Chair of The  Friends, Vickie Abel was  pleased to welcome Reading Mayor, Dr Alice Moofu-Coles to  the A.G.M. in Caversham on 29 April and Richard Bennett (Chair, Reading Civic Society) who delivered a very interesting illustrated spring talk on 'Look, Draw, Build', a creative learning programme which had links to childrens study of the gazebo in the Gardens.

Reading Civic Society has associated with the programme  'Look, Draw and Build' for almost five years.  It has been applied by using the transport terminal of Reading Railway Station to inform, and inspire, some 450  students from 10 Primary Schools in Reading every year, 2026 will be the fifth year.  During a classroom-based modelling workshop, led by architects and engineers, the children are guided and supported to build their own railway station.  At the end of the workshop, the classes are asked to choose a model station to represent it in an Inter-School competition.  The submitted models are assessed against set criteria by a group of professionals to win gold, silver or bronze awards and books on engineering and architecture. The winning models are then publicly exhibited.

The objective of the programme, delivered by ARCHI-adventure, in partnership with Reading Civic Society, is to encourage young children to connect practically with architecture, engineering and the public space and the history and future of the railway.

The author of Archi-Adventure, Gemma Solanellas, who came up with the idea, is well  known to The Friends. A past resident of Caversham and now Barcelona, she helped organise a session of the project linked to the buildings of Caversham Court (gazebo and the building now housing the Tea Kiosk) for FCCG's contribution to Heritage Open Days in 2025.

Over the last four years, 'Look Draw, Build' has attracted funding from charities and  commercial companies and  involved  over 400 Reading schoolchildren each year.  More recently, the programme has involved schools in Bristol who have been studying  historic Temple Meads railway station.  The programme will continue in 2026 linked to the celebrations of 200 years of British railways.

EASTER NATURE QUIZ

The Friends held a successful Easter Nature Quiz for children in the Gardens on Easter Saturday.  They were delighted to hand out 140 quiz sheets to youngsters who enjoyed exploring the garden to seek answers to the quiz questions.  All partcipants received an Easter egg or a non-dairy treat and as usual the Tea Kiosk proved a popular 'pit stop' for families to enjoy a hot drink or a slice of home-made cake.  A good time was had by all.