Literary heaven

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Twyford & Woodly

Marlborough is set to welcome writers and readers of all sorts as it celebrates 10 years of its LitFest

MLF2019 David Baddiel_author_pic
MLF2019 David_Baddiel_Head_Kid_BookCover
MLF2019 Author Ian Rankin (c) Hamish Brown
IN A HOUSE OF LIES FINAL

Award-winning writers, established names and emerging authors are all on the bill at this year’s Marlborough LitFest which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Children’s authors, poetry events and themes including history, archaeology, mental health, travel, sports, food, nature and adventure should guarantee that there truly is something for everyone to enjoy this month.

Among the well-known names set to appear are Ben Okri, who is this year’s Golding Speaker, and favourites such as ian Rankin, Joanne Harris, Carol Ann Duffy, Robert Harris and David Baddiel.

Chair of Marlborough LitFest, Genevieve Clarke, said: “The LitFest has come a long way in 10 years. We’re thrilled to be celebrating our first decade with established literary names, plenty of writers just starting out, a mix of themes, creative workshops and a fabulous children’s programme. We’ve also stepped up our commitment to outreach as a way of drawing in new audiences from Marlborough and beyond. I’d like to thank our committee, volunteers and sponsors for all their help in putting together an exciting programme for 2019.”

The festival which features nearly 40 events this year will begin with poet Carol Ann Duffy on Thursday, 26th September at Marlborough College where she will read from her latest collection, Sincerity as well as some of her earlier work.

The Golding Speaker Ben Okri will address the audience at the Town Hall on Friday 27th. The Nigerian-born writer came to recognition in 1991 when aged just 32 he was the youngest winner of the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Famished Road.

Debut authors will feature alongside the established with Elizabeth Macneal and Stacey Halls showcasing their novels on Saturday 28th. Macneal’s The Doll Factory is set in 1850s London and tells of a woman who is both artist and artist’s model. Halls’s novel The Familiars is set at the time of the Pendle witch trials when 10 people were hanged for murder by witchcraft.

Among the other attractions is this year’s Big Town Read, Raynor Winn’s The Salt Path,

chosen for local book groups to enjoy and telling the true story of a homeless, penniless, jobless couple who walk the 630 miles of the South West Coast Path from Minehead to Poole. Their walk and the story of it is defiant and life-affirming.

Festival favourite, Poetry in the Pub returns and new for this year is LitFest’s own What the Papers Say on Sunday morning.

A key feature of this year’s festival is the growth of its outreach events which intend to bring the best of good writing to Marlborough and this year includes a partnership with Save the Children, links with HMP Erlestoke and increased activity with local schools.

Marlborough LitFest

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A true Christie classic

Round & About

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Twyford & Woodly

Turn sleuth and track down a great weekend of Agatha Christie-inspired activities

If you’re ever fancied yourself as a bit of a sleuth there’s the perfect opportunity to put your skills to the test at this year’s Agatha Christie weekend.

Discover the real-life world of the Queen of Crime who lived in Wallingford and Cholsey for 42 years until her death in 1976 writing many of the novels for which she is best known.

As part of this year’s weekend, unleash you inner Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple and take part in Science Oxford’s CSI Forensic Challenge at Wallingford Museum. With a fresh crime scene, grab your magnifying glass and dusting powder, unravel alibis and solve clues to find out whodunit. Booking is essential for this with sessions at 6.30pm, 7.15pm and 8pm.

Among other events planned for the weekend from Friday, 6th to Sunday, 8th September are a talk at Cholsey Church where she and husband Max Mallowan are buried – Murder Most Flowery will look at Christie’s use of horticulture in the creation and solving of whodunits given by keen gardener and fan, Ruth Brompton-Charlesworth. The talk will take place at Cholsey’s St Mary’s Church, 7.30pm and includes a glass of wine or soft drink, tickets £12.

Across the weekend Wallingford Museum will hold an enhanced exhibition, At home with the Queen of Crime, and in Cholsey Old School enjoy the A is for Agatha art exhibition which will feature work created by artists who each read one of her murder mysteries and then used their own interpretation to depict it.

Agatha Christie

Tickets for all events can be bought from Wallingford Museum or call 01491 651127.

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Reading Film Theatre

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Twyford & Woodly

Celebrate Reading Film Theatre’s 50th anniversary & design a new logo

Reading Film Theatre is celebrating its 50th year and wants your help to design a new logo to mark the occasion. 

Reading’s only independent cinema shows a range of art-house, foreign language and indie films as well as the occasional mainstream blockbuster. 

Having started as a joint project between the British Film Institute and the University of Reading, the registered charity runs with the help of 50 volunteers and in the words of its president, Sir Kenneth Branagh: “Independent cinema is vital to the cultural life of town and I am pleased to be President of the cinema which provides opportunities for people to see films that otherwise would not be shown in Reading.” 

Films are shown on Tuesday and Thursday evenings at the Palmer Building at the University of Reading where film goers can enjoy screenings with state-of-the-art equipment. 

The new season starts this month with films to amaze, amuse and delight. 

And there’s the chance for you to win a year’s Classic membership to the theatre in the competition to design a new logo ahead of next year’s anniversary. 

The design requirements: 

Hard copy A5 size or no smaller than 50mm x 50mm and 300dpi if digital 

Make clear the RFT is celebrating its 50th year 

Able to be combined with the film theatre’s existing logo to be placed next to it 

All entries should be original, unpublished and directly created for the competition 

The RFT will retain the right to use or adapt all designs submitted in any format 

 

Entries should be sent to Reading Film Theatre, Logo Design Competition, PO Box 217, Palmer Building, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AH or by email to [email protected] with 50th Anniversary Logo in the subject line. 

All entries should provide full contact details. By entering you agree to RFT contacting you about your entry and forthcoming events. 

Reading Film Theatre

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Disability day

Karen Neville

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Twyford & Woodly

Event at The Oracle promotes disability awareness

Reading residents are invited to a family event which aims to promote disability awareness, with a wide range of activities on offer.

Reading’s Physical Disability and Sensory Needs Network (PDSN) is hosting the Disability Awareness Day 2019 tomorrow, Thursday 15th August, under the theme of ‘Staying Healthy – Mind & Body.’

The free event at The Oracle Shopping Centre in Reading will run from 11am to 3pm and will offer fun, interactive and informative sessions.

A wide range of activities will be on offer for all age groups and abilities, including blood pressure checks from the Stroke Association, lip reading learner sessions and hearing tests from Action on Hearing Loss, shoulder & neck massages, as well as musical entertainment.

For further information and/or additional support at the event, please contact [email protected] or call 0118 937 2383.

Simone Illger is chair of the PDSN (Physical Disability and Sensory Needs Network) and a disabled Reading resident. She said: “There is so much on offer at our event this year – with some great activities and stalls offering advice and support. I’d really encourage people to stop by and find out more.”

Have your say!

Today is also the last day for you to have your say in a consultation called Active Reading which aims to help develop healthy, active lifestyles. To find out more and have your say

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Right at Home

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Twyford & Woodly

The Right at Home Reading & Wokingham District Team have earned a well-deserved round of applause after scooping two awards recently.

The team won a Top20 Homecare Provided 2019 Award for being one of the top 20 homecare providers out of 1,358 agencies in South East England.

And this award came hot on the heels of the Twyford-based company being given a 5 Star Employer 2019 award. This award came from independent research agency WorkBuzz after an extensive survey of Right at Home employees.

Right at Home managing director Kevin Lancaster is quite rightly delighted at the success. He said: “When I opened the 50th UK Right at Home in Twyford I was determined to build a care company of the highest quality, delivering at a level that I would be proud to offer my own family.

“It’s heart-warming to get such great independent feedback from our employees, clients and their families that our approach to providing care is working so well with our local community and our super team.”

Right at Home is the only Top20 Homecare Award Winner in both the Reading and Wokingham area, and the Reading & Wokingham branch joins nearby Right at Home Maidenhead as one of only three homecare companies in the whole of Berkshire with a 10/10 rating on the homecare.co.uk independent review website.

For more information

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Reading Fringe

Karen Neville

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Twyford & Woodly

Reading Fringe Festival is under way and over the next nine days you can enjoy comedy, drama, art, music, theatre, walks and much much more.

“The most eclectic line-up of events yet” is set to take Reading by storm as the Reading Fringe Festival hits town with more than 80 shows to choose from.

As well as surprising shows, they’ll be popping up at some surprising venues too with an orchestra at Reading station and yoga at the Abbey Ruins among others.

Reading Fringe features a host of local, national and international performers for 10 days of comedy, music, film, family fun theatre, art, walks and much more from 19th to 28th July.

This year’s festival has the theme of Into the Woods and Beyond and one of its stars will be the flagship venue of Reading Minster which will host everything from Irish dancing to ‘bring your own baby’ comedy afternoons for new parents.

A conversation with some of Reading’s refugees, a commission with artists from Norway and an evening of songs from musicals are among some of the other treats for visitors.

We truly believe there is something for everyone

There’s live music and family fun at the Oracle Riverside and the Vue Cinema will hold the film festival for the first time.

Cabaret, comedy and drama are on offer at the pentahotel, the Purple Turtle, After Dark, the Three Guineas, South Street and the Rising Sun. Music comes in genres to suit every taste including jazz, rap, steampunk, folk, soul, classic and a capella.

There’s plenty of entertainment too for younger Fringe goers who won’t want to miss out on the singing snails at the very least!
Festival director Zsuzsi Lindsay said they are “beyond excited” with the programme for this year’s festival. She added: “We truly believe there is something for everyone – whether you are a comedy fan, an art aficionado, a film fanatic, looking to keep the kids entertained  during the holidays or none or all of the above!”

Find out more

Visit the Reading Fringe Festival website for full details of the programme

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Love tennis!

Karen Neville

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Twyford & Woodly

Wimbledon starts today (1st July) so expect to see more people out with their tennis rackets and more strawberries being eaten.

There are so many ways to get involved in the sport with many clubs holding open days giving you the opportunity to give the game a try for yourself.

Abingdon

Among those encouraging you to do just that is Abingdon Lawn Tennis Club which aside from the physical benefits of the game is keen to stress the social side of the game too – whether you want to play competitively or just for fun, it really is suitable for everyone from three to 83.

The Lawn Tennis Association has served up a plan to widen the appeal of the sport with TENNIS Opened Up promoting its appeal to players of any age, ability, background and fitness level with various schemes available as well as mini tennis for youngsters. All of these can be catered for at ALTC.

A great way to try the game for yourself or as a re-introduction is to try out ALTC’s open day for free on Sunday, 23rd June at Southern Town Park, Lambrick Way, a week before Wimbledon starts and tennis fever grips the nation. Once you’re hooked the club offers twice weekly club nights for non-members as well as holding team matches, intra-club singles leagues and coaching sessions throughout the year.

Abingdon Lawn Tennis Club boasts five men’s, five women’s and five mixed teams in addition to formal and social tournaments and in 2018 was named Oxfordshire Club of the Year, recognised for its growth in player numbers, coaching, inclusion and innovation.
The friendly, welcoming club has no playing standard requirements just a great love for the game which they want to pass on.

Henley

Teach Me Tennis offer coaching for juniors from the age of three and a comprehensive adult programme based at Peppard Tennis Club just outside Henley-on-Thames. 
They run sessions based around low player to coach ratios so they can ensure all children get lots of quality instruction and feedback. Their belief is that all players should learn not only to hit a ball but also the skills and information needed to play a match whatever their age or on court experience. Term-time sessions run every day after school and on Saturdays starting from age three, with popular tennis camps running during the school holidays for children aged 4+. Play continues all year round on six all-weather courts with floodlights and a modern clubhouse.

Contact Teach Me Tennis for more information on  01491 728080, email [email protected] or visit the website at www.teachmetennis.co.uk

Bradfield

Another opportunity to give tennis a try is available at Bradfield Tennis Centre at Bradfield College Sports Complex near Reading.
It offers world class coaching to players of all ages and abilities. The coaching team firmly believes in “tennis for life”, and welcomes children of all ages to engage in this truly enriching sport.

All of the highly qualified LTA accredited + coaching team have a desire to pass on their knowledge to inspire children to develop a love of the game through on court drills covering the four pillars of tennis – technical, tactical, physical and mental.

Tennis at Bradfield is a sport for everyone to enjoy and provides pathways towards representing the centre in local leagues as well as county, regional, national and international competitions. The team encourages juniors to come for taster sessions prior to committing to the programme and looks forward to welcoming players over the summer holidays in the fun and energetic camps.

Adult tennis players of all abilities are catered for at Bradfield Tennis Centre with courses for beginners, intermediate and team players.
Should you not wish to receive coaching, why not sign up to our extremely popular cardio tennis sessions, which are great for improving fitness levels, you could burn off up to 800 calories per session!

The world class Plexi – Pave indoor and outdoor clay court facilities are open for members and non-members to hire.
To book or for more information please call 0118 964 4600 or 0118 964 4603 or visit www.bradfieldsportscomplex.co.uk

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Get into gear

Karen Neville

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Twyford & Woodly

Join Wokingham Bikeathon on 30th June and take on 15 or 35 mile route

This year’s Wokingham Bikeathon on Sunday, 30th June, is literally bigger than ever – in addition to the 15-mile route, there’s a 35-mile challenge for riders to take on as well.

The new relatively flat route should be an easy ride and at an average speed of 12 miles per hour, should take about three hours to cycle.

This longer distance builds on the success of the bikeathon which started in 2008 with just 143 riders – since that time thousands have taken part with the invaluable help of volunteers, local businesses, charities and organisations.

Run by a committee, headed by Wokingham ‘champion’ Stan Hetherington the original aim was to get people out on their bikes and enjoy the local area, over the years it has developed into a vehicle for fundraising with many charities benefitting.

Money from entries each year goes back into the event for the following year with any surplus after covering bills going to good causes.

Cyclists of all ages and abilities are welcome to saddle up, with many cycling as families. For these the 15-mile route is perfect, it provides the quietest route for families, is easy and should take around 60-90 minutes to complete. There is a drinks stop at 9.3miles with snacks available too.

Over the years it has developed into a vehicle for fundraising with many charities benefitting

Course split points will be used to highlight where the route divides between the 15 and 35 mile courses. For those taking on the longer distance, there’s a drinks stop at 19 miles.

Registration is open now for those wishing to do so online but you can just turn up at Cantley Park on the day.

Get involved!

For all the important information you need to take part and to register in advance

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Castle to Coast

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Twyford & Woodly

Take on a triathlon with a difference from Windsor to Brighton

Travel from Windsor Castle all the way to the coast at Brighton on a journey covering more than 81 miles –  but you’ll be completing it in a one-day triathlon. 

You’ll start with a 1.2 mile swim at Eton Dorney followed by a 67mile open road cycle through the Surrey Hills before finishing off with a 13.2 mile run up Ditchling Beacon and over the South Downs. 

There’s no competitive side to it and no timings instead it’s just about enjoying the adventure of the swim, cycle and run on Saturday, 10th August. 

Lee Brown, director and founder of Fullsteam, the endurance events company, says: “In 2019 we wanted to create something new in the world of triathlon. Castle to Coast’s sportive format will appeal to those looking to step up to a middle-distance triathlon without the pressures of racing and beating the clock.” 

Swimmers will start the event in the water, in waves, and take on the continuous lap before taking to the saddle and embarking on the cycle ride which is fully supported with a feed station, toilet facilities, mechanical assistance and marshals at key locations as riders make their way along the route and 3,400ft of climbs. 

Then you’ll hand over your bike over to the transport team who will either take it on to Brighton for you or back to Windsor. All equipment for the run and changing facilities will be available in a sports centre. 

A finish line party will greet you on the seafront in Brighton where you’ll collect your medal. If you’re then heading back to Windsor, support staff from Fullsteam will take you back on the organised transport. 

Entry, which is limited to 500, costs from £160 before 1st August. 

  For more information about the event and full entry information, including costs, visit www.fullste.am 

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Whiteknights Studio Trail

Round & About

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Twyford & Woodly

Join the studio trail around Whiteknights and uncover some treasures

Thirty-eight artists, designers and makers in the Whiteknights area of Reading will once again open their doors for the Whiteknights Studio Trail.

Artists will invite people to come, view and buy their work, enjoy a pleasant stroll around the area and have cake and tea at various venues.

The trail which takes in 21 venues on Saturday, 15th and Sunday, 16th June, will also showcase Reading’s creative community by including events, activities and demonstrations. Visitors can see and buy artworks ranging from fine art paintings, ceramics and printmaking to jewellery, furniture and photography.

Join the walk around the area and wander into artists’ homes and studios. Discover the wealth of creativity in the area, such as the piece pictured from Carole Stephens, as well as buy artwork at affordable prices. You can browse and chat with the artist about their work while stopping for lunch and refreshments on the way.

This year the Whiteknights Studio Trail is trialling a new enterprise, Whiteknights Studio Trail Introduces encouraging young artists between the ages of 16 and 21 to develop their creativity – three have been chosen including Bulmershe School student Charlie who uses ink and acrylic for her self portraits.

Among other artists exhibiting their work are those working in mixed media, ceramics, photography, quilting, sculpture, glass and jewellery workers. Twelve of the venues will also feature demonstrations of tools and techniques used by the artists to make their work.

The studio trail is about more than just art with open houses and open gardens to be enjoyed too.

 For more details about the artists and their work and to see the map of venues involved, visit Studio Trail

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