PUPILS at Chipping Norton’s St Mary’s Primary School collected pennies, sold fruit pots and organised a mini-fete to raise almost £1,000 for charity. Dave Lewis, chief technician at RAF Lyneham, in Wiltshire, centre, visited the school this
THE number of Oxfordshire parents fined for failing to get their children to school has doubled in four years. Figures released by Oxfordshire County Council show the number of fixed-penalty notices issued to parents in relation to poor attendance
WHEN Terry Priest last watched Oxford United play football, he almost died. But the 70-year-old, who lives in the shadow of the Kassam Stadium, in Greater Leys, is now looking forward to taking his seat for the team’s big pre-season games against Leicester
JAMES Constable's neat finish earned Oxford United a 1-1 draw against Championship side Leicester at the Kassam Stadium today. United's captain and last season's top scorer turned in a cross from new signing Simon Heslop 14 minutes from time as Chris
AN “ESSENTIAL lifeline” for carers is under threat after the Government withdrew funding. Funding for the free workshops run by Oxfordshire Carers’ Forum will cease in September, leaving organisers to seek new ways to keep it going.
I needed somewhere to just sit and catch my breath after the sights. The sun poured into the square and the cappuccino tasted heavenly. Perhaps that was inevitable after the hour I’d spent exploring the remarkable St John’s Co-Cathedral in the Maltese
WHAT started as a job as a shorthand typist in 1984 led to Jude Skipp being introduced to Nelson Mandela – now the Lord Mayor’s “Girl Friday” is planning some well earned me-time. The title of Members’ Services Officer doesn’t do justice to Jude Skipp
HER name is Alice Powell, she’s 17 and she left school last year after taking her GCSEs – and she reckons she’s going to be the first woman to win F1. Mmmm. Maybe a phase she’s going through? After all, you don’t see many girls up there alongside Lewis
A GRANDMOTHER has been left to foot the bill for an “outrageous” rise in her water charges. Margaret Timms, 75, lives alone on Woodlands Mobile Home Park, in Radley, and until this year, had paid £113 a year for her water. But her latest bill came to
THREE police constables are retiring after pounding the beat for more than 100 years between them. PCs Steve Thompson, Reg Nicolson and Steve Reynolds have devoted more than half their lives to making their communities safer. Now, over the next few
A PENSIONER who claimed his “dream house” was ruined after a roundabout was built in front of it, won his battle to have it changed after the problem was highlighted by the Oxford Mail. Last week we reported Kenneth Kelly, 76, was fuming after Cherwell
TEENAGERS on Oxford’s largest estate are appealing for help to launch a new magazine designed to inspire young girls. Choices is a group formed by teenagers to help girls aged between 11 and 13 boost their confidence and make informed decisions
TWO men from Bicester have been jailed for a total of 16 years after being caught trying to smuggle £700,000 of cocaine into Gatwick Airport. Ashley Keane, 22, and Christopher Clifford, 28, both from Sheep Street in Bicester, were caught with drugs in
A PENSIONER accused of two double murders dating back more than two decades appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday. John Cooper, 65, is accused of shooting dead Peter, 51, and Gwenda Dixon, 54, from Witney, in 1989. The couple had been on a camping trip
A COMPUTER disk containing the personal details of 2,300 Ministry of Defence staff has been lost. Staff at Bicester Defence Storage and Distribution Agency and others across the country have now been sent a letter explaining the loss. The disk was reported
FOR the past 20 years, loyal staff at a hair salon have been rewarded annually for their hard work with a barbecue in the boss’s garden. But this year, Nick and his wife Julie Talbot, along with business partner Maggie Wicks, decided that a
Banbury's Will Bratt knows there is everything to play for as he looks forward to the FIA Formula 2 Champion-ship race at the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic next weekend. With six races to go, there are still 150 points up for grabs, and front-runner
Lightweight Tomas McDonagh headed the list of winners with three trophies as Berinsfield ABC held their end of season presentation night at the Village Inn. The 18-year-old, who becomes club captain for the forthcoming campaign, picked up the best bout
A GROVE man who collected a sick library of child porn including thousands of pictures featuring parents abusing their own babies has been jailed for more than four years. James Howell, of Oxford Lane, admitted a series of child pornography charges
EVERY swan on the River Thames between Surrey and Abingdon has been weighed and checked this week, maintaining a centuries-old tradition. Swan Upping began on Monday at Sunbury Lock, west of London, and finished in Abingdon yesterday. Oxford Mail reader
OXFORDSHIRE’S Andy Benwell finished an admirable third in this year’s Fish O’Mania final held last Saturday at Cudmore Fishery, Staffordshire, shown live on Sky Sports. Benwell, who is sponsored by Predator Tackle, Kidlington, was one of 16 finalists
The Oxford Super League practice open was fished by 32 anglers on a clear and desperately slow Thames at Medley. With the river hardly moving, it was hard for most, although there were still eight double-figure weights. First was Chris Ives (Sensas
CARLA Wood helped re-write the Oxfordshire record books for girls cricket, smashing a marvellous unbeaten century against Isle of Wight in the ECB Under 13 Girls County League. In doing so, Oxfordshire broke four records including a best partnership
KIDLINGTON held their Annual Outing Shield at Lodge Farm, which was fished by 12 anglers and won in style by Jason Bean, who put 152.3.0 of carp on the scales. He fished a pole to the island and caught on pellet, paste and meat. Predator’s Tony Wright
A PRINCIPAL has been appointed to lead the proposed academy which could replace Oxford School. Sue Croft, currently associate headteacher at the Kennet School in Thatcham, Berkshire, has been appointed principal designate by sponsors for the proposed
POLICE last night insisted motorists on Oxfordshire’s roads will be prosecuted and protected as rigorously as ever despite plans to turn off speed cameras next week. The future of drink driving, mobile phone and seatbelt spot checks in the county were
THEY came in their hundreds to remember TK – described by his friends last night as “one in a million”. Mourners dressed in all colours and filled every pew in St Mary’s Church in Kidlington yesterday, as they celebrated the life of their friend
There was big disappointment for punters and owners after a burnt out cable in the 545 metre traps on Saturday ruled out the two distance races. It also meant a reduced trials programme on Monday over 595 and 250 metres as the problems could not be repaired
CAPTAIN Emilia Bartram and Abi Currie were the stars as Oxfordshire moved up to second place in the ECB Under 17 Girls County Championship East Midlands section with a four-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Bicester & North Oxford. Bartram led by
AN uncharacteristic batting collapse saw Oxfordshire Under 17s crash out of the ECB County Cup with a four-wicket defeat away to Hertfordshire. Winning the toss, Oxon opted to bat first. But the decision quickly seemed to be the wrong one as Oxon
A FINE half-century from Curtly Slatter could not prevent Oxfordshire from losing by seven wickets against Wiltshire in the ECB Under 15 County Cup. Slatter’s 60 helped Oxfordshire to post a competitive total of 241 all out from their 50 overs, but Wiltshire
Spinner Alex Davies was the star of the show as Oxfordshire cruised to a seven-wicket win over Herefordshire in the ECB Under 13 County Cup. The result maintained Oxon’s perfect record in the competition with four wins out of four. Having
OXFORDSHIRE javelin thrower Freddie Curtis won silver for England at the Aviva SIAB Schools’ Track & Field International at Scotstoun, Glasgow, writes RUSSELL SMITH. The 15-year-old, from Cokethorpe School, Witney, threw a personal best 60.02m to take
Steve Rayner, Bob Hannan and Terry Kibble were in fine form at Sunday’s BAGS meeting, all completing trebles. However, the weekly honours went to Angie Kibble and Michael Peterson who each enjoyed six winners.
Tony Magnasco has taken in eight new hounds from Ireland, six of which are looking for owners. It will bring his kennel strength up to 30 as he bids to replace the dogs lost when Max Picinelli quit Oxford Stadium.
The kennels of the late Jim Morgan at Worminghall are set to undergo a major transformation under trainer Johnny Mayo. Planning permission is being sought to home 100 hounds. If all goes to plan it is expected to be ready in six months.
Trainer Richard Yeates, a prolific winner on the open race scene, is very upbeat about his new litter by Crash out of Rosstemple Lass. The latter was a regular winner of opens at Cowley. Yeates said: “They are the best litter I have bred and there is
Wantage White Horses youngsters enjoyed an opportunity to meet and receive coaching from two of Britain’s top swimmers. Ian Hulme, who swam butterfly at the 2009 World Championships and is a British record-holder, and Michael Jamieson, Britain’s top
George Seacole slammed 124 as Shipton-under-Wychwood beat Kidlington by 82 runs in the Oxon Under 17 Honey-B Trophy. Seacole, who hit 16 fours and seven sixes, shared an opening stand of 166 with Tom King, who made 56, Shipton posting a massive 229-2
LORD Williams’s School won the Oxfordshire Under 13 League title with a nine-wicket win over Warriner School at Bloxham. Batting first, Warriner could never get to grips with Lord Williams’s bowling attack. Sam Smith led the way with 4-9, while Will
TOM Nugent’s maiden county five-wicket haul helped Oxfordshire to a 23-run victory on first innings over Berkshire at Radley College in the ECB Under 17 County Championship. Oxon were under-par for parts of the game, but had enough to grab victory, and
THE latest figures on truancy make disturbing reading. Statistics released by the county council show the number of parents who have been fined for failing to get their children to school has more than doubled in four years. Many parents seem to be unaware
Oxford trainer Robert Hannan fears for the safety of four pups following a raid on his Abingdon kennels. Hannan, who has had more than winners so far this year, is anxious to trace four 19-day-old pups who have been stolen from his kennels – the second
Youngster David McDonald is shown the technique for throwing a javelin by Liz Purbrick at the County Athlete Assessment Day, run by Oxfordshire Sports Partnership at Iffley Road. The scheme is part of the Youth Sport Trust’s Playground to Podium initiative
Riders and fans of the Oxford Cheetahs have a chance to meet up on Sunday, at a reunion being held at the Plough Inn, Wheatley, writes ROBERT PEASLEY. The event is the brainchild of Ann Booker, a vital cog behind the scenes during the Bernard Crapper
Damian Batt gave Oxford United a big lift on the eve of their first home pre-season game by agreeing a two-year contract extension. The U’s face Championship side Leicester at the Kassam Stadium today, with most supporters getting their first chance
TODAY sees the start, in earnest, of one of Oxfordshire’s best-loved traditions – Truck Festival. For the whole weekend, normally quiet Hill Farm, near Steventon, will resound to to some of the country’s finest bands – with a few international
A TEENAGE band formed just a year ago are playing their second festival in a month tomorrow after DJ ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris discovered them jamming in his garage. The Old Grey Whistle Test veteran has taken Didcot band Mojo Pins under his
BROWNIE leader Pam Howard has retired after 37 years of Girl Guiding to take on a prestigous honorary role. The leader, 65, known as Barn Owl, retired on Monday from the 2nd Carterton Brownies after looking after generations of girls in the town. She
