DRUGS ARE NEXT ON POLICE LIST IN WEST READING

Dec 27 2007 - By Lucy Thorne

PROSTITUTION, kerb crawling and street drinking have declined over the past 12 months but police will be cracking down on street drug dealing in the new year.

Police are warning dealers in west Reading to watch out and are urging residents to help them stamp out the problem.

West Reading Inspector Graham Dix said: "We will be concentrating our resources on reducing street drug dealing, and really want residents to report every incident they witness.

The Oxford Road neighbourhood team consists of:

Insp Graham Dix

Sgt Nigel Scarratt

NSO John Finnerty

NSO Aaron Gibbs

PCSO Andrew Gare

PCSO Stephen Morgan-Russell

http://www.thamesvalley.police.uk/general/contact-us.htm

http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/chronicle/tm_headline=drugs-are-next-on-police-list-after-vice-crackdown%26method=full%26objectid=20290075%26siteid=50102-name_page.html

DEFRA MAN DIES OF LEGIONNAIRES

A WAR games role-play fan from Caversham who died from Legionnaires’ Disease has been remembered by fellow gamers.

The DEFRA worker was confirmed to have died from pneumonia caused by Legionnaires’ Disease. Reading Borough Council is carrying out tests to determine the source of the contamination.

The Rural Payments Agency postal clerk is the second DEFRA employee to have worked in the Kings Road offices and die of Legionnaires’ Disease in three years.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2016/2016993/tributes_to_victim_of_killer_disease

Legionnaires Disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia which can affect anybody, but which principally affects those who are susceptible because of age, illness, immunosuppression, smoking etc.

It is caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila and related bacteria that can be found naturally in environmental water sources such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs, usually in low numbers. As they are commonly found in environmental sources they may also be found in purpose built water systems such as cooling towers, evaporative condensers and whirlpool spas.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/

TESCO BUY UP OXFORD ROAD

So we’re getting another Tesco along the Oxford Road where TransAuto used to be – no doubt complete with petrol station and cheap food.

According to Greg at Workhouse Coffee “Tesco is like a cancer that is draining the life out of Reading” – a bit harsh but he’s got a point.

The Oxford Road is regenerating at speed and Tesco has clearly chosen to jump upon our bandwagon and tactically remove the competition in chunks until only the most niche of vendors will be able to remain in business near to their stores.

With regret, the most effective way of demonstrating is with the feet but I have little doubt that the footfall at both Oxford Road stores will stay light for long. Is there anything we can do? Is there anything the majority want to do against this happenng? I think not.

CRI STREET SERVICE TEAM

CRI works to create safer and healthier communities.

Telephone: 0118 958 5002

CRI helps people to break free from harmful patterns of behaviour by delivering innovative services which have a measurable impact on both health and community safety issues.

CRI services are hallmarked by an emphasis on quality, a responsiveness to local priorities, and an outstanding record of achieving targets.

CRI is a national provider of support, treatment and rehabilitation programmes for those whose lives are blighted by substance misuse, crime and lack of opportunity.
CRI service users include:

Adults and young people with substance misuse problems
People who are homeless and living and working on the streets
Offenders in prison and those serving community sentences
Families and communities affected by crime, substance misuse and anti social behaviour
Victims of domestic abuse

CRI’s objective is to help individuals to improve their lives and achieve their full potential. CRI seeks to achieve this through engaging with people, assessing their needs and working in partnership with a range of agencies to provide treatment and co-ordinated care pathways that include housing, employment, education and training.

http://www.cri.org.uk/index.php

TAXI SHORTAGE DURING EID – NO PROBLEM

Taxi users in a Berkshire town were warned of a shortage of drivers because of the Muslim festival of Eid this weekend.

Extra buses were scheduled this weekend by Reading Buses because about 80% of the town's taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are Muslim.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the 30-day fasting period of Ramadan and is a great celebration throughout the Muslim world.

Celebrations took place all over Reading and on the evening of Eid al-Fitr people got together with friends, families and loved ones for a huge feast.

The Prophet (pbuh), said: "Fasting is a shield; so when one of you is Fasting he should not use foul or foolish talk. If someone attacks him or insults him, let him say: 'I am Fasting, I am Fasting!'"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7041373.stm

http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/2006_10.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/4404120.stm

PRIDE OF READING AWARD

The Pride of Reading award this year should go to Reading University.

In addition to the fifteen thousand plus consumers, it brings a link to quality education respected all over the world, not least in Japan. It’s big and proud and it’s growing by the day.

If it lacks in any respect, it came way down the list of environmentally friendly universities at number 56 http://peopleandplanet.org/gogreen/greenleague2007/table

Reading University does virtually no recycling which is sad as you’d have thought they could at least recycle the odd glass bottle.

So vote for the University of Reading for the ‘Pride of’ title; it’s made Reading famous. I wasn’t intelligent enough to go there myself but hey, English Degree – me no need one.

MY READING

We’ve got more than the average town to boast about in Reading. The list could have gone on and on but please see below a selection of some of Reading’s best attributes.

In a nutshell, we’ve got:-

History
http://www.berkshirehistory.com/maps/towns/berktn05.html
A great football team
://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10306,00.html
A rail-link to Europe
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/destinations.jsp
Two universities
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/
http://www.tvu.ac.uk/
A world famous rock festival
http://www.readingfestival.com/home/
The Thames
http://www.riverthames.co.uk/reading.htm
A great shopping centre
http://www.theoracle.com/website/
The biggest land-based weather turbine in England
http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/projects/plan_greenpark.html
The biggest lager brewery in Britain
http://www.scottish-newcastle.com/snplc/about/company/profile/
Reading Racers Speedway
http://www.readingspeedway.com/
A dog track
http://www.dog-track.co.uk/reading.html
Restaurants with Michelin Stars
http://www.readingrestaurants.com/lortolan/

Reading – far more appealing than Manchester.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" (Sanskrit: "great soul") Gandhi (October 2, 1869 - January 30, 1948) was one of the founding fathers of the modern Indian state and an influential advocate of pacifism as a means of revolution. (See also: Mahatmas.)

He helped bring about India's independence from British rule, inspiring other colonial peoples to work for their own independence and ultimately dismantle the British Empire and replace it with the Commonwealth. Gandhi's principle of satyagraha (Sanskrit: truth + path/way), often roughly translated as "way of truth", has inspired generations of democratic and anti-racist activists including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. He often stated his values were simple: truth, and non-violence.

http://www.internet-encyclopedia.org/index.php/Mahatma_Gandhi

http://www.musicpakistan.net/

OXFORD ROAD DOCTORS

Tilehurst/Oxford Road Practices

Western Elms Surgery and The Tilehurst Surgery (Pottery Road) are both currently at Stage 1 of list closure. This means that these practices are operating at maximum capacity.

The PCT has agreed that these practices can close their lists to new patients wishing to register. The only exception is to immediate family members living at the same address as existing patients already registered at the surgery.

Routh Lane Surgery is a branch surgery (Dr Jacobs & Partners) situated in Tilehurst.

The branch surgery is not accepting any new patients. Existing patients have been advised that this branch surgery will close for business in December 2007.

http://www.berkshirewest-pct.nhs.uk/default.asp?fldID=17&fldSubAreaNum=0

You are invited to the PCT's first AGM on September 25, 2007 ...

Berkshire West Primary Care Trust is holding its first Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 25 September 2007 at its headquarters, 57-59 Bath Road, Reading, RG30 2BA. The meeting will start at 4.45pm. More details here

Berkshire West Primary Care Trust has three offices, Reading, Wokingham and Newbury. The address and telephone details for your office are below.

Reading Area Office 57 - 59 Bath Road, Reading, RG30 2BA, Tel: 0118 950 3094

View a map of Reading Area Office

VISIT TIM BURNESS – NURSING & CARE WORK

http://www.timburness.com/nursing_and_care_work.html

CHARLES COCKS & CO

Cocks's Reading Sauce was first made in Duke Street in 1789. It became well-known at home and abroad for over a century. Worcester Sauce is a somewhat similar modern equivalent.

So great was it’s fame, Cocks’s Reading Sauce was taken by Phileas Fogg in Around the World in eighty days:-

Phileas Fogg went straight to the dining room, whose nine windows looked out on a beautiful garden with trees already gilded by autumn. There he sat down at his accustomed table where his place was already set. His lunch consisted of an hors d’oeuvre, steamed fish with a first class Reading sauce.

http://www.thamespilot.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=file&p=huntley&f=huntley%2ehtm

HOW TO GET TO READING

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/RDW.html

MOSQUE PARKING IS FINE

DEVELOPERS of the new mosque in Oxford Road have allayed fears of traffic chaos after concerns were raised its seven parking spaces were just not enough.

The Abu Bakr Masjid building will be a purpose-built Islamic centre, the first of its kind in Reading, and expects to attract up to 200 people for prayer on Friday lunchtime and on major events.

But concerns have been raised by some local people about the size of the building, some branding it “overbearing” and others concerned visitors may choke up residential streets by parking there.

Another, who did not want to be named, said she was “baffled” the plan was approved in the first place.

One householder, Nick O’Connor, 32, of Grovelands Road, said: “It’s going to be a nightmare and really snarl up the Oxford Road. “Parking around here is already bad enough and having that many people turn up to one place at the same time is going to be chaos.”

But members of the Abu Bakr Masjid Trust, who are in the process of organising the construction of the temple, say most visitors will be within walking distance.

Mohammad Tariq, secretary of the trust, said: “This is going to be a mosque for local people within the community. It is right in the heart of West Reading and most people who will be coming will be within walking distance.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2014/2014886/only_7_parking_spots_at_mosque

READING FOOTBALL CLUB

AN OVERWHELMING 93% of Reading fans believe luck plays an important part in the outcome of a game.

Other survey findings show 25% of Reading fans think refereeing decisions went against them last season, and 50% of fans claimed the Royals were unlucky or even 'cursed' when it came to penalties.

Just 16% of the fans consider themselves superstitious, 13% believe taking a particular route to the ground is lucky, but 33% think betting on the team tempts fate and that certain referees can spell doom.

Most fans surveyed nationally think Manchester United have all the luck going, but 41% of Reading fans believe that honour goes to Chelsea.

http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/chronicle/headlines/tm_headline=madejski-fans-in-fear-of-the-penalty-curse%26method=full%26objectid=19808046%26siteid=50102-name_page.html

PROTEST OVER ALLOTMENT LAND

ALLOTMENT holders are digging in for a fight to save their plots from the bulldozers. Cow Lane allotments are set to fall victim to redevelopment when Reading Station is upgraded.

RBC - Please turn over some land for the creation of new allotments; the value of a pea when planted by yourself, in cherished and nurtured land free of chemicals is priceless.

There’s a book called ‘Plots Against Hitler’ about how the Brits’ waged war against the Axis in 1939 on the home vegetable front which emphasises the importance of the allotment in terms of community, thrift, pride, responsibility and health amongst others; and besides, it’s a British Subject’s right to grow a potato if s/he can.

Main Article First Printed in the Evening Post - Picture courtesy of Wine Anorak

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2015/2015224/protest_over_allotment_land

VISIT THE WINE ANORAK
http://www.wineanorak.com/blog/labels/ramblings.html

THIS IS READING

Whether you like or dislike Reading Festival, Reading Railway Station, the Royals or the wind turbine adjacent to Junction 11, there’s no getting away from the fact that they’re part of what makes Reading, well, Reading.

Reading Station is a Heathrow of it’s genre, a hub connecting the majority of the south’s towns and cities to London and in turn Europe. It is where it is and it’s going to get bigger – it has to in order to compete with the car, the coach and the cheap as chips low cost airlines.

Be proud of Reading Station, grab your passport, get a bus to the station, get on a train to London (30 minutes tops) – taxi to Waterloo (25 minutes) – get on a Eurostar and get out at Brussels three hours after leaving home.

GRAND PLACE
http://www.plaisirsdhiver.be/fr/grand_place.aspx

EUROSTAR
http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/travel_information.jsp

HOTELS
http://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?aid=303948;label=brussels-SZcThMOzquhb1QSSgTHpYwS884693961;sid=d426e663c314ae917a3a815998352ab2;landmark=1324

READING PRIDE

It's not just for gays, lesbians and bisexuals, it's a free event for the whole community to enjoy.

Reading Pride is a non-profit members' organisation serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities of Reading and The Thames Valley

Registered in England Charity No. 1119891

http://www.readingpride.co.uk/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=4&Itemid=25

STREET PROGRAM

By David A. Kostival - Reading Eagle correspondent

The Borough Council on Thursday took a first step to establish a downtown revitalization project similar to the Main Street program in West Reading.

Following a presentation from its engineer, Robert Ludgate Jr., council voted 6-1 to adopt a resolution to authorize Ludgate and Sam Loth, the West Reading Main Street director and a private consultant, to prepare and submit a grant application to the state.Councilman Dennis Leiby opposed the plan.

He did not explain his vote.

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=58222

BAFA

Barbados And Friends Association (BAFA) Chairman, Anderson Connell, explained that although there currently appears to be more Barbadians going back to Barbados than coming, BAFA is still a community cornerstone in Reading, and essential to so many Barbadians “coming to a strange land”.

He says: “The people have largely come from a rural way of life in Barbados and found that Reading was a halfway house between life in the city (London) and the countryside. BAFA is involved in many community based initiatives, and not just with the Barbadian community. We are central to a number of Lifestyle health education activities and just now are focussing on obesity and prostate cancer. Even the local Deputy Chief Fire Officer uses our facilities for recruiting in the community.”

“The birth of the association was back in 1968, when a small group of Barbadians decided to group together for regular meetings to share and build on their cultural experiences from Barbados. It gradually grew with the numbers of immigrants, but declined, largely through the late 70’s. But the new Committee of 1998 brought it into the 21st Century and it is now dynamic again,” said Connell.

Barbadians have a very soft spot for their “mother country”, and have significantly contributed to the local economy in Reading, but ask any Barbadian where their heart lies, and you would probably find it is “Little England” – Barbados.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/england/berkshire/article_4.shtml

http://www.africasounds.com/crop_over_kadooment.htm

ILLEGAL CAFE CLOSED

Sep 4 2007 - By Lucy Thorne

AN ILLEGAL rat-infested café operating from the back of a barber shop has been closed down by environmental health officers.The Ghanaian café behind Happy Base in Oxford Road was condemned as an imminent risk to health.

Reading magistrates were told environmental health officers visited the café following a tip off from neighbours complaining about cooking smells.

Senior borough environmental health officer Matthew Moore said: "I had no hesitation in shutting it down." He told the court: "The kitchen area was filthy, there was no hot water and there was evidence of a rat infestation."

Owner Jacob Okuyere initially claimed the food was for himself and his family, but officers were confronted with dozens of pots and pans full of spaghetti, stews, yams and goat curry - all being unhygienically kept at room temperature.

Reading Chronicle

http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/

SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN

The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) is the leading national charity committed to helping and supporting those who serve in our Armed Forces, those who used to serve, and the families of both.

We provide a reliable, caring and trusted service to more than 50,000 people each year.

Our professionally trained staff and network of 7,000 volunteers provide practical and financial assistance, emotional support and a wide range of services to ensure that SSAFA Forces Help makes a real difference wherever there is a need and whenever anybody turns to us for help.

S S A F A Forces Help

Address: Brock Barracks, Oxford Road, Reading, Berkshire, RG30 1HW

Please Telephone: 0118 957 3393

OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION
http://www.ssafa.org.uk/index.asp

Confidential Support Line

http://www.ssafa.org.uk/ConfidentialSL.html

AWOL - Reclaim your Life

Service Personnel who are absent without leave (AWOL) can now speak in complete confidence to the SSAFA AWOL Support Line Worker Tel: 01380 738137 9.00 - 10.00am Monday to Friday (answering machine for call back outside these times).

THE BATTLE OF BROAD STREET

Thursday - Opposing groups met in Reading Town Centre on Thursday afternoon with catastrophic results. Only available report to date states:

Those in Broad Street and those in Castle Street were driven pell-mell into the Market Place. Their stampede spread panic among their comrades. The whole force took to its heels and fled towards Twyford. As they fled through the streets, the inhabitants fired upon them from the windows. Several of the dead were buried in St. Giles's churchyard.

December 1688

http://www.berkshirehistory.com/

OTHER READING COMMUNITY BLOGS

http://www.getreading.co.uk/community/
READING ROARS
http://www.readingroars.com/
POSSIBLY THE MOST BORING WEBSITE
http://www.buszone.co.uk/RTL17.html

BLOGGER OF THE WEEK

Cindy Cheong - Reading, Berkshire, GB
http://miraiwamitteru.blogspot.com/

OXFORD ROAD COMMUNITY FORUM

The Forum is open to all residents in the Oxford Road area. The group meets regularly to discuss and take action on matters of interest concerning the area.

Past meetings have covered a range of issues from 'streetcare' (rubbish collection, graffiti etc) to development of the Battle Hospital site and from climate change to parking. Key speakers are invited to present information and to answer residents questions and concerns. All are welcome to attend.

To find out more about the Community Forum or to be added to the mailing list to receive copies of meeting minutes and dates of future meetings please contact us.

Community Development Services - North and West Reading

Tel: 0118 939 0374

Contact Form

DRUG HELP

Opiates began their popular use in the 1800’s with the derivation of morphine in 1806 and the invention of the hypodermic needle in 1848, just in time for the Civil War.

During the war literally hundreds of thousands combatants became addicted to morphine. As the leading pain-killing drug of the time, it was often rubbed or dusted into the wound. . The state of medical knowledge at the time did not know what addiction or how severe the heroin detox was, and so many soldiers came home from the war heroin and opiate addicted.

As the extent of morphine addiction grew it was thought that heroin, first synthesized in by British chemist C. Adler Wright, in 1874, was the best cure for the Morphine addict. Clearly a cure that simply led to further addiction, now to Heroin.

Today the same flawed thinking of the turn of 20th century exists in the form of Methadone maintenance as one of the “treatments” for heroin addiction and as administered during the heroin detox phase.

http://www.heroin.org/

http://www.change-network.co.uk/enquire/

JEWISH COMMUNITY IN BERKS

The Jewish community in Berkshire was originally an evacuee community. Several Jewish people came from the east end of London to Maidenhead to escape the bombs during the blitz. There was no synagogue in the town before 1940. "Gradually the numbers increased, and here we are today", says Jonathan.

Jonathan Romaine is the Rabbi at the synagogue in Maidenhead, the largest in the area.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/faith/2004/06/synagogue.shtml

NANCEY SEGHETTI

http://www.newcenturyartists.org/artists/NanceySeghetti/59.jpg

WHAT ARE YOUR NEIGHBOURS DOING?

Aug 28 2007
By Lucy Thorne

KEEP an eye on your neighbours.

That's the message from police involved in the crackdown on Reading's booming drug factory businesses.

Drugs squad detectives seized 797 cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £100,000 in the latest raid in Whitley after a tip-off from a member of the public and Whitley neighbourhood Inspector Kevin Sinfield is urging neighbours to report any unusual comings and goings - particularly at houses that are supposed to empty or unoccupied.

The latest house to be raided was in Basingstoke Road. Officers from Operation Falcon and the Whitley North neighbourhood team raided the house at about 8am on Wednesday last week under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Inspector Sinfield said: "In the next few months neighbourhood policing is due to be introduced to south Reading and will lead to a highly visible presence in the area.
"The role of the team will be to engage with the local community.

"We require cooperation of the community in passing on intelligence and information that can then be acted upon by us. "Any information that we receive will be treated in the strictest confidence."

http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/

TWO CHARGED IN MCDONALD'S KILLING

Police say a 15-year-old Reading boy fatally shot a drive-through employee during a botched robbery.

By Jason A. Kahl
Reading Eagle

Reading - Two Reading residents — one a 15-year-old boy who police said was the gunman — were arrested Wednesday in the July 18 shooting death of a woman who was working at the drive-through window of the McDonald’s restaurant.

Xavier Rodriguez-Colon, 15 told police he killed Shawnee M. Koch during a botched robbery July 18 at the restaurant’s drive-through window, investigators said.Rodriguez-Colon was committed to Berks County Prison without bail after arraignment before District Judge Wally Scott in Reading Central Court.

He is charged with second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy and related offences.A co-defendant, Yonel Hernandez-Payero, told police he drove the stolen car used in the shooting.

Hernandez-Payero also was charged with second-degree murder, robbery, conspiracy and related offences. He was awaiting arraignment late Wednesday in Reading Central Court.

Police said they arrested both men without incident late Wednesday afternoon in the city after receiving tips from residents.

http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=56044

THAN’ YA’ VER’ MUCH

THE man known throughout the town as Reading Elvis says he is all shook up after hundreds of people pledged to send him to Graceland.

As reported in the Evening Post last week, the well-known Reading character could be on his way to the home of the King thanks to an online fan club set up in his name.

Almost 3,000 people have joined The Legend that is Reading Elvis group on the Facebook social networking website and hundreds of fans say they will pay to send their hero to Memphis.

However, since hatching the plan two weeks ago, group members have struggled to get in contact with the Presley fanatic.

Until now.

Speaking exclusively to the Evening Post as we discovered him enjoying last weekend’s Reading Festival, Reading Elvis, real name Dave Allon, could not hide his delight at the prospect of heading Stateside.

The 58-year-old from Corwen Road, Tilehurst, said: “I’ve never been to Graceland. Seeing it for real would be like one of my wildest dreams.”

http://www.getreading.co.uk/news/2014/2014390/thank_you_very_much_says_elvis

WEST READING NEWS

West Reading News from our brothers across the ocean

Local news for West Reading, PA continually updated from thousands of sources on the web. It's well worth a read.

http://www.topix.net/city/west-reading-pa

DENTON DANCING & SOCIAL CLUB

Club for over 40s, at the Scout Hall, Armour Hill/Kentwood Hill. Once a fortnight. Also play and take dancers to local clubs and residential homes.Charity events

Denton Dancing & Social Club

193a Kentwood Hill
Tilehurst

Reading

Telephone: 0118 945 3057

THE URDU WORLD AT YOUR FEET

Berkshire is home to one of the largest Urdu-speaking communities in the UK, so we're very excited to be linking up with the Urdu arm of the World Service for a series of special projects.

Do you live in Berkshire and speak Urdu? Well then we'd love to hear from you.

We've teamed up with the BBC World Service to look at light-hearted cultural differences between South Asians living in Berkshire and in their native countries, as well as probe more serious issues concerning religion and ways of life.

Can ex-pat cultures be worlds apart from their country of origin? What do Berkshire communities have in common with others across the globe? These are just some of the questions we'll be looking at.

Throughout the project we'll be featuring photos, videos, diaries and articles on Urdu communities both in Berkshire and beyond.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire/content/articles/2007/02/21/glocal_urdu_feature.shtml

NEW FESTIVAL HUNT IS ON

With another successful Reading Festival over, attention is drawn once again to finding a replacement event to fill the gap left by WOMAD.

The problem for Reading Borough Council and sponsors alike is that the WOMAD template fulfilled the requirements to a tee. WOMAD celebrated the diverse, multi cultural and ‘world music’ criteria bringing together music fans of no one group.

Reading Festival can only be praised for it’s professionalism and the proficient organisation and construction, but at the end of the day – it’s a white middle class beer drinking bash that is not designed to address the same audience as a WOMAD.

G T MOORE

G T Moore was born in Reading, Berkshire, England in 1949 as Gerald Thomas Moore.

As a singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist with a recording career that stretches back to the early seventies, he is a true pioneer and maverick of the British music scene.

http://www.myspace.com/ganjaflower

http://www.yahooka.com/pages/Music/Reggae/

READING ENTOMOLOGY

Insect Making Craft Session

Tuesday 28 August, 2.30pm - 3.30pm
Battle Library, Oxford Road, Reading

Come along to a crafty workshop where you can make your very own insect.

It's FREE but very popular so booking is essential.

For more information please contact Battle Library on 0118 901 5100

THE UK’S LARGEST FARMER

Welcome to The Co-operative Farms

The Co-operative currently farms over 70,000 acres in England and Scotland, making us the largest farmer in the UK.

We have been farming since 1896, when our first farm was bought to grow potatoes for our food stores. More farms were bought between the two World Wars to grow food when it was scarce.

As a large farmer and a supermarket, we’re in an ideal position to ensure we provide the very best of British to our customers.

We grow a variety of cereals, including wheat which goes into Co-operative packet flour, and a growing range of fruit and vegetables including potatoes, strawberries, cider apples and peas which all go into The Co-operative Food stores. Find out more about our food products

http://www.co-operative.co.uk/en/corporate/

WEST READING FREE-AD FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICES TO THE ENVIRONMENT

SHANTIDEVA BUDDHIST CENTRE

Shantideva Centre provides meditation classes throughout the Thames Valley. Everyone is welcome to attend these drop in sessions - an ideal starting point for those new to meditation, or an opportunity for those who have some experience to gain a fresh perspective.

Spend a day in the relaxing environment of Shantideva Centre and be inspired by the teachings and guided meditations. Meet friends and enjoy a delicious vegetarian lunch.

Lojong Retreat 26th—31st August (previously Lamrim retreat)

Kelsang Loten will be guiding meditations on the Buddhist way of Loving Kindness as presented in Eight Steps to Happiness by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso – a practical guide to realising our Buddha nature.>> Find out more

Prayers for World Peace

Taking place at Shantideva Centre on Thursday evenings at 7.30 pm. Everybody is welcome. Other chanted prayers are regularly held at the Centre — please get in touch and request a timetable.

http://www.learntomeditate.org/

READING CZECH & SLOVAK CIRCLE

The Reading Czech and Slovak Circle, founded in 1989, is a not-for-profit club based in Reading, Berkshire. We bring together Czech and Slovak history, language, culture, heritage, traditions and food.

We do this by holding bi-monthly events (our largest events attract up to 150 people); send out regular email newsletters to approx 100 subscribers and by keeping our members up-to–date through our website.

http://www.czechandslovakcircle.co.uk/index.htm

PROJECT MALA

Project Mala is not a well known charity in the UK but we are very well known for our work with children in the carpet weaving belt in India. Currently we have over 1,000 children in our six schools in India.

Project Mala SchoolVillage GuriaAhead Kachwa Road CrossingPost ThathraVaranasi Allahabad G T RoadVaranasi 221307Uttar Pradesh , India

http://www.projectmala.org.uk/default.htm

SANJAY DUTT RELEASED

Press Trust of India - Pune/Mumbai, August 23

After 23 days in prison, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, sentenced to six years of imprisonment in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, on Thursday walked free from a Pune jail on an interim bail.

Dutt's freedom may be short-lived as the actor will have to return to the jail once the November 28, 2006 judgement of the TADA court convicting him under the Arms Act is made available to him.

The actor, accompanied by his lawyer Satish Maneshinde and fellow convict Yusuf Nulwala, arrived at Mumbai by a chartered flight and reached his house at 8.25 am to an emotional welcome by his MP sister Priya Dutt, other close relatives and friends.

http://news.digitaltoday.in/news/india.jsp?p=fullStory&id=8289

TAGGER VANDALISES CARS

Aug 16 2007 - By Lucy Thorne

A PROLIFIC tagger who has vandalised more than 40 vehicles and garage doors is being hunted by police.

The vandal scrawled the word "Hawk" in red paint on the side of cars and vans during a month-long assault across Reading.

The tagger last struck on Sunday night, vandalising 11 vehicles in York Road, Denbeigh Place, Newport Road and Barnwood Close, and damaging a garage door.

On August 5 another 10 vehicles and a garage door were scrawled with the same tag in Thrale Mews, Hampstead Court, Longridge Close, Waverley Road and St Ronans Road.

Vehicles in West Reading were initially targeted with the same tag but in black, when six vehicles and a garage door in Beecham Road, Waverley Road and Aberford Close were damaged on July 18.

http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/

JUST DIAL PAKISTAN

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This site is nothing to do with ‘WEST READING’ and is advertised as a service not a recommendation.

EVERTON HALTED BY READING

Sat 18 Aug, 08:49 PM

LONDON (Reuters) - High-flying Everton came crashing back down to earth on Saturday with a 1-0 defeat at Reading while Tottenham Hotspur belatedly hit form with a 4-0 demolition of newly promoted Derby County.

Stephen Hunt scored Reading's winner just before halftime and Everton, who had won their opening two matches, could find no way back after the break as they were knocked off the top of the table on goals scored by Wigan Athletic.

READING DOMINICA ASSOCIATION

The Dominican community in Reading (approx 10 families) were brought together in 1979 by the news that Hurricane David had devastated the Commonwealth of Dominica.

With a committee of 12 members, they raised over £10,000 in funds for hurricane relief, to help the Dominica Association for the Blind, supply pre-school and secondary schools with books and resources, clinics with medical equipment and provided general support for other projects.

Over the past 21 years, the Association has become well recognised within the Reading Community and has developed a close relationship with the local Council & other Caribbean Associations.

In promoting Dominica at local events through performances by their folk singing group “Sisserou” - they have also assisted other community organisations with their fundraising such as - Sickle Cell, Africa famine relief, Macmillan Nurses etc.

http://www.sisserou.org.uk/supporting.htm

THE READING TOWN FORUM

Burglaries and car crime are down on the Oxford Road and it’s all thanks to the police and community working together, says West Reading’s police chief.

Inspector Graham Dix, who leads a team of eight covering Oxford Road, told a public meeting on Tuesday night good communication and intelligence had helped “dramatically reduce” break-ins and he was confident other problems could be tackled effectively.

http://www.reading-forum.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2200

http://www.bidburglar.com/price.php

MOSQUE NEWS

To contribute towards the building of a Mosque is regarded as “Sadaqa Jariya”

http://www.abubakrmasjid.com/?page_id=2

INDIA CELEBRATES

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has told Indians celebrating 60 years of independence from Britain that "the best is yet to come". Mr Singh was speaking after raising the Indian flag at Delhi's Red Fort, where the British flag was lowered in 1947.

He praised the work of those who fought for India's freedom but said the country would only be truly independent once it had eliminated poverty.

Pakistan marked its own 60th anniversary a day earlier.
The partition in 1947 saw 10 million people cross borders in one of history's largest mass migrations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6947226.stm

YOUR READING

Your Reading is a major initiative to promote pride in the town and encourage everyone to work together to make it safer, greener, cleaner and healthier.

The campaign tackles important issues that affect everyone's day-to-day lives, like litter, graffiti, abandoned cars and discarded needles. It is in line with Reading Borough Council's 2020 Vision of creating a place over the next decade or so that is a source of great pride to its people, communities and businesses.

http://www.reading.gov.uk/communityandliving/yourreading/

PAKISTAN

The name Pakistan was derived from an idea first suggested in 1933 when a student, Chaudhuri Rahmat Ali, proposed that there should be a separate homeland which would be comprised of the Muslim-majority provinces in the north-west as well as the geographically contiguous princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The name was formulated from: P for Punjab, A for the Afghanis of the north-west frontier, K for Kashmir, S for Sind and Tan denoting Baluchistan. The word also means land of the pure in Urdu.

The partition of the Subcontinent, however, led to severe rioting and population movement as Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus found themselves on the wrong side of the partitioned provinces of Punjab and Bengal. The latter of these became East Pakistan. An estimated half a million people died in communal violence, millions more became homeless.

Jammu and Kashmir, a collection of culturally distinct regions, were nominally brought under the rule of Sikhs in the early 19th Century. After the British fought the Sikhs in 1846, instead of assuming direct control over the area, Britain installed a Hindu ruler as Maharaja.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/1947.stm

THE METHADONE HANDBOOK

The methadone handbook is the complete guide to methadone and methadone treatment. It is essential reading for everyone in, or thinking about, methadone treatment for their opiate dependence, as well as health professionals, relatives, employers and others interested in methadone treatment.

It helps people understand how methadone works, explodes the myths that exist about methadone treatment and helps people who are dependent on illicit heroin and other opiates fully understand what methadone treatment might mean for them.

Revised and updated for the 8th edition.

http://www.exchangesupplies.org/