OXFORD’S new Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin has pledged to let the train – and her bike – take the strain to help protect the planet during her year in office. Ms Benjamin, 45, will become Lord Mayor at the mayor-making ceremony at the Town Hall on Thursday
MAJOR roadworks due to start in Oxford’s Iffley Road on Monday have been postponed for a week. Oxfordshire County Council said that work to improve one of the city’s key arterial roads will instead begin on May 16. The council said the
WITH the music of Bob Marley and the Wailers blasting out, there was no doubting the enthusiasm of the exercise group at the East Oxford Community Centre. But the fact that most of the hard-working dancers were over 70 shows it is never too
Oxford United finish 12th in League Two after losing 3-0 at Shrewsbury Town in their final game of the season. The Shrews won the match with three second-half goals, from Mark Wright, David Davis and Lionel Ainsworth. Shrewsbury ended in fourth place
Oxford United's season ended with a first defeat in six games in somewhat surreal surroundings at GreenHous Meadow. Promotion-chasing Shrewsbury scored three times in the second half for a flattering final scoreline. Shrews top scorer, Mark Wright,
DESPITE being a total petrolhead, my historical knowledge of cars is a little hazy. For instance, I never knew that the inventor of the first contraption that could possibly be called a car was in fact Carl Benz. Back in 1886 he stuck
Oxford United were holding Shrewsbury Town 0-0 at half-time in their last npower League Two game of the season at GreenHous Meadow. There were few scoring chances in the first 45 minute, which was marred by fighting among Shrewsbury supporters
League champions Didcot Town completed the perfect season with their twentieth win out of twenty games with a 8-1 victory against Hinksey Park. Didcot started the first game well and took the lead through Louie Bumpass, after he had won the ball in the
Sebastian Vettel has become the first driver for five years to secure five successive pole positions. Not since Fernando Alonso in 2006 has a driver achieved such a feat, but Vettel is currently the man of the moment and could easily threaten
ARRIVING at Nuffield Place, you expect a wealth of interior splendour suitable for the man whose Morris car empire was second only to that of Henry Ford and who gave away £11bn to good causes. But Nuffield Place, at Huntercombe, near Wallingford, may
Anthony Tonkin was set to start at centre back for the first time for Oxford United in their final game of the season at Shrewsbury today. He lined up in a back four that also included Damian Batt, Harry Worley and Steve Kinniburgh. Jake Wright missed
A PRE-SCHOOL which came under fire from Ofsted inspectors is looking forward to a brighter future after unveiling its new £400,000 home. Grovelands Park Pre-School in Grove suffered a damning inspection report when it was based in a Scout hut while its
PROPERTY experts from Holiday Lettings will be swapping villas in Spain for vests in Oxford as they join thousands of runners taking part in the 30th Town & Gown race. Six brave souls from the firm, based in Banbury Road, Oxford, will be taking part
Chipping Norton’s Alice Powell crashed out in both rounds of the Formula Renault UK Championship at Thruxton. It was unlucky for the 18-year-old, as she had shown good signs in qualifying in fifth and second for the two races. Starting from fifth on
Banbury's Will Bratt might not make it on to the grid at Magny-Cours for the second event of the 2011 FIA Formula 2 Championship next weekend due to a budget shortfall which is threatening to de-rail his season after just one event. The 23-year-old,
THEY have delighted millions of people across the globe with their daredevil antics. Jumping out of a plane at 12,000ft and hurtling towards earth at 120mph, the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team is regarded as one of the world’s finest freefall
I travelled down to Marsh Farm, near Guildford, last week, accompanied by Colin Howes, hoping to catch some crucian carp. Using small pellets on very light tackle with small hooks, I landed three crucians of 2.10.0, 2.3.0 and 2.15.0, while Colin had
Oxford's Jason Plato battled back from another high-speed crash to win the third race at the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Thruxton. In the previous round at Donington Park two weeks ago, defending champion Plato, 43, dramatically rolled
History will be made in Wallingford over the next week as the town hosts its first film festival. Curated by the Wallingford School of Art and Art History and centred on documentaries produced by the Brightwide company founded by Oscar-winning
Reigning Champion Aidan Collins got his defence of the Grand National UK Flat Track Championship off to the perfect start by winning the opening round at Oxford Stadium last night, writes ROBERT PEASLEY. Former Workington Comets speedway star Collins
While most people in this country and around the world were glued to their TV sets last Friday, some anglers had more important matters in mind and 20 of them turned out for the Kidlington’s Royal Wedding Open on the Oxford Canal at New Bridge. Organiser
Banbury's two-car Mini team make their World Rally Championship debut in Sardinia this weekend, with team principal David Rich-ards saying the Mini Countryman had performed ‘better than anyone dared hope’ in testing. Richards said two years of intensive
Oxfordshire Under 14 Girls completed an unbeaten season in the Southern County Championships with wins over Berkshire and Sussex. It left Oxon with a record of three wins and three draws for third place in the table behind champions Bucks and runners-up
DROOPYS Edgar, runner-up in his last three top grade outings, can overcome the bridesmaid tag in the A1 over 450 metres at Oxford Stadium tonight. The white and black dog, trained by Ian Wills, gets the red jacket over the in-form Home Taylor, who has
Horspath Hammers returned to British Premier League action in style – thumping newly-promoted East Newport 102-74. It was a comprehensive team display from the Hammers, who suffered only one heat reverse in the entire match – and that came when Mark
OXFORD Triathlon Club are again running swimming sessions ahead of the summer’s Blenheim Triathon. The first starts today at the club’s lake near Dorchester-on-Thames and then each Saturday until May 28. For more details, contact openwaterswimming@
EYNSHAM’S Hannah Green won three medals at the British Gas Championships in Gloucester. The 16-year-old took bronze for her technical and free solo performance, and also won a silver in the combination team event. She completed her treble haul with
KARL Bushell became the first player to defend his Hard Bat title, beating Andy Lebutt in the final at Bicester TTC. Bushell was a worthy winner – his mix of attack and steady defence allowing him to go unbeaten throughout the whole tournament. Bushell
OXFORD Hawks open their two new pitches today. Philip Kimberley, the non-executive chairman of England Hockey Board, will perform the official ceremony at the Banbury Road North ground at 1pm. Senior and junior teams will also play a series of
Alec Ward scored a brace as Oxford University won the Varsity Match for the third year in a row with a 3-1 victory against Cambridge University at the Kassam Stadium last night. Ward fired the Dark Blues ahead after 15 minutes, only for Cambridge to
STAFF and pupils at a school near Banbury have paid tribute to a 25-year-old teacher who died following a fall. Matt Brace, right, who was a business and economics teacher at Chenderit School, in Middleton Cheney, had the accident at 2.45am last Saturday
YESTERDAY we questioned whether our judges were showing consistency in their decisions to jail a suicidal man for illegally holding firearms while letting a woman walk free after killing a mother and child while driving dangerously. We felt that there
SMILING devotedly at her baby, this photograph shows the love between mother and son. Just a few months later, both Ellie Bongers and her son Joseph had both lost their lives following a car crash. Last night Miss Bongers’ grieving partner Richard Gipps
THE Conservatives held their comfortable majority at South Oxfordshire District Council despite losing four seats. The Liberal Democrat opposition, meanwhile, lost three seats. The Tories went from 35 current seats (plus two more vacated by resignations
OXFORD City voters bucked both the national and the county trend by backing a change to Britain’s electoral system last night. Voters outside the city overwhelming rejected changing the voting system from the current first past the post to
THE Conservatives yesterday ended the 16-year Liberal Democrat control of Vale of White Horse District Council. The result, part of a miserable local election showing across the country for the Lib Dems, last night saw Tony De Vere considering
OXON Gold Cup finalist and punters favourite Positive Step has been retired after suffering a grascilus muscle injury and is looking for a good home. Contact Maurice Massy at the Stadium. Meawhile, another Oxford favourite, Jolly Poacher, is to aim at
OXFORD: A cyclist suffered minor head injuries after a collision with a van in High Street. The accident happened at about 4.15pm yesterday afternoon, causing delays. Nobody was arrested.
OXFORD: Police checked car number plates against a national database during an operation in Botley Road. Using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, officers checked all rush hour vehicles heading out of the city yesterday afternoon. Stolen
OXFORD: There is still time to take part in today’s Oxford Fun Run in aid of Pathway Workshop at the University Parks. People of all ages and fitness levels are urged to head along and register at 10.30am. It costs £25 to take part, which includes free
FILM fans will be treated to a series of celebrated thrillers during this year’s Oxford Film Festival, which kicks off tomorrow. The Oxford Mail and the Phoenix Picturehouse in Walton Street are once again staging their annual film festival, which this
RUBY Glasspool and Erica Abi-Karam have never been superstitious. So when the couple viewed their dream first home together, the number 13 hanging on the door did little to deter them from excitedly laying down a rental deposit. But
Britain's record-breaking dry spell is set to be interrupted by heavy downfalls this weekend, with thunderstorms potentially bringing some reprieve to firefighters tacking heathland fires. Despite temperatures staying warm and humid, heavy
Oxford United look like having a makeshift defence for their final game of the season at Shrewsbury on Saturday. But manager Chris Wilder says he hopes the U’s can still sign off in style, as a way of thanking “the best supporters” in League Two. Jake
THE Didcot branch of failed department store chain Alworths will reopen as a Poundstretcher after most of the firm’s shops were snapped up by the discount retailer. The store was formerly a Woolworths and was the first to reopen under the Alworths
A NEW campaign to tackle knife crime will be a “wonderful legacy” to a young father murdered in Oxford. That’s the view of Blayne Ridgway’s family ahead of the first anniversary of his death tomorrow. Last night the head of Oxford CID
IT IS not through a want of trying by Det Insp Simon Morton and his officers that knives on our streets have shown no real sign of decreasing in the year since Blayne Ridgway was murdered. We back the police’s campaign wholeheartedly but question how
A £40m science centre dedicated to space and unique in Europe was officially opened yesterday. The International Space Innovation Centre (ISIC) in Harwell will help universities and industry work together to develop space technology. Universities and
Oxford was one of only ten places in the UK to vote in favour of electoral reform in Thursday’s referendum, it emerged this morning. The city bucked a national trend which saw voters across the country vote overwhelmingly against the alternative vote
Thousands of faith schools could become academies, giving them stronger powers over their curriculum and funding, it was suggested today. Up to seven in 10 Church of England schools could switch over the next five years, according to the Rt Rev John
THE first British female bomb expert killed in Afghanistan was yesterday carried by comrades on her final journey. Members of Didcot-based 11 EOD Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, bore the coffin of Captain Lisa Head at her funeral. Another contingent
THEATRE lover Heather Dunmore has switched the Oxfringe Festival to a different time of year to attract more students. Oxford University’s summer term does not finish until June 25, so the event, now in its fifth year, will run for 16 days from June
HUNDREDS OF collectable comics will be handed out at an East Oxford record store today. The Truck Record store, in Cowley Road, formerly the independent film hire shop Videosyncratic, organised the mass giveaway to mark International Free Comic Book
A quad bike was stolen from a farm near Lechlade. The red Honda TRX500, which was parked at Filkins Downs Farm in Filkins, was taken between 4.20pm and 4.30pm on Thursday. The bike’s rider had parked it at the farm while he was working and returned
