Twyford

Charvil Junior Cricket Club was bowled over when more than 30 children between seven and twelve years old came to join the club on Sunday June 3.

The club’s development has been made possible by a sports development grant from Wokingham Borough Council to fund the cricket equipment. The council has also provided the facilities at East Park Farm in Charvil, where the club meets.

The club’s founder and organiser Nick Ray said: “We are overwhelmed by the response and now have 45 children registered to attend this summer. It’s simply marvellous to see the children enjoying one of our traditional summer sports. Our aim is to teach the children the basics of cricket and, above all, to make it fun.”

The good response has enabled the club to engage a professional cricket coach for the summer. Former Hampshire and Berkshire opening batsman Julian Wood will coordinate the sessions and provide expert coaching.

Champion for youth and leisure Cllr Malcolm Bryant said: “This latest boost to sports facilities will really help our young sportsmen and I wish them the very best of luck in the development of their cricket skills. It is one of many examples of improvements to sports facilities that we have seen across the borough in recent years.”

The club runs every Sunday morning between 10am and 12 noon until August 26, and takes place at East Park Farm sports ground in Charvil. Anyone interested in joining should email Nick Ray on cricket.charvil@ntlworld.com .

Wokingham Borough Council

I know that many of you are aware that I recently had another meeting with First Great Western to discuss their proposals for the December 2007 timetable. I have been holding off this email whilst waiting for Network Rail to confirm FGW’s proposals. But as this has not happened yet, I would like to let you know as much as I do at this time.

The good news is that FGW seem to be getting the message that we need more fast and semi-fast services in the morning peak. Their proposal includes more fast and semi- fast services. I could see one potential problem area where the wait between trains is longer than I would like and I raised this with FGW.

The not so good news is that FGW have submitted their proposals to Network Rail and are waiting for them to be accepted. That’s why they won’t publish details yet. Given that they have proposed more services for Twyford and Maidenhead and that in the past Network Rail has been reluctant to accept this, I have also written to Network Rail to urge them to support FGW’s proposals. Network Rail have frequently been there when I have met with First Great Western so they should understand the extent of the problem. I will be very disappointed if Network Rail are the barrier to our improvements. 

However I have only seen the proposals for the morning peak and FGW have implied to me that they have not been in a position to make many improvements in the evenings – although this is high on their agenda. It is hard for those who have seen services get steadily worse since 2004 to be asked to wait.  We need to see improvements to the evening peak, throughout the evening to the late evening service and on the branch lines with improved connection times. I will not let FGW forget that even if they improve the morning services there is still a desperate need to improve the evening services too.

But even if we get these changes they won’t be until December 2007 so I am pleased to say that FGW have listened to our complaints about the 0634 Twyford and 0641 Maidenhead service to London and plan to make improvements soon.

The frequent shortening of this service is because the Adelante train had been ear-marked as a contingency train which could be shortened in the event of failures elsewhere on the network. This is necessary because one of their Adelantes is completely out of action due to mechanical failure. I pointed out to FGW that using our service as a contingency was unacceptable – especially as this is one of our few fast morning services. It was only lengthened in March, in recognition of the unbearable overcrowding on board and FGW added an extra stop at Pangbourne to justify this.

FGW have now identified different contingency arrangements and although they could not promise that our service would never be shortened, they said that it should happen less frequently.

It will take a few weeks for this change to bed in, but once it has I would be grateful if you would keep me informed of whether this is a truly positive step.

Thank you all for your support and as ever please do keep up the pressure on FGW. If we get our improvements to the morning peak this will be a real victory but there is still so much more to achieve. I believe that our emails have made them sit up and listen. If we stop, we run the risk of making them think the problem has gone away.

Sincerely ,
Theresa

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

Criminal damage, peer influence and drug and alcohol misuse are difficult issues for young people – but community wardens from Wokingham Borough Council are determined to make sure that young Wargrave residents are well-informed about the dangers they face.

On Friday June 29, the council’s community wardens will bring together a number of partner agencies including the police, the council’s drug action team (DAT) and local police community support officers (PCSOs) to give an informative workshop for pupils at The Piggott School, Wargrave.

At the workshop pupils will learn about the effects upon the community of graffiti and vandalism, the misuse of mini motorbikes and irresponsible playing of ball games, how to handle peer pressure and bullying, and the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Wokingham Borough Council

Polehampton Cof E Junior School, Twyford PTA & Polehampton Cof E Infants School PTA Present - The Twyford Festival.

This event will be held on Saturday 7th July 2007 from 5pm til late on the Polehampton C of E Junior School field, Twyford.

Live Music includes a very "Local boy" band (5pm – 6pm) and "Blazing strings" (6pm – 10pm).

There will also be a BBQ, Licensed cash bar, Soft drinks, Cake stall, Ice cream van and Raffle.

The local boy band who will be entertaining us from 5-6pm have just taken part in the "Battle of the Bands" at the Borderline, London. They fought off stiff competition to finish in the Top 5.

There will also be a Twyford BBQ, Licensed cash bar, Soft drinks, Cake stall, Ice cream van and Raffle. Bring your own picnic blankets, gazebos, chairs and join us for this fabulous family event.

Please note there will be NO Smoking at this Twyford event.

Ticket prices in advance are £20 for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 children), or £8 per adult and £3 per child. Under 5's are FOC. The price includes BBQ.

Deadline For Applying Is Saturday 30th June 2007. On the night the tickets will be £30 for a family 4 (2 adults and 2 children), or £12 per adult and £4.50 per child.

If you have any queries please contact Sally (07985 092253), Linda (07767 634407) or Kathy (0118 934 4172)

The PTAs of the Polehampton C of E Junior and Infants School, Twyford

Thames Valley Police Museum throws its doors open to the public.

The family friendly open day is on Saturday 11 August, 10am-4pm at Thames Valley Police Training Centre at Sulhamstead near Reading. People will have the chance to tour the Museum, see the police helicopter, horses, dogs and the opportunity to meet police officers from specialist departments.

Parking is available on a first come first served basis. Admission £1 per adult and kids go free.

For further details please log on to: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/news_info/info/museum/index.htm

Thames Valley Police ~ Twyford

Passengers on buses between Twyford, Charvil, Sonning and Reading are set for a better deal after bus companies got on board with a Borough Council proposal to simplify bus travel.

Following a request from the council, bus companies Arriva The Shires and Reading Buses will from next week (June 4) accept each other’s return tickets on the 328 service (Arriva: Reading-Twyford-High Wycombe) and 126-129 services (Reading Buses: Reading-Twyford-Wokingham). Passengers will now be able to return on whichever service is the most convenient, regardless of which bus they bought their return ticket on.

Senior public transport planner Roland Clausen-Thue said: “I’m pleased that we have managed to reach this agreement with Arriva The Shires and Reading Buses. Customers will now have greater choice and flexibility in their travel, effectively offering a more frequent timetable.”

Cllr Keith Baker, executive member for Twyford highways and transport, said: “This really is a positive move by the bus companies at the suggestion of the Borough Council. This integration of different services leads to greater flexibility and passengers will now be able to travel at the time most convenient to them, irrespective of which company is running the service. I hope that many people will take advantage of this development.”

Wokingham Borough Council ~ Twyford