I see the Town Council meeting is to be held in the newer Abbey Hall at 7pm today (Wednesday 25th Jan 2012) and not the older Council Chamber …

Work has started on the refurbishment of the old part of the Guildhall (including the Council Chamber) and so the old rooms are closed until the spring. The work is more about making the rooms easy to use in terms of services. And so electricians vans and decorators are to be seen round the back.

Work on the new part will follow a report by some consultants who are looking to see whether the newer part, including the Abbey Hall, can be turned into a multi-purpose entertainment venue.

Unfortunately I cannot get to the town council meeting as I have another meeting.

I see on the agenda…

1. It is proposed to give a vote of thanks to the Chamber of Commerce for the hugely successful Extravaganza Evening they organised.
2. It is also proposed to give a vote of thanks to the museum curator who will soon be retiring.
3. There will be a report from the Guildhall Committee, and all the other committees, about progress.
4. Also the Deputy Mayor, Peter Jones, has suffered a stroke and is in hospital. So I am sure they will be sending their best wishes for a full recovery, as well as signing him off from council duties for a while.
5. At the last meeting Abingdon Town Council voted to change the name of Abingdon to Abingdon-on-Thames. It has been announced “The Vale of White Horse District Council is to consider a request from Abingdon Town Council to change the name of the parish of Abingdon to Abingdon-on-Thames when councillors meet on Wednesday 22 February 2012.

The Local Government Act 1972 enables the district council to change the name of a parish where a request has been made by a parish council.

Members of the public are invited to submit their views on this proposal in advance of the meeting.

To contact the council regarding the proposals email: democratic.services@southandvale.gov.uk.

If it does go ahead, I will consult with readers whether this blog should move to Abingdononthames.co.uk.

I remember sitting in Trinity Church a few years ago, during Heritage Day, when some American visitors came in to look around. They told me that we should make more of the Abingdon Press connection.

I do own a book by the Abingdon Press… This first edition Abingdon Bible Commentary was published in 1929 by The Abingdon Press. It was withdrawn from the University of London library in 2005, and then came into my possession.

I have not been able to find out why The United Methodist Publishing House used the name Abingdon Press for their book publishing arm when it was set up in the early 1900s.

The Abingdon Press head office is in Nashville, Tennessee, and for a hundred years or more they have been doing a good job stopping preachers from running out of reading material.

As comments from yesterday say, the Lemon Plaice has closed, as part of the precinct refurbishment.

The seasonal lights have not come on tonight for the first time since the Christmas. Extravaganza.

We are all getting back into normal life again after the festive break – just readjusting back.

By next week we will back into a routine.