Reading Roars!

Premiership giants Arsenal have thumped Reading 3-0 in the Carling Cup, ending the Royals’ glorious winning run.

The North London club’s goals were scored by superkids Jose Antonio Reyes (12th minute) and Robin Van Persie (42nd), and Arturo Lupoli (65th).

Pascal Cygan picked up the only yellow card of the game.

So that’s it. A comprehensive victory for Arsenal, who fielded a young side. When Reading are in the Premiership next season, they will clearly have to raise their game to compete with the big guns.

Click here to read the BBC match report.

We all like yabbering away at times, don’t we? There is nothing like a good conversation, whether it is done face-to-face, over the phone or when txt mssging, which is why I’ve introduced Online Chat!

So what do I do?, I hear you ask (now conversing telepathically). The answer is: very little!

Look at the sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen and you will see a new Chat box. Input your name, hit the Enter button et voila! Now you can go ahead and type what you want (and please avoid causing offence!).

So go on, play around with it. You may get to chat with readers from India, Japan, US, Czech Republic…the list goes on! You will never want to meet people in the pub again!

Extended drinking hours have been introduced in Reading and other towns in England. It’s now the weekend - and the test begins. Gun St heavyweights The Fez and Purple Turtle will be serving until 4am, while other big players Brannigans, Mango, Po Na Na and Revolution will keep going until 3am.

What will the effect of these changes be? You will need plenty of stamina, not to mention a sizeable wad of cash to burn, to be able to make repeat visits to the bar until 4 o’ clock. And your vital organs will not benefit in the long run, either.

The following is a list of bars, pubs and clubs in Reading with new times: Continue Reading »

Unstoppable Reading FC trounced Ipswich 3-0 at Portman Road to go top of The Championship table with 47 points. Sheffield United, a point behind, drop to second.

The Royals’ goals were scored by Steven Sidwell, Leroy Lita and Kevin Doyle, in the 29th, 53rd and 77th minute, respectively.

Reading are now 22 games unbeaten and must surely now be favourites to win The Championship and receive automatic promotion to the top flight of English football.

In August 2005, I holidayed in windsurfing mecca Tarifa, Spain, with two friends. It is a town straddling the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and so incredibly cool that my teeth chatter at the memory of it.

One of the many hip bars in Tarifa, Café Bamboo, offered a fantastic smoothies menu. There was a smoothie with avocado, another with cucumber…the menu was pretty extensive. We made more than one visit to this most relaxing venue.

Of course, this blog is about Reading. So, the question I ask is: where are the juice bars in Reading? I was with a friend on Sunday afternoon and we were keen to sample a smoothie somewhere. We ruled out Pret as we didn’t want bottled juice. So we gave up - and went for a beer then coffee instead.

Reading is great if a) you want to get hammered or b) you want a caffeine buzz. But if you fancy something a bit more healthy, fresh (and I mean fresh) and poured in a glass, then you are facing a challenging search. Wagamama offers a good juice menu, but it’s a noodles bar.

I urge any smooth entrepreneur out there to take on this juicy opportunity, and open a new bar in town. Then we can all enjoy the fruit of your labour!

University of Reading cyborg Prof Kevin Warwick is to show off some of his team’s robots to school kids in a special presentation ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Future: Robots and Cyborgs’ on 12 December 2005 (11am-12pm).

World-famous Kevin, who is Professor of Cybernetics at the University, and who has had a number of computer chips implanted in the name of science, explains:

This presentation is proving so popular because we promise to take the audience into the world of the cyborg. People are fascinated by the idea of evolving humans by linking them directly with technology. Just think of what it would be like to be linked directly into a computer network – upgraded memory, extra senses, multi-dimensional thought and the ability to communicate with others merely by thought alone.

The overall aim of the presentation is to inform people about the possibilities of robots and cyborgs in an entertaining and stimulating way. But be warned – this is not mere scientific speculation: the era of the robot and cyborg will shortly be upon us.

It’s a somewhat scary prospect. We have all watched the blockbuster Hollywood movies of robots taking over the world. It’s a popular (and well-worn) theme. It is, however, exciting that relatively unglamorous Reading is leading the way in robotic research in the real world.

I applaud Kevin and his team. They are doing a fine job. And given that today’s kids are risk-adverse and expressing less interest in science, I hope that the children who attend Kevin’s presentation leave with a glint in their eyes.

For further information about the presentation, contact Rachel Fretwell.

See also Cave cast light on complex concepts.