1. 12-point plan to combat crunch

Get Wokingham, Wednesday 11 February 2009

Free council fun and a mortgage rescue scheme are just two proposals in an action plan to help people in Reading beat the credit crunch.

2. Tories backing small business relief bill

Get Wokingham, Thursday 12 February 2009

Two leading Reading Tories are backing a private member’s bill which could see small businesses automatically granted rate relief.

3. ‘Optimistic’ comedy for Heavenly Planet

Get Wokingham, Thursday 12 February 2009

The Jack Dees, Jimmy Carrs and Jo Brands of the comedy circuit can forget it, they are just too cynical for Reading’s newest festival.

4. Heavenly Planet festival will be free

Get Wokingham, Friday 20 February 2009

Reading families feeling the pinch can look forward to a fabulous summer festival for FREE.

5. Thames Water staff to vote on ballot

Get Wokingham, Thursday 19 February 2009

Water workers in Reading and across the South are to be balloted in a row over jobs cuts and “bullying”.

6. Snowdrops keep falling all around – ’n’ grow too!!

Get Wokingham, Friday 06 February 2009

There is only one flower that springs to mind in this weather and that is the snowdrop.

7. Recession brainwave – allotment in garden!

Get Wokingham, Friday 13 February 2009

The snow on the grass has almost melted but as I write it is just beginning to snow again.

8. Hellebores are heavenly

Get Wokingham, Friday 20 February 2009

Spring is really on its way when the hellebores start to unfurl and open their exotic blooms.

9. Pulmonarias are absolute stalwarts of the border

Get Wokingham, Friday 27 February 2009

The pulmonaria was a plant I fell in love with very early on in my gardening life. Its common name – lungwort – must be one of the ugliest ever, but the plant itself has an unshowy beauty which has always pleased.

10. Great British chips

Get Wokingham, Friday 27 February 2009
The great British dish of fish and chips is still the top of the takeaways, outselling Indian food by two to one.