Eyes down at the community centre off Preston Road

Bingo
When this picture was taken in May 1975, by the Herald, the community centre at Preston Road, South Abingdon, was being built at a cost of £30,000 to serve the 3,500 residents south of the River Ock. £20,000 of that money came from Abingdon Borough Council (wound up the year before). The council used a lot of its surplus money on Abingdon schemes before all that Abingdon money got sucked away into the newly created Vale of White Horse District Council.
Bingo
Even older than the community centre is the bingo club.

John and Valerie Hayward set up a bingo club 50 years ago to raise funds for the Caldecott Boys football club they helped found in 1963. The bingo was first played at the Railway Inn. It then moved to Caldecott School, and then to the new community centre at Preston Road.

The boys football club played at Caldecott Recreation Ground in the early years, before moving to become the Abingdon Youth FC at Southern Town Park.
Bingo
This evening tickets were still being sold for the bingo. Volunteers at the community centre have taken over running this popular Tuesday evening activity. (Valerie is seen here with Pete – a volunteer with the bingo for many years). Any profits go back into the community centre.
Bingo
Prizes this evening included two solar powered snowy owls.

8 thoughts on “Eyes down at the community centre off Preston Road

  1. newcomer

    “The council used a lot of its surplus money on Abingdon schemes before all that Abingdon money got sucked away into the newly created Vale of White Horse District Council”

    Surplus money … Abingdon having surplus money. Perhaps if we got rid of The Vale we could have surplus money once again.

    Reply
  2. Janet

    Yes this is a useful asset for South Abingdon. The U3A uses the community center for their meetings. On another note some residents of South Abingdon wish to keep South Abingdon clean and stop litter. It is fighting a battle as people seem to not mind dumping rubbish. I see a PC monitor dumped at the end of our road. People also said that weeds grow on the footpaths and at the side of access roads. The council used to go around with week killer at one time but this stopped to save money. Keep Britain tidy is running a new campaign next year.
    So, we’re delighted to announce that we will run a brand new clean-up campaign next year, with a view to making this an annual fixture in the calendar. As below

    We’ve already asked the great British public for a new campaign name and after receiving thousands of votes, more than half of you voted for The Great British Spring Clean. Plans for 2017 are already underway and we aim to inspire even more people from clubs, communities, schools and businesses across the country to get active and help clean up their neighbourhoods.We’re looking to encourage activity throughout the month of March, with a particular focus on registering thousands of clean-up events over the long weekend from 3-5 March.
    Keep an eye on the Keep Britain Tidy website, our Facebook and Twitter accounts for further information on how you can get involved.

    Reply
  3. Badger

    ‘The Great British Spring Clean’… hmm… sounds like a means to get people to do the work of the council, a council which does not sweep the streets or carry out gulley emptying in residential streets any longer. Year after year I have cleaned and weeded the end of my road but now partly due to the council taking no interest and also a bad back I have stopped, looks awful, I’ve complained via fix my street… no response, so it’ll just sit there and get worse.

    Reply
  4. Daniel

    My elderly friend who remembers some of the good things about yesteryear tells me how “the rent man” would come every week to collect the rent – whether local authority housing or not. You wouldn’t dare have an unkept garden, or a messy front….as you’d be in trouble!

    Now of course….we have direct debits. Now *that’s* progress….

    Reply
  5. Badger

    As has been said before the council are beyond reproach, if I don’t pay my council tax they will hunt me down but if they don’t clean my street I have no means of recourse.
    Anyway to misquote Daniel ‘the weeds look nice!’.

    Reply
  6. Daniel

    …to be misquoted is quite possibly the best compliment I’ve had since my wife called me a doughnut. And who doesn’t like a doughnut!!

    Reply
  7. Badger

    …you’ve made me feel hungry, don’t think they do doughnuts at the Nag’s though, oh well beer it is then!

    Reply

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