Page 902 - Reading Mercury

has spent most of his life in the cycle trade, Mr. Stewart was not himself a great
cyclist. He is an accomplished bowler, and no mean opponent on a billiards table. In
the past few years he has been in poor health but there is now an improvement which
he hopes will be maintained.
I asked Mr. Stewart if the great post-war increase in the number of car-owners had
been reflected in a decrease in the demand for cycles and was surprised to learn that
more cycles were being sold now than before the war. “Youngsters are more keen on
cycling than they used to be,” he said, and added that this might be attributed in part
to the great improvement in the machines, with new light-weight alloys and better
gearing.

th
Sat 15 Feb
WEATHER RECORDS
The meteorological records kept by the borough for 1957 show that there was a total
of 25.76 inches of rain, .47 inch above the average for the past 57 years. The wettest
year on record was 1903 (38.97 inches). More than .01 inch of rain fell on 165 days in
1957, the highest record being 218 days in 1910. The average over the past 57 years is
167.75, the first move from 168 since 1948. The heaviest rainfall in 1957 was on
rd
th
September 23 (.78 inch), the wettest day on record being May 25 , 1911 (1.97
inches). The lowest temperature recorded during 1957 was 20 degrees (on the night of
th
th
December 15 /16 ), the lowest recorded since records began in May, 1948, was 11
th
degrees on January 27 1954. The highest temperature of 1957 was three degrees
th
th
short of the record of 93 degrees on July 29 , 1948, and occurred on June 29 .

WOKINGHAM TOWN COUNCIL
The Siting Of A Siren
A great deal of time was spent at Thursday’s meeting of the Wokingham Town
Council in discussing the removal of the air-raid siren—now used as a fire warning—
from the roof of the police station, and replacing it on a steel tower near the Methodist
church, Rose Street. The matter was referred to in three committee reports, and in
accepting that of the Plans and Town Planning Committee the council agreed to
inform the Chief Fire Officer of their great concern over the proximity of the new site
to the Methodist Church, and ask for “every possible alternative” to be considered.
The Town Clerk reported that the siren was being moved at the request of the Chief
Constable—with the police force undergoing a reorganisation he could not guarantee
to have a man on duty throughout the day who was available to sound the siren.
Another reason for the move was that the vibration of the siren was damaging the
police station roof. There would be a certain amount of inconvenience to worshippers
at the Methodist Church, said the Town Clerk, but added that records showed that
during the past year the siren had been sounded for a total of only five minutes during
the opening hours of divine service. In future the siren would be operated by remote
control from Reading, and he understood this would result in a saving of time. The
Town Clerk, answering a question from the report of the Plans and Town Planning
Committee, said that the council had no statutory authority to dispute the siting of the
siren, providing it did not conflict with the proposed development plans.

nd
Sat 22 Feb
CHRISTOPHER FINDS BOMB
A Wokingham Discovery

900