Reading Roars!

Reading residents are being asked by Reading Borough Council what they think the town needs to make it a “truly cultural” city. 

Interested parties can share their views during an event held on Tuesday 29 July at Reading’s Town Hall, or alternatively submit them via the council’s website.  Ultimately, a new Cultural Strategy will be produced.

So, how can we make Reading a truly cultural city?

First of all, Reading is not a city.  It’s a town. 

Secondly, what is meant by ”cultural” and “truly cultural”?  Culture is a word that’s not easily definable.  It includes music and cinema, art and literature.   We also have “consumer culture” and “binge-drinking culture” (both highly evident in the town). 

There are also more obscure manifestations of culture, such as flash-mobbing and spraying on public walls (both rightly or wrongly).  As such, any expression or product of human work and thought could be seen as culture.

Following on from this, what does “truly cultural” actually mean?  What is it that we want to achieve?  How will we know when we get there (how can we measure this)?

It could be argued that with local “treasures” such as the world-famous Reading Festival, Reading Water Fest, Reading Fringe Festival, Reading Museum, Rising Sun Arts Centre, South Street Arts Centre, Hexagon and Progress Theatre, Reading is culturally rich already.   The town’s ”art scene” is commended in backpacker bibles The Lonely Planet and Rough Guide, with particular mention of Reading Festival and (curiously) WOMAD (indeed, very little else is said about the town).

Would truly cultural mean more events?  A greater diversity of cultural expressions?    

Keeping it simple, I believe that more could always be done to encourage the development of ”culture” in the town, with a particular emphasis on keeping it local (local themes, local artists etc.).

Here are some ideas:  

Put on another annual festival (or two).   Choose from the following:

• Music, arts and dance.  Yes, a WOMAD replacement.  WOMAD was a terrific event that Reading formerly hosted, now staged in Wiltshire.  Please let’s have an equally strong festival to take its place.  Evening Post readers appear to agree, with 59% of website poll respondents voting that they would go to WOMAD this year - but only if it was in Reading.
• Film. An annual film festival showing independent productions (especially locally made) and offering prizes would be brilliant.
• Digital.  Brighton has one (with workshops, discussions and networking opportunities) - let’s have one for Reading, too.  I can see it being very successful, as Reading is home to exciting technology startups as well as established players such as Microsoft and Oracle Corporation. 
• Food. Gastronomy has really taken off in Britain in recent years as a passion.  We have gastropubs, celebrity chefs and food markets all fuelling the nation’s appetite.  In Reading we have a farmers’ market and organic market (Global Cafe).  Let’s develop these into a food extravaganza showcasing food from the region (such as meat and dairy products, and beer).  We could also promote Reading food overseas (and help destroy the perception that all English food is awful!).
• Fashion.  I don’t know too much about this (as you can probably tell by looking at pics of me on this blog), but I’m aware that it has a huge and growing following, thanks to the likes of Gok Wan, Trinny and Susannah, and erm…
• Literature.  Put the reading back in Reading.
• Urban art.  Banksy is big.  Let’s have a graffiti competition in the town (using walls produced for this purpose) to determine who’s the top tagger.  

Create a cleaner, greener and nicer environment.  By this I mean:

• More pedestrianisation and green spaces.  Reclaim Reading’s streets for the people!  Much has been achieved in this area already, which is very encouraging. I’d expect this would draw more people out of their houses and develop new connections.   It should also attract more street artists.
• Commission pieces of art by local artists.   I’d love to see more features in Reading town centre.  At present, the retail aspect is too strong.

Deploy a town-wide WiMax network.  This, too, should attract more people to our public spaces and announce Reading as a ”digital” town.  It would be great for virtual workers and great also for fostering online creativity.

Organise more creative workshops. Let’s offer the town’s young people the opportunity to try something new, such as experimenting with digital media (blogs, podcasts) or musical instruments. 

Designate an annual Culture Day. One day of the year, to bring attention to the town’s cultural attractions. 

Support the independent retail sector.  A “clone town” (for that is what we have in the form of Broad Street and The Oracle) is not especially inspiring, in my opinion, but there is hope.  The Oxford Road (or at least part of it) is a bit of an indie hub, as demonstrated by the likes of Workhouse Coffee, Art Junction Cafe and Moondog Cafe (is it Moondog?), and that can only be a good thing.

The Evening Post reports that plans to build a new luxury hotel and leisure complex (yawn) in Friar Street have been given the green light.

I’ve not seen these plans but I’m hoping that the hotel will blend in a whole lot better than the Novotel monstrosity that looks like something designed for Ceausescu.  Fingers crossed.

My council tax has gone up again, as expected.  Thames Valley Police Authority accounts for the biggest increase (again), so I was interested to read the Police Authority’s Finances 2007/08 document sent by the Council.  The leaflet stated:

As a result of extensive analysis, and taking into account internal and external factors, we have decided that our operational priorities for 2007/08 will be to

(drum roll)

Reduce crime and increase the number of offences brought to justice, particularly in relation to house burglaries and domestic violence

So the Police Authority’s top priority is to cut crime?  The startling revelations continue:

• Improve safety and reassurance in your neighbourhood…
• Reduce the harm caused to communities by class A drugs…
• Identify and manage the threat posed by organise crime gangs and dangerous individuals…

The final priority was interesting: reduce the threat of, and our vulnerability to, terrorism.  Does terrorism really constitute a major threat?

The content of the leaflet is, however, in plain English, which is great to see.   There is so much bull spewed by public and private institutions these days, it’s astonishing.  This communication is crystal clear.

Reading East MP Rob Wilson has remarkably suggested changing the town’s name to Reading-on-Thames in order to “make Reading more appealing”.

Interestingly, this tactic is being tried already - by London Street’s English Language Courses (ELC). Stated on ELC’s homepage are the words:

Welcome to the online brochure of: ENGLAND LANGUAGE COURSES in Reading-on-Thames, Berkshire, England.

The words “Reading on Thames”, arguably more attractive to the overseas reader (and potential customer) are again printed on a map displayed on the same page.

I really don’t think a name change is necessary. I do think we need to address the town/city confusion, however. We should either refer to Reading as a town or city, one or the other - not both. Reading Borough Council leader David Sutton, for example, responded to Wilson’s name suggestion with the following:

I would like us to continue to market Reading as a town which sits astride two increasingly attractive rivers

In an earlier statement, Sutton announced:

Chatham Place is a vitally important part of the reshaping of the centre of Reading, as we continue to create a vibrant European city of the future

I’m sure I’ve also seen the word “City” printed on the town’s buses.

On a less serious note, I myself had a go at giving Reading a new name. How about the following (silly) suggestions:

• Redding - To eliminate the usual confusion about the way the town name is pronounced
• Rdng - Reading for the txt generation
• Revving - A mecca for motorists
• Weading - A perfect destination for couples!
• Greying - Red no longer has the same allure. Grey is the “in” colour, apparently

According to the Reading Chronicle, plans have been unveiled for an IDR footbridge to “rival the Millennium bridges in London and Gateshead”. It seems like an exciting concept, but while the bridge may be aesthetically astonishing, how do we get the IDR to rival the great Thames and Tyne?

The “de-concretisation” of Reading continues apace. Reading Borough Council have commenced a public consultation on proposals to replace the splendidly grey civic centre with something less concrete-looking.

Deputy Leader of Reading Borough Council Jo Lovelock (not “Joe”, BBC) explained:

The regeneration of this part of Reading is going to be a great opportunity to rid us of a concrete, windswept corner, which is looking very dated and sad.

This is welcome news. With the Chatham Place redevelopment project, “designed to make one of Berkshire’s top cities a prominent European location” (who wrote that?!), and Station Hill project also promising to deliver significant improvements, both architectural and social, to areas of the town, we should expect to see a more aesthetically pleasing Reading rise in the not too distant future.