People are not able to walk to Tesco or the Fairacres Retail Park by the scenic route at the moment as it is again under water. They have to walk by the Marcham Road. At Fairacres, Homebase still seems to have stock to sell off. The person I asked hadn’t been told a final closing date yet.

The fields near Tesco are frozen as we go through a cold snap this week.

Last Saturday, I wished the Abingdon parkrun success in the coming year, but unfortunately, the event scheduled for 11th January 2025 has already been cancelled due to frozen flooding. It seems well-wishing isn’t always enough.

This morning I was surprised to wake up to more snow.

The narrowboat wreck at the weir was successfully removed around December 31st after an earlier attempt on December 23rd. The River Thames is currently running high again and so the salvagers took their chance while they could.

Another boat is damaged and grounded on the wharf near The Upper Reaches. The Upper Reaches itself has been neglected for several years. Andy Ffrench in the Oxford Mail reported talks were going to take place between the Vale of White Horse District and the long term lease holder a few weeks ago.

The birds seemed to enjoy the thawing snow, with blackbirds and thrushes and this Robin searching food in the soft ground.

Traffic is back to rush hour peaks with people back at school and work. The above picture shows the slow crawl along St Helens Wharf.

There was also a lot of traffic going through, or to, Abingdon over Abingdon Bridge.

The snow is pretty while it lasts.

Abingdon saw its first snow of the winter. While there wasn’t enough to build snowmen in Albert Park, the light covering left the ground white, and dogs and their owners left tracks.

By morning, rain was falling, melting the snow. The large Christmas decoration outside the Guildhall — an angel from one angle, and a tree from all other angles — was lit up with its large snowflake.

Tonight, on Twelfth Night, the town centre decorations will shine for the last time this Christmas. But as their lights fade, may the warmth and hope of this season carry us through the year ahead, guiding us to brighter days.

The tail end of Storm Darragh lasted through much of the day, bringing gusts across Abingdon. While small twigs and debris are scattered about, I haven’t seen any significant damage. In Roysse Court, the Christmas tree light sculpture has toppled over onto the grass. The real tree is still standing.