Now is a good time to see the Loddon Lily

Now is the perfect time to spot one of the Thames Valley's special native plants, the Loddon Lily, right on East Reading's doorstep.

From Newtown, cross over the Horseshoe Bridge and just as you turn the corner to head towards town, you will see clumps of this beautiful plant just on your right, growing beside the River Thames. It looks like a giant snowdrop with its nodding white flowers and delicate green dots on the tips of the petals. It is a nationally rare plant but is locally common in the Thames Valley, being found on river banks and in wet woodlands. It is also known as the Summer Snowflake, but this is a misnomer as it flowers in early spring, which gives it a head start over competitive, invasive species such as Himalayan balsam which also grows in this location but which emerges later in the year.

So why not pop down to admire this rare plant on our doorstep?

Here is what it looks like.

Thanks to Debbie for the heads up and putting this text together!

Extra swimming lessons at Arthur Hill baths on the way

Just got this from the council on extra swimming lessons at Arthur Hill baths. Great to see more progress following our work with residents a little while ago. I will post more information when I have it.

"From the 1^st of April 2016 there will be a slight amendment to the swimming timetable at Arthur Hills Swimming Baths to accommodate extra swimming lessons. Swimming lessons were reintroduced onsite last year and we are reaching the point where we need to provide additional stages of lessons for those who first started and are completing their initial stages. Providing this progression ensures that new participants can access the earlier stages of lessons as learners move on.

Following careful consideration, Fridays are the favoured option as there is opportunity to adjust the times of the current general swim and adult lanes session to be slightly later in the day, continuing to accommodate both without need for cancellation. Practically this will mean that the general swim hours will decrease slightly whilst the adult lane session increases slightly. We have found that the adult lane swimming session is more popular and this option therefore presents minimal disruption. Timetable change:

                                       Current                              New

General Swim                  3.15pm – 6pm (2.75 hrs)     5pm – 6.30pm (1.5 hrs)

Adult Lanes                     6pm – 7.30pm (1.5 hrs)       6.30pm – 8.45pm (2.25 hrs)

Customers will be notified of upcoming changes on site and through the new activity brochure and marketing material in development for April.

We view these changes as minimal in nature and essentially ‘business as usual’, adapting to accommodate changing demand for services, please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like any additional information."

RESCUE community litter picks across Reading this week and weekend

Reading RESCUE – a community litter pick – is here again.

Our group - Newtown Globe - will be meeting to tidy up!

Where: outside The Jolly Anglers pub 314-316 Kennetside RG1 3EA

When: 2 PM on Saturday, 5th March

Who: you and why not bring a friend

We have some gloves and litter pickers, but if you have your own feel free to bring them. We will spend a couple of hours tidying up the area and then the council will take it away for us.

If you can't make this event have a look here at others going on across Reading – our comrades in Redlands GLOBE usually organise a good one for example:

https://readingrescue.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/reading-rescue-march-2016-event-list.pdf

It would be handy to know if you are coming for planning purposes.

Any problems on the day give me a call on my mobile phone: 07985 923 938

Best wishes

Rob White