With Halloween nearly here, I’ve been around Abingdon and thereabouts and have seen a few pumpkin displays. Of those, my own personal favourites are:

In third place, carving Jack O’Lanterns, is Tilsley Park

In second place, and a little out of Abingdon but close enough to not make too much difference, is the Pumpkin Grotto at Millets Farm.

And my favourite is guess the weight of this enormous pumpkin at Fabulous Flowers.

A post in March explained about the Abingdon Market: its historical importance etc. etc… But I’d now like to point out that the stalls have matching blue striped covers.
The market always gives a different feel to the town – it gives an extra buzz to the town.
The Salvation army lays on tea and coffee back at their base, and there is one of their Soldiers at the market selling the War Cry.
The fruit and vedge stall has three people serving and one of them shouts “a paand for a paaand’.
The yellow notice in the background says ‘Black Bags.’ We throw out our rubbish (or garbage) in black bags.
And finally another view of the blue striped covers – at the egg stall.

The clocks went back last night, but not this clock. St Helen’s Church clock is being reconditioned and has not had the hands refitted yet. But look through the left hand window down below and there is the glint of the the sun on the large pendulum swinging to and frow, to and frow….

The second picture is on Stratton Way at the corner of Bath Street. One lady said to me “Isn’t this just a Glorious Morning?”

This door used to lead into the Abingdon Magistrates Court. The Abingdon Music Centre took over the building after the Court finally closed a few years back.
The Magistrates sat on a bench among this wood panelling. Behind that wall is a dressing room with secret doors to cloakroom and toilet.
At the other end was the dock, which can just about be made out behind pictures and screen. There are also a couple of sparse cells for prisoners.

The paintings are part of a four day exhibition – by Abingdon Artists – but it is an exhibition with a difference. The Guildhall is already booked, and so most of the artists have set up their paintings in St Nicholas Church. But a group of five have set up their own exhibition called “The Artroom Renegades.” The portraits above are by one of them: Bruce Bignold. The man with the blue shirt painted in the style of Van Gogh, is Lord Mustard, a well known Oxford busker.
These four pictures are by another renegade John Stephen. The other renegades are Josie Chappelle, Judith Payne, and Marjorie Stephen.