Upcoming Remembrance events

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Armistice Day is remembered with a gathering of Royal British Legion, civic leaders and members of the public at the war memorial on the 11th of November at 11 am.

Remembrance Sunday involves a church service at St Helen’s, then a more extensive gathering of Royal British Legion, civic leaders, armed forces, uniformed groups, and members of the public at the war memorial on the 13th of November from 10:50. That is followed by a march to the County Hall to salute the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, Cllr Andy Foulsham, the Deputy Lieutenant for Oxfordshire and the Commanding Officer of Dalton Barracks.

There is also a tree in the Abbey Meadows, planted by the Abingdon Peace Group, in memory of all victims of war. The Ukraine war has had many victims, some of whom have come to Abingdon. There are also people from Syria.

Abingdon Library (fiction and children’s) to re-open

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All of Abingdon Library has been closed since Thursday because of flooding from the flat roof after the heavy rains, but it will re-open on Wednesday, 9th November, at 9am.

There will be Rhyme Time at 9:30 and 11:00

Fans of the bestselling spy thriller Slough House series will meet the author Mick Herron on Thursday, 10th November.

I am not sure about going upstairs at the library yet. The upstairs (non-fiction) library has been closed for longer. That means Abingdon has had to survive on fiction and children’s books for over a fortnight. If we carry on much longer, I don’t know what will happen.

A tour round the Abbey buildings during the Abingdon Traditional Craft Fair

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The annual Abingdon Traditional Craft Fair was held from Friday 4th, to Sunday, the 6th of November, in and around the Abbey Buildings.

The craft stalls were arranged in seven locations. The usual route involves entering through the Unicorn Theatre, where seats had been cleared.

There were craft stalls upstairs in The Checker.

The largest, most picturesque, space is the Long Gallery, upstairs.

Downstairs the route follows the lower gallery.

The outside ground at the front and the garden at the back had craft gazebos and a large marquee with refreshments.

Finally, there is the undercroft, where there was a potter, some spinners and a weaver, and craft stalls. The craft fair has been an Abingdon fixture in November since the 1970s. Any profits help the upkeep of the Abbey Buildings.

Remember, remember / The fifth of November

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The 2nd Abingdon Scouts organised a community fireworks display behind Long Furlong Community Centre in Abingdon this evening. The 2nd Abingdon Scout Group was founded in 1922 and was first known as 2nd North Berks Scouts. They moved to their present location off Farm Road in the 1960s.

It had been raining before the firework display and a large crowd waited with umbrellas. The Abbey Brass Band played music. There was a BBQ with hot dogs and beefburgers, and canteens with hot drinks provided by the scouts. Then came the countdown for the fireworks.

During the display, the rain stopped but started soon afterwards.

It was good that the annual display coincided with November 5th, Guy Fawkes Night. “Remember, remember / The fifth of November / Gunpowder, treason and plot.” The only bonfire was one filmed and shown on a screen along with adverts for sponsors and the scouts.

There is more information about the scouts at https://2ndabingdonscouts.org.uk/.