There are posters for New Years Eve celebrations at four of the Abingdon pubs, but most pubs have something on. Some pubs are walk-in, but there are also ticketed nights which need booking.

The Blue Boar, which reopened on 21 December after a change of ownership and a refurbishment, will have a New Year’s Eve experience with DJs and lighting. Entry is free before 9pm, with a £5 charge after that.

New Year’s Day itself begins with some traditional and community events.

There is the annual New Year’s Day Boundary Walk, led by the town crier and a guide, tracing as closely as possible the historic Abingdon boundary as it was set out in the 1556 charter.

In addition to the usual Sunday junior parkrun, a special New Year’s Day junior parkrun is also being held. Organisers say they would love to see as many runners and volunteers as possible to help make it a memorable start to the year. The event takes place at Southern Town Park, Lambrick Way, with the briefing at 8.55am.

In the afternoon, Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers will be welcoming the New Year with dancing at the Punch Bowl and the Broad Face.

Please let me know of any other events that mark the start of the New Year in Abingdon. Some communities, such as East St Helen Street, have traditions of their own, including meeting and greeting neighbours in the street after midnight. The Abingdon Blog will turn twenty, and I plan to begin its twenty-first year with the Boundary Walk in 2026, as I did in 2006. I originally intended the blog to run for just one year, and did stop for a few weeks after the end of 2006. But then the Radley Lakes protests got quite exciting and I began blogging again.