Abingdon’s History in Picture Postcards

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Abingdon Museum has an exhibition of old picture postcards. From the town centre to parks and historic landmarks, the postcards provides a view into Abingdon’s past.

The exhibition features a diverse collection of postcards, including images of local hotels, residential roads, schools, churches, almshouses, and the river. The museum has displayed the more interesting messages on the back of some of the postcards. Many come from Elizabeth Drury’s Collection.

The museum has also curated a large collection of historical photographs, projected onto a small screen.

The exhibition is scheduled to run until December 22, 2024. You can buy a postcard of Abingdon or the White Horse at the Museum Shop, send it to a friend and say, ‘Wish you were here’ – just like in the old days.

P.S: A selection of postcards from my old collection can be seen on the internet at from my postcard collection blog. The only Abingdon one however is a French lady with an HMS Abingdon sailors hat.

Abingdon Grape Harvest

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The Ox and Bucks Wine Collective, a local community group, concluded their 2024 grape harvest last weekend in Abingdon. Members brought in grapes from their vines, pooling their efforts to produce a collective wine.

The harvest collection took place at two locations:
* Bucksum near Thame on September 29th
* Peachcroft Farm, Abingdon on October 6th

Thanks to Margaret for the pictures.

The volume of grapes was down on 2023. Despite rising temperatures, erratic weather can make it difficult to cultivate grapes in a cooler climate.

The harvested grapes will be processed and bottled, with the finished wine expected to be available for collection in May or June 2025.

Dangerous Gable End Wall and Access Problems in West St Helen Street

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The Vale of White Horse Buildings Control department recently fenced off a passageway adjacent to the Co-op due to concerns about a dangerous gable end wall. This closure has also now impacted Pappy’s Afro Caribbean Takeaway, forcing the business to evacuate their premises temporarily.

The closure of the pavement and dropped kerb has reduced the options for those with disability scooters or wheelchairs.

The pavement on the other side of West St Helen Street has limited turning space. A disability scooter user lost their balance attempting to go that way and struck their head on the wall. So there is an urgent need for improved accessibility.

I rang Building Control at 15:00 today and am awaiting a call back.

Up, Down, and All Around at the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair

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Clouds of candy floss were bagged up for the final day of the Abingdon Michaelmas Fair.  The weather forecast was cloudy with a high chance of precipitation.

But the show went on.

A fire engine was parked by the Abbey Gateway. The fire station is in the middle of the fair and so the fire engine needs to be ready to respond in case of emergency.

The other side of the Abbey Gateway people were enjoying the amusements.

There were dry spells with lengthy showers in-between.

Fine weather for ducks – a prize every time.

Along Ock Street there were plenty of brave people up on the rides, going round and round and up and down.

By the Drayton Road double roundabout there’s a swing roundabout that goes much higher and then down.

The Michaelmas Fair will disappear overnight and be back next weekend in a reduced size as the Runaway Fair.