week four.”

For further information visit www.w-h-a.org.uk Pauline MacBrayne , Sheila McKeand

Reading Samaritans A SERVICE that is lending a listening ear to the Thames Valley’s most vulnerable residents is asking for help to get through the coronavirus.

Reading Samaritans says it needs help to ensure its volunteers can continue to support people struggling to cope during this crucial time.

Volunteers that are able to carry out shifts at the Reading branch are following strict guidelines on hygiene standards and social distancing. The situation is being continually monitored to ensure that volunteer safety is prioritised.

But its work has been hit by the cancellation of fundraisers that would have boosted their coffers.

Reading Samaritans branch director Ali Chapman said: “For nearly 60 years, our branch has provided a listening ear to anyone who needs support, which has been possible through the public’s kind donations and we are hugely grateful that our work is recognised by the community.

reach as many people as possible.

For those stuck at home my message is simple: Local radio is there for you.”

BBC England has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding with the Community Media Association (CMA), an umbrella organisation for 300 community radio stations, so that they can broadcast BBC local radio content for free during the crisis.

Danny Lawrence, Chairman of the Community Media Association, said: “We're delighted to be working with BBC local radio in this initiative to share their content with community radio stations during this health crisis.

“This is an excellent example of the CMA-BBC Memorandum of Understanding working in practice.

“Our dedicated volunteers are still working around the clock to answer phones and emails from people in need.

“Now more than ever, we need the public’s continued support.

“Due to the cancellation of our upcoming fundraising events, we are facing a significant loss of funding, so we are calling on people to help us ensure that we continue to be here for anyone who needs support.

“While we are separated from our loved ones and friends, catching up virtually is a great way to stay connected. How wonderful would it be to get creative during the coronavirus lockdown and hold a virtual fundraiser like a quiz, bake off or book club.”

The charity says that a donation of little as £5 will help volunteers to answer a call for help.

To make a donation and find out other ways you can support Reading Samaritans please visit https://www.samaritans.org/branches/reading/ where you can donate directly to the branch via its Virgin Giving Page. Additionally, donations can be made to Reading Samaritans via Amazon Smile and through easyfundraising.org.uk which turns purchases from more than 4,000 online retailers into donations. Simply select Reading Samaritans as your chosen charity for both.

To host a virtual fundraising event, the donation can be made directly here.

Those worried about their own mental health or someone else during the coronavirus outbreak can find some useful online resources and advice here on the Samaritans website which includes help to support you through self-isolation.

CLASP We have all been asked to stay at home to slow down the spread of Coronavirus, as a result, our offices are closed.

We have all been asked to stay at home to slow down the spread of Coronavirus, as a result, our offices are closed.

It makes it more important than ever to keep in touch with our friends and have some routine to keep us HEALTHY AND HAPPY. At 10am on Tuesdays and Fridays we will be having a video meeting on ZOOM: On Tuesday, we welcome Joanne Dixon from Healthwatch. On Friday, April 17, we welcome Malcolm Parker from lowland Rescue and on Friday, April 24, AnnMarie Gawen from unlockyourwellbeing.co.uk will talk to us about happiness On the first Tuesday of each month Heather from Wokingham Borough Library talks to us in

“It’s vitally important at this time for BBC local radio to partner with local community radio stations to keep our communities safe, informed, and educated.

“We look forward to furthering the relationships between local community radio and BBC local radio going forward.”

And the BBC is giving away thousands of digital radios to people over 70 in a partnership with loneliness charity Wavelength. This enables them to access a host of stations that are not available on traditional FM or AM wavelengths To nominate someone, visit www.wavelength.org.uk The Make a Difference line will stay open until until the Coronavirus is over. Go to www.bbc.co.uk/makeadifference to find out more.

our book corner session. We will also be asking others to talk to us like Citizens Advice Bureau, Berkshire Rescue, Thames Valley Police, Wokingham Borough council and more.

Every Monday and Wednesday we will be posting a new “CHEER YOU UP CHALLENGE” on our Facebook page CLASPWOKINGHAM from taking a picture of your pet to the most unusual sandwich filling you’ve ever had. Like our page and join in the fun.

We have a Closed WhatsApp group for members to chat and keep in touch.

For more details, log on to wokinghamclasp.org.uk Debs Morrison

Wokingham Lions A VIRTUAL pub quiz has raised more than £300 for the vulnerable members of the community.

On Wednesday, April 1 the Wokingham Lions Club held a virtual quiz to raise money for the Wokingham Community Hub — which is packaging food parcels for the vulnerable.

The quiz was live-streamed on Facebook with more than 200 teams taking part.

Although the quiz was free to enter, attendees could choose to make a charitable donation at the end.

And some teams taking part tuned in from Singapore and Scotland to test their combined brain power.

Organiser Ian Grange, said “I really missed the Thursday night quiz at the Two Poplars, and I thought others would be missing their weekly quiz fix as well.

“I decided to organise a virtual one over Facebook, with the help of my fellow Lions. The response has been wonderful.

“It’s great to hear that so many people enjoyed it, and that we were able to raise some funds to support Wokingham Community Hub, who are doing so much to support our community.”

Wokingham Lions president, Lyn Baily added: “During lockdown, it’s easy to feel isolated.

“It’s part of the Lion’s objective to make a difference in our community, so we are happy to have organised something that brings people together in these difficult times.”

After a successful night, the Lions are now planning another quiz for Thursday, April 9, which will be available via the Wokingham Lions Facebook page fb.com/wokinghamlions.

The first quiz is still available to view on their page as well.

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At school? This is the page you can write! We welcome your articles, poems, pictures and stories for this page. Send your articles to news@ wokinghampaper.co.uk

News from schools | Stories from pupils

HARRY’S Sports should be fun for all WORLD Harry Bradley

By DYLAN GRIEVES, Foundry College

SPORTS should be fun for all.

Easter plans have come to a screeching halt

T

HE Easter holidays are finally here.

Driving test passed, a group of us planned to head to the beach for a few days camping and messing around. A long and welcome break from the intensity of school, Easter is a time for catching up with family and friends, chilling out and having some fun in the sun.

But I didn’t pass my driving test because it was cancelled. So was my trip to the beach and time out and about with friends.

My week this week was the same as last week and the same as the weeks ahead. Covid-19 is racing around the world whilst my life seems to have come to an emergency stop.

As someone on Twitter put it recently: “It feels like January, February and March were all different years.”

To me, April feels more like a whole new world, let alone a new year.

We’ve been on official lockdown since Monday, March 23. Sunday, March 22 feels like a lifetime ago.

April is a brave new world. Well, not so much ‘brave’.

A trip to the supermarket feels like I’ve stepped into an apocalyptic movie. But a new world feels about right.

Yes, like everyone, everywhere, my Easter plans have come screeching to a halt.

The freedom of being able to get in a car and drive anywhere feels worlds away from the reality of not being able to leave the house.

Hope But Easter is a time of hope, a time of new beginnings. Maybe our time away from the ‘old world’ will prove useful and beneficial.

The main road that I live on is suddenly quiet.

But, strangely, the lack of noise is nice for a change.

The days are long and I have time to do things and that’s not bad either. Ever the optimist, I want to come out of quarantine and say that I actually achieved something.

I want to be able to look back on this weird time and say I actually did something. In some ways, this time feels like a gift and I don’t want to pass it up.

Daily workouts at home are structuring my day, and are a physical and mental reminder that I’m actually being productive.

So when I eventually get to take my driving test, and the car is packed for a trip to the beach with my mates, I won’t have wasted my days at home doing nothing.

I’ll have read all the books I’ve wanted to read and I might be able to speak a little Spanish, ready for when we can travel abroad again.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Right now, that feels like a world away. I need to concentrate on the ‘now’.

And right now, my next goal is to win the annual Easter egg hunt with my brother. Whatever happens, at least we have chocolate eggs.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy Easter.

Stay safe.

Playing a game of football, a match of tennis or even swimming, all of these and many more can be a great way of getting into shape and having fun while doing it.

I remember a time, not too long ago, when I would go to the park every weekend after a long week at school and play football all day long with my friends. However, the days of children laughing and running around in warm summer days seem to be coming to an end.

Even adults can be victims of the disease of competition. The fun killing illness that turns a friendly game of football into a full-on rivalry.

The virus that causes fights and disputes, the blood sucking snake strangling the life out of sports.

Sports in this day are based on competition, most people believe there is no point in playing if there is no chance of them winning.

In fact, a recent study revealed that 80% of people would not play in a game of football if they believed they would not be able to win. While a little competition is good and healthy, some people take it too far.

It excludes people from the sport, it stops the people who need it the most from exercising from fears of being made fun of.

We wonder why 35% of adults are overweight and childhood obesity is becoming more and more prevalent every year when there are children

and adults scared away from sports from fear of competition.

I believe that we must work as a nation to change this together, to change this epidemic of hatred and competition forever.

To be fair to most people, what is really expected to happen when all you can see from sports in the media is competition?

What has happened to sportsmanship, what has happened to honesty and a fair game? The days have changed when players would help each over up after a fall and if it does happen the media pushes it to the side.

The few remaining players that respect the opposition need to be rewarded for setting a good example and keeping

the morals of sport alive.

It seems like every week, there is another sporting idol for kids that is busted from doping. This sort of exposure to cheating gives children a bad view or sports and tells them that they should do anything to win giving them horrible morals, leading to more cheating in future generations.

Competitiveness is at an all-time high and it must change before sport becomes reserved for only the elite athletes that are the best in their field.

Sport should be fun and a way to escape the monotonous and inactive lifestyle of most adults. Something must be done to protect the enjoyment of people all over the world and preserve sport forever.

Learning continues at home for All Saints SCHOOL may be shut but the learning at All Saints hasn’t stopped.

Parents of the Wokinghambased primary school have been stepping up to help children get to grips with their own lessons.

All pupils went home with learning packs full of worksheets, suggested timetables, links to learning and plenty of creative ideas. Children have been busy with their pencils but also their paintbrushes, trowels and mixers.

Headteacher Tracey Stanton said: “All our staff did an incredible job creating the packs, which covered the breadth of our curriculum.

“Everyone pulled together to ensure they reached all our children, including those who were already in self-isolation.

“We know it’s a huge change

for our children and parents and we wanted to makes sure we are supporting the children’s learning

BENNY’S CONFLICT

By James Lomax Part 12 of 26 Benny, with the help of a Gorgon woman called Shana Vees, has formulated a careful plan to sneak his friend Carlos into a prison planet, and he continues to carry out the early stages…

T

HERE were many secrets about Izen Dopolous that only those closest to him knew.

One of them was his age.

People guessed he may be a few hundred, perhaps a thousand years old. Those people were wrong.

Others question who he originally was, before his brain was separated from his body and made part of the mass of technology he became in control of.

Izen himself said he used to be a rather famous figure, but he was probably lying.

One thing everybody knew was how vulnerable he was. He was, after all, just a stationary brain. Anyone could find and kill him, if they knew his location. But he

gave that information only to his most trusted followers that shared his beliefs and ideals, and carried out his orders without question.

And before Benny had joined S.T.A.R., he had done just that, working for Izen and doing tasks. (None as bad as murder, usually finding electronic parts or stealing certain objects.) When he enlisted, however, he set aside that life and what he did, and changed over that time, his sense of loyalty now focused on justice throughout the Human Empire, although he never forgot Izen Dopolous and, more importantly, exactly where he was in the city he had grown up in.

Now, for the next part of his plan, Benny had to question how loyal he was to Izen, and if he could break that. It wouldn’t be easy. Izen had been like a second father, teaching him how he saw the world and how it should be changed.

But after Benny’s time in S.T.A.R., he realised that Izen’s teachings may have

and wellbeing at this very challenging time.”

If the school has to remain closed not been the best for a child to grow up learning, and it permanently rooted a prejudice against aliens, one that he had already overcome after getting acquainted with Shana.

Now, staring at the rusty, metal door that led into Izen’s hideout, Benny felt ready. He had convinced himself that this was necessary, and Shana had played a huge part in that as well. As he was scanned, and the door swung open, Benny gripped his sack a little tighter than usual.

“My boy,” the voice droned, “in the 3,900 years I have been alive, I have made many observations. My most important finding is humans never change.

“We always see ourselves as superior towards others, and seek to correct the inferiors, as I did long ago, and now you have done. This is what humanity truly stands for. And is it not glorious?”

Benny nodded and raised the sack into the air, hoping whatever Izen used to see could look at it. “Behold! The head of Shana Vees!”

The voice, although never changing in tone, definitely seemed pleased at this.

“Good, good! You have done well, and

after Easter, learning will switch online, using the Microsoft teams platform, and pupils are already using this to ask questions to their teachers, and to support each other.

Year 6 have recently been set some extra PE and Years 3 and 4 are getting class rewards for work completed.

Assistant head Nicola Dawson said: “The well-being of our school family is so important to us, and this seemed a great way to be able to give children the continuity they need to be able to keep learning and feel connected’” Parent Laura Keey said: “Everything is really comprehensive, perfectly pitched and keeping the children occupied for the right amount of time each day – absolutely fabulous while we both also try to work from home.” your reward has just been transmitted to the prison system. You can now enter the planet. But before you leave, I want to see the head.”

This is what Benny had been planning on. Of course, Shana Vees wasn’t actually in there, just two containers of flammable liquid, that, once combined, would combust into flames.

Benny opened the sack and fiddled inside, breaking the seal to allow it to set on fire almost immediately.

Izen spoke three final words, “What is this?” before the sack was thrown into the circuitry and wires behind him, setting it alight, and Benny dashed out the door before Izen shut it, and ran far away down the street.

In a way it was ironic, that Izen died to flames, just like he had done to millions of others over the course of his unnaturally long life.

He had spread his ideas to others, and forced them to cooperate, on countless other planets over time. As the protective layer of glass cracked, and the brain turned darker and more wrinkled, Izen’s tyrannical dictatorship was at an end.

To be continued…

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MP’s dismay as council reveals bid to buy Reading Gaol has failed Is this the end of so-called ‘No Fault’ evic�ons by resident landlords?

By PHIL CREIGHTON news@wokinghampaper.co.uk

A DECISION by the Government not to allow Reading Gaol to be turned into a locally-owned arts centre has been branded “disappointing” by one of the MPs who fought to save it.

The historic site, which was once home to an incarcerated Oscar Wilde, was put up for sale by the Ministry of Justice in 2015, and Reading Borough Council had hoped to be first in the queue to buy the site, which is close to Forbury Gardens and the town’s historic Abbey Quarter.

Reading East MP Matt Rodda had teamed up with his Reading West counterpart – and political opposite – Alok Sharma in a bid to save the site.

Last autumn, they led hundreds of people in a mass hug around the gaol site, and last month organised a virtual protest march after the real thing was called off due to the coronavirus.

But on Monday, Reading Borough Council revealed that its bid to buy the site was rejected by the Ministry, adding that it would collaborate with the winning bid to ensure the

If you are a landlord you may already know that you can evict your tenant on the grounds that their tenancy has come to its end. You do not currently need any other reason to serve a Sec�on 21 No�ce and start the court process on two months’ no�ce. This has become known as the ‘No Fault’ evic�on.

site’s historic and cultural value is retained.

In a statement, Mr Rodda said: “I am deeply disappointed with the Government’s approach and I would urge the Government to work with the council and respect the enormous historical importance of Reading Gaol.

“I am concerned that the Government still want to sell the gaol to the highest bidder and I understand they now have a preferred bidder who they are working with.

“I would ask them even at this late stage to reconsider and think again about

Hundreds of people gathered last October to hug Reading Gaol in a bid to show support for plans to turn the site into a arts centre Picture: Phil Creighton

Recent headlines repeatedly inform us of the housing crisis in the UK. It is es�mated that 1 million new homes are needed to meet with increasing demand due to Britain’s growing popula�on. Homelessness has increased year on year, with at least 320,000 homeless people living in Britain in 20181. There has also been a selling the gaol to Reading leader ofin the Reading 63% increaseThe of households private prison’s historical, archaeoBorough Council or anrented arts sector Borough Council, Cllr Jason and cultural value, all in Britain from 2007 to 20172logical as and heritage organisation.”

Brock, to said: Council’s of national significance. councils struggle cope“The with the high demand And Reading Borough bid rightly focusedthe on‘No theFault’ “The developer will now for social housing.

Repeatedly, Council said that its historical and cultural value need to pay very close evic�on has been blamed as one of the major planning policies would at of the Reading Prison site consideration to the local causes of the surge in homelessness in the UK. least mean that any and it was dependent on and national planning development would include securing significant policies set out by the It is therefore unsurprising thatexternal the Government a provision for a cultural or considering funds to abolishing manage the risk ofevic�ons Council in the Prison is now No-Fault historical element which ownership of this altogether.taking If scrapped, this will have a hugeFramework and in our new draws on the significance of onhistoric property. impact landlords who expect to recover Local Plan. the site and enhance “We are naturally “I intend to meet with the possession at the end of the tenancy period. the Abbey Quarter as a disappointed that the successful bidder at the heritage and cultural Ministry Justice has earliest opportunity to How likely is it ofthat destination. rejected the council’s bid. impress this upon them and the law will change?

It added that it is highly “The purchase of Reading want to work closely with In 2015 the Government changed the law tothem to ensure the historical likely further archaeological Gaol comes with significant assessments and investigplanning which and cultural value of protect tenants fromparameters retalia�on evic�ons. ations would additionally be a tenant are fundamental to any Where no�fies their landlord of a Reading Prison is given needed to inform any future of the and ofprominence as plans are legi�matedevelopment complaint about the site condi�on the development. are designed to protect the developed.” property and their landlord fails to respond adequately and within a �mely manner, landlords are barred from using the No Fault evic�on procedure to evict their tenant.

Lockdown writing: how do you start when it comes to a novel?

W

ITH the country in lockdown, and people isolated in their own homes, many have taken to social media to suggest that now might be the right time to write that novel, or screenplay that's been on your bucket list for years, but... where to start?

Author, screenwriter and lecturer at MetFilm School Fran Poletti gives her top tips.

What elements go together to make a great story? What are the necessary ingredients?

I always start with character and what kind of psychological problem they are going to be dealing with. I imagine myself as their therapist. I mentally lie them down on the couch and start to uncover what needs resolving from their past that is causing issues in their present and future. This is often cemented in the theme I wish to explore.

I write darker dramas but with any story – you need a strong internal and external conflict to really get the story motor working. There needs to be a playfulness with tone to ensure a light and dark within the story world.

Tonal texture is vital to really keep an audience engaged. There also needs to be a primal drive within my characters, even if it is the most specific, niche dilemma and world they find themselves in, I want to ensure it is saying something about the human condition .

One of the last elements but to me the most rewarding, is then giving them their

voice. Through crafting the dialogue, I am able to play with subtext, revealing deeper meaning through what is and also what isn’t said on the page.

So… you’ve got your story idea – how do you share it/ tell the story?

I would try and get it down in just a few lines with a beginning, middle and an end (the most basic three act structure) – in a form of logline. Play around with this until it feels complete and compelling.

Try and tell your story to a friend – are they engaged? Do they want to discover more? If so, keep fleshing it out, digging deeper into your characters – discovering who they are and widening your story world and exactly what you are exploring through telling this tale.

You can then get it down as a one or two page prose document, adding a couple of character bios and also a paragraph at the end stating why you want to tell this story.

Then you have a form of industry standard document called a ‘one/ two pager’ to add to your collection of ideas.

If you pitch that idea in person to someone in the industry and they ask you to send over a treatment – you have it ready to go.

Are there some stories that don’t work well on screen? How do you work out what those are?

If a character is going through a solely internal conflict, then that won’t work on-screen. There needs to be both internal and external problems so we can SEE what they are up against.

TheisGovernment Nofrom Esther Perel’s Where Do Conflict the motor of did anyconsider story. abolishing anything Faultthe evic�ons altogether Often when stakes are too low in May 2019 and Wethe Begin to The Moth and This and you’re being too kindat tolength on the Government’sAmerican Life. I’m fascinated media reported your character, the story those plans did not result in any by local history and true plans. However, fails. Wechange have toas put them Parliament’s focus was firmly on the crime. I love writing throughBrexit the wringer! colloquially and am problem and like a lot of other domes�c Keeping in mind the always looking for issues, went on to the back burner. mantra: ‘show, don’t tell’ stories back home to that “Brexit is a safeNow way to keep this is done” the Government has explore. in check.revisited With a play Sometimes going to thiswe issue and it appears more likely expect dialogue, a gallery and losing than everwith thata No Fault evic�ons will be novel we can have internal scrapped.

This could mean that landlords will be yourself in another’s thoughtunable – screenwriting to regainhas possession of their property ifcreativity can be very to be visual storytelling at its best. stimulating. Discovering Cindy the tenant is not breaching any of its tenancy Other than content, is there a Sherman, Martin Parr and Nan Goldin in terms and the landlord does not want to live in difference between telling a story to my twenties had a big impact. the telling property himself.

Currently adults and a story to children – it is a case And of then real life. I’m really nosey! ‘watch this space’ and we will be publishing what are the differences?

I come from a matriarchal family of further as the It’s similar in ar�cles many ways; yousitua�on need thedevelops. big characters, we had a busy shop where depth ofIfcharacter, to understand the how you I spent you are concerned about can my getchildhood and I still have psychology, figure out the conflict, thread breakfast in my local greasy spoon. your tenants out at the end of a tenancy or everything together through theme. It Listening in to real life drama is often the your tenant is not complying with the tenant must be an excellent pitch. When you most inspiring. If that fails, set a stopplease contact our Dispute trial it out you want everyone wantingResolu�on to watchteam and just force yourself to freeon drteam@herrington-carmichael.com or break through the block. hear more.

The trick is to go for what I write and 686 222. call the 01276 ‘Pixar effect’ .

Any advice for someone wanting to Don’t dumb down your content get into screenwriting? (obviously it has to be age appropriate) Lots of people want to write but how but you can still be working on many many have the discipline to actually set layers. Parents are the ones reading the aside the time and energy it takes to do books and their favourites are the ones it? Not quite as many. You need to have that speak to them as well. that drive, discipline and focus. Set As with everything you have to have yourself deadlines, apply for something to say about humanity, competitions, gather together a conflict and growth. portfolio.

If you’re at a’ blank’, how / where can The power is in your pen. Write a you find inspiration? feature, a pilot, a play and then people I love listening to podcasts, it can be will start to take you seriously.

Making a Will during social distancing and self-isola�on from Coronavirus?

At this difficult �me, many people are considering their Wills. That could be pu�ng one in place, reviewing what is in place or indeed making changes.

We would like to reassure our clients we are open for business and able to assist in the safest way possible.

We are happy to take Will instruc�ons via Skype, Zoom or Face�me.

You may also have concerns about how you might comply with the formali�es of signing your Will, and having your signature witnessed, whilE adhering to the current rules of social distancing.

Signing requirements for Wills are set out in Sec�on 9 of the Wills Act. These are: � The Will must be in wri�ng (typed, wri�en or printed). It must be signed by the Testator (person making the Will) or by another in their presence and by their direc�on � The signature must be made or acknowledged by two or more witnesses present at the same �me. Each witness then signs the Will or acknowledges their signature in the presence of the Testator (but not necessarily in the presence of the other witness).

At the present �me we would recommend arranging for witnesses through a door or window or arrange a mee�ng outdoors while s�cking to the two metre distance rules.

You do not have to be in the same room.

Of course, you should take the addi�onal precau�ons of washing hands before and a�er the signing and using your own pen!

If we can assist with this or any other probate, power of a�orney or trust guidance you may require please contact our Anthony Tahourdin on 0118 977 4045.

This reflects the law at the date of publica�on and is wri�en as a general guide. It does not contain defini�ve legal advice, which should be sought as appropriate in rela�on to a par�cular ma�er.

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Making a meal of it: Advice for families on making that food shop stretch

F

ROM freezing leftovers to serving smaller portion sizes and bulking out dishes with vegetables, families have been offered advice on how to make their food shop last longer.

Penny-pinching gurus from TheMoneyPig.com have revealed six ways to help make the food Brits have in their cupboards last longer than normal, if households are self-isolating.

By taking an inventory of all the food in the cupboards and freezer, families will be able to create meals around the food they have in the house, without needing to buy extra ingredients.

Padding dishes out with cheap vegetables will also help reduce the amount of meat needed, and it’ll also help make more portions whilst bringing the cost down.

A spokesperson from TheMoneyPig.com said: “In these difficult times it’s important to make sure that the food you have managed to buy lasts as long as possible, whilst also keeping everyone full.

“That means throwing little to nothing away and adding cheap ingredients to meals like Spaghetti Bolognese or Chilli con Carne to really bulk them out.

“A lot of these suggestions are to do with the way you store food, and ensuring you use up tins with the shortest use by date first.

“Opting for cheaper options of some ingredients will also help keep the price of dishes down, and of course being able to make more portions out of the same

dish will help with this too.”

These are six ways TheMoneyPig.com have said households can make food go further:

Freeze The amount of foods that you can actually freeze is quite surprising, meaning it’s kept in an edible state for longer. As long as you freeze and defrost the foods safely, they should be able to stay in the freezer for as long as you need them to. Everything from meat and milk to fruit and eggs can be stored in the freezer.

If you have extra portions of dishes, these can also be frozen for a later date instead of being thrown out.

Pork and apple hot cross stuffing balls THERE’S a new take on an old favourite thanks to supermarket chain Aldi.

As Easter gets closer, thoughts are turning to hot cross buns.

Aldi is this year serving some Specially Selected Hot Cross Stuffing Balls.

These flavoursome treats comprise British outdoor bred pork stuffing balls with dried fruit, Bramley apple, black pepper and cinnamon, crowned with golden pastry crosses.

The supermarket says they make the perfect accompaniment to an Easter roast.

So whether you’ll be serving beef, lamb, duck or pork, you can rest assured knowing that your roast dinner will be made egg-stra special with Aldi’s Specially Selected Hot Cross Stuffing Balls.

The stuffing will be available in stores, including the Wokingham and Earley branches, from Thursday, April 9, cost £2.29 for a 300g packet.

Cupboard Many people will have cupboards and pantries full of old tins which they haven’t used. Try and create meals around the tins with the nearest sell-by dates, as the newer tins will last longer. This also means that you may not need to buy as much food as you may have previously thought.

with the meals you make, pushing you out of your comfort zone by learning new recipes.

Inventory

Vegetables

Write an inventory of all the food you have in the house. You can then create and make meals with these foods instead of needing to buy ingredients for recipes you would normally eat. As your inventory and list decreases you will also be able to see what food you need to buy when you go shopping. Doing this will also force you to be a bit more creative

Using vegetables, beans and pulses to fill out dishes such as Bolognese and other pastas means that the amount of meat needed is reduced. You will get more portions out of the dish which will help reduce costs. It will also be much healthier, helping to reach the goal of 5 fruit and veg a day.

Portion control

As easy as it is to assume a chicken breast will feed just one person, weighing the raw weight of ingredients will ensure that everyone is eating adequately without overeating, meaning you can get more meals out of your food.

Drink The more water you drink, the fuller you will feel. Although you should still be eating your main meals, drink lots of water before and during mealtimes.

Filling up on water may help keep the snacking at bay, so these foods can be used in larger meals later on.

Side hustles to earn some extra cash money overnight is slim. If you find a good niche and get the followers, however, it can prove very lucrative.

Setting up your own blog can also be a great way to express yourself during this unprecedented time.

Freelancing This is a great way to play to skills you already have. If you can read, write, programme, make videos and edit you might be able to find a job to suit your skillset. As many workplaces are now working from home it should be easier to join their teams and help complete any outstanding work.

Marketing focus groups

S

TAY home Brits have been offered advice on six easy side hustles to set-up from the kitchen table to start earning some extra cash.

Experts from finance website TheMoneyPig.com have revealed six side hustles that can help workers start to earn extra cash whilst practising self-isolation or social distancing.

From filling out online surveys to teaching over a video call, these side hustles can help earn money – and use days spent indoors productively.

A spokesperson from TheMoneyPig.com said: “These are uncertain times for everybody and the prospect of self-isolation can be extremely daunting.

“If you can try and give yourself something to aim for, either by setting up some side-hustles, or giving yourself something to do daily, such as writing a blog, it will hopefully become slightly easier.

“These side hustles can all be set up within a day with minimal equipment and can easily be adapted to suit your strengths.”

These are TheMoneyPig.com’s six suggested selfisolation side hustles:

Blogging If you plan to monetise a blog you may have to be in it for the long-haul, as the likelihood o you starting to earn

Companies often organise focus groups which can be conducted via video call. These can be for a range of things, such as product packaging, websites and advertisements. They will ask you to look at, or do something, then will want honest feedback, and you will of course be thanked monetarily.

Teaching If you are qualified, or just enjoy passing your knowledge onto others, coaching and teaching via video call could be a great side hustle for you. Whether this be a musical instrument, singing, or even doing some oneon-one teaching for students not at school having the face-to-face communication will also quell loneliness.

Online surveys If you plan on spending your days on the internet, you can fill out online surveys and earn cash for doing so. A quick search will bring up lots of websites and apps and although the rewards can be quite low, they can soon add up.

Re-sell If you’re planning on sorting out cupboards and reorganising the house, you can have a pile of things which you can sell. Whether this be on online auction sites or through social media, you can put these items up for sale. Once things are back to normal you can then deliver these items and be rewarded in cash.

Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

LEISURE | 27

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IN THE KITCHEN Gavin McArdell www.CurryFrenzy.com

Mac n Cheese with roasted tomatoes

I

Parish’s visit down the rabbit hole proves fruitful A GROUP from Wokingham ventured down the rabbit hole to raise hundreds of pounds for a local charity.

The total raised from this year’s Corpus Christi Parish pantomime, Alice in Pantoland, was a massive nearly £2,000 which will be donated to Wokingham-based charity Building For The Future.

Performed in Holme Grange School’s Caudwell Theatre at the end of January, the total raised has been calculated to £1,800, which will be given to the charity to help the charity’s work supporting children with additional needs across the borough.

The charity is parent-led and provides support, activities and therapy to disabled children and those with additional needs in the Wokingham area.

The adapted version of the famous Lewis Carroll work was a success, with the titular Alice instead falling into Pantoland, meeting many colourful characters along the way as she returned to the real world.

The show’s director Harry Pamely said: “We were very pleased with how this year’s pantomime worked out.

“There were three terrific performances, and we are thrilled with how much we managed to raise for a brilliant local cause.

“My thanks to the cast and crew, as well as the audience for supporting us.

“We have a lot of fun creating, rehearsing and performing a pantomime every year, and we are always looking for more people to join each year.

Petsandvets With Michael Morrow

“Preparations for next year’s show are already underway. We have held a production meeting via the internet to decide next year’s show, which we are already getting excited about.”

The next Corpus Christi Parish pantomime will be The Pied Piper, and will be taking place at Caudwell Theatre in January 2021.

Mr Pamely added: “If you want to get involved in any capacity, on stage or off, we’d love to hear from you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never done anything like this before, you will be most welcome.”

The group is made up of many people from 11 years-old to over 60.

For more information, e-mail: parishpantocc@gmail.com.

think that Mac n Cheese is great on its own but that it can also be enhanced with other ingredients too.

It is a useful way of making a cheap meal and use up any leftovers which in the current conditions is a good thing when we want to cut down on unnecessary grocery shopping trips and food wastage.

We had some tomatoes that were fine but past their best so roasted them in olive oil to top a bowl of mac n cheese. The cheese and tomato combination worked wonderfully.

Many other types of pasta will work well too if you can’t get macaroni.

Ingredients serves 2 � 1 Heaped Tbsp plain flour (self-raising will do) � 50g Butter � 200g Grated cheddar � 200ml Milk � 8-12 Tomatoes � Vegetable oil

Providing personal care for all your pets

Not a veterinary perspective. A human one Oaklands Park, Wokingham RG41 2FD

I

N my 25 years as a veterinary surgeon, 15 of them as an owner of my own practice, I have never experienced or anticipated anything like the challenges that face our country at the moment.

Every decision, personal and business, has to be made under the absolute obligation of doing your best to help the whole nation get through this crisis with the minimum possible fallout.

And I am conscious that every industry, not just the veterinary sector, faces what can seem like insurmountable obstacles to surviving these turbulent times.

This week, rather than focusing on the cute puppy visitor, an interesting case study or some seasonal veterinary advice, I would like to take a personal look at where we are, both broadly speaking and as your veterinary practice facing up to covid-19.

As one of the sectors allowed to continue trading, but only to provide emergency care and preventative measures to avoid a serious deterioration in an animal, we as small animal veterinary surgeons are faced with an extremely complex and moral dilemma.

We have a social responsibility to absolutely minimise contact with clients as well as between staff to help slow the progression of this pandemic. But we have always had a duty to protect animals when in need. We signed up to it at the beginning of our careers.

Our governing bodies have acknowledged that, on occasion, decisions we make under the current

0118 979 3200

longer joining the group sessions that help get them through the day.

Or the person living alone in a flat who normally talks to all their neighbours in the doorway as they pass.

And I feel for kids, no longer going to school, not allowed to meet up with friends, isolated at a time when isolation can hurt so much.

And staff that are furloughed who would rather be at work, missing their sense of purpose and worth.

Employees worried about their future. Business owners distraught as they try to navigate unpredictable and stormy waters.

These are just a few examples of what I’ve come across in our community of clients.

But we are human, and strong. Positives shine through the darkness. Simple acts of kindness can make guidelines not to see or treat an animal may go against such a difference. I have had the honour to do my small every fibre of our raison d’être but that public health part. Chatting to clients on the phone. For longer than must be put ahead of animal welfare in some cases. sometimes necessary. Delivering medications to those And I am forced to agree, our civic duty, our social isolating or unable to go out. responsibility, is to do our bit to help the nation get over I have loved the sense of community, albeit with this terrible situation we all find ourselves in. social distancing. I feel for all who are missing human Over the last week I have been struck by some contact, missing animal contact and feeling isolated. And observations. While we try to contain the spread of the I can only add my voice to everyone supporting those in virus the impact on our social interactions and mental the NHS as they continue to work to help us all under health mounts. the most tryingWokingham of circumstances.RG41 2FD Oaklands Park, Necessarily mind you – but telling.

Continue to be kind. To each other. To animals. To The elderly client who lives alone and relies on their those in need. trip to the shop, the vet, the post office, for some human Not a veterinary perspective. A human one. interaction and comfort.

Michael.

People in care homes restricted to their room, no

Providing personal care for all your pets

0118 979 3200

� Sea salt or table salt � 150g Macaroni

Method Oil the tomatoes and roast them whole in a hot oven at 180ºC until well softened and charred a little. You could alternatively pan fry them and if using large tomatoes chop them into smaller pieces.

When cooked allow to cool a little before serving as the liquid in the tomatoes will be boiling hot.

For the cheese sauce melt the butter gently in a saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook gently on a low heat

stirring constantly for a couple of minutes until well combined. Add the milk and raise the heat slightly until bubbling and stir until you have a smooth sauce and with all lumps stirred in.

Add the grated cheese and stir in until combined.

You can leave this to one side and warm through when the pasta and tomatoes are ready.

Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain and serve in bowls. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and mix in well.

Top with the roasted tomatoes to serve.

Gavin McArdell www.CurryFrenzy.com

Trusted by you to provide personal care for all your pets since 2005

Oaklands Park, Wokingham RG41 2FD

0118 979 3200

� Michael Morrow is a Veterinary Surgeon at St. Vincents Veterinary Surgery, a family-owned practice providing personal care for all your pets in and around Wokingham. Should you have any concerns about your pet please call the practice on 0118 979 3200 or visit www.stvincentsvets.co.uk to find out more about the practice.

Trusted by you to provide personal care for all your pets since 2005 Oaklands Park, Wokingham RG41 2FD

0118 979 3200

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WOKINGHAM.TODAY / THEWOKINGHAMPAPER Thursday, April 9, 2020

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PUBLIC NOTICES ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (EASTHAMPSTEAD ROAD AND WATERLOO ROAD, WOKINGHAM) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (VARIOUS ROADS, WOKINGHAM BOROUGH) (GIGACLEAR BDUK PROGRAMME) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020

NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority proposes to make an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which is prohibit any vehicle from proceeding along:

NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority proposes to make an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which is prohibit any vehicle from proceeding along:

1. Across the Level Crossing on Easthampstead Road and for a distance of 10m on either side of the level crossing.

1. Remenham Lane, Henley-on-Thames between its junctions with A4130 White Hill and Remenham Church Lane.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Easthampstead Road, Waterloo Road, Old Wokingham Road and Easthampstead Road or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 3rd May and 4th May 2020 between 00:01 and 04:00.

2. Across the Level Crossing on Waterloo Road and for a distance of 10m on either side of the level crossing.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Waterloo Road, Old Wokingham Road, Easthampstead Road and Waterloo Road or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 27th May and 28th May 2020 between 00:01 and 05:01.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Remenham Church Lane and A4130 White Hill Works requiring this restriction will take place between 26th May and 16th June 2020 2. Redlake Lane, Crowthorne between its junctions with Easthampstead Road and Honey Hill.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Easthampstead Road, Heathlands Road and Honey Hill or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 29th April and 6th May 2020.

3. Honey Hill, Crowthorne between its junctions with Redlake Lane and B3430 Nine Mile Ride.

The reason for these prohibitions is allow Network Rail contractors to undertake level crossing work in safety.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via B3430 Nine Mile Ride and Heathlands Road or by this route in reverse.

Access for residents and businesses within the boundaries of these restrictions will be maintained at all times.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 22nd May 2020 and 18th June 2020.

The restriction imposed by the Order shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs complying with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 are lawfully displayed.

The restrictions contained in the Order shall come into operation on the 3rd May 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

Dated this 9th April 2020 Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

4. Swallowfield Road, Arborfield between its junctions with Greensward Lane and Chamberlain Gardens.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Bunglers Hill, Church Road and A327 Eversley Road or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 24th June and 26th June 2020.

The reason for these prohibitions is to allow Gigaclear contractors to undertake BDUK Superfast Broadband work in safety.

Access for residents and businesses within the boundaries of these restrictions will be maintained at all times.

The restriction imposed by the Order shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs complying with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 are lawfully displayed.

The restrictions contained in the Order shall come into operation on the 29th April 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (LONDON ROAD, WOKINGHAM) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020 NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority proposes to make an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which is prohibit any vehicle from proceeding along: 1. A329 London Road, Wokingham (eastbound) between its junctions with A329 Wiltshire Road and Seaford Road.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Wiltshire Road, Warren House Road, Keephatch Road and Binfield Road.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 27th April and 29th April 2020 between 22:00 and 05:00 The reason for these prohibitions is to allow BT contractors to undertake joint box replacement and frame and cover repair work in safety.

Access for residents and businesses within the boundaries of these restrictions will be maintained at all times.

The restriction imposed by the Order shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs complying with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 are lawfully displayed.

The restrictions contained in the Order shall come into operation on the 27th April 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

Dated this 9th April 2020 Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

Dated this 9th April 2020

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (RUSHEY WAY, EARLEY) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020

Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority proposes to make an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which is prohibit any vehicle from proceeding along: Rushey Way, Earley between its junctions with Carshalton Way and Marefield.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Carshalton Way, Meldreth Way, B3270 Lower Earley Way and Rushey Way or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place on 30th April 2020 between 19:00 and 23:30 The reason for these prohibitions is to allow Thames Water contractors to undertake sewer cover replacement work in safety.

Access for residents and businesses within the boundaries of these restrictions will be maintained at all times.

The restriction imposed by the Order shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs complying with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 are lawfully displayed.

The restrictions contained in the Order shall come into operation on the 30th April 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

Dated this 9th April 2020 Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

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AUCTIONS Antiques valuations Saturdays: 10am-1pm at Wokingham Town Hall, Market Place RG40 1AP Tuesdays: 10am-1pm at Holme Grange Craft Village, Heathlands Road, Wokingham RG40 3AW Thursdays: 10am-1pm at White Lion Antiques, Hartford Bridge, Hartley Wintney RG27 8AE No appointment necessary: our team of Valuers and Specialists are on hand to offer free verbal valuations and offer advice for sale. We cover silver, jewellery, gold sovereigns, furniture, clocks, ceramics & glass, paintings, Oriental items, and vertu.

Call Pascal McNamara on 07446 802450

wokinghamauctions.com

Goods Vehicle Operator’s Licence Mr Oliver Kidby trading as Berkshire Removals Ltd of 19 Dowles Green, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 5AB is applying to change an existing licence as follows: To add an operating centre to keep 2 goods vehicles and 0 trailers at Amen Corner, Buckhurst Road, Binfield, Berkshire RG12 8TD. Owners or occupiers of land (including buildings) near the operating centre(s) who believe that their use or enjoyment of that land would be affected, should make written representations to the Traffic Commissioner at Hillcrest House, 386 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS9 6NF, stating their reasons, within 21 days of this notice. Representors must at the same time send a copy of their representations to the applicant at the address given at the top of this notice.

A Guide to Making Representations is available from the Traffic Commissioner's office.

SERVICES

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Thursday, April 9, 2020 THEWOKINGHAMPAPER / WOKINGHAM.TODAY

PUBLIC NOTICES ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (KING STREET LANE, WINNERSH) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020 NOTICE IS HEREBY given that on 26th March 2020 the Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority made an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (“the Act”) and all other enabling powers the effect of which continues in force the restrictions contained in a Notice under Section 14 (2) (a) of the Act dated 23rd March 2020 prohibiting:

WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATION The Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 AND/OR Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Regulations 1990 The following application(s) have been submitted and are advertised for the reasons below: Application

Address

Reasons for Advert Description

200413

Trident House, 2 King Street Lane, Winnersh

Major Application

Application to vary condition 2 of planning consent 180753 for the proposed change of use, raising of the roof, single storey rear extension and alterations to fenestration to provide 12 flats; rear amenity space and onsite parking. Condition 2 refers to the approved documents and the variation relates to modifications required to internal flat layouts to comply with fire and building regulations.

Any vehicle from turning left from King Street Lane, Winnersh into Winnersh Relief Road.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by the restriction shall be via A329 Reading Road and B3030 Lower Earley Way. The restrictions are necessary because of the likelihood of danger to the public as a consequence of street works in the vicinity of the said road.

The restrictions shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs in accordance with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Direction 2016 are lawfully displayed in the said roads.

200415

200416

200749

The Order shall come into operation on the 28th March 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

21 The Terrace, Wokingham

Conservation Area

21 The Terrace, Wokingham

(Affect setting of) Listed Building

Application for Listed Building consent for the proposed erection of an outbuilding to the rear of the dwelling to create a barbecue lodge.

Land adjacent to North Lodge, Basingstoke Road, Spencers Wood

Major Application

Outline planning application with Appearance & Scale reserved, for the proposed erection of 34 dwellings with associated access, car parking, upgrades to the local footpath network and landscaping including a children's play area. (Access, Layout and Landscaping to be considered).

Dated this 9th April 2020 Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

Householder application for the proposed erection of an outbuilding to the rear of the dwelling to create a barbecue lodge.

The application is available to view online at wokingham.gov.uk � Planning � Search planning applications and typing in the application number above. All libraries in the Borough have internet access in order to view this page.

Comments on the application can be made online from this web page.

Any comments must arrive on or before Saturday 2nd May 2020. Any comments made are not confidential and can be seen by anyone as they form part of the public record. The comments, unless offensive, discriminatory and/or racist, will appear on the Council’s website within 24 hours and include the submitted name and address.

Due to the high volume of comments received we do not provide individual responses.

ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 WOKINGHAM BOROUGH COUNCIL (TAG LANE, WARGRAVE) (TEMPORARY PROHIBITION OF DRIVING) ORDER 2020 NOTICE IS HEREBY given that Wokingham Borough Council as Traffic Authority proposes to make an Order under Section 14 (1) (a) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 the effect of which is prohibit any vehicle from proceeding along: Tag Lane, Wargrave between its junctions with A4 Bath Road and Blakes Lane.

The alternative route for all vehicles affected by this restriction shall be via Blakes Lane and A4 Bath Road or by this route in reverse.

Works requiring this restriction will take place between 29th April and 30th April 2020.

The reason for these prohibitions is to allow Thames Water contractors to undertake trial hole carriageway excavation work in safety.

Access for residents and businesses within the boundaries of these restrictions will be maintained at all times.

The restriction imposed by the Order shall only apply during those periods when traffic signs complying with the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 are lawfully displayed.

The restrictions contained in the Order shall come into operation on the 29th April 2020 and shall continue in force for a period not exceeding 18 months or until the works have been completed, whichever is the earlier.

Mark Cupit, Assistant Director – Delivery and Infrastructure Wokingham Borough Council Civic Offices Shute End Wokingham Berkshire RG40 1WL

Date: 9th April 2020

Store cupboard staples that can Easy ways to get your 5-a-day help you clean your home

L

OCKED down households have been offered advice on how to clean their homes with a range of store cupboard staples.

Penny-pinchers from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk have revealed seven products – from baking soda and white vinegar to lemons and salt – that double as natural cleaning alternatives.

By using eco-friendly, natural cleaners, households can be kind to the environment whilst saving some cash along the way.

A spokesperson from NetVoucherCodes.co.uk said: “When it comes to cleaning efficiently and on the cheap, there’s nothing like putting multi-taskers to work.

“Rather than spending your hard-earned cash on purpose made, chemical cleaning solutions with fancy packaging, you can simply use a few common items that you likely already have around your house.”

Distilled white vinegar

Baking soda

Liquid dish soap

Baking soda is a hardworking cleaning agent that is both versatile and very inexpensive. You can get approximately 200-300g for just a couple of pounds. Baking soda acts as a cleaning agent because it is a mild alkali and can cause dirt and grease to dissolve easily. t’s also great for absorbing strong food odours, and as it’s nontoxic, can be used to clean stains off of fridges, ovens, and microwaves.

Liquid dish soap can be used to do more than the washing up. It works great as a floor cleaner, and to clean worktops and hard surfaces. Dish soap is also one of the best stain removers for oil-based stains on fabrics, and diluted dish soap can be used on dirty glass. Try using diluted dish soap to thoroughly clean glass before going back over the surface with a glass cleaner to shine it up.

Like baking soda, distilled white vinegar is both versatile and inexpensive, and it can be used as a nontoxic disinfecting agent. For rinse-free cleaning, mix around 100ml of white distilled vinegar with 2 litres of warm water.

Hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide has many uses.

Combine two parts hydrogen peroxide and one-part dish liquid to create your own laundry spot remover. Apply to clothing with a soft scrub brush to remove wine, chocolate, grass, blood and armpit stains.

This same spot remover can also be used to treat carpet and upholstery stains. Because hydrogen peroxide is a mild bleach, it’s best to test the treatment on an inconspicuous area first.

Salt Humble table salt is an allnatural, cost-efficient way to keep your home clean. Thanks to its granular texture, it’s a pretty effective cleaner, and can be used to remove wine stains, clean drains, and even brighten up your laundry.

Pour a mixture of salt and hot water down the kitchen sink to deodorize and prevent grease build up, or dip a washcloth in a strong saltwater solution, wring it out and briskly rub faded rugs and curtains to brighten the colours.

Lemon Lemons contain both acidity found in the juice, along with the grease-cutting oil contained within its skin to create a superb cleaning sidekick.

Its scent is also fresh, clean and energising, and they are quite inexpensive and easy to come by too. Cut lemons can be used to polish copper and knives that have developed rust spots, as well as to remove stains and smells.

Vodka/rubbing alcohol Rubbing alcohol is a germicide, so is particularly good for hygiene purposes.

From cleaning your blinds to getting our pesky permanent marker stains, it has many uses.

Use it to refresh sponges, clean jewellery, and deodorise shoes.

E

ATING five portions of fruit and veg every day can help keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease.

As supermarket shelves are emptier than usual, Heart Research UK have some tips to help you achieve your 5-a-day during this challenging time.

What counts as a portion?

Eighty grams of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and veg or 30g dried fruit count as one portion. For example, one fresh pear or banana, two small plums, or three heaped tablespoons of peas.

Beans and pulses also count, but you should only count these once as they contain fewer nutrients compared to other fruit and veg.

150ml of fruit/vegetable juice or smoothie also counts, but you should limit these drinks to no more than one a day due to the sugars they contain.

Top up with lentils Lentils are a versatile ingredient and a great source of fibre, which is good for heart health. Try replacing some of the meat in your bolognese sauce with a handful of lentils or try adding lentils to homemade soups.

Include tinned, frozen and dried fruit and veg in your meals As the population is being encouraged to make fewer trips to

the supermarket, you may find that you need to rely on the food in your store cupboard and freezer more than usual.

Try adding dried or frozen fruit to your bowl of breakfast cereal in the morning and include a variety of frozen or tinned veg with your evening meals. Tinned fruit with yoghurt can also provide you with a healthy dessert.

Enjoy homemade soups for lunch Homemade soups are an easy way to increase your veg intake. You can include a variety of tinned, fresh and frozen veg in soups. There are lots of healthy vegetable soup recipes available online, but here is one to get you started.

Easy-peasy pea soup � 1 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil � 1 onion, chopped � 400g frozen peas, defrosted � 500ml vegetable stock � Salt and pepper � Fresh mint, finely chopped (optional) Heat the oil over a medium heat and stir in the chopped onion.

Gently fry the onion until soft, but not browned.

Add the peas and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Puree the soup using a blender and add salt and pepper to taste.

If you have fresh mint available, you can add this at the end.

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Tributes paid to Royals ace Ray FORMER Reading striker Ray Hiron has died.

He was 76.

He was signed in the summer of 1975, and the then manager, Charlie Hurley, gave him an instant promotion to team captain, going on to win promotion from the Fourth Division.

In all, he made 102 appearances for the Royals, scoring 14.

In his career, Ray also played for Portsmouth, making 364 appearances and scoring 117 goals in 11 years at Fratton Park.

He went part-time in 1977, and retired from the game in 1978, going on to manage the Mountbatten Leisure Centre in Portsmouth.

Ray died on Sunday at a care home in Fareham, following a long illness.

In a statement, Reading Football Club said: “Our sincerest condolences go to his wife Gillian and their family and friends at this difficult time.”

Reading Women boss finding break tough READING WOMEN FC boss Kelly Chambers said that the enforced postponement of the season was been tough.

She told BBC Radio Berkshire that her squad were still training, just as home, and they are staying in constant contact.

It is possible that the league could start up again at the end of the month, a scenario that Chambers admitted was unlikely.

“We’ve been in regular contact with the FA and they’ve been really good. Their plan is the same as the EFL; they want to finish the season, and there are various scenarios that are being contemplated,” she told the station.

“It’s very hard to work out what you’re going to do and how you’re going to get back to things,” she added.

Fun pack thanks to Bees A CHILDREN’S fun pack has been produced by Bracknell Bees sponsor TSI World.

It features puzzles and challenges that can be enjoyed during the lockdown.

Graeme Bower, managing director of TSI World, said: “Working together, TSI and the Bees are hoping to bring some fun and activity to the local children at home and those still in schools in these very challenging times.

“We will be introducing more packs and competitions in the coming days.”

It can be downloaded from https://buzzdownloads.tsiworld.technology/

Foodbank donation THE KESTRELS have swooped to help Woodley’s Food Bank during the coronavirus pandemic.

The team have donated their unused tuck shop stock to the facility, which operates from Woodley Baptist Church.

The sweet-toothed treats will be put into parcels offering up to three days’ worth of food.

And members of the first team have donated the money they’d paid in fines to help the charity initiative.

A spokesperson said: “It is intended for a further donation to be made in due course in lieu of the Saturday teams, Sunday team, Vets team and Ladies team presenting end of season trophies.”

‘CLOSED DOOR GAMES WOULD BE WEIRD’

By ANDY PRESTON apreston@wokinghampaper.co.uk

READING MIDFIELDER Andy Rinomhota has been reflecting on a tricky season for the Royals in a campaign which has seen him have mixed fortunes after his breakthrough campaign last season.

He picked up the player of the season award as the Royals narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier of English football, with the young midfielder playing a vital role in the centre of midfield.

However, a more tricky campaign has followed for Rinomhota with the departure of manager Jose Gomes seeing him lose his place in the side for large periods of the season despite playing his way back into the side in recent months.

“Personally for me, last season was my breakthrough and it couldn’t have gone much better for me on a personal note, picking up the player of the season award.

I was delighted with that,” said Rinomhota.

“This season hasn’t been quite as positive as I had hoped when at times I haven’t been playing, I’ve been trying to work hard and get back in the squad which I managed to do and have tried to keep my place in the team.

“It happens in football, you can't play every game every week and I can’t throw my toys out the pram if I’m not playing every week.

“It’s my job to keep my place.”

Last week, the English Football League said that matches would only return “at an appropriate point and based on the latest guidance provided by the relevant Government departments and health authorities”.

Rinomohta has considered different scenarios, with the conclusion of the Championship season not yet resolved amid the Covid-19 crisis.

“Playing behind closed doors would be weird with no fans or atmosphere, you have to try and not let it affect your mentality,” he said. “To improve on last season’s tally with nine games left to play is a positive. We have to set that as a standard to try and improve again next season.

“The last few seasons there have been a lot of pressure on us to get results going into the final few games fighting relegation. Going into those games is never nice when you’re thinking it could go down to just one game.

“Next season we want to be completely away from that and closer to the play-offs.

“I think our squad at the minute, we have a big one with a lot of quality in it.

“Everyone has been fighting for places throughout this season so going into the next one it will be similar, everyone will be hungry to start which always raises everyone’s game and gives a good platform to go into next season.

Rinomhota has been utilised in several different positions in midfield and praised the ability of his fellow players, John Swift and Ovie Ejaria who have been essential to Reading’s turn around in fortunes under Mark Bowen.

“In football you have to adjust to whoever you are playing with.

“Whoever the manager picks, you have to try and gel with, but you train with them everyday so you always have an understanding of their strengths.

“Last season I played more of an eight and was more box-to-box, and towards the end of the season I played more defensively and carried that onto the start of this season.

“But more recently I've been trying to get back into the box to box role which I would say is my preferred position, but wherever I’m needed to play, I will try my hardest and put in the best peorfmance I can.

“Both Ovie and Swift are incredible players, and have magical

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feet, a lot of technical quality.

“When they get on the ball you have no doubt that they are going to help create something.

“Maybe we rely on them a bit too much at times, but they are key players to our squad.

“I definitely prefer to be on their team in training, it’s good to play against them as well as it improves you as a player to have to combat their strengths and you come up against other players in the league and that makes your job easier having played against them.”

Published by The Wokingham Paper Ltd, Crown House, 231 Kings Road, Reading RG1 4LS. Printed at Trinity Mirror Watford © The Wokingham Paper Ltd, 2020