At the Abingdon Cycle Festival, on the 10th April 2016, rides started at 9am from the Market Place.

The rides ranged from the 50 mile quick road ride, averaging 19-22 mph, to 5 mile family rides.

There were 31 rides on the schedule, and it was a case of sign in early to get the ride you wanted.

The day started off sunny with a cool breeze.

There was music to entertain the cyclists, and stalls servings food and refreshments, as well as stalls selling cyclist gear, and a stall with fold-up Brompton bikes.

The oldest bike was a 1891 Rover – still going strong.
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The Town Crier announced all the rides and helped direct people to their starting point. But this year he had a brand new bike. The green vintage bicycle he rode at previous cycle festivals has not lasted as well as the 1891 Rover.
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The final picture is at 10am and shows a typical scene with cyclists waiting for the off.

The two Abingdon quilt making groups: The Abbey Quilters and The Fitzharrys Quilters have a joint Quilt Exhibition at the Manor School,

It is open today and tomorrow (9-10 April 2016) from 10am – 4pm. When I went there were lots of people looking round the many quilts on display, and other stalls.

The exhibition has been going for about 16 years, I believe. It used to be held at Radley College but has moved to the Manor School in recent years. Quilting seems very popular in these parts, and Masons in Abingdon is a popular place for quilters to go for material.

In the lead up to the exhibition Mostly Books dedicated most of their shop window to displaying quilts and books about quilting, and they have a stall at the exhibition.

There has also been a competition of Fidget quilts – small quilts (A3 or slightly bigger) that soothe and entertain people suffering from various forms of dementia. About a dozen entries were on display and the winning entry is shown above.

Thanks to Ian for this report ….

Abingdon Horticultural Society held it’s  Spring Show on 2 April at the Northcourt centre.

The number of entries this year were very encouraging, bearing  in mind the strange growing season we have had so far. A warm, damp December and January produced breaking buds and flowers very early, then the cold, frosty and windy periods of February and March almost halted the growing of many plants. Then, suddenly, the few days of warmer temperatures tempted enough flowers to open and give us a nice selection for the show.  On the day lovely sunshine persuaded many visitors to enjoy tea and cake outside.

In addition to the excellent display of plants and flowers, there were numerous entries in the domestic skills categories. Numerous exhibits of lemon curd, marmalade, buns and cakes were admired by the many visitors. The childrens’ categories were impressive, including beautifully decorated eggs, cakes and flowers.

A ‘Spring Theme’ photographic competition, held for the first time this year, attracted several high quality prints to complement the pictures of the Spring gardens competition.   Sales of cheap plants, cake and honey proved hugely successful, attracting many enthusiastic buyers.

We hope the interest will be retained by our many visitors for the Autumn Show on 3rd September.

On a brilliantly sunny Saturday morning, Paolo from Brazil, wearing a Chile T shirt, kindly stood next to the Oxford United scarfs and memorabilia that are on sale in Abingdon. Oxford United Play Barnsley in the final of the Football League Trophy, at Wembley, tomorrow.

Also in town this morning were campaigners wanting to leave the European Union. There is a referendum on 23 June 2016 when UK citizens will vote on the question ‘Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?’

Then in the afternoon, when the sun had gone in, there was a crowd waiting for cyclists who had cycled from the Brecon Beacons in Wales back to Abingdon, over 120 miles, including one on a Pashley bicycle.

The event was sponsored by Breckon and Breckon Estate Agents, and Outdoor Traders, to raise money for local charity Blue Skye Thinking.