Activities in Town

In the Guildhall this morning, people had gathered to celebrate all those people who do voluntary work in the community.

Not very far way, in the Market Place the Normandy Market had been set up.

The bread stall and the crepe stalls had the longest queues. The last time there was a Normany Market it was disrupted by torrential rain.

And at the far end of the precinct, the Town Council were doing a survey on what people thought of Town Council services (Excellent, Good, Satisfactory, Poor).

Council Tax Bill

In the last couple of days almost every house in Abingdon will have received a brown envelope which has their council tax bill and information from the council involved and police why they need the money.

Oxfordshire County Council (Conservative Party controlled) £1232.92
Thames Valley Police Authority (Not election controlled) £162.04
Vale of White Horse District Council (Lib-Dem Party Controlled) £118.82
Abingdon Parish Council (Lib-Dem Party controlled) £81.78

The tax pays for many local services including the weekly waste collection and recycle collection.

More Ingredients

These two shops separated by half of Stert Street have taken on a very similar look. The first called "Added Ingredients" is a delicatessen and seller of continental food. The lady who runs it, currently chairs the Abingdon Chamber of Commerce.

Its neighbour further down the road called "& More Ingredients" sells pots, and pans and utensils for cooking, as well as some continental ingredients. This has been renamed and given a makeover recently to look like its namesake.

Hose Pipe Ban

The small plaque with yellow writing and a high water line is from January 2003 and is near Abingdon Lock - perhaps better remembered for the time that Tesco had to close because the carpark was under water.

Yesterday Thames Water announced that they will introduce a hose-pipe ban from April 1st because there has not been enough rain over the last two years. They are soon to apply to have a new reservoir built near Abingdon to store excess water from the wetter winters.