They have used the services of this company a lot and say that they are really good and competitively priced too.  I will be staying with my parents just before I travel as they live in the Oxford area. 

Before I jet out on holiday though I have things to sort out at work.  The chain of stores I work for is having major problems with its air conditioning at one of its Northern stores in Leeds.  I have been in touch with a company we use in that area: www.commercialairconditioningleeds.co.uk and they have been superb.  I need to make sure that the job is all finished by the time I go away, which they have assured me it will be.

I can’t wait until that taxi comes to pick me up.  I am certainly looking forward to some sun and relaxation!

30 year old Brian Adams from Littlemore is raising money by asking for sponsors for a new tattoo of a cartoon character on his rear! The charitable chap will have no say as to which cartoon character will be drawn forever onto his backside.

The final decision will be made by his sponsors. The money that Mr. Adams raises will go to Support of the Sick Newborn and their Parents (SSNAP), which supports the special care baby unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Everyone who donates to the cause will get to choose a character they would like to put forward for the tattoo. Every pound counts for one vote.

The charitable tattoo fan has said: “Having no control over what happens is a little bit daunting, though I have absolutely no preference at all. I just wanted to pick something that was a little bit child-based. That’s a part of my body that is not going to be public. But it also makes it a bit more quirky.”

He already has five tattoos: “It’s something I’ve always been interested in. I look at tattoos in an artistic way.”

The tattoo artist at Evolution Tattoos in Kidlington, Paul Humphreys , who will be doing the tattoo said: “I’ve done one charity tattoo before. It’s all good fun. We do quite a few tattoos on that part of the body.”

The worthy charity, SSNAP raises funds for neonatal care at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Mr Adams visited the hospital recently and said: “To be honest I got a bit choked up. Being a father myself it really tugged on my heartstrings.”

He has already raised £300 in donations and some of the suggested have included Pepe Le Pew, My Little Pony and Winnie the Pooh.

The popular and long standing Oxford Folk Festival was called off when it was deemed too expensive. The Folk Weekend Oxford was planned my folk lovers in the area. The event attracted hundreds of morris dancers, musicians and singers to Oxford.

A wide range of venues were used including Oxford Castle, pubs and the Newman Rooms, in Rose Place.

The event’s organiser Ian Giles said: “It’s been absolutely fantastic, it’s just gone like a dream. The events have been very well attended all over the city. The pub sessions have been great and there have been lots of smiling faces.”

“Oxford has always been a good place for folk music, but it’s the way people have responded that has been so great. The ceilidh at the Newman Rooms was very well attended.

“There were two extra, unplanned sessions at the White Horse and Royal Blenheim where the landlords were more than happy to have folk music, and there were some mummers at several pubs around town.”

Many volunteers came to help with the organization and running of the weekend’s events.

Mr Giles, 56, added: “The plan has always been just to babysit the event so that Oxford Folk Festival can get a good springboard and come back next year. It’s always been one of the biggest events of the whole music calendar, so we certainly want it to return.”

The council have put money towards 87 playgrounds across Oxford that are going to be revamped in a three-year improvement programme. The playground is aimed at children under 6, and there were plenty of them there on the day enjoying the new equipment.

The equipment includes swings, slide, a climbing frame and log walk.

Nikita Wooster, a mum of two who lives in the area said: “We live in a block of flats so it’s nice to have somewhere like this to go after school.

“I think this little play area could make a big difference to people living in the street.”

Claire Pithie brought her two sons Connor, five, and Jordan, 15, to the launch, added: “This is a major improvement.”

Connor, who is a pupil at Orchard Meadow Primary School, said: “I really like playing on the tree stumps and the slide.

“I can come here after school.”

Justine Hubbucks , a mum-of-three, of Falcon Close, said: “The old play area was totally run down, the swings had been stolen and there was litter and graffiti everywhere. I hope people will look after the new one because it’s good for the children.”

Lex Francis, a community development worker said: “Oxford Citizens Housing Association and the Catalyst housing group gave a donation to the residents’ association so that they could organise this launch.

“The city council paid for the refurbishment, and when you consider the funding cuts local authorities are making it’s good news that the work has been completed.”

The amazing minibus service will transport terminally-ill patients from across Oxfordshire to the hospice’s drop-in centre every day.

Kath Morris, who is head fundraising said: “This will be an invaluable addition. It’s all about people being able to drop into our day centre, being able to talk to people who are in the same situation and get access to support staff and doctors.”

The day centre has been helping hundreds of people every year since it opened in the 1980s.  

Ms Morris continued: “The Lottery grant has been the final piece of the jigsaw. We have refurbished the day centre to provide new services and we were able to raise the money for a new van, so the fantastic news from the Big Lottery about the grant means that the service will be complete.”

The hospice had been relying on volunteer drivers before they were awarded the money, but these drivers averaged around the age of 70 and were having difficulty maneuvering the wheelchair patients.

Ms Morris said: “Sometimes when people are coping with life-limiting illnesses, they can be isolated and at home on their own.This bus will be out in communities across the county, getting them involved. It is about stopping the isolation for people struggling on their own.”

The co-ordinator of the volunteer drivers, Ron Stuart, said: “This gives us more flexibility. Where we are struggling is getting wheelchair patients in, because of a lack of drivers. A new driver immediately gives us more availability, and it’s for the next three years.

“It just means we can help more people.”

The audition has already had 240,000 views on YouTube. The couple have had a musical love affair that started when they met at a recorder class. They even had handbells playing at their wedding.

Although they walked on to a steely and bemused reception, they won the crowd over with their touching rendition of the Titanic classic.

David Hasselhoff, a new judge on the popular ITV show called their performance “absolutely breathtaking”.

Mr Cooper, 59, said: “It was very intimidating, because we are not used to playing to crowds like that. You do have to be brave.”

He is the musical director of the Wallingford Handbell Ringers, and he added: “At work on Monday, some people were really impressed, and some people said we must have been crazy to go on.”

Mrs Cooper, 52, met her husband at recorder class and said: “Alan was the best player there. He only had a push bike at the time, and he used to phone me every Friday after work and ask for a lift to Watlington for the recorder class.”

We’ll have to see whether our entertainers in Oxford  get any closer to performing for Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.  They face stiff competition from a wide range of weird and wonderful acts. Stay tuned to see what happens!

The happy couple beat off 33 other couple who were hoping to win £12,000 for their weddings in Oxford in July 2012.

Miss Harvey, 23, said: “We are always at the back of the queue for everything, and neither of us have ever won anything. We’ve been saving for so long for a house and a wedding, this is really the start of the rest of our lives. I’m shaking. I never thought we would win.”

The Lord Mayor of Oxford, John Goddard, announced the winning couple at a ceremony at Oxford Town Hall. Over 8,000 people voted for their favourite couple by phone, text and post were cast for all the couples. Miss Harvey and Mr Leach won with 1,862. votes, and met on a night out in Oxford more than five-and-a-half years ago.

Mr Leach, 26, said: “It’s a funny story really, we got to know each other while talking at a kebab van at the end of a night out.”

They made it official this February with a romantic proposal in a horse-drawn carriage in New York’s Central Park.

Miss Harvey said: “We could never have dreamed of this, it really is a dream come true. We both have the best family and friends in the world. Hopefully this time next year, we will have a place of our own and can really start our lives together.”

Every aspect of the wedding will now be paid for, including the wedding cars, flowers and wedding dress.

The bride and groom will then spend their wedding night at the Malmaison Hotel in Oxford before they jet off to Majorca for their honeymoon.

The fundraising effort was organised after Nathan Dale’s mother was diagnosed with a tumour in her throat in 2009.

Mr. Dale felt helpless after he learnt that radiotherapy had not helped the tumour, and it was now inoperable.

The father-of-two then managed to enlist the help of three of his oldest friends to raise money. He will be joined by Jeremy Laight and Alan Carreras, of Witney, and Wayne Lewis, of Middle Barton. They will all set off to cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats in June.

He said: “I felt completely helpless when I found out mum had cancer. I think everyone does when they discover a loved one has the disease.

“Thankfully it’s now in remission. But I felt determined to do something to help. I announced my intention was to cycle from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

“We were in a pub so perhaps that’s why Wayne, Alan and Jeremy agreed to come with me!”

They have already raised £3,837 for Cancer Research UK and they have a £10,000 target.

The team have been training every week and are quietly confident that the trip will go well.

Mr Dale, added: “None of us are cyclists. We all went out and bought bikes especially for the ride. But we have been training hard, time will tell if we’re doing enough.”

His mother, Ms Butler has said that she is very touched at what her son and his friends are doing for her and others who have been affected by cancer.

She said: “What the boys are doing, anyone in my situation would appreciate. In

The piece is a 1970s bank safe that has been stenciled with artwork of parachuting rats. The guide price for the unusual piece is £60,000, but unfortunately you can’t use it as a safe, because it doesn’t have a key!

Most of Banksy’s art is created on public walls and areas, and he is famous for his stencil-style ‘guerrilla’ art. The artist rarely authenticates his work, but the safe has been verified by Pictures on Walls, Banksy’s gallery in Bristol.

His art has won him many fans including famous names such as Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Christina Aguilera.

Mr Greenwood said: “His attitude is when he does something on walls it is a political statement and he doesn’t want it resold. This is an exception.

“I had sold a lot of Banksy prints and the guy just approached me about it.

“It took three people to get it up my stairs. It’s a 1970s fire-proof safe.”

The safe is  25x18x19ins and the stencil motif was created in Banksy in 2002.  The rats align with the artist’s anti-capitalist ethos, as they represent bankers. Mr. Greenwood stated how ironic it is that many of Banksy’s pieces of art are owned by rich city bankers.

He said: “They think it is hilarious to buy something anti- capitalist. Banksy is being ironic and they are being ironic by buying it.”

For more information, search for Adrian Greenwood on eBay.

Members of the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), stated that the Asian community of non-drinkers that live in the area have meant a sharp decline in custom.

Tony Goulding, the group’s Oxford pubs officer said: “It’s the end of an era. Because of the area it is in – with the closure of the greater part of the car factory and the area being popular with the Asian community and students in rented accommodation – the typical customers have disappeared over the years.  The Asian population in the area generally don’t drink, although maybe some of the younger ones do. The original people in the area have just drifted away and so it’s not going to be able to support itself as a pub.”

There are still a number of pubs in the area, including the Jolly Post Boys and Rusty Bicycle.

Colin Joyce, who had been the landlord for The Shelley Arms for over 20 years, was recently replaced by two Asian brothers. The last pint was served on March 17.

John Mackie, who is also a member of Camra said: “They kept it as a pub, but also served Indian food, but unfortunately it didn’t take hold.”

Sadly, it one of many Oxford pubs that have been forced to close recently.