The official launch of Host Abingdon will be on 10th May

They had a stall at the Clubs and Societies day. Their aim is to find host families who will provide emergency accommodation as part of the existing Host Oxford Initiative. A fund has also been established to make a room available at St Ethelwold’s for refugee accommodation. They have also set up language lessons, welcoming and befriending, and food donations.

Near them on one side at Clubs and Societies Day were Abingdon Artists. As well as frequent exhibitions, they have a programme of talks and demonstrations. On 12 May 2016 there will be a demonstration of pastels, and on 09 June 2016 A talk on Van Gogh.

On the other side of Host Abingdon were the Abbey Meadow Lace Makers who meet on the 3rd Tuesday of each month at Preston Road Community Centre from 09:30 to 15:30. They also have a fortnightly group at All Saints on Monday evenings for people who might like some tuition.

Rounding off today’s groups are Abingdon Lions – an international organisation started in the USA in 1917, who have a well established group in Abingdon, UK.

Ron Skinner, their president, will be jump out of an aeroplane at 15,000 feet for charity on 29th April. The money raised goes to Maggie’s Centre at the Oxford Children’s Hospital. His donation page is justgiving.com/ron-skinner111. This will be his first skydive and he is age 70.

The Didcot, Abingdon and Wantage Talking Newspaper – DAWN – record and produce local news for people who are blind or partially sighted. It can be listened to by anybody visiting their website, and is distributed to about 100 recipients using memory sticks. Volunteers record news and other features of interest at the Health and Wellbeing Centre on Audlett Drive in Abingdon.

University of the 3rd Age – U3A – have over 300 members in Abingdon. Thay have weekly talks at Preston Road Commnity Centre. The next ones are:
Mon May 9th – Investigation of Insurance Fraud
Mon May 16th – James Sadler: Oxford Pastry Cook & First English Aeronaut
Mon May 23rd – The Spanish Guitar
They also have many other smaller groups for people with special interests.

Abingdon-on-Thames Festival of Science and Technology is an annual week-long event run by ATOM. They also have monthly talks. Next one is 19:30 to 21:00, 28 April 2016 at the Barn Room, Crown & Thistle, Abingdon, when Professor Jon Butterworth from UCL will discuss physics at the ‘energy frontier’. (Free for members. £3 for non-members.)

The Rotary Club Vesper are well known for running the annual Dragon Boat Racing on the first Sunday of September. They also run the Abingdon Food Festival . It began at Miele for the first two years, and is moving to Rye Farm Meadow, Abingdon this year on Saturday 25th June 2016. The Rotary Club Vesper are experts at advertising and running large events. They also raise a lot of money for good causes.

For anybody who did not manage to get to the Clubs and Societies Day, here is a round up some of the stalls I did get round. There will be 3 or 4 a day for the next few days.

The Vale Islanders is a group of dancers and musicians who perform English country dances of the Seventeenth Century in the costume of the period.

The Abbey Sailing Club is a small, family friendly sailing club with a great social side and an informal and friendly atmosphere. They run handicap races on Sundays and Wednesday evenings.

The Oxfordshire IVC Social events group is there to kickstart your social life, whether you are new to the area, or want to get out more. Activities include such things as: guided walks, Indian meals. Pudding Clubs, pub social evenings, Motown and Northern Soul disco, jazz nights, Point To Point racing – whatever other members organise.

The Alzheimer’s Society provide day care and support for people with dementia at the day centre in the Health and Wellbeing Centre off Audlett Drive in Abingdon from 9:30am-3:30pm.

Thanks to Suzanne and Rob for this report from 4 days ago.

“My husband, Rob, our cat Lolly and myself took our boat upstream to Sandford and on Wednesday collected a bottle of Thames source water that is making it’s way downstream via different river users.

There is more information about its journey at: http://totallythames.org/events/info/source-to-sea-river-relay ). Our task was to safely carry the bottle from Sandford Lock to Abingdon Lock where it would be looked after for the night before continuing it’s journey the following day without us.

At Abingdon Lock Rob, of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers, was met by his fellow Morris men and they danced (in the pouring rain) to entertain boaters passing through the lock, before the bottle of source water was officially handed over to (ex Morris dancer) Frank who was manning the Lock.

There are more photos (non-Morris) and also a couple of video clips of the dancing available on Suzanne’s blog:http://thegabbleratchet.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/2015-totally-thames-source-to-sea-river.html