Archive

  • Weigh-ty issue

    Baby is getting chubbier by the day - now 14lbs 8oz with more rolls than Hovis. Hate to admit it, but had a sneaky look at other babes at weigh-in to see if she's growing more than 'normal'. Some babies were small, others big. Not many as big as her,

  • Today's local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 97.75 BMW 2925 Electrocomponents 289 Isoft Group 33.5 Oxford Biomedica 30.5 Oxford Instruments 195.75 Oxonica 162.5 Reed Elsevier 595.25 RM 177.5 RPS 241 Torex Retail 47 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Rate rise should not hit prices

    THE latest rise in interest rates is unlikely to have any effect on house prices in Oxford, according to local estate agents. And one expert in the city has claimed that the rate would need to climb by another 1.5 per cent to cool down the property

  • Stacking up well for Julian

    Like many people, Julian Tester dreamed of what he wanted to do in life but, unlike most, he has actually gone on to make those dreams come true. First, he completed a six-month trip to New Zealand, Australia and Singapore with partner Monica Choranji

  • Gardening venture sows seeds of hope

    A new gardening business promises to sow seeds of hope for disadvantaged people in Oxford. Aardvark Gardeners' Co-operative aims to bring jobs to people who have suffered disabilities such as mental illness, by offering a service to homes, businesses

  • Priest will enter pleas next month

    THE vicar of an Oxford church will enter pleas next month on 20 allegations of abusing a teenage boy. Father Michael Wright, 69, appeared at Blackfriars Crown Court in London and had his case adjourned until December 8 for a plea and case management

  • Natural remedy with a snag

    Anyone with an interest in herbal medicine knows about arnica. As well as being a homeopathic first-aid remedy, it is also used for physical and emotional shock, to promote healing, control bleeding and reduce swelling. But few people who use it realise

  • Raiders target off license

    Two men robbed an Oxfordshire shop after threatening customers and staff with a knife. Police said the pair walked into Threshers in Peppard Road, Sonning Common and threatened a shop assistant at 8.45pm on Wednesday. They fled with cash from the

  • Starting F1 team from scratch

    It could have been an opening scene from the film Mission Impossible. "Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to start a Formula One (F1) team from scratch. You have 100 days before the start of the season. Good luck." This was the daunting challenge

  • EMS secures China deal

    High-tech medical manufacturer EMS Physio is bucking the trend after securing an export deal to China. The Wantage-based firm has sent 100 electronic printed circuit boards to a Chinese company after an approach through its website. The directors are

  • Knifepoint raiders hold up off-licence

    TWO raiders held up an assistant at an Oxfordshire off-licence at knifepoint before escaping with cash. Police said the pair walked into Threshers in Peppard Road, Sonning Common and threatened a shop assistant at 8.45pm on Wednesday. They fled with

  • Young director wins art award

    UP and coming young film director Vicky Jewson was celebrating today after netting a major award. The 21-year-old who is based at Radley, scooped the top prize in the Arts, Media and Culture category of the Woman of the Future awards. Ms Jewson who

  • New Impreza is a sell-out

    Just a month after going on sale in the UK, Subaru's new entry-level Impreza 1.5R Sports Wagon has sold out. Supplies of the £12,495 car are now all taken, with many British dealerships selling twice their actual allocation. But there is good news

  • Clio clout

    The Renault Clio supermini now comes with a new 2.0-litre 138 horsepower engine, fitted with a six-speed gearbox. Called the Clio Dynamique S 138, it is available in December for £12,810 as a three-door, with five-door and automatic versions coming on

  • Ford power

    Caterham has announced pricing and specification for the new Ford Sigma' engine range in the two-seater sportscar, replacing Rover's K-Series engine after 15 years of service.

  • Honda defends 4x4s

    NOT all 4x4s are big, dirty and dangerous, claims a campaign launched by Honda (UK). A special window sticker and letter will be sent to owners of Honda's new Swindon-built CR-V, to help them defend themselves from 4x4 detractors. The stickers and

  • Fuss-free symbol for fresh Fiat face

    NEW models, and a new look - that's the Fiat strategy to freshen the face of the Italian car giant. First of all, a new symbol is set to define the brand - and, like the cars, it's simple, straightforward, and fuss-free. It will be seen in Britain

  • Golf marks birthday with fastest GTI yet

    THE fastest and most powerful production Volkswagen Golf GTI yet starts the celebrations as 2007 marks the 30th anniversary of the original hot hatch - the Mk1 Golf GTI. Despite three decades having passed since the defining GTI was conceived, the spirit

  • Roadtest: Supreme saloon

    When you slip into the seat of the 'entry-level' model of a car range conscious that the price tag is £55,000, you know that you are in motoring's big league. Big sums up much of what there is to say about this German super-saloon, which delivers a

  • Seven-seater Citroën heads for the hills

    HARD on the heels of Peugeot's new 4x4 comes Citron's version of the same car, both of which are based on the forthcoming Mitsubishi Grandis. Citroen's diesel-powered C-Crosser takes its name from the four-wheel-drive concept car that Citron first displayed

  • Godiva director wins award

    Up and coming young film director Vicky Jewson was celebrating today after netting a major award. The 21-year-old who is based at Radley, scooped the top prize in the Arts, Media and Culture category of the Woman of the Future awards. Ms Jewson who

  • County gathers to remember

    TOWNS and villages across Oxfordshire are preparing to remember their war dead on Remembrance Sunday with ceremonies at a number of memorials. In Oxford city centre, a Remembrance Service will be held in St Giles, starting at 10.45am, and will be attended

  • SPEEDWAY: Crump linked with Cheetahs

    Could world champion Jason Crump (pictured) be set for a shock move to the new-look Oxford Cheetahs? Speculation on the internet continues to link the 31-year-old double world champion with a switch to Cowley to team up with new promoter Colin Horton

  • Today's local share prices (AM)

    AEA Technology 98.25 BMW 2950 Electrocomponents 288 Isoft Group 33.75 Oxford Biomedica 30 Oxford Instruments 195.75 Oxonica 162.5 Reed Elsevier 597.75 RM 178.5 RPS 243 Torex Retail 45.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • FOOTBALL: U's sweat on Duffy

    Oxford United are hoping striker Rob Duffy (pictured) will be able to play against Wycombe in the FA Cup tomorrow with a protective cast on his broken hand. The 23-year-old, who has scored 12 goals in 15 games this season, suffered a fractured second

  • Play is a blast

    There's a hackneyed saying that when one door closes, another one opens. Hugo, the slightly-built and angst-ridden intellectual who is the key figure in this 1948 play by Jean-Paul Sartre, finds that this is at the heart of his problem. And it will

  • Can you name OAP robbers?

    CCTV images of two teenagers on bikes have been released by police investigating the robbery of an 82-year-old man. The pictures were released following the attack on the pensioner as he walked home along Barns Road in Cowley, Oxford, last month.

  • Chox wards set for a star of their own

    Ollie Cartwright, his sister Ellie, mum Julia and dad Mark were given the VIP treatment as they attended the Pride of Britain awards on Monday at ITV's London Television Centre. There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Ollie's granddad "Popsie" was flown

  • SPORT: Weekend fixtures Nov 11-12

    SATURDAY FOOTBALL FA CUP 1st round: Wycombe Wands v Oxford Utd. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Northwood v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Swindon Supermarine, Bashley v Oxford City, Hanwell Tn v Didcot Tn. PUMA

  • BAMINTON: Oxon 4th win decider

    Oxon 4th opened their campaign in Division 5C of the Inter-Counties Championships with a dramatic 8-7 win over Gloucestershire 3rd at Gloucester. Oxon's men's duo of Colin Campbell and Will Green accounted for six wins - one singles each, two doubles

  • RUGBY: Hicks in rare start

    Injury-jinxed skipper Jez Hicks is set for a rare start when Witney travel to Newbury Stags in Southern Counties North. Hicks has suffered shoulder problems throughout the season, but is named at lock alongside his deputy Simon Chatterton. The team

  • FOOTBALL: Still wants top-five finish

    Dan Still has targeted a top-five finish after taking over as manager at Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division high-fliers Ardley United. Still, 33, promoted from assistant manager after Pete Foley quit, was delighted when chairman Norman Stacey

  • 'In good hands'

    When Lucy Crookes was nearly nine months old she almost died from a chest condition and nurses at the John Radcliffe Hospital fought to save her life. "It was absolutely terrifying," her father Adrian told the Oxford Mail. "It feels as though your world

  • Breaking and Entering (15)

    For the past 10 years, writer-director Anthony Minghella has been blessed with The Midas Touch. His three cinematic epics - The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley and Cold Mountain - have garnered countless plaudits and trophies, including 24 Oscar

  • The Prestige (12A)

    The greatest illusion in Christopher Nolan's labyrinthine thriller, about feuding magicians in late 19th century London, is the film itself. The Prestige, based on the novel by Christopher Priest, pretends to be an intricately constructed web of intrigues

  • Not for the hearty eater

    'Long renowned as a place to enjoy fine food and wine in a tranquil and beautiful location, and also to spend lazy hours on the river with one of our traditional hand-crafted boats'. Undoubtedly, I've trampled on copyright rules by quoting from the

  • Songs from the knife edge

    In the second of a two-part interview, Henry Dartnall of The Young Knives tells Tim Hughes why the office provides the perfect breeding ground for anger, neurosis and great music. With songs about gossip, rumours, lies, rage, and the urge to pull a sicky

  • Murder victim bled to death, court told

    The victim of an alleged murder died after bleeding from three wounds to the top of his head, a pathologist told Oxford Crown Court yesterday. Peter Rous, 32, of Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, and Sara Kingston, 33, of Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, have

  • ‘Children attacked sex charge vicar’

    An Oxfordshire clergyman accused of child abuse needed a police escort from court after being attacked by South African street kids. Father Tony Hogg, 52, appeared before a magistrate in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday accused of indecently assaulting

  • New green belt threat looming

    Building on Oxford's Green Belt may again be investigated after the Government questioned the county's housing plans. In an assessment of the South East Plan, the Government suggests that the Green Belt may not be left untouched by development and a

  • Girl latest sex assault victim

    A 14-year-old schoolgirl was sexually assaulted in broad daylight at an Oxford bus stop. The teenager was waiting for a bus at the junction of Cowley Road and St Nicholas Road in Littlemore at about 8.40am on Wednesday when a man attacked her, police

  • Praise for PCs after inquest

    Police officers have been praised for their actions during a struggle in which a man died in an Oxford churchyard. A jury at an inquest into the death of Paul Lewis, 42, who died in SS Mary and John churchyard, in East Oxford, on March 14, recorded

  • £16.4m cost of weather

    Climate change has already cost Oxfordshire County Council £16.4m, it was claimed this week. More than 260 costly weather-related incidents have been recorded by the council over the last 10 years. Damage has resulted from flooding to hundreds of

  • Actors use flood sandbags

    It took a helping hand from the army to clean up flood-stricken Nuneham Courtenay. And residents are still soldiering on with the sandbags, but on this occasion it is for a happier reason - as props for a wartime production in the village hall. Nuneham

  • Clinton gains square assent

    Plans to create a new public square in East Oxford have been approved by the city council's east area committee. Restaurateur Clinton Pugh's scheme to introduce street caf culture to the Cowley Road, with a continental-type square off Dawson Street,

  • Clamp threat

    Shopkeepers are fuming after the company behind Bicester's town centre redevelopment stopped them parking in a busy service yard. Supermarket giant Sainsbury, which owns most of Crown Walk, painted yellow lines and put up signs threatening motorists

  • Mountain trek for Mind cash

    Nine trekkers will prove that there ain't no mountain high enough in their quest to raise money for an Oxfordshire mental health charity. The intrepid bunch will raise thousands of pounds for Oxfordshire Mind when they scale the Sierra Nevada mountain

  • The debt we owe ourselves

    Walk down the average English street and you would be hard pressed to find a family that is not in debt. So the news that house possession orders in Oxfordshire have leapt was more inevitable than shocking. We live in a never-never society, with mortgages

  • Fair play to all

    It is a pity that Roger Lee (Oxford Mail, October 26) did not re-read Bob Vincent's letter (Oxford Mail, October 16) before he put pen to paper. Where does the Koran say that a woman must wear a veil, let alone a shroud? Mr Lee and his friends want

  • Housing policy causing havoc

    Your article, Planners think big (Oxford Mail, October 30), shows that the Government and the local authority have at last woken up to the fact that we are fast losing three-bedroom houses and soon there will be a shortage of family homes. My letter

  • Going West

    Katherine MacAlister meets the young stars of West Side Story, who are preparing to take to the stage at Oxford's New Theatre later this month. By day Emily Booth packs her schoolbags and heads off to Wheatley Park alongside 1,300 other pupils. But

  • Report adds to young smoker alarms

    New Oxford-based research indicates that exposure to cigarette smoke during childhood increases the chance of developing bladder cancer by 40 per cent. Results from the Cancer Research UK-funded study suggests that children and teens are more at risk

  • OAP cheats death at crash blackspot

    Firefighters spent an hour supporting the body of a severely injured elderly woman as she was cut free from the mangled wreck of her overturned car. Fire station manager Chris Wilson, from Rewley Road in Oxford, has described the aftermath of the car

  • Cabbages and Kings: November 10, 2006

    THEY were not typical TV critics - two women, probably of early 1930s' vintage, taking a breather with coffee and toasted teacake in Brown's Covered Market caf. Nevertheless, their opinions of chat show guests from the world of entertainment were defined

  • Burial mounds move housing

    The discovery of "nationally important" bronze age burial mounds on the edge of Bicester has prompted a housing developer to change its plans. Archaeologists uncovered the two mounds buried beneath land between Bicester and Chesterton, which is earmarked

  • Watchdog criticises PC World

    Staff at a computer store in Oxford have been accused of failing to diagnose basic computer problems and overcharging for repairs. The PC World branch in Botley Road misdiagnosed a computer with a loose cable as having a corrupted hard disk - and quoted

  • Home raided

    THOUSANDS of pounds of antique furniture was stolen from a house during a night-time burglary. The burglars broke into the house in Dog Close, Adderbury, through a garage overnight on Tuesday. They stole antique furniture, silverware and ornaments

  • Security con

    THREE burglars disguised as security men stole £300 from a pensioner. The elderly woman discovered the men in her Ruscote Avenue, Banbury, home last Friday evening. Police said it was believed they got into the house through a window. One stayed with

  • Nightsafe to cover Cowley Road

    NIGHTSAFE, the city centre campaign against drink-fuelled violence, is being extended to cover Cowley Road. After driving down alcohol-related crime and disorder in the city, police and council chiefs who make up the Nightsafe partnership want to roll

  • Mortgage woe adds to strain

    Oxfordshire homeowners have been left counting the cost after the Bank of England hiked interest rates to their highest level in five years. The decision to push up the levy, by 0.25 per cent to five per cent, comes just as families were looking to

  • Praise for PCs after inquest

    POLICE officers have been praised for their actions during a struggle in which a man died in an Oxford churchyard. A jury at an inquest into the death of Paul Lewis, 42, who died in SS Mary and John churchyard, in East Oxford, on March 14, recorded

  • Woman cheats death at blackspot

    FIREFIGHTERS spent an hour supporting the body of a severely injured elderly woman as she was cut free from the mangled wreck of her overturned car. Fire station manager Chris Wilson, from Rewley Road in Oxford, has described the aftermath of the car

  • Murder victim bled to death, court told

    THE victim of an alleged murder died after bleeding from three wounds to the top of his head, a pathologist told Oxford Crown Court yesterday. Peter Rous, 32, of Pegasus Road, Blackbird Leys, and Sara Kingston, 33, of Foresters Tower, Wood Farm, have

  • In the dark

    Sir, Three weeks ago I contacted the Vale of the White Horse council helpline (motto: "don't be in the dark") to report the failure of two street lamps near my house. They still haven't been fixed. In the past this would have been done within days.

  • Roadtest: Off-roader riddle

    I didn't know quite what to expect when Daihatsu's new Terios rolled up in the car park. One of the few reviews I had read in advance of its arrival was from a national newspaper colleague who hated it with a vengeance. I don't mean he disliked it,

  • BMW softens

    BMW's new 3 Series Convertible arrives in the UK next March and it looks good enough to cement its position as the market-leading luxury drop-top. The latest Beemer will initially be available in 325i and 335i guises, but smaller engines, including

  • £1m helps centre turn back clock

    THERE IS nothing we drivers like better than to put the old brain cells into reverse and mull over a little nostalgia. Whether it's reminiscing about the cars our parents and grandparents drove, or our own first four-wheeled experiences, there's a lot

  • £350,000 'bargain'

    BANBURY'S supercar maker Ascari has rolled out the road-going 625 horsepower A10, a street legal car that can hit 60mph in just 2.8 seconds, and go on to 100mph in less than six seconds. The British manufacturer has priced the 5.0-litre, V8-engined

  • Peugeot joins off-road rush

    PEUGEOT plans to join the ranks of the 4x4 manufacturers next year with a vehicle developed jointly with Mitsubishi. The 4007, which will be powered by a Peugeot diesel engine, will go on sale in the latter part of 2007. The 2.2-litre, 156 horsepower

  • Hot addition fires up Panda range

    A NEW breed of Panda made its UK public debut at the MPH '06 shows in Birmingham and London. The £9,995 Panda 100HP is a new sporty addition to the Panda family, featuring a 1.4-litre, 16-valve engine tuned to develop 100 horsepower, driving through

  • FOOTBALL: U's legend joins Abingdon

    Oxford United legend Mickey Lewis has been appointed first-team coach of Southern League side Abingdon United. Lewis, who played, coached and managed at Oxford, has been out of football since he was controversially pushed out as coach at Coca-Cola League

  • Auris expands Toyota range

    Toyota's new Auris, a three or five-door hatchback, will have a pivotal role in advancing its brand ambitions in Europe. The Auris is both designed and built in Europe, and will join the supermini Yaris and family-car Avensis ranges in spearheading Toyota's

  • SEAT grows

    SEAT's super-sized version of its midi people carrier, the Altea, debuts in Britain next January, priced from £12,995. The XL variants - they are 18.5cms longer than standard models to provide more luggage space - come with the same excellent choice

  • Police issue CCTV in hunt for robbers

    CCTV images of two teenagers on bicycles have been released by police investigating the robbery of an 82-year-old man. The pictures were released following the attack on the man as he walked home along Barns Road in Cowley, Oxford, last month. At

  • Noisy free-for-all

    Sir, I wholeheartedly agree with Jeremy Mogford's efforts (Report, November 3), to bring back sanity in our beautiful High Street, which is being eroded away with so many buses passing through it and some of the long-distance ones often going far beyond

  • FOOTBALL: I 've no regrets about leaving says Mooney

    Former Oxford United striker Tommy Mooney says he is fully expecting to get plenty more stick in tomorrow's FA Cup clash at Wycombe. The veteran forward, who left Oxford after just one season to move to Adams Park, has helped the Buckinghamshire club

  • RUGBY: Chinnor up for Rosslyn battle

    Chinnor head coach John Brodley says his players know how important it is to defeat fellow National 3 South strugglers Rosslyn Park tomorrow (3). Brodley's side, who show two changes from last week, go into the home match just three points ahead of