APPRENTICES in Oxfordshire have backed a new Government scheme that aims to boost the number of young people on work training schemes. Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron launched the initiative at the Mini Plant Oxford that will see 100,000
PREPARATIONS are under way across the county to honour the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in conflicts across the globe. With uniforms cleaned, and shoes and medals polished, the old and young will join forces to mark Remembrance
OXFORD Richard Burton, 34, of Phipps Road, Oxford, convicted of assault by beating in Phipps Road, Oxford, on March 5. Given a 12-month conditional discharge and told to pay £100 compensation, a £15 victim surcharge and £200 costs. Clare Francis
A 21-YEAR-OLD has been jailed for throttling his girlfriend on their anniversary until she blacked out. Ben Horsman, of Waltham Gardens, Banbury, admitted one count of causing actual bodily harm to Teresa Simms on June 13 this year. The assault
WITNEY has been famous for its blankets since the Middle Ages. Now plans have been submitted to bring the town’s Grade II* listed Blanket Hall – which was used to weigh and measure blankets – back into use as a new museum to showcase the trademark
A CASH grant from Oxford’s Mini plant will pay for performances and workshops over the city’s Christmas light festival next month. Five cultural and arts groups in Oxford will be given grants of up to £1,500 each to fund cultural celebrations for
Oxfordshire's Bradley Smith recorded his sixth top-ten finish of his rookie season when finishing eighth in the Japan MotoGp at the Motegi yesterday. The result all but seals an end-of-season tenth place ranking for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider
Chipping Norton driver Alice Powell had to be contect with the runners-up slot as Alex Craven won the championship, with a fifth and a second place finish in the final two rounds at Snetterton. Needing a double victory to be sure of landing the
Premier Division high-fliers Wantage Town were given a big fright by hosts Tuffley Rovers before securing a 3-2 extra-time victory in the second round of the Uhlsport Hallenic League's Bluefin Sports Cup on Saturday. In normal time, Warren Mann
THE lives and work of Oxford’s black scholars have been brought to life in a book by a cultural historian. Pamela Roberts will launch Black Oxford: The Untold Stories of Oxford University’s Black Scholars in the city this week. It uses data
Innocently walking past picketed gate ALONGSIDE Maurice Collier’s letter, Cowley problems began in the 1950s (Memory Lane, October 7), you published a picture of a lorry bursting through the factory gate with a number of people trying to stop it
YOUNG ghoulies and ghosties will be out in force this week to frighten away the Hallowe’en spirits. But for these children, below, there was no wandering the streets to ‘trick or treat’ – they celebrated with an indoor party. Bobbing apples
BURFORD’S Midsummer celebrations wouldn’t have been the same without a dragon. This one that appeared in June 1978 was more than 50ft long and a group of youngsters clearly wanted to find out who or what was underneath. The answer was - local
RUNNERS from Larkmead School, Abingdon, left their opponents trailing in the annual Vale of White Horse schools’ cross country championships in 1980. Three teams of six boys performed well to win the Milton Cup for the second time in three years
THE early district nurses provided a valuable service to their patients, but life did not always run smoothly. There were occasional disputes between nurses and doctors over who was responsible for what. We recalled last week how, before the
PUPILS at Dashwood Road Primary School at Banbury learned how supermarkets worked. They studied the design and layout of Sainsbury’s store near their school in Marlborough Place, the products it sold and ways to promote healthy eating. The
A PLAQUE is to be erected to commemorate four people who died in a wartime air crash in Oxford. But the help of Memory Lane readers is needed to make sure the name of one of the victims is spelt correctly. The Whitley 5 aircraft crashed in
Picture 1 The Archdeacon of Oxford, the Ven C Witton-Davies, cut the first sod on the plot for a new rectory in 1966. The Rector, the Rev V T Ducker, lived at Church Hanborough, a mile away, so it was decided to build a new home for him nearer most
THESE girls were getting ready for their biggest baton twirl of the year. Members of the Blue Eagle Majorettes at Chipping Norton were heading for Torbay in Devon in 1986 to take part for the first time in the National Baton Twirling Association
THESE children from Bartholomew School, Eynsham, showed they were expert cake makers. They baked and decorated the cakes, then sold them at the school to raise money for the Cancer Campaign for Research in 1973. The sale was organised by Mollie
CHILDREN at Tackley Primary School danced with excitement after they moved into their new school premises, rebuilt in 1976 after a fire which caused more than £40,000 damage. The fire destroyed a general activity area, a classroom, the kitchen
THE romantic tale of Helen and Paris was recreated at Peers School, Littlemore, with the staging of Offenbach’s classic opera, La Belle Helene. The cast included pupils and staff from Peers as well as children from the neighbouring Lawn Upton Middle
VISITORS to the Oxford-South Midland bus depot in Cowley Road, Oxford, in 1981 were given a glimpse of a bygone age. The exhibition formed part of the celebrations marking the centenary of public transport in the city. The first horse-drawn
THE River Thames at Iffley has been a favourite spot for hundreds of artists over the years. But for the last century, one feature of this idyllic scene has been missing – Iffley Mill. It burned down on May 20, 1908 and was never rebuilt. It
THE City of Oxford Silver Band was preparing to leave Oxford for a concert-packed tour of Germany and Holland. The 40-member band had been invited to play at two international festivals in Germany – in Gersthofen and Vilseck – and to take part
Picture 1: Ann Davis and her husband Michael were carrying on a tradition – running a confectionery and tobacco shop which had been trading for 100 years in a 14th-century building in the Buttermarket. Mrs Davis is pictured behind the counter in 1981
THESE children learned the art of dancing from professionals. Two members of a dance company spent a week at Bishop Kirk School in Summertown, Oxford, in 1983 teaching them steps. And at the end, the children put on two performances of a dance
John Mills scored the winner as Didcot Town moved off the foot of Calor League Division 1 South & West with a narrow 1-0 victory at the Draycott Engineering Loop Meadow Stadium on Saturday. His second-half goal earned the hosts record only
North Leigh made it nine league wins on the spin as they eased to a straightforward 2-0 home victory against Evesham United in Calor League Division 1 South & West on Saturday. Second-half goals from Keiron Sanders and Jacob Walcott saw the
A decision on the application for Oxford's Gladiator Club to become an asset of community value is expected today. The Gladiator Sports and Social Club building was put up for sale last month by its owner The Gladiator Trust for £1.25m. The
BRIGHT graffiti has been replaced with blocks of blue and red at an East Oxford nightclub which got into trouble with city planners. Clems in St Clement’s Street has been repainted after an agreement between its owners and Oxford City Council.
Best-selling author Frances Osborne gave a talk as part of Wantage’s “not-just-Betjeman” literary festival yesterday. Mrs Osborne, wife of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, spoke about why she likes women who break the rules and the real stories
Scott Bridges bagged a brace as Banbury United moved up to seventh in the Calor League Premier Division after a thrilling late 3-2 victory at Bashley on Saturday. With the sides level and the game in stoppage time, a draw looked likely, only for
Headington Amateurs staged a quite astonishing recovery to draw 4-4 with visitors Chinnor in Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 East on Saturday. With 14 minutes, left visitors Chinnor held a seemingly unassailable 4-0 lead, Jamie Essex having
A home draw in the FA Cup first round was very welcome for Chris Wilder as Oxford United were paired with Gateshead. It is the first time in four seasons the U’s will play at the Kassam Stadium in their opening game of the competition, which will
VIKINGS invaded Wantage Park at the weekend as part of the town’s first Alfred’s Day. To celebrate the Wantage-born monarch, Mayor Fiona Roper organised the event which saw the park taken over by historic re-enactment group The Vikings. And it
OXFORD: Three men from the city were arrested on suspicion of stealing a motor vehicle and power tools. The suspects, aged 21, 24, and 29, were arrested after a vehicle was stopped in Shooters Hill, Pangbourne on Wednesday and tools including a
OXFORD: A driver was fined £250 after hitting a cyclist at a junction of Botley Road and driving away. Annette Craik, of Baronhurst Drive, Chalgrove, admitted failing to stop after the accident on April 19 at the junction of Lamarsh Road and Botley
Good morning everyone and welcome to our weekly Oxford United chat. No shortage of positive things to talk about this morning, so let's enjoy ourselves for the next hour. As always you drive the conversation, so don't be shy in sharing your
CHILDREN have been getting into the spooky spirit of Halloween by making their own masks. Blenheim Palace is hosting a series of events this week for half term. Yesterday children carved pumpkins in the Pleasure Gardens Deli. Three-year-old
A BIKE was stolen from a garden in Witney. The blue Raleigh bike was stolen in Southleigh Road, High Cogges, between 4.45pm and 7.45pm on Wednesday. A burglar gained entry to the property after smashing a window. Call PC Lorna Briggs on
THAMES Valley Police have confirmed they are no longer investigating the death of woman who was found in the canal. The body of Barbara Marsh, 83, from Kidlington, was found in the canal off Yarnton Lane, near Kidlington Football Club and officers
ESCAPEE Ian McLean fooled Littlemore Hopspital staff by stuffing pillows into his bed, it has been revealed. McLean, a prisoner given a life sentence for a violent attack on his former partner walked of the unlocked Lambourn House facility at Littlemore
AS predicted, both the mental health and justice authorities do not fare well in the report of Ian McLean’s moonlight departure from Littlemore Hospital. Mr McLean, you will recall, was given a life sentence for a violent attack on a former lover
More than 100 people attended the inaugural meeting of Oxfordshire’s first atheist church on Saturday. It was held at the St Aldate’s Tavern in Oxford and featured pop songs ending in a grand finale of Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side
London Welsh head coach Justin Burnell hailed his side’s performance as “fantastic” following their 41-6 win over Cornish Pirates at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday. “Today was about our performance and maintaining our position at the top of the
London Welsh cemented their place at the top of the Greene King IPA Championship table with a comprehensive 41-6 victory over Cornish Pirates at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday night. The Exiles ran in five tries in a one-sided affair to move two
Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon continued his terrific run of form with an across-the-card double courtesy of Ely Brown and Theatrelands yesterday. Charlie Deutsch was on board Ely Brown (6-5 fav), who repeated last year’s win in the Pertermps
GREENE KING IPA CHAMPIONSHIP London Welsh 41, Cornish Pirates 6. SSE ENGLISH CLUBS CHAMPIONSHIP National 1: Henley 11, Doncaster Knights 10. National 2 South: Chinnor 29, Bishop’s Stortford 27. South West 1 East: Buckingham 10,
CRITCHLEYS UTV LEAGUE Devenney Cup 2nd round: Abba Ath 4, Rutherford 2; Abingdon Exiles 4, Green Tree Wallingford 3; AFC Jericho 5, North Oxford Con Club 3; AFC Valley v The Village Inn pp; Checkendon Exiles v Long Wittenham pp; Forest Hill 3,
FA CUP 4th qual round: Dover Ath 3, Oxford City 0. CALOR LEAGUE Premier Div: Bashley 2, Banbury Utd 3. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn 1, Fleet Tn 0; North Leigh 2, Evesham Utd 0. UHLSPORT HELLENIC LEAGUE Bluefin Sports Cup
The drive of the day in the Indian Grand Prix came from Romain Grosjean, of the Enstone-based Lotus team. The Frenchman, starting 17th on the grid, zoomed all the way up to third behind winner Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg. Grosjean did
Deane Smalley came off the bench to score, but the striker felt the praise for Oxford United’s 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon should go to the side’s defensive players. He played the final half-hour at Kingsmeadow, and secured a fifth away win in seven
Neal Ardley conceded Oxford United were the better side at both ends as his AFC Wimbledon side slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Kingsmeadow. The hosts had long spells of pressure, but could not break through a well-organised defence. At the other
MORE than 100 people took part in a village run to raise money for new play equipment. It is the fifth year the Ascott-under-Wychwood Village Charity has organised the event, which had both a 10k and a 5k run, to fundraise for local causes.
The Rt Revd John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford: The other night I went to a fundraising dinner. Nothing unusual I suppose – there are lots of these dinners going on all the time as charities try to find new sources of funds when times are tough.
DURING a recent radio interview, local Tory MP, Sir Tony Baldry explained one of the reasons why he had decided to enter a career in politics. It seems while at university Sir Tony had encountered a number of Trotskyists and Marxists, and I expect
BOTH my daughter and I believe traffic planners have to accept the impact on working people when traffic policies cause delays. On October 16, I set out from King’s End, Bicester, to take my daughter who is a Governor at HMP Bullingdon, to work
I HAVE been meaning to write for a while about the changes that have taken place in the Oxford Mail since the price hike in July. My first reaction was to consider cancelling it — it wasn’t really exciting enough to be worth the extra 20p a day
WE will soon discover if the Vale of White Horse District Council will protect the wishes of the vast majority of Botley residents and reject the outrageous proposed Westway development by Doric Properties. Yes, Doric have listened to the concerns
OF all the jobs in the world, I had to walk into this one. And you know what, in the grand scheme of things, it ain’t bad. But after 32 years, I can’t help feeling... dispirited. Which is why for much of last week I couldn’t stop wondering
Oxford City were dumped unceremoniously out of the competition at the hands of classy Skrill South side Dover Athletic on Saturday. Nathan Elder and Barry Cogan gave the hosts a two-goal lead at half-time and Sean Raggett killed off any lingering
James Constable admitted the delight of scoring at AFC Wimbledon was tinged with disappointment over missing a golden chance to compete a century of goals for Oxford United. The striker seized on a fifth-minute chance to head in Asa Hall’s cross
Ian Finlay, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints representative on the Oxford Council of Faiths: It should have been the happiest of occasions, a family wedding. The happiness was shattered when masked gunmen opened fire and killed four
OXFORD United are ‘too kind’. No doubt, Accrington will be most grateful to them for not winning, but for a team challenging for automatic promotion, the result is just not good enough. Any team rooted to the bottom of the league with a meagre
AT last someone has spoken the truth. In Mr Whittaker’s article on October 17, city councillor Mike Rowley, who represents Barton for the Labour party, states: “If you have no allocation of parking spaces in Barton West, the existing estate and Northway
A documentary featuring Radley College pupils more than 30 years after they appeared in a similar programme aired last night on BBC2. A Very English Education revealed what had happened to some of the public school’s high-flyers after the fly-on-the-wall
A SPLASH of pink was brought to Abingdon on Saturday as attempts were made to break the world record for the most bras taken on and off in a minute. Several hundred people turned up for the annual Splash of Pink Day in the Market Place, organised
TWO people escaped unhurt after being forced to crash-land their plane in a field after its engine failed. Five fire crews were sent to the field near Lower Whitehill Farm near Tackley at about 7pm on Thursday. An investigation into the incident
A BRAVE carer rescued an elderly woman from her flat after a small fire broke out. The fire service have praised the actions of the carer after the rescue in Fairacres Road, Didcot, on Saturday afternoon. The elderly woman was given oxygen
Chris Wilder urged Oxford United to savour going back to the top of the table before the hard work starts again in training this morning. The U’s, who led Sky Bet League Two in August, returned to the summit with a hard-fought 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon
A FEW hardy windsurfers enjoyed the blustery conditions at Farmoor reservoir yesterday as winds were building towards a storm expected to hit Oxfordshire today. Our live blog is running this morning here The storm, christened St Jude
CHERIE Blair dropped off some of her unwanted clothes at the British Heart Foundation’s store in St Ebbe’s in Oxford. The wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair visited the store – where her mother Gale Booth volunteers – on Friday as part of
THE chief fire officer has called for the Home Office to re-examine the need for sprinklers at the Campsfield House immigration removal centre near Kidlington following a major fire. A detainee was seriously injured in a fire at Campsfield House
THE Great British Bake Off finalists certainly shared plenty of tears and trifles during the competition. But away from the glare of television cameras, there was laughter – and of course lots of cake – as most of them were reunited on Saturday
ANDREW WOTHERSPOON believes it was a cycle helmet he got from the Oxford Mail that saved him. Now he’s hoping hundreds of other cyclists will follow his lead. The 72-year-old is still recovering at the John Radcliffe Hospital after suffering multiple
WORK on a blueprint for the biggest scheme to create jobs Oxford has seen in two decades has been launched. Oxford City Council has started working on its draft plan for the Northern Gateway development, a 100-acre scheme that will create 3,000
THREE head-banging teenagers have followed some of their idols on to the stage in America. Luke Ashby, Ben Comley and Damon Marshall – all from Witney – formed Twisted State of Mind after practising at Damon’s home in Cherry Tree Way. They
THE dungeons and dark corridors of Oxford Castle will play host to trick-or-treaters this Halloween. Throughout half-term, the castle will open its gates for trick-or-treating and other activities, including its little horrors murder mystery.
SUPERMARKET giant Waitrose has pledged to consult local residents and traders over its proposed Botley Road site in Oxford. It is understood the retailer is working with developer Rockspring and will set up consultation events with residents and
A recent Oxford University graduate has won one of the UK’s most prestigious art awards dubbed the “baby Turner Prize”. Jack Stanton, who graduated from Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, was named as the winner of this year’s New Sensations
A WOMAN reported missing in Headington, Oxford, has been found. Police appealed for information after Elinor Forrest - who was previously known as Elinor Russel - was last seen in Headington at about 6.30pm yesterday. They have now confirmed
OXFORD MAIL YOUTH LEAGUE Under 10 C League: Summertown Stars Flares 1, Chalgrove Cavaliers 7. Under 11 B League: Chalgrove Cavaliers White 1, Rotherfield Utd 0; Grove Chall Black v Crowmarsh Youth Rooks pp; Radley Yth 4, Quarry Rov Barca 6.
OXFORD MAIL GIRLS LEAGUE Under 11: Stonesfield Strikers 0, Wantage 1. Under 12: Swindon Spitfires v Harwell & Hendred pp; Tower Hill Vixens 1, Crowmarsh 5. Under 14: Wantage 1, Carterton Tn 1. Under 16/17: Moretonville Jun 1, Bloxham
