Congratulations to three talented young couples from Bracknell Ice Skating Club who have done so well in the British Figure Skating Championships.

Emily Phillips and Jayin Panesar (right) are British Champions 2018 in the advanced novice category with a total score of 101.68.

Siblings Katya and Alex Fairbridge are British Champions 2018 in the intermediate category. This skating couple are aged 12 and 15 respectively and skated two pattern dances which, combined with their free dance, gave them a gold winning score of 56.20. The Fairbridges follow in the footsteps of the famous Olympic Ice Dance Couple Torvill and Dean who won the same trophy in 1994.

Krista Good and Advay Chopra entered the Championships as beginners and came third overall in the basic novice level, coming second in their pattern dances and third in the free dance. They are a new couple to ice dance and are thrilled.

All three couples are coached by Lucine Chakmakjian and David Phillips who have coached at Bracknell for 20 years and produced multiple British Champions in skating.
David Phillips says: “What a phenomenal achievement for these skaters who have worked so hard and given up so much to follow their dreams. They have made Bracknell Ice Rink, their parents and us very proud.”

Lizz Nelhams, Bracknell Skating Club Chairwoman adds: “We are so impressed by the Bracknell skaters who took part in the championships. They are all dedicated skaters and deserve these superb results. We look forward to seeing them continue their development at Bracknell Ice Rink.”

Bracknell Ice Skating Club is one of the UK’s largest and most active clubs and hosts a weekly Ice Ability session.

Janet Ferguson explains why you should join Wokingham Literary Society and some of the highlights to tempt you this month.

Looking for something new to do during those long dark winter evenings?

Wokingham Literary Society will begin the New Year on Thursday, 17th January, with a talk by Martin Hughes entitled Comedy Thrillers.

The speaker will explain that it is far more common to hear the phrase “comedy thriller” referring to films than books. For comedy, do we need pictures as well as words? Is it because of the ability of pictures to combine attractive people and amusing lifestyles amid sad and scary events while words alone remain too close to the event’s sad and serious nature? Martin will look mainly at three books which amuse us even amid their thriller plots; Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man, Christopher Brookmyre’s The Sacred Art of Stealing, and P.G.Wodehouse’s Summer Lightning.

The society’s second speaker on Thursday, 31st January is Jill Swale who will look at The Language of Persuasion – the techniques from famous speeches, literature and the press. Jill plans to explain why Tony Blair’s “Education, education, education”, Neil Armstrong’s “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address (“of the people, by the people, for the people”), are so effective and well-remembered. She’ll look at how writers use loaded language and rhetorical questions to sway the reader, appealing to particular emotions.

New members and visitors welcome. £2 on the door.