Monthly Archives: August 2019

Kingfisher Canoe Club progress

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Kingfisher Canoe Club
As many of you will have read in the Abingdon Herald, the Kingfisher Canoe Club has been granted permission to put up a canoe storage hut on the land near Abingdon Lock – owned by the Environment Agency (it is the grassy area surrounded by trees indicated).

The Canoe Club had to leave their previous base on land owned by the army at Wilsham Road. The army will be demolishing and rebuilding their buildings on the site. Then a year or so ago the Vale of White Horse District Council backed out of a plan to allow the storage hut on meadow land near the lock.
Kingfisher Canoe Club
So this plan is the last chance for the canoe club to carry on. They have a strong record of helping local residents get active on the river for over 40 years. They also do a lot to inspire and train young people.

There is still paperwork needs doing by the Vale to ensure the lease with the EA goes through. So that could still potentially hold up the project.

In the meantime , the canoe club are looking for grants and company sponsorship to help them with funding. They are a registered charity and are run entirely by volunteers with members. Please contact David Surman via davidsurman@hotmail.com or www.kingfishercanoeclub.co.uk.

A very recognisable corner of the Market Place

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Phone Box
Diana asks if anybody can identify the artist, or maybe even the couple, in this painting of a very recognisable corner of the Market Place. It is the corner where the phone boxes were removed last week! Diana picked it up in a charity shop in town recently and says “sadly this is just a reproduction that has been trimmed to fit it into the frame so no signature or other identifier.” She is curious to know if it was by a local artist. She has checked with the museum but they have drawn a blank.
Phone Box
Here is what the telephone boxes looked like.

According to the Guardian “At their peak there were 92,000 payphones across the UK, and queues in the street were a familiar sight at the busiest ones.“. In 2019 they are almost obsolete.

Opening and Closing on the High Street

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Openings and Closings on the High Street
The Old Chemist have the boards outside
Openings and Closings on the High Street
and will be reopening on 22nd August. Good luck to them on their relaunch after staff changes.
Openings and Closings on the High Street
Over the road William Hill have closed. William Hill announced a month ago that they would be closing around 700 of their licensed betting shops after the government changed the maximum stake on betting machines from £100 to £2.