What's on in Didcot?
Didcot is a rapidly growing town that offers a wide range of entertainment activities. Shoppers should head for the Orchard Centre and Broadway but if film is more your thing the cinema shows the latest films and has a kids club on Saturday mornings.
The Cornerstone and the Civic Hall offer a wide range of activities from dance classes, lectures, art exhibitions, classes, workshops, comedy shows and productions for all the family.
Sport lovers are spoiled for choice too with bowls, football, tennis, rugby, netball, basketball and cricket clubs all thriving.
Didcot also has two leisure centres The Willowbrook on the Ladygroves estate and the Didcot Wave in Newlands Avenue. There are many parks and gardens in town and two lakes with good fishing or just to feed the ducks.
Didcot First publishes a list of local events each month, so, as you can see there is plenty to see and do in Didcot.
Please note that Didcot Town Council is not responsible for the content of external websites.
Past events
Big Tidy Up, litter picking
The day dawned grey, but fortunately, dry. It was not the most promising start to the big tidy up but people were undeterred and turned out to help clear away the rubbish that offended them. 36 people of all ages arrived to help and chatted about rubbish as they gathered in the Civic Hall car park.
Areas worked included the footpath from Wantage Road to Wheatfields, the cycle way from Jubilee Way to the Millennium wood, the mound and lakes, Baden Powell Way, Hanson Way and part of the perimeter road.
Councillor Margaret Davies said:
"It was inspiring that members of the public would turn out to give a little love back to their home town.
I had the help of my daughter as we dived into hedges and ditches on Ladygrove to pull out large junk, bottles, glasses, cans and snack wrappings. I could glimpse the Mayor and Deputy Mayor wheeling wonky trollies, rummaging in hedgerows and piling up the bags. What a team!
Thanks to all for turning out as well as to local residents who just quietly got on with their neighbourly task of tidying up their own patch."
The organisers were impressed by the enthusiasm with which everyone set off to their allotted areas and the amount of rubbish and recycling that was collected so a big THANK YOU to all who gave up their Saturday morning to take part.
And finally - how much rubbish was collected?
35 bags of recycling, 41 bags of rubbish, 2 scooters, 1 plastic dustbin, 1 skateboard, 1 play tent, 1 pogo stick, 2 dustbin lids, 1 very long plastic barrier and 4 supermarket trollies so you can see that together we really did make a difference
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Netting at Ladygrove Lakes
If you were at Ladygrove lakes on Friday, 25th November, you might have wondered what was going on as the small lake was being netted. Due to the unusually dry season the water level in the small lake is low so if it were to freeze later in the winter the fish would be unlikely to survive. To give them all the best chance of making it through the winter it was decided to net the lake and move the fish. Before the netting took place a health check was carried out and the fish were found to be in excellent health.
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Remembrance Parade
Every year the Royal British Legion Didcot & District Branch organises a Remembrance Parade & Service for the town on behalf of the Council.
Crowds of people turned out to watch the annual Remembrance Parade that took place on Sunday 13th November 2011 and then gathered in the Remembrance Garden for the service that followed. The support from the town is always appreciated and this year the attendance seemed bigger than ever.
The Oxford Caledonian Pipes & Drums led the parade from the Edinburgh Drive car park to the Civic Hall for the service of remembrance.
Reverend Hugh Boorman and Reverend Edward Carter took the service that included prayers for all who have suffered as a result of war.
The Abbey Brass Band played the music for the hymns and the sound of singing filled the Remembrance Garden.
The Mayor led the laying of the wreaths, which was followed by two minutes silence to reflect on the sacrifice made by our service men and women in conflicts past and present.
The Honourable Secretary of the Royal British Legion, Carol Dickerson said:
“I would like to thank the people of Didcot for supporting the Remembrance Parade & Service”
The service was followed by tea in the Civic Hall.
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Didcot Town Council Awards Evening
The evening of Wednesday the 23rd November saw members of the public, Council staff and Councillors gather to pay tribute to others who give up their time to make Didcot a better place to live. The Mayor hosted the evening and presented certificates and prizes to the allotment plot holders who had been judged as having the best kept plots or crops.
Acknowledgment was given to the people and organisations who had received a grant aid award during the course of the year and the evening culminated in the presentation of the John Eldridge award. This year the award was presented to Jacqui Oldham for the work she has done with the Didcot Volunteer Centre since it began in 1987. In the letter nominating her Jacqui was described as an “unsung hero” without whom the community transport scheme would cease to exist.
Our congratulations and thanks go to all who attended and in particular to those who work so hard for the benefit of others.
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