Gilly French and Jeremy Gray celebrated the 25th year of the Bampton Classical Opera in 2018. They are the founders and still work tirelessly to make every year a huge success. It is now known as one of the top venues and events of its type and people come from abroad to see it. This newspaper article gives lots of interesting information.
By 2019 all series of Downton Abbey had been filmed including the film of the series for showing in cinemas. Bampton Community Archive put on an exhibition of the filming in Bampton over the years in the Vesey Room. This room is withing the Old Grammar School and the doorway into this building off Church Close was used as the entrance for the Cottage Hospital in the series.
The Friends of Saint Mary, Bampton as part of their fund raising have in recent years organised a series of two or three talks, one a month, in the springtime. Robin Shuckburgh was to talk on the Role of Wine in The Church but sadly, due to dreadful weather this had to be cancelled and it is hoped Robin can do this another year.
Alternate years Bampton hosts and Open Gardens afternoon and in 2019 that was on June 16th. There are too many photographs of the lovely flowers and gardens to put them all in one entry. You will find them in 2019.2158 2019.2159 2019.2160 2019.2161 2019.2162 2019.2163 The week before had been very wet and this caused a few of the roses to look a little battered but most plants appeared to have thoroughly enjoyed their good drink.
Bampton has had a long history of playing cricket and Anna Pitt put on a wonderful, well researched exhibition on the subject in January/February 2019. The catalogue of the exhibition is still on sale. This is a double spread newspaper article about it that was in the Witney Gazette January 23rd 2019.
Freda Bradley wrote a lovely book called 'Bampton; The Way It Was.' These are photographs of her parents and grandparents and of Freda when young with her brothers Jim and Ken with their grandmother Mrs Dewe, taken in 1937.
On February 17th 2016 work began to dismantle the old pipe organ in St Mary's. Douglas Clare, one of our two churchwardens in April 2019 wrote the following article for the May issue of Contact.
Article about British Legion Bikers from all over the country being awarded a flag in recognition of their support for the veterans' organisation at RAF Brize Norton. The bodies of armed forces personnel who die in action are repatriated back to Brize Norton.