Beware those who publish things that could come back to haunt them: Oxford East Labour Party activists picked up an award at the party's conference in Manchester this week for "outstanding work" in local campaigning.

Apparently, campaigners in Oxford East have contacted more voters than any other Labour constituency party in the country so far this year.

Maybe that is just as well.

With a flimsy majority of just 963 over the Liberal Democrats, after the last General election, let's just hope sitting MP Andrew Smith managed to get his message across.

The Oxford Mail has been left frustrated in recent weeks in trying to attract the attention of a certain press officer who had failed to deal with numerous inquiries.

As it turned out, the press officer in question was otherwise engaged, taking numerous legitimate days off from work to prepare for his imminent wedding.

But what kind of extravagant and exciting reasons did he have for these lieu days?

We have learned one morning was taken off for singing lessons — so he could serenade his new wife at the wedding in front of guests and family to Somewhere Over the Rainbow, while playing a banjo. No, seriously.

If only he was as attentive to us.

It is hard to know which woman outshone Prime Minister Gordon Brown most at the Labour Party conference this week.

Was it his wife Sarah? Or was it Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly who, the morning after Mr Brown's barnstorming leader's speech, resigned from the Government supposedly to spend more time with her family.

It's hard to tell, really.

True, the appearance of Sarah Brown was an unexpected masterstroke, but it was undone by Ms Kelly's bombshell.

We fancy that Samantha Cameron will not take to the stage to introduce husband and Witney MP David next week at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. Watch this space.

Oxfordshire County Council is upset over a bill apparently left unpaid by Parkridge, the company which wants to build an eco-town at Weston-on-the-Green.

It claims the developer owes £100,000 for work carried out on its behalf providing information for the project.

What a waste of money, huh? Reminds me of the Cornmarket Street repaving debacle.

West Oxfordshire is the venue of choice for the daughters of media magnates, it would appear.

Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of News Corporation and Sky TV boss Rupert, recently coughed up a fortune to hire the 22-bedroom Burford Priory.

And just three miles down the road lives Rosie Pearson, daughter of the Pearson publishing empire's founder.

Ms Murdoch, 40, recently celebrated her birthday with a celebrity-studded big bash in the Priory grounds.

Quite what the Benedictine nuns and monks that used to live there made of it, goodness only knows.