Artweeks has come to Abingdon. One venue is St Ethelwolds House.
Looking at the website https://www.artweeks.org/festival, there are twelve venues in Abingdon, and lots more in Radley, Drayton, Sunningwell and further afield.
We visited Caroline Harber and Sandra Hoeft’s exhibition at St Ethelwolds House.
The garden room also has a view out onto the garden
Today there was also a plant sale and teas.
Alun’s parents live near the Ock, and he ventured out on bank holiday Monday to record a dawn chorus from the Ock Valley Walk. It’s online on the Radio Aporee website.
The recording is an hour long and is a relaxing way to spend an hour or have as background birdsong. Alun took the risk of leaving the recording gear in the woods at 4:30 am while he nipped back for a cup of tea. He was a bit worried on returning because he had to search to find where he had placed them. He said standing around sniffing or rustling a coat is not good for the recording.
On the Aporee site, you can navigate the globe and listen and download recordings. Alun’s dawn chorus is available at https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=56785&m=satellite.
I walked the Ock Valley Walk earlier this afternoon. The nettles are knee-high and, at their best, fresh and light green.
Mayflies were bouncing up and down like yo yos. A few had settled.
Many birds could be heard, and a few could be seen eating insects.
At St Helen’s Church this evening, the Town Crier invited members of the public to the annual mayor making ceremony.
Before the ceremony, Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers danced around the Mayor-elect Councillor Andy Foulsham.
One of Councillor Cheryl Briggs last duties, as mayor, was to present Mr Michael Matthews, Freeman of Abingdon and past Abingdon Mayor, with the honorary citizenship of Lucca, Italy – Abingdon’s twin town. This is for Mr Matthews’s work over the years in bringing together our communities.
Cheryl also presented the first annual Biodiversity Awards to various people, and the mayor’s awards for services to the community to Rita Atkinson MBE for work with the charity Abingdon Damascus and the Abingdon Carbon Cutters for their work over the years.
The new Mayor, Andy Foulsham, has lived in Abingdon for over twenty years and works for Oxford University as an IT manager. He is a governor at Woodeaton Manor School – a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school near Oxford. He has a particular interest in education and is passionate about ensuring that all children and young people have the best opportunities. His charities for the coming year are The Archway Foundation (connects people experiencing loneliness) and Yellow Submarine (autism and learning disability). He has also chosen a theme for the year ‘belonging’.
The new Deputy Mayor is Councillor Gabby Barody.
After the ceremony, members of the public could meet the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor and their partners.
We are approaching Bath Street from Broad Street on a fair May evening.
This pedestrian way connects the town centre with Park Road and Bath Street to the west of Abingdon and the Stratton Way bus stops.
This town notice board was installed a couple of years ago and is getting a fuller range of fliers in 2022. I read somewhere that the Friends of Abingdon are helping to put up the fliers. It used to be something the residents’ parking warden might do.
The flower bed still has the overwintering poppies. But they and some wallflowers will soon be replaced with summer bedding plants.