The Abingdon Arms

As most Beckley residents will know, our new tenants – Zuzana (Suzy) Minichova, Alexandru (Alex) Dumitrache and Victoria (Vicky) Macpherson - took over at The Abingdon Arms on 1st November. They have made an immediate impact with their warm welcome, upbeat atmosphere and excellent new menus.

Suzy’s, Vicky’s and Alex’s plans for The Abingdon Arms are ambitious and exciting, and include many things requested by you, our community, as evidenced by our recent survey. These include 7-day opening; menus offering a broad range of dishes and prices, including a varied selection of vegetarian, vegan and fish dishes; a weekday low-cost menu; a range of local craft ales; supplies sourced locally where possible. A Christmas menu will be available Monday to Friday from 1st to 24th December, but book quickly. Outside catering can be provided and delivered for local parties and functions.

Alex, Suzy and Vicky are keen to support the local community, to make The Abingdon Arms a place where locals meet, eat and drink – and to which we will all want to return. Please do reciprocate their welcome with your active custom. They have committed to supporting and developing our programme of community activities and events so that The Abingdon Arms remains ‘More than a Pub’ – see below.

Suzy and Alex are keen to train front of house and kitchen staff, thereby providing jobs and developing careers for local people. At present they are looking urgently for both full-time and part-time (around 20 hours per week) front of house staff, and will welcome local young people who want work during university and school vacations. Please contact Suzy at the pub if you’re interested – Oxford 655667.

The new Abingdon Arms opening times are:

Bar

11am to 11pm every day, Monday to Sunday

Meals

Lunches: Monday to Saturday 12 to 2.30pm, Sunday 12 to 4pm

Dinners: Monday to Thursday 6 to 9pm, Friday & Saturday 6 to 9.30pm

Naturally it will take time for the new arrangements to bed in, so please bear with Suzy, Alex and Vicky in these early weeks!

The pub has set up a new website at http://theabingdonarms.co.uk/ where you can reserve tables on line, and they’re using social media actively for publicity – see:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheAbingdonArms and

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theabingdonarms.

The telephone number is unchanged – 01865 655667.

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Carols and curry at The Abingdon Arm

Please join us for Carols in the Abingdon Arms on Monday 23rd December at 6 for 6.30pm, with Nick Lea on the keyboard. This is an informal get-together to sing Carols and other Christmas songs with fellow locals of all ages.

After Carols please join in for a Lamb or Vegetarian Curry and all the trimmings, available at £15 per head and served from 7.30pm. Please confirm names and choices to Dave Drew by Thursday 12th December - tel 07734911440 or email davidrogerdrew@gmail.com

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DECember “More than a Pub” programme

As you can see December’s programme (copy attached) is abbreviated by Christmas, but includes regular favourites the Women and Men of Beckley lunches at 12.30pm on Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th respectively, and our community coffee morning at 10am on Friday 13th, but there will be no community afternoon tea in December.

The community walk, led by Cathy Davies and Helen Stradling, will leave The Abingdon Arms at 2pm on Sunday 15th for the RSPB reserve – sorry, no dogs are allowed on the reserve – where we hope for views of the starling murmuration, then returning to the pub for a drink before Carols and Claret at Beckley Church at 6pm. The varied events on Sunday 15th then concludes with Jazz at The Abingdon Arms at the later time of 7.30 to 9.30pm, featuring Frank Harrison (keyboard), Mark Hodgson (bass) plus special guest Tom Green (trombone) – our first trombonist. Believe me, he’s great!

In addition to the regular monthly ‘More than a Pub’ activities in January and February, on Sunday 26th January The Abingdon Arms will host, at the earlier time of 6 to 7.30pm, a film by Beckley wildlife cameraman Steve de Vere : ‘Summer in the Meadow’; and on Wednesday 19th February, 11am to 4pm, a ‘Healthy Communities Fair’, organised in conjunction with Oxford University’s Department of Primary Health Care – more on this nearer the date!

Future plans include a community lunch for men and women of Beckley and our wider community, which will be in addition to the Women and Men of Beckley lunches; renewed table games, and an after-school café for parents and children; a concerted programme of community engagement to identify and inform neighbours who have moved recently to Beckley about BACBS and other village amenities; and a training session on dealing with unexpected collapses in children, including resuscitation. Updates will follow.

Call for speakers and walk leaders - The ‘More than a Pub’ programme, as the saying goes, does not grow on trees! We would welcome offers to lead walks and other activities, and both offers and suggestions of speakers for future literary, poetry and public interest talks.

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Good Neighbour Scheme

The volunteer transport scheme which was set up for BACBS by Cathy Davies and John Stradling provides lifts to the Islip Surgery and to community events at The Abingdon Arms and Beckley Village Hall. Lifts are for people who do not have their own transport and would have difficulty getting to these activities. The scheme serves residents of Beckley, Elsfield, Stanton St John, Forest Hill and surrounding area (Noke, Woodeaton and Horton cum Studley have their own schemes), so please inform neighbours and friends who might benefit. Requests to 07514 791910 or BACBSgoodneighbour@gmail.com

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Associated community events 2020

Elsfield Wine Tasting Evening: Anticipating the end of “dry January” 2020, you are invited to an evening of fine wines, ‘fun facts and quizzical questions’ on Saturday 1st February, 6.30 to 8.30pm at Elsfield Village Room. Tickets: £15 per head in advance from:

• James Plunket – 01865 358170, james.p@socialinvestgroup.com

• Peter McCool – 01865 358578, petermccool@hotmail.com

Please see attached poster. Don’t leave it too late!

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BACBS elections

At the BACBS Annual Members’ Meeting on 18 November, Beckley resident Dave Drew and Sam Clarke of Oxford, who has a small developing woodland at Beckley, were elected to the Management Committee, and both Susy Jepson and John Stradling were re-elected. Congratulations to all! Continuing committee members are Lise Traynor (Noke) and Beckley residents Gabriel Brodetsky, Adrian Hampshire, Mike Hobbs, Adam Jeffrey and Nin Kelay.

Last year’s resolution to ‘twin’ the new pub toilets with public toilets in the developing world was discussed again, no action having been taken during the year both because the toilet block was under construction and because the proposal was controversial. The charity Toilet Twinning has a Christian parent body, Tearfund, with which some members of our secular society are uncomfortable. An additional question was raised about the appropriateness of BACBS making any charitable donations, because the primary purpose of the society is to benefit our own local community. The BACBS committee committed to addressing these issues and will report back to the membership.

BACBS committee members are keen to hear from you, members of our community, about what more the Community Benefit Society can do to (as our name indicates) benefit our community. And, as always, we will value offers of help – there are many roles available for willing volunteers!

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