Archive

  • Hospice opens a small shop - in a phone booth

    CHARITIES often say it is the little things which make the biggest difference. And one Oxford hospice has taken the message to the extreme by opening what they describe as the ‘world’s smallest charity shop’ in a disused phone booth. The tiny cubicle

  • Parents fight to keep Culham primary school open

    VILLAGERS trying to save their school have blamed some of its problems on its management Culham Parochial Primary School has lost 18 pupils in the last two years and faces closure as early as next summer if a permanent headteacher cannot be found.

  • Parents fight to save school

    VILLAGERS trying to save their school have blamed some of its problems on its management. Culham Parochial Primary School has lost 18 pupils in the last two years and faces closure as early as next summer if a permanent headteacher cannot be found

  • RUGBY UNION: The numbers game

    Wallingford deserved victory over their out-of-sorts opponents. Here is the numbers' game. See Tuesday’s paper for full report. Competition: South West 1 East Score: Wallingford 20, Witney 19 Wallingford player ratings: 15. Henry Venners 7 (

  • The Human iPod to perform in Oxford

    A MAN dubbed the “human iPod” will perform in Oxford tomorrow at a charity concert. Derek Paravicini, 31, is blind and suffers from severe learning difficulties but has become world famous for his ability to play a piece of music after only hearing it

  • Sound of Music is perfect for Christmas

    It’s probably one of the best known films in the world. It’s been seen, re-seen, revered, venerated, sent-up, spoofed, hummed, whistled and fancy dressed almost as much as Singin’ In The Rain, Casablanca or Rocky Horror. It’s part of our popular culture

  • GYMNASTICS: Bicester quartet win medals

    Bicester’s Amy Chapman, Annabelle Clifton, Jess Pitts and Georgie Long all won medals at The European Invitational at Kingston Gymnastics Centre in Milton Keynes. Pitts won gold for her floor tumble consisting of a round-off flick straight somersault

  • CYCLE SPEEDWAY: Edge is indoor queen

    Horspath Hammers wound up a successful year with a brilliant club performance at the British Indoor Championships in Manchester. Rachel Edge added the British women’s indoor title to the outdoor one she won in August. The only rider to double up over

  • Saturday, December 11: Help return this man to court

    HE failed to attend court on charges of handling stolen goods and now he lurks behind door No 11 of the Oxford Mail’s Badvent Calendar. Michael Pritchard, 41, was due to attend Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday for breaching bail conditions

  • SNOOKER: Close Encounters of Third Kind

    The Gentworks Oxford & District League Division 4 match between Westcott A and House Club A was summed up on the scorecard as “Close Encounters of the Three Frame Kind!” writes DAVID WHITE. That was because two frames were decided on a re-spotted black

  • Council told to spend reserves

    A council has been urged to spend some of its savings after it emerged it has almost £80m in the bank. South Oxfordshire District Council has more savings than any other district council in Oxfordshire and is one of more than 50 local authorities with

  • ANGLING: Fixtures fall foul of the freeze

    Last Sunday’s match diary took a bit of a battering, with several matches cancelled due to the icy conditions. It wasn’t a case of it being too cold to fish, just that most venues were frozen solid. Tackley Estates fished their latest match on the Cherwell

  • Worshippers raise half a million for church

    WORSHIPPERS have had their prayers answered after raising £500,000 for a church extension with all the money coming from their own pockets. The 100 members of Wantage Baptist Church paid for the two-storey facility, which opened recently, without

  • Sixties-plus invited to the Mail film festival

    What better way to get in the Christmas mood than by getting yourselves down to the Phoenix Cinema in Jericho, Oxford, for a three-day, feel-good film festival? The only catch, however, is that you have to be over 60 to qualify. Yes, the older generation

  • ICE HOCKEY: Stars boosted by players' return

    Oxford City Stars are boosted by the return of several players ahead of this weekend’s English National League South Division 1 games. Gareth Endicott, Joe Edw-ards and Dax Hedges should all take to the ice. It is also hoped that Robin Lindva will have

  • CRICKET:Hooky win nail-biter

    Hook Norton pipped Mar-ston by six runs in a ding-dong Banbury Indoor League Division 2 encounter. Andy Stanley’s unbeaten 35 led Hooky to 120-5 from their ten overs, Marston falling just short on 114-4 despite Seb Thornton’s 30 not out. OTHER RESULTS

  • MARTIAL ARTS: Jenkins secures British title

    Joe Jenkins, from Stanford in the Vale, won a gold medal for patterns at the British Tae Kwon Do Championships in Telford. Earlier this year, Jenkins (pictured), a pupil at King Alfred’s Sports College, Wantage, enjoyed a successful south-east regional

  • BOXING: Stunning Ozeke turns on the power

    Preye Ozeke dominated his top-of-the-bill heavyweight clash with potential Oxford Blue George Keelan in Oxford Boxing Academy’s Christmas dinner tournament at the Kassam Stadium. A sweeping right hand rocked the student within ten seconds of

  • New council houses opened

    The first council houses to be built in Oxford for 20 years were officially opened yesterday. Five new families will be enjoying Christmas in their new homes, which are part of Oxford City Council’s £5.8m Lambourne Road development in Rose Hill. All

  • CUTS LATEST: Drivers to be hit by higher charges

    DRIVERS and businesses in Oxford have been dealt a parking double whammy after it was revealed charges will be imposed at the city’s five park-and-ride sites. And motorists will now also have to stump up to park on-street in the evenings and

  • SWIMMING: Marvel Murphy brothers turn it on to smash records

    Promising Didcot Barramundi brothers Alex and David Murphy were in re-cord-breaking form at the level one meeting in Bath. Alex, 15, smashed two records with victory in the 50m breaststroke. His time of 30.52 secs in the 50-metre pool was a 16 and under

  • BOXING: Johnson is tops for Berinsfield

    Daley Johnson claimed the best boxer award as Berinsfield chalked up six wins during their 14-bout Sunday afternoon show at the Abbey Sports Centre. He imposed his authority over taller Abingdon opponent Paul Sadler during the second half of

  • COMMENT: All for one, and one for the lucky few

    IT’S the coalition Government’s mantra as it pushes through spending cuts, that we’re all in it together. Unfortunately, in this respect Oxford City Council has scored a spectacular own goal with its decision to implement parking charges at many of the

  • Are you being Serbed?

    Serbia is not a country I had thought about visiting before. It’s not a typical holiday destination and, to be honest, I didn’t really know anything about the place. It was certainly not a destination I associated with skiing (little did I

  • GYMNASTICS: Acrobat Emily's jumping for joy

    Emily Allen, a promising acrobatic gymnast from Thame, is celebrating after receiving a £500 donation from the Mars Refuel Drink Fund. The 12-year-old, who is on a world class development programme in acrobatic gymnastics, won two gold medals and one

  • Frustration as Oxford's match at Lincoln is called off

    Oxford United’s npower League Two match at Lincoln today has been postponed after the Sincil Bank pitch failed an inspection yesterday afternoon. Although the temperature had risen, many areas remained too frozen, and there was still a huge

  • ANGLING: Shaun snaffles big Bucks pike

    The last time Shaun Trafford appeared in these pages, he had just returned from a carping trip to France and bagged a 59.9.0 mirror. And he is here again this week with a cracking 21.12.0 pike caught from a Buckinghamshire stillwater. Kidlington-based

  • A34 CRASH VICTIM: Grieving wife's loving tribute

    “NICK was a wonderful and devoted husband, father, friend and teacher.” Those were words of the wife of a college lecturer killed a week ago when his car crashed into a parked lorry and caught fire. Nick Kneale, 44, from Oxford, was

  • CUTS LATEST: Rubbish tips to go in bid to save £155m

    RUBBISH tips will close, 1,000 council jobs will go and street lights will be switched off. Those were among the measures outlined by Oxfordshire County Council yesterday as it seeks to cut £155m from its budget over the next four years.