Oxford Mail

On this day: Oxfordshire Archive

Oxfordshire Archive

• Mourning Ruby by Helen Dunmore (Viking, £16.99)

  In the opening chapter of Helen Dunmore's eighth novel, a mother and daughter walk hand in hand, high above the cliffs. Suddenly, headlights sweep towards them and she flings herself over her child to save her. But this is a dream. Rebecca and Adam are happily married when their five-year-old daughter Ruby is killed in a road accident. read more

• Shop staff stop fraud

  Police have praised supermarket staff after a Banbury man was jailed for credit card fraud. read more

• Alien - Director's Cut

  While some director's take the chance to add everything that was originally left out, or draw some new scenes if real ones don't exist, Ridley Scott has a history of approaching his old films with a genuinely critical eye. read more

• Marchers to avoid park

  Bicester Town Council's refused to allow Garth Park to be used for an anti-racism march in case right-wing groups demanded the same privilege. read more

• Football fixtures for Sunday

  Games involving Oxfordshire teams on November 2 read more

• Hockey fixtures for Saturday

  Games involving Oxfordshire sides on November 1, 2003 read more

• Rugby fixtures for Saturday

  Games involving Oxfordshire sides on November 1, 2003 read more

• Review: Where There's a Will by JOHN MORTIMER (Viking, £17.99)

  When announcing that the latest book from south Oxfordshire's most irrascible old lawyer and unreformed champagne socialist was to be Radio 4's Book of the Week, the BBC selected a passage emphasising the spiritual legacy that Sir John Mortimer's father left him. "Apart from his intimate knowledge of the law of probate, my father left me his memories of Shakespeare, Browning and the Sherlock Holmes stories, together with his laughter." read more

• Review: A Passionate Woman: The Mill at Sonning

  Uncomfortable in her dusky pink new dress, Betty, an ordinary housewife and mother, climbs to the top of her house, dons her apron and begins frenziedly cleaning the attic. Betty has been not just preparing for, but dreading, her only son's wedding day for weeks. In an effort to block out the future - losing her adored son and years of her own unhappy marriage stretching before her - she locks herself away and returns to the past. And with the dusty records she uncovers, she remembers her passionate extra-marital love affair with Craze, the Polish man from downstairs. read more

• New look for church

  One of Witney's landmark buildings, the High Street Methodist Church, is getting a facelift. read more

• Classic Albums: Thriller Michael Jackson (1982)

  Michael Jackson may be derided these days as a disfigured wierdo who dangles babies over balconies, but no dance floor aficionado should be without the silky, sexy and sentimental album that catapulted him to megastardom. read more

• Troops off to Iraq for supply work

  More than 500 troops based at Dalton Barracks Abingdon are preparing to leave for a six-month tour of Iraq. read more

• The best of luck, Emily

  Paramedics have flown eight-year-old Emily Powell back to her home town because she is terrified to travel by road after the horrific crash which killed her mother, brother and stepfather. read more

• PO strike leads to mail backlog

  Post Office management in Oxford are hiring trailers to store the anticipated backlog of mail as the impact of the latest wildcat strike starts to bite. read more

• Muddy road led to death

  A Banbury man died when his car skidded on a country road covered in mud after a point-to-point horse race meeting. read more

• Football fixtures for Saturday

  Games involving Oxfordshire teams for Saturday, November 1 read more

• Review: The Grandmothers by Doris Lessing (Flamingo, £15.99)

  A new book by Doris Lessing is always a cause for celebration. In the four novellas that comprise The Grandmothers, her vivid and tender heart battles once again with her wise and knowing head. read more

• Tait axed

  Oxford United face a club in turmoil at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. Opponents Darlington have sacked manager Mick Tait, the former Oxford United player, and replaced him with former boss David Hodgson. read more

• Cup tickets caught up in strike

  Oxford United's FA Cup tickets have been stuck in the postal strike. read more

• Revamp of site sparks high hopes

  The future of the Parker Knoll factory site in Chipping Norton will be "turning point" for the town, says mayor Jo Graves. read more

On this day: Oxfordshire Archive