"Reading, Berkshire, England." a Reading Travel Page by easyoar

I've lived in or around Reading for most of my life, so I obviously have some affection for the place. Reading is a town that is constantly changing. Twenty years ago it was a bit of a dump. These days a lot of the dingier areas have been renovated or completely rebuilt and some bits of Reading are actually quite nice. A good example of this is the Oracle Centre. The outdoors part of which around the canal has a very cosmopolitan feel as there are many restaurants and bars along the canal side.

The title emphasises that this is the Reading, Berkshire in England, as I have also visited a Reading Berkshire in the U.S.!

Many years ago, Reading was famous for the 3 B's. These days there is some dispute as to exactly what the 3 B's stood for (Beer, Bricks?), but there is no doubt as to one of them - Biscuits.

The firm that made these biscuits (which is unfortunately no longer in existence) has had a long and benevolent relationship with Reading. This biscuit making firm is Huntley and Palmers. The biscuits made by Huntley and Palmers put Reading firmly on the map. They were bought out by Nabisco some years back. Whilst Huntley and Palmers may not mean much to people outside the UK, anyone in Britiain of around 30+ or so will immediately know the name.

The Palmer family have, over the years, donated land and money for many different projects all over Reading. This is reflected in names such as Palmer Park and the Palmer building on the University campus. The picture here shows their logo on the entrance to a park close to where their old headquarters used to be. It is still there today.