Now that Neaves Mews is complete, the mess that was the St Edmunds Lane road surface has now been put to rights. The first picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.

And the second one today. Everything is looking tidy again, and the bike racks are accessible.

It is good to see that the ancient trade of stone masonery is still going strong at Abingdon Stone & Marble Limited, on Ock Street. They were established in 1846.

One of the greatest workers in stone during medieaval times was the renowned Alexander of Abingdon – a sculptor and maker of memorials. It is likely that he worked extensively at Abingdon Abbey on memorials.

Abingdon Stone and Marble get involved in repairs and restorations of ancient monuments. They restored the statue of Queen Victoria back to her former glory and have worked on many a medieaval archway in Abingdon over the years.

Many of us might not think of using their services until looking for a final resting place…

The Movies Video Rental on Ock Street is to close for good on 30th April. “The Movies” has been around for at least fifteen years. It means we have lost two video /DVD /Computer games rental shops since the start of the year.

More recently, and only a few hundred yards down Ock Street, a new rental outlet “Movie Zone” opened and closed within the year. The owner said when he opened the shop that there were a lot of people living in easy walking distance of his shop – because of new housing. But it didn’t work out .

The multi-story car-park is a recent (1970ish) addition to the town centre skyline. The Vale has decided to give it a £320,000 refurbishment and prolong its usefulness.

I expect level 8 will get a touch of paint.

Outside, the carpark is unlikely to change much. It will retain the same redbrick facade as the other Charter buildings – all built about the same time: library, Malthouse surgery, day-centre, and social services.

Currently the stairwells are rather grim and dark, open all hours and subject to vandalism. It is planned that new gates will be put up so that only the lower two levels are open for 24 hours, and the place lightened up, and car parking levels re-organised.

The top floor already gives a good view of the surroundings, and is the one part that is almost scenic. This too will be given a new protective surface. Even concrete and steel erodes if left to the elements.