ThealeVillage.com: Celebrating Theale: Past, Present, Future

Theale turns greener with two thousand new trees

Theale is set to become a leafier place in which to live and work. Residents, schools, and business owners are being asked to play their part in an ambitious scheme to plant more than two thousand new trees in and around the village later this year. “2010 trees in 2010″ is being officially launched on July 13. The plan has received support from Theale Parish Council and West Berks Council, as well as local businesses, who are being encouraged to take part through sponsorship, or through their corporate social responsibility schemes.

Ricky Josey, head of Theale Environment Group, explained the background to the plan:

“The idea came up in response to the results of the Theale village questionnaire, in which 72% described the environment as ‘very important’ or ‘important’. Wider surveys show that more than three quarters of the public would like to see more trees planted in the UK. As 2010 is the United Nations Year of Biodiversity, it seemed like a good idea to combine all these things and aim to plant 2,010 trees locally. The Parish Council has helped us map out some likely spots. So far, we’ve had the go-ahead for planting areas in Englefield Road area, including fruit trees near the school to attract wildlife and improve biodiversity.

“Plans are still being developed, but we think this is a great way to unite the village in a community-wide event. The aim is to plant the trees during National Tree Week, November 27th to Dec 5th 2010. The vital message is that we need the local community to be involved. The schools will be playing a part. Planting a tree is a great activity for children. They have fun, learn a skill, and are able to watch the tree grow as they do.”

Local residents are included too. Anyone with some space in their garden will be offered the chance to take part, and get a FREE tree or two into the bargain. Details are still being finalised, and will shortly be announced.

Green Drinks: Anyone who wants to learn more about the idea, or who wants to put their names down for some trees, can turn up at the monthly Theale Green Drinks event. This informal gathering takes place on the second Tuesday of every month in The Crown pub. Next get-together is Tuesday 13th July, starting at 6.30pm. The meetings start early for the benefit of people who work locally, and last as long as you want to stay. They are primarily social events for people with some interest in environmental issues, but there is no set agenda and very few formalities. To learn more about Theale Green Drinks, or to discuss how you can help the tree planting campaign, get in touch with Ricky Josey directly, or contact the website, and we’ll pass it on. Anyone who wants to be kept up to date with this and other news about Theale can join our mailing list.

Don’t forget the Summer Fayre at the primary school

The tireless Jo Hammett has asked us to post a reminder about the primary school’s ‘summer fayre’ this Saturday, July 10. Sounds like a great event, so please give it your full support. Here is their message:

“Please remember to mark in your diary: Theale Church of England Primary School’s Summer Fayre, managed by our very dedicated and hard-working PTA. The Fayre is to be at the school, 11am – 2pm, on Saturday 10th July 2010.

We’ll have the classic attractions, including bouncy castle, BarBQ, refreshments, face painting, lucky dips, treasure hunt and tombolas and lots of other fun and original stalls for people of all ages including the beer stall and lucky loos (yes with real toilets!).

This year we have some extra surprises too! Our own steel panners will be setting the summer theme with their live party music, the local Tae Kwon Do group will be demonstrating their skills, Theale’s very own rabbit rescue lady will be with us, they’ll be a children’s entertainer and we’ve even got the police!

We’re also thrilled to have lots of local businesses coming in running stalls of all kinds from financial services to chutneys and ice creams to hair extensions!

We are also very excited to welcome to our Fayre representatives from Integralis, who are making a whopping £1000 donation to the PTA. Kaven Beauty salon and Blue Cobra Indian restaurant are also coming along to share the fun and to accept our formal thanks for their recent donations to the PTA as a result of their Gala Evening, in Theale and we’re hoping to thank both Theale Taxis and Wolsely plc who have also both given generous donations this term to help with the school’s fundraising efforts.

The presentations are to be made at 1pm and some of our own poster competition winners will be accepting the donations on behalf of the school. We are delighted that the community as a whole is pitching in to help raise money for the school. We were recently the victims of a vandal attack and suffered huge amounts of damage to the roof – having paid that bill we then needed to find the money for the ICT suite because the handful of computers we currently own were just not reliable. It’s not fair on the children, they need good quality, reliable equipment to help them excel. Everyone has worked really hard to raise the money needed for this project and the PTA have done a great job – involving parents, the school and the local business community.

The donations we’ve received have made a tremendous positive impact on our overall funds and to know we have this support is amazing. This is a very tight-knit community that is really pulling together to make the future as rosy for our children as possible. Please support us by giving the event as much publicity as you can.”

Theale Green in dramatic appeal

Theale Green School have issued an invitation to drama groups throughout the area to take part in their ambitious ten-story Mystery Cycle drama.

In a press release, they say:

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“The Drama department at Theale Green Community School would like to invite you to take part in their Theale Green Mystery Cycle, an outdoor event taking place on the school playing field on the 18th of April. This event is based upon a traditional style of plays being acted out one after the other known as a ‘cycle’. The biblical tales have been rewritten by the schools head of drama, Chris Lambert, from a modern viewpoint. This will make the mixture of tragic and humorous tales entertaining and an exciting opportunity to be part of something quite special with its unique performing style. Theale Green will offer the venue, a choice of script and guidance from our Actor in residence. It is up to you how you perform and stage the story in your own unique style.”

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Anyone interested to learn more should contact: Nigel Wilson at the Drama Department, Theale Green Community School, telephone: 0118 9308552 or email:
nwilson@thealegreen.org.uk

Download more details here:
Press release
Background information

The future of Theale: Public meeting at the Red Lion on Tuesday

Following the recent distribution of the Parish Plan, there is to be a public meeting on Tuesday 23rd February at the Red Lion to discuss next steps.

The Parish Plan was a direct response to the village-wide survey carried out in 2008. The completed questionnaire was returned by more than 50% of Theale households, and helped create a picture of the issues of greatest interest to local residents.
Read more »

Local mums need your help for safer crossing

Concerned mums Shelley Gore and Jo Monger are asking for your support.

They are campaigning for a crossing on Englefield Road, close to the Medical Centre, to ensure children and parents can safely cross the road on their way to school.

Shelley says “We have set up an I-petition to gather support to get something done about peak time crossing of the Englefield Road. We will be submitting the petition to councillor Alan Macro at the end of the month, so we are hoping to get as much support for this as possible. There are currently width restrictions in place, but this still doesn’t make it safe to cross at peak times. Our hope would be to have a zebra crossing or a Lollipop person or something in operation between 8:30am and 9:00am.”

It takes only a few seconds to add your name to the growing list. Just click here:
www.ipetitions.com/petition/englefieldroadcrossing

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