Police today issued a new appeal over a burglary in which a large amount of jewellery was stolen from a house in Pusey. The burglary, at the property in Lodge Road, Pusey, happened sometime between 9.20pm and 10.20pm on Saturday, April 23. PC Francesca
A 22-year-old man has been charged with the robbery of a security guard who was collecting money from a bank in Banbury last month. Inam Miah, of Grantham Road, Birmingham, has been charged with the robbery that happened outside the Nat West
BLUR bassist Alex James has tried to help a homeless man by taking him into his west Oxfordshire home. The two-week stay was part of ITV1’s documentary Home Is Where The Heart Is. The first episode was shown on Tuesday night. Mr James
THE WAY (12A). Drama. Martin Sheen, Yorick van Wageningen, Deborah Kara Unger, James Nesbitt, Omar Munoz, Antonio Gil. Director: Emilio Estevez. A grieving patriarch walks in the footsteps of his late son in the fourth directorial
It wowed television audiences when it was turned into a mini series, and ANDREW FFRENCH discovers The Crimson Petal and the White is a real page turner. IT took five years before someone had the idea of adapting Michel Faber’s acclaimed novel
KATHERINE MACALISTER enjoys a good old-fashioned pub meal in a picturesque English country garden. It was like entering Never-Never Land when we ventured off for a pub garden lunch with the kids on Bank Holiday Monday. Because while some
Henry Dartnell of Young Knives tells Tim Hughes why they are very much back – and this time determined to do things on their own terms. Got that? ECCENTRIC, funny, sharp-witted and blindingly talented, Young Knives rank among the very best
FAMILIES on an Oxford estate are celebrating a £50,000 extension to their children’s centre. The new reception area at the Blackbird Leys Children’s Centre in Cuddesdon Way has freed up more play space for youngsters to have fun. And
ATTACK THE BLOCK (15) Sci-Fi/Comedy/Action Time and again, when extraterrestrials invade Earth, they choose the trigger happy United States of America as the point of inception. And every time, there is a square-jawed
It’s been a whirlwind career for Howard Read as KATHERINE MACALISTER discovers when she meets the larger-than-life comic, who is bringing his unique stand-up show to the Oxford Playhouse. Big Howard is larger than life in many ways. Not only
Despite 40 years’ acting experience, Robert Powell has lost none of his passion as Katherine MACAlister finds out as he prepares to play an ailing journalist in the hilarious and poignant Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell. If you a
TIM HUGHES catches up with the wonderfully eccentric Sparrow and the Workshop. WHEN it comes to playing live, the audience is everything. Just ask Glaswegian three-piece Sparrow and the Workshop. The folk-rock trio have gone down a storm
Cancer treatment campaigner Clive Stone won his appeal for a life-extending operation on the same day that he picked up an MBE for the work he has done to support cancer sufferers. Mr Stone, 63, was given the MBE by Prince Charles on Wednesday
WILLIAM Jarvis, lead guitarist with the celebrated 1960s Oxford group The Falling Leaves, has died aged 65. Mr Jarvis famously appeared on the same bill as The Beatles when the Fab Four performed at the Carfax Assembly Rooms in 1963, in what was to be
TRAINER Bob Hannan app-ears to have the upper hand in the £500 BAGS/SIS Sweepstakes final at tomorrow’s BAGS meeting (1.19. Bluejay Risky, a blue bitch with both early and late pace, was impressive when beating Thandis Bob Hi in the heats posting a calculated
PRESENTING a united front – and maybe even a famous face or two – Barry Grinham and his 100-strong Prime Energy team are raring to go in Sunday’s Town and Gown Run in Oxford. Mr Grinham, owner of the Summertown-based fitness company, first
Flip by Martyn Bedford (Walker, £7.99) It’s a well-worn cliché that teenagers sometimes feel they’re in someone else’s body, and Bedford has followed this idea to its logical conclusion in his tale of a lad called Alex, who ends up in the body of a
Writer Patrick Ness was in a dilemma. He had been asked to write a book, based on an idea by Oxford author Siobhan Dowd, who had died of cancer at 47, before she was able to develop the story. Siobhan's work had been one of his inspirations when he was
Hundreds of street parties were held in Oxfordshire to celebrate the Coronation in 1953. A collection has been assembled by Marilyn Yurdan in a book called Oxfordshire Customs, Sports & Traditions (History Press, £12.99). Most of the photographs come
LIBERTY’S EXILES by Maya Jasanoff (Harper Press, £30)It is reckoned that up to a third of Americans caught up in the tidal wave of revolution, Washington's War of Independence against the British in the 18th century, supported the monarchy in far-off
Sex & Stravinsky Barbara Trapido (Bloomsbury, £7.99) Trapido’s latest novel is partly set in 1990s Oxford, and partly in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa, the author’s birthplace. As always with Trapido, the plot is complicated, but she establishes
A crash involving a caravan today caused delays for drivers on the M40 in north Oxfordshire. The collision happened on the southbound carriageway between junction 11, at Banbury, and junction 10, the Cherwell Valley Services. Two lanes were closed
AN OXFORD toddler group is celebrating after youngsters and their parents discovered they had won £500. The Sunflowers Group, which meets at Magdalen Road Church Hall in East Oxford has been going for six years. Every week more than 60 families come
THEY say good neighbours become good friends – and one Kidlington group is proving just that. The Kidlington and District Good Neighbour scheme provides help for elderly and disabled people in the area. And now they have received £590
Oxford B have it all to do after crashing to a 4-1 defeat away to Northants B in the first leg of their Inter-Area Cup second-round tie. Democrats’ Billy Hill took the first game 7,610-3,150, but the next four all went to the home side to leave Oxford
A CHARITY which takes people with mental health problems on walks across the UK has been awarded £1,000 to provide new equipment. Oxford Coasters, which was set up in 1995, helps sufferers find relaxation, discipline and new skills through a range of
THE clock is ticking on the chance to win £7,500 building work at your school in our super competition with Leadbitter. The Oxford Mail has begun to receive entries after the School Build SOS contest to win a major revamp was launched earlier this month
THE Labour group has taken over control of Didcot Town Council after four years of Conservative rule. Following last week’s local election, there are now 11 Labour councillors, nine Tories and one Independent. Previously there were 15 Conservative councillors
The fact that almost 6,000 motorists were caught by speed cameras in the month that they were switched back on in Oxfordshire is not a huge surprise. The one factor that deters law-breaking more than any other is the certainty of detection.
It is sometimes useful to see life from someone else’s point of view, so all praise to the deputy leader of the city council who spent three hours trying to navigate the centre of Oxford in an electric wheelchair. The result of his brief experiment proved
The three Division 1 sides avoided shocks and eased into the semi-finals of the Oxford & District League Cup. However, the all-Division 2 clash between West Witney and Banbury Chestnuts saw plenty of excitement, with Witney winning by just four shots
A YOUNG entrepreneur is on the road to success after his car sharing business clocked up 5,000 users. Drummond Gilbert came up with the idea for GoCarShare.com after seeing queues of cars each carrying just one person. The 29-year-old, from East Hendred
Two of the city’s biggest clubs are to merge to form Oxford Hockey Club, writes Jon Murray. City of Oxford and Rover Oxford took the decision to join forces at separate meetings last week. And the move has been rubber-stamped ready for the merger
CHILDREN face being separated from their siblings when they start school because there are not enough primary places in Wantage. Some children living in the town have been offered places in neighbouring Grove, East Challow, and East Hendred
Disabled people from across Oxfordshire joined 5,000 people on a march through London to protest against Government benefits reforms. Demonstrators included people in wheelchairs, blind people with guidedogs and people with learning difficulties. Their
Carole Galletly (Banbury Central), Katherine Hawes and Donna Grant (both Oxford City & County) have been selected for a Bowls England Senior International Trial at Norgren BC, Warwickshire on Saturday, May 21. If successful, the trio will represent Bowls
Emily Harbour landed a double on Balladeer and Mister Cee Jay at the Kimblewick Hunt meeting at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor – but also picked up a £150 fine. The 24-year-old, from Emm-ington, near Thame, was seen to good effect on Balladeer
Witney United are again looking for a new manager after Richard Hill resigned for a second time. He left the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division club after being told that there was no money available for a playing budget next season, something
SUMMERTOWN could end up with a new multi-million pound library after the campaign to save Oxfordshire libraries took a new twist. Campaigners in North Oxford say, rather than stand by and see their local library closed, they will challenge County Hall
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 1 Studley Wood 2 (3pts), Tadmarton Heath 1 (1) (Studley Wood first): G Stevens & J McClure bt S O’Connor & S Hallam 1 hole, N Lawton & M Stokes lost to G Sambrook & O King 4&2, S Jenkins & J Axford
A DEPLETED Oxford Cavaliers crashed 50-24 at Wiltshire Wyverns in the opening match of their Co-operative Rugby League Conference West of England Regional season. Cavaliers finished the game with 12 players as injuries to loose-forward John Connaughton
ADAM Smith was in top form as he helped Oxford City to victory in their National Young Athletes League Midland Premier South match at Hereford. Smith took pride of place as he posted a treble with victories in the under 13 boys’ 100m, 200m and long jump
The future of children’s heart surgery in Oxford will be discussed by Oxfordshire County Council next week. The Oxfordshire joint health overview and scrutiny committee will discuss the consultation on the future provision of the service in England.
AUDIENCES have packed screenings at the Oxford Film Festival to celebrate the work of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. Co-sponsored by the Oxford Mail and the Phoenix Picturehouse cinema, the festival – now in its fifth year – has proved successful
OXFORDSHIRE firefighters visited busy service stations yesterday to help launch a decade-long international campaign to improve road safety. The crews, who have first-hand experience of dealing with the aftermath of road accidents, spoke to drivers
STUDLEY Wood earned a second successive win in Section 1 of the Shaw Gibbs Oxfordshire Foursomes League, overcoming Tadmarton Heath 2-1. Greg Stevens and John McClure gained Studley’s first point, wrapping up victory over Steve O’Connor and Spencer Hallam
AN OXFORD nursing home left pensioners in pain without their medication, and others struggling to get out of bed. A damning report by Care Quality Commission inspectors has found 66-resident Brookfield Christian Care Home, in Little Bury, Greater Leys
RUGBY World Cup winner Matt Dawson gave some healthy hints to young sportsmen at Abingdon School yesterday. Mr Dawson met the 42 sixth-formers ahead of a school rugby tour to South Africa this summer. The former England captain won 77
A failed bolt led to the wings coming off a glider which crashed, killing its pilot, an air accident report said yesterday. It had “not been possible to detect” the problem before Amy Barsby, 25, from Lancashire, left Bicester Airfield, the report from
TRAIN operator First Great Western is to give up its franchise to run services in the Thames Valley and West of England three years early. The company blamed the recent economic downturn for its decision not to take up a three-year option to extend
In his letter entitled ‘Indecent proposal’ (Friday’s View Points) Chris Robins questions our honesty for not making it clear that the planning application featured in your earlier article was in our ward, and also our competence for appearing to be unaware
It was interesting to note the eye-catching, but what I consider sadly misleading, banner headline ‘Unbelievable use of funds’ in your edition of April 23. I am bemused as to whether your article was a serious piece of reporting or an opportunity
My heart goes out to Richard Gipps, who lost his partner Ellie Bongers and their son Joseph in a car crash (Saturday’s Oxford Mail). We too lost our son in a tragic road accident nearly six years ago. We are still struggling to cope with his death.
I NOTE that in his letter Kidlington parish councillor Chris Robins employs the expression: “the pot calling the kettle” with the usual final adjective suppressed. Is this omission for the sake of brevity and jocularity – as in “out of your tiny (mind
A part of me is secretly pleased that Keith Mitchell will remain as the redoubtable leader of the county council (Friday’s Oxford Mail). His wicked and irreverent sense of humour never fails to entertain this member of the electorate. A lot of people
THE Oxfordshire school admissions team have done a fantastic job in ruining our children’s education again. I really cannot believe the number of parents that have been given the news that their children will not be attending any of their three preferred
The fact that Oxfordshire County Council is strapped for cash is well publicised, but one councillor was left wondering how desperate things had got this week. Anda Fitzgerald-O’Connor was confused by the title of one report to a scrutiny committee
WOODSTOCK Harrier Steve Naylor broke the course record as he stormed to victory in round one of the Mota-vation Series at Charlton-on-Otmoor. Naylor clocked 20mins 4secs for the 4.1-mile course to beat the 2010 mark set by Mathew Ashton by 15 seconds
OXFORD City got their Southern League Division 2 West campaign off to a flying start with a comprehensive win at Horspath. It was a superb performance from City, who recorded 14 victories across all the events. Ashley Johnson won four of his seven events
EDDIE Pepperell will play his first tournament as a professional today when he tees off in the Mugello Tuscany Open in Italy. The 20-year-old, from Abingdon, makes his debut on the European Challenge Tour after securing an invite through management
A WOMAN who hid drugs up her sleeve to smuggle them into a prison has been jailed. Patricia Taylor of Paradise Street, Oxford, was jailed for three and a half years on Tuesday after earlier admitting possessing Class A, B and C drugs with intent to supply
CLOSING the BBC’s Oxford television news set-up would be a hugely retrograde step for our county. Today senior BBC managers are expected to confirm they are pressing ahead with plans to close BBC Oxford TV, meaning all the corporation’s local news will
Oxford's two main rugby clubs will merge if a proposal gets the go-ahead. Members of Oxford and Oxford Harlequins will vote at a joint annual meeting on Thursday, May 12 on the plan to combine their clubs and end over a century of history.
VALE: Leader of Liberal Democrats in the Vale, Tony De Vere, above, has stepped down from the job after his party lost 14 council seats last week. The Conservatives took control of Vale of White Horse District Council from the Lib Dems, who had been
CANCER treatment campaigner Clive Stone received his MBE yesterday but told Prince Charles he didn’t know if he would get the operation to stop a brain tumour killing him. On the same day that Mr Stone was picking up the honour, NHS Oxfordshire
PEOPLE are being urged to get behind a concert to support a Bicester soldier who lost three limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan. Private Alexander Stringer, 19, joined the Army about a year before he was posted to Afghanistan last October for a six
BBC Oxford TV is under threat as managers meet today to discuss shutting down the Banbury Road operation and moving it to Southampton. The cost-cutting plan, unveiled to staff on Monday, would see the county lose its dedicated news bulletins
Sir – James Styring’s defence of 19th-century legislation against dangerous cyclists (Report, May 5) is frightening. Of course the safety of cyclists on the road is crucial. More cycle lanes should be installed eg in Iffley Road’s renovation. But even
Sir – Having made part of Manzil Gardens into a builder’s storage yard (2010) the city council appears keen on the ‘parks for builder’s yard’ scheme. The new park destined to be a ‘builder's compound’ is the football pitch on Meadow Lane Recreation
Sir – I was horrified by the story (Report, April 28) about a large snake being found abandoned in a wood near Oxford. An RSPCA spokesman was quoted as saying that “the owners were very irresponsible”, which was probably the understatement of the century
Sir – Last week Oriel College’s appeal to build a large and intrusive complex in the grounds of the old Bartlemas leper settlement opposite the Regal on the Cowley Road was quashed. This is the third time in recent years that East Oxford’s Green councillors
Sir – The dinosaurs, the wealthy and the mystified said no to the Alternative Vote (AV). The brightest and best of Oxford and Cambridge said yes, refusing to be swayed by the dishonest, self-interested and specious arguments of the no to AV and Conservative
Sir – Councillor Barry Norton, responding to the election results for the district council, claimed that the people of West Oxfordshire had once again put their trust in the Conservatives. He is quite wrong. To be precise, 14,365 people put their trust
Sir – Another year, another local election and again we have only received one election leaflet. How can would-be councillors expect to be elected when they do not distribute election leaflets to all, to explain to us what they are standing for? It
Sir – A part of me is secretly pleased that Keith Mitchell will remain as the redoubtable leader of the county council. His wicked and irreverent sense of humour never fails to entertain this member of the electorate. A lot of people are offended by
Sir – The police keep extensive records on crimes committed. Yet when challenged to demonstrate the effectiveness of CCTV cameras on the Cowley Road the police declined on grounds of cost. How strange. Could this be because the figures, in line with
Sir – Whilst most voters in West Oxfordshire chose to stay with the present voting system it might be interesting to compare results with the district council we might have if we adopted proportionate representation. Our new district council consists
Sir – Your story that a fifth of all Post Offices have closed in the South-east over the last five years makes disturbing reading. However, the plans in the Postal Services Bill presently going through its parliamentary stages could lead to the loss
Sir – Now that the elections are over, there are important issues that our town and district councillors will have to consider. Amongst these are future housing and flooding. I fear our councillors have rather short memories since West Oxfordshire was
Sir – Having now had some time to go through the full breakdown of votes cast, as opposed to the headline figures, I have come to the conclusion that the ‘tactical’ deployment of Labour candidates handed the Conservatives seven to eight seats on the
Sir – Just a few weeks ago, councillor Keith Mitchell issued a carefully worded and unusually conciliatory statement which you interpreted as “the libraries have been saved”. In fact the statement said no such thing and simply postponed the start of
Sir – I greatly enjoyed Chris Koenig’s excellent article on how the profits of the King James Bible helped to fund the building of the University Museum in 1859 (Past Times, May 5). I feel, however, that I must correct a common misapprehension which Chris
Sir – I am with Robin Gill (Letters, May 5) most of the way, and voted Yes, but I must challenge his (and many others’) assertion that “The AV system at least ensures that your MP has the consent of a majority of the voters”. Not necessarily. Many voters
America was celebrating its bicentenary when Taxi Driver was first released. By a quirk of fate, it is now reissued to mark its 35th anniversary just as the country again has cause to feel good about itself. The reasons for such positivity may be markedly
There's plenty to get through this week. Not much by way of quality, despite the odd worthy outing. But if it's exploitation you're after... The sheer quantity of mediocre horror that gets released each month is dispiritingly staggering. If only a
AN OXFORD charity is fighting back after lead thieves left it hundreds of pounds out of pocket. A minibus was stolen from Trax, which offers motor-based activities for youths across Oxfordshire, before being used in an aborted raid on a roofing company
Over the past the mixture of bad press, media generalisations and stereotypes have caused a misunderstanding and a drift between the younger and older population to form. With the aim to change this unfortunate circumstance and re-connect the two generations
