Healthy Living Event To Be Held in Town

19/01/2012
Reading Borough Council Press Release

A healthy living event is taking place in the town on Wednesday, February 8th.

People who live and work in Reading can go along to the Civic Offices from 10.30am-1.30pm, where adult social care and health professionals will be on hand to offer advice to those with long-term health conditions, such as diabetes, stroke, breathing problems and joint pain.

There will be free blood pressure checks and screening for diabetes.

From 10.30am-12.30pm, a series of lifestyle presentations will take place, led by Citizens' Advice Bureau, Arthritis Care, Diabetes UK, The Stroke Association and NHS Berkshire.

The event has been organised by Reading's Physical Disabilities and Sensory Needs Network (PDSN)   a group which aims to improve the quality of life for people with physical disabilities, neurological conditions and sensory loss.

Mike Orton, lead councillor for adult social care, said: 'It is really important people take care of their health. This event is a good way for people who have long term health conditions to check themselves out and ask health professionals any questions.'

The PDSN Network is an organisation made up of adult social care service users, carers, representatives from national charities and local user-led organisations. This event will help people to improve their lives by seeing how they improve their health by changes in life style.

Regular meetings take place four times a year alongside special events and conferences focusing on issues of particular interest or concern for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities and their carers.

For more information call Nina Crispin on (0118) 937 2383 or email housingccstrategyteam@reading.gov.uk

Sometimes it pays to look up.

It's so easy to bustle about, getting on with life, and miss some truly beautiful things simply because you dodn't look up.  I was in Battle Library on Thursday and, while waiting to get the baby weighed, noticed this stunning stained glass:

I have been told by a very reliable source that they depict the arms of Reading Abbey, Reading Borough and the University College, Reading, ( later the University of Reading ).  I've been in and out of Battle Library for the last 30 years and never really noticed it.  What else have I missed?

Cow Lane bridge nearly finished!

Here's a brilliant time-lapse video showing the entire construction of the new Cow Lane bridge.  The works are on track and the bridge will open on 30 January at 6am.  Although the change for motorists will be small at this stage (you could just about get two cars side by side under the old bridge), pedestrians will benefit immediately with a pavement where, before, you had to dodge traffic.  The traffic on the Oxford Road should also return to normal - phew!

Grit, urea and the winter plan

Last Thursday was the Transport Users Forum - open to all.  This time there was an excellent presentation on the winter plan Reading Borough Council puts in place for the winter season.  I found it very interesting and, if it weren't for my banana bread and soda bread, I would have popped a post on about it earlier. You can get more information by searching for 'winter gritting' on the council's website.

Here are a few of the facts about the winter plan:

• We have 1200 tonnes of salt in stock at the beginning of the season.
• 40% of the highway network is treated in the event of ivy/snowy weather. It takes 2 hours to complete the primary routes and a further hour for the secondary routes.
• Salt is only effective up to -7C.
• The spread rate of the salt depends on the weather forecast 10g/m2 is the normal amount but they spread 20g/m2 if prolonged icy or snowy weather is forecast.
• They get a forecast at midday then an update at 7 in the evening.  These forecasts help them decide if the gritters are to be sent out.
• If prolonged cold weather or snow is forecast urea is spread in the pedestrianised areas of the town centre. It is either extracted from animal urine or synthetic.  It forms a gel that lasts three days and stops ice forming and snow settling.  If needed it will then be swept away and re-applied.
• There is a new Vaisala weather station outside Battle Library to measure urban road/surface temperature, dewpoint, humidity, air temperature and rainfall to help get more accurate forecast for Reading.  It will be fully operational shortly.

I thought this was CCTV and wondered why it was pointing at the floor!

 All in all a lot of work goes into ensuring the roads of Reading remain safe and usable.  I really do recommend coming along to a Transport Users Forum as the presentations made are very interesting!

I am going to get into baking!

I would say I am a pretty good cook and most of our meals are 'from scratch' (to quote a good friend).  I do your usual family meals - roasts, sausage and mash, spaghetti, chilli plus a few more exotic risottos and paellas thrown in for variety.  The perfect curry still eludes me though so I usually cheat with a ready made sauce.  One thing I rarely do is bake.  If you make a tasty cake you have to eat it don't you?  Not good for the waistline.

Well this year I have decided to embrace my inner domestic goddess and take up baking.  I shall just bake things that can be eaten sensibly or as part of a main meal.  I have just baked a rather good chocolate and banana bread, inspired by the Great British Bake-off and a baking book from my parents.  So pleased with how it's turned out:

The oven is still on so I am going to bake a soda bread to go with our stew instead of potatoes. So expect the random posts of 2012 to be about baking as well as gardening!

UPDATED: The soda bread, lemon drizzle cake and shortbread