Rob Cunliffe has returned to his roots by rejoining Oxfordshire for the 2009 season. The 35-year-old batsman, who played for England Under 19s and was tipped to gain honours at the highest level, starred for Oxon before breaking into the first-class
A lorry fire tonight closed the northbound carriageway of the M40 in north Oxfordshire. The road closure was between junction ten at Ardley and junction 12 at Gaydon with queues stretching back to junction nine at Wendlebury. The fire
TRIBUTES were paid tonight to an Oxford schoolgirl killed in a crash which also left a promising rugby player fighting for his life. Seventeen-year-old Grace Hadman, a boarder at St Edward’s School in North Oxford, died when the Toyota Yaris
The OXO Tower Bar and Brasserie seems like the ideal place to meet a woman who was born above a pub and spent the better part of her childhood around the hostelries and restaurants of Oxford. Or maybe not. Charlie Dailey is pretty much the only person
A developing covering of moss can soon make a new stone structure look at home in the garden. Cushions of moss tossed down from rooftops on to pavements show that among the leaves the birds have been finding a plentiful supply of minute insects. For
DOZENS of redundant staff at a Bicester disability equipment firm are in a battle for their P45s so they can claim benefits, it emerged last night. Staff at Chiltern Invadex, in Churchill Road, were told on Monday that the firm was closing after 26 years
Witney Roadrunner Tony Lock confirmed his return to form with a superb showing in the White Horse Half Mara-thon at Grove. The 43-year-old crossed the line second in 1hr 15mins 5secs, which landed him the Oxfordshire open and vet 40 titles after edging
7.35: Miss Wigg, ZIGZAG RIVER, Smarinio Madame, Endless Cliche, Ballysimon Rose 3, Suil Star 2. 7.50: Sparta Doughnuts 2, Special Image, Farloe Hustler 3, MATTIES MACHINE, Connor Pass Joe, Roadstown Rebel. 8.05: Where To Now, HEASLIPS HAWK, Tiermana
Deddington captured the Banbury Indoor League’s Presidents Cup with a 19-15 win over Banbury in the final. RESULTS Banbury Indoor League – Presidents Cup semi-finals: General Foods 18, Deddington 20; Chipping Norton 10, Banbury 21. Final: Banbury 15
Oxford B knocked out Eynsham B 7-3 on aggregate in the Inter Area Cup first round, writes PETE EWINS. The first leg at the Red Lion, Cassington, saw Oxford establish a 3-2 lead, before they clinched victory by taking the home leg 4-1 at the Masons.
A MAN who hit the headlines when he staged a tree protest in Oxford city centre was tonight facing jail after being convicted of burglary. Gabriel Chamberlain, who spent 11 days in a sycamore tree in Bonn Square in January last year, crept into a flat
Argentina is on the way up. With the highest vineyards in the world the wines made here are aromatic and fruit filled with excellent concentration. Many make a superb partner to rich meat dishes and the malbec grape variety has found a new home here.
When around 10,000 racegoers descend on Lockinge, near Wantage, for the Old Berkshire Hunt meeting on Easter Monday among them will be Frank Caudwell. The sprightly former rider and trainer, who turned 90 on the day of my visit, will not be
A 20-year-old man has been jailed for trying to get into a nightclub with a knife. Alex Timms, of Taphouse Avenue, Witney, was arrested at The Palace nightclub in the town on March 15. He was jailed for eight weeks at a young offenders institution when
A fighting par on the final hole by John Lally and Donovan Henderson-Sowerby helped Burford defeat Oxford City 3-0 in Section 1 of the Shaw Gibbs Oxfordshire Foursomes League. The pair scrambled well after straying into the trees to hold onto
Arsonists torched a silver Mercedes parked outside a community centre. The car was set on fire at West Oxford Community Centre, off Botley Road at 11pm on Saturday, police said last night. Anyone with information should contact police
Maggie Edwards explodes on to the scene as Oxford Ladies’ new captain. Edwards was greeted by members forming an arch of tennis and squash rackets to mark her sporting history. The 14-handicapper played league tennis in Oxford for over 35 years, also
Inspector Morse author and local resident Colin Dexter officially opened North Oxford’s revamped clubhouse. Dexter, who admitted to never having played a round of golf in his life, was the special guest for the event attended by 150 members. North Oxford
Prospective members will be able to view “one of the most eagerly-awaited new golf courses in England” at two official open days. That is how Heythrop Park, near Chipping Norton, is being billed ahead of the events on April 25 and 26. The 7,156-yard
Banbury Cross’s Mark Sykes went down 21-18 to Bodmin’s Ian Drew in the English Indoor Association Singles Championship first round at Nottingham. Sykes and clubmate Keith Holloway’s challenge in the pairs lasted a little longer as they slipped
Oxford City Stars went down 9-7 at Bracknell Hornets in the second leg of their English National League play-off quarter-final to go out 17-10 on aggregate. Having been thrashed 8-3 in the first leg, Oxford were really playing for pride, particularly
Some people travel thousands of miles – and spend thousands of pounds – to lie on an isolated stretch of sparkling sand. Make the short hop to Corsica in September, however, and you’ll practically have the whole island to yourself. While this rocky
Leadbitter Oxford Rugby Academy celebrate victory over Banbury in an exciting Oxfordshire Colts Cup final at Bodicote Park. Oxford battled back from 12-5 down at half-time to win 29-17. Euan Allen scored Oxford’s first try before the break, with Matt
Oxford Ladies secured local bragging rights with a 23-0 victory at Witney Angels in Midlands 1. Wing Amy Atkinson starred with four tries, while fly half Catherine Page kicked a penalty. This was Oxford’s first win of the season, but it was not good
Bob Baker made it two wins from two Guinness Premiership starts for Wasps as his season goes from strength to strength. The 19-year-old prop, who has come through the ranks at Chinnor, played the full 80 minutes in Wasps’ 12-6 victory over Newcastle
Chinnor scrum half Toby Prescott was a title winner this time last season, but he has no regrets at now being in a relegation battle. Prescott, who has been one of Chinnor’s most consistent players this campaign, joined the club from Tring, with whom
Oxford University captain Dan Rosen and former Dark Blue flanker Luke Sherriff helped the Barbarians defeat Bedford 76-45 in a pulsating Mobbs Memorial Match at Goldington Road. Sherriff, who won Blues in 1999, 2000 and 2001 and now plays for Nottingham
Banbury Bulls coach Grant Holmes says his players need to keep pushing if they want to make the Oxfordshire Cup final squad. Bulls secured fifth spot in Midlands 3 East South after defeating Leicester Forest 38-14 on Saturday, so may be tempted to ease
It is the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and we all know what that means . . . Yes, it is quiz time. As an incentive to get the grey matter working, all correct entries will go into a draw to win a ticket to The Oxford Times Wine Club Dinner at The
Police were today talking to a man found lying injured beside a busy road in West Oxford to find out how he was hurt. A member of the public found the 52-year-old collapsed on the pavement near Halfords on Botley Road at about 10pm yesterday. Police
Medical staff fear a marble bust of the founder of Oxford Eye Hospital, Robert Doyne, has been stolen. The bust of the pioneering eye specialist disappeared during the eye hospital’s move from the Radcliffe Infirmary site to its new home at the John
An Oxfordshire man left a paraplegic after being thrown from a car has appeared on TV’s Countdown puzzle game. Andrew Mitchell suffers from memory problems following the accident in 1982 but didn’t let it deter him appearing on one of his favourite shows
It is the least-used railway station in the county but tomorrow Finstock halt will celebrate 75 years of service to the west Oxfordshire village. The single-platform stop on the Cotswold Line is served by just 10 trains a week, one each morning
Children and staff at a village pre-school near Banbury have been celebrating after getting an outstanding Ofsted report. The Peachtree Pre-school in Hornton is part of a partnership foundation stage unit at the village primary school. It was praised
The 2009 Oxfringe festival will come to a close on Easter Monday with a colourful event at Oxford Castle. The Dance Unlocked event will feature 15 different local dance groups, performing in styles ranging from contemporary to breakdancing and jive.
The husband of a former Didcot mayoress, who helped care for her disabled daughter, has died. David Dineen, of Sinodun Road, Didcot, died suddenly on March 21, aged 68, after suffering a heart attack. His wife of nine years, Janet Dineen
TRIBUTES were paid tonight to an Oxford schoolgirl killed in a crash which also left a promising rugby player fighting for his life. Seventeen-year-old Grace Hadman, a boarder at St Edward’s School in North Oxford, died when the Toyota Yaris
Childhood sweethearts Michael and Iris Winstone have celebrated 60 years’ wedded bliss with a party. The pair met when they were at Gosford School, Kidlington, started dating and never looked back. Mr Winstone did his national service
Former Scout leader and Oxford Gang Show supremo John Kirby has died, aged 73. Mr Kirby, of Yeats Close, Cowley, Oxford, died on March 27 at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford. He is thought to have suffered a stroke. More than 200 people
A community group is appealing for drivers to come forward and help get a car sharing scheme on the road. Oxford’s Low Carbon Headington group is setting up a scheme similar to Oxcar in East Oxford – with a fleet of cars to rent out to local motorists
Dined on Monday of last week in the Great Hall at Christ Church where the table decoration immediately in front of me was a beautifully detailed silver model of a horse – a trophy awarded until the Second World War at the annual point-to-point
When farmer Richard Lainchbury realised that he would have to diversify if he was to continue farming, he decided to go for mushrooms. That was more than 14 years ago and the British mushroom industry has undergone many changes since then. There was a
The highlight of The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival of 2009 for me, and I am sure for very many others, was the appearance of the novelist Ian McEwan. His 10am session in the Garden Marquee at Christ Church brought us from our beds rather earlier
OXFORD city councillor Mark Lygo has set his sights on finishing this year’s London Marathon in under four hours. But the father-of-two admits he will be a happy man if he finishes at all. Mr Lygo, 35, of Valentia Road, Headington, is running the marathon
Here is a piece of very recent local history indeed, brought to you from that part of the national railway network now called the Cotswold Line, which runs the 86 miles between Oxford and Hereford. On two days in two successive weeks last month the small
A man is in custody after a 60-year-old woman was punched in the throat while shopping in Oxford. The woman, who suffered bruising to her neck and chin, was injured in an attack in Penny Farthing Place at 1pm on Monday. A 30-year-old man was today
A near inflexible rule of farce dictates that any dwelling or hotel in which the action is set must be equipped with almost as many doors as an Advent calendar. This certainly holds true for the Paris flat wherein occur the sexy highjinks of Boeing Boeing
A soulful and dynamic production of perhaps the most famous story in history is being put on by the Musical Youth Theatre of Oxford. And could there be a better time than Easter for the musical about the demise of Jesus Christ, which was first transported
A MAN was assualted after he tried to intervene in a gang attack. Police are appealing for witnesses after a 41-year-old man was injured in Wood Street, Wallingford, in the early hours of Saturday. He intervened after seeing three men kicking another
E.T. phones home from the Nevada desert in Andy Fickman's special effects-laden reworking of the Disney adventure Escape To Witch Mountain. Almost 30 years after the original, this slick and sprightly revamp ticks all of the boxes with ruthless efficiency
The opening night of the Royal Ballet’s new season of Giselle was given to the company’s rising Argentinian star Marianela Nunez. Nunez is extremely popular, but Giselle is the ultimate test for a ballerina and this was her debut performance. Did she
From his involvement with the ground-breaking Perfect Houseplants through his Scratch Orchestra and Big Idea, Mark Lockheart is constantly shifting the focus of his talents as a composer. With the Big Idea he used four reed players and a lot of close
The Abingdon Drama Club, the town’s oldest group of amateur players, returned to the Unicorn Theatre with a new piece that centres on one of the more grisly pieces of local history. Based on a book by Mark Davies, Lies on their Lips: The Abingdon Murders
Some pieces, no matter how familiar, never fail to excite. Handel’s Messiah falls into that category; more than 260 years after its first performance, its description by a contemporary critic as a work of “exquisite delight” still holds true – particularly
What a delightful surprise it was last week, as the action began in Welsh National Opera’s revival of its sun-drenched sixties-style 2003 production of The Elixir of Love, to find the cast singing in Italian. When last given at Milton Keynes six years
The title of this play is so intriguing I felt compelled to see it. The action starts with a familiar domestic scene. A woman singing and half dancing to her favourite song while clearing up in the kitchen. It’s Christmas and the woman Katie, played
WITNEY MP David Cameron will be joining hundreds of runners at this year’s Oxford Mail OX5 Run to raise money for Oxford’s Children’s Hospital. The Conservative Party leader, who will start the race and run the five-mile course around Blenheim
Following its successful Die Fledermaus last month, Opera della Luna was back at the Cornerstone last weekend with its streamlined version of HMS Pinafore – still as fresh as a sea breeze more than 20 years after its original conception. As with all OdL
Menotti was ahead of his time when he wrote The Telephone in 1947; perhaps he could foresee the modern curse of the mobile phone. In Opera Anywhere’s production, which opened last week at Oxford Castle’s 03 Gallery, the action is set in a Vodafone store
A teenager killed in a car crash on the A34 has been named as Oxford schoolgirl Grace Hadman. The 17-year-old, who boarded at St Edward’s School, in Woodstock Road, died when the Toyota Yaris in which she was a passenger crashed near Wytham
In a possibly unfortunate sentence in the programme note to Where There’s a Will, director Sir Peter Hall remarks that “[Feydeau] is much amused and so are we by the insanity that lust produces”. Much amused? Not entirely, given that the playwright
A teenager killed in a car crash on the A34 has been named as Oxford schoolgirl Grace Hadman. The 17-year-old, who boarded at St Edward’s School, in Woodstock Road, died when the Toyota Yaris in which she was a passenger crashed near Wytham
A PROJECT which will bring young people from two sides of a trouble-hit part of Africa face to face at an Oxford school has been given a funding boost. Forty teenagers from a conflict zone in the Western/Moroccan Sahara will spend two weeks in August
I spent this week darting around town on my bicycle to get some of the theatrical fare on offer at Oxfringe and it was well worth the effort. The first show I went to was in the Old Library at the University Church – transformed into galleried theatre
GRANDMOTHER Rosemary Green has urged the elderly to take on new challenges after abseiling 100ft from Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. The 77-year-old was one of 105 people who abseiled from the top of the Women’s centre building, raising a total of
SUSANNA Pressel’s letter on the proposed leasing of a probation office in Mill Street, Oxford, (Oxford Mail, April 2) was disappointing to say the least. She has just given new depth and meaning to the term scaremongering. Her idea that hundreds of
Parents are now being encouraged to bring up their children into a promiscuous way of life. What, if I may be so bold to ask, was so objectionable to how children were brought up when this was a Christian country many moons ago. I, as a child, was taught
I WAS very pleased when Oxfordshire County Council agreed to provide an off-road cycleway on part of the wide pavement on the Woodstock Road between Frenchay and Bainton Roads. The scheme included converting two pelican crossings to so-called
08/04/2009 AEA Technology 13.25 BMW 2296 Electrocomponents 131.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 96.5 Oxford Biomedica 6.25 Oxford Catalyst 47.5 Oxford Instruments 145.5 REED 490.25 RM 163.25 RPS Group 161.5
SO HISTORIAN Roger Jenkins is asking for £5,000 to commemorate the 1,000th anniversary of Oxford being set ablaze by Vikings raiders? I have no objections to that. But the picture depicting Oxford at that time in the Oxford Museum (Oxford Mail April
RECENTLY Margaret Beckett, the Minister of Housing, appeared on television at the opening of an affordable housing project. But with the forecast of high unemployment, pay cuts and lay-offs; how long will they remain affordable? Money shortages are
Nominations for Oxford City Council’s elections on Thursdaty, May 6 Barton and Sandhills Ward COULTER, Van (Lab) CROSSMAN, Barry (Lib Dem) HAMER, Timothy Stephen (Con) HITCHINS, Raymond Leslie (Green) Blackbird
OLD MG cars proved a magnetic attraction for Chinese visitors to the car club and Abingdon Museum. The group of car dealers, journalists and MG fans had travelled across the world to learn about the history of the marque, which was bought by Nanjing Automobile
An “unexpected uplift” in Mini orders for May means that employees at BMW’s Cowley plant are being asked to work an extra three hours per week next month, lifting their weekly working hours from 37 to 40. The latest figures for March show the Oxford-built
Police this afternoon renewed an appeal for witnesses following the fatal collision that occurred yesterday morning on the A34, near Oxford. A 17-year-old girl from Buckinghamshire who was arrested yesterday on suspicion of causing death by
Car company BMW is looking for 14 apprentices to join its workforce at the Cowley Mini plant. The training with Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, or Abingdon and Witney College, leads to Advanced Apprenticeships in electrical maintenance, body and
IT WAS with some amusement that I read your article entitled £85,000 Uproar (Oxford Mail, March 31), in which Oxfordshire County Council’s appointment of a new “spin doctor” was given an airing. However, what is most astonishing to me was the Leader
IT WOULD appear from recent stories in the Oxford Mail, that our city’s bus service is under attack from every side. The county council wants to reduce the number of buses in Queen Street by 50 per cent this summer, missing most of the bus stops to
I HAVE not watched the news at 6pm on ITV since Wes and his colleagues were axed. I wonder if the experts have found out the amount of viewers now watching BBC instead of ITV? I enjoy watching weatherman Simon Parkin, but I wonder why he was not axed
SO, let me get this right: three times every hour, yobs are causing antisocial problems somewhere in Oxfordshire (Oxford Mail, March 28)? Each crime you detail has a victim that affects, directly or indirectly, the county, if not the nation. Yet, I
I SEE that Thames Valley Police is going into caps and discarding the helmet. This seems a good idea but there is little point in issuing caps, as the only officers that seem to wear headwear these days are foot patrols (and even then, not always) and
A LEADING Muslim from Oxford has won a legal battle against a newspaper after it alleged he was part of a heretical sect. Dr Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Education Centre for Oxford, won a five-figure sum in damages from the Muslim Weekly
A progressive Muslim leader from Oxford has won a legal battle against a Muslim newspaper after it alleged he was part of a heretical sect. Dr Taj Hargey, chairman of the Muslim Education Centre for Oxford, won a five-figure sum in damages from Muslim
A 14-year-old girl who went missing for a week has been found safe and well. Tessa Stephens, of Banbury, had not been seen since Wednesday, April 1. She was found at about 10.30pm yesterday.
A £380,000 project to repair and rebuild part of the Thames towpath in South Oxford should be finished this week. The project forms the third of a four-phase £1.1m scheme to repair the towpath through the centre of Oxford and comes after a
A 14-year-old girl who went missing for a week has been found safe and well. Tessa Stephens, of Banbury, had not been seen since Wednesday, April 1. She was found at about 10.30pm yesterday.
A 52-year-old man is recovering in hospital today after suffering a suspected head injury in an incident in West Oxford last night. Police were called after 10pm when a member of public found the man, who lives in Oxford, lying in the street
A 14-year-old girl who went missing for a week has been found safe and well. Tessa Stephens, of Banbury, had not been seen since Wednesday, April 1. She was found at around 10.30pm yesterday.
A BUSINESSMAN hopes he has hit on a great idea to reunite pet owners with their lost animal. Nick Carpenter came up with the plan after his cat, Cooper, went missing and was never seen again. In a bid to help pet owners in a similar situation, he
VILLAGERS will be able to access council services in their local shop after Cherwell District Council unveiled its first LinkPoint kiosk in Cropredy, in a move to bring the council to the countryside. Residents will be able to pay their council tax bills
A CYCLIST reckons he has talked enough about completing a ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats — so next month he will get on his bike. But Tom Dawson, of Adderbury, plans to make the challenge even tougher by camping the entire journey — and only taking
THESE are the designs chosen for a Gullivers Travels themed play area in People’s Park. They were among five proposals put forward for the refurbishment of the biggest park in the town. Record RSS was the company that came up with the winning design
A MOTHER-of-two is hoping to raise £10,000 in memory of her husband. Sarah Thompson is running the London Marathon in aid of Leukaemia Research after husband Andrew, 53, died from the disease in 2007. In a bid to reach the target, Mrs Thompson and children
TWO more acts have been added to the line up for this summer’s Fairport Convention in Cropredy. Eighties favourite Nik Kershaw and singer songwriter Scott Matthews will also be playing at the festival in August. Kershaw, who had a string of top ten
ARTISTS in Oxford have produced their own modern slant on the Stations of the Cross, in which Jesus is portrayed in his final hours, for an Easter exhibition. Fourteen works depicting the Stations of the Cross, also known as the Way, or Passion
A MOTHER, who said she endured years of hell in an arranged marriage and lost two of her four children in a house fire, is desperate to get her old life back in Banbury. British-born Asma Akhtar and her children were forced to stay in Pakistan
Oxford-based charity Oxfam is warning that a fifth of British citizens could need financial help because of the recession. In a report entitled Close to Home, UK Poverty and the Economic Downturn, the charity, which has its headquarters in
Drivers are being forced to go slow following a four-vehicle crash on the M40 near Bicester. The accident happened about 8am on the southbound carriageway, between junction 10 at Ardley and junction nine at Bicester. One lane is blocked
Drivers are being forced to go slow following a four-vehicle crash on the M40 near Bicester. The accident happened about 8am on the southbound carriageway, between junction 10 at Brackley and junction nine at Bicester. One lane is blocked and there
The teenage girl who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving following a crash on the A34 yesterday has been released on police bail. The 17-year-old was questioned by police following the crash in which her 17-year-old
The teenage girl who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving following a crash on the A34 yesterday has been released on police bail. The 17-year-old was questioned by police following the crash in which her 17-year-old
A UNIQUE Oxfordshire physiotherapy centre for children is defying the recession to cope with demand from home and abroad. The Footsteps Centre in Warborough, near Wallingford, is the only venue outside of Poland to offer brain-injured children
CHRIS Wilder said he had nothing but praise for his Oxford United players, who were left devastated at being unable to force victory at York last night. The U's were held 0-0 by Martin Foyle's relegation-threatened team, who played with great spirit
POLICE have stepped up their efforts to thwart burglars in Oxfordshire, as figures showed a rise in break-ins for the first time in four years. And the force, which is launching a “pre-emptive strike” in a bid to curb the trend, fears the rise
