I was surprised not once but twice on going through the Tesco car park yesterday.

A Britain’s Got Talent bus had arrived as part of a promotional tour celebrating 30 years of Tesco Clubcard, which sponsors the show. Visitors had a chance to win tickets to the Britain’s Got Talent final and other Clubcard souvenirs.

On the same side of the carpark, recent clearing has revealed drainage ditches, forming what looks like a moat around an island of trees. None of this was visible before.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) will open a foodhall at the Fairacres Retail Park in Abingdon as part of a wider plan to open twelve new stores in former Homebase sites. The Abingdon store is one of the first confirmed locations and will open in late 2025 subject to planning permission.

The other empty unit in the Fairacres Retail Park was filled when Wren Kitchens opened a showroom on 16th May 2025, relocating from the Botley Road in Oxford. The unit was previously Carpetright.

A new Vietnamese Café and Noodle Bar on Stert Street opened for a soft launch on 26th April. After a few small adjustments, it’s now been open for a couple of weeks and is doing well.

There was once a Vietnamese café called Ha Noi on Stert Street — named after Vietnam’s capital city.  The new cafe’s name Cây Khê is more rural and poetic and means starfruit tree.

A new barber has opened in Abingdon, on the High Street, founded by two barbers who have worked in the town for 6 and 12 years respectively. Drawing on their knowledge and client base, they’ve joined forces to launch their own business. They provide another option to anybody looking to get their hair cut in Abingdon.