Got up at 4:30am (3:30am London time). Took #1 Straßenbahn to the railway station and #6 to Bremen airport. Then RyanAir to London Samstead then NationalExpress bus to London Paddington Station (£18 each return) and finally a train to Reading (£18 each). Sue Beckett walked from work to the station to meet us. We put our bags in her car and picked up a walking tour of Reading from the museum around the corner from Sue's work.

Sue recommended Sweeney & Todd for homemade pies and pasties and local beers on tap. Ron had Rump Steak & Stilton and an Otter Amber beer. I had a Venison & Boar pie and sparkling water (£20.50). Very delicious. Kate Winslet's Uncle was their first customer and Kate has eaten in the restaurant. The Winslet family is from Reading.

Reading is a large town in Berkshire on the Thames and Kennet rivers in the South East of England. Reading grew rich through the medieval and Tudor periods thanks to a booming trade in cloth. The siege imposed by parliament on the town during the English Civil War crippled the town's economy which never recovered. The economy of the town is historically most famous for the '3Bs' of Biscuits, Beer and Bulbs.

We walked around the centre of Reading. It is a busy city with a major railway station and a constant stream of buses, cars, people and bicycles. We visited churches, the 12th century Abbey Ruins and Gaol, Forbury Gardens originally part of the Abbey, Broad Street Mall, Oracle Shopping & Leisure Precinct, Old Town Hall, Queen Victoria Monument in the Town Square, Museum, Concert Hall, Friar Street and the County Court.

The Abbey's founder and benefactor was Henry I and he was buried in front of the high altar in 1136. The Abbey went on to become one of the most important religious and political centres in England. A few of the Abbey's buildings still exist intact, including St Laurence's Church and the Gateway, Behind the Abbey is the Gaol. Oscar Wilde was imprisoned here for homosexuality and is where he composed his famous ballad. The UK Government closed the gaol in November 2013.

We met Sue back at work. Drove to Newbury. Met up with Sue's friend Russell for dinner at Bill's Restaurant for a 2 course pre-Theatre meal. Then off to the Hatchet Pub for drinks before the Corn Exchange Auditorium for the new Sherlock Holmes and Crimson Cobbles play. Fabulous actors and magnificent English humour. I loved it. There were 3 male actors that played all the roles. They were ingenious.