RIP Red

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Red’s presence could not be ignored — his deep, bellowing voice, unfiltered and booming across the streets; his warm greetings to complete strangers; his tattooed face and hair dyed red.

Pirate or Red, he lived a life half on water, half on land. His narrowboat was camouflaged with a tarpaulin, flying a pirate flag on the Thames.

A familiar figure on the benches of Abbey Gardens, he shared long hours with friends. He was hired as security at a supermarket during the fair — a presence both trusted and intimidating. I heard he was a keen gardener, proud of his small patch of green. A man who knew suffering yet still helped others. On his Facebook page, he shared a quote: “The depth of your spiritual awakening is very much connected to the amount of darkness and pain you’ve gone through in your life …”

For the last decade and a half, he had been an Abingdon fixture since buying a narrowboat and moving here to start a new life. Somebody once did a video documentary of his previous life on YouTube but I don’t think its there any more. There was kindness and chaos — many saw a friendly soul, some found him threatening. In recent months, people wondered where he had gone. There were rumours about his health.

In the last few days, those rumours turned to news of his death, confirmed by an article in the Oxford Mail.

Those who knew him will remember him in their own way — but no one will forget him.

P.S. I must have a picture of him somewhere but used this one of red tulips in the Abbey Gardens where he often sat.

The Unicorn School is growing

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Builders are adding a new part to The Unicorn School in the old Premier Inn on Marcham Road in Abingdon. The Unicorn School helps students who learn differently, like those with dyslexia.

There is scaffolding outside the old hotel and builders are working inside, changing the hotel rooms into classrooms. They are putting in strong supports made of wood and steel, and adding a lift.

The Unicorn School, across the road, is already full and has 120 students. Lots of other students want to go to the school. Every year, 350 families ask for a place, but there are only 20 places.

The school bought the old Premier Inn and restaurant after the hotel moved to a new building near Tesco in Abingdon.

The building work will happen in two stages:

Stage 1 (Premier Inn changes – £2.4 million): This will add new classrooms for 120 more students. These classrooms will be ready for students to use in September 2025.

Stage 2 (Ock Mill changes – £2 million): This will add places for students over 16 to learn job skills. These places will be ready in 2026 and will help another 100 students.

If you want to know more about the new building and how you can help? Go to the website: https://www.unicornoxford.co.uk/support-us/ockmill/

Work Resumes at Abingdon’s Cattle Market Car Park

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In Abingdon’s Cattle Market car park, fences once again surround the site, and machinery lifts the old asphalt.

The works were delayed after uncovering something far older than the car park and the cattle market that was on the site. Archaeologists identified layers of Medieval and Roman deposits, including pottery fragments. Human burials were found beneath the site, and the remains of a stone wall, possibly a former Bell Tower once recorded nearby.

The work has resumed to improve the car park, a project funded by Thames Water and managed by Vale of White Horse District Council. The planned improvements include resurfacing, a new layout, new lighting, and a rain garden to manage rainwater runoff and improve the carpark’s biodiversity.

The improvements are expected to be completed by March 2025.

Water Leak : Quiet Street

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It has been quiet today in the Back Street (West St Helen Street), with none of the usual buzz of traffic. A Road Closed sign by the iron bridge has diverted most vehicles elsewhere.

The water leak started on Thursday, worsening through Friday and Saturday. Today, a Thames Water van and a lorry-mounted drill arrived to dig a hole.

I took this picture when work paused temporarily when a tool — possibly an angle grinder — broke and needed replacing. The hole bubbled with water, and there was a stream – a metre wide – running down the road. The team resumed work shortly afterwards. They turned off the water at a stopcock, pumped out the water, and clamped the pipe.