At the Unicorn Theatre – Abingdon Drama Club perform “I Do, I Do, I Do” from Wednesday, 9th July to Saturday, 12th July, 7:30pm-10:00pm. This is a UK premiere of a play by Robin Hawdon, performed in the 70th anniversary year of the Drama Club.
At The Crown and Thistle on Friday there is a warm up event for the Oxfordshire Chilli Festival. No tickets necessary, but donations on the door for the chosen charities – Leah’s Wish and the British Heart Foundation. (The Chilli Festival itself is in Abingdon-on-Thames on 16th August.)
Then at the weekend in Abingdon I see there is:
-
Archaeology Uncovered – take along your finds to Abingdon Museum –
Saturday, 12th July, 10:30am-3:30pm - Abingdon-on-Thames Youth Music Festival – Market Place – Saturday, 12th July, 11:00am-2:00pm
- Rodney Quakes’ Shindig, with some familiar faces, play Electric Folk at The Old Anchor – Saturday, 12th July
- Music for a Summer Evening – Long Gallery, Abbey Building – Sunday, 13 July 2014 – 7:30pm
Saw people in Frends today talking about taking out a section. Does anyone know what is happening there?
An Oxfordshire market is to close after 65 years of business because of falling trade.
Abingdon Country Market, also known as the WI market, runs every Friday the Roysse Room in the town’s Guildhall.
Town clerk Nigel Warner said: “It’s simply that they’re not getting enough customers through the doors.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-28242886
Follow on from above: In Oxford mail, slightly different wording:
A WEEKLY country market has been forced to shut after 65 years because it cannot afford to pay its £45 rent.
http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/11329788._Sad_day__as_increase_in_rent_sees_market_forced_to_close/?ref=var_0
Why don’t they operate on a Saturday when most of the hard working people maybe have a day off,you have to move with the times I’m afraid.
which this market obliviously have not,it’s the same as the Friday market should be on a Saturday or Sunday.
Shouldn’t the Town Council be helping the Market by suspending the rent rather than increasing it. Perhaps some support in advertising it as well. Aren’t they there to help?
I see Sandy Lovatt has said he thought they had been struggling for years so why the killer blow when he knew this. Increasing the rent by £15 per week can’t help much to “make ends meet” to pay the £150k per year Guildhall cost.
People who attend the weekly market may also go into town and support other local businesses.
It is sad to lose something like this. But I must admit, I think it needed more publicity or advertising boards in prominent places.
I always visit their stall on the (well-publicised) Farmers Market. But I often forgot to go on other Fridays, or realized too late in the day that the Country Market had been on.
I hope they get lots of custom at the Farmers Market.
Can I take this opportunity to do a straw poll to find out how readers of this blog would like to see things advertised? As a volunteer I help Choose Abingdon and the Town Council with the online events calendar on the Abingdon Portal (see link from this page), the twice-yearly “What’s On” leaflet delivered to every house in town, and the recently introduced @WhatsOnAbingdon Twitter feed; the TC also maintain several notice boards around town and in the surrounding villages – but clearly these are not getting to everyone. Part of the problem is that not all events organisers make use of these routes – but maybe we are missing something, so any constructive suggestions as to what other routes could be used would be very welcome
I have just read on Abingdon First that the new owners of the Cross Keys pub have put in a planning application to turn it into flats!!!!
I also loved the house on the Wootton Road what a shame its been demolished.Also the empty ground on the Oxford Rd where another beautiful house and gardens stood, is now an eyesore.What is happening to our beautiful town?
Find out where the ‘pinch-points are on routes in to town, and put up a decent, lively, updated notice boards. EG – at the Iron bridge on Caldecott Rd – anyone who walks into town from South or West Abingdon has to walk over the bridge. Every one of them would therefore pass a notice board. Where are other pinch points?
Of course, i would imagine that untold numbers of planning regualtion would have to be conformed to – otherwise the World might stop turning.
Before the TC (or the Vale) spent £18000 replacing the four trees on the market square (that is a BIG number, for small trees – say it slowly), didn’t people used to put banners etc on the railings round the trees or something? If only there was some way that could be encouraged (I don’t have degree in town planning, so things like ‘notice boards round the trees’ are not in my vocabulary) – although I am aware of times when the council (TC) has literally ripped off adverts and banners and thrown them in skips…for locally advertised events. Perhaps a less draconian approach there may help?
If the Abingdon BID scheme gets the go-ahead; perhaps they will have a few good ideas? (although that seems to be aimed at helping the businesses – rather than finding out what the business should be doing to encourage customers)
TWIT feed sounds good – for those that use it.
A weekly market would be good as well (I mean, a weekly one that is on when there are people around and in town to go to it – like at a weekend); then, at that would be a good way to keep people informed – perhaps a “what’s on in town” stall as part of that market? All though I am certain that in these times of urgency…every insurmountable problem will be put in the way by the powers that be in order to justify their positions.
Have a proper consultaion with the residents – much like “Drayton2020” and, whilst engaging with the public (and I don’t mean on two wet Wednesday afternoons from 1 to 1.30) and seeing what the folk of Abingdon actually want for their town, their hopes and their aspirations, they could also be asked for ideas on a far wider forum than this, on, amongst other things, how they would like to be commuciated with?
Hester, it should all be advertised on every media outlet that you can think of. Posters/banners on all routes into town (although I know from personal experience that what Daniel said is true, the TC purposely sent someone around the town the next day, taking all banners and signs down that i’d put up toadvertise an event), social media, ie twitter/facebook (Spotted Abingdon), Herald/Mail, websites (not just TC, but Abingdon Blog/Abingdon First). Pop up “Events shop/display” in one of the vacant precinct shops. All this AS WELL as what is being done now.
Any One media outlet will only reach a certan demographic, you need to cover as many outlets as possible to reach as many people as possible.