As most of you will have seen, the council has at last installed a suitable barrier beside the cycle path which will prevent cyclists and other road users causing a danger to themselves and others on North Quay. Our thanks again to John & June Napper who helped the AMRA campaign to persuade the Vale to undertake this work.

The Council confirmed that there are no plans to proceed with the proposal to turn the track into a Motorcycle track. The good news that came out of this meeting is that the Abingdon Vineyard group now organise a Youth Club on the 2^nd and 4^th Friday of each month from 19.30 to 21.00 at The Preston
Road Community Centre.     Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Swan Uppers took a liking to the garden at 26 North Quay last year and carried on their business there with due ceremony. In this picture the adult pair had eight cygnets who were all ringed - 3 to the Dyers Company, 3 to the Vintners Company and the remaining 2 (who were by tradition left unringed) to HM The Queen!

The Abingdon date for the 2009 ceremony is July 24th. Look out for further details in the local newspaper.

Ray Charlton, Captain of the Abingdon Salvation Army, has expressed his thanks to residents, many of them AMRA members, for the donation of £260.34 given by the Fisherman’s Wharf carol singers on Christmas Eve. Thanks to everyone who was there for their generosity and hearty vocals.

The towpath has had to be closed for the time being to meet health and safety requirements while the site is undergoing some construction work.  The Environment Agency requires that the river banks be reduced by half along half their length to allow floodwater to flow directly alongside the river.  Please respect the current ‘Warning’ and ‘Keep out’ notices around the site until such a time as this work on the towpath is completed. In any case, there is no public right of way as the land is privately owned and walking along the riverside is courtesy of the farmer.   There have also been some instances of vandalism to gates and fences in the area - please be vigilant in helping to prevent such occurrences as the replacement costs of these mean that the whole project will then take that much longer to raise money for.

Finally, there is the possibility of an illustrated talk by Martin Buckland, Director and Trustee of the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust.  Please let us know if you would be interested in attending.  No date yet fixed.

From time to time a swan gets into difficulty and can benefit from human intervention. Swan Lifeline is a local charity which is pleased to help or advise in these cases. If you see a swan in any sort of difficulty or distress, please contact Diana Davies on 07770 435625 or Wendy Hermon on 01753 859397.

It is also worth noting that Gary at Abingdon Marina (536147) will help if ducks, geese or other wildlife are in trouble.  He also removes debris, bits of tree, or flotsam and jetsam from the water.

Swan Upping, the annual ceremony to count and ring the year’s new cygnets and check on the health of the swan population, takes place in July. Why not have a picnic by the river and look out for this special ceremonial procession which dates back to the twelfth century? For other times and dates for the week of swan upping, go to www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsor1999/upping.html

This has now been down some long time and Marina residents eagerly await its replacement. Vehicles have already been seen using the gap as an opportunity to shortcut between North Quay and Wilsham Road, clearly not a safe or satisfactory situation. We are expecting a replacement to be made by the council in the new financial year, either in the form of a new fence or as a metal railing which can then be hedged up to with some attractive shrubs.

A newsletter will be distributed early in April. Watch your letterboxes!

Brief summary of the 2007 AGM