The workmen will soon be in at Oxfam in Abingdon. The floor, that has been supporting businesses at that address for over a hundred years, needs to be replaced. Oxfam have been there for nearly 30 of those years.
So all the trinkets have been cleared away to make space.
The clothes and books, fairtrade products and crafts etc have been put in storage to clear the floor.
If all goes to plan Oxfam will be open again in two weeks time.
The Town Crier was out and about in town today announcing that there will be a Local Excellence Market next Saturday.
Also I have been asked to mention that next Saturday there will also be the second running of the Abingdon Wassail at the South Abingdon Children’s Centre..
And a public meeting is to be held at St Ethelwold’s House (30 East St Helen Street) on Tuesday 26 January 2016 at 7 pm for those who would like to explore practical responses to the desperate plight of asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in the Abingdon area. Temporary accommodation is needed and they will hear about local charities that support families to make a room available. For those who can donate money, St Ethelwold’s has established a fund to make a room available on an ongoing basis. There are other practical needs such as language lessons and food donations. The meeting will include a speaker from Oxford City of Sanctuary. Please let the office at St Ethelwold’s House know if you are coming so that they can arrange a larger room if necessary on 01235 555486 or at ethelwoldhouse@btinternet.com.
Also I noticed today that Patisserie Pascal has re-opened after an extended New Year’s break.
A lot of the stone faces that look out from the tower and walls of St Helen’s Church in Abingdon have been worn away by frost and wind and rain. You can only guess what they looked like, and how long they have been up there.
Other faces are made of sterner stuff. There is a south facing head that continues to look at the River Thames with stern unweathered disapproval.
Up near the top of the tower there is one grotesque that will always be afraid of heights
The Green Man, beneath one of the window arches, continues to spew out leaves year on year. Nothing will stop him.
In Abbey House, Abingdon, this afternoon and evening there was a consultation event about the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme. There was a good turn out. People were queuing outside when they opened, and about 200 people attended.
Currently they are asking people what is the preferred route and type of channel from the Botley Road to Sandford Lock. The route is divided into sections. Section 1, near the Botley Road, has only one feasible option. Section 2 has four options etc. So we are being asked what is the preferred route in each of the places.
They are also consulting about how best to deal with the material dug out while creating the channel, and how to minimise disruption during construction. These seem to be questions more of interest for people near the route in Oxford.
There was a board about flood alleviation options for Abingdon with smaller projects for the River Stert and the area near St Helen’Mill, and a possible larger project for holding back flood water from the Ock the other side of the A34. But that needs modelling, with the latest rainfall predictions which may need to be set 35% higher.
The recommended route of the channel should be decided by summer 2016, and the detailed design completed in 2017. They will then hold a consultation before submitting a planning application. Everybody I asked from the EA (Environment Agency) said that the project should not make things worse for Abingdon. They need to demonstrate that before getting the go ahead.
The consultation is at https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal/area/se/flood/oxford/scheme?pointId=3765916.