Art On the Park

The annual Art on the Park is usually held on the afternoon after the Mayor Making Ceremony, but due to the appalling weather that day, the event was postponed until Sunday 26th August.

When I arrived at the railings of Victoria Park with the Mayoress, all the exhibitors had set up their areas and were prepared for business, even though it was very overcast. I was told that the number of exhibitors exceeded previous years' attendance; I believe it was 29 There was a wide variety of art on display - sculpture, wood carving, oils, water colours, pen and ink, acrylics, colour photography, as well as a couple of stalls that had handmade ladies' jewellery and even a stall with woollen handmade cuddly toys.

It was evident that those exhibitors who lived in the Newbury area, used scenes from the river and canal as their subjects for their paintings, particularly the river bridge, Lock, Stock & Barrel and the lock. Some had travelled in foreign parts and had painted scenes from their travels.

I noted that the sun came out as I had completed talking to the last exhibitor. The turn out of potential customers was good and no doubt they had lots to choose from. Edwina Cooper, the Mayoress, bought a painting of the River Bridge to give to her son as a house warming present. I did not as I already have one!!

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Newbury Contemporary Dance Company

Edwina Cooper and I were invited to attend the finale of a week long workshop of contemporary dancing at the Corn Exchange on Friday 24th August. The performance was based on the story of Newbury from 1488 to the present time, as related by the Newbury Mosaic, which is sited outside the library on the Wharf.



The dancing and music was centred around six key epochs in Newbury's history. These were the Battles of Newbury (ie the Civil War of 1642-3), GIs at Greenham, Greenham Common Peace Protest, The Bypass and Vodafone. There was a wide range of ages of the dancers, from 9 years to 20, but this did not detract from the excellent dance routines carried out with great skill and precision. The entire performance lasted without a break for roughly 45 minutes but as I looked around, everyone was spellbound by the dancing, which was supported by excellent music and lighting. We enjoyed the performance and our congratulations got to Debbie Camp and the other organisers for a great spectacle.



We would certainly attend the NCDC productions in the future.

Youth For Europe Week

It was a relatively early start for everyone for the Youth for Europe session in the Town Hall on Monday 20 August. Edwina Cooper and I arrived at the Town Hall at 9am to welcome a group of some 40 young people between 16 and 26 years of age from our twin towns of Bagnols (France), Braunfels (Germany) and Feltre (Italy), together with a number from our associated Twin Towns of Carcaixient (Spain) and Kinkunfelyghaza (Hungary). They were spending a week in Newbury as part of the International Youth for Europe week.

I welcomed them for breakfast and then introduced the topic for discussion and presentations after that.

I began by giving them the dictionary meaning of migration and then suggested why people migrated, followed by some suggestions of the advantages and disadvantages involved. There were six tables around which the groups gathered in country teams and they were invited to discuss the subject for 30 minutes after which spokespersons from each group would give a 5 to 10 minute presentation.

I was impressed with their depth of thinking and the presentations were well done and I admired their grasp of the English language. I congratulated them on their presentations and on how well they spoke English. I wished them well for their stay and they returned to the Waterside Centre where they were being accommodated.

My thanks go to the Newbury Young People's Council in hosting the contingent, to Joyce Lewis and Carol Currie for their help in organising the breakfast and to Sue Page and Karen Hutt for all their support.

An afternoon at the Races

Going to the races is always an enjoyable experience and I was delighted to be invited to this Sunday's meeting as guest of the Chairman and Director of the Racecourse. With me was the Mayoress, the Mayor's Attendant, my son and his partner and five other friends.

We arrived at the Royal Box to be met by the Chairman, David Sieft and were introduced to other directors and staff. The Royal Box is well furnished with CCTV on the racecourse and a wide screened TV and a Tote terminal for those who wish to bet on the horses.

There were eight races that day, but unfortunately there was no camel race, as had been billed. The first race was at 1.20 and was the State of Qatar International Open Handicap Purebreed Arabian Race. There were a number of Qatar visitors in the Royal Box and were excited about the race, which was worth £16,000 in prize money. This was the second most valuable race. The 15.50 race was the top value race, the European Breeders Fund Challenge Stakes, with £26,000 prize money. I have to admit that I have no clue about judging horses, so any wager that I place would be based on instinct rather than knowledge, luck rather than judgement.

I did go down to the enclosure to see the horses close up. I did admire the wonderful condition they were in and the potential power that they had. On going back to the Royal Box, I stopped at a tent in which there was a real story teller, which had numerous children spellbound. He was really acting the part and it was wonderful to see the children (and their parents) engrossed in the story being told. I spoke to one of the BBC staff who had organised this as part of their children's education programme. She was delighted at the response it was having and would continue this feature at subsequent race meetings. At the same time, I noted that there was a Fuller's Brewery Dray, which was drawn by two enormous horses, immaculately dressed out in their best trappings. These shire horses are specially bred and the brewery are currently looking for a replacement horse, just in case one has to be retired. It is not a bad life for the horses, as they get a daily ration of best bitter to wash down their food!

I was asked to present the trophy for the 15.50 race, the EBF Calice Stakes and I went down to the enclosure to view the horses and then returned to the Box to see the race. I returned with Mark Kershaw, the Managing Director to the ring and presented the trophy to the winning owner. I have to admit that I had actually backed his horse, so it was a double pleasure!

After the last race, it was time to thank our hosts for a wonderful afternoon and we then departed. My friends were equally delighted with their afternoon, even though most of them were some pounds sterling lighter: all pledged to return as soon as possible. Any readers of this blog who have been to the Newbury Racecourse, I urge them to go, as it is a great afternoon, with a great atmosphere, and you may even back a winner!

Scouting Sunrise to celebrate 100 years of Scouting

Any centenary is one worth celebrating and I and Edwina Cooper were invited to attend a sunrise celebration of the 100 years of scouting since Lord Baden Powell founded the movement. It was an early start for us as we had to be at Shaw House by 8am.

We arrived on time and the scouts, leaders and cubs were beginning to get into line for the dedication ceremony. Richard Benyon was attending as well as a number of parents and friends. The scouts formed a half circle in font of a flagpole with the flag unfurled. All on parade were asked to repeat their scouting vows which they then did, beginning with the beavers , cubs and then the scouts. After that, the scout leader invited Richard Benyon to say a few words.

He began by praising the Scout Movement as a fin and worthwhile organisation which gibe great opportunities for young people and makes them into excellent examples to others. He also commended the leaders and helpers who enable the scouts movement to survive and to give such excellent opportunities to the young people. He wished everyone a successful future.

There was a rush to get bacon buns from the barbeque and these were very welcome. We were able to talk to some of the scouts and question them on what all the badges on their tunics signified, One girl had six badges and one of these signified a musician's badge. She said she played three musical instruments and she went to Trinity School (which was previously Shaw House School). Another had badges signifying rambling and camping. They were all very articulate and obviously relished being scouts, Their parents were also very supportive and many were actual helpers.

We left later feeling that if only all children were as confident and self disciplined as the scouts, there would be no problem youths on the streets causing disruption and mayhem.