Election of the Mayor of Ock Street

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Today was Mayor’s Day: the election of the Mayor of Ock Street, the leader of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers. So there was dancing throughout the day, and a procession between dancing locations behind the Horns.

The guest sides were the  Windsor Morris and the Vale Islanders.

The Polling Station at the Brewery Tap opened at 11 am and closed at 4 pm. People living or working in Ock Street get a vote.

There was dancing at the Black Swan; Abbey Gateway; Market Place; Broad Face; Long Alley Almshouses; and Brewery Cottages, Coopers Lane where Pam and Alick served the teams and other visitors with beer.

The previous Mayors of Ock Street, Roger Cox and Harry Knight did not stand this year, and so there were three younger candidates, none of whom had been Mayor before. The winner was Rob Charlton. Rob has been lead dancer and so the Morris Men now have an active dancer as  Mayor. The sword and cup of office was presented by the Mayor of Abingdon, Councillor Gabby Barody.

Rob then sat in the chair of office

and was paraded up and down Ock Street as is the custom.

There was then further dancing.

Make Music Day in Abingdon

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Make Music Day UK is an annual celebration of music-making that takes place in communities across the world on the 21st of June. That includes Abingdon.

At St Ethelwolds House people gathered in the garden for the tea and cakes and also for the music

where local musicians came together to play and improvise. Anybody could join in or make a request.

Later in the day at the Loose Canon brewery, more local groups played. The Ock Street Band,

The sepia tone folk collective,

and Struggles End.

The Cannon Wagon was outside with Bridge Burgers, Pulled Pork Burgers, and Cannonball Spicy Veggie Burgers.

Crochet from Postbox Toppers to Passion Play Cheer:

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‘My favorite part of the blog has been the knitted or crocheted tops and figures decorating a mailbox. They are apparently done to honor a special event or holiday. They are so well done and quite clever.

Could more of these be posted in the future?’

Sandy in Indianapolis, Indiana.

I wrote back ‘The Secret Crocheter stopped doing the postbox toppers after having two or three taken soon after putting them up.’

There are still crochets on the post box outside Tesco.

Other crochets have also appeared to publicise the Abingdon Passion Play 2024. They are lovely and colourful.

The passion play will by this Saturday, 22nd June 2024 at 12 noon and 5 pm in the Abbey Gardens.

Nature Trails for Explorers

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In South Abingdon, three new trails take you on adventures through parks, playgrounds, and local neighbourhoods. These are called the South Abingdon Nature Trails. They’re like treasure hunts, but instead of finding gold, you get to see wildlife, play pavement games, have a picnic on the way, and stop off to have a go on the swings or slides of a local playground.

Bug, bird and bat boxes, community planters, carved animals, wildflower areas and pavement games are being added to make the trails more interesting.

There are three trails to choose from. You can scuttle on the hedgehog trail, flutter on the dragonfly trail, or waddle on the duck trail

All the trails have special markers to help you find your way, and there’s a map you can print out from the website https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/vale-of-white-horse-district-council/sports-and-activities/follow-the-new-south-abingdon-nature-trails/.

Where the trails follow the same route for a bit you will see two or more colours

You can start your adventure anywhere you like! But there are three starts near Hogarth Place just off Preston Road.

The trails were created by the Vale of White Horse District Council to encourage people to enjoy the local area, become more active, and learn more about the natural world around them.