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Olly’s Work

A SPECIAL COMMUNITY charity concert took place at Highdown School in Emmer Green on Saturday 7 March in aid of the Olly Stephens Trust. Olly was a local boy, aged 13, who was murdered by two boys of the same age in Bugs Bottom five years ago. Since then, Olly’s parents, Amanda and Stuart Stephens, have dedicated themselves to protecting young people against the dangers of knife crime and social media…Read More

Time to renew subscriptions

THE ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION for the Caversham Bridge remains unchanged at £7 for 12 monthly editions. For payment details see page 3. This month your paper is a packed 20-page edition, with contributions from both regular and new writers. Music is a theme which runs through much of this edition, starting with a report of the fund-raising concert for Olly’s Work (see above). We have reviews of a range of recent musical events, from the performance of Mozart’s Così Fan Tutte by the Merry Opera Company and Concerts in Caversham’s Spring concert (p10), to the musical Grease by students at Highdown School (p11)…Read More

April showers and May flowers

IF YOU MISSED World Poetry Day in March and can’t wait until the UK’s National Poetry Day in October, April is a good choice to celebrate poetry anyway. For those in the northern hemisphere, April brings much delight with its Spring flowers and prompts many a joyful poem.
Yet joy in new seasons can also feel mixed: with loss of whatever season is finished, and with uncertainty about what is ahead…Read More

World Book Day at Playday Caversham

SENIOR MANAGER Sam Norris of Playday Caversham, dressed as a ‘caring Cruella’, led a group of under-fives wearing ears and tails made in the nursery round the former Hemdean House playing field in tribute to the classic story 101 Dalmatians, as part of World Book Day and in support of cancer research. Sam said: “The children currently love playing with and walking their toy dogs, so we thought the best way to celebrate World Book Day was by following their interests.” Rather than asking parents to provide costumes, the children were asked to dress in black and white…Read More

Bereavement Support

ALL OF US EXPERIENCE loss at some point in our lives, sometimes multiple losses, and the pain can be hard to bear. I lost my husband to cancer in 2019, and know from personal experience some of the challenges bereavement brings. A few months after Simon died, I attended a Bereavement Journey Course run by a local church and found it enormously helpful to listen to the video input from a grief counsellor, and then to have a chance to talk with others about what resonated, and share something of what it was like for me. The course was well led by trained facilitators, and it was helpful being with others who understood…Read More

For Your Bookshelf

TO CELEBRATE Harriet Muncaster’s visit to Fourbears Fest, the young reader pick this month is The Diary of Wiska Wildflower: The New School. Meet Wiskabella Wildflower, a wiskling (a magical fairy-esque creature born from crystals) who has moved to the town of Twitching to start at her new school, Inkcap Academy.  The Diary of Wiska Wildflower is ideal for readers aged 7+.

For adults, the much awaited fifth instalment of Robert Thorogood’s The Marlow Murder Club series landed on shelves in January, and it does not disappoint. The Mysterious Affair of Judith Potts is Thorogood’s most intrepid instalment of the series, and it is eagerly welcomed since its predecessor left us with a big old cliff hanger. For those who are new to the series, it follows amateur sleuth Judith Potts and her trusted friends Becks and Suzie as they solve baffling murders in the quaint town of Marlow…Read More

Green growth at True Food Co-op

TRUE FOOD Co-operative has been recognised as one of the UK’s leaders in sustainability-led growth. This local business was selected in February to be part of Green Growth 100, a programme featuring 100 small businesses across the UK which are leading the way in sustainability-led growth.
Small Business Britain, in partnership with BT, launched Green Growth 100 to celebrate and champion UK small businesses that are successfully using sustainability to drive business growth…Read More

Happy Wanderer on Pansies For Thoughts

WHEN, AGED nine, I was asked by Mum and Dad what I wanted for Christmas, I told them I wanted a gramophone. A friend of mine had one, and I thought it would be great fun to be able to play The Laughing Policeman or The Teddy Bears’ Picnic whenever I felt like it. What I received was a windup gramophone – the usual sort then – with a collection of funny old records dating from about the time of the First World War. I expect they had belonged to one of our elderly relatives. It was a wonderful gift…Read More

It was the fashion

LAST SUMMER we were contacted by Keti Maglakelidze at Geo Café about one of her regular customers, Judian Bushnell, and the fashion shop she had run in Caversham in the 1970s. Intrigued, I arranged to meet Judian at the café to learn more about her business. Judian Bushnell had been working as a manager for a children’s clothing company in Camberley before starting her own business. As a young mum with two boys at Reading Bluecoat School, she was looking for premises in the Caversham area…Read More

Training Success

CAVERSHAM-BASED dog trainer, Sarah Hawkins, was in the news in February when she won recognition from Dragon’s Den star, Theo Paphitis, through his Small Business Sunday (SBS) award. Sarah set up Barkshire Dog Training in January 2022 to help dog owners who want to train their dogs using kind methods, providing personalised support to help dogs thrive in real life. Through patience, kindness and positive reinforcement, Sarah focuses on building calm walks, reliable recall, and the confidence to settle in busy, everyday environments — creating a partnership rooted in trust and connection, rather than control…Read More

Birdsong from the Arctic can be heard in Caversham!

QUEEN ANNE’S SCHOOL in Caversham is where more than 60 musicians have met for almost 20 years to rehearse full-scale orchestral concerts performed regularly in Reading. Reading Symphony Orchestra’s rehearsals are currently enlivened by musical sounds of a more unusual nature: Arctic birdsong. “I first encountered Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus in 1998, and was immediately captivated,” conductor Cathal Garvey explained. “I fantasized a little about conducting it one day but never had the opportunity until now.“ The work is subtitled Concerto for Birds and Orchestra. Rautavaara made his own recordings of various Arctic birds in the northern marshes of his native Finland – cranes, shore larks, whooper swans and other wetland species…Read More

Concerts in Caversham

CONCERTS IN CAVERSHAM at St Andrew’s Church is now in its 14th year. Founded by Adrienne Black and Timothy Watts, who sadly died in 2024, the series of concerts has become established as one of Caversham’s cultural gems. The 2026 season began in February with a concert featuring an all-string ensemble comprising seven freelance musicians and professional instrumentalists from various London orchestras.
The programme commenced with a string sextet in D major by Richard Strauss from his opera Capriccio (1942), which is not often heard in concert performance. The piece is refined, introspective and deeply expressive, which was beautifully portrayed by the C-in-C Ensemble…Read More

GREASE: The Musical

AN EAR-TO-EAR smile and a spring in my step are two features that have not left me since attending Highdown School and Sixth Form’s recent 2026 production of the beloved 1971 musical classic, Grease. Positioned bang in the centre stalls, I was privileged to have a front-row view, providing a 360-degree perspective. This allowed me a greater appreciation of an elaborate, multi-tiered, three dimensional Rydell School backdrop and, of course, the car itself, Greased Lightnin…Read More

From Our Archive

ROYAL BERKSHIRE Archives have been continuing work on our programme of scanning back issues of the Caversham Bridge newspaper. The latest batch of papers to be published on our website cover 1972, 1977 and 1996. We reproduced the front page of our December 1975 edition in February as part of our feature on Highdown School, which reported the appointment of new head teacher, Andrew Clarke. By chance, when checking a few of the recently scanned papers, we came across this front page of the April 1995 edition, which covered his retirement and the appointment of his successor, Mr Alan Furley…Read More

Enlivening Things

If you want to enliven your garden, Helianthus (sunflowers) will do their best for you if you sow them now. Many people think of them as those sixfeet tall things with large plate-like yellow/ black centred flowers which children love growing, but there are many others worth trying. Helianthus are hardy annuals and there are so many others worth growing. In my Chiltern Seeds catalogue, there is a wide selection of annuals to colour your garden and, who knows, it might reveal your artistic side too. In my April 2025 article, I mentioned growing Gomphrena Globosa from seed…Read More

Small but Mighty!

CAVERSHAM PARK Primary School, at the heart of the Caversham Park community, has been excelling in sport and music in recent months. In October, our Year 3 and 4 hockey team was victorious in a hockey tournament hosted by St Mary’s Prep School, Henley-on-Thames, at Shiplake College. They scored over 20 goals and conceded only 1. The entire team played with enormous enthusiasm and was congratulated by the hosting team. It was then the turn of our Year 6 Football team to play in a tournament against local schools held at Emmer Green Primary School. We were very proud when the team made it through to the final, only losing to The Hill Primary School on penalties. Our children were also invited to play at Abbey Rugby Football Club in the first T1 Rugby Festival to be held in Berkshire…Read More

Pop Classics

IT’S GREAT FOR the Caversham high street that it can boast so many individual and specialist shops, and Pop Classics is one of the most fascinating. For many of us, our lives have a sound track of evocative music that brings back memories and emotions of the past. So many generations of teenagers get through those difficult years supported by the pop music of the era. So, thumbing through the extensive racks of vinyl LPs, recognising iconic sleeves and images of bands and artists is an enjoyable and nostalgic experience. Damian Jones opened Pop Classics at 35 Church Street in the Precinct in September 2023. Damian is a life-long record collector and a recognised expert in the subject, and he has featured in previous articles in the Caversham Bridge…Read More

Oasiz

SINCE THEIR iconic reunion tour last year, interest in Manchester legends, Oasis, is at an all-time high. This was evident when we arrived at South Street to see tribute act Oasiz. The venue was
busy with a mixed crowd, made up of those of us old enough to remember the 90s and some who were not even born then!
The 2017 refurbishment of the South Street venue means the main space can be transformed from seated theatre to a standing gig venue, which was perfect for the evening and there was a lively atmosphere in anticipation of the show. When Liam swaggered on stage, you could instantly forget you are at a tribute show and just lose yourself in the moment as they launched into classics such as Rock n’ Roll Star, Supersonic, Some Might Say, amongst many others…Read More

Bowl Along to Albert Road

ARE YOU LOOKING for a fun way to get out more, stay active and meet new people? Why not give lawn bowls a try. Friendly, sociable and surprisingly energetic, a single match can involve walking up to three miles, making it a great way to keep moving without even noticing. Many of our members join with no previous experience, and one of the sport’s biggest appeals is how easy it is to pick up the basics. We’re a thriving club, with most of our new members joining our popular Monday night bowling league.
New members play in mixed teams alongside more experienced players, helping to develop skills in a relaxed, supportive setting. Alongside this, we offer coaching sessions, internal club competitions, and the chance to take part in external leagues. Off the green, our welcoming clubhouse is a real social hub…Read More

Beanpole Day

BEANPOLE DAY IS at Caversham Court Garden again on Saturday 18 April, despite the disfiguring scaffolding and netting across the main gate. The side gates will be open to welcome everyone from 10:00 to 15:00. You can buy very reasonably priced plants and plant supports, whilst learning about wildlife friendly gardening and all kinds of environmental issues. We have vegetable and ornamental plants grown by charitable organisations, and a range of beanpoles, peasticks and plant supports to grow them up. Our plant supports come from locally managed coppiced woodland and willow beds, and your purchase helps maintain this traditional technique…Read More

A Beautiful Place to Bowl

SPRING IS HERE once again, and that means that the Island Bohemian Bowls Club (IBC) is ready for action once more. The Club, situated on Fry’s Island, between Reading Bridge and Caversham Bridge, is a bowls club with a unique location – access is by ferry, which the club provides. It is a friendly club in a beautiful and tranquil setting, an oasis in the middle of Reading.
We welcome new members or players who have not played for a while, so why not give bowls a try. Bowls is for everyone, regardless of age, gender or ability, and you can play at whatever level you wish…Read More

Parking Enforcement – Waitrose and Iceland Car Park

Dear Editor – I WISH TO submit details of two separate Parking Charge Notices I received from Parkingeye Ltd. I trust that, if you include this as an article on how I dealt with these, it may help your readers if they receive similar parking charge notices. Parkingeye claimed I was in breach of the parking terms and conditions on two separate dates in December last, when I was able to prove I was not. On the first date I was able to prove I was elsewhere, and the second related to overnight parking. This was a ludicrous claim on account of my circumstances: I am an 83 year old pensioner and suffer with mobility issues, which mean I can walk only a short distance without stopping for a rest…Read More

HANDS UP! Local Volunteer Opportunities – True Food Co-operative, Emmer Green

IF YOU’RE looking for a new challenge, why not consider joining the community of volunteers at the True Food Co-operative shop. We have a range of roles within the shop and behind the scenes. Several of our volunteers enjoy a short shift at True Food to break up the working-from-home day. Just one hour of volunteering makes a huge difference to the smooth running of the shop. As a member, there is a graduated scheme of discounts for volunteering…Read More

Hotel Makeover

THE LATEST chapter in the history of hotels at the Reading end of the Caversham Bridge, on the bank of the River Thames, has begun. For much of 2025, what was the Crowne Plaza Hotel was a busy construction site, shrouded in scaffolding. The hotel reopened in December and, although the external appearance of the building has changed little, inside it has undergone extensive rejuvenation. It is now the Village Hotel Reading, the most recent addition to Village Hotels’ portfolio. The refurbishment has transformed the premises into the company’s model for the future, and work is still in progress to add new studios at the front of the building…Read More

Pen and paper, ink and expression…

IN THE 1980s, psychologist James Pennebaker developed a therapeutic technique called expressive writing to help patients process trauma and psychological challenges. With this technique, continuously journaling about something painful helps create mental distance from the experience, and eases its cognitive load.
In other words, externalizing emotional distress through writing. Writing things down involves retrieving memories. It also involves putting those memories into language, activating the brain’s visual and motor systems. Writing things down supports memory consolidation, the brain’s conversion of short-term memories into long term ones. The process of integration makes it possible for people to reframe painful experiences and manage their emotions…Read More