THE month started with Wokingham remembering the fifth of November on Saturday as the annual firework display took place, with all tickets sold out.
Ten thousand people took part in a torchlit procession from Market Place to Cantley Park, before enjoying the night sky display.
Headed up by Wokingham borough mayor, Cllr Caroline Smith, 10-year-old mini mayor Jayden Hawie, and four year old poster competition winner Scarlett Kay, those taking part could enjoy music from Saint Sebastian Wokingham Band.
Cllr Smith was full of praise for the event, and thanked everyone for their tremendous efforts, organisation, and contributions.
Then the firework display, created by MC Productions Group, was started by the mayor, with the help of Jayden and Scarlett.
Together they led the crowd in a countdown to the 30-minute spectacle.
The event was organised by members of Wokingham Rotary Club, Easthampstead Rotary Club, Wokingham Lions Club, Windsor Forest Unicorn Club, and Thames West Unicorn Club.
The event raised more than £30,000 for good causes chosen by the groups.
This year, that included Wokingham Foodbank, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, Bracknell Foodbank, Tropic of Cancer, Farnborough Air Sciences Trust Museum, Life Education Wessex and Thames Valley, and Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice Service.
The former Wokingham Post Office in Broad Street was recognised by Wokingham Borough Council as a building of traditional character following efforts from the Wokingham Society.
The Wokingham Society has obtained agreement from Wokingham Borough Council that a Broad Street property should be recognised as a building of traditional local character.
It is the third property in the town to be listed in this category, just below that of listed structures maintained by Historic England.
The other two locations with this status are numbers 61 and 63, Peach Street.
The Council’s rules mean that the award “does not result in itself in any additional planning controls, but it is a material consideration in assessing any planning application for demolition, alteration or extension”.
Members of The Wokingham Society met with Cllr Lindsay Ferris, executive member for planning and local plan, to celebrate the building’s recognition.
The building, designed by David Dyke and completed in 1932, is considered to be a fine example of Neo-Georgian style architecture.
Peter Must, chairman of the Wokingham Society, said: “Wokingham, as an old market town, has a considerable number of distinctive buildings and other structures.
”We believe that affording listed or local recognition to as many of them as possible will help to preserve Wokingham’s rich architectural heritage.
“The Post Office is a magnificent building in its own right, and it needs some protection from development.
“The rules for this nomination were, quite rightly, fairly stringent, and we are glad to say that the council accepted our application.”
A bench to commemorate the bravery of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse was unveiled in Sonning.
Maidenhead MP Theresa May joined Professor Alexis Jay to mark the moment which was part of a project that is seeing benches installed across the country.
The borough’s bench has been placed in King George V Field in the village, and its motto reads: “Every child deserves love, guidance, understanding and protection”. This was a message from a victim and survivor who gave evidence to an independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.
At the launch, Professor Jay paid tribute to the thousands of victims and survivors who made a contribution to the Inquiry’s work:
“We now have over 100 benches and plaques around England and Wales, a fitting tribute to all victims and survivors.
“The immense contribution victims and survivors have made to this Inquiry is something we will be forever grateful for; their experiences have informed every aspect of our work and have helped to ensure children now, and in the future, are better protected from this devastating crime.”
Mrs May added: “I’d like to thank Professor Alexis Jay and her panel for the work they have done in helping society confront this issue and for finding ways to help put an end to this appalling crime.
“And I’d like to pay tribute to all those who have had the courage to speak out and who did so to save the next generation of children from the abuse they suffered.”
The borough once again pulled out all the stops to ensure the annual season of remembrance was a fitting memorial to those who paid the ultimate price for peace.
Prior to Armistice Day, the main focus was on the Poppy Appeal store that opened in Peach Place. Then, on Friday, November 11, at 11am, Wokingham Town Mayor Cllr Maria Gee led a short moment of reflection, including a two-minute silence.
On Sunday, the borough held a number of services and moments of reflection to ensure people had an opportunity to take part.
Hurst’s Remembrance service on Sunday started with a short procession including Winnersh Royal British Legion and the village’s Scouting and Guiding movements.
A two-minute silence was held and two guides read out the names of the Hurst people who died in the two world wars.
At the war memorial in the churchyard a bugler played the Last Post.
Wreaths were laid by the British Legion, the Scouts and Guides, Wayne Smith for Hurst Parish Council and Edward Buckingham for St Nicholas Church Parish Council.
The Scouts paraded in Twyford to St Mary’s Church, where an act of remembrance took place around the war memorial in the churchyard with hundreds in attendance.
Finchampstead held its first service in the Memorial Park, following the move of the war memorial.
The Barkham Hookers played their part in decorating postboxes across the village. In Woodley, Ronnie Goodberry was among those who helped organise a service around its war memorial in Woodford Park.
Arborfield residents gathered around Arborfield Cross, and were joined by Sir John Redwood.
The Wokingham MP was also in the procession that formed up in Market Place in Wokingham’s town centre on Sunday afternoon.
Due to renovation works taking place in All Saints Church, the civic service, also attended by Wokingham town councillors, was held at St Paul’s on Reading Road.
The procession was headed up by the Saint Sebastian Wokingham Band, while the service was led by Richard Lamey, canon of St Paul’s. Afterwards, wreath laying took place in Wokingham town hall.
Beech Hill Memorial Hall’s event saw more than 80 visitors, young and old, light torches at the village green before walking up to the memorial hall.
Organiser Anton Roberts said: “Everyone has busy lives so it’s important to enjoy events like this as a village, grabbing a bite to eat at the end. It was a great opportunity to talk about what’s been going on in the village.”
With one of the hottest summers on record a distant memory, attention turned to how to protect the most vulnerable in our community as winter set in
Wokingham Borough Council invited organisations and groups within its boundaries to run warm spaces.
Co-ordinated by The Hardship Alliance, the initiative aims to ensure anyone struggling to heat their homes has access to support close to where they live.
The spaces will allow residents to stay warm while their heating is off at home, while also maintaining social interactions over fun activities.
Emma Cantrell, chief executive officer of First Days Children’s Charity and member of the Hardship Alliance, said: “These spaces will be somewhere anyone can go, be treated fairly, get help if they need it and ensure those who need us most get the support they need.”
Shinfield Parish Council launched its own warm hub on Monday, November 14, providing a weekly heated room in the School Green Centre.
Shinfield Parish clerk Bruce Winton said: “Unfortunately, there is a need for them and it’s sad that we have to do it, but we’re very happy, as a parish council, to be offering a service like this.”
Help hub network Torch also organised warm banks in Earley and Lower Early seven days a week, rotating between the Salvation Army, St Nicholas, Lower Earley Baptist Church, Brookside and Trinity.
No winter in Wokingham is complete without The Wokingham Winter Carnival.
Despite a damp start to the day, an estimated 20,000 people came to enjoy the event.
The winter celebration was spread throughout the town, with a funfair that stretched from Broad Street to Peach Street.
Tim Hanton, chair of Wokingham Lions Club who were organising the event for the first time welcomed everyone to the carnival, and began by thanking all the committee members, who have been working on the project for the last ten months.
Wokingham Town mayor, councillor Maria Gee then opened the event, along with her mayor’s consort Chris Gee, and mini mayor Jayden Hawie.
Visitors enjoyed fairground rides and free all-day entertainment from the Market Place stage, with performances from a number of choirs and music groups.
The day’s festivities ended with a traditional carol concert, the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Market Square, and a laser show that lit up the town.
Following the event, Mr Hanton said: “We were really pleased with the Winter Carnival this year.
“We had more stalls than last year and the initial feedback from the charity stalls is that they have done really well, which is fantastic as that is part of the aim of the day to support the local charities in Wokingham.”
A light-hearted story we covered was the discovery of the largest chip in the United Kingdom – well not quite.
Alistair Coleman, 56 and living near Wokingham, discovered the extraordinarily long teatime treat in a £1.50 packet of Waitrose Essentials Crinkle Cut oven chips.
Although the Guinness World Records says that there is no known record for the longest chip, this would have been a contender at almost the length of a standard fork.
Sadly, Mr Coleman won’t be able to brandish anything other than a photo should it need verification – he liked the chip so much, he ate it.
