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| A VERY WARM WELCOME TO OUR WONDERFUL TOWN
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Why not stay at The Crown & Cushion Hotel, The Fox Hotel, at one of the many B&Bs or in a fantastically luxurious log cabin (with its own spa) at Bluewood Park? We really are the town with a 101 Days Out on our doorstep. The town has a fascinating history and was, during the 70s, 80s and 90s, home to world reknowned recording studios where many groups recorded their albums. Artists such as The Proclaimers, Status Quo, Beverley Craven, Radiohead, Kula Shaker, Duran Duran, The Boo Radleys, Fairground Attraction all visited the town.
It's a practical and attractive place to set up and grow a business. Many local businesses are expanding and offering jobs - see our Job Vacancies section (now incorporating feeds from The Oxford Mail and others). This website is packed with information about; What's On, The Theatre, clubs, jobs, accommodation, travel and much, much more. We have a Local News page showing the latest news from Oxfordshire County Council, West Oxfordshire District Council and the BBC.
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| CHIPPING NORTON LITERARY FESTIVAL
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The question is not so much ‘why does Chippy need a literary festival?’ but rather ‘why on earth doesn’t it have one already?’ Our wonderful independent book shop, Jaff� & Neale is a haven for readers and writers alike (as well as for those in search of a decent latte) and with so many famous authors on our doorstep we’re surprised no-one has done this before.
The festival website is at www.chiplitfest.com.
 We’ll be working with hoteliers, retail outlets and local eateries to give festival-goers the best possible experience of our beautiful town. We can’t guarantee the weather for you, but we’ll certainly guarantee a warm welcome and a packed schedule. Many of the festival events will take place at key Festival Supporter The Theatre, Chipping Norton , a sensational building steeped in history, drama and great works of literature. The box office is being run by The Theatre, where you can go along in person, visit their website or call them on 01608 642350.
So what can you look forward to? Well, we’ll be hosting panel events such as the Crime Writer’s Forum, Contemporary Women’s Fiction and Writing your Life Story. We’ll have the ever-popular How to Get Published session, as well as talks from inspiring and personable authors. Our workshops will teach you how to write for television, how to break into journalism, and how to get into travel writing. We’re planning creative writing workshops, social media workshops and dozens more besides. There really will be something for everyone.
In between sessions you can wander round Chipping Norton and take advantage of some of the special festival offers we’ll be organising. The Town Hall will be open all weekend with an exhibition hall packed to the rafters with publishers, booksellers and authors, and a special reading corner so you can curl up with a coffee and your favourite book. We’ll have a children’s corner for budding authors, a free book swap, Scrabble tournament and heaps of other events to make the Chipping Norton Literary Festival a true celebration of words.
 We’ve been delighted with the response we’ve had so far from authors, who are queuing up to take part in ChipLitFest. We are delighted to announce that the Festival's Patron is local author Prue Leith.
Sponsorship packages are still available there are some fantastic opportunities to sponsor of an event involving so many well known authors. Nationally renowned estate-agents Knight Frank are The Festival's Headline Sponsors. With Cotswold Life and The Theatre as partners there will be some tremendous PR. The tangible benefits alone are worth more than the modest amount for which we are asking. Local sponsors include Corbetts Electrical who are sponsoring the "Historical Writing" Workshop, The Phone Co-op who are hosting "How to Get Published" whilst local insurers CETA are hosting our amazing Crime Writer's Event. Midcounties Co-operative are hosting at the Town Hall and Oxford based accountants Shaw Gibbs LLP are doing the same at The Theatre.
So, if you’d like to be involved in supporting the festival project, please select the ‘sponsor’ option on the mailing list or telephone Ken Norman on 07790 670 234.
Confirmed authors include:
 Why not sign up to the festival's mailing list or follow them on Twitter @ChipLitFest?
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| Chad Whites Chadtastic! AGAIN!
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Combe U10 5-a-side Tournament
Tournament
Report from Manager Seymour Mincer
Our first Tournament
of the season took us to the sumptuous surroundings of Combe. The day turned
out to be Chadtastic! Our egg-static squad
consisted of Sam Tailby in goal, Luke Barnes in defence, Max Sauvagnargues and
James Mincer in midfield and Ryan Hurley and William Parsons alternating in
strike.
Little did we know at
the start of the day that we would make it through to the last four and compete
for the Combe Tournament Trophy! But we did!
Exceptional
performances from every player secured our rightful place in the final quartet
– Ducklington A, Ducklington B, Tower Hill and the magnificent Chadlington
Whites.
 Results
Chadlington Whites 8
Combe 0
(Max Sauvagnargues 6 /
William Parsons 2)
Witney Vikings B 1
Chadlington Whites 1
(Max Sauvagnargues 1)
Tower Hill Stars 0
Chadlington Whites 0
Chadlington Whites 0
Ducklington A 3
Croughton 0
Chadlington Whites 2
(Max Sauvagnargues 1 /
James Mincer 1)
Semi Final
Chadlington Whites 0
Ducklington B 7
3rd/4th Play-off
Tower Hill 0
Chadlington Whites 0
Extra Time 0:0 / Penalty Shoot-out: Tower Hill 1 Chadlington Whites 0
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| Town Festival for Diamond Jubilee!
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 It's back for a third year!
The CHIPPING NORTON FESTIVAL this time with added Diamond Jubilee Celebrations!
Organised by Paul and Alison Aitken and a hard working team this amazing annual festival is a
FREE (thanks to generous sponsorship from Midcounties Co-operative, Travis
Perkins, The Town Council, Optimise and The Rotary Club) celebration slap bang in the middle of Town! There's a real hubbub of stalls, traders, visitors and of course bands that creates a fabulous community atmosphere at the very heart of the town.
The provisional line-up for 2012 includes:
Fiddlebop
Craig Ogden
The Reaper
St Mary's School Singing Group
Jady Mirror
The Retros
Josh Catling & Jasmine Hill
Flotsum Jets
Amy Bee
Samba Band
Holy Smoke
Rik Sanders
Keep the date clear in your diary! And visit the website for the latest news.
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| CHIPPY BUSINESSES REACH WOBA FINALS
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Good Luck to the Chippy businesses that have made it to tomorrow evening's West Oxfordshire Business Awards (WOBAs) finals!
That's Agrivert, The Theatre and Jaffé & Neale who between them, reached five of the ten category finals. To see both The
Theatre and Jaffé & Neale in a short video click here to visit Witney TV's website.
The WOBAs, now in their second year, were established to celebrate the success of businesses across the district. The WOBAs recognise and reward the achievements of local organisations and acknowledge the accomplishments of those businesses and people that drive the economic success of the region.
The judges of the 2012 West Oxfordshire Business Awards have announced the finalists for this year's awards - the Chippy Businesses are shown here in italics.
Cloud 9 Charity and Community Award
Adventure Plus
Base 33
TVSA Limited | Abacus Events Green Business Award
Agrivert
Data Plastics
Worton Park
| Owen Mumford Innovation Award
DFX Technology
First Sight Media
Oxford Products
| Ridgeway Large Business Award
Data Plastics
Oxford Products
STL Communications | Floremus New Business Award
Caswell House
Harris & Thompson
Woozelbears | Strategic Mentors Business Person of the Year
James Eades - Energy My Way
John Sharples - Low Power Radio Solutions
Brendon Cross - STL Communications | Blenheim Palace Rural Business Award
Agrivert
Ascott Community Shop
Foxbury Farm | Bloxham Mill Small Business Award
Harris and Thompson
Ice Oxford
Jaffé & Neale Bookshop & Café | Urban Element Social Media Award
Aston Pottery
Chipping Norton Theatre
Morgen HR | Heythrop Park Resort Tourism and Leisure Award
Chipping Norton Theatre
Cotswold Wildlife Park
Crocodiles of the World |
 The Coutts & Co West Oxfordshire Business of the Year Award will be awarded to one of the ten category winners. Maggie Bradley (pictured left, with the West Oxfordshire Business Award 2012) of Coutts & Co commented, "As a key player within the Oxfordshire business community Coutts is delighted to support the awards and celebrate the work and achievements of local businesses.”
Mike Leggett of accountants The Southill Partnership and Chairman of the WOBAs said, "We were amazed that not only were the number of entries up by 35% on last year but also that the quality of entries was higher than ever. It made judging extremely difficult."
Will Barton, West Oxfordshire District Council's Business Development Officer, and one of the judges added, "It really lifts my spirit to see business thriving in the District. We have so many diverse, interesting, innovative and above all successful businesses being driven by dynamic, energetic and creative people.
The winners will be announced at the WOBA's Gala Dinner on Friday 16 March at Heythrop Park Resort. The 729 Business Breakfast Club is organising a table so if you fancy going along to celebrate local business success call Ken Norman on 07790 670 234.
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 Lucy Edwards and a group of friends, have organised a Family Bike Day - Saturday 24 March from 1:00pm - 3:00pm to raise awareness of road safety and to promote cycling in the area. The event will be a fundraiser for The Friends of St Mary's CofE (Aided) Primary School.
The newly recruited cycling proficiency trainers are keen for the community to come together to promote safe cycling. All the trainers have children at the school and are hoping to involve as many local cycling groups, organisations and individuals as possible.
There will be plenty of advice and information available and crucially areas where children can ride their bikes safely and take part in fun activities like ‘slow bicycle races’. The event will be held at the school and primarily aims to help families to be safe on their bikes and be aware of road safety. Volunteers will be showing how to fit helmets correctly and how to do basic bike safety checks. There will be second hand bikes for sale and a bike clinic for repairs.
Here's what you can expect:
- Second-hand bike sale – bring outgrown bikes to sell (20% sale to Friends of St Mary’s)
- Helmet fitting advice
- Bike clinic - bike repairs
- Basic bike safety checks
- Cycling proficiency taster sessions
- Races to promote bike control e.g. slow bicycle race
- Footsteps info/demo (crossing the road safely)
- Chippy cycle route info & local bike clubs
- Nursery slope (for younger ones to have a go without stabilisers!)
- Off road circuit around the field - if dry!
- Road safety Quiz
- High visibility merchandise for sale
- Refreshments
If anyone is able to offer any help or expertise at this event, or if you can offer any bike themed donations for our raffle, or would like a stall at this event please contact Lucy Edwards via St Mary’s school office 01608 642673 or email Lucy.
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| Picturing Life in West Oxfordshire
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Budding
photographers are being urged to take a snapshot of life in West Oxfordshire as
part of a photography competition. The competition,
run by the District Council’s Tourism team, is hoping to attract portraits that
capture life in West Oxfordshire.
This could cover a
variety of themes, from wildlife to market towns, the panoramic views in the
North Cotswolds to a snapshot of Chippy town centre.
The winner will receive a beautiful canvas print of the successful image
mounted onto a 30" x 20" inch art canvas created by Blueprint Imaging Limited
and could be used in West Oxfordshire District Council’s tourism publications
promoting the District to tourists and visitors worldwide.
Cllr Richard
Langridge, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “Tourists who visit the area
not only enjoy the stunning views and backdrop but also comment on the welcome
they get from the locals. We are interested
in what aspects of local life residents see as captivating, as it can only be
beneficial in encouraging tourists to visit."
Last year the
competition attracted over 117 entries and the winner was Peter Young of Long Hanborough with his picture of the lake and grand bridge at
Blenheim which now features in the 2012 Oxfordshire Cotswolds Visitor Guide. 
Peter said: “I was
unusually drawn to visit Blenheim on this particular day. I was taken by the
brilliance of the light, and the clarity and perfection of the autumn colours.
“Walking around the
lake the picture literally framed itself. I only use a
simple point-and-shoot camera, and as anyone in the family will tell you, most
pictures are taken on family holidays. So as you can imagine, this was rather special.”
West
Oxfordshire residents, including amateurs, club members or professional
photographers, are invited to take part in the competition.
Closing
date for entries is Friday 27th April. Further information and a competition entry form are available from the Oxfordshire Cotswolds website or by calling 01993 861553.
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The Lido lottery is still going strong - originally started over 40 years ago to raise funds for the pool it was resurrected to help keep this much loved facility going. You can subscribe to the lottery for £3.00 a month - the prize fund = 50% of the total raised. For further information and an entry form call in at Jaffé & Neale.
March 2012's prize winners:
First prize: Sam Bird (£114.00)
Second prize: Henry Richardson (£68.40)
Third prize: Mary Smith (£45.60)
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