OXFORDSHIRE’S Gary Boyd and Adam Wootton more than held their own in the first round of the Open – but it proved a nightmare day for Craig Hinton. Boyd, from Banbury, and Oxford’s Wootton both carded a one-over-par 71 to share 51st place after
Motorists face delays in Deddington following reports of an accident and traffic light failure on High Street. Meanwhile, all lanes have been reopened on the M40 northbound following an earlier accident between junctions 10 and 11.
The Millets Farm Maize Maze opens tomorrow and will take families around 10 acres of magical maize. The theme this year is Alice in Wonderland, after last weekend’s Alice Day in Oxford. Busy hunting Jabberwocks and Snarks were three-year-old Mark Johnston
A COUNCIL call for police to enforce Oxford’s 20mph speed limits has been rejected. A senior officer spoke out after Oxford City Council passed a motion urging Thames Valley Police to crack down on speeding drivers. Ch Insp Gill Wootton, of the roads
Olympic Gold Medal winning ice-skater Robin Cousins is appearing in Grease as a singer. KATHERINE MACALISTER spoke to a very busy man. I had to telephone the theatre before interviewing Robin Cousins to check I’d got my facts right. Is the
Arthur Bowen is the new star of the Harry Potter film The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The Oxfordshire school boy tells Katherine MacAlister what it was like playing Harry Potter’s son and walking the red carpet with the mega stars. Arthur
DREAM pop musical experimenter and production pioneer, Dean Wareham’s natural habitat is among the banks of wires and electronics in his dark Brooklyn studio. So he is uncharacteristically excited to be leaving the Big Apple behind to surround himself
DIDCOT Citizens’ Advice Bureau has reopened its doors following a major refurbishment. The CAB moved from the civic hall in Britwell Road to a former furniture shop in High Street in November. But advice managers had to restrict the
WHEN Harry Robinson’s photographs were used for props in the first Harry Potter film, little did he know it would be the beginning of a 10-year link with the boy wizard. Mr Robinson, 81, from London Road, Oxford, joined cast and crew for a
ANDREW FFRENCH asks what series will next grab the public’s imagination after Potter. WITH the final instalment of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books now hitting movie screens, booksellers in Oxford are enjoying the latest rush of shoppers
Dom Joly remains an enigma because he refuses to be pigeon-holed. But is this the secret to his success? Katherine MacAlister finds out. Always in your face, entirely unrepentant, easily bored, ridiculously impatient, Dom Joly is also
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (12A). Fantasy/Action/Drama/Romance. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Bonnie Wright, Helena Bonham Carter, Jason Isaacs
TIM HUGHES meets one of the main men behind a mighty folk band. THINK you know folk music? Well, unless your image includes the spectacle of an 11-piece band, sending crowds wild with blasts of brass, string, squeezebox and kazoo, the chances
CHILDREN united to create a massive 50-metre art work. More than 100 children from seven Oxford primary schools took part in the project directed by six artists. Each group created a section of the image of a huge river with mountains
A CELEBRATION of art which brings more than 25,000 visitors to a country house in Oxfordshire is set to take place next week. Art in Action, at Waterperry House, near Wheatley, began in 1977 as a small festival of fine art and master craftsmanship.
MORE than 60 gardeners have put themselves forward for this year’s Oxford in Bloom contest. The deadline for the event, which is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year, passed on Sunday. Gardeners have been preparing for the judges
THE life of a young woman with a passion for children’s writing will become an annual reason to celebrate in Oxford. Maggie Evans, a 29-year-old literary agent and former pupil at Cumnor School, died in November 2008. Family and friends have since raised
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PLANS to partially demolish an old stone house and replace it with a “contemporary” building using glass and timber have upset villagers. The house, named Wincote, was built in Steeple Aston, near Bicester, in 1840. Now plans have been submitted to
Pick up a copy of this week's issue of The Oxford Times for a chance to win flights to Spain. Tickets to the Game Fair, a £200 bottle of whisky and outdoor clothing are also on offer as the top prize in another contest in this week's issue.
Oxford United kitman Ken Ridley has died om hospital, aged 68. Ridley, who was associated with the U's for nearly 30 years, passed away on Wednesday following a long battle with cancer. He leaves a widow Eileen, sons Grahame and Lee,
WITNEY’S Focus DIY store will become a B&Q store and all 33 employees will keep their jobs, B&Q says. And Marriotts Walk Shopping Centre could be full by the autumn, with fashion stores Crew Clothing and Phase Eight moving in and Caffè Nero interested
SCHOOLBOYS played sport non-stop for 24 hours to raise cash to help bomb disposal heroes. The 19 Abingdon School pupils, aged 12 and 13, raised more than £6,000 for The Felix Fund – a bomb disposal soldiers’ charity. The ‘sportathon’ ran from noon to
TALKS are under way to build a new hotel in Didcot in the next two years to boost the number of visitors to the town. Council officers at South Oxfordshire District Council say there is an urgent need for a hotel to attract visitors and firms. The biggest
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SPRINGFIELD School, which provides education for pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties has been rated ‘good’ by Government inspectors. Ofsted inspectors said the Cedar Drive school’s impact on pupils’ personal development was excellent
A ROYAL Marine on his first tour in Afghanistan made a splash by finding an unlikely way to deal with the searing heat. Marine Mike Bulman, 26, from Witney, carries out patrols and operations in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, where temperatures can
INSPECTORS have found that another Oxfordshire care home is not meeting “essential standards”. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an unannounced inspection at Brooklands 2, in Old Parr Road, Banbury, on July 7, days after a pensioner raised
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE KNOCKOUT Oxford City 3, Buckingham 0 (Oxford City first): G Soave & M Soave bt J Wyatt & R MacPherson 5 & 4, C Marriott & A Higgins bt W Hearne & M Scofiue 3 & 2, M Hall & P Higgins bt N Frankin & D Jenks 2 holes
THE £312,000 cost of consulting residents and designing a controversial parking scheme for East Oxford has been labelled “a waste of money.” Residents said the bill for the consultation had turned out higher than the estimated cost of introducing controlled
A COUNCIL has said it will repay an administration fee it has been charging drivers who successfully appealed parking tickets. Anyone who was fined in one of Cherwell District Council’s car parks since April 4 and had it over-turned was charged
ALEX LEWIS was determined to live his life to the fullest – an ambition fulfilled when he married his girlfriend Ali five days before his death. Alex was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 18 and tragically died when he was just 22. But the heart-warming
A POOL player has admitted hitting a man over the head with his pool cue case, but told the jury it was self-defence. Edmund Aldworth yesterday told Oxford Crown Court that rival player Matthew Challen “was wild, I needed to stop him” after violence
THE Oxford Mail’s campaign to win a rebate for city parking permit holders has been roundly welcomed. We are asking readers to write to Oxfordshire County Council to demand £10 back after a report showd it posted a profit on the scheme last year. This
Bicester Town Football Club – at the heart of the community for 130 years – has been shown the red card. It has been told it must quit its Oxford Road site by next Friday. Landlord Bicester Sports Association (BSA) said the club had not met the “commitments
Oxford A are through to the semi-finals of the Inter-Area Cup after a 7-3 aggregate victory over Wallingford B, writes PETE EWINS. Going into the second leg with a 3-2 lead, Oxford produced a commanding display. Stuart Florey and Steven Sheard ensured
Olly Huggins has incurred the wrath of his father – after hitting his first hole-in-one at the age of just 12. The 16-handicapper, who attends Matthew Arnold School in Cumnor, achieved the ace while playing in the Famous Grouse Trophy at Carswell
Bicester's Brandon King has made his debut for Oxfordshire Under 25s – at the age of just ten. He is believed to be the youngest bowler to make his county bow at this level when he lined up with George Schwab, Chris Gilkes and Lee Wilkinson in the match
Chris Earl’s rink starred as Oxford City & County ran out 81-65 winners over much-fancied Leighton Buzzard in the London and Southern Counties Shield. Nigel Satchell’s four went down 22-8 at home where the side of Bryan Slatter triumphed 24
OXFORDSHIRE, who had already completed their Middleton Cup programme, finished third in Group 2 Section B (South). Hampshire topped the section and go through to the quarter-finals after beating Middlesex 18-4. OXON came out on top in their latest two
Headington A consolidated their position at the top of Division 1 of the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries, with their fifth full house of the season in a 6-0 win over bottom club Bicester. Craig Nicoll’s rink led the way for the
Two Oxford City & County pairs won through to the National Championships at Leamington Spa with victories in the Oxfordshire semi-finals at Banbury Central. Katherine Hawes and Donna Grant beat Banbury Central’s Carole Galletly and Caroline
Banbury Borough’s Richard Redford knocked out clubmate Greg Moon 21-19 in the Oxfordshire singles quarter-finals at Banbury Chestnuts. Redford now faces Headington’s Mark Charlett, who swept past Carterton’s Stuart Richens 21-8, in the last
The first sentence of this week’s Sunday Times leader — apropos the troubles at its now-defunct stablemate, the News of the Screws — quoted “that old fool Claudius In Hamlet” on the propensity of sorrows to come “not single spies but in battalions”. How
The journey from town to country is just a few hundred yards for lucky West Oxford folk. In Binsey we have an “agricultural hamlet” — thus properly styled — as easily accessible on foot or bike for us as for smarter types from east of Port Meadow. Marvel
THEY may struggle to beat him around the highways and byways of Oxfordshire, but this group of Mota-vation runners had the last laugh on Steve Naylor at the third round of the series at Combe. Naylor, who supports Sheffield Wednesday, who are
RADLEY’S youngsters did the club proud as they went top of Southern Men’s League Division 2 with an impressive victory at Bournemouth. Stepping into the breach as regular older athletes were injured or unavailable, Radley’s under 17s had a great day.
WOODSTOCK Harrier Steve Naylor completed his third successive victory in the Mota-vation Series with another commanding performance at Combe. Naylor, who has won the previous two rounds at a canter, was targeting his third course record, and conditions
A NASTY injury to White Horse Harriers’ Mitchell Lomas marred Team Oxfordshire’s match in the National Junior Athletics League. Oxfordshire finished fifth in the meeting in Luton, but Lomas suffered torn ankle ligaments after falling in the
OXFORD City came out on top to land the Veterans League Western Division title at Tilsley Park, Abingdon. City notched up their fourth successive win, and will now go on to represent the division in the Southern Counties finals in September. A narrow
Banbury United are looking for a new manager after Billy Jeffrey resigned due to health reasons. Jeffrey, who was at the helm of the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division side for two seasons, said he had been told by a specialist he needs double
Laura Watkins is the Bicester ladies champion for the seventh year running. Watkins, who has been champion since she was 14, played two consistent rounds of 74 and 81 to finish eight shots clear of her rivals. Lesley Freeman was second, with Suzy Harrison
I learned the sad news of the death of Lord Harewood on Monday evening in a short address from the stage before the curtain rose on Buxton Festival’s first performance of Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon. During a lifetime devoted to opera, The Queen’s cousin
If you want to serve cooked cherries in a dish that holds their flavour, this is the one for you. Undoubtedly Matt Weedon will serve it on his menu from time to time during the summer. YOU WILL NEED A little butter and flour to rub round the pudding
BEING a regular on Sky 1’s Pineapple Dance Studios and a busy musician, you might think that I’m used to being consistently on the go. But taking part in the Virgin London Triathlon on July 30-31 for children’s charity WellChild will certainly be an experience
WHAT are the politicians doing to the elderly people in this country who need care? These are the same people who kissed their husbands, sons and daughters goodbye in 1940, not knowing whether they would see them again, to go and fight a dictator to
Oxfordshire County Council is in the process of sacking the last of its 400 staff who have provided care for vulnerable elderly and disabled people. These staff will be sadly missed, particularly by those for whom they have made lives in their own homes
A DECISION on controversial plans to build student accommodation above St Clement’s car park in Oxford was deferred last night. Oxford city councillors voted unanimously to delay the decision on the £8m scheme at a packed west area planning committee
A “NATURAL roamer” who travelled the country on his bicycle was hit by a car and killed on the A34. Motorists were shocked to see Alistair Bettis pedalling along the southbound carriageway near Pear Tree in the dark, an inquest heard yesterday. Witnesses
HOW disappointing that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge launched the Calgary stampede in Canada, despite a DVD sent to them showing the cruelty involved in rodeos. Animals are tormented with electric prods, tail-twisting and lassoing where they’re jerked
SO, Nick Carter thinks Murdoch has been good for journalism, stating “every one of his papers is bang on the money” (The Issue, Tuesday’s Oxford Mail). Considering the revelations that The Sunday Times appears to be in trouble over allegations that
I WAS a child on the Northway Estate. My parents moved onto the estate in November 1951, together with me and my older brother and sister. Ours was not the first family to move there. My mathematics tells me this was 60 years ago, so why is the estate
Oxford waits with baited breath this morning on the fate of its only lap dancing club. The Lodge, refused a licence at its old location in St Ebbe’s, wants to reopen at The Coven, in Oxpens Road. But some fear it could corrupt young minds. Objections
Surveying the buzzing scene that was The Rickety Press last Thursday night — tables full, crowds of happy people of all ages clustered at the bar — it suddenly struck me how so easily this cheery local could have ceased to be. A year ago — when The Radcliffe
My dog and I frequently call into the Lords of the Manor, country hotel, in Upper Slaughter, for a light lunch when we are exploring the Cotswolds. We use it as a base if we are walking the section of the Warden’s Way which runs close to its grounds,
Comic capers are very much the order of the day in Bampton Classical Opera’s new production — an updated version of The Italian Girl in London by 18th-century Italian composer Domenico Cimarosa. The girl of the title runs away from Italy after being
The ability to make people laugh is powerful stuff. Artist Robert Duncan, from Long Crendon, discovered this at a very early age. Not only did it feel good when people laughed at his work, but the result made him feel good too. Besides, as he discovered
Will it or won’t it rain tomorrow? It is an important question because if it does you had better book your flight to the sun for your summer holiday. If not, don’t. For tomorrow is St Swithun’s Day — and rain then, of course, means more rain for 40 days
Almost ten years after the cinema release of Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone, the most financially successful film franchise in history reaches its tragic and spectacular conclusion. Millions of readers, who nervously turned the pages
My, J. B. Priestley wrote a lot of words for this play: nearly 2½ hours worth, and there’s only one set and seven characters and absolutely nothing actually happens. There is no single dramatic — or even undramatic — moment in this play: merely much high-quality
My, J. B. Priestley wrote a lot of words for this play: nearly 2½ hours worth, and there’s only one set and seven characters and absolutely nothing actually happens. There is no single dramatic — or even undramatic — moment in this play: merely
The long, hot days of high summer are almost with us and traditionally considered the ‘dog days’ for bird watchers. Actually, this can be a time of great interest as a variety of complex scenarios unfold and we should ignore this time at our
For a band that has only been in existence for about 18 months, Evarose can feel pretty proud of themselves for the crowd they draw to the upper room of the O2 Academy tonight. Far bigger names, with national profiles and marketing budgets
Striker Tom Craddock and midfielder Paul McLaren are likely to sit out the first match of Oxford United’s US tour because of injuries. Both have slight niggles which means they are unlikely to face Seacoast United tonight at 11.30pm British time. Manager
Having entered the University of Oxford Botanic Garden, turn into the exhibition space on the right to enjoy an intriguing art exhibition, which as its title declares, is Bringing The Outside In. It is Dionne Barber’s latest collection of oil paintings
After the surprise of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s new witch-free production of Macbeth at Stratford, we have from Oxford Theatre Guild, by contrast, a version of the Scottish Play in which the Weird Sisters are supplied in triple the usual
Seven Angels fall into a deserted wasteland with no recollection of who they are or why they have been banished there. Their attempt to reconstruct the past results in a taut, surreal operatic performance. Inspired by Milton's Paradise Lost, this is a
I never cease to be amazed at the depth of talent among the county’s young musicians, and Friday’s gala concert showed the Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra at their very best. From the moment they burst into life with excerpts from Prokofiev’
THE complaints against a plan to bring in a touristy horse-and-carriage service in the city centre sound remarkably po-faced. We are not talking a constant stream of slow-moving carriages clogging up the main arterial routes during rush-hour. The
Adam Wootton has got over the shock of being paired with a former champion – and is fully focused on the biggest day of his life. The 23-year-old professional, from Oxford, will today tee-off with Tom Lehman and Ryan Palmer in the 140th Open Championship
TOURISTS could be trotting around the streets of Oxford by horse and carriage, if a fresh bid to reintroduce the nostalgic form of transport is successful. If the application is approved, visitors would be able to travel by carriage along the
Henley’s opening night was rather blustery — well OK, then, it was cold — but fortunately there were only a couple of short, sharp showers, which failed to dampen the spirits. Admittedly, ladies were shivering in their skimpy summer finery, the
Last weekend found Woodstock Music Society in reverential mood, with motets by Bach (O Jesu Christ, meins Lebens Licht) and Mozart (Ave Verum Corpus), together with Mendelssohn’s anthem for double choir, Hear My Prayer. As always with this choir, these
The abrupt departure in the week of the opening of Opera Holland Park’s Susanna, Claire Meghnagi — her reason unspecified in the announcement to the first-night audience — left the company with just five days to hire and rehearse a successor in this key
Umbrellas appear to be the fashionable onstage opera accessory these days. Big white ones form the backdrop to Richard Studer’s new production of Falstaff at Longborough. Big blue ones were a prominent feature of Olivia Fuchs’s Garsington Opera at Wormsley
NEIGHBOURS celebrated last night as Tesco lost its appeal to transform a derelict Oxford pub into a new store. The supermarket chain wanted to build an Express shop on the site of the Fox and Hounds pub in Abingdon Road. The plans were
CONGRATULATIONS to the people of South Oxford for seeing off Tesco’s plan for a supermarket on the former Fox and Hounds pub site in Abingdon Road. However, Councillor Oscar Van Nooijen raises a point that now becomes more pressing: the place is a tip
Sir – On Sunday, I looked in the latest 2011/2012 BT Phone Book for the international dialling code for Barbados. I was unable to find any pages for international (or just national) Codes. So I called the international operator and was told that BT no
Sir – While Mr James (Letters, July 7) may well be a responsible dog owner who has control over his animal, there are unfortunately many owners whose dogs are a downright menace off lead. When jogging in South Park, I used to be routinely attacked by
Sir – I have read the letter from John Sanders (July 2) concerning the introduction of joint ticketing on buses. The proof of this (very expensive) pudding will be revealed in due course. He says that the “wait for ages then two or three come at once
Sir – While I have not witnessed any abusive behaviour from cyclists as reported in your letters page last week, I regularly see evidence of illogical behaviour from them. Cyclists regularly and rightly campaign for cycle paths to improve their safety
For all its heartache and heroism, the remarkable film capturing the last days of 21-year-old Alex Lewis might have remained unseen, outside of his family. Oxfordshire documentary maker David Dugan had known Alex and his family – who like him
Sir – Caroline Pond (Letters, July 7) is mistaken about verbs. A word or phrase can look plural, but make better sense with a singular verb. The exhibition at Woodstock is about one topic, war and children. Sylvia Vetta correctly implied that, for Jenny
Sir – Mr Grosvenor (Letters, June 30) needs to get with the programme. Doesn’t he realise that “Bier” is the Flemish word for “Beer”, and the Flemish-English hybrid plural “Biers” gives a drinking establishment that trendy continental feel we all love
Sir – The latest suggestion from Oxfordshire County Council is to remove all parking from the Iffley Road from The Plain to the Bullingdon Road (except for some parking at night). This will be damaging to the local area in the following ways: The severe
Sir – In 2006, a DfT study found that half the road casualties that would be classified as ‘serious’ are not reported to police. It also found that up to 20 per cent of ‘serious’ casualties that were reported were wrongly classified as ‘slight’. It found
Sir – I’m not surprised there have been complaints to Oxford City Council about the new brown wheelie bin service (Report, June 30). Under the old system, garden waste and refuse from the small kitchen caddies were collected in the same vehicle. This
Sir – Mark Barrington-Ward (Letters, June 30) could have mentioned that ‘boulevards’ already exist for 300/400 metres on the A40 at both the Headington and Banbury Road roundabouts — with houses or flats facing the dual carriageway, separated by service
Sir – The Labour-run Oxford City Council is once again proposing to allow the publicly-owned land at Oxpens Meadow to be ‘developed’, in partnership with commercial development companies. This piece of land, which is prone to flooding, and, therefore
Sir – One welcomes the real possibility of something attractive being built in this part of Oxford, but regrets that the ghastly orange building and other nasties to the north west of the ice rink lie outside the proposed boundary. One wonders whether
It is a chilling statistic that one in three families in England will attend a Coroners’ Court as a witness or have a friend or colleague connected with some tragedy, and hardly a week passes by without newspapers reporting of Coroners and their invaluable
June 7 this year should have been a milestone in nature conservation history — the Government launched the first White Paper on the Natural Environment in over 20 years, an opportunity to set out a clear policy to stop the decline in wildlife across
Sir – We are in total agreement with Catherine Robinson (Letters, June 30). The streets of Jericho were closed again on Sunday, July 10, but there was no consultation with residents, just a slip of paper telling us what the promoters intended to do regardless
Sir – The practical test for Graham Paul Smith’s advocacy (Letters, July 7) of building homes on each side of the A40 to create a Boulevard at the Barton extension is to compare Sunderland Avenue with Foxwell Drive. Sunderland Avenue is dominated by traffic
Sir – It is now four years since the massive summer floods of 2007. Is this really long enough for the authorities to forget the lessons of overdevelopment of urban areas? Developers will simply propose ‘another' flood wall’ and show how
Sir – As a resident of Oxpens, my feeling is that the sale of land by BRBR might well kick-start the long awaited West End Regeneration. News earlier this year that the Westgate development plan has been revived is, I think, good news for this part of
Sir – I was delighted to see council staff in Queen Street at 7pm recently picking up litter and making the street ready for the next day’s users. Oxford looks so much better when it is clean and tidy. Thousands of Oxford citizens work in partnership
Film trilogies are common enough, but very few have been presented in reverse. Bal (or Honey, as it is also being billed) completes the Yusuf triptych that Turkish auteur Semih Kaplanoglu started with Yamurta/Egg (2007) and Süt/Milk (2008). Having won
The Narrative Avant-Garde is one of the most neglected movements in screen history. Coinciding with German Expressionism and Soviet Montagism, it arose in France in the 1920s as a conscious reaction against the increasing mundanity and market dominance
RUSKIN College head Audrey Mullender has criticised protesters fighting plans to build on fields it owns as ‘Nimbys’. She said the college’s plans for between 175 and 193 homes in the Old Headington conservation area off the A40 northern bypass
A buddy of mine went to see Take That at Wembley the other week; she was outrageously excited before she went and has barely calmed since she came back! She travelled quite some distance to get to the concert and had taken up the offer of another
A HEADINGTON pensioner has finally been rewarded for mucking in. After three decades of voluntarily cleaning the streets, Len Samways has been given an award after being nominated by his neighbours. The 84-year-old has been cleaning
People have a right to expect the highest standards from our care homes. Families put their trust and faith in these organisations, and those in charge of their scrutiny, to look after the people they love in their time of need. The case that we report
Congratulations this week to all those involved in the production of the Mini, which has been rolling off the production lines at Cowley for a decade. Since BMW took over the plant in 1994, there has been steady investment and a sense that the plant
SIXTH formers who launched a project to go into primary schools and help youngsters with science experiments are in line to win a prestigious science prize. The teenagers from Oxford Spires Academy have already built rockets with Year Four pupils at
