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THREE Oxfordshire dads clocked up an “agonising” 200 miles in one day on static bikes to raise funds for a unique county organisation that helps their disabled children. Julian Tranter, Andy Kelly and Pete Hinde took on the six-hour challenge on

MORE than 1,200 runners will descend on the glorious grounds of Blenheim Palace tomorrow in aid of Oxford Children’s Hospital. As is the case every year, the clocks go forward on the eve of the Oxford Mail’s OX5 Run so runners and spectators should

AN RAF doctor who leapt into action when a half marathon runner collapsed said she was just doing what she was trained to do. Squadron Leader Gemma Maynard, based at RAF Benson, near Wallingford, was running the Reading Half Marathon when a fellow

Kyle Vassell came off the bench to score within five minutes of his debut and give Oxford United a priceless victory at the Kassam Stadium. The result significantly eased the home side's relegation fears and heaped pressure on fellow strugglers

1:55pm 1:55pm Tweets by @OxfordMailOUFC 1:55pm Good afternoon and welcome to another big day in Oxford United's season.

BARTON Village Road has reopened after firefighters put out a car fire. The Barton road was closed from about 12.40pm while Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service dealt with the blaze. A fire service spokesman said they sent one fire engine and

HIS novels have sold millions of copies across the globe and sparked a Hollywood film adaptation. Philip Pullman will mark the beginning of his most popular series of books today, in a special event at the Oxford Literary Festival. It is almost

THIS is the part of the season that is called “squeaky bum time”, and certainly today’s game against Carlisle is a massive one for both clubs. We go into the match after two successive defeats, which is not ideal, but there were enough positives

Women are better leaders! Well, ok, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. But a professor of business studies at Saïd Business School, Oxford has recently suggested that women are perhaps better suited to run large organisations than men.

As the Easter holidays begin, and the clocks go forward tomorrow, take advantage of the extra daylight to visit some stunning gardens, says Jaine Blackman When the sun’s shining and school’s out for Easter, it’s time for the family to venture outdoors

Tim Hughes follows in the footsteps of some impressive alumni on an overnight stay at Wadham College, Oxford What do the following have in common: the actress Rosamund Pike, presenter Lord Melvyn Bragg, Labour Party Leader Michael Foot and great

Sunlight and vitamin D have a powerful impact on our health, so if the sun shines, get out there! Are you suffering from a severe lack of sunshine, searching through holiday brochures and desperate to feel some heat on your skin again? Sun

Since finishing her dazzling debut novel The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton has been caught up in a publicity whirlwind. Jaine Blackman reports When Oxford graduate Jessie Burton finished her book The Miniaturist, she thought her job was done.

Sit in any central Oxford pub on a Saturday night and the stuff you overhear can quickly turn into a Monty Python parody. Anything from Socrates to the proper use of ‘whom’ can – and almost inevitably will – be examined. Last weekend, I was

Now the children have started their Easter holidays, it’s a great time to introduce them to the world of gardening. If you like gardening, the chances are the seed was sown when you were a child. I used to garden with my mother and just loved

The world is a fast changing place. Change is often disguised as progress but I wonder sometimes if we are beginning to be brainwashed into thinking that we have more choice, when in fact often, quite the opposite is true. We live in a 24-hour

Alison Boulton meets Sara Banerji, who recently had her 10th book published and now runs a creative writing course to help aspiring novelists and poets Nine thousand books are published each day. What makes yours stand out? “That’s what I say

Everyone loves a baddie, don’t they? My six-year-old loves asking me, as we tune into a film, ‘is he a goodie or a baddie, Mummy?’ But, sometimes, ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are just not that polarised. Sometimes the baddies are just so charming (Stefan

Jaine Blackman looks at a survey which reveals many parents have completely unrealistic expectations that their child is destined to become a top soccer star Parents seem to be more football crazy than their offspring... unless they live in Oxford

If you want to get ahead, get old. That’s the message from a new survey showing over-65 Brits who own their homes are worth a staggering £861 billion. And, says Key Retirement’s Pensioner Property Equity Index, these home-owning pensioners

SUPERFAST broadband being rolled out across the county has reached the milestone of 40,000 premises covered, though some fear still being lumbered with slow speeds. On Friday the 200th cabinet ‘went live’ in North Oxfordshire, giving another 200

THREE Oxfordshire GP surgeries have been awarded a total of £6.4m to expand. Woodstock Surgery in Park Lane has been awarded £4.2m for a new block on the site of the current Thames Valley Police Station. There will be four consultation rooms

A 62-YEAR-OLD man has been jailed for 18 years for a brutal campaign of rape that started when his victim was 10 or 11. Tony Humphreys, of Arthur Evans Close, Wootton, near Abingdon, was convicted of 11 counts of indecent assault and one count

Michael Appleton will make a late call on his line-up, with a decision to be made on whether Callum O’Dowda is fit to start the crunch home clash with Carlisle United this afternoon. The winger played 90 minutes for Republic of Ireland Under 21s

Seeing your GP is about to take on a whole new meaning thanks to the wonders of technology. And the news that people in Oxfordshire could soon have video and even email appointments with their doctors has met with mixed responses. Of course

A PAEDOPHILE due to be sentenced for molesting young boys was the man found dead in the River Thames on Tuesday. David Tuohy, 83, was supposed to be sentenced at Norwich Crown Court on Monday after being convicted last month for 15 counts of indecent

MOVIE legend Tom Cruise filmed his latest Mission Impossible blockbuster at Blenheim Palace in December. Now his Bollywood equivalent Shah Rukh Khan, also known as SRK, has been in scenes at the stately home in Woodstock. The Bollywood star

VIDEO and email GP appointments will allow people in Oxfordshire to see their doctor at evenings and weekends in a year-long pilot. A total of 76 GP practices in Oxford, Banbury, Bicester, Witney and Abingdon will trial a range of new ways for

Chief executive Mark Ashton has called on supporters to ‘pack the Kassam’ for Oxford United’s next two crunch Sky Bet League Two clashes. The U’s host Carlisle United today, before entertaining York City on Easter Monday – with a Good Friday trip

GNOME matter what they looked like, staff at a Frilford garden centre donned fancy dress to help raise funds for charity. Customers of the Millets Farm garden centre in Kingston Road were greeted and served by life-size gnomes on national Garden

Oxfordshire's Bradley Smith is confident of stepping up on his opening practice session for tomorrow's Qatar MotoGP when the other two free practice sessions take place today. The 24-year-old, from Forest Hill, near Oxford, was 13th fastest on

Darryl Woods is to stay on as the Oxfordshire Cricket Board’s head of youth cricket until the end of the summer. Latest Sport news

Oxford MCCU went down by 103 runs to Unicorns in a match reduced to 38 overs by rain in The Parks on Thursday. Alexander Mellor hit an unbeaten 137 for Unicorns. Scores: Unicorns 245-2 (38 ovs, A Mellor 137no, A West 74), Oxford MCCU 142-7

A HEADTEACHER has said a lack of funding forced his secondary school to turn away more than 200 pupils. Cherwell Secondary School in Summertown had a total of 471 pupils who listed the academy for September’s 270 capacity Year Seven as their first

Greenlaw (100-30) battled home by a neck under Noel Fehily to land a Wetherby handicap chase for Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon yesterday. Latest Sport news

Kingston Bagpuize, Oxfordshire indoor champions for the past two years, were knocked out by Cumnor in a closely-fought semi-final at Abingdon School. In tomorrow’s final, Cumnor will take on Horspath. After being inserted, Cumnor reached 98

Division 1 leaders Forum A put Bicester A to the sword with a 9-1 victory in the Oxford & District League that saw maximums for captain Karl Bushell and young star Reece Chamdal. Holton A continue to breathe down Forum’s necks, beating two-man

Didcot ace Elliot Harvey recovered from a slow start to win the Whitton Mill Kart Club Championship held near Daventry. In practice on Saturday, the 13-year-old was around a second off the pace. Team manager Kato Adams made some set-up adjustments

Rowland Phillips insists he is not thinking about becoming London Welsh’s permanent head coach and is only focused on the Aviva Premiership game at home to Bath tomorrow (2.30). The Exiles could be relegated before they kick-off at Oxford’s Kassam

Two double-bogey fives led to Abingdon’s Eddie Pepperell shooting a second round of 74 in the Trophee Hassan tournament in Agadir, Morocco. The Frilford Heath golfer’s total of 145 left him tied for 50th. He trails seven shots behind joint

Magdalen College School have been selected as one of only four teams to represent Great Britain in the Team Racing World Championships at Rutland Sailing Club from July 19-24. This remarkable achievement follows the Oxford-based school’s dominant

Oxford's Leticia Marsh and Elliot Crook struck gold for Great Britain at the Copenhagen Ice Dance Cup in Denmark. Marsh, 13, and Crook, 16, achieved personal bests in two of the three sections to score 54.10pts and take a clear lead into their

A 44-YEAR-OLD man has appeared in court this morning charged with 19 offences against 10 people following Thursday's anti-slavery raids. Timothy Joyce was one of eight people arrested when police executed search warrants at Redbridge Hollow, off

RETIRED rabbit catcher Peter Willis enjoyed the country life. So when he knew he was dying of cancer, his son Philip asked him if he thought a horse-drawn hearse would be appropriate for his funeral. Mr Willis senior agreed and it was a cob

A HANDMADE Easter bonnet parade ended in sweet surprise for junior pupils from Rye St Antony School, Headington, who caught a glimpse of the Easter Bunny. Children from Reception through to Year Six donned their eye-catching headwear – which they

OXFORD bus drivers are planning to go on strike for at least one day and possibly three. Drivers and other Oxford Bus Company staff are planning the action over a pay dispute. The first day of strikes is planned for Monday, April 13, but it

CONCERNS have been raised about plans to temporarily divert traffic from the A420 Cumnor bypass through nearby villages during roadworks. Oxfordshire County Council said the diversion would enable eight-week repairs to the embankment of the westbound

Nigel Bossom produced an excellent break of 49 to help Thame A win 2-1 at Oxford Bowls in the Gentworks Oxford & District League. Bossom, who plays off a -20 handicap, defeated Terry Gripe (+90) 200-177, while Russell Jones (+60) sealed Thame

Oxford University suffered 5-2 defeats for both their men’s and women’s fencers in their Varsity Match against Cambridge at Loughborough University. But Dark Blues’ captain Harriet Dixon, who also competes for Team GB, praised the team spirit in

Chris Currie won seven gold medals and set four meet records as City of Oxford won the Tiger Bay Open at Cardiff International Pool. Competing in the multidisability events, Currie stormed to victory in the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 200m freestyle

CHILDREN took to the stage to put on a colourful performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. After four weeks of rehearsals, 136 youngsters from years three and four at Bure Park Primary School in Bicester put on an “incredible

City of Oxford Trampoline Academy trio Lucy Washbourn, Megan Thomas and Ollie Haddrell struck gold at a qualifying event at Milton Keynes. The tournament was the largest the region has seen in ten years, but this did not phase the 11-strong Oxford

PENSIONER Tony Berridge defied his doctor’s orders to clear his name in a Paris court, as a legal battle over his father’s medals took a new turn. Mr Berridge was ordered to appear before a French judge for allegedly making false allegations against

THE success of the Messy Jam dance school from Blackbird Leys is an inspiration to all of us. It shows that no matter how much money is thrown at these kind of groups, nothing can replace genuine passion and talent. The Blackbird Leys-based

DANCERS in Blackbird Leys brought home almost 150 trophies from an international contest despite not having a permanent home to practise in. The Messy Jam Dance School sent 55 dancers to the XM British Open street dance competition in Lincolnshire

Kevin Jeacock caught 11 carp on the bomb to win Beehive AC’s top tackle points match on Stable Lake. Jeacock’s weight of 45lb saw him edge out runner-up Steve Ferris on 42 and thirdplaced Tim Whitewood on 38. OTHER RESULTS Oakfield: (Wed

AN ESTATE that was deemed “too clean” to be part of a city-wide tidy-up project still has corners plagued by rubbish and mess, a councillor has claimed. Last month a planned litter pick in the Barton estate was scrapped after OxClean leader Rosanne