The face of Reading’s star actress Kate Winslet is gracing the cover of TIME magazine. The words “Best Actress” are printed somewhere above her right ear.
You can read the cover story here.
When will a Reading person next appear on the cover of TIME?
Looking for a Reading watering hole? drinksinReading.com is a newly launched search engine allowing users to search for places offering food, drink, entertainment, Wi-Fi and more in the town.
The online guide will be maintained and updated by the bar owners themselves, and consumers may sign up to become friends with their chosen venues (so that special offers, for example, may be received by email or SMS).
Laurence Williams, who started drinksinreading, explained to me that inspiration came from the Robert Elms Show on BBC London in May 2007 when an American caller said that he was unable to find detailed information on bars.
He added that the Reading site is a test case (chosen for its demographics), with further sites planned for Bristol, London and Cardiff.
Laurence also emphasised that they will be working closely with drinkaware and similar organisations, including Reading PubWatch, to promote sensible drinking. A very good move, I say.
The LV Lounge, based at The George Hotel in Reading town centre, has closed permanently. LV will now be converted into a restaurant.
Like a phoenix from the flames, the Blagrave Arms pubs has reopened, this time under a new owner. Its former owner had closed it down as it wasn’t making money (and has since returned to business development). Best of luck to both old and new proprietors.
Academics at the University of Reading’s ICMA Centre have identified “clear parallels” between an economic crisis during the time of King Edward I and today’s malaise.
Reading the uni’s press release Don’t panic! Banks have always failed, I spotted two clear differences. One of the academics, Dr Adrian R Bell, explained:
However, had Edward I faced today’s crisis, initially he would probably have placed senior executives under house arrest, most likely without trial, until the Government could recover as much as possible from their assets and estates. However, in his case he also subsequently realised that he would need new sources of finance and so whatever the frustrations, he might have counselled some leniency. In the 13th century, banks were allowed to fail and other banks also failed as a result. However, within a few years, other banks had grown to take their place and the banking sector and the economy recovered.
Anyone else think we’re in trouble?
Are you looking for somewhere cheap(er) to eat out in Reading? I have compiled a list of local restaurants offering current promotions and offers (not entirely credit crunch-related), below.
I am hoping to grow this list to make the definitive credit crunch lunch guide to Reading. So, if you are a diner or restaurateur with information to contribute, please tell me what you know and we will lengthen the list together!
The Reading Evening Post has revealed that businesses are having their say on a proposed new five-year Business Improvement District (BID) phase to transform the town centre.
Suggestions have so far included live music in restaurants, coffeeshops closing later in the evening, sitting on ice in the middle of Broad St to win a prize, a charity Moonwalk in Broad St, a bigger Children’s Festival and a new lighting scheme.
Meanwhile, under the new proposal, our Christmas lights will continue to be funded, smokers will be encouraged to stub out their ciggies on foil ashtrays and booklets will be distributed for gum.
The central theme of the plan seems to be “community”, or creating conditions that would attract more people into the town centre, day and night, through encouraging them to participate in various activities.
“Community” does appear to be a bit of a buzzword at present and I can see how something akin to an online social network, I guess, on our streets might work.
Boosting the evening economy might be a challenge. The evening economy to me suggests one thing mainly - drinking. There are many people who find the town centre at night, Oracle aside, an intimidating environment, thanks in part to nits who drink too much and make a nuisance of themselves. This is especially true of Friar St, covered in the plan, which even I find unpleasant at night these days.
I can see the appeal of keeping coffeeshops open for longer. As a Madrid student a number of years ago, having a late-night coffee was always an attractive option (even at 2am). It’s something I would love to see introduced here (for then we really will have something that more closely resembles a cafe culture), and I’m sure that freelance workers and bingers alike would be similarly interested.
I’m not sure about the sitting on ice suggestion. Several readers commenting on the article have not warmed to the idea either.
How about something like a night market (similar to what you might find in the Far East)? Or open air concerts (I’m thinking classical or jazz, mainly)? Story-telling might work, as kids and grown-ups alike love Harry Potter etc. (I don’t count myself, as I’ve not read any of the books).
Whatever goes ahead ultimately, it will have to be good. The economic downturn will be challenging enough.
I feel that I can’t continue without further mentioning the economic slowdown. One reason why I named this blog Reading Roars! three years ago was because of the roaring economy and Reading’s part in it (roaring capital of the Thames Valley). Well, our economy isn’t roaring any more. The lion has been muzzled. Who knows when things will pick up again?
It does puzzle me slightly to see shoppers still out in force, laden with big shopping bags (and I don’t mean supermarket bags). I say “slightly” as it is the run-up to Christmas, a number of retailers have been cutting prices and, I strongly suspect, the full force of the recession hasn’t quite hit us - yet. The downturn will hit us ordinary people soon enough. I guess that 6 months from now (or perhaps sooner, in January 2009) retail and hospitality organisations in Reading will struggle.
Which leads me to mention the town’s independent shops and restaurants. I know there are concerns about Woolworths, with some people believing that it’s a Reading institution (is it?), but it really would be a pity, in my opinion, to lose the smaller players in town.
Reading would be, to an extent, characterless or clone-like without them (can you imagine, for example, the UK without its traditional pubs?). Take Picnic, for example, whose cheery, committed staff make it special, and Sushi one0eight, whose founder Chris works extremely hard to keep his unique vision alive.
Whatever happens, it’s worth sparing a thought (and a pound or two) for our indies in town.
After a long delay (a whole season, in fact), Roarcast episode 2 is ready (the first featured a conversation with Tutu Melaku). It really isn’t supposed to be a quarterly podcast. I’m working on the third, with the aim of putting it live by Christmas mid-October.
In this second episode, I sat down with Jason Browne of the très chic Mix Champagne and Cocktail Bar in Reading.
I’m a Mix fan. Their arrival (along with The Forbury Hotel’s Cerise) shook up a staid cocktail scene in Reading. I remember drinking, not too long ago, lurid concoctions squeezed out of plastic bottles. They weren’t pleasant (or kind to your teeth), but they got you drunk. Mix introduced proper cocktails, served by professionally-trained mixologists in a classy environment. It was as if London had arrived.
Details of the episode are as follows:
Feeling the squeeze? You’re not alone. We are now Europe’s most crowded country (and third worldwide in population density, after Bangladesh and South Korea).
Of course, if you are a user of public transport, you may have suspected this already. The economy may be faltering, but the passenger numbers certainly aren’t. If anything, the already heaving First Great Western trains and Tube seem to be getting busier and busier.
It’s apparent to me that smarter transport solutions for the Thames Valley must be found (since our population is predicted to continue growing and even eclipse all other countries in Europe).
As Martin Salter MP said at a Thames Valley transport workshop on 17 September (I’m grabbing this from the TVEP website):
The infrastructure is absolutely antiquated. We should be talking of six tracking the Great Westerm main line, we should be talking of electrification, certainly to Reading, and probably to Bristol. For business men, if infrastructure inhibits the growth of your business, you are not going to hang around in the Thames Valley…….it is an indictment of governments that 86 per cent of all delays on the road network are due to capacity issues, but that is because we have not planned.. .parish pump politicians in West Berkshire blocked an absolutely crucial park and ride scheme in Reading because a cabbage field on the edge of the M4 was designated an area of outstanding natural beauty. The people who object to M4 widening, to more rail tracks and to park and ride schemes would be the very first to complain if their jobs were not here and they did not have the ability to sustain the very prosperous lifestyle we have here.
That’s fine, but there is another solution that I think we ought to consider, however, and that is to encourage flexible working. It’s barmy that many of us are expected to begin and finish work at the same time in the 21st century. Technology allows us to do all sorts of wonderful things without the need to travel very far. It’s worth a thought.
Reading’s new pentahotel - the first opened by German hotel group Penta in the UK - is to undergo a massive refurbishment.
Formerly the Renaissance Hotel, pentahotel will be given a “fresh and funky” makeover to target corporate customers looking for something less staid. Joining the management team will be Jo Stevens, who was responsible for opening Malmaison in Reading.
Can’t wait to see it.