The Christmas Craft Market was on the Market Place in Abingdon today.

Some of the Park Run runners meet at Java & Co after their 5 km run.

The Town Crier is seen here in front of a local honey stall and Beyond Bubbles. There must have been about sixteen stalls on the Market. It is organised by Abingdon-on-Thames Chamber of Commerce who seem to do far more than the BID (Business Improvement District) ever did. The Chamber represents the shops.

Looking round the shops, finishing touch is a Christmas Wonderland, full of decorations and gifts.

Abingdon Sports have festive footballs and rugby balls alongside some warm looking gloves.

It will soon be time for the blog’s annual round up of gains and losses in Abingdon Town Centre.

Thursday 5 pm to 8 pm  is a late shopping night on Stert Street and some other independent shops.

Then Saturday is Small Business Saturday – with civic car parks free. There is also a Christmas Craft Market all day Saturday.

Free parking also happens on 14th and 21st December – to encourage us to do some Christmas Shopping in the Town Centre.

Abingdon Beer Festival returns to the Abbey Buildings on Friday and Saturday.

Also on Saturday 7th December Abingdon Town Band have their Christmas Concert.

Then on Sunday, Fourhorsemen events told me ‘We’ll have many stalls selling many different items and a kitchen offering a variety of different foods.‘  Looking at their facebook page they try to attract stalls selling antiques, collectibles, and crafts.

With Christmas on its way, one could easily forget there is a general election. The result will be announced on Friday 13th.

Waitrose in Abingdon had all the new parts of the store reopened from today.

This is the third Waitrose store in Oxfordshire to trial ‘Unpacked’ after Oxford’s Botley Road, which has been running for a few months, and Wallingford, which is very recent. Customers can take and weigh their own containers and refill them in the “Refillable” zone with: lentils, rice and pasta, dried fruit, breakfast cereals, seeds etc. . There are also wines and beers on tap; unpacked frozen fruits; coffee beans for grinding in-store; and Ecover detergents and washing liquids. The aim is to give people the choice to buy things with less disposable packaging. You can still buy most of these products in wrappers elsewhere in the store.

Other changes included reconfigured areas of shelving; the cafe area is walled off from the store and called Waite & Rose; and outside are some new cash machines.

I did not notice a big change in the unwrapped range in the fruit and vegetables section. That may be to come. The Unwrapped trial in Oxford had a lot more unwrapped fruit and veg.

The fruit and veg section has been expanded but is mixed with more pre-processed vegetables like the new range of sliced potatoes.

Some Christmas Lights are already on in Abingdon. In Bury Street the lights were put up last night and turned on without ceremony. The rest of the town’s lights were put up last week and will get turned on at the Extravaganza. This two phase turn on is quite normal for Abingdon where the company running Bury Street do their own thing.

The Book Store has got some reindeer and snow to make the window festive. Other shops in Bury Street are also looking festive.