Waterways Festival and Barbeque

The Waterways Festival has always been one of the important events in the Town's calendar and attracts large crowds of visitors and local people. The Festival this year was preceded by a barbeque at the Stone Building in the Wharf. The Stone Building, which is occupied by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, was originally a mid 19th Century granary and part of wharf building complex, which served the corn trade on the canal.

I was invited to attend the barbeque on the evening of 28 July but the Mayoress was not able to accompany me. The weather was very much the same as it had been during the week, blustery with scattered showers, so I arrived complete with umbrella. I was met by Graham Smith, who is the Newbury Branch Secretary of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. He and his organising team had anticipated wet weather as much of the Wharf area had been protected from rain by awnings, which covered the seating areas and the disco. There must have been around 50 or 60 people there and the barbeque was already cooking the burgers and sausages.

Many of those attending were owners of narrow boats and there were several who came from Hungerford and Devizes. The food was delicious; the two people cooking the barbeque were obviously experts as the meat was well cooked but not tough as I usually find it. I thanked my hosts for their hospitality and went at around 10pm, when the party was well underway and the dancing to the disco. I had to be up bright and early the next day to formally open the Festival.

The next morning, the sun shone as I arrived at the Town Hall and walked with Edwina Cooper to Victoria Park - at least we would not get wet!!! In my speech to open the Festival, I indicated that the river and later the canal in the 18th and 19th centuries, after it had become navigable. was used commercially and the town prospered from it. However, with the arrival of the railway in 1852, this trade declined and by 1927, some parts of the canal ceased to be navigable.

This situation continued until 1951, when the Kennet and Avon Trust was formed and volunteer working parties were established to help improve the navigation. The Trust has over the years, gone from strength to strength and through their efforts, the canal and river is now completely navigable between Reading and Bristol. I concluded by thanking the Trust for its efforts and wished them a successful Festival and for its future success. Having formally opened the Festival, I then walked to the canal side to judge the best dressed boat.

There were 15 narrow boats tied up to the bank and I and the Mayoress visited each one. I was able to speak to a number of the owners, who were all very dedicated "boaters". while some had not been off the Kennet and Avon Canal, other more adventurous had spent months on the inter-connected canal systems up to the Midlands and beyond. Most of the boats were decorated with flags, summer flowers in pots and other adornments. All the owners were obviously proud of their boats, with polished brass and new paint. It was therefore difficult to choose a winner. I eventually decided that a local boat "Pride" was the best and, to my surprise, those accompanying me from the Kennet and Avon Trust, agreed I had made a good decision. I presented the winning owner with and inscribed silver tray, who was suitably delighted.

We walked around the various marquees, which were deployed in the park, from traders selling , cakes, jams and other produce to the charitable organisations such as the Lions and the Lifeboat Institution. There was also other canal trusts present. The Wey and Avon Canal Trust based at Billingham, is restoring the waterway between the River Wey at Shalford, south of Guildford and the River at Shalford, northwest of Pulborough in Sussex. The strategic importance of the Trey and Avon canal is that it is the only outlet to the English Channel from the whole of the National Waterways System. It is not yet fully navigable, which the Trust is addressing. Another was the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust, the main route of this canal was the 52 miles from the Kennet and Avon Canal at Sunnington near Melksham to the River Thames at Abingdon.

The Waterways Festival proved to be a great occasion and I shall return next year.

Newbury Youngstars "Return to the Forbidden Planet"

We were invited to the Youngstar's performance of the musical "Return to the Forbidden Planet" at the Arlington Arts Centre and this would be the first time we had visited there.

On arrival we met Jane Bradshaw, a parent and one of the organisers of the Youngstars. The building is relatively new and is used by Mary Hare School and the interior is a typically modern open stage with no curtains at the front and a tiered auditorium, which allows excellent visibility. The sound box is set back high up over the auditorium and this is where the musicians were located, headed by Michael Evans the musical Director. The theatre was well designed but unfortunately the seating was very cramped, to get the most seating in its space: I had , with my long legs, great difficutly in even getting them into the cramped space, However, this did not detract from the performance.

The first act began with a blaze of colour and sound when the entire cast came on the stage singing "Wipe Out" and expected, and received audience participation. The plot of the musical was based on the film "Forbidden Planet" and subsequent dialogue was punctuated by some Shakepearean play extracts. I did recognise some of the songs, which started in the 1960s and became more modern as time went on. The acting was very good when you consider that some of the case seemed very young, from probably 12 to 17 years old. The costumes were opulent with some vivid colours that transformed the stage.

I was glad to stretch my legs at the interval as I was really cramped; it also gave us the opportunity to speak to other members of the audience who were in the main wave of parents.

The second act was as lively as the first with lots of action, good use of underground music and stage effects, including a scary monster with green legs! These were a couple of outstanding members of the cast, both of which had good voices. The Navigator (Georgie Radford) and Miranda (Ellie Bradshaw) were excellent, as were the backing singers. I think the audience was almost as breathless as the cast as it all seemed to go at a remarkable speed. To give them all credit, Edward Dann, the prompter, had to intervene only about four times during the entire performance.

Congratulations to all of them: they were a great credit to all young people.

Silver Jubilee of the National Association of Widows

The National Association of Widows in Newbury celebrated 25 years of its existence with a tea party and a tree planting ceremony at the West Berkshire Community Hospital and they invited me and the Mayoress to take part in their celebrations.

Arriving at the hospital in our attendant Carol Currey's car, it began to rain (again!). We were met at the entrance by the Chairman, Mrs Sheila Lane and we were taken to one of the meeting rooms, which was filled with around 50 ladies. We were also introduced to the Matron of the Hospital and Father Dagnall, the rector of St John's Church. The Chairman gave a brief report on the 25 years of success, from small beginnings up to the present day when the Newbury Group has around 50 members. The group offers friendship and support to recently widowed ladies and organises social events, theatre trips, etc. Amongst the members was a lady who was one of the inaugural members, who spoke briefly and said how delighted she was to have been invited to the Jubilee event.

We then went out into the garden area where the rain started again and despite the umbrellas, we all got somewhat wet. This did not deter Father Bernard who gave a prayer of dedication at the tree and then we all beat a hasty retreat back into the hospital. I felt sorry for the photographer who had to go into the shubbery to get a good photo of the tree planting ceremony. He was really soaked!

I was invited to say a few words and I congratulated them on their Silver Jubilee, commended the Chairman and her committee on their success, and wished them every success in the future. This was then followed by the cake cutting and tea, which was very acceptable.

We spent a further half hour in speaking to the members, before taking our leave.

Silver Jubilee of Readibus

I was invited to help celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Readibus by attending a tea party on board the Rose of Hungerford on the afternoon of Monday 23 July as it sailed up the River Kennet.

I arrived with Edwina Cooper, the Mayoress, at the Hungerford Wharf where we were met by Barbara Bavistock, the Newbury Team Leader. We also met the crew of the Rose of Hungerford who were all volunteers of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. They were ready to cast off when we went aboard and noted that the boat was almost full of the senior citizens and disabled people who are regular users of Readibus. We were given a health and safety briefing by one of the crew and then proceeded slowly (I believe the fastest rate is 4 knots) towards Kintbury. It is a different perspective going by barge; you have time to note the various features along the river bank, the flora and fauna and the wild fowl and swans. We quickly moved around the guests and found that some had been on the Mayor's Drive and most, if not all, came from the Newbury area.

There were four volunteer Readibus drivers on board and it was evident that they were all popular and well-known to all their customers. All had been driving for many years. Cups of tea were served and there was an iced cake with 25 years iced upon it, in celebration of their Silver Jubilee. There was also some other tempting cake which was well received. I thanked the Readibus staff for all that they did and congratulated them on 25 years of service.

There was a boat full of happy and contented people when we returned eventually to Hungerford Wharf. The passengers disembarked and went to their respective buses to be driven home. We were pleased to have been invited to take part in their Silver Jubilee celebration and believe it or not, it did not rain.

Visit of Delegation from Braunfels, Germany

I was pleased to welcome a delegation from our twin town of Braunfels on Saturday morning of 21 July. Braunfels, located near to Wetzlar, some 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Franfurt-au-Main in the county (land) of Hessen, is our oldest twin town. It was twinned in 1963/64 and it was John Marshall who signed the twinning document as Mayor of Newbury, and a copy is on display outside the Council Chamber.

Many of the delegation from Braunfels had not visited before and they were looking forward to going to the Newbury Races, but due to the torrential rain and flooding, the race meeting, together with a champagne reception, was cancelled. A revised programme had been drawn up by Garry Poulson, the Chairman of the T T A, and some were off around the town while others were considering going to Winchester.

One of the longest serving members of the T T A is Frank Graham. He was a Councillor at the time of the twinning and former Mayor and he gave a speech on the history and noted that one of the Braunfels' delegates was at the original ceremony in 1963/64. It is fair to say that his speech was full of reminiscences! My speech was noticeably shorter because he had stolen some of my thunder.

All the German delegates spoke excellent English, so I resisted the temptation to speak to them in my fractured German. One of the delegates, whom I believe was a lawyer, thanked us for our hospitality and presented an engraved Braunfels glass plate. It is now on display in the Mayor's Parlour.

I bid the delegates farewell and hoped that they would have an enjoyable visit. I have no doubts I will see several of them at the Twin Town reunion at Bagnols in November.

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support invited me to their afternoon event on 19 July at the United Reformed Church hall at Cromwell Place. This was ,in part, to thank those who had previously taken up the challenge to organise a coffee morning to raise money for the Macmillan Cancer Charity. It was also to encourage volunteers to sign up for the next coffee morning on 28 September 2007.

There was no formal agenda and those attending were able to meet others who had previously organised coffee mornings. These were two ladies who came from Reading's Citizen Advice Bureau, who were welfare benefit caseworkers and they gave some details of how they could help cancer sufferers from a financial viewpoint.

I also me the Chairman of West Berkshire Council, Andrew Rowles and his lady and Mrs Patricia Barclay who has been long associated with Macmillan Cancer Support.

There was a plethora of leaflets on display, either setting out how to organise a coffee morning or what Macmillan Cancer Support can give in support of cancer sufferers.

It was an interesting afternoon and I have noted the date of 28 September to find a group running a coffee morning to support it.

West Berkshire Children's Fund Celebration Event

The West Berkshire Children's Fund was introduced in April 2003 and the funds came from the Government which are designed to help children between 5 to 13 who need extra support. I was invited to attend their celebration event in the Council Chamber.

The Children's Fund Programme Manager, Denise Buchan, introduced the programme and a wide range of representatives gave short talks on their areas of interest. The first was Amanda Richards, Chief Executive of the West Berkshire Education Business Partnership. She explained the extent of mentoring in the area. There was a group of business people from firms such as Vodafone and Bayer who help children with learning difficulties. Rachel Caine from the West Berkshire Youth Offending Team talked about several initiatives, particularly those during the summer holidays. Sue Rollings, the WBC Arts and Leisure Officer and Christina Pepper, the Development of Newbury Corn Exchange, spoke about how the arts can help to build and raise self-esteem in young people. Penny O'Connor from the Family Resource Service, talked about the value of the home and school link, with three students from St Bartholomews School giving a short presentation. David Hogg, WBC's Head of Children's Commission, summed up the morning programme and thanked the contributors.

I left the presentation knowing much more about the Children's Fund that when I arrived.

Newbury In Bloom 2007 Judging

I had some apprehension on being invited to be one of the judges for the Newbury In Bloom competition, as I am not much of a gardener, and as such what was expected from me? There were two other judges, Danny Blyth, one of last year's winners and Steve Attrill, the Town Council Grounds Maintenance Officer, who were something of experts, so this would no doubt balance out my inadequacies.

There were a number of classes of entry we would be judging. These ranged from the tallest sunflower (and we had to measure this!), the best allotment, best garden, best community garden, best wildlife garden and the best garden tended by children. We were to mark four aspects out of 10: appeal, maintenance, design and "green" aspects. As wer ent around looking at all the entries, we wer all impressed with the high standards; all were very colourful, neat and tidy and some highly original. I would have been delighted if any of these was my own garden.

During the two days, I was particularly delighted that so many children had been involved witht the planting and maintenance of their particular plots. In the sheltered housing, many of the residents, had made significant contributions ni cultivating their own hanging baskets and flower troughs and borders. Despite the heavy and prolonged periods of rain, the allotments we visited were mostly well cared for and productive.

I cannot give any clues who the winners are, but the presentations will take place on Friday 14 September in the Town Hall.

Vodafone Employees Art Exhibition

I was invited to attend a Vodafone employees art exhibition and sale at the Pavilion on 16 July 2007. The aim of the exhibition was to indicate that many of their employees are multi-talented in both their Vodafone work and in their leisure time artistic work. The Pavilion was set up with display boards and tables and all the exhibits were numbered, with separate lists with the work number, artists names, titles of work and prices. There were a total of 23 exhibitors, with a wide range of styles of paintings and photographs. I had to admire the skill of the photographers who were able to manipulate ordinary photos into wonderful images. I could not do that with my box brownie! My favourite in the exhibition was Marie Ackers excellent sculptures, two of which were bronze. They were outside my price range regrettably.

Before I left, I met David Danielli who talked me through the aims of the exhibition and indicated that a donation of 25% from every sale would go to the Samaritans. A very worthy cause and I hope they made a great deal of money.

Trinity School Key Stage 3 Presentation Ceremony

I was delighted to have been asked to attend the Trinity School and Performing Arts College on Monday 16 July, as I always enjoy these presentations as it is an opportunity for the school to celebrate with the students who have worked hard to get successful results.

The presentation began with a performance by the School's Dance Company, which seemed to be an appropriate beginning for a Performing Arts College. This was followed by an address by the Headteacher, Ms D Foster, who praised the students performances and achievements as well as the teachers who had made these successes possible.

After the presentations of certificates for subject commendations, the Trinity Singers, all students, gave a great rendering of a modern rhythmic song which was followed by the presentation of subject award winners and the special awards, such as the awards for outstanding achievement, for leadership and for community spirit. There was a closing speech by Mr Stevens and the Presentation Ceremony was concluded by the Trinity Singers.

It was great to share this success with everyone at the school, and it was heart-warming to see so many parents and friends who attended.

Newbury Twin Town Association Garden Party

The Newbury Twin Town Association's Garden Party was held at Gillian and Stuart Durrant's house in Kiln Road. Gillian, the previous Mayor, looked very relaxed in her garden when we arrived and it was good to note her term of office had not wearied her. Despite the horrendous weather forecast, tables and chairs, together with a gazebo, had been moved into the garden.

I was pleased to see some long-serving members of the NTTA whom I had met when I was last Mayor in 1990/91, and there was some reminiscences being swapped as Edwina Cooper and I moved around the members. The rain came down but fortunately all the food was inside the kitchen, but a number of the hardy ones stayed out under the gazebo. The kitchen became somewhat crowded but it did not subdue the general well being of everyone there.

It was a very pleasant afternoon and our thanks go to Gillian and Stuart and all members who had provided the food and drink.

Visit of Exchange Students from Bagnols

I was pleased to meet exchange students from one of our Twin Towns of Bagnols is France on 13 July. They were hosted by Newbury Twin Town Association members and parents from Park House School. They were accompanied by their English-speaking adults.

In welcoming them I gave a short speech about the history of the town, from its mention in the Doomsday Book and the growth in the Middle Ages of the cloth trade, which made Newbury and it's traders prosperous. I emphasised the decline of the cloth trade following the two Civil War battles in 1643 and 1644 and its renewed prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries as a staging post for travellers between London and Bristol, and Winchester and Oxford. The building of the Kennet and Avon canal was also beneficial to the town's prosperity. I concluded my speech by describing Newbury as it is today, as a prosperous market town with high employment in a hi-tech area of the country.

I wished then an enjoyable visit and hoped they would return in the future.

The Spectrum Club

The Spectrum Club is a youth club which is organised by the Newbury Branch of the National Autistic Society and meets regularly at Speenhamland School, which let the Club use some of its resources and buildings. The Club was celebrating its first birthday on 21 July to which I and Edwina Cooper were invited. On arrival, we were met by Mandy Jones, the Club Leader who then introduced us to Sarah Gremway, the Branch Officer of the National Autistic Club. The object of the Club is to five autistic children the opportunity to enjoy a range of activities. These include table tennis, art, computer games and cooking.

I was very impressed with the care and attention the parents and helpers gave the children, and how well the children responded. They were all delighted at the Dalek which was brought along by a local firm and I was relieved that it was a dummy. A release of tagged balloons ended our visit.

Britain in Bloom

I had the pleasure of meeting the two judges who were visiting Newbury to judge the town in the Britain in Bloom competition. They were Mr Mike Gass who comes from Abingdon, and and Ms Kate Dagnall from Bracknell.

Ms Dagnall was impressed with the Town Hall and the Mayoral Chain. I gave her a potted history of both, which hopefully put her in a good frame of mind, before going out to look at the town and its floral decorations at the key areas of the town.

This was one of the rare occasions when there was no rain. Hopefully that will also be a positive influence in their adjudicating.

Wise Crackers 2007

Wise Crackers is a competition for young people between the ages of 12-18 who are being trained as comedians by comedian mentors. The Corn Exchange on 9 July hosted the finals and the young comedians came from 6 towns; Eastleigh, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading, Slough and Windsor. There were supposed to be two comptetitors from each town, one in the 12-15 age and one in the 16-18 category. The compere for the evening was James Campbell who is both a good compere and a comedian and his introduction and style must have made all of the contestants feel relaxed before going on stage. Each contestanct was introduced by their mentor and I was pleased that they were all relatively confident and funny.

The judges had a difficult job in deciding the winners. They were however very experienced: Brian Logan, the Guardian comedy critic, Joss James is a founder of the Comedy Workshop Company and Tim Payne is a comedy talent spotter. After announcing the winner, I was pleased to present not just the yellow duckling awards, but to give a certificate to each of the contestants.

Who knows, we may see these contestancts performing in future Newbury Comedy Festivals.

Mayor's Drive and Tea Party

It was another wet and windy day and I had forebodings that this annual event would be a very wet one, as I drove down with Edwina Cooper, my Mayoress, to Fairclose at 9.30am to assist with making the tea boxes and filling them for the afternoons tea party. It was rather like a production line, with around eight ladies and myself, all with specific duties. Firstly, we had to make the boxes from fold-flat cardboard cutouts, something like 450 of them. But with the number of people involved, the boxes were made up in a relatively short time. Then we got down to filling them. The helpers were grouped in a line down each side of the tables, and in front of each was a box of food items. As the boxes were passed down the line, they were gradually filled. I was at the end of the line and my job was to secure each box with a rubber band to prevent the contents from escaping. By 11.45 the task was completed. The reason I have described the process was to indicate the back room work needed to make the party a success.

We arrived at Mr and Mrs Spence's house, Chieveley Manor, at about 14.30 when the first cars, driven by volunteers began arriving. The route into the parking and on the paddocks was well organised with volunteer car park marshals. My Deputy, Phil Barnett and his wife Vera, were on the gate welcoming the drivers and guests while I walked around with Edwina speaking to the guests. The rain, fortunately, was very spasmodic and light so we were all fortunate. the drivers organised their chairs, tables and tea boxes which were given to the guests on arrival. It was a very English scene, with some drivers using their best chinaware to add a touch of style. The Timespanners band provided the music, which was amplified over loudspeakers which other volunteers had provided. I was very honoured to meet three centenarians, all ladies, and the oldest was 101. She was as bright as a button. The oldest man was I believe a mere 94! Although the Tea Party was for the over 75's, I met a number of volunteer drivers who exceeded that and could have been guests instead. I cannot thank all the drivers, marshalls and Fairclose volunteers enough for the enormous contribution they gave to making the afternoon so successful. Thanks also goes to Mr and Mrs Spence for allowing us to used the gorunds of their house for the afternoon. My special thanks go to Angela Spellman, who was for this, and many previous years, the overall co-ordinator for the Drive. She had to allocate hundreds of guests into appropriate vehicles and had also to cater for last minute changes. Let us hope that the sun shines on the 2008 Mayor's Drive.

The Camera's Eye - A Visual Arts Project

I was invited to a private viewing at Newbury Museum of the Camera's Eye, a family learning project funded by West Berkshire Community Education Fund. The project was devised by Open Studios which promote artists working with schools as part of their annual event in May.

Two schools took part in this project, the Downs School at Compton and Curridge Primary School. The location was Sheepdrove Farm at Lambourn, which carries out environmentally responsible farming. Students, together with parents, spent two days at Sheepdrove, exploring the farm and learning about wildlife conservation and taking photographs in the sun, wind and rain. Two artistic photographers, Anna Cady and Paul Forsey, showed the teams how to take photographs of the landscape. Anna taught then how to make pinhole cameras from shoe boxes, black plastic bags and tape, while Paul showed them how to create panoramas using digital cameras with a specially designed software package.

While the exhibition showed the finished products in the form of photographs and a pin hole camera, it was evident that the project succeeded in joint funding efforts from which everyone benefited. Those families I spoke to were very excited and proud of their efforts. No doubt next year's project will be equally successful. I congratulated everyone taking part for their efforts, and thanked the organisers for such a successful event. The exhibition continues until 24 July.

Alzheimer's Awareness Week

I was invited to attend the Alzheimer’s Awareness Week and duly arrived with Edwina at St Nicolas Church Hall. Some 30 people had gathered there, some of them the organisers, others the helpers and volunteers, while the others were those suffering from Alzheimer’s in varying stages of the illness. Some had been brought from home, others from the Argyles Nursing Home.

We were given a short briefing on the effects of Alzheimer’s on individuals and on how stimulation of the brain can slow down the effects. Diet, exercise and social activities such as singing, massage and homeopathy can all help the afflicted.

One of the therapists gathered everyone in a semi-circle to lead a half-hour of singing and movement. This is one method of stimulating the brain, and group activity helps to do this. She started by singing a wartime favourite “It’s a long way to Tipperary; it’s a long way to go.” Judging by the applause, this was well known by most of the people. As I looked around, those who, at the beginning had no reaction suddenly were animated not just with singing, but waving their hands about. More singing and movement followed and it was obvious that not only was it stimulating them, but they seemed to enjoying it as well.

The next session was to be head massaging but we had to leave at that point. It was a revelation to see how the therapy worked and we all should be grateful that there are so many dedicated helpers and therapists to help those with such a awful illness. Our thanks go to the organisers who invited us to this awareness session.

Newbury Carnival

I was looking forward to the Carnival, because rumour had it that over 50 carnival floats would be taking part, the biggest in years, so it boded well for the afternoon. The weather did not look too good, but I didn’t believe it would put off the crowds. I joined Richard Benyon, MP and Jenny Moorcroft, Deputy Junior Mayor, outside Café Nero in Bartholomew Street where we would get a bird’s eye view of the procession. We would be better able to judge the floats from there.

The procession was led by a convoy of motorcycles from the Oxford Chapter of Harley-Davidsons. The noise was deafening, they were followed by the Town Crier. The cavalcade was a mixture of floats with a variety of themes from Pirates (and there was a motley collection of them) to Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, 101 Dalmatians and a contingent of foot soldiers from the civil war of 1643. There were some gorgeous costumes, including characters from the Wizard of Oz, Wallace and Gromit and an assortment of costumes from the Town Council staff.

There were also Scottish Pipers, drum majorettes and a couple of stilt walkers. The town was full of colours, noise and lots of people.

The marking was impossible and we were not allowed to confer and the sheets were taken off us when the last float passed. We joined the end of the procession up Northbrook Street, along London Road and into Park Way, where the floats emptied of the participants. We then went into a packed Victoria Park. I have never seen it so full. Most surrounded the enclosure and the stage where the majorettes were performing their acts. We conferred to judge the best costumes and eventually chose the Wizard of Oz characters. They were very special. As to the overall winners, there was little doubt about the winners; the 101 Dalmatians were really gorgeous. I loved those black & white wigs – must get one!

This years carnival was really the best for years with over 800 people there. Bryan Harper and his team did a splendid job as did the volunteers who drove the vehicle floats, acted as stewards, and friends who made the costumes. If this year’s carnival is the beginning of large and exotic floats, I am really looking forward to next year’s.