There was Morris dancing on Abingdon Market Place this morning. The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers welcomed the St Albans Morris Men and Women.
St Albans are on a 95th anniversary tour. They are visiting well-known Morris teams in the Cotswolds tradition, including Bampton, Headington, and Abingdon. Their tour began here in Abingdon.
The Abingdon dancers were on their way to the Ed Fest in Didcot, but met up with St Albans first.
Each team did two dances. Then they danced one together. Many people stopped to watch.
Also in the Market Place were the Abingdon Peace Group. Next Wednesday, they will mark 80 years since the bombing of Hiroshima. There will be a lantern float from St Helen’s Wharf, and a short time of reflection round the Peace Pole at St Ethelwold’s House.
St Albans Morris wear blue and yellow, the same colours as Ukraine. That is a coincidence — just as Abingdon’s green and yellow are the same as Brazil’s.
The 3rd of August is St Ethelwold’s Day.
Together with St Dunstan, Ethelwold (or Æthelwold) ranks as one of the great figures of 10th-century monastic reform. Born in Winchester sometime between 904 and 909, he spent his youth at the court of King Athelstan. He became Prior of Glastonbury and in 955 received from King Ædred the Abbey of Abingdon which he re-established. On 29 November 963 he was ordained Bishop of Winchester by St Dunstan.
He was a renowned scholar and translated the Rule of Benedict into Old English. He used some of the wealth he accumulated to build new churches and was a great patron of ecclesiastical art. He died on 1 August 984 at Beddington in Surrey, and was buried in the Old Minster at Winchester.
Abingdon peace group…….what a waste of time
Would you like to be described as “a waste of time”? You may disagree with the peace group, but rubbishing them is not argument but abuse. I am not a member of the group, so my comment is (as far as it can be) impartial.
PPJS you are incorrect, my post was neither abusive nor an argument, merely a statement of opinion.
A statement of fact as you see it.
A boring and predictable statement some would say.
I can make a more exciting and flowery statement if you would prefer but it wouldn’t change the fact that that it is naieve to think they are having any impact whatsoever ( I’d also be afraid someone will accuse me of abuse for calmly stating an opinion)
I agree with Colin. What good are they doing standing around the war memorial every now and then and floating lanterns about. I don’t object to it as remembrance, but perhaps they should be more proactive – go out and do something.