It is 4 am on Saturday Morning. There are still people going home after parties or Christmas work does. There will not be a bus until 6 am.
There is a taxi on the rank, but not the queue of taxis you would have seen earlier in the night.
A council street cleaner is clearing up litter further up the High Street.
The Town Council Christmas lights are off at this late hour. Only the lights in Bury Street ( run by an Asset Management Company) remain on all night.
Usually when we hear that the outdoor pool will not be opening next season it is because of some problem. This time things are quite different. The Vale of White Horse District Council have announced that they will replace Abingdon’s Abbey Meadow Outdoor Pool with a brand new pool.
The new pool will include a shallow beach area allowing easy access to the water, and a deep water area for swimmers and diving.
The outdoor pool will be closed for construction over the summer of 2017 but the splash park and kiosk will continue to operate. Swimmers can always use the leisure centre in Abingdon, or Hinksey outdoor pool on the Abingdon Road in Oxford.
Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: ‘This year we saw more than 33,000 visitors to the outdoor pool, our busiest summer for many years… The replacement work will mean that future generations will also be able to enjoy an outdoor swim by the River Thames in Abingdon.‘
The Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames has a Christmas Carol Concert at St Helen’s Church. All are welcome.
St Helen’s Church gets very well used over this festive period. In the evening, when I come home from work, cars are parked in every corner they can find, and during the day, when I work from home, there is the hub-bub of of school pupils arriving, by foot, and then going back to school after their carol concerts.
Jane sent me a picture of the Christian Aid singers and band at the Farmer’s Market yesterday. Christian Aid have a Yemen Crisis appeal along with other charities. We are all aware this Christmas that there are people in both Yemen and Syria who are in very great need. Nearer to home, at Christmas, we also have homeless aware campaigns such as Crisis at Christmas.
Throughout last week, and also today, Saturday 17th December 2016, the Church in Abingdon have recreated a bit of Narnia in the Community Freespace. So you are warmly invited to visit.
Thanks to Captainkaos2 for these pictures. He says …
Today was Saint Nicolas day for St Nicolas School in Abingdon.
Much fun was had as school children lined the road to welcome Saint Nicolas in his horse drawn carriage to the school.
This is an old school tradition. It was last featured on this blog for St Nicolas Day 2009.