Archive

  • Amey bids for high-flying firm

    AMEY today announced plans to take off into the aviation sector with an £81.5m offer to buy airport ground services group Servisair. Amey, which has a wide range of interests from engineering and railways to managing property, said it would pay 200p in

  • Employees praised for

    top customer service THREE public service organisations in Oxfordshire have won Government awards for customer service. Cherwell Environmental Health, Faringdon School, and Oxfordshire Trading Standards were awarded Charter Marks. The trading standards

  • Beef to stay banned in county's schools

    Beef products will remain banned from school dinner tables across the county, despite the lifting of the export ban by the European Union. Members of Oxfordshire's education committee were yesterday divided on whether the current ban should be lifted.

  • Students take to streets of Oxford in fees protest

    It threatened to be a throwback to the notorious Paris demonstrations of the 1960s. Hundreds of angry students turning out in solidarity with six rebels refusing to pay tuition fees. But although more than 1,500 students took to the streets, there were

  • Deano's staying put - Shotts

    ANY hopes Dean Windass had that his goal against Chelsea might earn him a move from the Manor appeared to be scuppered - for the time being at least - when Malcolm Shotton insisted last night: "Dean's going nowhere." The 29-year-old striker scored his

  • Casino night raises funds

    A FRENCH-style cabaret and casino night at Hartwell Ford helped raise more than £1,000 for charity. More than 100 customers packed into the Ford showroom last month for the evening, which featured a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses. The

  • Pledge to reduce A34 noise

    Transport minister Glenda Jackson has said everything is being done to try to reduce noise levels on the A34 around Oxford. Ms Jackson was speaking last night in a special House of Commons debate secured by the Oxford West and Abingdon MP Evan Harris.

  • Car insurance premiums set for huge rise

    CAR insurance premiums could rise by nearly a third this year, according to a survey. The research, by insurance brokers Footman James and Company, predicts that most motor insurance policies will rise by at least 10-15 per cent over the year. But the

  • Firemen rescue three from blaze

    Three people were led to safety last night after fire ripped through the kitchen of a first-floor flat. Fire chiefs said the blaze - thought to have been caused by an unattended candle - was just minutes from spreading to the rest of the block. Fire crews

  • Alfa Romeo launches new flagship

    ALFA Romeo launches its new 166 flagship at the end of the month, completing the company's shake-up of its entire range which started five years ago. The sports saloon, which will be priced from £22,701 to £29,800, will compete in the so-called E segment

  • Cash injection to ease beds crisis

    Fewer patients will be turned away from Oxford hospitals after the Government handed over £750,000 for three new intensive care beds. Figures revealed earlier this month that one in five emergency patients rushed to intensive care were being turned away

  • Boat Race gets new sponsor

    OXFORD and Cambridge University Boat Clubs have signed a deal said to be worth in excess of £1.4m with fund managers Aberdeen Asset Management to sponsor their annual Boat Race. The deal will last for three years, with the option to extend the contact

  • Angry Blades hit out at deadline switch

    CITY Motors Fox Oxford Blades are up in arms over the English Ice Hockey Association's decision to extend the transfer deadline to January 29. Oxford received an input of capital when new director Sid Cabby joined just before Christmas, and tried to boost

  • Barry's full house

    POSTMAN Barry Townsend showed it's not just letters that he's a dab hand at delivering - as he achieved every Aunt Sally player's dream with a magnficent 18-doll maximum. Barry, of Peachcroft, Abingdon, posted his tremendous trio of sixes while playing

  • How to get on top of workplace thugs

    If a woman is being bullied or harassed at work and doesn't know what to do, she can gen up on her next step without anyone needing to know, writes FIONA TARRANT. She, and any other busy working woman, can brush up on new business skills without the need

  • Sharing a moniker with the stars can be tough

    A star has been born in Oxford - Cinderella has come to town. But she didn't arrive by horse-drawn carriage or pumpkin. Instead she was delivered by emergency Caesarian section at the John Radcliffe Hospital. Her proud mum, Green party county councillor

  • Flood at junction

    A burst water main caused slight flooding at the junction of Park End Street and Becket Street, Oxford, on Saturday morning (JAN 16). The damaged main was part of the roadworks which have just started in the area around Oxford Station. A spokesman for

  • Doctors pioneer knee joint tests

    Doctors in Oxford are pioneering important new consumer tests to find out how effective different knee replacements are. A team at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre is using a grant of £136,725 from the Arthritis Research Campaign to devise a way of measuring

  • Tonight

    England and Wales will have a reasonably mild but mainly cloudy and blustery night with patchy rain and drizzle, although northern England should turn clearer and a bit colder towards morning with just the odd left-over shower. Tomorrow, Wales, the Midlands

  • Pagers a new tool in war on truants

    A school is considering issuing pagers to some parents following a major study on truancy. The news of the Banbury initiative comes as the Government announced a national crackdown. The case of the Sussex schoolgirls, Lisa Hoodless and Charlene Lunnon

  • Chelsea predict replay sell-out

    CHELSEA chairman Ken Bates is predicting that next week's FA Cup fourth round replay against Oxford United will be a sell-out. Stamford Bridge holds just over 34,500 and tickets for the replay on Wednesday, February 3 (7.45) are expected to sell fast

  • Ref Reed gets green light

    OXFORD United will NOT be asking the Football Association to replace referee Mike Reed from next week's FA Cup replay. United directors met manager Malcolm Shotton this morning to discuss the matter. And while the club say they are disappointed with Reed's

  • Spring arrival

    THE new Zafira mini-MPV from Vauxhall goes on sale in spring, with an interior that caters for up to seven occupants. It breaks new ground, thanks to an ingenious folding mechanism that converts the car to seat any number from seven to only one in less

  • Penguin book axe attacked

    An Oxford don has criticised a move by publishing giants Penguin Books to axe its series on classic British dramatists in mid-publication. Dr John Pitcher, a don at St John's College and editor of the series, said the decision left a gap in the range

  • Beetle gets sporty facelift

    VOLKSWAGEN has unveiled a sports car design study based on the new Beetle. The Beetle RSi, has flared wheelarches, wide sills, a massive front air dam and a large spoiler. Additional painted areas at the windscreen and rear window make the roof look longer

  • Prison inmates tagged

    Two prisoners from Bullingdon prison are among 57 nationwide to be released early from jail under the world's biggest electronic tagging scheme. Up to 30,000 inmates a year in Britain are eventually expected to take advantage of the new scheme, which

  • New hot-rod is unveiled by Chrysler

    CHRYSLER Jeep has announced that it is launching the revolutionary PT Cruiser on to the UK market early next year as a bold new shape for the next millennium. Revealed at this month's Detroit Auto Show, the PT Cruiser has borrowed design cues from classic

  • Astravan is Euro top van

    THE new Vauxhall Astravan has gained Europe-wide recognition by winning the prestigious 1999 European Van of the Year award. The Astravan, which was launched in October 1998, is built exclusively at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, from where

  • Pupils helps hurricane-hit school

    A government minister visited an Oxford school to thank pupils for helping hurricane-hit Nicaragua. Foreign Office minister Tony Lloyd personally congratulated Cheney School's Leon Link Working Group for their hard work. In just one term pupils from the

  • Winning ways from Swindon

    AT first glance the Civic Aero deck may not look a particularly momentous motor, writes DAVID DUFFY. But the small estate is a significant car, both for Honda and for the Oxfordshire area. Unlike its predecessors it is neither Accord-based, nor built

  • FA coach wins sex tribunal victory

    Oxford United coach Vanessa Hardwick has won a landmark victory over the Football Association. The 33-year-old, who trains the ladies' team, successfully claimed sex discrimination after she was refused an advanced coaching licence. She argued she scored

  • Vauxhall's new star

    I VIVIDLY remember my first sight of the new Astra on Vauxhall's stand at the London Motor Show - I wasn't impressed, writes DAVID DUFFY. On the face of it, one of the most eagerly awaited cars of the year looked a bit of a hum-drum hatchback. Now I have

  • Disabled Jo's plea to save centre

    A disabled teenager made an impassioned plea to save her resource centre at an emotional meeting last night. Wheelchair-bound Jo Brinkley, 16, helped her mum design a poster pleading for the Summerfield Resource Centre in Wootton Road, Abingdon, to stay

  • Court hears milk float rocked in shop blast

    Milkman Brian Cripps told how his float shook following the explosion of an Oxfordshire launderette which was gutted in an arson attack. Earlier Oxford Crown Court heard that the fire was set at the All Season's Launderette in Westlands Drive, Northway

  • City pay for poor markings

    CITY of Oxford could be fined after their Regional Hockey League match at home to Ramgarhia was postponed because the Ds weren't properly marked out on their Brookes University sports centre's Astroturf pitch. When Ramgarhia arrived they complained that

  • Williams unveil new GP dream machine

    FORMER grand prix world champions Williams launched the car they hope will catapult the Grove-based team back to the top of the Formula 1 grid - then got straight down to work. The Winfield Williams event was in stark contrast to some of the earlier low-key

  • Witney get a Trophy lesson

    A SERIES of defensive howlers ended Witney's hopes of an FA Trophy shock at Football Conference strugglers Forest Green. Andy Lyne's men found themselves facing a Sunday slamming as Alex Sykes, presented with a salver for 100 league appearances before

  • Henley step into the Kingsholm cauldron

    HENLEY enter the lion's den on Saturday when they take on Gloucester at Kingsholm in the fifth round of the Tetley's Bitter Cup. Following their giant-killing victory over Bedford in the previous round, Henley were rewarded - if that is the right word

  • Fiona keeps your mind on the job

    Fiona Harrold is not a trained counsellor, yet she can attract fees of £100 an hour just for talking to you on the phone, writes FIONA TARRANT. The 36-year-old is being hailed as a 'mind coach' who stops you thinking negative thoughts and induces a bit

  • Nuns lift the veil on their own sexuality

    Two Oxford nuns have lifted the veil on their attitude to sex in a revealing new book, writes Reg Little. The sisters frankly discuss their sexuality, with one admitting how her body 'longs to give birth'. Both reject the idea that a woman's sexuality

  • So just how sacred is marriage today?

    As a blind date couple start their honeymoon and two Oxfordshire four-year-olds stage a mock wedding for charity, writer George Frew takes a look at the institution of marriage at the end of the Millennium Predictably, much ado has been made of the marriage

  • Euro grants boost for hard-up care services

    Two social services' training initiatives are to benefit from more than £230,000 of European cash - despite cuts to other care services. Grants from the European Social Fund will help pay for a scheme to train social care workers in Oxfordshire and set

  • Henley are blossoming despite muddy roots

    DRY Leas was anything but, the last time I visited Henley Rugby Club's picturesque ground. The mud was deep and sticky when I covered a recent Oxfordshire Cup semi-final against Chinnor. It is strange to think that those same treacherous touchlines could

  • Loud neighbour forced to pay

    A trainee accountant who subjected neighbours to blaring music late at night has been ordered to pay compensation. Simon Thomas, 23, of Montagu Road, Botley, kept neighbours awake after midnight despite requests to turn the music down. One neighbour,