On Saturday afternoon I popped just over the Wiltshire border to Highworth, for the service of welcome for the Rev. Ian Mead at the Methodist Chapel. We were blessed with some much-needed rain—and faced the challenge of a very small car park! So why was I there? Because Ian’s new responsibilities include Shrivenham, which is…
Yesterday I had the great pleasure of joining Oxford Kenya Fest at Horspath Recreation Ground – and what an afternoon it was. Colour, music, food, laughter, and the unmistakable warmth of the Kenyan community filling the space. I was joined by my High Sheriff’s Cadet, Isabella, along with her mum, Shaun, and Mark – and…
This morning, I made my final mortgage payment to the bank. For the first time since 1985 – forty years ago – I am mortgage debt free. It all began with a three-bedroom former council house in Lichfield, where I’d just started teaching at Chadsmead Junior School. The house cost £20,000 – just shy of…
I’ll admit it upfront: I’m not a Radiohead devotee. I admire their success, of course, and I know they hail from just down the road in Abingdon. And yes, I recognise the iconic image of the resuscitation dummy from The Bends album – taken, so the story goes, in the bowels of the John Radcliffe…
Last night, I had the unexpected but deeply humbling honour of opening the World Yoga Festival in Henley-on-Thames. If I’m honest, I arrived knowing very little about yoga – certainly nothing beyond the general sense that it involves quite a bit of stretching and a great many calm people with far better posture than me….
Dear friends, July has been a month rich in meaning – full of vibrant festivals, powerful performances, quiet conversations, and deeply moving moments across Oxfordshire. Whether in a school hall, a prison corridor, a park, or a concert stage, I’ve seen time and again how much this county gives – and how important it is…
Absolutely! Here’s a longer, more thematically structured blog post with global flavour, references to cultural diversity, and your signature tone – warm, engaging, self-deprecating, and gently humorous: A little while ago, in a moment of mild hunger and major nostalgia, I turned to the oracle of our age – Facebook – and asked a question:…
Today, I had the opportunity to visit HMP Bullingdon, a large, complex men’s prison near Bicester. Built just over thirty years ago, it is currently undergoing expansion with the construction of a new wing. It houses a diverse and often transient population: many residents are on remand or in the midst of transitions within the…
This lunchtime, I spent time with Kingsley, the driving force behind In-spire Sounds – an extraordinary youth-led organisation that combines music, mentoring and creativity to support some of Oxfordshire’s most marginalised young people. And what a remarkable man he is. Kingsley’s quiet energy and gentle authority belie the scale of the impact he’s having. From…
This morning, I had the privilege of joining—via Teams—a fascinating introduction to the work of the Social Entitlement Chamber for the South East. It’s a part of the judiciary that operates largely out of public view, and yet it deals with some of the most emotionally charged and socially significant cases in the entire justice…
