Oxford News
Oxford green campaigner receives MBE in King’s Honours
Craig Simmons, 66, a veteran environmental professional and community leader from Oxford, has been appointed MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List for services to ‘charitable causes and for services to the community in Oxford’.
He served as Lord Mayor during the Covid-19 pandemic, and previously held the roles of deputy lord mayor and sheriff.
Mr Simmons said: “This honour really belongs to the many people I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside over the years – in the community, in the council chamber, and in the wider world of sustainability.
“Oxford is a remarkable place precisely because of the many people who give freely of their time, energy and resources to make it better.
“This City will always be my home and has given me much more than I could ever reciprocate.”
Based in east Oxford for nearly 30 years with his partner, Elise Benjamin, Mr Simmons has contributed to the city in numerous roles, including more than two decades as a Green Party city and county councillor.
He has also helped launch and organise several community initiatives, including the Cowley Road Carnival, the East Oxford Farmers’ Market, and the Magdalen Road Village Summer Festival.
A sustainability expert by profession, Mr Simmons spent 12 years in industry before co-founding the first European environmental footprinting consultancy, Best Foot Forward, in Oxford.
The company received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2005.
He went on to help establish Anthesis Group in 2013, which now employs more than 1,500 people in 44 offices across 22 countries.
Since retiring from full-time work, Mr Simmons has co-founded Marine Futures, focused on ocean sustainability, and this year launched Green & Grey Associates in Oxford – a network for retired professionals to contribute their expertise to environmental causes.
He has also been named a freeman of the city of Oxford and an honorary alderman of Oxford City Council.
Mr Simmons said: “I’ve been so fortunate to work on things I genuinely believe in, with people who care deeply.
“I may be a little slower than I once was, but will continue to do what I can to shine a light on the causes that matter most to those in the City.”
During his time as Oxford’s first Net Zero Carbon lord mayor, he supported organisations including Asylum Welcome and the Oxford Low Carbon Hub.
He continues to invest in local renewable energy initiatives as well as advocate for East Oxford’s many and diverse communities.
Outside of his professional and community work, Mr Simmons is a keen cyclist, amateur guitarist, and sailor, with an Atlantic crossing under his belt in 2013.
Seven emergency service vehicles are currently at the scene of a police incident in Oxford.
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Shane Sterling, who studied at Oxford University, is currently a judo athlete, practising magician and is the owner of Oxford Magic Walking Tours.
He was hospitalised with heatstroke after conducting three back-to-back walking tours through Oxford on Monday (August 3).
Shane led tours at 11am, 1pm and 3pm, spending most of the day outdoors and walking between Oxford’s historic landmarks in hot weather.
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His tours are highly interactive and can occasionally run slightly beyond their scheduled finish time.
This can leave Shane with only around 20 minutes to return to the meeting point, check in the next group and begin the following tour.
Around an hour into his final tour at 3pm, he began to feel increasingly unwell, but determined not to disappoint his guests, he continued and completed the tour.
However, shortly after the tour ended, his condition quickly became worse.
“I suddenly felt extremely sick and dizzy,” Shane said.
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“I had a severe headache, I was incredibly thirsty, and I knew something was not right.
“Luckily, my wife was meeting me after the final tour. She immediately realised how unwell I was and made sure I received medical help.”
Shane was taken to hospital that evening, where he was treated for heatstroke.
Medical staff warned him that the situation could have become extremely serious if help had been delayed.
The tour guide is sharing his experience as a warning to others, particularly with further periods of hot weather expected.
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“I spend a great deal of time outdoors, and I consider myself to be extremely fit,” said Shane.
“I represent Team GB in judo and have trained at a high level for many years. I never expected something like this to happen to me, but it shows that heatstroke can affect anyone.”
He is now urging residents, visitors, tour guides and outdoor workers to take extra precautions during periods of extreme heat.
“Drinking water is essential, but it is not the only thing people need to think about,” Shane said.
“Try to spend time in the shade, take proper breaks and avoid pushing through if you begin to feel unwell.
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“Move to a cool or air-conditioned place as quickly as possible and seek urgent medical help if your symptoms are serious.”
Common warning signs of heat-related illness can include dizziness, nausea, severe headache, intense thirst, confusion, weakness and feeling unusually unwell.
Shane, who has now recovered, added: “I pushed through because I wanted to finish the tour for my guests, but looking back, I should have stopped as soon as I felt ill.
“No tour, job or appointment is worth putting your health at risk. The hospital staff told me that this could have ended very badly for me.”
According to The Sun, the hosts will join YouTubers Thomas Holland and James Engelsman as well as social media star Francis Bourgeois in series seven.
Having presented Top Gear together for over a decade, the famed trio departed the BBC show back in 2015, moving on to Prime Video’s The Grand Tour.
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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” in the series which debuts on Friday, September 4.
The TV producer told 3Bs radio at the Buckingham Literary Festival: “We’ve got three guys coming soon with a new Grand Tour and we’ve got behind them.
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“We’re really supporting them. Our guys are in the shows doing cameos, so we’re wishing them well because we do want to 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 since September 2024.
That was when The Grand Tour: One For The Road was released on Prime Video, marking an end to over two decades of Mr Clarkson, Mr May and Mr Hammond working together.
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