The community shop has reopened for a new run.  For the first week there are exhibitions by The MG Car Club, Friends of Abingdon, and Abingdon Archaelogical and Historical Society. They will run until Heritage Weekend, which begins on Saturday 10th September, and then another community group or groups will take over – just like it used to be.

The shop has moved back to where Adams used to be. The other temporary community shop, over the other side of Bury Street, still has the consultation window display about changes to Abingdon town centre. There will be an extra open day on Saturday 10 September from 10:00am – 3:00pm to air your views on that. So that day will be a chance to see the town’s heritage and influence its future – future grows out of the past.

I was handing out heritage leaflets today, outside the shop, and met up with fellow Abingdon bloggers … Can I Walk Mummy? and Read it Daddy .

By the way if you haven’t seen the heritage leaflet, there are lots in the community shop, and it can be viewed here.

Normally Abingdon enters Britain in Bloom. It did not happen in 2007 because of the floods. It did not happen again in 2011 because of  “administrative changes.”

Petunias now mix with fallen fruit, in this bed, as summer moves on.

Community projects are increasingly important in Britain in Bloom, and not just council show pieces.  This year I have heard of the Carswell School garden, the tree planting on the Ock Valley Walk, and soon there could be a community orchard  – good candidates should Abingdon enter next year.  There could well be others.