The amount of money a town spends on celebrating an occasion such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is always going to be a bone of contention.

Royalists will consider it cash well spent, while those who consider the royal family an irrevelance in today’s society will hold the opposite view — opinions even further polarised by the austere times we find ourselves in.

So is the case in Abingdon, where the town council plans to spend £50,000 on a four-day celebration.

However, taking a balanced view, there are always going to be differences in approach between our towns depending on their respective histories and traditions.

Abingdon has a strong history of marking such occasions with its unusual bun-throwing ceremony by town councillors to the populace below in Market Place — and we are sure most residents would want to see this tradition continue.

However, in these straitened times when nothing seems beyond the realm of the cuts axe, it might be wise for our councillors to ensure only as much is spent as is necessary for traditions to be maintained and a celebration seen to be had without over-indulging.