Oxford News
80s supermodel says her wedding venue ‘smelled of wee’
In December 1985, the former Cherwell School pupil married Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon at Oxford register office.
Now the face of Asda George clothing brand, the model, 62, has been talking about the past four decades of married life.
READ MORE: Simon Le Bon made MBE in Kings Honours
But the married mum-of-three, who has four grandsons, told The Times their journey together did not start particularly well.
She was 21 when she married Mr Le Bon at Oxford register office, which she said had an “overwhelming smell of piss”.
The city’s register office moved to Tidmarsh Lane in 1994.
The wedding was so last minute that Mr Le Bon left his wife’s grandmother off the guest list.
The night before, the model realised she had nothing to wear which wasn’t black.
“First thing in the morning my father drove me to central Oxford; the first door open was Benetton,” she said, recalling that she picked out a fluffy fawn and cream sweater dress.
She was 17 and still at school when she was scouted by an Oxford model agency, before going on to become Elle magazine’s first cover girl and leading campaigns for Dior, Guess, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren.
The couple have three daughters; Amber, 36, Saffron, 34, and Tallulah, 31, and four grandsons.
Referring to married life, the model said: “I laugh hysterically every day and adore my husband and want to kill him at the same time.”
She now joins lead singer Simon Le Bon when he is touring with Duran Duran, adding: “Duran all love touring, and he and I make it a joyful time.
“I see them night after night and am always amazed how he does it.”
After having three daughters four grandsons is a bit of a shock.
“We were such a feminine house, now they’ve taken over,” she said.
“We’re thinking of banning balls indoors until their skill levels improve.
“I could take my daughters anywhere and negotiate with them even before they could really speak.
“But boys live in the moment, what I say goes in one ear and out the other.”
Mr Le Bon, who enjoyed a string of 80s hits with Duran Duran including Is There Something I Should Know, Girls On Film and A View To A Kill, said he was “truly beyond thrilled and surprised” to be made an MBE in June, 2024.
He said at the time: “What an incredible, and totally unexpected honour.
“These last few years have been some of the most important in Duran Duran’s career, and this is a bright but humbling highlight as our journey continues.
“It is fitting that the honour has been awarded not just for my role in music, but also for the work I’ve been fortunate to be involved with outside the band for some of the causes I believe in.
“To name but two of them, I hope this moment helps to raise awareness for the Blue Marine Foundation and the importance of their conservation work, and for Centrepoint (a homelessness charity).”
Chandlings Prep on Bagley Wood Road, near Kennington, announced the launch of its all-year-round nursery scheme, which will open in September 2026.
It will run alongside the school’s existing term-time nursery, providing families with greater flexibility while maintaining Chandlings’ established nurturing Early Years environment.
A spokesman for Chandlings Prep said: “The nursery is designed to help young children develop confidence, curiosity and a love of learning from the very beginning.”
Located within 60 acres of countryside just five miles from Oxford, the nursery emphasises nature, outdoor learning, and child-led discovery.
The provision includes outdoor learning, swimming, PE, library, drama and languages as part of the curriculum.
The spokesman said: “This holistic approach reflects Chandlings’ commitment to balancing play, exploration and learning in a setting where childhood is celebrated and each child is known and valued.”
The new all-year-round nursery will operate for 50 weeks of the year, offering greater continuity and convenience for parents.
The spokesman added: “The introduction of the All-Year-Round Nursery offers families extended childcare across 50 weeks of the year, providing greater continuity and convenience for parents while preserving the same high-quality provision and sense of community.”
Chandlings Prep said the scheme upholds its focus on nurturing every child’s early education with play-based learning and outdoor experiences.
The nursery emphasises play, exploration and learning.
Thames Valley Police will deploy Live Facial Recognition vans in Sheep Street on Friday, May 29.
The specialist unit will work alongside local officers to identify known suspects, deter crime and help keep the community safe.
READ MORE: Drugs still being dropped by drones into UK prison
The force says informing the community in advance is part of a commitment to transparency, even though it may lead some individuals to avoid the area.
A live CCTV feed captures facial images before they are input into the system.
The Live Facial Recognition technology then analyses facial features in real time to create a biometric template against a predetermined watch list of people suspected of crimes or wanted by the courts.
Reports state that Oxford Union president, Arwa Elrayess, allowed one of her senior committee members to link the controversial figure with the former president of South Africa.
Miss Elrayess is facing calls to resign and is being met with condemnation from her own committee over the invitations of Carl Benjamin, Tommy Robinson, Karim Khan, and Laurence Fox.
In a letter calling for resignation, Shermar Pryce, former chief adviser, said: “I am appalled by the absolutely idiotic and frankly insane comparison made between Tommy Robinson and Nelson Mandela by the director of finance: to, in any way, equate a violent, race-baiting criminal thug with an icon of liberation is a grotesque insult to history and a testament to the moral rot within the senior committee.
“I am beyond convinced that the current form of the TermCard is the direct result of such people being enabled and empowered.”
READ MORE: Fears for sports ground as teams told to stop playing immediately
Miss Elrayess has previously defended her choice to invite the controversial figure in an article published in The Telegraph
She said: “For more than 200 years, the Oxford Union has existed to host debates – not to platform views uncritically, but to subject them to the most rigorous scrutiny. You do not invite a speaker to endorse them: you invite them so that their ideas can be examined, and their claims tested.
“Today, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act – passed under the last Conservative Government – exists precisely because we have recognised, as a nation, that the strategy of silence was not merely failing, but becoming a crisis.
“Universities are where ideas are meant to be tested, not protected from scrutiny.”
In late 2025, Robinson’s followers used the anti-apartheid anthem ‘Something Inside So Strong’ at a UK rally, the song’s writer, Labi Siffre, issued a cease-and-desist letter.
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