This evening at the Miele Experience Centre business leaders from Abingdon met and talked with the Secretary of State for Business, Vince Cable. He was also presented with a Choose Abingdon loyalty card by the the new Chairman of The Choose Abingdon Partnership, Bryan Brown. The Oxford Mail will have a fuller report including what Mr Cable learnt from his visit.

Blockbuster UK entered administration today, casting doubt over the future of the last video (DVD and games) rental shop in Abingdon (at Peachcroft shops).

Back in the 1990s every row of shops seemed to have a video rental business.

Commentators say that business has been lost to online rentals. But, if our family is anything to go by, business has also been lost to a return to watching films at the cinema.

Nearby, outside Budgens, beside the big peas, I see that Abingdon Town Council could take over from the Vale of White Horse District Council as the main fund provider for the Abingdon Arts Festival from 2014 and save it from administration.

Below, I see that HMV have a big sale, as they too have just gone into administration. You can read on the Not Abingdon Blog how HMV Christmas gift cards have been declared worthless by the heartless administrator Deloitte.

F Knight & Son, on Ock Street, have a modern looking building in the 1960s sense of the word modern. Earlier the building was used by Ballards who, if I remember rightly, traded in agricultural and garden machinery, and then changed to Ballards top end of the market car sales.

According to the name scratched into the girders the shop was built by a local builder, J Drew and Son.

Knights is a shops used by tradesmen and the general public for buying tools fixings, electrical, plumbing and decorating supplies.

The future of Jessops in Abingdon Market Place is in doubt after the company went into administration today.

Last weekend I went in to pick up some prints that had been delayed because the printing machine was out of order. The prints were delayed further because of problems getting a part. Maybe that was all symptomatic of larger difficulties.

On 25th Feb 2006 this blog reported that Jessops were taking over from That Camera Place and would now compete with Klick.

Klick is now the Cutting Bar. What will become of Jessops?