Reading Roars!

Dobra vecxer, divna noch!  Are there any Croatian groups, clubs or societies in Reading?  Please email me if you know of any.  Hvala lijepa!

Fancy participating in a scientific study for cash?  Jan Luff at the University of Reading is looking for healthy volunteers to help “evaluate the effects of different breakfast cereals on beneficial faecal bacteria”.  Here’s the digest:

It has long been known that the bacteria in the human gut can infuluence health; in particular eating fermented foods such as yoghurt can be beneficial. One of the problems with this approach is that the beneficial components of food must survive most of the digestive processes of the gut and reach the large intestine intact.

We would like to determine the effect of whole grain breakfast cereals on human gut bacteria, and to evaluate the diversity of the microbial community and any changes in major bacterial groups. We will also measure the metabolic and immunological consequences of changing our gut bacteria in this way using a range of high resolution analytical techniques.

If you’re interested in finding out more about this study, call Jan Luff on 0118 378 7771.

An amusing email discussion is taking place today at work about one of my favourite transport gripes - the Thames Valley Park (TVP) bus service (operating between TVP and Reading town centre).  Described by one as a “farce” for “steeling my time in the morning and on a night”, someone (not me) suggested a boat shuttle instead.

I don’t think this is a bad idea.  We could have a fast boat service ferrying people from Reading Bridge.  When I was in Vancouver recently, I was very impressed with how their waterways were used.  Let’s consider the idea, at least (especially as roads in West Berkshire are said to be among Britain’s top 10 worst traffic hotspots). Then again, the river offers obstacles of its own (some really quite unsavoury). 

Looking at the latest Evening Post poll on their website, I see that 38% of respondents are not in favour of the Living Reading/Reading UK logo.  I don’t know how many have responded to the poll exactly, but 38% seems a substantial share.  What are your thoughts on the initiative?  I know this looks like a question posed by Marmite marketers, but do you love it or hate it?

I believe that the Reading brand is a step in the right direction (though I’m convinced also that the Reading FC badge has had a powerful effect overseas in drawing attention to the town).  I’ve added the Living Reading symbol to this blog (you can’t miss it!) and have just set up a new Facebook group featuring the new logo (cheeky?  You decide).  The Facebook group is here, by the way (don’t all rush at once): http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6018431886

And here’s another newish (started in April 2007) Reading blog: Ticking to a Different Tock.  It’s hugely entertaining, detailing the

experiences of an American expat making the transition from Washington, D.C., to Reading, England.

These experiences and observations have included our wonderful NHS, local graffiti, English eccentricities (hot dogs in a can, for example, and, er, morris dancers) and the Sunday papers.  Here’s an excerpt:

What was most interesting to me, however, was what I found in the Town Hall. It’s more than just a place for meetings or paying your water bill, like it is in many U.S. cities. There was a museum, a gift shop, a concert hall, a cafe and a BAR! That’s right, a BAR (the 3Bs Cafe Bar, to be exact)! I thought this was great, and a real sign of the differences between U.S. and English culture. In the U.S., it would be scandalous to have a bar at a city or town government building. A few vocal, annoying people would start shouting about how the bar was somehow setting a bad example for children and somehow fueling alcoholism in general. It just wouldn’t be done. Here, it’s no biggie.

Welcome to Britain

I stopped at Reading’s Picnic for another coffee this morning. I sat outdoors in the sun with a Cafe au Lait, croissant and Travel section of The Guardian, and felt momentarily happy.

Directly opposite was another cafe, adjacent to Costa Coffee. Opposite Costa Coffee were two more chains, Coffee Republic and Pret a Manger (with Giardino’s upstairs). Behind Coffee Republic was another Costa, inside Waterstone’s, and opposite Costa was the Japanese restaurant Wa, also serving coffee.

Have we all gone coffee mad? Do we need another coffee outlet? What makes Picnic so different? The answer to that last question is quite a lot. In a nutshell, or coffee bean if you prefer, Picnic is a cafe with a conscience. Here are my 4 reasons why Picnic is unique:

• Excellent, ethical coffee. The Picnic people don’t do novelty coffees. You won’t find a blended mango minty choccy bambinoccino with hazelnut syrup and crushed ice there. The Picnic people instead offer normal coffee - cafe au lait, cappuccino, americano, espresso etc. - done very well. Plus, and this is a very big plus, their coffee is ethical. Picnic customers seem to like it a lot as they are marking a blackboard inside the cafe with votes in favour.

• Service with a smile. Staff are friendly and attentive - and they bring coffee to your table. Furthermore, they look happy and relaxed. Contrastedly, there is one restaurant chain in particular, whose coffee is also excellent, with terrible customer service (indeed, I walked out recently as no one came to my table). Customer service is supremely important, in my opinion, and the Picnic people are great at it.

• Relevant, reading material. Ok, the number of newspaper titles provided for customers to read is somewhat limited (one). However, that one paper is The Guardian, and that goes very well with their ethical coffee.

• Fresh, homemade food. Picnic’s style is somewhat rustic and familiar. Their food includes cake, croissants and baps. They also do salads, unlike the bigger coffee chains, so another tick in the social responsibility box.

A new Reading blog has appeared on my radar.  West Reading Times, written by “Teak”, covers the Oxford Road community and has a socially liberal feel to it.  As well as lots of nice imagery and free ads, the blog features a regular poll (latest question: How can we unite our community).  

A new logo for Reading has emerged.  Two, in fact (right).  Designed by Indent Design, the emblems, unveiled at the Madejski, are intended to project, in the Reading FC Chairman’s words:

a powerful and exciting image for Reading to promote ot the outside world

According to Tim Smith, who heads Reading UK Community Interest Company,

this new identity is much more than a logo.  It’s a way of presenting ourselves, creating a sense of place in promotion and on the streets

The full story can be read in the Evening Post article Video: First look at new Reading brand (where a video on the brand can also be seen).

We can expect to see much more of these two logos, which I’m sure cost less than £400k to produce.  I will place one prominently on this blog to do my part to help promote the town.  Ideally, this logo would link to a website built around the new Reading brand, or another suitable external landing page, but I don’t think one exists (alternatively, I can create a page on this blog).  

Traffic is down 73% this month. Not road traffic, of course.  That is definitely up after a quiet August.  Yesterday it was horrendous, even,  in the Reading Station area around 6pm.  No, I’m referring to traffic to this blog, a consequence of not having written anything for a while (while I remained in the town, I chose to stay away from the computer to work on other things, such as my peripheral vision).

Here are some observations during my period of absence:

Reading Football Club.  The new season started - yay!  The opening draw against Man United was a sign of promising stuff.  A respectable defeat against Chelsea followed, before Reading achieved a very commendable 1-0 win against a highly-regarded Everton.  Then two poor results.  Consequence:  Reading are 18th in the Premiership table.  Seol Ki-Hyeon, the classy Korean, meanwhile unfortunately joined Fulham.  As for Shorey - his stature is rising, sought by West Ham (who spanked Reading) and playing for England against Germany,where does his future lie?  

Picnic.  A wonderful new cafe opening in the heart of Reading, its customer service is first-class and the quality of their coffee is excellent  (in my opinion).  Plus, Picnic are very ethically-minded - their coffee is ethically sound and The Guardian newspaper is available for customers to read.  A massive thumbs up to them.

Reading Festival.  I didn’t go, but I felt its impact.  The huddle of humanity looked magnificent from the train passing the site.  Fortunately for the festivalgoers, the weather was superb over the Bank Holiday Weekend.  Was Reading better than Glastonbury this year, anyone?

Zero Degrees.  A new speciality beer was introduced, replacing their popular Mango beer: Raspberry.  Raspberry was withdrawn, with Strawberry & Vanilla offered instead.  Raspberry was brought back and Mango was also reinstated.

Mix Bar.  I’m loving their choice of flicks projected on to the wall behind the bar.  On my last two outings they were showing an old Transformers cartoon and Pulp Fiction.  I was told that Mojito is their biggest-selling cocktail (no surprise there) and that Wimbledon Corleone is also hugely popular (funny name - maybe it’s named after a Mafia racket? ;)).

Malmaison.  A beautifully-restored building (I read that this was praised also in the Reading Evening Post).  Very dark inside, but very comfortable seating.