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On one railing outside Abingdon Baptist Church, on Ock Street, is a banner to say the Chinese Brush Painting group have been exhibiting at 35 Ock Street. They also had a demonstration today.

The exhibition will be there until about Wednesday.

On the other railing is a banner for the Oxfordshire Drama Network Drama Festival. This involves 2 one-act plays per evening Wednesday-Friday. They are judged by an adjudicator who usually re-directs a short scene. 3 plays from the week are called back by the adjudicator for the Saturday Gala night on 18th June.

18th June is also the day of the election of the Mayor of Ock Street. Due to a family wedding, I will, unfortunately, miss it this year. I would be very grateful if somebody could send a few pictures to backstreet60@gmail.com.

It was easy to spot Wally this morning in Abingdon. They could be heard too, as younger Wallys chanted ‘Wally! Wally! Wally!’

Under the County Hall arches, there were experts checking bikes for free.

In the Climate Control Centre, in the basement, a Repair Workshop repaired electricals for free. This is a monthly event.

Over in the Guildhall, a craft fair attracted local crafters from Oxfordshire to sell their products.

A wedding party was gathered outside the Registry Office in Roysse Court.

April 23rd is St George’s Day and the Abingdon Crochet Artist has made a crochet for the day

Once upon a time, a dragon was terrifying the people in Abingdon. They had tried offering sheep to the dragon and the dragon ate all the sheep. They tried offering cows and the dragon ate all the cows. The people were thinking about offering their children. Then a brave young lady went out to plead on behalf of the children. The dragon looked at her and decided to eat her next.  A young man called George went out to try to save the young lady. The dragon breathed fire at him, but George spotted a lack of armour under the dragon’s wing and ran through the flames and killed the dragon with a sword. George married the young lady and they lived happily ever until George died and then he was made a saint.

The St George’s Flag can be seen on the county hall roof in Abingdon to celebrate St George.

23rd April is also World Book Night when you are encouraged to read a book during the Reading Hour from 7 – 8pm.

The neighbours on the Workhouse Estate are fundraising for the Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Their first event was on Saturday when they organised a sale outside one of the Oxford Road houses and raised an astonishing £1038 in cash plus a lot more in online donations.

Next up is a concert on 30th April where well-known local musician George Haslam will be performing as part of the Strannik trio. “Strannik” is an international trio fronted by Tatiana Soloviova on vocals and guitar, with pianist Olga Meadows and George Haslam on saxophone.

Tatiana is a recording artist and a prize winner at several competitions including Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Olga is an established piano professor and performing pianist in classics and jazz, George is a well-traveled musician on the international jazz scene.

Special guest on the night is solo vocalist/guitarist Glenda Huish presenting her own very personal combination of words and music.

Thanks to Hester for this.