The shelves of the Budgens store at Northcourt are emptying. Some lines are at half price as the shop prepares to close on Tuesday June 21st.

A poster in the window says the Co-op are recruiting and will be re-opening the store on this site in August 2016. This shop belonged to the Oxford and Swindon Co-operative Society before it became a Budgens in 1999. So the circle is nearly complete.

(Thanks to Alan for pointing out the previous Co-op history)

I got an email asking why the Radley Road Newsagent has been closed for a few weeks now. I was not aware it was closed but did see the shutters were down over the weekend. I said I’d ask if any body knows.

Where Stroll In once was, a new coffee and snack place looks nearly ready to open on Abingdon Market Place. I can see the day coming when there will be more coffee shops than hairdressers in Abingdon Town Centre.

The lights in the ex Co-op supermarket were on this evening. The Co-op closed in July last year, and back then there was speculation that Wilkinson or Iceland would soon move in, but that did not happen. Then some people thought it would be refurbished and Poundland would move across. I have not heard the latest rumours.

The Stan James betting shop in Abingdon’s High Street appears to have closed. The Stan James online business was taken over by Unibet, who now own the name. I read that the remaining 80 UK betting shops need to be renamed in the near future.

Another local gambling machine shop is also closed until further notice.

The government has increased the tax on gambling machines. It is now at 20% for machines taking more than 20p bets, 25% for machines that allow bets of £5 and over.