The stretch of Wilsham Road between Margaret Brown Gardens and Saxton Road has 8 street lights out of order .
I was told that they had already been out of order for some weeks now, and there is the worry about school pupils going home these dark evenings. This has been communicated to the County Council and they will be mended from between 10 and 60 days.
The Eben Lark has flown, having spent the summer here, and now the shop is To Let.
However, some things in West St Helen’s Street never change: St Helen’s Church has been there as a focal point through the centuries.
Traffic is often unpredictable. I arrived back near home on Thursday evening and it took 15 minutes to do the last few yards. Traffic queues were merging from St Helen’s Wharf and East St Helen Street, and somebody said it had taken 2 hours to get from Harwell to Abingdon.
Shelves are being cleared away from the Abingdon second hand CD and DVD shop.
What was Frend & Co has been repainted ready For Sale; and the big banner saying new flats coming soon, where the solicitors offices used to be, has gone. Building work is almost complete – all part of the changing picture of West St Helen Street this autumn.
P.S. Hester sent me this picture to go wth her comment “Frend’s Jewellers have moved to new premises next to Bella Napoli, near the Charter (where Tick-tock used to be till the owner retired recently).” …
Local families from Abingdon and surroundings got together for a tea party recently to swap stories. They all belong to HOST. a national charity which enables international students at UK universities to spend a weekend in a British home. This allows the student to get a glimpse of British life and culture (and food!) and the family to learn a little about life in another country. Students from China, Costa Rica, USA and Japan have spent a weekend in Abingdon recently.
Hosts have different reasons for volunteering – their own children may have received hospitality when studying abroad and they want to reciprocate; or they may want to introduce their young children to other people with different ways of life; or they may have a special interest in a particular country. Students apply for a HOST visit throughout the year, but December and Christmas visits are particularly wanted. If you would like to offer a student a weekend away from campus and a warm welcome into a British home contact Margaret@margarethancox.freeserve.co.uk or look on the website www.hostuk.org
1-3 Ock Street was recognised in the Building Conservation category at the 2014 Oxford Preservation Trust Awards. The awards panel commented on the “sensitive and sympathetic restoration … the marrying of the old and the new … the innovative use of glass, and … providing offices that cannot fail but to impress“.
The Oxford Preservation Trust Awards, now in their 37th year, recognise conservation and improvements in buildings in Oxford. That is often for Oxford University Buildings. But they do look further afield, and Abingdon Museum was also a beneficiary in 2012.
Thanks to Chris for letting me know, and for the pictures.