There are a lot of clothing sales in Abingdon at the moment, as seen here at New Look.
Next door Valentina, part of Bury Street since 2014, has recently closed.
Thomas Cook have ‘Summer 2018’ advertised, as well as last minute deals for this year.
“Schools Out for Summer!” this Friday. That coincides with the arrival of the Swan Uppers in Abingdon.
Also this week will be a chance to start collecting the first blackberries before the wasps get them.
Thanks to Ray for this report …
Hundreds of people attended this event that offered a wide range of the activities all free to the public. Things started off a little damp for setting up but the weather improved making it great afternoon.
The pictures are from the Abingdon Vineyard stand that offered the Smoothie Bike, Sumo Wrestling, Splat the Rat and other similar sideshow games. We managed to get the local PCSO’s on the Smoothie Bike but not into the Sumo suits! Many of the kids from the Youth Club that the church has run for nearly 10 years helped to set up and enjoyed the day. Another attraction was the motor cycle group who let the kids sit the bikes and have the odd rev of the engines.
This was the third successful year for the event on South Abingdon that really doesn’t see too much activity compared with the rest of the town. The event is organised and run by the Oxfordshire Play Association who do a fantastic job in Play work training and providing events like this.
At the recent open day at the Abbey Buildings some visitors bought along this postcard. I am not sure it can tell us a lot about Abingdon but they very much wanted to return the postcard to the place where it originated, to help tell a story.
It was posted in Abingdon on November 4th 1908 at 9. PM. The postcard was to Miss A Thorpe living at 253 Banbury Road in Oxford. The writer Gert, and her sister Emily, signed the postcard. Gert said they had just arrived safely in Abingdon at 8:25 and would write a letter later.
So can anybody add any more to the story?
At the library there is a small display showing the Longworth Factory that opened on the Radley Road in 1960 to make scientific instruments. The board tells a little of the history of Longworth, from when they made ironing boards in the ex-Abingdon Carpet Factory. Longworth are now known as Penlon.
On the way to the library, I passed an MG, Made in Abingdon…
a bollard, probably made in Ballard’s Foundry in Abingdon …
and some pottery, Made in Abingdon, in the window of Added Ingredients.
Bob Frampton will soon have a new book out called ‘Made in Abingdon’ about MGs. The museum always has a number of artifacts Made in Abingdon. And on Heritage Open Day, on the weekend of 9th-10th September, we hope to have pictures and walks about things Made in Abingdon, and the places they were made. So I would love it if people could send any pictures they have on the theme ‘Made in Abingdon’ to backstreet60@gmail.com .