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Events 2015

Putting festive lights up at the Triangle

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Well it didn't rain! But it was more than a little bit windy. Carol organized a Tilehurst Globe team to put the lights up at the Triangle. You can see from the photos that the tree itself was being lashed by the wind, however with foolhardy bravado we went up ladders and decorated the tree for all to enjoy.

A lovely job to do - well done and thank you to everyone who helped.

Planting the trough by the water tower

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Pat and Jane again turned out on a lovely pre-autumnal day to put new plants in the trough at the water tower. This did involve taking out the old plants which had looked spectacular over the summer. Then the compost was well and truly turned over ready to take the new bulbs and plants. We all look forward to seeing them.

The dog didn't do much, but he was really well behaved!

Pat had noticed that there was a considerable amount of litter on the verge and pavement between the trough and the bus stop by the pub. She was annoyed enough to set to and pick up the litter. There was a lot including a lot of stuff from the pub (glasses and bottles, and worse - broken glass). She collected as much as she could and took it back home to get rid of it properly.

Well done Pat and Jane, and thank you for your hard work.

Planting on a verge in School Road

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Another welcome fine day for us when we planted out the verge on the corner in front of Parkers Estate Agents in School Road. Jenny had organised the event well in advance and we all benefitted from her great effort since it made the job easier. Not only that the guides turned up in force. Golly didn't they work hard. Between us all we got fifty or so bags of bulbs into the ground.

They should be up in the spring for everyone to enjoy. And here at least the cars won't drive over them! Thanks to all the people who came and gave their time freely.

Our invitation to join Nature Nurture

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Nature Nurture is a wonderful organization whose aim is to get young chiildren to have fun and explore the natural environment. They organized an event in Arthur Newbery park and they asked us to join them. How lucky we were!

The park was packed with families, having picnics, joining in with the events run by the organizers and just generally having a good time. The threatened rain held off after a shower or two at the beginning but the atmosphere was not dampened. One of the enlightened activities was to fill an egg box with items found nearby, items that were smooth, furry, sticky etc. How the young children loved that.

The Tilehurst Globe stand featured our Tilehurst Memories project. We gave out the booklet and talked to the young children encouraging them to talk to their grandparents about their lives in the "old" days. It would be nice to think that some of them went home and did just that (!) although probably a lot of them will only remember having to queue a long time to get an ice cream.

We also gave out copies of our Circular Walks leaflets. We are still amazed that so many people who live nearby have not ventured into our local parks and woodlands. This event was a wonderful opportunity to promote these areas that we are lucky enough to have.

Our walk down memory lane in Arthur Newbery Park

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We gathered outside the Butchers Arms at 7pm and then set off down Lower Armour Road.

We were lucky indeed to have John Finnerty to head up the walk. His wealth of knowledge about the park is extraordinary and not only that is tempered with a great love of the place which is very evident as he talks about it.

Our first port of call was naturally at the trough in Armour Hill, opposite the thatched cottage. He told us a little of the history of the Metropolitan Drinking Fountain and Cattle Trough Association and we admired the plants that are in the trough; thank you Ruth.

We then walked down along the stream and past the small panhandle on the left. John then told us some of the history of the hedge that runs down the hill and about the allotments on the other side of the hedge.

Phil Allen was part of the group too and kept us informed about the park, and in particular about the trees, along the way.

We walked along the bottom avenue and then back up the hill.

And all the while John engaged us with tales of things gone by and more about the Newberys and also a bit about the Chapel on Kentwood Hill. He had thoughtfully brought along photos of the area from days past that he passed around for us to look at and talk about (I was going to say argue about - but only in the nicest possible way!), and Phil continued to tell us about the old trees and plants.

And all this took us about an hour or so and the night was beginning to draw in. When we were at the top Richard Branson sent over a Virgin Media hot air balloon for us to admire. Great timing and thank you Richard!.

It was all fun and most enjoyable. But we weren't finished yet. John took us out of the park past the nursery school and insisted we lingered a little longer. He produced a final photo of the front of the small building that is now the nursery. The photo was of the grand opening ceremony of a library which was donated by the Newbery family. The building in the photo was still recognizable as the one that is there today.

All in all Arthur Newbery was a great benefactor and philanthropist and John gave us a terrific appreciation of just how great the Newberys were.

Planting out the trough by the Water Tower

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Jenny, Pat and Jane worked hard to put on a great show of summer plants in the cattle trough in Park Lane by the water tower. They had to put quite a bit of effort to get some of the old soil out and some new compost in. And then, in went a wonderful display of summer plants. What a great show. Here are the pictures that tell a thousand words.

Many people have since commented on this wonderful display. Thank you.

Our stall at the fete

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In June each year we have a stall at the local fete, which is run by the Friends of Berkshire Hospital. This year was no exception. We put up our new gazebo and it worked very well. We had decided to feature the Tilehurst Memories project which attracted a lot of attention. We gave away a lot of the booklets! People obviously started telling us of the things they remembered - but whether they send their stories in to be added to the website remains to be seen.

Of course people now look out for our free quiz. It may because the quiz is interesting or it may just be because it is free and gives people a happy breather. This year we had a crossword about Tilehurst. We had lots of entries. The main reason that people didn't do so well is that they didn't know how to spell Arthur Newbery. Most people spelt it Arthur Newbury. Now I am afraid I don't know why his name was spelt that way but that is just how it is. However enough people got the answers right to get prizes which were donated by local businesses. So big thank yous all round.

We also had lots of other free things on the stall: our circular walks leaflets, the NAG Neighbourhood Survey leaflets for them to take home. And we had forms people could fill in to say what they wanted in Tilehurst (but not many filled it in - so can we assume they are pretty happy with Tilehurst?)

It is a nice local event and we enjoy participating. But it takes a fair bit of effort, so thanks very much to all the Tilehurst Globe volunteers to helped out before the event and on the day.

Rescue Weekend

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This was a strange weekend in many ways. There we were boasting of the fine weather that we have for our events. But not this time. At one point there was a mini hurricane, but by and large it was just about ok. Then it was sad to say that this was the last Rescue event run by Summreen Sheik from Reading Borough Council. And then it was a shame that normally we get many volunteers to help with our Rescue event in Tilehurst. But this year the numbers of volunteers were down; noticeably there were fewer children helping out. They usually get a lot of fun clearing up the rubbish, but perhaps other events this year were more attractive.

Sadly, also, there was a lot of litter collected. Bags and bags of it.

Many thanks to the Tilehurst Globe team leaders who were in charge of the four sessions over the weekend. Great job done. And thanks to the volunteers who came and helped clear up other people's rubbish.

And many thanks to the dust cart chaps who cleared away all the rubbish collected.

And last, but not least, many thanks to the sponsors of the event for donating prizes for the raffle for volunteers that as usual is held at the end of the weekend. Your support is very welcome.

Planting daffodils and crocuses at Walnut Way

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It is about time that Tilehurst Globe made some money; they could sell fine weather! Every time we hold an event (well at least 99% of the time that we hold an event) despite warnings, we have decent weather. And this was the case on 14th February 2015 when we planted bulbs in Walnut Way. It had rained all night, and rained soon after we had finished but for the planting event itself we had lovely warm spring weather. Not only that but because of the rain the earth was fairly easy to dig. Loads of people, including scouts, guides, brownies and schoolchildren came out to help. Which was just as well because Jenny had ordered tons of bulbs which we hope will perk up the grass verge at the back of the Triangle.

We look forward to seeing the flowers burst up for us all to enjoy. Many thanks to all the people who came and helped.

A strange bit of serendipity: We were talking about Jobs Dairy and how Liz had dug up on old Jobs milk bottle at the bottom of her garden when one of the valiant volunteers hit something where he was digging - and it was a milk bottle! Not chipped or cracked even (but obviously filled with earth). This was probably a school milk bottle since it is the size for a third of a pint. What a coincidence.

For those of you interested in this sort of thing, the lettering on the milk bottle says "Holyport Dairy, J Good & Sons, Maidenhead"

If you want to know more about the projects we are involved in contact us.

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