Three new planters have been placed along Broad Street as part of Abingdon in Bloom.

They all say Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council 2020. The Town Council has ordered twelve new planters and basket trees.

The last day for H Samuel in Abingdon will be 14th March.

In Abingdon Library a new keyboard has appeared with earphones. People will be able to play music from the music books before taking them out, and and only they will hear.

It is world book day on 5th March. This is a chance to encourage children to read for pleasure with lots of schools taking part. OECD Research in 2002 showed that reading enjoyment is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status.

The Church-in-Abingdon’s Lent Lectures 2020 will be held each Monday in March at 8.00pm at St Helen’s Church.

The five public lectures by The Revd Dr Charles Miller look at the Chapel of the Rosary, designed and decorated by Henri Matisse. The lectures will be art appreciation, and spiritual lessons drawn from the chapel

In 2015, Revd Dr Charles Miller led a similar art-inspired series of lent lectures on the frescoes of Fra Angelico in the San Marco Dominican Convent in Florence.

Lent is a period of reflection and preparation in the run up to Easter. Easter Sunday is 12th April this year.

Lent begins today on Ash Wednesday. St Helen’s join for an Ash Wednesday service at St Michael & All Angels Church at 7.30 pm. There is a Mass at Our Lady and St Edmund Church at 7 pm. Christchurch has a 8 pm service.

Look closely at this scene from the annual Troutbeck Shrove Tuesday Pancake race and you will see a green figure back along the road (Thank you to Smooth Radio Lake District for this picture.)

Then look at this picture and you will see a uniform identical to that of an Abingdon Town Crier practising his ‘Hear Ye, Hear ye’ in The Lakes. (Thankyou to Roger Davies for this picture).

For twenty years an Abingdon Town Crier has been travelling to Troutbeck to assist in their pancake race, and this year will be his last.

Read all about it in the Westmorland Gazette at https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/18255559.one-last-hurrah-town-crier/

Thank you to the Westmorland Gazette for the picture. I did speak to a reporter who said I could use the picture if they owned it and he would check. So all rights reserved to the original owner. He never got back to me.

Also to mention that during half term there is a ballet open day this Saturday. Apologies if this is too late. I was sent it a while back.

Richard sent me some pictures of the Repair Cafe last Saturday. They were provided by Feng,  an Ethical Fashion Designer, and Marketing Manager for Fairtrade at St Michael’s in Oxford.

Feng said ‘ It was great to pop into the Repair Cafe earlier, it was certainly busy! Here are a few photos of ‘hands at work’.

Two upcoming events that may be of interest are Talking Maps and The Big Fix

Upstairs in Abingdon Library, there is a showcase, and board, displaying old maps of Abingdon. One of the maps has all the buildings coloured a pretty pink.

Next Thursday the Oxfordshire History Centre and the Bodleian Library will be showcasing maps from their archives.

Talking Maps is a celebration of maps and what they tell us about the places they depict and the people that make and use them.

The Big Fix 2020, repair cafe, is before then, this Saturday.

You will find it in one of the Northcott barns. (This map is from a book of Berkshire by John Rocque and from 1761- the year of the Coronation of King George III and Abingdon’s first recorded bun throwing.)

In the New Books at Abingdon Library is a book called Twenty One Truths About Love. The book is written by Daniel, a list maker. His Love Story is revealed through the lists he writes each day.

Valentine’s Day List in Abingdon …

1. Cupcake from Parson’s Bakery in Bury Street.

2. Red fluffy heart from the finishing touch in Stert Street.

3. For You card from Belinda’s in West St Helen Street.

4. Go to the Rainbow’s end along Bridge Street.

5. Get fabulous flowers along the way

6. If all that fails, go to the Gig at the Old Anchor.

This picture of the County Hall in Abingdon on Thames was taken at 11 pm on 31st January 2020. Britain has just left the European Union.

There is a fine drizzle. Sami’s queue continues unchanged. There is a phut phut where somebody has launched a small rocket but no bang or shower of sparks. We are entering a new era but unlike new year there is no tradition for leaving the EU.

Having walked around the town centre and failed to find any signs of celebration, I check the time. No bells were rung. There was no dancing in or outside the pubs. Some people watched a face on a large screen explaining the significance of this day.

Flight Lieutenant Mike Randles was in the RAF during WWII and took part in reconnaissance flights over Germany, France, Italy and Norway. Over Norway he took pictures, while balancing in precarious positions in the hold of a plane, to try to identify where Germany was manufacturing heavy water – used in nuclear fission and of use in building an atomic bomb.

In a service last Sunday at St Nicolas Church, Abingdon, a window was dedicated to Mike and Barbara Randles. The Organ then played the 633 squadron theme.

Outside St Nics, a notice was being put up to advertise the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

This week starts with a Church in Abingdon (CiA) joint service on Sunday 19th January 2020, 3 pm, at Christ Church, Northcourt Road, led by Revd Paul Smith with refreshments and an exhibition of CiA task groups after the service.

Then midday prayers Monday 20th – Friday 24th January, at 12 noon led by various people at St Nicolas Church.

Finally there is the CiA Inter-church quiz on Friday 24 January 2020, 7.30 pm, at St Michael’s Church, Park Road.

There have already been individuals out litter picking at places such as Lodge Hill, and next Saturday will be the first Abingdon group litter pick of 2020.

Share a poem is tomorrow (8th January). The Topic (voluntary) is New Year & New Beginnings. Pauline Sykes has been leading this group for many many years.

Abingdon Drama Club present Snow White from Jan 10th to Jan 18th at the Unicorn Theatre. Kennington Amateur Dramatic Society are performing Cinderella from Jan 24th to Feb 1st at Kennington Village Centre.

The Berkshire Family History Society ask ‘Was Your Ancestor a Gypsy?’

The Abingdon Carbon Cutters talk about Low Carbon Travel. And Abingdon Library have a Language Cafe where you can either ‘improve your spoken English with friendly people’ or ‘Have a conversation in another language.’

Roger Thomas will be looking at some of the discoveries made in recent years as part of the archaeological surveys that happen before new housing is built.