A group of Abingdon based organisations are looking for opportunities to create areas of wildflower meadow, to underplant trees with spring bulbs, or develop other park areas.  Ideas are invited from residents as it takes some time to create and look after the areas which are agreed to be changed.  Names and ideas to Neil Boston please.

This is a suggestion from a resident, as another large planter is under consideration for Preston Road opposite Cotman Close.  The idea is to beach an old boat, or something made to look like one, and plant it up with bulbs / annuals to give both spring and summer flowers.  Perhaps som e dwarf evergreen plants could be included to ensure there's a year round display.  What does everyone think of this idea?

Thames Valley Police offer a community messaging service giving information about crime relevant to our area.  To find out more or to sign up for this service, go to www.thamesvalley.police.uk or call 08458 505 505.

If you have information about a crime but do not want to speak to the police, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A number of incidents arose in the autumn, with arson attempts on the tennis, rugby and youth football pavilions, cars being pelted with mud and one of high speed driving on Lambrick Way.  In the latter two instances, swift and intelligent response by the police resulted in the perpetrators being caught.  More recently, two young lads climbed into property in North Quay, made their way around the marina across a number of other properties before climbing out again after being spotted by a resident.

If you see any behaviour which concenrs you, please call the non-emergency number 08458 505 505 and should you consider a crime is in progress or is about to be committed, do not hesitate to call 999.  Our vigilance will help make our properties safer and the area in which we live yet better than it already is.

See our Neighbourhood Watch Contacts page for your local representatives.  There is a gap in our defences in that West Quay does not have a Neighbourhood Watch representative.  Should you wish to find out more, please contact the NW Coordinator Kathryn Gibbons on 556957.

You may have noticed over the last month that there have been large piles of litter and greenery on the edge of Lambrick Way.  This is the result of a continuing operation in the Southern Town Park to improve the general appearance of the area, to improve security in the area around the car park, to clear the main drainage ditch in the park, to restore the red footpaths in the park to their original width and other associated works.  If you have ideas of work, generally unskilled, needing to be done, please let Neil Boston know on 535193 and he will do his best to arrange it.  See also the Community Payback web site.

We'd like to offer a very warm welcome to our new members and friends this year from South Quay, West Quay, Marina Way, North Quay and Kingfisher Close, bringing our membership up to a total of 90 - the highest membership anyone can recall.  We are still looking for new blood to join us; so please don't forget to invite new or even long settled neighbours along to our social occasions and events.

On 29th September AMRA members gathered in the Abbey Sailing Club for a very interesting talk and slideshow by Graham Diprose about the life and work of Henry Taunt, a Vicortian-era photographer based in Oxford, who published many photographs of the Thames and surrounding areas.  Graham and his collaborator Jeff Robins set out to revisit the sites of a number of the photographs to record the change in the landscape since Taunt's time, and have published two books on the subject.

Several members expressed an interest in obtaining copies of the books as Christmas presents. Graham writes: If they go on   www.henrytaunt-footsteps.co.uk they can contact us or buy books from Frances Lincoln direct at a discount.

It really was tremendous to see so many people at the Soirée on Sunday evening.  On behalf of the Committee, I’d like to thank all of the AMRA and Friends of AMRA members who were able to be there. It was particularly nice not just to welcome members of long standing, but also those recently joined. It’s fantastic to see the evolution AMRA is going through, not just the increase in membership and the growing number of younger people but also as one of the newly joined members has volunteered to join the committee. We hope you all enjoyed your evening and look forward to seeing you at a forthcoming event.

Most of AMRA’s activities revolve around social events and the Soirée is usually the highlight of our social calendar. As ever with an occasion on this scale, there are many people who have worked very hard in the preparation and the delivery of the event and I’d like to thank, as far as I can, each of them for their contributions without which we couldn’t even have contemplated the Soirée.

No less than 15 people prepared the food, all of which was superb and they are:

Ruth Katz, Daphne Hill, Viv Boormann, Yvonne Ryan, Clare Bass, Pam Pattenden, Brenda Standen, Daphne Peile, Sue Cutler, Susie Hogben, Janet Down, Gail Viney, Linda Boston, Caroline Bryan & Sue Dixon. Sue was also the prime mover in making most of the arrangements. I am very grateful to all of them for presenting us with such a wonderful array of delicious food.

Lots of other people helped with the planning, preparations and clearing up and they are:

Richard Dixon, Sue Cutler, Clare Bass, Caroline Bryan, Martin Cutler, Sue Dixon, Linda Boston, Gail & Paddy Viney & Janet Down. A great big THANK YOU to all of them and of course to anyone I’ve failed to name who also helped.

Naturally, we thanked our entertainer, Robin, who provided the perfect musical back drop to our nattering and chattering and I will write to Abingdon School to thank them for allowing us to use their boathouse again.

As you are no doubt aware, the Vale is changing the waste collection service from 4 October and suppying us all with large wheelie bins for our waste.  A number of residents have expressed concern about having to store these somewhat unattractive bins, possibly at the front of their properties.

While we can't do anything about the requirement for the bins, Daphne Hill has brought to our attention a way of making them a lot less unsightly, namely by disguising them inside a wooden cover or cupboard.  The Pathway Workshop supplies all sorts of wooden products including suitable covers.  The Pathway Workshop is an Oxford-based charity providing work for disadvantaged people and those with disabilities.  See either this leaflet or their website for more details.

On Sunday 13th June, a flotilla of five boats, carrying over twenty AMRA members, set sail down the Thames to Day's Lock, where we enjoyed a picnic meal together.  The event was superbly oranised by Sue and Rishard Dixon, even down to laying on some fabulous weather!  Out photo gallery has a selection of pictures from the day.