A late afternoon walk by the Thames in Abingdon

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Pictures from a few days ago.

The sky is blue and the river is calm, reflecting the colours of autumn, from yellows to rusty reds. On the right, the bank leads from Abingdon Bridge to Abingdon Lock, a short distance of half a mile.

Looking across the river to Cosener’s House, we see the newly restored stone wall and grotto, their surfaces now clean and bare. In the garden, a summer house sits near a golden tree that glows in the sunlight, a contrast to the darker evergreens.

At Abingdon Weir, looking back over the churning, frothy water, a “mackerel sky” stretches across the horizon. The cloud pattern resembles the scales of a fish, with scattered patches of white and grey clouds. The low sun brightens the central clouds, silhouetting the bare trees as evening approaches.

St Michael’s Christmas Craft Fair

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At St Michael and All Angels Church last Saturday there was an art and craft fair together with a jumble sale

There were lots of stalls and every corner was taken. Even the font served as a display area for clothes and bags.

You could guess the name of the bear to win a bear, and guess where Reverend Paul Smith was hidden on a grid of the church and win a box of biscuits. I did not see Paul who must be extra busy these days now Revd Charles Millar has moved away.

Handbell ringers provided musical enjoyment, and a representative from Flexicare shared his story. As the parent of a disabled child, he was grateful for the organisation’s trained sitters, who enable parents to attend events and outings like school meetings or the cinema. He now volunteers for Flexicare, who help families within a ten-mile radius of Oxford, including Abingdon. Half the money raised from the event went to Flexicare, and half to church funds.

Nigel Carter Celebrates 80th Birthday at the Phab Club

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Nigel Carter, the organiser of the Phab (Physically Handicapped Able Bodied) club, along with his wife Barbara, recently celebrated his 80th birthday. To mark the occasion, their son Paul organised a special evening of karaoke, followed by a party spread.

The club is held in Christchurch hall. The festivities continued in the church, where the male voice choir rehearse at the same time as Phab every Thursday evening. The choir sang a medley ending with “Happy Birthday” .

Nigel expressed his gratitude to the choir and shared a personal anecdote or two and then revealed that he is half Welsh (he couldn’t say which half, upper or lower).

He then had the privilege of choosing a song to be performed in his honour and selected the Welsh hymn, “Calon Lân” which the choir sang beautifully.

Progress on the new houses in North Abingdon in November 2024

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Outside the Aldi supermarket on the Wootton Road there have been roadworks since the start of September to replace the old gas mains. They have caused tailbacks particularly back along Copenhagen Drive.

Most of the houses at the Kings Gate development have been finished. There are still a few to be built close to the A34

There is no road sign yet for these houses but I did see a food bin with the name Hasnip Mead, presumably named after Audrey Hasnip, or possibly Keith Hasnip, both of whom were Mayors of Abingdon.

Walking through the Abbey Fields development there are three cross roads that end at the fence with the A34: Gower Road, Knights Mead, and Cox Way. There was Brian Gower Shoes. F Knight & Sons ran the hardware store that is now Sydenhams. And Cox? There have been two mayors of Abingdon with the name Cox, a Mayor of Ock Street called Cox, a local historian called Mieneke Cox, and various businesses called Cox. But I am probably missing the most obvious Cox.

There is still a lot of building activity in Abbey Fields.

Further along is The Meadows, where building work is fairly new. There is a new marketing suite, the third marketing suite on the walk.

Arriving at the Oxford Road Roundabout, work on upgrading the roundabout, planned to be completed in Autumn 2024, has been stalled for some months. Autumn ends on November 30th and so two weeks remain to meet that target. Beyond can be seen Radley Reach.

At Radley Reach are completed buildings and a lot of buildings work in progress and another marketing suite. It does not look as if anybody has moved in yet.