Reading Roars!

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.

Twitterers, bloggers and other social media-ers will be meeting tomorrow morning at 10 (after they have voted, of course) at Workhouse Coffee for round 3 of the Thames Valley Social Media Cafe (TVSMC), now a permanent fixture thanks to Benjamin Ellis and Neville Hobson.  A perfect opportunity to discuss the intersection of social media and [...]

My attention was drawn to another charity event recently: Reading’s Alive/Mongolia Benefit Gig, held at the 3Bs after the Reading Half Marathon (more travelling back in time here). I didn’t take part in the morning run. I stood pathetically at the bottom of Kendrick Rd, watching, as wave after wave of participants ran past. It [...]

I was recently contacted by a lovely group of students about a charity sky dive that they were taking part in a little more than a month ago, on Sunday 5 April, in Bicester.  The sky dive was held in aid of a new one-day festival, Rise and Shine Festival, planned for Reading’s Kings Meadow in September [...]

I’m going to be working backwards for the time being, leaving things I should have covered weeks ago last (one advantage is that these posts will then appear at the top).
I will begin by saying farewell, Steve Coppell, Reading FC’s managerial magician.  I’m not convinced that now is the time to step down, however.  All clubs (and fans) suffer [...]

Exhibiting more wide-eyed determination than a west London footballer on a bad day, I return to this blog after an absence of several weeks.
I apologise to those who were promised posts with none arriving (a bit like Royal Mail, but without the staggering profit).  I’m not apologising for the doughnut entry below (the doughnuts were [...]

I think I may have discovered a great hangover remedy: the humble doughnut. 
Thanks to several late-night sakes enjoyed with Sushi 108’s hyperactive talent Chris Allen, I was feeling a little less than bright and breezy on Saturday morning.  I needed an urgent fix, preferably non-alcoholic. 
Krispy Kreme was, for me, an unlikely destination. I normally go [...]