Archive

PLANS to transform Wantage Market Place could be scrapped as Tory council leaders looks to undo a long heralded vision for the town. The Lib Dems put aside £300,000 to make the square more pedestrian-friendly. But the Tories, who took control of Wantage

DAD-OF-TWO Sonny Florey fears for the safety of his children after a colony of bees attached itself to the roof of his Blackbird Leys home. Tesco worker Mr Florey, 35, called Oxford City Council after the bees started buzzing around the eaves

RAF personnel from Brize Norton are hoping a charity walk will help them bond with their soon-to-be colleagues. The event is being organised in west Oxfordshire to raise money for charity Help for Heroes. The walk takes place along the River Thames,

RUSKIN College says its proposals to build on fields in Old Headington are motivated by concern for Oxford’s homeless rather than greed. The college has come under fire after details emerged of its plans to build houses on part of its Headington

OXFORD and Cambridge are known for their fierce competitiveness in the Boat Race. But a group of Oxford students are hoping to make a splash in a different way, by pushing themselves to the limit in a 1,000-mile charity cycling race against their rivals

Independent councillor Colin Dolton will serve as Wallingford mayor. He replaces Bernard Stone.

ABINGDON’S new Conservative-run town council angered former mayors by breaking with tradition and electing Mike Badcock, top, to the position. The Tory was elected mayor on May 16 after his party used its one-seat majority to vote him in ahead of the

HARRY Eaglestone,has been named as the new mayor of Witney and is launching a charity to celebrate. Mr Eaglestone, 76, represents the Witney West ward and has been deputy mayor for the last two years. He said: “I have looked forward

BANBURY’S new mayor is Alastair Milne Home. Driving instructor Mr Milne Home moved to the town in 1974 and for the first few years he built sailing dinghies. Later he retrained to become a driving instructor. He has been a Banbury

The new mayor of Wantage is recently-elected Conservative town and district councillor Charlotte Dickson. She took over from Lib Dem Jim Sibbald after he lost his seat on the council.

BICESTER’s new mayor Rose Stratford has taken on the mantle a decade after her husband. Mrs Stratford already has some experience of the role as her husband Lawrie, a district and county councillor, was mayor in 2001. But this time her husband will

PHIL Hayward, Didcot’s new mayor, is planning a sponsored walk around the town’s primary and secondary schools to raise funds for charities. Mr Hayward, 63, who lives in Ouse Close on the Ladygrove estate, will embark on the walk to raise funds for his

POLICE officers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty have been praised for their efforts. Here we look at the winners of Thames Valley Police’s Community Policing Awards 2011. Now in their 10th year, the awards see nominations

The outgoing boss of bus company Thames Travel has promised it is business as usual after it was taken over by a major UK operator. Managing director John Wright has sold the company to the Go-Ahead Group but has pledged that all 90 jobs at its Wallingford

THE Henley Training Company at The Henley College delivers Apprenticeships and work-based training in hairdressing, business skills, childcare and catering and hospitality. It specialises in the selection and recruitment of apprentices and workbased

AEA Technology 4.1 BMW 5214 Electrocomponents 282.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 94 Oxford Biomedica 5.85 Oxford Catalysts 91 Oxford Instruments 736 Reed Elsevier 547.25 RM 148 RPS Group 245.6 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

SPURRED on by the level of interest in the 100 in 100 campaign, Oxford & Cherwell Valley College (OCVC) has set itself a challenge to more than double the number of apprentices it trains in the next two years. Already the leading provider of apprenticeship

All our apprentices are champions! THAT is the message from the Scion Group. Scion, based in Didcot provides a range of electrical, mechanical and facilities management services for clients ranging from individual households to the John Radcliffe

HMG Law LLP, Solicitors in Oxford and Bicester, were looking for a receptionist for their busy Bicester office. Jade Bowerman was looking for a job with a future. Jade is now enjoying her Business Administration Apprenticeship with the firm, and

OXFORD firms are stepping up their apprentice recruitment with training provider JTL. With more than 700 apprentices deployed within companies throughout the South East, JTL has two decades of experience providing the region’s employers with high-quality

JHP Training is a national training provider, specialising in Apprenticeship and NVQ delivery across the country. One apprentice who has benefited from JHP Training is 20-year-old, Jodie Herbert from Oxfordshire. Jodie has transformed from a shy

Electronics and maintenance products supplier Electrocomponents has reported a major surge in its fortunes. The company, based at the Oxford Business Park, recorded a pre-tax profit of £114m for the year to March 31, a rise of more than 53 per cent,

HYDAC Technology Limited is a global supplier of fluid technology, hydraulic and electronic equipment. With more than 5,000 employees worldwide, 40 overseas companies and over 500 sales and service partners it is close to its customers helping

NEXUS COMMUNITY joined the Oxford National Apprenticeship Campaign. As a part of the Oxford National Apprenticeship 100 in 100 Campaign, Nexus Community (a division of GLL) was recruiting for an apprenticeship position at Windrush Leisure Centre

ACE Training in Kidlington prepares apprentices for a career in Site Carpentry and Brickwork, learners are based with their employer four days a week and spend the fifth day at ACE working towards their qualification. For many building firms this

THERE are many ways that a young person can embark on a career in specialist cleaning and the hospitality management Industry. For those who enjoy an academic way of life, there’s the chance to take different courses at college before trying to

THE Horticulture Apprenticeship is aimed at young people aged 16-18, who are working as greenkeepers, in garden maintenance, at nurseries or as landscape gardeners and want to learn new skills while they are working and gain recognised qualifications

FINISHING school or leaving college is a daunting prospect for many young people as they face major decisions that will affect their future. Unlike many of his peers, Dennis Chikwanha, Research Technician at Oxford University, decided to avoid the

At Abingdon & Witney College we have a dedicated employer engagement team, Advanced Business Solutions (ABS), based at Milton Park, Abingdon. In addition to supporting apprenticeship frameworks, we are able to offer tailormade short courses

Oxford United have today unveiled the signing of Deane Smalley from Oldham Athletic. The striker, 22, has signed on a two-year deal, with an option for a third season. There is a compensation fee that has been paiod to the Latics but that has

ARTIST Terry Terentius Andersohn has regained his trust in people thanks to a project aimed at tackling loneliness in Oxford. Two-and-a-half years ago Mr Andersohn was lacking in confidence and reluctant to meet other people. But now he has made new

KENILWORTH Castle and the Oxford Mail are giving you the chance to win a great Father's Day prize at Kenilworth Castle. There are two prizes where you can take your Dad on a sleepover at the castle, bunking down in the Stables, with a medieval

Seventeen managers from Midcounties Co-operative supermarkets, who walked nine miles along the River Thames, expect to raise £1,300 for charity Women’s Aid. The team of store managers and deputy managers walked from Abingdon Lock to Sandford Lock and

RAIL passengers may have to “up the ante” to secure an all-day hourly train service between Oxford and Worcester, according to the chairman of the Cotswold Line Promotion Group. John Ellis, a former senior manager with British Rail, told the group’s

THE kids will be getting hungry so we've got a great food offer on Friday. Pick up the token from Friday's Oxford Mail and you can get a second pizza for free when you buy one from Papa Johns in Rose Hill. It may be half-term but our offers every day

WE'VE got an exclusive offer in Thursday's Oxford Mail of a two-for-one deal at Snakes and Ladders in Abingdon for our readers. That means you can take two children to the excellent activity centre for the price of one, just by taking the token

CAR lover Jon Kingdon is determined not to let an incurable illness stop him from doing the thing he enjoys most. The 57-year-old from Grove, who has been modifying cars since he was a teenager, was struck down by ill health last August. He has been

Grab Tuesday's Oxford Mail for the second of our great half-term reader offers. You can get half-price entry to iKidz, the activity club at the Ozone Leisure Park at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford. It may be half-term but our offers every

IT may be half-term but our offers every day that week are full value! We're kicking off our great week of offers every day for half-term with a two-for-one ticket deal at Warwick Castle. Grab Monday's Oxford Mail for your special offer to help keep

IT may be half-term but our offers every day that week are full value! On Wednesday buy your Oxford Mail and get a free token which allows you a free child's ticket to Legoland when they accompany a full-paying adult. And just remember

Didcot & Hagbourne (Messac): 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 Lloyd & Kelly 1529, 1488 (x3), 1466, 1457; 5, 6 R Edwards 1473, 1471; 9, 10, 15 G Seeney 1455, 1453, 1345; 11, 12, 16, 17 Gilbert & Newport 1444 (x2), 1311, 1305; 14, 19 G Purvis 1356, 1296; 18 R Ayling 1304

A HISTORIC celebration was kept alive in Witney when youngsters performed Maypole and country dancing to thousands of parents. Almost 400 children from The Batt CofE Primary School and St Mary’s CofE Infant School took to Church Green on Wednesday to

All of Oxfordshire 43 public libraries will remain open, under new plans published today by Oxfordshire County Council. In a U-turn from the previous proposal to withdraw funding from 20 branches, council leader Keith Mitchell said County Hall was now

A 150-YEAR-OLD working men’s club in North Oxford faces demolition to make way for six new homes. The Grove House Club was forced to close because of dwindling membership more than a year ago. Now developers have submitted a planning application to

Brothers Joe and Ben Roberts, of Brize Norton, both had a successful weekend in national competitions. Joe, a year nine student at Henry Box School in Witney, took the bronze medal at the Warwick Open ‘Rising Stars’ under 14 tournament. His only defeat

Start Royal may have missed out on the champion young horse title – but he could bid to end his season on a high note at the Berks & Bucks Draghounds Hunt meeting at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor, on Sunday. With the standings finalised last

I’m a sucker for middle of the road indie. Shocking admission though it may be. Bred from the Gallagher-haired-styled, gazelle wearing, dyed-in-the-wool Britpop generation. Believe me, I’ve stomached my fair share of jingly-jangly guitar

SERVICES to protect children in Oxfordshire have been rated as “good” by Ofsted following an inspection earlier this year. Inspectors examined Oxfordshire County Council’s services for safeguarding children and young people and looked at the quality

“MANIPULATIVE” nuns sacked an out-of-favour care assistant because she did not bend to their every whim, an employment tribunal heard yesterday. Christine Sheldon was dismissed from St Mary the Virgin Convent, in Wantage, over claims from the

Persimmon Village Cup LAST year’s national runners-up, Shipton-under-Wychwood, can expect a severe test when they visit Horspath in Sunday’s Oxfordshire semi-final (2). Horspath have already overcome fellow Home Counties Premier League club

WALLINGFORD RC’S small contingent of juniors emerged with four wins out of five in the Worcester Spring Regatta. Their junior women’s quad was a composite with the three Wallingford girls, Alice Walker, Leanne Reeves and Hannah Whelan joining up with

Botley youngster Olivia Jagger will rub shoulders with British No 1 Andy Murray after being given the thumbs-up by three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker and Mark Petchey at the Barclays Ball Kids National Trials. The 13-year-old Oxford High School

AEA Technology 4.1 BMW 5204 Electrocomponents 284.9 Nationwide Accident Repair 94 Oxford Biomedica 5.85 Oxford Catalysts 93 Oxford Instruments 733.75 Reed Elsevier 548.25 RM 148 RPS Group 245.7 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

ECB 50+ County Championship ALEC Cunningham hit an unbeaten century as Oxfordshire 50+ made it two wins out of two in Group 4 with a 66-run victory over Wales 50+ at Banbury Twenty. His chancless 104 not out took Oxon to 233-4 off their 45 overs after

SATURDAY CRICKET SERIOUS CRICKET HOME COUNTIES PREMIER LEAGUE Div 1: Banbury v Oxford, Welwyn Garden City v Henley. Div 2 West: Dinton v Aston Rowant, Farnham Royal v Horspath, Thame Tn v Slough. MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Div 1: Bletchley Town

Keith Brooks was correct to expose the hypocrisy of the various public authorities who waste taxpayers’ money on expensive frivolities (Oxford Mail, May 3). Recently the county council leader, Keith Mitchell, warned his cabinet that the public still

I WAS disgusted to read the front page headline in last Friday’s Oxford Mail – Knock Down Your Temple. Oxford City Council’s heavy-handed attitude towards the city’s Sikh community is a disgrace. The Sikhs are a proud hard-working and peaceful people

Serious Cricket Home Counties Premier League BANBURY look set to compete without an overseas player this season after failing to bring in New Zealander Dewayne Bowden. Bowden, a left-arm fast-medium bowler, was due to join Banbury for the Division

Zac Purchase, from Wallingford, and Mark Hunter set new standards in being crowned 2010 world champions in the lightweight double – and they are determined to raise the bar again. The reigning Olympic champions made a victorious return to action after

I like to think that most of us are familiar with words such as please, thank you and excuse me. And if we are walking along a street and find ourselves heading towards someone else, we will generally move aside to let him or her pass. If we find ourselves

Oxfordshire must rely on other results as they bid to qualify for the MCCA Trophy quarter-finals from Group 3, writes ED MEZZETTI. Ian Hawtin’s side need to defeat Hertfordshire in their final match at North Mymms on Sunday and then hope other games

I CAN’T believe that, for the past 30 years, Pam Mason from Long Hanborough has suffered with really bad bouts of migraine, because the NHS said the operation would not be cost-effective (Oxford Mail, May 21). When you think of the cost of the medication

THERE have been great goings on in the Oxford Mail recently. Ian Hudspeth was awarded the DCM (Don’t Come Monday) by council leader Keith Mitchell, for daring to try to oust the old fellow (though, this may have been a result of an earlier letter accusing

During Prime Minister’s Questions recently, Mr Cameron was asked by an MP why the air ambulance service could not reclaim VAT on fuel, while the RNLI could. A casual answer from the Prime Minister was that it was a European Union ruling. Any MPs with

EARLIER this month, I was in Cornmarket Street, enjoying a coffee outside. As readers will know, many street artists perform there. One woman in particular imitates a statue and keeps perfectly still on a plinth. Suddenly, I heard a loud shout and

YOU didn’t need to be a behavioural therapist to recognise the late middle-aged woman in the elegant suit and somewhat out-of-place nuclear red hair was getting right up her husband’s nose. To hazard a guess, the monologue of moans and catalogue of complaints

THIS was the scene which confronted firefighters and paramedics called to deal with a car crash near Carterton. The driver of a Rover 214 was trapped inside his car after he apparently skidded off the road and hit a tree. The vehicle went off the

YARNTON: Two drivers needed hospital treatment following a collision on the A44. The accident involving two vehicles happened near the Loop Farm roundabout on the northbound carriageway at about 7.15am yesterday. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance

OXFORD: Three men arrested following an attack on a 22-year-old man in Cutteslowe have been released on police bail. The victim was left with a broken skull in the attack in Jackson Road on Monday. Chris Kearney, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police

Residents last night gathered at the Folly Hill layby on the A420 at Faringdon for the 100th time to pay their respects to another fallen UK soldier. Colour Serjeant Kevin Fortuna, 36, from 1st Battalion The Rifles, was killed by a bomb in

HEADINGTON: A blue plaque to famous Morris dancer and folk musician William Kimber will be unveiled on Monday. The ceremony will take place at 6pm outside 42 St Anne’s Road, the house Mr Kimber built for his family in about 1908. The traditional bank

PRESIDENT Obama got a flame-grilled taste of Oxfordshire on his state visit to Britain, without even setting a foot in the county. When the Camerons and Obamas fired up the barbecue on the lawns of Downing Street, it was ribs from a Chadlington

AFFAIRS of state may keep David Cameron away from Oxfordshire more than he would like, but you can’t accuse him of not pushing the county’s produce. Mr Cameron ordered in ribs from his local butcher in Chadlington and muffins from a Witney

THE man accused of murdering Sian O’Callaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards is likely to be tried next year, a court heard yesterday. Taxi driver Christopher Halliwell faced Bristol Crown Court just two days after appearing before magistrates for the first

EVIL farm labourer John William Cooper has been jailed for life without hope of parole after a jury convicted him of four horrific murders, including Peter and Gwenda Dixon from Witney. Cooper, 66, was also found guilty of raping a 16-year-old

FOR 8,001 days, Tim Dixon and his sister Julia Pratley have waited to see the man responsible for the brutal murder of their parents brought to justice. It has been an interminable wait — more than 20 years of wondering when, or if, that killer

RAIL enthusiasts can try travelling like Edwardian commuters tomorrow when a unique rebuilt Great Western Railway steam railmotor takes to the tracks in Didcot. The railmotors were the first generation of trains that were self-propelled, instead of being

POSTMEN spend their working lives driving around in red vehicles. But one retiring postman ditched his traditional van for a sporty red Ferrari on his final Saturday delivery round. Mike Young, 65, has worked for Royal Mail for 18 years and for all