When England v Italy could still go either way

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Thankyou to Elizabeth Drury for this picture showing a view down East St Helen Street earlier today. The flag wearer was 9 years old when England won the World Cup in 1966, and thinks England have a chance. He is still dreaming.

Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council have pushed the flags out of nearly all their windows.

John Jones, a former Mayor and freeman had a very close relationship with Abingdon’s twin town Lucca in Italy. Looking down John Jones Close, in Abingdon today, there is no Italian support.

The one remaining betting office in the town centre,  a couple of estate agents, and a few shops have football displays.  EFES barbers have England flags.

Sue Ryder say ‘Good Luck England’.

The Bookstore also has some England flags. Among the books is ‘Injury Time’ by sportswriter Duncan Hamilton. ‘He hits the back of the net with his enthralling fiction debut.’

There was a picture on the blog of a crochet-topped post box a couple of weeks ago. It may not have been really about football then. That was my mistake. It is now.

You Never Walk Alone in St Ethelwold’s garden

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The garden of St Ethelwolds House, in Abingdon, is open all year round for people to enjoy the quiet and the flowers.
A lot of the flowers, including the lupins, are at their best in June and July.

Volunteer gardeners keep it looking good, and there is a notice saying they need more keen gardeners. Vegetables grow in one corner, and there are large compost heaps in another.

In the corners are two rooms for the use of people wanting a quiet solitary retreat. Beyond them boats are moored where the River Thames drifts slowly.

There are also events in the garden. Starting next week there will be an art exhibition.

This term the ‘Singing for Pleasure’ group can only sing outdoors and are using St Ethelwold’s garden. Since the garden is near the River Thames the songs today had a nautical theme, which included a couple of songs from South Pacific. One of those chosen was ‘Never Walk Alone’.

I recorded an extract with thanks to the Abingdon Music Centre. They had a smaller ‘Singing for Pleasure’ group this week and will welcome new members. Thanks also go to the copyright owners who will get any money from YouTube if adverts placed on this video make any money.

Neighbourhood Plan (interim report and survey, 2 engagement sessions, 4 more focus groups)

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(The Abingdon Neighbourhood Plan focus groups met earlier in the year. The output of these groups has now been assimilated into an interim report, and this notice has appeared on the Town Council noticeboard at Roysse Court.)

The interim report for the town’s Neighbourhood Plan  is now open for review and consultation at NHP-Report-and-Wall-Chart-for-Website.pdf

You can read the interim report and respond in the interim report survey  by the end of July.

The Neighbourhood Plan steering group will be holding two engagement sessions under the County Hall on 10th and 24th July from 10:30 to 13:00, where you can find out more and share your views.

To further improve the final report, 4 task groups will explore issues more deeply. You are able to participate in these focus groups which will be active over the summer. They are:

  • green spaces
  • the town centre
  • neighbourhood identity
  • culture

Get in touch via neighbourhoodplan@abingdon.gov.uk if you would like to take part in a focus group.

The dance goes on

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Ray’s father danced with the Abingdon Morris Dancers from 1934. Ray used to come along with his dad, age 6 or 7, and later joined in the dance. Ray has been involved with the Kennet Morris Men for a lot of his life, and has recently joined the Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers and plays in their band.

This evening Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers, and their band, were performing at the Broad Face and The Punchbowl.

They were joined by Ashnah.

The evening ended with an invitation for everybody to join in.