Reading Roars!

You are browsing the archives of 2009 June.

I was pretty stunned to read that Network Rail bosses are to receive six-figure bonuses.  I don’t like seeing executives rewarded for failure anyway, but this really stung.  The UK rail travel experience is often unpleasant and horrendously expensive.
Fortunately, if you feel similarly frustrated, you can have your say this coming Tuesday evening, as Network Rail and [...]

Like Reading’s blogosphere, the town’s Twitterverse is flourishing. 
I believe we now have what can be described as a legitimate Reading identity (or strands of identity) on Twitter, shaped by 4 key developments:

#rdg was created
#rdgtweetup event and corresponding hashtag were created
Journalists from getreading/Reading Post and Reading Chronicle joined Twitter
Reading Chronicle and getreading/Reading Post began using #rdgnews to publish [...]

The prolific political blogger Oranjepan has published an interesting (and unique, I believe) analysis of the Berkshire blogosphere.
Oranjepan compiled a list of most influential Berkshire blogs in June 2009 (based on Wikio rankings), with John Redwood’s Diary in top position. The other titles in the top 5 were listed as Boulton & Co., Mark Reckons, [...]

Workhouse Coffee’s Greg Costello is going from strength to strength.
Tomorrow he’s flying to Dublin to sit an exam that will certify him as a SCAE Gold Cup Brewmaster and then, next week, he’s off to Cologne “to look at more coffee rig stuff”.
Finally, Workhouse Coffee will undergo a makeover in July (please don’t [...]

Keen observers of this blog will notice that there are 5 tweets displayed in the sidebar.
These entries are the latest results based on a Twitter search for #rdg, a popular hashtag used to group Reading tweets together.

Still on the microblogging theme, Reading Post journalists now have a Twitter presence:

Reading Post: @getreading
Leigh Mencarini : @LeMencs
Jonny Fordham: @JonnyFordham

Stuck for pub ideas on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Oxford, I turned to Twitter and received two replies:
tempted to try a third Oxford pub. On my own, so a bit sad, no?
3:01 PM Jun 6th from mobile web
@mattbrady Suggest the Royal Blenheim on St Ebbes. Best real ale pub in Oxford, sloe gin, mean [...]

One of Reading’s most entertaining and popular blogs, the highly satirical MuckspReading, has moved on to the digital other side.  It is disappointing to see its passing, though the decision to discontinue the project is understandable.
There is a need for satire (especially as local politics can feel a little dry) and I’m hoping that a new [...]

Would anyone have an old picture or two of town centre pub Blagrave Arms that they could share with me (please)?
The reason I ask is because an email arrived in my inbox from somebody in the US, who shares the Blagrave name, requesting information on the history of the pub.

European champions Barcelona will be training for a week in late July at Bisham Abbey, near Reading, before taking part in the Wembley Cup tournament, writes the Telegraph.
A few days later, Barça’s old nemesis Chelsea, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti, will meet Reading at the Madejski for a pre-season friendly, according to the Reading Post.