FRAUDSTERS who stole licence plates from private hire taxis in Oxford could be planning to pose as legitimate drivers, police warned. Today they urged the public to be vigilant after three thefts were reported on Saturday. The private hire licence plates
FRAUDSTERS who ripped licence plates from private hire taxis in Blackbird Leys could be planning to pose as legitimate drivers, police warned. Today they urged the public to be vigilant after a spate of three thefts was reported on Saturday. In the
MEET Gavin Knight, a thoroughly modern vicar. The 46-year-old has just been appointed minister at St Michael and All Angels in Summertown and will reconnect with his flock by using the sermon... as well as social media. As a former media research analyst
A Headington man with a history of battling the council has become embroiled in a fresh planning row after applying to demolish a house he can’t stand the sight of. More than 30 years after buying a house in Old Headington to make the perfect family
VERONICA So has no doubt what her band is all about. “It’s a miracle,” she laughs. “We are a shambolic miracle which shouldn’t really exist. We are all so different – but somehow it works.” And she’s right. While other bands bristle with personality
SURELY Kate McGill’s time has come. A singer-songwriter of charm, passion and talent, she is also incredibly hard-working… obsessively so. This young Devon artist is currently mid-way through a gruelling 34-date tour. Not of theatres, clubs or even pub
Started Early, Took My Dog is Kate Atkinson’s eighth major work of fiction and the fourth to feature the thoughtful detective Jackson Brodie, who first appears in the critically acclaimed Case Histories, which was adapted for a BBC TV series earlier this
Based on the novel 20 Times A Lady by Karyn Bosnak, What’s Your Number? centres on a 20-something career girl who imposes a strict limit on the number of men she is allowed to sleep with before she finds her Prince Charming. When she hits that limit
When 16-year-old Taylor Lautner was cast as lovesick Jacob Black in the first Twilight film, media attention focused on Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart and their sizzling chemistry. Then Lautner gained 30lb in muscle to convincingly portray Jacob
John Madden directs a gripping English-language remake of the Israeli film Ha-Hov about three retired Mossad agents, who come face-to-face with the spectres of the past. Tightly scripted by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan, The Debt is
11.03: Leaseoflife 3, Ballymac Tish, How Verydare You, FREDDIE THE FROG, Thelollysonmolly 2, Abelia. 11.19: Primo Striker, Knockanae Slippy, LISCREA CLASSIC, True Davey 2, Ms Calypso 3, Banagher Lady. 11.34: Little Sarah, BURNT OAK BILLY, Kilkeedy Maldini
THE booming Banbury economy is set for another boost in the next five years with a predicted 1,000 more jobs being created on top of those already announced. Last week, the Oxford Mail revealed motorsport firm Prodrive is doubling in size and moving
A FAMILY-RUN service station which has only been open for nine months after a multi-million pound redevelopment, scooped five industry awards in a single evening. Members of the Fraser family found themselves split between two award ceremonies at top
AEA Technology 2.3 BMW 4691 Electrocomponents 193.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 93 Oxford Biomedica 5.25 Oxford Catalysts 59 Oxford Instruments 818.25 Reed Elsevier 500.75 RM 82.6 RPS Group 164.6 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley
Abingdon Town 3 Harwell & Hendred 1 George Goodenough got the Champions off to a flyer with a 20 yard strike into the top corner. He then got his second with a fine piece of control and then fired into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 half time
Abingdon started the half with real pace and pushed for an early goal and Hayden stone fired a powerful shot from the left to put Abingdon ahead. Gabby Abrokwah soon extended the lead but Grove steadied the defence right up until halftime when Tom
Crowmarsh v Garsington, U12, League A, 25th September, Bullcroft, Wallingford. First Half: From a Crowmarsh kick off, an early attempt on goal from Josh Burtenshaw (Crowmarsh) was deflected off a Garsington player for a corner. Josh Burtenshaw
First Game Quarry 1 -1 AYFC Greens (scorer for AYFC - James Rivers ) 2nd Game Quarry 0 - 6 AYFC Greens (Lincoln Moreton 5, Steven Woodhouse 1 ) “Abingdon Greens travelled to Quarry aiming to retain their unbeaten start to the season
The first 15 minutes of this game were fairly evenly matched, it was clear from the start that both teams wanted to get the ball down and play football. As the half wore on North Leigh began to increase the pressure, a free kick from the edge of
RESIDENTS in a village near Abingdon are examining plans for a major new housing development which would be built on playing fields. Developer Taylor Wimpey wants to build up to 100 homes and a community pavilion on the village playing fields. Today
Sam and Steph Danton will be putting their hearts and soles into the British Heart Foundation’s first Blenheim Palace Half Marathon this weekend, in honour of their dad John who suffered a fatal heart attack three years ago. Solicitor Sam
THE last time they were all together was 20 years ago. Now staff from Bicester’s first industrial firm are gathering to say a poignant goodbye to a fellow worker. Staff of Bruce Engineering, Bessemer Close, Bicester, were all made redundant
A CHILDREN’S lantern procession will again form the centrepiece of Oxford’s Christmas Night of Lights. Plans are being drawn up to involve city schools, with local artists to help pupils create puppet style lanterns on a theme of The 12 Days of Christmas
1st Match The 3rd game of the season got off to a good start with both teams being fairly even opponents. Archie Brew set up Sam Cheshire’s first goal of the match with two passes up to the end of the pitch, putting the Challengers in the lead.
On a dry, mild morning in Radley the Under 9s hosted Chalgrove in what turned out to be closely fought, entertaining and competitive games of football. Radley shaded the match with goals from Sadie Timbs (two) and Edward Nadin (two) in game one. Kieran
This was Warriors 1st League game of the season & at times it looked like it as Abingdon were in total control going 2 nil up early on, Abingdon’s visitors then pulled one back after an Arsenal like mix up between the Keeper & Defenders. Louis Kogel
In their third match of the season St Edmunds FC have Bouncebackability, skilful passing and strong support play led St Edmunds to a 3–0 away victory over a competitive Barton United side in Oxford Mail’s U9 Green League. After the dissapointment of
WHEN Howard Grater takes to the stage he is not only representing his home town, but following a bit of a family tradition. The 24-year-old singer who grew up in Arncott, near Bicester, has won a place in the area final of the Open Mic UK contest, under
PUPILS, staff and parents at an Abingdon primary are celebrating after the school was rated outstanding. Inspectors visited Thomas Reade Primary School, in Radley Road, earlier this month and it was graded outstanding in 18 areas of assessment and good
RESCUE workers set their sights on the skies as they trained to treat casualties in hazardous environments. Utility company npower allowed the crews to use an 130ft-high electricity pylon near Blackberry Lane, Blackbird Leys. With the
A LAWYER is set to swap his pinstripe suit for sports kit and a stopwatch after being chosen as an official for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Paul Trincas was one of 250,000 applicants who wanted to play a part in the running of the games and was delighted
A DRINK driver has been told he will be jailed after being convicted of killing a teenager through careless driving. Jonathan Ashworth was over the drink-drive limit when the borrowed Range Rover he was driving hit 18-year-old Tom Kahl on July 10 last
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 1 Chipping Norton 1½ (2pts), The Oxfordshire 1½ (2) (Chipping Norton first): C Heslip & S Allen bt J Cameron & D Knight 3&2, A Johnson & T Reynolds lost to J Garnish & P Green 2&1, S Kench & M Stanton
Hopes are high at Henrietta Knight’s West Lockinge Farm stables, near Wantage, that her string for this jumps campaign can set her on an upward curve again. Now in her 24th season, Knight has racked up an impressive 698 National Hunt winners
Blackbird Leys trio Dennis Crook, Roy Brain and Steve O’Keefe are still basking in the glory of lifting the Jack Stow Trophy at Headington. They defied all the odds to triumph in the eight-end triples competition, claiming victory over Headington
Bicester's Paul Hooley scaled the heights to triumph in the Oxfordshire Champion of Champions competition at Oxford City & County. Hooley came out on top of 22 club champions in the two-day event. After battling through four rounds to
Charlie Longsdon made big strides in the National Hunt world last season – and now he’s targeting a first half-century of winners. After exceeding his own expectations with a personal best 44 winners last term, the Chipping Norton handler has already
As we trundle through our daily routines, coping with the ‘problems’ of modern life, spare a thought for Steve Blake, a man whose response to his own imminent death from terminal cancer is both humbling and inspiring. Mr Blake is facing the last few
A BID to redraw the boundaries of Oxford’s Green Belt has been rejected by a planning inspector because of the risk of “urban sprawl” from Wheatley to Cowley. South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) wants Berinsfield and the Wheatley area
OXFORD University’s Siberian tour has seen two players suffer broken legs and a third damage a lung. Centres Gavin Turner and Marcus-Alexander Neil both broke bones in their legs on the hard surface during a sevens tournament in Achinsk where the Dark
BURFORD’S Amy Gaertner won her age group in the national Skills Challenge final at Woodhall Spa. Gaertner was the top girl in the 15 to 17 year-old category after demonstrating her skills in putting, chipping, pitching, bunkers and long game. Meanwhile
OXFORDSHIRE’S Jonathan Pettitt missed out on glory in the final round of the 2011 Red Bull Pro Nationals Elite Youth Cup series at Culham Park, near Abingdon. More than 4,000 spectators crammed in to watch the event – and were kept entertained by a championship
Two men have been charged with theft after four people had their mobile phones stolen in Lava and Ignite club in Park End Street, Oxford. Abdeslem Ouchikh, 29, from Barton Road, Headington, and Mehdi Ifrene, 28, from Tilehouse Close, Headington, have
A 17th-century house with formal gardens and an orchard is on the market for a shade under £2m. Court End in Adderbury, near Banbury, includes five bedrooms, a drawing room with French doors to the terrace, sitting room, dining room, study and reception
WE FELT your use of case studies in Monday’s story on primary school admissions in Oxfordshire (Oxford Mail, September 26, Too few places at too many schools, P4), served to paint an excessively gloomy picture for your readers. Unfortunately, there will
Hold the front page, Oxfordshire needs more homes. Getting on the ladder in this county requires more than the shirt of your back. The answer? More affordable homes. The problem? Nowhere to build them. Town Halls have the wagging finger
SO MUSLIM women in France must be allowed to wear the burka. EU rules apply to the UK. Gipsies can’t be moved because of their human rights. If gipsies convert to Islam they will have it made. RW TUCKER, Kingsway Drive, Kidlington
THE Oxford Mail reports (September 26) that 11 members of the Justice For Michael Jackson UK organisation waved banners and played his hit songs in Bonn Square, Oxford, England, last Saturday, in a bid to prevent the “pop icon” from being “slandered”
Regarding the Michael Jackson protest on September 24. As one of the group of fans taking part in the Justice For Michael rally this past Saturday, I have just seen the article and, considering the reporter interviewed many of us at the time, I and
IF YOU ever forget it, just remember: We’re All In This Together. But Wantage MP Ed Vaizey, who is a Minister for the Digital Industries, has revealed he applied to put a games console in his room at the Culture Department. “The powers that be were
IS Councillor Keith Mitchell doing his duty? Adding to the latest round of immigrant bashing, your article headlined ‘Immigrants need to learn English’, queried the “annual bill” for the county council’s translation costs, obviously implying that ‘immigrants
I SEE that the villagers of Old Marston are rallying round to save their library (Oxford Mail, September 22). I'm hardly surprised, since Old Marston, along with many village libraries, gets a raw deal in Oxfordshire County Council's latest library proposals
I AM researching my family history and have discovered that my great-great-grandparents, William and Edith Matthews, worked at Carlton Lodge (near The Magdalen Arms), Iffley Road, Oxford, in 1891. I have contacted various people and have visited the
CRAIG Burrows says he has been surprised by the level of commitment after taking over as Grove’s head coach. Burrows joined the Cane Lane club this summer after spending two years gaining coaching experience with Oxford Harlequins and Oxfordshire. “
OXFORD Golf Club will officially replace Southfield on Saturday as the home of men’s and ladies’ golf in the city. This will be the new name for the course nestled between Headington and Cowley that hosts the Oxford City and Oxford Ladies clubs
Gazanging, where vendors decide not to sell at the last minute, could become a bigger problem in the future, according to agents. A survey by conveyancing website In-Deed found one in four owners pulled out of a sale because they couldn’t find
A family home near Wantage is set in a quarter of an acre with a brook running through the grounds. Kingfisher House in Letcombe Regis has views over surrounding countryside and agents say it has been much improved by the present owners. The kitchen
AEA Technology 2.4 BMW 4644 Electrocomponents 193.1 Nationwide Accident Repair 94 Oxford Biomedica 5.4 Oxford Catalysts 59 Oxford Instruments 819.75 Reed Elsevier 500.2 RM 71.8 RPS Group 165.3 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley
PAUL Fernandez, of Abingdon Amblers, led England to the team silver medal in the Commonwealth Ultra Distance Championships in Anglesey on Sunday. Fernandez completed the 55K trail race in seventh place in a time of 3hrs 42mins 43secs and was the first
OXFORD City Stars had their best weekend of the season so far with a win and a draw from their double header at Bracknell Hornets and at home to Bristol Pitbulls. Stars cruised to a 3-0 win at Bracknell, before drawing 4-4 with Bristol 24 hours later
Building work has started on a new affordable housing development in Bicester. Sanctuary Group, in partnership with Cherwell District Council, is behind a £3.3m project to create 23 eco-friendly homes. The Bryan House development will include a mix
Chris Wilder says that while he does not want to bring in another loan signing – he may have to. The Oxford United boss has been hit hard by injuries this season – and last week was down to the bare bones in defence for the clash with Accrington Stanley
OXFORD City’s remarkable veterans claimed their seventh successive gold medal in the Southern Road Relays at Rushmoor Arena, Aldershot. City’s vet 60 quartet of Allan Matthews, John Exley, Dave Parsons and Roy Treadwell finished almost two minutes ahead
DARRELL Bellinger, from Oxford City, finished third out of nearly 2,000 runners at Sunday’s inaugural Oxford Half Marathon. The City ace crossed the line in 1hr 13mins 06secs. Club athletes joined fun-runners around the course, which
Section 3 outfit Headington Conservative Club came close to a shock win in the Scotlands Ash League Cup, losing 3-2 at Premier side Didcot Conservative Club. Stuart Florey (6,220) and Dennis Atkins (6,890) put the Didcot side 2-0 up, but then Headington
Getting out and going wild in a 4x4 can be fun, or so I am told. The trouble is that many owners of such vehicles have no land to rove over — which is why the Abingdon 4X4 Festival was so successful, earning £110,000 for charity over ten years. It provided
THE RAF’S Puma fleet of helicopters is set to be hovering over the Oxfordshire countryside until at least 2025, it has emerged. The airmen and woman based at RAF Benson have been flying missions out of the base since 1997 and yesterday marked
THERE are no active lines of inquiry into an arson attack on a McDonald’s restaurant in August, police said last night. A 26-year-old man arrested over the fire at the London Road restaurant on August 9 will not be charged with any offence. A petrol
THE author whose impassioned plea to save libraries sparked the public outcry in Oxfordshire has warned that volunteers cannot replace professionals. Philip Pullman spoke out as the window for comments on the service’s proposed shake-up closes at midnight
Margaret Pelling’s latest novel features Dora Clayton, whose personality fills a room. But behind her laughing façade is a troubled mind. Three years before A Diamond in the Sky opens, Dora’s baby daughter died at six weeks old — and the mother feels
GIRL IN A GREEN GOWN by Carola HIcks (Chatto & Windus, £16.99) One of the most famous pictures in the National Gallery — and one of the earliest secular paintings in Europe — shows a cold-eyed man and a woman with a swollen stomach and modestly
A by-election will be held for Cherwell District Council and Bicester Town Council today. The election for the district’s Bicester North Ward and the town council’s North Ward follows the death of sitting councillor Carol Steward. Candidates
The booming Banbury economy is set for another boost in the next five years with 1,000 more jobs set to be created on top of those already announced. Last week, the Oxford Mail revealed how motorsport firm Prodrive was doubling in size and moving to
A family-run service station which has only been open for nine months after a multi-million pound redevelopment, scooped five industry awards in a single evening. Members of the Fraser family found themselves split between two award ceremonies at top
A lawyer is set to swap his pin stripe suit for sports kit and a stopwatch after being chosen as an official for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Paul Trincas was one of 250,000 applicants who wanted to play a part in the running of the games
Oxford United fans looking to start their own businesses have been offered a helping hand after the club linked up with a special charity. The U’s have joined forces with the Fredericks Foundation which provides small loans for people who are unable
Does anyone drink Madeira wine? I am fairly confident that in all of the time I have been writing about wine I’ve never once mentioned it and I’m equally sure that since I sampled some as part of my wine exams (a distant memory) I haven’t tried
Sir – I attended a session of the Cogges Link Road inquiry and I was astonished to hear from planners that part of the money allocated for the Cogges Link Road will be used to have, at the Staple Hall junction (the double roundabout at the bottom
One film has stood out above all others in 2011 and it arrives on DVD this week. Surely the first motion picture to be inspired by Pythagorean theory, Michelangelo Frammartino's Le Quattro Volte is a minimalist meditation on everyday existence that is
Sir – On September 23, I attended the AGM of the Radciffe Hospitals NHS Trust and was very disappointed that the mainly self-glorificational nature of the event left little time for questions from the public. Notice of the meeting in The Oxford Times
Sir – As parents of two primary-age children, we went to the open day at Oxford Spires School in Oxford this week — a year since we last went to one of their open days. We were amazed and pleased at the astounding changes that have happened there. The
Sir – How right the CPRE is in expressing deep concern about the threat to our countryside if housing development is allowed to spread without firm control. The Green Belt took years to agree and was the result of extensive research and discussion. Some
Sir – The CPRE analysis of the Green Belt is simply wrong (Report, September 22). In the Coalition Agreement the Government stated in its first weeks in office its commitment to maintaining national Green Belt protection. Our policy in the draft National
How do you solve a problem like Von Trier? The Danish provocateur delights in duping the media into fulminating against his latest scurrilous ruse and revels in the blazes of publicity that attend each pronouncement or prank. Yet when he is not placing
Sir – We would like to draw your readers’ attention to the fact that under the proposed new National Planning Framework, the current Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS 25) would be lost. PPS 25 was introduced in 2006 and brought much-needed
Sir – Nicholas Lawrence recommends abolishing the apostrophe (Letters, September 15). Messrs Moreton and Augarde, in last week’s letters, have already offered fine arguments to counter this, so I hope this letter will be enough to convert any remaining
Sir – The public was told that all options for making the required cuts to the library services would be ‘on the table’ as part of the public consultation. They were not. The council only offered us one option and they didn’t even tell us what the
Sir – I write on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council in response to a letter which appeared (Letters, September 15) from Daniel Scharf entitled Destroying the landscape. I would like to correct some facts for the record. Over a number of
Sir – Not only is the refusal of the city council to reopen St Giles toilets on the grounds of health and safety ludicrous, as Clive Hallett points out (Letters, September 22), it does not even have the benefits claimed. The building so obviously proclaims
Sir – I am a qualified secondary maths. teacher, with extensive personal finance experience both in and outside of the school classroom. Earlier this year, I was involved in a project to integrate personal finance into secondary schools’ maths
Sir – The MPs who wrote assuring us that the new National Planning Policy Framework would not be harmful to the Green Belt and the countryside have either not read it, or not understood it, or are being economical with the truth. The fact is that it
Sir – Your correspondents (Messrs’ Bond and Gill, Letters, September 22) believe that Oxfordshire County Council has sold its carbon footprint for a lower price. Oxfordshire’s councillor Rodney Rose, as reported elsewhere, implies that the electricity
Oxfordshire Mind and Oxford United FC are calling for the involvement of local organisations, groups and individuals to show their support for World Mental Health Day, do something different and have fun doing it! Mind is holding the second annual ‘one
It has taken 15 years and a £2.3m Lottery win for Charmaine Watson to respond to the bullies who made her school days a misery. For she has finally found a fitting way to voice her anger and sorrow by using £20,000 of her National Lottery winnings to
A youngster with learning difficulties is desperate to find his “best friend”, a ginger tom cat who went missing 11 days ago. One-year-old moggie Lion went out for his usual roam across fields on Sunday, September 18, but did not return home. Mother-of-two
The oldest member of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) led the group’s 80th birthday celebrations. Wenda Reynolds, 97, joined the campaign group’s Oxfordshire branch to mark its anniversary with a party at Jarn Mound Gardens, in Boars Hill
CARER Elizabeth Hatt thought she would die when her body was racked by a flesh-eating bug which devoured part of her calf muscle. Mum-of-four Mrs Hatt, from Queensway, Didcot, had a lymph node removed from the top of her right leg when she suffered Non
