WE were pleased to learn that Alistair Ferrier has become Oxford’s new city centre manager.

But that is about all we can tell you.

We know he has been asked to pay particular attention to basic issues like street cleanliness, illegal street trading and utilities maintenance.

Oddly, after his appointment had been made pubic via a press release from Oxford City Council, publicity-shy Alistair didn’t want to do an interview – and certainly didn’t want his picture in the paper.

Poor lamb. If anyone knows what he looks like, give us a call.

WORD reaches us that some rather inventive literature is being pushed through the letterboxes of the good people of Witney and west Oxfordshire.

In an Oxfordshire County Council propaganda leaflet, the Tory-run authority claims to be “standing up for Oxfordshire” and lists “rescuing Cogges Manor Farm Museum” as an achievement.

That’s interesting.

Is this the same Cogges Manor Farm in Witney that was losing £250,000 a year and was on its knees?

And the same Cogges Manor Farm that County Hall seriously looked at closing?

TALKING of which, someone really ought to have proof read the above leaflets for accuracy and grammar.

In the Woodstock & Kidlington leaflet, Maurice Billington and Michael Gibbard, right, apparently both represent Kidlinton (sic) & Yarnton.

THE sun is out, the days are lasting longer and the tourists are starting to arrive in their droves at a time when Oxford looks a picture... so why on earth is the Covered Market still not open on Sundays?

Here at Insider Towers, we mainly survive on David John’s handmade Oxford sausages – and it’s long been a source of much anger that the market is not open all weekend.

In fact, if there is a better sausage in Oxford, we have yet to taste it.

Don’t worry. Because the market is managed by Oxford City Council, it’ll probably be open by winter.

LAST week we suggested that few children were probably involved in the making of banners displaying Botley residents’ anger at the prospect of seeing a new probation centre in Mill Street.

Since then we have been contacted by youngsters to say they were.

Fine.

But we still reckon these youngsters, if asked, could not accurately articulate exactly who visits probation centres, what happens inside them, and why the probation service thinks it is necessary for them to be built.

Or are we just being overly cynical?