A couple of shops are currently being fitted out in Abingdon town centre. One is in the former Abingdon Sports shop on High Street, but there is yet to be a sign of what it will be. The other is in Bath Street and will be a tech repair shop.
The gas pipe laying work in Bath Street appears to be complete now.
It was a sunny day in Abingdon today.
I saw this new post box topper on the Market Place this evening. It’s a sign that autumn is coming, and it’s been a really rainy week. The puddles on the roads have been growing and shrinking and growing and shrinking again and again from all the rain.
The previous topper, which I didn’t write about then, showed pupils returning to school at the beginning of the month. Then, all the problems with RAAC concrete started. One Abingdon school closed in the first week because they might have had some RAAC but didn’t. Then another Abingdon school discovered they did have RAAC and closed the week after. I didn’t know what RAAC concrete was before this month, but I do now. RAAC is a lightweight form of precast concrete, frequently used in public sector buildings in the UK from the mid-1960s to the 1990s. It was invented in Sweden in the 1930s and has limited durability, and must be monitored. As should most concrete. I don’t expect the multi-storey to have a RAAC problem, but it has been partially closed for a long time now.
Autumn will bring a lot more shocks and thrills. For one thing Abingdon Street Fair posters have been let down in empty shops as a reminder that Autumn could be a wild ride.
The Friends of the Abbey Buildings Trust have put the former curator’s house on the market. The house located at Checker Walk (incorporating 18 Thames Street) is grade II listed and is thought to be of 16th-century origins and much restored. The front downstairs room was also used as a changing room for the Unicorn Theatre and the office of the Friends of Abingdon but is not generally open to the public.
The sale of the house is an opportunity for someone to own an Abingdon landmark. For sale details see https://www.thomasmerrifield.co.uk/properties/12119143-checker-walk-incorporating-18-thames-street-abingdon-on-thames/.
This could be to release funds towards the enhancement project to make the next-door Grade I listed Abbey Buildings fully accessible, weather-tight and with adequate modern services to allow for all-year use. The Abbey Buildings project was granted round one development funding of £256,000 by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, allowing it to progress with its enhancement plans towards National Lottery Heritage Fund second round funding, where a final decision is made on the full funding award of £2,500,000.
The Abbey Buildings were acquired by the Friends of Abingdon in the 1940s.
The Abingdon Passion Play is holding auditions on Saturday, September 23rd from 2:30pm at Peachcroft Christian Centre. All actors and singers are welcome to audition.
The play will be performed on June 22nd, 2024. It is a retelling of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and will feature a cast of over 100 people. This will be the 4th Abingdon Passion Play. Previous performances were in 2013, 2016 and 2019.
To register for an audition, please visit the Abingdon Passion Play website at www.abingdonpassionplay.co.uk..
The other event relating to the Passion Play is a fundraising concert. You can pay to attend, and the money will help fund the play.