Oxford Clarion

Waterstones exterior

Board games shelves

Stairs to lower level

Book shelving

Oxford’s new Waterstones on Queen Street opened this afternoon, with books, cards, gifts including board games, and a downstairs cafe.

thank you ! this sounds fab! will add later!

Once more for the lunchtime crowd. Our love letter to Oxford's indie retailers this Christmas. #shoplocal

Nevil Muncaster, Thames Water: “The recent rain has helped restore groundwater levels in the region, which were recovering after a record-breaking summer. We’re [still] encouraging customers continue to use water wisely so water resources continue to recharge ready for spring and summer .”

hose pipe with spray gun spraying in garden. (Steve di Matteo, unsplash)

Thames Water has lifted its hosepipe ban, which has been in place since July. Farmoor Reservoir is now nearly full after recent rains.
www.thameswater.co.uk/help/water-s...

The current deputy chief executive of South Oxfordshire & Vale of White Horse district councils, Adrianna Partridge, has been lined up to step into the top job. SODC’s David Rouane called her “a valued and respected member of our management team for many years”. www.southoxon.gov.uk/south-oxford...

Openreach will vacate the building once the equipment has been removed in the next few months. The old analogue installation will be reused as spares for other exchanges or for resale. www.openreach.com/news/openrea...

Deddington was one of three pilot locations, with the project running since 2020. Openreach says it can take up to seven years to migrate to digital; James Lilley called the village “a proof of concept, demonstrating our ability to decommission legacy exchanges safely, securely and collaboratively”.

Deddington phone exchange (interior pic)

Deddington phone exchange (exterior pic)

The telephone exchange in Deddington, north Oxfordshire, has been switched off in the very first of 4,600 shutdowns planned by [BT] Openreach. Phone lines in the village have all been upgraded to digital full fibre served by the Banbury exchange, with the copper wire network turned off.

you're right, that IS a miss. Adding in. Where is the Rainbow and Spoon?

We know... but our (non Clarion) inboxes say otherwise. People gonna shop, least we can do is inspire with indie gloriousness? But.. yeah...

Image via St. John's Facebook feed. HRC among 6 people in academic dress.

HRC with arms folded, smiling, in discussion with two people in academic gowns with red detail on the hood.

Secretary Hillary Clinton was at St. John's College this week, to celebrate the Hillary Rodham Clinton Chair in Women’s History.
From lectures to panel discussions the programme spotlighted why care - from childcare to elder care - must be at the heart of political debate and academic thought.

Did we miss your favourite? Share your tips with us - and everyone else.... #shoplocal #indieoxford

Shop local this Christmas We love this city every day of the year, but at Christmas it is extra special. The Christmas lights; the way the frost sparkles on the Corallian limestone of the colleges; people from city, county, c...

Tomorrow is Black Friday. If you're Christmas shopping, here's our fabulously festive (and mainly indie) gift guide. Oxford's independent retailers are the jewels in the crown of this incredible city. Let's support them this Christmas.
oxfordclarion.uk/christmas-sh...

Ashmolean exhibition (c) Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

Dr Xa Sturgis, Director of the Ashmolean Museum: ‘The Ashmolean team is absolutely thrilled to have welcomed a million people. These figures are testament to the strength of our programme, our fantastic collections, an increased understanding of our audiences, and vitally - free admission."

Ashmolean Adventure (c) Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Ashmolean reports that the Museum has also seen a shift in the profile of its visitors, with proportional increases in overseas visitors, visitors from within Oxfordshire, and families, while commercial events and weddings have provided a complementary income stream.

Ashmolean Museum (c) Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The Ashmolean has, this week, welcomed its millionth visitor in 2025. This will be the first time the Museum has reached a million visitors since the reopening of the Ashmolean in 2009. This is 14% ahead of this time last year - visitor numbers to the Ashmolean have grown steadily in recent years.

Bathing water quality at Wallingford improves - South Oxfordshire District Council Good news for swimmers, kayakers and all those who enjoy the River Thames at Wallingford, the water quality at the bathing water site in the town has officially improved since last year.

Aggie Hodges, Bathing Water Development Officer for Thames21, said: “With only one other inland river site rated above ‘Poor’ this year, the result highlights the significant challenges facing England’s rivers and the importance of this progress on the Thames at Wallingford.”

Wolvercote Mill Stream, via https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/profile.html?_search=Oxford%20(Oxfordshire)&site=ukj1402-11946

The Government has published its 2025 results for Oxfordshire's two bathing water sites. Wallingford Beach has improved from 'poor' to 'sufficient' - meeting the minimum standards of Bathing Water Regulations, while Wolvercote Mill Stream remains as 'poor'.
environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/

The series is based on Prof Helm’s extensive work on the topic, based on fact and recognising there are no quick fixes. It comprises 11 video lectures of 25-30 minutes each, considering issues from clean energy to carbon pricing and geoengineering to generational equity.

A new series of free online short lectures - ‘Climate realism’ about climate change has been launched by Professor Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of Economic Policy at the University of Oxford and Fellow at New College. It aims to explain why progress is slow and what we need to do.

Flooding in Oxfordshire: what can we do? Oxfordshire has a flooding problem – and it’s getting worse. We are not talking Florida-style flooding. Oxfordshire is about as far as it’s possible to get from the sea in England – and although that...

We looked at the wider challenge of what causes flooding in Oxfordshire in a long read last year.
oxfordclarion.uk/flooding-in-...

And, separately, what you can do in your own back or front gardens to contribute to reducing flood risk. oxfordclarion.uk/how-plants-c...

Cllr Andrew Gant for OCC said: “We recognised the need to improve drainage. I’m pleased that we are on schedule to complete this ambitious drainage improvement programme. It is a huge task but one that will make a big difference to our communities as extreme weather becomes more frequent.”

OCC says that while gully clearing is important in reducing surface water, no drainage system is designed to cope with instances of extreme rainfall like Oxfordshire experienced in September 2024, when a month’s worth of rain fell in just 36 hours.

Nearly 70,000 drainage gullies cleaned since April Work is being stepped up to make sure every highway drainage gully in Oxfordshire is cleaned and emptied this year.In April, Oxfordshire County Council began its enhanced programme to clean nearly 145...

Oxfordshire County Council says it has cleared nearly 70,000 drainage gullies since April, as part of a upweighted programme targeting cleaning every gully in the county in 12 months. Drain cleaning was previously carried out on a 4-year cycle, with high priority drains cleaned more regularly.

As a designated Asset of Community Value, the pub could have had its sale delayed for six months while the community gets funds together. The villagers had so far raised £77,500 from a target of £210,000. The purchaser, Tony O’Sullivan, is currently redeveloping a village pub near Moreton-in-Marsh.

Fox Inn, Middle Barton (photo by Fox Inn Community Owned campaign)

Residents in the Bartons, north Oxfordshire, are withdrawing their fundraiser to buy the village pub after a private buyer made an offer. The Bartons Community Benefit Society says: “In order that the pub can be reopened as soon as possible, we have decided not to oppose the sale.”

We have indeed. Would you care to provide some words on this fabulous feline that we can credit to you?

Frog patroller with a bucket of frogs (via Risinghurst Community Association Facebook)

Frogs and toads in a bucket (via Risinghurst Community Association Facebook)

Local volunteers help escort the frogs and toads to their breeding pond, sometimes with as many as 60 per night captured in buckets and moved to the reserve. On average 10,000 amphibians are found dead on roads across Britain in breeding season. www.froglife.org

WARNING: FROGS road sign (via Risinghurst Community Association Facebook)

New signs will warn motorists about frogs and toads crossing from Risinghurst gardens to the CS Lewis Nature Reserve in spring. The Frog & Toad Patrol group has been given four warning signs by Oxford City Council, funded by local councillor Chewe Munkonge’s ward budget.