Today (Thursday 6th February 2025), on passing Unit 24, Bury Street, I took a moment to check out the window displays. There are two big displays:

* A reminder that the consultation for the Abingdon-on-Thames Neighbourhood Plan closes on February 10th.

* Generations of John Mason School students will remember Welsh Farm in West Wales — home to bog-hopping, waterfall adventures, and gold panning. But with its natural water source drying up, the farm needed £15,000 for a borehole. Thanks to generous donors, they’ve raised £16,270 so far.

Beyond these, the other windows are full of A4 posters with local events and initiatives, including:

Get Active:
* Abibinit Litter Picks
* Walking Football (age 55+)
* Thursday Gentle Walks from Preston Road Community Centre (10:30 am)
* Ride Revolution – restoring bikes for disadvantaged children
* groups such as Chair Yoga and Strong and Stable at Unit 42

Community & Wellbeing:
* Men’s Support Group at Keystone Mental Health (Bury Street)
* Abingdon Compassionate Café
* Mind: One Step at a Time – coping strategies workshop

Community & Culture:
* Stonehill Community Garden Open Day
* The Abingdon Girl Guide groups
* West End Allotments – full and half plots available
* Abingdon Fitzharris WI (2nd Tuesday, Northcourt Centre, 1:30 pm)
* One Planet Abingdon – sustainability initiatives
* Dawn the Talking Newspaper
* The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes – an ancient fraternity

Upcoming Events:
Long Furlong Funday – 18th Feb
Councillor Nathan’s Talk: Health, Climate & Oxfordshire’s Future – 19th Feb
Abingdon Artists Spring Exhibition – 10th-15th March
ATOM Science Festival – 15th-26th March
Abingdon Beer Festival – 25th-27th April

Nigel Carter, the organiser of the Phab (Physically Handicapped Able Bodied) club, along with his wife Barbara, recently celebrated his 80th birthday. To mark the occasion, their son Paul organised a special evening of karaoke, followed by a party spread.

The club is held in Christchurch hall. The festivities continued in the church, where the male voice choir rehearse at the same time as Phab every Thursday evening. The choir sang a medley ending with “Happy Birthday” .

Nigel expressed his gratitude to the choir and shared a personal anecdote or two and then revealed that he is half Welsh (he couldn’t say which half, upper or lower).

He then had the privilege of choosing a song to be performed in his honour and selected the Welsh hymn, “Calon Lân” which the choir sang beautifully.

At Unit 24, the Abingdon Community Shop, woodcarvers are in residence from October 29 to November 2. One member described the need of patience, recounting how he sets a modest goal for each Thursday when the group meet at John Mason School: to carve out a small segment of a sculpture or focus solely on sanding down one intricate area. ‘It’s therapeutic,’ he said. ‘It less about finishing and more about engaging with each step.’

This exhibition is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and members are showcasing some of their pieces. Projects are underway in the shop, allowing visitors to watch the process.

Members are always happy to chat and tell you more. They are on the look out for new members, and have as many women as men.

Their website is https://oxfordwoodcarving.co.uk/.

The Phab Club had a great time last night at Christchurch, Abingdon, thanks to the Bakehouse Strummers. The band play easy to sing along songs that sound good strummed on the ukulele – mostly from the early 1960s.

The Bakehouse Strummers got their name from “The Old Bakehouse” in Abingdon where one of their leaders lives and where they first met to play. They are usually busy over the Christmas period and will play at the Mayor’s Christmas Party for people over 75.

At the end, the audience called for an encore, which the band wasn’t used to. So they played again the song they started with – something good by Hermon’s Hermits

P.S. Hermon’s Hermits are on their 60th anniversary tour in 2024. From their early beginnings in Manchester in 1964, the band have chalked up 23 hit singles.