Commemorating the late Queen Elizabeth

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On Thursday 8th September 2022, people heard at lunchtime that doctors at Balmoral were concerned about the Queen’s health. They turned on the TV News and commentators were speculating until early evening and then Huw Edwards made the announcement, ‘A few moments ago Buckingham Palace announced the death of Queen Elizabeth the second …‘

The flag above the County Hall was at half-mast, and the tenor bell at St Helen’s and at St Nicolas’ tolled for an hour from noon on Friday, and in parish churches throughout the nation. This was part of the London Bridge is Down protocol – a series of events planned following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Most were at the national level, but some happened at district and parish levels.

On Sunday, the Mayor of Abingdon, councillors, MP Layla Moran, and Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Felicity Dick, met on Abingdon Market Place, and the Mayor announced that the new monarch was King Charles III. People sang ‘God save the King’.

The Town Council opened a book of condolence, as did the County Council through libraries such as Abingdon Library. Some churches had books of condolence.

Many people from Abingdon went to London to join the Queen’s lying in state queue at Westminster Hall. After a wait of from five to fifteen hours, they arrived, dazed and tired, in view of the Queen’s coffin. The coffin was covered with a flag and the imperial crown. There, people bowed or made the sign of the cross or saluted.

Back in Abingdon, most of the churches had special services. On Sunday, the eve of the funeral, St Helen’s held a Civic Evensong. The Deputy Lord Lieutenant and an officer from Dalton Barracks read passages from the bible. The Mayor gave a short address saying how the Queen enjoyed services like evensong. In it the choir sang Magnificat and Nunc dimittis. In the Magnificat, Mary accepts as a young woman to be the mother of Jesus and a life of service to God. In the Nunc dimittis, Simeon, an old man, after a lifetime of service to God and after seeing Jesus, says ‘Now let your servant depart in peace.’ The Mayor said it was similar to the start and end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and the promise she made to a life of faith and love and service, a promise she kept to the end. The service ended with God Save the King.

On Monday, the roads around Abingdon were quiet, and for the hour before the funeral in London, the tenor bell at St Helen’s and at St Nicolas’ tolled for an hour. Bells tolled in parishes throughout the land.

Some people went in person to be near the funeral procession, some joined to watch in a public place as happened at Peachcroft Christian Centre, and some watched on TV with family or friends or alone. The processions and crowds were huge. There was a regal church service at Westminster Abbey and a more intimate service at Windsor. After all the pomp, that service ended with the orb, sceptre, and crown being taken from the coffin and placed on the altar, and a slender stick, called the Queen’s wand of office, was broken. The coffin sunk slowly from public view.

Soon afterwards more traffic could be heard on the roads.

Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club is back

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The club closed in 2017 and has re-opened in 2022 with a gym at Abingdon United Football Club.

The Abingdon Bridge charity set up a meeting back in January and got all interested people together. The club has been reconstituted since then and has the new venue, coaches, sponsors, and equipment.

An open day was held today so people could look around the new facilities and talk to the coaches. Young people could have a go at speed target practice and other activities.

There was a queue to sign up for training.

The ribbon was cut by David Jeffries, a former club chairman for twenty-five years. He is seen with Rob Southey, a coach and lifetime club member. David was involved with the club from the 1970s and remembered all the boxing shows that used to take place at the Guildhall. He talked about John Joyce, who took over as chairman after him. The case of pictures is dedicated to John, who David said ‘would give his last penny to the club’.

The club is affiliated with England Boxing, the official body for Amateur Boxing in England, previously called the ABA. The club is dedicated to keeping children and young teenagers safe and fully engaged in their community.

Healthy Abingdon – Abingdon Healthfest 2022

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The Abingdon Healthfest returned for a second year. The Chair of Healthy Abingdon, David Butterworth, can be seen here with the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Andy Foulsham. Stalls included community groups and community services.

There were about twenty stalls. Here are a few…

People from the NHS were taking people’s blood pressure, helping to identify people with high pressure, and giving advice. The Abingdon Surgery had a stall nearby. The surgery has a self-use blood pressure monitor that prints out your pressure, and if necessary, you can pass the information on to your medical notes.

The Abingdon Carousel Family Centre provides a centre from which all kinds of family services can operate in South Abingdon.

The Blue Sky Eco Cafe are a community café that serves vegetarian and vegan recipes.

The Abingdon 5 km park run is every Saturday. They want to encourage people to walk the 5km if they do not feel able to run

Ex-Mayor Duncan Brown was there with his book ‘Get Over Indulgence’. He was not selling the book, but anybody who contributed to the Mayor’s Charities at the stall got a copy of the book. Those charities are:
* The Archway Foundation (serves those in our community who are hurt by loneliness)
* Yellow Submarine (helps young people with learning disabilities and autism live life to the full.)

Friends of Abbey Meadow Outdoor Pool fought to save the pool and campaign for the pool. It is the end of the season tomorrow.