One result of bringing youth services together at the NET in Abingdon is that office space has been freed up elsewhere. Connexions, the agency charged with helping to find young people work, are to move into the NET, and so have moved out of  Publishing House in Stert Street.

Publishing House could well be redeveloped as part of the plans for the Charter Area. It is the first sight people get of the centre of Abingdon, and so needs to be made to look more welcoming.

The probation service have also moved from 1-3 Ock Street and so there is Grade II Office space vacated there too. I have no idea where they went.

After the Abingdon Chamber of Commerce event on the Market Place, I could put faces to some well known local names.

Slade Legal, previously known as Hodsons, have their Abingdon Office opposite Coxeters. They also operate from Didcot and Wallingford. The recent name change helps to differentiate them from Hodsons, the Estate Agent.

There was Redmayne Bentley, the Stockbrokers from Stert Street. They had a couple of competitions running: guess the weight of their dog, and guess which share from the FTSE 100 will do best over the rest of the year. I sometimes pause to watch the TV screen in their window – especially when shares are in turmoil, although I was on holiday last week and missed the excitement.  Hopefully shares will bounce back to give us a decent pension.

There was also Greg from Blue Door Lettings – and more recently Blue Door House Sales. Greg started blogging in 2005 a month or so before me. We have met at some recent Fair Trade meetings, but until today I had not put face to name.

Next Saturday is Fair Trade day on the Market Place – also organised by the revitalised Chamber of Commerce.

I came back to Abingdon to find a group of young people on the Market Place with placards saying “Tesco… Every Little Hurts.”

There was also a protest outside the old Ox Pub at 2pm. Tesco already has a fairly dominant share of the Abingdon retail market. The Ox would become the third Tesco outlet.

Recently a Tesco Express opened in what was the Fitzharris Arms – very close to an existing convenience store called The One Stop.

The Ox pub is going the same way – taking on the Tesco colours – and right next door to another convenience store called Best One.