PRIMARY school pupils sang in the festive season in Kidlington at the Christmas lights switch-on. The Edward Feild Primary School pupils, pictured, entertained crowds in the village High Street on Tuesday evening. About 45 children, aged seven
COUNTY councillors have been urged to follow their Town Hall counterparts in Oxford by introducing a “living wage” for staff. At £7.45 per hour, the living wage is higher than the national minimum wage, currently £6.19, and is calculated based
THREE Army wives whose husbands were stationed in Afghanistan have shown their support by training for a 20-mile hike with 10kg on their backs. Lauren Smart, 23, Lisa Wingrove, 24, and Mia Walker, 20, from Abingdon, decided they could not just
LEWIS Moss edged out Darren Murray in a decider as Riley B won 4-3 at Cowley Workers in round one of the Colin Cutler Memorial Trophy. It was level at 3-3 after the regular six frames of the Gentworks Oxford & District League handicap competition
WITNEY businessman Chris Clinkard pulled out all the stops to produce a charity calendar in just 10 days. All proceeds from the saucy burlesque-themed calendar will go to the Abingdon-based charity Against Breast Cancer, and Mr Clinkard, who runs
JUDGES have been sifting through the entries to the Local Business Accelerators competition and have come up with a shortlist packed with entrepreneurial talent. The second year of the contest for small businesses and dynamic individuals has attracted
ONE of Oxford’s best-loved charities has been named charity of the year at the Thames Valley Business Awards. Children’s hospice Helen and Douglas House, based in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, received the accolade on the day it marked its 30th anniversary
THIS is the real Great British Bake Off – the eight-year-old Cub Scout who baked more than 30 lemon drizzle cakes to raise £400 for his troop. Wil Jenkinson mixed, baked and sold his now-famous cakes door-to-door around Chinnor, near Thame, to
EDUCATION watchdog Ofsted has run the rule over Wallingford School after headteacher Wyll Willis asked for a return visit. Last year, an Ofsted report lowered the school’s rating from “good” to “satisfactory”, prompting the head to call for them to
LIGHTING is, without doubt, the new jewellery for modern cars, and the Peugeot 208 positively drips with it. At night, the front has a stripe of LED lighting wrapped round the headlights and the rear wears distinctive ‘claws’ of LED lighting.
YOUNG Bobby Hornby has a dream to play tennis on centre court at Wimbledon and his coach believes his wish may come true. The Brookside School pupil has already won 46 medals and cups, including the under-8s Oxfordshire County Cup this summer –
TEN years after undergoing a life-saving heart and lung transplant, Diana Sanders was to have more to celebrate than survival. Family and friends earlier this year joined her at a party, exactly a decade after undergoing what she calls “a controlled
CARDBOARD food and drink cartons can now be included in household recycling collections in Cherwell district. The items can be added to recycling boxes thanks to a new contract between Cherwell District Council and waste firm UPM. The company
STITCHERS of all ages can help to enhance a world record tomorrow for the world’s longest embroidery. The challenge has been organised as part of the Big Stitch event at the Ashmolean Museum, which is a celebration of all things embroidered.
APPRENTICE numbers signing up through Oxford and Cherwell Valley College have shot up. The college has enrolled its 1,000th apprentice just three months into the school year – last year the total number matched with employers was 1,100. Now
Whether you were trapped in your home, collecting sandbags, or merely facing painfully slow journeys to work, it has been difficult to avoid comparisons with 2007. Some, such as those living in Abingdon Road and surrounding streets, may well tell
Sir – We applaud indeed the initiative that allows smartphone users to hear stories behind the memorials to soldiers buried in Botley cemetery (Cemetery is first to be smartphone compatible, November 15). But we must point out that St Mary & St
Sir – We want to thank The Oxford Times for highlighting the plight of the Warriner Farm which is under threat of closure (Report, November 15). The local education authority, Oxfordshire County Council, has withdrawn completely its £40,000 funding
Sir – It is sad to read of the probable closure of the school farm at the Warriner School, Bloxham. 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 and committee
Sir – No, we don’t need trolley buses in Oxford (Letters, November 15). This brings us back to old problem of ugly, overhead wiring systems, ruining the vistas of our beautiful buildings! There also wouldn’t be ‘utter turmoil’ in the city, if just
Sir – Barton’s new development is to be integrated with present-day Barton but Barton residents need more information about how this will be done. Information so far is general and aspirational, lacking specifics. A separate community hub and school
Sir – I was appalled to read in the letter by Simon Morris (November 15) that “Jericho has declined into ‘little old lady land’ where the inhabitants live in their crummy little houses . . .”. This description is grossly offensive to the elderly
Sir – I applaud Adrian Reynard for his bid to preserve RAF Bicester, acknowledging its aviation heritage, while also growing amenity and business opportunities for the community (Report, November 15). It is good to see a substantial investment being
Sir – Views of the city spires are world famous and are widely recognised as one of Oxford’s important heritage assets. “Iconic” really is the right term in this context. Conservation area appraisals now fully recognize the amenity and heritage
Sir – So many of your correspondents have said sensible things in the arguments over Temple Cowley Pools. Damian Fantato’s article (November 8) however, contained a most heartening piece of information. He reported that the pool which the city council
Sir – I do not understand why (a) anybody on the electoral register is deemed competent to participate in the police and crime commissioner’s selection and (b) extra-parliamentary bodies, largely funded by trade unions and wealthy individuals, that
Sir – A noted contrast occurred between the apparent ineptitude of Government-organised democracy on the one hand and local Oxford democracy on the other. The turn-out for the police and crime commissioner vote was a disaster, whereas 48 hours
Sir – Regarding the idea of an Oxford Rapid Transport System, researching the Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 2011-2030 (LTP) makes for some interesting reading. It basically talks of increasing and improving the bus network, promoting “Premier
ELVIS was never one for understatement, but even for him this was a grandiose entry. Emerging in white jumpsuit and cloak into a cheering Madison Square Garden to the strains of Thus Spake Zarathustra (the theme from 2001 a Space Odyssey), Elvis
Sir – Would any of the tram enthusiasts please explain how replacing each bus seat, in Oxford city centre with a tram seat will improve matters? Keith Dancey, Upper Wolvercote
Sir — Due to recent heavy rainfall, many local roads have been flooded, particularly in rural areas. This is as a result of the council not clearing out drains, ditches and gullies regularly enough. It’s no good Ian Hudspeth, speaking on Radio
Sir – It’s not surprising that Bob Price (Report, November 15) got his facts on benefit changes slightly wrong, as the changes are so complicated. Some cuts have already happened. Housing benefit is now only paid based on the cheapest 30 per cent of
Sir – People will be rightly concerned that the leader of Oxford City Council allowed the letter over his name in the latest edition of Your Oxford to be printed and distributed with so many inaccuracies, as reported (November 15). While there
Sir – As the leaves fall from the trees in the streets of East Oxford, planted to enhance our environment, so up spring the To Let notices. Notices for lettings in August 2013 are already in place in November 2012. Free advertising, which
Sir – There has been much in recent news about the problem of loneliness for the elderly. Reports suggest that up to five million older people have only the television for company, and see friends or relatives only rarely. I have recently come
Sir – How amazing to find your restaurant critic short of a word! Christopher Gray (November 22, Weekend, page 19) describes Rosemarie’s “pearly white . . . fish”, and, on page 30, Paul eats “pearly white haddock”. May I commend a thesaurus or
Kidlington are without the injured Sam Fincher and Nathan Geary, Jordan Parker (suspended) Tom Austin (cup-tied) and Sean Mckeon (unavailable) away to Headington Amateurs in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup second round (ko 1.30pm). For Headington, Jay
PRIME Minister David Cameron’s plan to ‘fast-track’ gay marriage is threatening to split his government — with even some ‘homegrown’ MPs protesting. In 2004, the introduction of civil partnerships gave gay couples the same relationship rights as
BECOMING a university was the beginning of Oxford Brookes’ growth. That’s according to Rob Wondrak, associate dean within the university’s school of health and social care. Mr Wondrak joined Brookes in 1993, so missed the change from polytechnic by
Former Oxford City right winger and life vice-president Tony Bricknell has died, aged 80 after a short illness. Bricknell joined City when he was 15-years-old and later went on to make 542 appearances, scoring 166 goals from 1951 to 1966. His
Here’s another first for the Sheldonian — the premiere performance by the Elias String Quartet in their marathon journey through the entire cycle of Beethoven string quartets. Taking two years to complete, the cycle will tour all over the country,
THE Heythrop Hunt meeting, which took place at Dunthrop, near Chipping Norton, until its closure this year, will be held at Mollington, near Banbury, in 2013. The fixture also switches from January to Saturday, April 13. It will be one of two
Banbury United boss Edwin Stein says there is no reason why his side cannot target a top-six finish in the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division this season. On Saturday, 16th-placed Banbury thrashed leaders Hemel Hempstead and Stein wants
MORE than 500 jobs have been saved after a printing firm was bought out of administration. The Goodhead Group, which has operations in Bicester and Banbury, was taken over by Polestar Group, meaning there are no redundancies among the 518-strong
THREE Oxfordshire charities have plenty to celebrate this week after receiving £20,679 of grant money from the Oxford Mail’s owners Gannett Media through the Gannett Foundation. Yellow Submarine in Oxford, which organises residential holidays and
OXFORDSHIRE never recovered from a slow start as they lost 12-3 to Buckinghamshire at Bartholomew School in Division 2 Central of the County Championships. Bucks led 8-0 after the singles and first round of the doubles before Matt Jackson and Peter
A TOP Oxfordshire businessman says employers “despair” due to poor literacy and numeracy standards when trying to recruit staff. Nigel Wild, president of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, believes education in the UK has been a “political football
OXFORD Harlequins are determined to keep tomorrow’s rearranged clash with Amersham & Chiltern on home soil, despite this week’s flooding. Quins were due to host Amersham in National 3 South West last Saturday, but waterlogging put paid to that
ON a recent bus from Oxford to Woodstock, a foreign gentleman got on and tried to pay for his fare with £5 worth of 1p coins. The bus driver explained that he could not accept that much loose change but thought on his feet, stopped his bus and
I HAVE just received a letter addressed to ‘The Manager’. Then follows a headline ‘Please don’t risk the reputation of your business by ignoring this letter’. What business? This intimidating correspondence is from TV Licensing, who seem to want
BRITAIN needs to keep the ban on prisoners voting. And they can’t vote to let some prisoners vote, and not others, because all prisoners lost any rights they had the day they entered the prison gates. They came under a different regime, a regime
Oxford City boss Mike Ford has urged his strikers to be more patient when they host strugglers Droylsden in Blue Square Bet North at Court Place Farm tomorrow. With City having scored only 27 goals in 17 games, Ford feels his forwards would be
RECENT letters on Britain’s continued membership of the EU suggest serious thought is needed. A major problem facing critics has long been lack of reliable information on EU costs. Help is now at hand in the form of a booklet (online) written by
PETER Martin’s reasoned and very reasonable petition (Viewpoints, November 27) for a call to arms over school expansion in Oxford and Oxfordshire, whereby views should be presented to Councillor Melinda Tilley, might be a counsel of despair, given
NICHOLAS Lawrence (November 22) may be right in the fact that Oxford has “remarkably efficient bus services”. I don’t doubt that is true about most services, especially Blackbird Leys. However, the No.10 bus service leaves a lot to be desired.
SOMETHING was distracting my old chum Bert. His eyes were fixed elsewhere in Banbury’s M&S café and he was showing little interest in stories of rising flood waters. “Is anybody at home in there?” I asked disrespectfully. “Grand larceny
LUKE Ryan has become Oxfordshire’s youngest cricket captain after taking over from Ian Hawtin. The 24-year-old Banbury left-arm spinner made his Oxon first-team debut at 17. Ryan said: “I’ve always had aspirations to be county captain at some
WE are pleased today to announce more than £20,000 in cash for three Oxford charities. On a day when newspapers are making headlines for less honourable reasons, here at the Oxford Mail we are delighted to be able to dish out this cash. And what
SATURDAY FOOTBALL FA CUP 2nd round: Accrington Stanley v Oxford Utd. BLUE SQUARE BET NORTH Oxford City v Droylsden. EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Chesham v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v
LEE Cox says that Oxford United’s players will aim to carry on from where they left off against Northampton at Accrington tomorrow. The midfielder, who is on-loan from Swindon but eligible to play in the FA Cup second-round clash, says there has
MICKEY Lewis says that it was particularly satisfying to see Oxford United’s hard work on the training ground pay off in the win over Northampton. Although recent performances have been good, results had not gone their way. And the U’s assistant
THE Duke of Kent visited Oxford Science Park yesterday to learn about its work. He was treated to a talk on work surrounding proteins it is hoped will be used to develop new crop strains with improved disease resistance. This was followed by
FOR the first time this season, Chris Wilder can start planning some behind-closed-doors friendlies. Damian Batt and Liam Davis will be both be included in the squad for tomorrow’s FA Cup tie at Accrington, and Tom Craddock could return for Tuesday
HUNDREDS of soldiers were celebrated in a medal parade in Abingdon, for their service in Afghanistan. The Queen’s cousin Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, joined hundreds of families and friends at Dalton Barracks to recognise the efforts
MICHAEL Raynes is determined to help Oxford United enjoy a good FA Cup run – because he’s never had one. The defender produced a terrific display on his return to the team in last week’s 2-1 win over Northampton. Raynes contained in-form striker
ONE of three people accused of murdering a homeless man in Oxford has blamed the death on one of the other defendants. More video footage of a police interview with Wayne Cattell – one of a trio accused of Denis Witney’s murder – was shown at Oxford
A 64-year-old who pointed a replica gun at his building society branch manager as a “joke” has avoided prison. Christopher Wardell, of Main Street, Burdrop, near Banbury, admitted possessing an imitation firearm in a public place at Oxford Crown
THE corridors and court rooms at Oxford Crown Court must have heard some bizarre stories over the years. But there cannot be many stranger tales than that of Nationwide building society customer Christopher Wardell. The 64-year-old from Burdrop
A COURT case was brought to a dramatic halt yesterday by a man claiming to be the son of a Nigerian chief. Chief Obasola Atobatele was the previous owner of a £1m house at 17 Warnborough Road, North Oxford, which is now the subject of a county
THIS motorist snapped flouting orders not to drive down flood-hit Abingdon Road is one of many causing waves which are damaging homes. Residents have hit out at the selfish actions of those ignoring the warning. Oxfordshire County Council has
RESIDENTS have not received post this week because the Royal Mail is refusing to divert drivers around Oxford’s flood-affected roads. Yesterday it emerged that the Botley Road area had been boycotted, leaving letters and parcels undelivered in
A CITY pub which has stood empty for more than a year could get a new lease of life as a guesthouse. The owners of the former Osney Arms pub in Botley Road have made a change of use application to Oxford City Council. They want to convert the
