IT is the always the subtlest of things that tell you if kids have truly enjoyed themselves. Dylan, my nine-year-old, leant over as Alex the Fireman was tidying up after his acrobatic performance on Thursday and gave him a thumbs up. Alex,
Oxfordshire's foodie news *Just in: The Rickety Press is open again and unrecognisable having almost doubled in size. Its second enormous renovation project has seen the former conservatory made into an all-year-round eating area. And with awards
Mary Evans Young has a tea time treat I was sure my friend would appreciate a classy afternoon tea in Oxford, so on a sunny early autumn afternoon we turned off Cornmarket into St Michael’s Street to arrive at the 18th Century Vanbrugh House Hotel
TIM HUGHES is bowled over by the fresh, zesty flavours of a new restaurant serving authentic Siamese food with a twist RUFUS Thurston looked at me with an expression usually reserved for the criminally insane. As the co-owner of Oli’s Thai – a
Chef Shaun Dickens's diary of a restaurant start-up Sitting down to write this has given me a chance to stop to think about the changing seasons. As the leaves on the trees begin to change so do the customers visiting the restaurant. Like most
More people are getting on their bikes with the Broken Spoke Bike Co-op, as MARC WEST finds out Favoured by town and gown alike as the most practical form of transport, bicycles in Oxford are practically part of our city’s soul. We all know
Stage news from Oxfordshire * Will Young heads up the cast of Cabaret which swings into town next week. Alongside his ongoing pop career, Will has been building up an impressive acting CV which saw him appear alongside Dame Judi Dench in the film
Luisa Omielan explains her feelings to Katherine Macalister Luisa Omielan was at rock bottom when she wrote her new show What Would Beyonce Do? She’d been dumped by her long term boyfriend, moved back in with her parents, her brother was suicidal
CHILDREN now have more of a grasp on, and more access to, technology than most of us had as youngsters. And that cultural shift has been adopted by researchers who want to help youngsters with Type 1 diabetes to learn to manage their sugar levels
TO help avoid boredom I have been challenging myself in the gym during the week just to build up a bit of strength for when the winter programme kicks in properly. A few of the guys have been doing the same, so I don’t think there will be too many
Win this unique chance to have a chart-topping star play a secret show for you and your mates... Best known for her hit Sweet About Me, singer Gabriella Cilmi is back with a new album – and will be celebrating by playing a private show in the home
Combining smooth Parisian jazz with Country and Western swing, The Hot Club of Cowtown are a thrilling proposition. Fiddle player Elana James tells Tim Hughes what they’re all about What would Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli sound like
Tim Hughes talks to chart-topping West Indian artist Susan Cadogan A true great of Jamaican music, Susan Cadogan’s career as a singer almost never happened at all. The artist, whose name is synonymous with her 1975 top four hit Hurt So Good
A thick West Indian accent has helped make him a groundbreaking figure on the British reggae scene for more than 50 years. But TIM HUGHES learns that the reality is different FOR more than five decades he has been a towering presence on the UK
Hannah Kidd tells KATHERINE MACALISTER why dance is taking a dark turn in Dracula It’s topical, it’s scary and it’s coming to Oxford. Yes Dracula is back just in time for Halloween and promises to be dark, thrilling and erotic. Heading the
Swing HOT CLUB OF COWTOWN Tomorrow (Friday). Doors 7.30pm. Tickets £17 in advance or £19 on the door. Go to wegottickets.com Combining smooth Paris-ian jazz with country and western swing, The Hot Club
JUST when we thought we couldn’t fit in any more festivals, news emerges of a spectacular event lasting an impressive six days. The Oxford City Festival is being co-organised by East Oxford-based guitar hero Mark ‘Osprey’ O’Brien, and features
Tim Hughes witneses the return of art-punk individualists Young Knives as they play new album Sick Octave all the way through Young Knives The Cellar, Oxford Saturday, November 26 There is something oh so refreshing
FURTHER doubt has been cast on the “electric car revolution” in Oxford, with claims that charging points may be in the wrong place. A new charging point has been installed at Peartree service station off the A34 north of the city, with its operators
Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Twiggy have brought show-stopping glamour to Julie Podbery’s life. The 41-year-old’s specialism is creating vintage hair and make-up looks from the 1930s to the 1960s. She worked her magic on TV stars from
Being expelled from school at 14 was the first step in an extraordinary life and career for Nadya Sawney. The interior designer has worked all over the world in the music and television industries. Growing up in Park Town and attending the
THE royal secrets of a railway station have been revealed in a new book. The railway allowed Abingdon MG to export cars to America, brought students to Radley College and even hosted royal passengers. Radley History Club chairman Christine
OXFORDSHIRE businesses need to gear up for the Chinese invasion, experts have warned. Plans are in place by the Government to relax visa requirements for Chinese tourists visiting the UK. Now retailers are being warned to put plans in place
Vincent Fuoco brings a whole new meaning to the phrase horse power. The father-of-three converted stables into a garage to house his car repair business. Mr Fuoco, 37, set up Godwins Automotive in June after quitting his job as a service manager
FRIENDS have paid tribute to a “remarkable and unique” potter, painter and teacher who has died aged 89. For most of the last 50 years Pauline Thompson taught pottery from the watermill on the Eyston estate in East Hendred which she converted into
FORMER University of Oxford rugby captain and Scottish international Joe McPartlin, who became a long-serving teacher at St Edward’s School, has died aged 75. Mr McPartlin, a popular and instantly recognisable figure on Oxford’s rugby union scene
Tim Hughes talks to acid-rock legend Dave Brock about life with Hawkwind as the band bring a ’70s sci-fi classic to life Space-rocker, astral explorer and sonic pioneer, Dave Brock is one of rock’s great survivors. Intelligent, well-read and erudite
It was a curious circumstance that I needed to travel to Gibraltar and its first literary festival last weekend to hear a story local to Oxfordshire, and specifically to Faringdon. Its teller was William Chislett, a Madrid-based journalist well-known
OXFORD Joseph Bull, 23, of Stonesfield, Witney, admitted stealing cosmetics products worth £25.13 from Boots chemist, in Cornmarket Street, Oxford, on September 25. Given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victims’ surcharge
Our hero Seamus Perry provides a column despite being very ill I have spent years reading Wordsworth and I warmly concur that he is the great poet of childhood. No one, not even Freud, has written better about the way your early experiences shape
AN Oxford charity is urging the county to support it when it competes against a Portsmouth group to win Lottery cash. Viewers of ITV Meridian West will be asked to vote for their favourite project to win a £50,000 cash injection. Oxford-based
Director Sally Dunsmore and other members of the team behind the hugely popular literary festivals in Oxford and at Blenheim Palace transferred last weekend to the southern tip of the Iberian peninsular to lend their skills at a new three-day celebration
AN 18-YEAR-OLD fractured a bone in his girlfriend’s face and left blood across the walls of his house during an assault. Tony Marraffa, of Rivermead Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, admitted causing actual bodily harm and sobbed as he was jailed for 15
FIVE STARS The first thing to say about David Tennant’s brilliant turn as the Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest Richard II is that he doesn’t speak with his native Scottish burr, as he has in a number of Shakespearian roles in the past. What was
FOUR STARS The first of three fascinating dance / physical theatre performances at the Pegasus was Bound, aimed at arousing our awareness of human trafficking, and of the fact that it exists among our own community, not just in Eastern Europe or
FOUR STARS "National treasure turns on National Trust in National Theatre production” would be a suitable (if rather long) headline for this review of Alan Bennett’s new play People. The writer, now 79 and with some of the curmudgeonliness
ANYONE fancy a snack from the mud kitchen? Children on their very own wild adventure have been cooking up some treats in a makeshift kitchen as well as cooking marshmallows over fires. The half-term event at the Rock Edge Nature Reserve in
A TOP tennis coach said it could “only be a good thing for British tennis” if Oxfordshire’s largest leisure centre were expanded. Seth Dixon, head coach at Oxford City Lawn Tennis Club, was speaking after Abingdon’s White Horse Tennis and Leisure
WAR – what is it good for? Quite a lot, these model gamer fans say, as they raised cash for a disabled girl with a 48-hour table-top battle. Eight fans of role-play model game Warhammer waged lengthy war in a marathon session for Sophia Aitken,
COMEDIAN, TV presenter and now Oxford University graduate Ruby Wax was at Oxford Town Hall to talk about her new book. Ms Wax graduated from Kellogg College, Oxford, with an MA in Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in September. In her book
PLANS to turn Abingdon’s weir into a hydro-electric power generator have been approved by councillors. Vale of White Horst District Council’s planning committee last night approved the proposals for the scheme at Abbey Meadow weir. The plan
MORE dogs from Oxfordshire have qualified for the finals of the Kennel Club’s annual agility competition than from any other county. The eight dogs of all breeds will have their fitness and obedience tested at London’s Olympia stadium just before
FUTURE Lord Mayors of Oxford should travel around the city in a Mini, according to Dee Sinclair. The Labour councillor has called on the city council to consider a car built in the city when it comes to replace the civic car – currently a Toyota
RONALD Belcher may be 101 years old, but his support of the Poppy Appeal and determination to take his place at this year’s Remembrance Day parade remains strong. Mr Belcher, who now lives in Kennington, was born in Sunningwell Road, South Oxford
ALL parties of government in a time of austerity have tough choices to make. And Liberal Democrats, driven by our desire to create a fairer society, have time and again chosen to focus our efforts on the poorest in society. Two government policies
I shall start, for a change, with a side dish — a significant change because I don’t think I have ever done this before. But the vegetable dishes and salads at The Trout at Tadpole Bridge are so much better than one customarily finds — Kenyan green
JOSH Ashby scored twice as Oxford United won 3-0 in the FA Youth Cup first round at Didcot Town last night. Kieran Beesley saved well from James Roberts and Greg Hackett early on, but the goalkeeper could do nothing about Ashby’s dipping strike from
Thames Valley Police arrested three men from south Wales on suspicion of Hunting Act offences involving dogs in Southmoor. A 48-year-old and a 37-year-old man from Pontypool, along with a 46-year-old man from Abertiller, were arrested on Sunday
WEST Papua campaigners protested outside Oxford’s Examination Schools in High Street yesterday. They were protesting against a decision to invite the Indonesian vice-president to an event organised by the Blavatnik School of Government. Dr
OXFORD City & County’s ladies battled to a 74-72 home win over Whiteknights (Reading) in the Yetton Trophy inter-club championship first round. They are now at home to Desborough in round two on Saturday week. City & County’s men are
BBOWT’s Dry Sandford Pit nature reserve near Abingdon is a treasured haven for insects, writes volunteer Peter Creed. Bejewelled dragonflies and damselflies zip around the fen and butterflies adorn the limestone grassland, but it’s the many species
OXFORDSHIRE opener Lloyd Sabin has been appointed Oxford MCCU’s 50-overs captain for next season. The 19-year-old Banbury batsman impressed in his first season playing for the side last summer. Hampshire 2nds’ Wilf Marriot will captain the two/
LONDON Welsh vice- chairman Kelvin Bryon has urged Oxfordshire people to back the club in numbers. Bryon issued an impassioned plea for support after labelling the Exiles’ latest crowd at the Kassam Stadium “disappointing”. Leaders Welsh were
Copper wiring was taken during a raid on a shed in Wigginton, Banbury. A shed was entered in Dash Hill between 10am and 4pm on Sunday. The door was forced with a tool and copper wiring was taken.
Burglars are believed to have stolen jewellery after they forced a kitchen window to get into a house in Hornbeam Road, Southwold, Bicester. The burglars got into the property via a conservatory some time between 1pm and 8pm on Saturday. In
University lecturers and staff are set to go on strike today. Thousands of students at Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University are expected to be affected as local union members join the nationwide strike in a dispute over a one per cent
A WITNESS said she was “lost for words” when she heard former Abingdon Chamber of Commerce boss Paul Townsend making sexual comments about teenage girls. The 28-year-old, of Hadland Road, Abingdon, quit his position on the town’s chamber after
ROGER Goodall top-scored with 14 dolls as Six Bells beat Unknowns 5-1 in the Kidlington Indoor League. Mick Phipps hit a six to clinch the final leg and earn Black Prince a 3-3 draw against King’s Arms, Moors. Pete Coates’s six in the second
DAVE Bruce and Jo Musk are out to retain their Oxford Mail Cross Country League titles when the action begins at Ascott-under-Wychwood on Sunday (9.55). Defending men’s champion Bruce (Oxford City) is set to race in the opener, but last season’
MARK Tyrrell and Elysia Ridley took the respective 10K honours at the Ascott-under-Wychwood Charity Run. Tyrrell (Eynsham Road Runners) was the first man home, completing the multi-terrain course in 38mins 51secs. Ridley (Witney Road Runners
(senior men unless stated) STROUD HALF MARATHON Headington RR: 20 J Smith (V40) 1.16.49, 34 R Skilbeck (V40) 1.20.49, 203 S Wolanksi (LV50) 1.35.25. Oxford City: 5 D Bellinger 1.09.59, 10 S Male (V45) 1.13.47, 15 N Jones 1.15.42, 20 M Tankard
Hundreds of university lecturers and support staff have walked out after a dispute over pay. Picket lines have been formed across Oxford as members of the University and College Union, Unite and Unison from both Oxford University and Brookes took
Markets are one of those deeply ingrained British traditions that we must hope will never die. But as more of us dash to the supermarket for the groceries after work, their future remains uncertain. The news today that council officials are
Detention of a cameraman from Chipping Norton and 29 other Greenpeace protestors in Russia is down to that country wanting to send out a message that it will defend itself, it has been claimed. The 30 protesters and journalists, including Chipping
The University of Oxford has come first in a global chart measuring the performance of universities on graduate employability. Oxford has climbed three places in this year’s Global Employability University Survey, knocking off Harvard University
A cow briefly blocked a road in Wheatley yesterday at about 8.30am. The animal’s appearance on Sworford Lane caused traffic delays until it was eventually moved on by police. Meanwhile, in Abingdon, drivers faced delays after a lorry broke
A WAITER who has worked at the Randolph Hotel is on trial at Oxford Crown Court accused of a string of sex attacks against four women in the Cowley area. Eric Berki, 28, of Ridgefield Road, Oxford, denies four counts of sexual assault that were
OXFORD University are planning a “memorable party” to celebrate the life of former captain Joe McPartlin. The triple Blue Scotland international and long-serving St Edward’s School teacher died last week, aged 75. His distinguished rugby career
DARRELL Bellinger led Oxford City to the men’s team title at the Stroud Half Marathon. Bellinger finished fifth and broke 70 minutes for the second time in his career, despite facing a fairly stiff breeze. The 28-year-old completed the 13.1
A MULTI-million pound expansion has been proposed to revive Oxford’s historic Covered Market. Almost £4m would be spent on making it nearly a third bigger – and an extra storey would be built to accommodate a rooftop cafe. Consultants have
OXFORDSHIRE Under 18s battled back in style to defeat Gloucestershire 24-12 at Bristol Grammar School. The visitors trailed 12-0 at half time thanks to two tries and a conversion in their first ‘England pathway’ match, which leads towards selection
OXFORD City’s Alex Scrivener had a weekend to remember with two victories in two days. The under 11 girl won her age group at the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth on Saturday and then claimed victory at the Bristol Cross Challenge on Sunday.
A detainee has been charged with starting a fire at a Kidlington immigration centre. Farid Pardiaz, 24, was charged yesterday with one count of arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered. It follows a fire at the
Welcome to Elizabethan England. “We might all think we know what the Elizabethan period looked like,” said Dr Tarnya Cooper, curator of Elizabeth I & Her People, the National Portrait Gallery’s major autumn exhibition. “The remarkable portraits
A homeless man will be sentenced today for an assault which caused grievous bodily harm. Artur Reluga, of no fixed address, will appear at Oxford Crown Court after he admitted attacking Grzegorz Stadnicki in Roger Bacon Lane, Oxford, on June 25
Former US vice-president Al Gore, right, will give a talk at Oxford University today between 5.30pm and 7pm. The Green campaigner and one-time presidential candidate will talk at the Oxford Martin School in Broad Street about forces that will change
ARMED police were called to detain the son of a baron after he assaulted his BBC presenter wife and fought a policeman, a court heard. Charles Gibson is alleged to have punched a police officer and resisted arrest – despite being restrained, pepper
A man from Berinsfield must pay almost £600 after he stripped naked in a town police station cell, waved his genitals and backside towards the cell’s camera and repeatedly pressed the cell intercom so that staff would look in at him. David Turnock
A BARRISTER has compared the actions of police carrying out a scrapyard sting operation to British soldiers in Afghanistan torturing detainees. Five men are on trial at Oxford Crown Court accused of attempting to conceal, disguise or convert criminal
Q I have two children, a 14-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. I have never been married to their mother. Do I have any legal rights in relation to my children? A Parental Responsibility is the name given to the rights, duties and obligations
ABINGDON’S Noel Blatchford made it three vet 65 ladies medals from three races at the World Masters Athletics Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Blatchford, Britain’s sole female representative, added bronze in the 10km race walk and silver
CAN anyone explain to me how this is democratic – or even legal? About a year ago, rumours began to circulate about plans to redevelop the Westway shopping centre. A public meeting was arranged with representatives of the Vale Of White Horse District
ON behalf of Carterton Town Council, may I take this opportunity through your newspaper to congratulate Carterton Community College on winning the School Library Design Award 2013. It gives me immense pride as the town mayor to see the college consistently
JOHN Power is rightly cynical about the county council’s statements on proposed cuts (October 29). But I think he is being a bit simplistic. This is not the first five per cent cut after years of increased or static budgets but another five per
THE recent street collection in Cowley, Headington and Summertown on behalf of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) raised £579.95. The Oxford branch committee would like to thank all collectors and contributors for their support. MAUREEN
HOPEFULLY readers did not get the impression from your editorial on Tuesday that the alternative to having unsightly solar farms blighting huge areas of Oxfordshire is to have a countryside covered with coal-powered power stations. Not only would
TRAIN services on the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester are back to normal after commuters faced delays this morning. Trains delayed by up to half an hour after a train suffered fault on the single-track section at Hanborough. Four
A strike involving staff in Oxfordshire’s main post offices planned for Monday has been called off. Last night the Communication Workers Union said the action over jobs and pay had been cancelled after talks with Royal Mail. Crown post offices are
HALLOWEEN in Oxfordshire – be there and be square. There will be strange goings-on across the county tonight and over the next few days to celebrate All Hallow’s Eve. But there will be few more bizarre, perhaps, than the square pumpkin grown
SIGNIFICANT changes will be made to a controversial £100m project to flatten and rebuild Botley’s shopping centre, developers say. More than 450 residents have had their say over the plans as part of a second consultation into the scheme. Now
JORDAN Brodley wants to make his mark with Scotland Under 20s after being called up to their training squad. The 20-year-old, from Nuneham Courtney, near Oxford, attended a three-day camp earlier this month in Edinburgh, which was the first stage
FIREWORKS festivities are set to go off with a bang over the next few weeks. While this is enjoyable for people, it can be distressing for many dogs. At Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, we find ourselves taking in traumatised dogs
ALTHOUGH I’ve always wondered about criteria for inclusion, I am disturbed by a lack of substance and comment current in the letters page; so perhaps one on the plight of British education might act as a stimulant. A recent report by the Organisation
Katherine MacAlister chats to the actor and TV presenter who is now lead vocalist I had to watch some old YouTube clips of Armstrong and Miller to remind myself of Armstrong’s singing voice. Having launched a tour based around his “
JAMES Constable is desperate to hit his 100th goal for Oxford United and admitted Saturday’s home game with Bristol Rovers would be a great time to reach the landmark. The striker moved to 99 last Saturday with the opener in a 2-0 win at AFC Wimbledon
ROLL up, roll up for Oxfordshire’s political slugging match of the year, with both combatants emerging from the blue corner. County council leader Ian Hudspeth is clearly an admirer of local government minister Eric Pickles. But judging by
An Oxford University academic has criticised the Bank of England for choosing an airbrushed portrait of Jane Austen to appear on the £10 note. Dr Paula Byrne, a biographer of Austen and fellow of Harris Manchester College, attacked the image as
THE Government has told cash-strapped council leaders to raid their reserves as they prepare to make £61m of cuts. County Hall and the Government have come to blows after it was revealed councillors are asking local government secretary Eric Pickles
JOSH Oliver scored twice as Oxford City Stars continued their excellent start to the season with a 5-2 win over Swindon NIHL Wildcats. Both sides went into the opening group game after 100 per cent starts to the league season, but the Stars were
KENNINGTON Club saw their lead at the top of the Premier Section in the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League trimmed to three points following their 4-1 win at Section 2 side Gladiators Club B, writes PETE EWINS. Mark Trafford (10,800) and Steven Sheard
Have you ever been looking for a voluntary opportunity and seen ‘Trustee needed for small charitable organisation’ and bypassed it quickly thinking ‘I couldn’t be a trustee’ or ‘I’m not sure what a trustee even does? Well next week (4- 10 November
Although they burned brightly in the first half of the last decade, the new waves in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina have all but petered out and the brightest cinematic light in Latin America currently emanates from Chile. The achievements of the new
A couple of 60s classics get this year's Halloween special underway, although it has to be said that one has worn a good deal better than the other. Mario Bava's Black Sabbath (1963) anthology is hosted by the peerless Boris Karloff and opens with
OPEN-top tourist buses are to get pollution-busting technology thanks to a Government cash handout. Oxford City Council has been given £199,995 to fit 11 buses with nitrogen oxide-reducing (NOx) devices. They will go on Guide Friday City Sightseeing
PLANS to redevelop the Westgate Shopping Centre have been branded “premature and exaggerated” by two county groups. Oxfordshire Green Party and Oxford Civic Society have both objected to plans for a £400m refurbishment of the Westgate Centre and
PEOPLE discovered creative ways to use their scrap at Oxford’s first “swap’n’fix” event in the city’s town hall. More than 180 residents attended the event, which was organised jointly by the Oxford Waste Partnership and the city council and aimed
A NORTH Oxford church is hoping to open in time for Christmas after the discovery of asbestos forced its closure. St Giles’ Church, which is attended by hundreds of worshippers a year, has closed for six weeks for the building to be decontaminated
