For Nostalgia this week, we take a trip down memory lane to look at top stories around Bracknell at the start of 1996.

January saw North Ascot schoolgirl Alex Clayton lauded after she saved a baby’s life with her quick thinking.

The 16-year-old was a Year 11 boarder at the Licensed Victuallers School, in Fernbank Road, but returned home to Canterbury to do a week’s work experience with Kent Police.

She was out with an officer when they were waved down by a young man who begged them to help an anxious mother whose baby was “blue and lifeless”.

Thankfully, Alex remembered the lifesaving course they did at school and saved his life. She then monitored his breathing while the ambulance arrived.

In other news, top TV personality and Olympic runner, Steve Cram, came to Bracknell the week of January 15 to attend a ‘Fitness Matters’ roadshow.

More than 1,000 Hewlett-Packard employees joined in fitness sessions at the roadshow, which also saw Mr Cram launch the roadshow and Derrick Evan – aka Mr Motivator from GMTV – put staff through their paces with a short workout.

Crowds of enthusiastic youngster waited in Ascot the same month to catch a glimpse of their television heroes, Gladiators Rhino and Amazon, alias of Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies.

The stars were in town for the opening of the new Honda franchise at Clover Leaf Cars, Station Hill.

The end of the month saw TV presenter and former Bucks Fizz singer Cheryl Baker promote her new healthy eating book at Tesco, in Sandhurst, as part of cooking demonstrations held by the supermarket to celebrate the arrival of its then-new recipe collection and magazine.

Finally, more than 1,000 runners braved a chilly start in February to take part in the Wokingham Half Marathon.

A total of 1,300 contestants from all over the country set off at 10am, with Gary Bishop, from Surrey, the first to cross the finish line just over an hour later.

Not far behind was the first woman, Mandy Whittington, from Bicester.