Abingdon Sea Cadets – by the book

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Thanks to Sue for this report …
Old Post Office
Last Sunday the Abingdon Sea Cadets took part in the annual District Drill and Piping competition and came home with a number of medals and a cup! It was difficult this year as they had new weapons to do the Drill with and no one who knew the drill, so it was all learnt “from the book”. Having said that they were very pleased when they came a decent second to the winning Unit (Banbury). They also came home with Second place in the team Piping and the cup for the Best Dressed Cadet.

Sue asks if any of your used to be Sea Cadets in Abingdon with old photos, memories or artefacts. Contact them on abingdonscc@aol.com as they are trying to write up a history of the Unit.

Work on old Post Office begins

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Old Post Office
Looks like work has started on the former Post Office. There were plans to turn part of it into flats, and presumably the bottom would be retail or catering.
Old Post Office
Not much to see behind the whited windows and the circus posters, that I can make out, apart from some roof supports. Somebody commented a couple of days back that it might be a Wetherspoon. The Herald are even running a poll asking “Would you plan to convert the former post office in High Street, Abingdon, into a branch of the JD Wetherspoon pub chain?”

Wetherspoons tried, and failed to acquire the building Ask are now in. That was some years ago. Back then the Wetherspoons planning application was turned down. Pubs – most owned by Greene King – did lobby against.

Keep Hadland Road Clear

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We are used to Keep Clear signs near schools and junctions but there are areas where they are more controversial. This is from a Hadland Road correspondent …
Hadland Road Keep Clear
“The first of these markings was put down in January, the second painted this week. At this rate we will not be able to use our own street by the summer or perhaps space is being reserved for a royal wedding street party….. It would be interesting to see if there are residential roads with more paint!”

Our correspondent says “I need sunglasses such is the glare off the fresh white paint when looking out of the window in the full morning sunlight… Horrendous and unnecessary“

The Ox and Black Swan

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The Ox
The Ox Inn on the Oxford Road closed about a week ago.

A couple of years ago the two bars were knocked into one and bigger entertainment added. About the same time a hand car wash business started operating from the pub car park – the bright car wash signs became quite a feature on the Oxford Road.
The Black Swan
The popular Landlord and Landlady from The Ox have now moved to the Black Swan in the town centre. It was refitted before they took over and boards outside now advertise ‘Our New Menus’. So there is more mixing of cultures in the Abingdon pubs (as first the Fitz, then the Nags Head, and now the Ox have closed). Some regulars from the Fitz have probably moved to the Boundary House, and some from the Nags Head to the Stocks.
News of the World
Stephen Green sent me this caption from today’s News of The World. A picture of The Nags Head is used with the story ‘Pubs fall victim to recession.’