A week into my retirement, I have been overwhelmed with congratulations and good wishes from fans, former teammates and my peers. It’s also been a time for quiet reflection on my career, and I got round to thinking of all the world-class players
IT’S been almost two years since 1,800 runners in the first ever Oxford Half Marathon took to the starting line for a gruelling 13-mile race. Since its inception in 2011, the number of people signing up for the event has soared by more than 200
A NEW venture launched yesterday is aiming to find the next generation of inventors, engineers, scientists and sportsmen and women. Flying High Together was launched by four Wallingford schools at the town hall last night to benefit their 800 children
COMMUTERS’ journeys will now take twice as long after their bus was cancelled. Thames Travel says it has had to cut the Wantage-to-Didcot part of its 36 bus route because it is underused. That means that commuters like Alex Harvey, 22, from
IN THE past year, Kingston Bagpuize villagers have had to accept more than 200 new houses they did not want. Now an application has gone in that they have welcomed. The owner of Kingston Bagpuize House and the owners of a small industrial estate
IT IS a fate “unthinkable” for Oxford’s historic Pitt Rivers Museum of archaeological treasures, a wall of water decimating its interior. But that is what happened to three institutions that told the history of the city of Rikuzentakata, Japan,
ASSOCIATION with phone-hacking allegations and Government cuts have been blamed for Chipping Norton being listed among the worst places in Britain. The Cotswolds market town has been voted third in a book ranking the ‘Crap Towns’ of the country
ANGIE Trueman met a distant relative at a family history day. She was volunteering at Oxfordshire Family History Society’s (OFHS) annual open day at the Marlborough School in Woodstock on Saturday. About 300 members and non-members took advantage
POLITICIANS in South Oxfordshire have shot down a second plan to build an international airport south of Abingdon. But a chartered engineer has warned people not to write-off the plans when the alternative could be even more absurd. The Progressive
THE Oxford Mail has teamed up with those fine fellows at TomTom to offer a magnificent prize for all you active types: three of their GPS sports watches. The ultra-slim TomTom Runner delivers at-a-glance performance information such as distance
T here are many ways to describe Jacqueline Wilson but as usual her own words work best: “I’m a 10-year-old girl disguised as a grey-haired old lady, so you could say I’m locked in childhood.” Not just any grey-haired lady of course, but one of
It's been a long road to recovery for Launton Sports. When the club dropped out of the Hellenic League in 2011 it appeared to be in freefall. Beset with financial problems, they finished their debut season back in the Oxfordshire Senior League
Two goals from Tom Faulkner helped Wootton edge through to the first round of the OFA John Fathers Junior Shield. Wootton squeezed home 3-2 against Gyftid from the Banbury District League. Dave Oliver got the other. FC Mills found better fortune
WITNEY’S tennis club officials say they will not pay the rent unless the courts are resurfaced. The threat was made during a meeting about sports facilities in the town. A report has been prepared about the future of the facilities. And
WEDDING receptions can now take place on the publicly-owned Headington Hill Park four days each year. Oxford City Council says its agreement with Total Event Management, which won a tender to stage events, will pay for maintenance of the site.
A UNITED effort to stop smoking is under way in Oxfordshire as addicts try to kick the habit for the annual 'Stoptober' campaign. The nationwide campaign – which aims to get smokers to stop for 28 days in October – has risen to prominence in recent
A man appeared at Oxford Crown Court yesterday to deny burgling a house and stealing a car. Justin Bourton, 35, of Dashwood Road, Rose Hill, was charged with burglary on Thursday, July 4, in Courtland Road, Rose Hill, and stealing a BMW. He
FRIENDS of a teenager fighting for her life in hospital are using the internet to gather messages of support. Abingdon girl Leah Graham, 17, has been in intensive care in a London hospital for a week. The Fitzharrys School pupil has suffered from
ANGLERS who saved an elderly woman from drowning shrugged off their actions yesterday. Roy Walker and Mark Seagrott were fishing by Days Lock, near Little Wittenham, on Sunday when they heard calls for help after 69-year-old woman fell off a boat
Table-topping North Leigh made it eight successive wins with a 1-0 victory at Thatcham in Calor League Division 1 South & West. In a dour encounter, the Millers went ahead on 17 minutes when Andy Gunn snatched what proved to be the winner.
Banbury United’s four-match winning run ended with a 3-1 defeat at Hungerford Town in the Premier Division of the Calor League. The Puritans led through Dominic Lawless’s third goal in two games, and were handed a great opportunity to double the
DIDCOT Town crashed 7-1 away to Cirencester Town in their FA Trophy preliminary round replay. Two goals on the stroke of half-time all but settled the issue. Didcot’s hopes had already taken a knock when defender Sam Elkins limped out of the
JON Meades had surgery yesterday to correct an ankle injury after the Oxford United midfielder suffered a setback in his rehabilitation. The 21-year-old was at a hospital in London yesterday for the operation. It is another blow for Meades,
Jamie Wilkins scored the only goal to maintain Ardington & Lockinge’s perfect start to the season in the North Berks League. Their 1-0 home win over Faringdon Town moved them five points clear at the top of Division 1. Dorchester are now
SCHOOLS FOOTBALL COOPER (Bicester) narrowly edged past Wheatley Park 2-1 in the third round of the ESFA Under 16 Premier League Schools’ Cup. Joel Reynolds gave the hosts the advantage at half-time after a tense opening period. And although
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL CHARLEY Hamilton scored a last-minute equaliser to complete a hat-trick as Tower Hill held Newbury to a 3-3 home draw in Division 1 of the Southern Region Women’s League. Trailing 3-2 in injury-time, it looked all over for
A LANDOWNERS' association has praised Vale of White Horse District Council for restricting the use of Chinese lanterns, by agreeing to ban the candlelit party favourites at events that require a licence. Country Land and Business Association South
The founder of a scrapyard targeted by an undercover police operation yesterday denied that any “iffy” metal passed through his business. A trial jury at Oxford Crown Court listened to extracts of a police interview with Terence Rogers, of TR Rogers
Proposals to build new student accommodation at St Cross College were refused by councillors last night. The college in St Giles wanted to build 53 study bedrooms, a lecture theatre, library, seminar rooms and ancillary accommodation. The application
OXFORD CITY FA RICKY Anderson hit his third hat-trick of the season as The George won 6-1 at home to Masons Arms. After a tight first 20 minutes, George took control to lead 2-0 at the break. Adam McBrien pulled one back for Masons to make
Leaders Freeland Yeoman thumped an under-strength Tree Grove 9-1 at home to continue their perfect start to their Crictchleys UTV League Division 1 season. Tom Gerken led the way with five first-half goals, while Danny Taylor scored a brace to
Four games into the season and the Witney & District FA Premier Division already seems a lot more open this campaign. Chipping Norton Town took over at the top, but saw their 100 per cent record end in a goalless draw at Chadlington. Ducklington
A MAN has denied a robbery and an assault in Banbury which allegedly inflicted grievous bodily harm. Qais Ahmed, of Withycombe Drive, Banbury, is accused of committing the crimes on November 23 last year. It is alleged he attacked Glenn Briggs
FAMILIES flocked to the centre of Woodstock to enjoy the delights of the fair. Brothers James, two, and Thomas, seven, enjoyed a ride on a plane at the annual Street Fair. The two-day event finished last night. Their mother Janet Scott-Symonds
A camper van blaze tackled by firefighters in Banbury yesterday is thought to have been an arson attack. The fire was spreading to a neighbouring house and cars but the crews managed to put the flames out in Donaldson Court off Miller Road.
CONSULTANTS hired to investigate inappropriate comments made by the city’s former mayor cost taxpayers £15,780. But council leaders have defended the spending saying it was necessary to avoid allegations of bias if its own staff had investigated
A CYCLIST in his 20s has been taken to hospital following a collision with a van at The Plain in Oxford. A police spokesman said it was not thought the cyclist had suffered serious injuries in the accident at about 9.30am. There are reports
OXFORD City Football Club’s chief executive and President has acquired Oxford Hoops basketball club. Florida-based Wall Street tycoon Thomas Guerriero hopes to oversee the club – which will change its name to Oxford City Basketball – progressing up
The new chairman of Oxfordshire’s health and social care watchdog warned about the impact of “unprecedented cuts” as his appointment was announced. Larry Sanders was yesterday named as the chairman of Healthwatch, the official watchdog for county
A second-half hat-trick from Rory Francies helped Under 10 C League leaders Chalgrove Cavaliers come back from a goal down to beat Cholsey Bluebirds 3-1. Joe Horn had given the visitors a 1-0 lead but Francies stole the show as Chalgrove kept their
OXFORDSHIRE SENIOR LEAGUE PAUL Coles’s maiden hat-trick helped Chalgrove hammer visiting Enstone 16-0 in the first round of the Presidents Cup. Coles netted four times, while Enstone finished the match with nine players due to injury. Nick
I’m a caffeine addict. I basically can’t function without it. My morning routine is a bit of Radio 4 to awake me from slumber, then a quick wee and straight to the kettle and the coffee tin. This is the one of many throughout the day. My normal
GILES SPORTS WITNEY YOUTH LEAGUE UNDER12 GARDEN City snatched victory right at the death as they saw off Tower Hill 3-2 in a thrilling Green League match. Oscar Darby put the hosts in front, but Garden City equalised through Jake Magovern
I WOULD be very interested to know how many disabled, handicapped and elderly people will be affected by the withdrawal of their benefits, and the effects on their health and living standards it will cause. Once again, this working together and working
I WOULD normally not waste my time in replying to such a piece of writing as that which Roy Darke contributed to your column on September 30. I could be forgiven for not understanding the way in which the proposal for this development, and of course
The Duke of Kent is due in Oxford tomorrow to celebrate the life, work and legacy of Cowley car industry creator William Morris. The Queen’s cousin will attend a service at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin to mark the 100 years since
A LANGUAGE student who came to Oxford to study died of cardiac failure, an inquest heard. Thailand-born Keerati Homsriprasert was staying with a host family in Desborough Crescent, Rose Hill, while he attended EF Academy Oxford in Headington.
A GROUP of city GPs are worried their patients have no idea they can opt out of a scheme that trawls their medical records for information. The care.data scheme launches later this year and is a programme that means information including patients
I AM wondering if anyone in Oxford city planning has thought about the people on the new Barton estate (to be built). Have they given a thought to the congestion on Bayswater Road and Green Road roundabout and the poor people who use this road for
AS a patient recently leaving hospital after being successfully treated for a life-threatening illness, I read on (September 30) that David Cameron had visited the JR Hospital. During his visit, I do hope he noticed on ward noticeboards the significant
I am writing concerning your front page story of 20 means 20 (October 1) and the police plans to get more strict on enforcement. The other day I was driving down Morrell Avenue’s ‘20mph’ zone and four cyclists sped past me doing in excess of 25mph
CAN you please explain to me, when competitions come on TV, why you must check things up on a computer? We don’t all have computers to find out these things. They need to tell you who the winners are. A lot of people who watch are pensioners
TODAY I was standing in the queue at my local Co-op. The man ahead, who looked over 18 and had a laptop computer slung over his shoulder, wanted to buy a small bottle of Smirnoff together with strawberries and cream. He was asked to produce ID. He
YES Sally Dicketts, chief executive of Activate Learning – the new name for Oxford & Cherwell Valley College Group – which wants to run a University Technical College in Didcot For too long, employers have complained of a skills gap that
OXFORD MAIL GIRLS LEAGUE UNDER15&16/17 OXFORD City went to the top of the Under 15 League after defeating close rivals Swindon Spitfires 3-2. Shelley Knight’s 35-yarder put City on their way and she set up Lauren Page for the first
Mum Laura Head said her children’s pram was set on fire when her mobile phone exploded. The 25-year-old from Wantage was pushing the pram containing her 15-month-old twins Archie and Freddie Smith, through a car park in Newbury when she heard a
A NEW accommodation block for military personnel has been officially opened at RAF Brize Norton. Air Vice-Marshal Sean Reynolds CBE DFC RAF unveiled a plaque yesterday at the four-storey block, which provides 312 bed spaces. The block will
FORGET The Great British Bake Off. On Sunday, 30 amateur cooks from an Abingdon estate are going head-to-head in the first Peachcroft Quiche-Off. They will be vying for the approval of Abingdon mayor Sam Bowring. The cook-off has been organised
A pensioner has appeared in Oxford Crown Court and denied 17 counts of rape. Terry Haynes, of Mathews Way, Abingdon, also pleaded not guilty yesterday to 11 counts of indecent assault and two attempted rapes. The 69-year-old is alleged to have
A VICAR and former Witney magistrate is facing a prison sentence after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a girl. Christopher Tadman-Robins, of Upper End, Shipton-Under-Wychwood, was convicted of five charges by a jury at Luton Crown Court
The city’s Christmas light night will be sponsored by the Mini plant again this year. The manufacturer will once again support the event on November 22 and will also use the event to mark 100 years of car making in the city. Celebrations will
THE argument that proper salaries and bonus packages should be paid to attract talented executives for NHS hospitals is a sound one. The Oxford University Hospitals Trust (OUHT) has a budget in excess of £800m. It is a major organisation employing
ANDY Melville praised Oxford United’s young guns for taking their opportunity despite the side losing 2-1 to Ports-mouth in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy last night. There were three teenagers in the starting line-up and Josh Ruffels, Callum O’Dowda
BIGGER bonuses handed out to hospital executives have been labelled “absolutely crazy” in the midst of planned cutbacks by the organisation. Bonus payments totalling £119,243 were paid to eight directors at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
OXFORD City Council’s decision to hire an independent organisation to investigate the claim of an inappropriate comment by erstwhile Lord Mayor Alan Armitage was absolutely the correct one, despite the £15,000 bill. While taxpayers may not be happy
MORE schools have confirmed they will be closed for strike action next week. The Mail reported on Tuesday that the 278 schools across Oxfordshire would be affected by strikes on Thursday, October 17. Today, Larkrise Primary School in East Oxford
DOG walkers are on a mission to raise money for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. On Sunday a walk around Eynsham will be held to fundraise for the charity, starting at 10am at the Sports Pavilion on Oxford Road. Call Celia Davies on
BARGAIN bazaar Poundland is opening its doors in Templar’s Shopping Park this Saturday – 500m away from rival 99p Stores in Templar’s Square shopping centre. It sets the scene for a battle for the hearts and wallets of frugal shoppers in the south
DOGS of all shapes and sizes congregated in St Giles Church with their owners for an animal service. The third annual service at the North Oxford church on Sunday was attended by a variety of dogs and a cat. The congregation enjoyed tea, biscuits
Peter Wright, 56, of Plover Drive, Oxford, admitted assaulting a man by beating him at Plover Drive on September 13. Given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay a victims’ surcharge of £15 and £85 costs. Nathan Strong, 31, of Kingfisher
A WORLD-renowned potter, hailed as the man responsible for reinventing British functional ceramics, drew large crowds to his exhibition in Jericho, Oxford. Walter Keeler, internationally famed for his salt-glazed stoneware, gave a demonstration
UNIVERSITIES which offer higher standards of education should be allowed to charge higher fees, Oxford University’s vice-chancellor has claimed. In his annual speech yesterday, Professor Andrew Hamilton, above,said the education provided at Oxford
Mansfield College will build a new five-floor building containing 78 study bedrooms after councillors approved plans last night. The planning application was given the go ahead at the meeting of the West Area Planning Committee at Oxford Town Hall
A RUGBY coach who died after a wasp sting will be remembered in a memorial match for youngsters this weekend. Will Lay, 43, died after he suffered an allergic reaction to the sting in August. The landscape gardener had been a coach at Oxford
Ella Reeves is left on the edge of her seat by a spectacular show by some of the world's best magicians - The Illusionists The Illusionists New Theatre Oxford September 25 Magic shows never used to be like this.
Where does the time go? It only seems like yesterday that this column was complaining about the division of the programme at the BFI London Film Festival into the new categories of , Dare, Debate, Family, Journey, Laugh, Love, Sonic and Thrill. Sadly
