AN OXFORD church has vowed to continue its fight against a lap-dancing club. St Ebbe’s Church, in the city centre, said this week it had lodged an official objection to a new licence application from neighbouring Thirst Lodge. Thirst Lodge, in Pennyfarthing
JEREMY SMITH cosies up with a creepy little tale that proves to be the perfect Book of the Month for the cold winter nights. THE BOOK: JEREMY SMITH cosies up with a creepy little tale that proves to be the perfect Book of the
THE KING’S SPEECH (12A). Drama. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Timothy Spall, Eve Best. Director: Tom Hooper. screenwriter Colin Welland famously declared “The British are coming!” in
Ekaterina Murugova tells Katherine MACALISTER just how much she loves starring on ice. Tinkerbell is snowed in when we speak, huddled up in her hotel room watching the snowflakes drift down. But she’s not in Russia. Instead she’s braving
The long legs, huge eyes and glowing complexion say it all. KATHERINE MACALISTER meets Emma Appleton, the new face of Oxford Fashion Week 2011. NINETEEN-year-old Emma Appleton was astonished to have been chosen as The Face of OFW, beating
MUSIC EDITOR Tim Hughes kicks off the vestiges of his New Year hangover to come up with a perfect prescription to shift those January 2011 blues. If there’s one time of year when it’s tempting to just batten down the hatches and curl up
It’s showtime. And from the thick velvet curtains to the top-hatted waiters, Coco’s Royal is doing it in style. Yes, Burlesque has come to Oxford and it’s here to stay. And where better to feature the pomp, circumstance and sheer decadence of Oxford’
127 HOURS(15) Drama. James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Treat Williams, Kate Burton. Director: Danny Boyle. THE human body is a wondrous piece of engineering. Its strength doesn’t come from the muscles and bones, but from the heart
KATHERINE MACALISTER meets up with ballet company The Russian State Ballet of Siberia. If you think this is cold then think again. For The Russian State Ballet of Siberia, these temperatures are positively clement. So for the men and women
PARAMEDICS, police and council workers who put the wrong fuel in publically-funded vehicles have cost Oxfordshire taxpayers almost £10,000 in less than two years. The Oxford Mail asked Thames Valley Police, all five of the county’s district
A VILLAGE near Didcot has beaten more than 2,500 rivals to obtain super-fast broadband after a tireless campaign. The effort to get the Blewbury area a high-speed Internet connection saw nearly all eligible residents and businesses take part in a public
AEA Technology 6.15 BMW 5121 Electrocomponents 273.8 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.5 Oxford Catalysts 72.5 Oxford Instruments 714 Reed Elsevier 535.75 RM 172 RPS Group 219.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
LOYAL Oxford Mail readers are to be rewarded for having their favourite paper delivered to their homes with the chance to save hundreds of pounds this New Year. From dry cleaning services to Italian restaurants, sports club membership to cinema
SHEILA Coates, a pioneer in services for autistic children and their families in Oxfordshire, has died aged 67. Mrs Coates founded the Chinnor-based charity Children In Touch, which supports children with autism. The service then became a model that
Specialist spinal injury litigation solicitor Richard Dawson has joined Banbury law firm Brethertons as a partner. Mr Dawson, who was previously at rival firm Withy King in Oxford, will lead a new litigation team providing legal advice to clients suffering
Scores of jobs at hi-tech firm Dataplex have been saved after the company was bought out of administration. Communications and technology specialist Intrinsic Technology, based in Haydock, Merseyside, snapped up the Witney company for an undisclosed
Security firm Westminster Group says it has won a 'multi-million pound' contract to supply mobile surveillance systems to an unnamed government security service. It is the largest single contract Westminster has won and was achieved following lengthy
Police are appealing for information following a series of burglaries in the Vale of White Horse over the past week. The first burglary was at an address in Blandy Avenue, Southmoor, between 10.20am and 9.10pm on December 30. Burglars forced
BANBURY Museum will face more cuts, as it was revealed council chiefs looked at closing the £5m attraction. Cherwell District Council is looking to slash £28,861 from the budget for 2011-12, including a 58 per cent cut in the exhibition budget. Total
CULTURAL programmes are to be cut at a Bicester youth arts centre after plans to make it a “hub” for issues such as drug abuse, pregnancy and antisocial behaviour were revealed. Cherwell District Council is to pull most of its arts cash funding from
CHIPPING NORTON Stewart’s Swindle Stableford – Div 1: 1 P Roberts 45pts, 2 D Sykes 43 (cb), 3 P Madeley 43 (cb). Div 2: 1 B Howse 45 (cb), 2 R Stowe 45, 3 T Young 44. Leading 2010 performers (10 of more rounds under CSS): 1 S Kench 13, 2 D White finished
PLANS to save Summertown Library and youth services in North Oxford from closure will be discussed at a meeting tonight. Residents who want to protect services from spending cuts are being urged to attend Oxford City Council’s north area committee meeting
Phil Allen capped his 14-doll haul with a six as Bicester ran out 6-0 winners over Banbury in the Banbury Indoor League. Bicester also whitewashed General Foods 6-0, with Keith Skinner leading the way with 13 dolls. John Gilman hit a
MUSEUM of Oxford staff have been teaching children about simpler pleasures in life than that the latest Playstation can promise with special Tudor toy making classes. Volunteer Masaili Heatley has been teaching children how to make their own Tudor-style
Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League Masons Arms B moved five points clear at the top of Section 1 – but will be rueing a missed opportunity after losing 3-2 to Democrats Club, writes PETE EWINS. Despite extending their lead over Comrades Club, Masons
A FORMER Oxfordshire Scout leader has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting a boy more than 40 years ago. Roger Franklin, 66, of Ashdene Road, Bicester, denies four counts of indecent assault between March 1968 and March 1970.
Oxfordshire pair Alec Hepburn and Gus Jones helped England Under 18s defeat their Ireland counterparts 29-12 in Dublin. Prop Hepburn (Henley College) and flanker Jones (Eton College) came off the bench to boost England’s four-try success. They will
Banbury trainer Ben Case believes Dance Island will be “well up to the task” when he contests Saturday’s rearranged Coral Welsh National at Chepstow. The Edgcote handler’s eight-year-old chased home Burton Port at Aintree in the spring, and
ONE of literature’s most famous children’s stories has been performed in the city where it was written. More than 80 people packed Risinghurst Community Hall in Oxford yesterday to watch Alice in Wonderland. The show, performed by Oxfordshire
WANTAGE MP Ed Vaizey has pulled off a remarkable feat. In the year he entered Government and became Minister for Culture, his influence has diminished. That’s according to GQ magazine’s list of the 100 most influential men of 2011. Last
AS A retired biology lecturer, I would like to comment on Mr Sanderson’s letter on meat eating (Oxford Mail, December 29). I don’t think that he has got it quite right. While it is true that eating large amounts of red meat does increase the risk of
English National League Oxford City Stars’ first match at their newly-refurbished rink ended in disappointment with a 5-2 defeat by Milton Keynes Thunder in South Division 1. Along with new ice, they welcomed back Andrew Shurmer from long-term injury
POLICE officers have been issued with guidance after equality chiefs took action over “discriminatory” use of stop and search powers with ethnic minorities. Thames Valley’s Chief Constable Sara Thornton has sent officers eight “instructions
POLITICIANS have never keep election promises. I am 60 years old and have seen parliaments come and go, but this Government is worse than Margaret Thatcher’s. We should be helping those who are interested in going to university. The education of the
YOUR recent front page story depicting the appalling mountains of rubbish which had built up round the county expressed disappointment at the lack of initiative being shown by councils in coping with the adverse weather conditions. It went on to state
IN his regular letters to your column in answer to his many critics, Oxfordshire County Council leader Keith Mitchell invites us to suggest where cuts could be made. He also suggests that volunteers could staff the libraries and youth clubs which are
Two differing properties, both with interesting histories, are available to rent through Finders Keepers. The former Morrells Brewery in central Oxford houses a penthouse apartment with an open-plan living and dining area on the top floor and bedrooms
TWO men have been bailed after a man was left with head injuries in an Oxford city centre subway. The 29-year-old was attacked at about 3.30am on New Year’s Eve at the junction of New Road and Castle Street, near the Westgate Shopping Centre. A 26-year-old
A restoration project is how an agent describes a west Oxfordshire farmhouse with 17th-century origins. Built on the remains of a manor house that burned down, Reynolds Farm is set in six acres of grounds and still has the remains of a moat around it
OXFORDSHIRE saw the highest house price rises of any county in England during the past five years, according to the Halifax. Based on Halifax's mortgage data, the average house price in Oxfordshire has increased by 12 per cent from £235,764 in 2005 to
START-UP businesses in south Oxfordshire are being urged to enter a dedicated awards scheme. The Southern Oxfordshire New Business Competition offers the chance to win a furnished office for a year — a prize worth up to £10,000. Paul
Oxford is bucking the national trend, with property prices set to weather the downturn better than many other towns and cities. Mark Charter, of Summertown-based Carter Jonas, said: “Oxford has always been resilient and we think that will be
THE Oxford Times has come up with an innovative online service for jobseekers. The site, powered by UK jobs website CareerBuilder.co.uk, has been designed to provide the best local job listings for our website oxfordtimes.co.uk/jobs The new platform
COWLEY Road residents have rightly been agitated about the speedy decline of the street’s independent traders. The big boys have waded in, with Subway, Costa, Nando’s and Sainsbury’s either having already set up home, or planning to move in. And it
FORMER Radley ace Hatti Dean finished 2010 as the No 1 ranked female 3,000m steeplechase runner in the UK. Dean’s best time of 9mins 30.19secs was five seconds faster than her nearest rival, Barbara Parker. The UK rankings list also made good reading
BUSINESS leaders and tax experts voiced fears about the future of Oxfordshire’s economy in the wake of this week’s VAT increase. Some believe the tax hike from 17.5 per cent to 20 per cent will make little immediate difference to shoppers and retailers
OXFORD is set to get an independent record shop again, which its owners hope will become a hub for local music. Rapture, which has branches in Witney and Evesham, in Worcestershire, is to move into the former Videosyncratic video store, in
WOODSTOCK Harrier Steve Naylor moved to within one victory of clinching the Oxford Mail Cross Country League title after another dominant showing in the third round at Horspath on Sunday. The race, which also incorporated the 2011 Oxfordshire
STEVE Naylor added the Oxfordshire Cross Country title to his league victory as the third round incorporated the championship for the first time. Naylor, clinched the title ahead of Rhys Glastonbury, who was representing first-claim club Windsor
Beleaguered pubs, already closing at the rate of 1,800 a year nationwide, will be hit hard again by the increase in VAT which came into force this week, according to a group of Oxford economists, who also predicted that about 8,800 jobs will be lost in
In an era rich with radical ideas and literary enterprise, the family of Percy Bysshe Shelley remains a uniquely impressive group of individuals. Shelley, the poet of Ozymandias and Prometheus Unbound, a passionate intellectual, was expelled from
This World We Live In by Susan Pfeffer (Scholastic, £6.99) Many ‘older teen’ books seem to be far from cheery, and this current batch is no exception. Thought-provoking, yes; cheery, no. The World We Live In, the third in Pfeffer’s The Last Survivors
TO CATCH A THIEF by David Dodge (Bruin Books, £9.62) This novel by US writer David Dodge was adapted by Alfred Hitchcock into an iconic 1955 film set in the French Riviera and starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant. It tells the story of US expat
FOSTER by Clare Keegan (Faber, £6)Keegan received the Davy Byrnes Memorial Prize when this first appeared in the New Yorker. Now published in an expanded form, this lyrical story, told through the eyes of a young girl, evokes the nuances and subtleties
THE REMAINS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES by Paul W. Nash (Strawberry Press, £12.99)The first Sherlock Holmes spoof is said to have appeared in 1892, and even Mark Twain once tried his hand. Since then, hundreds more stories have appeared featuring Holmes
Crinoline history tends to focus on grandes dames Elizabeth I and Victoria, both of whom reigned in what have been termed golden ages of Britain. However, there were earlier female contenders for the thrones of Europe, and this is the theme of She Wolves
PEOPLE who want to pay their respects to a fallen soldier from Bicester are urged to arrive early when his body arrives in Oxford today. Larger crowds than normal are expected to pay their respects to Warrant Officer Class 2 Charles Wood, of
CLIVE White yesterday returned to his parents home in Blackbird Leys and gazed at the flowers left in memory of his mother Evelyn. “She was everyone’s mother and her door was always open,” he said in tribute to the great-grandmother, who was
FIREFIGHTERS warn us time and time again about the importance of smoke alarms. But the message really hits home when it comes from a grieving son, Clive White, who has lost one parent – and nearly lost both of them – in a devastating house
The founder of the Body Shop, the face of Mastermind and the impresario behind Joy Division are included in the latest edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The trio - Anita Roddick, Magnus Magnusson and Tony Wilson - are among
HIGHWAYS Agency officials say they “did everything they could” to keep the A34 open last month after heavy snow left drivers stranded for up to 12 hours. But Thames Valley Police are conducting an urgent review to see whether lessons can be learned from
Weather experts warned there may be more snow on the way across Oxfordshire later today. Met Office spokesman John Hammond said that light snow could fall in the county from this afternoon. Temperatures look likely to drop to freezing
Oxford United are celebrating after two girls from their Centre of Excellence reached the second stage of England trials. It is the first time the U’s have seen any member of their squad make it through. Demi Lambourne, goalkeeper for the under 16 side
WEATHER experts last night warned there may be more snow on the way across Oxfordshire later today. Met Office spokesman John Hammond said that light snow could fall in the county from this afternoon. Temperatures look likely to drop to freezing overnight
SHEILA Coates, a pioneer in services for autistic children and their families in Oxfordshire, has died aged 67. Mrs Coates founded the Chinnor-based charity Children In Touch, which supports children with autism. The service then became a model that
Oxford United and Mansfield Town have reached agreement for centre back Rhys Day to join the Blue Square Bet Premier side on a free transfer. The 28-year-old defender had been loaned out by Oxford to the Stags, and has been lining up at
Sir – I read with dismay and disbelief your report of the impending closure of the Redbridge waste-recycling facility to the general public. As the secretary of a suburban wildlife site within the city boundary, I have spent the past ten years co-ordinating
Sir – When picking up my son this evening (December 24) from just outside the Holiday Inn hotel at the Peartree roundabout I was amazed to see a van having great difficulty manoeuvring on the solid ice in the drop-off area. The hotel staff told my son
Sir – Over the Christmas period hundreds of dogs, including many puppies, have been cruelly abandoned. They end up in the local pound where they are given the statutory seven days to be reclaimed. After that period if the pound is full, the dog
Sir – You reported (December 16) the story that Nicky Wishart, a 12-year-old boy, had been called out of class and interviewed by the police without the presence or knowledge of his mother, because he used Facebook to propose a demonstration in Witney
Sir – On his website, councillor Mitchell says that amongst his hobbies are “reading avidly — particularly histories and biographies.” The rest of us who use the libraries to borrow books may be denied this chance, should the closures go ahead as planned
Sir – There’s a scurrilous rumour going about that Keith Mitchell has told library protesters that there is no point in sending letters and petitions to County Hall, as they won’t make any difference. This can’t be true — Keith Mitchell, the last time
Sir – As a resident of Wolvercote, I am lucky to live near Port Meadow. The meadow is always lovely to enjoy and to look at, but the recent snow made it even more beautiful and lots of people were having a wonderful time walking and playing on it. The
Sir – Most of us have enjoyed Christmas with loved ones, warm and with as much as we could possibly eat. But every winter many vulnerable people in Oxfordshire, mostly elderly, live in fuel poverty which leaves them facing illness and, in the worst cases
Sir – As an ex-choirboy and London University graduate, I’d like to pick up on Robert Triggs’ recent suggestion that “the great majority of Oxford dons are either agnostic or atheist” and his questioning “how many people actually make up the congregations
Sir – Bob Forster (Letters, December 23) is right to be puzzled. The funding of concessionary bus passes is New Labour smoke and mirrors. District councils (currently) are supposed to keep the bus companies neither better nor worse off.
Sir – I felt that I should write in support of Tom Benyon of Bladon (Letters, December 23) concerning “Cyclists in the Dark”. I am employed as a lodge porter at a college in Oxford, finishing my duties at just before midnight. Earlier this year, on my
Sir – The county council is proposing to shut half our libraries; at the same time, they want to open the Central Library on Sunday. Surely this is nonsense. Opening the Central Library on Sunday must be expensive and the money would be much better spent
Sir – Philip Pullman once wrote you cannot quantify in financial terms the benefits that result from education, literature and the arts. It would be a barbaric and irreversible gesture to close our local libraries. How much will the council save by closing
Sir – On November 18 last you were kind enough to publish an article describing our suggestion that the best (perhaps only) way in which the proposed new housing development to the west of Barton could properly be integrated with the existing communities
THREE Oxford authors have made it into the list of the top-selling books of the decade, alongside JK Rowling and Dan Brown. Mark Haddon is at number 15 with his novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, which was one of the first books
Has anyone told the Local Government Minister Eric Pickles that the policy towards local government of the administration he represents is for localism? We ask the question because Mr Pickles seems to wake up each morning with a new rant on how local
Until recently, Ida Dalser had merely been a footnote in the career of Benito Mussolini. However, rumours of a disavowed marriage have recast her as a tragic heroine and veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio depicts her as the Duce's Duse in Vincere
It's going back a while now, but Oxford's independent cinemas were once renowned for their dynamic programming. In its previous incarnation as the Penultimate Picture Palace's, the jewel of Jeune Street used to screen a daily double bill of classic
USUALLY, they are one of the hardiest creatures on earth, able to survive extremes of temperature and terrain – but not these two hairless moggies. Brother and sister Billy and Lola were feeling the effects of the sub-zero temperatures in Oxfordshire
Two unsung Air Cadet volunteers from Wantage were awarded top commendations for their work supporting Oxfordshire youth at a glittering Thames Valley ceremony in December. The awards were presented by the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, Mrs Mary
Drank too much over Christmas? Spent too much? Giving up drinking as your New Year’s resolution? Cheer up, it might never happen! There’s always time for a soothing glass of wine. But not expensive wine – we do understand that you’ve spent
We’re almost a week into 2011 and I wonder how the resolutions are coming along. Chocolate successfully banished from the cupboards? Five workouts at the gym completed? And, not a drop of alcohol has passed your lips since the weekend? The excesses of
