
Newsletter 4 - Jun 2021
Thanks to all of you who have sent in photos for the June AMRA calendar photo
competition. We have received some beautiful pictures in the past six months and would now like to announce the winner and places for the June ‘Flaming June’ competition.
Winner: Wesley Peile for his stunning ‘Flaming June’ sunset


Second place: Claire Heald for
another superb sunset photo
Third Place: George Steele for
the wildflower verge in full bloom
on South Quay.

The July competition is now open so please send your entries to
katelaw16@yahoo.com. The theme for July is Historical Abingdon so do start
sending in your photos of churches, alms houses, the abbey there is so much to choose
from! Photos should be taken in the Abingdon area and must be landscape format. Those
taken on mobile phones will be fine as long as you submit an original or full copy via e
mail. And, to give you advance warning, the theme for August will be ‘Fun on the
Water’. Keep a look out for paddle boarding dogs (and humans), rowers, swimmers etc.
So take your mobile or camera with y ou on your next walk and you may be our next
winner!
Finally, if you have any good photos taken in December 2020 , then please also send them
to Kate. Good luck,
Sandra North, Claire Heald, Kate Law
Travellers
To the concern and distress of many residents, a group of travellers recently returned to the Rugby Club grounds leaving behind an appalling mess, including commercial quantities of landscaping waste, which had to be cleared by the Council. AMRA Chair, Delia Evans and member Kate Law phoned and complained to the Travellers Service at Oxfordshire Council. AMRA, on behalf of residents, has now written three Freedom of Information requests to the Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire and Oxfordshire Councils. We have asked for records on official actions/prosecutions taken by the Council(s) to address and penalise this illegal behaviour. Many thanks to several of you who also wrote to or contacted the council. It’s good to support our Rugby Club when they suffer so from these visitors.The responses to the FOI requests will be posted on the AMRA website (amrauk.org) and in a future News letter when we receive them
Social Committee News Flash
It seems from the latest news that we will have more freedom from the 19th July ,so we have booked the Rugby Club for Saturday August 28st the first date that they have available) for our summer garden party, from 12.00 to 5.00 pm. Please put the date into your diaries now!
More news to follow in the next newsletter.
Kate Law, Website
Tom Hardy, Newsletter
Linda Gardiner, Member
Claire Heald, Member
Sandra North, Member
Update on the marina weed problem
Nick Newham and Delia Evans visited Gary (the marina manager) recently to discuss the possible ongoing problem of the weed which we experienced last summer. The three types of weed which we have here are:
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duck weed which are the small leaflets which float on the top of the water and are enjoyed by the ducks.
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blanket weed which is the worst of the three but has value in that it floats on the surface shielding the bottom-growing weed from the sun and thus discouraging growth.
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Canadian pond weed growing from the bottom which caused most of the problem last year. This was chopped and removed by a company brought in by Builders Ede last autumn. The value of this weed is that it releases oxygen from those flat leaves and improves the clarity of the water.
Gary assured us that he will be keeping a watchful eye on the weeds as they start growing this year. It is not worth taking action until we can see a problem on the surface of the water and he feels that, at present, the water is remarkably clean and healthy. If anything needs to be done, it will most likely be dealt with in September.
Note on the slipway
Gary wanted to warn us that a part of the slipway which goes under the water is broken and needs repair. At the moment, it is only suitable for small boats up to 21ft. The other work to be done around the marina this year is trimming back trees on the island side of the channel and also, some pollarding of trees in the nature reserve itself.
Membership reminder
Membership of AMRA costs £12 per person per year, and this becomes due in April of each year. The annual subscription can be paid by BACS to AMRA’s account number 13656950, sort code 20-01-09. Please use the payment reference to show your address and name. Anyone needing more information should contact our Membership Secretary, Martin Cutler, on martin_cutler@hotmail.com. Alternatively, please feel free to write a cheque payable to AMRA, and to deliver it to Martin Cutler at 8 Marina Way. Please complete the following details with your cheque:
Name:……………………………....................
Address:………………………………………..
e-mail address:………………………………..
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