Backstage at Reading Festival

Over the August Bank Holiday weekend 90,000 music fans descended on Little John’s Farm in Richfield Avenue for this year’s Reading Festival .

Reading and Leeds Festival , is one of the biggest twin site festival in Europe, the events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill.

This year almost 200 artists performed across the weekend, including Florence and the Machine, The Vaccines, You Me At Six, Kaiser Chiefs and The Black Keys, plus a surprise hour long set from Greenday in the NME/Radio 1 tent, which was also aired on screens on the main stage.

Rewind Festival 2012

The festival is a celebration of 80’s music and features a range of artists and bands that had success in that decade.

Since it was first held in August 2009, the festival has attracted thousands of 80’s music fans – this year 40, 000 people attended.

In 2011, a second festival was established in Scotland, which takes place in Perth. It features the same artists as the Henley festival and as well as similar site entertainment.
That year the festival also expanded to Australia. However, the attempt was met with several set up failures and then cancellation due to lack of ticket sales.

Thames Valley Police advise Festival Goers

Thames Valley Police are advising festival goers to this year’s Reading Festival to keep any valuable property at home.

Last year, crime figures decreased by approximately 44% with 250 crimes reported at the site over the festival period compared with a total of 445 crimes reported on site in 2010. The main crimes reported were theft from tents, for which 139 were reported and theft from persons for which 51 were reported.

Supt Stuart Greenfield who will be Silver Commander at the festival said: “We will be carrying out high visibility patrols within the site and surrounding areas and at the same time, deploying covert officers to identify and apprehend criminals.

Explore Henley beyond the River

A new town map, signage and visitor leaflets have been produced to help encourage people to explore more of Henley, including the parts of the town centre further away from the River Thames.

The leaflets encourage visitors to explore the town, so that they can find delights such as George Harrison’s former home at Friar Park, Dusty Springfield’s memorial and Mill Meadows, one of the best picnic spots along the Thames.

There are three new leaflets, one which highlights “Ten Brilliant things to do in Henley”, one for visitors who have more time to spend in the town “Henley on Thames – Undeniably Unique” that expands on The Old Fire Station Gallery and Kings Arms Barn, and “The Henley Trail” that allows visitors to take a self-guided tour, stopping off at 27 points of interest.

Triathlon Route Change

The route of the Challenge Henley triathlon event will be changed next year following the death of a cyclist.
21 year old Denisa Perinova was involved in a fatal accident last month on the B480 at Stonor – one of the roads used in the cycling event.
Alternative routes are now being discussed with Oxfordshire County Council and the organisers, who say they are responding to complaints about road safety and the disruption to residents.

Tea Towel Amnesty at Cargo

This Friday, Cargo will be kickstarting their campaign to encourage people to get rid of their old tea towels.

They will be staging a protest outside Henley’s Cargo in the Market Place, to let people know they can exchange their old ‘rag’ there, for a smart and stylish new replacement, absolutely free.

Cargo is Open!

Following three weeks of refurbishments a new and improved Cargo re-opened in the Market Place in Henley yesterday.

The re-furbished store has something for every homemaker – from sofas and dining tables to cushions and candles.

Cargo has over 45 stores across Southern England and over the next 12 months further stores will be renovated to feature everything from buggy stations to interactive kiosks where customers can browse the website and order online.

Each store will offer extraordinary value with exciting and practical ideas for the home.

Olympic Triathlons a TRI-UMPH

If you‘ve been inspired by following the 2012 Olympic triathlon events then UK Triathlon could be the solution you’re looking for to fulfil your very own Olympic dream.

The inspirational sport of triathlon made its’ Olympic debut in the year 2000 and is now one of the most high profile Olympic sports.

The sport tests athletes’ all-round ability with the 3 components consisting of swim, bike and run and has a vastly growing fan base with over 350 affiliated clubs in Great Britain.