There have been forecasts of snow this weekend.
Last night a few snow flakes could be seen falling when you looked at the streetlights. It could have been the first snow of the winter here in Abingdon. But this morning there is not a lot of snow about – just a thin covering on a couple of roofs in West St Helen Street.
Snowdrops are still to be seen near Old Abbey House, along the wall bordering the garden.
A large number of Abingdon people went to Preston Road Community Centre throughout the day to give blood. When I got there, people were seated in 4 rows of chairs waiting their turn. There is an appointment system and the blood service can almost guarantee to get you in and out of the door within an hour – so long as you have an appointment. The ladies behind me were talking about getting chips afterwards. After some discussion, that included the chip shops in Didcot, they decided on the Chinese Takeaway in Reynolds Way. One of them said they did very good chips – better than Smarts.
Eventually I got called and, behind the screens, I was asked a follow up question, on top of the twenty I had already ticked on the questionnaire. It was ‘Have you had sex with anybody who has contracted the Zika virus?’
I answered matter-of-factly that I hadn’t.
The assistant took a small blood sample from my middle finger, and timed the drop as it floated down through green liquid in a test tube. It was a bit slow so she took another sample and tried that. Again, slow.
‘Have you ever had low iron?’
‘ No’ I said.
So she went for some more equipment, and took a larger amount of blood from my right arm. It turned out to be fine. We decided that washing my hands, with soap, before I left the house, had caused the test to fail.
I was then given a large cup of water to drink and got first sat, and then laid back, in one of the swivelling chairs, to give blood. Chap next to me worked out at the gym and the assistant admired his prominent veins.
My blood is not rare – just A+. Giving the blood took about ten minutes.
There followed a nice cup of tea, sitting round a table with other donors. Normally at around that time I recognise a number or people, but on this occasion didn’t see anybody I knew, apart from the assistants.
As I left, 45 minutes after arriving, the four rows of chairs held a new set of Abingdon people, waiting their turn. One of them had left a Brompton bike folded into a small square package just inside the door.
The flow of the River Thames has been strong over the last couple of weeks and all the weir gates have been open at times. The red boards are out and not many boats pass through the lock.
Only the strongest rowers from Abingdon Rowing Club venture out for river training.
Work continues round the lock, and more animals are expected in time for next season to join the wooden menagerie on lock island. One large animal is already in the garden behind the lock. It is currently in a number of pieces and will have a long neck.
On one side of the small road leading to the lock there is a sign for a planning application for parking and a hut to store canoes. Kingfisher Canoe Club and Pathfinder Youth Canoe Club need this new base as they have to leave their current site, shared with the army, in April. They have gained planning permission for the new site but still need money.
On the other side of the road, and behind the lock house a lot of clearance of brambles and nettles has been taking place. You can now see much further. The wicker fences have been extended round the lock with the help of willow from the clearance.
That land was previously ‘set aside’ but with a new farmer in place the land will be the home of another sort of animal. Wire fences have been added and strengthened around the farm to ensure the flocks of these woolly animals don’t escape.
Kali is approaching twelve years old, but still has a lot of energy and walks many miles each day around Abingdon and frequently visits the Albert Park in Abingdon. It is a favourite walk for many dog walkers who walk round the path or gather on the grass to let the dogs play together.
A talk is to be given about the history of Albert Park at lunchtime by Jackie Smith which will cover a great deal more than dogs.
The park is similar to the tree lined walks in the University Park in Oxford.
The houses themselves would fit in very nicely into Norham Gardens, alongside the University Park. But whereas the large Victorian houses either side of Norham Gardens have been spoilt by over-development, and in some cases rebuilt, those round the Albert Park look much as they did when built from the 1860s.
Jackie could well mention that the house above was built with a tower so that it was taller than all of the neighbours.
If you cannot make the talk, and are interested to find out more, then visit The Christ Hospital of Abingdon site where Jackie wrote about the park in 2010.