The effects of foot and mouth are reaching the worlds of sport, entertainment and shopping, as well as businesses and individuals everywhere.

Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, closed its gates at the end of February and has been relocating all weddings booked in its popular Orangery to alternative venues.

The palace was supposed to launch its summer season on March 12 but has postponed it until further notice. The palace's 2,000-acre grounds contain 2,000 sheep and 500 cattle.

Administrations manager Nick Day says: "Our two businesses here are tourism and farming, but as soon as we can find a way to man both simultaneously, without catching or spreading the foot and mouth disease, we will.

"I would just like to say thank you to all the local residents who are being very understanding and patient about the palace closure."

Another victim has been the world of sport, with rugby and football matches being cancelled and fishing in particular being heavily hit.

Lord Jersey FA had to call off all its matches last week because they were included in the three-mile ban around Bicester, but are now back in action.

And Oxford Rugby Club has closed three weeks, when farmland opposite its club was found to be owned by the same farm suffering from the foot and mouth outbreak in Little Chesterton.

Youth and mini rugby was also cancelled on Sunday and the club's closure affected the activities of Botley Boys Football, Oxford Cavaliers Rugby League and Oxford Saints American Football clubs, all of whom use the rugby club site.

For the angling industry the move has been devastating, with most popular stretches of river being closed, and Farmoor Reservoir remaining shut to fishing.

Chris Poupard, secretary of the National Angling Alliance, says: "Whether it's for fishery management, matches or individual visits, the message is the same: keep away from farmland unless you know for certain that it's safe for livestock."

The Oxford Angling Centre has also been badly hit. Manager Dick Butler says: "We have been murdered since last October what with the weather and then this."

On a more positive note, some of the people you would expect to be badly affected are carrying on as normal. Butchers were suffering from a lack of meat supplies and rocketing prices but say that trade is returning to normal with prices cheaper than ever.

Mike Hern, manager of Bartlett Butchers in Kidlington, explains: "At the beginning, our wholesaler could not fulfil our orders and prices were sky high. But things are back to normal now and meat is surprisingly cheap.

"What is outrageous is that supermarkets are still buying their meat from abroad, instead of supporting British farmers."

Michael Feller, of Feller and Son Butchers, in Oxford's Covered Market, agrees, although he only stocks organic meat: "There has only been one case of organic meat being affected so we have been lucky so far and only missed out on one delivery."

Dairy farmers have also been left largely unaffected by the crisis, with milk lorries still regularly visiting their farms. Unigate Dairies said it was following strict Government guidelines about disinfecting lorries on entering and leaving farms.

Tim Edwards, a dairy farmer from Shilton, says: "Our lives are being curtailed because we are not leaving the farm or receiving visitors, and all vehicles have to be disinfected, so it is a big hassle."

But he is worried that spring could exacerbate the problem: "Our main concern is that we are going to have to turn our cows out into pasture soon."

He adds that many of his suppliers of feed, machinery and farm consultants are all working from home and their businesses are being affected accordingly.