7th August
The Vicar of Abingdon presided over a meeting held on Thursday in the Guildhall, on the subject of the League of Nations. It was intended to hold the meeting in the grounds of Caldecott House, but the weather prevented it. A branch of the League is to be formed Abingdon.

The Abingdon Bowling Club played their first game on the new links in Albert Park on Thursday afternoon, when they met the East Oxford Club. Abingdon won by 30 points in a 30-end game, the scores being- Abingdon, 101 ; Oxford, 71.

A marriage is announced shortly to take place between Major W. Morland, D S.O, M.C., Oxford and, Bucks Light Infantry, son of the late Mr Edward Morland and Mrs Morland, of West Ilsley, Berks, and nephew of Alderman Morland, of Abingdon. and Miss Dulcie Musgrave Wroughton, daughter of Mr W. Wroughton, of Creaton Lodge, Northampton, and Chester Square, London.

14th August
The Abingdon Town Cricket Club met on Saturday last, on the home ground, a team from the Oxford University Press C.C. and a good game was the result. The scores were Oxford, 146; Abingdon, 132. Mr Roff, for the home team, compiled 73.

The Abingdon Rural Deanery Branch of the Girls’ Friendly Society held their annual festival at Abingdon on Thursday last week, when there were nearly 140 members present from Abingdon, Long Wittenham, Milton, Steventon, Drayton, Sunningwell and Radley. The members – met at The Gables, the residence of the Hon. Sec, Mrs Councillor Reynolds, and afterwards went to the Roysse Rooms, Borough Buildings, for tea and prize giving. A service was held at St. Nicolas Church, when an address was given by the Vicar of Radley. The day’s programme concluded with a visit to the Abingdon Flowershow Fete. The weather was fine and contributed to make the festival very enjoyable.

21st August
At the Abingdon Borough Police Court on Monday, Frederick Woodbridge labourer, of Ock Street, was sentenced to 14 days’ hard labour for being drunk and disorderly on the previous day.

At the Abingdon County Bench on Monday, William Hewlett, labourer, was sentenced to three months’ hard labour for obtaining, between April 1st and May 27th last, out-of-work donations of £9 10s, whilst at the same time being in work.

The Abingdon Branch of the Comrades of the Great War held a fete at Abingdon on Saturday last. The Corn Exchange Cinema was shown, and, later, dancing took place in the same building.

A garden party, in connection with the North Berks Men’s and Women Unionist Associations, was held on Thursday afternoon and evening in the grounds of Stratton House, Abingdon, the residence of Lady Norman. It was intended to have postponed the gathering but it was found to have been the expressed wish of Lady Wantage during her illness that the public entertainment should not be cancelled on her account, and so the meeting was held. Mr A. T. Loyd, the prospective candidate for the constituency, addressed the meeting, but confined himself to the death of Lady Wantage. Tea was served on the lawn, there was a whist drive, together with an entertainment a concert party. The Abingdon Town Band played a selection of music. There was a large attendance.

28th August
At the Borough Police Court on Tuesday William George Turner, Gaol Yard, Abingdon, was summoned by Edith Trinder, Court 3, West St Helen Street Abingdon, in a case of paternity. The case lasted two hours and there was much cross examination. The magistrates made an order for 7s 6d. per week until the child is 15, and Turner was ordered to pay the costs, £3 2s 6d. The verdict was received with applause in court.

The Abingdon Town Council, at its monthly meeting last week, sealed a mortgage for £23,000 for their housing scheme, of which £2,900 was for the land and £20,100 for commencing the work for 22 houses.

The Abingdon Young Helpers’ League, on behalf of Dr. Barnardo’s Homes, collected in 32 boxes this year the sum of £11 3s 6³/4d, which, with donations, &c., made a total of £12 5s 6d to be forwarded to the Homes.

Thank you for the extracts to the Faringdon Advertiser and Vale of the White Horse Gazette on the British Newspaper Archive. The picture of the Rookery is an old postcard from around 1920. The 1920 adverts for Phospherine, Blanc Mange, and Brown and Polson’s Corn Flour came from the North Wilts Herald.

The air has cooled down since the thunder and hail storms of Wednesday afternoon.

I went for an evening walk at 8:20 pm and found some street lights were already on; cars already had their lights on.

At St Helen’s Wharf, Plain Trees shade the Victorian-style street lamps, and as a result they are fooled into turning on even earlier.

Thankyou to Rachel at BlueDoor (now in Southampton) for sending me a link to a piece called Don’t call Abingdon ordinary. It is about Abingdon-on-Thames – a town that has been continuously inhabited since the Iron Age and has innovated to survive. The article is written by a Historian on a website called Unherd. Their mission is ‘to push back against the herd mentality with new and bold thinking’

P.S. Greg and Rachel used to run BlueDoor Lettings in Stert Street and were very active in Abingdon town life. They had an amusing blog – the confessions of a letting agent. Greg was the front man, and is seen here with Mike Moon in 2011 at a local event.