Community Yearbook

20 Thursday, 21 January, 2021

OCTOBER

Newbury Weekly News

Optician abused Peter’s 360 birthday wishes

A 100-year-old Thatcham man said he is“absolutely amazed” after receiving more than 300 birthday cards to mark his centenary. Peter Browne lives at Thatcham Court Bupa Care Home, which issued a call for cards to help him celebrate his 100th birthday. They had hoped for 100 cards, but received 360, one coming from as far as Australia. Mr Browne received cards from The Queen, Thatcham mayor Mike Cole, Newbury MP Laura Farris, Newbury Police Station, students from Newbury College, children from Shaw-cum- Donnington Brownies, St Bartholomew’s School and many more.

letter expletives aimed at her, as well as comments saying she was discriminating against the disabled, that she should be sued and hoping that her business went bankrupt. Mrs Jerome – who originally moved to the UK in 2009 from

A NEWBURY optician revealed she was abused and received death wishes for her busi- ness after turning away a client who refused to wear a mask in her store. Valarie Jerome, who runs an optometrists in Northbrook Street, tweeted to her 350 followers that she’d

Live music is back LIVE music made a welcome return to Arlington Arts with a great gig from local musician Nasser Bouzida (aka The Bongolian) and his band Big Boss Man. The first live show in six months was carefully planned to comply with social distancing. Drinks could only be ordered and paid for online, there was a one-way system inside the venue and e- tickets plus a revised seating plan which significantly reduced audience capacity. Did these measures destroy the atmosphere of a live show? Categorically no. After a six-month hiatus, it was great to see live music make a comeback at Arlington Arts and Big Boss Man with their retro feelgood sound were pretty much the ideal band for the job. Crusaders’ flying start HUNGERFORD Town manager Danny Robinson was delighted to see his side get off to a winning start in the National League South. Goals from Ryan Seager, James Rusby and Craig Fasanmade helped Crusaders to a 3-0 home victory over Chippenham Town. Robinson, who was taking charge of his first league match since joining the club in the summer, said: “We put in a strong performance because there was hard work, endeavour, willingness and a little bit of quality, so that was very pleasing. “It is the bare minimum that we ask for and I am just delighted for everyone who works here that we got off to a winning start. “All I want to do is create a side that people can be proud of, the supporters and the committee work so hard.” The win comes just days after they crashed out of the FA Cup, losing 4-0 away to Truro City.

had her first“anti masker” after a client wanted an eye test, but refused to wear a mask out of choice. That tweet went viral, amassing almost 9,000 likes, 500 retweets and more than 545 replies. Although Dr Jerome said 90 per cent of the replies were in support, she was horrified to find a number of four-

the US – said: “I thought at first these people are a bit harsh, but as the day goes by you see another one, and wonder ‘am I a bad person?’ “They’re saying all these things about me, and I’ve never been called these things before. I don ’t think it makes you a weak person for someone to bother you, it just makes you human.”

Bucklebury Farm up for sale

livestock and an equipped play area. It started in 1986 as a strawberry ‘pick your own ’ enterprise, but over the years has become a fully diversified tourism and visitor attraction. Recently, five ‘glamping’ tents have been built at the park..

BUCKLEBURY Farm Park was put up for sale for a guide price of £1.5m . The 72-acre site, which includes a deer safari park, is a popular attraction and consists of a number of buildings, including a café, indoor play and farm office, buildings for

Vision for future of town

THE future of the Kennet Shopping centre, which could result in 400 homes, 30 shops and a new head- quarters office on the site, was revealed. Lochailort Newbury Ltd said it will transform the outdated shopping centre into a vibrant, mixed-use, high-quality development. The new-look centre will be known as Eagle Quar- ter, after Plenty’s Eagle Iron Works, founded on what is now the south side of the Kennet Shop- ping centre, in a project to be one of the first ‘shopping centre to town centre’ regeneration initiatives in the county. Lochailort said it had taken inspiration from

Taxi rank boost for travellers

A NEW taxi rank was unveiled outside Hungerford train station. There had only been one taxi rank in the town – under the railway bridge on Station Road – but that was shared with delivery vehicles which bring supplies to the High Street shops. But the signage, Hungerford town councillor Rob Chicken said , was confusing and often led to arguments between taxi drivers and lorry drivers. But Mr Chicken said that the new taxi rank, located outside the cycle racks at the front of the station, were now fully operational. He said that having a rank at the station was“what taxi drivers had been waiting a long time for”, adding

the town’s heritage, and the mixed-use project will combine around 30 new flexible shops, restaurants and co-work- ing spaces, with a focus on independent, local and artisan businesses. The plans also include enhancements to the existing cinema and food area, plus improvements

to the current multi- storey car park, includ- ing additional parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points. Accompanying the shops, around 400 multi- family homes, including a significant proportion purposely-designed for rent, are included in the scheme.

that when he spoke to one driver he was “over the moon about it”. He added:“ It means visitors coming to our town by train can be sure of getting a taxi as soon as they arive, and make them feel welcome.”

Other Mental Health Support during Coronavirus If you need mental health support, please contact Talking Therapies or the Common Point of Entry (CPE) team. You will be able to speak with a mental health practitioner who will direct you to the right service, including support from the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team. Talking Therapies 0300 365 0200 Visit Talking Therapies Berkshire website CPE 0300 365 0300 Mental Health Crisis Team If you need urgent help, but it’s not an emergency, you can call the Mental Health Crisis Team 0300 365 0300 or 0300 365 9999 If you need someone to talk to, you can also contact Sane Line 0300 304 7000 (open 4.30pm – 10.30pm every day) Visit www.sane.org.uk Samaritans 116 123 (24 hours every day) Visit www.samaritans.org

For more information check out our website www.eightbellsnewbury.co.uk Email: coordinator@eightbellsnewbury.co.uk WE NEED YOUR HELP During this crisis the staff, members and trustees at Eight Bells are working hard to support those who are struggling emotionally and mentally. To do this Please donate via the Good Exchange via the following link:- https://tinyurl.com/NWN8Bells Or alternatively text EIGHTBELLS to 70660 to donate £3