The Nags Head Public House re-opened today.
The Nags Head pub closed about two years ago. Two other pubs closed at about the same time and have re-opened since as Tesco Extras (The Fitzharris Arms and The Ox).
The Nags Head has re-opened as a public house looking better than ever – inside and out.
That is all down to Dushan Salwathura the new Landlord. Dushan was formerly Landlord of the Broad Face.
Recently, there have been leaflets and posters publicising the Wantage (not just) Betjemen Literary Festival. Thursday 4th October is also National Poetry Day. The theme of this year’s National Poetry Competition is Stars.
In 2009 an Abingdon based poet came second in the National Poetry Competition . Since winning that prize, two well received poetry books have appeared. The latest is called Constellations.
There are also Abingdon poets from the past. One name I came across in Abingdon Library for the first time today was Willoughby Weaving. His first published book of poems was called The Star Fields.
He went to Abingdon School and seems to be best known for World War I poems like Birds in The Trenches and Between The Trenches and Progress. In the introduction to The Star Fields, Robert Bridges says “although there can scarcely have been a more genuine and prolific poet in the trenches ; where he did well, until, invalided home in 1915, he was safely restored to his Country Muse, to whose protection I very humbly and confidently commend him …”
Here is a more recent poem from this poet. It appeared in a 1951 Festival of Britain anthology of Abingdon poets called, “Local Colour”. It is about his family home, Pewet House …
Pewet
(demolished for an airfield)
The house where I for many a year was bred
Men are demolishing stone after stone.
As if some giant plucked me bone by bone
Slowly to pieces I can feel the dread
Disintegration through me seconded.
I did not dream how much of me had grown
Into its walls, nor how I should go down
Taking its lonely grief upon my head.
The ghost of the house will haunt the place
In my imagination solid yet
While I am absent. If I do draw near
Will it abide my coming, give me grace
To see it as it was once firmly set?
No, not without a disillusioning tear.
(Has anybody out there other examples of notable Abingdon poetry or poets for National Poetry Day)
Back in January the Boundary Commission set the new boundaries for the County Council elections in May 2013. The number of County Councillors in Oxfordshire are to be reduced. Abingdon as a result will have three County Councillors (rather than three and a bit). New ward areas are Abingdon East, Abingdon North, and Abingdon South.
More recently the Boundary Commission have been asked to look at new wards for the Abingdon District Council elections (in 2015). Both County and District Councils are run by Cabinets with ordinary Councillors or members having less influence. So fewer ordinary members are thought necessary.
Currently there are 14 District Councillors in Abingdon, in seven 2 Member wards. This number needs to be reduced to 10 Councillors. So the Vale of White Horse District Council have put forward a scheme with five 2 Member wards.
Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council do not really agree with the reduction in the number of councillors, but of the options put forward seem to agree with the idea of five 2 Member wards, although some individual Councillors have also written in with the idea of ten 1 Member wards.
It is up to the Boundary Commission to decide what is best and define the exact boundaries, after further consultation. I found this information on their website.
There was a good turn out to the exhibition today showing the developers plans for 170 new dwellings in a field in South Abingdon.
The field in question is east of the Drayton Road (on the picture with the pointy trees in front).
The field in question (with red outline) appears on this map to be one of the few fields on the Abingdon perimeter that is neither floodplain (blue) nor greenbelt (green). Yellow is residential and purple stripes business.
The plan would involve a new junction onto the Drayton Road. (thanks to Nigel for sending this mash up map)
The developers have not done the traffic studies yet but say they would look to introduce traffic mitigation measures so that Drayton Road traffic would be no worse or dangerous than it is currently.
There was a high turnout because Drayton Road is such a traffic blackspot and residents were concerned about the traffic impact .
This attempt to develop a field in South Abingdon does raise the question about where can Abingdon expand now.
In South Abingdon there will be a lot of opposition if better infrastructure is not put in place. In North Abingdon green belt land would need to be sacrificed.