Beckley & Area Community Benefit society Limited (BACBS)

The Abingdon Arms

Despite the depressing situation of being in a third lockdown of unknown length, The Abingdon Arms have once again stepped up to the mark and are providing excellent take-away options. For some items it is recommended to order in advance, others are available with no advance ordering required. Drop in, ring (01865 655667), or email (info@theabingdonarms.co.uk ) your order. Because of the ever-changing situation, it is best to check current details on the pub’s website https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/take-away-menus, or sign up to their emailings https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/contact-us . Some more specific links below.

Opening times and what is available when https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/opening-times.

Basically: closed Monday and Tuesday. Open 12:00-18:00 Wednesday, 12:00-20:00 Thursday to Saturday, and 12:00-15:50 Sunday.

NEW – ready made oven meals, for 1 or 4 people. Available anytime when open.

https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/take-away-menus/ready-made-meals-wednesday---sunday

A la Carte Menu (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/take-away-menus/friday---Saturday---Sunday Fantastic selection!

Pizza menu (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) any pizza only £9.95 on Wednesday and Thursday! https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/take-away-menus/pizza-menu

Roast lunch on Sunday 12:00 to 15:30

Shop items https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/take-away-menus/shop-items- for emergency rations!

The pub needs your custom if it is to stay open! So many pubs have closed, and we cannot let that happen!

In case you did not hear, the pub got a 5-star food hygiene rating, well done Alex and Suzy.

More than a Pub Programme - Past and Future

January's 'A Dorset year' - the Sunday evening session of poems, prose, song, and details about Barnes, Hardy and Dorset, performed by members of the William Barnes Society, Thomas Hardy Society, and Oxford's Stanza 2 poetry group, was most enjoyable. The performers have kindly allowed us to provide a recording on our website, which is available at https://bacbs.org/activities-events/a-dorset-year. Please respect the performers' copyright.

Forthcoming events:

Sunday 7th February: 6.30-7.30: “Walls of sure and solid stone”– presented by Dr Tara Stubbs and Jane Haigh. Join us in a discussion about the structure and content of Seamus Heaney’s poem 'Scaffolding' in relation to The Abingdon Arms - the building, and the pub's varied interactions with the community it serves and benefits.

Tara and Jane ask us to read the poem in advance and think about possible connections with the pub and our ‘More than a Pub’ events. They will give a short introduction to the poem, and their responses to it both verbal and visual, and will then open discussion. They are co-founders of the ‘Poetry and Structure’ public engagement project run through Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/poetry-and-structure. ‘Scaffolding’, by Seamus Heaney, can be found in his collection ‘Death of a Naturalist’ (Faber, 1966).

He can also be heard reading the poem here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7KzfqtL5qY

If you are accessing the Zoom meeting from your web browser, click on the following link: https://zoom.us/j/5841030100?pwd=a0x3dHNSSUt5OEJSd3ZkT0trZjBxdz09

If you are accessing the Zoom meeting from the Zoom app, use the following details: Meeting ID: 584 103 0100 Passcode: 2tACKF - if needed

Sunday 14th March 2021: 6.30-7.30: “Great Horkesley to Eight Ash Green”. An East Anglian rewrite of ‘Larkrise to Candleford’. Join Betty Dye (who lives in Beckley) on a journey which takes you from “settin-on-em -up” in August to the turkey stubbing marathon in December, via glass accumulators and the two-seater privy. This is no nostalgic amble down country lanes as she hated, she says, both “setten-on-em -up” and turkey stubbing, but it is an oral history of things you might also remember.

gOOD nEIGHBOUR sCHEME and Covid Support

This scheme is still operating albeit at a low level. We are lucky in Beckley and surrounding villages that most people have help where needed from family, friends, and neighbours. However, the service is still available to give lifts to those with no other transport, to attend VACCINATION APPOINTMENTS, collect items from surgeries, Stanton village shop etc., as well as to the Barton/Green Road roundabout where buses into Headington and central Oxford are frequent. We should also be able to collect take-aways from The Abingdon Arms. To request a lift, either ring 07514 791919 (answerphone if no answer) or email BACBSgoodneighbour@gmail.com. Given COVID issues, both driver and client need to be satisfied with both parties wearing masks and having open car windows. If you know of anyone who might need help, and perhaps does not know this service exists, please do let them know.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING POINT AT THE ABINGDON ARMS

After much deliberation we have commissioned the installation of a Rolec EV charging point. It is a 7kw one, so not a rapid charger, but faster than from a standard 13amp socket. It is hoped that it will be installed during February.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE ABINGDON ARMS

During the previous lock downs BACBS gave The Abingdon Arms’ tenants a rent holiday, which allowed them to stay open. Our intention is to do the same for the period of the current lockdown, with regular reviews as to the help needed. We feel this is vital to ensure the pub keeps trading and is in a strong position to bounce back once this lockdown ends.