RED RAG 30th Sept - 14th Oct FREE - FORTNIGHTLY! News 662302 Distribution 669562 Events 591025 Going Out 669154 Next issue Co-ordinator - Jackie Next Copydate 11 Oct. - - - A DAY OUT WITH... VIOLENCE We were warned on Breakfast TV! This demonstration was organised by militant anarchist groups, said the Head of Police Operations. These people were violent and dangerous; peaceful protesters were being conned into coming in order to swell the numbers. He advised us to stay away. These were violent people, he said, and the police were expecting them to demonstrate in ways such as sitting down on the road and trying to stop traffic. So violent and dangerous! The bus driver also was dissuading people from going. He'd read in the Sun that there would be up to fifteen demonstrations and he reckoned he'd only get the bus as far as Hammersmith. We arrived about 11 at St Paul's. Police everywhere. We were moved on if we stopped in the street, and they were threatening arrest for anyone in groups of more than three. A new tactic - keep us apart. People responded by walking round the streets with marker pens and superglue (great for locks!) and tried to build up groups by walking round road junctions in circles, continuously crossing the road. There had been windows smashed earlier on and smoke bombs and stink bombs were used. We were searched seven or eight times in about two hours: marker pens and leaflets were confiscated (unless you managed to hide them): it was illegal to leaflet, apart from the Support the City group, who were also handing out stickers that said "Aggravate an Anarchist - Support the City". Police were arresting people for being on the streets - special orders from the Commissioner for the day. This was an illegal demonstration - they hadn't been told the route, you see. About 2 o'clock they started a rounding-up operation. What was the excuse for arrest, we wondered: simply being in the City? We were walking past the police station in our regulation group of no more than three when we realised they were herding people into the station. People were walking past, then got to a certain point and realised that they couldn't turn back. Two of us managed to avoid the pen. One was trapped, but he was no sheep: he made a break for it, pursued by running policeman. They put him in a van but the front door was open and they had to pursue him again. Two police vans rounded the corner. They saw us. We ran. They followed. Keystone Kops live again! I was led to the van, cop on either side, my arms twisted up my back. I shouted that they were hurting me and they twisted them further and pushed me into the van. Violent and dangerous people? We were taken to the station and led through the courtyard full or arrested people. We shouted. They can't gag your mouth. Can they? We waited in the queue to be processed, I told other people in the line that the only information they were obliged to give was their name and address and that they should take the number of their arresting officer in case a different one was produced in court. Their officers told me to mind my own business; I was told to 'behave'. Why? What were they going to do - arrest me? I continually asked why we'd been arrested. My officer said he wasn't going to tell me. He told me to grow up. They tried to take my photo; they have no right to do this if you object. I covered my head with a jumper. They tried to pull it off. Later they succeeded, got a photo and passed it round amongst themselves making comments such as "She's nice!" When I realised, I asked for it back. They told me it would fade in two weeks. Like hell it would. They took us to vans, I refused to walk. Why co-operate? They threatened "It will take you longer to get out" but it makes no difference. They carried me by my clothes, I told them they would split and I'd crack my skull on the ground. They replied 'Good'. They put me in the van and six of them gave me a few kicks each for good measure. Whose violence? Then I was put in the Black Maria. Tiny cells with enough space to sit with other women, and great metal doors. They wouldn't let people out for the toilet so they were forced to piss in there as we were there for an hour and a half. Then to Bishopsgate Police Station. Fourteen of us in a small cell. They wouldn't give us water for five hours. Eventually we had one cup each and a piece of bread. They wouldn't let us phone until we'd spent hours shouting. Forget your "rights"! We smashed the toilet. We played new games. It's a good way to meet people. There was a tourist in our cell: a middle-aged Canadian woman in England for three weeks. She'd been shopping, come out, seen the police, asked what was going cm and got nicked. She told them she was a tourist. They told her she was lying. She tried to phone her embassy but they wouldn't let her. It's good to know she'll go back with such a clear picture of the Good Old British Bobby. I was let out about one. Too late to catch the bus home. They asked if I'd be all right on the streets on my own. A great deal safer than in the station, I would have thought. Violent and dangerous people in there! Nora Spect - - - RED RAG is Reading's Only Newspaper. It is produced, published and distributed by a fluid if not necessarily fluent collective which contrives to get it together, onto paper and out to 4000 odd and not so odd eager readers (1500 print run X 2 1/2 - standard media calculation: probably more, knowing the communal habits of many readers) every fortnight, free of charge. Its pages and fluctuating funds are filled mostly by its readers: we rely on them for content and cash. Anyone with an opinion to air or an axe to grind stand a pretty good chance of getting it printed in the Rag, provided the material isn't racist, sexist, militarist or otherwise supportive of oppression: poetry and party political polemics are not welcomed, and material stands a better chance if it is concise and if possible typed on one side of a sheet of paper (not orange recycled pulp, please) to a 12 cm width and single-spaced. Please sign contributions with a name of some description, however improbable, and give some indication of how the hard-pressed editorial collective can get in touch if editing, clarification or transliteration of execrable handwriting is necessary. Opinions expressed are damned well not necessarily those of the collective and quite possibly not of their authors either. Red Rag always needs help with typing, pasteup and folding and collating - ring the co-ordinator (number on front page) or see 'Events' for times and places: if this issue look scrappy it's because not enough people were around and the co-ordinator has been doing his nut emulating a blue-arsed fly. We also need money - hard, soft or handwritten on cheques of the non-resilient variety. Collecting tins are to be found at better-class outlets - see the list somewhere or other in this issue - or at Acorn Bookshop, The collective inhabits a wooden box at Acorn - Box 79 - which is where copy, letters to Rag, complaints and money should be sent. And offers of help, too, plizz. - - - DIRTY TRICKS IN NEWBURY For two months 8 young people aged 17 to 24 have been squatting two disused shops and flats at 23 and 25a Oxford Road, Newbury. Housing in one of Britain's computer games towns is hard to find, next to impossible if you're young and unemployed. The buildings had been standing empty for a year and a half waiting to be developed into offices; they are owned by a development company called Trenchwood. A couple of weeks ago the squatters received a letter telling them they were illegal occupants but no legal action has been taken. They were receiving the usual amount of hassle from the police but on Friday September 28th the Electricity Board turned up to say they were going to cut off the supply. They managed to sneak into number 23 and turn off the supply, so five people locked themselves in 25a. At 11.25 the police arrived and two police officers without even the courtesy of knocking kicked in the door to number 25a. Police held the five occupants while the electricians looked for the meter. When they had disconnected the supply they left. The squatters had accounts with the Electricity Board and were fully paid up; the Electricity Board are refusing to reconnect even though they have broken a contract. The squatters are going to sue the Board for breaking a legal contract to supply electricity to the squats. They are also suing Newbury police for violence in securing entry under Section 6 of the 1977 Criminal Law Act. The squats are still open and the squatters welcome any help you can give them. They particularly need more people living at the squats. Finding accommodation in an area where office space is more important than housing is hard enough without the constant attention of the police and their apparent willingness to exceed their already extensive powers whenever it suits them. Clive - - - LETTER FOR THE RAG Poor Roslyn Renshaw, why did she find it necessary to write such a cynical and blistering attack on 'alternative woman' in the Evening Post? She certainly shocked a few people who had welcomed her interest in them, and their life styles. Perhaps the most ubiquitous aspect of the article was her direct and indirect references to birth and pregnancy (acid comments about shelling babies like peas, giving birth with as many friends as possible present, etc). Could it be that she is still scarred by the bad miscarriage she suffered not so long ago? Is it bitter jealousy? She gives Alexandra Road as the prime address for 'alt. wmn'. Talking to friends who live there I find them confused and, in their estimation, not really a.w. at all. Perhaps her visit to a mother of triplets while she herself was still pregnant burns in her memory. Perhaps, either way, she should explain this unwarranted attack. She will find, if nothing else, that alternative wmn. are by definition sympathetic, even under fire. If she wants to drop in sometime to 71 De Beauvoir Road I am even willing to risk having details of my lifestyle (inc. my jobshare with my 'partner') ridiculed in the E.P. if she wants to talk. Bridget - - - NON-STOP CITY? The City didn't stop on Thursday, it remained as chaotic as usual & the senseless pursuit of profit went on right through the day. They were on top form which kept (according to the Morning Star) 'hundreds of anarchists roaming aimlessly' & doubtless hundreds of police & CP reporters following aimlessly after them. I was arrested for roaming in the early hours of the afternoon & like hundreds of others my policeman was good enough to take me to Wood Street police station so that I could repay my debt to society. Everyone was invited to pose for photographs & since I destroyed the first one the Sergeant explained how to position oneself for Polaroid No. 2. A very good likeness was achieved with him reaching over my head from behind, and pulling it back with two fingers in the nostrils. Everyone was forced to hand over personal property to be itemised and bagged, at which time the filth were teaching more tricks; like how to clench peoples' fists (backwards). After handing over a sheet on my right to refuse to be photographed, my and my friend, the arresting officer, went off to find a bus bound for the cells. Everyone on the bus seemed to be in the same frame of mind about how lucky we'd been to meet a friendly policeman whilst out walking. We disembarked at the old bailey and handed over shoes before being given a room with a table and one chair; each of these cells had ten people in them with a floor space of 5ft by 12ft. I would guess there were about 150 people held at central criminal court, old bailey, and for the next 7 hours these people set about redesigning their cells. Of course everyone in our cell went to sleep, but when we woke up, the table had been ripped off the wall, the legs broken off, all the windows smashed, the air vent cover ripped off, the seat cover torn, graffitti on the walls, and somebody had thrown all our food round the cell. We were not allowed to go to the toilet for the first 4 to 5 hours, so people had to urinate on the cell floor. At midnight, it was back on the bus and off to another police station for questioning by cid because all the cells had been smashed up. The questioning carried on til 9 the next morning when most of us left uncharged. From talking to other people, it seems that the met and the city were excelling themselves in the number of tourists they arrested; the one in our cell was a bloke from Denmark who was just walking past the police station. By the end of the night, he was as uncooperative as everyone else, and someone took his name and address to tell when the next Stop the City would be. I found the whole thing worked on many levels, and although we didn't stop the city, at least people turned up to have a go, which is more than can be said for the 'Buy a paper and build the Party' brigade. Signed: Sid Street. - - - CITIZEN CAIN Contractor Expands Construction firm Tarmac were last in the news when some Labour Councils removed them from their list of suppliers because they'd been the main contractor on USAF Greenham Common. Now they've got Cecil Parkinson on the Board they can no doubt expect more orders of the same. And their failure to build their own private motorway in the West Midlands may be made up for elsewhere: the Chief Constable of Derbyshire has been suspended partly because he appears to have accepted too much hospitality from their hands. Family Practice The network of Family Practitioner Committees covers, if in a very unpublicised way, the work of GPs and of pharmacists and opticians. The Government has decided to reform the FPCs, basically so that it can get a hold on GP expenditure which is virtually uncontrolled to the benefit of drug companies and quite probably patients too. They've been asking for nominations of the Great and the Malleable to sit on these Committees. In this area they've been in so much of a hurry to do it that they've asked for nominations before deciding what boundaries the new FPCs are to have. Something Boroughed, Something Blue The Reading Tory Group had to make a very difficult political calculation when the Chief Executive came up with his blueprint (I use the word advisedly) for extending Reading's boundaries and gobbling up Theale, Tilehurst, Woodley, Earley and so on. There's a by-election in Theale in October and County elections everywhere next May. Although the Reading Tories (and Liberals) want to grab as many right-voting wards as they can their colleagues actually in those areas are fighting the move as the ratepayer's friend. So to go ahead now would have split both parties something rotten and handed Labour a nice platform plank they would not have been slow to wield. The Tories have now worked out that there won't be enough elections in outer Reading in 1987 to matter so they can push the land-grab through then. And hope that when the new bits get round to voting in Reading Borough elections they'll have forgotten who grabbed them & why! Drinking Time The food and drink, industry ain't half getting shook up. Reading's Simmonds Brewery was taken over by Courages some years back: Courages was then taken over by Imperial Tobacco (it's called diversification, which means a hedge against falling cigarette sales). And Imperial Tobacco is being hunted by U.S. multinational Philip Morris. If this bid succeeds Reading Football Club, sponsored by Courages, will have finally made it to Marlboro country! Meanwhile, tea giant Brooke Bond is being hunted by Tate & Lyle and by Unilever: the interest of either of these in SB's Berkshire Printing Company down the Oxford Road looks likely to be small, so yet another Reading print works could bite the dust. Woking-Up Wokingham Council is producing a local plan "to identify land for development purposes in accordance with the replacement structure plan for Berkshire" and to identify land for 400 houses in North Wokingham. So the key question is of course whose land, isn't it? YC News Our Conservative Correspondent writes: The appearance of former Reading Young Conservative Simon Coombs before the Reading Chamber of Commerce is not unconnected with the fact that the newly-elected M.P. for Swindon has no confidence that he can hold that seat in the next election. This is why he's been hobnobbing with the Wiltshire gentry and neglecting his own constituency but if Major Charles Morrison isn't prepared to give up his Devizes seat to the former Reading Councillor at the next election then Reading East, assuming "Sir" Gerry can be persuaded to hang up his stethoscope, will do nicely. A determined speech before the Chamber, therefore, to remind old friends that one is, as one might say, available. Simon is of course no longer running the Wessex Area Young Conservatives, which may be why at their last barbeque they introduced a new sport called ladies' welly-wanging won by a Jill Smith from Newbury. Descriptions on a post-card please. SDPunishment Andres Macluskey, SDP failure in Katesgrove in May, first, as they say, "got into the headlines" by attacking Reading Trades Union Council for working with the Labour Party (and, presumably, vice versa). It's obviously given him a bad dose of print starvation, because he's launched himself on a determined campaign to get his name into the papers again and again by writing letters about virtually everything to virtually every paper he's ever heard of. He doesn't sign his letters on behalf of his otherwise unpublicised party but obviously believes that if people see his name often enough they will vote for it. Or perhaps that some of his views, like his demand for the introduction of both capital and corporal punishment, are not shared by his fellow-members (if any). Or are they? Speedway Drives The urgency with which Reading speedway bosses are wooing Reading Football Club with plans for a joint stadium is totally unconnected with investigations by the 'People' into corruption on the speedway circuit and their remand for a thorough inquiry. The 'People' has identified several riders, including at least one now-retired Reading Racer, who've admitted involvement in buying and selling of points. If their campaign takes off it could of course lead to reduced attendances and reduced profits at Smallmead and other tracks. Which might make joint use a particularly interesting option. No Trust Trust House Forte, wanting a clean image so they can go for nice plums like the Calcot service station on the M4, have withdrawn from the hospital catering business and won't be going for the contract at, for example, Newbury and Sandleford Hospitals just down the road when it comes up around the end of the year. Their Gardner-Merchant subsidiary has said it will no longer take on hospital catering because the lowest tender and fixed price rules imposed by the DHSS (N. Fouler, prop.) make it impossible to provide a decent service and they don't want to do a Stanley Royde in the full glare of publicity. Right on. Citizen Cain - - - Shared-House Threat In Reading Reading Borough's Environmental Health Department has been serving notice on owners of shared houses and flats requiring the property to meet fire safety provisions applicable to houses in multiple occupation - i.e. occupied by more than one household. If enforced the cost of alterations needed to meet these requirements would effectively wipe out the accommodation provided by shared dwellings - a vital housing resource in a town like Reading with a large population of students, young unemployed and young single working people. So that a clearer picture of this apparent policy on the part of the EHD can be put together, and questions asked and pressure applied in the right quarters, would anyone owning or living in a shared house or flat (not separate self-contained rooms or bedsits in one building) please get in touch with details - dates, owner's name, address, etc. and correspondence if possible so we have enough hard information to go on. Send to Dave, 43 Russell Street Flat 2, RG1 7XG. - - - THE RIGHT TO READ Flashback Five drug squad officers barge into Acorn Bookshop on 6th April 1983 and leave 90 minutes later with seven boxes of books and magazines (not paid for, you understand). 6th August l983: Newsnight t.v. programme features Acorn in a discussion of the series of raids on bookshops and wholesalers under the Obscene Publications Act. 9th August 1983: two very nervous drug squad officers return about one third of the seized literature. December 1983: summons, dated 13th November, to go to court on 9th January, served at Acorn - adjournment granted to March 20th. Further adjournment granted till after the Old Bailey trials of wholesalers for drug-related titles under the Obscene Publications Act. June 1984: Old Bailey Trials. Knockabout Comics acquitted, Airlift Books fined for one pamphlet. September 1984: Summons served again for Acorn to come to court Friday 5th October. This is it, folks! (10.30 am, Reading Magistrates Court, beside the police Station). Hunter S. Thompson, Furry Freak Brothers, Tom Wolfe, William Burroughs and many more will be up for grabs. No books will actually be banned as a result of this case. We stand to lose £300s worth of stock which will be destroyed unless the magistrates consider it not liable to "deprave and corrupt". More importantly, a forfeiture order would further normalise in people's minds the idea of police activity in bookshops. Several raids have recently taken place in gay bookshops, notably Gay's the Word in London who have had all their imported stock seized. First they came for the drugs books... PS. Defending books costs money - - - The READING CENTRE FOR THE JOBFREE is planning a new year revue "Jack and Jill Sign On - or - Waiting for Giro" a modern fairy tale for the 80's to be performed on Jan 14h, 1985. We would welcome participation from any interested people or groups re: music, songs, sketches, jokes, costumes, performances (acting, singing, playing, dancing, etc.). The theme will be unemployment. A brief outline has been prepared which we hope to discuss on the 15th Oct. at the Centre at 1pm. For further information contact Jenny at the Centre - 596639 - - - READING CENTRE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED 4-6 East St. Tel: 596639 The Centre is a meeting place for those experiencing unemployment. A full range of useful courses and activities are open to users of the Centre. An advice and counselling service is available to help to answer many of the problems you are facing. There is a creche open to users of the Centre, or for those attending job interviews, Unemployment Benefit Offices, housing Offices, or the D.H.S.S. There is also a snack bar for cheap drinks and snacks, open to all non-waged. If you have problems, need advice, encouragement, want to occupy your time in a more constructive way, or are just plain nosey, why not come along to: Reading Centre for the Unemployed, 4-6 East Street. The Centre is yours - so why not use it? We Are Hoping To Produce An "Ethnic Minority Newsletter" every month, and would welcome any contributions/volunteers from all racial and cultural groups in the Reading area. Your contribution might be anything from an article on racism, to a recipe for samosas! If you are interested in helping to produce this newsletter, contact Rockey at: Reading Centre for the Unemployed, 4-6 East st. Tel: 596639 - - - SMALL ADS Kittens - Two pretty tabby female kittens urgently need good homes. Tel. Chrissie on 666038 Stereo Amplifier & Record Deck - Amplifier works deck is an old Garrard one which needs some attention. Free or donation to Red Rag. Tel. Chrissie on 666038 House for sale - Comfortable little terraced house near Cemetry Junction, in good condition with some original features: 3 bedrooms separate dinning room & living room, pleasantly decorated (plain walls & carpets) gas fires and Ascot water heater. Sunny 70ft rear garden well-stocked with herbs and alpines £27,750 including carpets and curtains. Telephone Chrissie on 666038 (evenings). I'm selling because I'm leaving Reading & I'm pissed off with all the parasitic estate agents. Couple looking for cheap but interesting accommodation. Adam 482 559 Beginners class in Astrology starting mid-Oct. 6 weeks £18 please ring Sue on Rdg. 669571 for further details. We want to form a small food co-op. Anyone interested in joining us to bulk buy pulses grains cereals etc. please phone Louise Richard & Suzanne (0734)585046 Red Rag Bag - Red Rag's compilation tape will be around before the winter seasonal holidays. Anyone wishing to submit sounds should contact Clive on 662302 before the end of Oct. at the very latest. Distribution - We have found a distributor for group D but now need someone to take over distribution in Group J which covers Bulmershe Rd, Hamilton Rd, & Crescent Rd, just south of Wokingham Rd. If you can take this on please ring Guy in 669562, or write to Red Rag c/o Acorn Bookshop Box 79 Chatham St. Also ring Guy if you want RR delivered to your door, free, every for fortnight, or if you want to add your name to the list of Emergency distributors who help out when people are away or ill. Reading Between the Lines 1984-5 - The 2nd edition of Red Rag's guide to 'alternative Reading' is out now! 56 pages (the last one had only 36!) packed with, you know, information and pictures and things. And all for only 50p. Rush out and get yours now, from Acorn, and probably lots of other places too. Anarchists display at Acorn (sounds obscene!) is still on. Worth going to if only to get two free back numbers of Anarchist publications. Seriously tho' if you don't know what Anarchists are about go and have a look. You may be surprised. For sale - 2 gas cookers & 2 gas fires. Elderly but working. £15 each o.n.o., or suitable donation to Red Rag. Tel. Paul 662646. Urgent - Single person seeks room is shared house. Smoker, 21, employed. Phone 591025 and leave message, thank you. - - - GAY SWITCHBOARD IS 5 2nd Report, June 1981 - August 1984 Aim and Operation The aim of Reading Gay Switchboard is to provide help and information on all aspects of homosexuality, a function on which we have based our operation since our foundation on 5th Oct 1979. We report here what we are doing to fulfil this aim. Since our previous report, we have made two major changes in our operation. (1) From Nov. 1981, we have manned the Switchboard two evenings a week, Tuesdays and Fridays, 8-10 p.m., instead of once a week only. (2) We have improved the help we provide for callers with serious problems. In the absence of a local Friend group, Switchboard volunteers decided in Apr. 1983 to take on the responsibility of meeting these callers and befriending them as necessary. This is normally done by a pair of volunteers working together. Reading Gay Switchboard is currently operated by 9 fully-trained volunteers and 1 probationer. There are 8 men and 2 women, all being homosexual. Each contact with Switchboard is with either a volunteer or a trainee under direct supervision. Volunteers also meet about every 6 weeks to decide policy and supervise the running of Switchboard. The 3 officers. Secretary, Treasurer and Training Officer, carry the executive responsibility between meetings. Training We are concerned with two aspects of training: (1) initial selection and induction of new volunteers, and (2) in-service training. (1) During the last 3 years, 9 volunteers have been selected, fully-trained and become Switchboard members. Training involves discussion and role-play sessions, and listening to and supervised answering of actual phone calls. An important aspect is to educate volunteers about the activities, attitudes and problems of the opposite sex. (2) Switchboard volunteers have been addressed by speakers from Oxford Friend and Reading Samaritans on face-to-face contact with callers, and from TV/TS Group on transvestites and transsexuals. Some volunteers have also visited London Gay Switchboard. Statistics A total of 2033 calls have been received since Switchboard began operating. The 1418 calls received during the last 3 years are analysed below with respect to the gender and locality of the caller and the type of problem. Gender: Male 85%, Female 15% Locality: Reading 55%, Newbury 6%, S.Oxon 2%, Oxford/Didcot 2%, Wokingham 3%, Bracknell 3%, Maidenhead 1%, Slough/Windsor 2%, Hants 5%, Far away 6%, Unknown 15% Presenting problem: Information 55%, Accommodation exchange 10%, Lonely/depressed/anxious 5%, Married gay 4%, Unsure of sexuality 5%, Sexual 2%, Legal/medical 1%, Bisexual/TV 6%, Hoax/abusive 6%, Other 6% Many of the calls seeking information are from callers just beginning to recognise their sexual orientation or who are isolated. They usually want to meet others, but need encouragement and reassurance, which we try to provide. Most of our heterosexual callers are transvestites, seeking means of meeting other like-minded people. We try to give them information and reassurance. Only a tiny minority of our callers (less than 1%) are seeking immediate sexual contact. Although we cannot help in this respect, we do try to be friendly and suggest alternative courses of action. Although only a small proportion of our callers are women, we feel it essential to include women in our advertising, to maintain a high level of knowledge of lesbianism and to have some female volunteers. The geographical distribution of our callers differs markedly from that of the population in our catchment area. It probably reflects the very small amount of newspaper advertising we have been able to obtain outside the Reading area. Advertising We advertise by placing small posters where we can, such as in doctors' surgeries, colleges and workplaces, and in the press. The national Gay press carries our phone number, as do the Thomson and Citizen's Guide local directories. We advertise regularly in the Reading Evening Post, Reading Chronicle, Reading Mercury and Newbury District Journal, and are grateful to these newspapers for their efficient handling of our ad. However, the following newspapers have refused to carry our ad: Basingstoke Gazette, Newbury Weekly News, Wokingham Times and Basingstoke Standard, the first three having been approached on two separate occasions over the past 5 years. These newspapers are not generally willing to discuss the reasons behind their attitude, but we shall continue to try to change it and would be grateful for outside help in this regard. It is most unfortunate that publicity about our service is so limited in the environs of Newbury, Basingstoke and Wokingham, where there must be many people we could help. Finance In the earlier part of the reporting period money was raised by raffles in gay pubs and at gay social events. Since July 1983 we have run a benefit disco, jointly with High Wycombe Gay Switchboard, on the last Wed. of each month, at Martine's club in Reading. The disco has led to a dramatic improvement in our financial situation, enabling us to extend our advertising, and also to rent a P.O.Box, so acquiring an address. We are also considering ways to improve our service. Future Plans and Needs Up to the present, Reading Gay Switchboard has not had its own phone line, but has borrowed an ex-directory line belonging to another organisation for its operating periods. We have now arranged for the installation of a line solely for Switchboard use. This will be manned on Tues. and Fri. evenings, and will be connected for the rest of the time to a tape machine giving local information and referring callers needing urgent help to London Gay Switchboard. Having our own line will also enable us to have an entry in the telephone directory. As always, Reading Gay Switchboard is in need of new volunteers. Any gay person who would like to help is invited to phone or write for further information or an interview, as required. We are running the next training course during the Autumn/Winter 1984-5. Contacts with other organisations: acknowledgements We are constantly in touch with local Gay groups and with other local Gay Switchboards (Windsor, High Wycombe, Aldershot, Southampton and Oxford). We are affiliated to the National Association of Gay Switchboards. We are grateful to Oxford Friend, Reading Samaritans and TV/TS Group for helping our training by providing speakers. We are indebted to the Voluntary Service Council for their support throughout the last 5 years. We also thank the management and staff at Martine's and those who have attended our benefit discos for their financial support, which is enabling Switchboard to improve its operation and helping to finance the 24-hour service to homosexuals provided by London Gay Switchboard. M.L. Green, Secretary, Reading Gay Swicthboard, P.O. Box 75, Reading. Reading 597269 on Tues. and Fri., 8-10 p.m. - - - Paid Advertisement Reading's only workers co-operative UB CYCLES same day bicycle repairs renovations new & second hand bikes spare parts... UB CYCLES 67 London Street Reading phone 509089 Open 8.30-6.00 Monday to Saturday 10.00 - 12 noon Sundays - - - READING COMMUNITY MENTAL HANDICAP TEAMS Consist of 2 social workers and 2 community nurses with contact with other professionals in different disciplines. Idea is to provide more co-ordinated services for the mentally handicapped. They can be contacted for advice / support in areas such as welfare benefits, management of behaviour difficulties, residential facilities, counselling etc. The teams would also be interested to hear your comments on how services could be improved. Contact the Community Mental Handicap Team, currently based at Reading Social Services - Reading 586111. Reading Health Watch is conducting a study of services at the Royal Berks Special Clinic (for sexually transmitted diseases). If you have been a patient at the Clinic we would be very interested to hear your experiences of it and to have your opinions on the service it offers. Write to Reading Health Watch, c/o Reading VSC, 24 Westcote Road, Reading RG3 2DE. Guy - - - RED RAG is your paper. It is not for an elitist few. If you can write about something whether it be a music review or an idea on something you've read, get it down on paper with a contact name and address/phone number. If possible type it 12cm. wide and single spaced, but this is not absolutely necessary. If you don't like to write, how about drawing - graphics, a Red Rag cover, cartoons, headings or even black and white photos of something of interest. There's something for everyone. Crosswords, bike hints, recipes, patterns. There, that wasn't too hard was it? How to finish - er, well that's all for now folks. P.B. (Red Rag Types) - - - PROSPECT PARK HOSPITAL The Prospect Park Hospital site is to be sold off when the patients are moved out, it was announced this week. The news comes only two weeks after the district administrator announced that the Health Authority had no plans to close the hospital either in the short of long term. On hearing this news the Community Health Council decided that enough was enough and decided to insist on full formal consultation of the plan to transfer patients to Battle Hospital. The Prospect Park Hospital Action Committee, which has collected nearly 10,000 signatures on its petition to keep the old people's hospital open, is now preparing the next stage of its campaign. If you would like to offer your help, please write to the Chairman Andy King, 3 Ivydean Road, Reading, or phone committee member Charles Bond on Reading 595205. - - - ARTZY BITZ [The idiophonic ensemble - inflicted on South Oxford ears (above) before bringing it ail back home to Prospect Perk at the end of August. Rough music on the move (right) for E P Collier end-of-term neighbourhood street procession in July.] The state of COMMUNITY AND ALTERNATIVE ARTS in Our Fair Borough seems to confirm amply Joe Soap's description (last Rag out one) of Reading as an Anarchist town so far as 'things happening' are concerned. Any attempt at formal, structured 'organization' appears doomed to have a half-life roughly equal to that of Californium or one of the other transuranic nasties in the periodic table of elements - witness the meteoric progress from boundless enthusiasm to galloping lassitude of 'Beating Time' as a continuing musician's self-help activity after the week-long festival at RCU in May or the progress to date of 20th Century Arts, the group that was to have got community arts in Reading off the ground at last. Nevertheless, in the best traditions of Anarchy, things are happening in an indivualistic or ad hoc collective way: musicians, artists, videologues and others fitting the imprecise definition of 'Community Artists' continue to chip away at the fabric of Art as Elite Expertise in all sorts of ways: some of them are chronicled here. Any number can play - the more the merrier. But guerrilla warfare, artistic or otherwise, stands a better chance of accomplishing something - anything at all - by doing. Not by talking. Nurein Geiger WANT SOME SEAFOOD, MAMMA! The most "community" of art to be seen round Reading for a good long while has been appearing amidst the assortment of racist, anti-racist and mating-urge grafitti in odd corners, work of a person or persons unknown - schools of jolly orange goldfish and yellow-and-black daisies. Keen fish-spotters have logged at least four locations so far: a wall in Erleigh Road, an unspecified spot in Liverpool Road, alongside the Kennet-side cycleway under the Kings Road bridge and the subway under the IDR ramp at the bottom of Southampton Street. Who's next - where? Keep it up! Dave SOUTHERN ARTS WOMEN'S SHOW Artist Diane Roberts is seeking to hake contact with contemporary women artists resident within the Southern Arts Region, in order to organise a mixed media group exhibition, to be shown at a venue within Southern Arts, also with the possibility of touring to other venues. For further information, please send ten slides of recent work, C.V. with artist's statement, and a S.A.E. for their return, to Diane Roberts, 55 Lansdowne Road, Bournemouth, Dorset. The Artlink scheme is delighted to announce the appointment of a WRITER IN RESIDENCE for Oxfordshire and Berkshire. This has been made possible by a major grant from the Arts Council of Gt. Britain. James McClure, a novelist, will be attached to the Artlink scheme for one year from December, 1984 during which time he will be available to work with all our clients. The Artlink scheme makes the Arts more accessible to elderly people, physically or mentally handicapped people, people in prison and in hospital as well as others in need. During September, October and November, Mr McClure will be working with Artlink to plan his programme and we welcome enquiries from anyone or any organisation who would like to work with James. Fuller details on ways in which a writer can work in a community setting are available from this address. Yours sincerely, Artlink 81 Langley Close Oxford 0X3 7DB ATRZ ADZ Make it the Evening of your Dreams with the one and only Greg Katstot, guitarist, singer and raconteur extraordinary (references on request) - ready, willing and able to perform for parties, benefits and Buchlike in return for donations to Miners Support Committee - other good causes considered. Phone 580127 (work 586141). Iddle Tunes, likely stories, the odd song or two. Gigs, parties, quilting bees, etc. Benefits for divers good causes carefully considered. Also community arts or schools, playgroups, etc., solo or with co-workers, diophonic ensembles, boink-tube bands and other mind and ear-stretching activities. Fiddler Dave, Flat 2, 3 Russell Street or leave message with Jo, 666681. TWENTIETH CENTURY ARTS has been researching and gathering information for the past year. Our public meeting has shown that ideas, enthusiasm and energy are running rampant! What is needed is some sort of information network which would help groups and individuals find funding, Space (halls, parks, streets) and each other. Therefore Cxx Arts has taken on the task of gathering further indorsation and preparing some fact sheets which would be made available to all. These fact sheets will hopefully save time and energy so that projects can be set up with the minimum of fuss and administrative hassle. So if you are interested would you please complete the accompanying form and send it to P.O. Box 20, Acorn, 17 Chatham St. as soon as possible. We hope to have these fact sheets ready by Nov. I) Individuals/Groups: Name: Address: Tel.: If you are working in the community arts field do you get paid for your work? Yes / No If 'Yes' how is your project funded? What kind of work do you do and with whom? For how long? Would you like to expand your activities? How? What are your needs? If you are not working in the community arts field do you have any specific ideas about what you would like to do? What are your needs? (materials, funds, space, information?) Would you like your name(s) added to our contact list? Yes / No II) Community Groups/Assoc.: Can you assist in the setting up of community arts projects in your area? Yes / No If 'Yes' what sort of space/facilities do you have available? What type of projects do you feel your community would welcome? Could you assist in the funding of such projects/workshops? (materials, tutor fees, advertising)? Yes / No If 'Yes' could you please give details Would you like your groups' name added to our contact list? Yes /No - - - EVENTS This issue's Extents Guide is appallingly bitty 'cos we couldn't find an Eventsperson to do it properly and this issue's co-ordinator hasn't got a phone. Apologies to readers and events organisers alike - there's certain to be a lot more going on than this. Keep eyes peeled for posters, noticeboards like the ones at Acorn, Central Library, etc. and now we do have an Eventsperson should do better next time. However, organisers who want to make sure their events get mentioned could help loads by phoning us or posting a note to Box 79, Acorn Bookshop, rather than waiting for us to ring you and maybe forget. Saturday October 6 Craft Fayre, Hurst Tillage Hall (Hurst is south of Twyford). Sunday October 7th Vegans - Letter-writing workshop, Neighbourhood Centre Hall, Lyon Square, Tilehurst. Telephone 591805 if you need directions. Bring paper, pen and ideas (Vegan food, too!) 2.45 pm. Monday October 8th Education Otherwise. Autumn walk and planning meeting, 72 Curzon Street, 10.30 to 4.30. If you're planning to come, please ring Liz Howlett on 581805 so she'll know how many to cope with. Thursday October 11th Red Rag: editorial meeting and copy date. Ring 662302 for time and place. West Indian Women's Circle 3rd Annual Educational and Cultural Exhibition, Old Town Hall, Blagrave Street. See 'Going Out' for details. Also Friday and Saturday. Friday October 12th Rag typing, headlines, etc. Phone 662302 for details. Saturday October 13th Rag production - Ring 662302 for time and place. Sunday October 14th Rag folding, collation and distribution. Jolly social occasion, kill or cure for hangovers. Probably Acorn but ring 662302 for confirmation. - - - REGULAR Greenham Support Group (Women): meets fortnightly. Nightwatch every Thurs. Contact Ana 68330, Elizabeth 507065 or via Womens Centre, Abbey St. Alcoholics Anonymous: groups meet regularly in Reading (9 meetings a week), Pangbourne, Thatcham, Henley and Bracknell. Day and night info and help line - 597494. Labour History Croup: meets monthly at Red Lion, Southampton St. Contact Kathy 590139 or Mike 867789 for details. Vegans: meet 1st Sun of month at 1, Orrin Close, Tilehurst. Contact Liz and Steve Shiner 21651. Amnesty: meets 2nd Thurs of month at St. Mary's Centre, Chain St. Contact Jean 472598. History of Reading Soc.: meets 3rd Tues of month at Abbey Gateway. Cyclists Touring Club: outings Sun 9.15am. from Caversham Bridge or Henley. For details ring Richard on Bracknell 50849. Wednesday is Women's Day: at Centre for Jobfree, East St. Coffee, advice, courses etc. from 10.30am. Silkscreen Workshops: at Community House, 117, Cumberland Rd. Details from Clive 662302. Cruelty-free Toiletries: market stall every Sat behind Tesco. National Council for Civil Liberties: meets 2nd Mon of month at St. Mary's Centre, Chain St. Ring Paul 861582. Reading Recreation Arts Centres: painting for pleasure at Town Hall, Blagrave St. Mon 7-9, Tues 10-12. Details 55911 or 861289. Berks. Anti-Nuclear Campaign: meets 2nd Tues of month at Friends Meeting House. Also neighbourhood groups. P.O. Box 158, Reading or Phone Gill or Ed 594855. Labour Party Young Socialists: Weds at Fairview Community Centre, bottom of George St. 8pm. Reading Cycle Campaign: meets 2nd Mon of month at UB Cycles, London St. 8pm. Membership enquiries ring Chris Mayers 589178. General enquiries John Nixon 483183 or John Rigby 64667. Reading Birth Centre: meets 3rd Tues of month for food and chat. Ring 61330 for venue. Reading Organisation for Animal Rights (ROAR): 1st Tues of month at The Crown, Crown St. Details from Alan 477790. Men's Group: meets weekly. For dates and venue, contact Box 28, Acorn Bookshop. Miners Support Committee: meets every Thurs 7.30pm. at TGWU office, 36, King's Rd Ring 590311 for details. Juggling Workshop: every weekday 6.15pm. near the Adventure Playground in Palmer Park (London Rd. side). Bring something to juggle with. Phone Pete 67430 for details. Photography: sessions every Tues 10-12, 1-3 at Centre for Jobfree, East St. Housing and Welfare Rights: Thurs eves at Community House, 117 Cumberland Rd. Reading Gay Switchboard: Tues and Fri 8-10pm. 597269 Mini Market: Thurs 9-1 St. Mary's Hse., Chain St. Women's Centre: open Tues 10-2, Wed 10-2, Sat 11-3. All women and kids welcome. Free Pregnancy testing Tues 7-9. Bring urine sample from 1st. pee of the day Incest Survivors Group: meets regularly. Write c/o Rape Crisis Line, 17 Chatham St. for details. Anarchists: meet every Mon (starts again Oct) Details via Box 19, Acorn Bookshop. Also Autonomists. Peace Pledge Union: meets monthly. Pacifist group. Contact 588459, 374532 or Box 10 Acorn Books. Ecology Party: meets 1st and 3rd Mon of month at 8, College Rd and 38, Long Barn Lane respectively. Contact Maria 663195. Socialist Workers Party: meets every Wed at Red lion Southampton St. 8pm Regular Monthly books and records sale at 4 Culver Read (side of College Arms) last Saturday of month 10-4. Contact 65533 - - - GOING OUT Sunday 30th Sept. Forbury Gardens - Katesgrove Steel Band. 3pm. Free The Butler, Chatham St - Free Jazz. 8pm. Caversham Bridge Hotel - Readifolk. 8pm. Angies Wokingham - Band "Juvessence" Bulmershe College Revival Theatre - The Mayor of Zalamea. 7.30pm. £2.50. Conc. £2.00. Until Mon. lst. The Mill, Sonning - A new musical "And Then I Wrote", until Oct. 27th. SHP - Film "Testament" £2.00. Wales! - Magic Mushroom Festival - Black Monetians, Hey-on-Wey or Hey-on-Bluff (not sure which). From this weekend, until everyone goes home. Monday 1st October Rdg Univ. Art Gallery, London Rd - "Artists from the Keep" 9-5. Until 26th. SHP - Film "Streamers" 7.45pm. £2.00. Until 3rd. The Bull ,Nettlebed - Folk evening. Oxford Playhouse - Cider with Rosie. Weekdays 7.45pm, £4.75. Sats. 4 + 8pm £5-25. Mats (4th + 10th) 2pm. £2.75. With concs. Until 13th. Hexagon - Steve Hackett (ex-Genesis) 8pm. Dancing (!) downstairs £3.50. Seated (head-banging only?) in balcony, £4.50. Hexagon - Exhibition of Artworker Club Competition winners. Free. Until 6th. 1st-6th October 'Scene One - John Doe's Day' - a production written and performed by the new small-scale theatre company: 'Act One'. This is not a play - it is aimed at younger people who would go to see a band, rather than at theatre-goers. 'Widely acclaimed at Edinburgh Fringe.' At the Kenton Theatre, Henley. £1.50-£2.50 (on the door), 50p off with proof of UB40, under 18 or OAP. Doors open 7.30pm, starts 8pm. Enquiries: phone Henley 574225. Tuesday 2nd Oct. Exhibition Centre, Henley - Artistic Needlepoint Autumn Exhibition. 11-5. Until 5th. Hexagon - The London Ballet Theatre in "Beauty and the Beast" 8pm. £2, £3, £4 + concs. Until 4th. (Wed. mat. 2pm.) SHP, Wilde Theatre - "Oh What a Lovely War" £1.50, £2.00 Until 6th. Tudor Arms - Gay disco. Free. Ondines, Caversham - Speakeasy. 7.30pm. £1.50. Angies, Wokingham - New Orleans Jazz. 8.30-12. Royal Oak, Ruscombe - Folk evening. Tel. 342981. Wednesday 3rd Oct. Martines - Gay disco. Fortnightly. 9pm-2am. £1. Reading University, Students Union - Fresher's Ball, with "The Milkshakes". Crosfields School, Shinfield Rd - Fashion Show in aid of Save the Children. 7.30pm. £2.00. Tickets from Save the Children, Oxford Rd. Thursday 4th Oct. Merry Maidens, Shinfield Rd - "Surgery" dub sound system (reggae + funk). Every Thursday. £1. Sportsman, Shinfield Rd - Free music. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. No details yet. Tel. 789912 for details. Friday 5th Oct. Paradise Club, London St - The Inca Babies. 9-2. £? Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel.789912 for details. Tudor ARMS - Gay disco. Free. SHP - Film "White Dog" 7.45pm. £2.00. Until 10th. SHP - Film "Divine Madness" 11pm. £2.00. Until 6th. Saturday 6th Oct. Hexagon - Storeyville Tickle play at 12.15pm. Free. Paradise Club, London St - Pelicans Steel Band. 9-2am. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel.789912 for details. Sunday 7th Oct. The Butler, Chatham St - Free Jazz. 8pm. Caversham Bridge Hotel - Readifolk. 8pm. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel. 789912 for details. SHP, Wilde Theatre - Medieval Ensemble of London (music from 15th century Europe). 7.30pm. Monday 8th Oct. The Bull, Nettlebed - Folk evening. Tuesday 9th Oct. Tudor Arms - Gay disco. Free. Ondines, Caversham - Speakeasy. 7.30pm. £1.50. Angies, Wokingham - New Orleans Jazz. 8.30-12. Royal Oak, Ruscombe - Folk evening. Tel. 342981. SHP, Wilde Theatre - United Jazz and Rock Ensemble. Apollo Theatre, Oxford - Ballet Rambert. Various programmes. £3.50-£6.50. + concs. Until 13th. Wednesday 10th Oct. Hexagon - "Camelot" by Rdg Operatic Society. 7.30pm. Wed/Thur £2.50. Fri/Sat.£3. Sat. mat. £2. + concs. 'til 13th. Thursday 11th Oct. Old Town Hall, Blagrave St - West Indian Women's Circle 3rd Educational and Cultural Exhibition. Until 13th. 10-5 daily, 7pm-11pm Sat. £3. Merry Maidens, Shinfield Rd - "Surgery" dub sound system (reggae and funk). Every Thursday. £1. Sportsman, Shinfield Rd - Free music. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel. 789912 for details. SHP, Wilde Theatre - "Key To The World", a biting comedy set in the world of Rock musicians. £3. Until 13th. Oxford Playhouse - Johnny Ball "Think of a Number" (as seen on BBC TV) Until 13th. Thurs + Fri.10.30 + 2pm. Sat. 11am. £2. Friday 12th Oct. Paradise Club, London St - Abandon City + support. 9-2. Tudor Arms - Gay disco. Free. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel.789912 for details. SHP - Film "Lianna" 7.45pm. £2. Until 13th. SHP - Film "1941" 11pm. £2. Until 13th. Saturday 13th Oct. Hexagon - The Soft Dogs. 12.15pm. Free lunchtime music. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel. 789912 for details. Paradise Club, London St - something. Tel. 56847. SHP - Dyeing Workshop (esp. for hand spinners + weavers) 10-5 + Sunday, 1-5. £8.50 members, £9.50 non-members. The Arts Workshop, Northcroft Lane, Newbury - "Plastered" with the Trestle Theatre Co. 8pm. £2.50. (£2.00 conc.) Sunday 14th Oct. The Butler, Chatham St - Free Jazz. 8pm. Caversham Bridge Hotel - Readifolk. 8pm. Angies, Wokingham - Live music. Tel. 789912 for details. Hexagon - Bournemouth Sympnony Orchestra. 7.30pm, £4, £5, £6. SHP, Wilde Theatre - London Mozart Players. 7.30pm. - - - Don't Worry - No Cause For Alarm WHY WE NEED OUR NUCLEAR WEAPONS - THE BALANCED VIEW 1 They Will Never Be Used: but if they are used, whitewash and Community Spirit may see some of us through 2 They Are An Insurance: a sure guarantee against nuclear attack, by sure threat of nuclear attack on another country 3 They Are Necessary: to disprove naive, simplistic, unrealistic, biased, emotional, impractical and politically motivated interpretations of morality and international law 4 They May Be Regrettable To Some Christians: Jesus commanded us 'love your enemy' but now is not the time for this: we need to find a Middle Way 5 They Have Kept The Peace For Thirty Seven Years, therefore, barring mishaps, will do so for another thirty seven years at least 6 They Are Safe: accidents and mishaps can be kept secret or played down with the help of misinformation, code names and technical jargon; unlawful methods are used only in extreme cases ( e.g. Karen Silkwood's death as described in the book 'From Hiroshima to Harrisburg' by Jim Garrison ) 7 They Strengthen Loyalty, to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, and to the necessary belief in a world perpetually divided between Them (the Threat) and Us (the Threatened) 8 They Have Valuable By-Products: electricity is a valuable by-product of the plutonium industry 9 They Provide Employment: planning, designing, producing, targeting, transporting, deploying, concealing, guarding, modernising and provides useful work for lots of people 10 They Help Us To Live With Failure involving missile with nuclear weapons on populated areas; false alarms In computer systems used to control nuclear weapons 11 They Strengthen Our Sovereignty by eliminating any threat of occupation by a foreign power other than the one already based here 12 They Preserve Our Independent Status As A Major Power: we do not have to be dependent on NATO; there may, of course, be a situation where we will want to use our nuclear weapons independently (persons able to envisage such a situation please contact 10 Downing St; urgent) 13 They Help Developing Countries who need to acquire means of producing their own nuclear weapons in order to become strong, independent, influential and civilised, like us 14 They Underpin The Clothing Trade: we should not go naked into the conference chamber 15 They Promote Disarmament: increasing the quality and quantity of our weapons is an essential prerequisite to negotiating their withdrawal 16 They Bolster National Pride: we may have to rely on America for tne rockets but at least we make our own warheads 17 They Help Our Economy by using up cash, materials and human ingenuity surplus to our needs 18 They Enhance Career Prospects for uranium miners, emergency planning officers and manufacturers of fall out shelters 19 They Encourage Initiative on the part of families receiving a few minutes warning of nuclear attack; greater initiative may be required from families not conversant with 'Protect and Survive', or who are separated at the time of the attack 20 They Provide Medical Benefits: research into cancer, genetic disorder, radioactive food (e.g. fish off Windscale) ; studies of drug abuse and psychiatric disorders in military personnel 21 They Are Non-Discriminatory: if they are used the victims will be civilians as well as combatants; plants and animals as well as human organisms; then will be no bar of age, sex, status, race or occupation 22 They Are Inexpensive: they account for something in excess of £25,000,000 each year - only about one twelfth of the world's annual military spending 23 They Are Efficient: they can travel hall way round the world in less than half an hour and land within a few hundred metres of their programmed target (it is not policy to discuss failures and mishaps) 24 They Defend Britain: because there are so many military bases and nuclear weapons in Britain, no other country would dream of attacking us; but if they did, we would be protected by our nuclear weapons and our friends the Americans 25 They Defend Europe by enabling us to blow it up if it is invaded 26 They Promote Balanced Objective Discussion Of Our Independent Nuclear Deterrent - when Polaris is phased out, which Trident system should replace it? 27 They Speed Up The Democratic Process: the public does not understand nuclear weapons and need not therefore be party to decisions made about then 28 They Are An Intellectual And Political Challenge - when new weapons have been invented, reasons have to be found for their deployment 29 Above All, They Are A Sensible Investment in the future of our children and the entire human race - - - RED RAG OUTLETS are many, various and increasing in number. Here is an up-to-date list: Acorn Bookshop, under Chatham St car park Central Club, London St Centre for the Unemployed, East St Continental Stores, Cemetery Junction Elephant Groceries and Off-licence, Derby St Eurofoods, Crown Colonnade, Cemetery Junction Fairview Community Centre, George St Fine Food Stores, 168 Oxford Road Harrison's Newsagent, Caversham Road Harvest Wholefoods, Harris Arcade, Friar St Jelly's Stores, Whitley St Kan's Kitchen, London Road Ken's Shop, Students' Union, Whiteknights Ling's Chinese Fish Bar, Wokingham Road Listen Records, Butts Centre Mo's Place, London St Number Sixty, Christchurch Green Pop Records, 172 Kings Road Rag Doll, London St Reading Wholefoods, London Road Rib'n'Roast, Cemetery Junction Sugar Bowl, Wokingham Road Sutherlands, Erleigh Road Tech College, Kings Road UB Cycles, London St Impressive though this list is, there are no outlets north of the Thames, south of Christchurch Road or west of Reading West Station. Why not collect a few copies from Acorn, who usually have plenty to spare, and take them to your local corner shop? Help the underprivileged of Caversham and Tilehurst and give them the chance to read Reading's only newspaper! - - - $Id: //info.ravenbrook.com/user/ndl/readings-only-newspaper/issue/1984/1984-09-30.txt#3 $