Family

The life of a new parent is an exciting one, but it can be nerve-wracking at times. After all, whether it’s making time for your little one or adjusting your budget to meet their needs, there’s a lot of responsibility that comes with parenthood. One of our writers Andy Davies makes a good point when […]

Mothering Sunday, sometimes known as days in many parts of the world. So if your mother is Mother’s Day, is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent in the U.K. It is exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually falls in the second half of March or early April. As such this year it […]

A pair of squirrel monkeys popped in to meet the residents of Larkrise Care Centre in Banbury, operated by The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) to monkey around and help beat the January blues. Nine-year-old Tia and 24-year-old Malcolm, accompanied by their handlers from Amazing Animals, soon made themselves at home, hopping from […]

The Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, near Burford in Oxfordshire, is celebrating their 50th anniversary in 2020. The Park opened on Good Friday 27th March 1970. It cost 5 shillings (25p) for adults and 2 shillings (10p) for children and they welcomed 17,000 visitors in their first weekend. The Park was the brainchild of one […]

Two north Oxfordshire schoolgirls are leading the district’s Christmas recycling efforts, having triumphed in a design competition that was entered by more than 100 young people. Darcey Davis-Batchelor from Hook Norton and Josie Briant from Bicester will have their festive recycling collected by lorries which now bear their own artwork. They are the winners of […]

Almost a million older people say they feel lonelier at Christmas and half a million of them can go up to a week without seeing or speaking to anyone, with the television as their only company. They admit that speaking about their loneliness is very difficult, as they do not want to be seen to […]

Have you recently been diagnosed with dementia? Perhaps you are caring for someone with dementia? It can often be difficult to ask for support, and sometimes it feels that we burden our family and friends. Well, now there is someone else you can talk to. Dementia Oxfordshire offers advice and guidance on dementia to everyone, […]

Festive activities start on 7 December with our Christmas Craft Weekends on 7 & 8, 14 & 15, 21 & 22 December. Come and make a Robin, Snowman or Father Christmas then attach them to pullback wheels and watch them go on our Festive race track! The Museum’s Christmas elves will also be stopping by […]

Cotswold Wildlife Park has welcomed the latest addition to the Chapman’s Zebra family – an energetic female foal who has been attracting the attention of visitors with her incredible speed. When she was just a few days old, the newborn was galloping around the paddock and her lively outbursts were caught on camera. Watch the […]

A group of 24 juvenile White Storks bred at Cotswold Wildlife Park have been released at the Knepp rewilding project in West Sussex as part of an initiative to restore populations of the species in Southern England. The last definitive record of a pair of wild Storks successfully breeding in Britain was in 1416. The […]

Sunday 18th August, 10.30am – 4.30pm Banbury Town Centre Banbury Food & Drink Festival celebrates a wide range of high quality artisan food and drink produced from around the county, exploring the art of food and drink making. Providing a wonderful opportunity for people to experience the friendly and social atmosphere that accompanies eating and […]

With temperatures rising rapidly, the animals at Cotswold Wildlife Park have been keeping cool with a little help from their keepers. They have been treated to delicious ice enrichments and slices of ice-cold refreshing watermelon. Some of the animals have also been cooling themselves down by taking a dip in their pools, especially the Capybaras (also known […]

The British Motor Museum 20 July – 2 September This summer explore the Museum’s new exhibition The Car. The Future. Me. and enjoy a selection of futuristic themed family activities. Every day you can Discover Circuits – drop into our family activity station and draw a graphite car, then create a circuit to give your car working headlights. Or […]

Hot off the heels of yet another hit Edinburgh Festival Fringe performance and sell out shows across the UK, Oxfordshire based Morgan & West look forward to a Christmas at home with their A (sort of) Christmas Carol Magic Show which runs at The Mill Arts Centre, Banbury from 13th – 24th December 2019! Join […]

We are delighted to announce that ALL the winners of the competition have now been drawn and notified. Well done to all our winners and please return for more great prizes in coming months. Tickets for the event are could still be avaliable: https://www.cornburyfestival.com/tickets  Cornbury Festival goers are in for a treat in July with […]

This month marks the 80th birthday of the swimming pool. It is amazing to think that it opened just before the outbreak of WW II and has played a part in the lives of many people since then who have fond memories of it. The exact date of opening was 23 May 1939 after £7,900 […]

Roll up! Roll up! The Mechanical Circus is coming to town! This May, the team at Banbury Museum invite you to go back in time with them and remember those idyllic childhood days of magic and curiosity, where the marvels of the fairground and circus brought imaginations to life. The latest exhibition to open in […]

Mothering Sunday, sometimes known as Mother’s Day, is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent in the UK. It is exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually falls in the second half of March or early April. As such this year it is on Sunday 31st March, so you don’t have very long to […]

As Bonfire Night approaches, people are being reminded that the safest way to celebrate is to attend a large professionally organised public event. Chris Barber, Community Safety Manager from Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Organised fireworks displays are more fun, cheaper and far safer than hosting your own fireworks or bonfire party. […]

The Hummingbird Centre To keep a promise is not always easy, and my Dad was to give me the biggest challenge of my life. Just before he passed away he made me promise that one day I was to create something good out of our loss as a family. Time passed, I moved to Bicester […]

Parents are busy, there is no doubt about it and for parents of a competitive sports child, life is even busier. This month I’m dipping into the emotional world of ‘sports parenting’ chatting to Gale Issitt, Mum of Teen Brit Car Champion, Callum Hawkins-Row. If at this point you’re about to switch off as your […]

An open letter to my Autistic son. My beautiful boy. The connection between you and I is a connection like no other. You showed me what true love really felt like the day you were born. You have taught me so much about life. What is really important, to be a better person, to show […]