Archive

A ‘BELOVED’ skatepark is to receive a much-needed makeover that will see its tired metal ramps transformed into a modern concrete park. After 13 years of use, the park in Tythrop Way, Thame, will be out of action for more than three months from

There are severe delays in and out of Oxford along Botley Road after temporary traffic lights were installed today. The lights have been put in place at the junction of Lamarsh Road and Bullstakes Close as part of drainage work for a new flood

THESE Appletons have to stick together. Oxford United head coach Michael Appleton helped Appleton CofE Primary School fundraise for desperately-needed new sports pitches by officiating at its sports day. Mr Appleton gave children a pep talk

THESE smartly-dressed young people had settled down for an enjoyable evening. Food was on the table and waitresses were on their way to fill their cups and saucers. But where and when was the party held, who were the young diners and what was the

PERHAPS they weren’t a patch on the Television Toppers, who once graced our screens with their high kicks. But these members of the Women’s Institute had great fun shaking a leg at a party. Seven institutes got together for a celebration at Iffley

I REFER to the photograph of Littlemore Army Cadets (Memory Lane, July 13). I, too, am in the picture, in the middle of the second row. Many good times were spent in the cadets. Our commanding officer was Captain W Pettit, who lived in Littlemore

THE headteacher of Oxford’s first free school has praised staff and parents after it was given a “good” rating following its first inspection. Tyndale Community School in William Morris Close, Temple Cowley, opened its doors in September 2013 and

A LETTER found in a book bought in an Oxford charity shop revealed the heartache and hope of a couple separated by war. Marie Clarke was looking forward to being reunited with her husband, Able Seaman Joe Clarke, as the Second World War neared

JOHN Sparrowhawk lived the dream of many schoolboys by riding in the cab of a steam locomotive and spending time in a signalbox. He enjoyed many happy hours on the railway at Bampton, where his uncle was the signalman. Mr Sparrowhawk, of Ashlong

I ENCLOSE a photograph of the retirement of Mr Newman, taken at the telephone exchange in Speedwell Street, Oxford, in the early 1960s. I am in the middle of the picture, wearing a white dress with two black stripes. Does anyone recognise themselves

Abingdon Horticultural Society chairman and beekeeper, David Bingley, takes home ideas from the cream of the crop of the designers at this year's RSA Summer Flower Show GROW, inspire and feast... As a mission statement, it's one gardeners everywhere

A CAR has collided with a tree near Sutton Courtenay closing the Drayton Road in both directions. Thames Valley Police have said one person has been injured in the collision that happened about 2.45pm today. Traffic reports have said the road is

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

OXFORD United are holding an open training session next Monday as the Kassam Stadium's new pitch sees its first action. It follows the success of a similar measure during the club's pre-season tour to Austria earlier this month. Supporters

RESIDENTS in Charlbury could finally see an end to their mobile phone nightmare as work to upgrade a mast is set to finish tomorrow evening.  Locals said they have been without signal since last Tuesday when a mast on top of Charlbury Fire Station

A FOOTBALLER narrowly avoided jail for fracturing an opposing player’s jaw during the closing minutes of a match. Labourer Lee Toomey took to the field in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Division One West match between Purton and Letcombe on Wednesday

Gary Horne, 31, of Thornbury Rise, Banbury, admitted assaulting a woman by beating her in Windrush, Banbury, on May 5. Made subject to a community order requiring him to undertake rehabilitation activity for a maximum of 20 days. Also made subject

A FREIGHT park for 100 HGVs at Lodge Hill. Whatever next? Everyone agrees that a full diamond interchange is needed at Lodge Hill. This has been promised by Nicola Blackwood MP. This does not justify building over 1,000 houses on the nearby

I WAS driving my road legal disability scooter along Welch Way, Witney, this morning when a car driver blasted me with his hooter, then pulled very close alongside me, lowered his nearside window, shouted a lot of obscenities and told me to get off

WHOSE brilliant idea was it to take the bikes away from our postmen? We now only get our delivery every other day as the postmen can’t get round. I was under the impression that we should get our post every day. It’s so annoying that we

COUNCILLOR David Nimmo-Smith hails the proposed £12.5m Access to Headington proposals as “great news for Headington”, but one has to ask: for whom? The plans to remove more than 30 trees from Marsh Lane, Headley Way and Cherwell Drive will destroy

I THOUGHT I’d share my perspective on an issue whose solution vexes most of us: NHS treatment in Oxford. For those readers who like happy endings to stories, I guess the happy ending before you read on is that I love life, have a wonderful wife

I WAS deeply disturbed to hear that the Government is going to allow the use of bee killing neonicotinoid pesticides on oilseed rape. When I attended the Bee Summit held in Oxford in 2014, it was clear that there was ample scientific evidence that

I’M ALWAYS charmed by what Philip Larkin called the “miniature gaiety of the seaside”. Let’s step out from a world of religious lunatics, austere governments and reality TV, and step out into an England which never stops giving. Last week,

THERE were no ugly caterpillars sitting and crying to sympathetic beetles when children crawled to the ugly bug ball. Youngsters got the chance to create their own ugly bugs at an arts and crafts session at Abingdon County Hall Museum on Wednesday

REJECTED plans for a block of student flats in Botley Road are set to go before the Planning Inspectorate after an appeal was lodged. Proposals to demolish a garage in favour of a three-storey student block were turned down earlier this year because

Johnny Mullins challenged Oxford United to keep improving ahead of the new campaign after putting in their best display of pre-season with a 2-0 win at Eastleigh on Saturday. The centre back opened the scoring from close range, before Danny Hylton

The chief executive of Oxford Products will join David Cameron on his trade mission to south-east Asia, it was announced today. Boss of the Witney-based business, Andrew Hammond, will be accompanied by 30 other people representing firms across

MUSIC enthusiasts got a lorra, lorra laughs when to their surprise, surprise they discovered Cilla Black was in the top 100 streamed songs in Oxford. The Liverpool music and TV icon was among The New Seekers and Nick Drake in music streaming service

IT’S been a long time since people could enjoy counting down the Top Ten on Sunday nights, so Spotify’s chart of Oxford’s 100 favourite tracks sheds a surprising light on the city’s music tastes. The streaming service’s ton of tunes is a clear

CAMPAIGNERS have hailed the Prime Minister’s intervention in a row over hospital beds as a great step forward. Witney MP David Cameron got around the table with health leaders on Friday [July 24] to discuss the future of 14 intermediate care beds

CALLS have been made for bus gate restrictions on Oxford’s High Street to be lifted after it emerged nearly £4m of fines have been raked in. Since 2007, motorists – particularly those driving through the historic city street – have been caught

THE whole point of bus gates on Oxford’s High Street are to act as a deterrent. When such regulations are brought in on our roads “deterrent” is always the word du jour. Transport bosses will insist to drivers these measures are absolutely no cash

NEW plans for Botley’s West Way shopping centre could go on display to the public as early as October. A recently-formed Community Liaison Group (CLG) settled on an amended timeline earlier this month, which could see a planning application submitted

Banbury's hopes of reaching the South East Area semi-finals of the Nat West Club T20 competition were ended in a dramatic bowl-out against Gerrards Cross. Heavy and persistent rain led to the Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League T20 finals

SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Division 1 Harefield 174-9 (64 ovs, D Ogden 37, L Ryan 4-40), Banbury 178-1 (29.5 ovs, T Paine 101no, L Sabin 69 no). Tring Park 115 (44.3 ovs, A Dobb 3-19, P Sawyer 3-33), High Wycombe

THE grandson of Victoria Cross hero Sgt Maj Edward Brooks has commissioned a new memorial stone to go on his grave in Oxford. Keith Brooks plans to install the black granite replica of his grandfather’s medal on his grave at Rose Hill Cemetery

A SEVERE weather warning has been issued for high winds in Oxfordshire this morning. Wind speeds are expected to increase this morning compared to yesterday, with a risk of gales up to 45mph on exposed hills. The Met Office, which issued the

10:27pm Major crash and car fire shuts M40 southbound between junctions 10 Brackley and 9 Bicester

FUN-LOVING free spirits managed to avoid most of the bad weather and catch at least some sun at Charlbury Riverside Festival at the weekend. The free community event entertained a colourful crowd from noon on Saturday and wrapped up at 8pm

Bradley Smith described winning the annual Suzuka 8 Hour race on his debut for the Factory Yamaha Team as “very special”. Smith, from Forest Hill, near Oxford, alongside Tech 3 MotoGP teammate Pol Espargaro and Katsuyuki Nakasuga beat the F.C.C

CANCER patients in Oxfordshire have more chance of surviving than in other parts of the country. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that more than 2,000 people diagnosed with cancer in 2012 were still living a year

TWO people died in a car crash on the M40 last night, police have announced. One lane of the motorway southbound is still closed this morning between junctions nine and ten in north Oxfordshire as police investigate what happened. Thames Valley

PRODUCTIVITY in Oxford is more than double that in Sheffield, according to universities minister Jo Johnson. Mr Johnson claimed production in the Sheffield city region was less than half that in Oxford and London on a tour of the Advanced Manufacturing

HUNDREDS of people defied the weather over the weekend and pitched up for a beer festival in Iffley village. Despite Friday’s consistent downpour, more than 180 revellers rocked up at the Tree Hotel for ales, ciders, a barbecue and music. The

HORSPATH suffered a catastrophic collapse to crash to a 72-run defeat at home to leaders Henley in Division 1 of the Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League. With the start delayed until 1.30pm following Friday’s deluge, Horspath put Henley

YOUNGSTERS who might never have considered university are now getting the chance after a commitment by Oxford University and education charity IntoUniversity. By 2019-20, it is hoped that 55 per cent of students using the new IntoUniversity centre

PUPILS from Larkmead School received a golden ticket to create their own art exhibition as part of a Literacy through the Arts event. The exhibition at Abingdon Library has been launched in the hope of improving pupils’ literacy and has the theme

RUNAWAY Division 2 leaders Great & Little Tew saw their advantage trimmed to 25 points after an agonising four-run defeat at home to Amersham in the Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League. In a thrilling finish, the hosts needed six to

A GROUP helped by much-loved councillor Val Smith will dedicate its new minibus to the former mayor. The Friendleys, a social group in Blackbird Leys for the elderly, are fundraising for a wheelchair-friendly minibus for Longlands Care Home, Balfour

LAWRENCE Clarke’s return to The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London – as it is now called – for the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games yielded mixed results, writes STUART WEIR. In the 110m hurdles heats, Clarke, from Christmas Common, near

A GROUP helped by much-loved councillor Val Smith will dedicate its new minibus to the former mayor. The Friendleys, a social group in Blackbird Leys for the elderly, are fundraising for a wheelchair-friendly minibus for Longlands Care Home, Balfour

Romain Grosjean said Enstone-based Lotus deserved to pick up points at an eventful Hungarian Grand Prix. The Frenchman finished seventh in a race won by Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. His Lotus teammate, Pastor Maldanado, was 14th after two drive