Winner of the Winter Newsletter quiz

Winners of the Winter newsletter 2016 quiz were Valerie Hitchcock and a resident from Ladygrove.  A small prize for you both!!

Thanks to everyone who sent in their quiz.

Children's Corner - Colouring Competition winners - Christmas 2016

We had lots of lovely entries for the children colouring competition from the Winter Newsletter.  Our independent judge selected 2 winners who are Charlie from Mill Road and Imogen from Coleridge Drive who both win a small prize each.  Well done!!  A big thank you to Imogen too for the lovely Thank You picture she sent in.

A huge thank you to all who sent in their beautiful drawings - these will all be displayed in window the Stonewater flats Common Room, Bridges Close and will also be published on the Children's Corner page of this Blog.

Boxing Day Walk

We will be having a Boxing Day Walk around historic Abingdon-on-Thames starting at 11am outside the Guildhall, er, on Boxing Day! (please see map attached)

The walk will take around 90 minutes - just in time for lunch! Cost £10 per person (£8 over the over 60’s). Cash on the day please.

Places are limited so please let me know as soon as you can how many are coming.  Further details on the web site.  Hope to see you there.

Gardening - Christmas 2016 (with extra cheer)!!

GARDENING AT CHRISTMAS - There are those that wish to combine the celebrations of Christmas with useful gardening – so here is a list that combines both.

1. Open bottle of Champagne, drink a glass.  Thus refreshed, pop outside and prune that conifer back a bit.
2. Have a second glass - that was hard work - you deserve it.
3. Outside again and do a bit of weeding - throw the weeds over the fence to next door - they’ll never notice.
4. Have another glass!
5. Time to move that ... shrubby thing - you know ... that green thing ... dig it up and move it over there … by the glassy thing ... greenhouse - that’s it!
6. Have another ... oh it’s finished - best open abuther nottle ... erm … another bottle.
7. Now, those pigeons on the fence … if I can just – yes, got one ... perfect shot - knew that empty bottle would come in useful.
8. Pay for next door neighbours gazebo repairs in the New Year.
9. Slump in armchair happy in the knowledge of a job done well.
10. And another thing ... wotsit ... waserr ... oh yes ... Chrissy Merrymas! ...hic....

Abingdon Drama Club Juniors

The Abingdon Drama Club Juniors offers young actors from Abingdon and the surrounding area a chance to hone their acting skills in a fun, nurturing environment while meeting other young people from a variety of local schools.

Classes include a combination of drama games, improvisation, devising scenes and even writing original work.  Students build essential vocal and physical skills as well as mastering the essentials of acting including, objective, subtext and characterization. In-depth study of plays and playwrights supports learning, particularly for those who are interested in GCSE Drama. 

The ADC Juniors Drama Classes meet during term time and the cost is £80 for a 10 week course.  The timings for this term are as follows:

Juniors 1 (Ages 11-13) Sundays from 2.30-4pm

Juniors 2 (Ages 14-15) Sundays from 4-6pm

Juniors 3 (Ages 16+) Fridays from 5.30-7.30pm

Performance Club (available to all ages after 1 term of class) Sundays from 6-7.30pm

LAMDA Club (all ages) Thursdays from 4-7pm

Neighbourhood Watch - Thames Valley Police alert

Following a spate of 14 thefts from motorway services in Berkshire, drivers using stations, particularly those along the M4 in Berkshire, are being warned that thieves could be using technology to prevent people locking their vehicles and then steal from them.

People are being warned to make a manual check that doors are locked before leaving their vehicles.

This advice follows a spate of 14 thefts from vehicles at motorway services in Berkshire. In many of the cases there was no obvious sign of a break in and no damage was caused to the vehicles as items were stolen from them.

Fallen Tree

The dead tree on the green has fallen in the night because of the wild weather.  The council workers arrived in the morning on Longfellow Drive as its obstructing the road, and which will be closed for the clearance.  A neighbour's car had a very lucky escape.

Thank you Jill for the photographs.

Stonehill Community Gardens

More and more people are looking to grow their own fruit and vegetables and we are very lucky to have some wonderful projects in our area.

In 2015 Edible Abingdon (contact carbon.cutters@gmail.com) started growing produce for the community on a strip of land in Abbey Meadow between the Ice Cream kiosk and the river, and this year they expanded to grow vegetables and herbs using old-style recycling bins in a wonderful sunny site beside Old Station House.  It has been a great hit with residents, and the public, who are encouraged to pick the produce and have really enjoyed the fresh vegetables.

Edible Abingdon's aim is to encourage more people in the community to grow some of their own food, to show that lots can be grown in small spaces and to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by eating less imported food.  Growing your own produce is good for you, there are more nutrients in fresh food, it's cheap, all you need are seeds and compost, and it's fun and children see where food comes from.

Stonehill Community Gardens is just off the Drayton Road down Oday Hill, and they are creating a vegetable garden and holding garden-themed events.  It is a garden for everyone and it is open every Wednesday from 11 till 3 for everyone keen to be outdoors, to learn and share skills and make friends.

 More information from Rachel at info@stonehillgardens.co.uk 

Tesco path cracks

It has been noted that cracks have started to appear in the newly laid path that runs to Tesco by the river Ock.

Accounts

The TFLRA accounts for 2015 / 2016 have been examined by an independent examiner and are available for viewing if anyone wishes to.