Archive

  • Friday's closing local share prices

    AEA Technology 108 BMW 3007 Electrocomponents 267.25 Isoft Group 122.25 Oxford Bio 30 Oxford Instruments 208 Reed Elsevier 546 RM 198 RPS 197.25 Torex Retail 93.5

  • Local closing share prices Friday

    AEA Technology 108 BMW 3007 Electrocomponents 267.25 Isoft Group 122.25 Oxford Bio 30 Oxford Instruments 208 Reed Elsevier 546 RM 198 RPS 197.25 Torex Retail 93.5

  • ANGLING: Farmoor catches improve

    Fishing at Farmoor II reservoir has been improving with daily rod averages of more than four fish per person. Senior fishery warden Paul Doherty said: "Last week saw some of the biggest buzzer hatches I've ever seen at Farmoor with the fish totally

  • Riverside festival cancelled

    The annual summer Charlbury Riverside Festival has been cancelled. The free two-day music event has been called off it as it does not have the support of police and organisers cannot afford to pay for private security. Last year a man claiming to

  • Review: Slither (15)

    Tongue firmly in cheek, Slither resurrects the schlock horror movie with unabashed glee, pitting hillbillies against an invasion of body-snatching molluscs. The film embraces its lunacy with abandon, delighting in the gruesome demise of the cast and

  • Review: 16 Blocks

    Unfolding almost in real time, 16 Blocks dusts off the plot of the 1977 Clint Eastwood chase thriller The Gauntlet in order to enact an exhilarating game of cat and mouse across New York City. The mice are a grizzled detective and his fast-talking prisoner

  • Numan at Brookes

    Few artists have such a fanatical following as Gary Numan. With a distinctive style, deeply rooted in the hard-edged electro sound of the late 70s, and early 80s, Numan has been a huge influence on all manner of bands, from Prodigy and Marilyn Manson

  • Out of left field

    Like all great inventors, Nick Peill got the idea for his band while sitting in his shed. The Brummy multi-instrumentalist had long ago acquired a reputation as a somewhat quirky artist, composing avant-garde electronic creations, at the bottom of his

  • Chewing the fat at friar hotspot

    Rob Miller flees the tourist hordes to sample a fry-up without chips: First, a confession. When it comes to this particular Oxford pub, I am a bit biased. If, feeling brave on a Saturday, I've bazooka'd (if only) my way through the hordes in Cornmarket

  • MOTOR SPORT: Prodrive make Formula 1

    David Richards toasted his return to Formula One, claiming his Banbury-based Prodrive company have earned their move into motorsport's elite. Prodrive were named as the 12th team on the 2008 grid this morning by world governing body the FIA, who also

  • Ready to sizzle on summer barbecue

    An award-winning Oxford butchery business whose roots can be traced right back to the creation of Oxford's Covered Market, in the 18th century, now boasts state-of-the art technology which puts them in the forefront of 21st-century developments in the

  • Money man probes dark side of life

    Like many authors who try various careers before they become full-time writers, Yves Bonavero has an eclectic CV. In his case, however, you can't really see the writing replacing the other careers it probably wouldn't be as lucrative or as interesting

  • Friday's share prices

    AEA Technology 110 BMW 3012 Electrocomponents 268 Isoft Group 139.75 Oxford Bio 30.5 Oxford Instruments 209 Reed Elsevier 544.5 RM 195 RPS 193.75 Torex Retail 94

  • Freedomland

    Simmering racial tensions boil over with terrifying consequences in Freedomland, a gritty thriller based on the novel by Richard Price. Unfortunately, the build-up to this explosion of pent-up emotion is rather pedestrian, despite the casting of Samuel

  • Prodrive celebrate joining F1 elite

    David Richards toasted his return to Formula One, claiming his Banbury-based Prodrive company have earned their move into motorsport's elite. Prodrive were named as the 12th team on the 2008 grid this morning by world governing body the FIA, who also

  • Friday's share prices

    AEA Technology 110 BMW 3012 Electrocomponents 268 Isoft Group 139.75 Oxford Bio 30.5 Oxford Instruments 209 Reed Elsevier 544.5 RM 195 RPS 193.75 Torex Retail 94

  • 16 Blocks (12A)

    Unfolding almost in real time, 16 Blocks dusts off the plot of the 1977 Clint Eastwood chase thriller The Gauntlet to play an exhilarating game of cat and mouse on the streets of New York City. The mouse or more correctly mice are a grizzled detective

  • Poor folk suffer to keep Ross in clover

    Among the thieves and thugs, the robbers and rapists, the prostitutes, pimps and perverts, the local magistrates' courts occasionally offer the spectacle of offenders of a different sort, TV licence dodgers. In my reporting days, they came in batches

  • FOOTBALL: Redknap makes up for lost time

    Banbury United lifted the Senior Cup for the second time in three seasons with a hard-fought 3-0 victory against Hellenic League side Carterton at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday night, writes Nick Farrant. Victory was particularly sweet for Banbury striker

  • FOOTBALL: Thame have rare win

    Thame United's chairman, Jake Collinge, came on in the last few minutes he was sponsored £250 to do so and helped his side earn a rare Division 1 West win on Tuesday night against Rushall Olympic. He caused problems in the visitors' penalty box as

  • FOOTBALL: City on the brink

    A hat-trick by Ray Spence moved City to within one point of the Premier Division title on Saturday with a 3-0 win against Leverstock Green. It means if they avoid defeat in their final game at home to Holmer Green tomorrow they will become champions

  • FOOTBALL: North Leigh suffer blow

    NORTH Leigh's promotion hopes were dealt a crushing blow on Saturday as Bishops Cleeve scored twice in three minutes at Eynsham Park to secure the runners-up spot in the Premier Division. The visitors ruthlessly punished North Leigh's earlier profligacy

  • FOOTBALL: Banbury become double victims

    Lethargic Banbury lost a disappointing affair as Northwood became the first club to complete the double against Kevin Brock's men in the Premier Division on Saturday. On a bone-hard pitch, Banbury struggled to play any attractive football, but they

  • SPEEDWAY: Lowly Cheetahs roar back

    Basement boys Oxford Cheetahs ended a miserable run of two successive 30-point defeats in style with a shock 47-43 victory against Skybet Elite League champions Coventry Bees on Wednesday night at Sandy Lane. Just as they had toppled leaders Reading

  • RUGBY: Banbury blow title

    Banbury blew the title for the second time and again it was poor kicking that cost them dear in Saturday's 19-18 defeat at Daventry. They must now pick themselves up for a play-off at Midlands 3 East North runners-up Ilkeston tom- orrow. Three weeks

  • CRICKET: Hutton and Compton shine

    History was made in The Parks on Saturday, when the grandsons of two England all-time greats made centuries. What's more, Ben Hutton and Nick Compton desecendants of former England captain Sir Len Hutton and the flamboyant Denis Compton respectively

  • FIXTURES: The week ahead

    SATURDAY FOOTBALL COCA-COLA LEAGUE TWO Wrexham v Oxford Utd. SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Gloucester City. Div 1 West: Clevedon Tn v Thame Utd. GLS FOOTBALL HELLENIC LEAGUE Premier Div: Abingdon Tn v Wantage Tn, Bishops Cleeve v

  • Student caught smuggling drugs

    An Oxford beauty school student faces a potential life sentence after pleading guilty to smuggling more than 10,000 amphetamine tablets into Australia. Eleanor Kathleen Taylor, 19, will be sentenced in the Western Australia state District Court in the

  • CRICKET: Arnold rocked by riding fall

    Veteran seamer Keith Arnold could be ruled out of Oxfordshire's opening Minor Counties KO Group game against Wiltshire at Westbury on Sunday by a horse-riding accident. The Banbury Twenty paceman injured his neck after falling off a horse several

  • CRICKET: Horley ready for top flight

    Horley captain Dan Campbell is confident that his side can stay in Division 1, following last season's promotion to the top flight. Horley romped to the Division 2 title last season, and also had a superb Airey Cup run, which saw them bow out to eventual

  • CRICKET: Clubs back Cherwell chiefs

    Clubs backed The Oxford Times Cherwell League's much-criticised executive committee at an extraordinary general meeting at Bicester & North Oxford CC last night. League chiefs called the EGM for clubs to vote on a modified constitution after aspects

  • BADMINTON: Leys pip rivals in close finish

    Leys B and Oxford University are the last two division winners to be decided in the Oxford & District League. In the closest finish of the 12 divisons, Leys pipped neighbours Windrush C by just a single point in men's Division 4. Team captain Martyn

  • TENNIS: City held in thriller

    Oxford City, who beat North Oxford to top place in Mixed Division 1 of the OLTA Wilson Inter-Club League last year, were involved in another titanic match at home to their big rivals. It finished 4-4, with City having to come from behind and win two

  • RUGBY: Bannister is play-off doubt

    Flanker Sean Bannister is an injury doubt for Banbury's Midlands 3 East play-off match at Ilkeston. Bannister is struggling to be fit after coming off against Daventry last week. If he is ruled out, Will Brooks will take his place with Dave Phipps

  • RUGBY: Oxon face Yorkshire

    Oxfordshire Under 20 manager Tim Boycott-Brown says his team face their toughest test yet in Sunday's National Championship semi-final against Yorkshire. They have only conceded three points in winning their four games so far, but facing Yorkshire at

  • RUGBY: Chinnor in mass call-up

    Oxfordshire coach John Brodley has chosen 12 Chinnor players in his starting line-up for tomorrow's opening Pool 3 clash with Hampshire at Kingsey Road (3). Brodley, who steered Chinnor to the South West 1 title, stressed he was rewarding those who

  • FOOTBALL: Supermac has last laugh

    Former Oxford United coach Steve McClaren may have lost out on the England job, but last night he steered Middlesbrough to their first European final. Massimo Maccarone's 89th-minute goal put Boro into the Uefa Cup final against Sevilla in Eindhoven

  • Help families, says MP

    Banbury MP Tony Baldry wants more to be done to help families in north Oxfordshire find homes. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Baldry said Banbury and Bicester were two of the fastest-growing towns in the country. But he feared very little new

  • FOOTBALL: Chippy sweat it out

    Chipping Norton Town will be at virtually full strength when they make the trip to Shortwood in a game which may well decide their future in the Premier Division. With the number of teams to be relegated this season still uncertain, a third-from-bottom

  • Romeo and Juliet at the RSC Stratford-upon-Avon

    The Royal Shakespeare Theatre echoes with the sound of noisy crickets as you take your seat, with the stage bathed in warm light. There is no doubting that the RSC's new production of Romeo and Juliet is to be a steamy affair rooted firmly in Italy.

  • FOOTBALL: Pilling to miss decider

    Oxford City will be without suspended skipper Adam Pilling when they host Holmer Green in their final Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division game tomorrow. City, who need just a point to win the championship, welcome back Lee Rendell and Garry

  • Cabbages and Kings

    A paediatric psychologist was giving the world the benefit of his knowledge. The radio volume was high. It was impossible to ignore him in that Cowley snack bar. Time, he pontificated, was the greatest gift a parent could bestow. Gameboys, iPods, expensive

  • FOOTBALL: Tricker is doubt

    Banbury United will be at almost full strength when they host Gloucester City in their final Premier Division game of the season. The only doubt is keeper Simon Tricker who is strugggling with an ankle injury he picked up during the home win against

  • A-Level axe will create division

    After more than 50 years of setting the gold standard for education worldwide, the A-level may finally be forced to retire. While the Government is trying to breathe life back into the embattled exam with a series of measures to distinguish the brightest

  • I'm voting Tory

    I must agree with John Bullivant (Oxford Mail, April 12). It is most unfair that none of the 48 members of Oxford City Council is a Conservative. I am not one myself, but I do believe in democracy, which we do not have in English elections. When the

  • Society is falling apart

    "KIDS swim free and run riot." "Sex in changing rooms." "Threats to the staff." "Vandalism in loos." Extracts from front page news (Oxford Mail, April 18). To say I was appalled is too dismissive. To say I was demoralised takes no account of

  • Treated to a night out

    Pupils at Wheatley Park School treated their teacher to a surprise night of speedway at Oxford Stadium. A class of Year Nine students at the Holton school chipped in to take their form tutor Matthew Ford on the night out to thank him for the help and

  • Hands that do dinosaurs

    Dinosaur were brought to life by children at Rose Hill Primary School, Oxford, as part of a year-long art project. Following a visit to Oxford's Natural History Museum, reception and Year Two pupils, including Zobia Bashir, five, worked with local artist

  • Fraud prompted suicide

    An entrepreneur who alleged he had lost more than £30,000 to a notorious fraudster killed himself by stepping out in front of a train at Grove. Jeremy Wassell, 35, of Devon, was staying with his brother in Reading on his first day working as a flight

  • Paramedics among fastest

    County paramedics are getting to life-threatening emergencies quicker than almost anywhere else in the country, five years after having the UK's worst performance. In the year to March,Between April 2005 and March 2006 Oxfordshire Ambulance Service

  • Thieves target sheds

    Thieves have been on the rampage in West Oxfordshire burgling 23 garden sheds and outhouses in the past fortnight. Police are now urging residents in villages such as Shipton-under-Wychwood to be on their guard and more security conscious. The offenders

  • Bid is 'upsetting staff'

    Local government across Oxfordshire is being destabilised with renewed talk of scrapping the county council. The warning came from its leader, Keith Mitchell, who said speculation about the future of County Hall would have an adverse effect on staff

  • Plan for 1,200 homes

    The multi-million-pound scheme to regenerate a quarter of central Oxford will create a new community in the heart of the city.o A West End Area Action Plan, setting out how Oxford's West End would be developed from "an under-utilised backwater" into

  • Inquiry into 'forged' forms

    Police have launched an investigation into election fraud over the campaign of a student standing for Oxford City Council. Charles Steel, a Merton College undergraduate and president-elect of Oxford University Conservative Association, is standing for

  • Call for killer probe

    ONE of the survivors of killer nurse Benjamin Geen has called for an independent investigation to discover why it took so long to discover there was a murderer working on the ward. At Oxford Crown Court last week, Geen, 25, from Banbury, was convicted

  • Town show is called off

    MYSTERY surrounds the future of the Banbury Show the town's annual family day out in Spiceball Park. People involved with the event have reported that it will not go ahead this year, but no official statement has come from Jo Dynan, the chief organiser

  • Bankside: protesters refuse to give in

    PROTESTERS against a massive housing development south of Banbury are asking Cherwell District Council to call a public inquiry. Plans for 1,070 houses at Bodicote/Bankside were approved by the council in February, and last month the Office of Deputy

  • Woman died after plunge into lava

    A PUB landlady died after falling into a volcanic pool full of red-hot lava while on a sightseeing trip with her 64-year-old husband in the Azores, an inquest was told. Gillian Blann, 58, from Edge Hill, stepped back and fell into the "caldera" as she

  • Golf plea rejected

    PLANNING officers in north Oxfordshire are claiming they were right to reject plans to build a hotel, clubhouse, and other buildings at a golf course near Adderbury. The claims come after a Government planning inspector rejected an appeal by course

  • Home pack anger

    BANBURY MP Tony Baldry is demanding the Government drop plans he claims could push up the cost of house selling. From June 2007, homeowners wanting to sell will have to buy a Home Information Pack before putting their house on the market. The cost

  • Sentenced for dog attack

    A former Big Issue seller who repeatedly kicked a dog in the stomach after an argument with his then girlfriend has been ordered to take an anger management course. Homeless Bryn Barrick, pictured, was convicted in March of animal cruelty towards a

  • Marking history

    THE events of an important day in 1606 were being re-enacted in Chipping Norton last weekend as the town celebrated the 400th anniversary of the granting of its charter. The charter, granted to the people of Chipping Norton by James I, gave the town

  • Court told man had bird in trap

    A carpet fitter was yesterday apr 27convicted of using a homemade trap to illegally catch goldfinches in Oxford.o At Oxford Magistrates' Court, Gavin Wilkinson denied attempting to take a wild bird and possessing a trap. He was found guilty and given

  • Schools may ditch A-Levels

    Several top independent schools in Oxfordshire have revealed they may ditch A-Levels within two years for a new diploma. Magdalen College School, Oxford, Oxford High School, Radley College, Abingdon and Abingdon School are among those interested in

  • Car crime can kill

    Car crime kills that's the message from police following a crash at the weekend, which left the passenger dead and the driver seriously injured. The driver, a 28-year-old man, remains in hospital, where he has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated

  • Here we glow

    First it was the iconic Royal Albert Hall now a choir of amateur singers formed for a television documentary have performed a little closer to home. The £9,000 Glow Tree sculpture was unveiled outside the Blackbird Leys Community Centre in Blackbird

  • City council disputes district auditor's findings

    THE Audit Commission, the public spending watchdog, appears to have told Oxford City Council it has so far failed to prove it got the highest price for land on which the Kassam Stadium was built. The Oxford Times has obtained a letter showing a dispute

  • 'No cover-up over NHS job losses'

    NHS managers have denied they are keeping cost-saving jobs cuts across Oxfordshire secret until after next month's local elections. Managers at county hospitals and primary care trusts insist they still have no concrete proposals to prevent a forecast

  • City comes to standstill

    ANIMAL rights campaigners brought Oxford to a standstill as they staged their biggest protest march through the city. About 1,000 people turned out last Saturday afternoon to protest against Oxford University continuing work on its £18m animal research

  • Cash machines in city hit by 'skimmers'

    CLONERS using skimming devices at an Oxford cash machine have stolen thousands of pounds from unsuspecting victims. Police have received several reports of card fraud from people who have used the machine outside the Tesco store in the Oxford Retail

  • 'Daughter's boyfriend cut my brakes'

    A MOTHER whose daughter's boyfriend was jailed this week for cutting the brakes on her car said she was not looking for revenge. Debbie Beaupre spoke after William Berry was sentenced to three years in prison for the potentially lethal attack. The 21

  • City-wide drink ban will not be zero-tolerance

    POLICE say they will not adopt a zero-tolerance approach to enforcing Oxford's new city-wide alcohol ban. On Monday night, city councillors voted to extend existing alcohol-free zones to cover the entire city after scores of complaints from residents

  • Call for crash driver to get sterner sentence

    PROSECUTORS want to appeal against the two-year jail sentence for Oxford Eastern Bypass driver Angela Dublin, because they think it is too lenient. The Crown Prosecution Service has asked the Attorney General to go to the Court of Appeal to ask for

  • Free parking in city likely to stay

    FREE on-street parking in Oxford is likely to stay after "doom and gloom" opponents were told they had been wrong about the scheme. Oxfordshire County Council is about to embark on a comprehensive review of the pilot project, but The Oxford Times can

  • Unitary talk is 'destabilising'

    LOCAL government across Oxfordshire is being destabilised by renewed talk of the county council being scrapped. The warning came from the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Keith Mitchell, who said speculation about the future of County Hall would

  • Oxford Inspires seeks new chief executive

    THE man in charge of Oxfordshire's millennium celebrations is standing down as chief executive of Oxford Inspires. Robert Hutchison has been at the head of the cultural development agency for three-and-a-half years. But he says that at 65 he wants to

  • Local schools could abandon A-Levels

    SEVERAL top independent schools in Oxfordshire have revealed they may drop A-Levels within two years for a tough new continental-style diploma. Magdalen College School, Oxford, Oxford High School, Radley College, Abingdon, and Abingdon School are among

  • City is moving

    Things have always moved slowly in Oxford. The redevelopment of the Westgate Centre has been talked about for 20 years and is only now becoming a realistic prospect. But there is a sense now that the city is starting to get its act together. The prison

  • Testing times

    This week's revelation that independent schools in Oxfordshire could drop A-Levels in favour of a new examination being developed by a board connected to Cambridge University has caught us by surprise. Understandably, it has brought condemnation from

  • Backwards on planning

    Sir, Your front page article on April 21 highlights the fact that the flats at Abbey Place are in the way of the new Westgate development. In 1986, I worked at the city council's housing department. My job was to develop housing development "briefs"

  • Added congestion

    Sir, Alex Hollingsworth, leader of the city council, wants Oxford to be a unitary authority. He says, "The issue is all about accountability . . . people in Oxford cant hold to account people who make decisions about their lives." How ironic! The absolute

  • Criminal rights

    Sir, The Government is always claiming to be fighting anti-social and criminal behaviour, but it's all mouth and no trousers; the rules appear to make it hard for police to take effective action. While I would not support arbitrary 'stop-and- search

  • Intimidating graffiti

    Sir, Is there anyone else in Oxford who finds the graffiti above the shops in Leopold Street and Bullingdon Road, in Cowley Road and also on the Old Police Offices opposite Leon Close, ugly and offensive and also quite intimidating? I am concerned and

  • Political executions

    Sir, John Linton's idea of converting the Martyrs' Memorial into a memorial for all martyrs (Letters, April 21) may or may not be a good one. However, I take issue with him over his statement that Elizabeth I was "just as bad as her sister, Mary."

  • Anniversary hunt

    Sir, I am looking for a woman whose name was Jane Lardner (probably she has a different name now). She had a brother David, and her mother was named Pat. Her father sadly died in an accident in 1972, his name was Pete. They lived in Jeune Street in Oxford

  • Appropriate action is taken on the buses

    Sir, I'm happy to reassure your correspondent Peter Lewis (Letters, April 14) that we take all complaints seriously. In fact we've checked through our files and can't find any correspondence between him and the Oxford Bus Company over the last two years

  • Tragic failures

    Sir, Sarah Brown says that advocates of animal testing deceive the public with their unsubstantiated claims (Letters, April 7). The Advertising Standards Authority agrees: they recently ruled that the claim "Some of the major advances in the last century

  • Contentious proposals

    Sir, I was concerned to read of the proposals by Oxford City Council to fine citizens who misplace the collection of their refuse at any time. Surely, it is the remit of a local authority to serve the population rather than adopt this approach, which

  • Highest praise

    Sir, I was recently in the John Radcliffe Hospital for ten days. I am extremely grateful for the wonderful care I received, day and night, from every member of staff. Their job is so demanding, but they carry it out magnificently. They deserve the highest

  • Roadtest: Clio proves classy act

    The biggest surprise from Renault's latest version of the Clio is that it is a smidgen over 13ft long. That means it is a pretty compact car, but the sensations experienced at the wheel are of a car in a class, maybe two, above. The cabin is bright

  • Seven-seat Jeep arrives

    This month saw the arrival of a big new off-roader with a good, old-fashioned look the Jeep Commander. The classically-styled Jeep is the first from the firm to offer three rows of seats as standard, accommodating up to seven passengers. It harks

  • Seven-seater Santa Fe raises sales hopes

    Hyundai believes its all-new Santa Fe, launched in both five- and seven-seat formats, is set to storm the UK sports utility vehicle market. With prices starting from £20,995, the 4x4, which went on sale this month, marks a further significant development

  • Saab offers sporting upgrade

    Oxford Saab has announced a number of initiatives and special offers, available for a limited time only, to make buying a Saab more pleasurable even easier. Until June 30, anyone who purchases a 9-3 Sport Saloon, a 9-3 SportWagon or any model from the

  • Butler wins claim against college

    A FORMER butler has received a substantial sum in compensation after he took an Oxford college to a tribunal. Exeter College made the undisclosed out-of-court settlement after an employment tribunal found that Stephen Slade had been unfairly dismissed

  • 'No' to Brooklyn twinning with Blackbird Leys

    THE New York borough of Brooklyn has rejected the chance to twin with an Oxford estate. Blackbird Leys Parish Council's plans to twin the estate's 13,500 residents with a population of 2.5m in Brooklyn have been dashed because the American suburb already

  • New heart statistics welcomed by surgeons

    NHS watchdogs will continue investigating heart surgery at an Oxford hospital despite publishing survival rates which show no cause for alarm. Surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital have welcomed the Healthcare Commission's move to post detailed UK

  • Police out to stop May Morning mayhem

    MAGDALEN Bridge will be cordoned off to stop students jumping off and injuring themselves on May Day. The 25ft high bridge will be shut between 3am and 9am on May Morning and guarded either end by a cordon of 40 police and 30 security guards to prevent

  • Oxford is country's second hottest property zone

    OXFORD is the number one hotspot in the country for property investors outside London, according to TV experts. Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer described the city as "investor heaven" because of its winning combination of large numbers of students,

  • City businessman is jailed

    A RESPECTED Oxford businessman ran an asylum benefits scam which netted him and his family more than half a million pounds, a court heard this week. Mohammed Faruq, 56, of Whitson Place, east Oxford, was at the centre of a conspiracy in which he and

  • Lord Mayor gets official bicycle

    FUTURE Lord Mayors of Oxford will have good cause to turn to pedal power when they accept the chain of office. For from now on they will have a mayoral bicycle at their disposal alongside the Lord Mayor's 'green' Toyota Prius. The bicycle was presented

  • West End regeneration gathering pace

    THE people of Oxford are to have their say in the summer on a multi-million pound scheme to regenerate a quarter of the centre of the city. A West End Area Action Plan, setting out how Oxford's West End would be developed from "an under utilised backwater

  • Gesture politics

    We are not surprised to see that the decision to allow free on-street parking in Oxford in the evenings has had little impact on traffic. The decision was essentially a political gesture from the Tories a nice headline for its election campaign. It

  • Community focus

    Sir, Bill Leonard's letter (April 21) deserves a response from FOXCAN (Friends of the Oxford Canal Basin). The cost of reinstating the canal basin is not going to be borne by "the Oxford ratepayer". It will be part of the overall cost of the West End

  • Take next step

    Sir, May I swiftly assure Bill Leonard (Letters, April 21), that in no way am I advocating "huge expenditure" at the cost of the Oxford ratepayer, for the re-opening of the now filled-in terminal section of the Oxford Canal to provide safe moorings for

  • Far less to protest about

    Sir, I read your excellent article on Nicaragua (Feature, April 21) with great interest because I and other members of Abingdon Amnesty Group have campaigned on Central America for ten years. Yes, Nicaragua is poor and Hurricane Mitch did huge damage

  • Focus energy

    Sir, Fewer tiers of local government is an attractive thought, indeed we should start with the abolition of the South East Region organisation based in Guildford. However your editorial (April 21) is quite right to suggest that there is not an obvious

  • Embellishing record

    Sir, While not wishing to overly prolong the debate about Mr Percival's comments at the Fitzharry's Conference concerning the state of Matthew Arnold School, I feel I should add my own remarks. I was head of Matthew Arnold from 1989 until 1999, leaving

  • Royal affront

    Sir, While supporting John Linton's suggestion that the Martyrs' Memorial "be re-dedicated to include all who suffered for their faith, whatever their religion" (Letters, April 21), I must take issue with his judgement on Elizabeth I. Professing the

  • Wholly wrong

    Sir, Any date with online 'calenders' (Weekend, April 21) is bound to be full of holes! Roy Morris, Carterton

  • Two-wheeled treat in store for Lord Mayor

    Sir, Some Lord Mayors of Oxford couldn't have cared less about the city's cycling heritage but not the outgoing Lord Mayor. In fact, councillor Bob Price has so transformed the office of Lord Mayor into that of cyclists' champion, that Cyclox has forked

  • Comfy cars put drivers at risk

    MANY motorists are putting lives at risk by driving for long periods while tired, according to a survey from the RAC. Almost half (46 per cent) of drivers admit to taking to the wheel while feeling drowsy and a third have been close to falling asleep

  • Mapping Ireland

    Navteq, a global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation, has completed a detailed digital map of the entire Republic of Ireland stretching from Dublin to Galway and Donegal to Kerry. The new Navteq map, which is fully detailed, includes all

  • Mini GP arrives with £22,000 tag

    The first Mini Cooper S with John Cooper Works (JCW) GP Kit (already dubbed the Mini GP) will be delivered in July. Only 444 of the 2,000 being built are destined for the UK. Almost threequarters have already been ordered by Mini enthusiasts ahead of

  • Land Rover celebrates past

    The annual Heritage Land Rover Weekend will take place during the May Day Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30), at the Heritage Motor Centre, in Gaydon, Warwickshire. This year the show will be opened at midday on Saturday by

  • Volvo unveils S80 prices

    Volvo has announced prices and specifications for the all-new Volvo S80 luxury executive saloon ahead of the new model's arrival in showrooms in July. On the road prices for the all-new Volvo S80 range from £24,375 to £41,725. With the addition of a

  • Peugeot adds a lighter touch

    The latest model to join the Peugeot 307 range is the new lightweight aluminium 1.6-litre HDi diesel. It develops 90 horsepower and replaces the 2.0-litre HDi of the same power, but produces greater pulling power at a lower engine speed. HDi 90 engined

  • Second generation TT takes a bow

    Audi has unveiled the second generation of the TT sports coupe. The car is open for ordering in the UK with prices starting from £24,625. Audi says first deliveries are scheduled for early October. Longer and wider than the first model, which was

  • Narnia bench unearthed

    A brick bench where CS Lewis saw Narnia in his mind's eye has been uncovered at the author's old home in Risinghurst. The semi-circular bench overlooking a pond in his garden was a favourite place for the author when he was seeking inspiration. But

  • Inquiry into 'forged' forms

    Police have launched an investigation into election fraud over the campaign of a student standing for Oxford City Council. Charles Steel, a Merton College undergraduate and president-elect of Oxford University Conservative Association, is standing for