Looking forward to the coming bank holiday weekend and the annual Abingdon Air and County Show. It is always one of the highlights of the Abingdon Calendar with the aeroplanes, vintage vehicles, stalls, and performances, and all run by volunteers to raise money for charity.

Looking forward a bit further, and it is time to consider whether to put together a team to row in the Dragon Boats on 6th September – the most fun you can have on the water. Another event run by volunteers. This time by the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper, and raising money for Charity.

The weekend after (12th -13th September) is Heritage Open weekend, when there will be a Victorian theme – 150 years after the Albert Monument was opened. The Albert Park is quite unique as it is run by the local charity ‘Christs Hospital of Abingdon’ for the good of the people of Abingdon, and not by any council or authority.

Like all Heritage Open Days everything is Free to Explore. In 2015 The ‘Ragged Victorians’ will there ‘bringing the past into the present’.

It is another event that is run entirely by volunteers. They are looking for anybody with interesting Victorian collections, or artifacts, or craft skills, or costumes, who would be willing to take part.

This Satuday Morning:

Sue Ryder took over the Kempster Room, in the museum basement, for a sale of clothing, at just £1 for three items.

There was a small French Antiques and Craft Market on the Market Place. This is a change from the usual French Food Market – put on to see if the concept would work before they bring the rest of the market.

The scouts were also on the Market Place selling books, bric-a-brac, and Tombola tickets.

There were still armbands available for the Music in the Park event on 6th June.

The Friends of Radley Lakes also had a display of photographs of Radley Lakes at St Ethelwolds House.

Apologies to anybody who this does not concern but if you do live in Caldecott Ward, I did do a short biography in the About link just in case.

The Abingdon Freewheeling Cycle Festival took place today, on a cool Sunday in April. There was a road closure, on High Street, to allow more stalls than ever before.

Cycle rides, free for everyone, were setting off from Abingdon Market Place at regular intervals from 9am to 1:30pm – with about thirty rides in total. They ranged from 5 mile family rides …

to 40 mile fast rides, or 50 mile off road orienteering courses.

The last ride was a 10-15 mile Retro Fun Ride.

New this year was a Shoretrax woodern track for the BMXers and Mountain Bikers.

The Abingdon-on-Thames Town Crier was both Master of Ceremonies – calling riders to order at the start of rides, and festival mascot – he appears on the cycle festival leaflets and fliers.

There were many cycle related stalls, food wagons, live groups playing music, and massages.

Spring must be here. There are both the Abingdon Cycling Festival and the Abingdon Artist’s Exhibition this week …

The Abingdon Cycling Festival cleaned the windows of the community shop. Tom sent me a picture of Mark Utting (Festival Project Manager) buffing the glass.

The drop-bar handlebar daffodil display is so much clearer as a result. More about The upcoming Abingdon cycling festival is at https://www.facebook.com/cycleabingdon.

Also Diana emailed me to say “the Abingdon Artists Spring Exhibition is in St Nicolas Church this week, open 10-5 every day and runs until Saturday. They have a great selection of original work in a range of media and styles, and most of the paintings are for sale.”