EDITOR'S NOTE
A damp Monday, a bright 20°C Tuesday, then showers on and off until Friday - and a dry Saturday to make the most of. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra brings Brahms to the Hexagon on Wednesday, with tickets from £19 and a free pre-concert talk. Comedy has a heavy end to the week: Alfie Brown at South Street on Thursday and Tom Davis at the Hexagon on Saturday. On Saturday morning Reading Museum hosts a free, all-ages book launch inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry - the town has the only full-size replica in England. The planning story is a big one: a £200m data centre application to replace Microsoft's Thames Valley Park offices has gone in, with Wokingham deciding. Sunday brings rail works between Paddington and Reading.
FEATURED THIS WEEK
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Brahms - Hexagon, Wednesday 14 October, 7.30pm
Conductor Kristian Sallinen leads Beethoven's Egmont overture, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (with the RPO's principal clarinet, Katherine Lacey) and Brahms's Symphony No. 1. Tickets are £19, £26 or £30; under-18s and students are £6 on most seats. A free pre-concert talk starts at 6.30pm in the Hexagon Auditorium. Tickets →
BEST FOR KIDS
Saturday 17 October is a good day for young detectives. Author Martin Kiszko reads from his epic poem retelling the Bayeux Tapestry at Reading Museum, with readings at 10.15am, 11.45am and 2pm - free, all ages, book online. The museum's free Jelly: Making Space for Art exhibition for children is on all month, and Rhymetime at Battle Library runs every Friday, free drop-in. Book →
NEW THIS WEEK
The Thames Valley Park data centre application is in. Owner Mapeley has asked Wokingham Borough Council to demolish three office buildings on the Microsoft campus and replace them with a data centre up to 30.5m high (about ten storeys), backed by on-site gas generation until the grid catches up - the site could need 110MW, but only 1.8MW of capacity is available today. Parking would drop from 1,092 spaces to 72, around 65 jobs are expected, and a decision is due by March 2027. Residents have objected over noise, heat, emissions and wildlife. Reading Borough Council has been consulted as a neighbour.
HEADS UP
Sunday rail works. On Sunday 18 October, track maintenance leaves only two of four tracks open between London Paddington and Reading, so GWR trains run to an amended timetable - check before you travel. North Downs line trains run only between Reading and Ash, with replacement road transport beyond. And until Friday 16 October, track renewal near Pewsey diverts some Paddington–Plymouth and Penzance trains via Swindon and Bristol, adding at least 15 minutes. Reading–Newbury trains run as normal. GWR planned engineering →
👨👩👧 Things To Do
Kids & Family
Bayeux Tapestry: The Epic Poem, Reading Museum, Saturday 17 October, 10.15am, 11.45am and 2pm. Free (donations welcome), all ages, booking required. Readings from a verse retelling of the tapestry's story. Book →
Jelly: Making Space for Art, Reading Museum. A free children's exhibition, on until February 2027.
Winnie-the-Pooh at 100, Central Library, Friday 16 October. The free centenary series continues on Fridays through October, with a craft session this week - drop in, aimed at under-8s. Check the library page for times.
Rhymetime, Battle Library, Friday 16 October, 10am and 11am. Free drop-in songs and rhymes for little ones, every Friday.
Adults · Date Night
Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, Hexagon, Tuesday 13 October, 7.30pm. The Blue Programme of adventure shorts. Tickets →
Dance Nation, Progress Theatre, Monday 12 - Saturday 17 October. A funny, tender play about a group of competitive young dancers on the edge of adolescence. A BSL-interpreted performance is on Tuesday at 7.30pm and a relaxed performance on Saturday at 2.30pm; some themes may distress. Tickets →
Alfie Brown: The Entertainer, South Street, Thursday 15 October. New stand-up show. Tickets →
Elvana: Elvis Fronted Nirvana, Hexagon, Friday 16 October, doors 7pm. Exactly what it says. Tickets →
Barbershop Uncut Stories, Reading Rep, Friday 16 October, 7pm. A free play set in a busy barbershop that turns to prostate cancer and men's health, with an after-show discussion. 18+, spaces limited, book early; it deals with cancer, mental health and suicide. Book →
Tom Davis: Spudgun, Hexagon, Saturday 17 October, 7.30pm. New stand-up from the Wolf and Owl podcast co-host. £28.50, no under-14s. Tickets →
Weekend Events
Fri 16 Oct: Elvana at the Hexagon. Barbershop Uncut Stories at Reading Rep (free). Comedy at the Pentahotel's Friday Night Club. Sunny spells, 16°C.
Sat 17 Oct: Bayeux Epic Poem book launch at Reading Museum from 10.15am. Tom Davis at the Hexagon. The Book of Genesis and Skylines at South Street. Boat trips from Caversham and on the canal. Dry, cloud increasing, 17°C.
Sun 18 Oct: Free live music at Spill, 5–7pm. River trips from Caversham. Showers, 16°C - and rail works to Paddington.
Looking ahead: Nish Kumar at the Hexagon on Wednesday 21 October; the Castle Tap's Autumn Beer & Cider Festival, 22–25 October; Susan Calman at the Town Hall on Saturday 24 October; and half-term craft sessions at libraries from 24 October.
🏙️ What's New in Reading
The old Matchbox corner on Friar Street is becoming a shop. The former Neighbourhood bar - closed since 2020, on the corner with Blagrave Street - has planning approval to turn the basement and ground floor from bar/nightclub to off-licence and retail use, and a licence to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm. The licence is held by Prablin Stores (one report names Spirit Bar as operator instead - unconfirmed). No opening date yet.
The Hexagon's new Studio Theatre has its bridge. A step-free footbridge from Queen's Walk to the new 200-seat (300 standing) studio has been installed. The venue, aimed at comedy and bands, is due to open in spring 2027.
McDonald's at Reading Gate is getting bigger. An extension approved last month takes seating from 82 to 104 and adds a tall golden-arches tower, at the cost of most of the outdoor tables.
🚧 Useful Reading Updates
Roads - Bennet Road and Earley. Thames Water's last notice had the Bennet Road junction with the A33 reopening by Saturday 10 October, after nearly a year shut for a sewer collapse; it has slipped several times before, so check the Causeway One roadworks map before relying on it. From mid-October the Earley station footbridge over the A329(M) closes until April 2027, with a long walking diversion and the station car park shut; Winnersh Park & Ride is the suggested alternative.
Rail - quiet weekdays, busy Sunday. Pewsey track renewal diverts some West Country trains until Friday 16 October. On Sunday 18 October, only two of four tracks are available between Paddington and Reading, and North Downs trains run Reading–Ash only. GWR planned engineering →
Council - Christmas market licence. Reading's Broad Street Christmas market operator, Peaks Catering, has applied to extend its licence: live music from 10am to 9pm daily and recorded music and alcohol sales until 10pm all week. Comments to [email protected] by Thursday 22 October.
Planning - mostly the Microsoft site. Validated: the Thames Valley Park data centre (decided by Wokingham; Reading is a consultee); seven applications for illuminated rotating digital advertising panels on pavements along Oxford Road, Friar Street and West Street; building alterations and a new service yard canopy at 8 Commercial Road; and a BT Street Hub on Basingstoke Road. Decided: the Friar Street nightclub-to-shop conversion, a new Barclays shopfront on Broad Street, and a yurt and outbuilding at Hamilton Academy. The rest is householder extensions and tree works.
COMING UP THIS WEEK
Mon 12 Oct: Dance Nation opens, Progress Theatre · morning rain, 18°C
Tue 13 Oct: Banff Mountain Film Festival, Hexagon, 7.30pm · Dance Nation BSL performance, 7.30pm · clouds giving way to sun, 20°C
Wed 14 Oct: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra: Brahms, Hexagon, 7.30pm · Sam Sweeney & Grace Smith, South Street · cloudy, breezy, a little rain, 19°C
Thu 15 Oct: Alfie Brown, South Street · morning shower, 18°C
Fri 16 Oct: Elvana, Hexagon · Barbershop Uncut Stories, Reading Rep, 7pm · Pewsey rail works end · sunny spells, 16°C
Sat 17 Oct: Bayeux Epic Poem book launch, Reading Museum, from 10.15am · Tom Davis, Hexagon, 7.30pm · dry, cloud increasing, 17°C
Sun 18 Oct: Paddington–Reading and North Downs rail works · live music at Spill, 5pm · showers, 16°C
HIDDEN GEM OF THE WEEK
Reading Minster (St Mary the Virgin), St Mary's Butts
The oldest church foundation in the town, and the one most people know only as the chequered flint-and-stone tower on the way to the Oracle. A nunnery was founded here in 979, long before Reading Abbey; the surviving trace is a rounded Saxon doorway. When the Abbey was dissolved in 1539, the church was rebuilt between 1551 and 1555 with its stone and timber - so a good part of the lost abbey is still standing, here. It is Grade I listed, its organ was built by Father Willis for the 1862 International Exhibition, and it is open for quiet visits on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am to 1pm.
The tower of Reading Minster © Andrew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
WEATHER THIS WEEK
Unsettled, then a dry Saturday. Monday starts wet, Tuesday is the best day (20°C, sun after cloud), and Wednesday and Thursday bring brief showers. Friday is bright but cooler, Saturday stays dry with cloud building - the best day for the museum or the river - and Sunday brings showers of a couple of hours. Take a coat for Wednesday's walk to the Hexagon.
👀 WORTH KNOWING
Reading had its warmest September night in 77 years. The University of Reading's observatory recorded a 24-hour minimum of 18.8°C on 30 September - the warmest September night since 1949 and the second-highest September minimum since records began in 1908. The record, 20.3°C, still stands from 5 September 1949.
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