The VWHDC (Vale of White Horse District Council) sent out this picture from May 2018 of two mattresses left outside the Sue Ryder charity shop. It was part of a press release warning against leaving donations out of hours at charity shops.

The usual course of action would be to arrange for the mattresses to be taken to a registered waste and recycling centre so they could be disposed of legally.

Initially the person who left the mattresses outside the shop was given a £240 fixed penalty notice with the option to pay in installments. That was not paid, and was followed by a court summons and the total bill with fines and costs went up to £1300.

Cllr Elaine Ware, Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment at VWHDC said: “If you wish to donate items to charity you must check first that they are happy to accept them.  If you simply dump goods next to a shop then you are fly-tipping and could face a fine or prosecution.”

Even more costly was a donation to Acacia UK in Abingdon that was set alight. The shop is still boarded up eleven months later.

There is a planning application (dated 1st August 2018) for the shop to ‘Strip out of modern materials following a fire to inspect historic materials and form/agree repair plan.’

Thankyou to Paul from Abingdon on Thames Chamber of Commerce for the Press Release and Paul Viney for the picture. It shows Helen Flynn, Brittany Brooks and Jaimie Lewis from Pablo Lounge, Stefanos Georgiou from Throwing Buns, Jill Carver from Added Ingredients, T.T. from T.T. Jewellers, Sarah Dennis from Mostly Books, and Paul.

Helen Flynn proposed this new scheme to keep Abingdon tidy, and ensure our town looks its best whether the sun is out or not. Local businesses have been tidying outside their premises for many years, and now they can receive a certificate showing their commitment to the cause.

This and subsequent initiatives are intended to increase litter awareness and personal responsibility and make Abingdon a clean and litter free town.

The South Abingdon Children’s Centre should be up and running fairly soon with baby clinics and other useful groups organised by the new charity Carousel.

During the life of this blog the Reynolds Way wall has been decorated on a two occasions with murals but nobody has had a go at a face lift for the Reynolds Way shops. Such a project probably depends on who is the landlord but it would be so nice to see some of the Abingdon in Bloom displays adding a new dimension to this view

Work continues on the former Saxton Arms. New windows with dark frames have been added at the front, and flats added at the back.

The grass looks parched alongside the black surrounds to some of the play equipment at Caldecott Recreation Ground.

Canada Geese are doing very well. According to the RSPB there are four times more of them than fifty years ago. They will eat grass and aquatic plants but also gather for meals of chips and bread, and leave large quantities of poo all over the place. They are not unattractive birds but do seem to be taking over from native species.

Peter writes The OCC Highways dept seem to have a policy of not cleaning weeds from kerb edges and adjacent pavements. Whilst it maybe a short term money saving success the long term damage to kerbs and pavements could be colossal. The attached picture shows an extreme sized weed in Hadland Road. It must be about 3 feet tall. Peter asks has anyone seen a bigger specimen?

Well I don’t like to boast but I have seen fairly large weeds breaking through the car park that belonged to the Upper Reaches.

The back of the Ex Bellingers garage also has a mass of weeds breaking through as it waits to get permission for whatever development happens there. Not OCC highway but it does shows how quickly nature can take over a vacant plot.