Archive

8:39am 8:04am Traffic along Donnington Bridge Road is heavy this morning after a bus has broken down. The road is partially blocked in both directions because of the

CHILDREN enjoyed playing at Hill End Outdoor Education Centre as part of a new "Forest Tots" session. Two-year-old Phillip McDiarmid had a great time swinging from the centre's ropes during a recent visit with his grandmother, Linda. The activity

A CHARITY which helps small business start-ups has pulled out of Oxfordshire after its funding was cut. The Fredericks Foundation was hailed by Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander as “one of the most successful of its type” when he

A CLINICAL trial is being carried out in Oxford to correct low testosterone levels in men with Type 2 diabetes and reduce their risk of heart disease. Researchers at the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism are looking for volunteers

POLICE have released CCTV footage of a woman after a disabled pensioner's car was damaged at Oxford rail station. British Transport Police are looking to speak to the woman after the 77-year-old's car was vandalised. The victim parked a Honda Jazz

A historian and former Oxford college warden who was a renowned expert on the history of Spain and Latin America has died aged 96. Sir Raymond Carr was the fox-hunting warden of St Antony’s College, holding the post from 1968 to 1987. He had

FOR the first time Oxford will be represented at an annual celebration and race through Holland that links our two countries. A team of six former soldiers from around the UK – three able-bodied and three disabled – will represent the city at a

The founder of a well-known Oxfordshire coach company has died aged 93. James Thomas Smith, known as Jim, founded Heyfordian Travel in the 1940s after the Second World War and led its expansion over the next three decades. Born on October 14

There is much more to Antwerp than frites and fat ladies, finds Carol Wright Frites (chips to us) and fat ladies go together in Antwerp; the former served everywhere usually with local beers and the latter gained the kinder description of Rubenesque

In February 2014, Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action (OCVA) recruited and trained six volunteer community ambassadors to offer support to charities and community groups in the market towns in Oxfordshire. A year later, and it’s time to

David McManus says it’s only a matter of time until everything is online There was a time not so long ago when it was being predicted that all television would eventually be broadcast not over the traditional airwaves, but rather over the Internet

Ben Holgate hears Blackwell’s chief executive David Prescott’s vision of the firm’s future The spartan decor in David Prescott’s office on the top floor of Blackwell’s flagship store in Broad Street is in stark contrast to the wood-panelled lower

Nicola Lisle talks to an acclaimed Oxfordshire furniture designer and maker As a child, Philip Koomen was, he admits with a laugh, “a dreamer”. While his brother Ray was showing signs of becoming a successful businessman, Philip was the one getting

Sir – I refer to your recent story concerning spiralling house prices here in Oxfordshire. This situation will continue so long as prices are subject to market forces. I cannot foresee supply exceeding demand in the near future. Realistically,

Sir – Helen Marshall (April 23) is correct in that there needs to be effective public engagement in the process that is now under way to look into reviewing the Oxford Green Belt as part of the overall assessment of how to meet housing need in Oxfordshire

Sir – In the UK, motorcyclists are not allowed to use cycle lanes or advanced stop lines (ASLs). They may use bus lanes in Aylesbury, Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, London, Newcastle, Plymouth, Reading and some lanes in Birmingham, but none in Oxford.

Sir – How happy was I to see advertised that from Thursday, April 23, to Sunday, April 26, a French antiques market was coming to Abingdon. As someone who is disabled and doesn’t get out much I had set my heart on coming into town to see this and

Sir – Many of us in Abingdon have been concerned that our car parks are full but there seems to be few visitor shoppers Monday-Friday in Abingdon. The reason, I have discovered after talking to the Vale council and car owners, is that 400-500 South

Sir – You gave great prominence last week to the Business Barometer (BB) survey and the suggestion that “business leaders say city is fast becoming a dead zone”. However, missing from the article are two crucial pieces of information. First, how

Sir – I cannot believe that the authorities are considering banning LGVs ( Large Goods Vehicles over 7.5 tonnes ) from overtaking on the stretch of A34 between the M40 Junction 9 and the M4 Junction 13. Such a measure will result in making the

Sir – When you look at the plans for Westgate there are trees on Castle Street. I too assumed they were the present trees. However obviously not. What trees are proposed here? Also with the traffic on this route the need for trees is essential.

Sir – I agree with Adrian Holmes about the hideously litter-strewn A34 (Letters, April 9). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the chumps who throw litter from their vehicles were made to undertake the clean-up? It is dangerous and expensive work, and

Sir – I am so sorry to be losing the 12C night bus to Littlemore. We travel home to Littlemore from the city centre about three times a week and in our experience it is very well used. If it really has to stop please could Stagecoach consider diverting

Sir – I read your article re the concerns of local traders in Oxford worrying about reduced footfall. Our village, Kennington, is served by the 35 bus which stops in Castle Street, just convenient for people to go into the Westgate Centre and to

Sir – Caroline Pond (Letters, April 23) provides me with a welcome opportunity to point out that cyclists are generally the quickest off the mark with complaints against other road users. It is easier, for example, to wing off a quick letter to

Sir – Today, April 30, is the 70th anniversary of the death of Adolf Hitler in his bunker amid the ruins of Berlin (and most of mainland Europe). The conflict claimed the lives of an estimated 80 million people.. Your readers will know from my

Sir – Michael Grange, the director of the Randolph Hotel, is quoted at great length in The Oxford Times about the ‘devastating’ damage to his establishment caused by the recent fire and about the expected ‘extremely expensive’ repairs (Beef stroganoff

Sir – Parking at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, is seriously inadequate and getting worse. I suggest that a park-and-ride bus service should operate to and from the hospital, non-stop, throughout the day. The obvious place to find a site

Sir – In the issue of April 16 we saw on the one hand plans to review Green Belt land, with the aim of developing it, and on the other hand a report that plans for 270 new homes in Littlemore had been turned down by the city council planning committee

Sir – Some new buildings are instant eyesores, such as the orange block of flats in Thames Street, which offend the senses straight away, especially when they replaced vernacular inspired housing. Other buildings take time to offend, such as the Blavatnik

Sir – It is daft for South Oxfordshire District Council to propose building 1,350 homes on Southfield Golf Course (Report, April 16). The Core Strategy Inspector in 2011 rejected this option because housing development on such a scale would harm the

Sir – One issue of contention about the proposed flood relief scheme for Oxford has been the question whether alternative ‘natural’ approaches are a viable alternative. To explore this topic we organised a symposium, held on March 26, in collaboration

Sir – Once again it has been suggested that houses should be built (1,300 of them) on Oxford Golf Club land at Southfield near the Lye Valley. Thank you very much district councils of Cherwell, Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire. Do you

Our sympathies to William Pimlott who is doing finals It would be hard to write about anything else. I am going through finals, I am experiencing them. Or to put it less extravagantly, self-obsession being a large part of the finals experience,

Oxford director Vicky Jewson on a film five years in the making How many cinema screens feature everyday women in action scenarios without a leather cat suit or super powers? As a Director and a lover of high concept genre films I wanted to see

“First the church and then the Perch,” used to be the advice for anyone proposing a visit to Binsey, the assumption being that if tackled the other way round the delights of the pub would lead to matters spiritual being forgotten altogether. On

I am thinking seriously of buying some chewing gum. This follows an article in The Times last week revealing that a good chomp on it can help drive from the mind those irritating songs that lodge there. Science editor Tom Whipple reported on research

Sir Raymond Carr, who died last week at the grand age of 96, was the last survivor of a distinguished group of men – and they were all men – whose names were known across the world, lending lustre to Oxford where all had their base. Many of them

Reg Little speaks to the head of a group that is defending green fields from developers From a small office in South Oxfordshire, behind an opticians, the battle for England’s green and pleasant land continues. The Open Spaces Society has been

Kate Whiting says Patrick Gale’s deeply touching love story is like no other Notes From An Exhibition author Patrick Gale’s first historical novel opens rather unnervingly with his protagonist Harry Cane being strapped into a bath. He is in

Designer shoppers may help support town’s stylish new dining experience, says Katherine MacAlister The transformation was complete. Gone was the grotty pub of yesteryear, with its flaking paint, the blackboards outside boasting Sky TV and pub quizzes

Helen Peacocke gets a taste for the Oxford Street Food Festival where people can enjoy all the fun of the fare Richard Johnson, founder of the British Street Food Festival, has travelled the world, eating the best food on the dusty lanes of Bethlehem

Be kind to our salad favourite, urges Val Bourne, so extra warmth can deliver a bumper crop over summer There ought to be a society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Tomatoes (PCT), for these frost-tender plants from coastal areas of South America

There’s so much to do at Iffley Meadows for Nicole Clough, Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust’s Oxfordshire reserves officer With a record count of 89,830 snake’s-head fritillary plants at Oxford’s Iffley Meadows this year, you might think

Anne James dips her toe in the water to report on an exhibition about our much-loved river Some years ago the photo-grapher Jil Orpen made an exhibition about the tidal Thames which was shown at St Paul’s School in London, adjacent to the river

Matthew Smith, director of Urbane Publications, pins down actor Steven Berkoff, to discuss his first novel, Sod The Bitches!, ahead of his appearance at Blackwell’s bookshop Renowned playwright and actor Steven Berkoff has just released a controversial

If anywhere could do with a dose of theatrical childlike wonder, it’s Cowley’s Templars Square. You wander in, past the knarly derelict pub, through a haze of pungent smoke whatever the time of day, and it all feels a bit... bleak. So you could

Audience are held spellbound by some scenes in a superb production, reports Christopher Gray The principal themes of Shakespeare’s unpleasant play Measure for Measure emerge with astonishing clarity in the barnstorming modern-dress production brought

Tim Hughes is impressed beyond expectation by a hugely enjoyable production by a group of talented Oxfordshire performers Serendipity is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as The faculty of making happy and unexpected discoveries by accident

Nicola Lisle discovers some of the treats on offer at this year’s Dorchester Festival ‘We get through something like 2,000 pieces of cake,” says Steph Forman, founder and director of the Dorchester-on-Thames Festival. “It really is extraordinary

Avant-garde Thomas Truax The Cellar, Oxford Saturday Tickets from wegottickets.com A cross between steampunk eccentric and mad inventor, Thomas Truax is among the most entertaining and creative of artists. The composer not only writes his

* Certain people used to say of policeman, “They get younger every day” and the same is true of rockers. Take West Oxfordshire’s RockSolid, who have an average age of just 12. Alumni of Witney’s World School of Rock (formerly Witchwood School

There wasn’t an inch of space at the O2 Academy as the crowd packed in, eagerly awaiting a glimpse of the trademark trilby. Even staff were excited about James Bay’s arrival and it was soon clear why. At just 24, he already has such a presence

Former Genesis guitarist is enjoying his new lease of life. Tim Hughes reports As a founding member of Genesis, Mike Rutherford built a career as one of the world’s most successful musicians, playing flamboyant rock to packed arenas. But while

Visit artists from textile designers to ceramicists at the invitation of Esther Lafferty executive director of Artweeks The biggest open studios event in the UK, with more than 400 free exhibitions to see, will be launched across Oxfordshire on

THE first trains will run from the new Oxford Parkway station to London Marylebone on Monday, October 26, Chiltern Railways has revealed today. It is the first new rail link between a major British city and London in more than 100 years.  The

Declan Donnellan, joint artistic director of theatre company Cheek by Jowl, talks about the creation of his new Russian-language production of Measure for Measure, the unceasing relevance of Shakespeare’s works, and the beauty of experiencing them

THE business nous and creativity of students from eight Oxford schools was tested in the last round of area finals for a national competition. The Young Enterprise Business of the Year Award challenges pupils from schools across the UK to set up

Stuart Macbeth meets an Artweeks debutante whose chosen field is paintings of cows As Oxfordshire Artweeks returns for its 33rd year, more than 500 artists are preparing to participate throughout May. The festival offers a spectacular variety

A TEENAGER from Oxford who went missing with no shoes has been found safe, police said. Nicola Adcock, 18, was found this afternoon after going missing this morning at 9.50am wearing grey three-quarter length tracksuit trousers, a blue t-shirt,

Anne James takes a look at the vast range of art on offer around the county at this year’s Artweeks event With three weeks of groundbreaking work on view at locations the length and breadth of the county, Oxfordshire Artweeks is a dream for art

Times are hard, budgets are squeezed and money’s too tight to mention. For the hard working family, eating out is a treat, so this column is always on the lookout for a cheeky deal designed to save us all a few quid. One to catch my attention

* The Milk Shed in Weston on the Green is having a pop-up evening on Saturday, May 30, starring the amazing Michelin-starred chef, Ollie Dabbous, who has agreed to collaborate and create the menu. The cafe is now licenced so wine will no longer be

Katherine MacAlister makes her way to a newly-refurbished restaurant at Bicester Avenue to find out what all the fuss is about To be honest, I was way out of my comfort zone. Walking up the path at Bicester Avenue, gazing into shop windows

Starting Up with Richard Johnson @ British Street Food It was Marco Pierre White who first gave me the idea. It was a summer lunchtime in a New York park and we were hungover from a night of Sambuca at Jay-Z’s party. Really. Sitting on the

To make the ice cream: * 700g forced rhubarb * 225g double cream * 425g caster sugar Place the rhubarb in a saucepan with a little water. Fit a lid on it and then poach the rhubarb until just tender all the way through. Place the cooked

Paramedics have been called following a collision between a car and a bus in Summertown. The accident happened shortly before 12 noon outside the shops in Banbury Road. The collision involved a Water Eaton park-and-ride bus and a VW Polo.

Damon Smith finds new version of a Victorian classic looks lovely, but lacks the depth of 1960s classic A recent re-release of John Schlesinger’s 1967 version of Far From The Madding Crowd provided a timely reminder of the raw emotional power of

A HOMELESS man is to be reunited with his pet dog after a judge ruled it was not a dangerous animal even though it had chased after a man who claimed it had attacked him. Malcolm Pipkin had ordered his 60kg Bull Mastiff to run after a man who he

OXFORD MAGISTRATES Christopher Alford, 30, of Grebe Close, Abingdon, convicted of driving a vehicle without third party insurance in Victoria Road, Abingdon, on August 13. Fined £600 and ordered to pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 costs. Driving

APPRENTICESHIPS are not talked about enough in schools, according to Stephanie Rockett [ok]. The 19-year-old is one of nine apprentice ambassadors recruited to promote learn-while-you-earn job opportunities around the county. Ms Rockett, a

Plans for 270 homes in Littlemore got the go-ahead last night. Oxford City Council’s east area planning committee earlier this month rejected outline proposals by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust for the estate, close to the former Littlemore

The University of Oxford has been officially confirmed as a Living Wage employer. Following an application in January, the university was awarded the accreditation by the Living Wage Foundation. The foundation said all central university staff

TWO wildlife organisations hope the Thames and other rivers in the county will be a greater habitat in 30 years under a new agreement to work closer together. The memorandum of understanding to protect wildlife in the upper Thames regions was signed

Space-loving synth-rockers Public Service Broadcasting, classical-electro-pop act Clean Bandit and drum & bass star Shy FX have been named as fresh additions to the bill at Oxfordshire’s Truck festival. The acts join scores of rock, pop, dance

A Wheatley man has denied sexually assaulting a teenage girl on a train. Luke Hollyfield, of Roman Road, appeared at Oxford Crown Court on Monday (April 27) to plead not guilty to sexually touching the girl against her will, while travelling between

A TEACHER who lied about his qualifications while working at a school for autistic boys has been handed a prohibition order. Komborero Dauramanzi, 35, was employed as a General Studies teacher at Swalcliffe Park School, near Banbury, in September

A BUILDING company boss accused of stamping on a man’s head during a pub fight has told a court he was trying to shake the man’s hands off his legs. David Hopkins, of Poplar Farm Close, Milton-under-Wychwood said he was trying to get to his feet

The brother of an Oxford parliamentary candidate is expected to announce his bid for the US presidency today. Bernie Sanders, right, the 73-year-old American senator for Vermont, will compete with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the

A pensioner from Greater Leys has been ordered to pay back more than £77,300 after admitting benefit fraud. Veronica Knibbs, 75, was sentenced to a 12-month community order and told to do 150 hours’ unpaid work in January. The court heard that

AN OXFORD University student has written an open letter to her alleged attacker after she was sexually assaulted while walking home. The 20-year-old spoke out about the attack near her home in Camden, north London, as she launched a #NotGuilty

These are slides that need to be handled very carefully. The rare Victorian slides are part of a collection at the Institute of Archaeology at Oxford University. Dr Sally Crawford and Dr Katharina Ulmschneider got their vintage glad rags on

Want to give your opinion? Email letters@oxfordmail.co.uk

Some new buildings are instant eyesores, such as the orange block of flats on Thames Street which offend the senses straight away, especially when they replaced vernacular-inspired housing. Other buildings take time to offend, such as the Blavatnik

One is used to reading about development issues in the Oxford Mail. However, the development I refer to is somewhat different. I am referring to the development of photographic print. Photography has been a hobby of mine for the past 40 years

After reading several pieces in your paper concerning “one of Britain’s rarely flowers” the fritillary, I had to write to you. When I was a girl called Joyce Cook 65 years ago, I lived on Osney Island. As other “frogs” will remember, we spent our

Thank you to David Brown for sending in a photograph of the statue on the side wall of Austin Reed’s on the corner of Cornmarket and St Michael’s Street (April 23). But may I suggest that the statue is not of our patron saint St George but is in

Many of those who have been reflecting upon the culpability or innocence of Lord Janner, his degree of dementia and the nature, extent and duration of any possible cover-ups will be infinitely grateful to none other than RW Tucker for settling these

I, too, am writing from Chilton village, where dozens of primary school aged children living within the catchment area have been unsuccessful in gaining school places at their local school over the last few years. Sadly our six-year-old daughter

Tim Hughes finds out life really is a beach for Sunset Sons after hitting the big time Rory Williams had been banging out covers on a piano in a French bar when he met the friend who would become his bandmate in one of 2015’s hottest new acts.

A besotted Shappi Khorsandi tells Katherine MacAlister about her journey through the dark times Shappi Khorsandi is in love. This is only significant because last time we spoke she was heartbroken, a single mum twice over and had given up alcohol

Oxford director Vicky Jewson tells Katherine MacAlister about life and her latest film, Born of War Vicky Jewson has come out of her shell since the last time we met, post Lady Godiva, and is more confident. She’s stopped being apologetic,

Covered in mud and surrounded by friends, Lucy Underdown looks like any other 26-year-old. But that is only thanks to the tireless efforts of surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital over the past four years. In 2011, Mrs Underdown and

Ruth Hawkins Partner with Oxford legal firm Turpin & Miller We currently have a divorce system in England and Wales which unfortunately still focuses on blame. A couple cannot agree to divorce unless they have been separated for more

NEW parking bays painted outside a car repair garage have been branded a “joke” by the business owner who says they are losing him money. The two parking bays were painted directly outside the entrance to BJ Autos, in Margaret Road, Headington,

Jeremy Thomas Oxford City Council’s returning officer We’ve got four main objectives. We make sure people can register to vote if they are entitled to do so, we make sure those people who want to stand as candidates can do so. We make

A MOTHER-of-two who is gearing up to run in her 20th Oxford Town and Gown race spoke of the event’s growth over the past two decades. Nadine Hunter, from Cumnor, has taken part in the 10km charity run on and off since her first race in 1993 and

MORE than 120 homes in Headington will be without power until 7pm tonight, SSE said. The original fault, at 10.30am this morning, left 900 properties without power. Engineers have returned power to 710 of them, with the remaining homes set

QUEUES are forming on the A40 outside Witney and Eynsham. Traffic sensors show there is heavy congestion between High Cogges and Eynsham, although it eases up towards Cassington. Drivers are reporting heavy delays along the route.

A SIX-PART wartime drama inspired by Oxford author Julie Summers’s book Jambusters is about to start on ITV. Home Fires follows a group of women in a rural Cheshire community with the shadow of the Second World War casting a cloud over their lives

Oxford United’s leading scorer, Danny Hylton, celebrated a hat-trick at the club’s annual awards last night. And the 26-year-old, who picked up player of the season trophies as voted for by supporters and his fellow players, as well as the golden

THE charity set up in memory of Skye Hall has raised enough money to pay for four years of research into childhood brain cancers. Five-year-old Skye, from Abingdon, died last August after battling a brain tumour for a year, but passed away from

CONDITIONS at Nepalese survivors’ camps are sparse but bearable, according to people from Oxfordshire still trapped in the country. Earlier this week, several young people from the county contacted their families to say they were safe after Saturday

SOLAR panels in Oxfordshire could generate enough energy to power the whole of Oxford in the next two years, an energy firm has claimed. The amount of energy from county solar panels linked up to the National Grid is set to increase 16-fold by

THE leader of South Oxfordshire District Council said insurers were due to say “within days” if the burnt-out council HQ was worth saving. Milton Park has now been selected as the preferred location for 400 staff from SODC and Vale of White Horse

JAMES Skaife stole the show at Oxford City Stars’ end-of-season awards. The netminder won four trophies, including supporters' player of the year, which fans voted for in an online poll. Skaife also won the award for best defender and was named

A DECISION to refuse plans for a housing development in Littlemore was overturned last night. Oxford City Council's east area planning committee had earlier this month rejected outline proposals for a 270 homes near Armstrong Road made by landowners

ROADWORKS on The Plain roundabout dramatically stalled business and drove customers away from the area, it has been claimed. Shop owners along St Clement’s Street and Cowley Road have said they are pleased roadworks have finally come to an end

Kemar Roofe’s stellar form for Oxford United in April has netted the forward a nomination for Sky Bet League Two’s player of the month. The West Bromwich Albion loanee, who had only scored once before in his senior career, bagged five goals in six

Wantage trainer Henry Candy’s fears that Limato may have lost his sparkle proved unfounded when the gelding stretched his unbeaten record to five with victory at Ascot yesterday. Sent off the 6-4 favourite for the Group 3 Merriebelle Stable Pavilion

RAMONE Smith secured the 100m and 200m double as Radley AC clinched second place in the first Southern Athletics League fixture of the season at Parliament Hill, London. Radley, who compete in Division 2 West, finished 49 points behind Harrow and

London Welsh have added to their squad for next season by signing half backs Joe Carlisle and Josh Davies. Fly half Carlisle joins Welsh, who play at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium, after a season at Italian club Treviso, where he competed in this season

HENLEY Hawks head coach Pete Davies has praised his players for their “emotional investment” in the club’s championship-winning campaign. National League 2 South champions Hawks won the league by nine points after sealing an immediate return to

JADE O’Dowda shot to the top of the UK under 17 heptathlon rankings with an impressive performance as a guest competitor at the Somerset Schools’ Combined Events Championships. The Oxford City athlete, 15, led from start to finish at Millfield

JUNIOR Fatialofa is still a phenomenal player according to Chinnor director of rugby Matt Williams after the veteran centre was retained for next season. The player coach joined the club in May last year having formerly played for Exeter, Bristol

SOARING housing costs mean Oxford workers are spending increasingly high proportions of their wages on renting a place in the city. Rents have shot up by up to 20 per cent in recent years but wages have failed to keep pace, making Oxford one of

AN EAST Oxford community group facing eviction from its home has called on councillors to help it fight the plans. Oxford City Council told East Oxford Community Association last August it had a year to improve its management or face eviction from

Somewhat ridiculously, 23 new films are being launched around the United Kingdom this week. The May Bank Holiday might explain the addition of a couple of extra titles, but there are 16 more lined up for general release next Friday. A clutch of Bollywood

OXFORD Saints pulled off one of the greatest wins in their history, overturning a 28-6 half-time deficit to beat title favourites Bristol Apache 35-34. The comeback is their biggest for more than 15 years, but with their opponents highly-fancied

THE first train will roll out of the new Oxford Parkway station in October, it has been announced. On October 26, at 7.26am the first train will depart from the station and arrive at London Marylebone just 56 minutes later. It is part of a

Jane Wilde has written two accounts of her time with Stephen Hawking. The first, Music to Move the Stars: A Life With Stephen, was written in 1999 and clearly reveals the pain she still felt after her husband left home in 1990 to live with nurse Elaine

DIDCOT Conservative Barn Owls are hooting with triumph after winning the South & Vale Division 1 championship in the Oxfordshire Short Mat League. Their team of Nathan Cole, Martin Davies, John Cole, Mary Cole, Frank Clarke and Kay Dickson

THIS nutty baby squirrel could have been squashed when it chose to hide in a car wheel. Luckily the rodent was spotted by a member of Oxford University staff who nicknamed it “Sqwheelie” and made sure it was safe. Ian Curtis, who works

THE Oxfordshire Bowls League gets under way next week, with a new sponsor in the form of Bridle Insurance, who are based in Witney. League chairman Trevor Beaumont commented, “We are delighted to have established a long term relationship between

THE owner of the guest house linked to the Operation Bullfinch investigation into child sexual exploitation has said demands for greater regulation of establishments are uncalled for. Bart Cronin, manager of the Nanford Guest House in Iffley Road

HEADINGTON Road Runners’ Christopher Dettmar was the fastest Oxfordshire athlete to finish the Virgin Money London Marathon. The Vet 40 athlete was 106th in a time of 2hrs 33mins 32secs. James Bolton, of Woodstock Harriers, was the second county

BEN Bodinham has been named Gosford All Blacks’ player of the year. Gosford finished third in the BB&O Premier Division this season – the highest position in their history. Scrum half Will Watts received the Stephen Edwards young player

TRADERS have rejected a wi-fi system for Oxford’s Covered Market saying it would be another financial burden they could not bear. And stallholders expressed concern that it would make it easier for shoppers to use the internet to find cheaper prices