Council chiefs have been accused of being mean after they stopped serving the tasty treats for staff meetings. Oxford City Council said it was saving £1,000 a month since stopping tea, coffee and biscuits for more than 3,000 annual internal
THE family and friends of a talented young artist and photographer who died earlier this year have vowed to carry on his last project in his name. Twenty-year-old Rishi Mullett-Sadones, from Florence Park, Cowley, died on Tuesday, March 1.
Residents have less than three weeks to respond to a consultation on how Oxfordshire County Council works with volunteers across the county. The council is looking to find an organisation to run the infrastructure support for voluntary and community
7.35: Bargain Key 2, BARRACK WOOD, Crows Cant Dance, Liosgarbh Plan, Bound For Fun 3, Pennys Merryfox. 7.50: Conduit, Notapatchonme 2, Barnagrane Colin, Darcys Revenge, LONGROCK SHEELIN, Burwood Inca 3. 8.05: GUINNESS PIRATE, Bright Mac, Lord Of The
A 32-year-old businessman has admitted defrauding HM Revenue and Customs to the tune of £599,407. Gurjeet Panesar, of Brackley motorbike firm UK Custom Choppers, admitted 17 counts of fraud at Oxford Crown Court on Monday. The married father-of-two,
A playscheme on an Oxford estate has had a bumper summer thanks to its new boat. The Dovecote, based in Greater Leys, was marked ‘outstanding’ in all 17 categories by Ofsted last September. It runs an after-school and holiday club for children aged
Should next year’s Cowley Road Carnival return to the road where it started? That will be the key question at a special forum next month to look at how the county's biggest free celebration moves forward. But Oxford City Council’s East Area Forum chairman
THE Oxford Mail will once more be the official media partners of the 2011 Oxfordshire Sports Awards. We will again team up with the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership to promote and report on the awards, which are in their sixth year. Last
JOHN Paul is on top of the world. The 18-year-old, from Wantage, has just returned home after winning gold at the Junior World Cycling Championships in Moscow – setting a British National record in the 200m time trial of 10.175secs on his
HISTORIC Wantage almshouses have been given a new lease of life. The Wantage Town Lands Governors charity, which runs the eight 19th century one-bedroom homes in Mill Street, raised the £256,000 to modernise six of the houses and their surroundings.
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It seems like yesterday. But, as with so many of my ‘yesterdays’, this one was decades ago. In fact it was as far back as August 7, 1986, that Bill Heine and I lunched in the sunshine at the Abingdon Arms, in Beckley, and he told me of his intention,
Once the home of the infamous Oxford Prison, Oxford Castle is turning history on its head. No longer a place where a bowl of gruel and a lump of bread is the order of the day, the Castle is now celebrating the very best of food and wine by staging
Have I told you how good this chicken is?” Mr Greedy asks. “It’s really unbelievable. I’ve never had anything quite like it in my life. Really quite extraordinary,” he continues, pausing only to stare open-mouthed at another bubbling dish being
This is one of Raymond Blanc’s famous soups that can be prepared from seasonal vegetables in less than half an hour. If you cook it quickly, adding boiling water to the cooking pot instead of cold and then adding ice, the original flavours will
I suppose the diaries of the Rev Francis Kilvert (1840-1879) — who was married at the parish church of Wootton, near Woodstock, one rainy day in August 1879, just weeks before his death — must take pride of place in any collection of 19th-century
Based on the best-selling book by David Nicholls, One Day has been described as the romance of the modern century. So the big-screen adaptation has naturally been one of the eagerly awaited films of the year. Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess take
After last year’s scintillating production of Fame, the New Theatre Stage Experience 2011 turned to an American musical of earlier vintage — and wowed its audiences just the same. Frank Loesser’s 1950 Broadway hit Guys and Dolls is not such obviously
The feeling of anticipation was high, as was the tingle factor caused by a sense of considerable risks being taken. Top Hat, starring Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, is one of the best film musicals ever made. There might be a very good reason
Last week, I reviewed a gorgeous summery show of garden and landscape paintings by quintessential English artist Stanley Spencer at Compton Verney. But that’s not all you get when you go this summer to this award-winning gallery in a Georgian mansion
This exhibition was photographed by Bryan Heseltine between 1949 and 1952. It captures the impact of apartheid on both individuals and communities and reveals the effort of those in power to sanitise the brutality of the regime by portraying Black Africans
Japanese pianist Mami Shikimori, who now lives in Abingdon, has attracted a considerable following, if the size of her audience at the Holywell Music Room is anything to go by. It was not hard to see why, as she launched into her opening piece, Mozart
Hull Truck’s cracking production of Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Oxford Playhouse this week confirms the excellence of a play that won two major awards on its first appearance in the early 1990s. That both should have
A drunk father repeatedly dialled 999 and said he was a “big fan of the IRA” and would blow up a police station. Darrell Parker rang the emergency number seven times in one afternoon and abused the call handler after officers had arrived at his ex-partner
A North Oxford charity shop has appealed for donations. The Mind Charity Shop in Walton Street has asked for donations of good quality items to sell. Call the shop on 01865 310990 for more information.
A mum-of-four will launch her first book inspired by church meetings in Oxfordshire. Abimbola Adewumi Solebo, known as Abi, is a member of the African Women Group in Rose Hill. Her book Oracle of God unto Nations: A call to prophetic prayer for nations
Community life in Didcot is set for a £550,000 boost as work has started on a new youth and community centre. And it is thanks in part to a £250,000 bequest. The tired Didcot All Saints’ Youth and Community Hall in Roman Place, off Foxhall Road, is
The seniors who play golf at Witney Lakes Resort, took part in their annual Charity Open Competition on 23rd August, and have raised to date over £1100 for the Oxford Heart Centre. Pictured from left to right are the Chairman Rae Comley presenting prizes
Auditions are being held for a December production of Breaking the Code by Hugh Whitemore, to be performed at the Old Fire Station, George Street, by the Oxford Theatre Guild. Auditions will be held next Wednesday, and on Friday, September 2, and Tuesday
Phone services have been restored to about 100 residents in West Oxon after an attempted copper cable theft. The would-be thieves attempted to steal underground cables from Brize Norton Road, Minster Lovell, early on Thursday morning. BT engineers restored
A new Bollywood craze has come to Oxford in the form of a new exercise class. Just Jhoom hopes to bring a little bit of the glitz and glamour of Bollywood to the Feel Fit Gym in Templars Square, Cowley. It combines Indian dance moves with Bollywood
KIDLINGTON Parish Council is putting up a wooden fence on land close to the village’s Sainsbury’s roundabout to stop traders selling cars there. Up to four cars a time have been parked on the area next to the Oxford Road turning, damaging plants and
Hundreds of Oxfordshire schoolchildren are being offered a kickstart to the 2012 Olympics with an event at Blenheim Palace. More than 300 seven- to 12-year-olds have been invited to the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials next month to find out
Southern Oxfordshire is one of only 11 new “enterprise zones” announced by the Government, and as such is seen as a beacon for national growth and investment. Today, Chancellor George Osborne tells Oxford Mail readers what he hopes the “zone” will do
A MUM of-two who battled skin cancer has been chosen to front a national sun awareness campaign after figures revealed soaring cases of skin cancer across the county. Jaki Munday, 39, was diagnosed with potentially fatal malignant melanoma in 2004.
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A bid has been made to sell alcohol and provide entertainment at Oxford’s Old Fire Station. The premises licence application is for alcohol, entertainment and refreshments from 8am to midnight on Sundays to Thursdays and 8am to 1am on Saturday. The
The Red Arrows will not perform at Uffington’s White Horse Show 40th anniversary celebrations on Monday, organisers confirmed last night. The Arrows’ Hawk T1 aircraft have been grounded following a crash in Bournemouth on Saturday in which pilot Flt
THE OCA League are planning a Twenty20 big bash to replace their annual north versus south representative match. General secretary Colin Olliffe is asking for clubs’ views on proposals for a knock-out competition, which would see the winning club receive
Four black alloy wheels were stolen from a limited edition Vauxhall Corsa at the Banbury Cross storage compound on the Beaumont Road Industrial Estate in Banbury on Sunday. Thieves got into the site between 7.45pm and 8pm, jacked up the new and unregistered
CHINNOR CC have had their punishment for fielding players under false names reduced on appeal. An OCA League appeals committee decided that one of the five cases against them could not be proven beyond doubt, and so gave Chinnor 70 points back from their
An impressive seven sixes were hit in the Greene King Oxford & District League Premier Section match between the Three Pigeons and the George, who took victory 2-1, writes ANDY BEAL. Three Pigeons set the tone for the night with a massive set
VILLAGERS have launched a campaign to stop plans to extract almost five million tonnes of sand and gravel from a pit near their homes. Oxfordshire County Council wants to allow fields between Cholsey and the Wallingford bypass to be used to
GEORGE Seacole hit a four off the final delivery to send Shipton-under-Wychwood into the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup final. Seacole’s boundary edged out visitors Great & Little Tew in a dramatic semi-final. Shipton will face Aston Rowant or Banbury
Demonstrations were held outside Oxfordshire County Council buildings in Banbury yesterday in protest at cuts to youth services. Members of Unite were protesting against proposals to replace 26 youth centres with seven ‘hubs’ and six satellite centres
North Leigh had Joe Burnell sent off as they lost 3-2 at home to Sholing in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West. Michael Hopkins fired North Leigh in front from 12 yards, only for Brian Lewis to level on 42 minutes. Stuart Hole restored
Oxford City made it two Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division wins on the spin with a 3-0 victory against Bashley. Felipe Barcelos fired City ahead on 14 minutes when he broke the offside trap before slotting past keeper David Elms. On 44 minutes
Substitute Ollie Stanbridge scored a spectacular injury time winner as Banbury United made it two Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division victories in a row with a 1-0 success at home to Redditch last night. After a goalless first half, Banbury keeper
The sister of murder victim Blayne Ridgway last night said justice had been done after four men were found guilty of trying to silence a key witness in his killer’s trial. Karis Daniels welcomed the verdict and spoke of her relief that the men who tried
BERKSHIRE’S poor discipline in their match against Oxfordshire helped Devon leapfrog them to win the Western Division title on Monday. Devon hammered Berks by ten wickets in their final match at Sidmouth, but the visitors were missing three players suspended
SO Summertown residents, who have in the past failed to support three post offices, now “demand” that one be reinstated (Oxford Mail, August 15). Why? I would say that a 500-signature petition hardly demonstrates “enormous support” in any man’s money
LIKE everybody else, I am deeply saddened by the riots in London and elsewhere. Could this be one of the tragic consequences of over 40 years of “social engineering”, in which this nation has for the most part, forsaken the bedrock of our society – our
IN THE wake of the recent riots, we believe that the Government and many local councils are acting recklessly in cutting youth centres and youth workers across the country. Specifically, we are opposed to Oxfordshire County Council’s proposal to abolish
MUCH has been spoken about the rights or wrongs of sending two youths to jail for four years for setting up a Facebook site to entice others to riot in a specific town. Some have illogically argued that the two lads had ‘only’ created a Facebook site
SO THE Government has agreed that train companies can increase their fares by an average of eight per cent. Trains are full to capacity and severely overcrowded. I would hope that companies would pay for extra carriages on main lines and improve punctuality
Nobody likes a show off, and last weekend I got that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put not just one, but two in their place. Did I feel smug? You bet I did. To set the scene, I was visiting Highclere Castle at the time, which if you’re a fan you’
OXFORDSHIRE captain Ian Hawtin reflected on a positive season, despite his side’s eight-wicket hammering by Cheshire. Hawtin’s men were well beaten in their final Minor Counties Championship Western Division clash at Alderley Edge yesterday. Resuming
I CANNOT wait to see the new Oxford Airport fire engine, capable of carrying “11,900 tonnes of water” as reported in the Oxford Mail August 16. In order to carry this weight it would have to be somewhat longer than the runway! Perhaps it should have
I ONLY hope that Councillor Williams was misquoted concerning his comments about reducing Oxford City Council’s carbon footprint by a quarter in the last three years (Oxford Mail, August 22). This is a fantastic achievement by city council employees
Leading criminal barrister John Cooper warned that the sentences given in relation to the riots have been disproportionate and somewhat hysterical. He says two in three people charged in connection with the riots and looting have been remanded, compared
THE recent outbreak of criminality during the rioting tested the police of our country and, as usual, the rank and file responded magnificently, as did our other emergency services. They need all the support we can give them. I acknowledge that in
A man appeared before magistrates yesterday accused of voyeurism and sexual assault involving three of his young pupils. Joshua Plank, from Clouds Hill, Signet, near Burford, was charged with abuse in a position of trust, accused of sexually
Two fire crews were called to the White Hart pub in Wytham after reports of a blaze. A small electrical unit on the floor of the pub had caught fire, but was out when the crews arrived, just after 1am yesterday. One man was given oxygen at the scene
Cabbies and the police are joining forces to crack down on fare dodgers – by releasing mugshots snapped by CCTV cameras inside taxis. Officers today released the first photograph, right, which shows two men they want to speak to over an unpaid
Sarah Doidge’s jams are loved... at least by the few people who can get their hands on a jar. The pensioner’s preserves are so good, she has picked up a clutch of prestigious food industry awards – and even an offer to supply one of the country
This is the man police believe tricked his way into a pensioner’s home and distracted her while another crook ransacked her belongings. An 88-year-old woman was preyed on by the heartless pair on August 15 and now police officers are hoping
Most budding entrepreneurs would jump at the chance to get their product in a top store. But not pensioner Sarah Doidge. The jam maker has been praised for the quality of her preserves. Word even got out to suppliers for posh
The expert leading the nationwide shake-up of children’s heart surgery has praised a link between hospitals in Oxford and Southampton. Sir Neil McKay, chairman of the joint committee of primary care trusts, said a tie-up between the two cities
Reasons to be upbeat perhaps, but let’s not count our chickens. Today we can reveal the outcome of consultation into the future of children’s heart surgery in the UK. And it looks as if there is hope for the campaigners fighting to keep
Peter Leven is delighted that the hard work he has put in on set pieces over his career is continuing to pay dividends. The Scottish midfielder made his first start for Oxford United at Swindon on Sunday, and set-up both goals for James Constable
Pensioners stuck in council flats for 10 days after the lift broke down have spoken of their fear as they battle to use the stairs. The lift at Atkins Court, in Wood Farm, Oxford, has been out of service since Sunday, August 14. And the elderly residents
