According to Thames Valley Police, there were 27% fewer crimes at this year’s Reading Festival than in 2004. There were 436 reported crimes overall, listed as the following:
There were 83 arrests made, however, compared with 63 in 2004.
Click here to read the press release.
Dave Grohl of legendary band The Foo Fighters has hailed the Reading Festival as the world’s best:
Glastonbury is for smelly hippies, V is for the clean people, the f****** yuppies. The Reading festival is for dirty f****** rockers who come out to have a good time. Take it from your Uncle Dave I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.
Rock on, dude!
Click to read the NME article and Channel 4 write-up.
Train operating companies First Great Western and First Great Western Link are providing extra seats on 13 local rail services. The important improvements to morning and afternoon peak-time services are said to be a response to customer feedback.
In addition, a High Speed Train will replace the First Great Western Link 06.45 from Oxford to Paddington from late September, and four more Turbo trains have been redeployed by First Great Western Link across the Thames Valley.
Click here to read the press release.
Ask Jeeves UK has launched a new (beta) Map service, powered by digital map data provider NAVTEQ.
The user can enter a Street Address or a Town, County or Postcode.
A map of your chosen location is displayed on your screen. You can zoom in at Street, Town, County, Region and Country levels (there are 10 in total).
Interestingly, you can ask for directions, too. As this is Reading Festival weekend, I asked for directions from Bath Road to Richfield Avenue. The resulting map featured the advised route highlighted in purple. A set of directions are displayed beneath. This map is, of course, printable!
Click here to use this new service.
Guardian Media Group (GMG) Radio has increased its shareholding in Reading 107 FM to 60.3% from 37.8%. The other shareholder is the Goodhead Group plc, controlled by Reading Football Club Chair John Madejski.
John Myers, GMG Radio Chief Executive, stated:
We were one of the original shareholders in Reading 107 FM and are proud of its achievement to date so it makes sense to increase our stake to a level where we can now offer further management support. There are no plans to change the station’s name or format. We aim instead to increase the level of local output and invest in marketing in order to grow the audience further.
Click here to read the GMG Radio press release.
Off to Reading Festival? Reading Borough Council have put together a dozen tips on ensuring that you have a good time, such as
Reading has excellent rail links with the rest of the UK so we would strongly recommend festival-goers beat the traffic jams by using the trains.
Good luck with the trains.
The Council’s tips can be seen by clicking here.
The Thames Valley Police have revealed how they will ensure the safety of the 66,500 revellers attending this year’s Reading Festival.
Police officers will patrol the site to prevent crimes (the majority being thefts from tents) and will be backed up by Mean Fiddler-employed security staff.
A cop shop will also be set up on site, with a front counter service, staff to record crimes, interview personnel, and rooms and prisoner holding areas.
Click here for the Thames Valley Police press release.
will be taking a break and will return the week commencing 22 August 2005. The next Weekly Digest will be sent out on 28 August. See ya!
The Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust launches its public consultation on its application for Foundation Trust status on Monday 15 August 2005. The consultation ends on 4 November. The views of the Reading public will be forwarded on to the Department of Health in December 2005.
To obtain more information about the Trust’s application and to view the consultation document click here.
The Register’s Sean Fleming comments on the Oracle Corporation buildings at Thames Valley Park:
…faced with a shortage of human collateral what method of recruitment would you expect a major IT company to employ? Well, how about a large board, nailed up facing the nearby railway tracks that says come and work for Oracle.
Maybe the days of the IT recruitment Web site are numbered, maybe the future of IT is rooted firmly in the past - with wood and nails becoming the new stock in trade.
If you erect a large board next to one of the busiest rail routes in the UK, you are going to get the attention of train passengers. It’s highly-visible advertising. Many of these passengers are commuters. Many are professionals working in the IT industry or in international business. Furthermore, the Oracle word is a head-turner in the town - it is well-recognised as the name of Reading’s key shopping complex.
So, Oracle Corporation, keep it up.