UK restaurant chain to shut all 106 sites in weeks with over 3,500 jobs lost

• Beefeater has confirmed the closing date of all its restaurants across the UK, with the mass closures part of owner Whitbread’s major restructuring plan.

Today in Oxfordshire

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The local news that matters this morning

Here's the local news from the past 24 hours, made easy to digest.

Oxford Mail · today Annual swim marks 40 years of twinning links with Nicaragua • THE weather was just right for the annual sponsored swim to mark the 40th anniversary of Oxford’s twin city link with Nicaragua

Oxford Mail · today Banbury development east of Warwick Road to provide 170 homes • A housing development including 111 affordable properties will be built on land east of Warwick Road, Banbury.

Oxford Mail · today Restaurant chain to shut down with almost 4,000 jobs at risk • A restaurant chain will shut all sites across the UK in the coming weeks, including in Oxford.

Bicester Advertiser - News (Bicester) · today 'Unprecedented' debate held on Oxfordshire immigration centre expansion • An "unprecedented" debate on the expansion of a controversial Campsfield Oxfordshire immigration centre objections as plans bypass local planning.

Bicester Advertiser - News (Bicester) · today Football club to ‘run to Lapland’ for Bicester cancer charity • Chesterton FC’s Veterans and Under 10s teams are taking on a virtual 2,026-mile challenge, which is the distance from Oxfordshire to Santa's Village.

Experience Oxfordshire · today Take part in the FREE Hatter's Hunt at Westgate Oxford • Find the hidden plaques and claim your prize! • There are five mysterious plaques hidden around Westgate. • On this Alice in Wonderland themed trail designed by The Story Museum, you have to go down rabbit holes and solve the riddles to claim your prize!

Herald Series - News (Abingdon, Didcot, Wantage) · today Major A-road 'closed' due to serious crash • The A420 in Oxfordshire is closed due to a serious crash. • Live updates to come.

Witney Gazette - News (Witney, West Oxfordshire) · today Victim says sexual offences 40 years ago caused 'melting pot of stress and anxiety' • The victim of sexual offences 40 years ago has told a court of the 'melting pot of stress and anxiety' caused by the crimes.

Experience Oxfordshire · today Day after day after day - Recent works by Cally Trench and Tineke Bruijnzeels • Daily drawings by the two artists lie at the heart of this exhibition: Tineke’s project ‘One more line a day’ using a wide variety of materials and Cally’s ‘Left Hand, Right Hand’ drawings in ink. • Both projects reveal the passage of time, and focus on the unit of the day – the most important measure of time in our lives, the unit that governs our routines of waking, sleeping, eating and work. • The exhibition also includes Tineke’s new patterned abstract oil paintings; curiosity and play are the driving forces behind this project: within the rules that Tineke has set herself, what will emerge?

Herald Series - News (Abingdon, Didcot, Wantage) · today Oxfordshire train station named top family rail destination this summer • New data from Trainline has revealed that Didcot Parkway is one of the top trending destinations for family rail travel this summer.

What's on: next 7 days

A quick-view of 8 priority public listings from 8 tracked events over the next 7 days. Tap any item for the source and full details.

Sun 26 Jul · Oxfordshire, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien Tour

Sun 26 Jul · Waterperry Gardens, Waterperry Gardens, Waterperry,, Wheatley, Oxfordshire (for Satnav please use postcode OX33 1LA), OX33 1JZ, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. A Brighter View Exhibition

Sun 26 Jul · Experience Oxfordshire. Aphasia support group

Sun 26 Jul · Ashmolean Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street,, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2PH, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. Ashmolean NOW: Soma Surovi Jannat

Sun 26 Jul · Experience Oxfordshire. Bach to Baby Family Concert in Oxford Summertown

Sun 26 Jul · Old Swan & Minster Mill, Minster Mill,, Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire, OX29 0RN, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. Band & Brew at The Old Swan

Sun 26 Jul · North Wall Arts Centre, North Wall Arts Centre, South Parade, Summertown,, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 7JN, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. Cally Trench and Tineke Bruijnzeels: Day after day after day

Sun 26 Jul · Ashmolean Museum, Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street,, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2PH, United Kingdom · Experience Oxfordshire. Colonial Views of India: Photographs by Eugene Clutterbuck Impey

Resident pulse

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Did you know? · Oxfordshire

Bicester Village opened in April 1995 with just 13 boutiques and one cafe; it now has more than 150 shops and is the UK's second most-visited spot for Chinese tourists.

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Local picks

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