Archive

COLLECTORS came to the village at the weekend to see a “striking” exhibition. The British Matchbox Label and Booklet Society came to Exeter Hall for collectors to meet up to discuss their shared passion. The society was formed in 1945, when

ROAD bosses are to review whether a slip road should stay closed alongisde Oxford’s ring road by BMW Mini. Oxfordshire County Council shut the lane by the A4142 from Horspath Road to Watlington Road at Oxford Retail Park in October. It followed

KIDLINGTON Football Club hopes to sign a contract to take over a former social club that provides essential facilities for match days. The club says it is to sign a deal with the owners of the Yarnton Road facility so it can carry on using its

OXFORD United's FA Cup adventure came to a halt as Charlton Athletic did enough when it counted to win the third round replay. A poor start to the game turned on two goals in three minutes, which put the visitors in charge at half-time. Yann

One lane of the A40 at Minster Lovell is closed due to a two-vehicle accident. The collision happened on the Westbound lane at the B4477. Automatic updates will be posted on our Live Traffic Service 

VOLUNTEERS plan to relaunch their community cafe for 2014 by showcasing its expanded menu with a free taster session. Kennington-based Apple Cafe will hold the open-door event on Saturday at St Swithun’s Church. The festivities will also feature

A woman found hanged from a tree in Shotover Country Park has been named as Lila Sunwar. The 33-year-old, who is from the Oxford area, was found at about midday on Sunday at the Headington park. An inquest into her death is due to open at Oxfordshire

A TALE as old as time hits the stage in West Oxford this week. A cast of 38 residents was whittled down from 75 hopefuls in September to take part in Beauty and the Beast. Best friends Ellie Tullis-Hughes, 12, and Frankie Crombie, 14, both

PARKING spaces have been created in a busy estate road as part of a £500,000 council project. The 18 spaces, including a disabled parking bay, are on grass verges at the junction of Blackbird Leys Road and Balfour Road. It has raised kerbs,

6:49pm Ahead of tonight's game, let's remind ourselves of why we are here. Check out the goals from last week's first game between the sides at The Valley, when the U's came within seven minutes of creating an upset:   

Faced with a rainy day, ramblers can’t do better than curl up with an Ian McEwan. His novel Amsterdam could inspire you to follow in the footsteps of Clive Linley, the nervy composer who is soothed by the words Blea Rigg, High Stile, Pavey Ark, Swirl

MOST people have opinions about architecture but getting them involved in the planning process is more complex. The issue of consultation has been a hot one recently after the release of an independent review into the Castle Mill student flats

A TWO car smash is causing delays in Headington this afternoon. Police were called to London Road at 3.10pm following a collision between a black Peugeot 407 and grey Audi A6 outside Londis. There are no injuries reported. The two cars

Brian Martin, a former teacher at Magdalen College School, Oxford, caused a stir with his debut novel North, which featured a pupil-teacher relationship. Now Mr Martin, who lives in North Oxford, has written a sequel, Latimer, an ebook which centres

Those who know Turner (1775-1851) by his marvellous Ashmolean pictures of Oxford High Street and the Thames may think that he was a great realist painter. But they were early works, done when he was in his thirties. The extraordinary late paintings

Sir – At Christmas, Network Rail (NR) installed new points at Wolvercote where trains from its new loop will rejoin the main line going north. Laying the loop itself continues. Railfuture commends NR and the DfT for the investment, and Wolvercote

Sir – The measures taken by the Coalition Government to help Oxford tackle its increasing flooding problems are completely inadequate. Tory councillor, Rodney Rose, is right (Report, January 9). David Cameron should immediately allocate funding

Sir – It is clear that if the rain keeps coming there will be additional significant fluvial flooding. It may well be impossible to defend everybody from flooding but there is more that can be done and by that I don’t mean just ‘spend more on flood

Sir –When is the Environment Agency planning to dredge the rivers in and around Oxford? It is well overdue. One might think they value the nematodes living on the river-beds more than they value the life of humans paying them.   Sue Doughty

Sir – So let’s get this straight: homes and major roads in Oxford are flooded and cut off. Meanwhile, councillors are pushing to cover even more of Oxford with concrete, as in the poorly conceived Northern Gateway scheme, without a proper flood-risk

Sir – Plenty of money for UK military adventures and Trident but no money for anti-flooding work. So Oxford residents can look forward to more flood chaos for the foreseeable future! John Richards, Oxford

Sir – I am grateful to you for publishing Hugh Jaeger’s letter (January 9): I was beginning to fear that I was the only person in the world who found the building downright ugly, in spite of the hours I spent reading in the North Reading Room, overlooking

Sir – It is gratifying to read of the concern shown for old people in Field House but there are many more in Botley in their 70s and 80s determined to live an independent existence and not move into any kind of institution. This is not easy. We

Sir – Has Oxford City Council gone completely mad? After the parking disaster in St Clements, how can they even begin to contemplate building over another car park and in an area where parking is now often very difficult. Your report (January

Sir – I learn (Letters, January 2) that the county is pressing on with its misguided design for the Wootton Road roundabout, Abingdon. This follows my objection that the design, using special Cycle Safety Fund grant, was without merit. Since

Sir – Ms S. Thomas is right to remind readers about the contributions Britain’s Government and people have made to relieving those suffering abroad, eg the victims of the Philippines typhoon and the Syrian civil war (Letters, January 9). In her

Sir – You recently published an article regarding the “under-performing” of a number of primary schools in the county, including Enstone Primary School. The piece was misleading at best, and alarmist at worst, in that it failed to put forward

Sir – Thank you for your report about Oxford station’s master plan (Report, January 2). Every time I arrive by bus from Heathrow, or by train from Islip, the walk between the station and Gloucester Green bus station is dangerous to say the least

Sir – Oxford City Council’s quest for a low- emission zone that would apply to all traffic, or a cleaner greener Oxford (Report, January 9) could be achieved simply by introducing trams as the primary system of transport for the city. Many contributors

Sir – As an East Oxford resident, I was shocked to learn about the ‘community’ rates for joining Oxford University’s Iffley Road sports facilities. To swim, a person has to pay an annual joining fee of £420 before paying for each actual swim, and

Sir – Witnessing the majority of councillors at the city council west area planning committee trying to tell themselves and one another that the damning independent report into their approval of the towering and destructive Roger Dudman Way blocks

Sir – Now that Doric Properties have submitted their planning application for Botley’s West Way shopping centre we can see that their concept of development is to plan for the past not the future. Perhaps, like their name, their thinking is rooted

Sir – In my letter last week on the building of a three-storey block of flats in west Oxford, I gave the impression that it was Oxford City Council who had granted planning permission. That was incorrect. While the council had given outline planning

THREE men wearing balaclavas robbed a Headington bookmakers armed with a handgun and a hammer last night. The Stan James betting shop in Roundway was targeted at about 8.35pm, police said this afternoon. The robbers tried to shut the security

PASSENGERS are experiencing delays of up to 20 minutes between Oxford and London Paddington due to emergency engineering work between Didcot Parkway and Reading. Engineers were called out to a track fault on the line at Pangbourne and a team are

EX-SMOKERS Phillip Shulman and son Daniel Greenall have seen the light and are using it to help others kick their addiction. They were weaned off their habit of up to 50 cigarettes a day with e-cigarettes and are now riding the wave of interest

THE site of Temple Cowley Pools has been put up for sale by Oxford City Council. The council will sell the 1.3 acre site off for housing once its new multi-million pound pool in Blackbird Leys is complete. It will remain open until its replacement

CUT-PRICE tennis lessons are being offered under a council sports programme. Oxford City Council has struck a deal with Premier Tennis to provide lessons at three city parks. Experts will deliver lessons through the week at £3.50 for a two-hour

IT might be said that Councillor Melinda Tilley has a rare gift (School bus activists fume at councillor’s ‘personal attack’, Oxford Mail, January 14) in her misunderstanding of the importance of dissent to the health of a modern democracy, perhaps

BOTLEY has a very good and highly-valued library, which local residents fought hard to save in the last round of library cuts in 2011. Oxfordshire County Council felt it was not really necessary for Botley to have a library as we are so close to

I REMEMBER very clearly back in 1947 when the Abingdon Road flooded and the buses stopped running down to Canning Crescent which in those days was the terminus. Oxford City Council put on special open-back vehicles with bench seats and a wooden

RESIDENTS of an Oxford estate celebrated its 80th birthday in style with a 1930s-themed tea dance. Florence Park residents met at the community centre in Cornwallis Road on Saturday to kick off a year of celebrations. Oxford Spires Academy

BLACK cab taxi fares must increase to meet rising costs, drivers have told the city council. A drivers’ group is seeking rises of about two per cent in line with inflation from March 25 and has won the support of a leading councillor. The City

With three consecutive victories, the Blue Boar ‘A’ (Chipping Norton) are back in contention to successfully defend their North Division title. Their latest triumph was a hard-fought 59-54 edging out of the Woodman (North Leigh), enabling them

Getting run over – or almost – by drivers making illegal left turns is becoming unwelcome. Last time it was a car turning left from Cowley Road into Iffley Road next to the clear-for-all-to-see No Left Turn sign. I went over her bonnet. This

IN times of adversity we must pull together with our indomitable British bulldog spirit. The county council has taken the extraordinary step of appealing for our help and charity in the face of stringent budget cuts. We all like to poke fun

THANK you for your report about Oxford station’s masterplan. Every time I arrive by bus from Heathrow, or by train from Islip, the walk between the station and Gloucester Green bus station is dangerous to say the least. The pavement is uneven and

I AM writing again regarding the London Road from Green Road roundabout to Headington. I have just learnt this stretch of road will not be upgraded until September. The county council keeps saying this road is okay, but I suggest they get someone

THE many photographs which readers have sent in recently are truly wonderful, so many water world ones, especially that of Wallingford Bridge (January 9). It makes us all more aware of what water can do to our comfort zone. All the more reason

OUR intrepid multi-occupational MEP hopeful, Tim Bearder (Letters, December 10), would do well to try the Lisbon Treaty as a bedtime read: its endless prolixity and complexity is guaranteed to send him into a deep slumber. Small wonder we see MEPs

The number of people sleeping rough in Oxford went up during 2013, figures show. A count in November by Oxford City Council and Thames Valley Police showed 19 people were sleeping rough around the city compared to nine people in February.

A woman found hanged in Shotover Country Park on Sunday had yesterday not been publicly named. The woman, in her 30s and from the Oxford area, was found at about midday by a member of the public. Police are treating her death as unexplained

A car was set alight by the side of Grenoble Road, Oxford, in a suspected arson. Firefighters were called to the burning Renault Scenic at about 11.30pm on Sunday. The crew from Slade Fire Station used a hose reel to put out the flames and

WITH his eyes firmly on the prize, this grey squirrel took a flying leap of faith to get a free meal from a garden bird feeder near Abingdon. It leaps for the prize Former Oxford Mail photographer George Reszeter took the dramatic sequence

TOM BALLANCE has come up with a unique and intriguing plan of using the A34 as a way to control flood water. Some may write it off without considering it. But we hope the Environment Agency (and the Government bean counters) looks at all options

NATIONAL 2 SOUTH CHINNOR’S fightback fell just short in a 24-17 home defeat to second-placed Canterbury. The hosts trailed 24-3 after Canterbury dominated the first half, but hit back to claim a losing bonus point. Only solid defence in

Andy Melville has urged Oxford United to prove their best chance of an FA Cup upset is still to come as Charlton Athletic visit the Kassam Stadium tonight. Goals from Johnny Mullins and Scott Davies saw the underdogs race into a 2-0 lead in the

THE collapse in expected funding to expand our primary schools is deeply worrying, and not just for parents of toddlers. As we report today, Oxfordshire County Council’s £37.5m plan to expand our primary schools over a four-year period has been

THE A41 Southbound has now been cleared after being partially blocked earlier this morning due to a broken down lorry between B4030 Oxford Road at the Little Chef roundabout and Junction 9 of the M40.  Automatic updates will be posted on our Live

4:28pm  One lane of the A420 London Road is blocked and queueing traffic following a crash near Windmill Road. Waiting on details from police. Updates on the traffic situation will be posted here.

A NUMBER of roads across Oxfordshire remain closed because of the flooding earlier this month.  They are: Lower Street, Islip A329 to Drayton St Leonard High Street, Clifton Hampden Godstow Road, Wolvercote Automatic updates

Josh Ruffels is confident Oxford United will put up a fight against Charlton Athletic tonight as they look to extend their prolonged FA Cup run. Although the U’s have only won two games, they have done it the hard way. Their first-round tie

OXFORDSHIRE County Council has warned it may face paying out £9m to cover the cost of free school meals. Last September, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged that every child in reception and Year 1 and 2 in state-funded schools would receive

THE A34 could be used as a dam to solve Oxford’s flooding problems, it has been claimed. Tom Ballance, 56, said the road – which is raised above the floodplains – could be used as a dam by installing sluice gates underneath. The ex-farmer and

THE expansion of primary schools, to cope with the growing population of Oxfordshire, could be hit with a “devastating” shortfall of nearly £20m. And last night council leaders and teachers warned of the damaging impact the funding gap could have

Oxford City’s Skrill North match against leaders North Ferriby United at Marsh Lane tonight is subject to a morning pitch inspection, writes MATTHEW BRUCE. Saturday’s home match with promotion-chasing Altrincham was postponed due to a waterlogged

Police investigating the death of 20-month-old Sarah Dahane in Bicester have still not made any arrests more than eight months after she died. A murder probe was launched after the toddler was found dead in a Glory Farm home last May. Her mother

Jewellery was stolen from a home in Preston Crowmarsh while the owners were on holiday in Mexico. The break-in happened between December 29 and December 30, and among the items of jewellery taken were metal bands commemorating Americans killed

The fire and rescue service in Oxfordshire has warned about driving in cold and icy conditions after it was called to two crashes yesterday morning. A man in his 50s was taken to hospital when a lorry collided with a car in Abingdon Road at 8.40am

SOUTH WEST 1 EAST WITNEY pulled nine points clear of the relegation zone after edging out Devizes 9-7 at Hailey Road. Three penalties from fly half Phil Thomas proved enough to seal an attritional clash. A competitive first half ended scoreless

A MAN has gone on trial and denied breaching his Asbo by using abusive language inside St Aldate’s police station. Jed Denton, of Underhill Circus, Barton, is alleged to have shouted and sworn at officers on May 22 last year in an attempt to get

SHE has to stand on two boxes to reach the enormous bells towering above her. But 10-year-old Tiggy Jones, who is the youngest member of St Nicholas Church bellringers group in Marston, Oxford, certainly makes up for height in strength. The

NATIONAL 1 HENLEY Hawks climbed to tenth after a 28-14 victory at basement boys Hull Ionians. Hawks ended a five-match winless streak, despite losing No 8 Robbie Stapley (hand) and prop Alex Penny (rib) to injuries before and just after the

OLD school friends reunited at the weekend to celebrate 100 years of teaching at West Oxford Community Primary School. The first pupils walked through the doors of the school on January 14, 1914. Hundreds of ex-pupils bumped into old classmates

Banbury trainer Paul Webber will weigh up the potential opposition and ground conditions before deciding where to run Time For Rupert on Saturday. The ten-year-old, who finished fourth on his return in the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot last

Cash and jewellery were taken from a home after burglars forced open a window to get inside The crime happened in Arbury Close, Banbury, on Thursday between 2.45pm and 5.15pm. Police want to identify a white Audi seen in the area at the time of

Three brothers and a teenager have admitted attacking a taxi driver twice in 2011. Surfraz Nawaz, 32, Karvan Nawaz, 28, Arfaan Nawaz, 25, and 18-year-old Amayad Bokhari all pleaded guilty to two counts of causing actual bodily harm and one count

GRANDMOTHER-of-two Jackie Gulliford has been missing for a week now as her son says police are running out of places to look. The 61-year-old has not been seen since she left her Hawthorn Road, Eynsham, home last Tuesday morning. Her son James

A POLICE officer passed on crash victims’ details because of threats from her lover who ran a repair garage, a court has heard. Pc Sugra Hanif, from Banbury, is accused of using the Thames Valley Police computer system to contact those involved

YESTERDAY was supposedly Blue Monday, the most depressing day of the year. But at the Ark-T Centre in Cowley, Oxford, there were only happy faces as women danced away the blues. It was the second class of a new weekly dance session held in

NATIONAL CUPS GOSFORD All Blacks edged out Supermarine 13-10 at Stratfield Brake to reach the Southern Counties Senior Vase final. But victory came at a price, with replacement flanker Rich Cook suffering an horrific break of his tibia and

MIDLANDS 2 WEST SOUTH BANBURY Bulls were made to work hard for a 18-15 victory at lowly Dunlop. Fly half Alex Fogavini’s injury-time try won it for Banbury, who climbed to fourth, but Dunlop missed a penalty to equalise at the death. Fogavini

THE former head of counter-fraud at Oxfam in Oxford will stand trial accused of stealing from the charity. Edward McKenzie-Green, of The Leys, Chipping Norton, appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday ahead of the start of the trial on March 10.

Electrical works in Ferry Hinksey Road finished last night ending days of misery for motorists. Temporary traffic lights at the junction with Botley Road led to traffic chaos and delays lasting hours at a time since they were installed last Thursday

FOUR men have gone on trial at Oxford Crown Court accused of “street violence” and using metal chairs as weapons during a brawl outside an Oxford takeaway. Adam Doyle, 27, of Ladder Hill, Wheatley, Andre Hurst, 25, of Broad Street, Banbury, Waqas

NARNIA came to life for these boys in Cowley yesterday when they visited a public art installation using wardrobes. Three wardrobes were put up in Templars Square Shopping Centre in Cowley to celebrate the festive season. And this week shoppers

BULLINGDON prison has reached maximum capacity and staff are overstretched and struggling to cope, a report has revealed. And the findings, published yesterday by the Independent Monitoring Board, also highlighted a rat infestation and high rates

Travel dating website MissTravel.com says the city of dreaming spires is one of the most popular on the planet for a romantic Valentine’s Day break. The travel-dating website used data from over 7,340 trips planned for the week of Valentine’s Day

Oxford University is hoping to redevelop the former Alden Press building in Osney Mead. The site is currently empty and since the university bought it, attempts to let it for commercial use have proved unsuccessful. It now plans to redevelop

CAMPAIGNERS vowed to “continue the fight” to keep Oxford’s stadium after developers launched an appeal over a failed homes plan. They spoke after Galliard Homes launched the appeal over its unsuccessful bid for 220 homes on the site of the Sandy

OXFORDSHIRE’S Kevin Lowe claimed the scalp of former world champion John ‘Boy’ Walton, but could not save his county from a 20-16 defeat by a star-studded Yorkshire in their Premier Division match. Fans packed into the Ex-Services and Bicester

HISTORY was made as all three Premier League teams lost to Section 1 opponents for the first time in the Green King ODDA. Winter League Premier leaders Goodlake Arms A crashed to a 5-4 defeat at Section 1 pacesetters Rose Hill Community Centre.

BB&O ROUND-UP MATT Rushden scored a hat-trick as Harwell recovered from a sloppy start to win 46-12 at Kingsclere in the BB&O Championship. The visitors trailed 7-0 to a converted try in the first minute after a catalogue of mistakes

MOVIE magic led to 64 years of marriage for Ilse and Kenneth James. The couple – celebrating their anniversary today – met on the set of war film They Were Not Divided in Celle, West Germany, in 1949. Mrs James, nee Thiel, was a translator

RILEYS, in Between Towns Road, Oxford, are staging a UK Open qualifier on Sunday, February 2. The £5 entry fee must be paid in advance, or £3 online at www.rileys.co.uk/tournaments. The event starts at noon. Later that day, Rileys will

IT CAN be the most lonely walk for a batsman. But next season Eynsham cricketers can find solace that the lonely trudge from the wicket will be to a new pavilion, rather than a portable building. Two years after their pavilion was burnt to

FINSTOCK villagers have submitted plans to demolish and replace their “crumbling” village hall. It was built in 1929 as a glove factory but transferred to Finstock Parish Council ten years later after the occupants went bust. Since then, the