ALEC Halls, the musical clown, aided and abetted by Georgie the pig, brought plenty of laughs from his young admirers when Sir Robert Fossett’s circus visited Oxford in 1971.
The circus spent several days at the Oxpens delighting audiences young and old. These were the days when circuses paraded plenty of animals – tigers, ponies, baby elephants, a llama and even performing poodles were among the ‘cast’.
Fancy dress fantasy
THESE were some of the entrants in a fancy dress contest at a fair held at Risinghurst, Oxford, in 1961.
They were, left to right, Kunda Raote, 10, of Netherwoods Road, her brother Nanda, nine, who won first prize as an Indian rajah, and Imogen Rigden, eight, of Trinity Road.
The fair was held to mark National Community Week.
The band played on
THE Austin Morris Band entertained crowds who attended a diamond jubilee open day at Nuffield Press in Hollow Way, Cowley, in 1985.
Organisers expected 200 workers and their families, but many more arrived to enjoy a barbecue and tour of the premises.
Among them was 91-year-old Harry Waddle, of Fern Hill Road, Cowley, who worked in the printing trade for 52 years.
Nuffield Press, which printed brochures, calendars, parts lists and catalogues, was the last company to bear the name of Lord Nuffield, creator of the Cowley car industry.
Day at the races
YOUNG car enthusiasts found plenty to interest them on a model motor racing circuit in the motoring exhibition tent at Pressed Steel’s annual gala day at Cowley in 1967.
Helmets on for junior firefighters
THESE children spent two happy hours learning all about the work of the fire service.
Twenty youngsters aged eight to 10 were invited to Oxfordshire fire headquarters at Kidlington in 1981. The visit was organised by Kidlington Children’s Activities.
Numerous day trips and visits were arranged for the children, as well as daily art and craft activities in the Methodist Church hall in Oxford Road. And, of course, during the visit to the fire station, they were allowed to try on the firefighters’ helmets.
Making a big splash
PUPILS made a big splash when their new swimming pool opened.
The parent-teacher association at Yarnton Primary School had raised £570 to buy the new pool after the site had been prepared by fathers.
The pool was opened in the school grounds in 1967 by John Garne, chief education officer for Oxford.
The computer age dawns
JOHN Mason School at Abingdon was determined to be at the forefront of new technology.
In 1987, it added £900 of new equipment to its stock of computers, thanks to the generosity of newsagents John Menzies.
The school’s computer club had developed a sales analysis programme for the company’s Abingdon branch. Company bosses were so impressed they agreed to provide the school with equipment to carry out a complete sales analysis programme for all their branches.
Michael Pogose is pictured at the keyboard, watched by Roger Clayson, left, manager of John Menzies’ Abingdon branch, and headmaster Chris Owen.
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