
For the sixth year running The Yeah Baby free music festival took place on Abingdon Market Place – raising funds for local charities: Amber Phillpott Trust, Ronald McDonald Houses, Helen & Douglas House, and Oxford Children’s Hospital.

There were fun stalls: cakes, arts and crafts, face painting, play your cards right, and lucky dips. The Abingdon Fire Service was there with their engine, and Loose Cannon with beer. And bunting made by school children decorated the trees.

The main event was the music. Bands included: The Benbows with James Phillpott, founder of the Amber Phillpott Trust. Their song Highlife written for the event by James is downloadable for charity at 79p.

There were The Undercovers – who also played in Music in The Park.

There were also two big name bands: The DB band with Ex-Supergrass Bassist Mickey Quinn.

and Luciee Marie Closier from BBC’s The Voice.
Category Archives: music
Abingdon Music Centre – Music for Everybody

At the Amey Theatre this evening, groups from the Abingdon Music Centre came together to perform for each other and for friends and family. The evening began with the Community Orchestra – an orchestra for adult players of orchestral instruments at any level.

There followed child and then adult guitar groups, child and then adult recorder groups, an adult Ukelele Group. Then various singing groups and choirs: Singing for Pleasure, The Afternoon Ladies’ Choir, The Morning Ladies’ Choir (shown above), and The huge Abingdon Community Choir.

The evening ended with many of the performers getting on stage together to perform and sing “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”
The Abingdon Music Centre is a charity. They run Baby and Pre School groups. They have groups with mainly retired people. They have groups for school children and adults. It is Music for Everybody.
Jenny’s last offering to the ‘lovely people of Abingdon’

Jenny is leaving the area and has done a wonderful job in running the Folk at the Unicorn concerts for the last two and a half years. Jenny’s last offering to the ‘lovely people of Abingdon’ was the young duo of Greg Russell and Ciaran Algar, winners of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards: Horizon Award.
Mike, who does the lights, will be taking over as he thinks the concerts have been so good and wants to see them carrying on.
Wildflower / Truck Traffic Island

The traffic island near Abingdon Business Park looks rather plain during the winter months, and then the weeds seem to take over, but as May is followed by June the island is transformed with a prolific display of wild flowers.

Corn poppies, ox-eye daisies, and blue cornflowers are particularly abundant. They need minimal maintenance, and make lots of pollen for the butterflies and bees.

Just beside that same roundabout there is a board advertising the Truck Festival. It is a festival that has been happening for about 15 years.

The Truck Festival takes place within Hill End Farm, Steventon, about three miles from Abingdon. About 5000 people attend and so it is on a friendlier more manageable scale than some music festivals. Barnival signs have appeared round the countryside to baffle those of us who are not in the know, but I gather it refers to the barn stage.