MG Run to Buckingham Railway Centre

A lot of MG cars came to Abingdon Market Place at around 10:30 this morning, and their owners took the opportunity to visit the MG exhibition in the County Hall, before setting off towards the Buckingham Railway Centre at Quainton, near Waddesdon.

While the cars were there it gave the rest of us a chance to stand and stare.

Under the spreading chestnut tree

These horse chestnut trees, on the other side of the river, are turning brown before the surrounding trees.

and dropping their conkers like there is no tomorrow.

The Clear up Continues

Temperatures are beginning to drop. It seems even sadder now seeing the empty houses.

This group of bungalows have been fenced off for flood renovation work. The people continue to live in hotels and probably will do until early next year.

Here at Meadowside work is progresing in some houses. The industrial dehumidifiers continue to whirr away in empty downstairs rooms. Plaster has been stripped from the lowers walls. Furniture is still piled outside.

And on the Ladygrove Estate people are in a similar state: people living away from their houses. Their local resident newsletter says in the October edition "Whatever happened, there are sluice gates to 'manage' rivers, so it cannot be beyond the wit of the Environent Agency to prevent such residential flooding on such a scale from such a little river as the Ock."

Abingdon Fashion Events

A lot of balloons attracted my attention to the Sandman fashion event earlier this evening.

Over the road from Sandman, work has started on the opposite pavement of Stert Street. A report on the BBC local news this evening asked 'Could Abingdon be a model for other towns to follow?' If it all works out in the end and helps cut town centre air pollution..

Anyway back to the Abingdon Fashion events. The second fashion event...

Down the Subway at Midnight

The distant echo
Of faraway voices from faraway times
No way home from their painted kingdom
to the place they knew

I was down the subway at midnight. da da da da...

Swimming round
Reflections of people from faraway times
One of the drains not working well.
I could go further but don't want to get wet.

Down the subway at midnight. da da da da...

(Lyrics loosely based on Down the Tube Station at Midnight)

'A' Boards

This may look like an 'A' board, but in fact it is a rather battered basket ball board at Southern Town Park so forget that and move on...

An 'A' board is an easy to move, fold up, and store board where the message or poster can easily be changed. 'A' board pavement signs help attract the public to an event, a store or even a local library. The Abingdon library 'A' board has a PVC cover to hold 'The Big Wild Read' design.

'A' boards seen here along Stert Street are Jennifer Gerard Gallery, and Mostly Books.
A bit of clever positioning here at Frugal food means that you don't get the message once but twice.

'A 'boards can add character and colour to a market town like Abingdon. But there are more and more of them about and I've only shown some of the better ones.

West St Helen Street Traffic

At the bottom end of West St Helen Street you can have a long wait. There is no easy way for North bound traffic to get into the flow coming from Culham on High Street (shown on Friday's post). This is during the rush hour during term time.

This van trying to get out of Lombard Street into West St Helen Street has the name 'Air Action'. Its a courier though, not a champion for better air quality.

(Possibly a sad Note: As you can see things have moved full circle for Crystals. It started with white blinds on the windows in March 2006. So does it end with white blinds on the windows in Sept 2007? What next? )

Abingdon Quakers

There is an exhibition at St Ethelwold's house down East St Helen Street called ' Discover the Quaker Way.'

The exhibiton is a simple introduction to the quakers (or Friends as they are also known). Quaker meetings for worship are based on silence, but may include spoken contributions from anyone present. The Abingdon quakers meet every Sunday at the Abbey Centre at 10:15.

One of their guiding principles is:'Live adventurously!'

One that got away

Is it a fish?

Or is it a bird?

Harvest Festival

Harvest Festival at Trinity Church this morning. Hymns included 'We plough the field and scatter' and ' Come ye thankful people come'.


A good crowd were there for what was Revd Ruth Whitehead's penultimate Sunday. She is going to lead four churches in Cambridgeshire (two anglican and two URC) and will be missed.

After the harvest festival service, ninety people took part in a Harvest lunch at the Conduit Centre next to the church.

Museum of the White Horse

This travelling museum in a horse box has been in Abingdon for the weekend.


Half of the horse box contained a life size white horse, and half was crammed with the rest of the collection, on shelves and in drawers. It included pieces about archaeology and landscape, but mostly it was a collection of white horses (plastic models, fabric representations, ceramic, paper, horse metals, and books including the Alice Walker poetry book 'Horses make a Landscape look more beautiful.')


More about the exhibition at: http://www.museumofthewhitehorse.org.uk/

A415 Traffic

This is Friday, late afternoon, and the traffic on the A415 stretches from Abingdon

back into Culham. This traffic is going over Swift Ditch on a bridge built by the County Council in 1928.

It replaced this much older

and now little used bridge.

Back then, in 1928, they didn't have much traffic but they still built a new bridge.

Latest Multiplay

This multiplay arrived in an Abingdon recreation ground earlier this year. It is on that most bumpy of all Abingdon's play areas,

not far from this: Mural by T Rawlings - W Zawadzki - G Rudman & E O'Reilly - Work Experience 1996.

As you can see the mural has been added to more recently.

Oxfordshire Life featuring ABINGDON

'Oxfordshire Life' is on a special stand at Waitrose this month. The front cover, and a colourful article, features Abingdon.

"After the floods Abingdon says: We're Open for Business... Ready to welcome visitors back..."

"Located at the seat of the Vale of the White Horse, Abingdon is a pretty town situated on the bank of the Thames known for its unique shopping, rich cultural history and charm."

Need I go on?

With buildings like this

And roads like this

And flowers like this...

Beyond Southern Town Park

Beyond Southern Town park, there is the sewage treatment works, and allotments, and there are short trails that lead into bushes and brambles but then become impassible.

So fruit like this doesn't always get picked

Tilsley Park Running Track

The running track re-opened, back in June, after it got a new surface. There was also work to create wheelchair anchor points for the throwing events. These were the first major changes since the track opened back in 1995.

More Abingdon Developments

At Abingdon School, at the junction of Bath Street and Faringdon Road, the sports hall is being expanded.

Next to the Fitzharries Public House, the old ambulance station is soon to be replaced by housing.

A new housing development called Northcourt Square is taking shape near Dunmore School.

Saxton Road

This is the top end of Saxton Road - the end of the Homezone with a 20 MPH speed limit.

This front garden can be found along Saxton Road. Not all the gardens are so pretty.

This is the river end of Saxton Road, where a large boat is being refitted. It has been there for quite a while.

Behind it can be seen a Salters Steamer making its way to Wallingford. This service runs four days a week during the summer.

Cycle to Recycle - Radley Lake

The message of today's protest event was that the rest of us recycle our waste, and nPower should do the same.

Supporters of Save Radley Lakes stopped to bird watch as they went past.

Work started here last Monday to prepare the lake to be drained and filled with fly-ash. nPower have widened the cycle path to allow a cycle path diversion.

Rugby World Cup

England play South Africa tonight. The Cross Keys have both the flags, and a few more beside. It hasn't been the best of starts for champions England (what with injuries and a none too convincing win against the USA in the first group match), so hopes are not high for the game against the Boks.

Extraordinary Council Meeting - Floods

An extraordinary meeting of the District Council was called to discuss flooding.

As it was a Council meeting, the public could only participate if they had pre-arranged to speak or ask questions. Six had, and most of the words came from councillors. Of those speaking before one lady Lucy Hutton complained that there were no sandbags until afterwards, and little warning. Mike Badcock compalined about the time taken to collect spoilt furniture from houses. Campaigners from Radley lakes saw the filling of the lake as reducing the flood plain further.

We heard from councillors how other villages, and towns had been affected and coped. Traffic was diverted with little overall control. Four by fours drove through creating waves into houses. One village had serious floods 24 years ago, but this time things were improved, having kept their culverts and ditches clear. They suffered no flooded houses. Other councillors spoke of the 'underfunded' Environment Agency not having the resources to fulfil their role and keep waterways clear. But they called for sensitivity: clearing watercourses upstream could just make things worse for Abingdon downstream.


A Councillor from, Turbeville Close, Abingdon - pictured above - who had been severely flooded spoke of going to bed having studied the flood warnings, satisfied things were safe, only to be woken to flooding from the Ock at 4 in the morning.

It was announced that there will be a real public meeting on 16th November. By then hopefully the report from the Environment Agency will be complete.

Abingdon Landlords - Robin and Mellie

Landlord and Landlady: Robin and Mellie
Public House: Broad Face
Location: Bridge Street, Town Centre

Southern Town BMX Park

This area was fenced off as a BMX track about eight years ago. The shelter and seats were added, and young people and parents added piles of earth to create mounds round the circuit. It is not that well used, but is a long way away from anything.

Jazz at the Anchor

Once a month, on a Sunday evening, the Old Anchor Inn has a jazz session. It is usually Dorothy and friends.

This Sunday: Paul played bass acoustic guitar, Dorothy keyboard, and the well known George Haslam baritone sax. Here they are at the end of the evening's jazz.

Fun in the Park

Good weather and a full program made for a good Fun in The Park. Just a few quick pictures:

Jazz dance...

Ti Chi...

All comers could have a go at the Highland Fling...

and Finally... the kids beat the dads at Tug-a-war.

Radley Lakes Swim

Having just swum the English Channel, Angus McChesney swam along the River Thames through Abingdon to show support for the Save Radley Lakes campaign.

On 23rd September there will be a 10 KM run to raise money and awareness for Radley Lakes.

Boundary Walk

Today there was a boundary walk, where people walk the original Abingdon Borough boundary granted by the Royal Charter in 1556. At the Wharf the walkers met a barge stag party having a picnic. The groom-to-be was given the chance to ring the bell and shout 'long live Abingdon'.

Market Place Opening

'Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

The Mayor of Abingdon will now open the newly refurbished Market Place...'

The French Market took centre stage on the new Market Place...

and to one side the Abingdon and District Twin Towns Society were flying both our flags....

Heritage Day

Morris Men danced near the Abbey Gateway.

The Friends of Abingdon held court in the Abbey Buildings.

Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society also had a stall at the Abbey Gateway.

There is no abbey anymore, but the churches in Abingdon are working together publicising an Alpha Course, to tell novices about the faith.

Radley Lake - is happening

Some workmen were at Thrupp Lake yesterday.

They were there to bang blue sticks in. I guess

they mark out where the drainage channel is to be put under the cycle track. Work was suspended by nPower, earlier in the year, because of the breeding season. But now all the birds have grown up a little, work is likely to begin on preparing to drain the lake (nPower call it dewatering). On Monday they will start work to divert the cycle path to allow a drainage channel to be built.

Tilsley Park Police Training

When I got to Tilsley park, I thought they must be expecting trouble as there were about twenty police officers near the entrance.


This man was worked up about something, and the police officers were about to caution him.

Such trouble is a regular thing at Tilsley Park, as trainee Policemen and women are confronted with actors in role play training.

Living Waterway Exhibition

The Living Waterways exhibition at the museum will be dismantled in a few days.

At the exhibition, children have been given the chance to dress up like barge people, and pretend to cook in the full size replica of a barge cabin.

Outside, the living waterways trail will not be closing. It will be open so long as there is life (plants, fishes, insects, birds etc) on the River Thames.

Tribute to Princess Diana

Flowers were laid on the war memorial. The flowers are for the anniversary of ten years since Princess Diana's funeral . There may be complaints about whether the war memorial is the right place, and whether this is a precedent for all-comers. But it is the closest thing we have to civic high alter in the town.

Tearfund in the Courtyard

In the town centre, the charity Tearfund have offices in the Courtyard, off Lombard Street. Tearfund have been there about 1 month (although I do recall they had a smaller office off Bath Street before that).

They look like the first people to take space in the Courtyard since it was vacated by the CPS (Crown Prosection Service) last December. So good for them.

Tearfund are a christian relief and development charity.

Creative Corner

Schools back, and children return to the creative corner in the classroom.

This creative corner is up Spring Road, and allows children to design pottery 'with love to Mum' and do all sorts of paintings and collages. You can even design a creative party and make your own party bag gifts.

Long Alley Texts

Long Alley Almshouse should be open on Saturday as its Heritage day - a chance to look at the paintings and oak panelling, beneath this cupola,

and to read the bible verses put there to encourage the almspeople...

Abingdon "Boys" School

Abingdon Boys School (A.B.S) are a Japanese rock band named after the school in Abingdon where the English rock band Radiohead started.

The real school - pictured above - is simply called 'Abingdon School'. Before that it was 'Abingdon Grammar School', and before that 'Roysse's Grammar School'. It is still called Roysse's by some Abingdonians.

Good to see such tributes from the highly fashionable Japanese culture which brought us manga (comics). It doesn't look like they got their uniforms from the Abingdon School shop though.

Modern Music / Dawsons

Modern Music was taken over by Dawsons a couple of years ago.

The CD section, and sheet music sections were larger when it was Modern Music. But more space has been devoted to instruments since Dawsons took over.

Dawsons started selling off the CDs a couple of weeks back, and are now selling off the instruments.

Above Modern Music many Abingdon children learned to play the drums, guitar, and keyboard. It used to be a quite an exciting climb, up the metal fire escape from the Market Place Carpark.

French Heritage Fun Walk

A few things are on next weekend in Abingdon. This is Pat L, publicising the events.

1. French Market - next Friday and Saturday (7th-8th Sept)
2. Heritage Day - next Saturday (8th Sept) - various old houses and buildings open
3. Fun in The Parks - next Sunday (9th Sept) - Abbey Park from 2 - 4 P.M
4. Walk the 1556 Bounds - next Sunday (9th Sept) - 11.30


There were lots of people in town this morning. Hopefully there will be even more next weekend.

Caption Competition