Making the cover of our October 5 issue was the first on-pitch protest from Royals fans. During their game against Burton Albion, they dressed in black and, on the 16th minute, threw tennis balls on the pitch.
The minute was chosen to represent the number of points that have been deducted from Reading since Dai Yongge took ownership.
The action has continued at games since, including their FA Cup match against Eastleigh, which was televised.
To help protect the club, Reading Borough Council announced it had made the Select Car Leasing Stadium an asset of community value. In the event of the sale of the club, certain clauses will be triggered to ensure the stadium stays as a venue for football.
The Hollywood of Berkshire, Shinfield Studios, opened its doors for a preview event to press.
Screen Berkshire aims to nurture talent and remove some of the barriers that prevent people from breaking into the profession.
At the launch event, Gareth Ellis-Unwin showed off the BAFTA he won as producer of The King’s Speech.
We revealed that Oxfam was not intending to reopen its second-hand bookshop in Reading’s High Street. The store closed for refurbishment and was due to reopen in the spring, but the charity said it was not possible and it was now looking for a new location.
Reading Bridge was 100 years old, and to celebrate the mayor of Reading, Cllr Tony Page, was driven across it in some vintage vehicles.
The stunning photography of a Reading artist featured in our October 12 issue. Leslee Barron had created a 2024 calendar featuring some of her favourite images of the town, including fireworks over Newtown, and lights reflected on a very wet Broad Street.
The work of Reading’s Street Pastors was enhanced by the creation of a new safe space in the town centre. Cllr Page opened the site, which is in St Mary’s Church House, just over the way from Reading Minster. It is being used for first aid support as well as the Street Pastors, taking some of the pressure off the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s emergency department.
Work on the Newtown towpath was causing issues for The Fisherman’s Cottage. The Kennet Side pub said on some days it had no customers and no money coming because of the project to stabilise the towpath’s retaining walls and install new fencing.
Reading was seeing a 42% rise in the number of people at risk of homelessness as rising rents and mortgages caused problems for many.
Emmer Green author Rebecca Netley had her latest book, The Black Feathers, released – and discovered that her previous, The Whistling was to be adapted by The Mill at Sonning.
After another incident on Kings Road, the Green Party called for the council to look at how it could be made safer. In recent years there had been two deaths and 11 serious incidents on the main road out of east Reading.
Manchester United legend Willie Morgan dropped into Reading so he could stay at the Hilton Hotel before being awarded an MBE at Windsor Castle.
Reading mayor Cllr Tony Page dropped into The Castle Tap to celebrate a project to help people with additional needs to get work experience with a brewery. He raised his glass to the Count Me In collective which held a fundraiser at the Castle Street pub.
Carey Baptist Church announced it was launching a new congregation. The church, which is in west Reading, is now also meeting in Woodley to meet demand from its members.
And Paloma Faith announced that her new tour of the UK would begin at The Hexagon.
Travel writer Russell Maddocks took his son Francisco to San Francisco Libre in Nicaragua to celebrate Reading’s twin town. The pair met residents, documenting their stay with photos.
They climbed a volcano, visited coffee plantations, and visited a chocolate museum.
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey visited the Royal Berkshire Hospital with Wokingham parliamentary candidate Clive Jones, where he reiterated the party’s pledge to ensure cancer patients had a legal right to start their treatment within 62 days.
