On Saturday I popped into Oxfam.

At the Counter I met not only the Oxfam shop manager, and Roger who has worked at the shop for many years, but also a young lady from Mostly Books.…

She had leaflets for an interesting event Mostly Books are hosting on Thursday, 16 November, when Kate Young – the Guardian columnist and prize winning food blogger – will be at Mostly Books to present The Little Library Cookbook. Each recipe starts with a literary quote from her well stocked kitchen and library.

Oxfam have a quiz leading up to Christmas. You just need to pop in for the next five weeks and collect the 5 letters to have the chance to win a big prize.

Directly over the road from Oxfam, a new shop called Willow’s Shakeshop opened two weeks ago. In front they have crafts and gifts, and at the back they have a cafe.

Between Oxfam and Mostly Books is Abingdon Picture Framing.

Oxford Etsy have opened a pop-up shop in Bury Street, Abingdon today. The new shop will be open from 10am – 5.30pm six days a week (closed on Mondays) from 4 November to 17 December.

This is part of the Independent Shops Project – an initiative where the VWHDC have enlisted the help of Iain Nicholson, a town centre specialist. The scheme helps small businesses to fill empty units in the town by creating pop-up shops and also allows retailers to ‘test the waters’ before committing to a permanent location in the town.

Oxford Etsy sell locally handmade items: jewellery, art, prints, candles, greetings cards, children’s clothing, furniture, bags, accessories and home decorations.

Christina O’Hare, who runs her own business, Christina Made It, has co-ordinated the Etsy team and said, “I soon realised there was a high demand for a retail outlet.”

She added, “I contacted Iain who helped me enormously by explaining the process and putting us in contact with the landlords.”

Follow the teams progress on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/oxfordetsyteam.

Abingdon’s most recent takeaway is at the corner of Bridge Street and Turnagain Lane. It opened on 29th September.

This evening felt cooler but the stars looked brighter.

On Nags Head Island there were lights both sides of the bridge. As well as the panoply of lights and flares along the Nag’s Head side, Annie’s at the Boat House was still lit up on the other side.

Annie has been putting on free films for children during half term and up until 31st October, and has many other Halloween themed activities.

A planning application has been submitted for the former Stan James betting shop to become a restaurant. The premises has been empty since May 2016. The proposal includes a first floor roof terrace at the rear, and so the issue of noise and disturbance to residential neighbours nearby is one consideration. Another consideration is the change of use. Before becoming a betting shop in 1998 it was retail.