Friday 3rd July: My daughter suffered from meningitis soon after she was born, we received superb support from Meningitis Trust, thankfully she has made a full recovery.
As a thank you for the support, I am organising a charity golf day on Friday
3rd July 2009 on behalf of Meningitis Trust at Sandford Spring Golf Club.
Venue: Sandford Spring Golf Club.

Sunday 26th July - Saturday 1st August: Learn t'ai chi this summer. The T’ai Chi Foundation’s summer holiday is at Radley College, near Oxford. Suitable for complete beginners and advanced students. Accommodation and meals included. Childcare facilities available. Also available to non-residential students. Venue: Radley College, Abingdon OX14 2HR. Fee: see website for details.

Open: Palace & Gardens Open Daily 10.30am-5.30pm (last admission 4.45pm). Park open daily 9am-4.45pm.
With the summer holidays approaching it’s time to plan a perfect summer day out at Blenheim Palace, and with the Annual Pass promotion you can enjoy endless great days out for just the price of a one-day ticket! Enjoy picnics in the Park by the great lake, and try a new audio tour of the award-winning Formal Gardens. Take a ride on the train to the Pleasure Gardens to explore the Giant Maze and the Butterfly House, before strolling up to the Palace to tour the magnificent State Rooms, and the visitor experience ‘Blenheim Palace: The Untold Story’. Look out for the Annual Pass offer – Buy one day, get 12 months free! Visit the website for full details, terms and conditions.

Saturday 11th - Sunday 12th: The main annual gathering for Porsche Club GB members. An array of activities over two days include show/concours cars on display. Separate admission applies.

Saturday 20th: The Battle Proms is an outdoor concert expertly bringing together sound, light and spectacle with a unique combination of superb classical music, 200 cannons, cavalry displays and impressive fireworks. FMI: Visit www.battleproms.com. Separate admission prices apply.

Friday 7th August - Sunday 9th August: Featuring “The Knights of Royal England”. Brave knights meet on the South Lawn and enjoy the activities including archery and falconry displays.

The family home of Virginia Grant and her children Elizabeth and Alexander. Open every Sunday in February. Garden Open 2-5pm. Enjoy the display of snowdrops and early spring bulbs and shrubs. Guided tours of the house 2pm-3.50pm. Plants for Sale. Homemade teas.

In the Zone: Education for Sport is the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership course calendar to support people’s knowledge and development within sport. Check out www.oxfordshiresport.org/courses for more information and how to book your place. 

Banbury Capoeira!
Sunday 7th June and Sunday 19th July: Capoeira is a Brazilian art form that incorporates movements used in martial arts, games and dance. Come and have a go. Venue: The Mill Arts Centre in Banbury. FMI: 01295 279002.

Safeguarding and Protecting Children
Wednesday 15th: Protect yourself, the young people you are coaching and your employer by understanding and following good coaching practice. Learn about child abuse and how to handle situations if you have concerns. Time: 6.30pm-9.30pm. Venue: Abingdon Guildhall, Abbey Close, Abingdon OX14 3JE. Admission: £15-£25.

Cancer Research UK Race for Life
Sunday 26th: Race for Life is the UK’s largest women only fundraising event, where women come together to raise money to help Cancer Research UK beat cancer. Whether you walk, jog or run 5k you can go at your own pace and enjoy a great day out. Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2009 needs women everywhere and their friends, family and colleagues to take part and raise money to help us continue our life saving work. There are over 230 Race for Life events taking place all over the UK this summer. Enter the Charlbury race now and join women everywhere to raise money then simply walk, jog or run 5k. Venue: Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3EH. Register: www.raceforlife.org.

Oxfordshire Youth Games 2009
Sunday 28th: Come along and support the district teams at the 4th annual Oxfordshire Youth Games - an Olympic style, multi-sports event taking place at Oxford University Sports Complex.  There is something for everyone. Why not visit the entertainment zone to try a range of different different sports and activities including rowing, football, orienteering, sumo suits and dance activities, get health advice and checks, pick up useful information on how to lead more active and healthier lifestyles.

The Garden consists of three sections. The Glasshouses contain plants that need protection from the extremes of the British weather. The area outside the Walled Garden contains classic garden features such as a Water Garden and Rock Garden. Within the Walled Garden plants are grouped in a number of different ways such as by country of origin, botanic family or economic use.

Entry: £2.60 per Adult and £2 over 60’s is made for entry to the Garden. Children in full-time education are FREE, but must be accompanied by a paying Adult. Opening times: March, April, September & October 9.00 am - 5.00 pm Last admission 4.15 pm. May to August 9.00 am - 6.00 pm Last admission 5.15 pm (Glasshouses open at 10am)

Saturday 4th July - Sunday 3oth August: Coming from the National Portrait Gallery, London, for its first showing outside the capital, this exhibition celebrates sporting heroes and heroines of the last 100 years. You can watch the digital video by Sam Taylor-Wood of David Beckham sleeping, a split screen film by Marty St James and Anne Wilson of Duncan Goodhew diving, as well as enjoying images of other athletes and Olympians from 1904 to 2004, including Harold Abrahams (1924 Olympics and inspiration for Chariots of Fire), tennis champion Kitty Godfree, Daley Thompson, Steve Cram, Linford Christie, Dame Kelly Holmes, Tushar Patel and the British cycling squad of 2004.

Tuesday 8th: Join us for this special performance in the magical outdoor setting of Oxford Castleyard. There will be musical entertainment from 6pm followed by pupils from Pegasus Primary School reading their own poetry. Time: from 6pm. Admission: FREE but donations for the school welcome.

Thursday 16th:Dr Paul Dobraszczyk, University of Reading, explores subterranean spaces in cities from Oxford and London to the wider world. He suggests these often-invisible spaces are a vital part of the physical makeup of cities and fertile places for the imagination, as seen in literature and films. Venue: The Key Learning Centre. Time: 6pm-7.30pm. Admission: £5pp. Call 01865 260668 to book.

From Saturday 18th: Do you know which restaurant used to be the prison laundry? Or what's hidden inside the Castle Mound? From Saturday 18 July explore the wider Oxford Castle site and its 1000 years of history in these special tours.
Call 01865 260666 to find out more or to book.

Sunday Evenings: Join us for live music from medieval melodies to vintage jazz.
Time: 5.30pm-7pm.

Every Tuesday, Fridays and Saturday:Oxford Castle Market offers 20 unique market stalls with items such as antiques, handmade goods, jewellery etc. and is accompanied by Live Music.

‘Open Air’ concerts - Coming soon in july and august!
Various exciting ‘open air’ musical concerts! Visit our Website for details and tickets!
Time: 10am-4pm. Venue: Market Square.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday Evenings 2nd July to 29th August: Various exciting ‘open air’ musical concerts. Concert dinner packages and picnics also available on the night.
Time: 7.30pm-10pm.Tickets: £12 each from Box Office on 01865 766266 or online. .

Brunch
Every Saturday and Sunday
As of January we are offering a special Italian Brunch every saturday and sunday morning between 9am and 11.30am. Set price for all you can eat continental buffet including juice and coffee.
Location: Carluccio’s, Oxford Castle

Una Serata Di Jazz - Jazz Evening
On the last Thursday of every month, pleasant Jazz evenings while you enjoy a tasteful meal accompanied by a delicious glass of wine. Location: Carluccio’s, Oxford Castle

Arrosto di Maiale - Roast Pork Feast
Every Sunday all the family can enjoy a delicious roast pork feast at Carluccio’s.  Enjoy traditionally roasted pork with garlic and rosemary potatoes. Location: Carluccio’s, Oxford Castle

Saturday 6th June to Sunday 5th July: The O3 Gallery in Oxford welcomes an exhibition of stunning photographic images by local landscape and travel photographer Sarah Howard.
Following on from Sarah’s highly successful solo exhibition at the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury late last year, “In My View”, previews at the Oxford Castle complex on June 6th and is set to inspire fellow photographers, artists and lovers of the landscape.

Saturday 11th July – Sunday 26th July: The O3 Gallery is pleased to welcome local painter and craftsman Tim Richardson to exhibit a recent selection of his paintings. The focus for his latest work has been scenes of local landscapes and greenery. Tim has a background in art and design and works to commission as well as holding two major shows of work a year.
 
Please note the O3 Gallery will be closed between 27 July and 15 August 2009.

Friday 12th June - Saturday 31st October: The Bodleian Library summer exhibition features masterpieces from two of the greatest bookbinding collections of the 20th century: the Broxbourne Library collected by Albert Ehrman and the Wormsley Library formed by Sir Paul Getty. It also draws on other world-renowned historic collections in the Bodleian. The exhibition explores and celebrates the creativity of bookbinders across the centuries and from different cultures. On show will be stunning bindings ranging from medieval
examples to contemporary masterpieces; from European to Islamic bookbinders; demonstrating both the art and the craft of bookbinding.

Friday 12th June - Friday 31st July: The display showcases 127 shortlisted submissions in the first Designer
Bookbinders International Competition, and the winners of the Sir Paul Getty Bodleian bookbinding Prize. Entrants representing 29 countries offer highly creative and surprisingly diverse interpretations on the theme of water. Using a variety of media, the exhibits represent a wide assortment of modern approaches to the art of the hand-bound book.

Until Sunday 21st: Inspired by ancient and modern scientific themes, sculptor Nick Turvey has made new works in glass in Murano, Venice. They are displayed in the entrance gallery as a postscript to the telescopes exhibition and a material comment on the glass-working of Galileo, which led to new understandings in cosmology.

Tuesday 7th:Space tourism is a popular concept in science fiction, but could it soon become a reality? Dr Duncan Law-Green explores the future of space tourism, and discusses what it would be like to take a holiday into space.
Time: 7.30pm. Admission: £3 (SO Friends free).

Friday 10th: Attention aspiring henchmen! Are you underappreciated by the mad scientist you assist? Do you worry how you're going to help defeat superman? Do you fear being captured by the X-men? Then come to this session where Dr. Fear T. Shadow will guide you through the science behind the heroes, and how you can use this understanding to bring about their inevitable defeat. Suitable for 13+. Time: 7.30pm. Admission: £3 (SO Friends free).

Tuesday 21st: 3...2…1…Blast off! In this one-hour session we battle gravity to create rockets that move using air as a force. Children have the chance to decorate their rockets, create designs, and test how far their rockets fly. Suitable for 3+.
Time: 11am-12noon or 2pm-3pm. Admission: £3 or £5 with Discovery Zone.

Thursday 23rd: The European Space Agency (ESA) satellite Mars Express, together with the American NASA satellites around Mars and on the surface, have made many exciting discoveries about the planet and its past. There is strong evidence that Mars did have a lot of water at first, but where did it go? Dr Helen Walker will talk about some of the recent results and the future of Mars exploration.
Time: 7.30pm. Admission: £3 (SO Friends free).

Tuesday 28th: Join Dr Carolin Crawford on an illustrated journey through the beguiling and beautiful universe of galaxies. Learn about the stars, gas and dust that make up our own Milky Way, and the supermassive black hole lurking at its core. Then travel to visit some of the most peculiar and spectacular denizens of our cosmos.
Time: 7.30pm. Admission: £3 (SO Friends free).

Wednesday 29th: Come on a journey through the solar system and learn about the sun, moon, planets and stars. This forty-five minute show is an entertaining introduction to space.
Suitable for 3-7. Time: 11am-11.45am or 2pm-2.45pm. Admission: £3 or £5 with Discovery Zone.

Until Sunday 12th July: The decade that taste forgot?  The decade of political strife? The decade when the counter-culture went mainstream with punk?  The 70s still divides opinions, so revisit the era and decide for yourself. Admission: Free.

Until Sunday 12th July: come and see how many animals you can spot around the galleries!  Drop-in activity.
Admission: £1 pp (includes souvenir).

Until Summer 2009: An exhibition about the young people who give up their spare time to learn a soldier's trade and sometimes died for their country, to mark the Territorial Army's 100th anniversary.

The permanent Wind in the Willows exhibition heralds the return of Mr Toad, Ratty, Badger and Mole to the banks of the River Thames, whose
creatures and landscapes provided the inspiration behind this classic tale.
E.H. Shepard’s famous illustrations are brought to life via 3-D models that depict the adventures of Mr Toad, Ratty and their friends.

Until Spring 2009:This exhibition highlights the inspiring story behind one of the most successful university boat clubs in Britain. Durham and its two rivers, the Wear and the Tyne, have been producing top class rowers for decades, including several who have gone on to represent Great Britain. Iconic figures such as Angus Macfarlane-Grieve and Eric Halladay feature, whist an array of objects and photographs from throughout DUBC’s long history are on display.

April 2009 - July 2009: The Kirkham Gallery at the River & Rowing Museum will hold a contemporary art installation by the creative partnership brook & black in Spring 2009. Using Gericault's famous painting The Raft of the Medusa as a touchstone, the artists have responded to themes of the river, flood, climate change and loss. Using video, sculpture and sound they will create a poetic, multi-layered art installation that reaches beyond the interior gallery space. brook & black have recently exhibited in France, Germany, and most recently at the Wallace Collection, London. Kirkham Gallery.

First Wednesday of each month: Held on the first Wednesday of each month at 6.30 from April until October and at 12.30 November to March, a chance to find out more about the Manor, its history and its contents with a different subject each month and a lovely light meal to boot!

Booking essential: £15 each, £60 for any five and £120 for the twelve booked at the same time. Price includes lunch or supper and coffee. Check the website or phone for details of monthly topics. Phone or email to book. Time: 12.30pm

Bank Holidays and every Sunday from 2nd May to 30th August 2009: Come and meet a reptile and receive expert advice from their keeper.
Look for signs in the tortoise area for additional days whenever possible. All Reptile Awareness Days are totally reliant on fine weather for the health and welfare of the animals displayed and sessions in progress may have to be cut short if weather conditions change.