Archive

  • ATHLETIC: Super Amblers on the up

    ABINGDON Amblers sealed promotion with a great victory in the final Division 6 match of the Up and Running Midland League in Stourport. They needed to finish at least third and not more than 50 points behind main challengers Kidderminster & Stourport

  • Family event is great-grandmother's dying wish

    It was the event that pulled a community together and fulfilled a great-grandmother’s dying wish. Family, friends and businesses rallied around to enable Janet Priest to renew her wedding vows just weeks after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

  • This is hoops of fun

    THIS certainly beats school! Eight-year-olds Storm Jacob-Smith, front, and Jacob-Smith were among of dozens of youngsters spending some of their school summer holidays at Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre, which is putting on multi-sports sessions

  • Thea, 13, wins UK riding title

    A teenager from Headington School has won a national riding competition. Thea Gordon-Wingfield, 13, from Watlington, won the junior individual title on her horse Katie at the Hurstpierpoint College National school and Pony Club Jumping Championships.

  • Theatre group sheds glamorous image

    THE ACTORS in Creation Theatre Company’s latest production have been making themselves at home over the past few weeks. While performing Antony and Cleopatra in the rooftop Amphitheatre at the Said Business School, the cast have been decorating sheds

  • Councillor breached conduct standard

    A SENIOR councillor has been reprimanded for “forgetting” to mention she was a member of a conservation group during a vote rejecting a housing development. Oxford City Council’s Delia Sinclair was on a committee that threw out a plan for six homes to

  • UPDATE: Arrest made in hunt for sword man

    POLICE searching for a man in Abingdon after a woman was allegedly threatened with a sword have made an arrest. They said a 28-year-old man was located in the Abingdon Marina area shortly before 5pm. He is now in police custody.

  • Agents seek land for new lorry parks

    Farmers and landowners with land close to major roads are set to benefit from recently announced changes in policy for the development of truck stops. A Government consultation identified strong support for the development of secure truck stops from

  • Land prices showing 'a recovery'

    Land values in Oxford are returning to near their peak according to a new report. Research by the property firm Savills has revealed the city as a ‘leader’ in terms of the recovery in value of residential development land with greenfield values now just

  • Monument to recycling

    An Oxfordshire business park is linking its tenants to deliver a big increase in recycling. Jennings, the owners of Monument Park at Chalgrove, has arranged weekly recycling collections at the site and is encouraging 80 tenants to take part in the

  • Designer shopping a key attraction

    A new show home is open at the Kingsmere development near designer shopping outlet Bicester Village. The three-storey town house has a fitted kitchen with integrated appliances including a double oven, fridge/freezer, washing machine and dishwasher

  • Landlords facing new rules

    Since academics first flocked to Oxford from Paris in the 12th century, providing a much-needed fillip for the nascent university here, scholars have always lived in ‘digs’, or rented homes shared with other students. Now that practice — which of course

  • UPDATE: Face of man police hunting

    THIS is the face of a man police are hunting in Abingdon after a woman was threatened with a sword. Police searching for Kevin Stone, 28, of Abingdon, issued this photograph and asked the public to dial 999 if they see him. They want

  • Fine plays in our beautiful college gardens

    That our summer truly is over early was confirmed for me last Friday seated beneath a horse chestnut tree heavy with pendant, clearly soon-to-fall, conkers. Conkers in early August! Compare this with last year when the Daily Telegraph was reporting

  • Party time as I become a sexagenarian

    The only bright lights on the horizon as my 60th birthday approached were going to be, it seemed to me, the prospect of a jolly good party and the opportunity to travel free on local bus services. Over the second I was doomed to disappointment. A couple

  • Quisine, Banbury

    Even Salvador Dali would have struggled to describe my meal at Quisine. Not just because it was a such a surreal experience, but because its Fawlty Towers moments only added to the whole wonderful encounter. Booking a table in itself was quite

  • Recipe for lamb cutlets with mulberry sauce (serves two)

    The mulberry tree is considered the wisest of fruit trees as it doesn’t develop its buds until severe weather is no longer expected. Even in the most difficult weather conditions this remarkable tree provides fruit in abundance during August. This year

  • Timely food warning from Clarrie of The Archers

    If you are one of the five million radio listeners who follow BBC Radio 4’s popular soap The Archers, you probably know more about E. coli now than you did when this pathogenic bacteria erupted earlier in the year, causing several deaths and millions

  • Rioting over wine led to 90 deaths

    Once upon a time a comparatively small town of about 5,000 inhabitants was the scene of riots that saw 90 people killed. That town was Oxford and the occasion was the famous fracas known as the St Scholastica’s Day Riot of 1355. For many

  • Glee: The 3D Concert Movie and Cowboys & Aliens

    Glee fans — aka Gleeks — can rejoice as their favourite characters from the award-winning TV series are brought in full 3D glory in Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. The full cast — with the notable exceptions of Glee club leader Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison

  • Stanley Spencer: Compton Verney

    The thatched cottage’s roof looks quizzically, it seems, at the voluptuous hedges and greenery that spill down to the open white picket gate. Lopsided topiary and trees in the next door gardens reach heavenwards, the only space left open to them. In a

  • Local shares (PM)

    AEA Technology 3 BMW 5139 Electrocomponents 203.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 89 Oxford Biomedica 6.3 Oxford Catalysts 61.5 Oxford Instruments 832 Reed Elsevier 487.3 RM 92 RPS Group 205.9 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • The Wilderness Festival, Cornbury Park

    Cool, slim and effortlessly fashionable, Lady Rotherwick stood on the lawns stretching away from her stately home and surveyed the scene over Cornbury Park. A clutch of figures dressed in crisp white flannels were playing cricket, while a blow

  • Investing for the long-term

    One question nagging at the back of the minds of more than a few Oxford administrators and academics at the moment must be: how exposed are we to the ongoing international financial crisis and the crash in share prices? Most of Oxford University’s funds

  • Sword threat man hunted by police

    A MAN who threatened a woman with a sword is being hunted by police. The man entered a property in Abingdon at 10.30am today, threatened the woman and then assaulted her, causing a minor injury. Officers are searching for the man with

  • Vulcan grounded over fuel leak

    THE world's last flying Vulcan will not appear at airshow Fly to the Past this Sunday. The XH558 was due to perform a flyover during the finale of the show, at Oxford Airport, but it has been grounded by a fuel leak. The Vulcan to the Sky Trust

  • Am I missing out on the greatest show?

    Do you ever feel like you’re missing out on something? Over the past few months I’ve been thinking I might just be the one remaining person left in the country who hasn’t got tickets for the Olympics. “Maybe it’s because you’re an Australian” one

  • Get off your bike

    COMING from Oxford as I do, I often visit relatives. This was why I was able to read Jon Kelly’s letter (Oxford Mail, August 2, about pavement rage. Does Mr Kelly realise the irony of his statement that cyclists only ride on the pavement when they feel

  • Taxpayers foot bill

    IN THE maelstrom of who should have free garden waste bags, it has been overlooked that all rate-paying citizens of Oxford have already paid for these useless things through their council tax. They have also paid, by the same means, for the

  • Power to wardens

    I agree with Ray James, chairman of the Rose Hill Tenants and Residents’ Association, that street wardens should be given more power (Oxford Mail, July 19). All they can do is to report incidents to the police. This isn’t satisfactory as the impact

  • On the spot

    NO DOUBT the liberal chattering classes will trip over themselves to blame poverty for the recent outbreak of looting and pillaging in London and elsewhere. However, noting that some of the mob’s main targets have been the purveyors of mass market footwear

  • Choose wisely on renovation projects

    Potential is money in the bank when it comes to houses — but finding the right project can be tough. Francis Winstone-Partridge, of Chancellors, said: “Properties that are ripe for developing are far and few between. “In the most prestigious areas

  • Cancer sponsorship

    I’M urging everyone who took part in Tesco and Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life events across the South to make every step count, by returning their sponsorship money as soon as possible. Last year, just under half the women who took part didn’t return

  • Lack of faith

    LIKE everybody else, I am deeply saddened by the riots in London and elsewhere. Could this be one of the tragic consequences of over 40 years of “social engineering”, in which this nation has for the most part, forsaken the bedrock of our society –

  • Short, sharp shock

    FIRST, it is good to note that the Government has taken a very firm line with the rioters and equally pleasing to note that all parties appear to be in concord with this. HMP Service is going to be possibly inundated with new prisoners and one wonders

  • Boundaries need an overhaul now

    I REPLY to your reporter Tom Jennings’s article (Oxford Mail, August 10), headed ‘Parish fighting to preserve identity’ which related to Kidlington Parish Council’s junior neighbouring parish of Gosford and Water Eaton trying to stave off a merger with

  • Street screen

    Traffic will be kicked out of part of Divinity Road, Oxford, on Saturday, September 17, for the annual ‘film in the street’. The event, which will see people from across the area joining together for food and a film at the bend in the road, starts at

  • Staff switch as Penlon sells key division

    Medical equipment manufacturer Penlon has sold off a key division with scores of Oxfordshire staff switching employers. The company, which occupies two sites in Barton Lane and Nuffield Way, Abingdon, has disposed of its medical gas business to engineering

  • 'Middle Cowley' gets together

    A new action group has been formed to serve the residents of ‘Middle Cowley’. The new group was put together following concerns raised by residents in St Luke’s Road about a proposed development of 150 student bedsits and a new Conservative Club in Between

  • Homes survey

    A survey is to be carried out in Adderbury to help gauge demand for more affordable housing. District councillor Rick Atkinson has enlisted the help of the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council to send out a questionnaire to all households in the village

  • Croc fan's dream hits small screen

    A crocodile-loving dad is starring on TV as a series charts his bid to open the UK’s first crocodile zoo. Dad-of-three Shaun Foggett was followed by camera crews for months as he went about making his dream a reality by opening a zoo for 20 of the deadly

  • Play is produced in just three weeks

    SOME of the most promising young actors, designers and theatre technicians in the country are taking part in an ambitious project to stage a play in just three weeks. More than 200 people aged 16 to 25 applied to take part in the Peer Gynt Project at

  • Think before you tweet

    Tom Maple, defamation lawyer at Oxford law firm Henmans, reflects on the dangers of using social networking sites — mistakes could cost your business dearly Three recent cases involving Premiership footballer Ryan Giggs, singer Courtney Love and

  • New timetables for bus services

    Thames Travel will launch new timetables on the X39 and X40 bus routes, which link Oxford, Wallingford and Reading, on Tuesday, September 6. The revised service starts on the same day as a new timetable on route 106, between Watlington and Oxford, which

  • Party in the park

    People are being urged to put next year’s date for the Adderbury Party in the Park in their diary to avoid clashes. The annual free event takes place on Saturday, June 30, 2012. For more information view adderburyevents.co.uk

  • Inflation: winners and losers

    Hans Price, divisional director of financial planning firm Brewin Dolphin, Oxford, explains how inflation is impacting on our spending power Many people may not know the difference between the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Retail Price Index

  • All hands to the pump for Lewis

    Most gardeners are keen to do their bit for the environment. Often they will have a compost bin and a water butt to help sustain their plants while cutting out the need for chemical feeds and adding to their domestic water bills. The trouble with butts

  • Pets at church

    Animal lovers are invited to bring their pets to a special service at St Giles’ Church, Woodstock Road, on Sunday, October 2. The service is at 3pm and will be followed by tea for the human worshippers and tasty treats for their animal friends.

  • Help others get on their bikes

    A new cycling group aimed at getting adults back into the saddle is looking for volunteers. In a joint initiative between Cherwell District Council, Go Active and Montgomery House Surgery in Coker Close, people are needed to encourage others to take

  • Soldier pondered suicide until he called the Legion

    Smiling happily with his two youngest children, it seems impossible to believe that just a few years ago Corporal Brian Leach considered taking his own life. A soldier for 21 years, the divorced father of five from Chesterton, near Bicester, served in

  • Jobless figure on the rise

    The annual rate of people claiming jobseekers’ allowance in Oxfordshire has risen for the second month in a row. There are now 7,890 people on the dole in the county — 460 more than at the same time last year, according to the latest figures for July

  • COMMENT: Higher fares? Then give us better trains

    RAIL commuters have little option but to cough up for the whopping rise in their tickets next year, but they do have one crucial right. First Great Western is now duty-bound to start producing better conditions if it is to plunder the pockets of Oxfordshire

  • RACING: Cole's yard mourns Overpowered loss

    Overpowered, the smart juvenile from Paul Cole’s Whatcombe stables, near Wantage, was killed in an accident over the weekend. The son of Choisir, who broke his duck at Ripon before bolting up in a nursery at the Newmarket July meeting, was

  • County joins HS2 protest

    OXFORDSHIRE County Council has joined a group of local authorities opposing the Government’s £32bn HS2 plan to build a high-speed railway line between London and Birmingham. The proposed route would cut across the north-east corner of Oxfordshire between

  • CRICKET: Shipton's double-header?

    IT could be a real double header for Shipton-under-Wychwood, who face the prospect of two finals on the same day – in the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup and the District Cup. Shipton were handed a walkover by Tiddington in the District Cup semi-finals

  • AUNT SALLY: Kite win amazing 80-minute leg

    The Kite and Original Swan produced one of the longest legs in memory – with the opener in their Greene King Oxford & District League Section 11 clash lasting an amazing hour and 20 minutes. The Kite set every throw and Original Swan’s anchor

  • Local share prices (AM)

    AEA Technology 2.85 BMW 5178 Electrocomponents 203.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 89 Oxford Biomedica 6.4 Oxford Catalysts 62 Oxford Instruments 838.75 Reed Elsevier 483.6 RM 94.1 RPS Group 207.3 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • AUNT SALLY: New Club salvo hits Cricketers

    Greene King Oxford & District League Section 1 leaders New Club sprang a surprise by winning 2-1 at Premier table-toppers Cricketers to open up a three-point lead, writes ANDY BEAL. New Club won the opening leg 29-27 with the Cricketers levelling

  • Brushing up on safety

    ADULTS with learning difficulties teamed up with a local artist to paint four murals on the walls of a fire station. It was part of a special project set up by Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service and Adult Learning. The murals, at the

  • No information on postal vote fiasco

    COUNCIL officials have blocked revealing information about the printing blunders that hit elections in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse. Thousands of people were denied the chance to vote after problems with the local elections

  • COMMENT: Democratic right

    VALE of White Horse and South Oxfordshire democratic services manager Steven Corrigan is refusing to release information on the woeful handling of May’s council elections because a returning officer’s documents are exempt from the Freedom of Information

  • CRICKET: Oxford knocked out

    OXFORD crashed out of the Barbados Cockspur Club t20 after a six-wicket defeat at hosts Ealing. The Home Counties Premier League champions made just 122-9 after choosing to bat in their South East Area semi-final, then Ealing raced to 122-4 in 14.5 overs

  • CRICKET: Burton bags a century

    Megan Burton’s maiden senior century inspired Oxfordshire to a 104-run victory over Wiltshire in Division 5 South & West of the ECB Women’s County Championship at Devizes CC. Burton made 100 not out, including nine fours, in Oxon’s 207-8, then Ellie

  • Heslop cracker sets up first victory for Oxford United

    Oxford Utd 2, Shrewsbury Tn 0 If you thought Simon Heslop’s goal on Saturday was good, Tuesday night’s was even better. By a country mile. And his eighth-minute blockbuster was the catalyst that gave Oxford United a vital three points and the

  • Train passengers face big rises

    Rail passengers face fork ing out an average of eight per cent more for their tickets from the start of next year. And some fares could jump by up to 13 per cent under a system used to calculate the average increase across each train operator

  • Copycat riot fizzles out as police arrive

    SEVEN people have already been arrested in Banbury after “copy cat” disturbances of national riots, and more will follow say police. A group of 31 yobs congregated in Market Place last Tuesday night and a wheely bin was thrown through an empty shop window

  • Copycat riot fizzles out as police arrive

    SEVEN people have already been arrested in Banbury after “copy cat” disturbances of national riots, and more will follow say police. A group of 31 yobs congregated in Market Place last Tuesday night and a wheely bin was thrown through an empty shop window

  • Group formed to stop quarry plan

    AN ACTION group has been set up to fight plans to fill in Woodeaton Quarry using thousands of lorryloads of waste. Quarry owner McKenna Plant Hire wants to use the abandoned quarry to dump 650,000 tonnes of soil and clay from building sites around the

  • CRICKET: Oxon duo eye promotion

    BOTH clubs battling for the MP Sports Cherwell League title will seek promotion if they finish top. Division 1 leaders Oxford Downs and second-placed Shipton-under-Wychwood are keen for a first taste of Home Counties Premier League action. Promotion

  • CRICKET: Development XI 'progressing well'

    OXFORDSHIRE Development XI manager Neil Pearson believes the team are going from strength to strength. Sunday’s victory over Gloucestershire Academy brought an end to a season of mixed results, but Pearson is more than happy with the bigger picture.

  • Pupils are United

    TRAVELLERS visiting the other side of the world can be forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief when they see a young football team decked out in Oxford United’s kit. Youngsters 11,000 miles away at Saqani High School in the remote Saqani

  • FOOTBALL: City hit for six on Oxon's night of woe

    OXFORD City fell to a 6-0 defeat at AFC Totton on a bad night for Oxfordshire clubs in the Evo-Stick Southern League. City had no answer to Totton in their Premier Division encounter, falling behind to Ryan Hill’s 19th-minute free-kick. Jason Mooney

  • Cash to boost broadband speeds

    THE GOVERNMENT has announced a £3.86m investment to improve broadband speeds in rural Oxfordshire. The cash is part of a £362m package to improve connections across the country. Oxfordshire County Council and Oxfordshire Enterprise Partnership will

  • A summer holiday taste of rock

    CHILDREN from across Oxford have been given a taste of the rock and roll lifestyle this week. Oxford High School has been hosting courses teaching children between the ages of 11 and 16 what it is like to be in a band. The Passion for . . . Being in

  • Wilder delighted as Oxford United break their duck

    Chris Wilder was all smiles after seeing the hard work on Oxford United’s training ground reap rewards at the Kassam Stadium on Tuesday night. The important thing was picking up the first three points of the season with a 2-0 win over Shrewsbury, but

  • Pensioners face care home worry

    PENSIONERS risk being turned away from care homes because of a squeeze on public spending, it was claimed last night. Oxfordshire County Council is not paying enough to cover the cost of putting OAPs in private homes, warned George Tuthill, chairman

  • Meet the police

    Members of the neighbourhood policing team are holding a Have Your Say event for shoppers at the Chipping Norton's market today. Officers will be in High Street between 10am and noon.

  • Wilderness Festival @Cornbury Park

    COOL, slim and effortlessly fashionable, Lady Rotherwick stood on the lawns stretching away from her stately home and surveyed the scene over Cornbury Park. A clutch of figures dressed in crisp white flannels were playing cricket, while a blow by blow

  • Elderly woman treated after falling on bus

    AN elderly woman was treated by ambulance staff after she fell when a bus braked sharply this morning. Police and paramedics were called to Banbury Road in Oxford this morning following the incident, which was at first believed to be a crash.

  • Bus crash in Oxford

    A BUS has crashed in Banbury Road, Oxford, this morning. The crash has blocked one lane of the road near the Cutteslowe roundabout and police officers are attending the incident. It is not yet known if anyone has been injured.

  • New enterprise zone for Oxfordshire

    SCIENCE Vale UK has today been announced as an enterprise zone by the Government. David Cameron today announced a second wave of the zones, designed to kick-start Britain's economy. The Prime Minister said the sites, which benefit from tax breaks

  • Council information pledge after magazine closes

    VULNERABLE residents will be contacted directly by council staff following the axeing of a free magazine delivered to up to 50,000 households in the Vale. The council magazine Unvaled, delivered to residents in the Vale of White Horse District Council

  • £350,000 pavilion primed for grand debut

    THE finishing touches are being put to the eagerly awaited new Barton Pavilion. In May, the former building was bulldozed after 40 years in Barton Village Road recreation ground. The Oxford estate’s dilapidated clubhouse was renowned for its leaking