Archive

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Charles hits the election trail

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy kickstarted his party's election campaign yesterday with a two-hour visit to Oxfordshire. Charles Kennedy during a visit to Longlands care home in Blackbird Leys yesterdayDuring a tour of Abingdon hospital and a

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Rugby: Didcot stunners shock Oxford

Oxfordshire Plate: Didcot produced a stunning peformance to send Oxford crashing out 27-17 in Sunday's quarter-final. Oxford, who have won the county cup on 11 occasions since its inception on 1971, were outdone by tries from John Kenway, Andy Pynegar

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Labour cheers defector Jackson

ROBERT Jackson MP was given a rapturous reception by his new colleagues in the Labour Party. The Wantage MP, who announced at the weekend he was defecting from the Tories, spent his first day in Westminster as a Labour politician yesterday. Labour's Oxford

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Rugby: Bicester take positives

Southern Counties North: Henley Wanderers saw off Bicester 26-7 at Oxford Road, but there were plenty of plusses for the losers. The visitors turned round 19-0 up at the break after Bicester had conceded seven first-half penalties. But with the slope

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Rugby: Henley's yellow peril

National League 1: Henley Hawks crashed 33-5 away to Exeter Chiefs after receiving three yellow cards during Saturday's fixture which was played in a sea of mud at the County Ground. The visitors fell foul of referee Mark Wilson's whistle, conceding four

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Hockey: Smyth to the rescue as Rover extend run

South League: Rover Oxford extended their unbeaten run in the Middlesex, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Regional league to four games with a 3-3 draw at home to South Bucks. But they needed a last-minute equaliser from a Daniel Smyth penalty corner to rescue

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Rugby: Great Grove put an end to Banbury run

Oxfordshire Cup: Grove shocked in-form Banbury with a decisive 31-12 quarter-final victory at Cane Lane on Sunday. Banbury, on a roll after seven Midland 3 East South wins on the trot, were stifled by Grove's determination not to give away possession.

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Trust takes next step in landscape project

A conservation trust is preparing to take the next step in creating an education centre after receiving planning permission. The Northmoor Trust has been given the go-ahead to convert former agricultural buildings at its working farm in Little Wittenham

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£100,000 revamp boosts learning programme

College opens centre for autistic students Oxford's first centre for autistic young adults has officially opened in purpose-built premises after transferring from Thame. Oxford and Cherwell College relocated its post-16 provision for autistic students

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Residents bid to put brakes on bus plan

Residents are up in arms about plans to divert buses down their narrow Cowley street while repairs are carried out in a nearby road. A section of Oxford Road, from Between Towns Road to Hollow Way, will be closed from February 28 and temporary traffic

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Smoking ban won't deter pub regulars

Three-quarters of people who took part in an Oxford Mail Internet poll would not stop going to their regular pub if it introduced a ban on smoking. The poll came as a number of pubs in the county decided to pre-empt the Government's proposal to stop smoking

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Lab should be dropped

Sir - I am astounded to learn that Oxford University wishes to build a new biomedical research facility - more fruitless waste of creatures' lives, animal and human, and a waste of funds that could be diverted into existing methods of research which do

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Three-year injustice

Sir - Three years ago, the United States started shipping detainees to prison camps at Guantanamo Bay. Many have been there ever since. There were no charges made, no trial, and no evidence was produced against them. They were not even told what they

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Something in return

Sir - Loath as I am to enter into a dispute with the usually sensible and wise Paul Lumley, Blair more powerful than Thatcher (Oxford Mail, January 11), I should perhaps remind him of the names Bernie Ecclestone and Rupert Murdoch. All major political

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Carry-on over insurance

Sir - I hope British survivors coming home from the tsunami disaster don't have the same holiday insurance company as I had. I paid a travel agent in Abingdon for a week's holiday in Majorca, but on October 31, the person I was going with broke her ankle

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It's your call to shop a yob

Residents in Oxford will be encouraged to shop a yob in confidence from next month, when an anonymous telephone crime line goes live. Home Office minister Hazel Blears announced the initiative It's Your Call yesterday as part of the Government's bid to

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Pollution: Let's stop worrying

Sir - You report further 'pollution confusion' about Oxford's air quality (Oxford Mail, January 12). This is not surprising when misleading scare stories continue to be repeated long after they have been discredited. Readers may recall my letter (Oxford

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Darts: Super Jukes keeps Oxon on title track

Jon Jukes was the hero for Oxfordshire as his last-gasp win earned the Kaliber Inter-Counties League Division 4 leaders a 19-17 victory over second-placed Gwynedd at the Cowley Community Centre. Winning 18-17, it looked as though the clash would end in

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January 18: Into the wilderness

THE defection of Robert Jackson from the Conservatives to Labour has inevitably drawn conflicting views. Labour see it as a triumph, evidence that they are the party of government and that even Tories are disillusioned with their leadership and policies

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Scouts in crisis appeal for help

Scouts, Cubs and Beavers need to raise £50,000 and attract up to six new leaders to secure their future in Didcot. Rob Vaines, 15th Didcot Scout Group leader, said a lack of volunteers helping to run the weekly groups and organising committee had reached

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Police shake-up will not affect beat cops

Redundancies among civilian staff are expected as result of a shake-up to the police force in Oxfordshire -- but there will be no cut in the numbers of bobbies on the beat. Chief Constable Peter Neyroud last year announced Thames Valley Police would be

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'Rescuer' jailed for killing friend

A man who stabbed his friend in a bid to stop the 22-year-old beating up his own girlfriend was convicted of manslaughter yesterday. Mark Cheneler, 33, of Roebuck Court, Didcot, denied murdering Ashley Ward, who died of a single stab wound to his neck

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Football: Alsop takes legal advice over FA ban

Julian Alsop is taking legal advice over whether to appeal after the Football Association suspended him until the end of the season following the training-ground incident which led to him being sacked by Oxford United. As reported in later editions of

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Football: United eye Cominelli

OXFORD United's foreign legion is set to increase further this week with the signing of Argentine Lucas Cominelli. The left-sided midfielder has been training with the U's for a week, and Oxford's Argentine management are keen for him to put pen to paper

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Firm unpicking bike lock fault

A FIRM which specialises in motorbike accessories has suffered a wave of criticism after it was revealed one of its locks can be picked with a pen. The controversy surrounding Witney-based Oxford Products surfaced on the Internet where the flaw was exposed