community yearbook 2018

NOVEMBER

Newbury Weekly News

Thursday, 25 January, 2018

Racing into the future MORE than 60 people – including local digni- taries – attended the

Diaries from the Great War THE diaries of an Inkpen woman whose sons fought in the First World War were been discovered. the battle, but they witnessed many gruesome sights. But he also had to go back to fight before the war ended. One of the entries in Lady

Maestros celebrate 35 years in the biz

LOCAL music education charity Berkshire Maestros celebrated 35 successful years since its incorporation. Berkshire Young Musicians Trust (Berkshire Maestros) took over teaching instrumental and singing lessons across Berkshire and running many county music groups and courses from the county council in 1982. Operating from Whiteknights Road, the trust launched with a bang by holding a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Concerts there and at many venues across the county, such as The Hexagon, have became regular fixtures. Then, as now, teaching instrumental and singing forms the backbone of their objectives, and last year more than 6,000 Berkshire children had lessons, and over 18,000 children participated in groups and ensembles. Now based at Stoneham Court, Cockney Hill, Maestros has local music centres across the county and its students perform at some of the country’s most prestigious venues, including the Royal Albert Hall, where Berkshire County Youth Choirs sang for a BBC Proms concert this summer. It also sends some of its senior groups to perform in major cities overseas. Dave’s double gold NEWBURY master swim- mer Dave Milburn set two new British records at the Swim England

Nancy Peto, the wife of former Devizes MP Sir Basil, poured out her heart in the pages while two of their sons were serving on the Western Front. The couple’s eldest son, Michael, went to France with the Grenadier Guards, while her second son, Christopher, was with the cavalry regiment The Lancers. Both survived

Peto’s diary read: “How much it [her heart] has to bear and suffer! How it jumps and throbs at every little unexpected sound, at some sudden associa- tion with those darling boys, and the strain that is put upon it when one hears the ‘rat-tat’ on the front door which means nothing else but a telegram.” Donnington New Homes, failed to demonstrate that they could provide a comprehensive plan. Bloor submitted proposals for 2,000 homes and two primary schools on land of Monks Lane in 2015 – but disagreed with the council on key issues, including the number of access roads. Fair old time WHEN it was opened in 1967 by the Queen Mother, Newbury’s Fair Close Day Centre was seen as one of the most comprehensive elderly support schemes in the South of England. And 50 years on, the charity, now known as the Fair Close Centre, is set to continue providing a vital service for years to come. The self-fund- ing charity in Newtown Road offers a range of activities, catering services and trans- portation for its elderly members. More than £150,000 was raised to give the centre a facelift to really make the 50th anniver- sary one to remember. To mark the occasion, members, staff and volunteers were invited to a celebratory lunch.

launch of Kurtsystems’ racehorse pre-training technology at Kingwood Stud, Lambourn. Princess Anne was due to officially launch the innova- tive training system, but the helicopter that was bringing her from London was unable to land due to fog over the Lambourn Valley. Kingwood Stud officials carried out a demonstra- tion of the Kurtsystems equipment as planned, showing 10 yearling horses walking, trotting and cantering along the 1,500- metre track. The Kurtsystem allows the horse to be loosely tethered into a monorail ‘car’ or cabin and led around an all-

Sandleford plan is rejected THE six-year Sandleford

Park saga took yet another twist – with West Berkshire Council sensationally turn- ing down plans to build up to 2,000 new homes in Newbury. The council said it was “saddened” that the two devel- opers, Bloor Homes and

or canter. Their movements, heart- rate, stride length and stride rate are individually monitored and analysed by a trainer in the cabinet at the rear of the machine.

weather, covered track at varying speeds, dependent on their training progress and circumstances. The system can accommo- date speeds which allow the horse to reach a walk, trot

Tributes to tragic pilot TRIBUTES were paid to a West Berkshire helicopter pilot who was killed in a mid-air collision in Buck- inghamshire. Captain Mike Green, who lived in Shaw, was described as a Mundae, 18, and Jaspal Bahra, 27 all died when the two aircraft collided at about 1,000ft above Waddesdon, near Aylesbury at around noon. Capt Green is survived by his

Masters National Short Course Championships at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge International Sports Centre. The Newbury masters coach, who struck gold at

partner, Mary, his son, daughter and grandchildren. Newbury deputy mayor Margo Payne, a neigh- bour of the veteran instructor, said she was shocked to hear

“gentleman” and an “extraordinar - ily gifted pilot” by those who knew him.

Amberjack celebrate their Best in Business award Amberjack scoop top spot

the World Masters Championships in Budapest in August, triumphed in all of the breaststroke events for his age group and broke his own British records at 100m and 200m. His 200m time of 2 minutes 39.23 seconds took just over a second off the record he set earlier in a year that has seen him take more than six seconds off the previous British best for the short-course distance. His winning 100m time of 1:12.56 was again well inside the British record he set earlier this year.

There were nine individual categories for companies to enter, covering all aspects of business and charity. The winner of the overall NWN Best in Business Award, sponsored by The Vineyard Group, was Newbury-based recruitment expert Amberjack.

THE very best in business were toasted at a black tie gala dinner at Newbury Racecourse. A sell-out crowd ensured there was an electric atmo- sphere as the winners of the first Newbury Weekly News Best in Business Awards were announced.

The 74-year-old was one of four men killed in the collision involving a Cabri G2 helicopter and Cessna 152 light aircraft. Capt Green, an instructor on board the Cabri G2, Thanh Nguyen, aged 32, Savaan

the news. Paying tribute on social media, she said:“Devas- tated our neighbour Mike was helicopter pilot killed yester- day. A gentleman and good neighbour and a profes- sional.”

Global Expertise on your Doorstep We’re Amberjack and we may be one of Newbury’s best kept secrets. Tucked away at the end of Kings Road West in the centre of town, we employ some 60 people. Amberjack was established back in 2000 and has an impressive growth history with a client base ranging from Unilever, Mars and PwC, to GSK, long commute. We are always interested in speaking to Assessment and RPO Professionals, Project Managers, Technical Developers, Sales Professionals and those who have previously worked in Client/ Candidate Support roles.

recruitment industry. We were also thrilled to win the ‘Best in Business’ award. A fantastic achievement for our business and more importantly for our people who make us what we are. We’re passionate about attracting local talent and we are fiercely proud of our team. We have a history of recruiting from Newbury College and local universities, and often present at local schools and colleges to raise awareness of our business and the opportunities we can offer. Our working environment is collaborative, supportive and fun, and our contemporary, colour filled offices certainly provide a great place to work. From the leading-edge technology right down to the bean bags and table football!

As winners of the Business Innovation category of the Newbury News Best in Business Awards, as well as nationwide industry recognition, we’ve shown how important innovation is and how it must be effective in the war for talent. Over the past year, innovation has delivered significant positive change in transforming recruitment effectiveness in our market, and we’re proud that we’ve been at the forefront of much of the change that is now shaping the future of not just student recruitment, but the wider

Morrison’s and Network Rail. We’re experts in Graduate, Apprentice and Volume Recruitment and employ a diverse workforce to deliver these services. We try to recruit local people wherever possible, and offer a fantastic opportunity for people in the Newbury area to work for a market leader and to get involved in some genuinely challenging and innovative work – without having to endure the costs, time constraints and frustrations of a

Amberjack Newbury House, 20 Kings Road West, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 5XR 01635 584130 www.weareamberjack.com

Our door is always open to new talent, so if you are looking for an employer that can offer you fantastic career opportunities on your doorstep, then please contact us for an informal chat or keep an eye on our website for current vacancies joinus@weareamberjack.com