Across Broad Street
THE sound of music and the smell of something cooking wafted over Reading town centre at the weekend as the annual Reading Food Festival returned.
Broad Street was awash with street food for the event, hosted by Blue Collar and REDA, the new name for Reading UK CIC.
Formerly known as Eat Reading, the two-day event saw more than 30 different cuisines on offer, as well as a bar and musical entertainment.
The menu included food from Germany, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Spain, Ethiopia, Jamaica, India, the Philippines and the UK.
Musical performances came from RASPO, Los Dos Gringos, No Strings Attached and Natalie Gray.
The event, which has been running for more than a decade, attracted hundreds of visitors, much to the delight of organisers.
Andy Smith was diagnosed with a severe visual impairment early in 2020 due to complications from diabetes after he woke up struggling to see.
He was found to have a detached retina in one eye with damage to the other, and doctors thought that he would “be lucky” to save any of his sight.
He said that the news caused him to spend much of the lockdowns which followed feeling depressed, confused, and scared to lose his independence and confidence.
“People ask me what it’s like,” Mr Smith explained, “how do you cope?
“Honestly, on your own, you don’t – having visual impairment, regardless of its severity, takes away independence, confidence, self esteem, and hope.”
He was referred to Berkshire Vision, which supports those dealing with sight loss, and is now a regular at their events such, including their regular pub quizzes.