Abingdon marked Armistice Day with a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT on 11 November to mark the end of World War One in 1918. The Mayor of Abingdon joined veterans and schoolchildren from Thameside School at the war memorial.

School children from Hawk Class at Kingfisher School have been learning about Remembrance Day and made a display of poppies and Acrostic poems that can be seen inside the Royal British Legion (RBL) HQ in Abingdon.

Also, inside the RBL HQ, somebody has made a poppy out of leftover enamel badges from 2014 to 2021.

Outside the RBL HQ is another display of poppies with two cutout sentries.
And the giant poppies are lit up behind the war memorial.

The 2nd Abingdon Scouts organised a community fireworks display behind Long Furlong Community Centre in Abingdon this evening. The 2nd Abingdon Scout Group was founded in 1922 and was first known as 2nd North Berks Scouts. They moved to their present location off Farm Road in the 1960s.

It had been raining before the firework display and a large crowd waited with umbrellas. The Abbey Brass Band played music. There was a BBQ with hot dogs and beefburgers, and canteens with hot drinks provided by the scouts. Then came the countdown for the fireworks.

During the display, the rain stopped but started soon afterwards.

It was good that the annual display coincided with November 5th, Guy Fawkes Night. “Remember, remember / The fifth of November / Gunpowder, treason and plot.” The only bonfire was one filmed and shown on a screen along with adverts for sponsors and the scouts.

There is more information about the scouts at https://2ndabingdonscouts.org.uk/.

All Hallows is a religious festival where the dead are remembered on the night before All Saints Day. Before then, it could have been a pre-Christian festival. Halloween has become a time for dressing up, spooky parties and trick-and-treating.

It is also a chance for people in Abingdon to get creative with wool, wood, and pumpkins.

The postbox on the  Market place has been decorated with a spooky topper.

The Blue Boar has been made to resemble a House of Horrors with wood from Oxford Wood Recycling.

Pumpkins of different sizes and colours are there on display for people to get creative at Fabulous flowers.