Organised by local Charity Against Breast Cancer, the town was touched with pink today with balloons in shop windows, bras tied round the pillars of the County Hall …

 and a lot of stalls and activities going on the Market Place.

Part fund raiser and part raising awareness, you could look through microscopes at slides showing healthy and cancerous ducts. Against Breast Cancer funds groundbreaking research to improve detection, treatment and increase survival after breast cancer diagnosis.

Mr Hemming’s Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers provided some of the entertainment, and invited people to join in the last dance. They welcome new dancers, men and women, and you can go along on Monday 16th October at 8 pm to the Royal British Legion on Spring Road to have a go, and any Monday after that.

The Crown and Thistle were there providing burgers. Among their upcoming events is Royal Blood, a murder mystery evening on 10th November.

There were various stalls where you could win prizes such as a lucky person who won on the wine or water game.

Mr Muddle provided an enthralling magic show for the children and adults.

Member of Abingdon Operatic Society were there to sing some songs from their upcoming show Sister Act starting 24th October. Tickets are on sale.

There was lots more …

I know it was mentioned in comments that acacia Abingdon has a just giving page to help the charity while it cannot operate a shop in Abingdon.

The page is here. The just giving page says the shop could be out of operation for a year during which time they will be loosing income for the children they support.

From the Brecon and Radnor Express on 22nd September 2017 … “CHARITY shops in Llandrindod Wells are asking people not to leave donations in doorways after bags were set on fire in the early hours.”

In Abingdon, three days later, on 25th September 2017 a Charity Shop fire caused a lot of damage. The Abingdon Herald quoted the charity’s coordinator as saying “… it was too early to speculate about the cause, but it is thought the fire might have started outside the front door where a pile of donations had been spotted earlier.”

We often see donations left in the porches of our local charity shops, despite the shops having notices asking people not to leave donations out of hours.

Back in November 2008 this blog reported that The Charter Day Centre for elderly people was moving. They needed more space, and were swapping places with the learning disability centre who needed less space. The Abbey Centre and Charter Centre were modified to make the swap possible. Now in 2017 I hear rumours that the day centre will be closing, and so anticipate the learning disability centre moving back to the Abingdon Health and Wellbeing Centre – formerly the Abbey Centre. Users will know more if I have got the wrong end of the stick.
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Also I read that ‘Oxfordshire Learning Disability Services has now moved to Oxford Health. The Learning Disability Services are specialist health services for people with a learning disability in Oxfordshire. Formerly provided by Southern Health, the staff have moved across.‘ So the signs outside the Abbey Centre will change again. Not just Southern Health but also The Alzheimer’s Society.

It has already been reported that the Alzheimer’s Society will be unable to continue providing services down at the Abbey Centre as the County Council are cutting funding for elderly people’s services generally. I have read that the County will give transitional financial support then expect care providers to become more self sustaining – a bit like those taking over the Children’s Centres. This is a large financial undertaking for such charities and their trustees.