Were the right people in the stocks?

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Somebody suggested that stocks should be brought back in earnest for people who had had too much to drink the night before, but at the Fairtrade event on the Market Place it was more a chance to throw wet sponges at some well known Abingdon people.
In the Stocks
Paul Townsend – Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce…
In the Stocks
Heather Brown, of Choose Abingdon, answering a call from one of the town centre shops – after getting a dowsing.
In the Stocks
Duncan Brown, last year’s Mayor, getting one right in the googles.

(More pictures of  the Fairtrade event on the Market Place in a bit.)

Petunias and fallen fruit

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Abingdon in Bloom
Normally Abingdon enters Britain in Bloom. It did not happen in 2007 because of the floods. It did not happen again in 2011 because of  “administrative changes.”
Abingdon in Bloom
Petunias now mix with fallen fruit, in this bed, as summer moves on.

Community projects are increasingly important in Britain in Bloom, and not just council show pieces.  This year I have heard of the Carswell School garden, the tree planting on the Ock Valley Walk, and soon there could be a community orchard  – good candidates should Abingdon enter next year.  There could well be others.

Sunset

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Charter Area
I have begun to associate the roads off Boxhill Road with amazing evening skies after my last two visits – that is John Mason Rd, Geoffrey Barber Rd, and Bowyer Rd.
Charter Area
Over the other side of the Oxford Road is the best-one convenience store .

Was forward looking … now seems dated

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Charter Area
Reading the Abbey Shopping Centre and Charter Area development brief by the Vale of White Horse I was struck by the amount of criticism of Abingdon’s 1970s architecture. “At the time of its construction it was innovative and forward looking. Today, however, its environmental quality has declined and it seems dated.”
Charter Area
Spaces in the Charter Area are fragmented, underused and often lined by blank walls. The overhead walkways prevent sun penetration and make the area appear gloomy … the overhead walkways further add to the confused pedestrian routes in this area.
Charter Area
Of Broad Street … Currently the environment is of poor quality with many blank frontages giving the route an unsafe feel.

So the plan is to open it all up, let in the sun and have shop fronts down Broad Street. Find out more at Unit 33 of the Abbey Shopping Precinct on Thursday and Friday from 12.00 – 7.00pm.