Anyone near the river from 9 until 5 could not have helped noticing a lot of activity. It was the big day in the Abingdon rowing calendar: the Spring Head of the River – a popular 2000m time trial to start off the rowing season.

All classes and styles of rowers came down the course…

the young

and the not so young.

Having finished the course there was not much time to catch their breath, as the stewards kept urging competitors to keep the river free by continuing up to Abingdon Bridge. Visit the Abingdon Rowing Club pages to find out more.

Six months ago, on a cold October morning, Councillor Audrey Tamplin was out on the Market Place manning a stall for the Citizens Advice Bureau – a cause close to her heart.

Audrey’s memorial service was held yesterday. Gathered together at St Helens Church to celebrate her life were: family, a civic party, and friends – lots of them.

Audrey became a Town Councillor in the 1990s. She had her finger on the pulse of what was happening in Abingdon and was described by a friend and fellow councillor, Jeanette Halliday, as a true champion for the town. Audrey was one of those who pushed the hospital bed from the Market Place to Abingdon Community Hospital in the campaign to stop the proposed closure of the hospital. The campaign was successful, but she continued to be concerned for the hospital’s future.

She was Mayor in 2002 / 2003, and after an attempted retirement to the Lake District, she returned to Abingdon and was re-elected as a local councillor again in 2007 and continued to work for the community until only a couple of weeks before her sudden passing.

While in Argentan, Abingdon’s twin town in Normandy, our hosts Pierre and Ionie praised productions by the Abingdon Operatic Society they had seen during visits to Abingdon.

‘Anything Goes’ is on at the Amey Theatre until Saturday. I don’t know the songs yet, but then I didn’t know many of the songs from Oklahoma before seeing their production of that musical last year. I just hope this will be as good.