Late-night favourite (though not one of mine) Bodrum Kebab has gone continental, now claiming to offer relatively ungreasy breakfast treats such as danish pastries, croissants, fresh baguettes and cappuccinos.
I used to think that putting a coffee shop inside a bank was odd, but this is truly bizarre. Photo to follow.
Matt Brady on August 17th 2008 in Business, Gastronomy
Fresh from sponsoring Reading FC, Waitrose are now supporting local causes.
As part of their nationwide corporate social responsibility initiative ‘Community Matters’, Waitrose will award £12k in funding to community projects in the town (a grand a month).
The initiative launched on Monday, with the first 3 causes to share the £1k monthly donation being:
Shoppers will decide how much of the £1k each cause will be getting by dropping a green token into one of three labelled boxes when they leave the store (the more votes received, the greater the share received).
Matt Brady on July 23rd 2008 in Business
Do you ever feel like going back to the 20th century? I know I do sometimes (1990s, that is). Well, now you can, sort of, thanks to mid20c, a newly opened Oxford Rd retro shop.
The store sells furniture, homewares and collectables from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. I personally like the look of their gadgets (the “De-luxe Fan” looks particularly cheerful).
I’ve not actually visited the shop yet, but hope to do so when I have a free Saturday (I think I’ll combine it with Workhouse Coffee). And find out more from a good old fashioned chat with owner Al Baynham, of course.
Matt Brady on July 23rd 2008 in Business
More desperation in credit crunchy times. I received the following two text messages from a popular Reading gym I’d recently left (I won’t name it):
<fitness centre> want you back as a member, rejoin before the <date> & receive a ONE month contract & NO joining fee!
then
Re-join <fitness centre> by 8pm today & recieve [sic] NO joining fee, NO set up fee + a one month contract. T&C’s apply Call NOW!
Er, no.
Matt Brady on July 19th 2008 in Business
Local online dating site Datereading.com will be relaunching on 21 July. New features will include, we’re told:
Good luck to Faarhad and team (and to all those looking for a relationship, of course) 
Matt Brady on June 30th 2008 in Business, Technology
Fewer First Great Western customers have been complaining about late trains, according to regional station manager Steve Lewis. Instead, complaints were about how the train operator “were going to improve the comfort on the services”.
I agree that comfort can be an issue. This morning, for example, I stood inches from other standing passengers as my Reading to Paddington journey lasted 50 minutes (due to the usual signalling problems).
Also uncomfortable is news that Network Rail bosses are to be awarded enormous bonuses (totally unacceptable, given what we have to put up with) and that weekend engineering works are expected to continue for several more years.
All in all, still not looking good if you are a customer.
What makes a town unique? It is said that the people make the town. It is true of Reading, in my opinion, derided by some outsiders who describe it as “soulless” or a “commuter town” (quite a derogatory tag).
There really is more to Reading than a busy railway station, commercial high street and shopping centres. There are buzzing personalities who give the town a distinctive identity, through their community deeds for example, or their running of independent cafes and historical pubs.
It is a theme that I am exploring with a new podcast series, Roarcasts. In this series, I aim to find out through informal conversations what makes busy people (local business owners, artists and community leaders, for example) in Reading tick, why they do what they do in Reading (as opposed to anywhere else) and what they have planned for the future.
The series begins with a chat with Tutu Melaku of Tutu’s Ethiopian Table, the Ethiopian restaurant and catering service based at Reading’s Global Cafe. In Roarcast #1, Tutu revealed to me why she started Tutu’s Ethiopian Table, what her most popular dish is, the importance of Ethiopian coffee and more.
Before going any further, I should add that I was inspired by podcasts giants Nick Saalfeld and Mike Southon with their Beermat Radio podcasts and Alex Bellinger of SmallBizPod fame. As for the apparently curious name “Roarcast” (sounding somewhat like “broadcast”), this was wittily suggested by Joff Hopkins of Reading 107 FM.
Without further ado, the running order for Roarcast #1 (11 minutes 10 seconds) is below. Please let me know what you think. It’s a first for me, so plenty of room for improvement! At times you will hear the sound fade out and in. It’s a fairly crude editing technique for when I want to snip certain sections, but I’m a newbie and expect to come up with something better.
Roarcast #1: Tutu Melaku and Tutu’s Ethiopian Table [MP3]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Matt Brady on June 9th 2008 in Business, Culture, Reading Roars, Roarcasts
Email me: mbrady@readingroars.com
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