Open Studios

Artists at Studio 21, is venue 76 for West Berkshire & North Hampshire Open Studios 2012 on  the weekends of 19th , 20th , and the following of  26th, 27th May, 11a.m.-5p.m,  at Studio 21,  21 Patrick Road, Caversham, Reading, RG4 8DD.

For more information, go to christmasatstudio21.blogspot.com. Meet the artists, Vicky Baker, Juliet Hookey, and Michael Norcross at their exhibition which includes an interesting variety of handbags in textiles and leather, jewellery, photography, paintings and prints.

I’ve recently been noticing a large increase in surface damage on Caversham’s roads: holes, cracks and general break-up. This is unpleasant when I’m driving my car, more challenging on a scooter, and downright ‘interesting’ on a pushbike. At first I just put it down to cuts; I can see an argument that social care should take priority over road surfaces. But then a couple of questions struck me:-

Firstly, just why is the road surface in such a poor state this year? It’s not as though we’ve just had a particularly hard and frosty winter to break the surface up. Is it a result of long-term neglect? Or is it simply that the roads always break up like this, but in previous years the council have been so efficient that it’s not been as obvious?

Secondly, does it really save money in the medium term to leave the surface to break up this way? Hence my question in the title. In a house it generally works out cheaper to repair damage while it is still minor, because once the elements get behind the surface protection the harm they do becomes much more serious, and costly. I would have thought something similar would apply to roads: the waterproof surface layer protects the lower layers, so once it is gone then I’d expect the rate of damage to increase. On the other hand, roadworks to do repair work carry their own costs, both financial and in terms of driver convenience. Caversham traffic grinds to a halt at the slightest excuse anyway … and roadworks don’t help.

So, this is a genuine question. Somebody somewhere has presumably done some thinking about how best to use resources: is it really cheaper to leave the road surface to break up – just fixing the largest, most dangerous holes – or is it simply a short-sighted way of loading more cost onto council taxpayers in years to come? What do you think?

This year’s Open Day takes place on Saturday 19th May 2012 from 11am until 4pm. There will be the chance to try out all manner of boats and get an insight into the activities of this flourishing sailing venue. Plenty of friendly members will be around to help you get on the water and answer any questions about both the club, and sailing in general.

The club supports all types of sailing activities, racing, recreational sailing, social sailing, youth sailing and training. We also have on site, Berkshire Sail Training, who provide RYA certified courses for all ages in Sailing, Windsurfing, and Powerboating. They will be available all day to answer any questions you might have regarding the courses they have to offer.

When you come, please bring a spare set of clothes and shoes with you so that you have something to change into should you get wet.

Location:

Burghfield Sailing Club
Hangar Road
Theale
Reading
Berks RG7 4AP

Cost: Free

www.burghfieldsailing.org

Telephone: 0118 9303 604

Email: info@burghfieldsailing.org

Poster can be viewed by clicking here.

Caversham Primary only has the capacity to take a triple intake every seven years but why has Emmer Green been made to take a triple intake for the second consecutive year? What about other schools in the area, such as The Hill?

Our sources have advised that it is Reading Borough Council’s intention to turn Emmer Green into a school that takes a triple intake every year. As a parent of Emmer Green pupils this concerns me very much on a number of levels. The initial concern is where will the additional pupils be housed? Last year, an extra portacabin was brought in to hold two classrooms.  This was positioned next to the existing reception area and on part of the school playground, clearly meaning less playground space. I understand that one of the classes of the current reception class will occupy what was the music room.  This year’s triple intake will obviously occupy the current triple capacity reception area, but what will happen next year? Where will the new reception children move to, what will give what for the new classes and what will happen if the school becomes are permanent triple intake school?

The capacity will need to be increased and we have heard that the plan is via more portacabins, either at the expense of the playground or some of the playing fields. I personally hope that this will not happen. The playing fields are a tremendous asset of the school, which recently lost a chunk of them to the expansion of the neighbouring Emmer Green Surestart centre. We should protect the playing fields.

We have heard that Reading Council is only going to give extra per captia funding for the additional pupils but will not fund the upgrading or improvement of existing facilities, such as the school hall. More pupils into the same space and existing facilities can only be to the detriment of existing and future pupils. Emmer Green cannot and should not turn into a triple intake school. Reading Council needs to urgently address the shortfall in school places in the area. It was supposed to build a new school but has not done so.

We have heard that, rather naively, the Council expects this to be a short term spike in demand, which will fall off in a few years. If the Council wants to reduce or cap demand on school places, it needs to stop granting planning consent for new homes in the area. In addition to the big Buggs Bottom development during the mid 1990s, in recent years we have seen many developments in the Caversham area, most of which fall within the Emmer Green catchment area. These include ‘back garden’ developments in Kidmore Road, Hemdean Road, Grove Road, Peppard Road and Grosvenor Road. Most of these new homes are for families, which will naturally increase demand for school places. We have also seen more families moving to the area choose Caversham and Emmer Green because of its reputation for some of the best primary schools inReading.

Reading Borough Council needs to urgently make plans to adequately deal with increasing demand for primary school places, preferably by the building of a new school. I do not want to see Emmer Green school suffer purely because the Council sees it as an easier or cheaper option.

As a small business mostly operating in and around Caversham, I notice this reflected in my customers. Some have lived all their lives in Caversham, probably a good chunk of that time in a single house. Others are just on their way through, house prices being the main factor determining how long they stay. Then there are a few of us who are newcomers to one group – I’ve ‘only’ been here thirty years – but ludicrously settled to the other.

This combination, I think, gives Caversham a style which often works as the best of both worlds: there is a real sense of established community in the village, yet there is also a degree of liveliness and cosmopolitan outlook . The two worlds intersect at community facilities such as schools, pubs, churches and shops – WordPlay and Waitrose are, in my view, examples of Caversham shops which support a sense of integration and community, and I’ve posted before about the importance of good local pubs.

What do you think about Caversham? Do you find its combination of old and new refreshing, confusing or simply schizophrenic? What facilities do you find valuable in building community? Do you even think local community matters – maybe you think we should stop pretending Caversham is anything other than a suburb of Reading? I’d love to know.

The Gardeners’ Arms is, by some distance, my nearest pub (whilst I think the Prince of Wales is a great place, it is a long slog to get there now), so I prefer to drink there when I can. But it does keep changing management, shutting down, reopening, and generally messing around – mostly without giving us punters any clue what is going on.

After losing its management team last summer – who had, for a year, served really well-kept beer and excellent pizza – the pub closed for renovation. When it reopened, it boasted TV screens on every available bit of wall space, cheap but poorly-kept beer, and cheap and nasty food. I visited a few times, because anywhere can have teething problems, then gave up.

A few weeks ago, during the Six Nations, I went for a wander up that way and saw they were doing a special deal on Guinness. I fancied some company whilst suffering the misery of watching England being beaten (actually, they played far better than I’d expected) so I popped in, to find that The Gardeners’ is under new management again. The beer is still cheap (£2.50 for Speckled Hen or St Edmunds), but now it tastes like it is being properly looked after. The new manager was very friendly, they have occasional live music, and the food, whilst cheap chain-pub fare, is actually tasty and generally well-prepared. I still don’t like the omnipresent TV screens or the piped music, but if you go when it is reasonably quiet, individual screens can be turned off and individual speakers turned down. Even after the renovation, the inside is still a bit of a maze, so that works well.

Except that it can be a challenge to find them quiet. Saturday evenings seem to be very busy, as do times when they are doing something special. Other times, getting a table somewhere in the quieter corner is generally fine, but there is undoubtedly a bustle to the place that I haven’t seen before. Clearly the new management are doing something right.

I reckon that roughly 1,500 people go to church in Caversham (including Emmer Green and CPV) on a normal Sunday, whilst around 30,000 do something else. Yet I know that some, possibly many, of those 30,000 non-churchgoers do still seek to follow Jesus (just as not everyone who does go to church is, in any meaningful sense, one of Jesus’ followers). The puzzle I have is that it seems to me that following Jesus is something that is best done together with others: helping one another along the road. So how is this done?

Caversham church services all seem to follow the same basic pattern, whatever the denominational label: a mix of singing songs, talking at God and being lectured by a preacher. The songs sung never seem to have any point of reference to everyday culture: either they are songs from long ago, or they are songs which come from a purely religious subculture. These activities are doubtless great for those who like such things, but somewhat off-putting for anyone else. So, again, how do those “anyone else”s come together for Jesus?

I cannot be the first to ask these questions. The problems of institutionalised religion are obvious and rapidly becoming worse as the 21st Century proceeds; whilst the limitations of a purely individual spirituality, in a world where it is only by working together that we can make a difference, are steadily becoming clearer. So, someone out there must either have an answer, or at least have a piece of the jigsaw, which can be added to other pieces to give the first step of an answer.

There has to be more to following Jesus than isolating ourselves into a religious backwater; there certainly must be more than dogmatic doctrines and rigid intolerance; just as there has to be more than blandness and shallow platitudes. Somehow there must be a way of coming together, learning from one another, supporting one another on the journey, and working together to make Caversham (and beyond) a better place.

What do you think?

Their show can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer using the link below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01f9wct/3_2_1_Go!_Key_Stage_2/

Camping is available for the Saturday and Sunday evenings and there is a post show party on the Sunday evening with live bands, food and drinks.

The show itself includes trade stands, all types of bikes, custom & classic cars, BBQ, bar and live music.

Why not enter you bike in one of the show classes and you could leave with a trophy?

More details available via MAG website

Join the Friends of Caversham Court Gardens for an Easter Egg Trail round the gardens on Easter Saturday, 7th April, 2-4pm.

All children to be accompanied by an adult. Entry is free, but donations are appreciated.