Pack of Lies by Hugh Whitemore tells the story of Bob and Barbara Jackson, a middle-aged couple living a peaceful life in 1960s Ruislip, until a Scotland Yard detective arrives and asks to use their house to observe a suspected Soviet spy ring.

The play is set to run at the Players Theatre in Thame from July 7 to July 11, with performances each evening at 7.45pm and an additional matinee at 2.30pm on July 11.

Based on the true events of the Portland spy ring in the early 1960s, the Jacksons face the ultimate test of loyalty when they discover the suspected spies are their close friends and neighbours, Peter and Helen Kroger.

The London West End production in 1983 starred Judi Dench and Michael Williams.

Dame Judi won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance.

This amateur production of Pack of Lies is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd.

Tickets are priced between £10 and £12.

They can be booked online at www.thameplayers.co.uk, through the Information Centre at Thame Town Hall, or by calling 01844 212833.

Jemima Goldsmith is selling her long-time home almost three decades after she bought it while married to cricketer-turned-politician Mr Imran Khan.

The 52-year-old screenwriter and producer is the daughter of the late financier Sir James Goldsmith and Lady Annabel Goldsmith.

She has become a prominent figure in British public life in her own right, balancing work in film and television with high-profile philanthropic and political interests.

READ MORE: TV legend’s daughter selling £3.95m Oxfordshire mansion with swimming pool

Her move comes as she prepares for a new chapter in her personal life, with plans to divide more of her time between Switzerland and the Cotswolds, according to the Daily Mail.

Friends say she now intends to spend increasing periods at her £15 million Cotswolds manor house, strengthening her existing links to the region and its close-knit rural communities.

The West London property, known as Britannia Studios, was purchased by Ms Goldsmith in 1999 when she was heavily pregnant with her second son.

She was also still married to Mr Khan, who later became prime minister of Pakistan before being jailed on corruption charges.

READ MORE: Pop legend’s £5.25m Oxfordshire riverside mansion taken off the market

The five-bedroom house, set on the Chelsea–Fulham border, has served for nearly 30 years as a busy family base for her children and a discreet meeting place for A‑list actors, political heavyweights and cultural figures.

The distinctive home is now on the market for £6.5 million, with those close to Ms Goldsmith suggesting that “empty nest” feelings played a part in her decision once her sons and stepdaughter moved out.

Ms Goldsmith confirmed she had finally chosen to sell, saying that after almost three decades in the property and with her children having left home, she felt the time was right to move on.

Associates describe her decision as driven by a desire for a fresh start as she prepares to marry billionaire financier Mr Cameron O’Reilly, whose family has longstanding links to Ireland and international business.

READ MORE: Daughter of Rolling Stones rock legend sells £3.5m Cotswolds mansion

The property itself has often been compared by visitors to a New York loft rather than a conventional London family house, with a 49ft open-plan kitchen, dining and sitting area at its core.

Inside, the interiors have been styled with a mix of “faded grandeur” and relaxed bohemian touches, reflecting Ms Goldsmith’s preference for an informal but elegant family setting.

Friends suggest her emotional attachment to Britannia Studios weakened following the death of her mother, Lady Annabel, in October at the age of 91.

They say the loss marked a natural turning point and contributed to her feeling that the house now belonged more to a past chapter of her life than to the future she is planning.

The city of Oxford has emerged as the UK’s best city for bookshops.

A whopping 60 percent of their survey respondents said Oxford’s literary scene is either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’. 

Oxford is the birthplace of Blackwell’s, an academic bookseller that now has 18 branches across the country.

Blackwell’s opened in Broad Street in 1879 and is now considered a landmark of the city.

Its famous Norrington Room is the single largest room selling books in the world, with 5km worth of shelving holding more than 160,000 volumes. 

Barker & Co Booksellers (Image: Andy Ffrench)

A new secondhand bookshop has recently opened in Oxford city centre.

Scott Moynihan, his partner Sumner Braund, Mehdi Bensenane and his partner Helen Flatley have opened Barker & Co Booksellers at Golden Cross, off Cornmarket, which also features a Pizza Express and other shops and a cafe.

That’s far from the only place you can browse books in Oxford, though.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire school among 103 to get funding boost for building repairs

The Time Out awards also highlight Gulp Fiction, Arcadia, and Daunt Books in Summertown as other bookshops central to the crowning of Oxford as the book capital.

As for the rest of the city’s cultural offerings, the survey revealed 77 per cent of locals said that it’s great for art, 69 percent agreed that it’s good for movies and 76 per cent said it was historic.

Findings from the South Western Railway research has also revealed that the most popular genre for stories set in Oxford is fantasy, such as Pullman’s The Golden Compass or Deborah Harkness’s A Discovery of Witches.