The new notice board on the Market Place displayed its first posters today, with different notices on each side. It is hoped this will help make local events better known.

The Mayor’s Christmas Party for Over-75s takes place on Thursday 4 December at the Hilton Garden Hotel, though it is probably too late now to get tickets, which were distributed through the Abingdon Information Centre.

On Saturday 6 December, there will be a Craft Market on the Market Place — one of the events that usually relies on its own lamp-post advertising rather than the town notice boards.

Also on Saturday 6 December, in the Roysse Room, Eben Lark will be selling their mix of vintage, home, and garden decorations and furnishings.

At 3.30pm on Saturday 6 December, the Abingdon Concert Band will perform Christmas Day in Concert at St Helen’s Church. Tickets are £10/£8, with under-12s free.

At 7.30pm on Saturday 6 December, the Thames Vale Youth Orchestra will give a concert in the Yolande Paterson Hall at St Helen & St Katharine’s School. The programme includes Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld Overture, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnole, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 (Pathétique). Tickets are £12/£10, with under-16s free.

On Sunday 7 December at 2.30pm, Pavlova Winds will perform Paul Reade’s Cinderella Suite and Jim Parker’s Mississippi Five as part of the Abbey Chamber Concerts series at St Nicolas Church. Tickets cost £12.

On Monday 8 December at 5pm, The Abbey Cinema will show the documentary Rhino, following its collaboration with One Planet Abingdon. The film explores efforts to save one of the world’s most endangered species.

On Tuesday 10 December at 7pm, the Amey Theatre will present a live screening of The Nutcracker from the Royal Opera House — the classic Christmas ballet featuring Tchaikovsky’s music and Julia Trevelyan Oman’s designs.