 United in support for Ukraine
Along with our partners, we’re translating words into action in support of Ukrainian people suffering during their nation’s invasion by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Led by our borough’s mayor Cllr Keith Baker MBE, councillors unanimously voiced their support for Ukraine and a commitment to welcoming its refugees when they met as a full council last week.
Cllr Baker invited Mike Polleck, a former chairman of the Reading Ukrainian Community Centre, to address the meeting while Fr Stan Gibzinski, a Catholic priest for the parish of Our Lady of Peace & Blessed Dominic Barberi in Earley, led a minute’s silence.
Mr Polleck thanked the council for its support, which included allowing the use of one of its storage facilities within the borough when the centre was being overwhelmed with donations for Ukraine. This offered its volunteers a space to package and send them off.
Working with the voluntary sector, we’re gearing up to support families which provide a home for refugees with financial and practical help and advice, with more details in the news story linked above. Go to our Ukraine support webpages to find out what’s being done and what you can do to help.
 Elections on 5 May
On Thursday 5 May, Wokingham Borough residents will go to the polls in the local elections to have their say on who represents them on Wokingham Borough Council.
In order to vote, you must be on the electoral register. The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Thursday 14 April. It takes just five minutes to apply online.
The deadline to apply for a new postal or postal proxy vote – along with any changes to existing postal or proxy votes – is 5pm on Tuesday 19 April. The last day to apply for a proxy vote is Tuesday 26 April at 5pm. It’s easy to apply and you can find out how by visiting our election webpages.
This year, borough council elections are scheduled in: Arborfield; Bulmershe and Whitegates; Coronation; Emmbrook; Evendons; Finchampstead North; Finchampstead South; Hawkedon; Hillside; Loddon; Maiden Erlegh; Norreys; Remenham, Wargrave and Ruscombe; Shinfield South; South Lake; Swallowfield; Winnersh; and Wokingham Without.
There will also be parish council elections for Arborfield & Newland, Swallowfield, Remenham and Wargrave. If you have any questions about registering to vote, or applying for a postal vote, email the electoral services team at: electoralservices@wokingham.gov.uk
 Looking for Easter holidays family fun?
We’ve got a host of school holiday activities open for booking. See the full list of what’s available in our latest What’s on update.
There are sports camps, cycle training, art and crafts sessions in our libraries and a whole lot more.
If you’re not signed up to get our fortnightly What’s On updates you can use the button below to add it to your email newsletters you’ll get from us.
 Café changes at Dinton Pastures
The Dragonfly Café at Dinton Pastures Country Park shut yesterday (31 March) before reopening as The Coffee House on Tuesday, 5 April.
The new operator Cleverchefs will be refurbishing the premises and training staff, but they'll continue running the Coffee Deck at the nearby Dinton Activity Centre as usual. They're also going to reopen the Riverside Kiosk at Dinton as The Coffee Pod on the same date.
The new café will sell Cleverchefs' own coffee, as well as a range of breakfasts to eat in or take away and an extensive lunch menu including wood-fired pizzas.
We'd like to thank you for your patience while these improvements are made and look forward to welcoming you next week. To find out more, visit the eating and drinking at Dinton webpages.
 Bowel cancer - early diagnosis could save a life
April is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month and a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of the fourth most common cancer.
Somebody is diagnosed with bowel cancer every 15 minutes, which is nearly 43,000 people each year.
It is more prevalent in people aged over 50, but it can affect anyone of any age. Although it is the UK’s second-biggest cancer killer, it shouldn’t be because it is curable if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives if it is caught at the earliest stage.
Most people with symptoms don’t have bowl cancer, but these are the warning signs to look out for:
- Bleeding from your bottom and/or blood in your poo
- A persistent and unexplained change in bowel habit
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme tiredness for no obvious reason
- A pain or lump in your stomach
If you have any symptoms or you’re worried about a close family history of bowel cancer, see your GP. Even if you have taken part in a screening, you should still report symptoms to your GP as soon as possible. There is help and support available from Bowel Cancer UK
Wokingham Foodbank requests food donations
Wokingham Foodbank is helping many local families and individuals (who are referred to them) to ensure they get a minimum of three days' nutritionally balanced emergency food and support. Referrals are increasing.
If you would like to make a donation, Wokingham Foodbank’s updated shopping list includes cold meat, coffee, preserves (jam, marmalade etc), long-life milk, tinned fruit, pasta sauce, fruit juice/squash, custard, tea (40s), snacks and instant noodles, soap, toothbrushes (adult and children’s), toothpaste (adult and children’s), washing up liquid, anti-bacterial cleaner, mall packs of washing powder/liquid and deodorants (men’s and women’s).
Please note the foodbank does not distribute formula milk. It currently has an abundance of soup and baked beans and would prefer not to receive those items at this time. Thank you.
You can drop off your donations at the permanent collection points at: Tesco (Wokingham), Sainsburys (Winnersh), Morrisons (Woosehill) and Waitrose (Wokingham). They also accept donations to its premises at 498 Reading Road, Winnersh (RG41 5EX), on Mondays and Fridays between 10am and midday.
What you might have missed
We’re running on a reduced newsletter schedule between now and the local elections on 5 May but there’s still lots of important updates on essential services being sent out, including:
If you’d like to sign up for any additional newsletters you can do so using the button below.
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