Peter Del at Abingdon Camera Club


Abingdon Camera Club were at the Abingdon Clubs and Societies day. Members range from some outstanding photographers to near beginners, all with one aim – to improve their hobby in an enjoyable atmosphere.

One of the seriously good photographers was Peter Delehar. The top two pictures in the display were by him. He regularly commented on this blog as Peter Del and sent pictures, such as the one of the Lunar Eclipse in 2015.

It is with sadness that I belatedly learned yesterday of Peter’s Death. An obituary is at Obituary – Peter Delehar/. It goes behind a paywall after one view. More of Peter’s pictures can be seen on the Abingdon Camera Club website, under galleries.

Here is an extract from the obituary (I hope the family will permit this):

He originally trained as a photographer and was then attracted to dealing in antique scientific instruments. He founded the Scientific Instrument Fair and ran it for some years.

In 1985, he was diagnosed with leukaemia. He was successfully treated via a bone marrow transplant from his elder sister. With decades of support and care from the NHS, Peter survived for another 37 years.

Peter retired to Oxfordshire, where he rediscovered his love of nature photography and his local camera club. He was a lifelong member of the Royal Photographic Society.

It was Peter’s wish that donations are sent in his name to the Blood Cancer Society, a charity devoted to leukaemia research (bloodcancer.org.uk).

Abingdon Clubs and Societies Day 2023 – 1 of 4

The Abingdon Clubs and Societies Day was at the Guildhall in Abingdon today. There were 33 stalls in 4 assembly rooms, and I will feature some of them over the next four days.

Thames Ridge Scouts provide activities for hundreds of young people across Abingdon, Appleton, Chilton, Didcot, Dry Sandford, Hagbourne, Harwell, Marcham, Kingston Bagpuize and Sutton Courtenay. They are looking for leaders to help.

Abingdon Community Walks help people to be more active with walks led by friendly leaders. Their organised walks help people to get fit, explore Abingdon, and make new friends. Contact them through vivboorman531 @ btinternet.com.

The Oxfordshire Chinese Brush Painting Group meet online and in person for lessons on practising this ancient art. During and since Covid, they have lessons from a master in China. For more information contact ocpb.art @ gmail.com.

The latest initiative from Healthy Abingdon is to set up a junior park run over a 2 km course, and they are looking for volunteers to help from 8:40 to 9:40 each Sunday. Training will be given. Contact information at https://healthyabingdon.org.uk/.

Abingdon Carousel Family Center in South Abingdon helps young families. They also have a SEND group (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). They have 241 families currently involved at the centre and need more volunteers as they get more popular. They are supported by grants from Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council and others but still need help fundraising.

First Shops at Reynolds Way

The shops at Reynolds Way were first recorded in the 1965 Abingdon Directory, and at that time, not all the units were taken.

The first shops were P. Holmes & Son, Bakers and Confectioners, their third shop.

Peta Ladies Hairdresser

Cottrells, butchers. Their 5th shop.

At 13/15,  Wattes (Provisions Stores).

By 1969 only P Holmes & Son was still there:
1, Durham (Fish Fryer)
3, Arnold and Son
5, P Holmes & Son (Baker & Confectioner)
7, Lowe (Ladies’ Hairdresser)
9, Wiblin (Butcher)
11, West S. Helen’s Fruiterers
13/15 Lapwoods (Provisions Stores)

Cost-of-living crisis: need for Citizens Advice soars


At the recent Abingdon Town Council parish meeting, there was a report by the Abingdon Citizens Advice Bureau. (Here are my notes.)

South and Vale Citizens Advice is a local charity with advice hubs at Abingdon, Didcot, Henley and Thame, and they have to fundraise locally. They received funds from Abingdon Town Council, the two district councils, most other parish councils, and other groups. 123 volunteers help give free impartial advice, and a small staff team support the service.

Demand for advice has soared because of the cost-of-living crisis; the complexity of cases has increased. Some people are overwhelmed by problems. Citizens Advice have about 4000 clients in the Abingdon office, and the biggest demand comes from the Caldecott area. The most frequent issues are: benefits, fuel debt (a new issue and now second most frequent), and council tax arrears. More people need food banks and fuel support.

The data they collect on issues locally help in campaigning nationally. In 2022 Citizens Advice saw more people who couldn’t top up their prepayment meter than in the whole of the last 10 years combined. This helped lead their recent campaign on pre-payment meters.

There was mainly online support during Covid restrictions, but now more support is being given face-to-face.