Archive

  • Joiner a cutter above the rest

    An Oxford teenager beat more than 1,000 young construction apprentices to win a top award, which could mean a trip to Canada next year. Adam Bushnell, 18, who works for Rosewood Joinery, in Kennington, and studies at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College

  • Fundraising football pays off

    A young fundraiser has boosted funds at two Oxfordshire charities to the tune of more than £3,000. Andrew Baker, 20, split the money he raised from a charity football tournament between Oxford Children’s Hospital and Abingdon Town Amateur Boxing Club

  • Two charged over crematorium attack

    Two teenagers were charged today in relation to an incident in which a 19-year-old man was assaulted at the Oxford crematorium in Bayswater Road, Barton. Karn Matthews, 18, of Strawberry Path, Blackbird Leys has been charged with GBH with intent

  • Two charged over airgun incident

    Two teenagers have been charged over a gun attack at Oxford Crematorium which left a man with serious injuries. A 19-year-old was taken to hospital with a fractured elbow and an eye injury after the attack at the crematorium, in Bayswater Road, Barton

  • Aid trucks head for Congo

    Trucks carrying £175,000 in aid for the Congo left Oxfam’s Bicester warehouse yesterday. Ian Bastable, the charity’s senior public health engineer, oversaw the loading of 25,000 tons of water and sanitation equipment, plus plastic sheeting, on their

  • Festive lighting-up on way

    More than £35,000 worth of environmentally-friendly Christmas lights will be twinkling in Abingdon following a special light switch-on ceremony. On Tuesday, at 7pm, the town will be aglow with star-themed street lights, hanging candle shapes

  • Estate ready for day of fun

    Youngsters living in Oxford will have the chance to race against police officers on Formula 1 simulators at a community action day on Saturday. Barton Neighbourhood Centre is hosting the event, which is aimed at young people and families living

  • Murder victim feared attack

    An Afghan refugee told a friend he was a “dead man” in the weeks before he was killed, a court heard yesterday. Adham Chahim, a security guard at Ladbrokes bookmakers, told Oxford Crown Court Enayit Khalili said he had lost a lot of money and was in

  • Royal Mail hires 250 Christmas staff

    Royal Mail is taking on an extra 250 staff and hiring 43 extra vehicles in Oxford in the run-up to Christmas to cope with predicted record levels of post, it announced yesterday. The extra staff will work at the main Oxford Mail Centre, in Cowley. Rob

  • RAF tribute to female flyers

    Two women have featured in RAF Benson’s year of honouring the bravery of flyers — one aged 88 and a veteran of the Second World War — and the other aged just 31 who received the Distinguished Flying Cross for her bravery in Iraq. Flight Lieutenant Michelle

  • Show tells of D-Day heroism

    A THEATRICAL production telling the story of a daring and triumphant operation during the opening moments of D-Day will be performed in Oxford on Monday to raise funds for a charity called Project 65. The Pegasus Bridge Show, written and

  • Small traders face Summertown closure

    Angry traders in Summertown say their future is under threat after rents have almost doubled — and the arrival of Marks & Spencer has been blamed for the hike. Three businesses have already closed in one section of Banbury Road, with the remaining tenants

  • A tight spot

    Today we expose a series of double-yellow lines which even the dinkiest of cars would have trouble parking upon. We question whether some of the markings – which struggle to reach a metre in length – are truly pointless? Let us know if you have spotted

  • Challenge this u-turn

    When Oxford Community Hospital closed in May because of a severe outbreak of clostridium difficile, the county’s health and scrutiny committee backed the move. Its chairman, Dr Peter Skolar, rightly pointed out that patient safety was paramount. But

  • Online bid to shame puppy thieves

    A teenager has made an Internet video calling for dognappers to return her family pet. Lauren Silvey, 16, was left in tears after her grandmother’s 15-week-old Labrador puppy Muffin was stolen during a burglary. Both she and her family

  • Setanta eye Cambridge clash

    Oxford United could have another game moved to a Thursday night for Setanta. Their Blue Square Premier match at Cambridge United, scheduled for Tuesday January 27 has been pencilled in for Thursday, January 29, live on Setanta. But it

  • Licence to save

    Apparently Didcot is having a James Bond themed Christmas street fair this year. Unfortunately however, due to the credit crunch, Moneypenny and Goldfinger will not be attending. Tony Anchors Didcot

  • Many thanks

    We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to the wonderful people of Bloxham and North Leigh under 14’s football teams, managers, supporters and players alike, for all their help on Sunday. When Ron collapsed it was a huge shock to myself, mother-in

  • Blame the uni

    I HAVE found the root cause of the current recession in an unlikely source! Oxford University. Lord Patten is quoted recently in the TES that Oxford University cannot possibly reach its target on state/public school balance on student intake. But professionalism

  • Cabbages & Kings

    IN his well-worn all-weather jacket, old jeans, shoes that have not seen polish, and several days’ stubble on his ever-smiling face, Uttan Sanjet looks more like a sherpa than the miracle-worker he unquestionably is. Inspirational is not

  • Changes pay off for Patterson

    Darren Patterson took stick last week from some fans for his substitutions – but it was his changes which turned the match in midweek and took United through to the second round of the FA Cup. Phil Trainer and Yemi Odubade came off the bench and got

  • U's up for Histon test

    When Oxford United lost 1-0 at Histon in their Setanta-televised game 14 months ago, it was considered a humiliation. But the little Cambridgeshire side have gone on to prove themselves a highly- effective football outfit, and especially hard

  • More dangerous

    Queen Street might be a little more dangerous than Hans Hammerschmidt (Oxford Mail, Letters November 18) thinks – especially if he considers it a one way street – when it isn’t! Cycles, outside of the 10am to 6pm ban, are allowed to go in either direction

  • Cabbages & Kings

    IN his well-worn all-weather jacket, old jeans, shoes that have not seen polish, and several days’ stubble on his ever-smiling face, Uttan Sanjet looks more like a sherpa than the miracle-worker he unquestionably is. Inspirational is not too strong a

  • Girl sexually assaulted at party

    Police are appealing for witnesses after a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at a party at Thame Leisure Centre. The girl was at a private party on Saturday at the leisure centre when she was followed into the disabled toilet by a man and sexually

  • FOOTBALL: Cruse is critical

    Former Oxford City and Witney United defender Rob Cruse has been left fighting for his life after being involved in a serious road accident. The 24-year-old, who had just signed for FTL Futbol Hellenic League side Almondsbury, crashed his car on the

  • Italian botch job

    IT IS A shade irksome to witness, in this great centre of learning, ‘Paninis’ being so advertised. Panini is already the plural form for sandwiches in Italian; singular is panino. As if this weren’t sufficiently incorrect though, outside a St Aldate

  • The city is not a market town

    Keith Mitchell, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, decrees that Oxford is to be transformed and wants no one to stand in his way (Oxford Mail, October 22). We share his ambition to make Oxford a more pleasant city for pedestrians. But Oxford is a

  • Damaged goods

    What’s wrong with the youth of today? That’s what we all want to know isn’t it? We have no time for them. We offer them nowhere to go. We deny any communal responsibility for them and we refuse to see any sign of bullying or abuse. We too were

  • Grasp the nettle

    The Tories’ ‘Transform Oxford’ leaflet, which has been produced with an eye to next June’s County Elections, is actually a mixture of ideas emanating from several hard-working Oxford bodies. The proposal to re-route some buses from Queen Street down

  • Love hit us at car factory

    A couple from Botley celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary yesterday after falling in love at a city factory. Jim Chatting, from Chestnut Road, said it was love at first sight when he caught a glimpse of Joan as she worked at Morris Motors more

  • FOOTBALL: Bring it on, says confident Peace

    Didcot Town manager Stuart Peace says his side have nothing to fear when they host Abingdon United in Saturday’s Division 1 South & West derby. Last time the sides met, in March, Didcot lost out, and Peace is expecting a difficult game

  • End of an era at village pub

    Tracie and Peter Lafford have been in the pub trade for 25 years and at the Railway, in Station Road, Wheatley, for the past 18. They will be leaving on December 1, and are having a party in the pub tomorrow to say goodbye to all their customers. Mrs

  • Slates with authentic touch

    At first glance, it is just the sort of business you might expect tucked away in a small valley just south of Witney. But while Cardinal Cast Slates produces authentic looking Cotswold-style roof tiles, they are actually manufactured on site by founder

  • BADMINTON: Headington and Windrush set pace

    Headington A and Windrush continue to set the pace in Division 1 following the seond round of matches in the Oxfordshire Five Disciplines League. Headington dropped only half a singles as Becky Foster, Graham Speight, Dave Soa-nes and Corrinne Weaver

  • Relocation, relocation

    Brothers Kevin and Jason Freeman have both travelled around the globe pursuing separate corporate careers. But somehow, they have both ended up back in Oxfordshire, near where they were born. Now their mission is to help companies through one of the trickiest

  • Inside story of Saab

    It was enough to make the nervous driver flinch with tension and questions flashed through my mind — was the car up to the conditions and how would it react if I was forced to stop or swerve suddenly? I knew how my own car would behave but this was a

  • Solid business

    Working in a high-tech industry requires a high level of innovation and the ability to almost re-invent your technology as time progresses. This is a mantra that is followed closely by Solid State Logic, but not long ago it almost paid the price after

  • Language meets maths

    The constantly evolving nature of the Internet means many businesses are left clinging on to the coat tails of major advances. Web 2.0 — not a new version of the Internet but new ways of using it, including social networking sites and the use of videos

  • Today's local share prices (PM)

    AEA Technology 26.5 BMW 1532 Electrocomponents 134.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 116 Oxford Biomedica 5.9 Oxford Catalyst 162.5 Oxford Instruments 137 Reed Elsevier 512.25 RM 159.5 RPS Group 101.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • RUGBY UNION: All change for Chinnor

    Chinnor coach Jason Bowers has retained just three of last week’s starting XV for tomorrow’s EDF Energy National Trophy second-round clash at home to Macclesfield. Bowers has taken the chance to rest many of his senior players, but is confident

  • Getting the khaki right

    Forget for a moment the big boys in publishing. Forget, too, the burgeoning cottage industry of desktop publishers that seems to be flourishing in Oxfordshire, and focus instead on a business between the two which happens to be celebrating its

  • Codebreakers

    Scarcely a day passes without some reference to DNA in the media, be it for criminal detection, or as a path to improved healthcare. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a molecule that contains the instructions for the development and operation of living organisms

  • Choice in Iffley village

    There are some wonderful eating places in the villages of Oxfordshire. How nice it must be to find an excuse to travel to some of the most beautiful areas of the county, if not the country, to enjoy a relaxed meal in convivial surroundings. Such a luxury

  • Nurturing naturally

    The charity sector is not always known for its slick business sense, so meeting Annette Mountford, co-founder and chief executive of Family Links, and her business director Gina Hocking is eye-opening. Eloquent and passionate about the benefits of what

  • SPORTING CALENDAR

    SATURDAY FOOTBALL BLUE SQUARE PREMIER Histon v Oxford Utd. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn v Abingdon Utd, North Leigh, Bracknell Tn. FA VASE 2nd round replay: VTFC v Hook Norton.

  • Boring but profitable

    My wife and I managed a short break in Majorca last month, a welcome respite from stock market uncertainty and white-knuckle volatility. Granted, British newspapers were readily available and an unreliable Internet connection could be accessed, should

  • Ultra-slim heating system

    Heating is a hot topic in the current climate. As winter pokes its head around the corner, we are reminded of the extra energy needed to keep our home and work environments warm. Coupled with increasing energy costs, an international call for reducing

  • Positive help at hand

    Erla O’Byrne once played football for her native country, Iceland, so she has plenty of experience of sports injuries. She also has a working lifetime’s experience of helping disabled people lead active lives with artificial limbs. Now she is combining

  • Living life in fast lane

    Exactly who, I wondered aloud, are the customers of a company that peddles toys for boys in the shape of supecars, including Porsche, Ferrari, Bentley, and Maserati? Surprise, surprise, many are women, according to Tobin Jenkins who last year

  • Space-age coffee machine

    For the United States, the period after the Second World War was extraordinary for the explosion of consumerism as the country looked to rebuild quickly. While Britain struggled for years with rationing, our cousins ‘Across the Pond’ were scrabbling

  • Game, set and match

    Forget the popular image of the computer gamer — a young, spotty teenage boy playing at home in his back bedroom. He (and it usually is a he) has grown up. The industry has gone mainstream, according to games developers Charles Chapman and

  • Way to safety

    Health and safety experts, don’t you love them? Well, I do. Particularly the ones who know about smoke and fire. Indeed, I felt very much at home the other day when I visited the offices of GBC (Speciality Chemicals), appropriately housed in the

  • Never too young to recycle

    A nursery in Oxford has ditched its waste paper bins in favour of colour-coded recycling tubs to teach toddlers the benefits of going green. The Imagine Co-operative Childcare centre has incorporated the approach into its educational work with children

  • Flower power

    Organic flower grower Rachel Siegfried recently spent her first day off for weeks at a specialist dahlia nursery where she chose no fewer than 80 new varieties for her cutting garden at Littlestoke, near Wallingford. Cheering up misty early

  • More cash for square revamp

    THE refurbishment of Bicester’s ‘tatty’ Market Square will have three times more money spent on it than originally planned. The news is a result of the town’s Vision board working together with Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council

  • Dogs help in drugs crackdown

    Police were out on patrol with passive drugs dogs in an operation to help crack down on the supply and use of illegal drugs. The operation was carried out in a number of places including The Tandem pub in Kennington, The Stocks in Abingdon, and The

  • Motorcyclist injured in crash

    A motorcyclist suffered minor injuries after a crash in Oxford today. Police and paramedics were called to Donnington Bridge Road at about 9.20am. No other vehicles were involved.

  • Crash delays M40 traffic

    Traffic came to a halt on the southbound carriageway of the M40 today following a crash near Bicester. The accident involving a car and a lorry happened at 8.40am, near junction nine at Wendlebury. Stuart Thompson, a spokesman for the Highways Agency

  • Student homes turned down

    A controversial plan to build homes for 35 graduate students in the Bartlemas Conservation Area in East Oxford was refused last night. The scheme, which came from Oriel College, was recommended for approval by Oxford City Council planning officers —

  • 'Airgun' injuries: Two arrested

    Two teenagers have been arrested after a man suffered a fractured elbow and eye injury in a crematorium gun attack. A 19-year-old man was attacked at Oxford Crematorium, in Bayswater Road, Oxford, at about 2.30am yesterday morning. His attackers then

  • Teenagers held over city attack

    Two teenage boys, aged 18 and 17, have been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to endanger life and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. They are in police custody. The arrests are in relation to an

  • Rider hurt in city crash

    A motorcyclist suffered minor injuries after a crash in Oxford this morning. Police and paramedics were called to Donnington Bridge Road at about 9.20am. No other vehicles were involved.

  • Recyclable waste set to be stored after price crash

    Councils in Oxfordshire are being allowed to store more recyclable waste at contractors’ depots after prices crashed. The move follows urgent talks between the Government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), based in Banbury, the Environment

  • M40 lorry crash causes delays

    Traffic came to a halt on the southbound carriageway of the M40 today following a crash near Bicester. The accident involving a car and a lorry happened at 8.40am, near junction nine at Wendlebury. Stuart Thompson, a spokesman for the Highways Agency

  • Student homes plan rejected

    A controversial plan to build homes for 35 graduate students in the Bartlemas Conservation Area in East Oxford was refused last night. The scheme, which came from Oriel College, was recommended for approval by Oxford City Council planning officers —

  • Esther Rantzen is despairing

    Esther Rantzen is despairing at the lack of possible romantic opportunities in the jungle. The oldest female 'I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!' contestant - whose husband Desmond Wilcox died in 2000 - is upset that the older men taking

  • Rioja mixed case, £135

    Rioja is perfect for this time of the year. Somehow the smokiness of the wine is redolent of autumn bonfires and the fruit style is perfectly suited to rich winter dishes and, of course, game. The region’s regulations demand that the wines are aged

  • Rioja equals good value and good quality

    They say that it’s often the horses that are the trickiest to train that turn out to be the best. I’m hoping that this turns out to be true given the rollercoaster ride I’m on with my young pony. Suffice to say that I’m keeping spirits high with a ready

  • Trying to love conifers

    John Massey is the mastermind behind Ashwood Nurseries’ world-famous hellebores, hepaticas, cyclamen and hydrangeas. His private garden is superb and full of treasures – and it also shines in winter. But John (who I love dearly) is also passionate about

  • Car club to be launched

    Dubbed the City of Screaming Tyres in the early 1990s, Oxford has moved down the road towards a more rational approach to cars and car ownership during the past 15 years — with some ideas having been found good, others less good; all controversial

  • Biomedica upbeat after job cuts

    A DOZEN jobs have gone at struggling biotech company Oxford Biomedica, which earlier this year saw its shares crash after a hiccup with a trial of its key cancer drug TroVax. The redundancies — 15 per cent of the 90-strong workforce — were part of

  • Tough times for barn owls

    Barn owls are facing a difficult time. Wet summers have upset their breeding patterns and suitable habitats are in decline. Rain in the middle of the year meant that males were starved of food and were unable to feed the female sitting on their eggs.

  • 45 jobs go at Oxfam

    UP to 45 jobs are being axed by Oxfam with the majority expected to go at the Oxford head office. The charity, which employs 750 people at its headquarters on the Oxford Business Park, said it was hoping to minimise compulsory redundancies following

  • Nutcracker: Milton keynes Theatre

    The Nutcracker was premiered in 1892, but, curiously, it only became popular after the Second World War. The original choreography was by Petipa’s assistant Lev Ivanov, who made the “white acts“ in Swan Lake. But unlike the original versions of

  • Richard Alston Dance Company

    Over the past couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the audience for dance, and, as a result, a huge increase, too, in the number of young people training for a career in dance. This is great for audiences, as we’ve now reached a point where

  • Today's local share prices (AM)

    AEA Technology 28.75 BMW 1553 Electrocomponents 140.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 117.5 Oxford Biomedica 6.1 Oxford Catalyst 162.5 Oxford Instruments 141.5 Reed Elsevier 512.25 RM 157.75 RPS Group 108.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley

  • Fury at rent increase

    TRADERS in Summertown say their future is under threat after their rents almost doubled. Already three businesses have closed in one section of Banbury Road, with the remaining tenants being asked for tens of thousands of pounds to stay in

  • Crime in the country and city

    Detectives come in many guises, so take your pick – a middle-aged eccentric in her quiet cottage in St Twadey or the tough Lieutenant in the mean streets of Los Angeles. There is something appealing about M.C. Beaton’s crime stories, which are set in

  • Guy Browning's serious about maps

    Guy Browning seems quite offended when I suggest that his latest book might have a serious side to it. It’s obviously the worst insult you can aim at a comic writer. “I don’t think so. You point me to something serious,” he challenged. When pressed

  • Compelling case for renting?

    Countywide letting agent Finders Keepers contributed to a special television programme on BBC 2 - The Money Programme - Property: The End of the Affair? Director Frank Webster said: “The producer came to us for comment on the rental market and interesting

  • Help with Chinese cookery

    The food of Southern China is noted for its abundance of seafood and the simple preparation techniques that allow the natural flavours and textures to carry the dish. Salted black beans are used to impart a savoury taste, and shredded ginger and chopped

  • Takeaway conversion on the menu

    Restaurants and smaller shops are often converted into family homes offering plenty of character, style and space. But few are more impressive than a takeaway conversion in Botley Road, Oxford, which is attracting interest from buyers and passers by.

  • Historical fiction

    Warrior of Rome Harry Sidebottom (Michael Joseph, £12.99) The Roman Empire in the third century was beginning its long slide into oblivion. With its frontiers threatened, a legion commander issent to Persia to shore up the defences of an exposed

  • Sparrow flies in for top airport job

    Mike Sparrow has been appointed as the new manager of Oxford Airport. Mr Sparrow has a proven track record in the aviation industry, having started his career in 1981 as an aircraft paint sprayer for the Ministry of Defence working with the RAF and the

  • Nicola McLean demanded a birthday party

    Nicola McLean demanded a birthday party - for her breasts. The glamour model was excited yesterday (19.11.08) when she realised it had been a year since her most recent breast enlargement and asked 'I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!' bosses to

  • Literary lunches revived

    THE Oxford Times is reviving its popular literary lunches, with the historian John Julius Norwich lined up for a pre-Christmas date in the historic surroundings of Christ Church, Oxford. The 79-year-old 2nd Viscount Norwich, who rarely uses his title

  • Bid to change healthcare for ever

    As a medical student working as a locum doctor, Alastair Buchan can lay claim to the honour of having welcomed the very first acute surgical patient to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford. That was way back in 1979. Thirty years on, Professor

  • Councils invested up to collapse

    Millions of pounds were ploughed into Icelandic banks by local councils in Oxfordshire shortly before the banking collapse. An investigation by The Oxford Times has shown that long after some local authorities had been trying to withdraw their

  • Wake up to real world

    Sir – What a way to react to the credit crunch! While local people and local businesses are feeling the pinch, Labour in Oxford decide it’s time to hit them with higher taxes. In the first hit, as hard working people struggle with their bills, they

  • Time to resurface A40

    Sir – The noise from the A40’s old-fashioned and noisy surface has been a great source of pain and discomfort over many years for the residents of Forest Hill and the congregation of St Nicolas – ever since it was last resurfaced between Wheatley and

  • Elite establishments

    Sir – Once again (Weekend, November 13) we have that gourmandising bore pontificating about his latest meal, and mentioning en passant that David Cameron is an avid reader of his column. What planet is this man on? I don’t know of many pensioners

  • Licence to pollute

    Sir – Like many, I suspect, I was appalled to read Noelle Brown's letter proposing the abandonment of pedestrianisation in favour of “light, swift-running, traffic streams”, presumably including the buses she so dearly loves, which are far from

  • Back the Post Office

    Sir – Once again, it looks as though Labour’s MP for Oxford East is unwilling to put his money where his mouth is when it comes to backing our Post Office network. When the House of Commons recently debated the future of the Post Office, the man who

  • Soccer search

    Sir – I am completing my book about football in Oxfordshire. I would like to thank everyone who contacted me following my recent appearance on local radio, and who supplied photographs and team line-up information. I still require certain Oxford City

  • Hideous building

    Sir – On hearing that the animal laboratory in Oxford had officially opened, I went to have a look at the building. I was hoping to see a dramatic improvement in the appearance of this architectural abomination. Unfortunately, it is still an absolutely

  • No protection

    Sir – Whilst you may have found Cowley Road traders in favour of CCTV, (Report, November 13) there are many residents of and visitors to East Oxford who are not. And for very good reason. It may be that CCTV would reduce the insurance premium of Cowley

  • Recycle bulky items

    Sir – Oxford City Council will continue to collect items of bulky waste at no charge (Report, November 13). Residents have only to telephone 01865 252900 and we usually collect within a couple of weeks. Dumping your old fridge or sofa around the corner

  • Flawed proposal

    Sir – I was pleased to see Oxfordshire County Council leader Keith Mitchell, assuring readers that an independent vote by the county council cabinet would be made on incinerator proposals for Oxfordshire. Residents of the large area which would be

  • Pay to park in Witney?

    Sir – I have carefully worked through the 83 pages of the Traffic Measures Study on the county council website, and I visited the exhibitions by both the proponents and the opponents of the Cogges Link Road. There has been much discussion, in this

  • Fall death OAP had got cancer all-clear

    A pensioner killed after being knocked down while two people were arguing in Oxford city centre had only recently got the all-clear from cancer. Mother-of-four Jean Heapy, 74, banged her head while Christmas shopping with her daughter Tracy, outside

  • Time to slow down

    Sir – Oakley has for many years suffered from speeding vehicles and an increasing volume of heavy lorries. In recent years this has been exacerbated by the addition of numerous trucks belonging to Graham Churchill, carrying ‘landfill’ to the Oxford

  • Buses in Cornmarket

    Sir – All your correspondents about Transform Oxford (November 13) make excellent points. But, alas, there is no chance that any UK Government will allow Oxford to build a tram network. A good (though far from ideal) compromise would be to bring back

  • Plans hit bus travellers

    Sir – Oxford has one of the best bus services in the country. We have bucked the national trend of a decline in bus use since deregulation and have the least polluting buses in the country by a long way. It is thus rather surprising to see that the

  • Price slice

    Proton has sliced £2,500 off the price of its Satria Neo 1.6 GSX supermini. The offer runs until December 31, and brings the Satria Neo manual version’s price tag down to £7,495, with the auto version costing £8,295. That’s good value for this

  • Laguna key to coupe market

    THE arrival of the new Laguna Coupe to Britain in January could prove to be more than just an important launch for Renault. It could also provide a valuable insight into just how the executive sector is responding to the economic downturn and the cost

  • Worrying signs

    We have learned this week how millions of pounds of council taxpayers’ money in Oxfordshire were invested in Icelandic banks a matter of days before their collapse. One could argue this was plain unlucky. Authorities and individuals across the land were

  • Charging in

    We were shocked this week by the proposals of Oxford City Council to increase car parking charges in the centre of the city by 15 per cent. The council is facing a tough environment. It has lost money through investment in Icelandic banks and is struggling

  • Mixed messages

    Sir – What is the point of our dutifully sorting our rubbish into different-coloured boxes when, on recycling day, they are emptied all together, hugger-mugger, into the waiting lorry? Caroline Zvegintzov (Mrs), Headington

  • Roadtest: Marathon Mondeo

    ANY list of the greenest cars on the planet was never likely to include the Ford Mondeo. It’s a big car, with a big cabin, big boot and a range of pretty serious engines. So how about a Mondeo that is capable of more than 53 miles per gallon, with carbon

  • Eco-fuel cars face price rise

    THE credit crunch could soon lead to alternative-fuel motors rocketing in price on Britain’s used-car market. Fuel prices may have fallen slightly over the last few days, but the effects of the economic downturn are continuing – and serving to boost

  • Power sales

    Credit crunch? Not at Caterham Cars, which has just announced that the eight-only production run of the £115,000 RS Levante supercar is sold out. The 2.4-litre, V8 500bhp Levante, hand-built by Hertfordshire outfit RS Performance in association with

  • Smart floats car pool plan

    Daimler has just launched its car2go project in Ulm, Germany, which will see 50 Smart Fortwos left dotted around the city for use by company employees who have pre-registered a desire to hire them. This ‘floating vehicle pool’ works on either an instant-access

  • Massive recycling centres proposed

    PLANS have been drawn up for three massive centres that could recycle food waste from all Oxfordshire homes. The recycling company Agrivert has submitted a £6m scheme to build a plant on Green Belt land at Cassington, along with two other £6m

  • Jeep works black magic

    The £19,810 Jeep Patriot S-Limited model is the latest offering from the Jeep brand. Available with a 2.4-litre petrol engine, this special edition model boasts a series of exterior and interior improvements, including chrome grille surrounds, body-coloured

  • Lexus upgrades safety

    LEXUS has given its stylish sports saloon sharper looks inside and out, added extra equipment features and made detail adjustments to provide even better handling, while at the same time cutting prices – by more than £1,000 on some models. A new three-grade

  • Anger over JR admissions

    EMERGENCY patients in large parts of Oxfordshire are being denied treatment in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, a GP has claimed. Dr Oliver Sharpley said GPs in west and north Oxfordshire have been bombarded with emails urging them to divert

  • Mazda plans safety boost

    Mazda is taking the opportunity presented by the arrival of its new 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine, with a choice of three different power outputs, to introduce some specification upgrades and an additional diesel hatchback model to its Mazda6 range.

  • Councils deposited cash as Iceland crash loomed

    Millions of pounds were deposited in Icelandic banks by councils in Oxfordshire just days before the island’s financial system collapsed. An Oxford Mail investigation has shown that long after some local authorities had been trying to withdraw