Local News
Rick Astley takes on swing hits on night three of Henley Festival
EIGHTIES pop legend Rick Astley took to the floating stage on Saturday night to headline the third day of the Henley Festival. At just age 21 Astley topped the charts in twenty-five different countries with his 1987 hit “Never Gonna Give You Up”, catapulting him into international stardom. Now a...
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Regatta boost for business
BUSINESSES recorded their busiest Henley Royal Regatta week in memory. Shaun Dickens, who runs Bistro at the Boathouse in Station Road, said the Friday of regatta week was the busiest day in his restaurant’s history, with 500 covers. He said that business picked up throughout the week, reaching it...
Mooring fees putting off visitors, say boaters
HENLEY Town Council is to review its mooring policy during the royal regatta after accusations it is pricing out boaters. A weekly flat rate mooring fee at Mill Meadows of £650 for boats more than 30ft and £350 for those under 30ft was introduced in 2023. This followed a review which found the cou...
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‘Queen of Motown’ launches festival
DIANA Ross kicked off this year’s Henley Festival on Wednesday night, launching a five-day programme at the black tie riverside event which is in its 43rd year. The “Queen of Motown Records” went through hits from her career, which include Chain Reaction, I’m Coming Out and Upside Down. The ...
Finding perfect drop in heaven
MOST outside assessments of pretty much anything to do with Israel/Palestine should be taken with a large shovel of salt. It is fair to say that unless you have lived in the Holy Land and experienced both sides of the situation — and felt the weight of history — you should err towards silence ra...
Rowing back the years
ROWING clubs in Henley celebrated key milestones in their history by completing row-pasts at this year’s royal regatta. Two Leander Club crews, the winners of the 1975 Britannia Challenge Cup and the 1985 winners of the Ladies’ Challenge Plate, reunited to take on the 2,112m course. Two boats fr...
Service for regatta
MORE than 100 people attended the annual regatta church service at St Mary’s Church in Henley on Sunday. Regatta chairman Richard Phelps read from Hebrews 13, vv. 2-3 and the sermon was given by Dr Krish Kandiah, who spoke about the importance in the Christian faith of extending hospitality to str...
Road works
| TEMPORARY traffic lights will be in place in Fair Mile, Henley, until Tuesday at 6pm. This is so CityFibre undertakes infrastructure works. |
Boat festival
THE Thames Traditional Boat Festival will take place from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20 in Fawley Meadows, Henley. There will be traditional and classic boats including wooden boats, craft boats and military vehicles. Adult day tickets cost £20, while day tickets for children aged 12 to 17 cos...
Sewage work
A ROAD in Shiplake will be closed until Tuesday for sewage works. Woodlands Road will be closed from 7am to 5pm daily to allow for Oxfordshire County Council to work at the A4155 junction to Pennyhill House. The alternative route for traffic is via the A4155, Sheephouse Lane, Woodlands Road and vice...
Let’s play
| A COMMUNITY play and activity day will be held on Wednesday, July 30 from 11am to 3pm at Makins Recreation Ground in Henley. Attractions will include face painting, junk modelling, Zorbing, fabric upcycling, go-karting and arts and crafts. Entry is free. |
More arrests
FIFTEEN people were arrested during this year’s Henley Royal Regatta. Thames Valley Police said this was a 33 per cent increase on last year’s six-day event. But the force said the amount of reported crimes that took place was down by a 9.5 per cent on last year....
t charvil balloon 0607
| A HOT air balloon made an unscheduled landing at St Patrick’s recreation ground in Charvil on Tuesday morning last week. No one was reported injured. |
100 years ago
THE police, during Henley Royal Regatta, did splendidly. They organised the traffic in a masterly way and, when one realises that during the four days they had to deal with thousands of vehicles, too much cannot be said in their praise. They were also most courteous to foot passengers. We raise our ...
50 years ago
HENLEY Royal Regatta does not always generate a lot of local interest. But, with perfect weather throughout the four days and early surprise wins by Henley Rowing Club, this year proved different. It attracted its best attendance for years and was a record on the final day. The first shock came on T...
25 years ago
CALLS to switch off the Greys Road traffic lights in Henley have been renewed with police supporting the move. A spokesman told the Standard: “The traffic does appear to flow smoother when the lights are not on. This is from our experience with the royal regatta.” But Oxfordshire County Council ...
10 years ag0
POP star Jessie J opened the Henley Festival and said it was one of her “favourite gigs this summer”. The singer, who left hospital last week after undergoing two operations, had the crowd dancing from start to finish at Wednesday night’s show. She arrived in a BMW before performing an energet...
Catch of the day
NEIL Gunnell, of the Henley Trains rail user group, praised the majority of guests arriving to attend Henley Royal Regatta last week. He volunteered to help GWR staff at the station to welcome them. However, he said there were a few fare dodgers and about 10 people who arrived with the wrong ticket....
Hidden Henley
THIS curious memorial addresses the legality of a former ferry service in Medmenham. It was an established crossing for people and their horses and carts to travel over the river from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire on the opposite side. Somewhere here in Victorian times stood a large building called T...
Food parcels
| THE Nomad food bank is appealing for donations to help with demand for food parcels this summer. Donations of tinned food can be left at the d:two centre in Market Place from 9am to 2pm. |