Archive

  • RUGBY UNION: Caprice in tackle probe

    London Welsh wing Dan Caprice is to appear at an RFU disciplinary hearing at the London Bloomsbury Holiday Inn tomorrow (5.30pm). He has been charged for an alleged dangerous tackle on Northampton Saints’ Jamie Elliott in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership

  • RUGBY UNION: Oxford enjoy a Varsity booster

    Esher 10, Oxford University 31 Oxford University enjoyed a perfect confidence-booster ahead of next week’s Varsity Match with a convincing victory at Esher tonight. The Dark Blues, who will bid to complete a hat-trick of wins over old rivals

  • Residents move in for extra care

    MARY East, 89, is among the new residents at a former school that has been turned into social housing in Banbury. She has moved from a cramped studio flat thanks to the £9.7m scheme at the former Stanbridge Hall School in Ruskin Road. The building

  • A rare albino mole? Experts really dig it

    WHAT you are looking at is a one in 50,000 anomaly. This is an albino mole – due to a rare genetic mutation it is lacking pigment in its fur, skin and eyes. Oxford pest controller Rob Eckton catches between 50 and 100 moles every week and this

  • ‘Royal Mail must do more to help’

    ROYAL Mail is not doing enough to stop prank letters that have left pensioners out of pocket, it has been claimed. The Oxford Mail reported on two Headington residents who received hoax letters claiming to be from the Royal Mail earlier this month

  • A little extra for Christmas

    JENNY Westcott had an early Christmas present on Saturday when she sat down to read her Oxford Mail and check her Loyalty Card number. The 76-year-old grandmother won £50. She said: “It’s a great time to win extra money and I will be spending

  • Brave brothers get on with life

    RUNNING and climbing may be difficult for brothers Adam and Jay McKechnie but they just take it in their stride. The pair, 12 and seven respectively, have both been diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy, a genetic muscle-weakening condition

  • Raising cash for neo-natal lifesavers

    WHEN mum-to-be Emma Adkins experienced pain in her stomach seven weeks before she was due to give birth, she knew something was wrong. Doctors at the John Radcliffe Hospital found that the 33-year-old was seriously ill with a combined liver and

  • ‘Heating system bleeding me dry’

    A PENSIONER has pleaded with a housing association to take out her heating system before it leaves her penniless. Standlake resident Yvonne Ryman, 68, said she has forked out more than £600 on electricity since January – more than double what she

  • Dog-shaped collection box stolen

    THIS is the moment a “callous and heartless” thief stole one of three large dog-shaped charity boxes from two Oxfordshire rail stations. The CCTV image shows the man taking a three-foot high Guide Dogs collection box from Bicester North Station

  • School gets a taste of 1950s

    FOR five old school friends, walking into Cumnor Primary School was almost like stepping back in time. It has been 60 years since they first arrived to take their places in its very first class of nine-year-olds in 1952. But when the women

  • Exercises help pensioner make miracle recovery

    FITNESS fanatic Donna Thompkins used to work out in her gym at home five times a week. The 65-year-old was especially keen on gymnastics, getting her house fitted with wall bars and professional exercise equipment. But when she was struck down

  • Actress excited to be part of Spirit of Christmas

    ONE of the celebrity readers taking part in this year’s Spirit of Christmas concert has spoken of her excitement. Actress Sophie Thompson is known to soap fans as Stella Crawford in EastEnders, but she has also appeared in Harry Potter, Gosford

  • Christmas lights bring towns alive

    HUNDREDS of people turned out in Banbury and Woodstock to see the towns lit up for the festive season. Coronation Street stars Ryan Thomas and Jack Shepherd, who play Jason Grimshaw and David Platt, switched on the Banbury lights yesterday. Entertainment

  • Blasts from past for Didcot's festive fair

    UP to 20,000 people are expected to pack Broadway in Didcot for the town’s 19th annual Christmas street fair. The Victorian-style street fair has grown over the years and now attracts visitors from across the South East as well as southern Oxfordshire

  • Saying farewell to Rose Ashby at Nuffield Press

    IT WAS obviously an occasion to say congratulations or express good wishes. Colleagues of Rose Ashby at Nuffield Press at Cowley gathered round as branch manager Walter Oldfield did the honours. But we’re not sure why the ceremony was taking

  • Plenty of water under the bridge at Magdalen

    READER Peter Johnson sent us a drawing of what Magdalen Bridge in Oxford looked like in 1772 (Memory Lane, June 18). Now Elizabeth Brandon, of Nunnery Close, Oxford, has sent in a picture of how it appeared in 1813. The picture, left, is entitled

  • French fans given a buzz by Mosquito

    ROBERT Moss’s Mosquito car is alive and well – and living in France. Our story about the car built by the Kidlington businessman in 1971 (Memory Lane, October 15) caused quite a stir among enthusiasts of the marque. As we recalled, Mr Moss,

  • The changing face of Adderbury

    THE Plough Inn had its own Rogues’ Gallery in 1972 when artist Yvonne Winkfield sketched portraits of regulars and displayed them on the pub walls. Miss Winkfield is seen in the centre of the picture immediately below showing the drawings to, left

  • College set to move out of Oxford centre

    HEADINGTON could see a new influx of students, after plans were announced to move an international school to the area. Abacus College, formerly known as St Aldates College, is hoping to relocate from its headquarters in Threeways House, George

  • Who are these 1930s mystery men?

    THESE smartly-dressed men posed for the cameraman on the lawn of a stone building. But who were the men, what organisation did they represent and where and when was the picture taken? These are the questions that Eileen Margetts, of Hutchcomb

  • Bampton set for more Downton

    Film crews will be descending on Bampton early next year after a fourth series of Downton Abbey was confirmed. Eight new ITV episodes, plus a Christmas special, will be filmed, starting in February. The show, which chronicles the lives of the

  • Knife man avoids jail

    A 26-year-old man who pointed a knife at the bouncers of a nightclub narrowly avoided jail. Elijah Adeoye, of Bury Street, London, admitted possessing a weapon at the Bridge nightclub in Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford, on July 3 last year. The

  • Oxford University Tories complain of 'discrimination'

    AN OXFORD college last night refused to comment on claims right-wing students are being discriminated against. Conservative members of the Corpus Christi junior common room have complained of feeling isolated, unwelcome and of being personally

  • FOOTBALL: Oxford City face Bishop's Stortford

    Oxford City will face Bishop's Stortford at Court Place Farm tomorrow night in their rearranged FA Carlsberg Trophy first round tie, though the match is in doubt due to the wet weather. The sides were due to meet on Saturday, but that was called

  • Local shares (AM)

    BMW 5347 Electrocomponents 213 Nationwide Accident Repair 58.5 Oxford Biomedica 2.4 Oxford Catalysts 112.5 Oxford Instruments 1307 Reed Elsevier 624 RM 78.75 RPS Group 209.8

  • Profile: Cindy Gallop brings sex into the open

    Listening to Cindy Gallop talking about sex, totally unselfconsciously in the discreet, genteel, cosy bar of The Old Parsonage, will stay with me for ever, and everyone else within spitting distance, no doubt. Not that Cindy would have noticed or cared

  • Profile: Peter Nichols takes the stage

    Playwright Peter Nichols is enduring the final twinges of an agonising bout of gout —- his first and he sincerely hopes his last — as he settles in the airy sitting room of his Oxford penthouse flat to discuss a gratifying upturn in his professional

  • RESULTS: November 24-25

    FOOTBALL NPOWER LEAGUE TWO Oxford Utd 2, Northampton 1. FA CARLSBERG TROPHY 1st round: Oxford City v Bishops Stortford pp. EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd 4, Hemel Hempstead Tn 0. Div 1 South & West

  • Democratic contrasts

    A noted contrast occurred the other week between the apparent ineptitude of Government-organised democracy on the one hand and local Oxford democracy on the other. The turnout for the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner vote was a disaster

  • Church stuck in past

    WHAT a despicable, ignorant and pathetic farce for the Church of England to still oppose the consecration of women as bishops (November 21). This asinine act plunges the Anglican church back into the Dark Ages. How on earth can it now provide

  • Staff and students will pay price for academies

    You reported on Thursday that Oxford Spires Academy was to lay off 16 staff due to £500,000 spending cuts. We now see clearly what happens to a school, which was previously funded directly by the local authority and democratically accountable to

  • Time to wake up

    COME on Britain, wake up! Hate cleric Abu Qatada is to be given another house. He, at the moment, is housed, with his family, in a £400,000 house, costing the public £1,900 a month. Yes, and there is a recession on. DAVID WINKFIELD, Charles

  • FOOTBALL: Heartbreak for North Leigh again

    Clevedon Tn 2 (Robbins 29, 90+3) North Leigh 1 (Deabill 90+1) North Leigh experienced injury-time heartbreak for the second time in two weeks as they slipped to defeat at Clevedon Town in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South &

  • FOOTBALL: Forbes fires Nomads to victory

    Cory Forbes grabbed Oxford City Nomads’s winner in a 3-2 victory at Kidlington in one of only two Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division games to survive the deluge. Tom Austin, who joined Kidlington recently from Clanfield, put the hosts ahead

  • Floods misery in Oxfordshire as rain pours down

    RESIDENTS spent the weekend watching firefighters pump water from their homes after more heavy downpours across the county. More than 22mm (0.9in) of rain fell in Oxfordshire in the 24 hours leading up to 8am on Sunday and up to 45mm (1.8in) was

  • Wonderful day out

    I RECENTLY won a competition in the Oxford Mail to attend the Festive Gift Fair, held at the NEC in Birmingham. I would like to say we had a wonderful day and would recommend a visit to your readers. SEAN and LOUISE CANE, Collinwood Road, Risinghurst

  • School farm is valuable

    It was sad to read of the possible closure of the school farm at the Warriner School, Bloxham (November 13). I was involved with the development of the farm in 1971. There had been a small farm at the Windmill School in Deddington and the officers

  • Risking reindeers’ health

    AS THE Christmas season approaches, reindeer are being transported up and down the country to be used as entertainment in parades, Santas’ grottos and other festive events. Uprooting reindeer from their natural habitat and keeping them in captivity

  • Problems in store

    I THOUGHT your readers might be interested in the experience I had when I decided to go shopping in Marks & Spencer’s store at Marriotts Walk in Witney for some underwear. I am disabled with MS (not M&S) so I was using my pavement scooter

  • MAN ABOUT TOWN: Wiping away a miserable start to my morning

    It’s funny, isn’t it? In a world where only grand, extravagantly publicised gestures of kindness seem worthy of celebration, something as simple as ‘acknowledging’ another individual can produce such profound consequences... Last Wednesday, for

  • RACING: Sam's upbeat on Long Run

    Sam Waley-Cohen is looking forward to riding Long Run again at Kempton on Boxing Day after finishing second to Silviniaco Conti in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday. The 30-year-old amateur jockey felt the outing was just what the gelding

  • FOOTBALL: Banbury shock leaders Hemel

    Banbury Utd 4 (Lorraine 14, Skendi 64, Talabi pen 69, 79) Hemel Hempstead Tn 0 Banbury United fired a four-goal salvo to smash Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division leaders Hemel Hempstead Town’s unbeaten away record at Spencer Stadium

  • Daughter's interior design ideas are off the wall

    THIS weekend I’ve been painting. Now if you’re the artistic type and immediately envisaged easels canvas and palettes, then consider signing up for Artweeks in May 2013 (and, oh yes, the deadline is fast approaching – see artweeks.org for more information

  • Call for help over canal boat body

    POLICE are still unsure over whose remains were on board a boat that was gutted by fire a week ago. The canal boat Lady of the Lake was burnt out on the night of Friday, November 16, at the Duke’s Cut waterway at Wolvercote, north of Oxford.

  • Comic Bill in an orange-tie appeal for apes

    COMEDIAN Bill Bailey was monkeying around in Oxford at a tropical-themed ball. The West Country comic was hosting an orange-tie ball at The Big Bang restaurant at Oxford Castle, to raise awareness about the Cowley Road-based charity the Sumatran

  • We deserved our luck - Lewis

    MICKEY Lewis admitted it was nice to get a bit of luck in Oxford United’s 2-1 win over Northampton on Saturday, writes MARK EDWARDS. The U’s fully deserved their victory – despite yet again seeing the woodwork deny them further goals – but there

  • Pittman's delight at breaking duck

    JON-PAUL Pittman admitted scoring the winning goal against Northampton on Saturday was the perfect way to get off the mark for the season. The substitute lashed home after a long Peter Leven pass with 11 minutes remaining as the U’s recorded a

  • ‘Stadium developers must aid sport’

    ANY developer building on Oxford Stadium would be expected to make a contribution towards sporting facilities in the city, the leader of Oxford City Council has said. The greyhound stadium in Sandy Lane will close on December 29, after hosting

  • Unit boosts Freddie’s Paralympic ambition

    WHEN little Freddie Palin was born missing one hand, his parents were worried about what his life would be like. Now, at the age of seven, he’s aiming to be a Paralympic champion. Freddie, from Faringdon, was just one of about 25 children enjoying

  • COMMENT: Inspirational

    ALL summer we heard talk of the inspiring legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic games. But those attending the children’s party at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre this weekend saw it in action. What better role models for youngsters like little

  • COMMENT: Innovative school plan has potential

    THE severe pressure on primary school places in Oxfordshire means education bosses need to think of new and innovative ideas to solve the crisis. It makes sense to look at expanding St Gregory the Great School in Cricket Road, Cowley. Under

  • Homes protest attracted 200

    NEARLY 200 concerned residents filled Abingdon's Guildhall to voice their fears about a major new development in the town. A meeting was held on Saturday to discuss the plans by developers Hallam Land Management to build 160 homes off Drayton Road

  • We're making progress, says London Welsh coach

    LYN Jones praised London Welsh’s battling qualities after their 23-16 defeat at Northampton, writes ED MEZZETTI. Welsh’s head coach said his players had been disappointed to lose in the end, but stressed the result showed the progress they were

  • River Thames in Oxford now on flood warning

    The River Thames through Oxford is now on flood warning.  It means flooding on the river and its tributaries at New Botley, New and North Hinksey and Grandpont in Oxford is expected and immediate action should be taken. 

  • FLOODING: River Thames rising

    The Environment Agency has this morning said more flood warnings could be on the way for Oxfordshire. A spokesman said the River Thames was rising. He said: "We are likely to see water levels go up further on the River Thames over the next

  • Children meet their very own superhero

    PUPILS from Cutteslowe Primary School came face to face with one of their very own ‘superheroes’ when they met the children’s author Michael Dahl. Mr Dahl is the author of more than 100 children’s books including the popular Library of Doom adventure

  • Artist’s prints may save life

    SINCE 2005, Weimin He’s delicate drawings have captured the changes on Oxford’s skyline. Now the artist is selling his paintings to raise funds for a family friend’s kidney transplant operation in China. Originally from Northern China, Mr He