Archive

  • Three-car crash causes A34 delays

    A three-car crash tonight caused delays on the A34 near Oxford. The crash happened at about 5pm and led to the closure of one lane on the northbound carriageway after the Peartree Interchange. Congestion stretched back to the A420 Botley

  • City streets come alive for Christmas

    THEY were dancing in the streets tonight as about 200 Oxford schoolchildren with lanterns led the way to switch on the city’s Christmas lights. Fire dancers, festive stall holders and musical bands filled the city centre for the Christmas Light

  • Revellers roll up for town street fair

    THOUSANDS of revellers filled Didcot for a Charles Dickens-themed, Christmas street fair. Shopkeepers dressed in Victorian costume, the Orchard Centre was filled with traditional fairground rides, and a Victorian horse-drawn stagecoach carried Father

  • £1m revamp ‘threatens town identity’

    CONCERNS have been raised over proposals to give Bicester’s Market Square £1m makeover. Images of three proposals were unveiled for the first time at a public exhibition in Crown Walk yesterday and hundreds of people saw drawings and maps of how the

  • ‘Menace’ jailed for breaching Asbo

    AN Oxford yob dubbed a “complete menace” by a judge was today jailed for four months. Byron Haines, who has 15 convictions for 24 offences, admitted two counts of breaching an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) at Oxford Crown Court. The 19-year-old,

  • Oxford parking charges look set to rise again

    SHOPPERS will be driven out of Oxford city centre by any increases to car parking charges, traders have claimed. In January this year, Oxford City Council increased its car park charges by an average of 15 per cent in a bid to raise an additional £500,000

  • Animal sanctuary safe as houses thanks to donation

    TRUSTEES of a charity which provides homes for hundreds of animals can now plan for the future after receiving a £450,000 boost. The Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary is safe for at least another year after a house in Walton Well Road, Jericho, was sold for

  • Police spending cuts put support jobs at risk

    THAMES Valley Police could lose 166 civilian posts as it attempts to survive “stormy waters” in the coming year. Chief Constable Sara Thornton told the Thames Valley Police Authority today that the force was planning a two per cent rise in its share

  • Comic treat as bookworms win national contest

    FOUR boys have proved themselves to be among the best read — and coolest under pressure — in the country. Wheatley Park School pupils, from back, Theo Howe, Matt Foster, Huw Arnold and Kit Rasmussen, all 12, defeated 14 other teams from all over the

  • Thieves posed as police to steal OAPs' cash

    BURGLARS who posed as policemen to steal £1,500 have been described as “despicable cowards” by their elderly victims. Second World War veteran Harry Short, 93, and his wife Norah, 88, from Headington, were going to use the money to buy Christmas

  • Status Quo cancel Oxford gigs

    Status Quo's concerts at Oxford's New Theatre tonight and tomorrow have been cancelled due to singer Francis Rossi having bronchitis. They are due to be rescheduled.

  • WEIGHTLIFTING: Blues still champs

    OXFORD University retained the unequipped team title at the Great Britain Powerlifting Federation (GBPF) British Universities Championships, a BUCS-affiliated event. Karl Seddon, Scott McLaughlan and Robert Pearce totalled 1065 points to take top spot

  • CRICKET: Cropredy celebrate title joy

    CROPREDY A sealed the Division 3 title in the Banbury Indoor League as they hammered closest rivals Marston St Lawrence by 74 runs. Nerves seemed to get to Marston’s young side as their opponents rattled up 119-4 from their ten overs, Ed Somerton leading

  • ANGLING: Big perch seals win for Perkins

    The Lechlade Marina Winter League was hard work for the 13 competitors who fished a coloured river that rose over a foot during the match, but it neverthessless produced a specimen perch, writes ANDY WEBBER. Graham Perkins fished bread punch for the

  • ANGLING: Mobility key at Farmoor

    Farmoor II Reservoir continues to fish well, with the more mobile anglers catching greater numbers of trout. Plenty of fish are being caught from boats, mainly deeper down on boobies, although floating lines and nymphs are still taking limit bags. A

  • ICE HOCKEY: Shurmer's back for Stars

    Andrew Shurmer has rejoined Oxford City Stars from Cardiff and should play in this weekend’s Division 1 South double-header. The solid ex-EPL defenceman will more than off-set the departure of Lee Featherstone, who left to re-join Milton Keynes Thunder

  • BOXING: Flynn shines in pulsating bout

    Jordan Flynn picked up the best boxer of the night award as Berinsfield ABC staged their dinner-show at the BMW Club in Cowley. The club’s first National Schoolboy champion claimed a unanimous decision over fellow title holder Connor McKinnon at the

  • NETBALL: St Thomas More seal netball joy

    ST Thomas More A proved to be the sharp-shooters in the Kidlington School Partnership netball festival. They beat hosts West Kidlington A in the final of the competition, which featured ten teams from four schools. Each team was managed by a sports

  • ANGLING: Burghfield barbel are so elusive

    The Kennet at Burghfield, which I fish regularly, has been proving hard lately with very few barbel coming to the net, although some chub are being caught, writes ANDY WEBBER. I fished the top weirpool last Monday and a swim downstream on Wednesday

  • GREYHOUNDS: Danny boy is big hit for charity

    Oxford Stadium bar manager Danny Seeney was the star turn of the night and made a huge contribution to the £1,200 raised during the Children in Need charity meeting on Thursday. Seeney, dressed as a greyhound, raised £500 to race against Pudsey Bear

  • BILLIARDS: Chambers seals spoils

    Ashton remain top of Oxford & District League Division 1 with 17 points, and suffering only one loss in eight matches. Their victims this week were Cowley Conservative Club B, whom they beat 2-1. Ashton’s Pete Fenn (+50) just got the better of Ross

  • TABLE TENNIS: Sun shines on Vikings debut

    Vikings C rolled out their new player against British Rail to immediate effect in Division 1 of the Oxford & District Association. Jingyu Sun started out with a maximum on his debut and he was backed up well by two wins from Markus Wagner. David Mottershead

  • SNOOKER: Thame suffer first defeat

    Thame A slumped to their first defeat of the Gentworks Oxford & District League season with a 5-1 mauling at home to Oracle A in Premier/Division 1, writes DAVID WHITE. Nino Merola eased past Brian Elves in the opener before sneaking the second. Brother

  • Cub pack will fold without new leader

    A Cub pack is in danger of closing because it cannot find a leader. The 9th Abingdon (Appleton) Cubs, based at Appleton School, in Church Road, could fold after Christmas, despite having 20 members and a waiting list of 10. Current leader Barry Knight

  • Mum aims to make Christmas merrier for Didcot's lonely

    A MUM is giving up her Christmas Day to cook lunch for people on their own. It is the third time Anna Gatrell, 50, has put on dinner and games for Didcot people who have no-one to spend their Christmas Day with. In December 2006 she entertained just

  • Join in with seasonal song

    CHOIRS across Oxford have been invited to join an open-air festive singing extravaganza. Sing Christmas will be held in and around the city on Saturday, December 12 to celebrate the Christmas season through song. The new event forms part of the Christmas

  • A wealth of wildlife in Alaska

    Alaska is enormous – more than six times the size of the whole UK – but with just one per cent of the population. Plus it’s also a long way – so I broke my journey in Seattle, where the temperature stuck at over 100F. However, 1,400 more miles north

  • Pool repair work expected to start soon

    REPAIR work on the main pool at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre in Abingdon is expected to start soon — but it might not be ready for use again until the new year. As a result, the Vale of White Horse District Council’s two leisure centres

  • Boxers get ready to rumble for kids

    A FIGHT night featuring policemen and salesmen arrives in Wallingford for a one-off fundraising bout next weekend. South Moreton Boxing Club is hosting the Christmas Cracker Rumble at The Regal VI in aid of Warborough charity Footsteps Foundation, which

  • Mum wins supermarket trolley dash

    AS THE stop watch clicked to zero, Tracey Pointer sped off with just two minutes to grab all she could from a supermarket’s shelves. Mum-of-three Mrs Pointer, 30, won a trolley dash at Bicester’s Iceland, in Sheep Street, after being picked

  • Hostel approval leaves neighbourhood fuming

    CAMPAIGNERS who lost their fight to stop a block of student flats in East Oxford have branded the outcome “a tragedy”. Oxford City Council’s strategic development control committee granted planning permission for 27 student flats at 190 Iffley Road on

  • Cotswold Wildlife Park

    Visit Father Christmas in his grotto on weekends throughout December and December 19 - 24 inclusive 11.00am - 3.00pm Open Daily, except Christmas Day www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk Cotswold Wildlife Park, Burford, Oxfordshire

  • Abingdon firm lands academy contract

    HI-TECH company RM has won a £2.3m contract to supply a state-of-the art computer system to the Oxford Academy, which opened last year on the site of Peers School. RM, based at Milton Park, near Abingdon, said the deal included ICT equipment

  • Criminals cash is getting lawn-dered!

    CASH seized from criminals will be used to create three new community gardens in the county. For the first time, seized loot is being given to good causes aimed at cutting down anti-social behaviour. Didcot-based Soha Housing Association is the only

  • Man charged over Britons' deaths

    Detectives investigating the deaths of British art curator Nick Waterlow and his daughter Chloe in Australia have charged a 42-year-old man with their murders. Mr Waterlow's son Antony, 42, was arrested in north west Sydney, Australia.

  • Local share prices

    AEA Technology 26 BMW 2878 Electrocomponents 166.8 Gladstone 29.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 78.5 Oxford Biomedica 11.75 Oxford Catalyst 50 Oxford Instruments 215.75 Reed Elsevier 460.5 RM 160.5 RPS Group 200.4 Courtesy of Redmayne

  • House prices rise again

    House prices in Oxfordshire have risen to their highest level for ten months. Latest figures for October produced by the Government’s Land Registry show the average price of a property in the county stands at £224,772, the highest since last December

  • Dunlop back as BTCC title sponsor

    Tyre manufacturer Dunlop will return as title sponsor of the MSA British Touring Car Championship from 2010, in a new four-year agreement with the UK’s premier motor racing series. Its sister company, HiQ – title sponsor for the past two seasons – will

  • BMW and Sauber reach deal

    BMW has agreed a deal with Peter Sauber over the sale of the team that should guarantee its involvement in Formula One next season. An agreement was reached on Thursday, with the contract subject to the condition the team has a starting place on

  • Cock-A-Hoop

    Cockadoo, Nuneham Courtenay, OX44 9NX. 01865 341030 or cockadoo.co.uk. By Katherine Macalister Hang on a second, the car park outside the square landmark building in Nuneham Courtenay is packed with cars. And the premises has

  • Success Stories

    Colin Shone, the manager of Waterstones Oxford makes his pick for our first Book of The Year. Managing a bookshop in Oxford is a wonderful privilege, as is the task of attempting to choose a book which I would consider worthy of winning our

  • All Ears

    SARAH MAYHEW keeps her ear to the ground for a sound installation at Oxford’s Radcliffe Observatory. You’D be forgiven for thinking you are hearing things this autumn in one of the most striking buildings in Oxford. Towering over the rubble

  • Crowds expected to welcome home Bicester troops

    Thousands of people are expected to turn out to watch soldiers in a homecoming parade through Bicester tomorrow. Troops from 23 Pioneer Regiment, who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, will set out from the north end of Sheep Street at 2.30pm.

  • Man charged with burglary

    A 34-YEAR-OLD man has been charged with burglary and four thefts in Oxford and Witney. Gordon McKay, of no fixed abode, is alleged to have committed a burglary in Herschel Crescent, Oxford last Friday. He has also been accused of theft of perfume from

  • Man charged with thefts in Oxford and Witney

    A 34-year old man has been charged in connection with a burglary and four thefts that occurred in Oxford and Witney. Gordon McKay of no fixed abode, has been charged in connection with a burglary in Herschel Crescent, Littlemore, that happened

  • House auction benefits animals

    A HOUSE which was bequeathed to Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary was sold at auction last night for £452,500. The home, in Walton Well Road, was sold at Conference Centre Oxford, Park End Street, and auctioned by David Thomas of Thomas Merrifield. The

  • A Real Cracker

    NATIVITY! (U). Family/Comedy. Martin Freeman, Marc Wootton, Ashley Jensen, Jason Watkins, Pam Ferris, Alan Carr, Ricky Tomlinson. Director: Debbie Isitt. Christmas comes early courtesy of British director Debbie Isitt (Nasty

  • Shock and Gore But No Finesse

    LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (18). Thriller/Action. Gerard Butler, Jamie Foxx, Bruce McGill, Leslie Bibb, Viola Davis, Regina Hall, Emerald-Angel Young, Brooke Mills, Ksenia Hulayev. Director: F Gary Gray. Justice is blind – and by the

  • Whines and Spirits

    PARANORMAL ACTIVITY (15) Horror/Thriller. Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs. Director: Oren Peli. How do you turn $15,000 into $100m? If you’re enterprising Israeli-born film-maker Oren Peli, you write and direct

  • Har Today...

    Provocative comedian, deluded lothario, or serious musician? Tim Hughes asks: ‘Who the hell is Har Mar Superstar?’ OUTRAGEOUS, sweaty and bombastic, Har Mar Superstar has cornered the pop market in prancing around in just his pants. Not

  • Beastly Tale

    KATHERINE MACALISTER talks to the stars of Creation Theatre’s new production, Beauty and the Beast. The Beast is suitably thunderous and agitated, impatient to be off to have his terrifying costume fitted. “The beast’s puppet head is enormous

  • Oh Baby

    RICHARD BELL joins the students for a superbly sweaty end of term night at Baby Love’s Narcissists. So it’s the last week of term for the Oxford students, it’s a Wednesday night and they quite rightly want to let off some steam, and boy

  • Status Symbol

    “So then I said ‘*%”!*,” says Francis Rossi, ending a hysterical gynaecological story about the birth of his sixth child that had me rolling about on the floor. But that’s Francis Rossi down to a T. He doesn’t hold back and is happy to discuss life, the

  • Clarkson breathalysed after crash

    Jeremy Clarkson has described how he was recently breathalysed by police after a "small car crash" while filming Top Gear. He told Jonathan Ross's chat show that police tested him last week - but everything turned out fine. He said:

  • Queen of Folk

    TIM HUGHES talks to folk legend Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span. IN a world of fleeting fame, there’s something reassuring about a band that has stuck the course for 40 years. Formed in 1969, Steeleye Span can justifiably claim to have changed

  • Beauty and the Beast: Creation Theatre

    It was the first day of rehearsals inside the venerable Mirror Tent, moored on BMW’s giant Cowley car park. Once again the tent is being used for Creation Theatre’s Christmas show, which this year is a new production of Beauty and the Beast.

  • Cruising along

    The Cruze saloon is the weapon Chevrolet badly needed to firmly establish the brand’s credentials in the UK. After the firm took over Korean car maker Daewoo, its marketing push from 2005 onwards involved the worthy, but unexciting, former Daewoo

  • Power failure closes school

    GOSFORD Hill School in Oxford Road, Kidlington, has been partially closed today due to a major power failure. The power failure, which is being investigated, has affected heating and the school is closed to all pupils aside from Year 11 college students

  • U's turn down Barnes-Homer

    CHAIRMAN Kelvin Thomas says he’s delighted with Oxford United’s two new signings, and believes they have given the squad just the boost it needs. This comes after it emerged that United had turned down Kidderminster’s Matthew Barnes-Homer

  • Abingdon people donate 16,000 gift boxes to poor

    CHARITY volunteers in Abingdon are a bit boxed in – but they are delighted to be surrounded by thousands of Christmas presents for children in Bosnia. Gabrielle Dent is just one of the volunteers who have been working for Operation Christmas Child,

  • Oxford grot spot enrages neighbours

    IT STINKS, attracts vermin and looks disgusting – and it sits in the heart of one of Oxford’s most popular residential areas. This illegal rubbish tip at 103-104 St Mary’s Road, East Oxford, has been increasing for about a year. Neighbours

  • Bus fares grant helps hold down Oxford tax increase

    EXTRA Government cash to cover the cost of free bus travel for pensioners means council tax payers in Oxford face a reduced increase in their bills next year. Oxford City Council’s grant to cover the free bus travel scheme will go up from £860,000 to