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.
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.
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.
This picture was taken in the late 1950s or very early 1960s. The names of the people are all printed on the photograph and include Tony Allam John Marston Vernon Cannons Ted Harding Geoff Wilson Jim Sweetingham Jim Barton George Dafter Chris Timms Fred Mildenhall Pete Allam Harry Green Cyril Smith Micky Brooks, George Dafter’s nephew
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 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."
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.
This letter is from the chairman of Cecil Sharp House, Douglas Kennedy to Rose Wells who lived at 18 Fox Close in Bampton. It was to thank Rose for the letter she sent informing them of her grandfather's death. Nathan William 'Jingy' Wells was responsible for keeping Morris dancing alive in Bampton at one time in the early twentieth century.