WMRA AGM 

The Annual General Meeting of the Walton Manor Residents' Association will take place next wednesday 22md November from 7-9pm in the Main Hall at D'Overbroeck's School on Leckford Road.

The evening will begin with an an overview of the activities of the group in the last year, including an update on various planning applications in the area, our financial position and a summary of the year's social events.

Following that, we have arranged for Professor William Whyte, Professor of Social and Architectural History at Oxford University to give us a presentation on the new Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities that is currently under construction in Jericho.

As a 15-year old in 1963, Stephen Schwarzman visited Oxford and it made a huge impression on him. Later, once he was CEO (and Co-Founder) of Blackstone, a leading investment firm, he made a £150-million donation for the establishment of a new Centre for the Humanities in the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter.

The centre will include a new institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence - looking at the assumptions behind all the algorithms and machine learning that are steadily taking over many aspects of our lives.

In addition it should also benefit businesses and residents in Jericho because the new facilities will include a 500-seat concert hall and a 250-seat auditorium. There will also be flexible performance and exhibition spaces for music, dance, and art.

Professor Whyte is Chair of the Project Board for the investment and is going to give us an overview of the project and its progress. He will endeavour to answer questions that local residents may have about the construction, the donor himself and the facilities that residents will have access to in the future.

Volunteers needed for Oxford Christmas Lunch

Can you help? Oxford Christmas Lunch provides a free sit-down meal on Christmas Day for anyone in Oxfordshire who wants to come. Guests include refugees, the elderly, the homeless, those with mental health issues, those in food poverty and those who simply want to celebrate Christmas with others. A special feature of the lunch is that volunteers collect the guests, drive them to the lunch, eat with them and take them home, thus providing companionship as well as food. They also welcome families as there are lots of fun things for children to do.

Most years there are around 500 diners at the King’s Centre in Osney Mead, Oxford (12.30pm - 4pm) Numbers are limited, so bookings are taken on a first-come first-served basis.

The main limiting factor is the number of volunteer drivers. If you think you can help, please contact Sara on sara@oxfordchristmaslunch.org.

If you would like to book a place for someone you think would benefit from it you can also email Sara on that address.

Housewarming initiative 2024

Housewarming is a local initiative run by Low Carbon Oxford North for people trying to improve their home’s energy efficiency. The new round of meetings begins January 9^th and takes place at NOA's Community Centre in Summertown. There are only 25 places available and it’s totally free so if you are interested book here, or email the coordinator philippa.oconnor@lcon.org.uk. There’s also a set of online guides that are very helpful.



We hope to see you at the AGM next week.
Best wishes
The WMRA Committee