Helen & Douglas House, which cares for terminally ill children and their families, launched its revamped clothing store on March 12.

The updated shop was opened by BBC Radio Oxford presenter Adam Ball and joins the charity’s refurbished homeware shop, which reopened last September and occupies the other half of the unit.

Baljit Dhindsa, head of retail at Helen & Douglas House, said: “We are delighted to unveil the refurbished space, which has been thoughtfully redesigned to create a brighter, more modern shopping environment while continuing our commitment to sustainability.

“The new layout allows us to showcase an even wider selection of clothing and accessories, with improved displays and more space on the shop floor.

“We have also enhanced accessibility within the shop, including adding an additional accessible fitting room to ensure a comfortable experience for all our customers.”

The reimagined boutique-style shop features a contemporary, urban-inspired design with vintage touches and improved backroom facilities, allowing for increased donations and more efficient sorting.

Proceeds from the store directly support Helen & Douglas House’s hospice care in Oxford and in people’s homes.

Ms Dhindsa said: “When you buy something from our shop for £5, this could pay for arts and crafts materials for local terminally ill children to make Mother’s Day cards whilst staying at the hospice in Oxford.

“Our spring collection is now in store so do pop in to checkout our great range of clothing and accessories and take a look at the wonderful transformation of our shop.”

Cotswold Wildlife Park was established by John Heyworth on the Bradwell Grove Estate and opened on Good Friday, March 27, 1970.

Mr and Mrs Heyworth. Cotswold Wildlife Park was the brainchild of one man, John Heyworth (Image: Cotswold Wildlife Park)

It began with 341 animals and has since grown to house more than 1,500 animals across 250 species.

A spokesperson for Cotswold Wildlife Park said: “We hope you’ll join us in celebrating 56 wonderful years of Cotswold Wildlife Park & Gardens and we’d like to thank our visitors for their loyal support over the years.

Keepers moving a 19-foot-long Anaconda in 1971 (Image: Cotswold Wildlife Park)

“We must thank them for all their support for more than half a century.”

From its early days on a shoestring budget, the park has expanded to include giraffes, which arrived in 2010 for its 40th anniversary, and rhinos such as D’ora, named during its golden jubilee year in 2020.

A fearless Grévy’s Zebra chasing Bull – the park’s original male Rhino (Image: Cotswold Wildlife Park)

George the Aldabra giant tortoise is the park’s oldest and only original resident.

To mark the 50th anniversary, keepers made him a special cake during the lockdown.

The Wantage Orchestra Spring Concert at the Old Mill Hall in Grove was celebrated as “an inspired afternoon” with the highlight being a recital by 17-year-old Katherine Payne.

The young violinist has been described as a “virtuosic performer” and is in her final year at the Yehudi School of Music.

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She will go on to study violin further once she turns 18 and is the recipient of many prizes including the Celia Walker overall prize.

Ms Payne was the leader of the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra and was playing on a Castagneri violin and a Morizot bow, sponsored by the Cherubim Trust.

Typically these violins sell at auction for between £5,000 and £15,000.

Katherine Payne performing with The Wantage Orchestra (Image: Polly Biswas Gladwin)

At the performance on Saturday, March 21 there was standing room only with Beethoven’s Symphony no.7 and Rossini’s The Thieving Magpie being played.

Conductor Christopher Fletcher Campbell called it “an inspired afternoon”, with home made cakes made available at the interval

One audience member said: “We enjoyed the Wantage Orchestra concert yesterday.

“Lovely programme, and Katherine was very accomplished. Good to see it so well supported.”

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Another added: “What a wonderful afternoon performance, beautiful sunshine outside and amazing performance inside.

“The choice of pieces brought out the best from everyone and they bought enjoyment to us all.  Thank you I look forward to future concerts.”

The group’s next concert will be on Sunday, July 5 at 7pm at The Wantage Parish Church, with more information available on its website.