Trinity Church Celebrates 150 Years on Sunday 1st June

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On Sunday 1st June, Trinity Church in Abingdon will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of its opening in 1875. To mark this special occasion, there will be a thanksgiving service at 3pm, with former ministers Revd Malcolm Atherton, Revd Richard Bittleston, and Revd Ian Griffiths joining the current minister, Revd Georgina Bondzi-Simpson.
As part of the celebrations, there will be an exhibition in the church, looking back over Trinity’s 150-year history. A slideshow of images will be shown during the service, and from 2:30pm, a 20-minute extract from the 1980 BBC Songs of Praise broadcast from Trinity will be playing. The broadcast includes a performance by the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers.

If you have any photos or memories of Trinity Church that could be included in the exhibition, please get in touch via: trinity.abingdon@gmail.com.

The service will be followed by tea in the Conduit Centre, and all are warmly invited. If you’d like to stay for tea, please RSVP by 25th May to: trinity.abingdon@gmail.com. This will help with catering numbers.

Thankyou.

Preston Road Community Centre Marks 50th Anniversary

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Preston Road Community Centre has its 50th anniversary this month.

The building is owned by the Vale of White Horse District Council but leased and run for the community by a charity. The original building (including a large main hall, kitchen and bar, storage rooms, lavatories, and an office) was completed in May 1975.

Since 1975, the entrance has changed, and moveable partitions have been added, allowing the large hall to be reconfigured into a medium hall, small hall, and lounge.

Many community groups have used the centre over the years, but bingo has been a constant – originally run by Abingdon Boys Football Club and now run by volunteers from the centre.  This evening, bingo players played an extra free game to celebrate the anniversary. It had a prize of £50.

Most of the players were still very young in 1975. Some were not even born.

Someone remembered when Doug Lee was the chairman at Preston Road Community Centre and how the Abingdon pub darts final was played there when there was a bar. The old bar space is used now for storage by the South Abingdon Food Bank.

Caterpillars Strip Tree in Abbey Meadow

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Nick sent me photos of a tree in Abbey Meadow, near the children’s play area, that has been stripped of its leaves by caterpillars. It is the only tree that has been attacked.

Silken sheets are visible between twigs, with many caterpillars living inside. They leave their protective tents to feed and return afterward.

The trees trunks are also surrounded in silk. Here is one caterpillar outside the silk, and inside — near the trunk — a pupa within its cocoon.

VE Day 80 Tea Dance at Preston Road Community Centre

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This afternoon, a VE Day 80 Tea Dance organised by the Royal British Legion was held at Preston Road Community Centre as part of 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Penny and a young volunteer welcomed guests at the door, selling raffle tickets, and later served tea, biscuits, and a selection of cakes.

Over the course of more than two hours, guests enjoyed dancing — both ballroom and line dancing —accompanied by music from Sugar and Spice.

The event was organised largely by Ron on behalf of the Royal British Legion. At the start he asked how many people present had been alive at the end of the war. About half a dozen hands went up, including three individuals now in their nineties.

The afternoon ended with Sugar and Spice singing ‘We’ll Meet Again’.