The Town Crier is an Abingdon Town Council publication, and is delivered to every house in Abingdon. Spring 2006 sees the 25th edition, and has a pull out events list for the 450th Charter Celebrations.

There is a competiton asking for poems, prose, photography and art inspired by the title “When I think of Abingdon.” Send your efforts by 2nd May 2006 (max. 150 words or A3 pictures).

There will be a book called “Cameos of Abingdon” available from the middle of May. “It contains a collection of articles written by Abingdonians from all walks of life.”

There will be two collections of watercolours by “Abingdon’s most famous artist, Oswald Couldrey 1882 – 1958..” exhibited in the museum. His style is “fresh, slightly naive, and humorous, and shows Abingdon through the 1930s and 40s“. They show one print of Pigs in Broad Street. There are already postcards of some of these in the museum (Copyright Abingdon Town Council)

There will be a museum roof opening (weather permitting) on April 1st with the best roof top display in town, and the museum “coffee at 60p a cup is still the cheapest in town.“

There is an entry form for Abingdon in Bloom, but due to the drought it says “we hope entries will show what can be done with more imagination but much less water.”

Also Peter Doll from St Nicolas Church says that the District Council will “install stone setts in the lawn of Abbey Meadow gardens outlining the foundations of the mediaeval Abbey Church of St Mary.”

This exhibition of 114 paintings by local Abingdon and nearby village artists is within the Council Chamber at the Guildhall, and runs until tomorrow. There is a raffle where you can win a painting of Abingdon Bridge.

Another idea is to allow you to vote for your favourite painting. This one was painted by the illustrator Valerie Price from the nearby village of Culham.

Every two years the Guildhall hosts the club and societies open day. There are twenty, maybe thirty clubs and societies present, and you can come away with lots of leaflets. My wife got almost abducted by the National Osteoporosis society and so we have about ten leaflets from them.

I had a long chap with mencap, where I learnt more about the Abbey Centre (to ensure its future they are campaigning for more local people to be looked after locally rather than going to the Slade in Oxford. Local care for local people. just as with the community hospital). I spoke to the Church in Abingdon, and then to Abingdon Sea Cadets. They want more young people to join and enjoy all their sailing and adventure training activities. The Green Gym gave me a program of events. The next event is cutting and stacking willowherb on April 1st in Barton Fields. Please ring Ian Smith 2 days before a task to let us know you are coming.

The Abingdon wood carvers are carving some wonderful pieces for the 450th Anniversary.

I then enjoyed talking to a lady with white hair from the Abingdon Peace Group. She very nearly recruited me to computerise their e-mail, but in the end I volunteered to just show them, and then let them do it themselves. I did sign their anti trident-replacement petition, although my brother in law works on tridents at Barrow.

Jemini, a traditional flowers shop trading with interflora

Richard Matthews on Ock Street next to Coxeters, a gardener at heart,

the precinct flower stall, at market stall prices

and Fabulous Flowers on Bridge Street. The slogan says “Don’t just make her day. Make it Fabulous! With Style