JUNE 17-19 Witney book festival: Three days of events with authors including crime writers Ann Granger and Caroline Graham, Ben Molyneux, Jo Eames, poet Pat Winslow, crime writers Malcolm Pryce and David Wiseman, thriller writer Harry Bingham, children
A disgraced former Tory peer will remain in the House of Lords despite being jailed for 12 months for expenses fraud. Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, lied under oath during his trial in an attempt to cover up fraudulent claims of more than £11,000
FIVE YEARS ago, Heyford Meadows were strewn with old tractors, rusting railway wagons and broken boats. But thanks to the work Oxford Preservation Trust, the 11-acre site alongside the River Thames has been transformed into Oxfordshire’s latest wildlife
POLICE want to deter youngsters from riding mini-motorbikes around an Oxford estate by giving them free trips to an Oxfordshire motocross track. Residents on the Barton estate have long complained of youngsters – some as young as eight – riding
I am writing about your article, “Oxford’s greyhound stadium named in race to find housing sites”. We hope that Oxford Stadium will be transformed into a property which would be a 180-degree shift from its current use. This would create
IT HAS been five years since the secrets of its turbulent past were unlocked to the public. But the Oxford Castle, once the home of violence, executions, and battles, and thought to be one of Britain’s most haunted sites, is busier than
AEA Technology 4.2 BMW 5395 Electrocomponents 292.7 Nationwide Accident Repair 94 Oxford Biomedica 5.7 Oxford Catalysts 83.5 Oxford Instruments 755.25 Reed Elsevier 551.75 RM 147.5 RPS Group 248.4 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
A SCHOOL choir is buzzing with excitement after a visit from a member of legendary soul group The Drifters. Pupils from Appleton Primary School are to perform alongside the American vocal group at the New Theatre in Oxford. And singer Michael Williams
AN OXFORD nurse has been named in a top 100 of people who make the country a better and happier place to live. Specialist nurse Helen Stradling has been named in a ‘Happy List’, published in the Independent on Sunday. She works as a Macmillan Musculoskeletal
RESPLENDENT in their uniforms, their highly-polished instruments glinting in the sun as they entertained the tourists and shoppers in Bonn Square last month, the City of Oxford Silver Band (COSB) gave no clue as to how close they had come to the scrapheap
A disgraced former Tory peer was jailed for 12 months today for fiddling his parliamentary expenses. Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, falsely filed for travel and overnight subsistence to claim more than £11,000 from the taxpayer, Southwark Crown Court heard
A CORNER of a Wolvercote pub garden has been dedicated to one of its late regulars. Community stalwart Toby Wain passed away last year after suffering a short illness. Mr Wain, son of the late poet, author and Oxford University professor John Wain,
A 59-year-old man has died after his Yamaha motorbike collided with a Toyota Yaris car on the B4100. The car had been travelling towards Baynards Green, near the Stoke Lyne wood turn, when it was involved in a crash with a motorcycle coming
FROM bricklaying to fence-erecting, cow-milking to jelly-eating, budding farmers from across Oxfordshire got a chance to showcase their skills at their annual rally. The county’s 240 Young Farmers, aged 10 to 26, staged the rally at Hill Farm
A tribute has been paid to top-class racehorse and stallion Mtoto, who has died at the age of 28, at the Aston Upthorpe Stud at Aston Tirrold, near Didcot. Trained by the late Alec Stewart, Mtoto won eight races including Sandown’s Eclipse Stakes twice
WITNEY: A 21-year-old man has admitted burglary at Oxford Crown Court. Graham Crutch, of Longore, Stonesfield, stole cash and credit cards from a home in Church Street in the same village on May 17. He was remanded in custody on Friday to be sentenced
OXFORD: Save Temple Cowley pool campaigners are set to meet tonight at the United Reform Church Hall, in Temple Road. The meeting has been organised to discuss plans to close pools at Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys and open a new centre on the
A DRIVER was found dead in his car in a ditch yesterday. Police were called to Brook Street, Benson, shortly before 2.30am, when another driver spotted the vehicle, a French-registered Peugeot 206. Insp Andy West, of Thames Valley Police, said: “A member
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Divisions 6-10 BANBURY 4th stayed top of Division 8, despite losing their 100 per cent record in a three-wicket defeat to Abingdon Vale 3rd. Guy Lemon claimed 5-52 as Banbury were bowled out for 132. But it took 45 from
Oxfordshire take on Buckinghamshire in the Inter-Counties Youth League at Rileys, Between Towns Road, Cowley on Sunday (12 noon). OXON LINE-UPS Under 18: S Smith, M Burns, J Lucas, M Clark, J Bumpass, D Mobey, S Wright, R Bull, L Stallwood, A Jones
There was a ding-dong battle when the Angel visited Corner House C in Section 2 of the Greene King ODDA Summer League. Mark Lavarack, Kit Young and Kevin Middleton gave Angel a great start, before the home side fought back viaMark Kerry, Mick
Clive Woodward had a superb day as he led Garsington to a seven-wicket victory at Marcham in OCA League Division 1. Woodward claimed superb figures of 7-31 to help dismiss Marcham for 137, before hitting 68 to see his side to a convincing victory at
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 4 Shipton-under-Wychwood 2nd started the day top, but finished it in sixth after their trip to Chearsley literally proved pointless. Neil Davies took 6-21 as Shipton were rolled over for 96 in 39.1 overs. Russell
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 5 Stuart Berry bagged 5-13 as Horspath 2nd turned their home win over Didcot into a procession. Only Tom Robinson (36) could get going as Didcot limped to 135 all out. Matthew O’Connor (72no) ensured Horspath
Witney plasterer Ian Moss has joined three other Oxfordshire players in qualifying for the Speedy Hire UK Open, which begins on June 2. Manchester United fan Moss came through his Rileys UK Open qualifier to join Jon Jukes (Oxford) and Stuart White
Oxford University student Jamie Gibson and former Chinnor flanker Tom Johnson have been named in the England Saxons 24-man squad for the Churchill Cup. London Irish back-row forward Gibson, 20, gets his chance with England’s second team after injuries
A PUB judged Oxford’s best just three years has been shut suddenly and put up to let. Brewers and pub company Greene King closed the Old Bookbinders Arms in Jericho on Friday, with a To Let sign put up outside and a notice on the door saying
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 2 Graham Charlesworth took 6-11 as Abingdon Vale battered morning leaders Banbury 2nd and so stripped the visitors of their 100 per cent winning record. He was ably supported by skipper Dan Hartley, who took 4
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 3 STEVE Roberts made it 13 wickets in two weeks by taking 6-20 as leaders Oxford Downs 2nd romped to a ten-wicket win at Cropredy. The hosts’s 99 all out would have been even lower had Ed Somerton not compiled
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Division 1 Oxford Downs stretched their lead at the top of the table to 25 points by demolishing their nearest challengers on Saturday. Put in to bat, Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts were restricted to 190-6, with only
I am writing concerning the county council’s misguided plan to drop the speed limit from 70mph to 40mph, along part of Oxford’s Northern Bypass. Considering that this road was built for, and engineered up to, a speed limit of 70mph, with good sight line
HAVING visited the exhibition for the proposed development of the former community centre at Barnes Road, Cowley, I must express my disappointment at the very small amount of space allocated for community use. At least two thirds of the ground rooms
Secret police The Oxford Mail used an FOI request to discover only about three crimes for every 1,000 reported to police were released to the public. A four-week study, in 2008, showed police released information or appealed for witnesses 22 times when
THAMES Valley Police has seen an increase in the number of crimes reported to have been committed in police stations. In the past year, 155 crimes occurred in police stations, a rise from 128 in 2009/10 and 115 in 2008/09. These included two sexual
SIX years after it was unleashed, the Freedom of Information request is a powerful weapon in holding public bodies to account. But it is not just newspapers and high profile pressure groups that have used FOIs to highlight issues and uncover
WHAT an excellent letter from Susan Smith (Oxford Mail, May 25) regarding the ghastly slaughter of so-called ‘game birds’ by utterly selfish, uncaring humans. What a strange species we are. Time and time again I find myself feeling ashamed to be part
IT seems the battle to keep our roadsides clear of litter is never ending. This situation is not helped by the current legal loophole that lets litter louts get away with it scot-free. Currently our local council can’t take effective action against people
Your pages have had a number of letters complaining about Oxford City Council’s new garden waste collection service. As a local councillor I have had far too many instances of missed collections and lack of information about the new service. Originally
I was at a table outside a bar in Manhattan in 1997. The street was rammed with wheezing and spluttering V8 beasts. An SUV nearly took the back off my head as it parked. The engine roared, belched a bomb of black soot and died. Its occupants piled out
GRAHAM Smith, director of freedom of information at the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), explains how the Act is making public authorities more accountable: Since the Freedom of Information Act came into force in January 2005 interest in how
MP SPORTS CHERWELL LEAGUE Graham Scott's Match of The day Challow & Childrey finally ended a winless run that stretched back to July 31 last summer when they pulled off a 121-run victory at Sandford St Martin in Division 2. The visitors finished
Top 10 boys’ names in 1904: William, John, George, Arthur, Thomas, James, Charles, Frederick, Albert, Ernest Top 10 boys’ names in 2009: Oliver, Jack, Harry, Alfie, Joshua, Thomas, Charlie, William, James, Daniel Top 10 girls’ names in 1904: Mary
THERE are no prizes for guessing where Karen Wilmer got the inspiration for her son Beckham, and it seems her children have also inherited her passion for unusual names. Mrs Wilmer, 42, from Blackbird Leys, Oxford, said: “Beckham Levi is eight
Malcolm Crosby says he cannot wait to get started in his new role as Oxford United’s head of football development. The former United assistant, who had a brief spell in charge of the U’s in 1997-8, yesterday returned to the club where he enjoyed so much
OXFORD: Lapdancing is expected to cease at a club in the city centre tomorrow after it was stripped of its licence. The Lodge, in Pennyfarthing Place, St Ebbe’s, had been offering lapdancing since February last year. But in March, Oxford City Council
OXON: A bell-ringing couple and an all-singing, all-dancing student group will be flying the flag for the county in the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent. Wallingford handbell ringers Gay and Alan Cooper, above, and Oxford singing group Out of
IT may not appear it given some of the exotic names you hear on the streets these days, but Oxfordshire parents seem to be sticking to the old classics. Many are eschewing their parents’ names in favour of those from the time of their grandsparents.
LESS than half the children living in Blackbird Leys regularly go to the dentist despite free check-ups for youngsters, the Oxford Mail has learned. Around 72 per cent of Oxfordshire’s under 16-year-olds get their teeth checked out every two years.
Lewis Hamilton has claimed he would walk away from Formula One if he was ever forced to rein in his natural racing instinct. Hamilton's remarks follow a controversial Monaco Grand Prix as the McLaren star twice faced the stewards, initially for his
The route will be unveiled later today for the new Oxford Half Marathon. The race, sponsored by Mini Plant Oxford, will take place on Sunday, September 25, and will start at the Kassam Stadium. Around 3,000 people are expected to take part in the first
Hollywood actor Hugh Grant has led tributes to a champion of assisted suicide from Oxford who died from pancreatic cancer. The Notting Hill and Love Actually star described Dr Ann McPherson as "amazing" after she died on Saturday aged 65. The GP was
A disgraced former Tory peer with a home in Oxford is facing jail for fiddling his expenses to claim more than £11,000 from the taxpayer. Lord Taylor of Warwick, 58, will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after being convicted of falsely filing for
YOUNG Jack Smith will get more help coping with the effects of his cerebral palsy thanks to a fundraising drive. The free clinic that the seven-year-old attends helps disabled children relax through massage and exercise. Now fundraisers have raised
