BBOWT on the Market Place

A few weeks back I went on a Bat and Glowworm watch with the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (as featured in the Not Abingdon Blog) ... Today they were on the Market Place in Abingdon.

They even brought along some of the wildlife. As you can see we are having a very British summer.

Harcourt Way Tree Nursery

At the old Harcourt Way Tree Nursery there are plans to build 14 flats for emergency housing with associated parking. (Chris Comments it is actually www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk )

The Social Housing will offset there being none on the Old Gaol site - unlike other large developments where social housing is on the same site.

If the plans go through it will mean that this view along the Stert Stream from near Boxhill Walk will have housing rather than trees. If the plans don't go through then that would mean the need for a re-think on the Old Gaol.

Room With A View II

On Sunday I missed all the MGs on the Market Place but Carl was there...

Back in October 2007 I got this comment from Carl on MG Run to Buckingham Railway Centre: I would have loved to be there with either my 1948 MG TC or 1938 MG VA saloon, but neither of them have learned to swim well enough to make it across the Atlantic. I'll have to settle for being there in spirit.

Regards, Carl Fritz, Gainesville, Florida

This time he made it across!

Not Only on BBC iPlayer But Also in The Guildhall

If you have missed Rivers, with Griff Rhys Jones, you can catch it with BBC iPlayer.

Alternatively you can come and watch the man himself at Abingdon Guildhall on Thursday 13th August. Tickets are £5 from Mostly Books. They are redeemable against the price of the book.

Meanwhile, three days before, The Bookstore are co-hosting an evening with Simon King at the Cornerstone Art Centre in Didcot. However do the 2 Abingdon Independent Book Shops do it?

Her Majesty's Swan Uppers Become Boat Uppers

Thanks to Michael for these pictures. Michael gave us the pictures of A Plague of Caterpillars . He has another good one here.

Not quite Abingdon but they were on their way there. These are pictures of Her Majesty's Swan Uppers on the final leg of their journey up the Thames to Abingdon on Friday afternoon (24th).

When they arrived at Culham Lock it had a mechanical failure and the gates could not be opened.

Comments heard from the boatmen included: "They couldn't have invented this in a million years" and "I do this every year but I've never been here before".

They had to take their boats round the old course of the River Thames and haul them up beside a weir at Sutton Courtenay to the upper channel level.

This now explains why, when they did arrive at Abingdon Bridge to toast the queen, they were using make-believe glasses.

( You may be able to see me in this picture. )

South Abingdon Fun Day - Inside

Up the road at Preston Road Community Centre the fun day continued.

Many of the societies that are active at Preston Road or thereabouts had stalls to show what they do. Patricia Hobby, the Mayor, opened this inside part of the proceeding.

Here is one of Abingdon's firemen giving an acrobat from Oxford Circus school a lift.

There were also demos of martial arts, and boxing.

Refreshments were provided by Waitrose and the W.I.

South Abingdon Fun Day - Outside

Most of the new play area in South Town Parks has been open for a while, but the Chair of the Vale, Alison Rooke, was there to open the refurbished basketball court. This work has been possible thanks to a grant from WREN.

Not everybody quite understands the rules of basketball yet, but it will come.

There was also entertainment and amusements....