NEWS ALERT

 17 August 2010

 KIDS GO FREE AT MARWELL WILDLIFE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY

 Marwell Wildlife announces the launch today (Tuesday 17 August) of a limited ticket offer. Every child will receive FREE entry into the zoological park until 26 August 2010 when accompanied by a full paying adult. Families can take advantage of this special offer by downloading a voucher from Marwell’s website: www.marwell.org.uk/kids and bringing it to the park on the day of their visit. 

Marwell Wildlife has launched the promotion as part of a campaign to consolidate the conservation charity’s position as one of Hampshire’s leading tourist attractions. Events taking place in the park during this time include FLIGHT week, where children can take part in fun bird themed activities and test their homing skills on the migration obstacle course or decorate a bird mask to take home. There’s also the chance to quiz the bird keepers and watch the extremely cute baby ostrich as they explore their new home. The world’s largest annual wildlife art exhibition, organised in conjunction with Marwell International Wildlife Art Society, opens on the last day of this generous ticket offer (Thursday 26 August). This year it’s even bigger and better with the winning entries from the BBC Wildlife Artist of the Year Awards 2010, being shown alongside 700 stunning exhibits from over 200 artists and sculptors.

Full terms and conditions of the offer:

• Offer valid until 26 August 2010 only.
• One child will be admitted free to Marwell Wildlife when accompanied by a full paying adult with a downloaded voucher redeemed at admissions.
• A child is classified as aged 3-16 years inclusive. Under 3s go free.
• Children of 15 years and under must be accompanied by an adult.
• The offer is not valid in conjunction with any other offers, promotions, family passes, group prices, telephone bookings or annual passes.
• This offer does not relate to tickets bought online

Child entry price during August normally costs £14, which includes a donation to the conservation charity. 

Photo captions:

Ostrich chick: Baby ostrich born at Marwell Wildlife earlier this month.

Ostrich chick group: Ostriches are the word’s largest flightless bird, although at just 25cm (10 inches) these adorable chicks have some way to grow before they reach around 3 metres (120 inches).

For further media information please contact Helen Jeffreys, Marwell Wildlife Media Relations Officer. Email:  helenj@marwell.org.uk Phone: 01962 777947

Factual television channel, Eden, has launched a new campaign to find the Eden Wildlife Attraction of the Year. A selection of the UK’s leading wildlife attractions, including Marwell Wildlife, have been short listed and voting is open to the public to decide the winner. To find out more and vote visit www.exploreeden.co.uk/attraction2010

Formerly owned by the Marwell Preservation Trust Limited, Marwell Wildlife remains a registered charity dedicated to the conservation of wildlife and other natural resources. Registered Charity Number: 275433.

Marwell Wildlife’s vision is: Living in balance with nature. The charity aims to share knowledge, engage people’s curiosity and encourage both their enjoyment of the present and responsibility for the future of our planet.

In pursuit of this vision Marwell Wildlife aims to:

• Conserve species and their habitats, locally and globally.
• Further understanding and inspire care for the natural world.
• Share knowledge including results from scientific studies.
• Understand impacts and improve environmental performance.
• Invest in individuals and communities

Marwell Wildlife’s zoological park provides a great way for visitors to enjoy the wonders of nature close-up, while also involving them in Marwell’s efforts to conserve endangered species and habitats, both locally and internationally. By providing people with a rich and memorable experience, Marwell aims to inspire people to help secure a better future for endangered wildlife for generations to come.

Marwell Wildlife is a member of the British and Irish Association of zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).  BIAZA represents its member collections and promotes the values of good zoos and aquariums.

After 24 years it’s goodbye to Kids Klub and a huge hello to KG Adventure!

After a very busy 2009, we said farewell to Kids Klub and a huge hello to KG Adventure! KG Adventure will be bringing you all the fun of a Kids Klub holiday with our fantastic staff at our great camps!

At KG Adventure we love the school holidays when we can all be outside in the fresh air having a great time! For 2010 we have all your favourite activities on offer such as climbing, kayaking, quad biking, air rifles, archery, swimming, arts and crafts and team sports! We have day camps from 8.30am to 5.30pm and residential camps too! So you can come for a day, a week or even your whole school holiday!

You can register your details and book online at www.kgadventure.com where you will also find up to date information on all our centres, courses and activities!

Find us at Pangbourne College this summer from 19^th July to 13^th August! Please visit our website to see what activities are available at this awesome summer camp!

This year’s extended Reading Children’s Festival celebrates it’s 21st anniversary with three weeks of events and activities for young people all over the Borough.

Many events are free of charge and offer great fun for all the family.

Highlights include:

• Meadow Madness, Christchurch Meadows, Caversham
  Saturday 15 May, 11am – 4pm
  The launch event of the ever popular Reading Children’s Festival.

• Reading Community Carnival, Prospect Park, Liebenrood Road, Reading
  Monday 31 May, 12noon – 8pm
  The sounds and sights of the Caribbean come to Prospect Park and the streets of West Reading.

• Town Centre Day,
  Friday 4 June, 11am – 4pm
  The BIG half term event of Children’s Festival in the Town Centre,

• The Reading Dance Showcase, Rivermead Leisure Complex
  Sunday 6 June, 10am – 6pm
  Dance International presents an extravaganza of dance styles taught in and around Reading. Watch a full day of performances from local dance schools and clubs.

For more information or to request a copy of the Reading Children’s Festival brochure please call 0118 937 2771

A loyal group of 80-100 people make up the Reading club known as Nemesis Martial Arts and the longest standing members have followed Sensei Peter Felix, 4^th Dan Wada Ru, for close to 10 years. Students range from school children through to university students, doctors, teachers, mechanics, plumbers, police, nurses, doctors, door men, and almost every other profession commonly seen.

Nemesis is not a club based solely around making money. The club is all about finding members who wish to train under the Nemesis banner and undertake the challenges imposed upon them by the instructors. Grades are not merely presented to beginners to keep them interested, they must be earned. Classes are differentiated appropriately to ensure all levels of students are challenged sufficiently. The club has a very professional yet sociable atmosphere and it is not uncommon to see a black belt training with a coloured belt or beginner at any given time. What sets Nemesis apart from the other clubs in close proximity is their energy and attention to fitness. It is considered an average warm up if the students have only performed 50 push ups, 50 burpees, 50 sit ups, and 50 squat thrusts.

The club primarily fuses traditional Karate with Sport Kickboxing but has moved with the ever evolving world of Martial Arts and now incorporates elements of other styles to give the students and team the best chance of an all rounded education. This is also largely due to the growing teaching base Nemesis provides. It now boasts 10 black belts through the Nemesis grading criteria. Four of these black belts have also earned black belts, or are considered advanced practitioners, in other styles. This allows the club to teach elements of Muay Thai, Taekwondo, and basic grappling. All instructors have different strengths ranging from Kata, self defence, fitness, fight theory and practice, and many others. Sensei Peter Felix appropriately assigns the instructors to teach to their strengths to make sure the students are receiving the best teaching the club can provide.

Nemesis Martial Arts maintain a strong professional relationship with the other styles training in close vicinity and are always keen to work with different clubs in the name of education and challenge. The club recently ran a “Cancer Spar-a-thon” which raised in excess of £6000 The event attracted representatives and teams from over 5 clubs showing the strength of the relationships Nemesis has built. They have done this through consistently attending competitions and supplying a competitive number of fighters and kata performers that have always given good accounts of themselves as both competitors and people.  As the number of black belts has grown so too has the clubs attendance at advanced Martial Arts seminars where again the club has always performed strongly and been within the top 10% of attendees. A loyal and hardworking fight team have been carving out a strong name for the club having attended large events such as Clash of the Titans and other such tournaments as Cimac Superleague, WKA Golden Gloves, the Watford open and many others. The club currently boasts 3 WKA Pro-Am British Champions, one European Champion as well as 2 previous World Champions in Karate and Taekwondo. 

An Average Day at Nemesis:

 As a faceless “newbie” (new member) enters the Saturday morning session in track suit bottoms and baggy t-shirt he apprehensively looks around at the smartly dressed peers bowing as they enter the sports hall. Each has a different yet similar look to them. From various backgrounds and age groups they all have one thing in common, determination. Anyone without such an asset has long since deserted the club and would probably have not even invested in a uniform. Far from being left alone and ignored the “newbie” is quickly greeted and met by the vast majority of entering students. As Sensei Peter Felix enters the hall the students begin to line up exchanging nervous glances. Just what has he got in store today? What has he remembered? What books has he read since last session? What film was he watching last night? What did he find online to kill us this morning? All these factors may affect what Sensei Peter Felix will present his class with. As the usual warm up instruction begins “Running round the hall!!!!” the students forget this nervousness and begin to pair up in their runs with their normal training buddies. The newbie is quickly swept up in this and finds themselves explaining to a coloured belt their motivations for coming to the session. They will soon have more in common than they realize, they will both soon be very very tired. As the drills become harder and harder the newbies are given their escape routes “Beginners only do 10 repetitions, intermediates and advanced 50”. This is where the first and most important test begins for our newbie……..if the newbie elects to do only 10 we will probably not see them again next week……. but if they chose to aim for 50, even if they only manage 30, then we have found ourselves another true candidate for team Nemesis.

 As the door closes on another Nemesis class the groans and moans of all attending from newbies to black belts are clear to hear. They shout, roar, sweat and complain that the drill is killing them. One thing is for sure though, every single one of those complaining will be back next week and with only one foot out of the door they will already be talking, or at least thinking, about that great class they just completed.

 Chris Djaelani and Peter Felix

Nemesis Martial Arts & Fitness

 07811 085778

01189262108

www.nemesismatialarts.co.uk

nemesisfitness@aol.com

Jeannine Greville has been established in the Thames Valley for over 50 years, with many thousands of Children passing through the doors. Many enrol for a few years, but others are enjoying very successful careers in the West-End, on television, with The Royal Ballet Company, Royal Shakespeare Company, and annually in Pantomime and a former pupils has just recently been nominated for a prestigious BAFTA award.

 We hold classes in nine venues, introducing girls and boys between the ages of two and a half and eighteen years, to Ballet, Modern Jazz, Tap, National Dance, and Acrobatics. We also offer Drama, Singing, and Street Jazz in some venues.

 We have a Theatre College for those children who show outstanding potential, where the training is more specialised, It is held all day on Saturday, and entry is by twice yearly audition.

 We concentrate on giving children a happy, memorable childhood hobby, that will give them poise and confidence which will stay with them for life. Should they develop any potential talent, then it is noted immediately, and within our Academies, can be given professional training in R.A.D Ballet and  I.S.T.D Modern and Tap, up to and including Advanced 2 Examinations, enabling them the option of  moving on to a professional  dance career.

The  photographs are of two students who are appearing in The London Children’s Ballet production of Noel Streatfield’s ‘BalletShoes’ at The Sadlers Wells Peacock Theatre, from 22nd – 25th April 2010.

Press Release from Reading Borough Council www.reading.gov.uk

A children’s ‘fantasy island’ play area is to be built at John Rabson’s Recreation Ground in Whitley.

Work started this week on the new and improved play area for children and young people, with the planting of 32 new trees which will go towards creating a mini forest, giving youngsters the opportunity to climb trees and explore nature.

Once completed, the ‘flagship’ park and play area at John Rabson’s will also boast exciting and stimulating playground facilities with a toddler ‘mini England’ feature and pirate ship for older children.

For mini England, an English village will be created, complete with farm with spring-ride animals, a climbing frame to represent a train and traffic signed roadways to introduce toddlers to road awareness.

Between earth mounds by the play area, will lie a sunken pirate ship climbing frame, with areas outlined to represent the ship’s stern and bow. Slides will be installed on the side of the mounds.

There will also be stepping stones, logs, buddy swings and a timber tangle.

The new and improved play facilities at John Rabson’s Recreation Ground are part of Reading Borough Councils three-year Playbuilder program to enhance play areas and parks all over Reading.

Graeme Hoskin, Lead Councillor for Culture and Sport, said: “I’m delighted that, largely thanks to Government money, we’re able to deliver this exciting project to really improve the play facilities at John Rabson’s rec. I’d like to thank the park users, local children and residents who took part in our consultation as their views have shaped what we’re putting in place.”

John Ennis, Lead Councillor for Children’s Services, said: “The improvements at John Rabson’s Recreation Ground are an excellent resource for all ages that I am sure the children of Whitley and the rest of Reading will enjoy for many years to come.”

Over the next few months, residents will see the play area take shape as work to shape the ground into each play zone is carried out and equipment installed.

It is hoped the play facilities will be open in time for the school summer holidays.

Residents and youngsters in South Reading have had a hand in designing the new look John Rabson’s Recreation Ground.

Several consultation events took place last summer, so the Council could gauge how people would like to see the area improved and what features they would like to see.

26^th April  – 2^nd May 2010

Pamper little bottoms and protect the planet!

If you haven’t already considered using some of the amazing, environmentally friendly, gorgeous, soft and fluffy cloth nappies on your baby, then Real Nappy Week is the ideal time to get some invaluable advice and information from Mums with hands-on experience.   Don’t be fooled into thinking cloth nappies are hard work, difficult to use or a nuisance to launder – and don’t just take my word for it either – come along to a Nappuccino*, see and touch the nappies, and ask as many questions as you like, experienced nappy advisors are always on hand.

Cloth nappies are kind to the planet, and kind to your pocket.  With savings of around £1500 (over 2.5 years) to be made, and cashback incentives of around £30 to be had for Reading, Wokingham and Bracknell Forest residents, it makes even more sense to go cloth.  A free 2 week real nappy trial is available to West Berkshire residents, find out more at the Nappuccino*.

*Nappuccino – free refreshment and nappy advice at Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre on Tuesday 27^th April from 11.00-12.30pm.  This is a regular event on the last Tuesday of every month, term time only.  An Advisor is also available on the 2^nd and last Wednesday of the month at The Biscuit Tin Café in Reading’s Town Hall, 10.00 – 11.30am.

To find out more about cloth nappies, free nappy trial or Nappuccinos, please contact:

 Adele on 0794 095 2693 or email berkshirenappies@ntlworld.com.

Events Listing 2010

Key: Open to all          Special Offer day        Annual Pass / Adopters only

1- March

St David’s Day

Davids and Davinas go half price!

14 March

Mothers Day

Treat your mum on Mothers Day with a special offer to be confirmed.

17 March

St Patricks Day

Patricks and Patricias go half price!

2 – 5 April

Wild Egg Hunt

Spring is in the air. Embark on our Wild Egg Trail around the park for the chance to win a monster chocolate egg.

2 – 18 April

Eggs & Young Birds – Easter holiday activities 

Encourage your children to build their own nest in the craft area next to our pygmy hippos where you can play our egg matching game and enjoy our “Eggshibition”. Bird feeds and talks will also be taking place with a focus on the world’s largest bird – the ostrich.

20 April

Annual Pass Holder talk    

FREE to Annual Pass Holders. Details to be confirmed nearer the date

23 April                    

St Georges Day

Georges and Georginas go half price.

1 – 3 May

Celebrate the Centenary of Flight

Take part in our paper plane competition (subject to dry weather) close to the cheetah enclosure. Craft your own plane and see how far it will fly/ Adult and children’s prizes to be won

23 May

Marwell Wildlife 10k                           

Put on your running shoes and help us raise money for our conservation work.

29 May – 6 June

Migration and flight adaptation – half term fun    

Enjoy our bird feed and talk with a focus on birds such as the Marabou stork and Waldrapp Ibis. find out more about bird anatomy and take part in our migration obstacle course. Games and learning activities will be taking place around the park.

13 June

Winchester Film Festival: Watch movies at the park on a giant screen in the open air – fun family favourites

16 June

Annual Pass Holder talk

FREE to Annual Pass Holders. Details to be confirmed nearer the date.

20 June

Fathers Day          

Treat your dad to a special day out in the park. Fathers go half price

26 – 27 June

Go Wild Adopters weekend

Meerkat, penguin, giraffe or tiger. Meet and hear talks about your adopted animal.

3 July

Sky diving day to raise funds

For Marwell Wildlife conservation work

4 July

Opening of Formal Gardens

Visit our new knot, parterre and potager gardens. Inspired by original Tudor and Elizabethan designs.

9 July

Picnic in the Park

An exclusive evening for Annual Pass holders to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the park.

24 July – 5 September

Summer events at Marwell Wildlife

Family fun Flight and other activities throughout the Summer holidays

Confirmed weeks so far

2 – 8 August & 21 – 30 August

Migration and Flight adaptation (repeat of May half term activities)

Enjoy our bird feed and talk with a focus on birds such as the Marabou stork and Waldrapp Ibis. find out more about bird anatomy and take part in our migration obstacle course. Games and learning activities will be taking place around the park.

16 September

Annual Pass Holder talk

FREE to Annual Pass Holders. Details to be confirmed nearer the date.

23 – 31 October  

Explore the Weird & Wonderful

Pumpkin festival with children’s Halloween activities. Educational activities about the variety of life to celebrate the International Year of Biodiversity.

16 November

Annual Pass Holder talk

FREE to Annual Pass Holders. Details to be confirmed nearer the date.

26 November           

St Andrews Day

Andrews and Andreas go half price.

Starts Thursday 18th February for 11 – 16 years olds

Q. WHERE will it be held ?

A. Mortimer Community Centre.

Q. WHEN is it?

A. Thursday evenings from 7pm – 9pm, starting Thursday 18 February 2010.

Q. WHO can attend ?

A. Young people aged between 11 – 16, from the surrounding areas.

Q. WHY should I attend ?

A. You’d be mad to miss out on all the fun !

Q. HOW do I find out more information about MYC ?

A. Please contact Cheryl West on 9331005.