This morning at St Ethelwold’s House, East St Helen Street, Abingdon, there was the first Communi-tea drop-in. This will be a monthly happening on the second Saturday of the month.

Organised by Emma, from More In Common, and Sue from Host Abingdon, among others, it was a chance to meet, over a cup of tea, people new to Abingdon, some from country’s with conflicts and wars, and some just new to Abingdon.

There were a lot of people there, and everybody was welcomed by one of the Abingdon Town Criers, who, on this occasion, had somebody to translate.

Thanks to Diana for sending me this picture. A community minded individual has provided seats at the bus stop on the Vineyard.

Anne sent me a picture of a rusting postbox off Preston Road,

and some of the weeds also growing along Preston Road.

She wanted to know how to get anything done about them to improve the look of the town.

When this picture was taken in May 1975, by the Herald, the community centre at Preston Road, South Abingdon, was being built at a cost of £30,000 to serve the 3,500 residents south of the River Ock. £20,000 of that money came from Abingdon Borough Council (wound up the year before). The council used a lot of its surplus money on Abingdon schemes before all that Abingdon money got sucked away into the newly created Vale of White Horse District Council.

Even older than the community centre is the bingo club.

John and Valerie Hayward set up a bingo club 50 years ago to raise funds for the Caldecott Boys football club they helped found in 1963. The bingo was first played at the Railway Inn. It then moved to Caldecott School, and then to the new community centre at Preston Road.

The boys football club played at Caldecott Recreation Ground in the early years, before moving to become the Abingdon Youth FC at Southern Town Park.

This evening tickets were still being sold for the bingo. Volunteers at the community centre have taken over running this popular Tuesday evening activity. (Valerie is seen here with Pete – a volunteer with the bingo for many years). Any profits go back into the community centre.

Prizes this evening included two solar powered snowy owls.