Author Archives: Backstreeter

Mr Hemmings Day of Dance

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Day of Dance
The annual Day of Dance today in Abingdon was hosted by Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers. Their invited guests were Armaleggan and Ashnah.
Day of Dance
Armalleggan are a rowdy stick bashing Border Morris side who practise in Cumnor.
Day of Dance
Ashnah are tribal style belly dancers, and come from Abingdon.
Day of Dance
The day is organised by Mr Les Badcock – a life long Abingdonian.
Day of Dance
The day had a family feel with quite a few children of members following the event. There were occasions when everybody could join in the dance and the children loved that.
Day of Dance
The Day started at Annie’s Tea Room and ended at the Royal British Legion car park. They also danced at the Broad Face, the Market Place twice, the Black Swan and Brewery Tap.
Day of Dance
The Mr Hemmings dancers have been encouraging ladies to join in for two or three years, and this year there was also one or two younger dancers.

The day of dance used to be on the Saturday nearest the birthday of the original Mr Tom Hemmings in early May. The move to early July happened in 2017.

The Ramblers

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Rambling about Rambling
The Ramblers left Abingdon Market Place yesterday morning for Radley. They did not take the bus or car but followed public footpaths through fields high with grass
Rambling about Rambling
and wild flowers. Rambling at this time of year is not easy for hay fever sufferers.
Rambling about Rambling
The ramblers enjoyed views of Radley Lakes and the River Thames along the way and must have arrived safely and returned without mishap in Abingdon because one of their members sent me these pictures.

I saw them drinking coffee at one of the many coffee places on Abingdon Market Place before their departure.

Ladbrokes close Stert Street branch

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Ladbrokes close Stert Street branch
In April 2019 Ladbrokes announced they were closing up to 1,000 branches as new gambling laws came into operation, limiting the amount customers can place on gambling machines with fixed-odds to £2 down from £100. Ladbrokes have now consolidated their Abingdon business by closing the Stert Street branch, and directed customers to the Bath Street branch.

The government policy on gambling machines was intended to help people with gambling addictions. Online gambling addiction is more difficult.

The Vale takes on Idling while parked

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Idling while parked
We are back in Abingdon after a few days away. There were blue skies as we arrived back in town.
Idling while parked
The Vale of White Horse District Council recently launched an anti idling campaign to improve air quality. They say If people are stopped for more than a minute or parked then they should turn their engines off.

They also say

* 1 minute of idling produces 150 balloons of harmful pollutants.
* People inside cars are exposed to high levels of air pollution, with children especially at risk of harmful effects.

On June 29th the government announced higher fines for vehicles idling while parked. It was already an offence under the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions) (Fixed Penalty) (England) Regulations (Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 1808).