JD Wetherspoons have put in a planning application for a change of use of 25 High Street

from post office to public house.

Planned hours of opening are 7 am to 1:30 am.

The proposed seating area for customers extends into what was the old sorting office and so is about three times the size of the area where we used to queue for stamps.

Wetherspoons say in their application that this change will “increase shopper/visitor footfall in this part of town and re-introduce life and vibrancy to a prominent building that is currently a ‘dead’ unit.”

The full plans are at … VWHDC Planning

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of walking the length of Radley Road. The single bus fare from Radley Station to Abingdon is £2:10. It was not raining and so I saved the money and enjoyed an interesting walk.

Radley Road has the distinction of having the longest section of residential housing in Abingdon without house numbers. For most of the way along the left hand side houses don’t have numbers. Thay have names like… Francissi, Jolibe, Rottingdean, The Shambles, Upwey, The Red House …

Over the other side every house has a number. A few also have names but not a lot. Even the Radley Road Stores has a large ‘191 Radley Road’ sign above the door.

It has to be said that the side without numbers has a lot of green space, and schools. As a result the houses are well spaced out. Perhaps that is the reason they managed to avoid being numbered along with the rest of Abingdon.

Some time back Abingdon School dropped the School on their school signs.

Their website, abingdon.org.uk , says things like …  Abingdon is a leading independent day and boarding school with 885 boys…

Also what was Coventry Building Society, as seen on the photo fronting the County Hall,

is now The Coventry.

School and Building Society have gone for boldness in their brand name. In both cases I prefer the old name.

The official name change from Abingdon to Abingdon-on-Thames was voted through on Thursday. The Town Council have started to update their front page details on abingdon.gov.uk to say things like ‘Welcome to Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council … and Abingdon-on-Thames Visitor Community Information Centre …‘

In my heart, despite the official name change, I just want to keep saying Abingdon not Abingdon-on-Thames here on this blog.  That may change as I get used to the new name, but I suspect I will always prefer the name Abingdon to Abingdon-on-Thames and could not give a good reason.

There is a large stuffed banana propped up against the window of Cancer Research UK. I would guess that it started off as a prize at Abingdon Fair, and has had a colourful life.

I heard some children asking whether they could buy it – as it was only £5.

But the parents said there would not be room in the car with all of them and the banana.