TICKETS are available for a 1940s tea dance to raise cash for the Police and Armed Forces Families Association, PAFFA. The dance takes place at Islip Village Hall, on Saturday, September 3. Tickets cost £15 and include a three-course meal and live entertainment
DRESSED in pink tutus, wings and bunny ears, every runner who took part in North Oxfordshire’s Race for Life had a special story to tell. The Cancer Research UK event on Saturday united thousands to remember loved ones and raise cash for a
A £105,000 cycle path is to be built alongside Burford Road in Carterton, to improve links between the 1,500-home Shilton Park development and the town centre. Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, Rodney Rose, approved
YOUNGSTERS used modern technology to take part in a hi-tech treasure hunt. Summer holiday activities have been laid on by staff at Harcourt Arboretum, in Nuneham Courtenay, which is run by Oxford University. These include Quest, a game which involves
plans to charge for parking at an expanding Oxford sportsground have been dropped. Users at Oxford City Football Club and the Oxsrad centre, which provides specialist facilities for disabled people, have celebrated the council u-turn. Oxford City Council
A NEW Oxfordshire music festival catering for the “thriving” soul scene is set to be the first of its kind in the country. Camp Soul promises to be the first weekend-long camping festival dedicated to soul and jazz. The family-friendly event will take
AEA Technology 3 BMW 5955 Electrocomponents 222.7 Nationwide Accident Repair 93 Oxford Biomedica 7 Oxford Catalysts 71.75 Oxford Instruments 1000.5 Reed Elsevier 532.75 RM 114.5 RPS Group 239.1 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Global sales of the Cowley-built Mini have achieved a new record. Latest figures produced by parent company BMW show 81,053 cars were sold in the second quarter of the year, a rise of 35.6 per cent on the same period in 2010. Over the six month period
THE County Council Cabinet is always ready to blame the previous Government for all the financial shortcomings of this council’s administration. Now our transport department can enjoy the profligacy of an extra £5m handed down from the Conservative Government
MANY Oxford residents may have noticed the ever expanding waistlines of dogs walking on the high street. While this may not seem overly worrying, the dangers of being severely obese are the same as those for people. Pets that are allowed to wolf down
I REFER to John Monaghan’s letter which was published as lead letter on consecutive days last week. Yes, cycling on the pavement can be antisocial but, I believe most cyclists who occasionally cycle there (simply because it’s often safer) will go back
THE peculiar decision by the Oxford City Council to suspend the free pest control service is indeed confusing. The rat control team was keeping the vermin population in this part of Summertown in check but now that the pest control is charged for, we
SO, the Insider reveals in the Oxford Mail (July 28) that former Oxfordshire County Council roads supremo Ian Hudspeth provided the ways and means to ‘keep the beer flowing’ in his local by lending them a generator. Well, it’s nice to know
I’M IN trouble with the bank manager again. Not only have I recently acquired a new touring bike, the wonderful Dawes Nomad with the new Shimano Alfine 11 speed internal gear hub (phew, that was a mouthful), but I also heard Pashley were discontinuing
ONCE again we have witnessed the poor decision by Labour councillors at the city council executive board meeting (Oxford Mail, May 22) to close Temple Cowley pools and leisure centre. The councillors have completely ignored the concerns of residents
I REQUEST that your wonderful newspaper joins and supports the campaign to save the proposed loss of the children’s hospital at our fantastic John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford Mail, July 9). Please, readers, join the campaign by sending your name to either
MONTY Python’s Flying Circus has come to Long Hanborough. I refer to the affordable housing plan near Riely Close which must be the most inaccessible site possible. The parish council has chosen the most environmentally damaging option possible. The
SO far the authorities have managed to decimate the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the Army, and now seem intent on destroying the Grenadier Guards. Presumably Boy Scouts (if they have not been disbanded) will be able to fill the defence and ceremonial
Rigoletto set in seedy back streets haunted by mafia hoodlums has been a familiar concept since Jonathan Miller’s iconic 1982 production (often revived) for English National Opera. How well it works is confirmed once more in director Lindsay Posner
Rigoletto set in seedy back streets haunted by mafia hoodlums has been a familiar concept since Jonathan Miller’s iconic 1982 production (often revived) for English National Opera. How well it works is confirmed once more in director Lindsay Posner’s
ORGANISERS of an Oxford theatre festival for youngsters from across the globe have hailed the 10-day event a huge success. And they want to stage it again next summer to coincide with the Olympics. The Mesh Oxford International Arts Festival ended with
A company which specialises in providing conference calls for businesses has been bought out in a multi-million pound deal. MeetingZone based was snapped up by private equity firm GMT Communication Partners for £38.5m. All 45 staff will continue to be
CONFLICTING information about temporary parking measures in East Oxford has angered traders. Fewer spaces could be provided in the temporary car park set to replace St Clement’s car park when it is closed for a flats development. About
OXFORDSHIRE’S bidders were more than willing to step up to the plate at an unusual auction. About 1,500 personalised number plates went under the hammer during a three-day sale at the Williams F1 Conference Centre in Grove, near Wantage. Number plates
Abingdon United have reversed the venue for their opening fixture of the Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West season. They should have been travelling to Taunton Town on Saturday, August 13, but the Somerset side’s clubhouse has been damaged
POLICE in Kidlington have vowed to nip rising teenage bad behaviour “in the bud” as the summer holidays start. The officers spent Saturday on the beat in areas where youngsters gather, in an effort to deter antisocial behaviour. There
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Divisions 6-10 PAUL Sly’s 7-79 was not enough to save promotion-chasing Twyford 2nd from defeat to Bledlow Village 2nd in Division 7. Sly’s seven wickets restricted Bledlow to 216 all out, Harry Bartlett hitting 39 and
Kidlington Green Social Club A are still seeking their first Section 1 win of the Greene King ODDA Summer League season after losing 7-2 at home to Rose Hill Community Centre. Playing the pairs first, Rose Hill were in no mood to be the Green’s first
A TOUGH question for police? The rave near Cholsey on Saturday night certainly caused a headache for villagers. And many will be asking why police didn’t do more to stop the party. A difficult call. Officers will have been busy on the streets of the
THE John Radcliffe Hospital has become home to the UK’s most powerful MRI scanner. It is hoped the £4.75m machine, which is five times more powerful than a standard MRI scanner, will turn the Oxford hospital into a national flagship centre for detecting
Oxford United completed their pre-season build-up with a 1-1 draw at Thame United’s ATM Stadium to make it nine games unbeaten. But they left it late after the Hellenic League side had taken the lead early in the second half, Tom Craddock bagging
A SELF-styled messenger of God has been jailed for five years after running a religious fraud to fleece his own flock. Valere Smith, of Borough Avenue, Wallingford, is estimated to have tricked his followers into handing over £224,000 over
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 4 JOE Cockroft took 5-27 to help Shipton-under-Wychwood 2nd dismiss Chearsley for 100 and overtake them in second. Shipton’s 234-9 featured 51 apiece from 15-year-old Liam Hare and Ian Lewis, plus Marcus Ireland
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 5 Horspath 2nd were knocked off the top when they were outplayed by Didcot while Cublington were beating Thame Town 2nd. Didcot made 240-3 from their 53 overs, with Simon Pritchard (77) and Henry Brisland (67no
AEA Technology 3.5 BMW 5997 Electrocomponents 224.1 Nationwide Accident Repair 93 Oxford Biomedica 7 Oxford Catalysts 71.75 Oxford Instruments 1002.5 Reed Elsevier 531.75 RM 115.9 RPS Group 237.2 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
AN OXFORDSHIRE dairy farmer is to be prosecuted in a test case for allegedly using the services of an unlicensed labour agency. Brian Barnett, 50, of Astrop Farm, Brize Norton, will go on trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in October.
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 3 Oxford Downs 2nd maintained their narrow lead over Twyford at the top by squeezing past Cropredy. Luke Cherry (48) and Pete Cooling (32) were the mainstays of Cropredy’s 176 all out, in which Steve Roberts took
Banbury's Mini WRC Team said they could not pretend to be satisfied that neither of their Prodrive-built Mini John Cooper Works WRCs made it to the end of Neste Oil Rally Finland. The first retirement was of car number 52 for Kris Meeke and
I’m Esther Browning. I’m 5’8 and a half, have wild hair and three children. I’d like to pretend that the wild hair is purely because I have these children but people who’ve known me longer than the age of my eldest child could prove me wrong with
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Match of the Day LOCAL rivals Witney Mills and Kingston Bagpuize served up a high-scoring Division 3 contest. But both sides lacked the quality to finish off their opponents as the match ended in a draw. Bagpuize will
OUTSIDE the city centre, Oxford cyclists are most likely to have bikes stolen in St Clement’s and Summertown, new figures show. It has also emerged that just four per cent of bike thefts in Oxford have been solved by police. Police said
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 2 BANBURY 2nd soared to the top after dominating their drawn match with promotion rivals Abingdon Vale. Vale’s decision to field first backfired when Banbury racked up 288-4 thanks to Jamie Coles (93), Luke Radford
A MAN was spared jail after being convicted of attacking two people in Didcot, including the landlady of a town pub. Matthew Webb, 30, of Hamble Road, Didcot, received a suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, after admitting two counts of
Striker James Constable is determined to beat off strong competition to secure his place in Oxford United’s opening npower League Two fixture against Rotherham on Saturday. ‘Beano’, top-scorer last season with 17 goals, opened his account with the the
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 1 LEADERS Oxford Downs scored ten runs from the final over of the day to beat Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts by four wickets in a dramatic finish. Pablo Mukherjee (52), Tim Rattigan (47) and Ayaz Khan (34)
OXFORD City Council is to push ahead with new powers that will allow it to stop family homes being converted into student digs, it was confirmed yesterday. Under present regulations, residential property can be converted to a “shared” home without the
A VISION to provide a £60m heritage centre on the site of RAF Bicester has been launched. Bomber Command Heritage (BCH) wants to transform part of the old airbase into a museum and historic site. RAF Bicester's layout has not been changed
OXFORDSHIRE has always played a vital role in supporting our country’s military. It can boast RAF stations at Benson and Brize Norton, as well as a big military presence in Abingdon, Didcot and Bicester. Over the previous century we have also seen military
Dave Taylor smashed an unbeaten century to help Horley leapfrog Garsington to top spot in OCA Division 1 on Saturday. Taylor’s 108 not out saw Horley to 246-7, before Steve Palmer claimed 3-15 as Garsington were shot out for 107. Shrivenham thrashed
Asif Shah was the star as Garsington beat holders Westbury by 20 runs to reach the final of the OCA's Airey Cup. Half-centuries from Qaiser Naveed (720 and Shah (63) helped Garsington to 219-9, despite Andy Clarke’s spell of 5-48. Shah then took
James Waddington claimed 5-29 as Great Horwood 2nd blew away the Brill top order in his side’s eight-wicket win in OCA Division 5. Brill were reeling on 14-6, before Freddie Keys (43) helped his side to 81 all out. Ben Jones then hit 30 not out to
PLANS to reopen a quarry near Oxford could have a “detrimental effect” on neighbours’ lives, it was feared last night. Woodeaton Quarry could be used to dump 650,000 tonnes of soil and clay in a move which would bring hundreds of trucks rumbling through
A MAN convicted of growing between 40 and 60 cannabis plants was yesterday spared jail, after a judge decided the drugs were for “personal use”. Peter McClure, 31, pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis following raids on his home in George Moore Close
AN ANIMAL sanctuary saved by an Oxford Mail campaign has appealed for more money to help the animals in its care. Animal lovers turned out in force as Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, which faced closure in 2009, held its annual open day.
