I was sent a picture last Friday, taken on the Market Place, where there were stalls for National Carers Week. Stalls offered information from organisations like the Oxfordshire Carers Forum and the independent South and Vale Carers Centre. I am sorry to say carers week ended on 19th June, but even so you are not alone.
It is not too late to pick up a Carers Handbook.
It was good to see our friends from Sint Niklaas – the Boerke Naas – here in Abingdon for the election of the Mayor of Ock Street.
Lesley Argyle a former Mayor of Ock Street was also there for the day.
Todays candidates were Rob Beaver who has been dancing since age 8. His dad and brother dance alongside.
Also up for the election were Roger Cox who has been Mayor since 2007. His great uncle was Mayor in 1896. And on the ballet paper was Harry Knight who came very close last year to winning. He was lead dancer in the 1970s when the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers won the Europa Prize for Folk Art at the Albert Hall.
Here is Isabel demonstrating how to vote.
At 4 PM the papers were counted in the back room of the Brewery Tap. They let a few of us photographers in at the start but asked us to leave before it got really exciting.
Stuart Jackson was the returning officer this year, and he announced the results.
Congratulations to the Mayor of Ock Street.
It had been too windy for the Boerke Naas to do much flag throwing on the Market Place at lunch time but they got to do some as the Mayor was paraded up and down Ock Street. The nearest flag is, of course, Abingdon’s.
As to Rob Beaver, the disappointment may have been a little too much for him and it looks like he might be off to join the Boerke Naas. The beer is very good in Belgium.
The Mayor did not attend.
After the AGM of the Friends of Abingdon, at the Old Abbey Buildings, there followed a talk on “What makes a great place to live work and play.”
The ‘Friends of Abingdon’ Civic Society has done great work in the past protecting important historical buildings and has created monuments to Abingdon’s Heritage. The guest speaker was asking them as a civic society to look to the future. They had the town’s interest at heart and a role to play in determining the town’s future.
She asked people to think creatively, outside the box. What is Abingdon known for? Hay-on-Wye, for example is famous for book shops and a book festival.
What would you like Abingdon to be known for? .
Should it perhaps be the town known for it’s distinctive and confident independent shops, or perhaps the town known for making windmills, or …?
She also said we should not be thinking about and competing with near towns like Didcot and Witney but looking to compete and find examples of things that work much further afield. One example suggested was from our twin towns.
The indomitable Abingdon Sea Cadets had a great day out and won the district paddling competition. Keep up the good work Sue and Co and thanks for the picture.