Archive

  • Youngsters have a ball at free Northway panto

    YOUNGSTERS were treated to a free pantomime at an Oxford community centre. The Northway Community Centre hires a theatre company to put on a panto classic every Christmas to help cash-strapped parents. About 60 children aged two to 14 enjoyed

  • Media students film festive message to promote recycling

    A GROUP of media production students teamed up with the council to make a film calling for people in Oxfordshire to recycle more. The campaign aims to get people recycling their electrical goods this Christmas. With people buying new and discarding

  • Hammer threat

    BANBURY: A 16-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man have been arrested on suspicion of robbery after a taxi driver was threatened with a hammer. The 39-year-old cabbie was robbed of two sat-navs and a mobile computer system in Old School Place, Grimsbury

  • Horses on the loose

    Horses on the loose disrupted traffic on the A420 near Oxford yesterday. Police received four calls about two horses that were spotted in the road at about 3.44pm. The horses were rounded up by officers by 4.30pm in a field in Dean Court. It

  • Delving into history of city's literary past

    A GROUP of unemployed people inspired by Oxford’s literary history have graduated from their story-telling course. The 15 trainees who were not in work or education were taught about the city’s connections with its literary greats. The 12-week

  • Pensioners enjoy festive lunch with extra trimmings

    THERE was tinsel, turkey and tunes as dozens of pensioners enjoyed Christmas lunch served by students. Cooper School, off Churchill Road, in Bicester, served up a traditional three-course lunch for 94 senior citizens for the fourth year running

  • Flood alert issued for Abingdon

    A FLOOD alert was issued this afternoon for the River Thames through Abingdon. The alert applies along the river southwards to Little Wittenham. Alerts were isued earlier on the Thames in the west of the county and through Oxford. Householders

  • Life Lessons in Life of Pi

    LIFE OF PI (PG) Drama/Action/Romance. Suraj Sharma, Adil Hussain, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Vibish Sivakumar, Rafe Spall, Gerard Depardieu. Director: Ang Lee Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) experiences film-making in 3D for the

  • Party Central at Witney

    KATHERINE MacALISTER finds treats for her mouth, but not much fun for her ears Our waiter shouted an apology as we tried to give him our order: “I can’t hear you.” And if the waiter couldn’t hear us, what chance did we have? Parties on both

  • Novel Approach for This Year's Book of The Year Winner

    ANDREW FFRENCH meets SJ Watson, winner of the 2012 Oxford Mail/Waterstones-Oxford Book of the Year award AUTHOR SJ Watson has picked up the Oxford Mail/Waterstones Book of the Year award for his gripping suspense thriller Before I Go to Sleep.

  • Oh Carol!

    TIM HUGHES looks forward to some traditional Yuletide concerts CHRISTMAS is an odd time for the music-lover. While it often seems one can’t move without hearing the same tired old festive hits, repeated ad nauseam on the radio or at parties

  • DONALD BAKER: Farm worker was rooted in village

    TRIBUTES have been paid to a beloved father and grandfather, who “never stopped embracing all that life had to offer”. Donald Baker, right, of Letcombe Bassett, worked at Wheeler’s Farm in the village for 50 years. He passed away at the John

  • LIZ ROBINSON: Devoted to caring

    FRIENDS and relatives have spoken of a beloved nurse who devoted her life to caring for others. Liz Robinson worked at Witney Community Hospital for more than 10 years even after she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. For much of that

  • Singing Contest Proves Music To Young Cinema-Goers' Ears

    PITCH PERFECT (12A) Comedy/Musical/Romance. Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson, Alexis Knapp, Hana Mae Lee, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, John Benjamin Hickey. Director: Jason Moore Glee meets Bring

  • What's Hot, What's Tasty, What's New...

    * Restaurants like to keep it relevant, so it isn’t surprising that the Old Swan & Minster Mill in Minster Lovell have brought out a new lunch menu. A lighter one too, while we are on the subject, so that’s good news all round. The menu will be

  • We Love Christmas Say Oxford Celebrities

    As some wag once said: “First you believe in Father Christmas, then you don’t, then you become Father Christmas...” And all of us too have our own very special memories of this festive celebration. Whether it’s of a gift, a magical moment, or just

  • Winter Warmers

    FAMILY: Starlight Express New Theatre, Oxford, until December 29 0844 871 3020 or www.atgtickets.com/oxford * One of the best loved and longest running musicals in theatrical history, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express is spending Christmas

  • Skin Deep

    TIM HUGHES talks to singer-songwriter Nell Bryden about supporting Gary Barlow, and dealing with the loss of her hair WHEN one of the biggest names in pop announced he was playing a New Year’s Eve show in Oxford, surprise rapidly turned to excitement

  • Dign Dong Merrily on High

    If you’re looking for some traditional festive fayre to get yourself well and truly in the Christmas spirit, writes Nicola Lisle, then this selection of carol concerts across the city should do the trick. Many are family-friendly events, with lots

  • Road south of Oxford closed after subsidence

    OXFORDSHIRE County Council has closed Oxford Road at Bagley Wood to investigate possible subsidence this afternoon. Traffic had been reduced to single file for several hours after the problem was discovered, but the council has been forced to close

  • Life in prison for two men convicted of homeless killing

    THE two men convicted of murdering homeless man Denis Witney have been sentenced to life in prison. Both Wayne Cattell and Daniel McCollin were today ordered to spend a minimum of 17 years in prison for an assault which took place last November

  • More Oxfordshire rivers put on flood alert

    Two more watercourses have been added to an Environment Agency list of flood alerts. The organisation has placed the River Ock from Watchfield to Abingdon and the Letcombe Brook at Wantage, Grove and East Hanney on alert. Areas which could

  • Millions spent to stop power cuts

    THE electricity grid around Oxford has been boosted by £8.8million improvements to stop winter weather cutting power to homes. Southern Electric Power Distribution (SEPD) has spent the cash as part of a £330 million project across central and southern

  • Singers help to raise £433

    COMMUTERS in Oxford enjoyed some Christmas cheer while raising money for the city’s homeless community. Carol singers from Appleton Community Choir entertained the travellers at Oxford railway station, raising £433 for the Oxford Poverty Action

  • 98-home plan 'will change Kingston Bagpuize'

    A NEW scheme to build a further 98 homes at Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor has angered residents, who fear their village is being transformed into a ‘new town’. Developer Taylor Wimpey wants to build the homes on farmland, off the Draycott Road

  • Support for city's historic buildings plan

    A PROPOSAL to list Oxford’s historic buildings so they can be saved and preserved has been supported by city councillors. Councillors praised the plan for a Heritage Assets Register for Oxford at Oxford City’s full council meeting on Monday.

  • Teenager becomes youngest in UK to make solo glider flight

    A TEENAGER has flown into the record books after becoming the UK’s youngest person to fly a glider solo. Callum Lavenders, 14, took to the sky above Bicester in total command of the aircraft – despite being three years away from getting his provisional

  • Two found guilty of murdering homeless man Denis Witney

    TWO people have been found guilty of beating homeless man Denis Witney to death. After a five-week trial at Oxford Crown Court,  a jury has today returned a unanimous guilty verdict against two of the three people accused of Mr Witney's murder.

  • Music legend Cope's a hit with youngsters

    LOCAL music legend Nick Cope has taken up a residency at the Oxford Story Museum. From now on, you will be able to catch the former Candyskins frontman at his new playground on the second Saturday of every month. Earlier this month more than

  • Eynsham chef named King of the Curries

    A CHEF at a village restaurant has described his joy at being named Britain’s king of the curries. Mohibur Rahman scooped the spicy accolade in the finals of the UK Indian Chef Awards on Tuesday and attributed his success to his love of traditional

  • Base fundraising in hand

    Sir – The letter from David Wildridge (November 29) makes the very important point about the source of funding for the Bomber Command Heritage (BCH) project to purchase and renovate RAF Bicester. He says this should not depend on public money.

  • Bizarre decision

    Sir – I yield to no one in my regard for the work of the Oxford Preservation Trust (OPT) but I am baffled by its decision to plant trees on the northern boundary of its farm fields on the Marston Ferry Road (Report, November 29). As far back as records

  • Tidy tram system

    Sir – With regard to Keith Dancey’s question (Letters, November 29). Replacing seats in trams with the luxury bench-type seats surely will increase the capacity of seating, compared to the terrible waste of non-seating we witness in the buses we have

  • Efficient movements

    Sir – Keith Dancey asks how would replacing a bus seat with a tram seat improve matters (Letters, November 29)? Keith and some of the recent contributors to these pages are missing the point. It’s not about trams; it’s about the freedom to enjoy the

  • Trams are better

    Sir – Keith Dancey (Letters, November 29) asks why trams are better than buses. They don’t emit fumes; because they’re on rails they take up less road space, can pass each other safely at speed and negotiate narrow streets, tight corners and archways

  • Saving energy

    Sir – In your report (November 22) of the county council scrutiny committee meeting at which progress against energy saving targets were discussed, you correctly stated that I “launched a scathing attack on the council claiming the programme had failed

  • Threatening floods

    Sir – Last month, the Weirs Lane and Abingdon Road junction (Report, November 29) became a lake even more famous than the dilapidated Fox & Hounds pub on the same corner. With all this extreme weather can there be anyone who doubts that climate

  • Thought-provoking

    Sir – Oxford is filled with young people, most of whom are in good health but there are at any given time a significant number who are approaching the most terrifying and dangerous time of their lives; I am, therefore, writing to ask your readers,

  • FOOTBALL: Local trio washed out

    THREE matches involving local clubs fell victim to Tuesday’s rain. Oxford United were forced to postpone their FA Youth Cup third-round tie with Barnsley after heavy rain in the build-up to the game left the pitch at Thame United’s ASM Stadium

  • FOOTBALL: Witney thrown out of Oxfordshire Senior Cup

    WITNEY Town’s interest in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup has ended after they were unable to field a side for Tuesday’s third-round tie at home to Kidlington. It’s another embarrassment for the club, who over the last two weeks have seen their manager

  • Strike called off

    Rail passengers in Oxfordshire can breathe a sigh of relief after a planned strike was averted yesterday. The RMT Union said it had reached an agreement with CrossCountry trains and called off tomorrow’s scheduled industrial action.

  • Burglary arrest

    A 27-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of burgling three homes on Friday. The suspect, from Burford, is thought to have broken into houses in Cheatle Court, between 7pm and 10.10pm and stolen jewellery and electrical items. The man

  • AUNT SALLY: Dazzling Dyer hits sweet 16

    Trevor Dyer kicked off with a six in his 16 dolls as Deddington beat Bicester 5-1 in the Banbury Indoor League. Ken Maunder capped his 14 dolls with a six in Garsington’s 6-0 win over The Ox in the Gladiator Molson Coors Friday League. Maunder

  • BOWLS: Central stalwart Norton dies at 78

    Banbury Central stalwart Peter Norton died on Monday at the age of 78. Norton, of Banbury, was a member of the Central side, which won the Oxfordshire fours title in 2007. He also captured the Oxfordshire Bowling Association’s Longford Cup

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Berinsfield upset Didcot to close gap

    Berinsfield moved to within a point of Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League Section 1 leaders West Oxford Democrats after winning 3-2 at home to Premier outfit Didcot Conservative Club, writes PETE EWINS. Geoff Mace (5,940) put Berinsfield in front

  • Jail terms for cable thieves

    Eight men who stole railway cable from the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester have been jailed for a total of 23 years. The thieves cost Network Rail more than £450,000 and caused delays and disruption between November 2011 and May this

  • RUGBY UNION: Banbury's minis rack up points

    Banbury Under 9s ran out 50-10 winners at home to Brackley in their minis encounter. Henry White, Joe Weaver, Sam Shotten and man-of-the-match Thomas Evans scored two tries apiece, with Jasper Bell and Edward Brown also crossing the Brackley line

  • MP to urge housing plans be thrown out

    “OPPORTUNIST” plans for 70 homes in Hook Norton must be thrown out, Banbury MP Sir Tony Baldry will tell an inquiry today. The Conservative is to urge The Planning Inspectorate to reject an appeal over the plan for Bourne Lane. Cherwell District

  • Bizarre building

     Sir – West Oxfordshire District Council is trying to push through plans to build at least 700 new houses to the east of Carterton adjacent to the RAF airfield. This is in the parish of Brize Norton and threatens to unite Carterton with this ancient

  • Warm memories

    Sir – I should like to record my impressions and deep gratitude to the Oxfordshire social services, physiotherapists and staffs of the John Radcliffe Hospital and, in particular, the Abingdon Community Hospital. The John Radcliffe nursing was professional

  • Breath of fresh air

    Sir – Your article (County schools are singled out for criticism in Ofsted’s report, November 29) highlighted the Ofsted chief inspector’s observation that ‘Oxfordshire is among the 20 per cent of (English) local authority areas with the lowest proportion

  • Person for all seasons

    Sir – Very many thanks for Tim Hughes’ engaged and engaging interview with the wonderful Nick Moorbath (November 29). Could I presume, however, to make a biographical correction? Tim Hughes writes that: ‘Nick’s story started humbly enough, in Kennington

  • Secularist prejudice

    Sir – Not living in the Crescent Road, Cowley area, where it is planned to open the Christian free school (Report, November 29), I cannot comment upon potential traffic congestion. But I feel that I must take issue with the views expressed by John

  • Christian privilege

     Sir – We have arrived, yet again, at a period of crisis in the provision of sufficient and appropriate school places for primary-aged children in Oxford. Many schools are being asked to consider expansion and the county council cabinet voted in

  • Patterns of worship

    Sir – The piece in last week’s edition (Opposition to C.S. Lewis church plan), reflects a vigorous discussion on plans for the church building which have been in the pipeline for considerably longer than a year. The vicar, Tim Stead, does not exaggerate

  • Suffering for art

    Sir – I had to write and inform you how much my daughter and I enjoyed reading about Richard O. Smith’s niece in the always funny Oxford Examined column (Oxfordshire Limited Edition, December 6). We must have read it together three times now and

  • Setting an example

    Sir – Last week’s The Oxford Times sports section had 14 excellent photographic images along with six pages of superb sports coverage. There seems on this evidence, however, to have been an almost total sporting boycott (broken only by Oxford Ladies

  • Literary 'black spots' for some readers

    In an entertaining contribution to the Christmas edition of the Spectator, various ‘personalities’, own up about well-regarded books they have been unable to finish (or start). Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu figures prominently, as one

  • A poor early warning of a major closure

    The closure of Oxford’s busiest internal road on a peak pre-Christmas shopping day was handled by Oxfordshire County Council with what seemed to me its characteristic carelessness where highway matters are concerned. Council cabinet member Rodney

  • Roads clogged tomorrow as holiday exodus begins

    DRIVING home for Christmas could take almost twice as long as usual for thousands of Oxfordshire drivers. Traffic experts are predicting the mass exodus of workers heading home tomorrow to clog the district’s roads between 4pm and 6pm. The

  • Woman denies any disturbance

    A 28-year-old woman has denied charges in connection with a disturbance at Witney’s Christmas lights switch-on. Bethan Tichborne, of Campbell Road, Cowley, is charged with obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty and using threatening

  • Cyclist injured

    A cyclist was taken to hospital with head injuries after a collision with a car. The accident happened in Hailey Road, Witney, shortly before 10am on Monday. The 55-year-old cyclist was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. His

  • Quartet bailed

    Three women and a man arrested after police drugs raids have been released on bail. Operation Reindeer saw seven addresses raided across Bicester on Tuesday. Three women, aged 34, 44, and 43, plus a 38-year-old man, were released on bail until

  • Pools battle is taken to Court of Appeal

    CAMPAIGNERS fighting the closure of an Oxford swimming pool have taken their fight to the Court of Appeal. Earlier this month a High Court judge ruled that Temple Cowley Pools campaigners could not take their case to a judicial review. They

  • 'Our Oliver's standing tall, all thanks to you'

    LITTLE Oliver McConnell is standing tall for the first time in his life thanks to pioneering surgery and people’s generosity. The three-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, underwent specialist surgery to remove a vertebrae and damaged nerves from

  • Katherine gives us a radio 'Schwarzkopf'

    A glaring omission would appear to have been made in a new book about the 70-year history of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. At least it has if the contents of Mitchell Symons’s Desert Island Discs: Flotsam and Jetsam (Bantam Press, £14.99) were

  • Beauty of botany shows gardens are where the art is

    These days we tend to think of botanical art as merely pretty paintings. However before the age of the camera, this was the only way to record seed, flower, leaf and root. This work, often funded by the very wealthy, was often completed on long expeditions

  • Friendly garden robin might prove a killer

    WHO killed cock robin? Well the answer is quite possibly cock robin for this rather confiding bird so well known for keeping us close company when we are busy in the garden is a somewhat pugnacious little character and very territorial. A fight between

  • Escaping to nature can boost ability

    Getting away from it all can unclutter the brain and boost creativity, a study suggests. Scientists found that young volunteers increased their creative performance by 50 per cent after a four-day hiking trip. The results support earlier studies suggesting

  • Responsibility for safety

    YET again Cllr Rodney Rose complains the county council has no money to repair potholes. Utter rubbish, when so much money is wasted on non-essential services or items the public have no interest in. Does Mr Rose realise he has a responsibility

  • Silent Night at the Ultimate Picture Palace

    Cowley Road Works, the charity which organises Cowley Road Carnival, is organising a Silent Night at Oxford’s Ultimate Picture Palace tomorrow night (Friday) at 7.30pm. Promising a festive evening of vintage cinema supported by a live soundtrack

  • Pitch Perfect (12A)

    Glee meets Bring It On with the sassy swagger of Clueless in Jason Moore’s unabashedly feel-great musical comedy about an all-girl a cappella group hoping to pitch-slap their rivals at a national singing competition. Pitch Perfect lives up to its

  • Life of Pi (PG)

    Oscar-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) experiences film-making in 3D for the first time with this handsome adaptation of the novel by Yann Martel. Life Of Pi is the first film since Avatar to fully exploit the eye-popping format, immersing

  • Nel Bryden has a date with Gary Barlow

    WHEN one of the biggest names in pop announced he was playing a New Year’s Eve, show in Oxford, surprise rapidly turned to excitement and a frenzied race for tickets. Gary Barlow has a huge and dedicated following, and tickets for his end of year

  • Arrogance and cruelty

    CONGRATULATIONS to the RSPCA on its historic victory in convicting the Heythrop Hunt and two of its members for breaking the Hunting Act (Oxford Mail, December 18). No genuine animal lover would differentiate between the suffering of the hunted

  • We are being overlooked

    I HAVE lived in Kidlington all of my life and have two boys aged nine and 11. My boys are very active and love being outside and playing with their friends, particularly on their scooters. I find it extremely frustrating that I have to get in my

  • Theatre highlights, December 20

    Comedy SARA PASCOE AND MARY BOURKE Tonight 8pm The Mill Theatre, Banbury Call 01295 279002 or visit themillart centre.co.uk If you want to escape Christmas for a while, here’s a double bill of female comics. Sara, regular star of Channel 4’s Stand

  • Peter Pan: Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

    Having cut his pantomime teeth as Genie of the Lamp in 2011’s Milton Keynes Aladdin, the roly-poly astrologer Russell Grant has moved a few miles across Buckinghamshire in 2012 to star as Roger the Cabin Boy (ooh-er, missus!) in Aylesbury’s Peter Pan

  • Kassam Stadium pitch rated 6 out of 10

    THE company in charge of maintenance at the Kassam Stadium have defended the quality of the pitch. Some Oxford United players and officials were extremely critical of the playing surface in their 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley, which was three

  • Rose Hill will get its new £3m community centre

    ROSE Hill will get its new £3m community centre after councillors gave the go-ahead to the plan last night. Oxford City Council’s executive board backed the new facility, which will have a larger hall, a training kitchen and sports changing facilities

  • Firefighters battle to control hay blaze

    FIREFIGHTERS were last night still controlling the flames of a hay blaze near Steventon. The hay, by the side of Hanney Road, caught fire on Tuesday evening and has been burning since. Firefighters have been on the scene since 7.15pm on Tuesday

  • Train service is fifth most overcrowded

    A RUSH-hour train through Oxfordshire was yesterday named as one of the most overcrowded in the UK. But rail bosses last night said the service was now better placed to meet demand. First Great Western’s (FGW) Mark Hopwood, pictured, spoke

  • Murder jury out

    An Oxford crown court jury will today continue considering its verdict in the trial of Wayne Cattell, 37, and Joanne Moriarty, 29, both of Mortimer Road, Rose Hill, and Daniel McCollin, 30, of Blay Close, Blackbird Leys, who all deny murdering Denis

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Oxford in double capture

    OXFORD RL have added to their ranks by signing Coventry centre Andy McGrory and Oxford Brookes University utility back Michael Crabtree. McGrory has represented Ireland, Ireland A and Warwickshire Rugby Union, while Crabtree, who can play either

  • TODAY'S BIG ISSUE: Is Christmas a time for families?

    YES...Katie Catling, general manager at Creation Theatre Company Yes, Christmas is a time for families. I love Christmas. I love the lights, the smells, decorations, singing carols, eating food that at any other time of the year you wouldn’

  • I cannot support move to raise day centre fees

    YOUR article (Compromise agreed on day centre fees, December 18), mentions the fact that I spoke up against the proposed increase in charges for elderly and disabled people attending day centres in Oxfordshire. The Tory-controlled county council

  • ATHLETICS: Revenge for Bolton

    Woodstock Harriers’ James Bolton avenged last year’s defeat by White Horse Harriers’ Paul Jegou in the Hooky Christmas Canter. Bolton, who recently turned 40, recorded 42mins 12secs for the 12k multi-terrain course to storm home from Jegou, who

  • The height of ski-ing luxury

    Anyone looking for the height of luxury — and style — on a ski-ing holiday will be hard pressed to find anything above Altapura in Val Thorens. Everything about Val Thorens centres on its altitude — at 2,300 metres it’s the highest ski resort in

  • ICE HOCKEY: Oliver's treble fires up Stars

    Josh Oliver hit a spark-ling hat-trick in Oxford City Stars’ 5-0 demolition of Chelmsford Warriors in English National League Division 2 South at Oxford Ice Rink. Alan Green completed the scoring with a brace in what was Stars’ strongest performance

  • Homeland was annexed

    I TOOK the trouble to look up David Grossman and Amos Oz, as suggested by Bruce Ross Smith (ViewPoints, December 12), and this only confirms what I said in the first place – that the setting up of Israel amounted to the annexation of someone else’s

  • Tolkien also lived here

    KATRIONA Ormiston is right when she writes (December 13) that 20 Northmoor Road, J.R.R. Tolkien’s home from 1929-1947, is the only one to have been graced with a Blue Plaque (since December 2002). Headingtonians, however, have long been familiar

  • Anger over our stadium

    AS THE dreaded closure date (December 29) of Oxford Stadium creeps ever closer, I continue to be both astonished and very angry at the sequence of events that have led us to this point in the saga. There has been speedway racing at Oxford Stadium

  • ATHLETICS: England delighted by top honour

    Hannah England declared herself thrilled to pick up an outstanding achievement award this week. The Oxford City athlete was awarded the honour at a ‘celebration of success’ event, which marked nine years of the On Camp with Kelly initiative.

  • Year-long festive sparkle at Waddesdon Manor

    Coincidentally, the 2012 Waddesdon Christmas theme is all things British, fitting for a year which included the Jubilee and the Olympics. But next year is Vienna, which is why the Waddesdon team will be jetting over to Austria in the New Year to gather

  • On the Horizon, December 20

    Musical PRISCILLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT New Theatre, Oxford February 25 to March 2 Tickets: 0844 871 3020 Get ready for the ride of your life! Based on the smash-hit movie this is the heart-warming, uplifting adventure of three friends who hop aboard

  • Joanna brings The Snowman back for Christmas

    Joanna Harrison is surveying the chaos of her London studio when we speak, surrounded by the 200,000 drawings used to make the new version of The Snowman. As art director and co-writer, she took on the enormous responsibility of creating the next instalment

  • Extra surgery

    A grandmother mauled by dogs in Barton may need more surgery to her injuries, but her family says she is expected to be home for Christmas. Sushil Giddy, 51, was attacked by two dogs in Aldebarton Drive on Saturday. So far she has had surgery twice

  • No wards shut

    County hospitals are still free of the winter vomiting bug, according to the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust. Infection control at the trust’s three county sites, Oxford’s John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals and The Horton, in Banbury,

  • Rob Brydon to host hospice fundraiser

    COMEDY star Rob Brydon is to compere one of the annual Childish Things fundraising shows for Helen and Douglas House. Now in its ninth year, the nights of comedy and music held at Oxford’s New Theatre have raised more than £400,000 for the Oxford

  • GOLF: Pepperell boosted by first Tour cut

    EDDIE Pepperell carded one of the best final rounds at the Alfred Dunhill Championship to leap up the leaderboard on Sunday. A birdie at the last sealed a four-under par round of 68, which was only bettered by three players, moving the Abingdon

  • Firefighters tackle mattress fire this morning

    Firemen put out a mattress fire at a block of flats in Oxford this morning. One man was injured in the fire and was being treated by paramedics. Two fire engines were called to put out a fire in a block of flats at Roland Hill Court by Hollybush

  • Council bid to increase its charges

    COUNCIL house rents, council tax and parking charges are set to rise next year after city councillors approved their draft budget for consultation. Oxford City Council is aiming to make £1.74m of savings in its budget for 2013-14 to deal with reductions

  • Memorial to park founder

    Staff at the Cotswold Wildlife Park in Burford closed the attraction yesterday to pay tribute to its founder John Heyworth, who died last month, aged 87. Keepers and administrative staff, including the park manager, Mr Heyworth’s son Reggie, joined

  • Flood water blocks road in Long Hanborough

    Flooding has blocked a Long Hanborough road this morning. Floodwater from overnight rain has covered Lower Road near Long Hanborough around the A4095 Main Road. The road is reported to be impassable. Rainovernight has meant traffic is slow

  • Up to 40mm of rain to fall

    OXFORDSHIRE was braced for more flooding yesterday as 12 waterways were placed on alert. Up to 40mm of rain is predicted to fall on Oxford alone over the next two days. Environment Agency teams took precautionary action yesterday clearing grilles

  • COMMENT: Community boost

    OXFORD City Council’s decision to approve a £3m new community centre for Rose Hill is to be welcomed. Any major new building project in such straightened times is to be grasped with both hands and this plan is long overdue. It is understandable

  • Cadets help teenagers to soar

    Aviation, action and adventure are all part of the fun for young people at the Royal Air Force Air Cadets. 1861 (Wantage) Squadron – the Air Cadets for Wantage, Grove, Faringdon and surrounding villages – is just one of 1,000 squadrons across the

  • Leven can have big say in Oxford United's fortunes

    PETER Leven’s influence will grow as he gets closer to full fitness, according to Oxford United assistant manager Mickey Lewis. The midfielder has struggled for form after recovering from shoulder and knee injuries picked up at the end of last

  • Four-car smash blocks road

    Emergency services were yesterday afternoon called to the scene of a four-car smash which blocked a main road in Abingdon. Police officers were directing traffic in Ock Street, following the collision between a gold Mercedes, blue Citroen, silver

  • Santa gets the sack

    A SANTA has been sacked after allegedly telling children about the US school massacre before revealing he was not the real Father Christmas. The Kennett family, from Abingdon, had hoped for a festive day out at Notcutts garden centre in Nuneham

  • GOLF: Fleming claims Wentworth slot

    TOM Fleming, the Frilford Heath assistant professional, has qualified to play in next year’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after finishing in the top ten of the Titleist PGA play-offs in Turkey last week, writes MICHAEL KNOX. “I’m over the

  • COMMENT: A Santa sadly lacking in Christmas cheer

    EVERYONE has off days at work but – as we report today – one Santa’s alleged blunder has left a family furious and three youngsters in floods of tears. Mum Wendy Kennett said her visit to a Nuneham Courtenay garden centre was the “worst day of

  • Can you help trace suspected pervert?

    A MAN, who police believe exposed himself in a sex shop, is hiding behind door 20 of our Christmas criminal calendar. The Oxford Mail and Thames Valley Police are publishing the faces of wanted suspects everyday in the run-up to Christmas in our

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 20/12/12)

    As the final In Cinemas column of 2012 will be devoted to a review of the year, we have two release dates for this price of one this time round. And where better place to start than with a festive parable that could be viewed as Leo Tolstoy's take

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 20/12/12)

    The festive television schedules always make for nostalgic reading for film buffs. For the only time in the entire year, the listings are full of old movies that used to be part and parcel of afternoon and weekend programming. Over the last few years

  • Hotel 'to bring 7,000 new customers to Witney'

    COUNCILLORS have backed a new hotel in Witney and hope it will help enhance West Oxfordshire’s tourism. District council members granted planning permission for the 57-bedroom Premier Inn hotel in Ducklington Lane at a lowlands area planning subcommittee

  • College's £5 parking offer pays off

    A STUDENT-RUN business set up last Christmas to offer city centre parking for Oxford shoppers is celebrating a successful first year. The operation, which involves public services students at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College charging drivers

  • Crash on M40

    Emergency services were last night at the scene of a crash on the M40 which closed two lanes yesterday. Paramedics were called to the northbound carriageway between junctions nine for Bicester and 10 for Ardley at 3.12pm after a car crashed into