Oxford News
Fans rally around Jeremy Clarkson after Diddly Squat Farm ‘disaster’
The television presenter, journalist and farmer is best known for fronting motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour.
Mr Clarkson became a household name after joining Top Gear in the late 1980s and later helping relaunch the programme in 2002, turning it into one of the world’s most-watched factual shows.
Since 2019, the 66-year-old has run Diddly Squat Farm in the Cotswolds and starred in Prime Video show Clarkson’s Farm, which follows his attempts to make a success of agriculture.
Series five of the programme was released across June of this year, and series six is currently being filmed here in Oxfordshire.
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Mr Clarkson has recently opened up about a “disaster” that previously occurred at the Cotswolds farm in Chadlington.
On social media site X, one fan said: “Just watching series five where the wheat had no moisture, and the onions had to be replanted.
“This might be a silly suggestion, but why wouldn’t you repurpose the crop sprayers to carry water from your streams and have them spray it on the crops?”
Mr Clarkson responded: “We did that in season one or two. Can’t remember. But do recall it was a disaster.”
Fans were quick to reply to the TV star’s statement and sympathise with the situation, as one said: “The sheer volume of water required to irrigate a field is massive.
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“Can only be done efficiently if pumped and piped from the source, which would be a huge cost. That’s what you found out in the earlier series – can’t be transported for the volumes required.”
Another added: “Just finished series five, superb as always and we have just also been discussing the water situation.
“We think you should collect rainwater (or water from the stream) and get Kaleb (dressed as a sunflower) to water all the plants with watering cans.”
A third suggested: “How about Agro bot? If you still have it, [I’m] sure [that] it can be adapted for that?
“It would probably need some beefy water tanks. Maybe have a word with the manufacturers.”
Oxford News
Police have new weapon to stop e-scooters, as council introduces more
Handheld spray devices will be given to officers, allowing them to spray a traceable forensic solution from up to 10 metres away.
The spray is designed to link an offender to the exact scene of an incident, helping police gather evidence.
Thames Valley police will also be using the tool, the BBC reported in April.
The Smart Tag technology can link individuals and vehicles to specific incidents through a unique, traceable code, relating to the pressurised canister it was sprayed from.
The crackdown comes amid Oxfordshire’s e-bike and e-scooter expansion planned.
The scheme, which currently focuses on city centre e-scooters, will broaden to include both e-bikes and e-scooters across a much wider region.
The central Oxfordshire area, covering Oxford, Botley, Kidlington, and possibly Abingdon and Wheatley, will be included in the expanded initiative.
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Lime bikes in Oxford (Image: Andy Ffrench)
E-bikes will also be introduced in the Science Vale area, around Didcot, Culham, and Harwell, as well as in Bicester.
Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) intends to appoint a single operator for both e-bikes and e-scooters throughout the county.
The expansion plan includes stricter parking controls, with hired scooters and bikes being parked only in mandatory parking locations pre-arranged by the council or the relevant landowner.
Many residents are wary of the plans, Lord Krebs speaking on the matter in the House of Lords said: “Where I live in Oxford, one of the problems with e-bikes and e-scooters is that all too often they’re dumped on the footpath, blocking the way particularly for mothers with prams and pushchairs and for elderly people and the sight impaired.”
Peter Hitchens, author and newspaper columnist, has consistently called for the licensing of e-scooters and e-bikes.
He said the e-scooters and e-bikes are an absolute “mess” and “everywhere” and said there has been an “experiment” for more than four years that nobody knows if it has succeeded or not.
Thames Valley Police, which covers Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire, has already seized more than 100 illegal machines in recent operations and warned that privately owned e‑scooters used on public roads risk fines, penalty points and confiscation.
According to the report, Thames Valley officers use SmartTag to mark suspects and their vehicles during incidents, with anyone stopped later subject to UV checks to see if they carry the forensic code.
A briefing to the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel states that the spray remains on skin, clothing and other surfaces for extended periods, strengthening the evidential link between offenders and specific crime scenes.
Oxford News
Britain’s smartest teen gets Oxford University place with 23 A-levels
Mahnoor Cheema, 18, has an IQ of 161 – higher than Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein – and received an unconditional offer to study medicine at the University of Oxford.
After sitting 34 GCSEs, Ms Cheema, who attended Henrietta Barnett School in north-west London, decided she wanted to study 31 A-levels.
But she settled on doing less, after worries from teachers that she was taking on too much.
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Mahnoor Cheema (Image: SWNS)
She completed four A* in her first two months at the sixth form, and this week learned she had achieved A*s in law and history as well as grades in French and physics, according to the Mail Online.
The teen studied psychology, sociology, law, business, accounting, economics, Latin, German, computer science, film studies, politics, classical civilisation, maths, further maths, geography and media studies, physics, chemistry, biology, English literature, film studies, French, statistics and accounting.
She says she has no regrets and would be “bored and understimulated” if she only did the standard three A-levels – and said burnout is “a choice”.
Speaking previously, the grammar school pupil, from Slough, Berkshire, said: “Absorbing content and analysing and evaluating things comes naturally to me.
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Mahnoor Cheema (Image: SWNS)
“I’m busy, but I don’t take on so much that it’ll cause me stress or pressure – I try to do everything within my capabilities.
“I have loads of interests; that’s why I wanted to do so many subjects – it doesn’t take that much time or effort.
“I think if you have the capability to do more, it should be explored – I would be bored doing only three subjects over two years.
“Burnout is a big thing for some people, but I’m just motivated and driven, and it doesn’t affect me.
“I see burnout as a choice – it’s not burnout if you enjoy what you’re doing.”
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Ms Cheema was born in the UK before moving to Lahore, Pakistan with her parents in 2010.
Her family then moved back to the UK in 2016, and mum Tayyaba Cheema, 44, a full-time mum with a master’s in economics, said Ms Cheema was “quite different” from a young age.
By the age of six, Ms Cheema had read all seven Harry Potter books, and, by 11, had learned the entire Oxford English Dictionary “by heart”.
Ms Cheema, who dreams of doing a TED talk one day, said last year: “I just read the book and it goes into my head.
“I don’t really take notes – I find them to be a waste of time. I don’t think my memory is photographic, but it’s good.”
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Mahnoor Cheema with her parents in their house in Slough (Image: SWNS)
Her favourite subjects were maths and sciences.
Speaking previously, she said: “The main enjoyment for me is studying the subject and the rich knowledge – the exam is just the qualification.
“A big misconception is I’m just an exam robot, but loads of the subjects I do require analysis too.
“For film studies, I have to create a film, edit, write the script. And with English you have to develop your own critical stance.”
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Ms Cheema has an unusual sleep routine, going to bed for three hours after school, getting up at 7pm, and going back to bed at 2am, she said previously.
Tayyaba creates a study timetable for Ms Cheema to keep her on track, making sure she makes time to see friends, travel and enjoy hobbies.
But Tayyaba said there is “no pressure” from her or her husband, Usman Cheema, 49, a barrister, for Ms Cheema to do anything more than what she wants to.
Tayyaba said: “I have given her the choice, I just say ‘whatever you do in life, do it the best you can’.”
Oxford News
Clarkson, May and Hammond in Grand Tour U-turn and return to show
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond are set to return to Prime Video’s The Grand Tour, according to The Sun.
The three stars, known for presenting BBC’s Top Gear, will join YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman in series seven, which will debut on September 4.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond to make cameo in The Grand Tour reboot as they pass the baton to the new presenting trio (Image: PA)
The petrol enthusiasts are expected to help ensure the show’s reboot gets off to a smooth and welcoming start, according to co-creator and TV producer Andy Wilman.
Mr Wilman, who is also executive producer of Clarkson’s Farm, told The Sun that the guys will do cameos as they “pass that baton on”.
This will be the first time in almost two years the Top Gear originals, who went their own ways professionally, will be seen together, after the final Grand Tour episode aired on September 13, 2024.
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