Monthly Archives: April 2011

International Dance Day – 2011

On the Market Place today was the third running of the International Dance Day, It involved …
International Dance Day
Belly Dancing by Ashnah
International Dance Day
Thai Dancing
International Dance Day
Indian Dancing
International Dance Day
Rock and Roll from the Oxford Swing Dance Society

Scottish Dancing (Lochaber Lassies), Balkan Dancing, and Irish dancing.

Next Saturday there will be dancing with Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers and visiting groups. They begin at about 10:30am at the White Horse pub, make their way to town via other pubs and dance on the Market Place from around noon.

Bun Throwing – 29 April 2011 – Will and Kate’s Wedding

Bun Throwing
The 4000 buns were cooked at Millet’s Farm, and delivered to the Town Council offices with a throng of photographers in attendance.
Bun Throwing
William and Catherine were married at 11am and the buns arrived in Abingdon at 11:40am
Bun Throwing
Quite a few people were there for the occasion. The Town Clerk was reckoning on about 2000 in the morning, but it was double that number.
Bun Throwing
Abingdon’s youngest ever Mayor, Duncan Brown, threw the first bun. It went almost as far as Costas.
Bun Throwing
The crowd had seen the wedding of Will and Kate, and had gathered for a unique Abingdon tradition –  catching buns.
Bun Throwing
– in which the real fun is the anticipation.
Bun Throwing
The crowd was so big and so vast and so huge that none of the throwers could reach all of them.
Bun Throwing
After the bun throw councillors got back into hard hats and hi-vis jacks for the descent through – what is  – a building site at the County Hall.
Bun Throwing
The new Cafe ‘Throwing Buns’ had an excellent day. The lady in charge of Throwing Buns is seen here with Steve King who put up that bunting you see with the aid of a ladder at 7am this morning. The police were called at that early hour because they thought somebody was after some lead from the roof.

All of this could only ever happen in a town called Abingdon.

Red White and Blue displays

Red White and Blue
The stage is set for the Bun Throwing Ceremony and many shop windows have been making the most of the chance to celebrate.
Red White and Blue
Fantasia Bridal have red white and blue wedding dresses.
Red White and Blue
Abode in Coxeters have Wills and Kate framed by a red white and blue Union Jack.
Red White and Blue
And Fabulous Flowers have Red White and Blue flowers.

NET upgraded to HUB

Net Hub
Anybody who has been near the NET Young Peoples Centre – off the Stratton Way – will have seen that a lot of building and decoration work has been carried out in the last two months. As I understand it the upstairs area is being converted to offices for various youth and child services. Presumably the 1970’s observation hole in the middle has been filled in to allow this conversion.

Other youth centres in Oxfordshire are threatened with closure in the hope that the ‘Big Society’ will take them over, but the NET is being converted to what is termed a HUB. As I understand it, the downstairs area will continue as a youth centre – in the evenings at least, but the emphasize will be on targeting those most in need, and offices for people involved with such work.