Archive

  • Police recover stolen items near Farringdon

    POLICE will reunite a number of stolen items with their rightful owners after they were stolen from 'beauty spots'. The force reported that it has recovered the items which were recently taken from vehicles parked near Faringdon. Officers have

  • Drugs crackdown - £10,000 and 700 Class A wraps seized

    POLICE have seized £10,000 in cash and 700 wraps of class A drugs as part of an ongoing operation. Operation Stronghold has seen a number of raids on Oxford homes in recent months with weapons and stolen items seized and vulnerable adults taken

  • Hospital campaigners make new pledge in ongoing fight

    CAMPAIGNERS of the Keep The Horton General Hospital group have reaffirmed their commitment to fighting for the ‘best possible healthcare’ for the north of the county. It follows a long battle against The Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group

  • Eddie dons Helen & Douglas cap as he tees off at PGA

    GOLFER Eddie Pepperell proudly sported his Helen and Douglas House Hospice cap during his opening round at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth today. The Abingdon golfer shot a level-par 72 in his first round wearing one of the caps, which are

  • Oxford Tube coach catches fire on M40

    AN Oxford Tube caught fire on a journey to London earlier today, the company have confirmed.  Passengers had to take a replacement bus but no one was hurt, the firm added.  One disgruntled traveller said the incident took place at Junction

  • Freeview problems after engineering works

    A NUMBER of Oxfordshire residents experienced difficulties with their freeview television service yesterday. Users were told to retune their boxes after a six-hour morning blackout, as part of major engineering works hitting 390,000 homes. Freeview

  • Thames Valley Police dog unit to be reduced by 15 handlers

    THE Thames Valley Police dog unit will be reduced in size by a total of 15 officers in a cost cutting exercise. The reduction comes despite chairman of the TVP Federation Craig O’Leary warning it would have an 'unknown impact’ on the area’s policing

  • Dozens of pole dancers to compete at Oxford school

    A SCHOOL is set to host an event billed as Oxfordshire's biggest pole dancing contest. The Oxford Academy secondary school in Littlemore, which hires out its facilities to the wider community, will provide the venue for the Southern Pole Championships

  • Something is in the air as first Bicester Festival announced

    A KITE-flying show, live music and street dancing are among the entertainments announced for Bicester's newest festival. The packed plans have been revealed as part of the first Bicester Festival, announced yesterday, to be staged in the town centre

  • Toby the tortoise found after epic adventure along the A40

    AN elderly tortoise has been reunited with his owner, after a two-week adventure through West Oxfordshire. Toby went missing from Cassington on Sunday, May 6, but despite a 16-day disappearance, the reptile only managed to get as far as the village

  • Village tradition celebrates ‘Marsh Club’

    SOME 150 men from north Oxfordshire village Marsh Gibbon joined together to celebrate ‘brotherly love’ as part of a traditional club day for the area. The Marsh Gibbon Friendly Society club day is staged each year to bring residents together and

  • MP gets a sneak-peek at self-build homes site

    THE county’s only self-build site, Graven Hill, has been branded ‘the most exciting development’ in the country by Banbury MP Victoria Prentis. The housing development being built on the southern edge of Bicester is expected to have up to 1,900

  • Help for small businesses in Oxford amid increasing rates

    A SCHEME to support small firms faced with rising with rising business rates will continue for a second year. The rate relief scheme was introduced by Oxford City Council last year after the Goverment's revaluation of business rates left many facing

  • Delays expected

    ROADWORKS starting in West Oxfordshire this weekend are likely to cause delays for the next week. Two-way traffic lights on Bladon’s Park Street will be operating at the top of the junction with Lamb Lane as work begins to install fibre optic cables

  • Award to recognise lifesavers seeks nominations

    ST John Ambulance is asking people in Oxfordshire who have saved someone’s life using first aid to come forward with their story for the charity’s Everyday Heroes awards. The first aid charity is to host the seventh annual celebrations to highlight

  • Blenheim Palace gets green award

    BLENHEIM Palace is among the UK’s ‘greenest’ tourist attractions according to a new audit by Green Tourism. The stately home near Woodstock was assessed under 10 different categories. These included energy saving and waste minimisation and the palace

  • Big bang with a big band event with Science Oxford

    OXFORD astronomer Chris Lintott and jazz musician Steve Pretty will host an evening of improvised conversation and live music in search of answers to the universe's big questions. Tickets to the event cost £10 and are available at Scienceoxford.com

  • Asperger support group to host monthly meetings

    A NEW support group for partners of adults with Asperger Syndrome will hold monthly meetings in Oxford. Different Together will be hosting the 'cuppa and a chat' sessions to allow people to talk, share experiences and offer support to each other

  • Owls get powerful new perch thanks to electricity giant

    A MAJOR electricity company has helped secure a brighter future for Oxfordshire's barn owl population 13 years after first starting to help the species out. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) engineers replaced two owl and kestrel

  • Review: New Orleans Feast at The Varsity Club

    WE come downstairs from the roof terrace and walk into a scene like a genuine New Orleans bar: there is some kind of hip hop brass band on the stereo, people are laughing loudly and gesticulating wildly and waiters are bringing out wine in all shades

  • Charity outdoors

    PEOPLE are invited to roll up their sleeves for an ‘outdoorsy’ session with arts charity OYAP at the former St Edburg's School. The charity recently moved to the Church Street, Bicester, venue and is hosting a session in the new community garden

  • Elephant in the library: Grove celebrates Elmer Day

    A SOUTH Oxfordshire library is to celebrate 'Elmer Day' tomorrow. Grove Library are holding the event for three to six year olds from 10.30am to 11.30am. The day is based around the fictional character Elmer, a multi-coloured elephant who is

  • Landlords lesson on good service

    PRIVATE landlords can get clued up on the latest changes to data protection and cyber security at a masterclass by Cherwell District Council. The council is staging the landlords’ forum on Tuesday, to cover a range of topics for delivering the best

  • MP Ed Vaizey backs fight against 900-home plan for Didcot

    AN MP has joined the fight against a new housing development, saying the individual identities of villages must be protected. As a consultation closes into developer Taylor Wimpey’s proposed new 903 home site south of Great Western Park in Didcot

  • £215,000 from Sport England

    THE sport and leisure team of Cherwell District Council has secured £215,000 to help families get fit. The grant has been awarded to the council from Sport England and will go towards helping fund recreational activities in Grimsbury, Hardwick,

  • King Alfred's Academy's gold Dukes at Buckingham Palace

    A SOUTH South Oxfordshire school travelled to Buckingham Palace yesterday to pick up Duke of Edinburgh gold awards. Wantage's King Alfred’s Academy saw 12 former sixth formers recognised at the event. The award tests a number of life skills in

  • Companies link up at business networking event

    BUSINESSES from across Oxfordshire gathered yesterday for a networking event. Hundreds of staff attended the Business in Oxford 2018 conference at the King’s Centre in Osney Mead. Organised annually by magazine B4, Business in Oxford is one of

  • Discovery of mother's wartime love letters inspired new novel

    AFTER his mother’s death, Simon Worrall found a chocolate box full of letters in the attic telling the story of her love for Martin Preston. Nancy Whelan met Mr Preston when he was a student in Oxford in 1938 and the couple were in love and engaged

  • Miles Jupp to headline Wantage Literary Festival

    MILES JUPP will headline a star-studded line up at the Wantage Literary Festival this year. The actor and comedian will read from the new book Egg and Soldiers by his alter ego, Damian Trench, from the BBC’s series In and Out of the Kitchen.

  • Pub faces rivals in national awards

    A TRADITIONAL pub in West Oxfordshire went head-to-head with establishments across the country at an award ceremony in London. The team behind The Hare, in Milton-under-Wychwood, were due to attend the BAFTA auditorium in Piccadilly, London, for

  • Town's 'bobby on the beat' named best in Thames Valley

    RESIDENTS in Abingdon can rest assured they have the best PCSO in the Thames Valley Police. Ali Blood, who has been a familiar sight in the town for the past decade, was named not only Oxfordshire’s community support officer of the year at this

  • ROWING: High fives for St Edward's School

    ST EDWARD’S warmed up for the National Schools Regatta with a sparkling display in the shadow of Hampton Court Palace, writes John Wiggins. Their young guns picked up five victories at the Thames Ditton Regatta, along with a consolation win in the

  • BOWLS: Oxfordshire warm up for Middleton Cup in style

    OXFORDSHIRE warmed up for the forthcoming Middleton Cup campaign by winning their trial matches against Northants and Gloucestershire. In the opening match against Northants at Oxford City & County, the hosts won on five rinks for a 118-102

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 24/5/2018)

    Argentine auteur Lucrecia Martel returns to film-making for the first time in nine years with Zama. In her previous three outings, La Ciénaga (2001), The Holy Girl (2004) and The Headless Woman (2008), Martel used events in her native city of Salta

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 24/5/2018)

    There are object lessons to be learned in how to do and how not to do horror in this week's DVD selection. The masterclass comes in the form of James Whale's The Old Dark House (1932), which exudes the subtlety that seems to be the watchword of a new

  • ROWING: High fives for St Edward's School

    ST EDWARD’S warmed up for the National Schools Regatta with a sparkling display in the shadow of Hampton Court Palace, writes John Wiggins. Their young guns picked up five victories at the Thames Ditton Regatta, along with a consolation win in the

  • MURDER TRIAL: 'Men in black' behind park attack says witness

    A GANG of ‘men in black’ attacked 'a lone man' with golf clubs and baseball bats in Blackbird Leys Park on the night Christopher Lemonius was killed, a court heard yesterday. Six Oxford men all deny murdering the 27-year old at nearby Jourdain Road

  • Council to pledge LGBTIQ+ support today

    AN Oxfordshire council is today set to pledge to do 'everything it can' to enable gay and bisexual people in its area to 'flourish and succeed'. West Oxfordshire District Council officers have recommended the social scrutiny committee to accept

  • West Way shops to be demolished next month

    AN OLD shopping centre could be demolished next month to make way for a new development. The Botley Development Company (BDC) has confirmed its planned timetable for works on the West Way in Botley after diggers arrived on site at the weekend.

  • Backlash over plan to axe free school transport for disabled

    'DEVASTATING' plans to end free school transport for students with special needs have been condemned by more than 1,200 people. Students aged 16-25 on an education, health and care plan are currently entitled to free travel to and from their nearest

  • Asbestos-hit school could close for good

    AN asbestos-hit Oxford school could be closed for good after it was branded ‘unsafe.’ Northfield School in Blackbird Leys, which caters for 71 students with special educational needs, is facing being shut down by Oxfordshire County Council.

  • Cuddly animals join in playschool celebrations

    CHILDREN at Kidlington Playschool celebrated their recent 'good' Ofsted report with a visit from some cuddly farmyard animals on Wednesday. The playschool, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, enjoyed the company of several furry friends

  • GOLF: Eddie Pepperell relishing chance to shine at Wentworth

    EDDIE Pepperell is savouring being back on the big stage when he returns to Wentworth today, a year after finding the BMW PGA Championship tough to watch on television. The Abingdon golfer will be taking his place alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy

  • Dementia pop-up

    ABINGDON will continue to mark Dementia Action Week with a pop-up shop run by Soha Housing in the town centre today. A team from the housing association will be at the Community FreeSpace at 18 Bury Street from 10am to 3pm talking about their support