National Heritage Day - 2008 - Abingdon

53 shops had a balloon in the window and an object not normally sold there. The Finishing Touch had Henry the Hoover. In a competition, people had to go round finding as many as they could. The balloons were Heritage Day balloons.

The Morris Men did two performances on the Market Place and many more elsewhere. The audience participation parts worked well.

There was a balloon launch with balloons from Centre Stage. Only about 40 balloons went up this time. The others 30 were taken home on strings. Centre stage is a great shops for party things, and costumes, and dance wear. Centre Stage are now in Coxeters.

This is Lesley - an original suffragette.

Other people were dressed up at the Abbey Buildings. The day did show off Abingdon's heritage, and all the open venues did well.

David, for example, opened his house for the first time and had over 200 visitors. David is an expert in vernacular architecture.

The secret of the hole is revealed

Thanks to Alan and Elizabeth for this picture.

This picture shows the smashed culvert, made from Victorian bricks to the left, and the damaged sewer, removed, in the centre.

Hole By Night

As you can see now from this nighttime shot, the hole has moved on. It is now a small construction site, ordered by health and safety regulations.

At the scene of the hole

Yesterday water was seen coming out of the hole and they have determined that a culvert (or water pipe) has collapsed.

As you can see, at the scene of the hole today, they have brought in some bigger diggers to dig a bigger hole.

I hear there have been no great archaelogical findings, perhaps some evidence of settlement layers on the east side but they can't be dated. Being a road it has already been dug up quite a lot.

The hole has allowed for workmen to come in and repair all the other cracks and holes along West Saint Helen Street.

OPEN NOW

Not far from the hole, other things are open. The Ock Street Exhibiton has come back for the third time. Its been open for a few weeks now and runs to the end of Heritage Weekend - just coming.

This time the exhibition is at St Helens Church, and set off by ancient memorial stones. It is put together by the Ock Street Heritage Group of the Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society (Aaahs for short).

A tunnel or a Stream?

There are boxes like this all the way up West Saint Helen Street now. Not only has a hole opened up on Sunday but, who knows, more may follow. People talk of a tunnel, or of a stream. This white box is near where we live.

The road is closed from the 8th to 11th September.

A hole in West Saint Helen Street

A deep hole has just opened up in West Saint Helen Stret.

Witnesses tell me that there was a roller helping lay tarmac over a hole last night and overnight it just opened up.

Looking down the hole, all that can be seen is darkness without end.