After the meeting, wandered past the Torrington Place branch of Planet Organic and couldn't resist a quick browse. I spurned raw hemp and organic yam nuggets, but bought a carton of organic chick pea sprouts, which stated on their label ‘These sprouts are grown with the conscious awareness of the interconnectedness of everything and all life’. Far out.
Was suitably blown away on Thursday evening at Reading Film Theatre by Mike Leigh’s Another Year – a subtle, understated piece that never resorts to melodrama. Before the film, as it wasn’t worth going home, I braved the Students' Union's 3sixty bar for a drink and bite to eat. Emerged from the bar after an indifferent chicken burger feeling about 110.
Have been forced to eat humble pie as regards cockerel, as after staying over at the house last Friday night I did indeed hear it quite clearly myself while standing in the kitchen early on Saturday morning. Sounds like it’s only a few doors down. Wouldn’t be surprised if there are complaints from neighbours come summer – though that would possibly be a bit rich given the general noise of traffic and late-night drunks that already pervades the area.
Claire came for tea and banana cake on Saturday afternoon and admired the flat, before going off to her staff member's 30th birthday party armed with Stella Artois-themed presents (sounds like a classy bird).
Ray and I went over to Greenham Common on Sunday for a walk about. There’s an interesting website here with a virtu
al tour. The USAF returned Greenham to the MOD in 1992 and it was declared surplus to the Ministry’s requirements the following year. The Common has for some time now been in the process of being returned to being common land – most of the runway appears to have been dismantled, although you can still see quite 
clearly where it was – apparently a million tonnes of concrete have been broken up and removed – quite a task. The six cruise missile silos are still in place, behind fencing – and I assume they’ll be staying in place, given that they have been designated a Scheduled Monument of national significance. There were originally plans to turn the derelict Control Tower into a visitors’ centre, but judging by this Newbury Weekly News cutting from 2000, these were later shelved – not sure why, as it seems a reasonable idea to me.
There are various colour-coded walks – halway through the Taxiway Walk, we decided that the scenery was getting a bit samey and it was also getting a bit cold, so drove back into Thatcham and after a quick drink at The Swan by Thatcham station walked along the canal as far as the footbridge at Bull's Lock and then up the path that leads to the Bowdown Woods Nature Reserve. Once inside the woods we lost our way a bit – eventually managed to emerge into a car park off Bury's Bank Road and trudged back down to Thatcham. Drove back to Reading via Waitrose (Thatcham now has a Waitrose!) for Ray to pick up a pizza for his dinner.
Went round to the house on Sunday evening for a lovely dinner with my lady, who had prepared one of my favourite recipes, a Nigel Slater griddled chicken dish with garlic butter and thyme. In fact she just had to fry it as I've pinched the griddle, but still lovely.
Started yesterday by walking to the Bulmershe campus for a meeting with the lovely Carol and Tony from the Institute of Education, to check on the pro
gress of a project we are funding. Spent an hour beforehand working in Bulmershe Library. I have expressed my affection for Bulmershe before and agreed with Carol that we both like Bulmershe Library – quiet, space to spread out, easy access to books as opposed to PCs (not necessarily a given in modern libraries). However, sadly, it’s going – its closure is scheduled for July 2011 and the University’s education resources are due to be absorbed (somehow) into the main library at Whiteknights. In the room where I was working the books had already been cleared from the shelves. Took these discreet photos. RIP proper university buildings.
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