December 2024 will mark 50 years of East Berkshire CAMRA branches and we have plenty planned to celebrate this great milestone

Back in December 1974 Harold Wilson had just won a general election, a pint of beer cost about 17p and Barry White was at no. 1 (Gary Glitter was at no. 2 but we won't dwell on that). More importantly, on 11 December the Hope and Anchor pub in Wokingham was the site of a historic meeting when over 200 people got together and decided to form a local branch of the new organisation 'The Campaign for Real Ale' or 'CAMRA'.

Over time that branch evolved, grew and split and formed the basis of three current branches covering Reading and the eastern half of Berkshire. We're now all coming together to celebrate our 50th birthday and, in the style of all the best birthdays, the celebrations will go on for way longer than just a day.

We'll kick off the celebrations on Saturday 21 September in the Fox and Hounds in Caversham (2-5pm). A whole host of events will follow over the next few months. Details are still being worked up but expect to see pub crawls galore across the area, a cider crawl in Reading, bus trips to breweries and pubs, a Windsor pub walk including the 'beer mile' (likely 7 December) and a new year event, all leading up to the launch of the 2025 Ale Trail next March. CAMRA volunteers are also in touch with local breweries to arrange a series of special brews to mark the birthday.

If you'd like to join in the celebrations then keep an eye out for updates to the CAMRA branch diary as more events are being planned all the time. Even better, if you have an idea for an event you think would be a good way to mark our half-century, please get in touch with your branch contact: https://reading.camra.org.uk/contact.

Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday to us, Happy birthday dear CAMRA, Happy birthday to us!