BLACKBIRD Leys community centre scored a home victory when one of its members was voted Oxford Community Girl 1964. Ann Bradford, 16, was given the highest number of points in the contest, which was held before a packed audience at the centre.
Fifty regulars at the George Hotel set off on bikes to Oxford and back in 1983 to raise money for Helen House hospice. The five above are on a strange contraption that took part – from left, Jeffrey Jackson, Simon Lock, Paul Hodder, Grant Attwater
THE brave man pictured retrieving a chamberpot from the top of Martyrs’ Memorial in Oxford has been identified as steeplejack George Collins. He was perched precariously on a ladder, with one hand on the stonework and the pot in the other, with
BICESTER residents are invited to a public meeting to find out more about the town’s new £5m community hospital before it opens its doors. Building work at the site in Coker Close is nearing an end and the hospital is due to open later this year
LEADING politicians and other civic leaders have explained why they value the Oxford Mail so much – and would not want to live without it. City council leader Bob Price said the paper “understood” different communities in different parts of the
THESE men and women spent their lives serving behind the bar. And when they had a day off from their daily duties, what did they do? Visit a brewery! Most people might call it a busman’s holiday, but no doubt these good folk were keen to know how
A look back at May celebrations at local schools The merry month of May has been celebrated at many schools across Oxfordshire, as these pictures from the Oxford Mail archives show. May queens, dancing, garlands and maypoles have been a popular
DRIVERS travelling home this evening will continue to face major delays as George Street remains closed. Traffic going in to the city is reported to be building up along Botley Road and motorists earlier today said Beaumont Street and Hythe Bridge
FALLEN power cables have closed Denchworth Road, near Wantage. The road is closed in directions between Mably Way, Downsview Road and the A417 (Mill Street). More information to follow. Our top stories:
A judge has thrown out an appeal launched by the owner of the Kassam Stadium into the facility’s protected status. Firoz Kassam and his company Firoka had taken Oxford City Council’s decision to list the Grenoble Road stadium as a community asset
Find where you finished in this year's Town and Gown race. Use the find function on your computer (eg Ctrl F in Windows) to find your name. View our Town and Gown picture gallery
Drivers are facing delays well into the day after a lorry overturned on the A43. The accident happened on the A43 northbound at junction 10 and one lane is currently closed and there is heavy traffic in the area including the M40. Recovery
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Theatre goers still refer to the period from 1987 to 1991 as the years of darkness at Oxford Playhouse. For they were the painful times when the famous old theatre had to shut its doors for want of funding required for essential refurbishment work.
Sir — Your headline about Frideswide Square last week will spread alarm and despondency, and not just among those who regularly pass through it on their ways to and from work. Experience shows that congestion here rapidly spreads to the whole region
Sir – I know that council leaders are supposed to bang the drum for their patch but councillor Price’s announcement of a self-governing city if Labour comes to power next year (Report, April 24) is delusional. He is right that Oxford is capital of
Sir – Like Oxford council leader, Bob Price, I believe in unitary (all-purpose) councils (Report, April 24). They are assuredly the future — although as a member of the UK Liberal Party, I think that they should be much smaller than Bob Price’s ideal
Sir – Well done to Richard Scrase for dealing head-on with the issue of affordability in the housing market (First Person, April 24) and calling for rent control. We are constantly told that the answer to the housing crisis is to build more houses
Sir – Andrew Pritchard (Letters, April 24) is right that ‘Greater Oxford’ has been creeping up on us for some time, though wanting to outsource the planning to an unelected quango, the Local Enterprise Partnership, would be disastrous. Joined-up
Sir – I was surprised to see the article (April 24) in which Jean Fooks helpfully alerted residents to the possible closure of the Godstow Road entry to the Wolvercote roundabout as part of the Northern Gateway transport measures. I had previously
Sir – Mr Stansfeld’s claim (April 17) that as Police and Crime Commissioner he has brought burglary rates down (by telling the police it was “a priority” — before that, they thought it was harmless fun?) is as absurd as his claim to represent the public
Sir – This week is MS Week, and as the local branch of the MS Society, we wanted to highlight both this condition and the difficulties many people have in accessing the treatments they need. There are 100,000 people with MS in the UK. It affects
Sir – I am writing to ask Oxford United to explain why they have ‘moved the goalposts’ with their ‘rebranding’ of season ticket prices next season — eg South Stand Lower now being spun as ‘club’ level prices. For a team which has provided woeful
Sir – In making the case for a large-scale solar power plant in the middle of the Cotswolds AONB, Liz Leffman and Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Letters, April 24) omit several important points. In the first place, they fail to indicate the enormous size of
Sir – Oxford’s air quality continues to be a problem. This is important given increasing evidence of damage done by emissions to both the environment and human health. Anyone who drives a car or a van can do something to help. Every day we see drivers
Sir – Travelling to our excellent local post office at Clifton Hampden last Thursday I was delighted to see several men in yellow jackets by the river bank in Long Wittenham. At last we are having something done about the state of the river and,
Sir – On Sunday, April 13, a large crowd of enthralled and respectful spectators watched the Woodstock Passion Play, as you illustrated in colour (April 17). By contrast, Oxford City Council’s ‘Licensing Team’ under Julian Alison took it upon themselves
Sir – Once again Oxford City Council has shown its ignorance and stupidity (Report, April 17). This Passion play has taken place every year for the past 15 years in East Oxford without any interference and is obviously appreciated by many people as
Sir – Despite what Mr Emlyn-Jones (Letters, April 24) says, I still find it surprising that someone in Britain can grow up never having heard of, say, Bach’s St Matthew Passion, or the Oberammergau Passion Play; or, having heard of them, not know that
Sir – What is so damning about the decision by a city official to ban the Passion Play for whatever reason is that it apparently never occurred to them to take the trouble to find out about the event before slapping a banning notice on it. The country
Sir – Ken Weavers, in his rather startling letter about God and infinities (Infinitely Capable, April 10), claims that a God creator of the universe, being infinite: ‘in his infinitude, would easily cope with simultaneously looking after every single
Sir – Rachel Bayne’s excellent article about the 40th anniversary of Oxford’s male colleges welcoming women (April 24) has an incorrect heading. Strictly speaking, co-education was nothing new. It should, more strictly, be called co-residence. This
Sir – Robert Harley, the patron of Daniel Defoe, was never Earl of Oxford (History Man, April 24). He was created Earl of Oxford and Mortimer in 1711. The earldom of Oxford was not considered extinct with the death without male heir in 1703
OXFORD MAGISTRATES Wesley Laughlin, 34, of no fixed abode, admitted harassing a woman he was prohibited from contacting by a non-molestation order in Little Bury, Oxford, on March 7 and 9. Given a 28-day prison sentence suspended for 12 months
LABOUR'S latest review of schooling conducted by David Blunkett seems to want to remove all but a few vestigial responsibilities for education from local democratic control. Instead, Labour is in favour of a school system largely run by unelected
MAY I comment about the Brunei sponsored proposed developers of the Jericho Boatyard, SIAHAF, boasting of their connections to Brunei on the media part of their website? SIAHAF delayed the planning recently a little before Brunei’s savagely extreme
SIXTY years after being asked by Joe Bullock, the retired manager of Wantage Tramway Company, “How and when did Faith, Hope and Charity boost the floating population of Wantage?”, I have stumbled across the answer to that riddle. Whether he knew the
THERE is plenty Cllr Rodney Rose can do (May 3) to help Oxfordshire’s fire fighters. The Tory-run county council can tell the Coalition Government to resolve the dispute. Councillor Rose can promise not to sack older fire and rescue workers if
SO Vale of White Horse District Council think that the Waitrose store planned for Botley Road would have been better sited at West Way in Botley (May 8). The sad truth is that they’re probably right and that it could have turned out that way, had they
A FRIEND has asked me to see if I can find any pictures of the organ in the Regal, Cowley Road, at any time in its history. We’ve searched the web and only found one of very poor quality. Does anyone have something they could let us have a
A PERSISTENT trouble-maker once called the “number-one problem” in Blackbird Leys has been jailed for nine driving offences. Byron Haines, of Henley Street, East Oxford, was given an Asbo for his bad behaviour in 2009, and yesterday received a
HOW can John Tanner expect to make money from the sale of St Giles’ toilets. The reason for their closure ‘health and safety regulations’, as it was considered too dangerous for the public to cross to the centre of a busy road. Surely this
VULNERABLE pensioners are to get a helping hand from police as a protection scheme is branched out. The Vera (Vulnerable Elderly Residents’ Addresses) project sees police keep a log of where the most vulnerable people live, so they can make sure
AFTER what has seemed like 30 years, the scaffolding and boarding at the top of George Street has come down, and it was well worth the wait. The new, improved facade looks jaw-dropping so I can’t help but hope its architects have equally designed
It is a sad fact of life in 21st century Britain that many traditional forms of social life are in decline. They say that people do not flock as once they did to football matches. If they do not congregate in places of worship as they used to do, then
Do you share my values? Do I share yours? You might take one look at my picture and say “definitely not!”. But I hope you might at least leave the possibility open that if we had a chat over a cuppa or a pint, we might find some shared belief, even
GARY Waddock wants answers from James Constable and Tom Newey about their futures by the end of this week. The pair were the only players out of contract at Oxford United this summer to be offered new deals last week. They have spent the weekend
THERE are delays on the A40 North Way because of a broken down crane. It's causing delays on the A40 Westbound between Banbury Road and Woodstock Road/Godstow Road/Five Mile Drive (Wolvercote Roundabout). Congestion is reported up to Marston.
OXFORDSHIRE SENIOR LEAGUE Archie Goddard Cup final: Oakley Res 2, Middleton Cheney Res 3. Premier Div: Adderbury Park 2, Horspath 2; Chalgrove 3, Mansfield Rd 5; Freeland 1, Oakley 0; Launton Spts 3, Riverside 5. NORTH BERKS LEAGUE
Division 1 Oxenford 181-6 (H Khalid 52no, G Williamson 37, B Geeson-Brown 4-30), Charlbury 185-3 (A Shah 48no, J Hornsby 43no, B Geeson-Brown 41). Cowley Internationals 139 (M Sadiqi 30, A Khan 30, F Simon 3-39), Chadlington 121 (F Simon 66no
ROYAL LONDON CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd round High Wycombe 228-8 (45 ovs, R Cook 3-43, J Smith 3-59), Aston Rowant 49 (J Benning 3-4, J Burden 3-13). Banbury 204-8 (45 ovs, C Haupt 56, E Smith 34, W Platts 3-40), Buckingham 84-9 (29 ovs, O Murrey
Division 1 Banbury 2nd v Twyford – abandoned. Buckingham Town 206 (S Myatt 60, J Frew 49, W Rooney 3-35), Thame Town 207-7 (J Crichton 84, W Taylor 53, J Ell 3-50). Cumnor v Great Brickhill – abandoned. Tiddington 126-8 (W Cooper 59
UNICORNS TROPHY Group 4: Oxfordshire 256-7 (50 ovs, J Cater 68, C Keegan 53no, L Sabin 38, L Ryan 36, Z Arshad 3-50, T Hampton 3-53), Bucks 217-7 (50 ovs, H Taj 52, L Ryan 3-47).
LONDON Welsh head coach Justin Burnell says it’s all to play for at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium next Sunday as the Exiles look to overturn a seven-point semi-final, first-leg deficit against Leeds Carnegie in the Greene King IPA Championship play-offs.
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 1: Burford 3, The Oxfordshire 0. Section 2: Oxford City 3, Studley Wood 0. Section 3: Witney Lakes 0.5, Buckingham 2.5.
CRITCHLEYS UTV LEAGUE Div 2: Village Inn 2, North Oxford Con Club 1; Forest Hill 3, Abingdon Exiles 1; Northway Res 7, Green Tree Wallingford 3. Div 3: Milton Midgets 0, Abba Ath 6.
Division 1 Oxford 19-1 (5.4 ovs) v Henley – aban-doned. H Wycombe v A Rowant – abandoned. Banbury 107-3 (28.5 ovs, L Sabin 54, N Hawkes 31), Gerrards Cross 75 all out, L Ryan 5-10). Banbury win by 60 runs (D/L method) Slough v Harefield
A PUB’S licence could be reviewed after police said they discovered widespread evidence of drug use in a major raid on Friday night. About 40 officers, some with sniffer dogs, swooped on the Nelson pub in Between Towns Road, Cowley, Oxford, at
BILL Clinton said he “couldn’t be prouder” of his daughter after attending her graduation ceremony in Oxford on Saturday. The former US President and his wife, former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, were seen leaving the Macdonald
A PUB landlord, hit by a car on holiday in Portugal, has no recollection of what happened and could be in hospital for up to a year, his family say. Stan Hawkeswood, who has run the Queen’s Head in Horspath for nine years, was flown home on a special
A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in Cowley Road, Oxford, on Monday night. The woman, 20, was grabbed and pulled into an alleyway as she walked along the road. She was sexually assaulted before she
A man and a woman were taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital yesterday after their car crashed into the centre of a Bicester roundabout. The incident happened at about 8.45am at Bicester Avenue roundabout on the A41. The pair, who were
Part of the ceiling of a Thai restaurant in Oxford collapsed on top of students on Friday night. Rowers from Oxford University were reportedly eating in At Thai, on High Street, when plaster came down on top of them and their food. Staff at
OXFORD MAIL GIRLS LEAGUE Under 10 Spring League: Summertown Stars Red 0, Grove Challengers 2; Thame 0, Kidlington 2; Wantage Girls 1, Summertown Stars White 6. Under 11: Wantage Girls 0, Summertown Stars 3. Under 12: Kidlington 3, Harwell
OXFORD’S Division 1 game at champions Henley was washed out after 5.4 overs – but not before New Zealander Mark Beer had made a duck on his debut. The 27-year-old rounder was bowled by Henley skipper Bjorn Mordt, before Oxford reached 19-1 after
OXFORD MAIL YOUTH LEAGUE Under 10 Spring A League: Didcot Tn Youth Red 1, Kennington Ath 1. Spring B League: Horspath Youth Lions 2, Didcot Casuals 1; Stanford Yth 2, Chalgrove Cavaliers 2. Spring D League: East Oxford Utd 1, Horspath Youth Tigers
OXFORDSHIRE INVITATION YOUTH LEAGUE Under 16 A League: AFC Newbury 2, Kidlington 3. D League: Cumnor Minors 3, Wheatley Yth 1; Yarnton Blues 2, Abingdon Yth 1. Under 17 A League: Kennington Ath 3, Banbury Utd 2. B League: Yarnton Blues 2, Chesterton
OXFORDSHIRE virtually secured their place in the quarter-finals with a comfortable 39-run win over Bucks in the Unicorns Trophy at Challow & Childrey yesterday. It was Oxon’s third successive win in Group 4, and with two counties to go through
STREETS which prioritise cyclists over motorists could be trialled in Oxford. A new Government report suggests that “cycle streets” could ban overtaking on roads which are lightly trafficked but heavily used by cyclists. They would also come
WHEN the Oxfordshire Blue Plaque group was unable to create a memorial to recognise a codebreaker, Susan Herivel took matters into her own hands. Miss Herivel wanted to mark the house where her father John Herivel had lived in Oxford for more than
SUSAN Herivel’s father must have had an incredible story to tell. A codebreaker during the Second World War, it wasn’t until years later that John Herivel was able to tell his family about the breakthrough he made in cracking secret German codes.
GREAT & Little Tew slumped to a 78-run defeat under the Duckworth/Lewis Method in their Division 2 opener at home to Chesham. After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Tew restricted Chesham to 146-9 from 41 overs, with the innings truncated
5:00pm Misery on the roads today as the closure of George Street leads to queues around the city. 4:35pm Judge throws out appeal over Kassam Stadium's
DRIVERS are facing major delays in and around Oxford this morning as George Street is closed for a month. Motorists have said traffic in Beaumont Street and Hythe Bridge Street is at a standstill while other streets affected include Worcester Street
West Ilsley trainer Denis Coakley was thrilled after Gabriel’s Lad gave him one of his biggest victories by capturing the £7.5 Million Totescoop6 Victoria Cup at Ascot on Saturday. George Baker’s mount swept through to claim the prestigious seven-furlong
KNITTING is normally seen as a relaxing way to make pretty jumpers and scarves. But the residents of Thrupp have taken the hobby to a whole new level to raise awareness of speeding. On Saturday they proudly presented their creations, including
DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg is opening himself up to a no-holds barred question and answer session to Oxford Mail readers. Mr Clegg, pictured, is visiting the city two days before the May 22 council and European parliament elections and has
A cricket club damaged by fire after it was struck by lightning has been demolished. Banbury’s Twenty Cricket Club pavilion in Ermont Way sustained damage after lightning hit the roof of the 11-year-old building during a storm in March. No
KIT Cutter hit a half-century on his Division 2 debut for Hors-path before their game at Finchamsptead was abandoned with the match evenly poised. The stand-in opener made a composed 52 off 116 balls as Horspath posted 177-8 from 46 overs after
OXFORDSHIRE skipper Luke Ryan took 5-10 as Banbury stole an early march on their Division 1 rivals with a 60-run victory at Gerrards Cross under the Duckworth/Lewis Method. The left-arm spinner sent Gerrards Cross reeling to 75 all out as they
A BALLET dancer who dreams of dancing the world’s stages is set to join a top London performing arts school. Ten-year-old Bobby Ratcliffe will follow in the footsteps of super model Naomi Campbell and the lead singer of Genesis Phil Collins when
RESIDENTS in Chilton near Didcot are concerned about the possibility of more than 1,400 new homes being built in an area of outstanding natural beauty. They say the proposals are part of Vale of White Horse District Council’s proposal to build
The University of Oxford has remained in second place in a university league table. Meanwhile, Oxford Brookes University is the highest ranking “new” university but it drops two places from last year, to 48. TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk
OXFORD’S Town and Gown charity run has been declared a huge success after more people than ever before took part. A total of 3,264 runners finished the 10km race, which has been going for 33 years and was estimated to have raised £150,000 to aid
London Welsh must overturn a seven-point deficit at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium next Sunday if they are to keep alive their dream of an immediate return to the Aviva Premiership. But for Alex Lozowski’s penalty with the last kick of a thrilling semi-final
Friends of a racehorse trainer from Oxfordshire have spoken of their sadness after he was found dead in his home. Jamie Douglas-Home, of East Lockinge, near Wantage, would have been 62 this week and trained for around 10 years in the 1970s and
A DECISION is due today on a supermarket’s bid for extended deliveries in Carterton. Morrisons wants deliveries from 6am to midnight, Monday to Saturday, and 6am to 11pm, on Sundays and bank holidays. The firm won planning permission from West
RUNNERS in fancy dress took to University Parks on Saturday to raise money for a host of good causes. It was organised by the Rotary Club of Oxford, which has held the annual run in the parks since 1989. Last year the event raised £15,000
THE treasurer of the Oxford Union has resigned over the society’s handling of a rape allegation made against its former president. Charles Malton, a history student at Christ Church, left the prestigious organisation after 21-year-old Ben Sullivan
NURSES have backed a campaign to urge staff to speak out safely about poor practice. Nuffield Health’s Manor Hospital in Headington has signed up to the initiative as part of International Nurses Day today. Matron at the hospital, Karen Armeanu
WHILE many of us enjoyed a lie-in this weekend, thousands were doing their bit for two very good causes. It was the Pink Ribbonwalk’s 10th event at Blenheim Palace on Saturday. One of the people taking part was Margaret King from Witney. She has
A GOVERNMENT minister has praised an RAF base after seeing how the headquarters supports its service personnel. Minister for defence personnel, welfare and veterans Anna Soubry visited RAF Brize Norton earlier this month and learned about its welfare
CONGESTION around a future Botley Road supermarket will be worsened by a new pedestrian crossing, transport bosses have warned. Oxford City Council approved plans for a 24,500sq ft Waitrose store by five votes to two. But councillors imposed
WALKERS took part in the 10th annual Pink Ribbonwalk on Saturday to support those affected by breast cancer. More than 1,000 people joined the event in the grounds of Blenheim Palace, battling through rain and strong winds during the morning.
A scientist specialising in industrial lubricants has won the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inspiration and Industry Award. Prof Peter Dowding of Infineum UK was presented with the award for his contribution to “the outreach, promotion or teaching
CHIEF Scout and TV survival expert Bear Grylls flew in by helicopter to congratulate young Scouts on their awards. About 500 youngsters enjoyed a weekend of activities and outdoor challenges at Youlbury Scout Activity Centre, in Boars Hill, near
A WINE connoisseur has won the trip of a lifetime to work on a vineyard Down Under. Hugh McCullough, 22, was one of only eight people in the UK to win a competition for their dream work placement. He secured a place on a month-long mentorship
Tim Hughes looks forward to a series of unique shows by electro-rock history buffs Public Service Broadcasting WITH songs about Spitfires, the Blitz and Dunkirk, musical duo Public Service Broadcasting capture the spirit of wartime Britain and
