Queen Victoria Jubilee Fountain, Totnes
Totnes Jubliee Drinking Fountain was erected in 1904 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. It has been located on The Plains since 1988 but it was originally situated on Station Road on a site donated by the Great Western Railway.
Bacalhao com natas
For our sixth takeaway Sunday lunch from Pau Brasil on Mount Pleasant, Reading during social-distancing and the lockdown, we chose, bacalhao com natas served with cassava chips and greens.
A sea of fly tipping – Woodley Arms car park 2 May 2020
Once upon a time the Woodley Arms on Waldeck Street was a thriving and well loved public house. The brewery, Greene King, sold the pub when it closed eight years ago in 2012. It waited patiently as the years past and the developer submitted a succession of planning applications. It is now a very sorry and sad site with the former car park a sea of discarded furniture, tyres and general household rubbish in black bin bags.
Stinkpipe
This tall and probably once very beautiful stinkpipe is in central Reading on a major bus route. It has avoided our stinkpipe spotters for many years although it is scarcely hidden.
Shredded Beef and Cassava Casserole
For our fifth takeaway Sunday lunch from Pau Brasil on Mount Pleasant, Reading during social-distancing and the lockdown, we chose shredded beef and cassava casserole, served with the white beans, rice and greens. We are thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to eat our way through a range of Brazilian dishes.
Poulton & Sons head office 185 Elgar Road c1900-1909 courtesy Reading Borough Council (Reading Library)
The National Archives at Kew are currently closed and have made some of their digitised records available free of charge until they re-open. Downloadable documents include some historic wills, a selection of military service records including British Army medal cards 1914-1920 and pages from the Domesday Book.
Engine House and Screen House at Blake’s Lock
Thames Water have submitted an application for listed building consent to replace the doors and windows on the sewage pumping station at Blake’s Lock. Town centre sewage is pumped from here to the sewage treatment works in Whitley.
View down Mount Pleasant
Up here on Katesgrove Hill we have grown used to the tall crane at the corner of Crown Street and Silver Street. Piece by piece it has been dismantled and loaded onto lorries. By late morning on Thursday 23 April it had all but disappeared.
Chicken with chorizo and chick peas
For our fourth takeaway Sunday lunch from Pau Brasil on Mount Pleasant, Reading during social-distancing and the lockdown, we chose chicken with chorizo and chick peas in a rich tomato and piri-piri sauce.
Green Park Station
Whitley Pump reader Andrew Coltman sent us some photographs of the site of Green Park railway station on the line between Reading and Basingstoke. It looks like the land has been cleared ready for building to commence.
The Hallowing of the Church at Reading Abbey by Thomas Becket in 1164. Oil on canvas by Stephen Reid – 1920 © Reading Museum (Reading Borough Council)
Henry I founded Reading Abbey in 1121 but it was not consecrated until 19 April 1164 during the reign of his grandson Henry II. The ceremony was carried out by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket and was attended by the King and his noblemen.
The grass paths across Waterloo Meadows were mown on 16 April and the meadows are looking especially beautiful at the moment.
Tofu & Vegetables Noodle Pot
After our first foray for shopping at Fidget & Bob on Kennet Island we decided that we should try out their noodle pots. Three flavours are available and we have now tried all of them. Our two favourites are Won Ton Dumplings and Tofu & Vegetables especially with extra chilli.
Waterloo Meadows Sustrans Path
The path along the north bank of the Kennet through Waterloo Meadows has now been surfaced. This is part of improvements that Sustrans are carrying out to the pedestrian and cycle route.
Whitley Street 25 June 2018
A planning application has been submitted for a change of use of the former Loans 2 Go and HSBC premises at 81 Whitley Street to a restaurant and hot food takeaway.
Coconut ice cream
We have enjoyed three takeaway Sunday lunches from Pau Brasil on Mount Pleasant, Reading during social-distancing and the lockdown. This is becoming a habit! Pau Brasil also now has a website and online shop.
Fobney Lock
John Dearing has kindly assembled for us a selection of poems, mostly very short, mainly inspired, if that is the right word, by the familiar scenes in and around Katesgrove and the River Kennet.
Chicken with white beans, rice, greens, vegetables and manioc flour
Our first ever take-away Sunday lunch from Pau Brasil on Mount Pleasant, Reading, was so good that we decided to do it again. This time we tried a different option of chicken breast with white beans, greens and rice. The beans are the stars of this meal and must definitely contain a secret ingredient that makes them so delicious.
Thomas Homes on Silver Street on 26 March 2020
Sterling Square, on the corner of Silver Street and Crown Street in Katesgrove, has been steadily going up over the past three years. We have observed the progress on the beautifully tidy Thomas Homes site.
Fidget & Bob behind the Kennet Island water feature
Unlike some of our fellow Whitley Pump contributors, we have been a bit slow to visit Fidget & Bob at Kennet Plaza. It is on one of several possible routes to or from the Madejksi Stadium and we have usually rushed past in the blur of getting to the game on time. It was time to drop by; we need our local businesses more than ever in these times of social distancing and lockdown.
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