The building of the new Co-op has come to a halt.

Last year, the Co-op unveiled a wonderful new space age design for their new store. Lovely shiney curved front. A lot of local people didn’t like it much and put up a fight to get the design changed. But the Co-op pressed on. They pulled the old store down, and started on the foundations.

For three months it has looked like the picture, just waiting for somebody to add the shiney top.

However, bigger things are happening. The Oxford and Swindon Cooperative Society has merged with other Cooperative Societies to form the Mid Counties Co-op. And work has come stopped whule they do a gigantic stock take.

The only notice says “Private Property – Keep Out!” instead of “We apologise for the Inconvenience….”

This once was the site of the Kingfisher Primary School.

Their departure has left an empty plot with a long wall of boarding along one side of Blacknall Road.

On it, people leave each other memoes. Things like “I love you M” and “I’m on the other side smoking Pot. Come and join me” and other things I cannot even remember.

One side of the Old Anchor Inn door says “Re-opened for business”. On the other side “Dogs and Wet Wellies Welcome”.

The previous owner before one had come down from London, and tried to make it a more select establishment, but that didn’t go down too well, and led to a peasants revolt. Then the last owner couldn’t make it work financially. And now Robin, who also runs the Broad Face, is in temporary charge unti a new landlord is found. Applications to Greene King.

Years of planning and consultation are over, and the construction of the AbITS ( Abingdon Integrated Transport Strategy) town centre scheme has started. It starts with the removal of that pedestrian island outside Coxeters. We will all have to get into new habbits.