Our glorious City is a jewel in a sea of green, where town meets country, with its fingers of green running into and through it. All is heightened by this glorious weather, signs of spring with the primroses and the daffodils against the blue of the sky, the Oxford spires catching the light. We talk about health and wellbeing as if it is something new, yet in the fields beyond the City is an air of the old-fashioned, couples strolling side by side, and families taking their exercise together, just as it was when OPT first pledged to keep the green fields around Oxford available for everyone, nearly one hundred years ago, the intention to help combat the poor health and living conditions of many residents.

And now it is for health of a different reason that people are out and about, daily exercise, where couples and family groups are noticeable for their closeness, all otherwise avoiding one another, as if in some weird social experiment, anti-social behaviour in reverse, where we smile from a distance but warily step back if someone seems to come too close. We will do our best to keep our crisscrossing web of footpaths open, for your health and ours, but it has to be safe to do so, and the Government to allow it. Please watch our website for latest news.

If we do close our green spaces then Oxford’s wellbeing will be all the more important, and we will need to work together to keep mind, body and spirit together. At OPT we intend to keep going, to provide some continuity, stability and that vital light at the end of this tunnel of unknown length. We will need some good Oxford parties to look forward to, so we are delighted that our Oxford Open Doors partners are continuing with their support, in case we can manage to come together in September in some form, and the Awards which don’t happen until November, are open for entries online, so there is no excuse not to enter.

We will be sad not to meet with you for a while, but we can keep in touch. We’ll use this blog, social media and emails to our members and supporters to share our Oxford, albeit remotely, full of its interesting places and fascinating facts, and find something to make you smile. Remember that you’re not alone, and you can always have a chat with us using @OxfordPresTrust and #OPTchat.

And so the Seasons will turn, the daffodils will fade to be replaced by carpets of bluebells and Oxford fritillaries, the birds will build their nests, and we hope you will look beyond your windows to blue skies and sunshine.  When we are back out and about, as we will be, please know that our lovely Oxford awaits, and that in this interim OPT will keep caring for those fields and views captured over the centuries, ready to delight you once again.

Sharing Oxford – interesting places, fascinating facts and things to make you smile. Catch up on all our blog posts here.