ONE of Abergavenny’s most familiar buildings has just celebrated its 60th birthday.

The opening of the OAP Hall in Park Road in 1948 means that the Abergavenny Senior Citizens’ Club also marks its diamond anniversary.

The old Abergavenny Borough Council provided the site adjacent to Fairfield car park at a nominal rent of one shilling a year and local traders and an architect carried out the work of constructing and designing the hall in their spare time. It was only the second such building provided for Welsh pensioners when it was officially opened by the mayor on November 20, 1948.

At first the association had 100 members but by 1965 there were 305 and today there are 94 members, 53 life members and two honorary members.

The club committee organised monthly excursions and until the 1980s organised holidays were an important part of the club’s calendar. In 1967 the committee was forced to change coach companies because Lane’s had banned members from taking their dogs!

In 1998 the club celebrated 50 years of providing recreational facilities to the elderly and a buffet lunch was served to almost 100 members. In June 2005 the hall was decorated and members dressed in world war two costumes to celebrate the 60th anniversary of VE Day.

Today the hall is still a popular meeting place for market day shoppers every Tuesday between 9am - 1.30pm where tea, coffee and light refreshments are served. Monthly meetings are held on the second Friday of the month at 2pm. Trips are on the third Wednesday of the month between April and November and every now and again a skittles evening is held at the Rising Sun in Pandy.

Every December a Christmas party is held for members and an over-80s party was started in December 2000 when 32 members qualified. Last year there were 50 life members at the event.

Last week a party was held to celebrate the 60 years, guests were the president and his wife, Trevor and Vera Morgan and the vice president Raymond Hill and his wife Muriel.