A controversial plan to build student accommodation on the site of a former coaching house has been allowed. Despite being recommended for refusal by planning officers, city councillors have given the go ahead to the 29 flat scheme in central Oxford.
A charity is hoping the people of Oxfordshire can hack it as they pull on their hiking boots. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is holding its sponsored hike through the Cotswolds later this month. Known as a HACK
A herd of eager wellies and walking boots will be beating a path to the famous Wittenham Clumps this weekend as Age UK hosts its first Walk on the Wild Side. The event has been organised by Age UK Oxfordshire with Earth Trust, to promote support and
Hannah England finished fifth in the women’s 1,500m at the final Diamond League meeting in Brussels tonight on her first outing since winning silver at the World Championships. The 24-year-old Oxford City AC runner came from the rear of the
THE Headington Shark is still prompting fierce debate 25 years after it appeared on the Oxford skyline. Now an event called The Great Shark Debate will be held at Waterstone’s in Oxford to mark the publication of The Hunting of the Shark, the story of
RESIDENTS campaigning to save disused allotments have put a council chief on the spot. Oxford City Council included East Minchery Farm in Littlemore on a list of potential housing developments for the future. But residents say the land is well-used
THEY became two of the leading lights in the world of art and literature. But back when they were at Oxford University, Oscar Wilde and John Ruskin were being ridiculed for taking part in a spot of roadbuilding. And on Saturday, September
If your little darlings are desperate to set foot on the stage, their luck‘s in because The Theatre Chipping Norton is looking for children to star in Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves. 12 young actors, or Pippins as they are known there, aged eight to 14
Paterson Joseph. Where to start? Gorgeous obviously. Successful blatantly. Living in France with his wife and kids. Would have been a chef if he hadn’t turned to acting. Came from the wrong side of town but was saved by Shakespeare. Now in a one-man
WOMEN in North Oxfordshire are jostling to get a glimpse of Hollywood hunk Brad Pitt. The actor is filming scenes for his new film World War Z at the former American airbase at Upper Heyford. The film, a zombie thriller, is based on
AS pop’s former crown prince of hedonism, Blur’s Alex James might be expected to know a thing or two about laying on a party. After all, if his own memoirs of excess – the brilliant A Bit of a Blur – are to be believed, no one did the ‘rock & roll’ thing
Danny George Wilson is one of those musicians who, while not coming from Oxford, has been adopted as one of our own. His band Danny & the Champions of the World have been stalwarts of the local gig and festival scene – becoming a regular fixture
PAINTINGS and sculptures inspired by nervous breakdowns, bouts of depression or schizophrenia have gone on display. Over the next month, works by artists with a history of mental health problems will be exhibited at Oxford Town Hall, in St
REBUILDING an Oxford railway bridge, which caused months of traffic problems, is helping to combat congestion on the A34. The number of containers being carried by rail between Southampton, the West Midlands and the North has surged since the Old Abingdon
AEA Technology 2.7 BMW 4991 Electrocomponents 205.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 92.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.85 Oxford Catalysts 58.5 Oxford Instruments 817.75 Reed Elsevier 496.8 RM 93 RPS Group 186.7 Courtesy of Redmayne
10th & 11th September Under 9 Red League Tower Hill v Abingdon Youth 1-5 Radley Youth v Oxford City Colts 1-2 Quarry Rovers v Kidlington Youth 2-14 Under 9 White League Abingdon Yellows v Crowmarsh
Andy Haworth, a right winger from Bury, has joined Oxford United on a one-month emergency loan deal. The 22-year-old goes straight into the squad to face Barnet tomorrow.
HUNDREDS of homes in Oxford are avoiding paying council tax through false occupancy claims, residents say. An investigation is being launched by Oxford City Council, which looks to have been missing out on large sums of revenue for years.
DEAN INWOOD knows what people think when they look at him and other former drug addicts: scum. However Mr Inwood and other organisers of an Oxford event tomorrow are hoping to hammer home former addicts are just people trying to get their lives
The Voice and Sound Harmonic Community Choir is inviting people to join its weekly sessions in Sutton Courtenay. No auditions are held, and participants will get a chance to work on chants, rounds, songs and harmony. Sessions are held at the Abbey on
A survey of the top 100 towns with the highest number of properties for sale costing £1m+ lists three Oxfordshire locations. Henley is highest placed in 25th position followed by Woodstock in 79th and Watlington which was 86th. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire
MONTHS of hard work pruning, watering and deadheading are over and Oxford’s top gardeners have been announced. The winners of this year’s Oxford Mail backed Oxford in Bloom competition – celebrating its Silver Jubilee year – were presented
North Leigh CofE Primary School provides a good education to its pupils, because of a committed headteacher and effective governing body, Ofsted inspectors have found. The inspectors said in a new report that pupils’ achievement and personal development
Oxfordshire could be “brought to a halt” by the biggest wave of industrial action since the 1926 General Strike, unions have warned. The UK’s two largest trade unions, Unite and Unison, joined the Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) in announcing strike ballots
MONTHS of hard work pruning, watering and deadheading are over and Oxford’s top gardeners have been announced. The winners of this year’s Oxford Mail backed Oxford in Bloom competition – celebrating its Silver Jubilee year – were presented with certificates
A FIGHT organised on Facebook saw 30 teenagers brawling at the Witney Feast. Yobs, some believed to be armed with martial arts nunchucks, were involved in the fracas at about 9pm on Monday at the Leys recreation ground in Station Lane. The brawl left
PLEASE listen to us. That’s the plea from Cowley residents so fed up with having their concerns ignored that they have formed a new pressure group. Middle Cowley Residents’ Action Group was put together after people living in St Luke’s Road
AEA Technology 2.7 BMW 4976 Electrocomponents 205.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 92.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.7 Oxford Catalysts 58.5 Oxford Instruments 820.75 Reed Elsevier 492.7 RM 93.1 RPS Group 187 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
OXFORD is getting in the street party mood this weekend. There will be BBQs, street games and open air cinemas on offer all over the city as residents in 10 streets will celebrate the end of the street party season in style. The parties are organised
THE eagle-eyed Oxford United fans among you will have noticed something different when Peter Leven made it 2-0 against Burton last week. The midfielder has been forced to wear a protective cast on his left wrist this season after an operation in the
David Ford is a man driven by the faith of his beliefs – both in what needs saying and in the power of his own ability. His name and reputation as a startling singer-songwriter grew by word of mouth, a dedicated following and the power of his performances
If there’s one Conservative MP who sums up an entire political era, it’s Michael Portillo. Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken aside, there was something about him – the smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, his refusal to answer direct questions
A new adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was always going to raise the hackles of John le Carre purists, who adored the 1979 mini-series starring Sir Alec Guinness as taciturn spy, George Smiley. Tomas Alfredson’s film could never compete on
IT SEEMS churlish to distinguish between the bravery of the soldiers defusing roadside bombs and those engaged in other military duty in Afghanistan. For all the arms of our military, they constantly face scenarios very few of us would have the fortitude
IT goes without saying that putting your life on the line in a warzone is a harrowing experience for any soldier. But for some the level of stress is ramped up to another level. Members of the Didcot-based 11 EOD Regiment have gained praise for defusing
A JEALOUS lover who slashed his rival’s face with a carving knife has been locked up. Calvin Souch attacked 31-year-old Carl Suter in the public toilets in Cowley Road after he had spent a night at his former girlfriend Faye Noonan’s house. Mr Suter
WILL the many workers in this country who Mr Cameron has deprived of work thank him for his posturing over what are purely the affairs of China? Although very well to occupy the moral high ground it doesn’t butter many parsnips except for the
LAST week (September 8) you published a letter which you headed “Cyclists belong on road”. I would like to entitle mine “Cars belong on road”. Recently I have noticed a huge increase in drivers parking with two or four wheels on the pavements and verges
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is causing a stir in Oxfordshire this year. Abingdon-based charity Against Breast Cancer is challenging supporters to dive or drive, or both during October to raise more than £10,000 for their research work into
IN your article on the coming East Oxford Forum on the Cowley Road Carnival, it was described as “The Big Debate”. That’s fair enough as we had titled next Monday’s East Area Forum, “On the Road Again?” However, what we are looking for is not a debate
BALLET, break-dance and roller-blading take centre stage in a new Oxford show tonight. Successful Australian creation Happy as Larry celebrates its UK debut at the Oxford Playhouse, before embarking on a six-week tour. The show combines roller-skating
THERE’S no-one else to blame. I’d known Winston long enough to guess he was up to something. A week or so ago, leaving sisters Sarah and Gita at Inner Peace, the Broad Street arm of the Brahma Kumaris, and a spot sure to provide sunshine even on
In Oxford it is not an unusual occurrence to see the traffic (waiting to get through Frideswide Square with its 35 traffic lights) extend back into St Giles, thus creating a vast amount of pollution to the atmosphere. The alternative is a six-mile detour
ACKNOWLEDGING that in this enlightened age they are trained to do so, I have no strong objection to shop assistants telling us to have a nice day, even if they could be talking to a masochist and sometimes not much of that 24-hour period remains. I do
I FEEL I have to defend hard-working Councillor John Tanner from the criticisms levied by people who accuses him of double-speak and of not doing enough for recycling. A couple of years ago many residents in our area of East Oxford were extremely worried
I AM very unhappy about the volunteer proposals with regard to the Wychwoods library. I believe it to be unworkable and would lead to the closure of the library. At my age (90), I would be unable to get to any other library in the vicinity. I am disabled
OXFORD City have signed midfielder Ben Islam, and he comes into the squad for the first qualifying round tie against Didcot Town at Court Place Farm tomorrow, writes RUSSELL SMITH. Islam is without a club after being released by Northampton Town where
Uhlsport Hellenic League Witney Town have signed goalkeeper Adam Lonsdale after Richard Barrett suffered a double cruciate knee ligaments injury. Barrett was stretchered off the pitch in the 2-2 draw at leaders Flackwell Heath last Saturday, and spent
ROBERT Hall certainly made a huge impact on his Oxford United debut this week. And the 17-year-old’s hunger can only stand him in good stead for the rest of his loan spell with the U’s – and the future. Hall is extremely highly thought
THERE was good news on the Oxford United training ground this week, with Tom Craddock doing some running for the first time. The striker, who scored 17 goals last season, has not kicked a ball this season after picking up a knee injury in America on
DAMIAN Batt is hoping that he has done enough in the last couple of games to keep his place in the Oxford United side for tomorrow’s clash at Barnet. The right back, who has been one of the mainstays of the club’s success over the past few seasons, started
RYAN Clarke says that the win at Dagenham has given the whole Oxford United squad a huge lift. But the U’s goalkeeper said that as much as he enjoyed the 1-0 victory, he would prefer it even more with a couple more goals on the board!
A POSTMAN who fell into a cocaine habit because of stress over an arranged marriage has been jailed for drug dealing. Police found about £4,500 worth of cocaine in Imran Nawaz’s bedroom at his Netherwoods Road home in Headington after a search in March
A GRIEVING pensioner had fond memories of her late husband snatched away when a heartless thief grabbed her bag. Eunice Howard, 81, from Abingdon, who is recovering from an eye operation and awaiting further surgery, last night made a tearful appeal
Saturday 10th September The season has got of to a totally fantastic display of football and a win for St Edmunds under 9's against Hanney Youth. With probably the quickest hatrick we will see this season with in 7 minutes by Harry Thomas the game
An 82-year-old man died yesterday after crashing his car into a barrier while parking in Wantage. At 10.27am, the pensioner was parking a silver Ford Focus in the Waitrose car park, when he “suffered a medical episode” and crashed. He was taken to
IT SEEMS churlish to try to distinguish between the bravery of the soldiers defusing roadside bombs and those engaged in other military duty in Afghanistan. For all the arms of our military, they constantly face scenarios very few of us would
JUST one week into her stay in the Big Brother house, Oxford hopeful Tashie Jackson is already up eviction. Tonight she faces the embarrassing prospect of being booted out first, in front of five million viewers. One of 14 housemates “competing” for
Representatives from the Life Care Centre at 130 High Street, Oxford, are holding an open day and working lunch on Wednesday, October 5. The charity’s staff will be available to discuss their work and issues including pregnancy and fertility, between
JUST one week into her stay in the Big Brother house, Oxford hopeful Tashie Jackson is already up eviction. Tonight she faces the embarrassing prospect of being booted out first, in front of five million viewers. One of 14 housemates “competing” for
IT’S been a tough few months in a lot of ways since that glorious Friday of the Royal Wedding. But this weekend hundreds of people will be out to celebrate with their neighbours. We wish them well because it is events like this that
Tashie Jackson isn’t the first Big Brother housemate to hail from Oxfordshire. Stuart Hosking, now in his 40s, was a dad of two, living in Murcott working as an IT director when he was catapulted to Big Brother fame. A housemate in the second series
Rail enthusiasts are expected to be out in force tomorrow to see the first steam train to run on the Cotswold Line since completion of track redoubling work last month. The Cathedrals Express will run from Birmingham to London Paddington and back via
“Terrified” cyclists want a new cycle track built alongside one of Oxfordshire’s busiest roads. They say the B4044 between Dean Court and Eynsham is winding, unlit and too narrow to allow a vehicle to overtake a bike against oncoming traffic. The
Daniel Priestly, leader of the Entrepreneurs Revolution is coming to speak in Oxford on Tuesday 26th September 6.30pm to 9.30pm. If you are running your own business and feel thwarted by current situations or circumstances - this is the talk for you
