Archive

  • Preview of The Pilgrimage Concerts by The Sixteen

    City bankers scurry past, mobile phones clamped to their ears. But their free ears could catch the famous sounds of Allegri’s Miserere soaring up from beneath their well-polished shoes. For in the bright and airy basement of the Dutch Church, just

  • Highlights for April 4

    Comedy SEANN WALSH — SEANN TO BE WILD The Theatre, Chipping Norton Friday, 7.45pm Call 01608 642350, or chippingnortontheatre.com The hilarious Seann Walsh based his latest show on his wild nights out in Brighton . . . those he

  • Aperture, by Jack Eden: Turrill Sculpture Garden, Summertown

    Entering leafy Turrill Sculpture Garden, one is struck by the stark nature of this exhibition – a series of bright white blocks planted in the earth and each perforated with a gaping hole. Soon one realises the fixed aperture alters with the viewpoint

  • 400 homes planned for estate

    PLANS have been submitted for a major extension to Banbury’s Bretch Hill estate. Bloor Homes has applied for up to 400 homes, with another 60 sheltered or “extra care” homes and “small scale” employment space. The land has been earmarked in

  • Saudi diplomat opens St Antony's College buildings

    TWO new buildings at St Antony’s College, in Woodstock Road, were officially opened on Tuesday by the businessman and diplomat they are named after – His Excellency Ghassan I Shaker. The £11m buildings provide a new main entrance and porters’ lodge

  • Album review: Talk Talk collection makes perfect sense

    Talk Talk Natural History Parlophone Mention the name Talk Talk to anyone under the age of 30 and the chances are they’ll think you’re talking about broadband. But for lovers of art-rock and alternative-pop, they were one of the most

  • Album review: Uneasy listening from Darwin Deez

    Songs for Imaginative People Darwin Deez Lucky Number Always a musical outsider, Darwin Deez challenges the listener with discordant vocals over squishy beats, shredded guitar and scuttering electronica. His self-titled

  • Married suspect denies "unhealthy interest" in young girls

    A MARRIED man has denied having an "unhealthy interest" in young teenage girls. Assad Hussain is one of nine men on trial at the Old Bailey who deny involvement in a child sex ring in Oxford. The 32-year-old admits having sex with the alleged

  • Bastille @ O2 Academy Oxford

    I often think the best way to approach a gig is from a position of complete ignorance and, yet again, that was where I came from as I wandered into seeing Bastille. The London-based four-piece are phenomenally successful, with their debut album charting

  • Wonder drug hope thanks to Town and Gown run

    A SCIENTIST working to create a pill to treat muscular dystrophy is backing a fundraising run for research. Professor Dame Kay Davies is urging people to sign up to the Oxford Town and Gown run in Oxford city centre on May 12. The 10k run raises

  • The Manor at Weston-on-the-Green

    The Manor at Weston-on-the-Green Oxfordshire OX25 3QL 01869 350621   More champagne, Madam?” our impeccable barman asked. “I could get used to this,” I thought as I sipped another glass and stared in awe at the opulent surroundings.

  • Root for radish if it comes to crunch

    If this cold snap continues, and April proves to be the cruellest month, then mention of salad vegetables, even hot fiery ones such as radishes, will prove out of order. So as I write, I have my fingers crossed that the weather will turn and a salad

  • Radish and rice salad with orange dressing (serves 4)

    This is one of those recipes that you create from the salad vegetables you have grown yourself and have in the fridge. By using your imagination to combine colours and flavours this makes a colourful side dish. It is certainly a recipe which gains

  • House plant growing is all pot luck

    I am not much of a houseplant person and I blame this on an old flatmate from 40 years ago. She used to cram them into our freezing garret and then ignore them. Whilst we put on duffle coats with the hoods up, the plants shivered and then died.

  • Culling deer is kindness in the long run

    On grey, damp, wintry days the little wildlife that’s around in the woods keeps a low profile. But the scuffle and thump of a muntjac deer breaking cover, head down, trotting like a dog into the nearest undergrowth, or a family of roe deer standing

  • Roger McGough on his translation of Moliere's The Misanthrope

    For people of a certain age — and that includes the present writer — Liverpudlian Roger McGough will for ever be thought of as a pop star. He was one of the members of the trio The Scaffold — the others were Mike McGear, brother of a certain Paul McCartney

  • Mother Africa: New Theatre

    THREE STARS   The house lights went down, then a flurry of chuckling guitar notes, the plinking of a marimba and the bouncing bombardment of djembe and congas — and I know I am in the right place. I love all things African, from Morocco to

  • The Winslow Boy, The Old Vic, London

    FIVE STARS   The flurry of productions of Sir Terence Rattigan’s work that marked his centenary two years ago certainly confirmed the writer to be one of the giants of the 20th-century stage. Attempts at the time to present him as some sort

  • Hamlet: The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford

    FOUR STARS   The presence of David Tennant between my knees — in the shape of a commemorative name plate on the seat in front — supplied a powerful reminder as I sat of Stratford’s last Prince of Denmark. With elements of comedy featuring in

  • Flying flag for ale in France

    ROUND Table members flew the flag for Witney-brewed Hobgoblin Ale on a trip to Le Touquet in France. The resort on France’s north coast is twinned with Witney. After they were welcomed to France by members of Le Touquet’s twinning association

  • West Oxfordshire pensioners delighted by Maundy money honour

    A NUMBER of West Oxfordshire residents were among 174 pensioners from the Oxford Anglican diocese who received Maundy money from the Queen at Oxford’s Christ Church Cathedral on Thursday. Royston Hanson, 81, a retired builder from Wootton, attends

  • The Odd Life of Timothy Green

    THREE STARS   The Odd Life Of Timothy Green is a heartfelt and occasionally cloying fable that asks you to buy into its fantastical premise without any intention of tethering the underlying themes of parenthood and selflessness to reality.

  • Marking 50 years of Radley to Oxford pub walk

    AN annual tradition of walking from a Radley pub to Oxford and back has taken place for the 50th year. The 12.5 mile trek, which takes place on Good Friday, started out as a bet between George Steptoe and Jack Parsons in 1963. The fastest to

  • Dark Skies (15)

    THREE STARS   Every year, thousands of people claim to have been abducted by aliens. Elongated figures commonly known as Greys often appear in victims’ testimonies, performing strange medical procedures on abductees, perhaps to make sense of

  • FOOTBALL: Skiller hits a hat-trick

    Nick Skiller scored a hat-trick as Chalgrove won 6-1 at Kidlington Old Boys in Oxfordshire Senior League Division 1. Simon Godfrey (2) and Tim Cox got their other goals, with Kenny Rae replying. Shane Whalley lashed home the winner from 40

  • FOOTBALL: Joy for Green

    Josh Green hit a double as The George won 5-2 at Fairview in the semi-finals of Oxford City FA County Junior Cup. Goals from Andy Paine, a Lee Smith penalty and Ricky Anderson sealed it, with Kevin Cox and Jack Merrill replying. They will play

  • The sound of musicals

    DOZENS of excited teenagers in one place might seem like a recipe for disaster. But the Musical Youth Company of Oxford (MYCO) are a competent bunch and are currently putting their boundless energy into making their silver anniversary show Oklahoma

  • FOOTBALL: Rawlings on song

    Berinsfield, from the North Berks League, won through to the final of the Oxfordshire FA Intermediate Cup with a notable 3-1 success away to Oxfordshire Senior League side Eynsham. Mark Ingram scored either side of half-time for Berinsfield, with

  • COMMENT: Free parking is a ticket to better trade

    VALE of White Horse District Council has seemingly scored a hit with its decision to allow free parking across its district – most crucially in Abingdon and Wantage. As we report today, there has been a very healthy 71 per cent in the increase

  • FOOTBALL: Suter is the hero for Slade

    Owen Suter scored the winner as Slade Farm United lifted the Lord Jersey Cup with a thrilling 3-2 extra-time win against Woodford United at Bicester. Slade took the lead when Matthew Blenford smashed home a thunderous shot into the top corner.

  • Laptop stolen

    An HP laptop and a ring were stolen during a break-in in Long Hanborough. Between 7.30am and 7.30pm on Wednesday, March 20, burglars gained entry into a flat by forcing a rear ground-floor window in Station Cottages.

  • Appeal for witnesses of fight

    Police have again appealed for witnesses to a fight between two van drivers. At about 3.30pm on Tuesday, March 19, the drivers of two white VW Transporter vans got into a row on the roundabout at the junction of Station Road and Foxhall Road in

  • Man in court on MP threat charge

    A man accused of making bomb threats towards Home Secretary Theresa May appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday. Mark Walker, 39, is charged with two counts of communicating false information to make a bomb hoax against the Cabinet Minister and

  • FOOTBALL: St Birinus bow out

    SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL ST Birinus School (Didcot) saw their tremendous run in the ESFA Under 15 Schools’ Cup come to an end with a 2-0 defeat at Winterbourne International Academy (Bristol) in the quarter-finals. Olie Mehew’s first-half brace dashed

  • Books take the strain for children on trains

    YOUNG readers at Oxford railway station were handed free books to keep them entertained on train journeys. More than 5,000 children’s books were given away by First Great Western and publisher Igloo Books to mark International Children’s Book Day

  • FOOTBALL: Baker on song

    GILES SPORTS WITNEY YOUTH LEAGUE FINLEY Baker scored a double as Tower Hill won 3-1 at North Leigh in the Under 9 Green League. Kyre Love was their other scorer, with Balasz Bucsanyi replying for the hosts.

  • FOOTBALL: Stone hits double in a thriller

    OXFORD MAIL BOYS LEAGUE HAYDEN Stone’s brace helped Abingdon United draw 3-3 at home to St Edmunds in the Under 11 B Spring Sunday League. Kyle Brown also scored for Abingdon, with Ruben Bucnell, Onmarou Bourdanne and Zoe Serra replying.

  • New date for murder trial

    A woman who denies murdering her mother has had a new date set for her trial. Kauthar Silvera was due to stand trial at Oxford Crown Court in February this year for allegedly killing 52-year-old Vittoria Baker. But the 29-year-old, of Friars

  • Emotional reunions as our troops return from six-month tour

    IT was the moment they had waited six long months for. Yesterday, hundreds of husbands, wives, sons and daughters threw their arms around 100 soldiers returning home from Afghanistan. There were dozens of tearful reunions as members of 12 Logistic

  • Let me lead you by the hand and into the streets

    THE Botley Bag Lady caused a small furore recently after being awarded the unlikely accolade of her own appreciation page online, where locals posted their photos of her wherever she was spotted – yes you’ve guessed it usually in Botley Road. We

  • Thanks for the memories

    MY DAD and I saw Val Bermingham’s 1950s photograph of her late father, Bill Beaumont, and his Pressed Steel workmates. My dad, Albert Retter, is in the photo’, behind Bill, looking over his left shoulder. Now 94, Dad remembers Bill and his

  • No benefit on migrants

    DAVID Cameron says immigrants will only get benefits for six months – benefits will stop if they haven’t a job in that time and an immigrant will have to wait on the housing list like everyone else. This is a lot of hot air because the EU says

  • On the spot

    A good way to sort out the enormous problems of the A34 going through Oxford would be to build a linking dual-carriageway from the A34 at Didcot to the M40 Junction 8, near Wheatley. This would split the strategic through traffic from the local

  • Recycling green myths

    I CAN assure John Monaghan (ViewPoints, March 29) that I am not jumping on any bandwagon in my support for renewable energy. On the contrary, I firmly believe that renewable sources provide the only pollution-free energy available to us, and that

  • Many believe Brookes has overstretched itself

    WITH regards to your featured article on potential Brookes job losses, (March 28) I feel it may be a case of ‘oh dear’, so Brookes has over reached itself at long last. ‘Hooray’ is what many people are saying, due to Brookes’ buying up of Headington

  • FOOTBALL: Joseph's hat-trick lifts Jericho

    Marley Joseph hit a hat-trick as AFC Jericho won 6-1 at Dorchester to go second in the Critchleys Upper Thames Valley League's Premier League. Ben Curtis bagged a brace and Aaron Wiliams also netted for Jericho, with Colin Royals replying for Dorchester

  • FOOTBALL: Royals hit back to capture cup

    Kidlington Royals roared back to lift the Oxfordshire FA Sam Waters Sunday Cup for the first time with a 3-2 win over Oxford Sports & Social Club in a thrilling final at Oxford City. Anaclet Odhiambo was Kidlington’s hero, slotting home the

  • Never reached heights

    WHILE I was flattered to be called a director in your article, Ride through Cowley history, I never reached those dizzy heights and was only ever a training manager. IAN CUMMINGS Gibson Close Abingdon

  • Top brass retain jobs

    ANYONE who regrets Oxford city council’s cuts to local services may be pleased to know that there is one area that has been protected. In 2011, there were 15 managers at the city council who were paid £70k-£140K per annum. Not one of these

  • A majestic road worry

    I WAS not surprised to see workmen beavering away two or three days prior to the Queen’s visit to Christ Church Cathedral on Maundy Thursday. They were filling in many of the potholes in the London Road in Headington that users of this main route

  • It's not small beer

    I WENT into the Wetherspoon pub in Oxford to have a pint of lager, which up to the week before, was £2.09 a pint. I said to the barman, is it now a penny less after the budget? He replied: “It’s now £2.29.” So I asked why and he said it

  • Will it be a May election?

    ISN’T it ironic that those whose homes and livelihoods (farms and the like) are to be taken from them by compulsory purchase because they stand on the proposed route of the HS2 railway are not awarded the same protection under the EU human rights bill

  • Ears to a white elephant

    PLEASE can someone inform us why Van Coulter is pushing through the building of the swimming pool in Blackbird Leys? He has, on several occasions, said that he will get it built, despite what the people who elected him and pay his allowances say

  • DISABLED SPACE: Overcome apathy to fight injustice

    HERE we are in April and so it’s time for your ‘A’ challenge. So far I have been amazed by the response the public has made in embracing the issues that I have highlighted in this column. Together we have made a difference. This month’s challenge

  • FOOTBALL: Knight shines with a treble

    OXFORD MAIL GIRLS LEAGUE SHELLEY Knight’s hat-trick helped Oxford City reach the Under 14 League Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 victory at Stonesfield Strikers. League leaders City were pushed harder than the scoreline suggests, but they remain

  • FOOTBALL: Thame bidding to shock City

    THAME United boss Mark West says his side will have “a real go” when they face Oxford City in tonight’s Oxfordshire Senior Cup semi-final clash at their ASM Stadium. The Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division side reached the semi-finals with

  • Day 39: Wednesday, April 3

    Crime reporter Ben Wilkinson is at the Old Bailey The #Oxford exploitation trial continues today as it reaches week 12 at the Old Bailey. Due to hear from defendant Assad Hussain. — @Ben_Wilkinson_ 03 April 2013

  • Headington bookmakers hope to beat opening refusal

    BOOKMAKERS William Hill has appealed against Oxford City Council’s refusal to allow a branch to open in Headington’s London Road. The plans were refused in March after concerns it would affect the character of the area. Council officers refused

  • Cycle fire probe

    Investigators are still poring over the charred remains of Cycle King in Cowley Road, Oxford. A blaze at 7.39am on Sunday gutted the property as eight fire engines and 70 firefighters tried to quell the flames. Police have not logged the incident

  • COMMENT: Theatre for all

    THE ‘relaxed performances’ being held for people with autism at Oxford Playhouse are heart-warming indeed. The effect on these children of being able to attend an entertainment venue like others will almost certainly be immeasurable and hopefully

  • Health watchdog launch delayed

    TWO days after a new patients’ watchdog for Oxfordshire was supposed to launch it still has no board, no staff and no website. Healthwatch Oxfordshire was due to take over from Oxfordshire LINk (Local Involvement Network) on April 1, but the structure

  • Theatre acts to break down autism barriers

    FOR an autistic child at the theatre, the strange noises and crowds can be overwhelming. But Oxford Playhouse is working to break down the barriers. It is one of only 10 in the UK piloting ‘relaxed performances’ – specially adjusted for those

  • I won't walk away - Oxford United boss

    UNDER-FIRE Oxford United manager Chris Wilder says there is no way he will walk away from the club – and urged everyone to assess the season only once it is finished. There are four games of the npower League Two campaign remaining, but a top-ten

  • Court will hear defence against sex charge

    The Old Bailey will today hear the defence case of a man accused of rape and sexual activity with a child, as the Bullfinch trial enters its 39th day. Assad Hussain, 32, is one of nine men charged with running a child sex exploitation gang in Oxford

  • Man accused of 'fraud by abuse'

    A man charged with fraud by abuse of position has appeared in court. Christopher Walsh, 48, of Banbury Road, Kidlington, is accused of committing eight counts of fraud and one of theft between 1999 and 2008. He appeared at Oxford Crown Court

  • FOOTBALL: Watts sparks Milton shock

    ROBERT Watts notched a double as Witney & District FA Division 2 side Milton fought back to spring a surprise 3-1 win at home to FC Nomads in the Junior Shield, writes ANTHONY BARLOW. Steve Bircher put the visitors from Division 1 ahead, but

  • FOOTBALL: Powell leads way in Casuals thrashing

    PAUL Powell smashed in a five-timer as North Berks League Division 1 title challengers Didcot Casuals ran riot by trouncing struggling visitors Sutton Courtenay 11-0, writes PHIL ANNETS. Rob Joyce and Dan Cox-Rodgers hit braces, while Fletcher

  • Garden trail clues lead to treats

    THREE generations of an Oxfordshire family took part in an Easter trail around the garden at Chastleton House at the weekend. Sarah Rolls, 38, from Bloxham, her daughter Isabella, seven, and mother Gwyneth Moss, 62, visited the National Trust property

  • Villagers happy as Seven Stars pub in Marsh Baldon reopens

    VILLAGERS are celebrating the opening of their pub after they saved it from closure. Cheers erupted from the crowd as The Seven Stars in Marsh Baldon – which is more than 350 years old – was officially opened on Saturday by the previous owner,

  • Dad's agony at death of son from rare disease

    THE father of a nine-year-old boy who died from a rare condition has spoken of his agony and helplessness as he watched his son’s condition deteriorate. Mike Illingworth, from Witney, whose son Ben suffered from Sanfilippo syndrome, said: “He used

  • Jamie's quick on the draw at Easter fun event

    BABY animals and Easter egg hunts thrilled children celebrating their break from school over the bank holiday weekend. The Easter activities at Millet’s Farm in Frilford near Abingdon, including a bouncy castle, trampolines and Victorian carousel