ONE of the big attractions of St Giles Fair is that it appeals to people of all ages – there is something for everyone.

This woman, whose name we don’t know, was clearly having a great time.

Dress hitched up, she was enjoying herself on one of the fair’s traditional rides, the Galloping Horses.

The year was 1971 when, as usual, thousands of people came along to join in the fun at Oxford’s annual two-day spectacle.

That year, all the usual shows and stalls were back, but with some additions.

The Oxford Mail reported: “Mr W Shufflebottom will be throwing Wild West knives at pretty girls.

“The oldest St Giles showman, Tommy Norman, who is in his 70s, is here with a miniature bull, which is only 22 inches tall, though it is fully grown.”

It was the first time in more than 25 years that Jack Gage’s famous boxing booth did not appear at the fair.

Mr Gage had been taken ill and had been forced to retire as a showman.

He and his colleagues would stand outside the booth trying to entice fairgoers to try their luck in the ring.

Stanley Grant, Oxford City Council’s market superintendent, who was in charge of the fair, said: “It was one of the most popular shows, but it has now broken up.

“There are now only three boxing booths left in the country. I tried to get a replacement and one contacted me a week ago, but it was too late.”

Mr Gage’s pitch was taken by a new showman to Oxford, Mr R S Wilson, with a new attraction – a six-lane Astroglide.

According to John Nichols, a committee member of the Fairground Society, St Giles Fair was “the showpiece of the showman’s year”.

He ran a speedway attraction and had been coming to Oxford all his life.

He recalled: “I remember the first year after the war when the strips of lights were V-shaped, to mark the war victory.”

This year’s fair opens this morning and continues all day and tomorrow.