Category Archives: celebrities

John Ruskin’s 200th Birthday

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Last week we happened to be at Ruskin’s grave for his 200th birthday and there was a special service of celebration.
Ruskin's 200th Birthday
Today when walking in South Abingdon I remembered that there is a Ruskin Avenue in Abingdon. It is a small road between Gainsborough Green and Cotman Close, part of a painter’s theme.
Ruskin's 200th Birthday

The other link to John Ruskin in Abingdon is a Historic Building and can be seen on the town portal created by Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society”John Ruskin, the Victorian art critic and social commentator, made the Crown & Thistle his home for a period in the early 1870s, walking the 7½ miles to Oxford when giving lectures and visiting the university.”

Preserving the last Giant Abingdon Tortoise

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Last Great Abingdon Tortoise
Search ‘Abingdon’ in the Guiness Book of Records and there are now more entries thanks to the longest loom band. Radley College  are also in there with the fastest Treadmill 100 miles team run.

There is also Most endangered animal and Rarest reptile. On further investigation this turns out to be `Lonesome George’ the giant tortoise Geochelone elephantopus abingdoni from the Pinta or Abingdon Island in the Galapagos Islands. George died in 2012 of natural causes.
Last Great Abingdon Tortoise
George can now be viewed at The American Museum of Natural History.
Last Great Abingdon Tortoise
They have done a Good Job ‘Preserving Lonesome George’ for future generations.

Pam St Clement signing copies of her autobiography ‘The End of an Earring’ at The Abingdon Bookstore

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Pam St Clement
Pam St Clement was signing copies of her autobiography ‘The End of an Earring’ at The Abingdon Bookstore on Friday 27th February.

Pam chatted and joked with a gathering of East Enders fans and readers of good autobiographies. She had time for everybody, and also at one point, by request, went briefly “in to character”. Pam is best known, to most of us, for being Pat Butcher in East Enders from 1986 until 2012.

Many Thanks for the pictures to The Abingdon Bookstore. You can see more pictures on Their Twitter Feed.

Terry Wogan and Local Excellence Market in Town

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Sir Terry Wogan was in town to sign his latest book. Not suprisingly there were lots of people about.
Terry Wogan
As noon approached a long queue formed outside the Bookstore.
Terry Wogan
to get signed copies of the book “A Little bit of common sense”.
local excellence Market
There was a local excellence Market in town today.
local excellence Market
As part of the Local Excellence Market. Abingdon Hydro were out telling people about the Share Offer. Abingdon Hydro is a not for profit company set up by local residents, to generate hydroelectric power from the River Thames by Abingdon Weir.
local excellence Market
Sir Terry Wogan kindly held a copy of the Abingdon Hydro poster I had to hand. The share sale is about a third of the way to the target, having raised £425,000.