Community Yearbook

21 Thursday, 21 January, 2021

NOVEMBER

Newbury Weekly News

Silence for the fallen Catherine’s a solo star

Musicians mourn

A BURGHCLERE teenager become the youngest girl in the UK to fly a plane solo. Downe House school pupil Catherine Skipworth enjoyed her first solo flight on her 16th birthday, October 20, a year before she can drive a car. She flew the Piper Warrior PA28-161 four-seater for seven minutes, completing one circuit of White Waltham airfield before landing safely, beating the previous holder Ellie Carter from Devon, who flew solo three days after turning 16 .

No catching Cloth Cap CLOTH Cap stormed to victory in the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury for trainer Jonjo O’Neill and jockey Tom Scudamore. Consistent jumping saw the eight-year-old pull away from Aye Right in second and last year’ s runner-up, The Conditional , who was third. Nicky Henderson’s Beware The Bear finished fifth, while fellow Lambourn trainer Warren Greatrex had La Bague Au Roi in eighth. O’Neill was quick to praise the form of Cloth Cap after the race and said:“He has been in tremendous form all year.” Scudamore, who has won this race on three occasions now, was confident with his chances in the Grade 3 Steeple Chase. He said:“The important bit was over the first four or five fences because I didn’t want to get too far back as I wouldn ’t be able to get at them. “I have won this three times now and we always thought it was a classic, so to come out and win it again is brilliant.” The last word went to Dave’s brother Ricky: “He was a source of inspiration on the musical side. There was a telepathy between us. every gig I do in the future I will be thinking of him. As the song goes, ‘I will see him in my dreams’. NEWBURY musicians mourned one of their own – guitarist Dave Hicks, a founder member of Newbury’s legendary and much- loved band Ricky and the Gamblers Dave decided he was going to form a band in the 60s – The Gamblers, consisting of himself, his cousin Pete Fry and the late Johnny Kitch- ener. His mother said he couldn’t form a band without his brother, hence Rick joined and the band became Ricky and the Gamblers. They toured various village halls and town halls across the South and went on to sign to the independent record label Major Minor. Dave was very surprised by the popularity of the band, but very appreciative of the fans that they had – and there were hundreds of them. This also showed, in the last few years, when they re-formed to play some more of their old haunts, including the Liberty Ballroom, Greenham, where tickets sold out within hours of release. Dave was not only a guitar player, but also a very good vocalist. He sang and played rhythm guitar in Snatch, The Rascals and The Ilsleys.

NEWBURY fell silent to honour the fallen – but it was a Remembrance Day service like no other due to the national coronavirus restrictions. A small, scaled-back service was held at the War Memo- rial on Bartholomew Street, but people were urged to stay away and ‘Remember from Home’ instead to help curb the spread of the virus. The event was live streamed online and on the radio in the hope that the public would not attend, but a small crowd – most of whom were socially distanced and wearing face masks– did turn up to pay their respects. The service was led by the Rev Kerry Eynon, who gave an address before the Exhortation was read by the chaplain of the Newbury

Highwood Copse completed

branch of the Royal British Legion, Chris Green. The sound of the Last Post, played by bugler Edwin Vogel, then reverberated around the town before a two-minute’ s silence was impeccably observed. The Kohima Epitaph and

prayer was read by Dave Glover, friend of the Burma Star Association, whose father Ronald was chairman of the Newbury branch of the Burma Star Association. A number of specially- invited, distinguished guests then laid wreaths.

THERE was a‘milestone moment’ as work to build a new £7.7m primary school in Newbury was completed. Highwood Copse will open in September 2021– three years later than originally planned. The first intake will be for chil- dren in the Reception class, and

SHE did it! One-hundred-and-four-year-old Ruth Saunders was all smiles as she completed the final lap of her marathon at Newbury Racecourse– and celebrated with a glass of Champagne. The Shaw resident set out to walk 104 laps of the roads around her home– one for every year she has been alive – to raise money for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance charity. But the remarkable centenar- ian didn’t stop there – and decided to walked an extra 26 laps to make up the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. She was joined on the penulti- mate lap of her epic charity challenge at Newbury Race- course by her granddaughter Kate Saunders and other family members and friends. they will be joined by each new cohort of children as the school expands to its full capacity. It was previously hoped that the purpose-built school would be ready to welcome its first pupils in September 2018, but the project was hit by a series of setbacks.

It’s a digital Christmas Ruth’s a wonder

local people were encouraged to avoid gathering, by viewing the lights being turned on live, with footage broadcast directly from Market Place. The stream featured speeches, songs and entertainment and Newbury BID chief executive Melissa Hughes said:“Covid can’t beat our Christmas spirit and we’ ve adapted to make the switch-on moment safe using digital platforms.”

NEWBURY’S Christmas lights switch-on went virtual for the first time, with people tuning in for a festive livestream. 2020’s big switch-on, organ- ised by Newbury Business Improvement District (BID), kicked off at 6.45pm via Facebook and YouTube. While decorations – including the traditional Christmas tree – were put up across town,

Iron Age coin fetches £80k

starting price of £24,000. Described as the“most important Iron Age coin ever found in this country”, the coin depicts the leader Caratacus, who resisted the Roman invasion in 43AD. A metal detectorist uncovered the coin last year in a field, not far from where it was minted 2,000 years ago.

A 2,000-YEAR-OLD Iron Age coin sold for £80,040 to

an unnamed buyer. The coin, found near

Newbury in November last year, was sold at auction and smashed its £30,000 estimate. Chris Rudd of Chris Rudd Auctions, Norwich, claimed the price was a world record for a Celtic coin after it had a

Geoff Church is honoured to serve the families of Tadley

“It’s humbling to have this opportunity, it is so nice to be there for people to help them through some of the darkest moments of their life” Geoff is keen to get back involved with supporting the local community and helping to raise funds for good causes, as government restrictions allow. Geoff has supported many local organisations over the years, including the Seeability residential home in Tadley , Thames Valley Air Ambulance and St Michael’s Hospice in North Hampshire and looks forward to providing further support as the new funeral home becomes established.

Funeral Director Geoff Church is back at the heart of the Tadley community , 44 years after starting his career in the funeral profession in north Hampshire. The new branch of Miles and Daughters Funeral Directors at Old Forge, Heath End Road, Tadley, is now open. Miles and Daughters is part of the high-quality Funeral Partners family of businesses, with six established funeral homes based around Reading, Wokingham and Crowthorne. Geoff has come out of retirement to serve local families again. Geoff, appointed as Business Principal and Funeral Director, has been receiving a very warm welcome from his local community who are pleased to see a trusted and respected name return to the area.

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“I pride myself on giving the highest standards of care and service to those in need, it is very rewarding when families are so appreciative of the support, and understanding they receive.”

For support with any funeral arrangements or bereavement advise please contact Geoff on 0118 391 3575

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