A fun evening for all ages
in aid of Help for Heroes
13 June 2009
A crowd of almost 500 spanning all tastes and ages enjoyed a picnic in the stunning grounds of Englefield House, near Theale, while being entertained to pop music, show tunes, light classical favourites - and a rousing 'proms' style finale - by the South Berks Concert Band and Starmakers.
The event raised £1,400 for Help for Heroes, the charity that supports our wounded soldiers and other servicemen and women.
There could be fewer splendid sites for such an occasion, with the wide acres of the Park encompassing the view of Englefield House on one side and the lake on the other – and even a herd of deer in the background.
South Berks Concert Band is a community windband open to anyone of grade 5 standard or above. Formed in 1976 and led by ex-professional musical directors the band plays a wide variety of music ranging from classical to pop.
It has gained two Silver and one Bronze Award in the Community Band section of the National Concert Band Festival.
Starmaker gives young people in Reading aged 10 to 20 experience of the performing arts. Kate Winslet and Natalie Dormer – star of the BBC2 drama The Tudors – began their training with the company.
It was started in 1988 and in the last year alone has performed High School Musical, Twelfth Night, Alice in Wonderland and Hot Mikado, at various venues including The Hexagon.

Above and below: The youngsters from 'Starmaker' put on a great show.