Abingdon Traditional Morris Lego

4 Replies

Fat Face Morris
In the window of Fat Face in Abingdon can be seen a Lego version of the Mayor of Ock Street Ceremony. It shows the newly elected Mayor of Ock Street being chaired shoulder high from Coopers Lane into Ock Street. In front of him is held a cow’s head, a trophy won in a fight between Ock Street and the rest of the town in 1700. The elected Mayor becomes the head man of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers for the next year.
Fat Face Morris
In 2018 two other sides will be there in Abingdon to dance on June 16th along Ock Street, and in the town centre – before and after the election of the Mayor of Ock Street. They include Bampton Traditional Morris, founded approximately 600 years ago, and the Berkshire Bedlam Morris Dancers, founded in 1977.

The 4th side on the Supermorris box, called Stealing Sheep, could be the alter-ego of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers who appeared in this video …

Stealing Sheep – Apparition from Dougal Wilson on Vimeo.

25 years of DAWN – Didcot, Abingdon & Wantage Talking Newspaper

Leave a reply

DAWN at 25
On Saturday the Didcot, Abingdon & Wantage Talking newspaper celebrated their 25th Anniversary.

The charity provides weekly audio recordings of the Didcot Abingdon and Wantage newspapers, free of charge, for the blind and partially sighted.

Volunteers read (and record) the local newspapers on a Wednesday evening every week, and listeners receive a USB memory stick in the post a couple of days later. Programmes can also be heard on their website, where there is a history of the charity at http://www.dawntn.org.uk/AboutDawnHistory.htm
DAWN at 25
The celebration featured special guest Chris Davies, a finalist in The Big Painting Challenge on the BBC this year.

The Oxford Mail had an article about the Talking Newspapers 25th anniversary including pictures of a recording http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/16263764.Talking_newspaper_celebrates_25th_anniversary/.

Thanks to John for the pictures used here.

25 years of the Abingdon Sue Ryder shop

Leave a reply

Sue Ryder at 25
The Sue Ryder charity have been providing nursing care for people with  life-limiting and long-term conditions in hospices since 1953, and more recently in people’s own homes. They announced a few months ago that they are selling the hospice building in Nettlebed to concentrate more on care-at-home in the Henley area, and then in the Abingdon / Didcot area.
Sue Ryder at 25
The thing I notice most about the Abingdon shop is the changing display of furniture for sale, and the seasonally themed, ever changing window displays. There was a birthday theme last week, and on Saturday inside the shop were cakes and tea and coffee, and somebody playing the accordion as part of a celebration of twenty five years of the Abingdon Sue Ryder shop.

Music in the Park

12 Replies

Music in the Park
There was glorious sunshine as Music in the Park began in the Abbey Grounds in Abingdon with a capacity crowd of 3500.
Music in the Park
The opening band, Sidekickz, got some of the crowd dancing,
Music in the Park
The Undercovers got almost everybody dancing.
Music in the Park
The Oxfordshire Big Band followed with a more laid back beat.
Music in the Park
Then the Mayor, Councillor Margaret Crick, thanked everybody who had helped at the event. Special thanks and a bouquet of flowers went to Councillor Alice Badcock who heads up the organising committee.
Music in the Park
The Abingdon Town Band then got people waving flags, and waving mobile phone torches, and even got a lot of people singing the proms part of the programme.
Music in the Park
That was followed by fireworks, and a polite request to take the rubbish home.