Free Wi-Fi Balloon Launch

On the Market Place was acoustic music from various local singers and groups, put on by "The Legendary Skittle Alley". This is Glenda Huish, and Leigh Alexander.

Skittle Alley also have concerts in Abingdon on June 7th at 2PM in the Unicorn Theatre, and 7.30 PM at the Stocks Bar (Crown and Thistle).

Also taking place was the Abingdon Free Wi-Fi Launch + balloon race. You can pick up the Wi-Fi along the precinct, along High Street, and in the Abbey Meadows. More riverside locations to be added soon.

Using the free town centre and riverside Wi-Fi, provided by CTS, I ran a Caption Competition. The Caption was 'What I love about Abingdon is..."

Most captions are on a specially created loveabingdon.blogspot.com - to be judged by the Mayor. A few got put here. Including one from Pam, featured on this blog recently dueting with Julie Felix .

Co-op Building - May Progress

The roof is on, the cladding is complete, and the windows are in.
On Sunday 8th June West St Helen Street will be partly closed until 11:30 to allow removal of the crane.

Residents got a letter saying 'Kingerlee would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and also thank you for your co-operation.'

Personally, I don't think they'll be able to get the crane out through that hole.

Water under the bridge

A lot of water under the bridge and a lot of traffic across it...

Here are the Bridge Street traffic lights before unveiling in December 2006.

Here is the same place after the lights were dismantled in May 2008.

That sign has now passed into history. I hope it will find a fitting place at Standlake (Oxfordshire's museum storage depot) and be kept for an appropriate moment to be dusted off and displayed within the museum.

I enjoy living in Abingdon Because…

Here is the Abingdon Town Crier being interviewed for a Channel 5 program about living in Abingdon. I heard him say 'I enjoy living in Abingdon because...'

Look in at Radio Abingdon for more details.

Spring into Abingdon

Paul Viney Photography

and Frugal Food are two of the thirty independent shops taking part in Spring into Abingdon during these two weeks.

I am plugging them because they are near neighbours, and people may have forgotten they are still there beyond the ongoing Co-op works

Ten Months On - Welcome Home

Welcome Home.

Is the misery finally over for people returning to their homes after last summer's floods?

Not, if every time it rains they have to worry whether it is going to happen again.

Perhaps last year was a freak. Perhaps not. We don't know.

Bank Holiday Misery

Last night must have been blowing a gale. Branches

and fences were down.

When daylight came the wind had gone but not the misery.

Abingdon Central Post Office

Times are changing... The main sorting office in Oxford is to move to Swindon...

Two Sub Post Offices in Abingdon (or thereabouts) are being closed as part of the Royal Mail closures program. One is on Wootton Road in Abingdon, and one at Dalton Barracks in nearby Shippon. And so one would expect additional customers will need to use the central post office.

Abingdon central Post Office is operated for Royal Mail by a company called Primeco, and has been for two or three years.

Since taking over, Primeco has opened the Post Office up on Saturday afternoons - when it used to close at 1 PM. However it appears that whatever the size of the queue there are only two service counters open (out of the possible eight), and the one (this end of the picture) for foreign exchange.

There are rumours that Primeco want to move the operation - possibly to the new Co-op building. So is Abingdon Central Post Office to become a Sub Post Office?