Page 1107 - Reading Mercury
P. 1107
When that posting came to an end with the fall of the Conservative government in
1974 his great relief was not only that he was not a terrorist target but that he was able
to move freely among his constituents again. During these years it was always a risk
working in the constituency but people were very understanding.
He is choosing to move now because he is afraid of outstaying his welcome. It is a
great mistake to go on for too long. It is far better to give up when people are saying
nice things and meaning them.
Sir William is an honorary vice president of the National Union of Students and
before the recent dissolution of Parliament he was chairman of the Education Select
Committee.
Thur 11th June
TOWN CELEBRATES A TWINNING DECADE
Carnival crazy Wokingham proved itself the perfect twin when it celebrated a
decade of twinning with Erfstadt on Saturday. There were double last year’s number
of stands and it was hoped that more than £6,000 had been raised. Some 5,000 people,
if not more, went to the carnival even though it was a blustery day.
Members of Wokingham’s Round Table together with Beazer Homes who had
organised the carnival hoped the event had raised the Twinning association’s profile
in the town. According to Mayor John Green the Round Table put together a splendid
show and the excellent standard of floats this year showed that a tremendous amount
of hard work had gone into them.
Blonde bombshell Cathy Reeves, Wokingham’s seventeen-year-old carnival queen
led the procession in an open top BMW to the Cantley Carnival field.
Gusts of wind buffeted the helicopter bringing Radio 210’s top DJ Graham Ledger
to open the carnival. The radio station had helped to organise a huge tea party for 500,
one of the main attractions. Unfortunately the party suffered a hiccup when the power
failed on the water heaters and the organisers had to resort to orange squash.
Nevertheless the children had an opportunity to meet the Tetley Tea Folk, Sidney and
Brew Gaffer and sample slices of a giant three-foot square cake made by Wilfred
Bailey & Sons of Crowthorne.
Tetley who were celebrating their 150th anniversary, laid on an afternoon of street
entertainment which included a fight between two 30-foot foam Japanese wrestlers.
Meanwhile sheepdogs, Spot, Flo, Bill and Kate impressed the crowd with their
sheep and duck rounding up skills. The carnival show rounded off with a thrilling
wild west show as Firecloud and his braves besieged a group of settlers with bullets
and fire.
In the judging of the floats the trade section was won by the Wokingham Chamber
of Trade and Commerce who entered the procession for the first time. The youngsters
of Wokingham’s Red Cross group won the youth section while the 3rd Wokingham
guides and 5th Wokingham scouts won the Under-12 section with their twins float,
including real-life twins Harriet and Sam Wilde. The huge wedding cake float was
won by the Wokingham Town Twinning Association.
Pam Wilde of the Twinning Association carried off second prize in the grand draw,
a holiday for two in Paris, but a group of German guests from Erfstadt went home
with the lion’s share of prizes.
The carnival celebrations continued late into the night with a dance and fancy dress
party.
1105

