For three weeks in May and June there are over 400 venues in Oxfordshire open to the public where artists, and groups of artists, are showing their work as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks.

In St Helens Church, the ‘Abingdon Artists‘ group had a display, including this sidelit picture of a Kingfisher at Thrupp Lake near Radley. This is well known lake that NPower are going to fill in with fly-ash if they have their way.

A little way away, the East St Helen Street Group had an exhibition at St Ethelwolds house.

Its not only an opportunity to look at local art, but also to look round some interesting houses…

and gardens….

I should also mention one venue in Oxford that stood out: 50 Aston Street. Its a house decorated with murals, many done in ultraviolet paint like a fairground fun-house.

One more week to go for the Abingdon and south Oxfordshire venues, but for most of the Oxford venues, including 50 Aston Street, you will have to wait until 2008.

The Salvation Army had a special service this afternoon to celebrate 120 years in Abingdon. The service was at their current building in West St Helen Street, and the door remained open so that the band could be heard be passers by.

Where the Crossroads Renault garage once stood on the Drayton Road, the demolition experts are at work.

Where the Saxton Road community centre once stood, the builders are at work.

For a change from toast and marmalade, I had croissants for breakfast…

purchased from Patisserie Pascal. Yesterday was the opening of this very French enterprise. Their closing day will be Monday as is the habit in France.

The owners used to have a similar business in Somertown, Oxford. They have now started again in Abingdon, at the top of East St Helen Street, in what was once Exclusive Hair Design.

Exclusive are not far away in West St Helen Street, next door to what will be the Co-op. (If rumour is correct, work is expected to start in June on the long awaited Co-op.)

On the other side of the Co-op, work has begun on what was Glendales. Frend the jeweller have already moved in. Frend and co Ltd are a well established Abingdon business. They moved from the precinct a week or so back.