MORE than 20 people from Oxfordshire have been awarded accolades in the Queen’s birthday honours list. Three people have been made Knights Bachelor (Kt): Professor Colin Brian Blakemore, FRS. Director Centre for the Study of the Senses, School
UPDATING a super-successful model is possibly the scariest project a car manufacturer can embark on. The dangers of getting it wrong are all too evident, especially in the case of a motor like Nissan’s Qashqai which has established itself as the
THE A417 is closed this evening after a head-on crash between a motorcyclist and a lorry outside the quarry in Shellingford. The air ambulance was called and the police have said the 24-year-old motorcyclist has broken both legs. The accident happened
ABSORBING tales of heroism and bravery from Oxfordshire soldiers through the ages will be made public this weekend with the opening of a multi-million pound museum. The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum will open its £3.2m purpose-built premises by
Californian hedonist to impart his hard-earned knowledge of the benefits of revelry He has a reputation as one of the hardest partying men in rock, so it’s only appropriate that he should be invited to share his knowledge of revelry with students
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A WOMAN in her 20s was killed in a crash on the M40, while her infant baby daughter has been flown to hospital, police have just confirmed. The woman was killed when her green Peugeot 406 estate and a red arctic lorry collided on the southbound
VAN Coulter suggested in The Issue on Wednesday that some of the Green Belt is not of high landscape value. He is right, but he is also wrong in assuming that landscape quality is the main reason for designating Green Belt. The purpose of the Green
I WAS admitted to the John Radcliffe, pictured, recently as an emergency patient and remained in the hospital for 11 days. I just wanted to say a great big thank you to the doctors and nurses and every member of the team. The care and kindness
I READ with horror that the RAF at Benson is actually proposing to shoot Red Kites. The licence was granted by Natural England and its website boasts: “Our purpose is to protect and improve England’s natural environment.” I hope RAF Benson
A TEENAGER was cut out of the wreckage of a car crash as firefighters worked to set him free, but it was all in the name of road safety. Jack Flemon was carried off in a stretcher from the mangled metal after officers from the Blue Watch at Banbury
Alison Boulton digs beneath the city's dreaming spires What’s the connection between a dead parrot and the beach at Skegness? French composer Jacques Offenbach’s rarely performed comic opera Vert Vert, will be relayed there on July 6, so more
Rebecca Moore gives advice to UKIP's Louise One thing stood out from Newsnight recently involving Piers Morgan, Joey “philosopher king” Barton and Louise Bours. No, it wasn’t Joey’s “four ugly girls” comment which immediately went viral (he stupidly
Rebecca Moore says good looks aren't all that's needed to grab girl's attention Stephen Moffat, writer of Sherlock and Doctor Who, recently revealed that BBC bosses were originally aghast at the prospect of casting Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock
Jaine Blackman kicks back and enjoys a slower pace of life on Tresco where travel is by bicycle or on foot... and no one nicks your cycle Taking a trip to Tresco – on of the Scilly Isles, located 30 miles off the Cornish coast – is like taking
So, tragically, J-Lo DID end up performing the ‘official’ World Cup song at last night’s opening ceremony after all. She had said she wouldn’t as there were production issues… Sorry luv, but there were STILL production issues – as in you produced
Kick off the World Cup carnival spirit via your cosmetics. Jaine Blackman unveils the Brazilian-inspired star players So what if the World Cup isn't top of your priorities? Revelling in this summer’s Brazilian-inspired beauty turns the football
Jaine Blackman takes a look behind the greasepaint to discover the story of how one woman breathed new life in to the big top The glitter, the glamour, the sense of wonder... it’s many a young girl’s dream to be in a circus. Most of us grow
Every little helps, according to Tesco, and let’s hope it proves to be what’s needed to shake up the smug high street banks. The supermarket giant has just launched a new current account, introducing more competition into the industry. And
As Brazil 2014 kicks off, Gill Sutherland meets local ladies who are getting ever so excited You know when the World Cup is coming up from all the ads on the telly using football to plug a load of stuff from new tellies to crisps. But you would
MAY I congratulate the staff and students at Bicester Community College for their rating of ‘good’ in their Ofsted inspection. It is clear that a great deal of work has gone into the school to turn it round and, again, well done. May I encourage
I REALLY must take exception to the comments by Ms Katherine Owen (June 10), “it’s not very pleasant to have to give yourself an injection and to take a finger prick blood sample”. I have been a type two diabetic since August 1987. It was a bit
CLLR Bob Johnston’s (June 10), condemnation of my suggestions (June 10) for railways electrification (to save disruptions of raising bridges for overhead lines) is Victorian, yet he obviously is not aware of the fantastic developments in power supplies
WE were delighted to hear that Oxford may get a direct rail link to Gatwick by 2020 (Gatwick-Oxford rail link planned, June 11). The better the transport infrastructure, the better the local economy will be. But people don’t have to wait six years
Alison Boulton digs beneath the city's dreaming spires I’ve been invigilating this week, and it’s been emotional. There has been one inevitability so far. The sun has shone brightly throughout the examination, but at the moment of release, when
Maybe it’s a sign of getting older and gaining a sense of my own mortality, but for me, this week has been one of reflection. With the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, I’ve been surprised at just what an effect it has had on me. Every
Jaine Blackman meets a woman with a passion for British blooms who is sharing her talents with a series of floral workshops Severe hayfever – enough to trigger an asthma attack – might be enough to put most people off being a florist but not Jo
June is possibly the only time of year when scratching in public is acceptable. This year I have involuntarily given my blood to midges, mosquitoes and the completely-new-to-me Blandford fly, which is surely the most hideous creature ever to have lived
Do you need some extra rage in your life? No? Oh, come off it, maybe you’re a bit too full of love for your fellow man? Road Rage Britain – Caught on Camera will bring you down to earth with a bump. The first episode of this brutal ITV1 series
The problem with being 48 is I’m so in limbo. Yes, 48 isn’t 21 anymore but equally it isn’t saline drips and motorised scooters either. Realistically, I still think can sunbathe without causing 48-hour sickness to those around me, but I’m also
Sheena Patterson of Oxford Garden Design sees the trees from the woods There’s not much I wouldn’t do for my daughters including, it seems, swinging through trees like Jane chasing Tarzan. Last weekend found our tribe participating in the Go
A CAFE sign has fallen down in Oxford’s Cowley Road this morning. The white signage for Millefeuille cafe and patisserie broke off and is lying across a pavement. Police tape is restricting access to the cafe and premises on each side, including
‘STOP worrying about me – for Heaven’s sake, I’m 43-years-old.” That was my younger son’s reaction when I phoned to ask if he had got rid of a severe headache. It had been acquired after a particularly heavy week at work and following a mountainous
DO you donate blood? I ask because tomorrow is World Blood Donor Day and most people don’t. Only four per cent of UK adults are donors, and I’m not part of that group even though I know each blood donation can help up to three people. So why don’t
RESIDENTS frustrated by antisocial behaviour at an Oxford hostel have been told no council officers will attend a meeting about the issue. People living at the One Foot Forward hostel in Iffley Road have been accused of “hanging around” outside
6:19pm The A417 is closed following a serious accident outside the quarry in Shellingford 5:34pm Update: Police confirm women in her 20s killed in M40
ENGLAND fans across Oxfordshire will be hoping Keith Dovier is a good omen. Starting work at Witney Co-op in 1966, he witnessed what so many of us want to see again . . . the Three Lions lifting the World Cup. Retiring on June 30 after 48 years
SERVICEMEN from the county now have a fitting tribute to their history.For too many years, documents charting the deeds of our troops, both living and fallen, have been hidden away. Carted around Cowley Barracks and Slade Park, the nomadic exhibitions
THE mother of a teenager who died after taking Ecstasy is demanding a meeting with the Home Secretary to campaign for “recreational drugs” to be legalised and regulated. Anne-Marie Cockburn, 43, spoke yesterday following the inquest into the death
A DRIVER was taken to hospital after they were involved in a crash in Oxford this morning. Police were called at 6.19am to reports of a collision between a silver Nissan Micra and a black Ford Focus at the junction of Donnington Bridge Road and
Californian singer-songwriter and instrumentalist Andrew WK, right, will appear at Oxford Union tonight. His lecture on The Philosophy of Partying, will focus on “positive power and celebratory self-confidence”. He was invited to speak by musician
A SECOND World War veteran died in his home in a fire started by his pipe, an inquest heard. Oliver Minchin, 93, died at Preston Road, Abingdon, on January 26, after the blaze, Oxfordshire Coroner’s Court was told yesterday. The court heard
A man has been charged in relation to graffiti which appeared on the Clarendon Centre. Charlie Silver, 23, of no fixed address, has been charged with criminal damage. He has been bailed to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on July 28.
MP Andrew Smith yesterday defended Oxfam’s food poverty campaign. The Cowley-based charity was criticised this week by Bournemouth Tory MP Conor Burns who complained to the Charity Commission about its new campaign being overtly political.
A canary that was found in Albert Street, Jericho, on Monday, still needs to be reunited with its owner. George West, from Headington, thought it might be his missing pet, which escaped on Sunday. He said: “My son Chris was cleaning out the
AS an experienced firefighter with just over 20 years’ service, I find myself in a very difficult situation. I joined at the age of 20, which should have enabled me to have a career of 30+ years, allowing me to retire at an age where I could still
A WOMAN has told a court how her family was harassed with phone calls in the months leading up to an arson attack which killed two of her siblings. Annis Akhtar was yesterday giving evidence on the third day of a murder trial at Oxford Crown Cour
A decision on the £100m redevelopment of the West Way shopping centre will be made by the end of August. A planning application has been submitted to Vale of White Horse District Council and a consultation is currently taking place on an environmental
Quirky news stories are becoming more popular than celebrity gossip, according to Oxford University’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014. Unusual tales are becoming a key driver of traffic on news websites and is especially popular with
Oxford have been decimated by unavailability for their Division 1 clash against joint leaders Burnham at Roman Way tomorrow. Skipper Ian Crosby is missing six players, with paceman Stuart Hole on his stag weekend in Barcelona where he will be accompanied
AN MP has defended a £105,000 NHS pay packet for just four months’ work for an interim chief executive. Conservative Sir Tony Baldry said the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (OCCG) payment was “appropriate”. Yesterday we reported how
Indian all-rounder Anupam Sanklecha smashed an unbeaten 78 as Shipton-under-Wychwood raced to an eight-wicket win at Oxford Downs in the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup second round. South African Dean Conradie took 3-11 and then blasted an unbeaten
Skipper Luke Ryan is confident Oxfordshire can send Cumberland packing in the Unicorns Counties Trophy quarter-final at Bicester & North Oxford on Sunday (11am). Oxon have reached the last eight by winning their four group games. And Ryan
Oxfordshire 50+ suffered their first Group 4 defeat after two wins this season in the ECB 50+ County Championship when they went down by one run in a pulsating finish against Warwickshire 50+ at Kenilworth. Having bowled and fielded superbly to
A SUPERMARKET worker who is retiring after 48 years thinks it’s an omen England will win the World Cup. Keith Govier started working at what is now the Witney Co-op in 1966, the year England won the coveted trophy. But since that day when the
Will Stanton and Jimmy Strainge won the boys doubles title at a grade six tournament at St Hugh’s School, Faringdon. The girls doubles were won by Daisy Blackler and Susie Hicks Beach. Latest Sport news
The trial of a man accused of a public order offence by allegedly making a remark in court to the family of Ben Blakely, 22 – the man accused of murdering teenager Jayden Parkinson – has been put back. Ryan McCann, 24, of no fixed address, was
More than £1bn was invested in improving and expanding the rail network in the Thames Valley and South West of England over the last 12 months, Network Rail has said. This includes electrification of the Great Western main line from Paddington
TWO unlikely athletes are showing age is no barrier by taking on a 200-mile sporting challenge. David Woodman, 68, and Phil Skipp, 66, are three days in to their triathlon, which will see them cycling from London to Oxford, rowing from Oxford to
SCOTT Billings has a confession to make — he’s a bit of a geek. But Mr Billings, exhibitions assistant at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford, is not ashamed of his geek status and invited others to take part in the Geek is Good night
PLANS are being finalised for Wallingford’s first festival celebrating links with the crime writer Agatha Christie. The author of Miss Marple and Poirot detective stories lived at Winterbrook House, Cholsey, from 1934 until her death in 1976, and
A MAN who defrauded a terminally ill woman out of more than £70,000 has been jailed for two-and-a-half years. Wassim Al Ashkar, 32, of Oxford Road, Kidlington, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to three counts
Woodstock Ladies are Aegon County League Division 1 champions after an 8-4 win over Blewbury & Cholsey. Taysie Gujral and Liz Gilkes won both singles and doubles, while Rachael Moon trium-phed in the singles to seal it. They now face a play-off
Alice Draycott, from London, won top honours at the Racquets June Open Graded Tournament in Thame. Despite playing with a borrowed racquet, she proved too strong as she lifted the ladies’ crown. The event, open to all ages and abilities, included
A man was rescued unconscious from a burning house. Firefighters were called to Spindleside after a neighbour saw smoke coming from a first floor window on Monday afternoon. Three crews tackled a fire on the ground floor and found the man unconscious
A thief stole a donations box from the village church. The box, which was attached to a pew in St Giles, was pulled off. The church said there would have been little money in it as it is emptied regularly. Call the Rev Brian Wood on 01869 369815
A motorcyclist was taken to hospital with a leg injury after a crash involving a car yesterday. Paramedics and police were called to the junction of Moses Winter Way and Hithercroft Road at 7.05am and an ambulance took the man to the John Radcliffe
MOVES to earmark Green Belt sites around the outskirts of Oxford for new homes have been dismissed out of hand. Oxford City Council has published a 70-page study detailing parts of the Green Belt it says could be built on without causing “unacceptable
DANCING Dalmatians and cavorting clowns are returning as the Giffords Circus rolls into Oxfordshire. Yesterday was the first performance of this year’s Greek-themed tour at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock. Performer Josephine Glover plays Medusa
A SOCIAL enterprise which helps vulnerable people get back on their feet is hunting for an eBay expert to help sell items from its ‘Aladdin’s cave’ of donations. The homeless charity Emmaus Oxford wants to recruit extra hands, including a specialist
The city’s faith communities gathered for a “friendship walk” from Jericho to Manzil Way last night. The annual Oxford Council of Faiths’ walk went from the Oxford Synagogue via the University Church in High Street to arrive at the Central Mosque
An English teacher campaigning against changes to GCSE guidelines is one step closer to meeting Government education chiefs. Mary Stevens, an English teacher at Larkmead School, launched an online petition after reports classic US novels were to
OXFORDSHIRE airman Josh McNally is determined to take his career to the next level after signing for London Welsh. The 23-year-old lock, a weapons technician at RAF Brize Norton, joins Premiership club Welsh from Henley Hawks, who will play three
THE county branch of the UK’s biggest home care provider said it has improved following a damning report highlighting that users were open to abuse. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) criticised the Kidlington-based branch of Allied Healthcare for
A MAN has been given a community order for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old boy. Paul Biggs, 22, of The Penn, Over Norton, near Chipping Norton, was found guilty of the offence which happened on September 1, 2007, last month. The boy cannot
Saturday CRICKET SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Div 1: Banbury v Aston Rowant, Henley v High Wycombe, Oxford v Burnham. Div 2 West: Great & Little Tew v Amersham, Reading v Horspath, Shipton-u-Wychwood v Cove.
Oxfordshire over 70s moved up to second place in Division 3 of the Seniors Inter-County Championships with an 8-0 hammering of Wiltshire. Jon Dilworth, Roger Selby, Ian Jelfs and Tony Gale were in top form as they dropped just 17 games in eight
NATIONAL 2 SOUTH CHINNOR’S director of rugby Matt Williams has heralded the arrival of former London Welsh No 8 Alfie To’oala as a player/coach. Samoan international back rower, To’oala, 34, who is 6ft and 18 stone 8lbs, played for Welsh in
OXFORD RL aim to bounce back from their 36-22 defeat against Gateshead Thunder when they host London Skolars on Sunday (3). But despite a third straight loss, they are only five points off the Kingstone Press Championship One play-offs. Coach
A TWO-TIME Oxfordshire beauty queen is heading to Devon in her last chance to be crowned Miss England. Amelia Watts, of James Street, will be representing the county for the second time at this weekend’s national beauty pageant. The 24-year-old
