Passing by the Parkway side last night, I noticed the right side sign back in darkness as the inevitable happened and the lantern battery has gone flat so we have a third variation of one lit and one unlit---until the other battery runs down as well if its allowed to and the signs not attended to.

Well, WBC was quick last week to illuminate the signs by strapping lantern torches to the arms of the light fittings and they're now lit all the time as long as the batteries last and a neat and tidy job they made of it too. I dare say if they were lit by mains electricity, they'd be even more neat and tidy and the illumination would likely last longer.
A few times this week I've seen car drivers come up to the signs, stop and look at them, then drive right over the bridge when they saw the traffic light turn green.

The TV news also increased the number of car drivers caught from 2,274 ( NWN) to " almost 3,000."

I've always thought it odd that, despite the road signs having light fittings above them, I've yet to see them lit. Have the lights on the signs ever worked, and if they don't need to be lit and can be left in darkness ( on the north side), why have the light fittings above the signs not actually doing anything and so remove them instead?

Mr Singleton has quoted verbatim about blue signs from the Highway Code but may have overlooked their sign example giving "positive instruction" to the vehicles ( cyclists/buses) shown on it, just as the Park Way bridge sign does, which includes Taxis. But, from drivers who have stopped me to ask if they're allowed over the bridge?, does seem to show some drivers don't understand the signage---Cyclists, Buses, Taxis Only. An Enforcement camera sign immediately below does indicate something is being enforced. Do they wonder about that too?
Mr Singleton seems dismayed there are no 'no entry' signs anywhere, but should there be? As he'd like to see one of some sort with a red border, which sign might that be that doesn't contradict the blue one at the same time?

Maybe what's needed near the bridge is rising bollards with more signs to understand and perhaps not see?

If someone in front is delaying you from paying, why not simply go to the floor your car is on and pay at that machine? There's 8 payment machines available. There might not be attendants in the sense of persons there all the time but, from each machine you can call the control room pressing a button and if further assistance is still needed, someone will arrive shortly.
An earlier poster mentioned the Parkway as a little used car park; perhaps they could give us some idea of the number of cars per month using it that doesn't amount to very much as they suggest?

That's exactly what happened in Reading when they introduced 24 hour town centre on-street parking charges in Sept until early Jan this year when I believe it was 50p/20 mins; maximum stay, 2 hours, 24 hours a day. Right from day one, I regularly saw their CEO's between midnight and 1AM booking drivers who weren't complying with the new regulations. In Dec after RBC's trial period, around mid-January the revised charges now applied 0800 to 2000 if I recall correctly. Their CEO's patroling the streets in the early hours of the morning obviously disappeared as well.

Didn't think it'd be long before we got the smart reply; never is in this forum. Those words you highlighted were indeed deliberately chosen as a tentative suggestion as to what might have happened, for example.

The video?--the link is on the news story page.

Looking at the photos and video, it might appear that we have a situation of a police car traveling at high speed--say the 60 mph speed limit--with possibly a police driver not familiar that this section of road collects water ( and freezes over some times in the winter also causing accidents) and the moment the front wheels hit the water, they might have aquaplaned, and if this might have been the case, then with the immediate loss of steering and braking, there wasn't a lot the police driver could now do.

I was surprised at Tescos, Pinchington Lane, last night at 9PM to find only one young lady on the check out tills. Nice to see they managed to keep at least one till open besides the self-service ones.

The way I read the bus news story was there will eventually be a fleet of 30 of these hybrid buses which cost £300,000 each ( £9 million in total) with a government subsidy for the hybrid conversion of £108,000 each making £3.24 million in total by 2012 when all 30 buses will be in service after an initial start of 6 buses next week.

Thank you Richard but I expect things will be back to normal with our Friday collection.

Though Richard G suggests Thatcham was unaffected by these issues, there must be hundreds of homes in Thatcham that didn't have their black bins emptied at the end of the week, or Saturday. Thus my now full bin is waiting for next Friday to see if they turn up this week.

Which is what I was thinking Jayjay and many more industries as well you could have named also as Britain becomes an increasing 24/7 society and how employers will view this situation when this Xmas anomaly crops up every few years.
Many years ago when I returned to England I had to work New Years Day as it wasn't a Bank Holiday back then and thought my bosses were kidding which they weren't of course. I'd certainly been caught out by that one !

@ Simon. Thanks for your reply all of which I'm quite aware. The contract stated they paid Bank Holidays; they did, the Mon/Tues. Ditto Mon for New Years on Sat. too.
The company was closed Xmas/Boxing days so no one worked. The staff who were scheduled to work those days were the effected ones and had those days wages deducted because they didn't/couldn't worth their shift.
The TGWU agreed with the employer; they weren't paying some staff twice for the same holiday. I can see where they're coming from. Presumably, this was happening all over the country and this year will repeat itself.
This year with my current employer, I suspect I'll be working Xmas and Boxing Day at flat rate ( they're not holidays) and double time for the Mon/Tues bank holidays up to midnight Tues, and the rest of the shift to 7AM at flat rate as that is Weds, thus not at bank holiday rates.

As an aside, I wonder how many people who would normally be working Sat., Xmas Day this year find themselves being docked a days wage because they didn't come into work Xmas Day, which isn't a public holiday this year? My former employer pulled that one saying the Mon/Tues are the public holidays which we paid, and we're not paying you twice for the same holiday, the last time Xmas/Boxing Day fell on the weekend. Some staff were also docked the Boxing Day as well loosing 2 days wages that week.

It'll only be a 3 day week following on from Easter then; I dare say Scotland will make it a Bank Holiday too. But, with my firm, Bank/Public holidays are normal working days anyway, so you can forget Xmas/Boxing days off, and the wedding will be no different to any of the rest of them.

Thanks! Two typo's above corrected.

I have always found if you send a news photo to the NWN that 1) they won't pay for it, and 2) if they do use it and credit it to you, your name may well be mis-spelt. Needless to say, if I get a news photo related to West Berkshire/Newbury, the NWN will never get it.

On the Letters page of the NWN this week, a Mr Andrews asks how long has the musical # sharp sign been used as an abbreviation for number, and adds it’s presumably an Americanism which we must reluctantly accept.
Well, the # sign has been used as an abbreviation for number in both the US and Canada for at least 50 years that I know of. The abbreviation No. for number comes from Numero, presumably a foreign import Mr Andrews is happy to accept, not coming from North America ?

I would have thought he would also ask, what is the musical # sign doing on my telephone keypad?

I think a large percentage of cyclists would be pleased if the Highway Code were amended to read----

Cylists must obey all traffic signs except those that cause them to slow down, change direction, or stop.

As mentioned a bit back, it was about 5 years ago the Monks La. speed limit was reduced and a speed camera van then regularly appeared along it, and probably still does. The 30 MPH in a built up area is hardly new; it was written in the 1930 Road Traffic Act.
In Thatcham where Stoney Lane joins the A4/Bath Rd, the speed limit signage as you turn south into Stoney Lane has been illegal for a few years now---about 5?---but no one seems too worried about it.

Just seen an orange Chinese lantern-come-UFO crossing Thatcham headed towards Bucklebury at 10:21 tonight. If it comes down in the woods over Bucklebury, might make some work for the fire brigade. Got it on video, but just orange light crossing the sky. Was going a reasonable speed considering the wind speed at the time was zero MPH.
Played back in slow motion shows a bright yellow light surrounded by orange.

One lady I used to notice, put her son in her Mercedes; drove him about 300 yards to school, and about 4 minutes later, her car was back in her driveway.

There's also a number of schools that surely don't have a speeding problem past them? The parents cars are blocking the roads, making the traffic come to a crawl if not a stand still, trying to duck and dive around the parent's cars littered near the school.