Picture special: Our look at the events around the county

MORE than 800 people travelled to Witney for its 48th motor show.
Held by Witney Motor Club, the event saw a range of vehicles on display at The Henry Box School.
Organiser Steve Boyle said the feedback after Thursday’s event had been fantastic. He said: “People enjoyed it because of the diversity of cars.”

Mark Smith polishes his 1963 Manx Norton
It wasn’t just cars that were on show, the evening’s event saw motorbikes, campervans and even the electric powered Sinclair C5.
Mr Boyle added: “Because it’s a motor show we try and encourage as much variety as possible.”
Car enthusiast Julian Blagden, owner of a 1971 VW Beetle, attended the event for the second year running. He said: “It was very good and relaxed and there were a lot of helpful tips and information flying around.”
For more information on Witney Motor Clubs upcoming events visit witneymotorclub.co.uk

All-day party draws the crowds

THERE was a raucous party atmosphere as Didcot’s Wheatsheaf pub hosted the first in a summer of charity music festivals on Saturday.
Town resident Deano Pavely and a team of philanthropic friends organised the shows for Oxjam – Oxfam’s music festival branch.
The summer of fun began with an all-dayer at the Wheatsheaf featuring Paul Donaldson, Dave Oakes and The Extraordinary Mr King.

Mr King, 43, who goes by the name Dave, above, when at his day job with an engineering firm in Reading, said: “It started quietly and just got more and more lively. By the end it was quite a raucous party.”
Oxjam ends with a nationwide weekend of town “takeovers” in October.

Mosaic brings city sights together

ARTISTIC pupils gave up their own time to create this colourful mosaic for Headington’s Cheney School, above. Year 8 and 9 pupils met twice a week after school since January to create the four-panel mosaic.
It includes city sites – including the famous Headington shark life-sized model – and the school’s Latin motto “Think for yourself, act for others”. The panels will be put up in the school’s Lane building on Friday.
The project was part of the school’s East Oxford Community Classics Centre, which opened last October to educate pupils and the public about the classics.
Director Lorna Robinson said: “It looks brilliant. They showed enormous skill.”

Pupils take a peek behind Bamboo Curtain

AMELIA JOHN, above, has been flying the flag for China.
Her school, Larkmead in Abingdon, held a whole day of Chinese culture on Thursday.
Students got to try out Chinese percussion instruments, have a go at calligraphy and traditional wash painting on rice paper, and learnt typical ribbon, fan and handkerchief dances at the hands of experienced Chinese dancers.
Amelia, 12, said: “The Ribbon Dance workshop was great fun.
“The skills I learnt in this workshop will help me to develop my balance skills for my dance classes.”
Teenagers also got to try out Chinese cookery, origami and Chinese folk dance.
School spokeswoman Marilyn Pearce said: “The workshops encouraged students to feel, see, think and practice from a Chinese cultural perspective.”

A panto date? Oh yes it was!

Left to right, Vanessa Managhan, Peter Pontzen, Tony Bicat, Rowan Talbot, Tim Claydon, Harriet Mackie, Ben Crocker and John Terry

PANTOMINES are usually the product of weeks of detailed planning but writers and actors in Chipping Norton had only 48 hours to prepare for Saturday’s performance.
They began writing and rehearsing for the 60-minute show on Thursday afternoon as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations for Chipping Norton Theatre.
The theatre runs a popular Christmas pantomine programme, and it attracted more than 17,000 visitors to its 90 shows last year.
Artistic director John Terry said: “One of the things we’re most well known for regionally and nationally is our Christmas panto, which has been running since we were created as a professional theatre group in 1974.
“It’s a huge part of our audience’s relationship with the theatre and we didn’t want to go through our birthday without marking the role panto has had for us. We thought it would be good to really celebrate that anarchic feel to it, even though it is July.”
The show included a cast of eight actors and six children, as well as two composers, two playwrights and a choreographer.

Stacey walks tall after a 120-mile fundraising effort

Stacey Sadley walked from Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire to Dorchester

CHILDREN with cerebral palsy will benefit after a woman raised hundreds of pounds by completing a 120-mile fund-raising journey.
Stacey Sadler has raised £1,500 for the Dorchester charity Footsteps Foundation after she walked and cycled from Leicestershire to its therapy centre, in Queen Street.
She attended a national Rotary Club meeting in September with her husband Sean, chairman of Ashby Castle Rotary Club, where she heard about the charity’s work.
The Footsteps Foundation provides rehabilitation for disabled children with cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. It took the 47-year-old four days to complete the journey from her hometown of Ashby, Leicestershire, along the Ashby Canal and Oxford Canal.
She said: “I’m very proud of myself and very pleased.
“I now want to do another one, but I might give it a year.”
Centre manager of Footsteps Foundation, Kirsty Dawson, said the money would pay for 15 two-hour physiotherapy sessions.
She said: “Fundraising is vital. The support from Stacey has been amazing.”
Anyone who would like to donate to the charity can visit Mrs Sadler’s fund-raising page at make-a-donation.org/ fundraisers/under-my-own-steam

Getting in character at parade

Ride on time at the Eynsham Carnival

IT WAS a blockbuster day in Eynsham as children took part in a parade dressed as characters from The Lego Movie.
The Cubs and Beavers from First Eynsham Scouts Group competed to win the prize for the best costumes during the parade on Saturday before joining in the fun at the carnival afterwards.
Among them was 10-year-old Colin Teal, who said: “I really enjoyed the carnival, especially once the rain stopped after the parade. I went dressed as Lord Business from The Lego Movie. I was really pleased that the Beavers won an award.”

Lego man Colin Teal
Also taking part in the parade was the Queen of the Carnival while an open top classic car carried carnival chairman Julie Jordan through the streets, led by the Coventry Corps of Drums.

These minions take time out from Despicable Me to join the fun at the Eynsham Carnival

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