Election of The Mayor of Ock Street – featuring Boerke Naas

10 Replies

Mayor of Ock Street 2011
It was good to see our friends from Sint Niklaas – the Boerke Naas – here in Abingdon for the election of the Mayor of Ock Street.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
Lesley Argyle a former Mayor of Ock Street was also there for the day.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
Todays candidates were Rob Beaver who has been dancing since age 8.  His dad and brother dance alongside.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
Also up for the election were Roger Cox who has been Mayor since 2007. His great uncle was Mayor in 1896. And on the ballet paper was Harry Knight who came very close last year to winning. He was lead dancer in the 1970s when the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers won the Europa Prize for Folk Art at the Albert Hall.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
Here is Isabel demonstrating how to vote.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
At 4 PM the papers were counted in the back room of the Brewery Tap. They let a few of us photographers in at the start but asked us to leave before it got really exciting.

Stuart Jackson was the returning officer this year, and he announced the results.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
Congratulations to the Mayor of Ock Street.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
It had been too windy for the Boerke Naas to do much flag throwing on the Market Place at lunch time but they got to do some as the Mayor was paraded up and down Ock Street. The nearest flag is, of course, Abingdon’s.
Mayor of Ock Street 2011
As to Rob Beaver,  the disappointment may have been a little too much for him and it looks like he might be off to join the Boerke Naas. The beer is very good in Belgium.

The Mayor did not attend.

Local permits now available

5 Replies

Fishing Season
People won’t have to go quite so far for a fishing permit. During the close season anglers might have had to go to Didcot to get a fishing permit to fish an ex gravel pit in South Abingdon.

From 16 June residents permits and season tickets for the 2011/2012 fishing season are available for river fishing from Abingdon Town Council.

Abingdon – The Birthplace of Cable TV

9 Replies

Many thanks to Martin at The Strowger Appreciation Site for letting me share a couple of his pictures.
Mastervision
What first drew me to his website was Mastervision. It was an early experiment in cable television, that was tried and failed in Abingdon. This was in the early 1970s, many years before Comtel dug up all our pavements.

There was a tall receiver by the Mill Stream and “ over 7 miles of cable, distributing 8 channels of television and radio, to 1300 homes in Abingdon.”  The target to become profitable had been more like 4000.
Mastervision
The Office of Mastervision was next to The Black Swan in Bath Street. This picture was taken after the demolition of the heart of Abingdon and before Woolworths was built. More of that at Martin’s page about 1960s Destruction of Abingdon.
Mastervision
The main selling point of Mastervision was the clear TV picture in a time of fuzziness, and no need for television aerials. Martin has a much much fuller explanation at Mastervision Cable TV.

I suspect most people on the Internet will know that the digital switchover is to happen in this area during September. Before then you will be sent an information booklet. But if you are 75 or over, or living in a care home, you can get FREE installation and retuning. Visit helpscheme.co.uk.

What is Abingdon known for…

10 Replies

Friends of Abingdon AGM
After the AGM of the Friends of Abingdon, at the Old Abbey Buildings, there followed a talk on “What makes a great place to live work and play.”
Friends of Abingdon AGM
The ‘Friends of Abingdon’ Civic Society has done great work in the past protecting important historical buildings and has created monuments to Abingdon’s Heritage. The guest speaker was asking them as a civic society to look to the future. They had the town’s interest at heart and a role to play in determining the town’s future.Friends of Abingdon AGM
She asked people to think creatively, outside the box. What is Abingdon known for? Hay-on-Wye, for example is famous for book shops and a book festival.

What would you like Abingdon to be known for? .

Should it perhaps be the town known for it’s distinctive and confident independent shops, or perhaps the town known for making windmills, or …?

She also said we should not be thinking about and competing with near towns like Didcot and Witney but looking to compete and find examples of things that work much further afield. One example suggested was from our twin towns.