One side of the Old Anchor Inn door says “Re-opened for business”. On the other side “Dogs and Wet Wellies Welcome”.

The previous owner before one had come down from London, and tried to make it a more select establishment, but that didn’t go down too well, and led to a peasants revolt. Then the last owner couldn’t make it work financially. And now Robin, who also runs the Broad Face, is in temporary charge unti a new landlord is found. Applications to Greene King.

Years of planning and consultation are over, and the construction of the AbITS ( Abingdon Integrated Transport Strategy) town centre scheme has started. It starts with the removal of that pedestrian island outside Coxeters. We will all have to get into new habbits.

Its taken a few days but I’ve carried out the new year resolution to go swimming… down at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre. Its a recent addition to Abingdon, built about three years ago off Audlett Drive. We used to swim at the Old Gaol which now stands boarded up waiting for a new use.

An adult swim at the leisure centre costs £2.80. Lockers are 20p but you get that back afterwards. There is a little spin drier for your swim wear. Put your trunks into the little drum, hold down the lid… vroooooom…and they are dry in ten seconds. And there are little robots that go about on the pool floor cleaning the water after hours.

Griff Rhys Jones, Dara O’Briain and Rory McGrath have been retracing the comic journey in Jerome K. Jerome’s novel ‘Three Men in a Boat’. They rowed from Kingston to Oxford, passing through Abingdon this evening on BBC2.