Stuart sent me a link for the Aldi Abingdon Consultation. Aldi would like to establish a new store near the development in North West Abingdon and want people to have their say at https://aldiconsultation.co.uk/abingdon/. It would be a modestly sized food store with parking for 103 cars and 40 jobs.
The proposed site is the top end of the circus field where there was an archaeological dig two weeks ago.
The doors of Oxfam in Abingdon were open for the first time since everything closed for the March lockdown.
A lot of work had happened to make it Covid-19 safe. Shelves and stock have been moved into new positions to make social distancing easier. The door is left open to keep fresh air flowing.
Some of the older volunteers are performing other duties while they are at higher risk.
I was told by one of the helpers that Oxfam in Abingdon won’t be taking new donations until at least the new year.
Most of us have lost track of developing countries given that even developed countries have been suffering a pandemic. Money raised goes to support people in developing countries and emergencies.
As we head into Advent, the Churches in Abingdon have teamed up with Abingdon Town Council to promote a community wide sing of the carol Silent Night at 8pm on Thursday 17th December. There will be a track released closer to the time to sing along with.
Catherine sent me a picture from the Fitzharrys estate to show that they have started a living advent calendar this year.
The countdown begins. Christmas will be different this year. The Christmas story is the same but society has been changed by a virus.
From https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/
Last updated: December 03, 2020, 22:34 GMT
United Kingdom Coronavirus Cases: 1,674,134
Deaths: 60,113
Non-essential shops reopened today after the November ‘circuit breaker lockdown’ brought the ‘Covid-19’ ‘R level’ below 1. A Covid-19 vaccine was also approved by the UK regulator today.
Abingdon town centre did not go wild on what had been called ‘Wild Wednesday’, but we were able to see all the Christmas displays, illuminated, for the first time.
Here are a small sample:
Pablo Lounge
Gifts and Gallery
Forresters hairdressing
and The Finishing Touch
Not every business could reopen today. A deep hole had been dug in Bath Street to ‘track and trace’ a gas leak. As a result Abingdon Fish & Chips and Friends Kebab & Pizza were cordoned off and no traffic was allowed to the rest of Bath Street
Our town centre underground utilities are prone to leakages. Last week Lombard Street was shut for a couple of days because of a water leak.
Abingdon library reopened today. The library has a large local studies section. Not many towns the size of Abingdon has been the subject of so many books.