Archive

  • Diamond couple are joining forces

    A wartime evacuation brought Mike and Dee Bulley together. And the armed forces have continued to feature throughout their 60 years of marriage. Mr and Mrs Bulley, who toast their diamond wedding anniversary today, are well known in Carterton, where

  • UPDATE: Big bang was Typhoon sonic boom

    A LOUD bang heard across Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties was last night confirmed as a super-sonic boom from a Typhoon jet scrambled to deal with an emergency. The Ministry of Defence said two aircraft were sent up in response to a helicopter

  • Leys boxers could have new home at last

    A BOXING club desperately searching for a new home in Blackbird Leys may have found its saviour, in the unlikely form of a children’s club. The Blackbird Leys Amateur Boxing Club has been based in an upstairs room at the community centre for decades

  • Hop round to catch some bunnies

    CHILDREN have been searching gardens near Wheatley for hidden Easter bunnies. Ten wire mesh rabbits have been hidden around Waterperry Gardens for families to find and win chocolate Easter eggs. Anna Haynes, 32, and her two-year-old daughter Ellie,

  • Huge mystery boom heard over county - big bang theory!

    POLICE have been inundated with calls about loud bang, believed to be a series of sonic booms. Fire crews are also investigating the source of the noise and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue are liaising with neighbouring counties. Thames

  • Three car crash leads to heavy delays on A34

    THERE are severe delays on the A34 tonight between Abingdon and Oxford following a three-car crash. One lane is closed on the northbound carriageway but there are reports that it is taking 60 minutes to travel from the Abingdon North junction

  • Air ambulance passes a safety inspection

    The air ambulance which covers Oxfordshire has passed a safety test after a national scare. An inspection was carried out on Thames Valley and Chiltern’s air ambulance after a fault – which could have caused a fatal crash – was found in a helicopter

  • Star Gazing

    KATHERINE MacALISTER vists an old favourite which has undergone a bit of a transformation. Sam Hornblower was a bit sniffy when he heard I was doing a review. “Yes, I read your last one about the Star,” he said pointedly. “It wasn’t bad

  • Gusto Keeps Movie Afloat

    BATTLESHIP (12A) Action/Sci-Fi/Romance. Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna, Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano, Jesse Plemons, Gregory D Gadson, Hamish Linklater, Peter MacNicol. Director: Peter Berg Battleship

  • My Time

    Soul-pop sensation Delilah is all ready to face stardom square in the face, she tells TIM HUGHES. Delilah as an artist who is wiser than her years. Though still only 21, the soul-pop sensation has had the kind of success that most aspiring

  • Gleeful Gore to Revel In

    THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (15) Horror/Thriller/Comedy. Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Brian White. Director: Drew Goddard You have to give writer-director

  • Monstrously Funny

    KATHERINE MACALISTER, below, gets down and dirty with the puppet stars of Avenue Q. I think you’re horny,” Trekkie Monster from Avenue Q says rubbing himself while I sit, notepad in hand, interviewing him, trying not to act like Mary Poppins

  • One Man Band

    TIM HUGHES finds out that for Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, life is far sweeter on his own. OF all the members of Blur, Graham Coxon, you could argue, has stayed closest to his roots. While Damon Albarn went off to write operas and hang

  • Chance to join the Queen at Jubilee garden party

    A PUBLIC ballot is being held for the chance to go to one of the Queen’s Jubilee garden parties. A total of 600 double tickets are available for the riverside event, near Henley, on June 25. The party is being jointly organised by the Lord

  • House deal funds revamp for Cowley Road church

    WORSHIPPERS are hoping long-awaited improvements to their church can be carried out this year thanks to reorganisation of the parish’s assets. SS Mary and John Church, in Cowley Road, Oxford, needs to spend between £100,000 and £200,000 on improvements

  • Local shares (PM)

    AEA Technology 0.24 BMW 5664 Electrocomponents 239.1 Nationwide Accident Repair 65.75 Oxford Biomedica 3.55 Oxford Catalysts 48 Oxford Instruments 1157 Reed Elsevier 538.5 RM 75.75 RPS Group 233.4 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Victor Brown: Teacher who had passion for the past

    RETIRED Bayswater Secondary School teacher Victor Brown has died from cancer, at the age of 93. Born Alfred Victor Brown in Cranham Street, Jericho, on January 24, 1919, Mr Brown was known to friends and family as Victor. Educated first at St Barnabas

  • Charles Gee: Farmer died after losing beloved pet

    A WELL-KNOWN Oxford farmer died just days after his beloved dog. Eighty-nine-year-old Charles Gee was a familiar sight riding around Binsey and the canal towpath on his old Post Office bicycle with Millie by his side. Mr Gee, of Medley Manor Farm in

  • James Robertson: RAF conscript became skydiving pioneer

    JAMES Robertson was reluctant to be conscripted into the RAF in 1952, but it led to a lifelong love of skydiving. Mr Robertson, who has died at the age of 80, was one of the original members of the RAF Free Fall Display Team, later known as the RAF

  • JUBILEE FUND: Foodbank needs help to feed the hungry

    AS many of us return to work following an Easter of excess, the Oxfordshire Community Foundation is urging people to help the county’s growing number of families and children who spend Easter, and every day, hungry. Rising food costs, benefit

  • Local share prices

    AEA Technology 0.24 BMW 5627 Electrocomponents 235.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 65.75 Oxford Biomedica 3.45 Oxford Catalysts 48 Oxford Instruments 1154 Reed Elsevier 537 RM 76.25 RPS Group 235.2 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Viewers top up comedian’s £750 total

    HE MAY have only raised £750 for Helen & Douglas House, but Jimmy Carr on Deal or No Deal has attracted donations worth thousands. Mr Carr, a longtime supporter of the East Oxford children and young adults hospice, appeared on the celebrity version of

  • Eco-town looking for workforce

    Businesses in Bicester and the surrounding area are being invited to register as a potential supplier or labourer for the eco-development. The move comes after a local business portal was launched at The Pope John Paul II Community Centre, the Causeway

  • Day in the life of fifth Beatle

    PAUL McCartney belting out a rock n’ roll standard leans into John Lennon, who grins manically. George Harrison strikes a buoyant stage pose with arms outstretched and Roy Young is clearly having the time of his life on the piano. The black and white

  • MOTOR CYCLING: Bradley Smith's Column

    You train like a demon all winter, are always so careful what you eat and your reward is a night on the porcelain pillow in a Qatar hotel bathroom less than 24 hours before the opening MotoGP2 grand prix of the season. I don’t know the name of the tummy

  • A420 truckers struck by yobs

    S OXON: Police were last night investigating why windscreens were smashed on trucks and lorries travelling along the A420 between Carswell and Tubney. Eight vehicles were damaged while travelling towards Oxford between March 15 and March 31. On one

  • Prince mourning

    FARINGDON: A motorcyclist killed on the A417 near the town, was Prince William’s former flying instructor. Helicopter pilot James Hasssell, 36, a Warrant Officer Class 2, died on March 10 when his motorbike was involved in a collision with a truck.

  • Robbers steal OAP’s rent money

    TWO men “manhandled” an elderly woman when they stole her rent money after forcing their way into her Oxford home. The men knocked on the 82-year-old’s front door, but when she did not answer they broke into her home in Headington through the back door

  • Sweeper for sale... one careful owner

    HAVE you ever fancied riding along on your very own road sweeper, or taking to the garden with an industrial mower? Now could be your chance as Oxford City Council is planning to sell off more than 50 unwanted vehicles and pieces of equipment. The

  • BOWLS: Richens in title delight

    STUART Richens was crowned the Carterton BC indoor singles champion with a 21-18 win over Andy McIntyre on finals day. ROLL OF HONOUR Ladies’ singles – winner: R McIntyre; runner-up: K Jupp. Men’s singles – S Richens; A McIntyre. Triples – A Wise, P

  • Floods ditched

    WITNEY: Work to stop repeated flooding of homes in Queen Emma’s Dyke has been agreed. Developer Pye Homes will hand over ownership of a ditch alongside Henry Box School’s playing fields, cited as a cause of the flooding, to West Oxfordshire District

  • Fire not deliberate

    OXFORD: A flat fire in Barton was not started deliberately, a fire service spokesman said last night. He confirmed the blaze, in which one man was treated for smoke inhalation at 4.30pm on Tuesday, had not been referred to police as suspicious but was

  • Man, 59, denies sex act at café

    OXFORD: A 59-year-old man appeared at court yesterday charged with performing a sex act in a café. David Brookes, of Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, denied one count of exposure at Oxford Magistrates’ Court. The alleged incident took place

  • LEADERSHIP: Pete Handley

    Pete Handley, 60, who represents Carterton South West, lives in Shilton and is married. His political biography lists his interests as agriculture, auctions and rugby – he is vice president of Witney Rugby Club. Mr Handley has been a member of West

  • RUGBY UNION: Watts' Gosford hopes

    GOSFORD All Blacks coach Matt Watts is urging his players to use their Oxfordshire Shield victory as a springboard. Watts’s side put up a strong defensive performance before edging out Chipping Norton in a kicking competition at Iffley Road. But inconsistent

  • GOLF: Sam Rounds off hat-trick

    SAMANTHA Round claimed her third Oxfordshire County ladies Championship after a thrilling play-off against Frilford Heath's Abi Laker in the final at Chipping Norton. Round, the former Tadmarton Heath member, who now plays out of Cotswold Hills

  • ATHLETICS: Douglas targets May comeback

    OXFORD City triple jumper Nathan Douglas plans to return to action next month, a year after suffering a freak training injury. Douglas, 29, last competed at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and sustained a double ankle ligament rupture in Italy last May

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Dazzling Didcot power into final

    DIDCOT Conservative Club swept to a 4-1 win at Berinsfield Club in the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League’s Team Knockout Cup Group A semi-finals, writes PETE EWINS. Andy Webb beat Sue Atkins 5,580-1,520 to give Berinsfield the lead. But Didcot took the

  • RUGBY UNION: Open session to seek new faces

    OXFORDSHIRE will hold an open training session next week as they seek to avoid pulling out of the County Championship Shield. Any player club coaches believe to be of county standard is encouraged to attend the event, which will provisionally take place

  • ATHLETICS: Radley secure second

    RADLEY’S ladies made a strong start to their track and field season in the Alpha Beta Trophy at Lee Valley. The club’s seniors took second place behind Blackheath, while their under 15s were fifth. Their hurdlers bagged four personal bests. l RADLEY

  • Free play day

    AMBROSDEN: The first of 12 free play day events being held across the county will take place at the Bicester Garrison today. Six of the events are being held at military bases in the hope they will bring armed forces families and the local community

  • LEADERSHIP: Ian Hudspeth

    Ian Hudspeth, 52, who represents Woodstock, lives in Bladon, is married and has a daughter who has just left the Marlborough School. His political biography states that he used to enjoy playing golf before becoming involved in politics and still watches

  • LEADERSHIP: David Robertson

    David Robertson, 70, who represents Witney East, has lived in the town since 1987 and is married, with two children and two grandchildren. He was elected to the county council in 2001 and became deputy leader in 2005. He was chairman of Witney Conservative

  • LEADERSHIP: County candidates step forward

    THE fresh face, the old guard and the controversial backbencher will battle it out for the leadership of Oxfordshire County Council. Current leader Keith Mitchell will stand down on May 15 and, with nominations opening today, candidates are

  • COMMENT: Race for the top

    SO the race begins in earnest. The political shadow left by the reign of Keith Mitchell at Oxfordshire County Council will loom large over his successor. Conservative councillors on the county have three comparatively contrasting

  • RACING: Knight is hoping for Bay of plenty

    It's a case of if at first you don’t succeed, try again for Calgary Bay in the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree on Saturday. Twelve months ago, the nine-year-old, from Henrietta Knight’s West Lockinge stables, near Wantage, pitched Hadden

  • Take simple steps to create a great brew

    Climbing the 16th century stairway up to “The Great Hall” at Christ Church I wasn’t sure what to expect. I could sense the years of knowledge, intelligence and culture leaching out of the walls. As I entered, the porter whispered to me,

  • GOLF: Pepperell makes Frilford return

    EDDIE Pepperell, the most exciting prospect in the county, is now officially attached to Frilford Heath Golf Club. The 21-year-old former amateur international previously represented Drayton Park in Abingdon. Pepperell was with Frilford as a junior,

  • Hundreds say goodbye to 'Little John'

    HUNDREDS of friends and family of a 20-year-old who was found dead in a Witney lake turned out for his funeral yesterday. John Godfrey known as ‘Little John’ to those that knew him, went missing after a party at Tar Lakes on the edge of the town on March

  • Postman suffered fatal haemorrhage

    A POPULAR postman and well-known Kidlington gardener suffered a fatal haemorrhage behind the wheel of his car before crashing into a garden wall. Ronald Taylor suffered an aortic aneurysm as he returned home from buying potato plants. The 80-year-old

  • Join trust’s charity team

    I will be running in this year’s Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 22, for The Children’s Trust in Tadworth, a national charity that provides specialist care and education for some of the UK’s most severely disabled children and young people.

  • Could we have some Big Society leaders?

    YOUR Volunteer Voice and Life Lessons features highlight the exceptional way volunteers contribute to the community and it made me think how David Cameron’s praiseworthy concept of the Big Society could be harnessed to unite the nation. My idea: when

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

    THAMES Valley Police announced last week it was drastically cutting the hours people can go to many police stations to save money. The press release claimed these new hours (some stations will only open 10am to 2pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and

  • GOLF: Hinksey Heights name new captains

    HINKSEY Heights have started a trend by appointing joint lady captains, Tricia Wiley and Helen Neilson, who drove into office along with the men’s captain Steve Fox. Also taking part in the ceremony were seniors captain Cyril Rumble and juniors captain

  • We can hear everything

    I read with interest about new licensing laws for HMOs and I would like to respond as a neighbour to one of these properties. The eight-bedroom student house next door to me is a nightmare, not because of the students who live there but the fact that

  • This will not help school

    Having read the Eynsham Community Primary School Ofsted report based on a two-day inspection in February, a report which is by no means entirely negative, it’s difficult to comprehend the language used by your reporter Fran Bardsley on April 5 and the

  • Why is there a need for any redundancy?

    I WONDER when Sid Hedges completed his fine book Bicester Wuz A Little Town, did he take a moment to ponder how the future of the town would change and develop? Could he have imagined the incredible business concept that is Bicester Village, the talk

  • RUGBY UNION: Jones targets the pro ranks

    GUS Jones is hoping for a career in professional rugby after captaining England Under 18s to victory in the FIRA/AER European Champion-ship. The 18-year-old openside flanker, from Oxford, led England to a 25-13 success over Ireland in Madrid on Saturday

  • ATHLETICS: Blatchford in double silver

    ABINGDON Amblers’ Noel Blatchford won two silver medals competing for Great Britain at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Finland. Blatchford (pictured) finished second in the vet 60 ladies’ 3,000m walk and repeated that feat in the 10,000m event

  • Rename drivers’ union

    WITH the recent events surrounding the petrol tanker drivers’ dispute, maybe they should rename the Unite union ‘Ignite’! JANE REEVE, Cowley Road, Oxford

  • GOLF: Harrison sccops Harleyford prize

    CHRIS Harrison, from The Oxfordshire, claimed top prize at the first Berks Bucks & Oxon Golf Partnership junior competition at Harleyford near Marlow. Harrison, who plays off 28, took the boys aged 14 and over prize with a score of 41 points. The boys

  • Drugs fuel increase in burglaries

    BURGLARIES of homes in Oxford have risen by almost a third, it was revealed last night. Police figures showed there were 640 reports of break ins during 2010/11, which leapt to 846 in 2011/12 – a rise of 32 per cent. But overall crime

  • COMMENT: Fly in the ointment for police

    SUCH a stark increase in burglaries across Oxford is a worry, especially when police have managed to continue to cut almost every other type of crime. Every day of the past year there were at least two break-ins across the city, a rise of almost

  • Service award

    OXON: The county’s fire and rescue service has retained an award recognising it for its customer service. The service first won the Customer Service Excellence Award from the Government in 2009. It has now retained the award, which is valid for three

  • M40 collision

    N OXON: A car and a lorry collided on the southbound slip road to the M40 at junction nine at Wendlebury yesterday. No-one was injured in the collision between a Volvo car and an articulated lorry at about 9.10am yesterday. The slip road was blocked

  • Minchin set for Truck Festival

    STEVENTON: Comedian and musician Tim Minchin will be performing with his band at this year’s Truck Festival. The independent music festival is celebrating its 15th anniversary on Friday, July 20, and Saturday, July 21, with Minchin playing on the Friday

  • Library joins Vatican in digital project

    OXFORD University’s Bodleian Library is working with the Vatican’s library to open up their treasures to millions of readers across the world. It will see two of the world’s oldest libraries putting their repositories of ancient texts on line. The Biblioteca

  • Bridge forges link across centuries

    THE last bridge to be built over one of Oxford city centre’s streets was the iconic Bridge of Sighs. Now, almost a century after Hertford College connected its quads with the landmark structure, Pembroke College is following suit, with a footbridge

  • GOLF: Judd earns his Spurs

    OXFORD City’s new captain David Judd, approached the first tee for his tradition drive-in to the sound of “Glory, Glory, Tottenham Hotspur”. The Spurs fan’s chosen charity for the year is the Silver Star Society, which is based at the John Radcliffe

  • Ellen earns her stripes with showjumping design

    SCHOOLGIRL Ellen Coles’ zebra-themed show jump will be used at the Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials after she won a competition. The nine-year-old, who goes to Garsington Primary School, entered a competition to design the fence at last year

  • Oxford United boss ponders goalkeeping poser

    Chris Wilder will consider naming a substitute goalkeeper in Oxford United’s squad for the rest of the season after Ryan Clarke picked up a knock in the 2-2 draw with Torquay United. United’s No 1 took a blow to the ribs in the second half, which meant

  • Pensioner rescued from flat fire

    AN elderly man was rescued from his flat by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service after a fire broke out in his kitchen. Two fire engines from Banbury went to the blaze in Middleton Cheney at 3.07pm yesterday. The man was suffering from smoke

  • Off beat

    There is understandable disquiet about the reduction in public access to police stations across Oxfordshire which has been announced by Thames Valley Police. The force has disclosed proposals to save £600,000 by heavily reducing the hours

  • Roads play part in drop in toads

    Under the cover of darkness, a secret army is on the march. Each evening, as the sun fades, thousands of warty foot-soldiers make their slow progress back to their birth pools. This migration would go largely unnoticed if it wasn’t for the

  • Baseball bat attack in Oxford subway

    A MAN was attacked with a baseball bat while cycling through an Oxford subway. The 47-year-old man was assaulted at around 7.15pm on Tuesday in the subway connecting Barton and Northway. As he passed two men, he was hit in the face with

  • John, Paul, George and Roy

    Paul McCartney belting out a rock and roll standard leans into John Lennon, who grins manically. George Harrison strikes a flamboyant stage pose with his arms outstretched and Roy Young is clearly having the time of his life on the piano.

  • Eternal treasure

    Sir – The roof robbers plundered the St John’s of Grove Church, this Easter. Why do they settle for a lump of lead, when they could choose eternal treasure instead? M Fell, Grove

  • Puzzling passwords

    Sir – I would like to assure Jean Robinson that there is a simple solution to the tiresome NHS passwords.if she reads the small print she will see that it is possible to change the password. I rang and altered the absurd “Mall Pumpkin” which I had been

  • End of an era

    Sir – The milk float, which has become an even rarer sight these days, will soon vanish from the roads of Witney. The dairy is to close on April 14 and business will now be undertaken from the Oxford depot. John Millington, Witney

  • Bodrums' hours extension bid thrown out

    CITY councillors last night threw out plans to open a kebab restaurant in Park End Street until 3am. Bodrums, which is run by city councillor Saj Malik, can currently stay open until 1am. Police officers strongly objected to a further

  • Missing teeth mystery

    Sir – I met a charming elderly chap in Wallingford town square this morning, a man whose family has lived in the town for five generations, and he told me a lovely story. Many years ago he worked, part-time, as a taxi driver, and one day he was tasked

  • Lack of democracy

    Sir – The Labour Party would have us believe that the area committees were abolished because of Government cuts. This is total nonsense. Just like last year the council has been carrying bloated reserves and could easily afford to keep the area committees

  • Very generous act

    Sir – We in Church View, Freeland, often receive mail addressed to Church View Road, Witney, which we return suitably re-addressed. I recently answered the door to a very attractive young lady who asked if I was the same name on the airmail letter

  • Renegotiate service

    Sir – The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, expressed his views on marriage in church to your paper (Report, March 15). At the same time the MP for Witney was quoted as saying: “Society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support

  • Deeply-flawed plan

    Sir – Apart from praising councillor Keith Mitchell (Report, April 5) Oxfordshire County Council agreed last week to excavate over a million tonnes of sand and gravel every year from the Oxfordshire countryside. This is more than twice as much sand and

  • Little safeguard

    Sir – I fear the new Government planning policy, which was immediately implemented, will serve no better to protect the countryside than the one it replaces. It still talks of sustainable development which it defines as ‘meeting the needs of the present

  • Work of fiction

    Sir – I wonder when Sid Hedges completed his fine book Bicester-wuz-a-little-town, did he take a moment to ponder how the future of the town would change and develop. Could he have imagined the incredible business concept which is Bicester Village, the

  • Wonderful new life

    Sir – It was in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce (Past Times, March 29) that Lindemann, later Lord Cherwell, toured the continent in the summer of 1933, seeking out refugee scientists. I well remember him visiting us in Selva in the Italian Dolomites to

  • Precious paintwork

    Sir – I am disappointed that you decided to publish the recent letter from Nigel Clarke (April 5), being, as it was, purely an anti-cyclist diatribe which added precisely nothing to the actual debate in hand. Laughably, Mr Clarke’s main reason for disliking

  • Robert Lyman’s Operation Suicide

    The cockleshell raid on Bordeaux is one of the finest and Robert Lyman’s Operation Suicide (Quercus, £18.99) gives us the blood, guts and glory of an event that at the time Churchill predicted would shorten the war by six months. This was an amazing

  • Felling the Ancient Oaks by John Martin Robinson

    FELLING THE ANCIENT OAKS John Martin Robinson (Aurum Press, £30) In his introduction, the author claims that since 1880 the number of English country estates has shrunk to about two-thirds, with most of the remainder decreased in size on average

  • Essential ingredients

    Sir – ‘Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honourable estate . . .’ So runs the preamble to the Church of England

  • Costly business

    Sir – So councillor Keith Mitchell concedes that roads are actually ‘for the public in general — to walk, cycle and drive . . .’ and that ‘managing this road space is a difficult and costly business’ (Letters, March 22) in defence of charging for parking

  • Rapid-fire tales for computer age

    The Phoenix is Oxford publisher David Fickling’s exciting venture into the world of comics. Acclaimed by Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Rosen, the adventure strips burst with action and humour that will appeal to reluctant readers and those who have succumbed

  • Room for manoeuvre

    Sir – Cyclox met with the county just before Easter to discuss providing for cyclists at Frideswide Square. The county have clearly done a lot of work on traffic modelling, but unfortunately the models don’t (can’t) include cyclists. In capacity terms

  • 20mph limits effective

    Sir – The context of the debate about the 20mph speed limits is that more than 5,000 pedestrians are killed or seriously injured in Britain each year while the speed limit in residential areas is routinely exceeded on some roads. The use of 20mph limits

  • Shared conversation

    Sir – Two key facts emerge from your main story (April 5). They are: Oxford Brookes University (originally Oxford Polytechnic), which has an honourable history in contributing to widened access to higher education in England, is reducing such opportunities

  • Heart beat

    Villagers in Long Wittenham should be congratulated for coming up with a pioneering and poignant initiative to help save victims of heart failure. As we report this week, the village’s once-redundant red phonebox has become the first in Oxfordshire to

  • Joining forces through play

    Without playtime, children’s behaviour, confidence, and physical and mental wellbeing suffers. Oxfordshire Play Association (OPA), which champions the right of all children and young people to high quality and inclusive play, has launched an exciting

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 12/4/2012)

    This weekend sees the centenary of the sinking of RMS Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland. Of the 2228 people on board, 1517 lost their lives and the disaster became a global media sensation. The response of the still relatively new medium of cinema

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 12/4/2012)

    British cinema is all the poorer for the passing of Ken Russell. He was a wildly inconsistent film-maker, much of whose best work had been done before the end of the 1960s. Yet, while he rarely repeated the ingenuity and audacity of his contributions

  • Art Room in plea to former pupils

    OXFORD charity The Art Room is calling on former pupils to get in touch to help celebrate its 10th birthday. The Art Room, whose patron is the Duchess of Cambridge, started in 2002 with its first art as therapy session held at Oxford School, now the

  • Record visits to leisure centres

    Record numbers of people visited Oxford’s council leisure centres over the past year. About 1.14 million visits were made to the seven Oxford City Council facilities, new figures show – with disabled user numbers increasing by a third.

  • Labour stalwart hits out at 'ageism' after being deselected

    FORMER Oxford Lord Mayor Bryan Keen last night hit out at his own party – saying he was discriminated against due to his age and sex. Mr Keen, 77, who failed to be re-selected for his Cowley seat, has been a Labour city councillor in Oxford