Oxford Ladies 2nd went down 3-2 at West Hampstead in their South League Division 3A basement battle. A well-worked corner saw the home side take an early lead, but Oxford were soon level as Kimberley Haynes set up Helen Backhouse. West
HE MAY look like a villain from the Transformers films, but Titan the Robot, right, has been entertaining crowds with comedy skits and impressions. The robot – which appeared on Big Brother last year – was at Templars Square Shopping Centre in Cowley
Oxford Hawks handed out a 5-1 lesson away to title rivals High Wycombe to go three points clear at the top of the South League Premier Division 2. The quick pitch suited Hawks’ game, keeping possession and playing at high speed which left Wycombe
A PLANNED Sainsbury’s for Templars Retail Shopping Park in Cowley is expected to get permission to expand tonight. The firm has permission for a 1,500sq m store, but wants to increase this to 2,500sq m. Three new cafe/restaurants and four houses would
BORDER Agency officials have arrested five staff at a Chinese restaurant in Wallingford for working illegally in the UK. Acting on intelligence, UK Border Agency officers visited the Bejing Diner in St Mary’s Street at about 6.30pm on Wednesday. Agency
MIGHTY oaks from little acorns grow and youngsters from Banbury’s Dashwood School are hoping the tiny trees they nurtured will leave a lasting legacy at a town park. The pupils planted 22 saplings at Spiceball Park in an attempt to create a new nature
OXFORD’S bid to become the UNESCO World Book Capital will focus on boosting children’s literacy rates across the city. The city is aiming to win the title in 2014, hosting a year-long festival of book-related events. Organisers have told the Oxford
SOME of the county’s most successful entrepreneurs gathered to celebrate the launch of the Oxfordshire Business Awards 2012. More than 70 guests marked the occasion at Woodstock’s Blenheim Palace to kick off the 18th year of the competition following
THEY only know each other by their ‘tweets’. But this group of carol lovers from Oxford decided to make their own version of birdsong by forming the Oxford Twitter Choir. The choir was formed by Headington social media lover Becca Chaplin, 40, after
A CHARITY for elderly people is the first in Oxfordshire to get cash from a controversial lottery. The WRVS has been given £37,500 by the Health Lottery to help older people in Banbury live as independently as possible. The weekly lottery was set up
The church was cold, the pews were hard and the play we were watching lasted a full three-and-a-half hours. And yet I could not have wished this gripping student production of Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons to have been one minute shorter.
CROPREDY residents have been dealt two blows after their post office was put under threat and one of the village’s two pubs closed. A desperate call has gone out to find a new owner for the post office in Williamscot Road. And The Red Lion in Red Lion
FIGURES obtained by the Oxford Mail show wide variations at county schools and colleges over the number of students who get into Oxford and Cambridge universities. Last year, 53 out of 4,659 youngsters from state schools and colleges were accepted while
A BUDDING star who performs under the stage name Mister Bicester is to perform in front of 2,500 people after getting through to the finals of a national talent contest. Howard Grater has won a place in the final of the Open Mic UK contest at indigO2
PLANS for more than 500 new homes in Wallingford have been thrown into disarray after a planning inspector disagreed with council leaders about where they should go. The independent inspector said the 555 homes should go at Winterbrook, south of the
Defending Ladies Premier Section champions Florence Park Community Centre A were given a mighty fright by underdogs Red Lion before securing a narrow 5-4 home victory. It looked plain-sailing for Park as they took the opening game with Angie Godfrey’
CANCER specialists in Oxfordshire have welcomed a move which could see patients have access to breakthrough treatments not yet available in Britain. The move would see those who have exhausted every option be offered a last chance by trialling drugs
WHEN Lorraine Crowther was diagnosed with breast cancer she feared she would let her Cub Scout group down. Mrs Crowther – Akela to the 24 Cubs of the 22nd Oxford Sea Scouts – was told she had cancer on her daughter Orla’s eighth birthday in January.
Midlands 2 West South Banbury Bulls faltered in the final quarter to lose 33-14 at Newbold on Avon. Newbold took the lead with an interception try from Banbury skipper Eddie Phillips’s pass. Centre James Heywood hit back with a try for Bulls and
Southern Counties North GROVE went second after defeating an ill-disciplined Milton Keynes side 35-20 at Cane Lane. The visitors finished with 13 men after full back Wayne Kelly and flanker Steve Christie were red-carded, while both their props were
BB&O Round-up BICESTER went fourth in the BB&O Premier Division after a 37-8 victory at Princes Risborough, with full back Jak Cluness scoring two tries. Prop Tom Horwood was driven over for Bicester’s opening try, followed by a penalty from No 8
OXFORD marathon runner Mara Yamauchi has been selected as one of the first three members of Great Britain's London 2012 Olympic team. The 38-year-old former Headington Roadrunner joins Paula Radcliffe and Scott Overall in making the marathon line-up.
The Cowley-built Mini continued to buck the trend in UK new car sales in November with 4,411 cars sold — up 2.23 percent on the same month last year when 3,117 cars were sold. Year on year Mini sales in 2011 to date are up 17.23 per cent over the same
RAIL minister Theresa Villiers yesterday said she was “confident” the East West rail link would happen, but could not say how much it would cost the Oxfordshire taxpayer. Plans to re-open the Oxfordshire to Bedfordshire rail line were given the green
THE most prolific speed camera site in Oxfordshire has raked in an average of £184.24 a day. The two cameras facing both directions in Botley Road, Oxford, caught 651 drivers speeding last year and brought in about £39,060. Today the
National 2 South HENLEY Hawks came on strong in the final quarter to defeat Barnes 44-21 at Dry Leas and improve their promotion hopes. With morning leaders Worthing losing and Richmond drawing, Hawks, for whom lock James Winterbotton made his 250th
South West 1 East WING James Monks scored two tries as Witney produced an impressive display to win 22-0 at Swindon. Swindon were not at full strength but Witney were delighted with their efforts, especially keeping a clean sheet. They had the wind
Oxford Youth Dance, founded in 1996, is open to any young person who wants to dance, aged between 16 and 25. There are no auditions for joining, so the standards on show from the 30 or so performers are quite varied. Judged as a whole though, this
One, two, three,” called choreographer Grace Harrington, as she rehearsed a dance routine for this year’s Playhouse panto. “And again. One, two-.” At this point Grace was interrupted mid-sentence by a cacophony of loud bells, and a display of flashing
Old Woodstock Town will host Essex Senior League side Bethnal Green United in the last 32 of the FA Carlsberg Vase. It’s the Division 1 West side’s reward for Sunday’s 1-0 win against Premier Division Wantage Town. The tie will be played on Saturday
Alastair Sim, Basil Rathbone, Michael Caine, Sid James, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carrey and Michael Gambon — all have played the role of the miserly Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at one time or another. And that’s not including Tommy Steele, who is touring
NEIGHBOURS in a “David and Goliath” battle against a string of planning developments say the latest bid will tip the balance in their street. Residents in Mill Street, West Oxford, have recently fought plans for a probation centre and student flats with
Oxford City striker Steve Basham is set to return to action when they travel to his old club Brackley in Tuesday night's Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division clash. Basham missed Saturday’s goalless draw with Cirencester Town with an Achilles problem
Two astonishing finishes from Chris Aubrey secured Oxfordshire victory over Hampshire in a thrilling BDO Inter-County Championship Premier Division clash at the weekend. Needing one win from their last two Men’s A matches to clinch victory at Fareham
Bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure should be at the forefront of every town planner’s mind. Networks of bike lanes, traffic free paths, limited car parking and controls on automobiles should not be utopian dreams; they should be reality. They promote
I WAS a little amused by Richard Oakley’s letter about ageism. I’m 60 and drawing my pension. So yes, Mr Oakley, I am an OAP. I don’t mind being called a pensioner or a senior citizen. You describe yourself as curmudgeonly. I’m a bit grumpy at times
THIS is a really worrying time for families and businesses; struggling with higher food prices and gas bills and worried about their jobs and their children’s futures. The Tory-led Government are cutting too far and too fast and risk choking
CONGRATULATIONS to the people who have been altering the Lime Walk/ All Saints junction in Headington. Their hard work has completed this huge project on time. Only time will tell, however, if the considerable outlay for the new layout will change the
Most people know that wind farms would not exist without subsidies. And most people know that they are a threat to Oxfordshire’s most beautiful countryside. What most people don’t know is that these subsidies (which go mostly to foreign companies and
Combatants were set a ‘toughie’ last week but often it’s the low-scoring affairs which provide the most exciting contests. So it proved, with seven matches being settled on the last questions. In one of these, newcomers the Highwayman (Kidlington
AN OXFORD college which dates back to the 14th century is applying to trade mark its name to avoid confusion with a new London college. New College, Oxford, which was founded by the Bishop of Winchester in 1379, has filed the application to
OXFORD Harlequins' scrummaging power told as they defeated Amersham & Chiltern 23-14 in their crunch relegation battle. Props Sam Steventon and Jonathan Hall, plus hooker Simon Chadbone gave the visitors a great platform in the second half. Quins’ third
In Oxford this Christmas many puppies given as presents will be enjoying their first days with their new families. Sadly, in many cases, the puppies are only wanted for days or weeks until the novelty wears off. Animals do not make good surprise Christmas
HAVING just read the latest edition of the middle east by Tim Siret (Letters, OxfordMail, November 29) most of his correspondence is his usual tirade against the west, but it was very reassuring to read that Iran has not got ‘the bomb’. The letter ends
I WAS outraged to read about Loretta Cox who now wants the folds of skin removed after weight loss surgery on the NHS. What a selfish, mean person. Hasn’t she heard of saving and paying for it herself? She should go and see all the people waiting
The natural world does not belong to the human race. Slowly it’s being eaten away, bit by bit. We love to see pictures of nature in its raw state; the rain-forests and strange-looking creatures. We must protect and preserve other forms of life for future
We are a non-profit organisation and our main aim is to bring old pals together who served at Changi between 1946 and 1971. We are not a POW association. The RAF Changi Association was formed in 1996 and we have 1,250 members throughout the world.
I LIVE in a village just west of Oxford. It used to have three public houses, but over the years this has been reduced to one. It is not just a pub it is a place for social meetings – a community centre etc. We have a new landlord who has spent money
School cricket in Oxfordshire is likely to be taken to a whole new level. Last year, Oxford’s Magdalen College School announ-ced that former England all-rounder Phil DeFreitas would be joining their staff. Now another ex-England star, John Crawley,
A TRIO of knifepoint robbers treated themselves to a day out at Thorpe Park and the London Eye after snatching £1,000 from an Oxford café. David Colwill, Daniel Hornsey and a 17-year-old youth who cannot be named went on the jolly after robbing the Rainbow
OVER the past nine years, it has helped to buy cutting-edge equipment and made thousands of children’s hospital stays brighter. Now, as the Oxford Mail’s OX5 Run approaches its 10th anniversary, we need you to help make next year’s run the
WORKERS in Wallingford were still trying to fix an electrical fault in the town’s Market Place last night after the Christmas lights failed. The power was outed at the Christmas lights switch-on ceremony on Sunday and the town council has appointed staff
Oxford City Council has insisted this year’s Christmas lights switch on was ‘spectacular’ despite some revellers complaining about technical issues. The city centre was filled with around 20,000 revellers as Oxford launched the countdown
OXFORD: Police were called to the Oxford Night Shelter in Luther Street after reports that a man armed with a weapon had locked himself in a room. Police were called at 9.33am yesterday and forced open the door, only to find the man was unarmed. He
It’s Happy Birthday to the OX5 Run this year and what an astonishing decade it’s been. No one could have predicted just how successful this event would prove to be when it was first launched 10 years ago. So thank you to everyone who
STUDENTS from The Cherwell School have reached the final of a mock trials contest. They will head to the Old Bailey in London in March after winning the Bar National Mock Trial Competition’s regional heat at Oxford Combined Court Centre. The 11 pupils
COMMUNITY champion Geoff Simpson hosted a crowd of hundreds as he lit up his home for the 10th and final year for charity. The coach driver and grandfather-of-10 was given a helping hand by Oxford United manager Chris Wilder, and Father Christmas
Declan Williamson, 22, of Slade Close, Oxford, admitted driving while disqualified and without insurance in Liddell Road, Oxford, on May 8. Jailed for four months and banned from driving for two years. Carlos Cro De Freitas, 26, of Luther
GUNESH Sukriev’s arrest is a Christmas present that both Thames Valley Police and the courts are hoping for this year. Police officers believe that the 19-year-old behind day six of our Badvent calendar is connected to a string of crimes across
What a truly courageous example. Despite having been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, Scout leader Lorraine Crowther – Akela to the 24 cubs of the 22nd Oxford Sea Scout group – was so determined to stay committed to her cub group that she
STUDENTS from The Cherwell School have reached the final of a mock trials contest. They will head to the Old Bailey in London in March after winning the Bar National Mock Trial Competition’s regional heat at Oxford Combined Court Centre. The 11 pupils
