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THE A417 has reopened following an earlier accident at Blewbury. Two vehicles, a Ford Fiesta and Renault Megane, collided near the junction with the B4016 at 5pm. No one was injured. The road reopened at 7pm.

I was grateful for the comments by Chris Cousins, the Head of Sustainable Development at Oxfordshire County Council (Oxford Mail, November 29) on local opposition to the planned incinerator. His assurance that the objections of local people would be

Jamie Guy should get a big confidence boost from getting back on the goalscoring trail again, says Oxford United’s caretaker manager Jim Smith. Guy’s well-taken second-half strike at Mansfield on Thursday night helped the U’s break a barren

Question: So you want to know the secret to a long and contented life? The answer is: buy a bigger sofa. And why should this item of home furnishing make any difference when foreign holidays, sex and hard liquor clearly haven’t? Because advertisements

I read Chris Boswell’s letter Watch out for lights (Oxford Mail, December 3) and his complaints about neighbours who decorate the outside of the houses and their gardens at Christmas. Christmas at the Boswell’s sounds ‘green’ and basic – which is not

I read that the man who stole from poppy collecting tins was sentenced to the 12 month maximum term allowed. What has happened to the enlightened culture of considering such people as victims? Surely a short sharp break in the Canaries would have been

How right Oxford United were to sack Darren Patterson, and how pleasing it was to read Kelvin Thomas’s positive comments about Darren’s character. Whatever the contributing causes, Darren Patterson has failed as the Oxford manager, and on that professional

I was very disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for this year’s World Aids Day, which is held annually on December 1. I saw very few people wearing red Aids awareness ribbons this year. Have we all grown complacent, or do we no-longer care? There

I agree with the comments of David Tinson and Tim Siret (Oxford Mail November 29 and December 2 respectively), regarding the treatment and sacking of Mr Patterson as manager from a non-league club that still regularly attracts more than 4,000 people to

A woman who was left with bruises on the sides of her legs and swollen ankles after flying long-haul, decided enough was enough and that she had to lose weight. Dianne Tucker was a size 20 when her family moved from Bicester to Perth in Western

A centre which offers a lifeline to people who dedicate their lives to caring for relatives, friends or neighbours in Oxford has opened its new extension. Oxford Carers’ Centre, in Bullingdon Road, opened its doors to members of the public on Thursday

Friends of a man who died earlier this year have remembered him by raising thousands of pounds to keep an air ambulance flying. Peter Bywaters, 61, from Wantage, died suddenly from a heart attack while on holiday with his wife and friends in Wales in

Muslim families in the town are being urged to become foster carers. Oxfordshire County Council's family placement team is searching for families of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Iraqi, Iranian or Afghan heritage who speak Sorani, Urdu, Dari or Pashto to offer

The streets of Littlemore were bathed in the glow of candle-lit lanterns as the village’s annual festive parade attracted a record crowd. Almost 50 children and their parents braved the cold and walked from Littlemore Community Centre, in Giles

Elderly patients in Oxfordshire are more than twice as likely to be delayed being discharged from hospital than the national average. Oxfordshire County Council is the eighth worst out of 150 councils in 2007/08 for preventing delayed discharges from

Mark Cooper says he will continue to “get on with the job” at Kettering – despite speculation that he is interested in being Oxford’s new manager. Cooper takes his team to Wrexham today with rumours rife that he is one of at least half a dozen that Oxford

Jenson Button has vowed to remain positive after shaking off the shock of learning of Honda's withdrawal from Formula One. The global credit crisis, resulting in a dramatic slump in car sales for the Japanese manufacturing giant, has forced

AN ELDERLY couple have had £,5000 stolen by a conman three years after having thousands taken by burglars. Frank and Ivy Cherington, of Longworth, near Abingdon, said yesterday they were devastated after a man, posing as a friend of a neighbour, tricked

A home furnishings firm was taken into administration just two days after a special party in honour of its late founder. A question mark hangs over the jobs of the 57 people at the head office of The Pier at Milton Park, near Didcot, after it became

Bosses at the Cowley Mini plant have confirmed they are confident of making as many cars as last year, despite the downturn in sales. Spokesman Rebecca Baxter said: “We made 237,500 cars last year and we are expecting to build about the same number.”

Mistress To No One continued the winning run of Mark Rimell’s Leafield stables, near Witney, with victory at Exeter on Friday. The five-year-old mare’s success came after Rimell sent out Ours to score at Leicester on Thursday, and Sherwani Wolf to strike

More than 30 cricket-mad youngsters from Abingdon School received coaching from former England stars Simon Jones and James Foster at the Lord’s Indoor School. The session came about as part of the deal between Sodexo, the food and facilities management

A former public school boy was jailed for five years today after police found drugs worth more than £40,000 in his home. Officers uncovered cocaine, cannabis, magic mushrooms and nearly 4,000 ecstasy pills after raiding Gregory Manning’s home

A taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting two women passengers in his cab was tonight facing a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict. The jury of six men and five women was discharged after failing to decide whether Baber Khan, 30, of Royal

Question: So you want to know the secret to a long and contented life? The answer is: buy a bigger sofa. And why should this item of home furnishing make any difference when foreign holidays, sex and hard liquor clearly haven’t? Because advertisements

Forum A have finally managed to get themselves back to the top of Division 1 of the Oxford & District League. But the defending champions are only a point clear, and have played a game more than their opponents. After being held to a surprise draw by

Oxford Stadium appear to be bucking the trend that saw the GRA suffer severe losses in 2007, according to figures quoted in the Greyhound Star this month. Consolidated losses after tax were £1.4m, and this before the current economic downturn. With

OXFORD all-rounder Tony Hallatt had a productive day’s pike fishing on a local pit, were he slipped his net under four big predators. The fish weighed 10lb, 12.8.0 and 14.8.0, topped off by a 25.14.0 specimen. Tony spent six hours on the water and all

THE fifth round of this year’s Oxford Winter League was fished by 54 anglers on a very clear Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal, which was so clear that in places you could see the bottom. To stand any real chance, you needed to be pegged by a lock

The European Agency has confirmed it will open a new research centre in Oxfordshire with the creation of up to 5,000 jobs. The new centre will be built at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, near Didcot, and has been welcomed as a boost to the

Oxford Stars will be aiming to get back to winning ways when they host Streatham Redskins in English National League Division 1 South, tomorrow night. Stars who have come out on top in the team previous two meetings, will be anxious to forget their last

Thame recovered from an early setback to beat New Club 4-1 in the first round of the Oxford & District League’s Stephen Reiss Cup. Paul Evans (+20) put Thame ahead on his seasonal debut, but that was as good as it got. Dave White (+80) and Alan Mander

Stuart Walford provided the first of a quartet of wins for the host gym as the Oxford Boxing Academy staged their first dinner show of the season at the Kassam Stadium. But it needed a terrific tussle with Gloucester’s Todd Rob-erts before he saw his

WITNEY produced the great escape in the Premier Division of the Gentworks Oxford & District League, writes DAVID WHITE. Going into their match with Riley A bottom of the table, Witney looked doomed when breaks of 40, 32 and 25 helped James Stone defeat

AEA Technology 18.75 BMW 1739 Electrocomponents 135.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 6 Oxford Catalyst 113 Oxford Instruments 128.5 Reed Elsevier 488 RM 158.5 RPS Group 112.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

BURFORD, county under 14 rugby champions last year, made it back-to-back triumphs by lifting the Oxfordshire Under 15 Cup with a 17-8 win over Lord Williams’s (Thame) on finals day at Chinnor RFC. A tight encounter saw Lord Williams’s take

The Weston Front campaign group opposing plans to build a 15,000-home eco-town near Bicester will have their case heard at the High Court. The group, which formed after Parkridge Holdings revealed its plans for the Weston Otmoor eco-town at Weston-on-the-Green

So it’s over. Three months of hard slog and three nights in the hall and that’s it. The Accrington Pals went over the top last Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the village hall and was very well received I must say. Difficult play to actually

A popular Oxford school route, infamous for becoming muddy and flooded, will finally be fixed in a £16,000 scheme. Children in Blackbird Leys have had to cope with years of soggy feet and dirty shoes because they used a track leading from the estate

A TEENAGE cancer patient will address a star-studded Christmas carol concert to explain the importance of the Oxford Children’s Hospital. Matthew Holder-Wooloff, who turned 15 yesterday, will appear alongside actors Hannah Gordon, Geraldine James and

Firefighters have been tackling a blaze in a barn near Wheatley today. The barn is situated alongside an unclassified road running through Holton near Wheatley Park School. Holton resident Ian Beach said: “I believe the barn is owned by a farmer who

Firefighters have today been tackling a blaze in a barn near Wheatley. The barn is situated alongside an unclassified road running through Holton near Wheatley Park School. Holton resident Ian Beach said: “I believe the barn is owned

OXFORD Lord Mayor Susanna Pressel has made history by choosing a female as her first childe — a childe with an ‘e’ that is. As Lord Mayor she is allowed to nominate a Childe during her term of office to recognise someone deserving of being a Freeman

The chief executive of the Brackley-based Honda F1 team, Nick Fry, revealed a trio of prospective buyers have already made clear their interest in taking over the team. The Japanese giants have confirmed they are pulling out of Formula One, a decision

The jury has been sent out today in the trial of an Oxford taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting two women passengers in his cab. Father-of-three Baber Khan, 30, of Dashwood Road, Rose Hill, acab driver with Royal Cars, denies attacking the women

Traders in North Oxford are celebrating the completion of a £1m scheme to improve road safety for shoppers in the area. County council contractors began work in Banbury Road, Summertown, in April, and are due to finish on Tuesday when bands will

The organisers of an Oxford literary group have asked people to join them in celebrating the international language of poetry. Committee members of Anjuman-e Adab Oxford — Urdu for Oxford Literary Society — said they aimed to make the group selfsufficient

A centre which offers a lifeline to people who dedicate their lives to caring for relatives, friends or neighbours in Oxford has opened its new extension. Oxford Carers’ Centre, in Bullingdon Road, opened its doors to members of the public on Thursday

The jury has been sent out today in the trial of an Oxford taxi driver accused of sexually assaulting two women passengers in his cab. Father-of-three Baber Khan, 30, of Dashwood Road, Rose Hill, a minicab driver with Royal Cars, denies attacking the

David Van Day said he was "disappointed" not to be in the 'I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!' final. The 52-year-old singer was voted off the show last night (04.12.08) and despite insisting he didn't have a "game plan", claimed: "My work here is

OXY ORIENTAL, OZONE LEISURE PARK, GREATER LEYS 01865 749888. Even PAUL STAMMERS finds there’s enough to go around at this buffet eaterie. Juvenile it may have been. But I won't have been the first diner to have sniggered to myself 'Blitz those zits

More than £8,000 in cash was stolen in two distraction burglaries in the Vale of White Horse area, prompting police to warn pensioners to be on their guard. Detectives said today that they believe the two incidents on Tuesday night are linked, and urged

ANDREW FFRENCH finds out just what makes former newsman Alan Gilliland’s new children’s book so special. Alan Gilliland was such a success as graphics editor for The Telegraph that he won his section at the UK Press Awards three times. But three years

More than £8,000 in cash was stolen in two distraction burglaries in the Vale of White Horse area, prompting police to warn pensioners to be on their guard. Detectives said today that they believe the two incidents on Tuesday night are linked, and urged

SARAH MAYHEM’S patience is finally rewarded as she immerses herself in Corfu to Corinth at the Jam Factory. It’s 1964, you’ve seen an advert for a holiday villa in The Lady, it’s owned by a widowed amateur artist. Enjoying a whimsically privileged

Katherine Macalister talks to the movers and shakers of this year's Oxford Playhouse panto. Peter Duncan just can’t get enough of the Oxford Playhouse panto and is back for a third time this year with Sleeping Beauty. But he’s pleased to be off rather

KATHERINE MACALISTER finds out what life’s like for top classical songstress Katherine Jenkins. It’s been quite a year for Katherine Jenkins. Not only has she signed the biggest recording contract in classical music history, but her private life has

Fame hasn’t changed Paddy McGuinness one bit – KATHERINE MACALISTER finds out why. Paddy McGuinness tells a fantastic story about how his boss at the leisure centre in Bolton tried to talk him out of resigning once he’d landed a part in the Peter Kay

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (PG) Family/Comedy/Romance. Featuring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Bernie Mac, Sherri Shepherd, Alec Baldwin. Animal magic is

As birthdays go, BEN McKECHNIE’S 23rd at the Cellar’s indie night – Kapow! – was one to remember... It was my 23rd birthday so I pestered my friends into taking me to Chiang Mai Kitchen. Here we made the typical schoolboy/girl error that nearly everyone

It was at last year’s Reading Festival that I realised The Hold Steady were one of the best bands in the world. And you really have to be a proper miserable git, or stone-deaf, to not see how the Steady work. It’s E Street Band Springsteen routed

TIM HUGHES looks forward to a southern-fried performance by masters of acid country Alabama 3 They are best-known for the grungy-blues theme tune Woke Up This Morning, from cult gangster show The Sopranos. But who exactly are Alabama 3? "We're the

Three people were taken to hospital last night following a fire involving a camping stove on a canal boat in North Oxford. Fifteen firefighters were called shortly after midnight to the narrowboat on the Oxford Canal, near Godstow Road, after the stove

George Takei helped his campmates win four meals in last night's Bustucker Trial (04.12.08) on 'I'm A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!' The former 'Star Trek' actor joined the remaining contestants Joe Swash, Martina Navratilova and David Van Day to take

Three people were taken to hospital last night following a fire involving a camping stove on a canal boat in North Oxford. Fifteen firefighters were called shortly after midnight to the narrow boat on the Oxford Canal, near Godstow Road, after the stove

Honda will pull out of Formula One unless a buyer can be found by the end of the month. The decision means staff at the team's headquarters in Brackley, face redundancy. It will also put British driver Jenson Button out of a job after

Drivers are suffering delays following an accident on Oxford’s Eastern bypass this morning. One lane is blocked after the crash between the Cowley and Littlemore junctions.

Thames Valley Police, in co-operation with the British Transport Police and major train line companies across the Thames Valley, are launching ‘Operation Locomotion’ today aimed at cutting burglaries. Inspector Mick Squire, of Thames Valley Police, said

A utility company worker has been suspended after knocking on the door of a 90-year-old woman and persuading her to switch to a new energy deal. Dorothy Spittle, who lives in sheltered accommodation in Bellenger Way, Kidlington, agreed to sign