AN AUTISTIC boy was left devastated after thieves stole the handlebars from his cherished bike. The BMX bike was given to 13-year-old Thomas Langstaff as a birthday present this year after the whole family chipped in. Thomas, of Sedge Way, Carterton
Burglars broke into a home in Yarnton Road, Cassington, and took thousands of pounds worth of electrical goods. Between 3am on Friday, November 11, and 3am on Tuesday the property, which was vacant at the time, was ransacked while thieves stole a Bush
TWENTY-SIX lucky school children have been getting tips from a professional storyteller ready for the 2012 Olympics. They have been taking part in a Thames Valley-wide project called the Tree of Light, which will culminate in performances involving
THE county may be set for a new kind of banking to help those at the mercy of loan sharks. Oxfordshire County Council has funded a study into setting up a credit union. Credit unions are financial institutions owned and controlled by
TWO men are gearing up for one of the world’s most “brutal” marathons. When Philip Blazdell lost his father Frank last year he completed a 10km run for the hospice that helped care for him at home. But when he was asked what he planned to do next, it
SOBELL House Hospice Charity’s first online auction has been hailed a great success, after its weird and wonderful lots netted more than £1,100. The charity offered up a whole host of unusual ‘money-can’t buy’ items last week on eBay, and by Monday,
Ballet boys James French and Ethan Barrett have swapped their Oxfordshire classrooms for the Royal Opera House stage. The pair, who are good friends and take dance lessons together in Witney, have both won roles in the Royal Ballet Company’s glittering
NEARLY 100 years of anecdotes and memories of the Hanneys have been recorded in a new book. Author Angela Cousins, left, spent a year gathering stories from more than 80 old and new residents of East and West Hanney. Telling Tales A Patchwork of Village
NOT many university freshers make sure they put aside a few hours each day to train for the London Marathon. But Doug Booker has already seen more of life than many of his fellow first-year s tudents at Brunel University, Uxbridge. The 19-year-old from
A £30,000 report on the future of Bicester’s historic Garth House has been drawn up, but you won’t be able to read it for at least two months. Earlier this year Bicester Town Council commissioned consultants C Harris to come up with proposals for how
A PICTURESQUE Cotswold pub has appeared on the front page of the Good Pub Guide. The King’s Head in Bledington, near Kingham, was one of between 6,000 and 7,000 drinking establishments included in the latest edition of the guide. And after organisers
AEA Technology 0.17 BMW 4648 Electrocomponents 202.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 90 Oxford Biomedica 5 Oxford Catalysts 51.25 Oxford Instruments 993.5 Reed Elsevier 517 RM 72.75 RPS Group 183.8 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
DIVORCE halts one in three marriages, and while for most it signifies an ending, former Oxford secretary Rona Cant experienced a ‘rebirth’ which sent her on adventures most of us only dream about. ‘Cant’ is an ironic surname for the mature (she won’t
IT is always a delight when a car manufacturer really ups its game. Mitsubishi has done just that with its answer to the incredibly popular Nissan Qashqai. Mitsubishi’s ASX, like the Qashqai, is competitively priced, starting at about £16,000, and despite
A STUDENT who designed a prize-winning kitchen garden in Oxford will take his creative eye to Africa. Oxford Brookes University, along with university caterers Chartwells, ran a kitchen garden contest at an allotments project on its Wheatley
A POLISH man who has set up a website aimed at bringing Oxfordshire’s Polish communities together has called on his compatriots to get to know their neighbours. Michal Gogut, 32, from Banbury, pictured, has lived in the country for seven years and first
A WANTAGE priest has floated the idea of recycling burial plots to help save space. Father John Salter, vicar at SS Peter and Paul Church, said the town needed to look to burial alternatives to avoid future cemetery shortages. His comments
ONHS Oxfordshire has reminded people it is not too late to get the annual flu jab. The vaccination is offered to everyone who is aged over 65, people with long-term health conditions and pregnant women. Paid and unpaid carers can also consider having
Scores of former factory workers turned out to a reunion – the first in 20 years. It was also a chance for former colleagues of Steve Blake, of Wendlebury, to say a poignant goodbye as the 57-year-old has terminal cancer. About 150 former Bruce Engineering
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money organisation is to buy nationalised lender Northern Rock in a £747m deal, the Treasury has announced. The Kidlington-based tycoon intends to keep all the bank’s 75 branches open including the outlet in High Street,
AN OXFORD scientist who has spent decades researching diabetes has been awarded a prestigious $100,000 prize. Prof Frances Ashcroft, a professor of physiology at Oxford University and fellow of Trinity College, is only the third British woman ever to
Four pupils at the Cherwell School have raised £1,760 towards a library in South East Asia. Fundraising activities included a special event at the Treasures of the Bodleian exhibition and they hope to eventually raise £3,500. Their fundraising efforts
Budding chefs in Rose Hill have been cooking up a treat. They have been taking part in the new Food 4 All scheme, which is run by two students at Oxford Brookes to get more people cooking from scratch. Monika Kozlak, 27, from Risinghurst, runs the scheme
Danny Bone returns from injury for Old Woodstock Town when they host fellow Hellenic League side Witney Town at North Leigh in Friday night's FA Carlsberg Vase second-round tie (7.45 ko). Division 1 West high-fliers Woodstock are at full strength
Oxford United’s girls centre of excellence added another string to their bow this week when Charlotte Deeley was called into the England girls elite performance camp for the south of England. The 13-year-old, from Didcot, has been with the club for the
THE mother of a teenage moped rider killed by a speeding drink-driver said she hopes the culprit “will be haunted forever” by the crash. Company director Glen Holburt was jailed at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday after earlier admitting causing death
CHRISTMAS Island veteran Rae Johnson is hoping he and 1,000 other ex-servicemen might finally get a chance to sue the Government for compensation. The 74-year-old, from Beeching Way, Littleworth, believes he suffered breathing difficulties
Beeline Cycles Oxonian CC Cross Senior race: 1 M Cotty (Canondale) 55mins 10secs, 2 B Sumner (Beeline CC) 56.38, 3 Knight (Jewson) 58.32. Vets, ladies, and junior race: 1 M Woods (Hargroves Cycles, jun), 2 W Girvan (North Hants RC, V45), 3 D Phillips
ABINGDON’S Jeremy Lu finished runner-up in the Badminton England Under 13 Silver Grade tournament in Harlow, Essex. Lu beat Owen West-Bourne (Sussex) 15-10, 15-12 in his semi-final before losing 16-14, 5-15, 17-15 to William Jones (Surrey). Edith Langford
“WE WERE guinea pigs...” A chilling admission, but unquestionably true. Many in the military were unnecessarily exposed to the dangers of radiation during the Fifties and Sixties when the defence of our country lay almost solely in the development of
Hinksey Sculling School had an impressive win in the junior 15 quads at the Henley Sculls on Saturday. Jonny Allen, Will New, Iestyn James, Ben Gregorio and cox Joe Jenkinson were nearly half a minute faster than their nearest rivals. Indeed, Hinksey
OXON: The Business Accelerators competition run by the Oxford Mail and its sister titles has been hailed a major success after it attracted dozens of entries. Thirty-eight small firms under three years old applied for the chance to be one of three companies
KNIFE wielding robbers lay in wait for a shop worker as she returned to her Oxford home last night. A 27-year-old woman returned home after work to Ridgefield Road, in East Oxford, where she was confronted by the men in her kitchen about 7pm
BANBURY: Fire crews were called to a village near Banbury yesterday after two vehicles collided. The accident involving a black VW Polo and a silver Audi A6 happened at 6.30am on the B4035 between Tadmarton and Lower Tadmarton. Police closed the road
A POPULAR landlord was likely to be more than two times the drink-drive limit when he crashed into a tree and died. Robert Huntington, who ran the Duke of Cumberland’s Head in Clifton, was flung more than 20 feet out of the back window of his
IT seems secret agent Johnny English has been brushing up on his close protection skills. Comedian Rowan Atkinson returned to his old Oxford college yesterday, as the Duchess of Cornwall came to open its new £5m auditorium. And the star
Anthony Tonkin is delighted to be back in full training after a nightmare few months. The left back played in the opening match of the season at Rotherham, but has been on the treatment table ever since after a nasty groin injury. “I went for an MRI
AEA Technology 0.21 BMW 4619 Electrocomponents 202.9 Nationwide Accident Repair 89.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.1 Oxford Catalysts 51.25 Oxford Instruments 1006 Reed Elsevier 518 RM 72.75 RPS Group 183.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Andy Whing says that Oxford United’s players are all desperate to get the Sheffield United defeat out of their system. But the defender says that they know that there are few tougher places to try and do that than Crawley. While the U’s were not expected
Oxford City will be without their giant keeper Jason Mooney for at least two weeks with a serious leg injury. It means that the 6ft 10in stopper, who is on a season-long loan from League One Wycombe, will miss Saturday's Evo-Stik Southern League
IT’S crunch time in National 3 South West tomorrow when Chinnor host leaders and fellow unbeaten side Bournemouth (2.30). Both teams have won all ten matches, but Bournemouth, who are averaging more than 60 points a game, have three more bonus
WITH begging letters outnumbering other mail by nine missives to one, the appearance of two communications – one interested in my health, the other my wealth – were a welcome surprise. The first didn’t mince words. Plaque build-up in arteries
AS A door-to-door poppy day collector in Horspath, can I please thank all those households for their most generous donations for this most worthy cause and, on a personal note, thank you for the warm and genuine welcome that I received when you opened
IN regard to the Government’s plan to cut solar power subsidies (Oxford Mail, November 10, Solar Power “Eclipse”), I find it incredible that they are going to do so, as they pay subsidies to build useless windmills that will have doubtful benefits. The
HAVING just watched Songs Of Praise on BBC TV, can someone justify to me the lavish robes worn by bishops? The church is rich but always pleads poverty. The money spent on robes would surely feed hungry children in Africa – more double standards?
In REPLY to R. Lee (Oxford Mail, November 1), I’m surprised nobody has written in suggesting he live in Iran. That, after all, used to be the call to anyone slightly Socialist in outlook, though back then one was told to ‘go live in Russia’! Regards
IT WAS a beaming Rob Hall that greeted the press at the Kassam Stadium yesterday. The 18-year-old was meeting up with the Oxford United players at training for the first time since his return to the club from West Ham. And the striker admitted he can
North Leigh manager Mark Gee wants a repeat show when they host Evo-Stick Southern League Division 1 South & West high-fliers Paulton Rovers on Saturday. On November 5, they beat leaders Hungerford 3-1 and Gee says they can do it again. Gee said: “If
l AFTER reading the article in Saturday’s edition, I thought I would relate my own dissatisfaction with Greene King. I had to play a pool match at a local Greene King pub and, as I was the driver, was only on soft drinks. I asked for an orange J2O
TAXPAYERS face extra bills of nearly £90 a year each, so that tens of thousands of jobless benefit tourists can come to Britain. The European Commission aims to change rules so EU citizens can settle here even if they won’t work. It also wants us
THANK you for publishing my letter with the query about national service, as I fully expected someone among your readership to know the answer and in fact four people kindly wrote in with information. It solved the situation in our little day centre
Glyn Limmer (So-called professionals make several mistakes, November 4), really should have read and assimilated the whole of my letter (Arguing the same points, October 25) more carefully to avoid making unfounded – and dare I suggest “unprofessional
I WOULD really like to know what policy the Oxford Bus Company instructs its drivers to follow when picking passengers up at bus stops in the city centre. On November 10 my girlfriend and I ran to catch a Number 1 bus that was waiting in St Aldates.
OXFORDSHIRE County Council workers were snapped eating their lunch in a disabled space in Burwell Drive, Witney, on Wednesday. Resident John Speakman spotted the pair eating chips in their truck parked across two spaces. He said: “It annoyed me, as
Oxford United have become the first League Two club to launch their own mobile phone network, as it looks at new ways to boost its cashflow. From this month, fans can buy an ‘OUFC Mobile’ phone or sim card, with 50 per cent of the profits
OXFORD United will do battle tomorrow against one of the men who was so inspirational in helping them win promotion two seasons ago. U’s boss Chris Wilder has lavished praise on former midfielder Dannie Bulman, now a pivotal figure for Crawley
AS THE cortege carrying Private Matthew Thornton’s coffin drew away from Carterton’s memorial garden, his family thanked the hundreds of people who had turned out to pay their respects. Pte Thornton, 28, pictured right, of 4th Battalion The
TROOPS coming home to Abingdon from Germany next month will be housed up to 40 miles away due to a shortage of homes at the base. About 120 soldiers from the 43 Close Support Squadron are to join its parent unit 12 Logistic Support Regiment at Dalton
AN off-duty paramedic crashed her private ambulance into a cement mixer after overtaking a police car when she was late getting to a TV film set. Kathryn Dunn, 48, had turned on her blue emergency lights as she overtook a line of five cars before the
OXFORDSHIRE’S biggest country show has been cancelled after organisers lost about £116,000 over the past four years. The annual Oxfordshire County and Thame Show, which is billed as England’s Greatest Agricultural Show and has a history stretching back
MURDER victim Denis Witney had lost his father following a cancer drugs trial just over a year before his own death, it emerged last night. Karen Witney, the 39-year-old’s mother, yesterday paid tribute to her son as she revealed the death of her husband
At last, a story about football that doesn’t involve racism or WAGs. Indeed, it’s positively inspirational, and it’s all home-grown too. The U’s are launching their very own mobile phone network with a whole slew of benefits and special promotions and
A PROJECT to create a ‘living archive’ of the Cowley area of Oxford is about to come to a close. Since the I, Cowley project was launched with a £47,240 Heritage Lottery Fund grant in May 2010, hundreds of people have been involved. Memories, oral histories
