Category Archives: Events

Boxing, Bungee Jumping, and Bugs

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A number of events covered on the blog almost exactly a year ago have happened again…

Boxing Club
Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club had another boxing show. This year they took the show out of town to Didcot Town Football Club. Such shows are good fund raisers for their campaign to get a gym built in South Abingdon, and there could be a show in Abingdon later in the year.Bungee Jumping
There was Bungee Jumping at the Boundary House. Last year the crowds were round in the car park watching.  This year they were mostly in the pub garden, watching over the roof.
Spindle Tree
The Spindle Tree next to the Crown and Thistle was again attacked by bugs . The Spindle Ermine Moth Caterpillars have ravaged it again and left a parachute of silk behind … It grew back last year. Will it this?

Football, Drumming, and Football

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Oxford Flags
Everybody is eagerly awaiting the Oxford United game tomorrow at Wembley. They play York in the play-off final to see if they can get back in the football league. So many people are going to Wembley from Abingdon it could be like a ghost town, and there were commemorative scarves and hats on sale in town today.
Drumming Workshop
There was also a drumming workshop on the Market Place at around lunchtime. The enthusiasm of the lead drummer got a huge circle of people involved. Great fun!
Teams at South Town Park
And down at Southern Town Park a big football tournament was taking place. Hosted by Abingdon Youth Football Club, it had teams as young as six who swarmed round the ball, and then competitions for every year group up to age 14.

There are about one hundred teams involved over the two days of the weekend. This is down a bit on what it could have been. The Oxford game tomorrow is keeping some away.

2010 Dragon Boat Racing

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As in previous years, rain or shine, the 2010 Dragon Boat Racing was a great event. It had all the ingredients …
practising on dry land
The dry run as teams tried out their oars before boarding …
Vikings waiting to board Dragon Boats
The fancy dress teams waiting to board…
Banging the Drum
The team leader banging the drum…
People watching
The crowds watching and cheering the teams, with stalls and a funfair behind…
Pirates boat drives on
The teams powering down the course as hawaii-five-o played…
Abingdon School Team Hug
The Team Spirit…

And of course raising money for good causes… Each team raised money for charity through sponsorship. The target was £2000 per team, with one third of the money going to the Rotary Club of Abingdon Vesper’s charity fund and two thirds to the team’s nominated charity.

Cecil Sharp Centenary Day of Dance

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Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris dancers
Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris dancers, danced at many pubs round Abingdon, and even some ex-pubs like this one – which was once The Happy Dick Inn in Ock Street.

This annual day of dance was to celebrate Cecil Sharp who worked at the end of the 19th and the start of the 20th ecntury, collecting dances, and keeping the old morris dancing tradition alive. He visited Abingdon one hundred years ago.
One of the Armaleggan Morris Morris dancers
The Mr Hemmings group were accompanied by 7 other groups. This colourful Oxfordshire group, called Armaleggan Morris, dance in the borders style with blacked faces and tattered clothes and energetic stick hitting. They are at the Kings Head and bell.

Belly dancing, by Hazzaz, in the Carpark of the Cross Keys pub.

Mayflower Morris clog dancing at the front of the Cross Keys.

Then at 2 pm all the groups got together to dance on the Market Place.

Les Badcock, the bagman of the Mr Hemmings group, led the dance.