The real history of The Rose

We in the Wokingham Society Executive Committee are delighted to read (in The Wokingham Paper September 13) that there will once again be a Rose public house in the Town Centre and we wish Oakman

Inns every success in the venture.

It is therefore a little churlish of us to point out that, contrary to the article in last week’s paper, the original Rose inn was not in the building that housed Café Rouge but on the site of the present Superdrug shop on the north side of the Market Place.

It was a 15thC timber-framed building, enlarged in the 16thC, that served as an inn until 1844 and it was this Rose that provided the venue, on a wet day in the early 18thC, for Alexander Pope, John Gay, Jonathan Swift and John Arbuthnot to pen a ballad to landlord John Mogg’s daughter Molly. The poem was written as if by a love-lorn Edward Standen of Arborfield Manor, whose advances Molly had rejected:

“I feel I am in love to distraction, My senses all lost in a fog,

And nothing can give satisfaction But thinking of sweet Molly Mogg”. To complicate matters still further, a house in Peach Street, replaced by a building occupied until recently by Marks & Spencer, served as the New Rose between 1772 and 1788, during which time the other inn was called the Old Rose.

The landlord of the original Rose inn moved his premises to the current site in 1844 in order to provide ‘better accommodation and comfort for the nobility, gentry and public’, and took the name of his inn with him.

The building started life as two 15thC houses and had not previously been used as an inn. F

rom about 1856 it was referred to as the Rose Hotel, this name continuing until it was changed to Ye Olde Rose Hotel in 1946, later becoming Ye

Olde Rose Inne. It is unfortunate that serious fires in 1946 and in the 1970s and 1980s destroyed much of the original building and its interior, although considerable effort was made to reconstruct it in its 16thC style.

Peter Must Wokingham Society, Chairman

A pickle

My goodness, the Tories are in a pickle but one very much of their own making.

The febrile atmosphere within their ranks is what comes of putting their own interests very firmly before those of the people they are meant to serve. It reminds me of the old days when we had David Lee (or is it Lees, I have forgotten) and Keith Baker at the helm.

I used to think of them as the Ant

‘n’ Dec of local politics, only a bit older and in cheaper suits, presiding over hilarious weekly episodes of “I’m a Council Tax Payer, get me Outta Here!”, except the experience for us wasn’t too funny.

Fast forward and we have another (almost) double-act in Charlotte H-T and Manjeet Gill, aka Tess ‘n’ Claud. Okay, I realise one isn’t elected but what does that matter when it comes to the business of wasting our money? Now these two ‘comediennes’ might

be a little more glam but their patter is nowhere near as good as those cheeky boys and maybe that is why the old guard of the Tory ‘party’ is not so keen on them.

And the fact that the viewing figures are falling off a cliff.

Who knows, very soon the fickle audience that we are might also be consigning this particular duo to their goodbye dance. A last tango, perhaps?

David Williamson, Wokingham

A load of rubbish

I walked through Market Place at approximately 5.00 pm on Saturday afternoon when all the opening event festivities had finished and was dismayed to see how littered and dirty it was, so soon after its recent makeover.

One stall-holder was sweeping out the contents of his van floor onto the new stone surfacing, another area was stained with the remnants of plants and associated detritus and there was paper, cardboard and plastic litter evident throughout the entire area.

No doubt the various businesses which participated in the event were keen to take the opportunity after such a long absence from Market Place but their failure to clear up after themselves is nothing short of shocking.

It seems the collective attitude was that they had made their profits and it was someone else’s job to sort out the

aftermath, presumably because they had paid for their pitches.

Irrespective of what one thinks of the Market Place refurbishment, the small businesses who exploit it for commercial gain should be more responsible in keeping it clean and if they cannot do so voluntarily, perhaps Wokingham Town Council should consider issuing litter fines via its own officers or PCSOs.

We have only just got back this valuable community space for everyone to use and enjoy - the key issue being everyone - and it should not be ruined by inconsiderate traders who think it is their exclusive right to use it and litter it with impunity. Shame on them.

Ralph Peterson, Wokingham

Get baking please

Whether I’m cooking at my restaurant, on TV or for my family, I think there’s nothing like the smell and taste of home baking. That’s why I’m on a mission to get local residents in the South baking this October to raise vital funds for the Stroke Association.

Stroke is much closer than many people think: there are over 1.2 million people in the UK living with the effects of stroke. Almost two thirds of stroke survivors leave hospital with a disability. Everyday people have to re-learn to do the things they’ve always done.

The Stroke Association provides much-needed hope, inspiration, advice and support to thousands of people affected by stroke and their loved ones. Between 22 October and 28 October, the charity is calling on people to take part in Give a Hand and Bake. Give a Hand a Bake is a fun, and delicious way to help people, whose lives have been impacted by this condition.

Whether you prefer to bake brownies for the office or to host an afternoon tea party with friends and family, there are lots of ways your baking can rise to the challenge. The Stroke Association has a handful of ideas to help you get started: just visit www.stroke.org.uk/GAH to download or request a pack.

Rachel Khoo

Ashamed

The council’s Conservative Executive should be ashamed of themselves.

I have never seen a call in that consisted of over three pages of challenges to the council’s own constitution (see pages 12-13).

It rubbishes the statement from the Conservative Council leader that she is listening but if this is an example of listening I feel very sorry for our residents who are being just ignored.

If this is how they treat a few lollipop ladies what chance have residents got when they consult on houses.

Say goodbye to Green-fields.

Monday was a sad evening for democracy in Wokingham.

Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent councillor for Arborfield

Dear John Redwood

Further to my open letter to you, I would like to apologise for any libel that I may have intimated or any offence caused. I have let The Wokingham Paper know also of my apology and they will be printing it in next week’s paper.

I also apologise for the mistake in my letter as referring to you as a hedge fund manager. I see you are Chief Global Strategist for Charles Stanley. I realise I should have checked your job spec before I wrote my earlier letter and that was remiss of me.

I also apologise for the implying that you advised investors to take money out of the UK explicity because of ‘Brexit’. You did not mention Brexit as your cause for your advice.

I really hope this will be the end of the matter – I have felt very impassioned by the whole Brexit issue and perhaps I went too far this time so please accept my apologies.

Vanessa Rogers, Wokingham

Medical help

It is that time of the year once again, and I am busy writing references for our young psychology graduates – to help them get into jobs - fortunately, successfully!

Soon, we will greet the new recruits. We usually take three undergraduate, and three Master’s students, from Reading

University’s Psychology Department – on placement in the crisis house – each year. They like coming to us, and we

like having bright young life around us. Some psychology graduates are happy to go into marketing, or into education, but for those who want to go into clinical practice, the competition is fierce – with only one in five hundred being accepted for the NHS training course. I would, therefore, advise youngsters, who are intent upon a career in clinical psychology, to opt for the classic, medical, route. Train, first, in general medicine, then in psychological medicine, and then in the school of psychoanalysis of your choice. Some schools require a medical background for entrants, and it is a fact that the bust of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, is displayed,

to this day, in the entrance hall of the Royal College of Physicians. He was a doctor.

Psychoanalyst friends have told me that they have rarely had to use, all the anatomy, and physiology, that they were

required to learn in medical school. Maybe not, but it has enabled them to set up in their lucrative Harley Street practices. In embarking upon careers, youngsters do need to look at where the money is – house prices and school fees - being what they are! But I believe the medical background to be important, anyway. If a patient becomes very disturbed while undergoing analysis, [and we have known this to happen], it is useful, then, to have a psychoanalyst who is also trained in physical medicine.

We are very keen to put effort into encouraging the young into the best careers. As the great

Sir Winston Churchill said, ‘The churchyards are full of people who thought that they were indispensable!’

Our, older, generation will,i nevitably, pass away, so we need to see that the younger generation are equipped to take over our vital work in mental health.

Pam Jenkinson:, The Wokingham Crisis House.

Be the rainbow

Many of your readers may already be aware that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which helps brings to light the tremendous impact of cancer, not just on children themselves but on entire families.

At Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, a third of the 2,300 families we support in England are caring for a child with cancer. Year on year cancer remains the most common reason for referral to our service and despite the improvements in treatment and prognosis, the impact on all family members remains devastating.

Every day our eight care teams of Family Support Workers help these families in whatever way they can. They provide expert practical and emotional support in their home, beside them in hospital or out in the community. The only thing stopping us reaching more families is lack of funding.

To find out more about Rainbow Trust I urge your readers to visit rainbowtrust.org.uk.

Thank you for your support.

Anne Harris Director of Care Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity Cassini Court Randalls Way Leatherhead Surrey KT22 7TW