Night and Day, the sculpture of Mother and Child can be seen near the library in Abingdon.

It is at the intersection of Broad Street and Bury Street.

While walking in Sutton Courtney, a few years ago, I noticed the same familiar Mother and Child sculpture, surrounded by trees, and discovered that is where Franta Belsky, the Czech born sculptor, once had his studio.

Entitled The Lesson, the sculpture in Abingdon bears the inscription ‘In memory of Margaret Belsky‘ . She was a well known newspaper cartoonist in the 1960s, and the wife of the sculptor. The Lesson was one of her favourite works.

It was presented to Abingdon by Franta Belsky, in 1989, the year of his wife’s death, and is the second bronze casting.

The first was unveiled in 1959 in Bethnal Green, London. I presume the verdigris one in Sutton Courtney is a prototype. Franta Belsky died in Abingdon Hospital in July 2000.

(Thanks to an Abingdon Herald article on 21 Sept 1989 called “Sculptor’s memory in Bronze” for some of the original information, and a previous blog post here. It is well worth revisiting.)

The window of Forresters, hair salon, in Abingdon, has a picture of Abingdon Market Place made with snow spray.

We are getting near that time of year when Christmas decorations disappear so I captured it before it went away

Thanks to Ray for sending this picture from last Friday . Ray said “I took this around lunchtime today in the precinct. It was fascinating watching the guy doing his sculpture. He was just starting the puppy on top.“

Peter sent me a picture showing a painting attached to the sign of the Drayton Road development.

Somebody has taken issue about those houses. They are not objecting that they are being built against local people’s wishes, but because they will not make housing affordable.

On Bridge Street a lot of the shops got some overnight Friday night street art. It was not Banksy art, and quite rude in places, and so got removed.