Reading Roars!

The Register, always an entertaining read, commented on Reading’s top performing city status in an article headed Reading: UK’s epicentre of va-va-voom:

we went and did a bit of research of our own, just to see if Reading is indeed the UK’s epicentre of va-va-voom. Using the invariably accurate Google Trends facility, we found that the city still retained some of its past legacy, ranking 9th for prostitution and 8th for crack cocaine.

Among indicators that Reading might be on the up-and-up, Reading is dissapointingly not ranked at all for champagne, Ferraris or money laundering

However, it does show promise elsewhere, meriting 9th place for yachts and an impressive 5th for private jets

Google Trends, eh.  Turns out that Reading is also ranked 7th for caviar and 5th for truffles.  Then again, Rochdale is first for Burj al Arab.

The Readers’s Digest survey naming Reading worst town for families can now be forgotten. Reading really is roaring ahead.

A report by the ippr’s Centre for Cities, named Two-track cities, shows that Reading is the top-performing town in England, ahead of London, Manchester and Leeds (all cities enjoying a renaissance in recent years). According to their press release:

The report includes a new index of performance indicators which combine different measures of employment, population and skills. The report shows that, based on their employment, population growth and skills, England’s top five performing cities are

• Reading
• Bristol
• Southampton
• Cambridge
• York

A big arrow on p.6 of the report aptly illustrates how Reading is getting it right. The town has the lowest proportion of working age residents with no qualifications and lowest proportion of working age residents claiming unemployment benefits.

On p.11 of the report there is a bit mentioning transport:

Transport improvements and inter-urban cooperation can increase the economic benefits derived from proximity and density. Reducing travel times and increasing the frequency of transport services can produce agglomeration economies that can increase productivity in the city economy.

That’s it then. All we need to do is sort out the town’s traffic problem to make our lead unassailable.

You can download the full report (no registration required) from the think tank’s website.

UK CDs, books and DVDs retailer Fopp has flopped. Sadly. All 105 shops in the country have closed for good. When I read the news on the BBC website last Friday I stared in disbelief. On a visit to Reading’s Fopp yesterday afternoon, I discovered that the shop was indeed closed and will remain closed. Forever. There was no sign. No explanation. It was sudden. Just like that.

Fopp was my favourite shop in Reading. They stocked exciting stuff and had a simple way of pricing their products (£3, £5, £7 etc.). Plus, there were occasions when bands entertained customers with live music. Fopp was small, funky, colourful, happy, alternative, arty, friendly, down-to-earth and in the hands of administrators. It’s a shame.