United Kingdom
I am a freelance journalist and writer, a freelance member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and social media fan. I specialise in sustainability, local community issues with an ardent interested in how the ‘power of one’ can make big changes in our lives, communities and the world.
Don't be afraid to be different.
News because it matters, not because it happens.
Reviews
The Original Theatre Company have taken Rachel Wagstaff's version of Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and created a masterpiece. Birdsong is a critically acclaimed and popular book. At 500 pages long and spanning three generations Wagstaff had to choose scenes for the play carefully.
Stuart Drinkall When Mel Maxwell's sister died following a battle with an aggressive form of cancer she looked around for books that would help her young niece and nephew understand what had happened. She found books written for adults but nothing that a child or young adult could relate to - so she took the task on herself to complete.
Berkshire-based visual artist and arts communicator Christine Holley is currently holding an exhibition of her paintings and drawings at The Peacock Gallery, Earley - nestled inside Maiden Erlegh School. It runs until the end of the month.
Once again a Reading theatre gives its audience something to cheer about. This time it's Progress Theatre who, inits 68th season, give us Gaslight, a chilling tale with Jack Manningham (played by Geoff Dallimore) one of the most evil characters I've seen in a play or film recently.
MadeInReading is an epithet to be proud of and the Reading Between the Lines theatre company impress us once again with its outstanding interpretation of Much Ado About Nothing, bringing West End calibre acting to Reading. The stage is St James' Catholic Church in Reading's historic Abbey Quarter; a stunning location for this production.
James Corral Reading's resident professional theatre company, Reading Rep have chosen to end their 2013/14 season with 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot premiered in 1953 and 60 years later it is a classic play that most people have heard of even if they haven't seen.
Half-light, the time of day when dark turns to light. A wondrous time of eerie shadows and endless possibilities. This is the magical realm you enter when you visit the Half Light exhibition at the Peacock Gallery. "I have definitely put my heart on the block," said Lisa-Marie.
Interviews
The big moments in soap operas always resonate. We still talk about who shot JR, fondly remember the Deidre/Ken/Mike love triangle in Corrie and we've only just found out who killed Lucy in EastEnders. But what's it like for the actors? And what affect does it have on them personally?
Richard Stanton Dr Yuval Noah Harari has written Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - a book that comes with a big premise; that "Homo sapiens rule the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money and human rights".
Vivienne Johnson Robin Hobb, one of the world's leading fantasy writers started her UK tour in Waterstones bookshop, Reading on Saturday August 9. Robin is Voyager's fastest-selling author in backlist selling over 1 million copies of her paperbacks. She was in town to sign copies of her latest book 'Fool's Assassin - Fitz and the Fool.'
Vivienne Johnson What Milo Saw is a debut novel by local author Virginia Macgregor that shows us how it takes a small boy who is going blind to see what is really going on in the world.
Issues
Vivienne Johnson Residents of West Reading are working hard to reclaim an inner city park from the people who are currently mistreating it. "To have a really nice park in Central Reading that is abused is really frustrating," said campaigner Steve McCoull. Local residents find the park dirty and unsuitable for children to play in safely.
'I think that more people get into debt at Christmas than any other time because they try to show their love and affection by buying things, and almost the bigger the better." That's the view of Jo Kay, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Debt Centre Manager for East Reading.
Sustainability
Dave Fergusson / geograph.org.uk If your letter box sticks, or you have a gap under your door you could be living in a cold and draughty house and overspending on heating bills. If there's a draught coming in you are paying for it. It gets worse, people are actually dying of cold.
Jill, jellidonut... whatever / Flickr Are you shocked by the size of your energy bill? Try some of these tips to keep your home warm and the bills down. Make sure your boiler has a thermostat 1. If you don't have a thermostat you can't control your heating even if you want to.
Community
A grassroots movement that aims to build bridges, dispel myths about asylum seekers has received backing from one of the highest possible places in Reading - from the Mayor. In 2005 the first City of Sanctuary group was founded in Sheffield.
Vivienne Johnson The children of Oxford Road Community School, Reading are in for a big surprise when they go back to school. Local artist and art teacher Marianne Fowler is spending her precious summer holiday painting murals on the walls of the playground.
Vivienne Johnson Reading Speakers' Corner popped up again on June 14. The idea behind the event is to give everyone the chance to express their thoughts and debate in public. It took place in two locations, starting out at 10-30am at the Play Café in Palmer Park and moving on to Market Place in Reading town centre where rain stopped play after a short time.
Vivienne Johnson There were rides on the river and burgers on the bank whilst listening to music traditional and modern. It felt like everyone was at Reading Water Fest on June 14 to help it celebrate its 25th anniversary as the crowds enjoyed a family day out at one of the town's most iconic events.
Vivienne Johnson The West Berkshire Ostomy Club is a small friendly group of Ostomates who meet every 3 months in Reading to enjoy the friendship of others who know how they feel. 'The group was started many years ago as a social club for anyone who had a stoma and their family or carer.'
Jermaine is a happy eight-month-old boy who has lots of friends he's never met. They are people who heard about the plight of his Mum and Dad, Sammy, 26, and Jamaine, 33, and did something to ensure he had the best possible start in life.
Spiritual
If you had to choose one word to sum up Monday People it would be 'Fun'. Monday People is a Church especially for adults who have learning difficulties and their carers. "The aim is to enable them to learn, to worship, and to form friendships in an informal meeting."
Vivienne Johnson Rita Belletty remembers the moment she started to think seriously about climate change and her part in the problem and solution. A friend showed her an article in the newspaper about flooding in Bangladesh. The photographs showed people whose fields had been washed away by the snowmelt from the Himalayas and this really fired Rita up.
Vivienne Johnson A Palestinian leader came to Reading last month to share a message of hope and peace. Labib Madnat, the Director of the Bible Society in the Middle East, oversees both Jewish and Palestinian Bible Societies in Israel/West Bank.
Phil Creighton - library photo Reading gathered to remember the fallen at a special choral evensong held in the Minster Church on Monday, August 4. The service marked the 100th anniversary of the day on which Great Britain declared war on Germany.
Vivienne Johnson Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth Diocese has made a rallying cry for the church to wake up and engage with others. His flock took him at his word and organised an amazing day of information and networking, bringing together charities and organisations from across Berkshire.