If there is one thing that sets Abingdon apart from the rest of the world it is that we like Throwing Buns on Royal Occasions.
On the Market Place today people started to gather from about 3pm. The crowds just grew and grew and by 6pm the Market Place was already getting full. There was some Morris Dancing, and the National Anthem was played by Abingdon Town Band just before 7pm.
Then people began shouting together ‘We want buns! We want buns!’
At 7pm, Abingdon Town Councillors, Freemen, helpers from the army, and even world champion bun throwers, began throwing currant buns to the populace. They had 4,500 buns specially made by Tesco. There were some normal currant buns,
and others with ’90’ on them.
Bun throwing happens at Abingdon on major Royal, national, and civic events. This bun throwing was to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.
We love catching buns here in Abingdon.
Happy 90th Birthday from Abingdon!
A fantastic event. Well done Abingdon.
Well done all – a very enjoyable event and nice to see so many Abingdonians in the town centre
Are arrangements in hand for a ‘flash mob’ bun-throwing on the 25th of June, the first Saturday after the UK ‘Brexits’, when the populace can celebrate the seizing back of Her Maj’s sovereignty from the parvenu upstarts of Brussels.
Typical of the leave campaign to sully what was a wonderful and joyous event for Abingdon. Says it all about their campaign…! Although, much more seriously, Farage was questioned about suggestions of violence on the streets if the vote was to Remain. He’ll find the British people are not amenable to threats!
I see you’ve adopted the German sense of humour there Mike G.
Well, Mike G, you’d better hope that the pensioners are amenable to threats after Cameron waved his big stick at them. … trying to whip the plebs into a cowering mass of subservience
If you watched the Andrew Marr Show this morning you’d have seen the Old Etonian on the edge of breakdown and this from one who’s seen him act well under pressure.
When answering Marr’s question re. why Norway was doing better than the UK Cameron said that a country (Norway) with a population of four million and the same oil reserves as the UK had to be able to do better than the UK. I almost fell off my chair laughing.
Marr should have jumped straight in with the immigration line of questions he used later.
Cameron’s mouth was running ahead of his brain for most of the interview, which is a shame, I reckon this referendum will damage him.
If I mention Farage, Mike G, I take you as the kinda guy who’s got a borrowed sound-bite/insult for everything and you’d call me a ‘racist’. You’d be wrong, but you’re not the type to think for himself.
I thought Farage put in a measured performance and saw all of Marr’s traps (particularly the obvious HIV one … perhaps Andrew’s on the ‘leave side’).
I’m not a ‘leave campaign’ person, Mike G, I’m a person who can think for himself … unlike …
nb. I see our MP doesn’t have a Red Box yet, but is a Red Handbag a sign of hope and aspiration?
I suppose it’s all ‘up for grabs’ in the Conservative Party in the near foreseeable.
The bun thowing was good fun, the children enjoyed it, but its frequency is devaluing its value faster than sterling. Hopefully, we won’t see another bun throw until the next coronation and then the local politicians can focus on sorting out more serious issues in the town centre which continues to limp on at a tortosie’s pace.
Re Brexit: The UK’s national debt is £1.5 trillion, Norway’s oil driven soverign wealth fund stands at £850bn, for a population of only 5million. Frankly, any comparison between our economies is totally meaningless. Norway has a huge financial buffer, can easily absorb additional costs driven by trade agreements and can invest vast sums to diversify their ecomony. The UK’s economy has been through a ten year period of austerity and this is unlikely to change over the near term. 95% of independent economists (forget the politicians) say a move away will result in a significant economic shock for the UK. If we leave, which I suspect we will, this economic downside will not be picked up by higher tax payers, but by the average working family, who are already struggling.
It seems that the public are conflating concerns with the refugee crisis and economic migrants with staying within the EU. Quite why we would want to trust the public with this decision, rather than our elected representatives, is beyond (my) comprehension.
Nick, as you’re one of the intelligentsia, whose education must have been bought at great cost, I’m assuming that you’ll forgive me breaking-down your rambling contribution to one part of your well-crafted final paragraph … a precis, if you like.
‘Quite why we would want to trust the public with this decision’
Has Peter Cook revived, is this totally Monty Python, are you insane?
Are you on my side?
Surely you know that the arrogant never seduce in an argument.
Or were the school fees wasted?
Try again, with empathy.
Newcomer -it’s the sign of a weak argument when you have to start it by insulting your interlocutor – we’ve seen far too much of that from both sides of this debate.
Perhaps you should take a bit more notice of your own fifth point.
I believe that private school fees (not including boarding) are broadly comparable per pupil with “free” state schooling. It is strange how those who pay for private dental or health care are not hated to the same extent as those who choose to pay for their children’s education. Sour grapes and jealousy are never attractive.
Newcomer – I can assure you that I was not educated at private school, not that it has any bearing on my views.
What started out as an all too rare positive Abingdon story has been dragged into the mire of the unrelated, with insults and barbs being thrown.
Sadly, this is what Abingdon has become and it’s unpleasant.
Back to Bun Throwing, is it just me or did there seem to be less people there than previous years?
The town council policy of discouraging visitors from outside the town may just have had an effect.
Sarah, I pay for private medical needs and dental care too, but it’s taken me all my working life to get into a position, financially that is, to do so, paying to privately educate my two daughters was never an option, does that make me angry? I suppose it does, one only has to read this blog (Hesletine and co at St Helens, but not Larkmead) to find evidence of a “have & have not system” !
Sarah, I’m afraid you are not correct in believing state and private schools are broadly comparable in costs. To take one example, the fees for St Helen &St Katherine are £4730 per pupil per term (their prospectus). The average capitation for schools in England is £4408 per pupil per year (DfE). These figures may not be comparing exact like for like but are a fair indication of the scale of the difference.
There’s a lady down my street who has got a parvenu. She keeps letting it widdle against my gatepost when she takes it for a walk.
On the subject of the bun throwing, we in Luton were concerned to hear that the good people in Abingdon are so in need of food that crowds gather at the prospect of a distribution of free bread. We have held a collection and I now have four cans of baked beans, one of macaroni cheese, a 500g packet of rice and a can of anchovies that is only slightly out of date. As per Abingdon tradition i will be throwing these from the roof of the museum when i visit in July. No need to thank us.
Sorry Nick, I was confused by your impressive vocabulary and dismissive attitude toward ‘ordinary people’ and democracy.
See Iain casually dropping the word ‘interlocutor’ … hardly the vocabulary of someone who’s a self confessed ‘Scouser’ … but there you go … I empathize with him … he hasn’t been invited to a grouse shoot on The Glorious 12th yet … ;0)
It is my dearest wish that the working (not inheritance) classes are not hoodwinked by the ‘waffle’ (where did I hear that recently?) coming out of the Remain Recidivists for whom the status quo has been so profitable for decades.
They want you all as powerless poodles and the Labour Party should hang their heads in shame as class traitors, and The Unions as the useless, self-interested tools they’ve been for human memory..
For people living in the ‘necessary’ stratum of society I’d ask you to think what will happen as an ‘in’ vote bleeds away your sovereignty (the weight of your vote) and greater numbers of immigrants (forget race/colour/creed/etc) dilute what can be spent per capita on welfare, health, education. It’s not racism, it’s mathematics.
‘Out’ is just a blindingly obvious choice for the thinking person.
Sorry, backstreeter. This is from my heart and my mind. I’m old enough for which way the vote goes not to matter to me, but I’d just hate for the country I grew up in to just become a memory.
Delete if you wish.
Newcomer – I can’t see how you have arrived at that conclusion. I was simply pointing out that most of the UK population (and I probably include myself in that number) do not have the skills or knowledge to be able to reach a sound judgement on such an important issue. I think we would have been far better leaving it to a free vote for MPs (who are our elected representatives). Does that mean that I am dismissive of democracy? No. Does that mean that I am dismissive of the general public? No. What it does mean is that ‘ordinary people’, like myself, would be better to lobby our MPs or perhaps talk to them at a hustings if we feel strongly enough to do so, than hold a referendum on the matter. If you didn’t jump to such outlandish conclusions, you probably could have recognised my position.
You are rather agressive. I wonder whether you should seek some advice to see if there is some kind of therapy or likewise which might help you?
Spot on newcomer, I’ve just been watching a condensed version of the weekends events re our Queens birthday, fabulous, then up came the news over 50 people have been murdered in an Orlando gay bar ! Isis had just claimed responsibility, Rock on Trump! Meanwhile police in Newcastle have just released the
Names of 3 Syrian “refugees” (who along with 1,500 others were given asylum here on the grounds of special needs) who have been charged with sexually assaulting a 14 year old girl, !
Why does nearly every subject posted on here end up with the same old people regurgitating their political views?
The bun throwing was a great occasion – lovely atmosphere, fun, bringing a community together. Very well organised. My only minor criticism/suggestion – while it was good to have a fenced off area for wheelchairs/buggies, could it be suggested that only one adult remains there with the person/child? It filled up quite quickly, but there were far more ‘able bodied’ adults in there than wheelchairs/buggies.
Well, Nick, I feel a tad humbled now you’ve outed me as an aggressive person and advised me to:
‘seek some advice to see if there is some kind of therapy or likewise which might help you?’
You’re obviously not the kind of ‘ordinary person’ you’ve labelled yourself as and I think, by listening to the wide range of opinions ‘doing the rounds’ at the moment you are fully capable of coming to your own conclusions re. The Referendum.
Do not give up on yourself. Democracy relies on articulate guys, like yourself, doing some heavy lifting/thinking on the issue and we’d like some original thinking from yourself. The more original the more humbled I’d feel.
And I’m a very ‘umble man really. Iain started off the ‘degree boasting’ but I got mine in ‘Experimental Psychology’ when you didn’t have to cut the certificate off the back of a cornflake packet.
Since then I’ve found out that I don’t need psychology. Experience and common sense does me fine.
newcomer – if you actually argued rather than criticising the person you arguing with people may take you a tad more seriously.
Like Nick I am entirely state educated and dont see why I should feel in any way apologetic for having a vocabulary of more than a few words.
Apologies Kelly – you make a good point, it’s difficult to resist responding to some of the nasty views that get expressed here
There’s me who was the sole home carer for the last two years of his mum’s life while she was dying of cancer. I used to wash her in the bath (can you imagine how difficult that was for me?). I could go to the dictionary and redefine ‘bleak’.
I stopped my business to take care of my mum. Ignorant politicians thought this was progress.
Which political party do you represent Iain?
All politics are personal, Iain, if you don’t know that go back to kindergarten as you seem to have no understanding of Life.
Is Nick a relative in choreography? Your son?
And was that state education you had … down in the Scouser Slums with your mates The Beatles …
…yeah, yeah, yeah.
… Unlikely. Unlikely.Unlikely
Forget the flim-flam Iain.
I can’t understand why you always end up on the losing side of arguments with me, Iain. I’m the kinda guy who’s willing to admit he’s wrong when he’s wrong and I’ve never been wrong in an argument with you.
That last bit is something Mohammad Ali might have said and is a bit of a joke – though the death of a Truth-Sayer is NEVER a joke.
Real funny, eh?
I know this is about buns….but I just have to respond…
Nick, are you honestly saying that you, in someway, think more highly of “our MPs” than “the people”? What makes our MPs so special….and why would they be able to grasp such complicated concepts any better than us mere plebs!?
…” [we] do not have the skills or knowledge to be able to reach a sound judgement on such an important issue…”.
What…and you think our MPs do!!??
I think you underestimate yourself, your ability to investigate an issue, and do a huge disservice to a few million people.
To bring this back to the article (kind of)….I barely, just, begrudgingly, trust Nicola Blackwood to “pop up” to throw a bun…let alone speak for ME when it comes to Europe – with her own agendas, personal opinions, beliefs and assertions; that may or may not be the same as mine, my wife’s, my neighbours…etc.
I’ve never been that engaged before; but on this….I really want my vote.
Back to the buns again….next time (and personally, I am happy with the frequency of these events)…please could we have some people up there throwing buns who can actually…throw!? I’m sure it isn’t as easy as I may think…but seriously…about 5-6 buns made it beyond Allen and Harris…but really…it shouldn’t be “the great and the good” throwing the buns…it should be people who can chuck something. As I said, the lady in the red suit was the only onr up there who seemed to be able to throw, on our (NatWest) side!
Back to buns:
What a great event and so nice to see so many happy townsfolk, especially the children having fun.
I’m all for any excuse to have one every year!
Was it true that a couple of hundred years ago it was an annual event for a while?
When I was a little girl back in the early 1970s, in the good old days of the Borough, I’m sure I remember them more frequently. At least, my old Papa had at least three or four buns carefully dried and varnished, and dated in marker pen. I believe there was some marital rift when we moved house, and somehow the buns vanished in the move. My Mama claims no responsibility!
There were four people who won a throwing contest on the roof – personally i thought they did pretty well at getting them towards the back of the market place this year.
…but only a few made it as far as the further trees….let alone the ‘the back’…but hey…maybe throwing a bun over-arm is quite difficult.
As for the numbers of people…were there really fewer than last time? Surely it wasn’t only locals who came – we do have an open border policy with other Towns….don’t we!
Daniel – the best throwers were otherwise engaged yesterday at Lords
There have been 36 bun throwings altogether since the tradition started in 1761 to celebrate the coronation of King George the third. No-one knows for sure what happened before then perhaps members of the Council threw buns at the ground level and thought it might be an idea to ascend the newly built County Hall for a better throw.
It is a privilege to be able to bun throw that is usually reserved for Councillors and Freemen of the Town Council. The Freemen include the three regiments outside Abingdon and Christ’s Hospital as well as three individuals.Recently we have invited others to join us and of course the male and female winners of the World Bun Throwing Championships. I think the lady in red was the female champion. Someone was using a device for throwing balls for dogs, I don’t know how well that did.
One hurls the buns but because of their shape and lack of weight it is difficult to get them to the back of the crowd. In 2012 we had James May with catapults etc, and I don’t think he did much better than the humans.
We had 4,500 buns this year and I hope that people at the front who have caught a few then pass the rest to the back as there should be enough for most people to have one. I hear that some people pat them backwards with their hands.
Still, it is all good fun and we have a jolly time on the roof hurling them even if, despite our attempts, they don’t go far.
It was my first time as a bin thrower, having been to a few previous ones as a member of the crowd. To me it was a real privilege to be able to take part in our town’s finest and most unique tradition.
I’m pleased to say that I managed to get a few as far as the back of the crowds on the right and left of County Hall and as far as the back tree in the Market Place, with, I think, a couple of lucky shots that got behind it.
The thing that struck me about the event was the entirely positive atmosphere and the joy and excitement of the children. I agree that we shouldn’t have them too frequently, but at the same time I’d hope they are often enough that each generation of the town’s children gets to enjoy one while they are young enough to get excited about it.
Monica, I do think your perception if human kindness is rather sweet.
I’d say, roughly, there were about 4500 people there yesterday. Many many hundreds went home without a bun. Some went home with handfuls.
Still…it’s not about “catching a bun” that matters…there’s always some child to snatch one off if I get desperate, it’s about ‘them’ looking down on ‘us’ and throwing us scraps to keep us happy.
It is a great event….one that celebrates our sovereignty. Long may it reign (buns)…whilst it’s still allowed!
‘Sovereignty’ from straight-speaker Dan-The-Man pressing the Button.
It’ll be your kid’s and not mine who suffer,Dan, if they sell-out to Brussels.
.
Who threw the buns that reached the back of the crowd. One impaled itself on the Pigeon spikes, at Costa (or just behind them, hard to see). A few bounced off walls, some very good catches.
This is worth a watch… https://theneedleblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/11/the-truth-about-brexit/
Although I’m sure the scaremongerers will no doubt have an answer for all of the points made…
I was intrigued. 36 comments about throwing buns. Well i don’t know what the world is coming to. And now the good old Woman’s Institute has been accused of being racist. They sang Rule Britannia and some Muslim members objected. Oh dear, the British cannot show any sign of Britishness. It is OK for the French to sing La Marseillaise and other countries to sing their national anthem but the British cannot show any signs of British Identity.
It’s always a good idea to check up what you read around here. So often it’s been spun so hard it’s a wonder we’re not all sick!
From what I can glean from the minimal information in the public domain a member of the WI (less than 0.0005% of their membership) took exception to the fact that Rule Britania was sung at the national conference by a load of people dressed up in and waving union flags. She exercised her right to free speech and expressed the fact that it made her feel uncomfortable on line. Some of the responses she got (although I will confess I haven’t seen them) she and others deemed to be racist and or jingoistic (racist and jingoistic comments online? Who would have thought it!). Also a person (may or may not be the same person) has resigned although it’s not entirely clear if this is because of the singing, the fact that someone didn’t like the singing or the responses that person got.
Incidentally I can’t see any mention of what faith, if any, she aligns herself with, although it is possible of course that Janet has access to inside information on this as with other things.
I really rather like you Reductio.
What is wrong with Rule Britannia and waving flags. Are we going to object to the last night of the proms etc.
The wi story is absolutely true because I read it in the daily Mail
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI
That’s easy Janet – there’s nothing wrong with Rule Britannia and waving flags but there is a lot wrong with racism, jingoism, bigotry denying people free speech and religious intolerance.
Re.42. It might be sensible to remember that Cultural Tolerance is a two way exercise.
Re. 43: Are you saying that for some people racism, jingoism, bigotry, denying people free speech and religious intolerance is their cultural norm and so I shouldn’t call them on it?
What a brilliant day out I had back home in Abingdon. It was very nice to attend my 14th Bun Throwing event – even though I didn’t manage to catch any. I do love being in the thick of the action.
Looking forward to the next Bun Throwing – whenever that may be!
It’s funny how a lot of people have been intolerant of “non abingdonians” coming to our bun throws.
There….that nicely joins everything together….
Davidofluton – It was reported in the Telegraph
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t the queen patron of the W I ? how does that fit with the objectors?
Or how do the accusations of racism and jingoism sit with the Queen?