Sonning
News
Sonning Pentaque
Lawrence Dwight, Brandon Hardy and Ian Runnals triumped in the 2026 Sonnning Petanque Trophy at the Sonning Clob on Saturday 22nd August. A bumper entry of contestants fought valiantly for the prize in warm sunshine.
Sonning Apple Juice
Another great Sonning initiative - Naomi Dwight led the mission to gather as many apples as possible from Sonning gardens. The great apple pick gathered in more apples than you can imagine and resulted in 159 bottles of Sonning Apple Juice - see the picture below. These will be on sale in Tacito soon.
Sonning Stroll
The latest Sonning Stroll with John Turney was a resounding success with visits to the church, the bell tower (see snaps) and to the wilding area created by Ali Driver in Max McLean's garden.
The Thames Pathway - Mission Accomplished
Top marks and profound thanks to the diggers of Sonning (some pictured below) led by the intrepid Brandon Hardy. Well done for completing this fantastic task. Brandon has been the driving force behind the initiative, making a Thames side walk so much easier. One thing - how does Cathy Haill even look glamorous in her digging kit?
The Elegant Picnic - 27 June
This year The Elegant Picnic was staged at Berkshire County Sports Club on Sonning Lane. The weather cooled a little to make the evening a most pleasant affair with guests enjoying their picnics, resplendant in black ties and posh frocks. The Party Nuts were once again live on stage with some great music and we re-booked our amazing LED dance floor. The best dressed wheelbarrow prize of a voucher for Tacito in the High St was won by Chloe Lefroy with their topically FIFA inspired entry. In the raffle Jonathan Crump won dinner for two at The Swann Streatly with an overnight stay. Tickets for The Mill were won by the Thomas family and numerous bottles were picked up and no doubt will be enjoyed by the winners.
JJ wins the Sonning Scarecrows
Jean-Jacques Vizern took top prize, The Malcolm Stansfield Trophy, at this year's Sonning Scarecrows event with an amazing tableau of birds and penguins presenting Donald Trump with some special presents! A brilliant effort all round from every entrant.
Thames Path Way - 15th June
Last year, with help from lots of village volunteers, (photo below left) led by Brandon Hardy, the team completed the renovation of half of the footpath along the Thames from the Coppa Club to Milestone Point. Part two started on Monday 15th June. Once again volunteers (photo below right) of all ages between 27-84 set to work on the other half of the path. Ray, (pictured) delivered the materials and the work continues.
RNLI Cheese & Wine Party 13th June
The Sonning branch of the RNLI held its annual Cheese and Wine Party in the delightful garden of Owen and Alex Verrier-Jones on Saturday 13th June. It was very well attended by a large and illustrious group including a former Prime Minister and the current constituency MP. Chairman David Bates gave a brief address and master of ceremonies, Shaun Sheppard, conducted the raffle.
Sonning Regatta 2026
The weather stayed dry, if not the participants, for the 2026 Sonning Regatta. Run in two sections, Adults in the morning and Juniors (8-13s) in the afternoon, the event saw a record attendance with spectators all along the Berkshire banks of the Thames at Sonning. See the video here https://youtu.be/4wXxdcifv0k?si=ovLlNLZAcG1K4XhJ
Regatta Practice
Lots of the juniors rowing in the Sonning Regatta on Sunday 7th June, many from Sonning Primary School, took part in a practice session at Wokingham Waterside Centre.
Sonning Scarecrows 24-25 May
The Sonning Scarecrows 2026 welcomed huge crowds as always, in spite of the record breaking temperatures. The residents of Sonning pulled the stops out to deliver no less than 67 scarecrows for the visitors, residents and friends to enjoy. Plus John Woodhouse organised a wonderful display of beautiful cars, old and new with special thanks to Max McNeil for facilitating his grounds. Here are just some of the snaps. See more and find out which scarecrow got the most votes at https://www.sonningscarecrows.com/
Thurs 7th May
MyNameTags
There was a film crew on The Wharf today shooting a video for a company called MyNameTags. They basically make stickers and sell to 170 countries around the world. Lars the CEO was attempting to row a boat made entirely of stickers! Everyone was expecting it to sink..... and it... didn't.
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