Woman referee to take charge of United game Amy Rayner will next week become the first woman referee to take charge of an Oxford United home game. The Loughborough-based official has been appointed to control Tuesday’s Blue Square Premier game between
A group of Oxfordshire travel agents are off on an adventure in the poor man‘s “alternative” to the famous Paris to Dakar rally. They started out today from Witney and, as seasoned globetrotters with plenty of safari experience themselves,
A man accused of murdering his neighbour was “loathed and detested” by his family, a court heard today. Martin Joyce denies murdering Afghan refugee Enayit Khalili, 26, who lived opposite him in Fiennes Road, Rose Hill, in March last year.
Staff who helped lower a disabled teenager into a scalding bath at an Oxford support home were not trained to use the appliance, an inquest heard yesterday. Yelena Hasselberg-Langley, 18, died in hospital four days after sustaining severe burns on her
Rail passengers in Oxfordshire are facing above-inflation fare rises in the New Year. Regulated fares, including season tickets, are due to increase by an average of six per cent from January 2 across the UK. Unregulated tickets, including most advance
A teenager who wowed judges at the prestigious Crufts Dog Show has followed up her success with five top awards. Hollie Kavanagh, 14, from Garsington, hit the headlines when she won the Young Kennel Club Working Handling Finals at Crufts in March.
A mother whose four-year-old son has endured 12 operations and more than 700 medical appointments said she felt like a celebrity after winning an award. Mother-of-two Hazel Scott, 34, from Wheatley, was named Most Inspirational Mother of the
POLICE arrested two people for possession of illegal drugs yesterday in a series of raids at houses on an Oxford estate. More than 60 officers were involved in the day-long operation in Barton, led by Sgt Yak Teladia. More than a dozen
What a way to react to the credit crunch! While local people and businesses are feeling the pinch, Labour in Oxford decides it's time to hit them with higher taxes. In the first hit, as hard working people struggle with their bills, they want to raise
Oxfordshire County Councillor Keith Mitchell chastises Chris Boswell (October 9) for having the nerve to suggest that the park & ride buses should be as free as their car parks. Keith’s quote: “…no such thing as a free bus ride – any more than a free
An old people’s home that has been running for more than 130 years has launched a campaign to raise £400,000. St John’s Home in St Mary’s Road, East Oxford, needs the money to make much needed improvements to its central heating system. The home, which
It's OK folks: you can now leave your doors unlocked all night, as Thames Valley Police have implemented a great new crime breaking initiative in Didcot and surrounding areas. The powers that be have tried using detectives, riot police, ordinary
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 Soanes and Corrinne Weaver
A controversial scheme to charge people to park outside their own homes in East Oxford will provide more spaces than residents need, it has been claimed. Oxfordshire County Council is asking the public about detailed plans for the Divinity Road and Magdalen
Britain's Olympic sailing gold medallists, otherwise known as the ‘three blondes in a boat,’ conducted the official opening of the new artificial sports pitch at St Hugh’s School, Carswell, on Monday. The triumphant Yngling crew of Sarah Ayton, Sarah
IT just keeps on raining and the river remains swollen, writes Mike Rosewell. The Henley Sculls, scheduled for last weekend, were aborted and will be rescheduled for the New Year. The organisers of this Sunday’s Marlow Fours and Pairs Head, have switched
Jackella bounced back to winning form for Aston Rowant trainer Lawney Hill with a game success at Fakenham, writes Russell Smith. The seven-year-old, a winner at Uttoxeter in May, but pulled up with a breathing problem on his reappearance at Chepstow
Conmen are believed to be behind two distraction burglaries. At around 10pm yesterday, a young boy went to a house in Keble Road, Bicester and asked if he could get his ball from the back garden. The resident, an elderly man, went with him to get his
OXFORD Eagles under 16 crashed 122-50 to an aggressive Spartans side in their latest South West Conference outing. Eagles had no answer to Spartan’s play, even though Matt Woodward scored eight points in the second period. They rallied late on with
Former Oxfordshire Cricket Board chairman Simon Porter is in line to be president of the Minor Counties Cricket Associa-tion. The 58-year-old (above right) is understood to be the sole nominee for the post, which is expected to be confirmed at the MCCA
There were contrasting fortunes for the Oxford Acad-emy’s Townsend brothers when the pair competed in the same Chigwell ring. Declan, 12, was in devastating form as he halted Lowes-toft’s Josh Oldman in the third round. But elder brother Clinton was
Self-proclaimed Olympic failure Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards was guest of honour at the OCA League’s presentation evening, held at Drayton Golf Club. After talking to more than 100 guests about his not-so glorious career as Britain’s only ever Olympic
CHADLINGTON won a thrilling match against Preston Capes A in the Ban-bury Indoor Cricket League. The high-scoring game went to the last ball of the match. Preston Capes had plundered 117 thanks to Stuart Wilson’s 35 not out and 20 from Matt Daynes.
Rugby-mad youngsters received coaching from Oxford University RFC stars at the club’s annual schools day at their Iffley Road ground. The under 12s from Marlborough (Woodstock), The Oxford Academy, St Gregory the Great (Oxford), John Mason (Abingdon)
Bloxham School entertain Daily Mail Under 18 Cup rugby champions Wellington Coll-ege (Crowthorne) in the fourth round on Wednesday. Bloxham reached the last 16 with a 21-14 win over Stowe. Abingdon are also through following a 24-5 win over Burford.
Riley A go marching on in the Oxford and District Billiards League, with their fifth maximum win, their latest victims being Thame. Matthew Challen (+40) gave Riley A the perfect start with three breaks of 20 in beating Tom Fletcher (+80) 200-178. He
Fieldside A look odds-on to win the Premier Division of the Gentworks Oxford Autumn League with two weeks to go, after they came from 2-0 down to defeat Riley A 4-2, writes DAVID WHITE. Karl Walker and Michael Bennett won two frames each after Fieldside
AEA Technology 25.75 BMW 1588 Electrocomponents 144 Nationwide Accident Repair 109 Oxford Biomedica 6 Oxford Catalyst 162.5 Oxford Instruments 125.75 Reed Elsevier 509.5 RM 159 RPS Group 106.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Anyone who drives along the A424 from Burford to Stow-on-the-Wold will be familiar with the incongruous sight of a canary yellow car parked in a field on the edge of the road. Closer inspection reveals a mannequin sitting inside it and a big
Oxford City Stars have a chance to set the record straight when they face Cardiff Devils for the fourth and final time this season at Oxpens on Sunday (6.15pm). The Welsh side have the upper hand in the series, winning the first two meetings. But Stars
With rivers well up last weekend after the very wet weather, several matches were either cancelled or moved to other venues, writes Andy Webber. Several rivers in the area had flood watches put on them by the Environment Agency, but hopefully they will
Bows made by some of the world’s finest bow-makers were featured in a special exhibition at a shop in North Oxford. Oxford Violins in Banbury Road hosted the exhibition on Wednesday with a total of 70 violin, viola and cello bows made by 35
Help for teenage binge-drinkers is “overstretched” as the latest figures reveal drunk youngsters were admitted to Oxfordshire’s accident and emergency wards 82 times last year. New government statistics show 42 of the 82 youngsters treated
Robbers carrying hammers raided a shop in Witney last night. Two men wearing balaclavas went into the Tesco Express shop in Fettiplace Road, between 10.30pm and 10.50pm. They threatened staff with the hammers and stole cash from three tills and cigarettes
Shoppers were thrust into the festive spirit in Bicester when the mayor and two special helpers turned on the Christmas lights. The north Oxfordshire town was the first in the county to hold its annual switch-on. This year, instead of having a celebrity
I’m 47, so by my calculations, 31 years ago I would never have believed I might consider a Sunday stroll around a National Trust property as a recipe for a perfect day out (and in case you’re wondering; the above photgraph IS current...). But, dammit
Cars and gadgets featured on popular driving show Top Gear will be in Didcot next week to help raise awareness of road safety among young drivers. Mechanics from the BBC show, who design and build the vehicles at Southmead Industrial Estate in Didcot
GREYHOUNDS who don't run up to form in a race and subsequently are ordered to re-trial, face a ten-day ban. That was the measure taken by the racing office this week to protect punters. I presume they are targeting greyhounds, who win a race in say
Katherine Macalister finds out what the Oxford audience can expect when singing legend Dionne Warwick walks on in. Dionne Warwick is such a legend it's hard to know where to begin. But, firstly, you should know that the five-time Grammy Award-winning
Oxford trainers ruled the roost at Tuesday night's meeting at Sandy Lane, winning three of the four open races. The Maurice Massey-trained Kisskissbangdang showed her superiority in the sprint once again to complete a hat-trick of victories before Heavenly
Fairytale endings abound as Creation Theatre prepares to launch its festive show. KATHERINE MACALISTER gets the lowdown from founder David Parrish. If there is a Christmas fairytale that’s full of hope and goodwill to all men, it’s got to be Creation
JEREMY SMITH enjoys a slice of pizza in the pulpit. ABINGDON. I’ll be honest, it’s not somewhere I usually venture out for dinner, but a friend had recently eaten at its newly-opened ASK restaurant, and suggested I give it a go. Which I did, and I
ANDREW FFRENCH finds talking to the creator of the QI phenomenon, John Lloyd, really quite interesting. After spending years with some of the funniest men on the planet, including Douglas Adams, Rowan Atkinson and Stephen Fry, it is perhaps not surprising
If a picture is worth a thousand words, what better way of raising conservation and wildlife awareness than this – the world’s most prestigious global wildlife photography exhibition at Science Oxford. Be amazed by the stunning images and the stories
MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (15) Romance. Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Dane Cook, Alec Baldwin, Diora Baird, Lizzy Caplan, Rikki Lindhome. DUSTIN (Jason Biggs) falls head over heels in love with Alexis (Kate Hudson), the woman of his dreams who possesses
BODY OF LIES (15) Action/Thriller. Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Ali Suliman, Alon Aboutboul. Director: Ridley Scott. In the war on terror, there are no winners, only victims. Power to bring the
QUARANTINE (18) Horror. Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Jay Hernadez, Johnathon Schaech. JOHN Erick Dowdle's remake of the chilling Spanish horror film [REC] arrives just seven months after the original, closely following the template of Jaume
Firstly, an official apology that we're back at The Venue again so soon everyone – we did try for a different night elsewhere, but the club we wanted to review was completely empty. We waited for what seemed like an eternity with fingers crossed, rubbing
Plans to merge Oxford’s Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre with another hospital have been suspended. A question mark has been hanging over the long term future of the Headington hospital as an independent hospital since the spring, when patients and staff
A fresh-cut British-grown Christmas tree not only looks fantastic but also fills your home with the traditional scent of Christmas. With so many different tree varieties now available from your local grower that suit all tastes and pockets, The
When I first heard the name of Phyllis Court Club, I was slightly confused. Who is, or was, Phyllis and what on earth did she have to do with a beautiful Edwardian house on the river at Henley-on-Thames? As it happens, the word is actually
A taxi driver was attacked and robbed at knife-point by motorists posing as police officers. The taxi driver was in Grenoble Road, Oxford, near the junction with Nightingale Avenue at about 9pm last night when a black Fiesta with an 07 registration
Rail passengers in Oxfordshire are facing fare rises in the New Year as train companies across the country announced ticket price increases today. Countrywide, regulated fares including season tickets are due to increase by an average of six
Rail passengers in Oxfordshire are facing fare rises in the New Year as train companies across the country announced ticket price increases today. Countrywide, regulated fares including season tickets are due to increase by an average of six per cent
Car firm Honda is to halt production at its UK plant for two months next year in the wake of the "dramatic change" in the global market, the firm announced today. The plant at Swindon will not produce any cars next February and March, although none of
A woman injured in a collision with a delivery lorry outside a supermarket in Oxford has died. The 82-year-old woman, who has not been named, was walking along Stile Road, in Headington, outside the Co-operative supermarket when she was in a collision
TIM HUGHES gets a wide-screen cinematic insight into Oxford's musical future, from Rob Stevenson of A Silent Film. FOR too long, they seemed to be a closely guarded secret, existing purely for the benefit of their clued-up Oxford admirers. But, inevitably
* Since forming in March 2007, Twin Atlantic, above, have become underground rock idols. The Glasgow band, who have previously supported The Subways in Oxford, and the likes of The Smashing Pumpkins and Biffy Clyro elsewhere, have been likened to Minus
Car giant Honda is to halt production at its UK plant for two months next year in the wake of the "dramatic change" in the global market, the firm announced today. The plant at Swindon will not produce any cars next February and March, although none
Dani Behr fears new contestant David Van Day will create conflict in the group. The former TV presenter revealed her concerns about the ex-Dollar singer after he and children's TV star Timmy Mallett were introduced to the group on Wednesday (19.11.08
Timmy Mallett and David Van Day spent Wednesday night (19.11.08) in their cells after ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ contestants voted not to give up rations or luxury items to help them. Earlier in the day, the group had been notified about
A pensioner injured in a collision with a delivery lorry outside a supermarket in Oxford has died. The 82-year-old woman, who has not been named, was walking along Stile Road, in Headington, outside the Co-operative supermarket when she collided with
The other day, I did another stint volunteering in the basement in the Oxfam bookshop in St Giles. Preparations were being finalised for celebrations to mark the shop's 21st anniversary and I was delighted to see that Sir John Mortimer was able to attend
OXFORD United are out to bash the bookies tomorrow. Histon’s form, and home record, make them red-hot favourites against the U’s, who have managed only one win and five goals on their travels in the league. But United manager Darren Patterson believes
Pensioners and nurses reacted angrily last night after it emerged that health officials had shelved plans to replace Oxford Community Hospital. The 24-bed hospital, at the Churchill Hospital site in Headington, closed in May after a series of outbreaks
Are these the most pointless street markings in Oxford? These examples of stunted double-yellow lines have been spotted at locations across the city, prompting people to question the logic behind them. The shortest lines measured by the Oxford Mail,
A Marston woman is aiming to prove she can become the UK’s top Mastermind – despite giving birth to her first child weeks before sitting in the famous black chair. Nancy Dickmann managed to beat off competition from three other brainboxes to
