Page 1175 - Reading Mercury

Barkham Pre-School were pulling in some extra cash with a tombola. The money
goes into a pot and helps to buy new toys or whatever else is required.
On the other side of the field volunteers from the Ascot-based Paul Bevan Day
Hospice for cancer patients hoped to raise £300 or more in their ongoing £1-a-go Ford
Fiesta raffle.
Phil Harding, the Mayor of Wokingham who opened the carnival on Saturday
afternoon, praised all the fund-raising efforts. The carnival was arranged by the West
Forest Round Table organisers.

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Thur 23 July
A ROYAL APPOINTMENT
Rose Antink of Norreys Avenue was invited with her husband, Christian to attend
the first Royal Garden Party of the year because of her years of work as an interpreter
for the deaf and hard of hearing. At 4.00 pm she and another twenty-four guests met
the Queen who chatted with each for a few minutes.
A week later Ken and Edna Goatley of Peach Street attended the second Royal
Garden Party on Tuesday 14th for all the work he had done for charity.

th
Thur 30 July
LORD LIEUT. OPENS ROYAL BERKS AMBULANCE HQ
Royal Berkshire Ambulance’s new headquarters in Finchampstead Road,
Wokingham were officially opened by Philip Wroughton, Lord Lieutenant of
Berkshire representing the Queen as Lord Lieutenant. He unveiled a plaque at the
building on Monday.
The base is already working as the official headquarters and as the emergency
medical communications centre for the whole county. The base not only despatches
ambulances but also provides a message handling system for three large doctors’
cooperatives. The operational management team, training teams and the trust’s estates
service all operate out of the site.

Thur 27th Aug
DISMAY AS CLINIC IS AXED
The Berkshire Health Authority board has decided to close Wokingham’s Family
Planning Clinic as part of £200,000 cuts to the family planning budget. Young people
will now have to trek to Reading or Bracknell for help.
A Berkshire Health Authority spokesman said that there was no evidence that such a
move will lead to more pregnancies. The Wokingham clinic was closed because there
were concerns over the level of demand. Young people in particular responded to a
survey undertaken a few years ago which revealed that they were quite happy to travel
to another area because that safeguarded their anonymity.
The clinic at Wokingham Hospital is due to close on the 1st October when staff will
be offered alternative positions by the Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals Trust.

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Thur 3 Sept
WOKINGHAM HISTORIAN DIES
A Wokingham historian who brought the town’s past to life has died of a sudden
heart attack at the age of 77. Dennis Ayres, who lived at Heath Close, was a keen
researcher and a leading light with the Wokingham History Society. He also
contributed regularly to the Wokingham Historian Journal and the Town Guide and
helped to compile a pubs and ale houses book with author Judith Hunter. Mr. Ayres

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