Tickets are still on sale for the People’s Opera experiment at the racecourse this weekend. La Traviata will be shown on Saturday evening, with gates opening at 5.30pm. Tickets are just £5, as the event has been subsidized by Greenham Common Trust. Take your own seats and a picnic, but refreshments are available.

Court delays

Around one in three local people have to wait nearly five months for their trial to come to court. New figures show that Thames Valley magistrates processed just 69% of adult cases within a target of 143 days. Hampshire managed 77%, and 75% in Wiltshire.

Cancelled ops up

Newbury’s health service cancelled 16 operations at the last minute in the three months to March, up from four in the previous quarter. However, the performance is better than the 22 patients cancelled the previous year, of which 14 were not re-booked until a month later. The figures released this week show only cancellations for non-clinical reasons.

Vans top danger list

White van man is the biggest speed merchants on Newbury’s suburban roads. New figures show that more than half of LGV drivers break the 30mph speed limit in built-up areas. They are closely followed by motorbikes, but nationally, the number of people breaking the speed limit is falling.

Thieves and vandals

Two large plantpots were stolen from a house in Pine Ridge, Shaw, overnight on Saturday. They are worth £200.

Other than that, a wing mirror was smashed off a Fiat Tipo parked in Northcroft Terrace sometime over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Wharf giveaway

Boat trips, concert tickets, balloon rides, and a day at the races are among prizes being showered on the people of Newbury by West Berkshire Council. The new-look Tourist Information Centre at the Wharf opened recently, after a refurbishment, and staff are inviting local people to fill in a prize draw to win free tickets to other local attractions like Living Rainforest and Beale Park, or a ride in a hot air balloon, and tickets to a Glen Miller gig at Basildon Park.

Pub for sale.

One of Newbury's village pubs is on the market for £1.2m. The Bell at Boxford has been in the hands of the current owners since 1987, and includes 10 rooms to let, a restaurant and bar with 50 covers, and a two bedroom flat for the manager.The pub is popular with the racing crowd who call in along both the Lower and Upper Lambourn Roads. Double rooms are £80 a night, and the place is freehold.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-7148117.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy