Reading Roars!

I’m getting older, there’s no doubt about that (as Sir Alex Ferguson might say). 

Returning from London last night at around 11pm, I was struck by the sheer volume of noise spewed by the bars on Friar Street.  I used to go to some of these bars several years ago and the music was respectably loud then.  Now, the volume is ridiculous. 

It’s becoming less Friar Street, more Faliraki.  Or am I getting too old?

I’ve just realised that Reading Roars! has passed its 3 year anniversary.  Three years!  I’m not convinced I can/should keep it going for another three.       

To date, there have been 412 posts (not an awful lot) and more than one theme change.  Culture is king: no other category has come close content-wise.

Regrets?  A few.  I wish I’d tried harder with the name (I quite like “The Reading Rover” now).  I made promises I couldn’t keep.

Anyway, keep buggering on, as Churchill famously said.

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.

Not too long ago (September last year, to be exact), Living Reading was launched.  Now, covered already by the local press, we have Viva Reading, a bid to encourage buinesses to back cultural activities (Viva Reading and Living Reading, interestingly, appear to have a close connection: viva is a Spanish word, derived from “to live”) . 

Reading Borough Council chief executive Michael Coughlin, who launched the programme with patron John Madejski, described Reading as an “ideaopolis”, which would presumably make London an ideamegalopolis.  Or something.

Full details about the corporate sponsorship programme can be found on the Reading Museum site.

A warm welcome to Jon and his new blog centred around living in Reading.  According to Jon, the blog is:

A sometimes irreverent but always irrelevant look at what it means to live in Reading, Berkshire.  A lot of people like to slag off Reading and say it’s a dump but I say “hold your horses” - there’s Prospect Park, the Forbury Gardens, Greggs!!!  See, there’s a helluva lot of good … you just have to look for it.

Greggs? 

Anyway, it’s good to see another pro-Reading blog.  There’s more to the town than shopping and a busy railway station…

It’s a few days late.  Finally, I present to you a pic from the Reading Real Ale and Jazz Festival. 

The festival took place over 3 days, 16-18 July, and it was my first.  The Reading Beer and Cider Festival offered many more beers, but there was also a far longer queue to get in.  Entering the Real Ale and Jazz Festival was a doddle and service inside was quick. 

The festival site was also more pleasant, framed on one side by tall poplars.  A small white picket fence, BBQ smell and glorious sunshine gave the festival a quasi-American feel, heightened by the live jazz playing in the background.

The performances themselves were entertaining, though not spectacularly so.  The large dance floor began to fill later in the evening, as they tend to here after people have had a few drinks, and I found myself dragged on to it.

All in all, it was a very satisfying and well-organised event, though some might say a little expensive (tickets were £15 on the gate) for what amounted to just 4 hours of festival time.    

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.