Archive

  • Call to use campus site for housing

    A RESIDENTS’ group has called for a major East Oxford development site to be reviewed after college campus plans collapsed. St Hilda’s College has told developers it no longer wants to go ahead with multi-million pound expansion plans on a former builder

  • Witness to vicious attack

    THAMES Valley Police want to speak to a man about a vicious attack in which a man’s jaw was broken in three places. It is thought the man may have witnessed the assault in the toilets of Izi’s cafe and wine bar in Market Square, Witney, in November.

  • Children's book is proving popular

    Ray Murray, a former advertising executive who lives in Burford, has written his first children’s book, Arabella Parker and the Primrose School Revolt (Blue Jacaranda, £5.99), about a nine-year-old who leads a protest against a plan to demolish

  • Golden ticket is a blockbusting prize

    IT was like movies Miracle on 34st Street, It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas all rolled in to one, when film-buff Penny Marsh arrived at the Phoenix Picturehouse to collect her Golden Ticket after winning a competition in our festive edition of

  • Horse Power

    WAR HORSE (12A). War/Drama/Action. Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, Peter Mullan, David Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, Benedict Cumberbatch, Celine Buckens, Niels Arestrup, Matt Milne, Toby Kebbell, David Kross, Leonhard Carow, Eddie Marsan. Director

  • Boy It's Good

    KATHERINE MACALISTER visits a restaurant that more than lives up to its good reputation. It was definitely my turn. But I’d had to bide my time – resentfully. Never has a restaurant been so popular in terms of reviews. People I didn’t even

  • Red Alert

    Rising alternative country music star Lindi Ortega tells TIM HUGHES about the joys of touring and her passion for all things red. SHE’S half-Irish, half-Mexican and grew up in Toronto. But Lindi Ortega is pure cowgirl. The new rising star

  • UPDATE: Southmoor victim is Oxford don

    THE man killed at a home in Southmoor last night has been named as Oxford professor Steven Rawlings. Prof Rawlings, from St Peter's College, died despite desperate attempts from a member of the public, police and paramedics to save him.

  • Any Witch Way

    ANGELA SWANN is hooked by the deep, dark history lurking beneath the very beautiful landscape of the Ribble Valley. CLITHEROE, Pendleton, the Ribble Valley – up until a few weeks ago these were just names on signs that flashed past as I drove

  • Pure Circus

    Throw away all your preconceptions about circuses, rip up the rule book and start again. Because that’s what the Chinese State Circus has done and it’s ready to wow you with the results. Gone is the big top, and Cirque de Soleil impressions. Circus

  • White Mischief

    Think Snow White with a difference and you’ll be close. But 27 dwarves? Throw playwright, director and Hollywood actor Nasser Memarzia into the mix and you’ll realise who is responsible for the mischief being made in Banbury. Katherine MacAlister investigates

  • Next Chapter

    ANDREW FFRENCH catches up with actress Sarah Winman whose debut novel won the Oxford Mail/Waterstones book award. ACTRESS turned novelist Sarah Winman used to wait by the phone to find out how big a part she had been given in the latest episode

  • Watch The Birdie

    After being thrust into the limelight with the massive hit You’re Gorgeous, Stephen Jones, better known as Babybird, went back to doing his own thing – to the delight of his army of fans (including Hollywood star Johnny Depp). TIM HUGHES finds out more

  • Oxford United reject second bid for Constable

    Oxford United have rejected a second bid from Swindon Town for striker James Constable An initial offer for the U's leading scorer was turned down by United. But a second bid from Swindon within 24 hours has also been rejected.

  • Hospital chief will not be replaced

    Banbury’s Horton General Hospital is to lose its director after current holder Mike Fleming announced his retirement. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust said it will not replace Mr Fleming, right, who steps down at the end of March. The trust, which

  • Passion for giving help

    A teacher who dedicated her life to helping children with special needs and the needy has died aged 66. Elaine Miller worked at Iffley Mead School in Iffley Turn, Oxford, from 1970 to 1995. She also worked for a partnership which supported city special

  • Local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 0.39 BMW 4946 Electrocomponents 209.2 Nationwide Accident Repair 60 Oxford Biomedica 3.2 Oxford Catalysts 56 Oxford Instruments 917.5 Reed Elsevier 517.75 RM 64.75 RPS Group 194.9 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Stalwart devoted to family

    Community stalwart, devoted mother and businesswoman Constance Douglas has died aged 100. Known as Connie, Mrs Douglas, together with her late husband Fred, took over Henry’s Menswear, in Sheep Street, Bicester, in 1953 and built it into a thriving family

  • Life dedicated to Girl Guide movement

    A inspirational woman who dedicated her life to Girl Guiding and mentored others to follow suit has died. Vera Surman, 77, was involved in Kidlington Girl Guides for 40 years and became the district’s commissioner. She was the first person to be awarded

  • Professor fought to combat racism

    Professor Sir Michael Dummett, who has died aged 86, had a reputation as one of Britain’s most original and profound philosophers. But he may be best remembered for the way he fought to stamp out racism. In 1964, he and his wife Ann

  • Two injured in lorry crash

    A lane of the M40 southbound is closed after a collision between two lorries this afternoon. The collision took place between junction five and six at 12.16pm. It involved an Iveco lorry and a Volvo lorry and the first lane of the motorway has been

  • Oxford United midfielder goes out on loan

    Oxford United midfielder Josh Payne has joined fellow League Two side Aldershot on a month's loan. Payne has slipped down the pecking order at the Kassam Stadium and has gone out on loan to try and get some matches under his belt. Payne has made three

  • Playing out project organises workshops

    CHILDREN playing out in the street will become a common sight this summer, if one charity has its way. In October, Campbell Road in Cowley became the first place in Oxford to benefit from the Playing Out project. The scheme helps residents organise

  • Oxford United's chairman answers questions from the fans

    Since you have been chairman, have you ever been close to selling the club to a group/consortium interested in taking it over? If so, when? No, we have never been close to selling the club. In fact, while I have been chairman we have not had a formal

  • Friends launch a local veg co-op

    A FORMER Oxford University student who caught the gardening bug at college is starting a co-op to grow and sell vegetables. Joe Hassell, 24, has joined forces with four friends to establish Cultivate – a not-for profit co-operative aiming to provide

  • Thieves strip lead from school roof

    Children at a West Oxfordshire primary school started the new term surrounded by buckets and soggy newspaper after thieves stripped the lead from their roof. The metal was torn from the roof edging and a dormer window at Wychwood Primary School in Milton

  • Thousands set for city spring clean

    Thousands of volunteers and more than 60 schools are getting ready to spring clean Oxford. Last year more than 2,000 people joined OxClean, the two hour litter pick at locations across Oxford. And organisers are hoping to attract the same level of support

  • Formula One exhausts firm moves to bigger factory

    GROWTH at a Formula One and supercar exhaust manufacturer has prompted expansion to a larger factory in Thame. Primary Designs has enjoyed increased demand from F1 and bosses say the decision to increase its range for Ferraris, Porsches and other supercars

  • AUNT SALLY: Double six joy in Bull's heroics

    Keith Bull hit a double six in his 14 dolls to help Team Monarch to a 4-2 victory against Gladiators in the Gladiators Wednesday Lea-gue. Consistent throwing saw Phil Adams rack up 15 dolls with three fives in Cricketers’ 5-1 win over the Ox in the Gladiators

  • BOWLS: Oxon fall short

    Oxfordshire's Premier side went down 25-15 on points to Hampshire in Group 4 of the English Short Mat Bowling Association Inter County Championship at Wallingford – despite coming out on top 167-160 on shots. Oxon’s David Hancock, last season’s national

  • 'Multi-academy' award

    FARINGDON’S secondary, junior and infants’ schools have been given Government’s go-ahead to convert into a single academy. Under plans drawn up by the three schools, they would keep their existing names, headteachers and uniforms, but come under a single

  • Club sacks player over Twitter comment

    OXFORD City Football Club have sacked striker Lee Steele after a homophobic remark appeared on his Twitter account. Last night the FA confirmed it was also investigating the incident. The post, about openly-gay Welsh rugby star and Celebrity Big Brother

  • RUGBY UNION: Evans honoured

    Lynn Evans (right) receives his Lifetime Achievement Award for Coaching from RFU junior vice-president Bob Reeves. As previewed in the Oxford Mail last week, the legendary former Oxford University, Littlemore, Oxford and Chinnor coach was presented with

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Trafford marks England selection in style

    Mark Trafford celebrated his England call-up by winning the decider in Kennington Club’s 3-2 first leg victory at Comrades Club in Group A of the Team Knockout Cup, writes PETE EWINS. Trafford racked up 14,090 to add to earlier wins by Kevin Godfrey

  • U’s fan is shopped by ‘true supporters’

    OXFORD United fans have been praised by an anti-racism charity for reporting a man who abused U’s left-back Liam Davis. Keith Jordan, 62, was fined £375 for racially aggravated threatening behaviour after shouting: “Get off the pitch you monkey” when

  • Appeal for charity bake-off

    IT’S time to put on your apron and dust off your cake tins. Inspired by the success of hit BBC1 television programme The Great British Bake Off, an Oxford woman has decided to stage the city’s very own bake-off for charity. Kate Kellaway-Moore, 23

  • United reject Swindon bid for Constable

    Oxford United have turned down an offer from Swindon Town for their leading scorer James Constable. United boss Chris Wilder told me today: "We have had an offer and it has been rejected. "As I have said before, for any transfer to happen

  • RUGBY UNION: Kimber's keeping positive

    ALCHESTER captain Dan Kimber is looking on the bright side after being ruled out for a month with a neck injury. Kimber suffered whiplash and muscle damage during his side’s 48-12 defeat at Beaconsfield in Southern Counties North on Saturday. He was

  • ROYAL VISIT: Read all about an inspirational project

    A PROJECT to help struggling young readers get ahead got a big tick from pupils and parents when Prince Edward visited. Oxford-based charity Reading Quest is one of the organisations supported by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, receiving a grant of

  • GOLF: Results round-up

    OXFORD CITY New Year Bogey: 1 B Davies +5, 2 M Potter +4 (cb), 3 M Walker +4. NORTH OXFORD Pimms Cup 3rd round: 1 J Mazey 41pts, 2 D Price 40, 3 J Henderson 39. Pro’s New Year's Eve Stableford: 1 J Willis 42pts (cb), 2 A Bennett 42, 3 H Lloyd 39.

  • ICE HOCKEY: Oliver in German move

    Oxford City Stars striker Josh Oliver has joined German club Red Devils Bad Nauheim following the side’s withdrawal from the English National League. The 18-year-old will team up with the youth section of the Hesse state outfit. The Red Devils described

  • DARTS: Hedman's ready to reach final

    Oxfordshire star Deta Hedman believes she is ready to make it third time lucky when she faces England teammate Lorraine Farlam in the women’s semi-finals at the Lakeside BDO World Championships at Frimley Green this evening (5pm). Hedman, the

  • ATHLETICS: Team win for Dean

    Former Radley athlete Hatti Dean helped the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to victory in the Bupa Great Edinburgh International Cross Country Challenge. Dean maintained her solid winter form to finish sixth in the 6km women’s

  • ATHLETICS: Briscoe regains county title

    Frances Briscoe regained her Oxfordshire County Championship ladies’ title, which was held in conjunction with the Oxford Mail League race at Middleton Cheney. Steve Naylor successfully defended his men’s crown. Naylor eased to victory by 75 seconds

  • ATHLETICS: Nifty Naylor's victory cruise

    It was a case of new vest, same result for Steve Naylor as he won round three of the Oxford Mail Cross Country League at Middleton Cheney. Running in the colours of his new first-claim club Bedford & County, Naylor, from Woodstock, remained

  • Tesco wins fight to bulldoze pub

    SUPERMARKET giant Tesco has won its four-year battle to open a store on a former pub site in Abingdon Road. Last night Tesco was given permission to demolish the derelict Fox and Hounds pub and replace it with a three storey building. A new store will

  • ‘I was offered sex in exchange for cigarettes’

    An aristocrat accused of raping a 16-year-old girl as she slept told police she was part of a group of youngsters who offered him sex in exchange for cigarettes. James Murray, the 42-year-old son of the Earl of Mansfield, said he had refused to have

  • ROYAL VISIT: Celebrating a valued scheme

    OXFORD firm Amey celebrated the success of its Apprenticeship Academy and partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with a visit from Prince Edward. The infrastructure firm, based at Oxford Science Park, staged a workshop yesterday which aimed to

  • ROYAL VISIT: Celebrating a valued scheme

    OXFORD firm Amey celebrated the success of its Apprenticeship Academy and partnership with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award with a visit from Prince Edward. The infrastructure firm, based at Oxford Science Park, staged a workshop yesterday which aimed to

  • LARGER THAN LIFE: Remember when we used to chat?

    Technology is beginning to ‘byte’ back. The rise of the robot army is subtle but devastating. Now, I’m not one for holding back the advancement of gadgets that save us time and money and provide comfort and excitement in our lives. However

  • Insult to pensioners

    WHILE browsing the Internet I discovered that in the 1970s a pint of beer cost 20p, a loaf of bread 9p, and an OAP over 80 received an extra 25p on their pension. In 2012 a pint of beer is £2.50 and a loaf of bread is £1.50. An OAP over 80 still only

  • Cricket pitch’s future still up for discussion

    Unfortunately Julia Gasper has got her facts mixed up about the former cricket pitch in Barton Road (Oxford Mail ViewPoints, January 4). The sites and housing document approved for consultation by the city council on December 19 last year cannot

  • THE INSIDER: A weekly update from the corridors of power

    AS The Insider jetted off for his winter break, he thought he could leave the sights and sounds of Oxfordshire behind him. But no! Who is this moonlighting aboard his flight? It turns out that BBC Radio Oxford breakfast host Phil Gayle

  • ROYAL VISIT: ‘Come on Prince Edward, get involved’

    CHEEKY Leya Parsons got a laugh when she urged Prince Edward to get more involved in a storytelling session at the Story Museum. Leya, nine, a pupil at Pegasus Primary School, Blackbird Leys, and fellow pupil Alissa Twist, pictured right, were given

  • RUGBY UNION: Gibson boosted by Saxons call

    JAMIE Gibson could yet force his way into the senior England squad after retaining his place in the Saxons ranks. The 21-year-old Oxford University student and London Irish flanker was yesterday named in a 32-man Saxons squad for the forthcoming A internationals

  • Worries over Auschwitz

    I MUST praise our hard-working Member of Parliament, Andrew Smith, who was saddened by what I had experienced when describing to him my recent visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. Mr Smith wrote on my behalf to the Foreign Office

  • Community ties dying

    WITH reference to the apparent lack of interest in having street parties to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee (Monday’s Oxford Mail), I suggest that the reasons may not be apathy or anti-monarchy. The wish to have a street party would come from

  • Misunderstanding facts

    Julia Gasper’s letter implies that both Councillor Rowley and I have ignored local voters because the city council has “decided to allocate the old Headington United cricket field site for building new houses” and that the site on Barton Lane “has been

  • Just the tonic we need

    FOR once I agree with the MP for Witney and his friends. A new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham (Yesterday’s Oxford Mail) is just the tonic we need. I do hope the county council will not squander taxpayers’ money on a daft legal challenge

  • D-Day over Gipsy Lane court battle

    HEADINGTON resident Martin Young now faces a stark choice in a battle with Oxford City Council against the £132m redevelopment of Oxford Brookes University’s Gipsy Lane campus. Mr Young must either abandon his case or pay the potentially huge legal bills

  • 'Shell out on an egg with Christian values'

    THE Bishop of Oxford is urging believers to remember the real meaning of Easter when they buy their chocolate treats this year. Instead of buying the usual products on sale in the shops, he is encouraging his flock to stock up on eggs telling the Christian

  • COMMENT: Small comforts as pay is slashed

    There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel... or indeed for the next two or three years. Right now there’s almost no-one in the county who isn’t feeling the pinch, and some are doubtless feeling it in spades. This is almost

  • Mapping out a world record

    WHEN he took on his latest project, little did map maker David McCutcheon know that he would land himself a place in The Guinness Book of Records. But having spent 18 months working on the world’s largest atlas – which measures 6ft by 4.5ft, weighs 150kg

  • Companies in trouble

    Oxfordshire branches of Witney-based retro-themed gift retailer Past Times have closed with the loss of about 30 jobs. The stores in Oxford, Witney and Banbury were among 47 axed by the firm out of 98 nationwide, leading to 400 redundancies. A temporary

  • Firm wants to cut pay by up to 20%

    HUNDREDS of staff at one of Oxfordshire’s biggest employers have been asked to take a pay cut of up to 20 per cent. Bicester-based printing firm BGP said it had made the unusual move to make about £2m worth of savings as it battles the recession. The

  • Council deal on Westgate is imminent

    A FINANCIAL deal to secure the redevelopment of Oxford’s Westgate Centre will go to city councillors next month. Negotiations between the developers and Oxford City Council lasting more than a year have now been successfully concluded, with

  • COMMENT: Hope on horizon

    Still, good news leaks from the unlikeliest of places, as it now looks like a financial deal to secure the redevelopment of Oxford’s Westgate Centre is just around the corner. In fact, assuming city councillors give it the go-ahead, building

  • One wet spring 'could lead to extinction'

    The deep midwinter was traditionally the key time of the year for the determined birder to be rewarded with a fluttering glimpse of one of our most majestic predators. Out on the frost-stiffened salt marshes and moorland, the slate-grey ghost of a hen

  • Get out and go wild

    All change What a contrast! This time last year I was battling with frozen water troughs and carting bales of hay around. The mild weather so far this winter has in many ways made things easier at Warburg Nature Reserve. There’s no ice breaking or

  • WHEELING IN: Nissan NV200 Combi

    ‘What are you driving at the moment?,” a colleague asked. “A Nissan NV200,” I replied. What’s that?” he asked. “Err. It’s a people carrier-cum-van sort of vehicle,” came my unconvincing answer. Nissan’s inventive description of the NV200 Combi

  • Dogs change lives for the disabled

    Through creating special partnerships between assistance dogs and people with physical disabilities, Dogs for the Disabled has made a real difference not just to people with disabilities in Oxfordshire, but to hundreds of people living with disabilities

  • New Year's resolution case, £61

    Drank too much over Christmas? Spent too much? Giving up drinking as your New Year’s resolution? Cheer up – it might never happen! There’s always time for a soothing glass of wine. But not expensive wine – we do understand that you’ve spent

  • Atlas scales new heights

    Map maker David McCutcheon did not expect to land a place in the Guinness World Records. But having spent 18 months working on the world’s largest atlas, that’s exactly where the 53-year-old cartographer from Charlbury should soon find himself.

  • Threat to business

    Sir – Mr Ben Reid, chief executive of Midcounties Co-operative, justifiably complains that the building of a Sainsbury’s on the edge of Chipping Norton “will be a serious threat to current businesses in the area” (Report, January 5), and he urges West

  • What’s the difference?

    Sir – If the city council have the powers to stop vehicles (except those which are necessary for the event) being parked in areas of the city when filming or fun runs are taking place, why are they unable to prevent similar restrictions being imposed

  • Narrow view

    Sir – Christopher Gray states that having a member of the Jewish faith on the BBC’s Pause for Thought is an odd choice of Christmas speaker. His view is narrow if he considers the season as a purely Christian season because centuries before Christianity

  • Lack of consultation

    Sir – We are deeply concerned about the Government’s proposals for the National Health Service. Despite commitments to the contrary, it is now clear that these intend to open the door to profit-making organisations without safeguarding the delivery of

  • Looking backwards

    Sir – Councillor Mitchell seems to believe that democracy resides in himself and his fellow-councillors and derives from them, and that any decisions they make are automatically ‘democratic’; moreover, that invoking this word makes the matter final and

  • Oh no it wasn’t!

    Sir – Jeremy Smith’s write-up on Mother Goose, (Weekend, December 29), totally confused me and my family — we agree the The Wicked Witch was excellent and the scenery, music, costumes and dancing were good, but to say it was a rip roarer of a show

  • Little outburst

    Sir – Christopher Gray may not be considered “anti-semitic” for his little outburst Odd choice of Christmas speakers, but if I were him I would be more concerned about phrases like “gratuitously narrow-minded”, “intolerant” and “Little Englander”. I’

  • Heads in sand

    Sir – I’m appalled at Christopher Gray’s brief article Odd choice of Christmas speakers (January 5), questioning the BBC’s use of a Jewish Rabbi to speak on Pause for Thought on Radio 2, a couple of days after Christmas. David Cameron and Christopher

  • National fixation

    Sir – The West Barton proposals excite some of your readers. When do we hear from potential (and existing) residents about segregation from the city? In any sane planning regime people matter first, as the respected Jan Gehl says: “First life, then spaces

  • Valuable service

    Sir – Nigel Clarke’s ‘comparison’ of British and French train services (Letters, January 5) is such that I wonder if he and I have been using the same systems. Consider the following: 1: The peak-time single fare from Avignon to Paris is not the £43.50

  • Queen back to square

    Sir – No it’s not another plot line for EastEnders but a plea to get the statue of Queen Victoria, currently isolated in Abingdon’s Abbey Gardens, back to its rightful position in the Market Place. And what better time to do it than in The Queen’s Jubilee

  • Schools strategy needed

    Sir – I was pleased to see that my attempt to draw public attention to Oxfordshire’s poor Key Stage II results has produced such a lively response from readers of The Oxford Times. I can well understand and share the frustration of your correspondents

  • Concerns are shared

    Sir – Frances Kennett (Letters, January 5) is right to say that Summertown would benefit from more small independent retailers. We have been campaigning for a replacement post office for years and share her concerns about the possible changes in the shopping

  • Barbarous alterations

    Sir – At one time Oxford City Council went out of their way to encourage attractive ground floor shopfronts, for example recommending that the name of the company should be displayed in simple single letters, not as a logo, and offering all kinds of

  • A40 creates 'Berlin Wall'

    Sir – Some clarification is needed regarding the so-called Barton ‘boulevard’ proposals. Self-evidently, the A40 no longer passes by communities — it cuts through them; it is simply not a bypass. It was downgraded from trunk road status years ago. Nevertheless

  • Volunteers sought for OxClean 2012

    THE call has gone out for volunteers to join the big annual spring clean of Oxford. Last year, more than 2,000 people joined a two-hour litter pick at locations across the city. And with OxClean 2012 being launched this week, organisers

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 12/1/2012)

    Consistency has never been Pedro Almodóvar's strong suit. Thus, for every Talk to Her (2002) and Volver (2006), there has been a Bad Education (2004) or a Broken Embraces (2009). The Skin I Live In, the 18th feature the Spanish auteur has produced since

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 12/1/2012)

    Cine-nostalgia is all the rage at the moment, thanks to Martin Scorsese Hugo and Michel Hazanavicius's The Artist. The first is an adaptation of Brian Selznick's novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret that sees a young boy in 1930s Paris realise that the

  • Kidlington congress is one of the best

    The 35th Kidlington Chess Congress takes place on February 4 and 5 at its usual venue, Exeter Hall in Kidlington.There are four sections this time: under 225, under 180, under 145 and — for the first time — an under 120 section. The efficient controllers

  • Murder inquiry after death

    A MAN is being held on suspicion of murder this morning after a death in Southmoor. A member of the public called police to a house in Laurel Drive at about 11.20pm and said someone had been injured, a police spokesman said. Paramedics pronounced the

  • Police hunt car vandals

    POLICE in Blackbird Leys are hunting down the vandals behind a recent spate of car attacks on the Oxford estate. More than 30 parked cars have had their windows smashed or mirrors broken since October. Officers say the damage has cost thousands of pounds