DECEMBER started with a celebration of everything that is great about Reading with the annual Pride of Reading Awards held on Friday, December 2.
There were 16 awards presented including charity of the year, community champion, child of courage, and cultural contribution.
A special recognition award was presented to members of the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre, which is part of the Association of Ukraine in Great Britain, for its work helping people leaving our European neighbour, and sending aid to those who have stayed behind despite Russia’s illegal invasion.
And host Chris Tarrant made a donation of £5,000 to Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice.
The event opened with a champagne reception, before guests were entertained by singers Danyl Johnson, Paul Rouse, Bethia, and Kitty Mazinzky.
Afterwards, event hosts Mel Bloor and Matt Allwright welcomed people and introduced the proceedings, which included a heartfelt tribute to one of the driving forces of the Pride of Reading awards, Hilary Scott.
The former deputy editor of the Reading Evening Post helped launch the awards and bring Chris Tarrant on board as host.
It was announced that there would be a special award, in her honour, in next year’s Pride of Reading.
The winners were:
- Charity of the Year, sponsored by ROC Search: Chemogiftbags and founder Lynne Shipton
- School of the Year, sponsored by Qwerty: Theale Green
- Business in Action under 50 employees, sponsored by Boyes Turner: The Blagrave Arms
- Business in Action over 50, sponsored by Boyes Turner: Haslams
- Fundraiser of the Year, sponsored by Cream Design: Sam Clarke!
- Employee of Year, sponsored by Reading Buses: Reading Borough Council’s Valbona Demiri
- Cultural Contribution, sponsored by M&G Real Estate: Kalakunj Performing Arts Group
- Special recognition award: Reading Ukrainian Community Centre
- The Chris Tarrant Pride of Reading Award, sponsored by The Oracle: Lola-Bella Teague
- Child of Courage, sponsored by IQVIA: Holly Baxter
- Community Champion, sponsored by Reading Football Club: Sylvia Simmonds
- Volunteer/Volunteers of the Year, sponsored by AB Walker: Grassrootz led by Kelvin Husbands
- Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Macbeth Insurance: Claire Anderton-Bell
- Community of the Year, sponsored by Hilton Reading: The Weller Centre
- The Inspiration Award, sponsored by McDonalds: Daniel Pringle
- Mental Health Champion, sponsored by Lynne Pyke: Smelly Wellies
- Local Hero, sponsored by Green Park: Joel Richards
Interval and finale entertainment came from Readikids, some of the young stars of Berzerk Productions and Starlet Dance School, campaigner Charlie Kristensen, and 80s pop legend Nick Heyward.
The ‘Ding continued to shine in December as craft enthusiasts lit up the streets for the town’s Christmas lantern parade.
Hundreds lined Broad Street for the procession entitled Dance of the Fireflies, which was organised by Reading Improvement Districts through REDA, Beautiful Creatures Theatre, Jelly and AV Events.
The council funded three of the lantern-making workshops held at venues across the town in the lead up to the main event.
Zsuzsi Lindsay, Reading Borough Council culture placemaking officer, said: “It was fantastic. We had hundreds of people come down for the event, with the procession led by drummers down Broad Street and ending up at Forbury Gardens. It was such a lovely atmosphere.
“Especially after a tough few years, people were really excited to get out there and take part. Reading Buses offering free travel was great in terms of the cost of living crisis, ensuring that everything remained cost-free as much as possible.”
Members of the public watched on with amazement as the lit lanterns followed the glowing fireflies headed towards Forbury Gardens.
The event brought the community together as old and young celebrated the festive season.
With Christmas just around the corner, Santa’s were busy delivering presents – but not on a sleigh.
Thousands of Santa’s and Minions took to the streets of Reading and Wokingham on their motorbikes for the 36th running of the Reading Christian Motorcyclists’ Toy Run
Gifts were delivered to High Close School to be given to children who might not otherwise receive presents this festive season.
New and experienced participants were blessed with ideal conditions as the course stayed dry throughout the event.
The Revd Sean Stillman, one of the event’s organisers, said: “It went really well, we had a great turnout with around 1,600 participants altogether coming from far distances.
“As always, we are hugely grateful to those who took part as riders and for the community’s support and volunteers. We have a team of 20 people called the road crew who take care of logistics, signage and liaising with the council and police, as well as 100 volunteer marshalls.
“For a volunteer effort, it’s not bad. Most of those working relationships have come out of doing the Toy Run, so it really is a communal venture from start to finish.”
At the time of writing, the group had exceeded their £1,500 target and were close to £2,000.
Kris Kringle wasn’t finished there as hundreds of red robed runners took part in a charity fun run.
The Rotary Club of Reading held its annual Santa Run at a new venue – the grounds of the University of Reading.
There were two-routes with an accessible option making it a family-friendly event, the only proviso is they had to run wearing a Santa suit or Elf costume.
And given the very cold temperatures – the mercury was just above freezing – it was almost as if the race was taking place in the North Pole.
Eydis Bjornsdottir, one of the organising team, was delighted with how the event had gone.
“The new venue was winter wonderful, the white fog and frosty trees were absolutely beautiful and incredibly festive,” she said.
Saint Nick wasn’t the only famous face to come to the ‘Ding in December as Ant Middleton visited Waterstones on Broad Street for a book signing, which saw many queueing before 9am to meet him.
The former soldier and marine, who featured on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, was signing copies of his second novel, Red Mist, following on from the success of his previous literary works.
Royal Berkshire Hospital staff were celebrating as its Intensive Care Unit took home the Trust of the Year award at the Intensive Care Awards
The award came in recognition of their hard work treating the sickest patients at their toughest times.
Helen McCarthy, the ICU sister who nominated them, said: “It has been an immensely challenging few years.
“I’m humbled every time I walk onto the unit, at the dedication shown by every single member of the team caring for our patients.”
The Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust also won in the Team Support category.
This was awarded to the ICU’s health and wellbeing team for their work to make sure that staff feel supported, valued and able to develop in their careers.
The Royal Berkshire Hospital appeared in our coverage again as nursing staff joined in a walkout across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland after ministers refused to reopen pay negotiations.
The Royal College of Nursing said that it had “no choice” but to take industrial action due to the government “not listening” regarding the protection of staff.
Around 40 people were attending the picket line outside the Craven Road entrance of the hospital, including the Royal College of Nursing’s general secretary, Pat Cullen.
Speaking at the picket line, Ms Cullen said: “Nurses should not shy away from the fact that they are entitled to a decent salary for the fantastic jobs that they do.
“If we are going to address the retention and recruitment issues within nursing, then they have to be paid a decent salary to do that.
“But this is about much more than pay – this is about us being able to provide safe care for our patients.”
With the time of new beginnings fast approaching in January, Reading Borough Council announced the opening of the new sports and leisure facilities in Palmer Park on Monday, December 19.
The facility includes a brand new, 25-metre, six-lane swimming pool, a 100-station gym, a velodrome, and an athletics stadium.
It also features new changing rooms and toilets, as well as an information hub, soft play facilities, and a cafe on site.
There are also specialist installations such as the Pool Pod, which allows those with mobility needs to enter and exit the pool in a safe and discreet way.
Cllr Adele Barnett-Ward, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Leisure and Culture, said: “I am delighted residents will be able to enjoy the new and improved facilities over the Christmas break.
“Those of us making New Year resolutions to go to the gym more often will also have a 100-station gym with beautiful views across the park.”
