‘BE MORE Olly’. That was the message on our first front page of 2022, as family, friends and fellow pupils gathered in Emmer Green to mark the first anniversary of the death of teenager Olly Stephens.
The youngster was lured to Bugs Bottom by a teenage girl, met by two other teens and was fatally stabbed.
The Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, led a thanksgiving service at St Barnabas Church, also attended by Reading East MP Matt Rodda. Afterwards, people lit candles in Olly’s memory.
Olly’s parents, Amanda and Stuart Stephens said: “We need to work together as a community to reduce knife crime. Children murdering children, it has to stop.”
They pledged to work with friends to highlight the problems of knife crime among youngsters.
New Year’s honours went to a former University of Reading chef, Matthew White. He received an MBE for his leadership within the catering industry, and admitted surprise when he received the nod.
“I was really worried when I saw the Cabinet Office envelope, I wondered what I had done,” he said.
Also among the honours was Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue’s head of HR, Becci Jefferies, who received a BEM, and Ian Elgeri, a forensic manager of Thames Valley Police who had helped lead the investigation into the Forbury Gardens terrorist attack. He received an MBE.
A promise of the future was given by Talk Talk, who revealed the first details of their full fibre to the home service, offering internet speeds of up to 900mpbs. They will use the CityFibre network currently being installed across the town, which they say will be 24 times faster and five times more reliable than current services … that’s a lot of Spotify to download.
The political scene has been very lively and a hint of what was around the corner came when former Conservative mayor, Cllr David Stephens, defected to Labour. The Thames ward councillor is thought to have been the first sitting Tory in Reading to switch sides, and meant Labour had 30 councillors out of 36.
The same week, the BBC Radio 4 programme Any Questions? was broadcast live from Reading Minster church. Among the panel was seven-time failed parliamentary candidate Nigel Farage, which led to anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray, and his supporters, protesting outside. This included playing music so loud that host Chris Mason had to apologise to audiences for the disturbances.
January is the month when pantos are performed by amateur groups, and among them was the Hurst Panto Group’s A Lad In The Wild West (Aladdin set in cowboy land). Directing, and starring, was teenager Hannah Guille, a former drama scholar at The Abbey School, and member of Wokingham Stagecoach and Starmaker theatre schools.
Her assistant, Claire Lawrence, said: “Hannah is amazing. She’s only 18, but she’s grown up doing pantos. She’ll be going on to bigger and better things.”
Those looking to blast away the new year cobwebs were able to do so with the gruelling Woodcote 10k. Organised by the Rotary Club of Pangbourne, the race was won by Joe Goodwood in an impressive time of 32 minutes and 34 seconds – 49 seconds faster than any other time within the past 10 years.
The event raised more than £5,000, with 60% of that going to Parkinson’s UK.
Broad St. Mall has a reputation for organising family-friendly events, and over three days shoppers were invited to get weaving. A large loom was placed in the centre of the ground floor and people could make a community textile with a bit of help from arts collective Jelly.
It was one of the first events to take place as the country started living with covid, so many participants wore masks lest they catch the omicron variant that was doing the rounds.
The Police and Crime Commissioner, Matthew Barber, announced that he was to swap the thin blue line for the skyline to raise funds for a charity that supports emergency services staff. He was planning to climb Scafell Pike for charity in early February… and he was also giving up alcohol for a year, all to help Pilgrim Bandits.
Some traditions in January include celebrating Burns Night … as long as you can catch a haggis. To take the stress out of trying to obtain one of the wee timorous beasties, Wetherspoon announced it was once again offering some of the Scottish delicacies, along with neeps and tatties, in a special menu.
And plans to revive the Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival over a June weekend slot were announced. It hadn’t been held since 2019, due to the covid pandemic, again in its Kings Meadow home. The event attracts thousands of visitors to the town and is run by volunteers.
Reading’s Labour party warned that covid fraud cost every Reading home £156 after the chancellor wrote off £4 billion taken by fraudsters during the furlough scheme.
Cllr Liz Terry said: “Families in Reading are facing a cost in living crisis – thanks in no small part to this government. Now we know that while they are hammering people in Reading – with household budgets under huge pressure and financial support for families falling – they are, at the very same time, happy to write off more than £4 billion in fraud.”
A Reading landmark was due for demolition, but before it went, residents posed for selfies with it in a big goodbye.
The gas tower in Newtown has been derelict for years and is to be turned into flats, but ahead of its disappearance, a campaign saw the neighbours take their final snaps. A collection of them was printed in our January 26 issue.
Another picture spread in the same issue was for The Grumpy Goat in Smelly Alley. The cheesemonger and craft beer specialist hosted a 5k run, and saw 50 people take part – more than double the 20 that the shop’s team expected.
“Our customers are really supportive,” said Anne-Marie Beatty, one of the store’s owners. “People want us to do it again, so watch this space.”
The route saw runners start from the shop, go through the town centre, Christchurch Meadows, the riverside and Forbury Gardens before heading back to Smelly Alley where they were greeted with a non-alcoholic pint from Big Drop Brewing.
The event raised £300 for the Reading Refugee Support Group.
In December 2021, an arson attack took place in Rowe Court, west Reading. Two people died in the blaze which was started by a former resident.
Work to recover the bodies was hampered by efforts to make the building safe, with an exclusion zone set up around the site in case it collapsed, which was a real danger. It would have to be demolished in 4m sections starting with the most severely damaged first.
Thames Valley Police’s superintendent Steve Raffield said the building was “very delicate” and the work could lead to a spontaneous collapse.
And to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, Reading Borough Council organised a special service to remember and commemorate all victims of holocaust. The son of Viennese Jewish refugees was the guest speaker, sharing how the Nazi holocaust affected his family.
Council leader Jason Brock said the day “allows us to reflect on the lives tragically lost during the Holocaust, and in genocides that have followed across the world.
“It is a vital opportunity to learn and raise awareness, just as it also offers a chance to reflect on how to chart a way forward that seeks to bring us all together in the common pursuit of a safer, better future.”
