PLANS for an £80m business park have come under fire from residents living opposite the site. Last Friday developer Albion Land unveiled proposals for the 70,767 sqm site on the corner of Middleton Stoney Road and Howes Lane, in Bicester.
Residents have voted to name a road on the site of Oxford United’s former home after a woman who lived in the area and took in stray animals. The U’s played at the Manor Ground in Headington for more than 75 years before moving to the Kassam
FIREFIGHTERS were called to tackle a fire in a flat in Bicester this afternoon. A blaze had been started by some unattended cooking in the flat in North Street just before 5.20pm. The alarm was raised by a neighbour and there was no-one
ELLIE SIMMONDS escapes the wags in the office by living the life of a WAG on a luxury weekend trip to the Wirral I HAD told my colleagues I was going to Liverpool for a weekend of luxury. Oh how they laughed. Luckily I ignored
Sara Pascoe doesn’t need to make jokes about her weight or looks, unlike numerous other female comediennes. She’s a stunner, but just as determined to make it in the world of comedy as her male counterparts. Katherine MacAlister talks to this 31-year-old
For movie lovers everywhere, there’s a great new cinema club opening at Modern Art Oxford tonight. Called the Kino Club, it forms part of MAO’s summer film programme. Its choice of screenings have been specially selected to mirror current exhibitions
Voice of an Angel- turned-rock goddess Charlotte Church talks to TIM HUGHES about the turns her career has taken. SHE’s one of the world’s biggest selling artists, has shifted upwards of 11 million albums and is reputed to be worth well
As the sun threatens to come out, so the Bard creeps out from under canvas to begin the Oxford summer Shakespeare season – as predictable as strawberries and cream, Wimbledon or Pimms and lemonade. And fortunately for us, writes KATHERINE MacALISTER,
KATY PERRY: PART OF ME (PG) Documentary/Musical. Katy Perry, Russell Brand, Lucas Kerr, Shannon Woodward. Directors: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz In less than four years, Californian singer Katy Perry has become one of the biggest
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (12A). Action/Drama/Romance. Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Chris Zylka. Director: Marc Webb. Every great story
Florio is just what Summertown has been crying out for, says KATHERINE MacALISTER Wallowing around all winter, trying desperately to come up with somewhere inspiring to eat, wouldn’t you believe it – as soon as the sun doesn’t come out, there
A WOOD Farm man was found hanged from a tree in Shotover Country Park, an inquest heard. Adrian Fisher, from Wood Farm Road, was 46 when he was found dead on the morning of Thursday, December 15, 2011. The inquest at Old County Hall, Oxford, heard he
POLICE want developers of a new student accommodation scheme in Oxford to pay nearly £70,000 to help deal with crime in the area. Thames Valley Police said when such accomodation is built there were problems with antisocial behaviour, thefts
A woman stabbed to death in a Bristol street is believed to have travelled to the city from Oxford. Judith Ege, 58, was a special needs teacher on a visit to the city with her stepdaughter on Saturday. In a statement, relatives said
WHEN Jean and Kenneth Chilton met as children at Sunday School, they never dreamed they would be spending their lives together. But today the Cowley couple, pictured right and inset below on their wedding day, celebrate their Diamond Wedding anniversary
TWO Oxford men have today been charged with eight offences by Operation Bullfinch police investigating an alleged child sex ring in the city. The men, aged 24 and 31, will appear at a magistrates’ court tomorrow morning. They were arrested
A RETHINK on alternative funding for the dial-a-ride service has been scuppered. Labour councillors put forward a motion to call on Cherwell District Council to investigate whether there were any grants available to supplement the service
THE Memorial Bell at the Carterton garden of remembrance has tolled for the first time. The bodies of three servicemen killed in Afghanistan have been repatriated and will shortly brought through the Memorial Garden area. The new Memorial
ONE of the last people to carry freight on barges on the Oxford Canal has died. Rose Skinner, right, was born, lived and raised children on canals throughout the UK. She died on June 27, aged 87. She and her husband Jack helped save the Oxford Canal
MUCH-loved artist and Oxford character Dorothy Gibson has died at the age of 103. The great-great-grandmother, who lived in Blackbird Leys for more than three decades, was known across the city for her artwork. She started painting watercolours
A pedestrian has been involved in a road accident in Carterton. The accident happened this afternoon in Black Bourton Road near RAF Brize Norton.
KEEN walker Bob Simmonds was stopped in his tracks by kidney cancer. Now the 71-year-old is backing an Oxford charity’s bid to use the Jubilee Fund to spread the word about ‘silent’ urological cancers. Mr Simmonds, from Tetsworth near
WHEN Kevin Peake was between teaching jobs he took the summer off to help youngsters in Uganda and set up a new tennis court. The 31-year-old, along with 100 volunteers, dug a court out of soil, added gravel and spent hours compacting it with
A TEAM of football players will take on a group of soap stars – and they’ve got one goal in mind. They hope to send two-year-old Oliver McConnell to America for a life-changing operation. Oliver, who has cerebral palsy and cannot stand
A 35-year-old man is still in hospital after being stabbed in Hurst Street, East Oxford, last night. He opened his door to a group to people at around 11.10pm yesterday when a struggle ensued and he was stabbed in the abdomen with what police believe
23 PIONEER Regiment, which is based in Bicester, is being disbanded, the Government announced today. The name will disappear and troops will be subsumed into other units as part of the Government's cutbacks on Defence. Tasks conducted
BRITAIN'S most eclectic, and certainly nicest, festival this year also boasts one of the summer's finest line-ups. Latitude, which takes place from July 12-15 in Southwold, in deepest Suffolk, has long been considered the festie connoisseur's
A MEDICAL device business is ploughing £7m into its Oxfordshire sites and is set to become one of the largest private employers in the county. Owen Mumford is building a new 23,000 sq ft factory on the Primsdown Industrial Estate in Chipping
FASTER broadband is on its way to West Oxfordshire – travelling there along the Cotswold Line Rail route. Hugo Pickering, who lives in the hamlet of Lyneham, near Chipping Norton, has won a £1.5m grant for his company, Cotswold Broadband Group
A MISSING 24-year-old deaf man from Bicester has been found safe and well. Brian Kraus was last seen at his home in Swallow Close three weeks ago, but was reported missing on Monday. Mr Kraus voluntarily attended St Aldate’s police station,
A tip-off from an Oxford Mail reporter led to an ex-councillor being convicted for possessing thousands of pornographic images of children. Reporter Oliver Evans contacted police when he worked for the Bucks Free Press after being alerted to a Facebook
COMMUTERS and Olympic Torch relay spectators are being warned the county’s transport system will be under strain on Monday. Roads bosses last night urged those hoping to see the relay to plan their journey well in advance. Police will
Oxfordshire ladies saw off their Berkshire counterparts 124-98 in the Middle England League. Sylvia Rogers enjoyed the biggest win, a 27-13 success. Oxon 124 (14), Bedfordshire 98 (3) (Oxon skips first) S Rogers 27, P Bright 13; A Ives 8, J Hirst
Oxfordshire made it a hat- trick of wins in the Home Counties League with a 121-102 victory against Berkshire at South Oxford BC. Having already beaten Surrey and Sussex, the leaders took on a strong Berkshire side for a 16-6 points win. With Surrey
Oxfordshire Under 25s missed out on reaching the national finals of the White Rose Trophy Double Rink competition in Worthing next month after an agonising 35-34 defeat against Sussex Under 25s at Kidlington. George Schwab’s rink of Sam Watts, Chris
RICHARD Kemp (Abingdon Amblers) won the Watlington Cross Country 10K, while clubmate Carrie Bolton was the second lady home. Kemp crossed the line in 42mins 28secs, with Bolton clocking 53.36. Abingdon’s Chris Bedford was third overall in 44.53. DAVID
Researchers in Oxford want to develop a vaccine against the brain disease meningitis by inserting part of the bacterium inside a version of the cold virus. The project is being funded by a £148,052 grant from children’s charity Action Medical Research
THE Olympics felt even closer for youngsters at an Abingdon school yesterday when a world champion rower paid them a visit. Toby Garbett, who took part in the Olympic Games in Athens and Sydney and has won two world championship gold medals, appeared
TWO local races have fallen foul to the recent rain. Tonight’s Mota-Vation Series event at Combe has been postponed, while Charndon 5K, scheduled for Tuesday, has been cancelled. Round one of the Mota-Vation road race series, due to be held
Hatti Archer said the backing of fans and fellow athletes convinced her to appeal against her omission from London 2012. The 30-year-old former Radley athlete missed out on a place in the 3,000m steeplechase, despite finishing second in the Olympic Trials
Leaders Headington A are in danger of breaking all kinds of records in Division 1 of the Oxford & District League sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries. A fourth successive ton and wins on all rinks in a 107-52 success at Banbury Central A put the champions
OXFORD: Inspector Morse novelist Colin Dexter is to receive a literary award. Mr Dexter, from North Oxford, will receive a Theakstons Old Peculier Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction Award later this month.
Two subsidiary companies of Oxford University Press (OUP) have been blacklisted from doing business with the World Bank after making “improper” payments to obtain Government contracts to supply text books in Africa. The ban against Oxford University
A CONVINCING display saw Oxford Cavaliers get their faltering season back on track with an impressive 60-10 home win against Bristol Sonics. The victory was enough to send the side top of the table on points difference. The Cavaliers finally found top
ABINGDON Amblers and Radley finished top of the men’s and ladies’ tables in the Southern Counties Veterans League Western Division. The clubs will now go on to compete in the Southern Counties final at Ashford on September 2. Abingdon
STAFF at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford are reminding visitors that they will remain open next year despite the neighbouring Museum of Natural History closing for repairs.
BICESTER: Police again appealed for anyone who may have spotted a 24-year-old deaf man from the town to get in touch as he remained missing. Brian Kraus, from Swallow Close, was last seen on June 13. He is black, slim, 5ft 10 ins tall, and has curly
OXON: Twenty-six children have been placed in residential care outside the county, it has emerged. Children’s Minister Tim Loughton has announced reforms to improve protection of youngsters in children’s homes, following a report revealing
SCIENTISTS in Oxfordshire last night spoke of their joy at being involved in the “momentous” discovery of a missing particle showing how the universe is held together. More than 50 experts from the county have helped with the search for the elusive Higgs
ABINGDON Amblers’ Paul Fernandez finished fourth in the England Ultra 50K Championships at Boddington – but was just 16 seconds off a silver medal. The 38-year-old clocked a personal best time of 3hrs 8mins 48secs and hopes to compete for England in
Banbury's Borough’s triple of Richard Redford, Keith Holloway and Mick Redmond fought back from the dead to book their place in the semi-finals of the OBA triples with a 21-19 win against Headington at West Witney BC. Trailed 17-3 to the Headington
IT’S good to see that, amid all the hysteria over inappropriate relationships between police and the press highlighted at the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking, coppers closer to home can retain a sense of humour over the whole affair.
lIT’S good to see that, amid all the hysteria over inappropriate relationships between police and the press highlighted at the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking, coppers closer to home can retain a sense of humour over the whole affair. When Oxford
I WAS very interested to read the article regarding the Memorial Bell which has been installed at Carterton (Monday’s Oxford Mail), especially the reference to the bell having been tolled for all those repatriated at Brize Norton. Can anyone tell me
I LIVE in the Rewley Road development and frequently have seen people having difficulty when crossing the wooden bridge that leads to the canal whenever it is rainy or snowy. Yesterday, after the rain, it was my turn! The wooden logs that form the bridge
DERRICK Holt (Friday’s Oxford Mail ViewPoints) persists in referring to the Ministry of Transport’s proposed ‘north-of-Barton’ road of 20-plus years ago as a bypass, which it wasn’t. Had this link in the east-west route been constructed, then the meadows
IN recent years we have seen banks collapsing here in the UK, Iceland and latterly in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Ireland. There have been many different views forwarded by ‘know-all’ commentators, such as political leaders from around Europe
PEOPLE living on the edge of Oxford are fighting plans to cut down 200 trees and demolish a house designed by a celebrated architect to make way for new homes. Pine trees forming a small wood in front of a number of properties on Cumnor Hill
A 67-YEAR-OLD antique gun collector yesterday remained defiant after losing a fight to keep his 350 shotguns at home. Headington property owner Martin Young yesterday lost an appeal against the decision to ban him from getting his gun licence
We must all be feeling very pleased that some of our awful bankers are being punished – a bit. But how do they learn the tricks that enable them to mess around in the financial world like that, enriching themselves? Do they get taught in places like
JOHN Tanner, in a letter (Friday’s ViewPoints), suggests that the Government’s decision to task Rolls-Royce to develop a new nuclear propulsion system for submarines contradicts its commitment to delay a decision on a Trident system replacement until
DOCTORS (and police, lawyers, and so on) taking industrial action shows how incompetent and arrogant the current Government is. I would agree with Tim Siret’s letters. On June 29, you printed his latest, which stated the obvious: we all need to do what
STEVE Naylor and Gemma Bridge triumphed at the Didcot 5. Naylor led James Bolton home in a Woodstock Harriers one-two, regaining the title he won in 2010. He clocked 25 minutes exactly for the five-mile race – the same time he achieved in his previous
TWO Oxfordshire professionals – Dusan Gavrilovic and Paul Simpson – tied for top spot in North Oxford’s Pro-Am on Monday. Gavrilovic, the Studley Wood club pro who is trying to make his way on the seniors tour and Witney-based Simpson, from
Oxford United expect to pay an increase of up to £100,000 a year for the service charge they pay to their landlords at the Kassam Stadium. Last November, the U’s settled a dispute with Firoz Kassam’s company Firoka Ltd for additional charges relating
A 36-year-old man suffered a broken nose and cheekbone after he was beaten with a child’s baseball bat in Witney. The victim, who lives in the town, was attacked between 9.30pm and 10pm on Sunday in Mirfield Road on his way home from the Rowing
OXFORD Ladies recovered to take two crucial points after trailing 3-0 to Witney C in the Inter-Area C Team competition, writes PETE EWINS. Enid Wain beat Sue Atkins 2,530-1,640 in the opening leg, then Scot Gillam defeated Sonya McIntyre 9,980
THE Oxford Centre, one of the city’s main conference venues, is to close in September with the loss of eight jobs and sold off. The centre at 333 Banbury Road in Summertown also serves as the principal base of owners Oxfordshire Freemasons.
A 29-year-old man has been bailed again by police, until July 18, on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. The man, from Eynsham, was arrested after cyclist Joe Wilkins, 33, also from Eynsham, was killed in a crash on Eaton Road, near Appleton
SO MUCH raised, yet so far to go. The Ashmolean has done a fantastic job in raising more than £7.2m towards the £7.83m it needs to secure the discounted purchase of Manet’s Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus. It has a proportionately small amount to go
A HOLE-IN-ONE from Dorothy Foster helped her team win the Ladies Open Texas Scramble at Drayton Park. The ace at the challenging seventh hole was the highlight on a day where scoring from the 40 teams was surprisingly good considering the unfriendly
OXFORD CITY Medal No 4 – Div 1: 1 S Lydon 81-12=69, 2 D Mofford 82-12=70, 3 D Jones 76-6=70. Div 2: 1 R Newport 89-17=72, 2 M Marriott 89-15=74, 3 W Smith 103-28=75. OXFORD LADIES 9-Hole Stableford: 1 R Bunce 17pts (cb), 2 W Austen
OXFORD’S Ashmolean Museum is locked in a race against time to save an Impressionist masterpiece by Edouard Manet. The Ashmolean, which only has until August 1 to raise £7.83m, is still £595,000 short of its target. An export ban on the
London Welsh have been handed a dream start to their Aviva Premiership campaign, with Kassam Stadium bosses already predicting a sell-out for the opener against Leicester Tigers. The Exiles could hardly have wished for a better start for
A 19-year-old woman has been detained under the Mental Health Act after standing on the edge of a bridge over the busy A34 near Kennington. Police shut the road in both directions from about 7pm on Tuesday during the 45-minute incident on the Bagley
TWO lanes of the M40 northbound are currently closed after a car overturned in a crash involving two vehicles this morning. The accident, between junction 10 at Ardley and Junction 11 at Banbury, is reported to be causing tailbacks.
CAMPAIGNERS, families and doctors celebrated last night as the future of Oxfordshire’s childrens heart services was secured. A link between Oxford and Southampton hospitals – which sees local children cared for in Oxford but receive specialist
FINALLY parents of children suffering heart complaints have some certainty over the care their youngsters will receive. The sickness of a child is a terrifying event, even for the staunchest of parents. They try to provide stability
After Such Kindness by Gaynor Arnold ‘She’s coming to life under my hands. . . She’s floating in the liquid, becoming more and more real.” So begins Arnold’s fictional re-telling of the friendship between Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell.
Sir – On June 10, we were stranded with a flat tyre on the Oxford ring-road, going north-east, endeavouring to arrange for garage help. We were amazed when a car drew up and the youngish, Irish, driver insisted on changing our wheel for us. That was
Sir – My 78-year-old mother moved house in May this year. A loyal BT customer of many years’ standing, she wished to retain BT’s services and take her ‘phone number with her to the new house. To her immense frustration and increasing distress, although
Sir – Wait longer in the NHS or pay to go private?! Is queue jumping by those who can afford it the policy of the Conservative/ Liberal Democrat coalition? Good health treatment for all is an essential part of the Opportunity Society. VAT on private
‘What is the use of a book,” thought Alice, “without pictures?” She had a point, and John Tenniel’s illustrations for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland were the perfect complement to Lewis Carroll’s timeless story. Since the book was published
Sir – There is a large area of Kidlington that has no postman — ie all the roads off Lyne Road (except Grovelands) and including Lyne Road. We are extremely lucky if we have post delivered before noon. The normal time of postal delivery is between 4pm
We are delighted that the memorial bell has been installed on the edge of Carterton. The unveiling at the weekend was a humbling experience for those who attended, but at the same time heartening to see what a community is able to achieve. The thousands
Sir – I am personally very conscious that it has not been possible for me to thank everyone who has contributed time, money, and effort to the Jubilee Fund for Oxfordshire. I hope this letter can express my heartfelt thanks to all Jubilee Fund supporters
Sir – As a student in the mid 1990s I spent a wonderful three years living at Cotuit Hall and a further four years as a student assistant providing cover at weekend and during vacation periods. The quiet location, surrounded by verdant trees is a rural
Sir – Dagmara Platuska wrote on the police ‘persecution’ of cyclists who rode on the pavement past roadworks in Iffley Road (Letters, June 28). As far as I am aware there is no law prohibiting cyclists from dismounting and pushing their bicycles along
Sir – I attended the Oxford Playhouse last night, and unusually elected to park in the George Street underground car park since my favourite ‘secret location’ was full. I was thus unfamiliar with the current charges and was surprised to have to stump
Sir – The highway authority, explaining the partial closure of the A40/Collinwood junction, reports five serious, three slight injury accidents involving turning movements across the A40. Is the county’s decision, to make this a ‘No Right Turn’, logical
Gaining new skills and making use of existing knowledge through volunteering can really improve the chances of employment by building self-confidence, talents and references. Oxfordshire’s volunteer centres offer a free service to both people who want
Sir – The series of articles that have appeared in the local media in recent months give the impression that the shortage of primary school places in Oxfordshire is due to factors outside of the control of the local education authority. While we cannot
Sir – Ian Flintoff’s appreciation of the demands of the medical profession are particularly apposite (Letters, June 28). However, he does paint rather a bleak picture of medical training, which needs some correction. While competition for places at
Sir – The proposals of Cotuit Hall on Pullens Lane in Headington have provoked much discourse, and by-and-large it seems to be very one-sided and against such a development. It is interesting to read that the spokesman for the residents of Pullens Lane
Sir – The article in your June 28 edition, which said that Oxfordshire Learning Disabilities NHS Trust looks set to be taken over from November is bad news for Oxfordshire people with learning disabilities and their families. This trust, also known as
Sir – I was appalled by Dagmara Platuska’s letter arguing a case for cyclists to cycle on the footpaths. The footpath is for pedestrians. I am an old man but I walk around Oxford a great deal and every time I go out, I always encounter people cycling
Sir – Whatever the unfavourable traffic circumstances, Dagmara Platuska (Letters, June 28) is wrong to suppose that cycling on the pavement is one of the ‘rights of cyclists’, and that upholding the law by the police can be described as ‘persecution’.
“It’s a quiz — a quiz in a play with a quiz.” The Oxford don Dr Stuart Lee is describing his new play. “It is also about the loss of pubs. It is set in a pub. In fact we are staging it in a pub on George Street.” If anyone is well placed to usher Oxford
Back in the heyday of cinema-going, the short was as much a part of the programme as the main feature, the B movie, the cartoon and the newsreel. Today, even though there are still Academy Awards for the best live-action, animated and documentary shorts
Typical! You wait ages for a movie omnibus and then two come along at once. Following behind last week's offering, The Players, comes 7 Days in Havana, another inconsistent collection of vignettes that is all the more disappointing considering the talents
After the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations last month, Oxfordshire will now welcome the Olympic Torch. The flame will visit Bicester, Kirtlington, Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, Kidlington and Oxford on Monday and thousands of people are expected
ORGANISERS have hailed this year’s Banbury’s Old Town Party as the “best one yet”. Thousands of people turned out for the party which was spread across Parsons Street, Church Lane and White Lion Walk. Shop windows were decorated in a Great Britain theme
ST JOSEPH’S Primary School in Headington is hoping to make striking up a tune that bit easier for its pupils. The school in Headley Way has been shortlisted for the School Build SOS competition which could see thousands of pounds worth of work
SIXTY people attended a public meeting to assess support for creating the first new parish council in Oxford for 40 years. Residents agreed to set up an informal steering body to investigate the benefits of creating what would be the city’s
THREE servicemen who were killed by a man dressed as an Afghan police officer are due to be repatriated to RAF Brize Norton today. Warrant Officer Class 2 Leonard Thomas, Guardsman Craig Roderick and Guardsman Apete Tuisovurua were shot and killed on
