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Didcot Town midfielder Jack King signed a two-year deal with Zamaretto Southern League Premier Division rivals on Thursday night. King had been on trial at the Hampshire club.

Oxford skipper Jason Harrison blames the poor pitches at Roman Way for their poor home form this season. The club, who entertain runaway Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier Division 1 leaders Henley tomorrow, have not won a league game at

Thame Town, who have been struggling for form of late, will be without paceman Luke Merry for their Division 2 West trip to leaders Beaconsfield. Merry’s knee locked up as he got out of bed last Saturday and meant he missed Thame’s five-wicket defeat

WOMEN with breast cancer are receiving top quality care and are not being discriminated against on age grounds, Oxfordshire health officials insisted last night. They refuted claims in a report issued by the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer

A 17-YEAR-OLD youth appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court today charged in connection with a series of robberies in the city. On Sunday, a 45-year-old Swedish man and a 46-year-old Swedish woman were forced to hand over money at knifepoint in Merton

OXFORD City Council has started consultation on its plans to save £50,000 a year by closing up to seven of the city’s 26 public toilets. Facilities in Castle Street, Magdalen Street, St Giles, Woodstock Road, South Parade, Barns Road, Littlemore, Knights

STAFF working for rail firm CrossCountry, which serves Oxford and Banbury, are to start a month of industrial action in a dispute over pay and working conditions. Members of the RMT union voted four to one in favour of taking action short of

PLANS for blocks of flats housing 374 study bedrooms for Oxford students at the former Slade Park Territorial Army barracks, in Mascall Avenue, have been given the go-ahead. Developer Berkeley Homes already had consent for accommodation for

A village corner shop was the only one out of seven tested that sold alcohol to children in a police test-purchase operation. A cashier at Park Stores, Upper Heyford, near Bicester, was fined £80 after selling alcohol to an underage shopper on Thursday

Police are appealing for information after a recent spate of burglaries in South Oxfordshire. Last Friday, during the day, nine properties were broken into in Watlington, Aston Rowant, Chinnor, Lower Shiplake and Stoke Row, near Henley. There have

A MAN could have metal plates in his face for life after his jaw was shattered by two thugs who mugged him on his way home. Carl Taylor was returning home in the early hours of Sunday after an evening at Didcot’s Broadways pub when two men

Motorists stopping to refuel at a Grove petrol station will soon be able to stock up ... on a range of home-brewed ales. Peter Fowler, the manager of Bellingers Service Station, has recently completed the expansion of his Pitstop Brewery, which can

An operation carried out in the villages around Bicester to check on sales of alcohol to underage drinkers saw six out of the seven stores pass the test. The operation, carried out by Thames Valley Police’s licensing team, was part of efforts to reduce

ICE cream, bunting and an orchestra in a horse box? That’s not what you would call your normal street party, but Modern Art Oxford in Pembroke Street decided to celebrate summer in a typically quirky way. The event, in a yard next to the gallery, was

Nine burglaries in south Oxfordshire are believed to have been committed by the same people. Police today appealed for information after a spate of break-ins on Friday. Houses were broken into in High Street, Lewknor; Oakley Lane, Chinnor

Unique documents from the Great Western Railway kept at Didcot Railway Centre will be used in a BBC Radio 4 programme next week. The GWR Trust’s collection at Didcot includes all the GWR annual reports and a copy of the letter from Benjamin Disraeli

CRIMINALS and informants have pocketed more than £700,000 of taxpayers’ money to supply Thames Valley Police with information over the past five years, we can reveal. The force has defended spending £718,496 on informants since 2005 by saying

WHAT’S with the dazzling shirt and tie and big camera? So asked Phil, one of the city’s resident alfresco dwellers when our paths crossed in St Aldate’s. “You look like a tourist.” The choice of wardrobe had been carefully considered, I told him. The

I must take issue with Graham Lovelock regarding his proposal to charge for Park and Ride in the County (Oxford Mail July 22). Surely the fact that the car park is full indicates that non-charging is working. Why suggest empty parking spaces being more

WHAT a wonderful response to the appeal by the Oxford Animal Sanctuary in their hour of need with donations in excess of £60,000. My wife and I attended their open day at Stadhampton this afternoon (Sunday, July 26) as did it seems several hundred supporters

I READ with interest the item on whether Asbos are the best way to deal with offenders, by James Patrick (Oxford Mail, July 24), and the letter Unfair ASBO from Jonny Cowee. Having read them, I wondered if I was living in a different world to them but

Of course a modest expansion of Oxford Airport is good news (The Issue, in Wednesday’s Oxford Mail). In Oxfordshire we are suffering from the recession, people are losing their jobs, and firms are closing. In the longer term, we have a fantastically

FEARS are growing over the future of the 450-strong workforce at Renault's Formula One headquarters at Enstone. Renault has yet to confirm that it will race next year, after BMW announced that it was pulling out at the end of the season. BMW this week

AEA Technology 31 BMW 2692 Electrocomponents 148 Nationwide Accident Repair 81.5 Oxford Biomedica 11 Oxford Catalysts 57 Oxford Instruments 160.75 Reed Elsevier 414 RM 167.75 RPS Group 184.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

Young mothers from Carterton have spoken about their experience and the reality of becoming pregnant at an early age. The women are members of Carterton Young Mums, a group set up to support other who find themselves in the same situation. Single mother

Sick children from Chernobyl got the chance to enjoy the fresh air of the Oxfordshire countryside during a month-long stay. A group of 40 children aged seven to 17 – have arrived in the south of England from the village of Ozarichi, about 19 miles from

A parish clerk has put down her pen for the final time, after more than a quarter of a century at the forefront of village life. Gill Lester has been clerk to Chalgrove Parish Council since 1982. During her 27 years in the post, she

THE father of one of the most promising young racing drivers in the country, fears his ability to reach the top may be restricted by a shortage of finance. At the age of 12, Nathan Harrison, from Cumnor Hill, is already taking on and beating

OXFORDSHIRE PCT has been told to come clean over its plans for the replacement of Bicester Hospital and finally reveal what proposals are on the table. The move comes after it rejected a bid by Cherwell District Council to build a new 12-bed hospital

NORTH Oxfordshire MP Tony Baldry is heading to Nepal over the summer for volunteer work. Mr Baldry went to the region last year as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the Voluntary Service Overseas organisation. He, along with other MPs, were

SATURDAY. CRICKET. SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE. Div 1: Banbury v Farnham Royal, Oxford v Henley. Div 2 West: Gerrards Cross v Aston Rowant, Thame Tn v Beaconsfield. THE OXFORD TIMES CHERWELL LEAGUE. Div 1: Banbury XX v Horspath

THE power of breakdancing and hip hop is being used to get teens off the couch and on to the dance floor. Teenagers are being guided by Marcus Smith, of Oxford breakdancing act Flaw R Tists and Nickely Burke, of group Biserk, for two weeks of classes

tained their 100 per cent record at the top of the Ladies Purple Division in the Wilson OLTA League with a 4-0 victory at Faringdon A. There are four teams with perfect records in the top ladies’ divisions – and two are in one section. Woodstock A have

Club night this week found us reading through Noel Coward’s Still Life with a view to auditioning for desired parts next week. It’s a great play rather dated of course but that just adds to the piece. It was written in the mid 1930’s so it’s no wonder

A charming Grade II listed house in Southmoor, which was once home to a famous Oxford science fiction writer, is on the market. Heath House was built in 1837 for a local landowner and staunch Methodist, aptly named Richard Church and in the

AN Oxfordshire pig breeder who waited almost 50 years for an award from the Royal Show has bagged four in just five years. Stanley Samuels, 78, scooped Breed Champion for his British saddleback pigs and the cup for the best group of four pigs at the

IT LOOKS like the results of a child’s fit of temper with a train set, distorted rails snaking away into the distance and a gap where track no longer meets up. But this is a real-life railway, the Cotswold Line between Oxford and Worcester,

A STREET warden got more than he bargained for when he found a battered old shoebox hidden behind a tree. Tim Davies found eight cannabis packages with an estimated street value of £160 and two knuckle dusters stashed in the box on the Greenwood estate

Police are appealing for witnesses after thieves broke into a garage at a house in Pinnocks Way, Botley, and stole two motorcycles. The burglars forced the door off the garage some time between 11.20pm last night and 6.30am today. A white and orange

A man has been charged with theft from a motor vehicle in Crowmarsh Gifford. Shane Parker, 21, from Hampshire, has been remanded in custody to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court today. The charge is in relation to an incident when tools were stolen

Police are appealing for witnesses after a man was robbed in Wallingford. Between 10.30pm and 11pm on Tuesday, a 21-year-old man was walking in Beeching Way when he was approached by six teenage boys, aged between 15 and 16. Det Con Stephen Knight

Former farm worker Brian Hoverd was today convicted of raping a young girl six times and dragging another girl into a graveyard and raping her. A jury at Oxford Crown Court found Hoverd, 46, of Charterville Close, Minster Lovell, west Oxfordshire

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of robberies in Oxford. The robbery charges relate to two incidents that took place in the city centre on Sunday when a 45-year-old Swedish man and 46-year-old Swedish woman

A 17-YEAR-OLD youth has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of robberies in Oxford. The robbery charges relate to two incidents that took place in the city centre on Sunday when a 45-year-old Swedish man and 46-year-old Swedish

A 16-year-old boy was arrested yesterday on suspicion of robbery in Didcot. He has been released on bail until August 25. The arrest relates to a robbery that happened in Cow Lane, Didcot, on July 26.

AEA Technology 31.75 BMW 2673 Electrocomponents 147.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 81.5 Oxford Biomedica 10.9 Oxford Catalysts 57 Oxford Instruments 159.5 Reed Elsevier 411.75 RM 167 RPS Group 186 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

Three British soldiers killed in Afghanistan are to be repatriated today. Trooper Phillip Lawrence, of The Light Dragoons, and Warrant Officer Class 2 Sean Upton, of the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, died in separate blasts in Helmand province on

A man accused of a series of sex attacks on young girls has been found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault. Brian Hoverd 46, of Charterville Close, Minster Lovell, west Oxfordshire, was remanded in custody today after a jury at Oxford Crown Court

Though I had never visited Jersey before, I had certainly eaten plenty of its food. I am referring not just to Jersey Royal potatoes, which for so long have signalled the approach to our British (brutish?) summer, but to the excellent fish and seafood

Nearly seven years have passed – though it hardly seems possible to me – since I enthusiastically reviewed the Italian restaurant Cibo! shortly after its opening in premises in South Parade once occupied by the Co-op. Odd name, South Parade, incidentally

You will perhaps not be surprised to learn, given the existence of a new direct flight linking Oxford and Jersey, that I did not delay long in securing an invitation to travel on it. Since the service is limited to once a week at present, and my spare

ucked away from the hustle and bustle of the Cowley Road is a charming little café that sits amid a beautiful organic garden. The Garden Café, which was once an old workshop, stands midway down Manzil Way and is surrounded by herbaceous plants and herbs

Fish pie sounds such an ordinary dish – it’s certainly easy to make – but if you take care choosing your ingredients it can prove a real treat. Fish pie is a great dish to serve at this time of the year alongside a seasonal green salad that has been dressed

Don the snazzy, plastic spectacles for producer Jerry Bruckheimer's first 3D film, which proves that if you want a job done properly, hire a team of guinea pigs. Screening in the eye-popping format in selected cinemas and 2D everywhere else, G-Force

As the overture burst into life, it was immediately obvious that the Jeugd Symfoniearkest Rijnstreek of Leiden, augmented by musicians from Perm, was going to give the orchestra of Welsh National Opera a run for its money. This mega-scale, semi-staged

From his very first words to the packed house – “Thank you for turning out on a Sunday” – Timothy West showed us to be in the presence of a gentleman as well as a famously fine actor. We should have been the ones thanking him, for he was doing the work

Make love, not war – this is surely the banner headline of Troilus and Cressida, a play whose cynical deconstruction of war and battlefield heroics frames one of Shakespeare’s most tender and painfully abortive romances. Joining Romeo and Juliet and

Missing teenager Sian Mooney has been found safe and well, police have confirmed. Police had issued an appeal for help in tracing a 13-year-old girl who has been missing from her home in Oxford since Tuesday. She was last seen at her home in Cutteslowe

Qwati is the result of a collaboration between South African alto saxophonist Ntshuks Bonga and Oxford-based pianist Alex Hawkins. Both have a love for the lilting sounds of South African music made popular by Abdullah Ibrahim and others and both also

Oxford Philomusica’s annual piano festival got off to a flying start on Monday with an enthralling recital by the Russian pianist Alexis Golovine. At first glance, there seemed to be little to link the four featured composers – Schumann, Albéniz, Mompou

Un Ballo in Maschera is famously based on the assassination of a real-life king, Sweden’s Gustavus III, in precisely the way – shot at a masked ball – depicted in the opera. But at a time when Verdi was forbidden to present the murder of a monarch

The Oxfordshire Museum’s beautiful walled garden, behind Fletcher’s House, Woodstock, is the backdrop for more than 30 sculptures created by members of the Oxford Sculptors Group. This exhibition will appeal to those interested in contemporary work as

There was an audible shudder from those around me in the stalls – old Mods almost to a man – as Jimmy’s chrome-panelled scooter was kicked on to its side, its multiple mirrors crumpling under its weight. This was no way to treat an example

Shakespeare play it is hard to genuinely feel the humour – for example when the jokes refer to ‘equivocators’ or whatever some obscure Duke or Cardinal has been getting up to. But rest assured, there are no such problems with the Shakespeare’s

Hundreds of staff working at Cherwell District Council have been asked to take unpaid leave to help save money, it was announced this morning. The council, which covers north Oxfordshire and includes Bicester and Banbury, has asked for staff help out

New Oxford United striker Jack Midson has set himself an ambitious target – to match last season's 20-goal tally. Such is the competition for places up front with the U's that none of the strikers – even James Constable – is a certainty to start every

Oxford United chairman Kelvin Thomas says he is still waiting to find out the terms of Dean Whitehead's transfer from Sunderland to Stoke City to discover how much Oxford could be entitled to from their sell-on clause. The initial £3m fee for the transfer

A TOP research scientist has been given £2m to set up a new lab at Harwell. Prof So Iwata, of Imperial College, London, will use the giant Diamond Light Source to analyse proteins that play a key role in the human body. As the first Diamond Professorial

Oxford United's Blue Square Premier trip to Kettering Town on Tuesday, August 11, has been made all-ticket. United have been allocated 915 places for the Rockingham Road terrace, priced at £16 for adults, £12 for over 60s and £6 for under 16s, and

Drivers faced delays after two crashes on the A34 northbound in Oxfordshire today. One lane was closed and queueing traffic built up for three miles before the A4185 Chilton Interchange. One lane was closed about one mile before Chilton Interchange

Tourism in Oxfordshire is apparently evolving, changing its spots along Darwinian lines. For instance, industry bosses are scratching their heads and asking each other a fundamental question: what is a tourist? I realised this was happening

Complete Surrender Dave Sharp (John Blake, 7.99) This is the story of the brother of novelist Ian McEwan, as strange as anything the writer could have dreamed up himself. Dave Sharp was given away aged one month to strangers who answered an advert

THE ENEMY OF THE GOOD Michael Arditti (Arcadia, £11.99) Michael Arditti brings religion to the heart of his novels; the lives of his characters — and the discourse between them — cover a wide range of matters theological and teleological. The book

Fears now surround the Enstone-based Renault team's future in Formula One after BMW Sauber confirmed they will be pulling out of the sport at the end of the season. The FIA made it clear the team's withdrawal could have been avoided if they had been

Mark Mills, from Tackley, author of three enthralling murder mysteries, was surprised to find me clutching a hardback copy of his latest novel, The Information Officer, when we met to discuss this book. Apparently, his publisher, Harper Collins printed

THE SMELL OF THE CONTINENT Richard Mullen & James Munson (Macmillan, £20) Cross to the Continent today and you may take all your prejudices with you. In the Victorian era this was much more pronounced. When arriving in Calais, the traveller could

Police have issued an appeal for help in tracing a 13-year-old girl who has been missing from her home in Oxford since Tuesday. Sian Mooney was last seen at her home in Cutteslowe at 8pm that day. She is described as white, slim, with dark brown shoulder

FRIENDS rallied round Sally Haynes, staging a horse show for her benefit, after she was paralysed from the waist down in a riding accident. The event was so successful, raising more than £2,000, that the group of volunteers decided to hold another –

SPEEDS could be reduced on more than half of Oxfordshire’s roads in a drive to cut deaths and serious accidents in the county. Transport bosses are considering imposing slower limits on many of the roads, following a one-year £20,000 review of speed

THE Covered Market is one of Oxford’s jewels in the crown.So it seems remarkable that, after just a couple of months, Sunday opening could soon become a thing of the past. Part of the problem, it would appear, is the lack of support being shown by Oxford

THAT three separate gangs could be responsible for a series of attacks in Oxford over the past month is as worrying as it is frightening. There have been 18 incidents since July 6 — with eight on foreign visitors to the city. In the latest mugging,

Australia has always represented good value for money although not all the wines display great character and identity. This specially selected case features mouth-watering wines of quality and style at a very affordable price. The Value

I was asked this week to recommend some good wine books for beginners. More accurately, books aimed at helping people teach themselves how to better taste and evaluate wines. As you might expect, there are lots of options on the market and it all rather

One of the puzzling things about the recession we find ourselves in at the moment is that many specialist nurseries are actually doing better than they normally would. So when I visited Special Plants, at Cold Ashton, near Bath, a couple of weeks ago

If there is a way in which enjoying the sights and sounds of the river and its surrounding countryside can become an even greater pleasure, it is by visiting the riverside with a purpose in mind. Such a pleasure is enjoyed by the river wardens of the

Sir – We’ve got a noticeboard at the Pullens Lane allotments, which contains a list of all the bird species we allotmenteers spot when we’re working on our plots. It’s pretty impressive, and includes species from wrens to owls. However, there’s

Sir – Late evening on July 15, I was walking from Oxford station pulling a large tool bag of books and carrying four other items of luggage. I had just turned into Walton Street when I became the ‘victim’ of an unprovoked act of kindness.

Sir – The current and furious debate about Oxford Brookes in your letter columns does not, in my view, address the central question. Can a city of 140,000 at the last census, hemmed in by a county council policy of no growth, accommodate two universities

Sir – It is good that Professor Vernon Bogdanor is taking on the localism agenda (Feature, July 16) but a pity that he appears to supinely accept Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU). He should surely know that we will not be able to solve

SUNDAY trading in Oxford’s Covered Market is in danger of being scrapped because only half the traders have joined a trial. Earlier this year, traders in the historic market agreed to the four-month trial and it was launched on May 17.

Marine Weeks (August 2-17) What are you doing for Marine Weeks? You might think that a celebration of the wonders of our seas would be difficult for people in landlocked Oxfordshire. But, in fact, there are intriguing opportunities to explore our

In 1809, at the age of 52, the printmaker, visionary poet and artist William Blake held his first and only solo exhibition. He took over the first floor living rooms of his brother’s hosiery shop on Golden Square, Soho, to show 16 paintings in

Sir – In your editorial (July 23) you state that flights from Oxford airport will offer ‘intriguing opportunities for the future’ and that ‘most people in the area will find the idea of short haul flights to Western Europe or to UK destinations an attractive

Sir – How can we welcome increased flights to Europe from Oxfordshire? We have not recovered from the climate change-related floods of 2007, and the future projected areas at risk of flooding have just been expanded to take in more homes than ever.

Sir – Thank you for your front page story on Pullens Lane Allotments. I am writing to express my deep concern and anger at the proposals outlined by Oxford Brookes University, to build on the site of Pullens Lane Allotments. The destruction of this

Sir – Brookes University either have to accept the fact that yet further expansion is not possible or search for other solutions to their problems. Citizens of Oxford must be made aware that, if Brookes are allowed to develop more areas such

Sir – Your leader (July 23) on the bus changes in Queen Street says that “if all goes according to plan” we could see the pedestrianisation of George Street in 2010. But the trouble is that Oxfordshire County Council has yet to publish the detailed

Sir – I would be heartbroken if I were one of the hard-working team who’d done such an excellent job to improve New Inn Hall Street, laying down stone paving slabs, sets, and an attractive stone-speckled road surface, all to a very high standard of

Sir – I much appreciated being able to walk along Queen Street on Sunday without having to constantly check I was about to be run over. The buses that remain also seemed to be on their best behaviour, doing not much more than walking pace. I hope the

Sir – The influx of young foreign students into Oxford has this summer grown out of all proportion. Large contingents of teenagers converge daily on the already packed centre of the city. Is it too much to ask that the multi-national organisations

Sir – We like the green sacks! Last week we left out two excessively full green sacks as we just hadn’t had the time to cut everything up and put it neatly inside the sack. We had lost a very special trowel and each sack had been emptied and gone through

Sir – Readers may not all realise that when the county council is said to deal with parking schemes or other transport matters in the city of Oxford or elsewhere, this actually means the “transport decisions committee”, which consists of just two men

Sir – The county council has made many sensible suggestions as to how to save money and reduce the carbon footprint associated with street furniture and lighting. The county is currently consulting parish councils. Sadly, some of the information supplied

Sir – So we now have new bus stops. Now there are no stops between Magdalen Street, High Street and New Road. For some time, walking Cornmarket has been like travelling the wrong way through the London Marathon. Now Queen Street too. Unfortunately,

OXFORDSHIRE PCT is under fire to come clean over its plans for the replacement of Bicester’s hospital. The town’s MP, Tony Baldry, has raised concerns about the security of funding for the development, while hospital campaigner Les Sibley and Cherwell

Little Sparta is set in the Pentland Hills, near Edinburgh. It was created by Ian Hamilton Finlay, in a hill farm given to him and his wife, Sue, by her parents. Here, starting in the 1960s, the Finlays created both a garden and a space in

It is August, 1964. A ship from Colombo is docking at Southampton. Roma Tearne is waving at the shore, her father waving back from the observation platform at the Ocean Terminal. Except she’s not. She’s running around the 198 Gallery in Brixton

RESIDENTS can make a splash at Banbury’s open-air pool from today, after a £1.5m refurbishment. Woodgreen pool had been closed since 2003 but thanks to campaigners it is set to become a major summer amenity. Mayor Tina Wren will cut the ribbon to

NEW 20mph speed limits will be introduced throughout Oxford at the start of next month, it emerged this week. Work on introducing 20mph speed limits on all but Oxford’s major radial routes will begin in three weeks’ time when county council