Volunteers were working for some time with the parkrun organisation to set up a junior parkrun in Abingdon’s Southern Town Park. The first successful run was on Sunday 7 July 2024. This Sunday was the eighth event so it is well established.

Junior parkruns are for children between the ages of 4-14. They are 2km long and taking part is free and all junior parkruns start at 9am on Sunday mornings. There is information about taking part and registering and volunteering at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/southerntown-juniors/

The event is also supported by Healthy Abingdon. Thanks to Dave from Healthy Abingdon for the pictures from his page: https://healthyabingdon.org.uk/news.htm#parkrun.

There have not been as many photo opportunities as when the Olympic torch came through Abingdon in 2012 but Helen and Douglas House

and Sue Ryder have window displays on an Olympic theme.

Nearby Radley College produced some Olympic rowing talent in 2024. I have found no direct Olympic link to Abingdon this year, but the town’s sporting spirit is undoubtedly alive and well. The last picture is the running track at Tilsley Park in Abingdon.

A surge in England flags came in the days between semi-final and final

Sunday’s newspapers had a wrap-around advert with a patriotic twist. A ‘T’ was designed to resemble the England flag. It said, ‘Every Fan Helps’.  Tesco Express closed at 7:30pm so more fans could watch the match. The Co-op did the same.

Following England’s Euro Cup final loss, Monday’s headlines were: ‘Next Time, Boys’, ‘Shattered’, and ‘You did us proud’. The dramatic Trump assassination attempt in the US was mostly on the inside pages.

Elsewhere, thoughts turned to the summer holidays.

Caldecott Rec. was busy on Saturday as coaches celebrated last season’s successes by awarding trophies and describing the development of their young players. While no local lads made it into the England team this time, they can dream!

England are in another Euro semi-final, this time facing the Netherlands. The memory of their penalty shootout loss in the 2020 final against Italy lingers. Back then, on home soil, their victories were more emphatic, and the nation was optimistic. Their path to the semi-finals has been less convincing this time around, leading to a more cautious mood. Gone are the scenes of widespread flag-waving of 2020. But some Abingdon businesses have the flags out.

Topsport has had a Euro2024 window display since May.

The Blue Boar have their England flags out.

Since Jamaica is not in the competition, Pappy’s ‘Back of Yard’ is backing England.