‘My Heart in Thine’ is a concert of British secular and sacred choral music at St Helen’s Church on Saturday, 13th July.

England are just one game away from European glory. In the semi-final, Phil Foden was on fire. The final against Spain will be shown at the Abbey Cinema and on smaller screens throughout Abingdon at 8 pm.

‘Hey, Nonny’, and other Shakespeare-inspired music will start at 5 pm, not 8 pm as originally planned, to avoid a clash.

After the Shakespeare-inspired music, music lovers can see The Bookshop Band perform at St Nicolas Church, Abingdon, on Wednesday, 17th July. Their music takes inspiration from books like Margaret Atwood’s ‘The Testaments’, Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’, and Philip Pullman’s ‘The Book of Dust.’

On Saturday, 20th July, local charity Against Breast Cancer is hosting the Splash Of Pink community fundraising event from 10 am to 3:30 pm in Abingdon Market Square. The event will feature stalls, acts, and live music to raise awareness and funds for research into secondary spread breast cancer. Shops are encouraged to participate by decorating their windows in pink, with the best display winning the Splash Of Pink trophy.

Art enthusiasts will find a free exhibition from local artists Joanne Sonnier and Emma Williams. Held in the garden at St Ethelwold’s from 10 am to 4 pm on Saturday, 20th, and Sunday, 21st July, the exhibition will showcase their artwork inspired by the beauty of St Ethelwold’s.

P.S. On Friday 19th July, the Swan Upping comes to Abingdon. Approximate timings are at https://www.royalswan.co.uk/

I sometimes get asked the best place to find out what is happening in Abingdon. While the official council website (https://www.abingdon.gov.uk/events ) has a listing, it can sometimes miss some gems or repeat regulars. There are also posters around town. Here are some of this week’s posters.

Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Dancers have their annual day of dance on Saturday 6th July 2024 and will be dancing with guest teams in various places around the town from 11am.

On the same day is the annual South Abingdon Play and Activity Day organised by the Oxfordshire Play Association.

Wantage Academy Brass will be playing at St Michael’s Church on Saturday. Proceeds of the event are to be shared with The Abingdon Bridge (TAB), TARIRO (Hope for Youth in Zimbabwe) and St Michael’s Church.

The Oxford Waits perform at the Unicorn Theatre on Thursday 4th July. They take their name from a band of Oxford musicians, known as ‘waits,’ who played in Oxford during the 17th century.

Abingdon Drama Club presents Calendar Girls from 10th – 13th July (Evenings) as part of their 80th year.

The puppet barge is back in Abingdon, by the open air pool, with a new show called The Insect Circus. Forget reality and become immersed in the strange and beautiful world of insects!

Looking at the Town Council Notice Board at Roysse Court there are some upcoming events. Art Week exhibitions are still on this bank holiday weekend.

The Friends of Abingdon and other societies have arranged Bank Holiday Walks, four at 10 am and four at 2 pm. See the big poster for the details.

On the same day, you can take part in the World Poohsticks championship at Sandford Lock, organised by the Rotary Club of Abingdon

On June 2nd, there will be Lakes and Cakes – thanks to the Radley Lakes Trust.

On the same day, there will be a new food festival for Oxfordshire. See tastetheflavours.org.uk

Not on the Town Council noticeboard, but outside St Helen’s Church is a poster for the next Abingdon and District Music Society concert – Opera Gala.

A power cut affected the Preston Road Community Centre yesterday, May 22nd, 2024. The lights and other electrical systems went out at 2:09 PM. The centre contacted electricians who confirmed the issue wasn’t internal but a wider power cut.

They then reported the outage to Scottish Power. They confirmed that the power cut affected several properties in the area. Unfortunately, the power went out again at 10:06 PM, causing further disruption.

Contractors are currently working on Turner Road to replace a blown underground cable joint, the likely cause of the power cut. Scottish Power estimates that repairs will be completed by 4:00 PM today, May 23rd.

Thanks to our roving reporter for keeping everyone informed.

During this outage, Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, announced there will be a General Election on July 4th.