Abingdon School had an open day last Saturday morning. It was a chance for prospective pupils to view lessons in progress – lessons continue through Saturday mornings. It was also a chance to look round the sports hall opened last autumn. I hoped to take some pictures but, having spoken to a number of staff, that was not to be. In this day and age you cannot be too careful.

I was sent this picture of the outside of the new cedar-clad hall. More pictures of the sports hall can be seen on the school’s website .

At 35 Ock Street (in front of the Baptist Church) there were about 70 people crowded into a steamy first floor room last night for a meeting about setting up an River Ock flood group. There were lots of ideas about what could be done such as dredging the River properly, clearing old channels, a flood storage area outside Abingdon etc.

It had been called by local councillors so I did hear some concerns that ‘the council are trying to us to do their dirty work for free’. But there were also those ready to sign up and get things moving. Tight time scales have been put forward by the district council for groups applying for funding schemes. (Only £100K available across the district, but it can help bring in matched funding from other councils and agencies.)

The new Abingdon Co-op opens today. The Mayor will be there, and the town crier. I wish them well. (If only I could be there, but I’m off to work.)

Down near Saint Helen’s Wharf, the metal barrier, which used to impede wheeled access, was removed last year. It was neither wheelchair nor baby-buggy friendly, and had to be got rid of in these post Disability Discrimination Act times.

The replacement was a traditional bollard which fits in better with the traditional looking wharf.

Many thanks to Colin, an ex-pat Abingdonian, for sending this picture of the Wharf. He started scanning old negatives onto the computer, and found this one taken by his dad.