Archive

  • Grandmother is nation's sporting hero

    Millions of TV viewers saw 86-year-old Oxfordshire grandmother Margaret Simons become the nation's top unsung sporting hero tonight. And the woman who has spent more than four decades seeing thousands of children enjoy club football quipped she would

  • Gran wins sports personality award

    Millions of TV viewers saw 86-year-old Oxfordshire grandmother Margaret Simons become the nation's top unsung sporting hero tonight. And the woman who has spent more than four decades seeing thousands of children enjoy club football quipped she would

  • Memories of loved ones

    More than 600 people braved the wet and windy weather to pay their respects at an Oxford Light of Love ceremony which nearly never happened. The Christmas tree at the Churchill Hospital, which carries messages of love and remembrance of people who have

  • Joe, a man of charity to the end

    The man who helped found Oxfam's chain of charity shops has left the organsation nothing in his will, preferring instead to help five other good causes. Joe Mitty, from Cumnor, who died in September, aged 88, worked in Oxfam's first shop in Oxford in

  • Rivers on alert again

    Flood Watch alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency as rivers in Oxfordshire begin to rise after a weekend of heavy rain. Low-lying land and roads alongside the rivers Thames, Windrush, Cherwell, Evenlode and Ray are in danger of some flooding

  • RESULTS: December 8/9

    FOOTBALL BLUE SQUARE PREMIER Northwich Victoria 1, Oxford Utd 0. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Chippenham Tn 2, Banbury Utd 2. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn 0, Fleet Tn 0; Uxbridge 2, Abingdon Utd 0. SPORT ITALIA HELLENIC

  • War relic got a 'ducking' from young pub plotters

    A German war relic came to a muddy and watery end when a group of men decided to sabotage it, writes Sahand Parvizi. The British Government gave First World War souvenirs to towns and villages when hostilities ended. Wantage received a gun carriage,

  • Percy went the full milk round

    Fifty years ago today (December 10), Oxford's most famous boxer, Percy Lewis, scored his most memorable triumph. He was crowned the British Empire featherweight champion after defeating the holder, Scot Charlie Hill, before an enthusiastic crowd of

  • Colourful spectacle

    Some have questioned why Oxfordshire has been celebrating 1,000 years in 2007. Whatever the historical accuracy, the Oxford Millennium has been a colourful spectacle, which has enlivened many parts of the county. Well done to all concerned.

  • Patto fumes at lacklustre U's

    DARREN Patterson described his players' first-half performance at Northwich as "unacceptable" as Oxford United crashed 1-0 to the bottom club in the table. On a nightmare afternoon, they had Alex Jeannin sent off as well as seeing Matt Green and Eddie

  • Thursday trippers for the off

    These pictures show members of the Thursday afternoon old folk's club at Headington, Oxford, preparing to leave for an outing. They met at the Bullingdon community centre in Peat Moors. The pictures come from Wally Boater, of Mulberry Drive, Wheatley

  • Saved from a hostel blaze

    Land Army girls had a lucky escape when their luxury hostel caught fire during the bitterly cold winter of 1947. The blaze broke out at Goodfellows, the former home of Sir Stafford Cripps, at Filkins, near Witney, early on Saturday, February 8. Bill

  • FOOTBALL: Claydon slams a treble

    Richard Claydon hit a hat-trick as Letcombe beat leaders Easington 4-1 in Division 1 West of the Sport Italia Hellenic League. He fired them ahead on five minutes, then Mark Denny doubled the lead after a cross from Lyle Gifford, before Adam Daley reduced

  • Fun day revellers defy the rain

    Youngsters braved the rain to take part in face painting and mug painting activities at the first Cowley Community Fun Day. David Layen, of Emmanuel Church, which meets at Magdalen College School every Sunday, organised the event in marquees at Manzil

  • FOOTBALL: Battling Banbury make a point

    Chippenham 2 (Peckham 56, Pratt 68) Banbury Utd 2 (Gordon 31, 71) Banbury produced one of their best performances of the season to come away from high-flying Chippenham with a draw in the Premier Division. They went on front in the 31st minute when

  • FOOTBALL: Abingdon sent tumbling to third straight defeat

    Uxbridge 2 (Warner 23, Nicholls 59) Abingdon Utd 0 Abingdon slipped to another defeat, but it was a much-improved performance followed their 6-1 midweek drubbing at Farnborough. Abingdon went into the game without centre backs Nathan Woodley and

  • Juniors head for new frontier

    Who remembers the Oxford Junior Exploration Society? We don't know whether it still exists today, but it certainly had plenty of support when this picture was taken in 1966. The photograph was taken at Oxford railway station as the young enthusiasts

  • Appeal fails

    A man who played a part in a terrifying robbery at Chipping Norton's Co-op store in January 2006 has failed to persuade judges he was punished too severely. Richard Kavanagh, 31, from Coventry, was sentenced to a term of indefinite imprisonment for

  • FOOTBALL: Didcot draw a blank again

    Didcot Tn 0 Fleet Tn 0 Didcot Town had to settle for their second consecutive goalless draw in Division 1 South & West at a rain-soaked Loop Meadow on Saturday. The home side should probably have won the game after creating a series of good chances

  • Gaol deal secret

    A developer has been chosen to transform Abingdon's Old Gaol, but the company's identity, how much it has offered to pay for the 200-year-old building and its proposals all remain a closely guarded secret. The executive of the Vale of White Horse District

  • Mini sales set new record

    The Cowley Mini plant has already set a new sales record after just 11 months of the year. The number of vehicles delivered to customers in 2007 stands at 202,076 - which has beaten the annual total of 200,400 cars, set in the previous record year of

  • Vandals hit church again

    Vandals have struck at a parish church for the second time this year, damaging a stained glass window that had been repaired following an earlier attack. The newly repaired 109-year-old stained glass window and one next to it were attacked at St Peter

  • Millennium ends in blaze of colour

    Oxfordshire's Millennium celebrations went out in a blaze of colour in Oxford and organisers will now consider the possibility of staging more events next year. A series of events were held across the county, with many taking place in Oxford city centre

  • Christmas appeal

    As Christmas approaches, may I again appeal to your kind readers to help us feed and look after the unwanted cats at the Buckland Cat Sanctuary? Many in our care are too old to find new homes and so find refuge here in a home environment for the rest

  • Special unit

    In this season of goodwill, I would like to offer some support to Gordon Brown and his beleaguered Government. I refer in particular to the constant criticism over the troubles in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without knowing, we may have an answer right

  • True loser

    I enjoyed reading Steve Smith's letter, Ill informed rant (Oxford Mail, November 26). I thought it was a well written, with a logical argument about smoking in pubs. I felt, though, that he didn't concentrate on the true loser in the victory - a victory

  • No boat to China

    I hope your readers will be reassured to hear that Doug Baker is mistaken in thinking that Oxford's rubbish is sent to China (Oxford Mail, November 27). All our landfill refuse is disposed of locally, and our recyclables, in the blue boxes and bins,

  • What pathetic festive lights

    I went shopping in the city centre. Either someone has stolen the Christmas illuminations, or the switching on by the Lord Mayor was a figment of my imagination, as the illuminations were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps if less money was claimed by councillors

  • Update: More rivers on floodwatch

    The Environment Agency has placed more rivers in Oxfordshire on floodwatch. The warning means that flooding of low-lying land and roads is possible. This evening, the River Cherwell and the River Thames between Sandford Lock and Little Wittenham were

  • Elderly in the picture

    A group of elderly people came to see themselves pictured in a special art exhibition in Oxford. The 10 residents of Madley Park home in Witney were snapped by children at the town's Blake Primary School as part of a project by Kids@art, the educational

  • Just let us pay our way

    The Declaration of Human Rights was passed three decades ago, but Oxford charity Refugee Resource is still battling to give people their basic right to work. DEBBIE WAITE reports Tomorrow, most of us will go about our business blissfully unaware that

  • Thieves ram gates with lorry

    Thieves stole an empty lorry and rammed it through a six-foot steel gate before dumping it in a layby off the A34. The crooks smashed a side window of the 7.5-tonne lorry in Downs Road, Witney, overnight on Thursday. Grant Evans, of tyre collection

  • Santa gives out safety tips

    Firefighters have enlisted the help of Father Christmas to help save lives this festive season. Oxfordshire Fire Service hopes to cut the number of fires at Christmas - by setting up a grotto with a twist. Parents are being encouraged to bring their

  • Schoolgirl wins poetry slam event

    An Oxford schoolgirl has been crowned winner of Oxfordshire's first poetry youth "slam". Thirteen-year-old Cherwell School pupil Elinor Garnett's poem about plastic surgery was chosen out of dozens of others to win the "1,000 bpm youth slam," with Cheney

  • Gang Show hunts musicians

    MUSICIANS are needed to take a central role in the annual Scout and Guide spectacular that is the Oxford Gang Show. Organisers of the 2008 event, which will take place in March, are putting together an orchestra to accompany the spectacular cabaret-style

  • Brookes offers scholarships

    OXFORD Brookes University has awarded community scholarships to 16 students from Oxfordshire. Each of the students, who will receive £1,000 for each year of their studies, was nominated by their school or college. It is the first year of the scheme,

  • Flats plan for former chip shop

    PLANNING permission has been granted to demolish a former chip shop in Headington. Smart's Fish and Chips, in London Road, will be knocked down to make way for a four-storey building, made up of a shop, possibly a cafe, on the ground floor and flats

  • Custody visitor numbers rise

    NUMBERS of independent custody visitors in Thames Valley have increased by 50 per cent following a successful recruitment campaign. More than 30 new visitors have been appointed by Thames Valley Police Authority, bringing the total number of volunteers