During the first week of December, the row of bollards along St Helen’s Wharf in Abingdon was decorated with crochet covers. The robin and Christmas pudding designs alternate. Last year there were just Christmas Puddings and half of those have reappeared for the second year joined by well rounded robins.
Somebody’s hard work has brought festive cheer to this picturesque spot by the Thames.
The Midget pub in Abingdon is set to reopen on Friday, December 13th, 2024, under a new name: The Roaring Raindrop. The new name pays tribute to the last record-breaking MG car made in Abingdon.
The old name honoured the record-breaking 750cc MG ‘Magic’ Midget cars of the 1930s, produced in Abingdon. It was a clever name as MG appears in both Magic and Midget.
The pub has been closed for a revamp and rebranding following an online petition signed by over 1,000 people who objected to the name ‘The Midget’ which when applied to small people is insulting. The name was changed from ‘The Magic Midget’ to ‘The Midget’ in about 2002.
The address of the pub is The Roaring Raindrop, Midget Close, Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
The tail end of Storm Darragh lasted through much of the day, bringing gusts across Abingdon. While small twigs and debris are scattered about, I haven’t seen any significant damage. In Roysse Court, the Christmas tree light sculpture has toppled over onto the grass. The real tree is still standing.
Pam Ayres was at the Book Store for a book signing of her new book ‘Doggedly Onwards’. It is a lifetime of poems, with some biography. Pam grew up in the Vale of White Horse, and her Berkshire accent is instantly recognisable.
Despite the wild winds, Abingdon folks turned out in force to buy the book and meet Pam who chatted with each of them, making them feel like old friends.
I told Pam I’d be spending the afternoon at another poetry event in Abingdon. Daniel Sluman, a talented poet, was reading his work to the Ock Poets at Unit 24 Bury Street, just across the way. Pam said, “You are having a poetical day.”
Daniel, a recent arrival to Abingdon, was shortlisted for the prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize for his 2021 book, Single Window. He read poems from his three published books and two poems from his forthcoming fourth collection.