KARL Durham left school at 16 and his first job was as a £46-a-week panel-beating apprentice on the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). Now 43, he says the ‘university of life’ has led him to become head of a £30m-a-year business employing 70 people,
Marc West goes out and about with his camera at our favourite festival - Wilderness WELL I think I’ve just about recovered from last weekend…or maybe I’ll just never be the same again? The three days of full-on fun in the wilds of West Oxfordshire
It’s that time of year again when foodies gather in South Parks to celebrate all that’s good in the world of food and drink. Foodies Festival runs from Saturday, August 24 to Monday, 26 and this year’s new features include the Cake & Bake
Thieves smashed the rear windows of two vehicles to steal power tools and clothing in Watlington. The vehicles were parked in London Road when they were broken into between 1am and 1.15am on Wednesday. Police asked witnesses to call 101.
Katherine MacAlister enjoys a great pizza - cooked (almost) on her doorstep I think of it as a test when Rico’s Pizza Shack rolls up once a week and parks outside my house – a test of my willpower, a test of my wallet, a test of my waistline, and
Annette Cunningham packs an appetite and heads for a meat-feast extraordinaire From the moment our plates arrived you could tell our very special guest was jealous (still, what can you do, it was her own fault for declining to order a starter).
New publican Victoria Frazer-Smith on the trials and tribulations of re-opening a village pub People often talk about writing a book or running a pub. Tell your friends you’re penning your first novel and they might feign interest, tell them you
ANDREW FFRENCH enjoys a convoluted tale of love, loss and regret, set on the beautiful Italian Riviera IT’S an understatement to say that Beautiful Ruins is not a novel with a linear narrative. One critic described it as a “high-wire feat of bravura
Tim Hughes finds out why the popular nostalgiathon known as Rewind has proven to be such a big draw with music lovers DIG out those lurid legwarmers, ra-ra skirts or acid-washed jeans, because, for one weekend only, the 1980s are back. Yes,
Four-piece alternative group The Secret Kids will play a gig at The Wheatsheaf on Saturday night. The local rockers bounced back to their usual gigging schedule in May after guitarist Simon Goodall returned from paternity leave, and have been making
MATT AYRES speaks to the engaging Pete Fryer about the life and times of his cover band entertaining crowds over five decades Pete Fryer might not be Oxfordshire’s most famous rock star, but his covers band has been rocking venues around the county
THE Southern Bypass Road eastbound has reopened after a vehicle carrying gas cylinders broke down. Emergency services were called at about 5.15pm to the vehicle, between the Hinksey Hill Interchange and the Kennington Roundabout. Heavy traffic
To the uninitiated, math-rock can be a challenging prospect. This rhythmically complex, experimental genre of music emerged in the late ’90s when ambitious songwriters took the angular elements of progressive rock a step further, focusing on unusual
It’s a case of once more unto the breach, dear friends… as Creation embarks on its outdoor summer number in the shape of Shakespeare’s Henry V from Saturday. Marking Creation’s first history play in 17 years, the production will see three actors
New theatre company Custard offers young people the chance to get involved with music, theatre and dance... KATHERINE MACALISTER looks at the ethos behind the Oxford-based organisation Thanks to Oxford local Laura Mathis, new theatre company Custard
Fancy a nibble? If you do, meet the man who is keen for you to make it a Spanish-style bite. KATHERINE MACALISTER talks to chef Omar Allibhoy about his tapas mission Hailed as the Jamie Oliver of Spanish cooking and the Antonio Banderas of tapas
OXFORD'S Hannah England has missed out on a medal at the World Athletics Championships in Moscow. England finished fourth in the 1,500m final, clocking 4mins 4.98secs.
Councillors will rule on planning bids at a meeting in Abingdon next week. Vale of White Horse District Council’s planning committee will meet at 6.30pm on Wednesday. Applications to be discussed include one for a new home-deliveries centre
MONDAY night’s women’s 400m final was one of the highlights of the past 20 years of British track and field. Christine Ohuruoghu secured her place on the gold medal podium for the second time at a World Championships. Managing to pip Amantle
UP TO 30 scientists are being recruited by German drug discovery company Evotec after it closed its operations in India and moved them back to its labs at Milton Park, near Didcot. The company’s 120 employees in India are losing their jobs, but
BUSINESS Secretary Vince Cable announced new investment in UK hi-tech start-ups as he praised cutting-edge research in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. He was at the Satellite Applications Catapult in Harwell, home to small businesses specialising in Global
I AM writing in response to the recent article about Co-op nurseries, specifically the comments that Co-op made about the old Petit Enfant nurseries in Witney and Carterton. I am absolutely disgusted that Co-op could suggest that the previous owners
I COULDN’T help a wry smile on my face when I read our local farmers referred to as ‘custodians of the countryside’. This correspondent must live in a different world to me. When I take a drive in the country what do I see? Hedges, bushes, etc, minced
YOU say (Anger as water bills set to go up again, front page, Oxford Mail, August 13) that Thames Water paid no corporation tax last year “under a deal with Government”. There is no “deal”. There are, rather, tax rules that apply to everyone.
I AGREE with the statement by Football Association chairman Greg Dyke, pictured, that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar should be moved from that country owing to the temperatures there in mid-summer. What player would want to play football in temperatures
‘SPANISH PM talks tough over Gibraltar’ is your headline (August 10). The “dispute” which has flared up over allegations of damage to fishing grounds caused by Gibraltarian authorities following the creation of an artificial reef” concerns, according
The headline letter (Oxford Mail, August 13) is again about hospital smoking shelters and why they should not be allowed. As far as I’m concerned all these people with so-called good reasons why smoking should be banned all miss two very important
LAST week we talked about unfair advantages in ping-pong games, and we’ve discovered another injustice on a grand scale this week Insider. The two tables installed at Oxford station as part of the “Ping! Oxford” festival have been placed at a slight
A RECRUITMENT drive is under way to help market an Oxford invention that keeps a donated human liver alive outside the body for up to 24 hours. The device, developed by a firm called OrganOx, is already being used to help liver transplants but
OXFORD is to become a manufacturing centre for a visionary maker of innovative glasses. Major growth internationally has prompted Adlens to focus on developing a site in Osney Lane, off Botley Road, where it will make the next generation of its
THE relatives of a motorcyclist who died in Begbroke at the weekend have paid tribute to a “wonderful gentleman”. Oxford Brookes University student Andrés Naveda, 23, died when his motorbike left the A44 at the Begbroke roundabout on Saturday evening
IN between attending a performance of Cinderella at Chipping Norton Theatre and visiting Little Dots Daycare nursery, Witney, Prime Minister David Cameron had a major political issue on his mind as 2012 turned in 2013. It was the topic no Conservative
EAST Oxford residents have criticised Thames Water over a month of “noisy” repair work. People living in Campbell Road said the water firm did not tell them about work to pump sewage from a wrongly connected water pipe. The firm said it could
THE wife of newspaper proprietor and former Oxford United owner Robert Maxwell helped him set up his business when they returned to the UK after the Second World War. Dr Elisabeth Maxwell, who has died aged 92, worked as his secretary and assistant
CHRISTOPHER Lewis Loyd, the head of Lockinge Estate, near Wantage, has died aged 90. Although he was in charge of a 7,500-acre estate, he “never acted the grand gentleman”, and demolished his own home to save the estate. He died at home on
THE headmaster who ran Josca’s independent preparatory school for more than three decades has died aged 81. Tony Savin initially joined the school part-time to coach cricket while he was at university. When he finished his degree in 1957 he
A BURGLAR from Witney who was caught by police when his getaway car got stuck in a muddy field has had his prison sentence cut. James Pimlott, right, of Corn Bar, was originally jailed for 18 months in June after admitting a burglary in The Street
OXFORD MAGISTRATES Ian Davies, 49, of Oxford Homeless Pathways, Luther Street, Oxford, convicted of stealing items worth £28 from Peacocks in Broadway, Didcot, and items worth £34.27 from the Co-operative, in Wantage Road, Didcot, on February 2
BANBURY MAGISTRATES David Gikes, 53, of Glamis Place, Banbury, admitted assault by beating in South Bar Street, Banbury, on April 9. Fined £470 and told to pay £100 compensation, a £47 victims’ surcharge and £85 costs. Elizabeth Ray, 48, of
AN opening batsman and wicket keeper for the Oxford Caribbeans has died aged 72. Richard Howard played for the cricket team for about two decades and scored countless centuries. He became a fixture for the Oxford Caribbeans and also played
FAMILY members have recalled fond memories of Oxford freelance journalist and motorbike racer Colin McPherson Fenton, who has died aged 76. Mr Fenton died at his home on the Isle of Man on August 2, after suffering from cancer since January.
PARENTS, staff and school supporters have helped St Francis Primary School, Horspath Road, Cowley, Oxford, raise £1,125 for school funds at its summer fete. The highlights of the event, held at the end of term, included a performance from school
BABY Simple in Cowley Road, Oxford, is undergoing refurbishment and will open under the name Blanco on August 29. Owner Martin Ford, who opened the bar in 1999, said a revamp was long overdue.
A DECISION will be made next week whether to renew a licence for a sex shop in Cowley Road, Oxford. The Private Shop has applied to Oxford City Council to renew its licence. A decision will be made on Tuesday at a public meeting of the licensing
LITTLE explorers discovered the secrets of the woods at a “forest school”. About 40 parents and toddlers turned up to Friday’s session run by Little Wittenham’s Earth Trust. Christina Reinhard, 32, from Didcot, who attended with two-year-old
A cake sale organised by Fay Coogan, on Saturday, August 3, at Fritwell Village Hall, near Bicester, raised £840.26 for research into Motor Neurone Disease. There was also an arts and crafts stall, refreshments, a raffle and guessing games.
Thieves broke into two sheds in Berrick Salome, near Wallingford, and took lawn mowers and power tools. The crimes happened between August 3 and Monday. Police said the locks to the sheds were cut. Call 101 if you have any information.
THEY are the people who help our mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles live in dignity in old age. The county’s professional carers play a vital role and nominations are sought for Age UK Oxfordshire’s Dignity Every Day awards 2013.
Theatre DUNSINANE Oxford Playhouse September 17-21 Box office: 01865 303305 oxfordplayhouse.com Macbeth is dead. Under cover of night, an English army has swept through the landscape, killed the tyrant and taken the seat of power
OLYMPIC silver medallist Keri-anne Payne has taken the plunge at Blenheim Palace lake ahead of a relay challenge for Sport Relief. The swimmer, from Edinburgh, will be joined by comedian David Walliams and Beijing medallist Cassie Patten in leading
TRADERS say they are facing a month of lost footfall and business as the main road through Chipping Norton is closed. The £400,000 A44 resurfacing project means traffic is prohibited in the town centre until August 26. Businesses say footfall has
A MAN has gone on trial accused of sexually assaulting and “poisoning” a teenage girl by giving her diazepam. Jamie Gardiner, of Colwell Road, Berinsfield, denies one count of administering a noxious or poisonous substance with intent and two counts
NEIGHBOURS are fighting plans by a Cowley Road music venue to extend its opening hours. A petition has been ogranised to fight The Bullingdon Arms’s bid to open as late as 3.30am. It has applied to Oxford City Council to vary its premises licence
Think of Shakespeare’s Henry V, and there’s a good chance that Laurence Olivier’s classic film will flash into mind, complete with battle scenes and stirring score by William Walton. It’s just as well you don’t need such massive forces when staging
FIVE STARS The endless conflict between the sexes that the noted misogynist August Strindberg famously explored in his 1889 one-acter Miss Julie is expanded to include a racial context in writer and director Yael Farber’s stunning adaptation with
DEVELOPERS want to add an extra storey to Jericho’s Castle Mill House apartment complex. It would create one two-bedroom and two one-bedroom flats in the “brutalist” building, at Juxon Street, by Oxford Canal. Developer W Lucy has also applied
Traffic on the key road link between West Oxfordshire and Oxford could be slowed down by a 900-home plan for Barton, councillors fear. West Oxfordshire District Council is concerned about the potential impact of the Barton West proposals on the
FATHER Francis Davidson has resigned from his role as monastic superior of the Benedictine college St Benet's Hall, Oxford. It follows allegations that he failed to act on reports of sexual abuse that were made during his time at the Catholic
NO REASONABLE person can criticise any of the Bullfinch victims for a reluctance to appear in future court cases. Today we report that two of them, only identified publicly as Girl 3 and Girl 5, feel they will not be able to face walking into a
A PICK-YOUR-OWN farm that opened a cafe and a deli without planning permission could be forced to close after an appeal failed. Rectory Farm, in Stanton St John, is appealing for public support to keep its pick-your-own operation open. The
ONE of the first business owners in a Wantage pop-up shop says she wants to open a shop of her own in the town. The scheme, which sees independent businesses test their wares in an empty shop unit for a few days at a time, was launched last month
A first sighting of the Jersey tiger can leave observers exasperated. It looks like a butterfly, flies like a butterfly, is the same size as a butterfly and, like a butterfly, is found during the day. But, despite what your eyes may be telling you,
A man who groped two teenage girls on a city bus is due to be sentenced today. Christopher Swift, of Matthew’s Way, Wootton, near Abingdon, was found guilty of two sexual assaults in June this year after a two-day trial at Oxford Crown Court.
Council chiefs will meet rail bosses to discuss plans for a £500m rail link between Oxford and Bedford. The East-West rail link project aims to reinstate the former railway line linking Oxford, Milton Keynes and Bedford. Today, Oxfordshire
THERE was much ado at Cogges Manor Farm in Witney at an outdoor performance of a Shakespeare classic. Theatre company The Festival Players staged A Midsummer Night’s Dream on the manor house lawn on Tuesday evening. And the production featured
SOUTH OF ENGLAND INTER-COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS LUISA Chantler-Edmond soared to fifth in the UK under 15 discus rankings after a strong showing at Hendon. The Radley athlete finished third with a personal best throw of 34.04m and was just 5cm off
(senior men unless stated) HOOKY 6 Eynsham RR: 34 B Pollard 38.53, 74 D Bridges (LV35) 42.46, 103 K Williamson (1st LV65) 45.02, 135 J Pinnock (LV45) 47.51, 162 A Pinnock (V60) 50.09, 178 P Creasey 52.11. Kidlington: 19 C Martin 37.29,
Four people have appeared in court charged with attacking a taxi driver. Arfaan Nawaz, 25, Karvan Nawaz, 28, and 31-year-old Sarfan Nawaz, all of Netherwoods Road, Headington, appeared in Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, along with a 17-year-old
PLASTICS PLUS MIDLAND LEAGUE ABINGDON just missed out on promotion from Division 5 after coming joint fifth in the fourth and final round at Sutton Coldfield. Dan Hamilton won the men’s 1,500m (4mins 12.1 secs) and 3,000m (9.42.1). Fatima
An inquest has been opened into the death of 21-year-old Patrick Kellett, who was found on Saturday morning dying in a stream near Little Bridge Road, Bloxham. Mr Kellett, of Mullein Road, Bicester, was taken to Banbury’s Horton General Hospital
A VICTIM of the Bullfinch gang cannot face court again despite knowing the identity of more gang members and customers. The victim, who was raped and sold for sex from the age of 13 to 15, was “devastated” by the way her abuser’s lawyers treated
HOOKY 6 AARON Burgess and Rachel Masser enjoyed dominant victories in ideal conditions. Oxford City’s Burgess won the men’s title by almost a minute, while Masser (Woodstock Harriers) took the ladies’ honours by 42 seconds. Burgess, 31,
OXFORD: Worcester College in Walton Street has won planning permission to demolish buildings to create new kitchens. The application will see “various demolitions”, including the existing store building and extension to the Nuffield building.
Hinksey Park Football Club has won planning permission to build a pavilion at Grandpont Nature Park, off Whitehouse Road. The facility, part of a £3.1m city council project to build and upgrade pavilions across Oxford, will include changing rooms
IT’S BEEN 50 years since civil rights activist Martin Luther King delivered his iconic “I have a dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. But the memory of the speech and its maker lives on, and was celebrated in Blackbird
The number of people signing on the dole in Oxfordshire has fallen again and is now less than half the national rate. According to latest figures produced by the Office for National Statistics, 5,925 people were claiming Jobseekers' Allowance in
BRITISH ULTRA FEST SOME of the world’s most fanatical endurance runners take their first strides in a six-day race at Radley College. The event forms the centrepiece of the British Ultra Fest, which the school is hosting this week. If they
Amateur dramatic group Thingumybogs is inviting people to take part in its Christmas pantomime this year. The group will hold an enrolment evening for those who want to help either on or off the stage on Wednesday, August 28. The event will
OXFORD: The Chester Arms in Chester Street is set to reopen but two houses will be built on part of its car park and garden. Woodchester Estates Limited was granted planning permission for the scheme at a west area planning committee meeting on
OXFORD: Police had last night made no arrests after a Wolvercote village shop was robbed by a man with a knife. The Post Box in Godstow Road, above, was hit at 1.19pm on Tuesday. The robber threatened staff with a large knife before stealing cash
CALLS from an Oxford law expert to spare thieves and fraudsters from prison have been dismissed. Oxford University’s Professor Andrew Ashworth said jail terms should only be used for the most serious crimes including those of a violent, threatening
BANBURY: A 23-year-old man has been charged with a public order crime after armed police were called to an incident in the town last month. James McDowell, of West Street, was released on bail to appear at Banbury Magistrates’ Court on August 28 after
THE controversial planned reforms to the A-Level system could see some of Oxfordshire’s top independent schools using other qualifications. The changes will see AS- Levels – currently sat in the first year of sixth form and contributing with the
This article is not an examination of the merits of adoption but rather it seeks to explore the alternatives available when a child remains within their birth family but not with their parents. If a child is adopted their adoptive family will become
SWEATSHOP SOUTHERN LEAGUE RADLEY finished runners-up in Division 1 after coming second in their final round meeting at Tilsley Park, Abingdon. Although only promoted to the top flight this year, Radley have impressed and ended up just three
Vikings play-off with Masons tonight for the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford Summer League Group A title after fighting back for a 3-3 draw at West Oxford Democrats Club, writes PETE EWINS. Needing four points to secure top spot, Vikings found themselves
Oxford Saints crashed to a 52-0 defeat against Cornish Sharks in the BAFA National Division South Conference at the Mount Wise Stadium, Newquay. Saints trailed 17-0 at half-time to an eager Sharks side, and wilted further after the break as the
Experienced netminder James Skaife has rejoined Oxford City Stars. Skaife has played for Oxford since the 2006-07 season, but left in the first half of last term for personal reasons. He faces plenty of competition for a place between the pipes
HANNAH England has pledged to leave nothing on the track when she competes in tonight’s 1,500m final at the World Championships in Moscow (6.20). The 26-year-old Oxford City athlete won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South
OXFORD United will have no problems coping with the added pressure of being league leaders, according to manager Chris Wilder. United head to Torquay United this weekend top of Sky Bet League Two on goals scored following victories from their opening
Three thieves have taken a “significant” amount of cash after breaking into a cash machine at the Ozone Leisure Complex in Greater Leys. The machine outside Frankie & Benny’s was damaged and the money taken between 2am and 3.30am on Monday.
A man in his 40s was taken to hospital after a bike and a car collided in the town yesterday morning. Police and paramedics were called to Mersey Way at 7.40am and the man was treated at the scene before going to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital
A knife-wielding robber has stolen takings from the Loch Fyne restaurant in Jericho. The attacker threatened his 32-year-old victim as he was carrying the money along King Street on Monday at about 2.30pm. The victim handed over the takings
A MAN accused of false imprisonment has been unanimously cleared by a jury. Andrew Richardson, of The Phelps, Kidlington, was accused of threatening his former girlfriend with a power drill and holding her prisoner inside her car. The 37-year-old
EXPERT signwriter David Cummings has been leaving his mark on Oxford’s shopfronts, buses and billboards for 65 years. And with the most prestigious university rowing teams still clamouring for his beautifully-painted oars, he says he has no intention
DRINKING 10 pints of beer a week may be frowned upon these days, but to the medie-val monks of Bicester it was a lifeline. The holy men went to an ancient brew house for a daily tipple to kill off bacteria and now archaeologists believe they may
THE planned expansion at Culham Science Park is yet more proof of this county’s position as a leading location for hi-tech industries. There are issues such developments bring, such as increased pressure and market-led increase in the cost of housing
UP to 1,000 new jobs could be created as an “Oxfordshire landmark” plans to expand and attract more science and technology firms. The owner of Culham’s Science Park near Abingdon – the UK Atomic Energy Authority – said it was looking at “significant
A NUMBER of homes are without power this morning because of a fault at a sub-station. Southern Electric said it had received several calls from people in Lewis Close and Kiln Lane, Risinghurst. A spokeswoman said she didn't have a number
3:05pm COUNTYWIDE results appear to have remained similar to last year, according to Oxfordshire County Council. Oxfordshire County Council has said results indicate around 90 per cent of pupils passed two or more A-Levels
The struggle for female emancipation comes under scrutiny in four of this week's five films. If these pictures are anything to go by, progress seems to have been slow since the mid-1950s and, while some cultures continue to oppress their womenfolk,
Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines takes its title from the Iroquois meaning of the New York town of Schenectady and boldly seeks to use the setting to explain the behaviour of its principals. However, the dramatic momentum built up in the
We have a Live Blog running of updates, pictures and tweets and a Picture Gallery SchoolABCD Abingdon 14-19 Consortium464 / 18 / 44 / 97 Abingdon and Witney College184 / 14 / 47 / 99 Abingdon School152 / 62.9 / 90.4 / 100 Banbury Academy110 / 22
KIDLINGTON: Gosford All Blacks WRFC are looking for new members for its girls’ and women’s rugby teams. The club welcomes players to try free rugby sessions at Stratfield Brake, Freize Way, on Mondays and Thursdays from 7pm until 8.30pm. For
MARSH BALDON: The annual Baldon Feast will take place on Saturday. The event at Marsh Baldon Village Green runs from 2pm to 6pm and will include a funfair, fête, live music, games and displays. Entry is £1.
OXFORD: Plans for next year’s Oxford Pride event will be discussed at the organisation’s annual meeting on Tuesday. Finances, the election of the committee for 2014 and future plans for the event will all be discussed. The meeting runs from
POLICE have been criticised for failing to reunite a drummer with a stolen piece of kit being kept by a resident just two minutes walk away. Thieves snatched the drum from Martin Smith’s van in Marston Road in January but threw it into a nearby
OXON: A consultation on the contributions people make towards adult social care is coming to an end. The proposals would see the amount of money Oxfordshire County Council expects to receive reduce by about £500,000 due to planned changes to policies
There are estimated to be over 10,000 sight impaired people in Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire Association for the Blind (OAB) offers advice, information, emotional support, counselling and specialist equipment demonstration to anyone in the county with a
OXFORD: A rare chance to see a range of Oxford built cars will be on offer at Cowley Mini Plant next week. The centenary exhibition, which is usually only open to those touring the plant, will be open on Tuesday, August 20, but there will also
THIS pint-size demolition expert learnt about the laws of gravity at a fun day in Abingdon’s Box Hill park, organised by North Abingdon Children’s Centre. Alfie Busson, five, and his little Sister Lucy, three, from Radley Road, Abingdon, played
Mellow Cotswold stone houses viewed in the warmth of a sunny summer’s evening on a drive along the leafy lanes of Gloucestershire surely present a vision of the English rural scene at its best. Such a vision was mine in the last stages of the 40
Alarm bells sound in a leading clothing store in Oxford’s Clarendon Centre. Back through the security doors comes an embarrassed middle-aged woman shopper clutching the bag of ‘stolen’ goods that had triggered the alert. She is ignored by the girl
When Beatriz Romilly’s Joan of Arc wades into battle in Shakespeare’s Globe’s Henry VI (reviewed in Weekend today) it is with martial moves choreographed, perhaps appropriately, by a woman. Kate Waters, one of only two women on the Equity register
Out of Oxford or into Oxford? The question of which bus passengers the Thornhill park-and-ride is used by and intended for has exercised correspondents Graham Jones and Don Manley over the past two weeks in the letters column of The Oxford Times. Mr
The Four Seasons, the delightful CD recently issued by Oxford’s premier period instrument ensemble the Band of Instruments, is not, as you might assume, by Vivaldi. This is by his contemporary Giovanni Antonio Guido, an Italian working in Paris, whose
Summer-flowering phloxes have had a rough time recently, partly because they are devilish to grow in a pot. When you see them on the garden centre bench, flowering reluctantly and with mildewed foliage, they tend to languish unsold and that’s not surprising
