Jessops and Kick

Ivor Fields was once the main Camera shop in Abingdon, and then along came the modern looking 'That Camera Place'. Both have closed down. I noticed for the first time this morning that 'That Camera Place' was gone and in its place on the Market Place, a new Jessops Shop is being kitted out.

So now we have Jessops and Klick

Abingdon Coat of Arms

With the help of a brochure called Abingdon on Thames published and Copyrighted by the Vale District Council in May 2004, I shall try to explain the Abingdon Coat of Arms.

* The green shield and four small crosses and knight's helmet come from the arms of the Fraternity of the Holy Cross.
* The large gold cross comes from the arms of Abingdon Abbey.
* A crown above represents local government
* A stags head represents Berkshire (Abingdon's County until 1974)
* Swans represent the River Thames
* The left swan holds a Tudor rose for Mary who granted Abingdon's first Royal Charter (1556). Its saxon crown represents the town's saxon ancestry and it stands on a woolpack to show the long sheep farming and wool trading tradition.
* The right swan holds barley for the tradition of malting and brewing. It stands on a book for Abingdon's leather (Pavlova) book binding and printing industry. The rope is for rope making, and its crown comes from the time of Edward the confessor and Abingdon Abbey.
* The blue wings represent the Abingdon RAF base (that was, and is now Dalton army barracks)
* The lightening for the nearby atomic energy research centre.

FAITH AND INDUSTRY (the motto): The word Faith is for the Abbey and the Church in Abingdon, and Industry is for all these aforementioned industires and more modern ones like cars (MG) and virus protection (Sophos).

A young tree needs protection

The first young tree is dedicated to John Jones O.B.E Freeman of Abingdon and Lucca. At the dedication ceremony, the last part of the hole was patted level by his widow Jean, who lives in one of those flats on the far bank of the Ock. This tree has been planted at the town end of the Ock Valley Walk, and the flats behind are Cygnet Court.

The next two trees are in the Albert Park with Albert in the background. Those cages have been put round them by Christs Hospital, the ancient charity that runs the park.

The final three young trees were put in recently to replace some felled chestnut trees near the bottom of Caldecott Road. Only the middle of the three is still standing. The other two are broken off.

There is something in todays society doesn't let young trees grow.

Abingdon Inkblot

Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) developed inkblots, which subsequently got used for personality tests. I have begun to wonder whether the character of a place can be seen in the way its outline has grown and been constrained.

This is the current outline of Abingdon. So what do people see in the shape?

Sophos

When the queen came to Abingdon two years ago, it was to visit this large office block on the Abingdon Science Park - the site of Sophos who had won a Queens award to industry that year.

After lunch, the Queen went up to the roof garden to the south-facing staff restaurant which overlooks the wild landscaping of Barton Fields, and where they are digging round a small lake.

Sophos is a company that makes anti-virus and anti-spam software. The company was founded in 1985. It is the sort of company Gordon Brown (our would be prime-minister) wants to see leading the way for British industry.

Albert

The Conduit recreation park had only been opened for a few years, when this monument to Prince Albert was added in 1864. After that it became known as Albert Park.

Albert was hard working, and is probably best remembered for his work on the Great Exhibition. He died at a youngish age. The Queen mourned his loss for a long time, and so apparently did the nation, at a time when a lot of new civic amenities were being built.

Albert is so high up that he spent the whole millennium summer with a tennis ball wedged between his legs.

Save Radley Lakes

This sign is to be found near the Sustrans Cycle path beyond Abingdon Science Park . This, the largest of the lakes, was pumped dry two winters back. The fence was erected, and then instead of water, it was pumped full of fuel ash slurry from Didcot Power Station.

Growing on the slope in the foreground is teasel. Down beneath stretches a black morass, partly covered by reeds and grass: nature reclaiming the level ground. Gulls float on an area of water in the distance.

This was never the most beautiful of the gravel pits. Its sandy coloured bottom hosted few plants. The perimeter path, built up on dug-out mud, was and is the play area of cross-country trials bikes. Their phutting and snarling annoys dog walkers out for a peaceful walk.

But where the Sustrans cycle path nears Radley, there are lakes that have had forty+ years to mature. They are the subject of the campaign to Save Radley Lakes. We thought the plans to fill them with ash had been defeated but now nPower have new plans to just fill one of them (the largest) and posters around the area say the danger still remains, and we should continue fighting to save our neighbourhood.

Crooked Narrow Passages

This plaque on Lombard Street says "This Street widened at the cost of the Corporation 1874. John Kent Mayor."


Before planning regulations, buildings could be jammed together in a higgledy piggledy way. The result would be some narrow crooked roads.

Abingdon Corporation in the 19th Century started to buy up dwellings or parts of dwellings to straighten out the kinks and narrow stretches of the main thoroughfares. This passageway from Queen Street to the Market Place gives an idea of the challenge they faced.

This building gives Stert Street its distinctive character, but does risk getting knocked by a passing lorry or bus.