Clubs and Societies Day 2006

Every two years the Guildhall hosts the club and societies open day. There are twenty, maybe thirty clubs and societies present, and you can come away with lots of leaflets. My wife got almost abducted by the National Osteoporosis society and so we have about ten leaflets from them.

I had a long chap with mencap, where I learnt more about the Abbey Centre (to ensure its future they are campaigning for more local people to be looked after locally rather than going to the Slade in Oxford. Local care for local people. just as with the community hospital). I spoke to the Church in Abingdon, and then to Abingdon Sea Cadets. They want more young people to join and enjoy all their sailing and adventure training activities. The Green Gym gave me a program of events. The next event is cutting and stacking willowherb on April 1st in Barton Fields. Please ring Ian Smith 2 days before a task to let us know you are coming.

The Abingdon wood carvers are carving some wonderful pieces for the 450th Anniversary.

I then enjoyed talking to a lady with white hair from the Abingdon Peace Group. She very nearly recruited me to computerise their e-mail, but in the end I volunteered to just show them, and then let them do it themselves. I did sign their anti trident-replacement petition, although my brother in law works on tridents at Barrow.

Mothers Day Flower Shops

Jemini, a traditional flowers shop trading with interflora

Richard Matthews on Ock Street next to Coxeters, a gardener at heart,

the precinct flower stall, at market stall prices

and Fabulous Flowers on Bridge Street. The slogan says "Don't just make her day. Make it Fabulous! With Style

Long Furlong

All three buildings (medical centre, school, and community centre) are in a row, and seem to follow the same red brick and green colour theme, although the school has yellow as well.

What impressed me when I first drove round this way, to drop my daughter off for a party at the community centre, was how wide the cycleways are, and how the developers had left wide green spaces.

There was a lot of protest when this develepment was proposed and so the people had a bigger say than usual. It turned out well for the people. But maybe not so good for the developers pocket. The people may not get such big a say again in future.

Drayton Road

Here the Drayton Road approaches the bridge over the River Ock.

It is probably the most congested part of Abingdon from about 7:45 to 8:55 on most weekday mornings. The bridge was widened back in the 1970s but not enough for todays traffic, and any further improvements have been deemed to be NOT cost effective by the County Council.

The white buildings on the right have been recently vacated. They were home to CrossRoads Garage (who sold Renault cars and vans) and out front there was an Esso filling station and shop. On the left is another car dealership. Until recently, it had a BP filling station and shop, but they too have now closed, and the dealership has expanded. Until recently, it sold and serviced MG Rover cars, but now it sells Ford and Citreon.

Abingdon Bus Petition

A petition with 160 signatures from South Abingdon residents was presented to the County Council transport committee last Thursday.

However it clashed with another much larger petition; that of a bus through Jericho Oxford. They had about 1000 signatures, and crammed 50 people into the room, and had lots of media coverage.

The chairman of the committee, Councillor David Robertson, said the Oxford Jericho bus was being kept, and there had been no need for them to all be there. "You could have stayed in bed!" the many elderly protestors were told. Councillor Robertson blamed unfounded rumours about the removal of the bus on the press and political speculation.

As to the 44 it got largely ignored, among all the noise. Molly, who organised the petition, is very disappointed and angry. She says the new service that replaces the 44 will not be so good. The Caldecott area of South Abingdon has lost the direct route to Oxford it always had. It will be more difficult for people to get to the new bus.