A stage has been set up in the corner of the museum, and for a few days only there is a performance of ‘The Night After Christmas’ (27-30 Dec 1.30PM to 3:30PM and 2-5 Jan 11.00AM to 1.00PM). Its free.

Father Christmas relates his experience travelling around the world, and how different countries treat him.

The show can be seen by all those who can climb the stairs. The lift to the County Hall is still planned. If there is lottery funding available it will be a scaled down version. English Heritage would not agree to the full lift, and Private Eye didn’t want it either.

(The Abingdon Herald has the full story about the museum lift compromise. I see above that Gordon Rogers, the Abingdon local reporter, is retiring. The editor writes “Gordon has been a great district reporter. He has immersed himself in the patch he covers, and our readers, are going to miss him greatly.”)

This is what the pub looked like on an old postcard at the beginning of the 1900s – before it was given the crest and columns. Back then it was Old.

Its been boarded up for a couple of months now awaiting further refurbishment. I shouldn’t think the building work will be quite so radical this time round.

On the fields near the river in Abingdon, a local collector of unwanted objects lives. He sleeps in a hammock surrounded by his haul.

Christmas must be a bumper time for him as it is for most of us…

We may not get a white Christmas this year in the UK but

snow does look good round the Almshouses…

and up West St Helens Street…

and in front of the County Hall…

and on St Helens Wharf.

Happy Christmas.

(snow scenes from February 2007)