Yesterday the Country Market were in the Day Centre in the Charter.
You had to get there fairly early to buy one of their Christmas ‘Figgy’ Puddings. They don’t actually contain figs but are full of raisins, currants and brandy.
When the last one was gone there was no use singing ‘I won’t go until I get some‘.
The Country Market are there on the 2nd Saturday of each month – next one is Saturday 14th January 2017.
Lovely market.
Did i hear that it is Aldi that’ll be moving into Beales’ unit in Fairacres next year?
These folk, who are all locals, make the most fantastic produce, and are happy to accept orders. They were founder members of Abingdon Farmers Market but were unfairly evicted from their stall there by the jobsworth market committee, heavily influenced, I believe by the bakery stall holders. So sadly I no longer use the farmers market, which in my view is materially weakened by their absence, but I do use the country market regularly. Long may they thrive! Apologies for the mini-rant, but that seems to be what many people use this blog for.
Interesting news, shame that it’s not closer to town and/or where the populous could walk to shop rather than take another car journey to get there.
If Aldi moves into Fairacres then we’ll know that The Vale is just being vindictive about Abingdon town centre.
Is there any Abingdon councilor, at any any level, with the gumption, or courage, to speak out for the town?
I doubt it. They’ve shown not a scintilla of common sense when it’s come to developing the town centre.
The country market stall was a founder member of he Abingdon farmers’ market. It is run by local people and its produce (cakes, quiches, jam, marmalade, as well as figgy puddings) is out of this world. But the jobsworth farmers’ market committee (driven, as I understand) by the bakery stall holders excluded them. Because of that I no longer support the farmers market which in my view is weaker without them, and but I do buy regularly from the folks at the country market. I’ve told the farmers’ market that I’ll return when they reinstall the country market stall. Sorry about the rant. There’s too much ranting on this blog!
A lot to comment about here? Isn’t it odd, or even unfair that the farmers market evicted these good people for fear of them conflicting with their stall holders, yet the Monday market allows a church stall giving out free coffee outside Costa?
Aldi in Fairacres? There are ( or rather were) covenants put in place by the planning authority of the day restricting what goods could be sold there thus protecting town centre vitality, food, clothing, bicycles etc were all prohibited sales so the question is “have the covenants been removed?” If so by who and when?
That said nothing lasts forever and I’d much rather see Aldi “out of town” than have yet more traffic clogging up our already grid locked town centre? Moreover with 100 new homes soon to be built on the old MG site and Aldi going to Fairacres just may be the catalyst for some serious and long overdue traffic planning?
On the subject of new homes has anyone else seen the mobile advertising wagon with massive message/ advert about Morland Gardens? Stamp duty paid, shared ownership schemes, help with deposits, clearly a bit of a sales problem there ? Who did all the new homes need calculations? Clearly they got their numbers wrong!
I’d reccy any area I was considering as a change of address. Commuting is as much about time taken as distance traveled. Would I like to spend 10/20/30 minutes, every workday morning, log-jammed between Morland Gardens and the Ock Street roundabouts?
Morland Gardens wouldn’t even make my long-list.
…but what about the free bicycle newcomer?