The red sale signs are out again in Abingdon shops as we near the end of 2017. The sales appear to be mostly clothing,
and Christmas stock. I am not sure what happens to Christmas stock that does not get sold.
This is also a time when travel companies try to get us to book holidays and so there are enticements. Families may find sales deals with free kids places.
On Boxing Day, in days gone by, the Old Berks Hunt would sometimes meet on the Market Place in Abingdon. Nowadays the horses have been replaced by MG Cars, and the ride is around the lanes of Oxfordshire, not Berkshire, to give the cars a winter run.
Before the off there is a chance to look under the covers of the MGs. Combustion engines may have replaced horses but their mechanical power is still measured in horse power.
The chrome and paintwork need a good polish, as did the horse brasses.
Before the off there is the chance for people to chat about the idiosyncrasies of their rides, and to have a warming drink from one of the coffee houses that do so well in Abingdon, round the Market Place.
Youngsters may recall, in years to come, seeing the Old Boxing Day MG gathering on the Market Place.
Unlike the Old Berks Hunt, where the horses and hounds left in a pack, the MGs leave in ones and twos to follow the Boxing Day route. In 2017 it ended at The Black Horse at Gozzards Ford.
The first film, shown to an invited audience at the Unicorn Theatre, was Murder on the Orient Express (2017). The experts behind bringing the cinematic experience to the Unicorn were the Regal Evesham team who were all dressed the part. They even had a couple of monks. The sound and pictures were as good as any cinema. The Abingdon people who helped make this happen were Iain Littlejohn, pictured in the background in this picture,
and Friends of Abingdon Civic Society chairman Bryan Brown who gave a speech.
Here are some of the audience who enjoyed this first viewing.
For more information see https://theunicorn.ac/
Murder on the Orient Express Official Trailer 20th Century FOX from Haris Zambarloukos on Vimeo.
The chance to experience cinema at the Unicorn is about to happen – ‘a modern cinema in a medieval setting’. The cinema at the Unicorn opens on Friday 29th December 2017. The program and website to buy tickets is at theunicorn.ac The project was delayed a little because of the need to sort out distribution rights for films at the new venue.
The installation of the equipment took place before Christmas, and a short film was shown successfully. There will be a full run through of a feature length film to trustees of the Friends of Abingdon to check all is working before the first full day on Friday.