Santa on a superbike

Its become a family tradition now, each year at the beginning of December we go and watch the local Toy Run. 1700 bikers got dressed up and gathered toys then rode out in convoy to a school in Wokingham to hand the presents over to the children. Its a sight to behold as the miles of bikes stream past for almost an hour.

Christmas singalong

Along with seasonal tat shops, tree sellers on the side of the road and festive lights. the Salvation Army band in town entertaining the crowds is a mainstay of Christmas. Today they were in full voice on Broad St for an hour.

Winter sun

Following days of rain, the sunshine is back. Low in the sky, annoying in your eyes whilst driving or walking winter sun. Perfect for a walk into town along the river.

Black history mural

Over a decade ago, a Reading artist was commissioned to paint a massive mural dedicated to the ethnic community of Reading. At 36m long and 10m high it dominates the IDR that it stands alongside.

Heavy rain

The last few days have seen some monster rain, hours and hours of downpours that have left roads flooded and fields swamped. This is the flood plains adjacent to the A33 doing their job.

Old Farm Pond

I use to live in Earley before moving down to Lower Earley over a decade ago. When I was growing up it really was "all fields" then the houses started to be built and the largest housing estate in Europe emerged. Several parts of the old land survive including cottages and the pond that was in the grounds of Old Farm. For safety its now fenced off with coppiced trees and its full of reeds, but if you peek through the gaps you can still see the pond. As children we always thought some boggy beast roamed around under the surface, kind of like Lower Earleys own Nessey!

Polish Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In the 1980s, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Reading was scheduled for demolition. The Polish people of Reading took it over and just recently its started to be renovated. Its like a brand new building now as the decades of grime have been removed to reveal the golden stonework beneath.

 

Kennet Walk gasworks

Having no work van to get home in and a bit of time before picking Lily up, I decided to take a few snaps on the way home then catch the bus. The first bus was full, the second never came so I walked the five miles home, the first part along the banks of the canal. Towering over the back of Newtown and the point the canal joins the Thames is one of Readings gasometers. Being late afternoon in autumn is almost empty!

The Blade

Continuing the Reading theme this week. The Blade is the most modern building in the town, built a couple of years ago and stretching almost 130m into the sky. Some pour scorn on it and claim it as an eyesore, I actually quite like it. Its something different and the first part of a huge redevelopment of the town as it fights for city status.

St Marys Church

When I first started this photo a day blog, I wanted to capture some local sights. As I have a week based in Reading I thought it best to use it wisely. On route from the pie shop I passed a building I've never really noticed before. St Marys Church on Castle Street. It looks a bit intimidating  as a place of worship, but thats because its an old gaol. In 1798 the Bishop and some local parishioners fell out and they decided to start up a new chapel nearby in this building. Adapting it from a place of confinement to a place of worship.

Roadside memorial

I've driven past it hundreds of times but never knew what it was. Finally today I had the chance to pull over and take a proper look at this unusual little castle that stands by the side of the road just outside Nettlebed. Its a memorial to the 343rd US Army Engineers who were based nearby during the war. There always seems to be fresh flowers next to it when ever I pass by.

Christmas is coming!

Its only just November and already the festive decorations are going up in town. Theres some lights and this rather odd silver tree. I guess it looks better at night!

Rubbery!

I needed some seals for an install at work. A search online found a couple of places that could help, but it was difficult to see exactly what they were selling. A trip to Hills Rubber was in order. This shop is old school, really old school. They've been in business in Reading since the 1880s and stock all sorts of seals, sheets and gaskets, of course they had just what I needed and some good advice thrown in for free. An old poster on the wall shows the stock was some what different decades ago!

Clothing blast from the past

Ten or fifteen years ago I used to frequent a shop in the Broad St Mall called Cavaliers. It sold printed t-shirts, dog tags and various other gothy goodies (I was a semi Goth, I wore an Iron Maiden t-shirt and didn't wash!) Fast forward and its now a clothing print shop and has moved from its dark and dingy location to a warehouse unit. I was shocked to learn it had moved about five years ago and I hadn't noticed. Even more shocked to learn it first opened in Reading in 1976!

The big clearup

August bank holiday is Reading Festival time, the great unwashed descend on the town for several days and create havoc! Each year I manage to avoid the place and the only signs of it are the AA signs. This lucky chap was removing several miles of them from the routes in from the M4 today.

Patriotic shopping

With the Jubilee and Olympics this year a lot of the shops in town have the bunting up and the flags out. John Lewis (or Heelas to everyone over the age of  25!) went all out this weekend with a massive Union Flag slung under their impressive frontage.

Skyline

Todays theme was skylines, there are some impressive skylines around the world. Reading is trying to get in on the act with its Blade building that now dominates the view from the office window.

Over flowing

After the last weeks rain fall, it was a pleasant surprise to wake up this morning to glorious sunshine. Having finished my rooftop job and returned to the office I took a stroll around town at lunch time and ventured down to County Lock, its the lock on the River Kennet just before The Oracle. The water level at the shopping centre was just below the footpaths so I knew the3 lock would be bad. The water was a lot higher than normal, where usually there is a drop off a weir of a few feet the water was heading straight over in torrents. Its so fast at this point that the local fire brigade use it for river rescue practise.

Keep on running

For the first time we had somebody to cheer on in the Reading Half Marathon today. Two people in fact. Kims cousin, Jo was running as was Lynette. A work friend. With several thousand people coming past its very difficult to spot anyone you know, eyes flick back and forward like a barcode scanner looking for the right colour number and then checking the faces to confirm. It was tricky and we missed getting a nice shot of Jo as she sped past in a big group. Luckily Nette was in a part of the massive group that had thinned out a tiny bit and with lots of pairs of eyes we saw her with a few seconds to spare. She was smiling as she passed by and with good reason. Her target time was about two and half hours and she completed it in 2hrs 33 mins.

The Abbey

Founded in 1121, Reading Abbey is tucked away behind the towns library and some shops, hidden from view. In 1538 it was mostly destroyed during Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries. It survived on and off as a town hall until that too fell into ruin. Up until 2009 you were able to walk around the ruins and open air theatre was held inside, but due to further weakening of the remains its been fenced off during a restoration process. This is going to cost well over £1M and so its been put on hold until at least 2013. Its a massive shame that we can build a huge building like The Blade but can't find the funds to retain one of Readings most important sites.