More Pix of St Nics – our twin town

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Sint Nics
There is an Abingdonstraat in Sint Niklaas, just as there is Sint Niklaas Close in Abingdon.

Sint Nics
Sint Niklaas is about twice as big as Abingdon and is expanding with new fairly large estates planned round the outtskirts of town. There is a rule that 20% of the housing in new estates need to be for social housing. That is similar to the Vale.

The big industry in this area was cloth making. Now no more. The town museum has been built alongside an old textile factory, so this factory with dummys instead of work people is entered from the town museum.

In the Oxfam tent at the Christmas Market a group of middle aged women called The Bitchin’ Bitches – or something similar – provided some interesting entertainment. They were very funny to watch , and we were told afterwards we had missed a lot of the jokes as it was the language.
Sint Nics
There is a group in Sint Niklaas called ‘Art in The Town’ who pay subscriptions and every second year have enough to buy a new work of art for the town streets. They argued that not enough people went to the art galleries so they would take art to the people. The Vale also asks developers to finance new art with most new developments.
Sint Nics
We were told that this is the best beer in the world. Westbleteren is produced by monks and they only sell it at the gate if you pre-order, and they only allow a maximum of a couple of crates per customer. One of our hosts drives for an hour and a half to get a couple of crates.

Sint Niklaas Twin Conference

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In Sint Niklaas the yearly twin town conference is taking place this year. That is where the grouping of five twinned towns: Abingdon, Colmar (France), Lucca (Italy), Sint Niklaas (Belgium), and Schongau (Germany) all send delegates to discuss a theme important for the EU – who  help fund the twin town conference.
St Niklaas
Michael Matthews who has been involved in twinning since the 1967, and Brian Read, also on the Abingdon and District twinning committee, were interviewed about the  conference for regional Belgium television…
St Niklaas
The Sint Niklaas 2010 conference topic was about Child Poverty.

Each town presented a paper. Then delegates visited a Red Cross Centre for refugees seeking asylum in Sint Niklaas. Only 1 out of 4 people going through the strict Belgium process become a refugee. Others are just let out on the street and have to find their own way back to their own country or try elsewhere…

Britain,  is the only country that does not belong to the same asylum checking process as the rest of Europe where fingerprints and the checking process is shared.

Andrew and Two Alisons

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First time the Abingdon Blog has come Belgium thanks to a message and picture from facebook…
Play 2 Give
I got a nice message from Andrew Baker who has been fund raising for Oxford Children’s Hospital since they gave him treatment for a very serious illness some years ago.

A few weeks ago Andrew and friends held a charity event at the Bowyers Arms in Radley. Andrew was too unwell to arrange it all himself and so got help from the two Alisons. They are pictured together with Andrew, and the charity cheque.

As with all his previous ‘play 2 give’ events half the money went to Oxford Children’s Hospital and half to another charity. In ths case it was the Footsteps Foundation who provide financial help, or specialist exercise for children suffering cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.

Over 70s Christmas Party

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Over 70s Christmas Party
There was a new look to the Over 70s Christmas Party. NOt only did the Over 70s look younger, but this year the young Mayor of Abingdon wanted to jolly up the proceedings and so round tables replaced the long benches.

First half was Bingo, Raffle, and a quiz followed by food. Some of the town’s firemen helped as well as the usual town councillors.

Second half was the entertainment. Carswell School began with some animated singing.
Over 70s Christmas Party
Larkmead School followed.
Over 70s Christmas Party
Then the Abingdon ladies choir.
Over 70s Christmas Party
On the way out everybody was given a present, and the first edition of the Trinity Learning News – produced by six children from Carswell Primary School and featured a while back on this Abingdon blog.

(I am leaving town for a few days to visit Belgium but will try to carry on the blog from there if there is a connection. But it could go horribly wrong. )