I’m already irritated by the Christmas hype and we’ve only just left October behind. The toy shop in Oxford I went into the other day (I forget which one) has jingles playing so I left straight away. Of course they hummed around my head for the rest of the day.

Anyway, I accept the irony that I am writing about it in early November but is it just me, or is the Christmas lights switch on happening earlier and earlier these days too? To be fair, anything that lights up these horrible dark nights is better than nothing?

So, here is the inevitable post publicising the different events. Click here to find your nearest Christmas light switch on in Oxford and surrounding areas.

I know that it will continue to excite children for years to come so who am I to start complaining? ‘Christmas in Oxford’ on Friday 27^th November may even be one that I attend – lets hope the Christmas jingles haven’t got the better of me by then!

Quick post  following on from the last one – here is a link for other firework displays in Oxford and surrounding areas. Enjoy!

I always quite like this time of the year in Oxford; falling leaves everywhere, crunching round frosty parks on early morning walks, wrapping up warm…

I also like the October / November events calendar – Halloween is round the corner so don’t forget to check out the fancy dress shops in Oxford or you could always try one of Oxford’s ghost tours to really get those goose bumps going.

And then of course there’s always Bonfire Night. As always, South Parks (Headington) hosts the annual Round Table charity fireworks display, which this year takes place on Saturday 7^th November.

Not only raises money for charity but entertains over 15,000 spectators every year with one of the largest bonfires in Oxfordshire. Gates open from 5pm, with food stalls and a funfair to experience before over £11,000 worth of fireworks are set off for you to “ooh” and “ahh” over – enjoy!

Starting afresh at uni and want to know where to find everything? Whether it’s tracking down bookshops in Oxford, locating your nearest supermarket or fancy dress shop, or decking out your new house with new furniture, cityvisitor is the place to find them.

Wishing you luck for the start of term!

I have only just picked up this story from the Oxford Mail and am actually quite appalled.

A big wheel, in Oxford??! I know that tourism drives the local economy and that it’s proved a success in some places, but I really am not a huge fan of this idea.

We have a fantastic city, inspirational spires and beautiful architecture. I just think a big wheel cheapens it all, no matter what anyone says about the “wonderful views” there will be. I can just about cope with St Giles Fair but at least that’s only for a couple of days, whereas these big wheel plans are for November – January.

It will also be interesting to see what impact it has on the current tourist attractions in Oxford. The top five activities at the moment stand at:

• Castle Unlocked
• Carfax Tower
• Walking tours
• Open top bus tours
• Christ Church

Can anyone ever see the big wheel topping these charts??

A fantastic weekend of sport topped by England winning the Ashes. For one horrible moment I thought Australia were going to do it, but the good news is, it’s not all over yet as cricket fever seems to have swept the nation.

In fact, according to our latest figures, searches for cricket sports equipment and sportswear in Oxford, along with local cricket clubs, have surged dramatically since the start of the Ashes. I wonder if any budding young cricket players in this area will end up helping lift that little urn at some point in the future?

I always thought that a real draw back from living in Oxford is the inability to just jet off to far flung places at a moments notice. Or at least without having to trek all the way to Luton or Heathrow.

That could all change, apparently. Oxford Airport has recently been flying people to Jersey, and now we may soon be able to fly not only to UK cities but also to destinations like Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels and Geneva.

It’s been reported in the Oxford Mail;

“Bosses at the Kidlington-based airport have been in discussion with several operators about starting daily business flights to European capitals, as well as offering further weekly charter flights for tourists”

That means, in the time it normally takes to drive to Luton, park, check in, shuffle through security, you could be sitting with your feet up in some European city. And the whole dilemma about whether you may get snarled up in the M25 traffic would be a distant memory.

Excellent idea I say. Fingers crossed all the ideas take off… ha ha

Have you ever read the Leader of the Council’s blog?

No, suspected not. It’s reasonably useful for finding out what is rattling the cages of the Council at the moment though… and the current hot topic is the battle about improvements to Junction 9 of the M40.

Basically, motorists have been complaining about the traffic jams at the junction for years, but now it emerges that any further improvements depend on an eco-town being given the green light (excuse the pun)

Our esteemed leader, Cllr Keith Mitchell, gets quite irate at this point:

“Perhaps those at Whitehall who have taken this decision would like to travel on this section of the M40 on any day of the week and see what it is like now – without a single brick of the proposed eco-town ever having been laid. While they are at it they could travel down the two-lane A34, rush hour would be a good time.”

At least he promises that “Oxfordshire County Council will not give up on this” and hopefully, in the future, we may actually be able to sail up and down the M40 as we please.

What should you do if you find a 20p coin without a date on it?

It’s definitely worth checking your pocket to see if you find that coin that’s the equivalent of the ‘golden ticket’.

It seems a local lad has picked up one of the few 20 pence pieces that are suddenly fetching in hundreds of pounds.

The Royal Mint mix up has seen a batch of twenty pence coins produced without a date. A new design last year saw the date move to the “heads” side of the coin, but some coins were produced with the newly designed back and the old front – in other words, two sides with no date.

What should you do if you find one?

Most seem to have found their way onto ebay, but they are now considered a collectors’ item so who knows if they will increase in value in years to come?

If you just want to cash in now however, you can just register your details with The London Mint Office before sending in the coin and claiming your reward.

Check out their website for more details: www.undated20p.com

The usual tourist-driven information points and blogs about Oxford all tend to concentrate on the “dreaming spires” and the history of the University, yet I hope below are a few more unusual facts that you have never heard about Oxford.

Fact: Oxford was never bombed in the war, as Hitler intended to use Oxford as his headquarters once he conquered Britain. A new capital of England for his new regime.

Fact: The City claims that Oxford has more published writers per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkein, CS Lewis, Philip Pullman to name but a few. Oh, and not forgetting it’s the home of the Oxford English Dictionary

Fact: The ‘real’ Alice in Alice in Wonderland was a girl called Alice Liddell, a daughter of the Dean at Christ Church College, a friend of Lewis Carroll. 

Fact: Oxford University has educated 25 British Prime Ministers in its history. Not a bad collection, including Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair (Cambridge has educated 15)

Fact: Cambridge. Archrival? It was actually founded by exiled Oxford scholars who fled on of the “town versus gown” riots that erupted in 1209 between students and townspeople.

Fact: Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum is the oldest museum in the UK and one of the oldest in the world. It was the first museum in the world to be opened to the public (1683) according to the Guinness Book of Records. Randomly, it’s original collection included zoological specimens, including the stuffed body of the last Dodo ever seen in Europe. 

Fact: Christ Church Cathedral’s bell in the tower (called the Great Tom) strikes 101 times at 9.05pm every evening (corresponding to what used to be “Oxford time”) and used to signal the time for all the colleges to lock their gates and for the students to return home. 9pm?! How times have changed…