Random Acts of Kindness day

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Do something nice for someone today and help make the world a better place – simple!

It’s Random Acts of Kindness Day today (17th February) and whether you choose to donate your unwanted clothing, pay someone’s bus fare or just compliment a random person, do something kind for your fellow man or woman.

One Reading-based organisation is taking that a step further and holding Acts of Kindness Month in March following on from the success of last year’s successful inaugural event.

The John Sykes Foundation was established in 2014 with the aim of helping to transform the lives of people in and around Reading and it honours members of the community for their extraordinary kindness and selflessness.

This year, they want more people to share their experiences and nominate somebody brilliant, whether it be a single heroic act, anybody who consistently works selflessly for others, or someone who has been having a tough time recently.

Last year’s awards included Jason Thrower, a young man who goes above and beyond to help care for his younger brother who has Smith-Magenis Syndrome, ASD, ODD, and anxiety disorder. Jason was presented with a pair of tickets to the West End Show, School of Rock.

Margaret Horne from Tilehurst was nominated by her friend for the kindness she shows every day and was delighted to receive her bouquet of flowers.

A class of students and staff from the Tarrant Class of Brookfelds SEN School were nominated by a colleague, who told how the class is staffed by the most amazing ladies who care for the children, but unfortunately do not get out as much as other classes at the school. The eight staff were each presented with a gift box from Lush and the children enjoyed a visit from therapy dog Bali, who has now become a regular monthly visitor to the children.

Reading’s own Danyl Johnson presented those awards and will make the presentations this year as well. He said: “Without these people making a difference, a lot of people who need help wouldn’t be the same without them.

Even better when they think they don’t deserve it, which makes them deserve it even more.”

Trustee of the John Sykes Foundation, Annabelle Sykes, said it was wonderful to see so many happy faces last year and added: “We hope that the Act of Kindness awards inspire others to smile, love and do what they can for others.”

If you know someone who deserves a treat for their kindness, please send an email to nominate them. Be sure to give us their details, a contact number for yourself, why your nominee deserves this recognition, and how you would like to say thank you. This could simply be a bouquet of flowers, a spa treatment, or an outing such as a theatre trip or afternoon tea.

Spread the kindness

Please email [email protected] with the subject heading Act of Kindness.

Let’s make March a little brighter! 

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Cornering youth market

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Dance, theatre, yoga, music and making your own bedroom decorations are among the fun activities for young people at Cornerstone’s Youth Festival.

The week-long extravaganza which runs during half term, 16th to 23rd February begins on Sunday with The Elves and the Shoemakers. Meet Sam who is big on imagination but short on business knowhow until one night, two small green visitors climb in and start stitching, cutting and gluing… Suitable for ages 3 upwards, tickets £9.50, concs £7.50, family £30.

Get active with a series of classes focussing on movement with fun from 18th to 21st starting with a children’s art and yoga class, £15, for school years 1-6 and unleash your inner dancer on Wednesday with beginner’s Latin and ballroom dancing, £25, school years 1-6 – perfect for those with an eye on being a Strictly star in the future.

Thursday and Friday it’s the turn of those in years 7-13 with break dancing for beginners, £15, where you’ll learn the basics and then develop the confidence to explore your own style. Friday sees a physical theatre workshop, £20, in which you’ll learn techniques for creating a narrative through movement and storytelling which will be performed at the end of the session.

Award-winning comedy musicians Bowjangles will be putting on a magical show taking you through myths, legends and folklore through a portal in a cello case – where else? – to find a priceless relic, a magical violin bow known as Excalibow. Suitable for all ages, £14, and may contain a few well-known ABBA hits!

Join Yana on Sunday 23rd as she journeys through a strange land, all alone and far from home, unable to understand anything other children are saying and then she encounters a Yeti… This cast of extraordinary puppets  are out to show friends come in the most unexpected shapes and sizes in Yana and the Yeti, £9.50, concs £7.50.

If craft is your thing there’s also the opportunity to spruce up your bedroom for years 1-6 by making your own bedroom decorations on Saturday 22nd, £25, with collage, paint, printing and mark making.

Cornerstone also offers a range of courses for children and young people including theatre, photography, dance and young reviewers.

More info

For more details about these and the Youth Festival and to book any of the events visit cornerstone-arts.org or call 01235 515144

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Forging past the food fads

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We are constantly bombarded by information on nutrition and lifestyle and frankly much of it is ‘nutrib******s’ with little or no evidence base. Here are a few simple thoughts that I hope might help you navigate that mass of information.

  1. Nutrition is extremely individual
  2. Healthy eating does not have to be complicated
  3. Socio-economic factors have a massive influence on health outcomes
  4. The words we use to talk about nutrition and health matter – avoid stigmatising language
  5. It’s important to think about the bigger picture of health – not just nutrition
  6. Sleep has a huge impact on health and nutrition-related outcomes
  7. Food is so much more than the sum of it’s parts, eating for pleasure is key
  8. Self-compassion is vital for improving relationship with food
  9. No food needs to be avoided unless it is poisonous or you are allergic to it
  10. Most answers about nutrition start with “It depends on…”
  11. There is much more to sustainable eating than plant-based diets
  12. It is rarely helpful to comment on what others are eating
  13. Context matters in all areas of nutrition
  14. A plant-based diet doesn’t need to be a plant-only diet
  15. The complexity of nutrition is often under-estimated
  16. The appeal to nature fallacy is very common with nutritional beliefs
  17. Low-carb diets continually resurface under many different disguises!
  18. Food beliefs are often deep-rooted, tribal and linked with sense of self
  19. No nutrition messages should be black and white
  20. Sometimes all you should do is laugh at the latest ridiculous fad diet
  21. Focusing on health is much more important than just weight
  22. A flexible approach to healthy eating is vital
  23. Nutritional science contains many fascinating shades of grey
  24. Food should complement our life, rather than dominate it
  25. Variety is an important part of a satisfying and nutritious diet

More info

Abi Barclay-Watt is a registered associate nutritionist in Blewbury. Visit

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Home help

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Didcot’s own Matt Richardson tells Peter Anderson how much he’s looking forward to his show at the Cornerstone – not least because his mum always helps his home gig sell out!

Matt’s first tour at the tender age of 21 was called Hometown Hero, and now he brings his latest tour Imposter to his home town. With this tour, he’s celebrating a decade delighting audiences, both as a stand-up and as a link on many television shows. When I caught up with the lad from Didcot I found, among other things, his mother is still one of his best, and busiest fans.

“I love the show at The Cornerstone whenever I do it,” says Matt. “It’s full of familiar faces and it’s always a lovely sell-out! My mum basically does all the leg work and promotes it to everyone she knows, so it’s a very stress-free show for the promoter!”

What can the audiences look forward to?” It’s loads of new material, about growing up and settling down with some stories about my slightly unusual life on the fringes of the public eye, with one or two of my old routines thrown in from my previous shows as a slight celebration of my decade in the business!”

Feeling he is an imposter as an adult now 28, what’s Matt favourite age? “About 21 or 22. You’ve broken into the world and feel like everything is in front of you and anything is possible, but a lot of the reality hasn’t set in yet. And your parents are still happy to cover your rent once in a while.”

His career has included television work, does the stand-up experience stand him in good stead? “Yes, I really think it does. I’ve done a lot of shows that require dealing with members of the public, and I think years on stage talking to them really sets you up for that. Live TV is such a different beast to stand-up, but I’ve had to make up 10 minutes of a show after the autocue failed and there was nothing to prompt me. The one thing live TV and stand-up have in common are this – when it’s going badly time slows down to a crawl!”

Is there somewhere he would love to perform? “I’d be quite keen to gig in America. I’ve filmed there lots over the years, but I’d be really interested to see how my act goes down with their comedy club audiences. I’ve got a lot of routines I worry are far too UK centric, and I am planning on world domination (once I can sell out Didcot without my mum, of course).”

More info

Matt is performing on Saturday 15th February; visit the Cornerstone website for ticket information.

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Warmer winter

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Adam Chapman and Patrick Wheeler of VitoEnergy Ltd in Aldershot offer their tips on how to keep your home warm & safe in the colder months

As the really cold weather approaches, our thoughts turn to dark nights and layers of clothes. On the home front, none of us want to wake up or come home to no heating or hot water – things we take for granted but when not working become an immediate emergency! Prevention is better than cure – here are some top tips to ensure your home functions well throughout the cold months.

● Check the room thermostat: Test the temperature accuracy of the room thermostat
by having an aquarium or kitchen thermometer next to it for an hour then click the dial up (or down if it’s on) to look for the position at which the click happens. You can make sure the heating comes on and runs around the radiators.

● Check the program times: Set the morning heating a little earlier so the radiators can heat rooms for longer. Hot water is often prioritised over heating so when the cylinder is regenerating the heating will be either off or reduced. Setting the hot water earlier will allow the stored tank to warm up before the heating is needed.

● Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms: Check alarms are in date, placed correctly and have been tested. Make sure they all have batteries in.

● Radiator bleeding: Check them for air with a radiator key, feel around the front for cold spots to see if this is necessary. If the radiator has cold spots and doesn’t have air when you bleed it then you likely have some sludge build up and will need to call an expert to flush the system.

● Frozen condensate pipes: One of the most common winter call-out is due to poorly insulated pipes. When boilers are installed they (as of 2005) are required to be condensing, so flue gasses run at low temperature to reclaim latent heat. If the pipe outside has frozen thaw the ice plug with boiled water. There is no way of knowing if the condense is frozen other than the boiler showing a fault or not working, if you think your outside condense pipe is at risk of freezing then it is worth checking.

● Home insulation: Loft insulation is the cheapest way to reduce heating bills. For a relatively small initial cost you have years of savings, there are grants available for older and low-income homes.

● Boiler thermostat: If you have an older boiler and control, or a non-modulating controller, like Hive then this is a useful way to increase the heat output of the boiler or conversely save energy.

● Professional service and safety check: Although there are many things you can do yourself, you must use a Gas Safe registered installer to open and check the boiler or other gas appliances.

More info

For more advice, visit

Vito Energy

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Hoppy ever after

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Danielle Bekker explains more about her journey to set up her award-winning local business Binary Botanical & how Woking has inspired her

I love beer but I have never enjoyed having beer with food and would typically switch to wine to have with dinner, which is far more alcoholic. So the original idea was to come up with beer that would go well with food and we have done everything to turn beer on its head. We infuse it with hop leaves (which are normally a waste product) and brew with a wine yeast to give a product which is aromatic, tangy like prosecco aromatic but not at all bitter. We have a 4% ABV version which is the low alcohol alternative to wine and the 0.5% which is the perfect adult drink when you aren’t drinking.

My real passion is the 0.5% ABV – it took a lot longer to get this recipe right . A lot of non-alcoholic beers are quite bitter and it took a lot of experimentation to develop something which was aromatic and flavourful but without the bitterness.

My favourite tipple at the moment is actually the binary 0.5.  I don’t drink very much and I love having an adult alternative to lime and soda.

In terms of inspiration there are quite a few – the range of delicious gins that are out there with the various botanical infusions  shows the range of flavours that can be achieved with different botanicals.   I think Seedlip have paved the way for elevating the non-alcoholic cocktail.

Because binary is so different biggest it is not aimed at the traditional beer consumer  – when people taste the liquid the invariably love it but it does confuse the brain – Is it a low alcohol sparkling wine? Is it a beer?.    Beer can be premium, drunk out of a wine glass with a meal by men and women.  It can make delicious low calorie cocktails.   Secondly – you have to get involved in so many different areas of the business  – from sourcing ingredients to packing boxes and trying to understand how to post a story on Instagram (I didn’t have an Instagram account before starting binary!)

Our highlights have been our listing in Harvey Nichols and Ocado – who both said they were excited to genuine new news and innovation in beer.  The second highlight would be being included in craft gin club as the cocktail mixer for their cocktail of the month – they took a big risk including us as their first ever beer and the feedback has been really positive.  And then lastly any time someone says – I don’t like beer and ends up loving binary is probably the biggest highlight of all.

On a more personal level, in my previous role in corporate I had to travel a lot so was away from home a lot so felt as though I missed out a lot on every day family life like hearing about the day at school.  So although I probably work harder now – I am home for dinner every day and see the kids off for school in the morning which is a real privilege.

My favourite part of Woking is probably Horsell Common (thanks to War of the Worlds –  nearly as famous as the Pizza express is now) – the perfect place to re-charge and go for a walk.  I think we are very lucky to live in a town which is so close to London but still has a great village feel about it.

It is so amazing to see how people want to support local businesses – the people we meet at Farmers Markets and festivals are all very passionate about supporting small, local businesses and events like Woking Food Festival go a long way to show casing local businesses in an affordable way.  I am always humbled by how many volunteers  give their time to the various events.   Locally, our aim is to convince more restaurants that innovation doesn’t just have to be in London.  With this in mind we are running a unique Cocktailcompetition for mixologists and bartenders to mark Dry January by creating a new low alcohol cocktail to demonstrate that no/low alcohol drinks can be exciting and delicious  and its only open to for people in the South East.

 

Q. What would be your dream for Binary Botanical?

My dream would be that we can exemplify a business which integrates its purpose and product into a single story.  By using a waste product (the hop leaf) as a core ingredient, not only are we are driving sustainability in the supply chain and revenue for local farmers we are also championing  the trend for moderation – drinking less or not drinking at all doesn’t mean a compromise on flavour.  We believe that the joyful wellbeing and sociability of beer can be enjoyed by many more people than it is today…. And we plan to convince people of this one sample cup at a time!

More info

To try these wonderful beverages or to find out more about the business head to the Binary Botanical website

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Unique Unicorn

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Photo: Shackleton Trio

The new year has already got off to a great start for Music at the Unicorn with two fantastic pieces of news.

Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention and guitar virtuoso PJ Wright have once again agreed to be patrons for MATU and they have a new programme curator in the form of Duncan Chappell of Big Ginger Tom Music.

Both Dave and PJ are delighted to be continuing their links with the popular music venue and Duncan has already been hard at work putting together an exciting mix of acts for the 2020 programme which will feature acts old and new as well as many local treats.

He said: “This is an exciting time for me and I’m very proud to be part of this wonderful organisation. I know I can do a great job for MATU. We’re all looking forward to a fantastic 2020.

“The new programme will be ready soon and we will be distributing it early in the new year. Come and see us!”

Among the goodies Duncan has lined up for the Unicorn are the stunning vocals of Me for Queen who kicked off the year in January. March brings Jim Moray with Tom Moore on the 26th, one of England’s finest interpreters of traditional song who has changed the sound of folk music.

Among other highlights Duncan has put together are the Shackleton Trio on 21st May. The musicians have played to great acclaim on the folk circuit with their original work blending with imaginative re-workings of traditional folk songs often with a twist.

Multi-award winning folk duo Ninebarrow have impressed audiences across the country with their innovative take on folk favourites and their delivery of old songs rooted in the landscape and history of the British Isles and are named after Nine Barrow Down in Dorset’s Purbeck hills. Ninebarrow are at the Unicorn on 10th September, but definitely worth the wait.

As 2020 draws to a close there’s no let up in the great music on offer with the aptly-named  The Willows playing on 1st October as autumn blows in with their music influenced by both sides of the Atlantic.

Warm up with family trio Cup O’Joe on 12th November, the two brothers and sister have been playing together since they were in their teens and were due to release a new album in January featuring many original tracks.

More info

To find out more about the fabulous bands playing at the Unicorn in 2020 and ticket information

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Seal of approval

Round & About

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Main image: Sleeping like a Weddell by Ralf Schneider Highly Commended 2019, Black and White. Left: Canopy hangout by Carlos Pérez Naval, Spain Highly Commended 2019, Young Wildlife Photographers: 11-14 years old . Middle: Lucky break by Jason Bantle, Canada Highly Commended 2019, Urban Wildlife. Right: The climbing dead by Frank Deschandol Highly Commended 2019, Plants and Fungi

The world-renowned Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, on loan from the Natural History Museum in London, will open at The Base on Friday, 7th February.

“It’s a delight and privilege to bring this exhibition to The Base,” says Corn Exchange Newbury director Grant Brisland. “The previous instalment launched the building [last February] and was enjoyed by over 3,500 people. As we individually and collectively take steps to reduce our impact on the environment, these pictures remind us what we’re aiming to protect for future generations.”

This year’s 100 award-winning images have embarked on an international tour that will allow them to be seen by over a million people. Catch the exhibition at The Base from this month until April.

More info

There are also special events such as Relaxed Days (20th Feb & 8th Apr), a Clay Animals workshop on 22nd February and a Cartoon Animal Drawing workshop on 1st March. Visit the website or call 0845 5218 218. www.facebook.com/WildlifePhotographerOfTheYear

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Max & Ivan

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Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominees Max & Ivan, as seen in BBC One’s W1A and heard on BBC Radio 4’s The Casebook of Max & Ivan bring their show Commitment to Reading tomorrow (6th February).

Peter Anderson caught up with the hilarious duo…

Q. How did you both discover your talents for comedy & improv?

Ivan: “ Max grew up listening to, watching and reading comedy from an early age – he always dreamed of becoming a performer and through dedication and devotion he got to where he is now.”

Max: “ As for Ivan, we’re both hoping he’ll discover his talents soon…”

Ivan: “ Fingers crossed! That’s one of my talents, incidentally.”

Q. You met while studying at Royal Holloway. Does that mean acting and comedy is to some extent at Plan B?

Max: “ We both studied theatre, so this is Plan A! The fact that we don’t have a Plan B is what worries our parents the most (and us to be honest….).”

Ivan: “ Getting a real job is Plan B! And I’ve no idea what the next letter of the alphabet is, so let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

Q. How well did you know each other before you came together at the radio station?

Ivan: “ When we met at an audition for a play (in the first week of university) we got talking about comedy and within a couple of weeks we started working together.”

Max: “ Our friendship and working partnership are one and the same and we look forward to it continuing (until the eventual day it falls apart in bitter, furious litigation).”

Q. Who are your inspirations?

Max: “ The League of Gentlemen, Brass Eye, Little Britain, Key & Peele, French & Saunders, Julia Davis.

Ivan: “ Max.”

Q. What can the audience at South Street expect from the show?

Max: “ If you come to see us at South Street you’ll witness the TRUE story of how I attempted to reform Ivan’s teenage band for one final gig on the night of his stag. It’s an incredible story that has to be seen to be believed, filled with an array of embarrassing photos and videos from our childhood.”

Ivan: “ It also made a number of publications’ Top 10 lists for best comedy shows of 2019 – so we can guarantee that it’s FUNNY! We won’t name those publications out of respect to the Round & About magazine, but feel free to Google – sorry, use a prominent search engine of your choice – if you don’t believe us.”

Q. I know Kieran has performed there before have either of you?

Ivan: “ We haven’t! However when we asked Kieran Hodgson (our director) what to expect, he said: ‘Reading South Street is one of my favourite venues, with a discerning clientele and access to a really good canalside Pizza Express for post-show nosh. You’re also under directorial orders to see the weird muscly lion statue during the afternoon. Break a leg! Kieran. X’

Max: “ His directorial brilliance knows no bounds!”

Q. How do you go about writing/creating the framework for the show?

Max: “ With our previous shows, it’s always been a torturous process involving far too many hours spent in a small room drinking lots of coffee and scribbling on hundreds of Post-it notes.”

Ivan: “ We thought that seeing as Commitment is based on a real story it’d be different this time round… but unfortunately not.”

Q. If you had free rein to pick another actor to join you, who would you pick?

Max: “ We have a running joke with James Acaster that he’ll one day appear halfway through our show as a neighbour, saying his catchphrase of ‘hello boys’ – it’d have to be fulfilling that weird dream I guess!”

Ivan: “ You never know – he might turn up in Reading!*”

Q. How do you relax away from acting?

Ivan: “ We write an eight-part geo-political comedy thriller podcast of course!”

Max: “ Why not give it a listen: it’s called Max & Ivan: Fugitives and it’s nothing like our live show…”

Q. I guess there is a lot of driving between gigs, what do you listen to; music, audio-books?

Max: “ John, our tour manager and driver extraordinaire** is actually a trained musical director, so we’ve actually spent most of our travelling time together learning three-part harmonies to songs…”

Ivan: “ We’re quite tempted to spend our final tour date performing some rousing folk songs instead of Commitment (although we’re not sure what the good people of Norwich would think of that).”

 

* he won’t.

**John’s driving is actually quite dangerous and when we’re not learning harmonies we’re reminding him how roundabouts work, or warning him that he’s about to crash into a parked car.

More info

Visit whatsonreading.com and maxandivan.com

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Wear Red Day

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Don’t be surprised if you’re seeing red today – many will be as they show their support for Wear Red Day and congenital heart disease.

Whether it’s red socks for a splash of awareness or an all-out crimson costume, wear red for the day and support the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund (CHSF) on Friday, 7th February and help children and adults. 

Your fundraising will help fund ground-breaking new equipment, resources, training and research as well as support for children and their families whenever they need it.

It’s so easy to take part, all you need to do is wear red!

It’s a great opportunity to bring pupils, teachers and school staff together for a brilliant cause and team bonding is guaranteed with #WearRedDay at work, it doesn’t need to take up much time but can bring amazing returns. 

And it needn’t stop at wearing red clothing, why not host a Bake Off! Open a stand and sell delicious treats, red coloured of course! Go on a sponsored walk and get naturally red in the cheeks, dress your pets in red and share the fun with your furry friends or simply guess how many red sweets are in the jar.

CHSF was founded in 1988 and since then, has awarded around £7million in grants to the Leeds Congenital Heart Unit, its patients and their families, as well as funding important research proposals. 

And it’s all thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the public and corporate supporters, and by the amazing efforts of fundraisers. 

More info

To find out more information and how you can get involved and help, visit

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