It would be interesting to find out what stores have moved in where Woolworths used to be. The only three I know are Cargo in Abingdon (pictures here), New Look in Solihull, and Tesco Extra in Ulverston.

Cargo have some opening offers, and have taken over all of the store. However they have not done a lot of work transforming the store so this could be a temporary arrangement.

I was in Witney yesterday and the Cargo there has closed while they redevelop the Woolgate Centre. The Witney Blog says that when it re-opens in 2010 it will be in a larger store. Cargo will also be opening another store in Oxfordshire and 6 more nationally over the next few months.

I should have said the work on Ock Street is mostly on the pavement so should not cause great delays, and on Friday and Saturday there is a sale of pictures painted by Abingdon Artists at Saint Nicolas church, as well as the Craft Fair at the Old Abbey Buildings.

The £450,000 scheme to refurbish High Street and Ock Street has begun.

So we will probably have a couple of months of this.

I did think the flower beds at the end of Bath Street were also getting refurbished since the Town Council notice board has been chopped down. But have learned that that area is to be used for portacabins, and cutting down the noticeboard was just one of those mistakes that happen. Something similar happened in Grove where the village Christmas Tree got axed despite being inside a fence. Grove are going to get a better tree out of it. Maybe we will get a better notice board and garden area afterwards.

There are a large number of white powder markings around Abingdon. I did hear one person saying it might be rat poison. Another – probably jesting – tasted a bit off their finger and said it was Cocaine. Another said it was flour or chalk laid as part of a run, but Not The Abingdon Marathon.

Does anybody out there have any better ideas?