Father Christmas returns and More Carols

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Father Christmas returned for the second week in a row on the Market Place. It is not all public appearances. Research is an important part of his job. He remembers 1998 when he, and a lot of parents, got caught out with no Furby. By 1999 Furbys were easy to get but children had moved on to Gameboys and Pokémon.

Carol Singers were on the Market Place for the second day in a row. Here is a short extract of both the Saturday and Friday carol singers …

Carol Singing

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There was Carol singing in the Farmers’ Market today (Friday) – with help from the Abbey Brass. The carols were organised by the Abingdon Christian Aid group and a collection was taken for the work of Christian Aid, very much focused on the urgent Afghanistan crisis appeal.

On Saturday from 11 am – 12 noon more carol singing is planned by the Church in Abingdon in the Market Place. They asked people taking part to pre-register because of the need for a Covid risk assessment.

There will also be actual and virtual carol services at some of the churches if you visit their web pages. They are all listed together on the blog’s links page.

Abbey Fish Ponds – December 2021

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This was my final monthly visit to the Abbey Fish Ponds Nature Reserve.  On entering somebody saw me taking a picture and asked what I’d seen.

It was a Wood Pigeon so nothing to boast about. But he told me how he had seen foxes and three sorts of deer. I said ‘wow’ and looked for deer but saw none.

A lot of reeds and branches have been cut back and leaves have fallen and as a result there were more birds to be seen and heard.

An Egret flew out from the stream and landed in a tree.

Although common it is still good to see a Robin.

Starlings were gathering in one of the trees at around 3pm. They took off and will probably be joining up with even bigger groups of starlings for their cloak turning murmurations.

A lot of the reeds and sedge have been cut down but there were still places with reeds.

Most of the reed is under the ground, as roots and rhizomes. Green spears are poking up even in December.

P.S. I got a call from Newcomer asking to be shown round the Abbey Fish Ponds. So there could be a bonus visit early next year. I might even do a recording as we explore with David Attenborough voices.

Ewart Hemmings

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Abingdon Town Council announced, with sadness, that Ewart Hemmings has passed away after illness. Ewart served the Caldecott Ward for many years as a Labour Councillor at Town and Borough Councils, Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxfordshire County Council. He is still a local hero to that area. Somebody was telling me recently how Ewart helped them get the Saxton Rovers club house built. He was Mayor of Abingdon in 1978/9.

Ewart was awarded the Freedom of Abingdon in 1999 and was often to be seen at events in that capacity. He was also President of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers and presided over the election of the Mayor of Ock Street. The picture above shows him reading from the WWI Abingdon Roll of Honour, where he read the H’s including the Hemmings.

As a mark of respect the Town Flag is now flying at half-mast from the Old County Hall.