Category Archives: weather

More signs of storm damage


I see from the comments that part of a tree caused damage to the side area of The Boundary House pub. By this morning they had chopped up the wood and waterproofed the roof and are presumably open again.

A little further round Appleford Drive the trunk of a tree in Peachcroft Park has split in two.

In that same area the To Let sign, for the shop that was Blockbuster, at the Peachcroft Shops has been sent crashing.

Blockbuster pulled the shutters down for the final time in November. The UK company went into administration earlier in 2013, but failed to find a buyer.

Blockbuster took over the Ritz Video chain, including the Peachcroft shop, in the 1990s.

First the floods, and now the winds.


There was a windy night last night and it brought down quite a few trees in and around Abingdon.

Conduit House narrowly escaped being damaged by a large pine tree falling in Albert Park.

Two big trees have come down near the Abbey Meadow Water Park.

The earth round their roots had been softened after being under Thames flood water for so long.

There are also trees falling down by the River Ock – near the bottom of Healey Close.

One willow is across the river – any more heavy rain and it would be a flood risk.

There were also walls and fences down round properties. So a dramatic night – first the floods, and now the winds.

Snowdrops, Daffodils, and Swans


Snowdrops look to be thriving in this winter without snow.

The mass of daffodils that appear over the other side of the River Thames are grouping again. They have not experienced much frost yet – just lots of water.

Floods made nest building and raising young difficult for the swans last spring. But they are having an easier winter of it.

Our Seasons are never predictable.

The Saturday before Christmas and a Harpist at Eileen


The Saturday before Christmas has come, and gone, and it was a rainy day.

Large puddles formed in a number of places on the town’s roads.

Unlike previous Saturdays, I did not see any fairs or markets. So it was a pleasure to look in at Eileen on bath Street, where Pervin, International Harpist, was playing Festive music for the customers. I gather she plays every year at Eileen in Sumertown, then Eileen in Abingdon, as a seasonal special.

There was also champagne and chocolates.