A post in March explained about the Abingdon Market: its historical importance etc. etc… But I’d now like to point out that the stalls have matching blue striped covers.
The market always gives a different feel to the town – it gives an extra buzz to the town.
The Salvation army lays on tea and coffee back at their base, and there is one of their Soldiers at the market selling the War Cry.
The fruit and vedge stall has three people serving and one of them shouts “a paand for a paaand’.
The yellow notice in the background says ‘Black Bags.’ We throw out our rubbish (or garbage) in black bags.
And finally another view of the blue striped covers – at the egg stall.

The clocks went back last night, but not this clock. St Helen’s Church clock is being reconditioned and has not had the hands refitted yet. But look through the left hand window down below and there is the glint of the the sun on the large pendulum swinging to and frow, to and frow….

The second picture is on Stratton Way at the corner of Bath Street. One lady said to me “Isn’t this just a Glorious Morning?”

This door used to lead into the Abingdon Magistrates Court. The Abingdon Music Centre took over the building after the Court finally closed a few years back.
The Magistrates sat on a bench among this wood panelling. Behind that wall is a dressing room with secret doors to cloakroom and toilet.
At the other end was the dock, which can just about be made out behind pictures and screen. There are also a couple of sparse cells for prisoners.

The paintings are part of a four day exhibition – by Abingdon Artists – but it is an exhibition with a difference. The Guildhall is already booked, and so most of the artists have set up their paintings in St Nicholas Church. But a group of five have set up their own exhibition called “The Artroom Renegades.” The portraits above are by one of them: Bruce Bignold. The man with the blue shirt painted in the style of Van Gogh, is Lord Mustard, a well known Oxford busker.
These four pictures are by another renegade John Stephen. The other renegades are Josie Chappelle, Judith Payne, and Marjorie Stephen.

Parson Mead was built in 1967, and early on it had a nice row of shops: Greengrocer, Newsagent, Grocery, and Off Licence.

More recenlty the shops became a more 1980s/90s mix of Convenience Store, Video Shop, Newsagent, and Hairdresser.

Since most shoppers use the car nowadays, these shops probably lost trade as a result. The Colwell Drive relief road opened up a direct route to Tesco with its huge carpark to people from North Abingdon. And on the other side are the Peachcroft shops with their large carpark. The Parsons Mead shops are now turned into 2006 housing (exhibit A).

Read the estate agents blurb and you will be told here of “… a well presented property located in the North of Abingdon, offering good access to the A34 and local bus routes. The property has a refitted kitchen etc…”

It looks a much better area now than it did when the shops were looking derelict a few years back.

There is also the van of the Abingdon Breakaway Club. This is a social club that meets at the Guildhall for games quizzes live music and afternoon tea. The van is also used for outings and generally keeping up social contacts between people without cars, in the age of the car.