OUR first edition in February celebrated the opening of a new building which became home to 11 charities.
Then Wokingham borough mayor, Cllr Keith Baker, cut the ribbon to the Wokingham Charity and Community Hub, a facility spanning almost 6,000ft based in Waterford House, at Erfstadt Court.
Cllr Baker said: “It’s a pleasure to have opened this fantastic facility which will undoubtedly help hundreds of people from our area in the years ahead.
“Our charities and voluntary organisations make a huge difference to our communities and our residents, having them all together under one roof is a moment to celebrate. It was a joy to see the new hub and how it’s already making a difference to our residents.”
The building became home to Involve, Cranstoun Wokingham, Home Start Wokingham District, Health Watch Wokingham Borough, The Link Visiting Scheme, Mind in Berkshire, CLASP, Promise Inclusion, Wokingham Volunteer Centre and Wokingham Foodbank.
It was already home to Citizen’s Advice Wokingham.
More good news was on the way as we exclusively unveiled The Arc to Wokingham.
It is the proposal from award-winning artist Nicola Anthony.
Her plan was selected from 60 different proposals submitted to Arts4Wokingham. Five shortlisted artists made presentations to a panel that included Wokingham Today editor Phil Creighton.
Each artist had to explain their concepts, and how they would develop their ideas while working with communities.
Ms Anthony’s proposal is for a metal text sculpture that will feature words relating to each of the 17 towns and parishes that comprise Wokingham borough, and follows on from a recent commission in the United States that was initiated by moviemaker Steven Spielberg – he unveiled her work at its launch.
The arches in the design will combine to offer a pathway into and out of the new Carnival Hub.
The text will include braille as Ms Anthony is keen to ensure the work is inclusive.
She was thrilled to be chosen for the challenge of turning her idea into a reality.
“I can’t wait to embrace the local community and secure their input into helping me shape my initial ideas into something that is both relevant and meaningful to all those who live in the borough,” she said.
In the same edition, we visited a new Wokingham cafe which was determined to make a difference.
The Kimel Cafe in Evendons Lane, created by the Kimel Foundation, provides workplace training for young people with autism.
It was founded by Nic Lander, who has three neurodivergent daughters. He created the foundation over concerns about the number of people with autism in employment.
“We’ve already got our regulars,” he said. “People want to support the project. They like what we are doing and why. Enjoying the coffee is a massive bonus.”
As one business opened its doors, a long-standing one in Crowthorne closed theirs for the final time after more than 60 years.
Decor Interiors, on the high street, had served the village and surrounding areas since 1960 when Geoff Heron set up the soft furnishings specialist.
Geoff started the business in Church Street before it moved to the High Street in 2004.
After Geoff retired, his sons Mark and Richard took over the running of the business but both decided the time was right to draw the curtains on trading.
Richard said: “We would like to thank all our very loyal customers who have supported us over the last 60 years and also the many people who have been part of the Decor team, making it such an enjoyable place to work.”
Another stalwart in the community saw a change as the organisers of the Winter Carnival welcomed their successors.
After 21 years’ involvement, serving as committee chairman for the last five, Philip Mirfin handed over the reins to the Wokingham Lions Club.
Following the announcement, Mr Mirfin presented Andy Goffin, president of the Wokingham Lions and Tim Hanton, new chair of the Winter Carnival, with a cheque for £10,000 to help fund the 2022 event.
We also caught up with a Twyford student who has developed a taste for success after winning five sporting medals.
Elowyn Meeres, 13, won four silver and one bronze medal at the Berks and South Bucks County Speed Swimming Championships.
Elowyn competed in S6, which is for swimmers with short stature or amputations of both arms, or moderate coordination problems on one side of their body.
All of the other athletes with disabilities at the championships were in S9, which marks a smaller impairment, such as joint restrictions in one leg or with double below-the-knee amputations.
In the championships, swimmers’ times are recorded against their classification’s world record, meaning that the first person to finish the race isn’t necessarily the winner.
“You find out how well you have done after leaving the water,” explained Elowyn’s Mum, Anna
As the scores came in, Elowyn said she wasn’t expecting to come home with a medal, let alone five.
Also celebrating their success was the team being the Woodley Food Drive as they surpassed 200,000 items donated.
Originally called the Woodley Volunteer for Covid-19, the scheme was set up during the early stages of the pandemic to ensure no Woodley resident would be left without essential food or medicine.
It then developed with the aim of helping vulnerable families and households across the town.
February then saw the borough hit with its most extreme weather front in many years as Storm Eunice battered its way across Wokingham.
High winds brought trees crashing down, with many blocking roads. Some crushed cars as they fell. Large portions of the borough lost power, as electricity lines went down.
A tree damaged three cars and the roof of the barn at the Wade Day Centre.
It fell at the site on Reading Road, and all members and staff were inside when the tree fell — so no one was injured.
In Arborfield, a driver became trapped between two fallen trees on School Road.
“Luckily someone had a chainsaw for us to cut it up to let me out,” they said. “Absolute nightmare.”
Some Hurst residents were also left without power for three days.
A family pet has also gained a new room mate after losing his home in the stormy weather.
The rabbit’s hutch was destroyed by the wind, so he hopped over to join his neighbours in their stables.
Owner Eve Mears said that she found out about the new living arrangement for her son’s rabbit after completing late night checks on her horses.
“The sweetest thing was how gently the horses treated him,” she said. “They had even shared their food.”
Love was in the air for the Barkham Hookers as they knitted more than 1,000 yarn hearts in shades of pink and red to decorate a dress, which was being auctioned for palliative support charity, Sue Ryder.
Residents at Pinehurst Care Centre were also feeling the love as they wrote down their Valentine’s wishes, which were then shared to the centre’s social media.
Wishes included seeing family, visiting the countryside and enjoying a drink.
Vicki Pembroke, from the centre, said the post went crazy on social media.
“We’ve been contacted by quite a few people wanting to help make their simple wishes come true,” she said. “It’s been really lovely.
“The post on Facebook has reached well over 10,000 people, including one from Canada.”
Ms Pembroke said that the Valentine’s wishes were her idea.
“It’s sometimes difficult to talk about Valentine’s with residents as many of them have lost their husbands or wives so I wanted to make it about something positive and happy,” she said.
As part of this, residents had profiteroles for dessert on Valentine’s Day — which was a wish made by 92-year-old Eileen.
“One lady wished for a Vodka and coke, which her daughter dropped off,” Ms Pembroke added.
Ms Pembroke said that she posts about the care centre’s residents a lot on social media, to help families feel connected.
“Over the past two years it’s been difficult to connect to people in person so we’ve really enjoyed the connections we get this way. It’s been really heart warming,” she added.
Twyford Parish Council also announced its citizen of the year.
Gerry Wise, who coordinates the village’s adopt a street litter picking scheme, was surprised with the award after presenting his annual report to councillors on Tuesday, February 22.
The Wokingham Half Marathon returned after a year off due to the pandemic.
More than 2,500 people completed the race which featured a new route for 2022, passing through the town centre for the first time since its inception in 1984.
Starting and finishing at Cantley House, the route took runners south on Milton Road and into the town centre passing many familiar shops, bars and restaurants on their way
Joshua Close, representing Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletic Club, won the race with a time of 01:06:06, Tom Merson was second with 01:07:05, and Nicholas Torry was third with 01:07:23
Naomi Mitchell, of Reading Athletic Club, was the fastest female with a time of 01:11:53, only 44 seconds slower than the current women’s record held by Liz Yelling.
Second in the women’s race was Becky Briggs with 01:13:51, and third was Kirsteen Welch with 01:14:42.
