Whoever tends the garden in front of St Helen’s Church Office deserves an Abingdon in Bloom award for keeping such a variety of flowers blooming from spring until to autumn. Walking past there a few days ago there were what we think are Black Eyed Susan.
Evening Primroses
Michaelmas Daisies
and orange berries.
There seemed to be more rides this year – than last year – at the runaway fair.
The weather has been good. So hopefully the show people and the punters had a good afternoon and evening.
With the road closure, it is funny seeing buses unload their passengers at strange places like the Kings Head and Bell. And it’s funny to see the upper deck of double deckers sail by our 1st floor window.
It only happens when
She comes again.
Our little runaway,
run, run, run, runaway.
These days, children’s rides are the main feature of the Runaway Fair that runs on the Monday of the week after the Michaelmas Fair.
In days of old the Michaelmas and Runaway fairs were both hiring fairs. As late as 1884 the Reading Mercury noted there was still some hiring activity at the Abingdon Runaway Fair.
In 1888, the same paper reported that during the “runaway” fair a 71 year old man from Ock Street was killed by a runaway driver.
We read in the same paper in 1897 that little hiring was noticeable, but country people came into town for Michaelmas purchases, and for a fair on the Market Place.
Christmas started today with some Christmas Shopping at the Finishing Touch on Stert Street.
Then onto the Christmas Shopping event at the Abbey Buildings. The annual Craft Fair is not there in its usual form this year. So somebody called Paul has done an excellent job putting on an alternative event.
It was fabulous to meet Patsy on the way in.
Inside we got some interesting gifts for Christmas – only 10 weeks to go.
We tried out some samples, including Dutch beer, ginger drinks, sizzling sausages, and some wax on our shoes.
Also had a go on the Sobel House scratchcards but didn’t win, and saw a blind hedgehog at the Hedgehog Rescue stall. There has been a dramatic fall in Hedgehog numbers in our lifetime.
We met Patsy again on the way out. Here she is joined by Rapunzel, a youngish Cap’n Jack Sparrow, and Mrs Backstreeter.