Archive

MOTORISTS are being warned to expect severe delays after a van and car collided near Nuneham Courtenay. The road was blocked after the two vehicles crashed on the A4074 at the roundabout with the B4015 shortly before 6pm. However, traffic is

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for a year following the death of Long Hanborough man Richard Reed in a car crash last year. Jacob Harper, of Akeman Street, Combe, admitted causing death by careless driving at Banbury Magistrates’ Court at a 

AN OXFORD songsmith has been given £10,000 by Hollywood star Kevin Spacey to write a new musical. Matt Winkworth and writing partner Chris Bush were among just 10 winners in the Kevin Spacey Foundation’s Artists of Choice awards scheme 2015.

A JUDGE has postponed sentencing a designer clothing firm over health and safety failures that led to a four-year-old boy being crushed by a 7ft mirror. Austen Harrison was left with massive skull injuries when the freestanding 118kg three-way

A WOMAN who found a hidden camera in the shower of a hotel says she feels disgusted by the incident. Thames Valley Police has launched an investigation to find out why the device was hidden behind a shower vent at the Wheatley Travelodge, in London

A GROUP striving to set up an educational farm in Oxford has announced that work could start as soon as next month. Oxford City Farm, off Cornwallis Road in Cowley, is being built for those living in the city who may have never seen a working farm

PLANS to replace a care home in North Oxford and convert the old building into student accommodation have been recommended for approval. University College and Fairfield Residential Home have proposed moving 29 elderly residents into a new 38-bedroom

EMERITUS fellow at St Antony’s College Herminio Martins, who has died aged 81, was an authority on the sociology of Latin America. Mr Martins taught the subject at Oxford University for 30 years and was named emeritus fellow in his last year, 2001

BLACKBIRD Leys parish councillor Sheila Smith, who has died aged 78, was a passionate – and prize-winning – gardener. A well-known member of the community in Blackbird Leys, she had worked as a parish councillor for the past two years. Along

A burst water main has caused Cutteslowe Primary School to close until Monday.  It was reported that children were collected this afternoon because water had come into the school building, in Wren Road. There was no running water and toilets

A 34-year-old man has been arrested for aggravated burglary and criminal damage. Thames Valley Police said officers were called to a home at about 5.45pm yesterday in Palmer Road, Wood Farm, where a group of men had forced entry and caused damage

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

IT was a case of damage limitation at Silverstone on Sunday in the pouring rain. I’ve got to be happy with seventh and it’s now 12 point-scoring finishes out of 12 this season. These were the worst possible conditions for me. At Aragon

WATER has stopped gushing from a pipe that burst earlier today in Banbury. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue spokesman Owen Morton said firefighters were called to the scene in Broughton Road at about 11.30am, where the road was flooded due to the burst

A CYCLIST hit a driver with his helmet after a road rage incident near Wallingford. Thames Valley Police said at about 7pm on Tuesday the driver of a vehicle and a cyclist had an argument on the A329 Reading Road, Moulsford between Moulsford Prepartory

A radio was stolen from Wilko in Banbury and food and alcohol was taken from a Co-Op in town. Police said at about 3.30pm on May 22 a man entered Wilko in Bridge Street and selected the radio, before leaving the store and making no attempt to pay

AOWN Dogar's friends and the emergency services made "heroic" efforts to try to save him on the night he drowned, a coroner said yesterday. An inquest at Oxford Coroner's Court heard how 12-year-old Riyadh Dewan tried to grab his friend as he was

POLICE have released a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with a series of shoplifting incidents in Wallingford. Thames Valley Police said on August 24 between about 2.05pm and 2.45pm items worth up to £800 were stolen

OXFORDSHIRE-BASED Brakspear has sold off a tenth of its pubs over the past two years as part of a rationalisation of its portfolio to improve profits. The pub operator and brewer, which has its headquarters in Henley, has sold 14 pubs. One

Ben Holgate meets the leader of a biotech firm with cutting edge cancer treatments Abingdon-based biotechnology firm Immunocore is aiming to make its radical cancer treatment drugs commercially available to patients in the next four years, said

Sir – Christopher Gray’s comment concerning Othello at the RSC (Weekend, August 20) “The casting of the British-Zimbabwean actor Lucian Msamati has caused excitement... I frankly see no issue here” – I think he misses the point. The casting of a black

A MAN and a boy have been charged on suspicion of burglary from a funeral parlour in Wantage. Sean Michael Wheeler, 19, of East Challow, and a 17 year-old boy from Wantage who cannot be named for legal reasons were both charged on Friday with one

WHY does this Government want to cut the deficit by attacking families with children? Already, a quarter of Oxford’s children live in poverty, partly because housing costs in the city are so high. Now the Government wants to make things even worse

GOOD news for Oxfordshire pensioners. On Monday at 2pm in the council chamber of Oxford Town Hall, a new pensioners group will be launched. It will be known as the Oxfordshire NPC Group and has evolved from the long-established and highly regarded

David Brooks, 34, of Chelsea Place, Cholsey, admitted using threatening or abusive words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress at Didcot Parkway railway station on July 29. Also admitted committing an offence while subject to a suspended

Sir – I heartily agree with Don Manley [Letters, August 27] on the need for a national debate about the kind of country that we want our grandchildren to inherit and on the difficulty of getting politicians to take population sustainability seriously

Sir – John Tanner is using Hiroshima to make cheap political points at the Tories and Americans. Successive Labour governments have done absolutely nothing to remove nuclear weapons in this country. His ignorance over Hiroshima is breathtaking.

Sir – Your letters column is littered every week with complaints about developments planned or taking place. There are also countless reports about the same thing, which include many objections on grounds of over-development, etc (aka nimbyism)

Sir – Mr Harry St John (Letters, August 20) considerably exceeds your 300-words limit in his long rant against the Oxford Green Belt. In return for this editorial generosity he should at least have shared with your readers the fact that he is the

Sir – I don’t wish to sound controversial but it seems the annual announcement of the GCSE results is greeted on television and in the newspapers by a majority of girls looking extremely excited by their success whilst the boys are in the background

Sir – There is an established up and running club for the disabled called the Otters. It is held every alternate Sunday morning at the Oxford Brookes Pool, Harcourt Campus, Botley, Oxford All are welcome all ages. There are helpers available

Sir – I hope that included with the reconstruction of the Westgate Centre is the preservation of the plaque to the medieval scientist Roger Bacon,who died in 1292. The plaque, in Old Greyfriars Street, is written in both Latin and English, saying

Sir – It is a matter of some concern that a significant number of business units are lying empty or have recently closed down in Bicester town centre due to high business rates and a lack of free car parking opportunities leading to a severe reduction

Sir – The adverse effects of the reduced supply of road space for traffic, as a result of roadworks around the Woodstock Road and Banbury Road roundabouts, could be minimised by a corresponding reduction in unnecessary car trips. To this end, I

I WOULD like to add congratulations from Lib Dem councillors to all pupils and students in Oxfordshire for their achievements in the tests and examinations they took this summer. We are delighted to see that education establishments across Oxfordshire

I SHARE the worry about the condition of some of our churches as expressed in Matt Oliver’s article in the Oxford Mail (August 27). Because the main purpose of these buildings is concerned with religion, most people feel that it is the Church’s

THE adverse effects of the reduced supply of road space for traffic, as a result of roadworks around the Woodstock Road and Banbury Road roundabouts, could be minimised by a corresponding reduction in unnecessary car trips. To this end, I suggest

I WANT to complain about the noise of sirens from emergency service vehicles in Oxford. It’s terrible noise to put up with every day. I get stressed every time I hear one. I put my fingers in my ears or use earplugs. I have stopped going to parks

A MAN who attacked his wife then threatened to knock police officers’ heads off with a sledgehammer after drinking 20 pints of cider has avoided jail. Michael Joyce was given an 18-month community order and placed on a three-month curfew at Oxford

Sir – Why does this Government want to cut the deficit by attacking families with children? Already a quarter of Oxford’s children live in poverty, partly because housing costs in the city are so high. Now the Government wants to make things even

Sir – I read Derrick’ Holt’s letter (August 27). Frankly he is wrong, as it would be quite possible to have a Convention for nuclear weapons just like those for chemical and biological weapons; not to mention those for land mines and cluster bombs.

Sir – John Tanner’s letter (August 20) could have been written at any time since the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), with the distressing realisation that those two small bombs of mass destruction

Sir – The draft “Supplementary Planning Document” for West Way has been published with the opportunity to comment on it until September 25. The supposed idea is that it will guide development in the area for the long-term future, but it’s also

Sir – It has taken no time at all for the Conservatives to about-face from promising ‘the greenest government ever’ to deciding to ‘cut the green crap’. Proposing a savage cut in payments for solar panels is bad news for homes, schools and businesses

Sir – A few years ago I visited a long road of semi detached houses in Southampton to collect some books from the home of a deceased Unitarian. Virtually the whole street was multi occupied by students in buy-to-let properties, although most of

Sir – In response to the spokeswoman from the county council who stated that the shops in Frideswide Square are fully accessible, I would like to know how she defines accessible? The last time I ventured down there (just over a week ago) I had

Sir – Surely the ‘no plebs’ signs opponents to the new housing development in Sutton Courtenay (Report, August 27) would more honestly be placed by the council at the major roundabouts and exits from Oxford’s ring road, and at Oxford Station. As

Sir – Virtually every day now the A34 is blocked as a result of accidents. It follows that this puts extra demand on all branches of the emergency services. How many people are injured? How many hours are lost by goods being stuck in these hold-ups

Sir – Your correspondent Simon Henson (Letters, August 27) has misjudged our county councillors. Their objective is to reduce pollution by implementing the many roadwork schemes all over Oxford so that motorists have to wait so long that they switch

Williams Martini Racing have confirmed that the partnership of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will be retained for a third season in the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. Massa joined the team for the 2014 season and has so far scored

* The Restaurant at Witney Lakes has got a new team in the kitchen headed up by Ryan Priddey, head chef from The Blue Boar in Longworth, formerly Oxfordshire Restaurant of the Year. He is joined by Pete Southley, currently the head chef of The Three

Curry season is upon us again with summer creeping to its wet end, so following the crowds we headed to The Ovisher in Kidlington which is under new management. Mr Bari and his troupe have gone and are sadly missed, but in their place is a lovely

I’m Ben Bullen, head chef at the newly-opened Magnolia Brasserie at Sudbury House Hotel in Faringdon. My passion for cooking started in my mum’s kitchen. There were no two questions when it came to choosing a career. Being a chef was the way forward

Comedian Josh Widdicombe tells Katherine MacAlister he’s raring to go on the stand-up scene again after taking a breather to pen a sitcom It seems apt that my interview with Josh Widdicombe is farcical from the word go. He has just conducted

THE chairman of Banbury Museum has revealed proposals for a £2-3m makeover which could see a new gallery installed by 2020. Bob Langton hopes the Castle Quay establishment will see a revamp to its shop, the waterway gallery and an extension at

Cheney School pupil Chanthe Powell recounts her time on a special course at Oxford University’s Lincoln College designed to give students who might not have considered applying, a chance to sample student life at an Oxbridge college Despite living

David McManus says concerns are being raised about the flying machines For people of a certain age, the word drone still conjures up images of dystopian science fiction films like Bladerunner or Terminator where autonomous flying robots hovered

Edward Clarke ponders the musings of Dr Johnson During the winter months of the academic year in Oxford my students might have the impression that I am pondering Wordsworth’s supposed pantheism or Shakespeare’s covert Neoplatonism when, in fact

Nina Morgan on a new work about gravestones around Oxford Three years ago – and seemingly out of the blue – a bulging A4 envelope arrived on my desk. It came from Eric Robinson, a long retired professor of geology at University College London whom

I have been flying again, which means I have once more been reading the Daily Mail, a copy of which only usually comes my way from the free pile at the departure gate. No doubt this massive giveaway helps to inflate the Mail’s circulation figures

I think of them as Dave’s Faves, a class to rank alongside Tony’s Cronies. As a depressing raft of these political place-persons prepare to take their seats in the Lords, let us look back on a time when such preference was given not on the basis

Jaine Blackman loses all sense of time in an epic new novel which merges three worlds Arcadia, the latest novel by Iain Pears is extremely clever but, better than that, immensely entertaining. Three worlds interlock in this multi-layered story

Peter Truman practises his volleys and smashes with a tennis session under the southern Spanish sun Do you want it at full speed?” he asks from across the net. Somewhat delirious from the combination of heat, my lack of fitness and my innate arrogance

Stratford’s Swan Theatre is offering a double dose of gleeful villainy, with Christopher Marlowe’s The Jew of Malta joined in the repertoire (until September 12) by a hugely entertaining modern-dress production of Ben Jonson’s Volpone, directed by

Stuart Macbeth talks haunted houses, life after Gomez and the freedoms of being a solo artist, to the Mercury Prize winning Ben Ottewell We were one of the last bands lucky enough to sign an old style record deal,” Ben Ottewell says, reflecting

Singer-songwriter Lucy Mair Blackfrog Studios, 9 Jefferson Way, Thame Friday Tickets £3 from ticketsource.co.uk Notable local recording studio hosts the launch of the debut single from 17-year-old singer-songwriter Lucy Mair. As well as

Sarah Mayhew Craddock talks to Angie Lewin about her vivid prints A light breeze is about to sweep into a North Oxford gallery – bringing with it a taste of the windswept, wide open landscapes of the wilder parts of Britain. Angie Lewin splits

Foodie fan Jaine Blackman donned her apron for Alex James and Jamie Oliver’s ‘biggest and best garden party’ The Big Feastival attracted thousands of people from all over the country to Blur musician turned cheesemaker Alex James’ Oxfordshire farm

Drawn by the scent of garlic wafting down the street, Katherine MacAlister returns to try out Jericho’s refurbished Rickety Press You could smell the Rickety Press before you saw it, a heady scent of pungent garlic wafting down Cranham Street,

Starting Up with Jack Greenall @ Smoke and Thyme My new venture, Smoke and Thyme At The Garden Café, is a pay-what-you-want pop-up restaurant in partnership with Restore, an Oxford-based mental health charity. My menu changes every month to

* If you like singing you can join novelist Valerie Blumenthal in a fundraising event for Alzheimer’s Research UK in Moreton near Thame on Saturday. Singing for Alzheimer’s will take place at The Stevens’ Barn, Moreton, from 11am–1.15pm and singing

Katherine MacAlister learns that Strike!, a cross between circus and theatre, offers something completely different as downtrodden staff rebel against conformity Sometimes it’s good to step out of one’s comfort zone and try something different,

The Long Insiders frontman talks to Stuart Macbeth in advance of their Bestival show Rock ‘n’ roll was never the same after the Beatles” Nick Kenny informs me politely. “A whole world of amazing, exotic American music was forgotten about.” But

Giles Woodforde talks to Dr Timothy Hands, Master of Magdalen College School Dr Timothy Hands has been Master (as the head teacher is called) of Magdalen College School (MCS) since 2008. But while MCS’s new academic year begins today, it will

Sir – We are delighted that your readers are informed about our bid to purchase the site of Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre (Report, August 27). T hese are very exciting times for our group and we want to take another opportunity to explain,

Christopher Gray pays a special visit to the always popular Greyhound at Besselsleigh I reviewed the Greyhound at Besselsleigh enthusiastically five years ago, within weeks of its takeover by Brunning & Price, and have eaten there at least

Katherine MacAlister finds out about Soho Farmhouse, Great Tew Just a 90-minute drive from London, Soho House & Co’s seventh UK house, The Soho Farmhouse, opened in Oxfordshire in early August. Set across 100 acres of rolling countryside

As summer comes to a close, Hannah Stephenson offers advice on lifting late-flowering bulbs to give them the best chance of growing next year Dahlias may still be blooming, but many other summer bulbs including lilies and gladioli, are now past

Katherine MacAlister talks to Steve Le Comber about Science Oxford gig Evolutionary biologist Dr Steve Le Comber is a typical scientist, delighted to be talking about his work and reticent about discussing himself. He speaks terribly fast in

Christopher Gray braves the evening breezes for an entertaining all-male As You Like It at Cogges And six men in their prime play many parts. The line – adapted, of course, from the most famous speech in As You Like It – supplies an accurate summary

Great food and drink and a mix of music for all tastes was a perfect recipe for success at Alex James and Jamie Oliver’s Big Feastival. Held for the fourth year running on Blur musician-turned-cheesemaker Alex’s Oxfordshire farm, the three-day

Nicola Lisle talks to John Lubbock of the Orchestra of St John’s There’s a distinctly operatic feel to this year’s Music in the Abbey festival – which is perhaps not surprising, given that John Lubbock’s wife, Christine Cairns, is a former opera

Even by the standards of Britain’s longest-running rock festival, it was a finale to beat all others. Indie’s great comeback kids The Libertines, smashed their headline appearance at Reading Festival with a show which had fans – many of them too

With the music industry emerging from the circus of festival season, the talk this week has been about one thing – Foals. The Oxford indie-math-funk-rockers released their new album What Went Down, to general acclaim on Friday, reminding us that

Author and music producer Ian Brennan will talk at Blackwells about surviving rape as the partner of a victim In a nutshell, as strange as it sounds: I am a Grammy-winning music producer (Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Tinariwen, Malawi Mouse Boys), author

Jaine Blackman meets a literary trailblazer who has created a new way of reading Simplifying the way his new epic novel can be read turned out to be quite a complicated affair for famous Oxford author Iain Pears. “I now have sympathy, and understand

RUPERT Evans knows what it takes to win the Minor Counties Championship as an Oxfordshire player, but admits beating Cumberland in this year’s final as coach would be just as special. Evans claimed two wickets as Oxon beat Hertfordshire at Worcester

TRAFFIC is gridlocked across Oxford’s roads this morning as the city’s children head back to school. The A40 between Witney and Oxford is heavily congested towards the Wolvercote and Cutteslowe roundabouts, while Sunderland Avenue is busy in both

MICHAEL Appleton is happy none of his players were nominated for a monthly award as he seeks to keep Oxford United under the radar. A 2-0 win against Yeovil Town on Saturday ensured the U’s finished August unbeaten, stretching their run without

A man was treated for facial injuries after a two-vehicle crash on the M40 yesterday morning. The man, believed to be in his forties or fifties, was treated for minor facial injuries at the roadside and was not taken to hospital. The crash

Oxfordshire ended sixth out of seven teams in the Home Counties League when they lost 132-100 to Bucks at Bletchley in their final game of the campaign. The visitors won on only two rinks. Jason King’s team were five shots down after 14 ends

Rebekah Brooks has been appointed chief executive of News UK, publisher of The Sun, The Times and Sunday Times newspapers. Ms Brooks lives near Chipping Norton with her husband Charlie, a racehorse trainer. The announcement confirms the return

AN OXFORD house where two people burned to death has been cleared for demolition after eight years. Oxford City Council has given planning permission for Red Cottage on Old Abingdon Road to be knocked down and flats to be built in its place.

AN ANIMAL charity in Oxfordshire has launched an appeal to find a new home for one pet every hour by the end of the year. Blue Cross rehoming centre in Burford helped more than 35,000 pets across the UK last year through its network of animal hospitals

AN 880-PUPIL free school in Oxford has been hailed as the beginning of a new solution to the county’s shortage of places. The Government yesterday announced it had given permission for The Swan School, an offshoot of The Cherwell School, to open

BANBURY’S Division 1 title hopes were ended amid a crushing 147-run defeat away to Reading. Following their loss at Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League leaders High Wycombe the previous week, Banbury were already big outsiders for the

WITH his surname, Jonathan Wynn was never going to settle for second best when he appeared on TV word game Countdown. The 29-year-old maths teacher won eight rounds of the iconic Channel 4 show to clinch the famed prize teapot and qualify for the

Green Party parliamentary candidate Kate Prendergast, pictured, has announced she will stand for Oxford City Council at the 2016 elections. Dr Prendergast has lived in the St Thomas area of the city for 10 years, and said she will stand for the

THE Oxford rock band Foals thanked local fans for their support by turning up at the city’s only record store to sign copies of their new album. Hundreds of music-lovers queued outside the Truck Store, in Cowley Road, yesterday afternoon, for a

Woodstock Harrier James Bolton leads Abingdon AC’s Paul Fernandez by just one point ahead of tonight's final round of the Motavation Series in Oxford. Bolton, who topped the Vet 40 age group in the last round at Combe, is four ahead of Oxford City

5:19pm Judge delays sentencing Hugo Boss over boy's death at Bicester village after he was crushed by

Despite being under house arrest and banned from making films for 20 years, Jafar Panahi continues to defy the Iranian authorities. In 2011, he smuggled This Is Not a Film out of the country on a memory stick hidden inside a cake and, earlier this

STAFF at a Kidlington pet shop said new parking restrictions may have saved their business. Alisons Animals and other shops in The Parade off Oxford Road said they were losing trade because commuters were taking up parking bays meant for customers

BANBURY United played out a goalless draw at home to Evesham United in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West on Monday. Puritans keeper Jack Harding was the busier, denying George Washbourne and Liam Harding. Both sides struggled

It's 35 years since Wim Wenders began making documentaries in earnest. In that time, he has produced such exemplary profiles as Lightning Over Water (1980) about Nicholas Ray, Tokyo Ga (1985) about Yasujiro Ozu, Notebooks on Cities and Clothes (1987

A teenager has become one of the youngest people in the country to have made a solo flight in a glider. Daniel Hunt made his first solo flight with Oxford Gliding Club on his 14th birthday – the youngest age a person can legally fly without an

A DRAFT paper outlining Oxfordshire’s hopes to gain more political power from central Government will be submitted tomorrow. September 4 is the deadline for local authorities to get applications in to be granted more powers. It is part of efforts

Elizabeth Dorey represented England for the first time at the European Junior Touch Championships at Nottingham – just missing out on glory. The 16-year-old, from Summertown, only started playing the sport in June as a way to keep fit over the

Some of the county’s brightest young sporting talents are looking for glory in Manchester as they compete in the Sainsbury’s School Games, which get under way today. More than 1,600 school-age athletes from around the country will descend on Manchester

ALMOST 40 firefighters from three counties spent the night and part of yesterday morning tackling a suspected arson attack on a farm near Banbury. A large stack of straw bales, pictured, the length of five double-decker buses, was on fire from

THE mother of one of the victims of the Bullfinch gang has described £16,500 compensation offered to her daughter as “utterly disgusting.” Girl Five was plied with drink and drugs before being sexually exploited by Zeeshan Ahmed and Assad Hussein

DRIVERS are gearing up for a luxury motor car show at Blenheim Palace this weekend. The Salon Privé is in its 10th year and is being held at the grounds of the Woodstock stately home for the first time, from today until Saturday. Organisers

TELETUBBIES on display at Modern Art Oxford shed a different light on the playful TV characters and there is no singing and dancing about it. A new exhibition at the museum by American artist Josh Kline displays four towering Police Teletubbies

Three Oxford University oarsmen will lead Great Britain’s challenge for medals in this week’s World Championships in Aiguebelette, France, writes John Wiggins. Former Dark Blues Paul Bennett, Pete Reed and current president Constantine Louloudis

THE number of complaints upheld by South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) in Oxfordshire plummeted in 2014, despite an overall rise in grievances. The service received 48 written complaints last year, a 66 per cent increase from 29 the previous

THEY offer a great deal of pride to their owners but are often hidden from the public. In Bicester, the best back garden competition aims to recognise residents’ impressive creations. Run and judged by Bicester town councillor Les Sibley, the