Saturday, March 17, 2012

Report from the last Bun Throwing & Bun Throwing Timeline 1761 to 2011

A report from the 2011 Royal Bun Throwing in Abingdon and an updated timeline of all the recorded Bun Throwings in Abingdon from 1761 to 2011 can be viewed here.

Writing about Bun Throwing for the 'Smitten by Britain' blog

New guest blog post for Smitten by Britain website now online.

You can check out a piece I've written about the Abingdon-on-Thames tradition of Bun Throwing for the excellent blog Smitten By Britain at "Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames".

Smitten by Britain is a blog all about the best of British and is run by American Britophile Melissa Stoey. The website covers subjects including books, culture, food & drink, history, sports and travel - it's the home of the Britophile and all things British.

Link:

Thursday, March 15, 2012

World Bun Throwing Championships - Update

More information about the upcoming Royal Bun Throwing Championships announced.

Further details on the first-ever Royal Bun Throwing Championships have been announced on the Abingdon Vale Cricket Club website. The club will be the host venue for the event, that is also being called the World Bun Throwing Championships!

The poster for the event (below) also states that the event is the 'First Annual Bun Throwing Championships'. So, a great new tradition will begin on the 14th of April 2012. The traditional Bun Throwing spectacle is not an annual event, but instead takes place to mark special national or royal events and milestones. The 2012 Bun Throwing is taking place to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Poster for the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships

The competition will cost entrants £1 per Bun Thrown with all of the proceeds going to the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames' three charities - the Felix Fund, Macmillan Nurses and the War Widows Association.

The 33rd Bun Throwing will be taking place in Abingdon-on-Thames on Sunday 3rd June 2012. The winners of the World Bun Throwing Championships will get the chance to become a Bun Thrower atop the old County Hall!

Related Blog Post:

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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Latest News on the 2012 Royal Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames

Number of buns to be thrown announced and details of the first Royal Bun Throwing Championship

The 33rd Bun Throwing will be taking place in Abingdon-on-Thames on Sunday 3rd June 2012 and a total of 6,000 buns will be thrown to the crowd in the town’s market place. The event is being held to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The traditional event is unique to Abingdon-on-Thames and the first throw took place in 1761 to celebrate the Coronation of King George III. The next Bun Throwing didn’t take place until 1810 to mark the King’s Golden Jubilee. Last year the Marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton saw a Bun Throwing take place. Prior to that event the last two Bun Throwings were held in 2006 to mark the 450th Anniversary of Abingdon receiving its Charter, the first that year also marked the Queen’s Official Birthday, while the second event was held during a visit to the town by HRH the Princess Royal.

On Saturday 14th April the first-ever Royal Bun Throwing Championship will be taking place at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club on Culham Road between 2pm and 4pm. The tournament will see competitors paying a £1 fee per bun to attempt the furthest throw. The winners will receive the opportunity to join the Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames – Councillor Mike Badcock - and other dignitaries atop the old County Hall as a Bun Thrower at the main event on Sunday 3rd June. A junior competition will also be taking place with the winner receiving the Junior Bun Throwing Trophy.

The Mayor has also announced that a small test event has already taken place at the Abingdon Vale Cricket Club to see how much space is required and to look at the aerodynamic qualities of the buns!

Last year a raffle was held to choose a winner to become a bun thrower.

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From Abingdon to Abingdon-on-Thames

A new name for Britain's oldest town

My hometown of Abingdon has reverted to its old name of Abingdon-on-Thames following a successful bid put forward to the Vale of White Horse District Council by the town council.

In 1974 Abingdon-on-Thames was moved from Berkshire into Oxfordshire following boundary changes. That year also saw the ‘on-Thames’ suffix dropped from the name.

The name change came into effect on Thursday 23rd of February 2012.

Link:
- "It's all change at Abingdon-on-Thames", Oxford Mail