Archive

A FAMILY were left without Christmas gifts today, after burglars broke into their home and stole them, police said.  Police said the thieves entered the Itchen Court home, in Didcot, by forcing open a back window between 4pm yesterday and 1am today

THE arrival of the Prince of Wales in the battlefield during the 1914 Christmas festivities created as much interest at home as on the front. Six weeks earlier, King George V had been advised that his son’s military training was not sufficiently

AN Oxford woman received praise from King George V for her family’s contribution to the war. Mrs Lord, of Magdalen Road, had six sons and six nephews fighting the Germans — and a seventh son had fought in the South African war. In a letter

OXFORD shopkeepers were determined to spread Christmas cheer in 1914, despite the hardships caused by the start of war. Street decorations were in short supply – even Father Christmas appears to have been absent. But shops were gaily decorated,

STEPHEN Berridge, a volunteer at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, has been transcribing the war diary of the 2nd Battalion of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Here, troop movements and activities over the Christmas period

THE Oxford branch of the St John Ambulance Brigade received a £500 motor ambulance, which had been subscribed for publicly. It was thought to be one of only a few ambulances in Great Britain which would carry eight stretchers. It was to be

Seasonal greetings to you all. The supermarkets put the mince pies out in October, but we still seem to moan that Christmas has crept up on us. It’s that time when you have all year to prepare for, but it still catches you out. Well it’s here and

A VILLAGE Methodist chapel could close unless it receives an injection of cash and more support from the community. Freeland Methodist Church, a listed building which dates from 1807, is facing closure as just a handful of elderly and infirm parishioners

TYRONE Marsh has signed for Ebbsfleet United after being released from his contract at Oxford United. The striker, who turns 21 today, has spent all season out on loan at Welling United, scoring eight goals in the Vanarama Conference. He also

OXFORD: A chorus of more than 850 singers reverberated around Christ Church Cathedral for its annual Service of Nine Lessons. Some 30 singers led the service on Tuesday night, which is held to celebrate the birth of Jesus prior to Christmas.

A DOG was stolen from its kennel in the back garden of a family home in Burdrop. Thames Valley Police said the 10-year-old Springer Spaniel, called Charlie, was taken between 9am and 6.15pm on Wednesday, December 17 in the village, near Banbury

TONIGHT the hard work of Cherwell School pupils will be sitting under Christmas trees around the city. And tomorrow morning it will be ripped to shreds and heading for recycling boxes or folded and kept for next year. However that won’t bother

Nicola Lisle talks to the acclaimed soprano about Gilbert, Sullivan and Dustin Hoffman She may be well into her eighties, but former actress and soprano Cynthia Morey is as busy as ever. Since retiring from the stage and moving to Cholsey 22

Alexander Ewing spares a thought for people in the French Alps It has come to my attention that I’m in this year’s Christmas issue of The Oxford Times. So, I begin with an obligatory ‘happy holidays’. Full disclosure, I’ve written this column well

STAFF at Wilkinson’s in Templars Square, Oxford, donned festive costumes on Saturday to raise funds for its chosen charity this year, Great Ormond Street Hospital. Shop assistant Michael Cupid, 65, turned out in his Santa outfit, while other staff

FUNDRAISERS and volunteers helped shoppers with their Christmas wrapping at the Westgate on Saturday. A group of volunteers from Cowley-based mental health charity Restore and Sainsbury’s employees spent their weekend wrapping presents for donations

CHILDREN like seven-year-old Devan Trotman were able to get up close and personal with reindeer on Sunday at the Woolgate Centre in Witney. Didcot-based Real Reindeer provided two animals for children to feed. Devan’s mum, Natasha Whitelock

CAKE-MAKER Julia Atkinson was one of about 16 traders to display their wares at the Bitten Street food festival at Oxford Castle on Saturday. The 44-year-old from Summertown usually sets up her stall on Corn Market but on Saturday took her cup

A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD from Headington scooped the prize for the best pantomime-themed ice cream. Adam Ali’s concoction of banana, maple syrup and cream, titled Beastly Banoffee, won the Oxford Playhouse’s first prize and a special tasting session.

Cas Lester on life after leaving ‘the best job in British TV’ I had possibly the best job in British television. I was head of drama development for CBBC and made shows like Jackanory, The Story of Tracy Beaker, Big Kids and Kerching!. It was a

Gray Matter by Christopher Gray ‘Pc Rowland was determined to do his duty as he saw it regardless of who it might inconvenience.” So said Mr Justice Mitting in his wise judgment in the Andrew Mitchell ‘Plebgate’ affair. A similar attitude doubtless

Gray Matter by Christopher Gray Design often trumps content these days where newspaper articles are concerned. Thus it was last week in Weekend when my review of the Royal Shakespeare’s Company’s excellent new play The Christmas Truce was sandwiched

Whether it’s turkey, goose or duck, Helen Peacocke has some advice on taking the stress out of making Christmas Day lunch Faced with cooking Christmas turkey can be a daunting prospect, particularly if you seldom cook from scratch these days and

Helen Peacocke looks at a cocktail business with a difference There’s something delightfully decadent about sipping cocktails to get the party started at this time of the year. Cocktails are created from any beverage that contains two or more

Val Bourne on the plants that add colour to Christmas and flowerbeds beyond I always feel duty-bound to write about euphorbias at least once a year because Oxford Botanic Garden has a Plant Heritage collection containing 152 taxa. The hardier

Jaine Blackman finds the perfect dark mystery to mull over during the holidays Winter nights are the perfect time to curl up with a good book and if it offers some mystery and a threat of darkness, so much the better. Larkswood, by Woodstock

Damon Smith sees Angelina Jolie’s film about the true story of an Olympic athlete Angelina Jolie's third feature film behind the camera has the hallmarks of 24-carat Academy Awards bait. Based on the book by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken documents

Liz Nicholls awards 5 stars to this panto starring Shane Richie We were lucky enough to be part of the loudest audience on record to watch Dick Whittington at Wycombe Swan. How many decibels our voices contributed is hazy. But if I tell you

Giles Woodforde on this festive panto production starring Joe Pasquale Pantos are big, brash, and loud at the Northampton Derngate, and this year’s Peter Pan is no exception. The Dame must explode onto the stage too, and Ceri Dupree certainly

WORK has already begun to close Temple Cowley Pools. Oxford City Council workers are on site this morning and have put up metal barriers.  The pool closed, for what appears to be the last time yesterday after the council’s scrutiny committee

Roz Hicks enjoys an enchanting production for all the family When I watched Hurry Up, Father Christmas I wasn’t feeling overly festive. But when we left the theatre an hour later, I was most certainly feeling full of Christmas cheer! The studio

YOUNGSTERS looking up in wonderment on Christmas Eve might just be able to catch a glimpse of what they think is Santa and his reindeer tonight. The shining light speeding across the night sky will be rather more technological than the average

Grown-ups might find themselves thinking of The Fast Show’s Jazz Club character while watching this festive musical performance at Banbury’s Mill Arts Centre. Aimed at the over-threes, it tells the tale of Rudy the reindeer (Stewart McCheyne),

Christopher Gray finds his heart melting at this mix of camp, cute and choreographed When a woman — actually a man — dressed as a Christmas tree is seen with a giant necklace of toilet rolls caught in its upper branches and threatening to dislodge

Cinderella is famously the pantomime that gives you double the fun, with a pair of dames in the Ugly Sisters. In the Reading Hexagon’s top-quality production this year Paul Morse and Ian Ganderton do the honours as, respectively, Flatula and Verruca

Nicola Lisle discovers how Christ Church Cathedral’s new trust hopes to offer young people the chance to hit those high notes When you have a choral foundation that dates back to the 16th century and is renowned worldwide for its excellence, you

Oxford's vintage jazz masters The Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band pull a night of surprises and virtuoso musicianship out of their hats with a knees-up to remember Original Rabbit Foot Spasm Band O2 Academy Oxford Stuart Macbeth

Today before dusk travelling home from Islip, we suddenly saw a huge boulder in the road close to the grass verge. Too late to swerve to miss it, our front nearside wheel hit the rock with a bang and caused the car to bump over it. All seemed

I appreciate it’s very tempting to take a pop at car parking charges. However, both your editorial writer, and the Conservative politician from Bicester who is going to stand in the General Election in Oxford, seem to have got rather muddled. City

A NEW garden at an Oxford homeless charity has been opened to the public. The Gatehouse, in Woodstock Road, is based in the parish rooms of St Giles Church but has recently overhauled the space between it and the main church. Centre volunteer

As the long-standing chairman for the East Area Planning Committee, I would expect Labour Oxford City Councillor Roy Darke to listen to our Independent Marston Councillor Mick Haines for highlighting concerns that we all understand – and seek to solve

I am writing to give my support for the community proposals to save Temple Cowley Pools and Gym. I have lived in Temple Cowley for several years, and the pools and gym are a much-valued local facility. Being ideally situated next to the library

Christmas is right upon us and the pantomime season is in full swing. I suppose it is therefore fitting that the Wise Men of Oxfordshire County Council, in their world of make-believe, have unanimously given the go ahead to two controversial pedestrian

Following the ongoing story of county councillors’ remuneration and apparent contempt shown by two of them in reply to a taxpayer’s question, I, like many, was amazed at the total lack of respect and understanding shown in reply to a genuine question

Sir – In November, 3,400 residents in Ascott-Milton- and Shipton-under-Wychwood lost their direct bus to Witney. The county council has saved an hourly service as far as Burford, but there passengers must change to a different bus to complete their

Sir – I write with reference to the article by Roger Smith on the housing crisis in Oxford (Workforce are being priced out: December 4). While I would agree with Mr Smith’s analysis of the current situation in Oxford, he has not taken into account

Sir – House prices for new entrants in Oxford have become unaffordable to all but the highest paid first-time buyer, or those with a silver spoon somewhere in the family. How ironic that this should be a complaint made by an employee of a large

They’ve reinvigorated rock with the biggest album for years, yet endearingly, as Tim Hughes discovers, Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher are as surprised as everyone else In a year dominated by saccharine singer-songwriters, bland commercial pop and the

Sir – The Public Examination into the Cherwell Local Plan has resumed after a six-month suspension. The delay was because the planning inspector had asked Cherwell to almost double the number of houses to be built, in response to controversial targets

Sir – The defeat of the West Way project was a rare victory of people power over corporate greed. I would like to congratulate the people of Botley on their extraordinary campaign. At every level we see the success of projects for short-term profit

Sir – All around the country, people are fighting developments which they feel are changing their communities forever. The NPPF is being used as the justification by planning committees for thousands of new homes all over the country. Many animals

Theresa Thompson looks ahead to the exhibitions lined up for art lovers at the Ashmolean this year After another very positive year at the Ashmolean in Oxford — a year that saw more than 80,000 visitors to its Cézanne exhibition, making it the

Sir – While Cyclox does not defend cyclists without lights, the author of your report (Clampdown on cyclists sees 110 stopped, Report, December 4) on cyclists stopped without lights needs a refresher course in statistics. He states that 89 per

Sir – I’ll try to address some of the points raised by Graham Kelly (Letters, December 4) in his response to my original letter. First, I don’t claim to be an ultimate authority on cycling, I’m merely a keen cyclist who also regularly reads Internet

Georgia Geary, artistic director of The Mill Arts Centre, on the first ever festive production arriving at the Banbury venue As a relative newcomer to The Mill (I started in spring 2013) it was a huge decision to programme a Christmas show into

Sir – For most of us attending a local dental appointment in Oxfordshire may be a bit daunting, for me in the wallet department, yet getting there is relatively straight-forward. Either get in your car or hop on a bus and hey presto, job done.

Sir – Very welcome appreciation of Jon Stallworthy (Obituaries, December 4), which included mention of his “creative” walks across Port Meadow from Wolvercote to OUP headquarters and back. Professor Stallworthy lived for much longer in Old Marston

Sir – As Ian East will know (Letters, December 4) generated traffic does not mean that road expansion will not provide any benefit, it simply means it should be taken into account when forecasting usage. In the case of the A34, an additional lane

Sir – Traffic congestion is even more on our minds in Oxford city than usual and I’ve been reading suggested ways of alleviating this daily stress bordering on the extreme — bus tunnels under High Street and elevated walk-ways on Queen Street — when

Sir – Who advises Oxford University on their PR? And how much do they spend on it? After the recent stumbling utterances of professors James and Mapstone in these pages defending the indefensible damage their buildings have caused to Port Meadow, they

Sir – A lot has been said in these pages about Oxford University’s development at Castle Mill. In this discussion the voice of local residents is being heard, as well as the voice of the University which is putting great store in the supposed ‘economic

Sir – The results of the environmental assessment the University was forced by the courts to carry out into the vandalism it inflicted on Port Meadow through building its grotesque Castle Mill student blocks were on display (briefly) at the Said Business

Sir – With some trepidation I went for a walk on Saturday on Port Meadow for the first time since the hue and cry in some quarters  about the expanded student accommodation at Castle Mill.   It was a beautiful winter's morning – clear and cold

Sir – Why should anybody suppose that the Roger Dudman buildings all need to be lowered at the same time? They could be dealt with one at a time, minimising disruption and probably not significantly increasing the expense. Gardens on flat roofs would

A COMMUNITY centre will open its doors on Christmas Day to treat lonely East Oxford families. East Oxford Community Association is hoping to feed 100 people during its special festive meal on Christmas Day. About 30 volunteers have united to

Katherine MacAlister crowns The Red Lion in Britwell Salome restaurant of the year and speaks to Andrew Hill and Eilidh Ferguson about their worthy labour of love It wasn’t hard picking the 2014 The Oxford Times Restaurant Of The Year Award winner

Iam currently sitting on a train in an unnamed foreign country watching the world go by in giddy festive fuelled mood. I have decided this year to treat myself to a trip abroad. I’m guessing most of you have seen the odd wheelchair user on the bus

CHRISTMAS for women is a special sort of hell followed by a special sort of magic. Which probably explains why by the time we get to Christmas Day itself, most women are prone to looking terrifying around the carving knife and crying at John Lewis

ELEVEN years ago St Mary and St Nicholas Church in Littlemore decided to hold a Christmas lunch for people who were feeling alone on December 25. The event has gone from strength to strength and organisers expect up to 100 people to turn up at

THERE will be two distinct points of view over whether the award of £87.1m to the county for road repairs is good news. Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth is happy to have received the Government announcement yesterday, believing it

Oxford United have received an early Christmas present after securing Tareiq Holmes-Dennis on loan for the rest of the season. The 19-year-old has been a big hit since joining on a short-term loan from Charlton Athletic in October. Despite

Michael Appleton has challenged his players to show their class this week against two sides the Oxford United head coach believes will go on to claim automatic promotion, writes David Pritchard. They host second-placed Shrewsbury Town at the Kassam

A WINDFALL of more than £87m will be spent on fixing potholes across Oxfordshire from next year. The announcement yesterday will see the county council receive the share from a pot of £6bn spent on improving roads between 2015 and 2021 across the

There has been a huge public response to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the Castle Mill student flats, with hundreds taking time to give their views. Three options to mitigate the impact of the Roger Dudman Way buildings on views

PROP Nathan Trevett believes that London Welsh’s Boxing Day clash with London Irish at the Madejski Stadium is their biggest of the season, writes MATTHEW BRUCE. Irish are just one place above bottom-of-the-table Welsh in the Aviva Premiership

SCIENTISTS at the Diamond Light Source synchotron in Harwell brought their children in for a day to recreate their workplace in Lego. Using a specially-created set of more than 11,000 pieces, the families made a replica of the giant doughnut-shaped

A 31-year-old who tried to rob a Londis store in the Vineyard has had his sentencing adjourned. Daniel Sowerby, of Stert Street, Abingdon, yesterday admitted attempted robbery and possessing an offensive weapon on October 18 this year. He was

FESTIVE revellers who overdo it this Christmas will be offered the services of South Central Ambulance Service’s SOS bus tonight and on New Year’s Eve. The bus, which offers treatment to patients with minor injuries, has run at weekends since it

OXFORD City general manager Justin Merritt has urged his players to improve, despite winning five successive matches, writes MATTHEW BRUCE. The City boss was unimpressed with his side’s display in the 2-0 victory over Hyde on Saturday and he expects

A COMMUNITY traumatised after a flood hit their street and damaged their homes will be spending Christmas apart this year. Normandy Crescent residents in Cowley were devastated after a water main burst on September 23 for the second time in seven

OXFORD United Women’s squad for the 2015 season has started to take shape after extending the contracts of two important players. Goalkeeper Demi Lambourne and midfielder Kayleigh Hines will be part of the new FA Women’s Super League 2 campaign

A court decision on whether Oxford Stadium can be flattened for homes is now expected next month. The Oxford Mail reported this month that the High Court decision was expected in December but the court has now closed until the new year. Developer

A 27-YEAR-OLD man was arrested on Sunday in connection with a stabbing that happened in Bicester on Friday night, Thames Valley Police said. Spokeswoman Hannah Williams said he had been bailed until February 6. She said it was in connection

A BID by an Oxford college to stop land in West Oxford being protected from development has prompted fears there could be building on the site. Christ Church has submitted a “deposit” to Oxfordshire County Council for a parcel of land it owns opposite

SHOPPERS have been urged to use a temporary car park if Oxford’s Westgate centre fills up today after high demand yesterday. Oxford City Council said drivers should use a car park in Oxpens, set up for when the main multi-storey closes on January

Oxford City Stars slid to a 6-4 defeat in a bad-tempered South Division 1 game at home to Solent Devils. It will be a contest remembered for all the wrong reasons with four players – Stars’ Darren Elliott and Josh Oliver plus Devils’ Steve Gosset

Oxford City’s Jade O’Dowda struck gold for the second successive year at the South of England AA Combined Events Championships at Lee Valley. The 15-year-old, from Kidlington, followed up her success in the under 15 competition last year by capturing

Didcot Casuals Blue are through to the Oxford Mail Youth Under 12 League KO Cup semi-finals after winning on penalties against Grove Challengers Black. Goals from Didcot’s Marcus Groves and Grove’s Sam Cheshire saw the game finish 1-1 after extra

Substitute Chris Mortimore made a sparkling debut for Oxfordshire Under 14s with a brace in a 5-2 win over Berkshire in the South West Counties League at Milton United. Oxon fell behind after ten minutes when Teoman Atik raced through to score.

Blackbird opened up a four-point gap between themselves and the Critchleys UTV League Premier Division’s bottom two with a 10-4 win against AFC Valley. The visitors were 6-0 up at half-time, thanks to a brace apiece from 17-year-old debutant Yassime

Oxford RL have completed a double swoop by signing forward Kyle Danns and winger Luke Gardiner from Northampton Demons. Prop Danns has been with the Demons for the past two years, scoring eight tries last season. He’s the product of Wellingborough

LATEST RESULTS Oxfordshire Short Mat Association South & Vale Div 1: Didcot Barn Owls 27 (6), Warborough Wanderers 21 (2); Stanford Village 29 (8), Harwell Hares 12 (0); Didcot Barn Owls 45 (8), Benson Missing Nines 10 (0); Wootton Chiefs 26

LAST year, four-year-old Sophia Aitken had a gruelling operation to remove faulty nerves in her spine. Her family are now looking forward to her walking without help to open her Christmas presents tomorrow morning. The Witney youngster was

Riverside bagged a late winner to edge a seven-goal Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division thriller 4-3 at Eynsham. Tom McCudden notched a brace and Will Morris also scored for the hosts, but they were beaten, thanks to goals from Liam O’Callaghan

A HUNDRED years ago, as soldiers spent Christmas on the Western Front, one householders moved to spread from Christmas cheer to troops. The Oxford Mail has discovered a 1914 letter from our Oxford Times sister title from a lieutenant thanking an

Rail passengers will be affected over the Christmas period by major improvement works in Reading and Slough. Network Rail will be completing work to a new £45m viaduct to the west of the station, resulting in limited services and bus replacements

CAMPAIGNERS vowed to fight to re-open Temple Cowley Pools (TCP) after the leisure centre closed its doors for the last time yesterday. The complex closed hours after Oxford City Council’s scrutiny committee confirmed it would be demolished.

ANYONE planning to bet on a white Christmas in Oxford this year is likely to be disappointed by the outcome. Reports from the Met Office show that snowfall in the Midlands and South East is highly unlikely tomorrow. Met Office communications