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.