The first Inner Wheel club was formed in 1924 in Manchester by a group of Rotary Club wives. From small beginnings Inner Wheel has grown into one of the largest voluntary women’s organisations in the world.

To celebrate their 90th anniversary the Abingdon Club used the money they raised at their ‘Biscuit, Sweet and Raffle’ stall at the Christmas Extravaganza, and donated wheeled, and other, toys to the South Abingdon Children’s Centre.

The Centre offers activities, courses, guidance and support to families and carers with children under five, in South Abingdon and the surrounding area and was recently threatened with closure by Oxfordshire County Council.

Abingdon Inner Wheel President Lynn Stone said a few words and made the presentation. She was thanked by Councillor Sandy Lovatt, leader of the Town Council, and also a County Councillor who voted against the closure of the centre.

(Thanks for the report and picture of the presentation from Gladys.)

There is new member only leisure club with great facilities for over 55’s. If you are of an age to benefit, you can find out more from The Riverly Club.

The club is inside Bridge House, the new Care Home near Waitrose. Annual membership is £80 for single membership and £140 for joint membership. Facilities include spa, library, gym, cinema, and cafe bar.

The cinema is also used by the AGE UK Film Club for screenings of recent films, at just £3 a time, and the seats are so much better than those found in the cinemas in Oxford and Didcot.

Thanks to Chantelle for letting me know.

The Freewheeling Spring Cycle Festival will be this Sunday. The link Spring Cycle Festival 2013 has information about what is on.  Last year the PCSOs were there to promote cycling safety.

Cycling in and around Abingdon is easy and fun because the roads around here are so flat but there are some roads where it could be made safer. The front page of the Herald last week had an announcement that the Department of Transport and Oxford County Council are spending £300,000 to improve cycling on the Wootton Road – a busy road where many school children go about on bikes.

In this video I saw a lot of road users moving into the path of others, and hazards like potholes and bumps that can throw a bike off course. None of them led to any accidents because others had time to anticipate and react in time.

I’m not even sure riding with a camera on the handlebars is legal but anyway here it is, possibly for the last time, …

The Abingdon Horticultural Society Autumn Show took place this afternoon at the Northcourt Centre. There were competitions for best of show in many categories of plants …

fruit and vegetables …

and other forms of home produce, arts and crafts.

Mr Michael Matthews, the Chairman of the Society was pleased with the turnout. They had leafleted nearby houses and many people coming through the door were not members and soon could be.

The Society have been using the Northcourt Centre for the last eight years, and was originally founded in 1885.