Letters and parcels intended for East St. Helen Street often end up in West St. Helen Street and Visa Versa. Some letters come addressed to West Street Helen Street and East Street Helen Street. Whoever made the sign for the block of flats near the church has made the same mistake.

A poster at St. Helen’s Church advertises the service to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee on 2nd June. All Welcome. St. Helen’s Church has a thriving regular choir, and they are inviting other singers to join them to sing ‘I was glad’ and ‘Zadoc the Priest’, both from the coronation service. There will be a practice for the regular choir at 6 pm on 1st June, and other singers can join the practice at 6:30 pm.

There is a temporary closure notice for town centre roads, on 5th June 2022, between 16:00 and 19:00 for the Bun Throw to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. People normally gather over an hour before and take time to disperse.

Alun’s parents live near the Ock, and he ventured out on bank holiday Monday to record a dawn chorus from the Ock Valley Walk. It’s online on the Radio Aporee website.

The recording is an hour long and is a relaxing way to spend an hour or have as background birdsong. Alun took the risk of leaving the recording gear in the woods at 4:30 am while he nipped back for a cup of tea. He was a bit worried on returning because he had to search to find where he had placed them. He said standing around sniffing or rustling a coat is not good for the recording.

On the Aporee site, you can navigate the globe and listen and download recordings. Alun’s dawn chorus is available at https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=56785&m=satellite.

I walked the Ock Valley Walk earlier this afternoon. The nettles are knee-high and, at their best, fresh and light green.

Mayflies were bouncing up and down like yo yos. A few had settled.

Many birds could be heard, and a few could be seen eating insects.

Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council are flying the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with Ukraine amid the ongoing war with Russia.

Manufacturers across the world have reported a rise in demand for the Ukrainian flag since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.

There is a planning application for signage for a new Starbucks coffee shop in place of M&Co in the Market Place.

Thankyou to the person who emailed me this news.

We are well served for coffee shops in Abingdon! Abingdon Market Place – alone – has: Costa, R&R, Java, and Throwing Buns.

The shop looks like the day when M&Co left, but outside at the back, there is work underway digging up the path.