All Saints’ Day and Saint Edmund of Abingdon

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All Saints’ Day was marked in churches today. At Our Lady & St Edmund of Abingdon Church, the celebration – normally on 1 November – was transferred to Sunday 2 November this year, with All Souls’ Day to be celebrated on Monday 3 November. All Saints’ honours the saints of every age, known and unknown.

Abingdon has a particular connection to Saint Edmund who was born here around 1175. His childhood home stood near West St Helen Street. His mother, Mabel, was remembered for her faith and her care for the poor. Her influence shaped Edmund’s life. He studied and later taught at Oxford, and in 1234 became Archbishop of Canterbury. He was respected for his learning, integrity, and efforts to bring peace.

His name lives on in Our Lady & St Edmund Church in Abingdon, St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School in Abingdon, and St Edmund Hall, the Oxford college.

In the church notice at Our Lady & St Edmund of Abingdon church, they recognised that Abingdon may have more than one or two saints: Today we honour in a special way the “little” saints – those who will never be officially canonised. Think for a moment of people you have known. What was it about them that impressed you? To be a saint is to be Christ-like …

Abingdon Traditional Craft Fair – 2025

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The Abingdon Traditional Craft Fair returned to the Abbey Buildings this weekend. It is one of Abingdon’s autumn traditions.

The fair brings together makers, not resellers. There was a strong showing from the Oxfordshire Craft Guild and about a dozen local makers, including The Abingdon Honey Co.

and The Abingdon Distillery.

Some crafts people come from further away, such as Tony Morgan of Morgan Leather from Lancashire. He was in the under croft.

The real star, though, is the venue. The Craft Fair began over fifty years ago to raise funds for the Abbey Buildings and still helps support them.

Major refurbishment work is due to start soon, helped by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, other grants, and local donations. Because of this, next year’s fair will have to move elsewhere. Plans for the work were on display at the Abbey Buildings Trust stall.

The Town Crier was out announcing the fair. Behind him, one window showed a glimpse of the future.

Traditionally, the window openings have been covered with opaque canvas and not glass. One has now been replaced with new leaded glass, made to fit the uneven opening. Each opening is different. Though not double-glazed, the windows will make the building warmer and more weather-proof, part of the work to make the building more accessible and usable.

It is hoped that the work will be fully funded and approved by heritage experts and completed in time for the craft fair in 2027.

Halloween on Blacklands Way

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Blacklands Way, in Abingdon Business Park – normally a private road of offices and warehouses – has become an unexpected hotspot of Halloween activity.

Despite the KEEP OUT sign at the entrance, I ventured in.

The grass verges have turned into a dance space for some plastic skeletons.

By the duck ponds, somebody has crash-landed into the hedge.

Chalked blackboard gravestones have puns like “Dee Composing” and “NOAH SCAPE”.

It’s all intended in good humour, though last year when a similar – if smaller – display appeared, someone complained about it on FixMyStreet. Not everybody likes Halloween.

Albert Park Through the Year: October 2025

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Throughout October, Albert Park has been bright with autumn colour, to the delight of walkers, dog owners, and photographers.

The Albert Monument stands amid the seasonal transformation, framed by trees turning yellow and gold.

A motorised leaf collector has been busy keeping the ground clear of leaves. The leaves are taken back to the compound and composted.

Many trees reached their most vivid colours in mid-October. The tulip tree (above) and the pocket handkerchief tree were among the first to turn and shed their leaves,

followed closely by the golden rain tree.

By the end of the month, the limes were yellow, and the beeches were turning gold and bronze.

The video above shows the steady fall of leaves from the large fenced-in beech tree.

Mushrooms and toadstools have been springing up across the park — some fairly solitary,

others gathered in wide spreads or tight clusters.

Late blooms still hold on: cyclamen in one place, a second flowering on some Mexican orange blossoms, and daisies at various edges.

I didn’t get many animal pictures this month, apart from squirrels.