Sonning Buzzcast

A few podcasts ago we spoke to Richard Caines, Jonathan Crump and Jeff Barnes about the regular water quality tests they are doing in the river. This is an update and it's not great news.....

Professor Alistair Driver - the ex-London Irish player is now Rewilding Britain and of course, Sonning. Here Ali's story.

David Woodward has lived in the same house in Sonning Eye since he moved there from Australia at the age of 6. He's a mine of information about local history. He's Chair of Sonning Eye and Dunsden Parish Council, he sings in a choir, does yoga and goes wild swimming, and there's more....!

Hello, here's some important details about timings and safety for The Sonning Regatta on Sunday 2nd June.

Trefor has lived in the village since the late 70's. He was a pilot with British Airways but since retirement he's become a real stalwart of every aspect of Sonning life. He's currently Chair of Sonning Parish Council. In this Sonning Buzzcast we'll find out exactly what he and the Parish Council do. We'll also hear about an upcoming event to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landing.s

Richard Caines has lived in Sonning since 2021. His work with the WWF means he knows a thing or two about our environment and with the regatta coming up we thought it would be a good idea to to talk to him about the river. We met on the wharf along with Jeff Barnes, who swims in the Thames everyday and Jonathan Crump who had a bucket.....!

Richard Brooks is an author and investigative journalist, primarily for Private Eye. Sonning dog owners may have come across Richard via Mutley his Patterdale terrier! You may be surprised where Richard started his working life.

It's going to be a very exciting social summer in Sonning. The Scarecrows - May Bank Holiday The Sonning Regatta - Sunday 2nd June The Wharf outside the Coppa Club The Elegant Picnic Saturday 6th July - The Rose Garden, Thames St Rob Jones talks with Paul Benton

Ric Lee, drummer with supergroup Ten Years After, recalls his time living in Sonning and playing at the two biggest pop festivals in history - Woodstock and the Isle of Wight (1970).

Although Phil knows the area and has lived here most of his life, he's the relatively new Head Teacher at Sonning Primary C of E School. Phil tells us about his plans for the school and, er, his pig - Pablo!

Long time Sonning resident, Peter van Went shares some of the history of the village. Peter has been associated with Reading Bluecoat School for many years and since retiring as a full time teacher he is now archivist for the school. Peter knows so much about Sonning that we'd never get it all into half an hour. We'll save that for his return. I hope you enjoy it. Rob Jones

Tim and his wife and family came to Sonning just a few years ago. In that time, Tim's had a big impact at Sonning Cricket Club, so this is quite a sporty Buzzcast.

John Irvine had not long started his job as Sonning's lockkeeper when we recorded this back in 2020. We'll be doing an update soon - will the tea room be re-opening?

Nigel has been on the Sonning round (north of the Bath Road) for almost 20 years - really?? He has some famous names on his round!

This is the Buzzcast we did with Kathy not long after she originally opened the Village Hamper in 2020. It's just re-opened after a winter break and we'll catch up with Kathy soon but as Spotify have taken over our original platform we're putting up here again but listen out for the new one.

Cathy Haill has lived in Sonning for many years but she also spends a lot of time in London because her fascinating job is as a curator of popular culture for the V&A museum. Cathy's latest project is Imagining Musicals - which runs until 4th June - details here .

Ollie and Emily are two young entrepreneurial characters who met when they were working at The Bull and have started up Tacito a mobile Mexican street food business. During the summer months find them at the back of The Sonning Club on Thursdays and Fridays from 5pm. Hear their story on this Sonning Buzzcast.