The Didcot headlines 23rd October 2026
A round-up of the week’s news from various local sources.
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A week in which Didcot saw a flying visit from the Flying Scotsman, a group of cyclists lighting up the streets of Didcot and a jazz trio playing the hits of Black Sabbath.
Jazz Sabbath at Cornerstone Arts
On Saturday evening the Cornerstone played host to the wonderful Jazz Sabbath, playing the hits of Black Sabbath in a jazz style! The trio, led by Adam Wakeman (the son of Rick) on piano and ably supported by Jonny Wickham on bass and Arthur Newell on drums, played Black Sabbath songs that could be enjoyed by Black Sabbath fans or jazz fans who know nothing about Black Sabbath. Adam Wakefield, who at one time was the off-stage keyboardist for Black Sabbath and also for Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band, appears dressed as a old man (wearing a grey wig and walking with a stick), called Milton Keynes, who supposedly wrote all the Black Sabbath hits back in the 1960s, only to have them stolen by a group he nicknames ‘Back Stabbath’. He breaks up the music by stepping away from the piano to tell comic anecdotes about the inspiration for some of the songs. There is even one cringeworthy bit of audience participation involving an accordion. It was great to have some live jazz of this quality in Didcot. As a jazz fan I loved it and my heavy metal-loving companions loved it too. You haven’t heard ‘Paranoid’ until you’ve heard it performed by a jazz trio!
Glow Ride
A group of local cyclists took to the streets of Didcot last night in an event organised by Cycling UK and Didcot Phoenix Cycling Club to raise awareness of the need for better cycles routes and, more specifically, the problems women cyclists face, particulary with regards to harassment. Bicycles decorated with coloured lights cycled a 6-mile route around Didcot starting at the Green Hub on Lydalls Road and finishing up at the Cornerstone Arts Centre.
Flying Scotsman comes to Didcot
The legendary steam locomotive Flying Scotman visited Didcot last weekend as it passed through Didcot Parkway station on several circular tours through Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire. It spent the night at Didcot Railway Centre, where the gates opened early on Sunday morning, giving train enthustiasts the opportunity to see the locomotive close up.
More roadwork misery
More roadworks are due to take place from the northern end of Abingdon Road to Ladygrove Road lasting for two weeks from 26th October. This time it is for the gas company SGN to do emergency repairs to the gas network. This will necessitate the northern end of the road near the Long Wittenham-Appleford junction to be closed with temporary traffic lights in place. This comes only a few weeks after the road was closed for unrelated gas work.
Asda break-in
The Asda on Great Western Park was closed on Wednesday morning last week, following a burglary in the early hours of the morning. The burglars had smashed a window of the supermarket and the area around the shop was cordoned off while officers from Thames Valley Police invested the scene of the crime. So far no arrests have been made.
Tesco car park changes
A planning application has been submitted by Horizon Parking Ltd, the car park manager of the Didcot Tesco car park on Wallingford Road, to introduce automatic number plate recognition (ANPR). If this is approved, it will mean that shoppers can park for free for a maximum of 3 hours between 6 am and midnight (the store’s opening hours) and for 15 mins between midnight and 6 am (6 pm to 6am on Sunday night to Monday morning). Disabled blue badge holders can receive additional time if they have registered their vehicle at the customer service desk inside the store.
Application for water treatment plant
An application has been made to the Vale of White Horse District Council by RWE, who operate Didcot B Power Station, to build a water treatment plant in Didcot to serve the new data centres which are proposed to be built on the former Didcot A Power Station site. The plant will use water from the River Thames and store it in 22 metre-high storage tanks. It will be operated as part of Didcot B.
Events
Alice in Wonderland ballet, Cornerstone Arts, Saturday 24th October at 3pm.
Gigspanner Big Band, Cornerstone Arts, Wednesday 28th October at 7.30 pm. A six-piece band playing folk-rock reinterpretations of traditional tunes.
Quantum Access Day, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Friday 30th October. An opportunity to tour the Diamond Light Source.
