Archive

  • Creepy-crawlies don't bug me

    AS an imposing 1,000-year-old structure, Oxford Castle is no stranger to creepy-crawlies. But some particularly unusual bugs have been fascinating visitors this week. During half-term, some of the world’s most peculiar species have been on display,

  • Body is found

    A body believed to be that of missing man Andrew Acreman, of Broadway, Didcot, has been found off Beachy Head in Sussex. The 32-year-old was reported missing on Tuesday after last being seen at home by his family on Sunday evening. Thames Valley Police

  • Athletics club wins seal of approval

    A BICESTER sports club has been given the seal of approval by its national governing body. Bicester Athletics Club was awarded a ‘Clubmark’ from UK Athletics. The club, which trains juniors at Bicester Community College, has been working towards the

  • Olympic excitement mounts bit by bit

    Young sports fans spent hours perfecting Oxford’s homage to the Olympics. The Museum of Oxford invited families to the Oxford Town Hall to work on a series of London 2012 mosaics. The huge pieces of art, will go on display at the Town Hall in St Aldate

  • Shore Thing

    Despite a raging temperature, the shivers, and stormy weather, JEREMY SMITH is enchanted by a winter break in Bournemouth. The proof is in the pudding, right? Well, consider this – I had a temperature of a 100 and over, I was feverish, sweating

  • Jung Love In Cold Climate

    A DANGEROUS METHOD (15). Drama/Romance. Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon. Director: David Cronenberg. Let’s talk about sex. Screenwriter Christopher Hampton does so with arch detachment

  • Craic Team

    The friendly staff at a new-look city pub gave KATHERINE MACALISTER a Gaelic-infused lunch to remember. If I had to pinpoint when George Street began to change for the better, it would have to be with the advent of Jamie’s Italian. In

  • Sunday worship rises from ashes

    THE congregation at a fire-damaged church hope to be back in the building this Sunday to worship. Messages of support have been sent from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester, after fire ripped through St Mary

  • Scientists sterilise killer mosquitoes

    STERILE mosquitoes are being released into the wild by experts to stop the spread of deadly diseases. The Oxfordshire firm pioneering the technique has now been given an £8m boost to further its work. The money raised by Oxitec, based at Milton Park

  • Tragedy Unlocked

    EXTREMELY LOUD & INCREDIBLY CLOSE (12A). Drama. Thomas Horn, Max von Sydow, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Viola Davis, Zoe Caldwell, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright. Director: Stephen Daldry. Published in 2005, Jonathan Safran Foer

  • Roar Talent

    SARAH MAYHEW takes a look at a varied collection of artists’ works on display at Oxford’s Old Fire Station. Mummy, is the lion making that noise, or the lady?” a small voice asked as she gazed into the monitors of Charlotte Freeston’s installation

  • Movers And Shakers

    KATHERINE MACALISTER finds out what’s in store in the sixth annual Dancin’ Oxford extravaganza. It’s back, and bigger and better than ever before. Dancin’ Oxford is celebrating it’s sixth year in what has now become a showcase annual

  • Single Minded

    She may have a platinum-selling album and a national tour, but TIM HUGHES discovers Rebecca Ferguson is still as down-to-earth as they come. IT is impossible not to like Rebecca Ferguson. With her rich voice, film star looks, soulful songs

  • Blunt Truth

    TIM HUGHES tackles a prickly Andy Kershaw ahead of his evening of anecdotes in Oxford. BLUNT, brusque and belligerent, Andy Kershaw is one of life’s difficult people. Troubled yet brilliant, he has all too often been a victim of the same

  • Safes are stolen

    W OXON: A spate of safe thefts has hit the area with three overnight burglaries in the last month. On Saturday, January 21, a the cellar of the Plough Inn in Clanfield was targeted. On Monday, February 6, thieves got in through a rear door of a butcher

  • Cash sponsor for Spires

    OXFORD: The new business faculty at Oxford Spires Academy will be sponsored by the Reuben Foundation after it made a big donation. The foundation refused to reveal the figure, but it will pay for ICT equipment, a business-style break-out area and staff

  • Roadworks get rethink

    Safety concerns have led to highway officers taking a second look at road ‘improvements’ which took months to complete. Headington residents are concerned their streets are now a more dangerous place after Oxfordshire County Council finished its work

  • 'Value added' tax for homes worth more than £2m

    The highly controversial levy, which will see a tax of one per cent of the value of a home over £2m, could be introduced in the Chancellor’s Budget next month after persistent lobbying from Business Secretary Vince Cable. Harry St John (pictured), head

  • Dividend payments can disguise corporate woe

    Last summer’s abrupt demise of the News of the World (NoW) came as a complete shock, although it is probably fair to say some did not shed a tear at its passing. Interestingly, the paper’s sudden end did not, as several commentators predicted, result

  • Demolition plans are altered

    VILLAGERS have won a battle with Network Rail to not demolish a railway bridge. Residents in the South Moreton area were concerned they would face months of disruption and longer car journeys if rail bosses rebuilt Fulscot bridge, in preparation for

  • Freedom comes with a blink of an eye

    It could be a scene from a horror movie — you wake up after an accident, unable to move of speak. Few people can imagine what it is like, but the huge public profile of scientist Stephen Hawking has brought the issue into focus. Because of a progressive

  • Selling at a premium

    Tim Wallbank, partner at Banbury accountants Whitley Stimpson, offers tips on getting best value when selling a business in a harsh economic climate Any corporate finance adviser will tell you that now is perhaps not the best time to contemplate

  • Daughter inspires mum to start online boutique

    Marion Bourne was inspired to set up her online fashion business by the problems of her 18-year-old daughter Charlotte (pictured, left, with her mother), who could not find anything to wear. The dresses have been selling so well that Charlotte

  • Glysure monitor could save lives

    A patient recovering from surgery or trauma in an intensive care unit (ICU) needs essentially three nutrients to survive and to sustain the body while it heals — oxygen, water and sugar. But an excess of any one can cause collateral damage. A premature

  • Is this the answer to climate change?

    T wo scientists from Oxford University have a hunch that something called biochar — which some say is simply a fancy name for charcoal — could solve the problem of how to feed the world’s burgeoning population and cut back on carbon emissions at the

  • Power to the people

    Sunlight glinting on the roof of the old power station at Osney was the inspiration for a new venture that aims to harness the profit-making ethos of the commercial business world to tackle climate change. Oxfordshire Low Carbon Hub, set up with a £128,000

  • Drawing new borders

    In this ever-changing world the maps which provide information about international boundaries and place names are continually being re-drawn. There are even completely new countries, such as the recent inauguration of South Sudan, that have to

  • Local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 0.31 BMW 5836 Electrocomponents 236.4 Nationwide Accident Repair 65.5 Oxford Biomedica 2.9 Oxford Catalysts 44.5 Oxford Instruments 1081.5 Reed Elsevier 548.25 RM 85.6 RPS Group 220.3 Courtesy of Redmayne

  • FIXTURES February 17

    SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. NPOWER LEAGUE TWO. Bristol Rovers v Oxford Utd. EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Swindon Supermarine v Oxford City, Weymouth v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Bideford, Clevedon v North Leigh, Didcot Tn

  • MOTORSPORT Sandell impresses on rally debut

    PATRIK Sandell finished eighth at Rally Sweden and the highest placed local driver on his debut in the Banbury-built Prodrive Mini John Cooper Works WRC. It was a strong debut for the Swede in his first outing in a World Rally Car with only established

  • FOOTBALL: Richardson fires Banbury into semis

    LIAM Richardson’s deflected first-half shot was enough to send Banbury United into the Oxfordshire Senior Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over Oxford City last night. Danny Edmond twice shot straight at City keeper Jason Mooney early on.

  • Balance is skewed

    Sir – I applaud the efforts of students at our two universities to persuade letting agencies to postpone the annual ‘letting frenzy’ for private student accommodation until February each year. Not only would that allow students to make better choices

  • Children's choir seeks new voices

    THE Cotswold Children’s Choir is looking for new members to expand its junior and youth choirs. Both groups meet at Burford Methodist Church every Saturday, the junior choir – for seven to nine-year-olds – from noon to 1.15pm and the youth choir – for

  • Margaret Gunstone: Remembered for kindness

    GENERATIONS of families from the Eynsham area are mourning the death of Margaret Gunstone, writes Don Chapman. A dedicated stalwart of education, Mrs Gunstone died last Friday at the age of 86. She spent many years as secretary at Bartholomew

  • Felix 'Phil' Murphy: 'Skip' was an inspiration

    Felix 'Phil' Murphy: Felix Philip Murphy, former “skip” of the 35th Oxford Scout Group, Blackbird Leys, has died at the age of 82 after a battle with cancer. Known as Phil, the father-of-four from Blackbird Leys devoted his life to his family

  • Alex: a year on

    ALEX Lewis’ relatives will gather tomorrow to remember and celebrate the life of the tragic former St Birinus School pupil. It will be a year since he died aged 22 from bone cancer but among the inevitable tears will be pride at the £64,000

  • Colourful campaign to warm up winter

    Bicester was given a splash of spring colour to remind people to take care of the elderly. Staff at Age UK, in Deans Court, decked their shop windows in orange and yellow balloons, clothes and anything else they could lay their hands on to mark Bobble

  • Toilets get £65,000 update

    Public toilets in Thame town centre have been given a facelift costing about £65,000. The improvement work on the toilets in Market House was carried out by South Oxfordshire District Council and was the first upgrade since 1996. Judith Nimmo-Smith,

  • Specialist school outstanding

    A school which educates autistic boys has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted for helping its pupils to overcome and understand their difficulties. Swalcliffe Park, a residential school in Swalcliffe, near Bloxham, has 45 pupils and includes a sixth

  • Health Bus brings mobile clinic to estate

    ROSE Hill families will finally get access to health care on the Oxford estate with the arrival of a monthly health bus at The Oval. Residents have been asking for more health services for years. They will be able to chat with NHS nurses about their

  • Squirrels and cakes all in a day's work

    Every Monday evening Holly Edmundson, a volunteer at KEEN, gets together with a group of lovely people to talk about jumping squirrels, cakes with sprinkles, and ballroom dancing. Together they make puppets out of spoons, pumpkins from balloons, and

  • James Vincent McMorrow @ O2 Academy Oxford

    AT some point in our lives we've all been there to experience a collective holding of breath. This is no mystery; just a natural response to great expectations on the brink of being either dashed or upheld. The collective element serves

  • Pupils show dramatic flair in contest

    PUPILS at Oxford Spires Academy put on their own dance, drama and musical shows in a house competition last week. The four houses – Bannister, Earhart, Seacole and Tolkien – battled it out in front of an audience of parents and teachers last

  • Couple's fast exchange rate

    A husband and wife have become the first home owners on a new development in Bloxham, after part-exchanging the property for their former home in the Lake District. Gillian Roberts and her husband Mike picked up the keys for their brand new four-bedroom

  • Going green with divine inspiration

    Many buyers are searching for a property with its own special charm that stands out from the crowd. Often they opt for homes which have previously had different uses but have been converted to provide spacious accommodation with character. Converted

  • Wine company toasts award

    THE Oxford Wine Company has been named Independent Wine Retailer of the Year. Ted Sandbach, owner and managing director of the business which has a shop in Oxford and its headquarters in Standlake, said: “We are thrilled to have won our second major

  • Employee’s e-innovation

    ABINGDON-based RM Education, a leading provider of technology for learning, has developed a product designed to help visually impaired and dyslexic people. The new product, called ReadRight, was developed by John Hampton, a quality control administrator

  • Carole’s back in driving seat

    YOU can almost read what seven-year-old Carole Stevens wanted to be when she grew up as she sits in this Oxford bus. The now 27-year-old has returned to the city as operations manager of Stagecoach, controlling the running of 120 buses, including 26

  • Property first

    ESTATE agent Marriotts has opened a new office in Bicester to provide a range of commercial property services. Bosses say the office recognises the expansion that is taking place there and is the town’s first dedicated commercial property consultancy

  • Ample space for a perfect work-life balance

    Space, flexibility and the ability to work from home — these are rare qualities in any property. Add in substantial gardens and the promise of country living less than a mile from the Oxford Ring Road, then Guyden’s Farm in Garsington is a rare gem indeed

  • Take a butcher's at this conversion

    An 18th-century former butcher’s shop that later became an inn has been given a £550,000 makeover to create a stylish, contemporary home. Kings Head House in Wootton, near Woodstock, also comes with a one-bedroom cottage which was once the butcher’s

  • Local share prices (AM)

    AEA Technology 0.3 BMW 5787 Electrocomponents 237.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 66.5 Oxford Biomedica 3 Oxford Catalysts 44.5 Oxford Instruments 1076 Reed Elsevier 538.75 RM 85.6 RPS Group 220.6 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Patey keeps his cool to defeat Vikings

    JOHN Patey celebrated his Inter-Area 7-a-side call-up by winning the decider as Democrats beat Premier Division Vikings in the Team Knockout Cup Group A quarter-finals, writes PETE EWINS. Taking a 4-1 home first-leg cushion into the tie, Democrats fell

  • AUNT SALLY: Champs fail to sign off in style

    NEWLY-CROWNED champions Garsington Sports Club A slid to a 4-2 defeat against Gladiators in the final round of matches in the Gladiator Beer Seller Wednesday Night League. North Oxford Conservative Club took the Kidlington Indoor League title, with Unknowns

  • BOWLS: Sykes falls in area final

    BANBURY Cross star Mark Sykes’s challenge in the English Indoor Bowling Association’s National Champion-ships singles came to an end with a 21-17 defeat by Desborough’s Andrew Knapper in the area final. SHORT MAT RESULTS Vale Of White Horse League

  • RUGBY: Dark Blues scuppered by Navy

    Oxford University went down 10-0 to the Royal Navy in a scrappy encounter in Portsmouth on Wednesday night. The Dark Blues went close through JJ Dargan in the first half, while Will Kane later came to their rescue with a try-saving tackle. The Navy

  • Assaults on hospital staff

    There have been about 350 assaults on Oxfordshire hospital staff in the last three years. In 2008/09 there were 119, in 2009/10 there were 121, and in 2010/11 there were 113 attacks at the John Radcliffe, Churchill and NOC in Oxford and the Horton in

  • Cemetery tests led to blackout

    Work to investigate a possible cemetery in Horspath Road, Cowley, caused a power cut to 100,000 homes and businesses. The power cut just before noon on Tuesday lasted just under an hour, with many people experiencing shorter blackouts and flickering

  • Flight check medic had drink problem

    Pilot Mike Blee was given the all clear to fly by a medic with a drink problem despite having a crippling back condition, an inquest heard yesterday. The flight trainer, of St Mary’s Green, Abingdon, was killed along with air cadet Nicholas Rice, 15

  • 50 care jobs created

    A company which provides care for the elderly in their own homes is creating 50 jobs. Home Instead Senior Care, in Station Lane, Kidlington is looking for people to help with meal preparation, companionship, light housekeeping, medication reminders,

  • City deal secures future of meadow

    People in West Oxford and Oxford City Council have struck a deal that will see the future of Oxpens Meadow secured. Four years ago St Ebbe’s New Development Residents’ Association (SENDRA) mooted trying to get Town Green status for the central Oxford

  • RUGBY UNION: Fiery fund-raiser

    OXFORD Rugby players and officials will brave a firewalk to raise funds for the See Saw and Sobell House charities. The ‘Family Fun Firewalk Spectacular’ starts at 6pm on Saturday, February 25 – after Oxford Harlequins host Chinnor in their rearranged

  • RUGBY UNION: Mitchell on the mark

    OXFORD University fly half Tom Mitchell has made a strong start to his England Sevens career with six tries in two world series events. Mitchell grabbed three tries in Wellington, including one with the first touch of his debut, as England finished third

  • ATHLETICS: Dean in Lotto triumph

    FORMER Radley athlete Hatti Dean enjoyed a morale-boosting victory at the Lotto Cross Cup in Hulshout, Belgium. The 30-year-old Hallamshire athlete held off fellow Brit Hannah Doran by 13 seconds to complete the 6.4km course in 21mins 6secs. Victory

  • ATHLETICS: Naylor's milestone

    STEVE Naylor passed another personal milestone with an impressive run in the Armagh International 5K. The 32-year-old Woodstock-based athlete broke the 15-minute barrier for the first time in a road race, clocking 14mins 48secs. Such was the high standard

  • White spirits deliver winter comfort

    In my cocktail crystal ball, when the sky’s a glacier blue and freezing temperatures rival an Alpine ski resort, the clarity, purity and crisp, clean taste of a clear spirit offers a comforting experience. The pristine quality of white spirits such

  • Passage to India

    Hurry to the Ashmolean and immerse yourself in sub-continental sun-kissed colour. The museum’s latest exhibition Visions of Mughal India comprises 115 paintings collected by the artist Howard Hodgkin and on display together for the first time

  • FOOTBALL: FA fine Steele £200 for comment

    Former Oxford City player Lee Steele has been fined by the FA for a homophobic Twitter comment. The ex-Oxford United and Leyton Orient striker, who wrote about gay former rugby star Gareth Thomas, admitted breaching two FA rules, E3(1) and E3(2), by

  • Net gains

    When you are surfing the Internet at home it can be incredibly frustrating if your computer is running slowly. But it is more soul-destroying for businesses experiencing the same difficulties because their livelihoods depend on it. So, it is good news

  • Devil in the details

    The Faust legend, it seems, will never go away, and in Mephisto — adapted from Klaus Mann’s 1936 novel by Ariane Mnouchkine — it is given a sinister new setting with the rise of Nazism as its backdrop. Set in Germany between the two world wars, the play

  • Drive ahead

    A new version of a 50-year-old British classic car is thankfully not being made abroad, but by a small firm in Steventon. The team of 12 at Frontline Developments is to produce 50 special MGs to mark the MGB’s 50th birthday in May this year

  • Shops hope

    We welcome news that a deal has been signed that could see a £330m revamp of the Westgate Centre, Oxford, start as early as 2014. At a time when few major schemes are being approved it is a sign of the optimism that the developers have in the future

  • Show's just right

    YOUNGSTERS at Oxford’s North Wall Arts Centre yesterday found a performance which was just right. The tale of Goldilocks was retold using puppetry and music from around the world. Children aged two to five watched on as the heroine wandered around a

  • LARGER THAN LIFE: My excuse led to years off PE

    SO 2012 marches on and amazingly so has my desire to at least attempt to eat healthily and exercise more. There have however been some unintended and unfortunate consequences. This week’s moan, I mean column, is about the other factor in this unholy

  • THE INSIDER

    COUNTY council budget meetings are not normally overflowing with high drama. And Friday was no exception. The meeting featured quite possibly the worst attempt at political protest since Guy Fawkes’s sparkler wouldn’t light. Half-way through a Keiron

  • Another Government sell-out

    l WHILE attention is focused on the sell-off of our NHS, another form of privatisation has taken place under our very noses, with the move to academise the secondary schools of Oxford. This despite no mandate from parents or taxpayers, most of whom seem

  • Power of our prayers

    For me, the prayers before a council meeting (Saturday’s Oxford Mail), are important, not particularly because I am a Christian, because the content would be acceptable to anyone of any religion. We pray for the safety, health and well-being of all

  • Homes register welcome

    WE ARE writing to congratulate the city council on the introduction of the Homes in Multiple Occupation mandatory registration (Oxford Mail, January 30). This scheme will undoubtedly benefit our wards considerably. Not only will registration benefit

  • Government will not listen over NHS plan

    WHAT an excellent letter from GL Sampson, (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail ViewPoints), about competition in the NHS. Now our Prime Minister has come out saying that he is “at one with Andrew Lansley”, over the Health & Social Care Bill the Con-Dem coalition

  • ATHLETICS: Bellinger ends City's drought

    DARRELL Bellinger ended a 31-year drought for Oxford City by landing the senior men’s Division 1 title in the Apex Sports Chiltern Cross Country League. Bellinger, who won the Oxford Mail League in 2010, finished fifth in the final round at Wing to take

  • ATHLETICS: Jegou doubles up

    White Horse Harrier Paul Jegou battled cold weather and tough terrain in two races over the weekend. Jegou finished 29th in round five of the Apex Sports Chiltern Cross Country League at Wing in 35.34. Then on Sunday, Jegou finished sixth in the Dursley

  • Criticism over A34 crash chaos

    HIGHWAYS bosses last night defended their role in trying to prevent long queues on the A34 yesterday. Traffic was backed up for nearly 10 miles after the A34 southbound was closed for six hours between the Chilton Interchange and junction 13 of the M4

  • Police blunder in child abuser case

    POLICE missed a second chance to discover a sex offender they were ‘monitoring’ was able to chat to children at church, the Oxford Mail can reveal. David Cox was given a sexual offences prevention order (Sopo) banning him from unsupervised

  • An immoral doctrine

    I hear, loud and clear, that the Government’s Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles and Cabinet minister Lady Warsi are both desperate to restore Christian religious beliefs to the very heart of political and civic affairs in the UK

  • School is not failing

    Surely the headline on your story concerning primary schools being turned into academies (Oxford Mail, February 7), reading “This is the fresh start they need” should have continued “like a hole in the head”? I fear that many of the named “failing” schools

  • RUGBY UNION: Bicester back youth to shine

    BICESTER manager Mike Hutchinson says they are already building for next season after conceding they won’t win promotion from the BB&O Premier Division. Hutchinson pointed to the club’s talented youngsters, many of whom have broken into the first team

  • Crews tackle blaze

    A BLAZE at an abandoned three-storey home in Oxford’s Cowley Road was last night being investigated by police. The fire led to smoke billowing across the street and closed the road for more than two hours. Fire crews were called to the terraced property

  • Man survives fall in Peru

    A FINANCIAL trader from Benson was last night in a coma after he and his pregnant girfriend fell from their flat in Peru. The 33-year-old, named in Lima as Owen Arthur Goddard, is reported to have fallen from the third-floor flat on to wooden railings

  • Unemployment woe

    OXON: The number of people out of work and claiming job-seekers’ allowance in Oxfordshire increased last month by 243 to 7,854, The rise means 1.8 per cent of the working age population is now unemployed in the county.

  • Driver is bailed

    OXFORD: A council workman painting lines on Iffley Road suffered an injured foot after being hit by a car. A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and released on bail until March 15.

  • Hunt is on for missing man

    DIDCOT: A man who has been missing from his Didcot home since Sunday is being sought by police. Andrew Acreman, of Broadway, Didcot, was reported missing on Tuesday after he was last seen at home by his family on Sunday evening. The 32-year-old is described

  • City gets ready for visit of Kate

    ROYAL fever is mounting in Oxford as it was announced the Duchess of Cambridge will visit the city next week. Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets when Kate meets children at Rose Hill Primary School and Oxford Spires Academy, in East

  • Woman rescued from blaze

    A QUICK-THINKING neighbour helped rescue a woman after she fell unconscious in a burning building. Hussain Manzoor was returning home in the early hours of the morning when he heard the smoke alarm in the house in Northway, Oxford. He then realised

  • Alarming decline in hedgehogs

    British hedgehogs are disappearing — fast and in large numbers. In the 1950s, there were thought to be about 30 million of them trundling around the back gardens, hedgerows and fields of Britain. But less than 50 years later, the population

  • COMMENT: We prefer a maverick to a PR dummy

    WHEN it comes to our politicians, we really cannot have it both ways. Either we are happy to swallow the bland, sanitised and generally meaningless drivel spouted by many of them, or we welcome the no-nonsense, politically-incorrect pronouncements

  • Tobacco fund row ignites council leader’s ire

    OXFORDSHIRE County Council leader Keith Mitchell says he is happy the county’s local government pension fund is profiting from “stupid smokers”. The Oxford Mail revealed on Monday that the fund for the county’s councils has £20m invested

  • Restaurateur’s lament

    Sir – Christopher Gray’s reviews get more hilarious each week. One of his latest could have been written by Alan Partridge, but as he has never heard of James Corden, I doubt if he has heard of Steve Coogan either. The Restaurateur’s Lament or “

  • Unidentifiable food

    Sir – I have just spent several days as an in-patient at the Oxford Churchill Hospital’s John Warin Ward, where the quality of nursing and domestic care was of the very highest standard. Unhappily, the food was not. The menu’s ‘breaded fish’ looked as

  • Harmonious work

    Sir – Assuming that the majority of letters you publish do indeed reflect the day-to-day situation, there would appear to be a certain animus between the local citizen and the students of the city’s two universities. I am, therefore, delighted to report

  • Planning alerts

    Sir – Re. Oxford City Council’s planning application email notification system, at least local residents get this option! Here in Kidlington, Cherwell District Council can’t even be bothered to do this, and you can only think it’s a way to

  • Park-and-ride puzzle

    Sir – Arriving at 9.15 to catch a bus to London the car park at Thornhill park-and-ride is, as usual, full. We, like dozens of others, parked on a muddy verge/kerbside despite warnings not to. When is the council going to provide: a) More parking in

  • Widen choices

    Sir – I am sure that everyone would agree that we should all do as much as possible to help our young people achieve well at school and to be ready to enter the workplace when they leave. Your article on February 2 outlined the challenges. It is largely

  • Hubs act early to support young people

    OXFORDSHIRE’S early intervention hubs are already improving the support given to young people and their families, six months after opening. That is the verdict of council bosses who oversaw the reorganisation last September as part of efforts

  • Railroading schools

    Sir – As a parent of two children who attend Larkrise Primary, I am delighted with their experience there — as are our children, and the vast majority of the other children and parents. I am surprised and revolted by Oxfordshire County Council’s underhand

  • Academy threat

    Sir – The campaign by the Government and the county council to force local primary schools to become academies (Report, February 9) is causing real damage to children’s education in Oxford. Two excellent, well-liked and improving primary schools, in

  • Blunt and bloody axe

    Sir – In a letter from me which you were good enough to publish on January 5, it was pointed out that the ‘floor standard’ figures for Key Stage 2 2011 for St Nicholas School, Old Marston, are and were wrong because they include pupils from the Autism

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 16/2/2012)

    In the Friends episode `The One With Joey's Big Break', Joey (Matt LeBlanc) describes the plot of a movie ghost story that ends with the revelation `Betsy's been dead for 10 years.' Like Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), many would consider this cornball

  • Applying maths

    Sir – The tables of results in secondary school tests certainly throw up concern in maths and much seeking for reasons. I believe that a fundamental reason is highlighted by the experience of the joiner and his despair at the innumeracy of his new employee

  • Fund new cycle path

    Sir – The article (February 9) on building bridges for cyclists across the Thames reports that Oxford City Council is expected to adopt the new Community Infrastructure Levy to finance these developments. The Vale of White Horse District Council should

  • Spoiling market character

    Sir – In response to the article about Cards Galore purchasing space in the Covered Market (February 9). Oxford’s Covered Market is part of Oxford’s town heritage and an asset to local people and our visitors — not just a piece of history but an economic

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 16/2/2012)

    It's tough enough adapting a novel with the reputation of John Le Carre's Cold War thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, but when it has already been wrought as a television series deemed by many to be the finest of its kind, one can appreciate the magnitude

  • Genuine consultations

    Sir – Dominic Woodfield’s unfavourable perception of the East Oxford controlled parking (CPZ) consultations (Letters, February 9) suggests he’s living on a different planet from the rest of us. The series of consultations organised by the

  • Community brings allotments back to life

    A PATCH of land in Oxford that was once home to mountains of rubbish and an meeting place for illegal bike racers has been reclaimed by the community. For two years Barton residents have been trying to get the land, next to existing allotments