
On Saturday, Abingdon Vale Cricket Club 1st Team played Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts. As often happens during the summer months the far side of the pitch was being used by a visiting caravan club, who added to the spectators.

Oxford were bowled out for 136, and Abingdon hit 137 for 4 wickets – a win that helps move them up the Cherwell League Division 2 Table. 
Today The Abingdon Vale Sunday Team played against a musicians team created by Richard Thompson. This match has been played on the Sunday before the Cropredy Festival for the last twelve years, and was instigated by Pam Aird who was there helping out at the pavilion.

Richard Thompson was in Scotland so could not be with us this year.

This must be a warm-up before the big game against Cropredy Village next weekend.
In Town Today: Alzheimer’s Society Sale, Nostalgia Travel Bus, Riverly Club Fete, and WWI Signs

On the Market Place this morning the Alzheimer’s Society held their summer jumble sale.
Plastic sheets were needed to cover books and clothes during the many showers. Bric-a-brac had to fend for itself.

Nostalgia Travel were near St Helen’s Church with one of their buses to transport wedding guests, and the town bus gave them a very wide berth.

At the Riverly Club, at Bridge House, there was a summer fete. Local groups and charities had stalls in the reception area (pictured). There was music, and a sing-a-long in the lounge; games and a magician in the gym; and a bouncy castle for grand children outside.

I did hear that some people thought the council had got the wrong time on the notices : World War One Commemoration – Monday 4th August at 10pm.
But no, the council is correct. It is not 10am. People will start to gather from 10pm to mark 100 years since Britain entered the First World War at 11pm. It will be preceded by a reading of the names of those who served in the war – at St Helen’s Church.
Sami’s Kebab Takeaway
An entry for City Daily Photo’s Theme of Takeaways.

Abingdon has a number of takeaways selling kebabs. The grandfather of them all may be Sami’s Kebab Van on the Market Place (recently upgraded to a Trailer).
I read in the district council’s Street Trading Policy that “Sami’s kebab van trades in the Abingdon Market Place under a permission granted by the town council dating back to the 1970’s. It appears that when the street trading guidance was introduced in 1996 a decision was taken to grant the business grandfather rights.”
See Steve King’s comments for a fuller explanation …
Crayfish

One unwelcome invader to our rivers is the North American Signal Crayfish, a ferocious cannibal that will eat anything that comes its way, fish eggs, ducklings, young Moorhens and has all but finished off our indigenous species. Apart from doing harm to our wildlife they can collapse a river bank by their constant burrowing. The River Ock has its share of this monster and Steve has been doing his best to control them (over 100 in 3 days from a 10 meter stretch) You have to be licensed by the E.A to catch them and putting them back is forbidden, (failure to comply carries a hefty fine) but they do make for good eating!
