Archive

  • Locks away! Weatherman Bill does a sponsored snip

    NOT everyone would trust a TV weatherman to cut their hair. But for Louise McCarthy, having her locks chopped by Bill Giles was well worth it. The sponsored snip was to raise funds for Sobell House Hospice in Old Road, Oxford. Administrator

  • Reports a JCB is on fire on the A40 near Wheatley

    THERE are reports a JCB is on fire on the A40 near Wheatley. An Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said it was called at 5.38pm and crews are currently on site. He added the fire is between the Wheatley junction and the Headington

  • No height reduction for Castle Mill flats say Oxford dons

    A BID to have the Castle Mill student flats reduced in height through Oxford University’s “parliament” has been thrown out by dons. Critics said the blocks blight views of Oxford’s historic skyline and a report also found some 22 views had been

  • Election candidates in business debate

    A General Election debate will take place tonight at Unipart Conference Centre in Garsington Road, Cowley, at 7pm. The public are welcome at the free hustings event organised by The Federation of Small Businesses. Candidates for the Oxford

  • Keeping the fight against Ebola going

    EBOLA might seem a million miles away from us now. After a flurry of press interest last year, other stories have risen to the top of the news agenda. But here in Oxford, we are home to cutting-edge vaccine trials and research to combat this

  • Charity worker will help bury Sierra Leone victims of Ebola

    A CRISIS relief worker left Cowley for Sierra Leone yesterday to help tackle the Ebola crisis. Caroline Kassell is travelling to the West African city of Freetown to work with community nurses and burial teams to reduce the spread of the deadly

  • Children let down by all authorities

    The Serious Case Review ordered because of the Bullfinch scandal was always going to be damning. How could it be otherwise, given the level of depravity, and the scale of the sadistic grooming, rape, torture and sale of young girls into prostitution

  • Economist advised Margaret Thatcher

    AN ECONOMIST and Oxford don who advised Margaret Thatcher has died aged 88. Sir Douglas Hague was a distinguished economist and academic who came to Oxford in 1981, having played a key role in Manchester in setting up one of Britain’s first business

  • Doctor's efforts helped shape Oxfam's humanitarian work

    DR Tim Lusty, who died aged 76, was a local farmer and doctor whose pioneering work helped shape Oxfam’s humanitarian work in the 1970s and 1980s. Appointed its first disasters officer in 1976, he established the Oxfam Health Unit, which helped

  • Mud fun puts a spring in tot's step

    “I LIKE playing with the mud; I’ve got a red bucket”. These are the words of twoyear- old Tyrion Savage, who was full of the simple joys of spring on Tuesday. Tyrion went along to a Forest Tots group at Hill End Outdoor Centre, near Farmoor

  • Firm's cure for cat allergy 'at the double'

    A CURE for cat allergy being developed by Oxford firm Circassia should go on sale in 2017. To speed up the process, the biotech company doubled its spending on research and development last year, up from £21m to £38m. It also doubled the number

  • Apprentices raring to explain how good it is to learn a trade

    APPRENTICES in the county are gearing up to shout about the benefits of learning in the workplace as National Apprenticeship Week launches next week. Events during the nationwide drive, which runs until Friday, include visits from MPs and an ambassador

  • Where will the next vehicle come to rest?

    RECENTLY, probably in the hours of darkness, athe driver of a bright blue vehicle drove across the grass verge and into my newly rebuilt driveway wall opposite the Red Cow in Chesterton, causing considerable damage. There were no witnesses but there

  • Your report omits the main point of my speech

    YOUR report on fees for care on February 25 has a nice picture of me, but omits the main point of my three-minute speech to the county council cabinet the previous day. This was the figures laid down by Whitehall for a disabled person’s savings

  • Unlicensed landlord fined for renting out house to tenants

    AN OXFORD landlord has been fined £6,500 for failing to license a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO). Zahid Butt, 56, was prosecuted after Oxford City Council found he had rented out the house he owned in Crescent Road, Cowley to five people and

  • Travel: Avoiding excess in Marrakesh

    Bill Heine fends off repeated attempts to sell him hashish during a trip to North Africa Marrakesh is a city with a mystery, but does the plot involve low life drug dealing, haute cuisine or just plain bog standard cobras? All of the above.

  • Bishop Bill’s mission at sea

    Gill Oliver talks to retired Bill Down about a life spent ministering around the world As a priest, pastor and former Bishop of Bermuda, Bill Down’s 40-year career has taken him thousands of miles around the world. Bishop Bill, as he is better

  • Rising bollard hits us in pocket say Kidlington traders

    BUSINESSES in Kidlington High Street claim they are suffering after a row broke out over deliveries being made past a rising bollard. After more than two years of delays and a vandal attack in December, a rising bollard was placed at the entrance

  • Sophie Large’s legacy is living on

    Cherry Large on how her late daughter is being remembered through the arts How can the End be the Beginning again when all Seems lost? This Haiku was written by our young daughter while at school. Over the next few years of her life she came back

  • So who says that married men can't be gay?

    The absurd contention that a man is unlikely to be gay if he is married was made in the letters column of The Oxford Times a while back by the radio personality Sandi Toksvig. I have good reason to remember this because her view was advanced in the

  • Dan Topolski: A stylish true Blue gladiator

    Reg Little looks back on the contribution to Oxford University life by Dan Topolski His family asked for a private funeral. But in the early summer many of the Oxford University sportsmen and sportswomen who rowed for Daniel Topolski, and others

  • Time to plant your cold comfort farm

    Val Bourne has a garden chock-full of food for the winter months, and you can too if you sow wisely You have almost certainly been weighed down by the arrival of lots of seed catalogues bumping on to the doormat and they will all be extolling the

  • White ghost that’s losing its haunts

    Wildlife Trust officer Kate Titford on how the local branch is working hard to improve conditions for barn owls Asilent, ghostly-white shape flies past me. It is dusk and I’m standing near a hedgerow on the edge of a field in Chimney Meadows nature

  • Phoenix Picturehouse launches global film series

    Katherine MacAlister journeys around the world to look at the Phoenix Picturehouse’s global programme The Phoenix Picturehouse is launching a World Cinema Series, a global tour of the best in foreign cinema, in a selection of Saturday matinees

  • Art festival revels in a sonic boom

    Sarah Mayhew Craddock looks forward to an aural extravaganza Oxford’s annual festival of contemporary experimental music and sound art, Audiograft, is back — one of the most exciting events on its cultural calendar. A mix of new, experimental

  • Rosie Dennington is runway success

    Katherine MacAlister meets a young designer who is staking her place between Louis Vuitton and Burberry That Oxford Fashion Week has become a massively important feature in the city’s calendar is irrefutable, but it’s knock-on effects are less

  • Stoppard's classic Arcadia retains its appeal

    Out on a major tour for the first time in two decades, Tom Stoppard’s 1993 hit Arcadia is amusing, educational and often a bit baffling for its audiences (this week at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre and from April 13-18 at Oxford Playhouse). This is a

  • Secret signals of giant in torment

    Nicola Lisle talks to Matt Denton of the Carducci Quartet about their Shostakovich Project, coming to Oxford next week The Carducci Quartet have set themselves a marathon task this year — to play all 15 of the Shostakovich string quartets in various

  • Soundbites - Festival news and Stornoway

    * Excitement this week as two of the county’s biggest festivals revealed their big name acts. And, to quote the organisers, there really is something for everyone, with Sir Tom Jones for Cornbury (July 10-12) and Groove Armada and Paloma Faith for

  • Glass Animals have a dreamy sound to soothe the soul

    For one of the coolest bands on the planet, Glass Animals are refreshingly devoid of rock star ego. Their song Gooey was the second-most shared viral tune on Spotify last year, they have conquered the charts in America and Australia and regularly

  • Dual life of Dr Chris and Mr TV Presenter

    Katherine MacAlister meets a TV doc who got stoned for science You might have seen Dr Chris van Tullekan on Channel 4 this week, getting stoned out of his mind, as part of a carefully orchestrated experiment to demonstrate the difference between

  • She’s Still Alice but with an Oscar now

    Memories are twinkling stars in a celestial map linking our past, present and future. Some of these glittering orbs dim naturally over time, such as first experiences from childhood, while others are temporarily obscured by the fog of modern life

  • Steak out the Chester for the perfect platter

    Tim Hughes gets out his steak knife for a carnivorous feast to share at Oxford’s hippest new pub and eaterie When one of the coolest guys on the planet tells you where to go for your dinner, you’d be a fool to ignore his advice. So when I was

  • Getting ale and hearty for inn’s beer festival

    Starting Up with The Three Pigeons @ Milton Common The Three Pigeons at Milton Common on the old London to Oxford turnpike near Thame has been serving beer to thirsty travellers for well over 200 years. For many years a Hall’s house, it is

  • Chef's Special recipe - Speedy Biryani

    Chef's Special with DJ BBQ of Ben's Beginners Online family cooking channel Ben’s Beginners, from Uncle Ben’s, has teamed up with the Children’s Food Trust to support the Big Cookathon 2015, in a bid to get kids and families cooking together at

  • Last orders at the bar with the Pub Landlord Al Murray

    The Pub Landlord is briefly calling ‘time’ for a real-life bitter battle of the political kind, writes Katherine MacAlister As part of the Guvnor’s 20th year, multi-award-winning Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, has extended his tour of the UK and

  • Don't expect to get a receipt, apparently

    WE had a boiler replaced by a small plumbing firm from Banbury. I asked for a receipt for the two cheques I issued, the warranties for the boiler and work done as well as the building regulations certificate. These were requested from the firm

  • Why is my post delivered as late as 5.30pm?

    ONCE upon a time, you could almost tell the time of day by the delivery of post Royal Mail made in my road. Nowadays, the time the post is delivered would have most residents here scratching their heads as to the time of day. The times vary from

  • Seeing PC105 on his bike brought back memories

    I WAS interested to see the letter from Mrs Parkinson, her late husband Ken taught me to ride a motorcycle, the one shown in the picture. Even stranger, he was PC105 and took my late father’s number when dad was promoted. The house in Derwent Avenue

  • Were they tipped off or was it a premonition?

    I WAS prompted to write and express my opinion after reading yesterday’s front page story “THEY SAW NO EVIL” and I must say it does not surprise me that the two people pictured on the front page have denied all knowledge. Firstly Sara Thornton,

  • Everyone needs to know the signs of abuse and report it

    SINCE being elected to the European Parliament in 2009, I have been campaigning against, and raising awareness of, human trafficking and abuse. In those six years there have been several cases of trafficking and abuse right here in Oxford.

  • Stretching legs as well as broadening minds

    Alexander Ewing finds a trip to Wales to be rewarding From time to time it is important that academics, and those aspiring, stretch their legs outside of the university in order to gain perspective on their profession and general being-in-the-world

  • Covent show was small print for Telegraph

    My somewhat intemperately phrased criticism of the Daily Telegraph radio listings last summer was quickly followed by a good-natured email from the great Gillian Reynolds, the newspaper’s widely admired radio critic. She told me: “I’ll happily

  • Straw’s smug assumption over elevation to the Lords

    Not the least revealing aspect of the successful ‘sting’ performed by Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph on Jack Straw and Malcolm Rifkind concerns the former’s smug assumption about his coming elevation to the House of Lords. As far as both men

  • Drought and a flood of talent in The Well

    A bold first novel bewitches Jaine Blackman At the beginning of The Well, Ruth is alone, hated, and under house arrest. Set in a modern-day Britain where it has not rained for three years except on her piece of farmland — The Well — the story unfolds

  • Get with the beet at Brookes Restaurant

    Meat eater Christopher Gray finds himself pleasantly surprised by a cruelty-free feast The allergy to peanuts was prominently in the news last week on the very day that I was to demonstrate my tolerance of them during a special meal of vegan food

  • Heaven itself for a gourmet on the go

    Helen Peacocke is all agog over the fare at a motorway service station I wonder what the late Egon Ronay would have said had he visited the new visionary service stations which are being built now? Ronay did much to raise the standard of British

  • Vintage version makes collectors’ item

    La Fille Mal Gardée is a charming tale of love and frustration amongst country folk. Until very recently, the only version known in this country was Sir Frederick Ashton’s masterpiece, premiered to huge cheers in 1960. The Russians have now brought

  • Highlights - Collabro, The Australian Pink Floyd and more

    Singer-songwriter Dan Walsh The Unicorn, Abingdon Tonight Tickets £10 from abingdonabbey-unicorntheatre.org.uk One of the country’s finest banjo players launches his new album, Incidents and Accidents. Expect folky, bluegrass-inspired loveliness

  • The axe factor: Stornoway star makes tunes for the Tudors

    Jon Ouin tells Humphrey Astley how he kept his head writing an Elizabethan score The Tudors are big news right now. It seems you barely turn on the telly without being confronted by a riot of ruffs and codpieces. Fans of blockbuster Wolf Hall

  • For Art's Sake with Simon Tavener

    Simon Tavener, secretary of Oxford Theatre Guild and cast member of Mary Stuart, describes the genesis of a drama that should satisfy our Tudor cravings With just over a week to go to opening night, it is sometimes easy to forget that work started

  • Katherine Jenkins: "Never have so many good things happened"

    Tim Hughes talks to singer Katherine Jenkins about her fantastic year and starting a UK tour An OBE, a whirlwind romance, a fairytale wedding at a Royal palace, and a chart-topping album. By anyone’s standards, Katherine Jenkins has had a good

  • Teatime at Paul, Oxford

    I had a meeting in Oxford so it was an ideal chance to pop into Paul, the new patisserie in High Street. This very warm and welcoming cafe had more seating than I thought, every table and chair filled with people devouring delicious looking fare

  • Nibbles - The Oxford Kitchen, Thame Food Festival and more

    * The Good Food Guide, published by Waitrose, is calling on diners to nominate their favourite local eaterie for its Readers’ Restaurant of the Year Awards. The coveted awards honour the very best independent restaurants, pubs and cafés from around

  • Elderly care is big issue as May election approaches

    PROVISION for the elderly is the biggest issue facing people in Oxfordshire in the run-up to the General Election. I knock on doors and talk to elderly people in my ward and I often find they are completely isolated. They might have a carer going

  • Potter, planks, pizza and a 'shy' rapper

    The Insider is always indefatigable in its pursuit of a story, but this week’s task of “Kanye-Catching” took it to a new level. The normally publicityhungry rapper, notorious for storming stages and hogging the limelight, was surprisingly coy when

  • Course aims to help people cycle safely

    A NEW workshop which aims to improve cycling safety and get more people on their bikes has been launched in Oxford. The People’s Cycle Training workshop, which will be run by bike workshop Broken Spoke, will be offered to 17 residents for £5 each

  • No more Oxford United signings, says Michael Appleton

    OXFORD United’s squad will remain unchanged for the rest of the season following Armand Gnanduillet’s arrival, according to head coach Michael Appleton. The striker was brought in from Chesterfield on Monday and became the 37th player used by the

  • School century is something to celebrate

    YOUNG musicians, actresses, poets and dancers performed to a sold-out crowd at the Sheldonian Theatre as part of a school centenary. Headington School is celebrating its first 100 years with a four-day extravaganza. More than 100 students past

  • Police look into alleged assault of boy on school grounds

    REPORTS a teenage boy was assaulted at a Headington school are being investigated by police. Thames Valley Police confirmed yesterday they were called to Cheney School on Monday , after reports a student was assaulted on school grounds. Spokeswoman

  • Vice-chancellor 'third highest paid in UK'

    OXFORD University’s vice-chancellor was the third highest paid in the UK last year, according to a report. Professor Andrew Hamilton earned £442,000 in 2013/14 and was one of 18 who received a pay rise. Only Professor Neil Gorman of Nottingham

  • Thursday, March 5

    6:21pm There are reports a JCB is on fire on the A40 near Wheatley 3:47pm Oxfordshire to be hotter than Tunisia on Saturday. Apparently

  • No police updates over missing Emily

    Police say they have no updates on their search for missing woman Emily Stiff. Miss Stiff, 22, was last seen on Tuesday last week in the Botley area of Oxford and police appealed for information to help find her two days. She is white, slim

  • Megan's death 'leaves hole in the lives of all who knew her'

    THE death of an Oxfordshire schoolgirl has sparked a social media trend to keep her “wonderful, infectious” spirit alive. Megan Biddle, a student at Lord Williams’s School in Thame, died on Monday. It is understood the 18-year-old’s death was connected

  • Sir Tom Jones to head the bill at Cornbury Festival

    CROONER Sir Tom Jones has been named as the big name headliner for this summer’s Cornbury Festival. The Welsh singer, who has had a string of hits over five decades, will top the bill at the three-day music event at Great Tew, near Chipping Norton

  • Catch roadside conmen and do not let crime kill our humanity

    IT MAY seem like an obvious con. A stranded businessman at the side of the road, desperate for help as his bank card will not work, is in need of cash for petrol. He seems genuine and offers a ring as security, to show he is not taking you for

  • Models get ready for catwalk stardom

    MODELS will strut their stuff tonight in the first two Oxford Fashion Week catwalk shows of the year. Organisers have raced to make the finishing touches and say they are ready for lights, camera, action from 6pm at the Randolph Hotel Ballroom.

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 5/3/2015)

    One or two critics have sniffily suggested that it is rather embarrassing that a feature career that started with a landmark work like Hiroshima Mon Amour (1958) should have ended with something as inconsequential as Life of Riley. However, not only

  • County MPs shy away from call for new inquiry

    OXFORDSHIRE’s Tory MPs have shied away from backing Andrew Smith’s demand for an independent public inquiry into the Bullfinch child abuse scandal. Oxford East’s Labour MP called for an inquiry in Parliament saying the Serious Case Review did not

  • 'Inadequate' care home apologises over failings

    A CARE home in Headington has apologised for falling “short of the standards” after an unannounced inspection by the health watchdog. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) published a report last week detailing a surprise inspection at the 48-bed Albany

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 5/3/2015)

    Although he now stands alongside Alexander Sokurov as the best-known Russian director in the West, Andrei Zvyagintsev is very much a marginalised figure at home. Despite being partially funded by the Ministry of Culture and backed by media mogul Alexander

  • Shocked residents now 'look out' for safety of each other

    MEMBERS of the East Oxford community have said everybody should take responsibility for what happens on their doorstep. Father-of-one Francis Boua, who runs a weekly fairtrade market at East Oxford Community Centre, said yesterday the Bullfinch

  • 'Police failed but no-one recognised problem'

    THE detective who uncovered the Bullfinch scandal has said Thames Valley Police let the victims down. But Senior Investigating Officer Simon Morton said “all of us” were to blame, because no one understood the issue of child sexual exploitation

  • Help at hand for young dementia patients

    The film Still Alice is being released tomorrow. It features Alice, a Harvard professor who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 50. The film shows the impact the dementia diagnosis has on Alice and her family and we see her decline

  • ATHLETICS: Hale claims ladies' crown by narrowest of margins

    EYNSHAM Roadrunner Hannah Hale clinched the ladies’ Oxford Mail Cross Country League crown at Harwell by just a point after finishing second in the final round. Hale ended on 17 points for the series, one ahead of Oxford City’s Martha Lloyd.

  • Support groups 'can help tackle abuse problem'

    VOLUNTARY organisations have called for the authorities to use them more to help tackle child sexual exploitation in Oxfordshire. The Serious Case Review criticised management systems within organisations, including the police, social services

  • BOWLS: Oxon bring Ley indoors to stop the rot

    ALAN Ley, who has played more than 800 outdoor games for Oxfordshire, made his county indoor debut and inspired the side to a 105-89 win over Worcestershire. The Oxford City & County veteran was brought into the side along with Chris Cox and

  • 'I couldn't have done things differently as council leader'

    THE former leader of Oxfordshire County Council “holds his hands up” that it failed the victims of the Bullfinch scandal under his watch. Keith Mitchell stepped down from the council in 2012 after 10 years, covering the entire time that six girls

  • IPCC to consider action against individual staff

    THE Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will investigate to see if any police officers or staff will be disciplined. Thames Valley Police was criticised by the review’s author Alan Bedford for not taking the victims seriously and not

  • AUNT SALLY: North Oxford trio into final

    NORTH Oxford Conservative Club’s Pete Dempsey, Ray Townsend and Phil Allen will face Six Bells’ Alan Surman, Roger Goodall and Jason Coates in the Kidlington Indoor League’s triples final on Monday, March 23. OTHER RESULTS Yarnton RBL League

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Kennington hit back to claim spoils

    KENNINGTON Club kept up the pace at the top of the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford & District League Premier Section with a 4-1 home win over Masons, writes PETE EWINS. Kennington lost the first game as Martyn Wood beat Brian Rose 3,220-1,460.

  • Bullfinch: Picture of abuse is put together piece by piece

    THE Kingfisher Unit was set up to deal with the sexual exploitation of children revealed by Thames Valley Police’s Operation Bullfinch. It is made up of police officers, social workers from Oxfordshire County Council and a health nurse who share

  • Transport service's passenger milestone

    A COMMUNITY transport service has just registered its 500th passenger. Since its inception almost three years ago, the 45-driver service run by Banbury’s Volunteer Connect organisation has helped clients make more than 4,500 journeys. It is supported

  • Festival voice: Tom Jones to top bill at Cornbury

    CROONER Sir Tom Jones has been named as the big name headliner for this summer's Cornbury Festival. The Welsh singer, who has had a string of hits over five decades, will top the bill at the three-day music event at Great Tew, near Chipping Norton