St Ethelwold’s House, off East St Helen Street, was open as part of the Oxfordshire Artweeks 2006. St Ethelwold’s is a Georgian house with gardens stretching to the River Thames.

The house and garden are open usually for meditation, prayer, discussion, and worshops. The workshops have names such as:

• An intro to Neuro Linguistic Programming
• Poetry Group
• The Enneagram; linking personality to spirit
• A day of Stillness, Sound & Silence

The art was the work of the East Saint Helen Street Group. There were paintings, ceramics, and sculpture. All was displayed in the quiet rooms of the house. This room looks out to the garden.

Glasswork by Solidea Guerra: blue glass with dark filaments, encased in clear glass, are mounted on this windowsill. “In spite of the power of fire to change clay to glass – the darkness yet remains”

All the churches in Abingdon have put together a floral display in St Nicolas Church as part of the charter celebrations. The display outside was the one display not done by a church but by the shop Fabulous Flowers .

This red and yellow flaming posey was to remember the fire that caused such damage to St Nicolas church in the 1950s.

Abingdon Family Centre has a new building off Caldecott Road, on land previously owned by Caldecott School. Next door, is the housing development in Blacknall Road.

The previous Family Centre was run by NCH (National Childrens Homes), and was found next to Saxton Road Community Centre. But those buildings were no longer safe and have been torn down. The empty land will be turned to housing.

PACT took over running the family centre from the NCH. PACT (Parents and Children Together) is a professional agency working on behalf of the (Anglican) Diocese of Oxford in the area of family life.

Many activities are available at the Family Centre from baby sitting courses for sibling carers, healthy living advice through to messy play sessions.

For a long time this shop on the corner of West St Helen Street and High Street was Hadleighs China shop. It has been closed for maybe six months, and now is being refitted as ACUPUNCTURE & HERBS – CHINESE MEDICAL & SKIN CENTRE.

And the owners are very forthright about what they can treat. None of your English reserve. It includes – in bold – male conditions… and womens problems….