Bridge Street: Parking Permits, Beer to takeaway, and floods receding

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Down Bridge Street
Most people, who are part of the residents parking scheme, in the town centre, will have an out of date parking permit. The Town Council Office, down Bridge Street, has not been open to allow people to renew their permit since the March lockdown last year. An out of date permit is therefore allowed.
Down Bridge Street
The Broad Face were serving beers and burgers to takeaway. Some people were drinking their beer overlooking the River along Bridge Street.
Down Bridge Street
There were fewer people this afternoon looking at the water levels now they are going down.
Down Bridge Street
The government’s flood warning information site shows the river level over the last 5 days. The highest recorded by the monitoring station was on 9th January 2014.
Down Bridge Street
The site https://floodassist.co.uk/river-data/gauges/oxfordshire/1503th-level-downstage-i-15_min-masd/abingdon-lock shows the last 2 weeks and how the river level rose on Christmas Day and peaked on Boxing Day.

Abingdon New Year Walk 2021

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Christian Aid Walk 2021
The usual choice of two guided walks did not happen this new year’s day. Neither the Boundary Walk or Christian Aid Walk went ahead as a large group walk.

I did see two Christian Aid walk leaders checking the churches had put up their poster – with a Letter. The Church-In-Abingdon (CiA) Christian Aid Walk 2021 is ‘self-directed’ this year and can be done anytime during January. The aim is to visit 9 CiA churches and find a single letter at each church to make an anagram of a word connected with the Christian Aid’s Christmas Appeal. Participants will be asked for the ‘word’ they have found. Sponsors are invited to make a donation via the Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/abingdon-christianaid-walk2021or838.
Christian Aid Walk 2021
At the church where I found the letter ‘H’, I also saw a bush called ‘Euonymus hamiltonianus’ or ‘Winged Spindle Tree’. It still has a few leaves and many capsules which have split open to reveal orange berries.

Happy New Year – from the cold of 2020 to the hope of 2021

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Floods
The Abingdon Herald has one of Daniel’s pictures looking down on the football ground. Here is another picture by Daniel from near Abingdon Lock looking back to Abingdon Bridge
Floods
And this is the bridge from over the cricket ground. Such clear pictures. They are amazing.
Floods
Ice remained on flood water all day long – as the sun went down on 2020.
Floods
One of my unfulfilled aspirations is to ice skate in Abingdon.

Happy New Year and hope you fulfill your New Year’s aspirations.

Abingdon Town Centre Shop Changes in 2020 (14th annual review)

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2020 was the year of the Covid-19 pandemic. Government restrictions changed how businesses could operate and many businesses started doing takeaways, deliveries, and click and collect. There was also some government support for businesses, and payment for staff on furlough. Otherwise more businesses would have closed.
Changes in 2020
Press on Changes in 2020 for a bigger (pdf) version of the map showing the changes.

Key:
Green is a shop that was vacant at the start of the year which is now occupied.
Yellow means a change of business.
Red is a vacant shop premises that was occupied at the start of the year.
Red question mark means I don’t know whether a business has closed

Change in 2007 ( 6 green, 5 yellow, 10 red ) – Net Loss 4
Change in 2008 ( 10 green, 8 yellow, 13 red ) – Net Loss 3
Change in 2009 ( 9 green, 6 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Gain 3
Change in 2010 ( 9 green, 6 yellow, 5 red ) – Net Gain 4
Change in 2011 ( 2 green, 8 yellow, 5 red ) – Net Loss 3
Change in 2012 ( 6 green, 1 yellow, 7 red ) – Net Loss 1
Change in 2013 ( 6 green, 8 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Change 0
Change in 2014 ( 6 green, 8 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Change 0
Change in 2015 ( 6 green, 8 yellow, 6 red ) – Net Change 0
Change in 2016 ( 10 green, 5 yellow, 5 red ) – Net Gain 5
Change in 2017 ( 3 green, 6 yellow, 7 red ) – Net Loss 4
Change in 2018 ( 7 green, 6 yellow, 4 red ) – Net Gain 3
Change in 2019 ( 4 green, 3 yellow, 7 red ) – Net Loss 3
Change in 2020 ( 6 green, 1 yellow, 8 red, 2 red ?s ) – Net Loss 2-4

Welcome back to:
New in 2020
Acacia, rebuilt after a fire

Welcome to:
New in 2020
Al Mulino
New in 2020ess
BeClean
New in 2020
Chic it Up
New in 2020
Karim’s Trims
New in 2020
Qué Pasa
New in 2020
Abingdon Nail Spa moved to Stert Street from West St Helen Street where they traded as TK Nails.

Goodbye to:
Abingdon Sports
Eileen
H Samuel
M&Co
Pandora
The Old Chemist
TSB

I am not sure about:
Gifts and Gallery – where one of the staff told me they were closing but there is no notice on the shop door or website. So they may continue in another form.
Ox Vapours – stopped trading from Stert Street after a flood and could be waiting for the premises to be put right. They do now operate from a business park in Kingston Bagpuize.

Peacocks are having a long running closing down sale but still have stock in the shop.

Change to business in same premises
Sean Antony moved back from two to one salon after the original salon had a revamp, and Karim’s Trims took his place in Lombard Street.

(let me know any mistakes in this annual roundup)