Author Archives: Backstreeter

New Road Markings along the Northcourt Road

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I spoke with Newcomer yesterday and he said it was a pleasure to cycle down the Northcourt Road with the new surface and road markings.
New Road Markings on the Northcourt Road
The fresh markings could not be clearer.
New Road Markings on the Northcourt Road
The Highway Code says “Double yellow lines mean no waiting at any time, unless there are signs that specifically indicate seasonal restrictions. “ There is not mistaking these double yellow lines whether straight or curved.
New Road Markings on the Northcourt Road
There are letterings, some of them familiar like the BUS STOP sign.
New Road Markings on the Northcourt Road
But this is the first time I have seen FOOTWAY across a junction where the footpath has to pass.

Does this give priority to the pedestrian over the vehicle?
New Road Markings on the Northcourt Road
“KEEP CLEAR, KEEP CLEAR!”.

Waking up on September 1st

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Waking up on September 1st
I could not sleep and got up early this morning – September 1st. The sunrise at St Helen’s Wharf was awesome.
Waking up on September 1st
The light from the low sun caught the tops of the buildings up Bridge Street, and a cloud of water vapour spread out from Didcot B Power Station.
Waking up on September 1st
The sun lit up the undersides of the arches of Abingdon Bridge.
Waking up on September 1st
and brightened the trees as seen from the wider span of the bridge. Trees are starting to turn to their autumn colours.
Waking up on September 1st
St Helen’s Church and Fairlawn Wharf were lit up in contrast to the darker clouds above.
Waking up on September 1st
Early sunlight lit up the dewey ground and dazzled.

September is here. New beginnings. Most school children will be going back to school soon. I saw some Extinction Rebellion posters in Steventon with a picture of a tree and the slogan Build Back Better.The starker XR posters on public boxes and flower containers in Abingdon say there is a protest outside parliament today – September 1st.

Abingdon News on your door step

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Deliveries
The September 2020 edition of Round & About, and the Autumn 2020 edition of the Town Crier were delivered to a lot of houses in Abingdon yesterday.
Deliveries
These magazines have been posted through our door for at least twenty years. The Town Crier did stop for a couple of years, but is back again thanks to the 2019-2023 Town Council. One of the councillors told me it was brought back because not everybody can be reached by the internet.

The Town Crier comprises news and events from Abingdon-on_Thames Town Council.

2 pages have news on the Neighbourhood Plan, whose start has been put back by the pandemic. Consultants will start by reaching out to the ‘brilliant Coronavirus Response Teams” and hope to use the 400 street contact volunteers to help in setting up local consultation exercises (using video conferencing) that together will form a picture of life in Abingdon.

There is a page on CIL – the Community Infrastructure Levy. It is the charge local councils can make on building developments. The Town Council is consulting on its CIL policy and would welcome responses by 25th September. If the Town Council gets a Neighbourhood Plan in place they will get 25% instead of 15% of CIL money for the town. Currently the largest amount goes to the County Council (for education and roads), followed by the District Council, and then the Town Council.

There is a page on Heritage Weekend on 19th and 20th September. A lot of this will be films about Abingdon’s historic heritage or self guided tours. More about that at https://abingdonheritage.org.uk/

There is to be a public consultation on the Radley Lakes masterplan. A socially distanced event will happen at Thrupp Lake on Sunday 20th September 1pm – 5pm.

The museum reopening (September 5th) and the council’s virtual events page are also mentioned.

Round & About also has news on Heritage Open Days. There are pages of ‘Disjointed Rambling’ with news and upcoming events.

From them I learned that Oxford Wood Recycling in Suffolk Way have been given a £250,000 award from the People’s Postcode Lottery. Oxford Wood Recycling are a social enterprise that stop good wood being wasted, and provide volunteering and employment opportunities.

The Atom Society have an online talk on 17th September. The talk is titled: Natural Light and Fresh Air: The Ultimate Human Drugs?

Martin Buckland is doing a talk via ZOOM on 21st September for the Radley History Club on The Wilts and Berks Canal: Past, Present and Future.

There is lots more if you read your Round & About.

High Street Signs in Abingdon

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According to Wikipedia High Street is the most common street name in the UK. It beats Station Road and Main Street by a long way.
High Street
Abingdon has a High Street. Looking today I saw three High Street signs. The first, near the Market Place, was from the days when Abingdon was a borough – before the local government reorganisation in 1974.
High Street
That end of the High Street is mostly banks and estate agencies.
High Street
The next sign, at the junction of West St Helen Street, has T over a dot. Did this look good in the days when shorthand was in vogue?
High Street
At the other end the High Street sign is black with smudgy white lettering.

The Vale of White Horse District Council has been in existence, making Abingdon’s street signs, since 1974. They have stamped their logo on signs for many other roads around Abingdon but have left the old signs on the historic High Street.
High Street
At the other end of the High Street are mostly pubs. The Grapes has a sign offering the government scheme of Eat Out to Help Out. Over the road The Narrows has a door with the sign Exit Only. It is part of their one way system to stop the spread of the virus.