Frank Purslow was not only an excellent melodeon player, he taught many local people as well. He also had a wonderful catalogue of music gathered throughout his life. It was shocking to see it all put outside the gate of his house after his death for the bin men to pick up. A little was rescued but the vast majority was thrown away. The letter from Frank shown here was a follow-on from one sent the week before and the text will explain all.

Dr Alan Cole was in the practice in Bampton for many years. In this picture you can see his on-call alarm in his top pocket.

This Frog Prince was made by Jo Lewington. I asked her to tell me about it and she said :-

"This dates from my sculptor phase in the ‘80s. I made 3 or 4 of these. One was sent to the head of a fashion house in California ( I remember it as Mr Gucci , but that can’t be right, but he was famous). I think the one in the picture went to another rich American. I can’t remember what happened to the rest but there is one somewhere in the Cotswolds. I made postcards and a leaflet and distributed them around Chelsea Garden Show, but at that time I was off to India for a year and my career as a sculptor ended."

This delightful Frog Prince was created by Jo Lewington.

This is the Bampton Directory published in 1993. It lists all the services, clubs, societies and organisations to be found in Bampton along with the contact details. Advertisers who support the publication are :-

Spar, grocery shop
Electric Vehicles
Farmhouse Hotel & Restaurant, Lew
Rouse Pianos, keyboard lessons, piano tuning, soloist available
Elephant & Castle Inn, plus accommodation
Steve Rees, plumbing & heating
Bampton Cars, short and long distances
Centre for complementary medicine
A Simmonds, bread, cakes, general groceries, toiletries, pet food
L A Wootton, visiting chiropodist
Martin Drew, chiropodist
Cancer Research Campaign
Girobank
Bampton Driving School
Day & Partners, veterinary surgeons
Hazel & Phil Shaw, B&B
Boarding Kennels
M H Thomas, building landscape gardens, fencing, supplier of cut flowers
A P Sykes, B F Sinson & Associates, Dental Surgeons
Emmies, newsagent, tobacconist, confectioner
A Garage Door Associates, supply, fit, automation, repairs etc
C L Baker, extensions, porches, conservatories, UPVC fascia & guttering
The Cotton Club, natural fabrics
Countryman Building Ltd., builders & property maintenance
Frank D Stanger, solicitor
N Woodley, building maintenance, extension, roofing, electrical, plumbing
Romany Inn, accommodation, restaurant
Andrew Bowman, master thatcher
Bubbles, dog grooming
McKenzie Brown, domestic & commercial heating, plumbing, electrical work
J Temple, hardware, DIY, fancy goods, toys
K J Mullis, plumbing and heating
P Lewis, electrician
R Cooper, builder, painter, carpentry, general repairs, dry stone walling
E Taylor & Son, funeral directors, Carterton & Witney
Health Matters, shop, homeopathic remedies, health foods, cosmetics, perfumes

This is the Bampton Directory for 2006. It lists all the services, clubs, societies and organisations to be found in Bampton along with the contact details.
For the first time there are no advertisers.

This is the funeral program from the church service for Constance Irene de Hamel. Constance did many things but is possibly best known for being a continuity announcer during WWII

There is a sound recording of Constance talking about her whole working life on YouTube at https://youtu.be/lnKzcJOBO8Q

This article was written for the September 19th issue of the Witney Gazette. It reports that the O2 telecommunications mast near Bampton has been faulty since it was first reported on August 2nd 2018. There is huge frustration with it being faulty for well over a month and the lack of communication from O2. Much fore information in the article.

The people of Bampton always pull together when push comes to shove. Residents got fed up with the litter about the paths and lanes and organised a mass clean-up. This article gives much more detail about it.