2005

* Dilapidated school and council buildings in Oxfordshire will be patched up from a £25m fund allocated by the county council.

* The 6,000 people who were looking forward to seeing Andrea Bocelli in concert at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium have had their hopes dashed – one of the promoters has been declared bankrupt.

1995

* Oxford's traditional May Day celebrations are being hijacked by drunks, some in black ties and ball gowns, say police.

* Children in Oxfordshire are among the richest in the country with pocket money – they receive £2.39 a week, compared with the national average of £2.05, according to a survey.

1985

* Oxford United striker John Aldridge set a club goal-scoring record as he hit his 24th league goal of the season, beating a 20-year record set by Colin Booth.

* Radcliffe Square in Oxford was transformed into a Victorian scene for the filming of Young Sherlock Holmes, Steven Spielberg’s latest multi-million pound production.

1975

* Oxford's new bus lanes have been of little benefit to bus passengers and have brought considerable disadvantages for other road users, say the AA and RAC.

* Oxford stores are in the middle of a massive spending boom as shoppers race to beat VAT increases on luxury goods imposed by Chancellor Denis Healey.

1965

* Visitors will no longer be allowed to climb to the top of Magdalen College tower to hear the singing of the choir on May morning – it has become “uncomfortably crowded”.

* Oxford United are poised for promotion after a 3-0 win over Torquay at the Manor Ground put them third in the Fourth Division.

1955

* An emergency shelter is needed in Oxford for girls who have run away from home and are sleeping in taxis, sheds, railway stations and trains in sidings, say probation officers.

* The new South Oxford Conservative Club, on the site of the Dolphin and Anchor pub at Folly Bridge, was officially opened by Oxford MP Lawrence Turner.