Archive

  • Wantage motorbike dealer shaken by assault

    A WANTAGE shopkeeper says he has been left with memory loss after he was assaulted in his own shop. Father-of-four Troy Thomas, 45, said he was repeatedly punched and kicked in the head in front of customers. He said a man walked into TTR Motorcycles

  • Bid for longer sentence for violent Oxford robber

    A violent robber is due to appear at the Court of Appeal after prosecutors applied for his sentence to be increased. Jon Shirley, 23, was handed a six-and-a-half year jail sentence by Oxford Crown Court in June after he was convicted of assaulting a

  • Mandelson talks of Oxfordshire's recovery

    Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has said Oxfordshire is fighting its way out of recession. Lord Mandelson told us the county’s economy was recovering on a visit to Williams Formula One headquarters in Grove – despite Office for National Statistics

  • Inquest opens into Chipping Norton car death

    THE Oxfordshire Coroner’s office today opened and adjourned an inquest into the death of a Chipping Norton pensioner who was found trapped under what is believed to have been his own car. Derek Perriton, 73, of Tilsley Road, was pronounced dead at Oxford

  • Oxford's 2012 Olympic dream: 'We must go for gold'

    OXFORD’S world class sporting facilities and tourist attractions and its proximity to London will play a key role in gaining a slice of the Olympics action, according to Tessa Jowell. The Olympics minister visited the city today to inspect

  • Hooded raid on restaurant

    HOODED raiders stole £1,500 after smashing their way inside a restaurant. Police are appealing for witnesses to the burglary at Benson Cruiser Station, in Benson, at around 11.20pm on Wednesday. The burglars used a sledge hammer to break in through

  • Horton Hospital report comes under fire

    NHS Oxfordshire’s board has criticised a body set up to secure services at The Horton Hospital, in Banbury. The Better Healthcare Programme drew up a paper looking at the best way to keep paediatric and maternity services at the hospital. But NHS Oxfordshire

  • Festive touch tops off Oxford theatre building

    DIGNITARIES and guests including Oxfordshire’s Lord Lieutenant Tim Stevenson cheered as the lights on a Christmas tree were switched on at a topping-out ceremony at Oxford’s Pegasus Theatre today. The £7.2m redevelopment in Magdalen Road, East Oxford

  • Job fears as Borders goes into administration

    Bookshop chain Borders, which has a store in Magdalen Street, Oxford, and a Books Etc outlet at Bicester Village, was placed into administration today, raising fears for 1,150 jobs in the UK. The firm has suffered from falling sales. Administrator MCR

  • Water bills set to rise by £10

    Water regulator Ofwat today said bills in Oxfordshire would increase by an average of £10 over the next five years. The watchdog published its final decisions on prices water companies can charge their customers between next year and 2015. Ofwat said

  • Witney gift boxes given special send-off

    A SERVICE was held to dedicate more than 3,000 Operation Christmas Child gift boxes in Witney. Residents brought their filled boxes to the Methodist Church, in High Street, for the service on Monday. The appeal’s local organiser, Ann Worrall, said

  • Free pool access going swimmingly

    PENSIONERS are causing a splash by taking advantage of a free swimming scheme at Oxford’s pools. The city council began offering free sessions to older people in April as part of a Government-backed scheme. Figures for July-September show over-60s took

  • Rivers on flood watch

    Environment Agency flood watch warnings were tonight in place on the River Thame and Chalgrove Brook. The River Thames has also been placed on flood watch upstream of Oxfordshire, from Cirencester to St John's Lock, Lechlade. On Tuesday, flood watch

  • Borders chain enters administration

    Book chain Borders, which has a store in Oxford, has gone into administration, insolvency and restructuring firm MCR has confirmed. Borders, which has 45 Borders and Books Etc stores across the UK, lodged a notice of intent to appoint administrators

  • TV professor adds a little magic to maths

    THE magic of maths was on show at a series of events aimed at making the subject more popular. Ten pupils from the Cherwell School in Oxford, along with 40 from four other schools, met Oxford University’s Prof Marcus du Sautoy and played interactive

  • New low carbon group is set up

    GREEN campaigners have set up a group aiming to get residents in East Oxford to cut their carbon footprint. Low Carbon East Oxford is set to follow in the footsteps of similar groups in Wolvercote and Headington. At the launch at the Magic Café, in

  • Oxford United boss Wilder says U's will be up for the Cup

    Chris Wilder admits there is little need for him to motivate his players before tomorrow’s FA Cup clash with Barrow. The knowledge that a victory could see them facing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Did-ier Drogba or Fernando Torres in five weeks time is

  • History shows rewards for second-round success

    Oxford United used to have a great record of getting through the second round of the FA Cup and into the potentially lucrative third round. The third round is the stage when clubs from the top two divisions come in, which means the chance

  • Former U's defender back at the Kassam

    Former United defender Phil Bolland could feature for Barrow tomorrow. A non-playing substitute last weekend, he played his first game following two months out with a knee injury, in midweek, and was made stand-in skipper in the absence of the suspended

  • FOOTBALL: Abingdon duo miss out on Oxon derby

    Abingdon Town will be without suspended duo of Stuart Douglas and Jon Steedman when they host Old Woodstock Town in the Premier Division on Saturday. Town have won their last three matches to go 12th. Boss Mark O’Hara said: “We are on a roll, and with

  • FOOTBALL: Gordon may be forced to wait

    Abingdon United’s new striker Leon Gordon may have to be satisfield with a place on the bench when they host Division 1 South & West leaders Windsor & Eton. The former Ardley United frontman scored a hat-trick on his debut in Monday

  • Schools computer firm upbeat despite public sector cuts

    THE boss of educational software firm RM has dismissed fears that cuts in public sector funding will hit the business hard. Chief executive Terry Sweeney said: “Look at the facts. We have a £445m revenue stream. So we have business in the bag. And in

  • Cowley Road Carnival chiefs get a bit inventive

    WACKY races, solar-powered vehicles and weird and wonderful machines could fill the streets of East Oxford for next year’s Cowley Road Carnival. Organisers of the carnival — Oxfordshire’s biggest free public event — have announced that the theme for

  • Testing problem

    There is a debate over the gathering of DNA at the moment, with some saying that black people are more likely to be DNA tested than whites. Perhaps every ‘first born’ should be checked instead, then everybody else tested should there be an infraction

  • Paying police

    I WRITE regarding your report Increase in Police will not Continue, (November 23). I see the Assistant Chief Constable is earning close to £100,00 per annum and is leaving his post on January 1 to become Deputy Chief Executive of the National Policing

  • Labour pains

    COUNCILLOR John Tanner is keen on praising his political master and his government (Oxford Mail letters, November 23), despite all the wrong they have caused by going off to fight in Iraq. This followed lies put about by the Americans and their puppet

  • Unfair notice

    On November 17, Oxford City Council’s North East Area Committee held a meeting at Sandhills Primary School concerning Wood Farm School and Wood Farm Community Centre development. I would have thought this meeting could have been held at a venue closer

  • United opposition

    I would like to say a very big thank you to our local Labour politicians who organised a public meeting for residents to have their say on the CPZ in East Oxford. They went way beyond the call of duty by paying for the hall hire out of their own pockets

  • Get the fine right

    IT can’t be right that you can be fined for letting your dog foul in a public place. The fine should be for not clearing it up properly. Or does the council recommend well-placed corks or fitting colostomy bags on perfectly healthy dogs?

  • We are waging war on foul dog owners

    After reading your front page story about dog fouling (Oxford Mail, November 19), I would like to make a few comments. Here at Risinghurst Playing Fields we have the same problem, even though we have four dog waste bins in the vicinity and six ordinary

  • Local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 25.5 BMW 2869 Electrocomponents 166.6 Gladstone 29.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 78.5 Oxford Biomedica 12 Oxford Catalysts 51 Oxford Instruments 228 Reed Elsevier 471.1 RM 163.25 RPS Group 197.2 Courtesy

  • Cabbages & Kings

    IF there was ever a reason to switch off mobile phones when in public places, it happened on the park-and-ride bus into Oxford. The vehicle was full and after forfeiting a seat to a frail woman with a shopping bag the size of a tennis court

  • Siobhan Dowd in running for posthumous Costa Book Award

    OXFORD writer Siobhan Dowd, who died two years ago, is in line for one of Britain’s most prestigious book awards. Her novel Solace of the Road is on this year’s shortlist for the Costa Book Awards, which was announced this week. Mrs Dowd, who died of

  • Man charged with Oxford burglaries

    A 31-year-old man has been charged with two burglaries in the Oxford area and remanded to appear at Oxford Magistrates Court today. Martin Dickinson of Pelham Street, Derby, has been charged with a burglary in Woodstock Road on November 19 where a car

  • £1,500 stolen in cruiser station hammer raid

    Police today appealed for witnesses after a burglary at Benson Cruisers Station in Benson. At about 11.20pm yesterday, thieves smashed a single pane of glass on the river-facing window of the restaurant using a sledgehammer and entered the storeroom

  • Festive work calls for a light touch

    MEGAN Anderson and Mitch Franklin, both 10, put the finishing touches to lanterns they have been making for tomorrow’s Christmas Light Night Procession in Oxford. They are among children at Bayards Hill Primary School, in Barton, and other

  • Firm appeals over Fritwell wind farm

    CONTROVERSIAL plans for a wind farm just outside Bicester will be decided at a public inquiry. Cherwell district councillors voted unanimously to refuse planning permission for the £`10m scheme on land at Willowbank Farm, between Fewcott and

  • Oxford's Stingray club saved from closure

    A NIGHTCLUB for people with learning disabilities has been saved from closure – by a next door neighbour. Stingray Nightclub, run by charity My Life My Choice, was left homeless after Jongleurs comedy club, in Hythe Bridge Street, went into

  • Cameron to open new school facilities

    WITNEY MP David Cameron is opening a new £1.4m school building tomorrow. The Tory leader will join staff and pupils at Combe Primary School, Church Walk, to celebrate the new classrooms. Children have already been making use of the new facilities, which

  • European School could become academy

    A SCHOOL where every pupil has to speak at least two languages has taken a step closer to becoming an academy — and admitting more local children. As previously reported in the Oxford Mail, Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to support a bid by the

  • Soccer star Jamie gives tips to tots

    CHILDREN had a ball with a former Oxford United footballer when he dropped in to teach them some fitness skills. Youngsters from the Co-operative Childcare nursery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headley Way, Oxford, teamed up with Jamie Brooks, who

  • RUGBY UNION: Chinnor aiming to keep the ball rolling

    CHINNOR will look to continue their recent improved form when they visit struggling Exmouth in National 3 South West tomorrow. Since losing to Oxford Harlequins, Chinnor have collected nine points from two victories. Head coach Jason Bowers said: “Against

  • Culham European School could become academy

    A SCHOOL where every pupil has to speak at least two languages has taken a step closer to becoming an academy — and admitting more local children. As previously reported in the Oxford Mail, Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to support a bid by the

  • Recipes cook up cash for Blackthorn children

    VILLAGERS are hoping they have the recipe to create a top new play area for their community. Residents in Blackthorn, near Bicester, have set a £150,000 target to create a community park and sports area to cater for the whole village. And to get the

  • Humps plan could cut Wallingford traffic by a quarter

    NEW speed humps on two main roads into Wallingford could cut traffic by a quarter, according to county council figures. Oxfordshire County Council is consulting on plans to install 17 new pairs of speed cushions – small humps with space in the middle

  • SPORT CALENDAR 28TH NOVEMBER

    FOOTBALL FA CUP 2nd round: Oxford Utd v Barrow. ZAMARETTO SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Hednesford Tn, Cambridge City v Didcot Tn, Oxford City v Merthyr Tydfil. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Windsor & Eton, Bridgwater v North Leigh

  • Wheatley school makes it to literary quiz final

    FOUR boys from Wheatley Park School will be representing Oxfordshire tonight after making it to the finals of a national literature quiz. The team of Theo Howe, Huw Arnold, Kit Rasmussen and Matt Foster, all in Year Eight, beat competition

  • Recession forces art in schools charity to close

    A CHARITY which brought professional artists into schools for more than a decade has been forced to close for lack of funding. Since it was established as an off-shoot of Artweeks in 1998, more than 200 residencies have been organised by Kids

  • Burglars strike three times in Carterton

    Burglars broke into three homes in Carterton in the early hours of yesterday. A property in Carr Avenue, Carterton was broken into and the keys to a Skoda Octavia and the car itself were stolen. They also stole two laptops and a mobile phone. A

  • Ofwat announces cut in water bills

    Households will see a £3 fall in average water bills to £340 before inflation over the next five years, industry regulator Ofwat has said. The watchdog's final decision on prices for 2010-15 is less generous to consumers than the £14 before

  • Oxford United turned down Barnes-Homer

    Oxford United turned down Kidderminster striker Matthew Barnes-Homer to get Franny Green this week. Ex-Peterborough striker Green, signed on loan from Kettering, had a fine debut in the U's 1-0 win at Forest Green on Tuesday. Chairman

  • Double amputee to join Bicester troops' parade

    A SOLDIER who lost his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan will take part in a welcome home parade in Bicester. Private Josh Campbell, 23, will join fellow troops from 23 Pioneer Regiment as they march through Sheep Street on Saturday. And the Oxford

  • Borders bookshop worries

    Bookseller Borders UK, which has a shop in Magdalen Street, Oxford, is considering calling in administrators after becoming the latest high street victim of recession. Late on Wednesday Borders filed court documents giving notice that it intended to

  • Flowers to brighten winter months

    I’ve just had two very eminent gardeners for Sunday lunch – not cannabalistically speaking, you understand. Both arrived bearing gifts suitable for a teetotal plantaholic like me. There was apple juice from Waterperry, a bouquet of garden flowers, some

  • Reserve named one of best in Chilterns

    A small nature reserve on the banks of the Thames near Goring has been named as one of the best in the Chilterns in this year’s Chilterns Environment Awards. The 22 acres of Withymead Nature Reserve owe their existence to the lifelong efforts of Anne

  • 50 years of action for wildlife

    Earlier this month, 250 people gathered together to celebrate a very special 50th birthday: that of BBOWT, the wildlife trust that looks after some of Oxfordshire’s most cherished natural treasures. From beech woods in the Chilterns to flower meadows

  • I Fagiolini: Kings Place, London

    The vocal ensemble I Fagiolini is one of Oxford’s most successful musical exports, combining exquisite music making with theatre and movement to create experiences which range from the powerfully moving to the hilariously funny. Once you’ve seen them

  • Status Quo and Steeleye Span: New Theatre

    Status Quo drummer Matt Letley has an unusual way of winding down between gigs: he goes mountain climbing. He has now climbed Snowdon more than 80 times, and on one particularly crazy occasion undertook what he describes as “quite a risky walk in South

  • Wines of South Africa, £87

    South Africa’s star is in the ascendant. The exchange rate is favourable, the tourist boom of recent years has helped to bring these great wines to the public’s attention, and a brand new generation of smart young winemakers is emerging. These talented

  • Oxford's Christmas lights set for switch-on

    OXFORD'S Christmas lights will be switched on tomorrow night. About 200 children with lanterns will parade through the city centre between 6.15pm and 6.45pm, illuminating lights street-by-street as they pass. They will then switch on the Christmas

  • Wine club tasting

    We are only a week away from the annual Christmas Tasting for The Oxford Times Wine Club and I hope you have the date in your diary. As always we will be showcasing a selection of wines from all over the world — including club favourites, lovely wines

  • CCTV images released over art expert's death

    AUSTRALIAN police hunting the killer of a former Oxford art gallery director have released CCTV images. Nick Waterlow ran the Bear Lane Gallery from 1967 until it merged with the Museum of Modern Art to become Modern Art Oxford in 1972.

  • Baronet of Banbury

    Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has been in some tight spots, and he used all his ingenuity after missing a deadline for his book Mad Dogs and Englishmen: An Expedition Round My Family. Documents unearthed in the dusty attics at Broughton Castle,

  • Paperback choice

    It’s A Don’s Life Mary Beard (Profile, £8.99) Beard, a Classics Professor at Cambridge, has been blogging for The Times for more than three years, and this book presents many of her best musings. She’s an entertaining writer, and there’s much of interest

  • Walk from Thames to Wye

    From The Thames to The Wye Ed. Ray Jones (Cotswold Line Promotion Group, £7.50) This delightful little book describes 12 walks along the route of the railway from Oxford to Hereford. They all have an Ordnance Survey map, and drawings by Glynis

  • Companion to English Literature

    THE OXFORD COMPANION TO ENGLISH LITERATURE Ed. Diana Birch (OUP, £35) The first Oxford Companion to English Literature was published in 1932, and soon became an essential reference book for teachers and students. Of course, it often

  • Wondering about Woolies

    A year ago today almost 700 Oxfordshire Woolworths staff heard the business and their livelihoods were in the hands of the administrators. A couple of months later, 805 shops across the UK were closed and the jobs axed. A year on, and the nine Oxfordshire

  • Local author

    Jane Gordon-Cumming is a founder member of the Oxford Writers’ Group. The Haunted Bridge (OxPens, £6.99) is a collection of short stories, all strange, and all set along the Oxford Canal. The title story refers to the railway bridge by Oxford station.

  • Bicycle Diaries

    David Byrne complains when people wonder what he’s done since Talking Heads. Well, he’s turned a building into a musical instrument and written a disco opera about Imelda Marcos. To those who grew up in the post-punk era, listening to his songs, it’

  • Boy injured in road collision

    PARAMEDICS have treated a 13-year-old boy following a road collision in village near Woodstock this morning. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance said they were alerted to the incident at 7.48am. The boy was injured on the A4095 Grove Road in Bladon

  • Explosive stupidity

    Michael Raphel displayed the most incredible stupidity in parking his car off Whitehall hours before the Remembrance Service (Saturday’s Oxford Mail). His car was rightly blown up by anti-terror cops doing their job. He should not receive a penny in

  • A matter of time

    A number of your correspondents have made reference to Queen Street being a pedestrian zone. In fact, as the signs at either end of the street make abundantly clear, this is only the case between the hours of 10am and 6pm. Before 10am and after 6pm cyclists

  • The Insider

    Shocking revelations about the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire emerged on Radio 4's News Quiz last week, no less. According to comedian Carrie Quinlan, he once heckled her while she was in the middle of a disparaging routine about the monarchy

  • Vote winner?

    IT seems strange that the four loos the city council has decided to save are all in the areas where John Tanner represents and lives. Were they hand-picked by him? It stinks. Why weren’t they spread out across the city, with, for example, one in Cowley

  • No to lavish loo

    When is councillor John Tanner going to stop tinkering in toilets and get on with his real job? He often spouts off about wasting money, yet continues his dream of altering the loos in Gloucester Green to what Americans call a ‘boondoggle’. For the

  • Insanitary state

    I HAVE heard the joyous cackling of the do-gooders who think that they forced the city council into keeping open four of the doomed public toilets. If they had taken the time to have a look inside some of them, they would see that the Cowley Road, Littlemore

  • Lavatorial use

    A LOT of people, myself included, have thought the idea of closing loos in Oxford a ridiculous move. Many have also wondered why the council wants to do it. I can settle that last problem for them. The council has at last admitted to itself what it

  • Green's joy at super debut

    New striker Franny Green said he was delighted to be involved in the winning goal on his Oxford United debut on Tuesday night. Even though the brilliant strike from James Constable, which brought Blue Square Premier leaders Oxford a vital 1

  • RAF pilot training helps to save lives

    I WOULD like to reply to Mr Jeff Clarke, who complains of being “so fed up with pilots purposefully coming so close to his home” and asks “is harassment of residents the role of the military?” (Oxford Mail, November 17 ). Mr Clarke is clearly wondering

  • Arrested businessman's court appearance

    A BUSINESSMAN arrested at an Oxford hotel over an alleged £1.3m fraud appeared in court yesterday. Kevin Halligen, 48, was arrested at the Old Bank Hotel in High Street on Tuesday. He faced City of Westminster magistrates after he was arrested on an

  • Volunteer medic saved man's life

    A VOLUNTEER medic saved a life after coming to the aid of a man suffering a cardiac arrest in Wantage. Dan Ruby, 27, is a forensic scientist by day but has been a community first responder for two years. He was on his way home on Saturday when he

  • Pullman books to be auctioned online

    BOOKS by Oxford author Philip Pullman are to be sold in an online auction expected to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for children with Aids. He is collaborating with charity publisher Oak Tree Fine Press, based at Fifield, near Abingdon, to publish

  • Society’s older twin

    Sir – The inauguration of the first Oxford Decorative and Fine Arts Society is indeed a cause for celebration, as is the evident quality of the first lecture (Weekend, November 19). However, Theresa Thompson fails to mention that Oxford has had a flourishing

  • How the head boy in blue saw it

    Long after his father’s death, Sir Ian Blair’s mother told him that she had seen her husband cry only once. It was the day that young Ian had left them to join the police. After all the sacrifices his parents had made to enable their son to

  • Volunteer role could prove a life-saver

    Do you want to make a difference and give something back to the people in your local community when they might need you the most? Well, you could do just that – by providing emergency life-saving skills. Community First Responders are volunteers who

  • Station revamp: Good for rail passengers at least

    THE new redesign released today of Oxford Station is certainly a good development for railway users. Oxford needs an overhaul to cope with the increase in services and passengers in the future. The scheme to ‘jump’ over Botley Road and build a new platform

  • New robot era in surgery

    A NEW era in surgery has begun in Oxford with surgeons using a four-armed robot to perform operations on cancer patients. A £2m robotic surgery system has been installed in an operating theatre at Oxford’s new cancer centre and is set to benefit patients

  • Modern centre for all

    Sir – Well done to Prof Gerald Elliott and Roseanne Bostock for voicing their wishes about better concert and theatre facilities in Oxford (Letters, November 12). For several years I have sat in uncomfortable, overcrowded buildings around Oxford trying

  • Outrageous scheme

    Sir – Your readers will recall that an effort is being made by a group of Oxford residents (and council taxpayers) to have Oxpens Meadow registered as a town green — so that no further building or development can take place there. Those who know the

  • Unforgiving obstructions

    Sir – I read with dismay of another fatal road accident due to a badly sited electricity pole (Report, November 19). Sadly, such accidents are not unusual. Some 150 people annually in the UK are killed when they collide with electricity or

  • Undisguised relish

    Sir – Keith Mitchell’s attempt to blame Labour for his Tory county council cuts (Report, November 19) is breathtaking. Gordon Brown’s borrowing is the very thing that is steering us safely out of the recession in Oxfordshire. The Tory county council

  • Fine pavement cyclists

    Sir – Of course better provision must be made to ensure the safety of Oxford’s cyclists. But pavement cycling where there is no marked cycle path is inconsiderate, dangerous, and illegal and for every cautious and courteous pavement cyclist such as

  • Station needed now

    Sir – I welcome Ed Vaizey’s declaration of support for the proposed new station at Grove (Report, November 12), following the favourable report from ATOC. Gradually we are getting there but why do we have to wait until 2017 for the station to be built

  • Right mix required

    Sir – With reference to Prof Gerald Elliott’s letter (November 12), we must be careful that we get the ‘right mix’ in Oxford concerning another venue for entertainment. His suggestion of a concert hall like St David’s Hall in Cardiff, which surely

  • City lacks dance studio

    Sir – I welcome your front page news of the University’s Iffley Road plans (Report, November 12), but I am concerned that there is no mention of a dance studio on the site. The Report of the Committee to Review University Sport (June 2009) acknowledged

  • Parents are worried

    Sir – I appreciated Michael Waine’s courteous reply to my original letter of October 22, in which I expressed concern over the way in which East Oxford parents were desperately unclear over proposals for a 3-18 academy to replace Oxford and St Christopher

  • Hypnotic turbines

    Sir – May I offer two points on wind turbines? Perhaps it’s at birth, when people divide into the pro and the anti-turbine camps. For me, just as spires can be endearingly dreaming, I find the turbines enchanting, hypnotic even. My second observation

  • Monstrous carbuncle

    Sir – Two of last week’s letters referred to wind turbines as being 100ft and 30m high (Paul Hornby and M. Palmer respectively). I wonder if it would be possible for you to clarify that the actual height of the wind turbine proposed for Cutteslowe

  • Stupid cost-cutting

    Sir – I was somewhat amazed at the way the cuts being imposed by the Tories are being presented by them (Report, November 19). Last year, the Labour group on the county council warned that the budget being agreed by the council would cause difficulty

  • Too much bureaucracy

    Sir – In last week’s issue it was reported that the county council was exploring ways of making savings in the cost of services. Council leader Keith Mitchell was quoted as seeking a ‘leaner and more efficient’ council. I am all in favour. As a governor

  • Dangerous parking

    Sir – There are three important points that have got lost in much of the current debate over the Magdalen Road controlled parking zone (CPZ). First, parking spaces in the narrow streets between the Iffley and Cowley roads of East Oxford are a limited

  • Long way ahead

    It is good to at last see some action to improve capacity at Oxford rail station. The extra platform is sorely needed and will help Oxford absorb the extra services that are coming our way. One cannot help feeling, however, that proposed improvements

  • Memories

    Many of us in Oxfordshire will have spared a thought this week for the victims of flooding in Cumbria. We know that while the initial devastation is shortlived, victims have to live for the consequences for a long time. Those whose homes and businesses

  • £10m platform for Oxford railway station expansion

    DETAILS of a £10m project to expand Oxford’s railway station are unveiled today. The joint Network Rail and Oxfordshire County Council scheme will see a new platform created on part of the station’s long-stay car park, off Becket Street,

  • Abingdon shows its true colours

    WE knew Abingdon would show its true colours by supporting the troops at yesterday’s parade through the town. About 2,000 were there to salute 3 and 4 Logistic Support Regiment and the personnel were grateful for the turn-out. And it puts right the

  • Magdalen's JCR now 'Gryffindor'

    STUDENTS at Magdalen College, Oxford, have voted to rename their junior common room Gryffindor, in honour of Harry Potter’s house at Hogwarts. Students passed a motion on Sunday in a vote that could change Magdalen JCR’s name for the first

  • Late author in line for top prize

    OXFORD writer Siobhan Dowd, who died two years ago, is in line for one of Britain's most prestigious book awards. Her novel Solace of the Road is on this year’s shortlist for the £25,000 Costa Prize, announced this week. Mrs Dowd, who died of cancer

  • Grand plans for rail station

    Plans to transform Oxford’s rail station that will see it expanding to the other side of Botley Road within the next two years are being unveiled today. The £10m scheme will see the creation of a new platform in the long-stay car park in Becket