It rained through the day and the night and water levels are beginning to get high – although not yet overflowing the river banks. April has been cool and showery, and there has been more sustained rain of late.

Yesterday the brave souls from the St Helen’s scout group were trying to hold a book sale / tombola etc. on the Market Place. They had a trailer load of books they had not dry room to unpack. There was also a St Helen’s church book sale and coffee morning in the church centre.

We did not get a huge turn out to the SARP event at Preston Road, although there is another next Saturday at the rugby club (10-1). The picture shows Aidan Melville, Abingdon’s first ever Labour Councillor for many years, and one of the newer Conservative Councillors, Holly Holman.

I follow 180 different feeds on Twitter. Many of them are Abingdon based.

Some people who used to do blogs have moved over to twitter. Last week I read from, one such, @nbthegreenman, ” of the frozen canal, and then a little later …

“It’s minus 8 outside already. Has someone stolen the Gulf Stream?”

Things were touch and go over coverage of a Rugby Football match at The Kings Head and Bell @KingsAbingdon , last night.

“Everyone lost the rugby? Or just us?”.

Then a few minutes later “SIX NATIONS France v Ireland postponed moments before scheduled 2000 GMT kick-off because of a frozen pitch” now it all makes sense.”

Every evening I get a tweet from Oxfordshire County Council “Salting update: gritters will be out across the county from 7pm this evening.” At first it seemed a OTT, but not for the last week. Even the new grit bins have been opened, and are being used.

From Abingdon Camera Club @AbingdonCamera … “Next meeting 16th February, Felicity will talk about Photos by the Riverside, followed by Chris on DSLR exposure. Come and bring a friend.”

The Camera Club run the annual Abingdon Arts Festival photo competition, where there is also an under age 16 section. Closing date 3rd March. Entry forms and rules are available at Abingdon Camera Club .

Soon at the Broad Face @TheBroadFace there will be “live entertainment with Roy Alvin’s Reeds United.”

Lots more where these come from.

I wondered whether I would be able to get to work when the snow was falling. The on line forecast predicted snow before midnight on Thursday, lessening overnight, then getting very cold by Friday night… So far the forecast has been spot on.

By Friday morning the snow had stopped and public transport seemed to be running to time – possibly not the wrong sort of snow, or possibly we are getting better at it.

Friday night did turn very cold and icicles had formed above the weir this morning (Saturday).

I’d love to see a few inches of water left in the outdoor pool for times like these so it could open as an ice rink. The idea is probably not feasible but it would be good to see the area being used out of the swimming season in other ways.

Another recent idea that somebody suggested for the Diamond Jubilee, which got into the Herald, was to move Queen Victoria back to the Market Place. A well placed piece of art there would be good. Maybe something called the Bun Throwers or Bun Catchers would do.

Work has now started in earnest on the land behind the Abbey Gardens to build the care home. A large drill has been operating there.

Another recent idea to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee, that made the Herald front page, was a bandstand. This has long been suggested by the leader of one of Abingdon’s two brass bands, and the people in the care home would get free entertainment.