PEOPLE in North Oxfordshire are being urged to pay close attention to electoral forms dropping through letterboxes this month. Anyone wishing to vote in the upcoming Police and Crime Commissioner Elections in November should complete the form. Details
BLADON residents campaigning for a mandatory 20mph speed limit on their busiest and narrowest street will hand a petition to the county council this month. Sarah Watkinson , 70, launched the 20 is Plenty for Us campaign six months ago, with
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A COUPLE who claim to have fallen foul of insurance scammers have spoken out about their ordeal as a warning to others. Pensioners George and Ann Strange, who are 68 and 65, said they have been conned out of more than £300 by a company claiming to be
OXFORD’S poetry grand slam winner David MacArnold is a man with a story to tell. Just a few years ago, he was homeless and living on the streets of London. But now the 60-year-old is studying for a degree at Ruskin College and triumphed
TWENTY years ago, Blackbird Leys estate was infamous throughout the country for car crime and joyriding. In a desperate attempt to combat the issue before it spiralled out of control, a charity was formed to get young people off the streets
A MOTHER claims she is forced to take her life in her hands during the school run because of a dangerously overgrown hedge. Tracy Hellaby said she has long had to battle against foliage in Farmer’s Close while taking daughter Katie, seven,
A NEW STUDY will highlight the threats facing one of Oxford’s conservation areas. Oxford City Council is now asking for residents’ thoughts on its Headington Hill Conservation Area appraisal, which lists the areas and features of importance
BICESTER is one of a string of military depots criticised in a report for holding too much stock. The report, by the National Audit Office, said £4.2bn worth of non-explosive inventory such as clothing and combat supplies had not moved off
OXFORD Dilraj Ali, 25, of Maltfield Road, Oxford, admitted having a seven-inch kitchen knife in public, Maltfield Road, on November 9. Given 60 hours’ unpaid work and told to pay £85 costs. Nathan Mills, 19, of Evenlode Drive, Berinsfield
Oxford City will kick off their Blue Square Bet North campaign at home to Chester City on August 18. Their first away trip is a visit to Gloucester City on Tuesday, August 21. They travel to Brackley Town on Boxing Day and host the Northamptonshire
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CHARLOTTE Church and actor-turned musician Hugh Laurie were among the celebrities to praise the Cornbury Music Festival, which came to a spectacular end late last night. And the stars on stage were matched by those in the audience – who included
THE Silver Stars summer party took place on Saturday on the lawns outside the John Radcliffe Hospital’s women’s centre in Oxford. It was organised by the Silver Star Society, which raises money for extra equipment at the specialist maternity unit. The
THE coach was there, the lunchboxes were packed and these folk were looking forward to a day at the seaside. The party from Wolvercote, Oxford, were heading for Weymouth on a football club outing in the early 1950s. The picture comes from a large collection
A torrential storm ended Shipton-under-Wychwood’s hopes of picking up useful points at home to bottom club Farnham Royal in Division 2 West on Saturday. Shipton, who were put in, progressed to 154-4 from 43 overs when the rain washed out play
MICHAEL Rhymes remembers the day when a fellow cyclist came to grief on the rubber road in Cornmarket Street, Oxford. He was cycling to work from his home in North Oxford with a young woman called Holmes (he believes her first name was Jean
SIX Oxfordshire schools are in the running to win a project that will improve life for pupils and staff. Once again the Oxford Mail has teamed with Abingdon-based construction firm Leadbitter to offer primary schools around the county the change
WIMBLEDON enters its second week today with both tennis ace Andy Murray and an Oxford charity still in the running to win big, but not together. In 2003 Nick Newlife, from Tackley, placed a bet of £1,520, at odds of 66-1, that Swiss player
COWLEY was swinging to the sound of music this weekend as hundreds of hopefuls grabbed their moment to shine. The Talent Oxford contest returned for its third year, with auditions being held on Saturday and yesterday at the Templars Square
Thame Town’s poor batting display led to their four-wicket loss at Gerrards Cross in Serious Cricket Home Counties League Division 2 West. After being put in to bat, Thame slipped to 31-4. Ed Barnett tried to revive Thame’s fortunes with an aggressive
Oxford's disappointing season in the Serious Cricket Home Counties League continued when they suffered an agonising one-wicket defeat away to high-riding Tring Park in Division 1. Having been bowled out for 180, Oxford – with Brad Sutherland to the
THESE war veterans were enjoying a day out with their wives. They were members of the Oxford branch of the Royal Tank Regiment Association. The party is pictured at the Tank Museum at Bovington, Dorset, which gives visitors a fascinating
Banbury's decision to bat first back-fired as they ended up losing by eight wickets away to Harpenden in a one-sided Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier Division match on Saturday. The visitors were struggling at 58-4 before a fifth-wicket stand between
THE boy in charge of this stall at a rummage sale at John Bunyan Baptist Church seems a little overwhelmed. Customers besieged his table to snap up goods on offer in 1969. The middle picture was taken at a party to mark the closure of Cowley
Another devastating display from skipper Wesley Morrick led Aston Rowant to a convincing six-wicket win against Falkland on Saturday and lift his team to third in the Serious Crucket Home Counties Premier League Division 2 West table. Morrick took his
Great & Little Tew’s hopes of an extended run through to a final at Lord’s in the Yorkshire Tea Village Cup were ended in decisive fashion yesterday. The Oxfordshire champions crashed by seven wickets away to Gloucestershire side Apperley in the first
COLIN Smith has happy memories of learning to swim and having fun at Hinksey Pools in Oxford. However, it was never wise to swallow the water, which often tasted of slime. He and fellow pupils at New Hinksey School in the early 1940s looked forward
CRICKET. YORKSHIRE TEA VILLAGE CUP. 1st national round. Great & Little Tew 125 (D Powles 31, R Leeke 3-7), Apperley 128-3 (29.4 ovs, H Leeke 38no, R Leeke 33no). SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES. PREMIER LEAGUE
The irony is that this extraordinary year of sport and patriotic celebration is actually being enhanced by the recent weather. Visitors and viewers from both Northern and Southern hemispheres can now see just how bravely we British battle – on a daily
With all the problems and costs of the mismanagement by Oxfordshire County Council over the Cogges Link Road (Oxford Mail, June 27 & 19), why doesn’t the council become more flexible in its engagement with the public and negotiations with developers
MR D Wyse, of Chorefields, Kidlington, beat me to it with his letter (last Monday’s Oxford Mail ViewPoints) about the High Street in Kidlington. What is going on there now is the most stupid thing that is possible. I am registered disabled. I park in
THANK you, Jeremy Smith (features editor of the Oxford Mail), for highlighting the issues around public toilet provision in Oxford. I have fought for better toilets for many years. The obvious needs are: 1. Clear signs to the existing toilets – showing
SHOPPERS at Sainsbury’s Kidlington supermarket should beware when walking along the central walkway through the car park to the main shop entrance. The pathway is riddled with protruding pavings and I have witnessed several elderly shoppers trip and
THE eyes of the world may be on London’s Olympic Stadium, but this weekend the people of Osney Island in Oxford put on their own sporting action. On Saturday the residents staged the Osney Island Olympics which included events such as a three-legged
FROM nuclear war to counterfeit goods – Oxfordshire’s public servants have been preparing for all scenarios ahead of the Olympics. As the Games draw near, a report has laid bare the massive preparations made by council, fire and police chiefs
BEING a parent means life is full of those laugh-or-cry moments. And then there are the times where you can’t laugh until the dust settles. Or the plaster has set. Street-surfs, the latest descendant of the skateboard, are the current craze on our estate
RAYMOND Cantwell playing draughts in 1978 with Lewis Fisher (Rewind, Thursday’s Oxford Mail) – was it that long ago? A very prolific letter writer, we used to joust through the letters pages. Much of what he wrote, I agreed with, and some I didn’t!
I WONDER if anyone can help me and, I guess, many residents of Florence Park with the answer to a puzzling situation. On one side of Florence Park Road, there is a bus shelter and seats at the bus stop for No 16 services heading towards Cowley Centre
SO COUNCILLOR John Tanner thinks the Euro is okay, despite 90 per cent of the UK wanting out (Oxford Mail ViewPoints, June 12). He suggests we put up taxes. Gordon Brown did that and look at the mess that made. If Mr Tanner thinks Europe is so good
One can hardly listen to a British news bulletin – or a range of other programmes – for 10 minutes without some tedious and fruitless discussion about education arising, be it with respect to five-year-olds (if not the younger), mature students or any
VERY well done, Jeremy Smith, for promoting the campaign about the loo paper trail. Working with tourists, one quickly becomes aware of how important good clean loos are to our clients. They are a key part of the perception that we give to visitors
HOW refreshing to read the article (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail) about Tom Baker of Waterstock Golf Club giving golf lessons to special needs pupils as part of the Waterstock Golf Academy, which gives great pleasure to many youngsters throughout the year.
A LANDLORD has lost an appeal against his jailing for illegally evicting a family from a house in Hollow Way, Cowley. Bayton Fundira, of Hollow Way, was jailed for three months after removing the possessions of a young couple and their four-month-old
A SOLEMN bell tolled as the name of each fallen hero who has been repatriated to RAF Brize Norton was read out. And Carterton’s memorial bell, dedicated at a ceremony on Saturday, will be sounded at all future repatriations. But addressing
CARTERTON'S memorial bell is a lasting tribute to all those who have given their lives for our country. But we hope it never tolls. If it does, it will bring the hundreds who attend repatriation ceremonies together in a single moment of respect and
LOCAL support will play a key role in how long London Welsh play Aviva Premiership rugby at the Kassam Stadium, according to the club’s chairman. The Exiles secured promotion on Friday evening when an independent panel overturned a ruling by the Rugby
A CAMPAIGN to tackle homelessness on Oxford’s streets is being launched today. Oxford City Council is trying to make sure no one spends two consecutive nights sleeping rough. The No Second Night Out campaign has been launched to solve
OXFORDSHIRE’S first free school has gained the finance needed to open this September. The Europa School, near Culham, has now entered into its funding agreement with the Department for Education. Peter Ashbourne, the principal designate
ANYONE who planned to go to Farmoor for a quiet walk would have been disappointed this weekend. Hundreds of people gathered at the reservoir for the fifth national championships of the Bangladeshi Boat Race yesterday. And Farmoor came alive as the sound
MAJOR transport, health and community projects will get a funding boost under new powers to be adopted in Oxford, council chiefs have said. Oxford City Council will be among the first in the country to take on new powers that will tax developers
DEVELOPING a city so that it can not only cope, but flourish, as it expands through the decades is fraught with difficulty. Just look at how Oxford’s historic city centre snarls up with traffic. However, it is not a shortage of ideas but a shortage
A four-by-four collided with a lamp post in Oxford Road this morning. Firefighters rescued a man from the car and he was left with paramedics after the crash outside Sainsbury’s at 5.41am. The car also crashed into a garden wall.
A repeat offender has been given a suspended prison sentence for attacking a woman while he was subject to an antisocial behaviour order. Anthony Begley, 25, of Thames View, Abingdon, was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, for
THINGS are hotting up in Ascott-under-Wychwood, where the village’s bakers are perfecting their skills, ready for this year’s produce show. The village will host its annual open gardens event on Saturday, with all proceeds going to the village’s Holy
POLICE will be out in force in Bicester on Friday to give advice to people about preventing burglaries. Residents will get a chance to find out how better to secure their homes and information about Neighbourhood Watch. Part of the force’s Don’t Get
TEENAGE filmmakers from an Oxfordshire college have created films about a controversial wind farm, and picked up prizes for their work. Four groups from Abingdon and Witney College were among the young people entering The Switch competition, which challenged
