Wokingham Borough Council have bought back the Denmark Street car park which is fabulous news and will hopefully encourage people to come to the town. I read a lot online on how towns, not just Wokingham, don’t have the shops you want and so they don’t go, instead choosing to go to a bigger town or an out of town retail park. Whilst I can see the frustration at not being able to get all you want in one place I find it saddening that people are negative and hurtful online, the internet never forgets.I’m enjoying the revamped town, it’s certainly getting there and I’m delighted that so many independent shops are supporting Wales Week / Berkshire which begins on Saturday. I was in Cardiff Bay last week and walked past the Everyman there and thought how proud I was that our little town has one. We may have lots of coffee shops but who remembers when Wokingham had a staggering amount of pubs?The weather has certainly been something to talk about and to see my adopted town of Crickhowell on the news ravaged by flooding has been heartbreaking. We got flooded here in 2007 which was ghastly and I’ll never forget how impassable it was by Tesco but what I do remember was the community spirit.Community spirit is something that Wokingham has in plenty. We got flooded and friends stepped in with dehumidifiers and buckets, you have a power cut and people rally round, you’ve got a query and there’s always someone ready with a solution, you get the gist.Talking is good, listening is good and picking up on the unspoken word is crucial. If the past few days have shown us anything it’s that whatever you think is going on you don’t really know. Be kind, be gentle and above all be the friend you want to have. Hug your friends a little closer today and forever. Pick up the phone to those you’ve not spoken to for a while and make those plans you’ve been thinking about, while you still have time. My thoughts go out to those bereaved by suicide, whose lives have changed in a tragic way. If you have been bereaved by suicide you can talk to DrugFam.
