Archive

  • Scales of justice: Monday, March 14

    Mbuso Ngubane, 26, of Cowley Road, Oxford, admitted driving without a licence and drink driving in Abingdon Road, Oxford, on January 28. He had 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, above the legal limit of 35mg. Fined £600, a £15 victims’ surcharge

  • Animal sanctuary over-run in tough economic times

    MORE pets are being abandoned because because of the rising cost of living, Oxfordshire animal rescue centres said. High costs and families moving into smaller homes were putting unprecedented pressure on spaces, they said. Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary

  • Car overturns on M40

    A car overturned this afternoon on the M40 in Oxfordshire. The crash happened on the southbound carriageway between junction 9 at Wendlebury and junction 8A at Wheatley. One lane was closed for a time.

  • Dramatic moment at Pegasus for kids in trouble at school

    YOUNGSTERS getting in trouble at school are celebrating their graduation from an Oxford theatre. Secondary school children from across the county have been spending two days a week at Pegasus Theatre, in Magdalen Road, to create a drama, an

  • Marston Saints 1 - 1 Ardington

    Saints entertained the league leaders this Sunday at Boults Lane. The surface was good and the weather fine and so a good game was anticipated. After an even first 5-10 minutes of sizing each other up, Saints started to impose themselves on

  • Man charged after Banbury cannabis factories raided

    A 38-year-old man has been charged with two counts of production of a class-B drug after officers uncovered two cannabis factories in Banbury. Officers carried out the first warrant at an address in Broad Street shortly before 12.30pm on Friday, where

  • BREAKING NEWS: Crash at Botley interchange

    The A420 has been closed both ways because of an accident between a lorry and a van at the Botley Interchange roundabout. Emergency services are currently on the scene and the roundabout has been closed.

  • Crash closes Botley Interchange

    A crash between a van and a lorry this afternoon closed the Botley Interchange for a time. The crash happened on the roundabout at the junction of the A420. The emergency services said the roundabout had been closed while they attended

  • Signal problems disrupt Chiltern Line trains

    SIGNALLING problems following over-running weekend engineering work are disrupting Chiltern Line trains between Bicester North and Banbury today. Chiltern Railways is running an emergency timetable until further notice, with only two trains an hour operating

  • Post office delivered to its new home finally

    THE saga of Wallingford’s nomadic Post Office has finally come to an end after it opened in its new permanent home. Customers celebrated on Friday as the branch opened at KP Stationers, in Market Place, after the building underwent a major facelift.

  • Budget film hits small screens

    A MICRO-budget film featuring some of Oxford’s most famous landmarks and a cast of 30 local people has been released online. Oxfordshire film-makers Mark McDermott and Paul Smith made Harmony’s Requiem at a cost of just £8,000, while both held down day

  • Walker to race new Ferrari

    Oxford racing driver James Walker has been signed up to race Ferrari’s new GT car, the Ferrari 458, in the 2011 Le Mans Series. He will line-up with double Le Mans Series GT2 Champion, Rob Bell, in the JMW Motorsport Ferrari when the season

  • Spin-a-thon for Red Nose appeal

    FITNESS fanatics are being urged to take part in a gruelling challenge for Comic Relief. Visitors to Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre in Oxford on Saturday can take part in a 10-hour spin-a-thon on spinning bikes, which have a heavy disc at the front.

  • Vettel extends contract with Red Bull

    Sebastian Vettel has pledged his future to Red Bull Racing by signing a three-year contract extension. The Formula One world champion previously had a deal for this year and an option for next season. Although recently linked with a potential

  • Teenager with brain condition on fundraising ride

    A TEENAGER battling a brain condition is hoping to raise £75,000 for charity by cycling 1,000 miles from Denmark to England. Scott Nielson, 18, will cycle from Copenhagen to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool via Oxford for the Association for Spina Bifida

  • Woman claims she is being terrorised by feral cat

    OUTWARDLY, he is a handsome tabby with distinctive white paws, but beneath the fluffy exterior lurks an aggressive beast. But when the feral cat, roaming free in Kennington, sank its teeth into Patti Talbot’s right leg, it left her in hospital for three

  • Wall collapse damages cars

    TWO cars were crushed by a falling Cotswold stone wall in Bampton. The toppled stone damaged a Saab estate and a Ford Mondeo parked alongside the wall, in Church View, on Friday. It is thought that a combination changeable recent weather and last

  • Oxford. A Great City for Live Music

    If you weren’t in Quod on The High on the 13th of March in the early evening you missed some great music. We were treated to three wonderful jazz musicians playing with fire, subtlety and a high level of skill. Dave Lewis playing some very soulful tenor

  • High house prices turn teachers into commuters

    TEACHERS are commuting in to Oxford schools from as far as Milton Keynes and Birmingham because city homes are too expensive. They spoke after a report by the Centres for Cities think tank confirmed that Oxford was the least affordable city in the UK

  • FOOTBALL: Clanfield see off Saracens in fiery clash

    Cheltenham Saras 1 (Oldham 62) Clanfield 4 (Keyes 30, 48, Miller 55, Butt pen 78) Both sides finished with ten men as Clanfield kept up their promotion push in a feisty Division 1 West clash. Lee Keyes fired Clanfield in front on the half-hour,

  • RESULTS: Greyhounds 12/13

    SATURDAY’S RESULTS 7.35: 1 EAGLES STORM 4-1, 2 Oi Oi Badger 1-1 fav. Trio: (2x1x3). Trainer: Rayner. Time: 28.09. 7.50: 1 SHELBOURNE CHERI 3-1, 2 Winslow Wonder 6-1. Trio: (1x6x5). Trainer: Colton. Time: 27.22. Spencers Lad (4) 5-2 fav. 8.05: 1 UOSGARBH

  • FOOTBALL: Brilliant Bowles is North Leigh hero

    North Leigh 2 (Caton 8, Bowles 89) Wimborne Tn 1 (Davidson 67) Substitute Brian Bowles curled home a superb winner a minute from time as North Leigh took the points in Division 1 South & West, ending their run of three straight defeats. It had looked

  • FOOTBALL: City left to rue missed chances

    Oxford City 3 (Steele 1, 55, Savage 73) Cirencester Tn 3 (Tomkins 44, 59, Hoskin 45) Oxford City made a dream start, but were left contemplating what might have been as they were held to a draw by Cirencester Town in the Premier Division on Saturday

  • Spend cash here

    The good news is the British government has just announced an investment of £100m in the road system. Unfortunately it's not in the UK but South Africa, the International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell claiming it will boost links between the

  • In praise of hospital

    RECENTLY there have been a lot of negative press reports about the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust, so I thought it was time for some positive feedback. I have been in and out of the Churchill Hospital’s haematology ward since September 2010, and

  • Leave local tyrant

    OXFORD Mail photographer, Mark Hemsworth, captured a strongly-worded hand-held placard during last month’s protest march opposing county council cuts (Oxford Mail, February 14). Two things bothered me about the sign which read: “Saddam Dead! Ben Ali

  • Oh, do be nice

    Stuart Cooper should be more friendly to bus drivers (Oxford Mail letters, February 15). Drivers also put up with a lot of rude passengers. I thought it was also nice of B Drummond (letters, February 23) to say politeness – or the lack of it – works

  • Support just laws

    DR GRAHAM Jones (Oxford Mail March 7) is mistaken when he states that I do not believe in the independence of courts. Of course I do – when they interpret law made by a democratic body. The fundamental problem with the European Court of Human Rights

  • Carnival should not rely on public money

    MY reaction to Craig Simmons’ comments (Financial issues will still affect carnival (Oxford Mail, March 1) is perhaps rather revolutionary. Why don’t those who gain financially from this event, and others who are allowed to subject local residents to

  • Film fans angry at fire evacuation

    CINEMAGOERS were less than pleased when they were told to evacuate because a neighbouring shop had caught fire. Firefighters feared that the blaze at May’s Stores in West St Helen Street, Abingdon, could spread to the Regal cinema, which backed on to

  • Key figures in wartime fire service

    THIS is the last in our series of pictures of members of the Oxford City Fire Brigade. These key members of the brigade were photographed in front of the fire station doors in Gloucester Green during the Second World War. The picture comes from Theresa

  • Temple Cowley boys made splash at swimming gala

    YOUNG swimmers from Temple Cowley School were on top form when they took part in the Oxford schools’ swimming gala in 1972. The boys saw off keen competition from their rivals to win both the senior and junior championship titles during the event. The

  • All aboard for club's day out on river

    ALL ABOARD for a trip on the river! Members of the Liberal Club in Grove Street, Summertown, Oxford, packed one of the popular Salter’s steamers to enjoy an outing on the River Thames in 1945 or 1946. The picture comes from Lynda Keen, of Field Close

  • Butcher was keen cycle racer

    ARTHUR Grace was a keen competitive cyclist, but who is the man pictured holding up his bicycle? That is the question Mr Grace’s grandson, Michael Grace, would like Memory Lane readers to help him answer. He would also like to know more about his grandfather

  • Steam power helped rebuild village hall

    VILLAGERS decided to be bold when they faced a big bill to rebuild their village hall. The hall at Appleton with Eaton was condemned in 1974 and the cost of major improvements to bring it up to standard was £27,000, a huge amount for a small village.

  • An unknown hero

    RECENTLY, I went down to the Thames for an afternoon’s fishing on that delightful reach of the river between Benson weir and Wallingford. As I was putting my boots on, an individual carrying a black sack of rubbish and a pair of litter tongs walked

  • Old mates together

    SO NOW we learn that Gordon Brown’s government did all it could to ensure Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset-Al-Megrahi was freed from prison. But do not forget 270 people died, and that colossal oil deals were signed during the build-up to the release of

  • RESULTS: 12/13

    NPOWER LEAGUE TWO Port Vale 1, Oxford Utd 2. ZAMARETTO SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Didcot Tn 1, Chesham Utd 0; Oxford City 3, Cirencester Tn 3; Salisbury City 4, Banbury Utd 1. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd 2, Bishops Cleeve 1; North Leigh 2,

  • FOOTBALL: Abingdon fight back for victory

    Abingdon Utd 2 (Carnell 32, Lewis 75) Bishops Cleeve 1 (Davis pen 6) Abingdon United came from a goal down to record their first win in eight Division 1 South & West games at Northcourt Road. The visitors went in front when Tim Haddock was brought

  • FOOTBALL: Second-half blitz stuns sorry Banbury

    Salisbury City 4 (Shephard 52, 57, Reid 60, Clarke 90 + 4) Banbury Utd 1 (Farquharson 28) Three second-half goals in eight minutes sent Banbury’s crashing to defeat at the Raymond McEnhill Stadium in the Premier Division on Saturday. Salisbury looked

  • FOOTBALL: Tabor strike hands Didcot crucial win

    Didcot Tn 1 (Tabor 55) Chesham Utd 0 Jordan Tabor scored the only goal as Didcot picked up an excellent victory over high-flying Chesham in the Premier Division. Saturday’s match was skipper Jamie Heapy’s 700th for the club, and the win boosts their

  • Flood response teams put skills to the test

    PART of Britain’s biggest ever flood-response exercise was staged in Oxford as officials assured residents they were better prepared than in 2007. Environment Agency and floods minister Richard Benyon said many lessons had been learned since torrential

  • COMMENT: Inspiring story

    TODAY we bring you the heartwarming tale of little Charlotte Nott’s fightback. Just three months ago, little Charlotte’s parents feared the worst after she was struck down with an aggressive form of meningitis. Medics battled around the clock to stop

  • Charlotte full of life as she fights back

    JUST three months ago little Charlotte Nott’s parents feared the worst after she was struck down with an aggressive form of meningitis. But now, thanks to the care of Oxford doctors, the three-year-old who lost all four of her lower limbs is back to

  • Firefighters tackle bakery blaze

    More than 40 firefighters battled a blaze in a bakery. They were called to reports of a fire in the chimney stack of one of the bread production plants at Fine Lady Bakeries, Southam Road, at 6.48pm on Sunday night. Workers had initially tried to

  • Magdalen Bridge to be open on May Morning

    MAGDALEN Bridge will be open again for revellers to enjoy May Morning celebrations. For the first time since 2005 the bridge will be open to the 18,000-strong crowd who gather to hear Magdalen College choir sing in the Spring. The 25ft-high

  • COMMENT: May Morning bridge decision makes sense

    AN OXFORD tradition will be restored on May Morning this year: Magdalen Bridge will once again be open to the public. For first time since 2005 the bridge will be open to the 18,000-plus crowd, gathering to hear Magdalen College choir. The 25ft high

  • JOY: United boss cannot hide delight after win at Port Vale

    Chris Wilder is hoping Saturday’s outstanding 2-1 win at promotion-chasing Port Vale can be a springboard for Oxford United to reignite their burning play-off ambitions. The U’s boss bravely made seven changes and was rewarded by seeing them earn a deserved

  • Barton police win top award for patrols on estate

    POLICE who patrol an Oxford estate have been given their force’s highest award. Members of the Barton, Risinghurst and Sandhills neighbourhood team were handed the Shrievalty Merit Award for their efforts in tackling anti-social behaviour,

  • Annual pensioners tea party hits the floor in April

    Oxford’s pensioners now have a date for their annual get- together. The Oxford Annual Pensioners’ Tea Party has been held every year since 1936, usually in January. Last year’s event had to be scrapped when unexpected heavy snowfalls made it too dangerous