A party bus carrying supporters of Sheffield Wednesday made a stop in Abingdon today on their way to the match against Oxford United.

These Wednesday fans have stopped here on the last three meetings between the sides, and Abingdon is becoming a familiar break in the journey.

Today’s visit came on a sobering day. Both clubs face relegation this season — though for Oxford, confirmation came only shortly before kick-off. For Wednesday, the campaign began with an 18-point deduction, leaving them among a few sides in English football history to finish on zero or a negative points total.

Yet you wouldn’t have guessed that from the group in town. The Wednesday supporters were colourful, polite, and in full voice, chanting as they gathered. They travel long distances, take up their club’s ticket allocations, and keep singing throughout.

In the window of Oxfam – Bury Street, Abingdon, two mannequins framed by Union Jacks have been there throughout the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. A light box says: GOOD LUCK TEAM GB. One mannequin has a gold medal.

Historically, Britain has not won many Winter Olympic gold medals, which makes each one memorable.

Men’s team – curling (1924)
Men’s team – ice hockey (1936)
Jeannette Altwegg – figure skating (1952)
Robin Dixon and Tony Nash – bobsleigh (1964)
John Curry – figure skating (1976)
Robin Cousins – figure skating (1980)
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean – figure skating (1984)
Women’s team – curling (2002)
Amy Williams – skeleton (2010)
Lizzy Yarnold – skeleton (2014 and 2018)
Women’s team – curling (2022)

For many of my generation, the run of figure skating golds between 1976 and 1984 were a highlight.

This year Team GB are surpassing all previous Winter Olympic performances, with three gold medals already:
Matt Weston – skeleton (2026)
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale – mixed snowboard cross (2026)
Matt Weston and Tabby Stoecker – mixed skeleton (2026)

There is even the chance of another gold, with the men’s curling team through to the final.

The Abingdon Marathon took place this morning, starting at 9am . (The four-minute video above shows the runners leaving Tilsley Park at the start.)

The overall winner, Tom Hollis, competed in the 40+ age group. Many of the front-runners wore England vests, representing the country’s leading athletes across age categories from 35+ to 75+. This year, the Abingdon Marathon joined the Abbott World Marathon Majors Age Group World Rankings as a qualifying race.

The weather was cool, cloudy, with occasional showers. After about four miles, the route brought runners through the Market Place.

This was one of the areas where there was a lot of support.

The course took runners down East St Helen Street,

along St Helen’s Wharf,

over the Iron Bridge, and out on a loop of South Abingdon and the surrounding villages, which runners completed twice before heading back up Bath Street to Tilsley Park .

Back on the Market Place, The Town Crier was still on hand to ring through the last few runners.

Stewards gave a huge cheer to the final runner – who was moving twice as fast as the other last runners. Possibly she’d started late.

There was a final blast on a traffic-cone.

I revisited the marathon in time to see some of the sub-four-hour finishers in Tilsley Park.

Another well organised event, made special by the enthusiastic support and cheerful volunteers.