At Abingdon and Witney College on Saturday the 42nd AbRail Abingdon Model Railway Show took place. Over recent years this exhibition has been at the leisure centre.
This year they were at a new venue at the college with the exhibition spread between the reception area, canteen, and a row of classrooms.
The great thing about the exhibition is the dedication and enthusiasm of the railway modellers who create such wonderful models. This line is Göttingen Süd in Germany.
Thomas the Tank Engine and friends were at the fictional Sodor Island, a layout created by Abingdon and District Model railway Club.
There were about 10 stalls and 17 layouts at the show. Another layout by the Abingdon and District Model railway Club was Belgrave Road, Leicester. This grand station never attracted as many trains as needed and closed to passengers in 1962. But before that people from Leicester would have taken to train from here to Skegness for the summer holidays.
In the same way that I could never identify my own uniform-clad children from a distance amongst their classmates, the only time I have lost my old Papa was a few years ago at a model railway exhibition. There he was with white hair in a pale M&S jumper and sleeveless safari jacket utterly camouflaged amongst the other elderly gents with white hair in their pale M&S jumpers and sleeveless safari jackets. I had a moment of panic. Next time I’ll make him wear reins.
How could you lose “track” of your father at a model railway exhibition? Tracks everywhere 😉
Tee hee!
Alas, if only life in Abingdon was as inocent as this?
Doing the Facebook rounds today is the report of the lady who had her purse stolen via a distraction robbery while shopping in the Card Factory,( one kept her talking while the other opened her shopping bag and stole her purse)
Friday came the reports of four Asian men in a blue Nissan harassing several young mums in north Abingdon, one of which was approached 3 times, TVP were contacted and the vehicle ( a hire car) details were given but TVP declined to act because no actual crime had been committed!
The Saturday night before a woman was raped in Bath Street, ( so far unsolved) the week prior and an elderly lady had her bag snatched while walking in broad daylight near the precinct ( unsolved) a recent school parent Mail warned of how a man approached a young girl in north Abingdon ( ?) then there was the distraction robbery in the Heart Fiundation shop and another in the Card Factory opposite, The Pandora shop in the precinct had been broken into twice so far this year, the Oxfam shop has been burgled too and all of this is what’s known about, lord knows how much local crime goes unreported ?
Last autumn a friend took a taxi to the brewery tap, the driver followed her along the alley and assaulted her, the police say the event wasn’t serious enough to warrant prosecution, 4, days later the same driver was caught trying to kick up a 15 year old girl in Drayton, the vale licence committee say they can’t revoke his licence without a prosecution, TVP say he’s so far not committed any offence, meanwhile he’s sat on the rank picking up yours and mine daughter!
Thing I’ll move to Columbia!
Eughhhk
All the more reason to embrace such innocent joys!