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Oxfordshire weekly round-up: 4 May - 10 May 2024

Kinghams Auctioneers James II Guinea from 1686, George IV half sovereign from 1821, USA Liberty head 10 dollars from 1901, William & Mary 'Elephant & Castle' Guinea from 1689, France Napoleon I 40 francs from 1811Kinghams Auctioneers
The collection was expected to fetch more than £40,000 at auction

A story about a collection of antique gold coins valued at more than £40,000 was among our most read this week in Oxfordshire.

A variety of local issues were featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Oxford and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

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Students set up camps to protest against war

Museum of Natural History in Oxford
Tents were erected on the lawn in front of Oxford's Museum of Natural History

Students and staff at Oxford and Cambridge universities have begun protest camps against the war in Gaza.

So-called "liberated zones" were set up at Oxford's Museum of Natural History and King's College, Cambridge, earlier.

The demonstrators called for the universities to cut financial ties with Israel following its offensive in Gaza.

Oxford University has previously expressed "profound sympathy for those suffering in Gaza, Israel, and the West Bank".

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Sir Christopher Lee's untold story

Getty Images Christopher Lee in 1974Getty Images
Christopher Lee often found himself in unexpected situations

The untold story of Sir Christopher Lee is set to be revealed in an upcoming documentary film.

The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee features interviews with friends, family members and famous directors.

Jon Spira, from Headington, Oxford, had access to Lee's scrapbooks and 100 interviews from the British Film Institute's library.

The filmmaker tells the BBC the actor's life was an "incredible story" waiting to be told.

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Photo appeal for Fat Puffin shop mascot

The Book House Muffin and Fat Puffin's wedding dayThe Book House
Muffin and Fat Puffin "married" in 2004

The owners of a fiberglass puffin that has stood outside a bookshop for more than 50 years have launched a campaign to get him restored.

The Book House in Thame, Oxfordshire, has appealed for pictures taken of the puffin over the years.

They hope the beloved bird, known as Fat Puffin, could get a makeover on BBC programme The Repair Shop.

Luise Pattinson said previously unseen photos could show how "fundamental" it had been to the town.

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Collection described as a 'treasure trove of gold'

Kinghams Auctioneers George IV half sovereign from 1821Kinghams Auctioneers
One of the rarest coins is a George IV half sovereign from 1821

A collection of antique gold coins, valued at more than £40,000, was sold at auction.

The privately-held collection is made up of more than 100 gold coins, dating from the late 17th to the 20th Century.

The coins had been brought to an antiques valuation event in Wardington, Oxfordshire, and are due to be auctioned later this month.

Kinghams's auctioneers described the collection as a "treasure trove of gold".

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Mum's support for assisted dying

PA Media Antonya Cooper and her son HamishPA Media
She said Hamish's death was like an "amputation" that she would "never get over"

A mother who lost her seven-year-old to cancer and now has her own terminal diagnosis has shared her support for assisted dying.

Antonya Cooper, 77, from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, wants to legalise assisted dying so human death is not "so intolerably inhumane".

The government remains neutral on the issue.

Ms Cooper's son Hamish died in 1981 aged seven years old after being diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma.

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