Beckley & Area Community Benefit society Limited (BACBS)

The Abingdon Arms

As many of you will know, the financial stresses on pubs seem to go on increasing; staff costs, raw material costs and energy costs all going up. There are many stories about the closure of pubs, both tied and free. For example, Wetherspoons are selling 32 pubs to save money, various trade organisations (such as the British Beer and Pub Association) are predicting that many pubs will be closing and, more locally, the popular Talbot Inn near the Swinford Toll Bridge at Eynsham has sadly closed because the landlords cannot see a way through the current cost increases. Many of the closing pubs are lost forever, get knocked down, or converted into homes or offices. Against this background the Abingdon Arms is moving forward having made some excellent improvements to the pub’s environment and continuing to provide good food and drink. It goes without saying though that unless we all support the pub which is a focal point for our community it may suffer in this ever-punishing environment. So, the message has to be there’s a warm welcome waiting for you at the Abingdon Arms - USE YOUR PUB!

Annual Members Meeting and final call for new committee members

The Annual Members Meeting is to be held on the 30th November in Beckley Village Hall starting at 7:30. There are a number of important issues to discuss as well as hearing about the results of the recent survey.

The closing date for submitting CVs for the management committee is 21st October.

Open Share Offer

Don’t forget the open share offer. If you’d like to further support our work by investing in Beckley & Area Community Benefit Society, please click here to access the Open Share Offer prospectus and application form.

MORE THAN A PUB PROGRAMME

Quiz nights and the ‘More than a Pub’ talks continue to be very popular. The most recent Sunday ‘talk’ was unfortunately cancelled due to ill health (Mark Stanley-Price on rewilding) and we may be able to reschedule later in the year. The prior ‘talk’ was by Andrew Wilson (journalist and former Sky news presenter) being interviewed by Chris White. This was fascinating and included some extraordinary videos from war zones and disaster areas. If you missed any of the talks, you can go to the BACBS website to find out how you can listen to the recording (https://bacbs.org/events).

Pub quiz

7.30 pm on the first Wednesday of the month in the bar at The Abingdon Arms. No need to book – just turn up. Free round of drinks for the winning team (courtesy of The Abingdon Arms)!

Community Walks
These gentle, approximately two hour, walks usually start place at 2 pm on the third Sunday of the month. Dogs on leads are welcome. Details of individual walks will be emailed around the community and made available at https://bacbs.org/events a few days before each one.

Coffee mornings
11 am, first Monday of every month at The Abingdon Arms. Come and join us for coffee, cake, and a chat.



Talks, 6:30pm on the last Sunday of the month

October 16th, 6.30 pm.

Gene therapy and cystic fibrosis. Stephen Hyde, Professor of Molecular Therapy, John Radcliffe Hospital. Cystic fibrosis is a severe inherited disorder appearing in childhood and mainly affecting the lungs.

November 27th, 6.30 pm.

Burma…A very troubled country, challenges for health care. Peter Saunders, Royal College of GPs trainer and Beckley resident, has been involved with a project in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), to help strengthen their health care provision. He will give a bit of background, some history, some politics, then talk about the main elements of the projects that are continuing despite Covid and last year’s military coup.

January 29th. 6.30 p.m.

Eve bites back…An alternative History of English Literature. Anna Beer will talk about her book, placing the female contemporaries of Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton centre stage in the history of English literature. Anna s a British author who is particularly interested in the relationship between literature, politics and history. She is a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford.