The Bank Holiday walks organised by The Friends of Abingdon with other groups are now into their fourth year. All walks start at the Market Place at 10:30am or 2:00pm. Book in from 10:00 am on the day.

Walks on Offer:
• The 1556 Abingdon Boundary Walk. Approximately 4 miles leaving at 10:30am.
• The Wilts and Berks Canal Heritage Walk. Approximately 3 or 5 miles leaving at 10:30
• The Ock Valley Nature Walk with Abingdon Green Gym. 3½ miles leaving at 2:00pm. Tea and Cakes at the Abbey Buildings.
• The Radley Lakes Walk with the Friends of Radley Lakes. 5 miles leaving at 2:00pm. Tea and Cakes available at the Lakes.
• The Lost Abbey Tour. St Nicolas Church and the Lost Abbey. Leaving at 10:30 am. and 2:00pm. Teas in the Abbey Buildings.
• The St Helen’s Almshouses Tour. Leaving at 10:30 am.

Link: http://www.friendsofabingdon.org.uk/news/events/

This evening at St Helen’s Church there was a concert to celebrate fifty years of Abingdon Town Band.

Steve Rich, the musical director for thirty years, looked back to the days when rehearsals began at Dunmore School in 1965, and now to the excellent facilities they use at John Mason School in 2015. He looked forward to 2065 when the Band will hopefully have their own rehearsal hall, and bandstand in the park.

The band play at many civic events including the remembrance day services in Abingdon for the last 45 years. Steve’s wife, Alison, the principal cornet player, has played the Last Post most of those years, and has been complemented by army experts on many occasions.

The band will be doing Proms in the Park again on June 6th, as part of Music in the Park.

This evenings concert began with the National Anthem, and ended with the bands signature tune ‘True and Trusty’. There was a full and varied programme.

Last night, Abingdon County Hall Museum opened its doors from 5pm-9pm for an evening of free entertainment for all.

Performers included:

• Oxford Horns,
• Opera Anywhere
• Ian Miles and The Mulberry Band

+ Raw Diva, a talented all female dance group from Oxford.

Raw Diva were raising money for Blue Skye Thinking, a local charity which supports research so that all children diagnosed with brain tumours will have a better chance of survival. It is also one of the charities of Helen Pighills, the new Abingdon Mayor. The other is the Breakaway Club.

The museum opening was an opportunity to experience the museum in a new light

and to watch the setting sun from the museum roof.

Mike, the Labour Party Candidate for the Town Centre, won a guess the weight of the Easter Egg at the Gift Centre at Easter. It was 13KG.

He did not want to eat the egg all himself, and decided to see if the people of Old Station House would enjoy it instead.

During electoral purdah he could not invite publicity, or do anything opponents could claim was an electoral bribe, and so waited until today to do the presentation.

While there, I discovered that one of the Station House residents grew up on a farm, and gets great pleasure from looking after the two Station House hens.

You may have seen their eggs advertised in the window.