Archive

  • Plans go in for 70-bed dementia home

    A 70-bed care home in Kidlington for elderly people with dementia could be built by 2016. Kidlington Parish Council agreed last year to sell on land at Gravel Pit Allotments, The Moores, to developer Castlemead. Now the firm, which is building

  • 50 bales of hay on fire in field by Tower Hill, Witney

    AT LEAST 50 bales of hay are on fire in a field by Tower Hill, Witney. According to eye witnesses there are currently four fire engines dealing with the blaze. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said that it was called to the fire at 4.24pm

  • Lost chihuahua reunited with desperate owner after appeal

    A DOG owner said she was “blown away” after the community rallied to help find her lost pooch. Kathy Murphy’s cross-breed chihuahua ran off after being startled while a friend was walking her near Tesco, in Cowley Road, Oxford. But the pet

  • Oxford Vitality Half Marathon is out to run with the big boys

    ORGANISERS have set their sights on the Oxford Vitality Half Marathon becoming a mainstay on the running calendar to rival the likes of Paris and Berlin. The half marathon, now in its fifth year, will start and finish for the first time in St Giles

  • Acts of kindness

    Down the years, thousands of people have wanted to help out Oxfordshire's hospices - many because of the care they gave a loved one - as we see from our archives. Photo information: 1. Santa Run of 2013 in Spice Park, Banbury, in aid of Katharine

  • Precious moments

    End-of-life care is free of charge with a GP's referral and there are Oxfordshire hospice centres for terminally ill adults and specialist facilities for children and young people. Families will have many fears when facing death, but the quality

  • Police silence over helicopter above West Oxfordshire

    POLICE have today refused to say whether its helicopter was circling above West Oxfordshire. Questions about what incident the helicopter spotted near Crawley was attending were dismissed by Thames Valley Police. Spokeswoman Michelle Campbell

  • Our IT plans need blue-sky thinking

    “TABLET computers for everyone” could be on the cards at Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils under the new cabinet member for IT. Following Conservative victories for both councils at the election, Vale leader Matt Barber

  • Making it official

    When someone dies, there are various organisations you will need to inform and you must register the death within five days. It can seem an overwhelming task in the difficult days after losing a loved one, but there is plenty of advice and support

  • Do what you want

    No one wants to think about their death, but there are advantages to pre-planning and even pre-paying for your own service. According to research from The University of Bath, the cost of a basic funeral is around £3,500. And that doesn't include

  • Review: Top drawer musical that is simply, legally brilliant

    If an amateur theatre group like Oxford Operatic Society hopes to put bums on seats, then a totally professional approach is essential. And if it wants to fill all the New Theatre’s 1,300 seats on each of its four-night run, standards must be sky-high

  • Preview: The Love Nest performed by Witney Dramatic Society

    A FARCICAL comedy created by West Oxfordshire writer Raymond Hopkins is set to delight audiences this weekend. Witney Dramatic Society will grace the stage at the Methodist High Street Church tonight and Saturday from 7.30pm with The Love Nest,

  • Oxford United to hold pre-season training camp in Austria

    OXFORD United will spend a week in Austria as part of their pre-season preparations. The training camp will come after United’s opening friendly at Didcot Town on July 11 and includes a game against Bundesliga side SC Wiener Neustadt three days

  • Commuters to get a £9.5m multi-storey

    A £9.5M scheme has been announced for a multi-storey car park to provide more spaces for commuters at Didcot Parkway rail station. In September last year, a £8m revamp of the forecourt at Didcot Parkway was completed. Now Oxfordshire County

  • Minion puppet band a big success

    YOUNGSTERS went mad for Minions this half-term making their own movie models. The ‘Minion Madness’ two-day puppetry project was put on by the OYAP Trust, which gives children across the county the chance to learn new creativity skills. Helped

  • Oxford Speedway racer Arne Pander has died aged 83

    AN OXFORD speedway racer who established himself as one of the city's leading riders and its first international star in the 1960s has died aged 83. Danish champion Arne Pander rode for the Oxford Cheetahs between 1959 and 1968 and often achieved

  • Another delivery zone would put people at risk

    HAVING knocked on the door of every house in Rymers Lane and Church Cowley Road, some residents along Rymers Lane are clearly concerned with the large open area immediately to the rear of the proposed restaurant. The developer would like to use

  • New developments will add to traffic problems

    I SEE that Michael Crofton-Briggs is to retire and some might say not before time because he oversaw some of the worst decisions that Oxford City Council has made. Perhaps we shouldn’t put the blame directly on him but on his bosses, because that

  • Thanks to all who turned out to support The Rifles

    I WOULD like to thank all those who turned out on Sunday, May 24 to witness The Rifles, the county regiment, exercise the Freedom of The City of Oxford. I know that the Rifleman from the Royal Green Jacket Association, like myself, who took part

  • Why hide a beautiful house behind hedges?

    I WAS interested to read about people’s complaints about the house on the hill, as I’ve started to call it. I live in Bayworth, the neighbouring village to Sunningwell. I think the building is beautiful and have been wondering where it had appeared

  • How can fewer buses be called an improvement?

    OXFORD Bus Company has announced, via its website only, that it intends to “improve” city 4 from May 31. On examining the new “improved” download-only version of the timetable, I noticed that the Elms Rise service has changed from three journeys

  • Poem and young woman’s 17th century death linked

    I WAS fascinated to read about the Oxford Archaeological Society’s discovery of the Lady of St Cross (the remains of a young woman from the Civil War period buried in unconsecrated ground near Pusey Street). It immediately made me think of a poem

  • What a difference a week can make to our carbon footprint

    YOU can test-drive an electric car, make you own solar panel and join a city-wide “green” treasure hunt in one week next month. The second annual Low Carbon Oxford Week will feature more than 80 events from Saturday, June 13 to Sunday, June 21.

  • Activists plan to turn centre into homes

    A GROUP of ambitious community activists wants to buy a Headington-based outdoor education centre and turn it into a “co-operative community”. Oxford Cohousing has put in a bid for the Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre, which is being sold by

  • FOOTBALL: Pitch woe gives Oxford City a headache

    Oxford City have vowed to improve the pitch at their Marsh Lane home after plans to install a 3G artificial surface in time for their National League South debut were shelved write Matthew Bruce and Michael Race. Delays in obtaining planning permission

  • Jury out for arson case

    A jury at Oxford Crown Court has started considering its verdict in the trial of a businessman accused of starting a house fire that forced tenants to jump for their lives. Martin Nganga, of Tiverton Road, Wembley, London, has pleaded not guilty

  • Full inquest set for Bullingdon inmate

    An inmate at Bullingdon Prison appeared to have hanged himself, a coroner said. Krzysztof Woskowiak, 41, from Bicester, was found dead at the prison on May 6. Opening an inquest into his death on Wednesday, assistant coroner for Oxfordshire

  • Pair released after slavery allegations

    Two people have been released without charge after a police operation focusing on slavery and exploitation. A 44-year-old man and a 21-year-old man, from Oxford, were arrested as part of police raids across the city on March 26, codenamed Operation

  • GOLF: Eddie Pepperell drops late shots

    A poor finish scuppered Eddie Pepperell’s opening round at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open yesterday. Bad weather made scoring difficult at Royal County Down, Northern Ireland, and the Abingdon golfer looked well set on one-over par after 16 holes

  • Speedie’s not pulling wool over our eyes

    PREPARE to be astonished by “the world’s most dangerous circus act”. No, not the man with the dog on his head (although the mysterious Mr N and his dog Speedie are a marvel to behold), but the extraordinary Globe of Terror, starring the South American

  • Rising cost of delayed tower blocks revamp will top £20m

    A MULTI-million pound project to refurbish Oxford’s five tower blocks could be delayed by almost a year. The £18.36m scheme – approved by Oxford City Council in November – was due to begin by the end of the spring. But the project is now not

  • CRICKET: Stuart Hole to keeper opener's role

    Stuart Hole will remain at the top of Shipton-under-Wychwood’s order as they bid to make it four wins out of four in Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League Division 2 at Gerrards Cross tomorrow. The former Oxon seamer didn’t bowl in last

  • CRICKET: Oxfordshire Over 50s edge win

    Mickey Thomas’s rapid knock saw Oxfordshire win a rain-affected clash with three balls to spare away to Staffordshire in the ECB 50+ County Championship. His unbeaten 36 from 27 balls proved key as the visitors reached 153-8 to surpass a revised

  • House fire tackled in Oxford

    Firefighters were despatched in the early hours of yesterday morning after a fire in a house in Worcester Place, Oxford. An incident support unit and pump were sent to the house at about 3am when the fire broke out in a roof space. Oxfordshire

  • Banbury car park collision

    A woman was last night still in hospital three days after being in a collision with a Land Rover Discovery, police said. The 73-year-old was involved in the accident at the Banbury Cross Retail Park, Lockheed Close, on Monday. She was walking

  • CRICKET: Lawrence Brock's pride at taking 9-49

    Lawrence Brock revealed that his thoughts were with his grandad, Bernie Brock, who died last October, after he took 9-49 for Great & Little Tew 2nd against Bledlow Village in Cherwell League Division 2. The 19-year-old left-arm seamer’s superb

  • CRICKET: Banbury geared up for top-of-the-table battle

    Banbury are in prime form ahead of tomorrow’s Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League Division 1 top-of-the-table battle at home to Henley, according to skipper Luke Ryan. Both sides go into the game, having won three out of three – and with

  • TENNIS: Henman in title triumph

    HENRY Henman kept up the family tradition with victory in the Henman’s Freeth tournament at Woodstock. The eight-year-old, nephew of former British No 1 Tim, received the trophy from grandfather Tony, whose firm sponsor the event, now in its 21st

  • Fundraising singers enjoy viral success

    Student singers raising cash for an East Oxford hospice have had more than 11,000 hits on YouTube. Joel Fishel and Jack Remmington, who are studying at Keble College, recorded an Ed Sheeran medley to raise funds for Helen and Douglas House.

  • Council workers begin their move to new offices

    COUNCIL workers whose offices were badly damaged in an arson attack started moving into their new home yesterday. A small number of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils’ shared staff settled into their new office at Milton

  • Churchill meeting in Oxfordshire

    Worldwide visitors are attending The 32nd International Churchill Conference. The event, which started on Tuesday and finishes tonight is being held at the Crowne Plaza Heythrop Park Hotel, near Chipping Norton, and Blenheim Palace in Woodstock

  • OBITUARY: Tributes paid to Banbury stalwart Bob Mitchelmore

    TRIBUTES have been paid to Banbury sporting stalwart Robert ‘Bob’ Mitchelmore. A long-serving member of both the town’s rugby and cricket clubs, the 69-year-old passed away in Oxford’s Churchill Hospital. Born in Bloxham, Mr Mitchelmore grew

  • Weekend fixtures for May 30-31

    SATURDAY CRICKET SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Div 1: Banbury v Henley, Horspath v Burnham, Slough v Oxford. Div 2 West: Aston Rowant v Datchet, Buckingham Tn v Great & Little Tew, Gerrards Cross v Shipton-under-Wychwood

  • Return of schools will add to traffic

    PARENTS have been advised to plan ahead for the return of the school run after the half-term holidays with work on Frideswide Square expected to cause delays. Many children will return to school on Monday after a week off but even without school

  • Morse mystery message challenge delights children

    MORSE Code might be an outdated mode of technology but it still delighted children at the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford. As part of the museum’s half-term activities youngsters got to learn about the Second World War code and try it

  • Run Forrest, Run: One man’s effort to honour brave Thomas

    THE story of Forrest Gump has moved from the big screen and on to the roads of Great Britain in memory of one brave little boy. Civil servant Ewan Gordon is in the midst of running 837 miles from John O’ Groats in the Highlands to Land’s End, the

  • Mums go down to the woods for a buggy walk

    AFTER going down to the woods today, you could be in for a big surprise. For one mum such a trip tired out her little boy enough for the youngster to manage a decent nap later on. The Earth Trust’s sensory buggy walk this half-term saw parents

  • PIGEON RACING: Latest results

    Oxford Central (East Prawle, 9 sent 94): 1, 5, 7 K Shipperley 1275, 1196, 1176; 2, 3, 6 M/M R Ward 1209, 1208, 1179; 4, 17 T Irving 1207, 955; 8, 9, 10 D Fellows 1164, 1146, 1136; 11, 14, 15 M Kelly 1117, 1023, 1023; 12, 13, 16 M/M S Capon & son

  • New Abingdon mayor gets a taste for the job

    THE new Mayor of Abingdon is becoming familiar with some of the perks of the job. Helen Pighills, who was elected to her role earlier this month, visited Abingdon’s King’s Head and Bell to check out the results of a £150,000 revamp. Pub owners

  • A ’Top 100’ chef serves up locally sourced new dishes

    MICHELIN-starred chef, Matt Weedon is serving up a host of tasty dishes made from local produce at the Oxfordshire Inn he has just taken over. The Lamb Inn at Crawley, near Witney re-opened in November 2014 following a major refurbishment by Mr

  • From the Alps to behind the bar of a ‘special inn’

    A COUPLE persuaded to return to the pub trade after falling in love with a village inn are on course to complete their dream watering hole with the opening of a new extension. Sue and Stephen Bant invited Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter to