Abingdon is a place where broken things are put right. For some time the town has hosted Repair Cafés and cycle workshops, run by the Carbon Cutters, helping people mend rather than discard.

Last Saturday the Community Space in Unit 25 Bury Street was busy throughout the day. Sewing machines hummed as clothes were patched and altered. Small appliances were opened up on tables, tools were sharpened, and there were people there to adjust new bicycles bought at Christmas. People came and went with items that might otherwise have ended up in the bin, and the volunteers were busy.

From this Saturday there is a new repair space opening up. Along Ferry Walk (off Wilsham Road), beside the Make Space sea container, a shed has appeared on a small fenced patch of ground.

The Shed Space launches this Saturday. Help is being sought to assemble and paint the workshop. You can then find out what is planned next.

John Killick led a tour of the garden at St Ethelwold’s House on the theme of biodiversity.

He spoke about how, throughout history, humans have spread across the world and hunted many animals to extinction. In more recent times, large areas of the earth’s surface have been covered with hard materials such as aggregate which reduces natural habitats.

The group visited a rock supporting lichens, a cooperative growth of fungus and algae, before learning about grasses, which are wind-pollinated and do not rely on insects. John discussed which flowers best support insects, and the role of trees in providing habitats. The garden’s walnut tree, though not native, still benefits many creatures – and an oak tree would support even more.

Afterwards, thanks to Susie and other volunteers, scones were served

Donations were invited for the St Ethelwold’s building appeal, which is now well over halfway to its £70,000 target (currently at £44,000). Thanks to a generous supporter, any contributions made this month (from the 10th Sept to 10th Oct) will be matched – up to £10,000 – doubling their impact.

Here is an update on three infrastructure projects that this blog has reported on recently:

The hole in the retaining wall and the bridge uprights at the site of the former Upper Reaches Hotel are being repaired.

The new footbridge at the Kings Gate estate is now in use, although one sign still reads ‘Footpath Ahead Closed.’

The Cattle Market car park, once the poor relation of Abingdon’s car parks, now has brickwork parking bays in place of tarmac.

On arriving at the Tesco Superstore in Abingdon, visitors are now met with blue fencing enclosing large areas of vegetation.

The fencing surrounds the trees, bushes, and undergrowth, as well as the deep water storage areas and ditches.

In the area with a ditch between Tesco and the new hotel, the undergrowth and smaller trees have been cut back and chipped.

The fencing carries signs saying: “Building Infrastructure Improvement – Improving your environment for the better.” However, no details have been provided in what way it will be better.

Clearing vegetation will make the site more accessible for further development. As no planning applications are visible, my first guess is that this is a drainage improvement project — to try to reduce the frequent flooding of the Tesco car park.

But if anybody knows better then please let us know.