4
COMMUNITY
december 2023
www.mybracknell.co.uk
Parliamentary candidate Clive Jones Family carols
Santa visit This Christmas Bracknell Libraries have arranged with Santa himself some extra special visits! The dates and times are as displayed below. Please contact your chosen library to confirm ticket prices (which range from 50p to £2 depending on the other activities available) and availability. Spaces may be limited at some libraries. To book or enquire either call in or phone the libraries on: Whitegrove – December 13th 10am to 10.30am: 01344 424211 Binfield – December 14th 9.30am to 10am: 01344 306663 Bracknell – December 14th 10.30am to 11am: 01344 423149 Birch Hill – December 18th 2.30pm to 3pm: 01344 456526 Sandhurst – December 19th 3.45pm to 4.15pm: 01252 870161
Carol singsong
You are invited to Christmas carols at the Salvation Army Hall in Lower Earley on Sunday 17th December at 5pm. The singsong will be followed by hot drinks and mince pies – and don’t forget to wear your Christmas jumpers!
W
hat Christmas means to me. Christmas has always been a special time of the year with family and friends. From a very young age we spent time at church services, enjoyed Christmas food, played with new toys, watched lots of TV and played board games. With a career in the toy industry, Christmas was a huge part of my working life. Christmas at work began in January with trade shows around the world testing out products for the following Christmas and deciding what we thought would be on December’s lists to Santa. It was a joy to be involved in developing, manufacturing, selling, delivering toys to retailers and to be in a store in the run up to Christmas and hear children and parents excited about something you had been involved in making. These days, we take the opportunity of seeing different friends over Christmas and spending time with our family. It’s nice to relax and enjoy time together, remembering previous years and looking forward to the new year with enthusiasm and optimism. We think about the meaning of Christmas and the beginning of the Christian faith. From childhood we attended church services and carol concerts, and especially enjoyed them when our children were younger and taking
31
DEC
part in nativity plays themselves. Christmas is also an inclusive time of the year with many friends who are not Christians but enjoy the season’s festivities. For nearly 30 years I have been very involved with 2 children’s charities through my involvement with the toy trade. One of these supports smaller charities financially throughout the year and at Christmas with donations of toys. This year we delivered about 450 large boxes of toys to children’s charities around the UK, quite a few of them in the Reading and Wokingham area. Helping to brighten children’s Christmases has been important to me for many years. As Christmas approaches, we put up our tree, write our cards, start to listen once again to our favourite Christmas music and try to find the time to think about the past year, what was good and not so good and to be optimistic about the coming year. Remembering that we will be having a nice Christmas whilst some, through no fault of their own, may not have the same opportunities. We should do what we can to help to make sure that as many people as possible have a happy Christmas where they can be warm, have good food and enjoy time with other people. Clive Jones Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate for Wokingham.
Bracknell Choral Society is holding a family carol concert at Newbold College in Binfield on Wednesday 20th December at 4pm. Bracknell Choral Society is a very friendly non-auditioning choir of approximately 120 members. They perform a wide variety of music and strive to deliver high quality concerts.
Coffee mornings
Throughout the festive season, Green Watch from Wokingham Fire Station will hold several tea and coffee mornings at the fire station. All are welcome to come along for a hot drink and a chat. There’s no need to register in advance or confirm attendance. Simply come to the fire station between 11am and 12pm on one of the designated mornings: Tuesday, 19th December Saturday, 23rd December
THE COPPID BEECH HOTEL PRESENTS
back to the 80’s live band and dj four course dinner
Celebration
half bottle per person Party in sequoia suite B O O K N OW O N 01 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 03 O R VI S I T CO PPI D B E E C H .CO M
