Category Archives: Events

A thousand paper cranes

On August 6, 1945 a 9700-pound uranium bomb destroyed the city of Hiroshima.

Sixty Five years later visitors from Hiroshima – on their way to Coventry – came to Abingdon to present a letter from the Mayor of Hiroshima to the Mayor of Abingdon.

During this week the former Adams shop has become a place of peace where people make origami cranes. Most only make one…

but these three children and their mum made forty paper cranes last night.

There is a japanese saying that one who folds 1,000 cranes is granted a wish, and Abingdon is making a 1,000 cranes for Peace in the shop.
Visitors from Hiroshima
Anne Dodd visited Hiroshima last year and the visit is partly a result of the friends she made.

Wikipedia has a fuller story of Sadoko Sasaki from Hiroshima who tried to make a thousand paper cranes while suffering from Leukemia – the atomic bomb disease as her mother called it.

(This Abingdon Blog is having a rest for a week – back soon. In the mean time visit How to Fold a Paper Crane.)

Alzheimer Society’s charity Stall

Swan Uppers in Abingdon – 2010

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Under a Royal Charter, the Vintners’ Company (in red) and the Dyers’ Company (in blue), two Livery Companies of the City of London, have a part ownership with Her Majesty the Queen of the mute swans on the River Thames.

In the distant past swans were a royal delicacy.

Nowadays they don’t get eaten but if caught, the Vintners and the Dyers ring the swan’s feet on the Queen’s behalf, aided and abetted by animal experts from places like Oxford University .

The week long census ends at Abingdon Bridge…

where a toast is made to their patron the Queen. The actual time they will arrive in Abingdon is unpredicatable. Last year Culham Lock was not working and they were delayed. This year they made good time, found the swans with the six Abingdon born cygnets near the Marina, and finished at around 5 PM.

They did not catch the swan with the two cygnets seen in last weekend’s blog.

Everything is unloaded on Naggs Head Island before they go to one of the local pubs for a few more drinks.

Abingdons Got Talent – 2010

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Abingdon's Got Talent
This was not the year when the dancers won top prize although they brought a lot of colour…

and entertainment to the final of Abingdon’s Got Talent.

This is the view from up on the County Hall roof.

The judges were the same as in the auditions apart from the introduction of Geraldine Peers from BBC TV News. Geraldine has supported this event for the three years it has happened.
Abingdon's Got Talent
The winner in the 17 and under category was this singer.

And this young lady won the over 17s group, which also means the chance to spend 3 hours in the recording studio and produce a record.

There followed a few group pictures of organiser, judges, compere, and winners.

This was not the only talent performing in Abingdon today. At the NET (young peoples centre) was the very well organised NET Fest with different performance areas – like a mini Glastonbury. No pictures I’m afraid, athough I expect some will soon appear on the NET’s website.

There were also some good performances in the Abingdon Drama Club production of ‘An experiment with an air pump.’