Rowers from Abingdon School, and Abingdon Rowing Club, are often to be seen out – early – on one of the best stretches of the River Thames – that is the stretch between Abingdon Bridge and Culham Lock.
The willow tree leaning from the Margaret Brown gardens trails weeping branches near the water.
The adult swans have parted company from their young. I read, while investigating the origins of Valentine’s Day yesterday, of an old Oxfordshire country notion that birds start pairing up from February 14th.
The mist soon lifts and, as the sky turns blue, St Helen’s Church becomes as clear as the Iron Bridge.
Beautiful pictures!
Agreed … quite stunning. Abingdon could do with some decent postcards … there’s an opportunity for you there, backstreeter.
Such beautiful photos, Abingdon looks so atmospheric in the mist.
Sorry to high jack this thread but like many readers of this excellent blog I often get somewhat baffled by councilor Ian Littlejohns perspective on reality? Or to put it another way why does he continue to distort the truth to suite his own standing ? In particular his differing statements to those of his coleagues?
Town council leader ( and his boss) sandy Lovatt said in an interview with the loval media that the guildhall was a loss making white elephant , however a Cllr Littlejohns said this was inaccurate reporting by an in experienced reporter! In trying to establish who’s telling the truth, cllt Lovatt or Littlejohns I wrote to Katie Mercer, the journalist who interviewd cllr Lovatt, this is her reply,
“I can confirm that he ( Lovatt) described the building as, and I quote, a white elephant, his exact words were ” it’s turned out to be a bit of an expensive white elephant to be honest” Katie went on to say she has the notes from the interview, but more importantly said ” Ian Littlejohns has never met or spoke to me so his knowledge of my career is frankly baffling. It is completely inaccurate”
Is nobody safe from your.loose tongue councillor?
Hear! Hear! Elsie
Fantastic pictures, Backstreeter – keep them coming.
“has never met or spoke to me so his knowledge of my career is frankly baffling” – Captainkaos2
…well even I can work out you are a tedious wind bag. Go take it up with whoever your delusions point at as being out to get you instead of boring the rest of us with it.
Lovely pictures, The river is a gem.
Well, Pete, I reckon that it’s quite interesting that we’re being fed two different stories about the Guildhall from the council and that one of the sources appears to be quite happy to speak with authority about an interview he wasn’t at and make dismissive comments about a journalist he’s never met. This is the towns taxpayers’ funds (yours and mine), which could be being poured down a money pit and I’m surprised that you’re so dismissive. I’m glad that people are Interested enough in what’s happening in the town to keep the councils (note use of plural) in check.
If the taxpayers’ money isn’t wasted it could be spent on keeping the town looking as attractive as it does in the above photographs.
I stand by my earlier comments.
I have never made any comments about the journalist’s experience – simply that she is new to the town and therefore may not be familiar with the project.
The point i take issue with in the article is not the one Steve has raised. The guildhall is indeed exoensive to run which is the whole point of the redevelopment. The statement i disagree with is that the guildhall is being closed to save money. It is bring closed so that it can be redeveloped to deliver a new cinema and entertainment facility to Abingdon.
i wont bother repeating my earlier answers to Newcomer’s jobes – they are tedious in the extreme.
…just read back and to clarify…
I have no comment on journalist’s journalistic experience, just her experience of abingdon and specifically the guildhall project.
Previous comment wasn’t very clear on my part.
Does anyone know what is to be built and the site close to the boundry Pub?
For god’s sake shut the heck up you dreary self important old farts… yes, that’s both of you newcomer & Iain… go take up base jumping or something and do the world a favour.
Lovely photos. I don’t know about British values. I hate the personal attacks of politics. People cannot put forward points of view and be judged on there merit but they have to resort to the ‘Yah boo sucks’, kind of arguments. Same with the daily papers. It is all about personal insults rather than policies. It is all so juvenile.
All these comments about local councillors etc should be on the Abingdon First website not this one
…I quite enjoy the banter actually. If I didn’t…I’d probably think to stop reading it.
I quite enjoy it as well, Daniel. It would be even better if people would try to put me down with a bit of creativity and panache. Such vanilla imaginations …
Perhaps Backstreeter could designate one day a week as “Abingdon grouse day” when the usual suspects (which I admit has been known to include me) could engage in their usual “banter”, but other than that, complaints should be just about the topic of the day, rather than hijacking other threads?
Iain, why is the Guildhall to close at the end of August, when no work is to commence until Christmas, if not to save money? Surely it would be better to get that extra 4 months revenue?
I agee that people should be able to comment on issues different from the “pic of the day”, (incidentally lovely photos, Backstreeter), but there are only so many different comments that you can make about stunning views/photos, and I for one AM interested in the views of the people of Abingdon on matters that affect all of us! I am also sure, that IF Backstreeter was averse to the comments on his blog that aren’t relevant, he as moderator could quite easily delete them or block them. I certainly do not consider them to be from “dreary self important farts” or “tedious windbags”, and would rather hear their points of views than personal attacks from ‘Pete’ who I am sure probably doesn’t even know the people he is attacking to be able to form a sensible opinion of them, and so resorts to puerile insults! As for not posting on non-relevant topics, unless you have a crystal ball and know when Backstreeter is next going to post somthing about the Guildhall…are we supposed to wait and just not say anything?!
….I think hijacking a thread is reasonable, if it let’s people know what is going on…even if it is merely a counter argument or opinion or interpretation of the facts…or new facts.
How else are we supposed to find out about such things?
Soon to be introduced the ‘Grouse in Abingdon’ weekly page. Not that I mind pages getting hikacked. But see how it works.
Will these be spontaneous, free-form grousing events, Backstreeter, or will you be be presenting a grousing theme? If the latter, will it be acceptable to grouse about the grousing theme which you’ve suggested?
Well Julian I can tell the sort of self important opinion on bloody everything type who you are an example of. Your post is nothing more than a flabby self justification of yet another same old same old diatribe wittering on and on and on and on as if anyone cares at all about what tiny little thoughts you may have. Perhaps you and the rest of the tedious old bore club could lock yourselves in a small room and waffle one another to death and spare the rest of us the painful tedium of the experience. But of course you probably won’t, as you’ll likely be propping up a bar Farage style boring the pants of any unfortunate that comes within range on your latest hobby horse… which will be the same as the last hobby horse and the one before that.
Good for you Backstreeter, a weekly grouse page is a great idea.
…it IS a good idea, but there are other online ‘grouse’ pages already around if people want to be reminded that Abingdon isn’t all flowers and kittens – Spotted, Abingdon first, Abingdon Facebook…no doubt others….