Page 631 - Reading Mercury

decorations. Practically all the larger shops had attractive window displays. Fairy
lights twinkled everywhere, and everyone had caught the carnival epidemic.
The sun was shining brightly on Wednesday morning, when, soon after 7.30, the
“Rag” collectors assembled at the Town Hall to receive their collecting boxes. At
eight they went into the highways and byways to try to break their previous collection
for a carnival “rag,” the splendid sum of £107 13s. 1d. raised at the 1935 carnival.
DISTRICT TOURED SUSSESSFULLY
Mention must be made of the fact that before Carnival Day they toured the district
for several nights. They sold several hundred programmes in Reading, where their
appeal was met with a ready response. The collectors even “went to the dogs,” and
there in one night 94 programmes were disposed of. It is stated that nearly 2,000
programmes were sold before Carnival day, into the area covered by the collectors,
and this included visits to Camberley, Windsor, Crowthorne, Sandhurst, Binfield and
Bracknell. The “rag” collectors certainly brightened up the proceedings with their
activities. Over 125 boxes were taken on Carnival Day. Mr. C.G. Gough, of Embrook,
carried out the duties of “rag” secretary, and the chairman of the “rag” committee was
Mr. G. Rogers. No-one could refuse them, and those who travelled in motor-cars were
held up to ransom gave generously. The collectors appeared in a variety of
costumes—highwaymen, pierrots, golliwogs, etc.
A HUGE LUMP OF COAL
Miners at Cannock and Rugeley Colliery were responsible for getting to
Wokingham the largest lump of coal ever seen in the district. The lump was given for
competition by Messrs. G.W. Talbot and Son Ltd., and guessing its weight was
conducted under the supervision of Mr. F. Miles (district manager) and Mr. E. Kelsey
(local manager). A crane had to be used in order to get the coal from the truck to their
lorry. It occupied the whole of the lorry, and was surrounded with miners’ lanterns.
Mrs. Lee and Sons, of Denmark Street, gave an iced cake for a lucky ticket
competition, the organiser being Mr. Percy Fry.
A novel competition was organised by Messrs. Stewart and Wimbleton, of Broad
Street. People were invited to estimate the number of parts of a bicycle, which was
awarded to the successful competitor.
Mrs. A. Andrews and her lady helpers 2,8?7 golden apples in connection with the
1935 carnival, and this competition again proved to be very popular. Messrs. C.H.
Smith, of Friday Street, Henley, presented the paper bags for the event.
EVENTS FOR THE CHILDREN
The children had a splendid morning’s fun. Girls from eleven to fourteen had a
tennis ball competition, and those under eleven participated in a skipping competition.
Younger boys had great difficulty in making attempts to eat treacle buns, for they
found there were as many wasps as buns, but the wasps did not retard their eagerness.
The older boys joined in a seek, find and answer race, which was very amusing.
The bandsmen of the Gordon Boys’ Home, Woking, were warmly received as they
took their places on the stage in the Market Place. The band, which is a valuable
“nursery” for Army bands, was conducted By Mr. G.D. Herniman, L.R.A.M.
(bandmaster), and gave frequent selections during the day.
Children found in the Punch and Judy show, given by Messrs. James Portland, an
amusing and interesting diversion.
Soon after 11 a.m. the first balloons shot into the air in a south-easterly direction.
They had been released by the Mayor and his party. An effort was made to beat the
result of the 1935 carnival, when 442 balloons were released, and the winning balloon

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