Myth, Mystery and Music – Art Exhibition

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Myth Mystery Music
The 2018 Abingdon County Hall Musuem Guide is now available, and makes a very colourful and handy guide to the coming year.
Myth Mystery Music
The first new exhibition of 2018 opened yesterday, Saturday 13th January, and runs until 18th March, and is called Myth, Mystery and Music.
Myth Mystery Music
Local artist Caroline Ritson goes in search of sightings of the Green Man in hedges, flowers and foliage, and when she has found an eye or face, she paints it in great detail. It is fun to try to find the Green Man in her pictures. Caroline also has pictures of Morris Dancing and Music Festivals.
Myth Mystery Music
Alongside these are paintings by another local artist, Barbara Payne. Some of her paintings portray the mysteries to be seen near The Oldest Road (The Ridgeway), including the White Horse, Wayland Smithy, and Blowing Stone. She also has paintings of musicians, and produces ceramics, prints, and books of poetry.

The Magical MG, seen here, is always there in the museum gallery.

Final catch-up collection after Christmas

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catch-up collection
This Saturday was the final catch-up collection for the waste and recycling service after Christmas. From next week bins and bags will be put out on the standard day, of Thursday for north Abingdon and Friday for south Abingdon.
catch-up collection
There is usually a bit of a holdup to traffic as the waste and recycle lorries make their way up West St Helen Street. There is less of a holdup along Lombard Street.
catch-up collection
In the autumn of 2017 Biffa, the current contractor for South and Vale, bought a new fleet of trucks to replace the previous fleet at a cost of £6.5m. The new purple livery shows that 80% of waste can be recycled.

In the Vale of White Horse District, where we live, the council reports that 64% of our waste was recycled in 2017.

High Treason

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What might make a good film is this real life event from 1832 that was tried at Abingdon …
High Treason
Dennis Collins was convicted of High Treason, at Abingdon County Hall in 1832. Collins threw two stones at the King at Ascot Races. The first stone missed, and the second grazed King William IV, after hitting his hat. The King retreated to safety for a short while before re-appearing to show all was well to the crowd at Ascot .

In the mean time Dennis Collins was apprehended and beaten up and taken to Reading Gaol, and then later to Abingdon Gaol for the trial.

The jury at the County Court at Abingdon decided that he was guilty but at the same time petitioned the King for clemency.

Collins had served in the Royal Navy. He lost his leg on active service and was pensioned off – valiantly. He exchanged his pension to become an in-pensioner at a home for ex servicemen. He did have a bit of a temper, and one day lost his temper over a small matter. The home was swept too often and that disturbed his peace, and he asked that it be swept only once a day. This led to an altercation, and Collins was thrown out and then lost his pension.

For six months he lived as best he could with little money. He was more miserable than he had ever been in his life, and wrote to the King asking that his pension be re-instated. The letter was sent to the admiralty to decide and they decided he could NOT have his pension back.

It was for that reason he threw the two stones at Ascot Race Course. He had done it as a protest to get his pension back, not to hurt the King. He was very sorry afterwards that one stone had hit the King.

A print of Collins exists and shows him with a wooden leg. A kind lady exchanged his old wooden leg and ex-sailor’s garb, for a new leg and more respectable attire.

The King was merciful, and the initial mandatory sentence for such treason (hanging and quartering) was changed to transportation for life, and so Collins was sent to Van Diemen’s Land at 70 years of age. A short residence in that colony ended his days when he died in the spring of the year 1834.