YOU may have been a bit overwhelmed with all the news about coronavirus and, to be frank, not much else lately.

Believe us — we feel exactly the same at Bracknell News!

So we thought, to freshen things up a bit and to give you, our loyal readers, something non-coronavirus related to read about, we would look back through our online archives to find some interesting news stories from the last ten years.

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Here’s what was happening in Bracknell Forest at the start of April ten, five and one year(s) ago (and no — none of these stories are April Fools jokes!)

April 2010

FIRE chiefs rapped a Bracknell man after his pan of sausages caused a kitchen fire.

The hungry Birch Hill man was not harmed but his kitchen was said to be “wrecked”.

Bracknell News:

A fire boss said: “[This] would have been caught earlier if the resident had had an operational smoke detector."

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UNSUNG heroes from around Binfield were celebrated at the Parish Council’s People’s Awards.

Bracknell News:

Commended for their contribution to village life, winners were presented with awards for working at schools, serving the community and inspiring youngsters.

Take a look back at who was championed here.

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AND FINALLY, rounding off our coverage from 2010 is a story about shoppers and residents getting a chance to look at how their new town centre might look at an exhibition in Princess Square almost a decade ago.

Bracknell News:

Bracknell Regeneration Partnership set up organised a day of games and competitions to mark the launch of a website which showcased the plans for the area — which of course as we all know, culminated in the opening of The Lexicon in 2017.

Here’s what residents got to experience ten years ago.

April 2015

AROUND five years ago a Jennett’s park resident set himself the challenge of building a life-size replica of a Dalek -- the big baddy in Doctor Who.

Bracknell News:

Liam Redmond, who was 42 at the time, made the evil space monster from fibreglass, plastic and wood and added fully-functioning LED lights.

The project cost him £600 and the Bracknell man said it was worth every penny.

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A BRACKNELL film producer opened up opportunities for young performers to showcase their talents in his first full-length film.

Both Raa Marchant and his son had Asperger’s and used performing to increase their confidence.

He said: “We do [this] to prove that people with Aspergers can do it and can be involved in big productions.”

Clips from the film can be found here.

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A CROWTHORNE resident held a launch party for her new village store five years ago.

Bracknell News:

More than a 100 people poured into The Wonky Donkey on Dukes Ride, an interior design store, which was opened by Pandy Dean, a former dance teacher.

The shop has now closed, however — and plans are in place to convert the vacant store into a bar and coffee shop.

April 2019

FAST-FORWARDING four years and we arrive at this time last year.

The big story creating headlines in April 2019 was Prince Charles’ visit to the Waitrose headquarters in Bracknell.

Bracknell News:

The Royal next in line to the throne probably didn’t expect to be self-isolating after catching a global virus twelve months on, but at least he has fond memories of Bracknell to occupy his time.

Bracknell News:

Watch the Prince open the supermarket chain’s new Food Innovation Studio here.

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SOME of you may remember our story about the Great Hollands bus driver whose leg was left ‘severely burned’ last year.

This was because a vape battery exploded on his leg.

Bracknell News:

James Barnes had to be treated at a specialist burns unit in West London for his injuries.

Read the full story here.

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AND LAST but not least, in news filed under the ‘simply adorable’ section of our site, a brave dog rescued from a puppy farm gave birth to a big litter.

Bracknell News:

Lara the miniature schnauzer was taken in by a Binfield rescue centre in January last year after living in “terrible conditions” and gave birth a few months later.

Scroll through the link above to see some incredibly-cute pictures of the puppies.