The Oxford International Song Festival, the UK’s largest festival dedicated to the art of classical song, will take place from October 9 to 24 and feature 59 events in celebration of its milestone year.

Centered around the theme of ‘Love Songs,’ the programme explores love in all its forms through music, poetry and conversation.

More than 150 artists will perform works spanning 800 years, from medieval Armenian songs to romantic masterpieces and new commissions.

Sholto Kynoch, artistic director of the Oxford International Song Festival, said: “When a small group of friends founded this Festival in 2002, none of us imagined where the journey would lead.

“Twenty-five years later, while the Festival has grown enormously, its heart remains exactly the same: a passion for the extraordinary world of song and the friendships that it creates.

“Love lies at the heart of so much great song, and this year’s Festival explores its countless expressions – joyful, heartbreaking, transformative and unexpected.”

The festival opens with a recital by Dame Sarah Connolly and will also include performances by Matthias Goerne, Roderick Williams, Alice Coote and Benjamin Appl.

Three world premieres are scheduled, including works by John Webb, Can Bilir and the festival’s associate composer, Emily Hazrati.

Mr Kynoch said: “As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we also celebrate the wonderful community of artists, audiences and supporters who have shaped the Festival over the past quarter of a century.

“Whether you’re joining us for the first time or returning once again, we look forward to welcoming you to Oxford this October.”

The festival will be held in Oxford, including the newly opened Schwarzman Centre, which will host the opening concert.

A special Schubert Weekend will take place from October 17 to 18, exploring the composer’s life and work through immersive performances and discussions.

Chamber concerts, poetry readings and panel talks will also feature throughout the 16-day event.

In keeping with its commitment to accessibility, the festival will offer thousands of tickets for £20 or less, with many events priced between £7 and £10.

There will also be free events and £10 tickets available for anyone under 35.

Full programme details and ticket bookings are available at www.oxfordsong.org.

The box office can also be reached by phone on 01865 591276, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 1pm.

Freddie van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame, raised concerns in a letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, highlighting delays at UK border control for families with young children – an issue he experienced personally during a recent return from holiday.

He said this process took 30 more minutes than for those able to use eGates.

Mr van Mierlo said: “It is unfair that families with young children have faced longer waits than single adults and couples this summer on return from holiday.

“How can it be that the longest line for UK citizens entering the UK is for young children, toddlers, and babies when they require much more attention and care?”

Under current rules, only those aged over 18 can use eGates unaccompanied, while children aged eight to 17 must be with an adult.

Those aged seven and younger are not eligible.

He said: “On return from holiday I noticed that only two guards were processing arrivals for families, with many more positions empty.

“In contrast, there were not one, but two guards standing ready to aid people passing through eGates.”

He has called on the Home Office to reconsider staffing allocations and improve the experience for families, especially those travelling through Heathrow and other major UK airports.

Mr van Mierlo added: “I hope to see concrete change in the coming weeks to cope with the summer holidays.”

They recently gave £300 to Barton Youth Club at Headington to replace cookery equipment which was “well past its best-before date”.

Another grant was given to the Windrush Valley Boxing Club at Bampton, near Witney, to buy extra sparring gloves for young boxers keen to improve their fitness.

The Balliol Boys’ Club Association is still active, with 22 members, plus wives, partners and family members attending the 2025 annual meeting and 18 sending their apologies.

The association’s latest 14-page news bulletin is packed with memories and pictures from the past, including letters written by members on active service during the First World War.

Another item recalls the Bridge family from Mill Street, Osney – brothers Richard and John were keen footballers and boxers.

John played in goal and earned the name ‘Bert’, after goalkeeper Bert Trautmann, who made crucial saves to earn Manchester City a 3-1 win in the 1956 FA Cup final despite suffering a broken neck earlier in the match.

Richard had a trial for Arsenal after being spotted by England captain Billy Wright, but was not within the age range for selection.

Len Tombs writes about his love of cricket, which began in the days “when children were told to go outside and play and not come back ‘till teatime”.

He recalled: “Two or three of us would practise batting, or bowling as fast as we could on a rough piece of ground. Others would join in and suddenly, there were enough of us for informal matches to be arranged.”

John Gaisford (Image: Oxford Mail)

Another member, John Gaisford, grew up in Bridge Street, Osney, in a house “with the usual outside toilet and newspaper on string!”

During his childhood in Botley, he enjoyed many ‘tuppenny’ ice creams, played football on the local ‘rec’ and fished at the bottom of Binsey Lane.

As a Balliol boy, he enjoyed football and cricket, in the latter hitting one mighty six – it appears the ball was never recovered!

Like me, many readers will remember his career as an Oxford Mail sports reporter.

The bulletin records: “He bemoaned the fact that nobody took photographs to go alongside his reports and was told to ‘get a camera then’. Take photos he did and his football, rugby and speedway photographs appeared regularly.

“John’s forte was speedway, not an easy sport to capture. He had his own column in the Mail called ‘Pit Stop’.

“In his time as a photographer, the film was developed at home – in the kitchen or the loft and delivered to the Mail offices the same evening, ready for the Mail the next day. None of this new-fangled stuff taking pictures on a phone.”

A photograph he took of Shipton-under-Wychwood cricketers won him a camera and the club £500 from the Cricketer magazine (see lower picture).

As we have recalled, Balliol Boys’ Club was formed in 1907 in an old sweet factory in Littlegate Street. A meeting of “young gentlemen from Balliol College” had decided to start a boys’ club, to be run by undergraduates, in the deprived parish of St Ebbe’s.

The formation of the club had been announced by the curate, the Rev Marks, at the Sunday afternoon service at Holy Trinity Church hall. The club’s history book records that “a surging crowd of boys besieged the premises on the opening night”.