I followed these two horses up West St Helen Street, along Lombard Street, up East St Helen Street (contra flow like a lot of push bikes seem to do), and then down Bridge Street to the show ground on Rye Farm. Most horses came from further afield and needed transport but it is good to see local horses riding through town.

The annual Abingdon Horse Show went on throughout the day. There was a cool start to the day, when I looked in, but by afternoon it was getting quite hot. A loudspeaker commentates on the jumping which usually seems to end in 4 faults, but from time to time they will announce that a xxxxxxx coloured horse next to a van with registration number xxxx xxx is acting a little agitated. Can the owner please return and tend to it!

The owners do devote such a lot of attention to their animals and quite rightly. They are wonderful animals. I’m just glad to see them all come to visit Abingdon once a year.

A little while back this blog featured a coot’s nest below the Margaret Brown Gardens.

Since then the nest has drifted, or been rebuilt, near the railings, and people are still throwing things in at it. There is the remains of a chip cone, and so much bread that the coots never need go out to find food.

There is also a chick, under the protection of the mother’s wing, with a little red head – as bald as a vulture. But despite that, mum still looks very proud.

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Thanks to Dave’s comment(1). He thinks the nest I show is of another pair and sent this picture of the original nest ….

Dave says “I thought that this drifting boat may have caused this coot to abandon this nest or perhaps the recent thunder storm was the cause. I suspect that these coots have moved across to the other side of the river although I think that their chick may not have survived.”

The coot’s nest in question is built a few feet away from the bank of a well frequented public garden in Abingdon. On Friday the coot’s nest was decorated with primula.

During Friday night a traffic cone, and green bin cover found their way in near the nest. They were removed on Monday morning.

But now the nest is surrounded by shopping bags full of I don’t know what. So much bread finds its way down there that the male coot is forever chasing away ducks.