Oxford Rodney Siziba, 22, of Mansfield Gardens, Didcot, admitted driving without due care and attention, without insurance and without a licence in The Broadway, Didcot, on August 1. Fined £280, a £15 victims’ surcharge and ordered to pay
HOMES and businesses in Witney, North Leigh, Ducklington and Standlake have had their power restored. A spokesman for Southern Electric said that all 11,000 properties hit by the blackout were reconnected by 7.15pm, about an hour and 10 minutes after
AS of 8am today, Oxford’s first permanent community radio station has gone live on air. OX105 FM – which until recently was known as OX4 FM – broadcast its first breakfast show from its home in Blackbird Leys. It will now provide a daily mix of music
VILLAGERS will hold a public meeting to launch an opposition campaign over controversial Government plans for a high-speed rail scheme on their doorstep. Action group Villages of Oxfordshire Opposed to HS2, VoxOpp, is urging anyone who may be affected
SOUTHERN Electric has now said 11,000 properties lost power at about 6.05pm today - ten times the number initially suggested. The blackout which struck at about 6.05pm is affecting parts of Witney, North Leigh, Ducklington and Standlake. A spokesman
PARTS of Witney have been plunged into darkness this evening after a power cut. A Southern Electric spokesman said the fault was reported at about 6.05pm and estimated that 1,100 homes and businesses were hit by the blackout. Engineers
A FOOTBALL match between city celebrities and Oxford United legends is set to raise thousands for charity. Pegasus Theatre is putting together a team of local television and music stars to face a squad of former U’s players in the May fixture. U’s manager
MORE must be done to keep cyclists safe and encourage people onto two wheels, Oxford East MP Andrew Smith told the Commons. The Labour MP said city infrastructure is “patchy” with lanes and clearly marked routes in some areas but “dangerous sections
A 10-YEAR mystery of sewage contaminating a brook running through the middle of Shipton-under-Wychwood has been solved. Residents have reported small amounts of sewage leaking into Trots Brook for about a decade. But all attempts to find the source proved
FOR as long as she can remember Jane Bright she has suffered nightmares so terrifying they could have featured in horror films. But after just one session of acupuncture, the mother of two was cured of both her night terrors, and her crippling bouts
A DRUM teacher who was told to stop giving lessons by Oxford City Council is hoping to start playing again soon. After neighbours in Freelands Road, East Oxford, complained, drum tutor Darren Hasson-Davis was ordered to stop teaching youngsters in his
CHILDREN have been planting trees on a former timber yard to create a new woodland for future generations to enjoy. The 17 acres of land off Chorley Park, in Cumnor Hill, was given to the community by timber merchant Timbmet when it sold the rest of
A TORTOISE called Darwin has been donated to the Cotswold Wildlife Park by the Seychelles Government. Darwin, part of a conservation project with the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens, is the first tortoise the Seychelles have given to the UK.
PLANS to inspect body piercing firms will cut down on botched jobs, a city tattoo parlour owner says. Mick Durham, who runs Oxford’s Tiger Lily tattoo and piercing studio in New Road, welcomed Oxford City Council plans to regulate body piercing. But
FAMILY and friends of a young mum who died last year have raised about £5,000 in her memory. Justine Silvester, who died last April two years after being diagnosed with breast cancer, should have celebrated her 40th birthday on Saturday. And
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FOR Oxford families, the old Radcliffe Infirmary was the site of some of their happiest – and many of their darkest – moments. The city’s first hospital, it opened in 1770 and was the scene for births, deaths and memories for more than 200 years. Now
A CLUB at the centre of police concerns over fights has been allowed to keep serving bottled beer so as not to put off “high-end” customers. The Chapel in Banbury will still be able to serve five premium brands, despite police concerns over bottle attacks
TEENAGERS hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods are being offered the chance to gain a recognised national qualification – in golf. Applicants to the OCVC Academy, a partnership between Oxford & Cherwell Valley College and Kirtlington
DINNER parties are set to spring up across Oxfordshire next month in an attempt to raise thousands of pounds for an Oxford hospice charity. For the third year, Helen and Douglas House in East Oxford is calling on people to fire up their ovens, switch
AFTER one of the most gruelling endurance challenges on the planet, Atlantic rower Lloyd Figgins is back home in Didcot. During his Atlantic crossing of 3,200 nautical miles, Mr Figgins and rowing partner David Whiddon had to tackle treacherous
A COUNCILLOR has raised questions over a strategy that could see under-performing schools being transformed into sponsored academies. The Government has indicated schools that fall below a “floor target” of certain standards will be turned into sponsored
A HEADTEACHER who saw her school welcome boys for the first time in its 150-year history is moving on. Lynne Renwick, headteacher at Our Lady’s Abingdon, will take up a new post at Durham High School in September after eight years in charge
THE Oxford Mail launched a competition in conjunction with Foxbury Farm to find names for half a dozen newborn goats at the farm in Burford Road, Brize Norton. The winning monikers, which all had a floral theme, were Snowdrop, Daisy, Marigold, Tulip,
OXFORD United manager Chris Wilder is preparing to run the OX5 to raise funds for Oxford Children’s Hospital. Mr Wilder will tackle the five-mile run around Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, with United staff and up to 100 Oxford United fans in their yellow
AN OXFORD hospital is taking part in a trial which the NHS hopes will make the best use of its precious blood stocks nationally. The John Radcliffe Hospital, run by Oxford University Hospitals Trust, is one of four teaching hospitals to pioneer the Blood
MARSTON and Northway residents have been urged to help Oxford City Council produce an accurate picture of flooding in the area. The study was prompted by recent floods and local concern over the impact new development could have. Old Marston Parish
A NEW £700,000 dentist set to open in Cowley this week will serve an extra 6,000 Oxford patients. The Westbridge Dental Practice will replace the existing dentist in Templars Square. The existing practice serves around 16,000 NHS patients. But the
SUPERMARKET giant Tesco paid more than £1m to purchase the old Friar pub in Marston, Oxford, which it plans to turn into a store. But the proposed shop is now being threatened with a boycott because of concerns over other local stores, though Tesco says
BECKY Clark needed plenty of puff to produce a note from this monster instrument. The 17-year-old is playing the tuba during a practice session with the Oxfordshire County Youth Wind Band in 1987. More than 40 young wind, brass and percussion players
IT HAS taken 18 months, but Jean Jeffs has finally achieved her objective. She wrote to Memory Lane to ask if readers had photos of Slade Camp at Headington, Oxford, where she lived as a child. The only pictures she had seen showed residents
PUPILS at Northway School in Headington, Oxford, never saw the guide dog for the blind they helped to buy, but they had the next best thing – a picture of him. The dog, named Dicken, had just started training at Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, thanks to
THE village school at Marston, Oxford, enjoyed its most successful period in its early years under the direction of Jesse Rothwell. As we recalled (Memory Lane, February 13), the school, which opened in 1851, suffered from absenteeism, poor teaching,
WITH cases packed, the children above may look as if they are going on holiday. Some fun and laughter was expected, but for most of the time, they were expected to do school work. Fifteen pupils from Marlborough Secondary School at Woodstock are pictured
Consultation on admissions arrangements at Oxfordshire schools will close on Thursday. Oxfordshire County Council is consulting on admissions arrangements for 15 schools and on draft admissions policies for a further 10. For information visit oxfordshire.gov.uk
A woman needed medical attention after breathing in smoke when fire broke out in the kitchen of her home. Electrical equipment is believed to have sparked the blaze in Millwood End, Long Hanborough, at 7.15am on Saturday. The woman escaped after smoke
A FRAUDSTER who conned his bosses out of nearly £200,000 to prop up his failing model airplane business has been jailed for three years. Gary Madgwick filed false invoices for radiation and health and safety checks while working for consulting and design
COWLEY athlete Maureen Gardner was hailed a heroine when she brought back a silver medal from the 1948 London Olympics. But almost 64 years on, the achievement of thelate mum-of-two has become lost in the pages of history. Now a group of people have
Fire crews were called to Chain Hill, Wantage, after arsonists set on fire a 4x4 vehicle at about 11.50am on Friday. The vehicle was totally destroyed.
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THE first full peal of bells has taken place at St Giles’ Church, Oxford, after they were retuned last year. The “Plain Bob Major” ringing sequence started at 10am and finished at 1pm on Saturday. The eight bells were removed in August and retuned in
THE Bishop of Oxford, Rt Rev John Pritchard, escaped with “lightly toasted” feet after completing a daring firewalk for charity. He raised nearly £1,000 for the Churchill Hospital’s Sobell House Hospice. Bishop John, above, said: “The
A BITTER student bombarded university chiefs with more than 40 requests about a course they failed to get onto, bosses have revealed. Oxford University said the case showed why Freedom of Information (FoI) laws – which give the public the right
PRIME Minister and Witney MP David Cameron opened a new drug research centre in Long Hanborough on Friday. The Blenheim Business Park centre will carry out research into drugs for diseases such as cancer. Mr Cameron said: “e-Therapeutics
Abingdon United, who were missing captain Ricky Allaway, Carl Evans and Danny Seaward, showed their battling qualities to secure a point from a goalless draw in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West on Saturday. Luke Carnell was nominated
North Leigh, who were 3-0 up and cruising after half-an-hour, had to survive some anxious moments before securing another three points in their bid for the Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West play-offs. Indeed, but for a missed penalty
In superb springlike weather, Blossom bloomed for Oxford City at Court Place Farm on Saturday. City skipper Wayne Blossom marked his first start of the year by scoring the first goal in their easy 3-0 Premier Division victory over Arlesey Town in the
MICHAEL Duberry feels that everything is going against him at the moment – but he won’t let it affect him. The Oxford United defender, who captained the side on Saturday in the absence of the unwell Jake Wright, scored his third own goal in four home
Banbury United, looking to beat Chippenham for only the third time in 20 games, had to settle for a 1-1 draw despite taking the lead against Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division high-fliers Chippenham Town. After Dior Angus had fired over, Banbury
Clanfield secured a hard-fought win away to in-form Easington in Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 West on Saturday With the breeze at their backs Easington had the better of the early exchanges, but Clanfield defended well. There was
Three goals up inside the first 13 minutes, Headington Amateurs went on to record their biggest win of the season when beating visitors Hook Norton 6-0 in Uhlsport Hellenic Division 1 West. Liam Morbey opened the scoring after six minutes, netting from
Oxford City Nomads closed the gap between them and Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division leaders Ardley United to just two points with a dramatic 2A-1 victory away to bottom club Bracknell Town. With Ardley having a day off, Nomads were trailing
A 40-YEAR-OLD man was jailed for stealing batteries worth £6,700 from an industrial unit. Arthur Stokes stole the batteries from kitchen equipment manufacturer Karcher UK Ltd in Beaumont Road, Banbury, while he was subject to a suspended sentence
MORE than £2.7m worth of unused medicines are returned unopened to Oxfordshire pharmacies each year. But the problem could be costing the NHS four times as much – with about a further £8m worth of unfinished drugs languishing in people’s medicine cabinets
This week I have been hula-hooping in private. Let me assure you, this isn’t an dodgy gyratory activity for the bedroom – it’s a desperate attempt to keep up with the little girls on the block and kid myself that a few years on the age tally doesn’t change
IT may sound petty to the badly educated but increasingly poor use of the English Language – due to ‘dumbing down’ to accommodate the last 50 years’ reduced teaching quality – is, at best, mildly irritating. For example, local buses are described regularly
WHY should we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Greek people? Yes, I feel sorry for their plight but that is their own government’s fault. They chose to join the Euro and, like a lot of their neighbours, they thought it was going to be the best.
I HAVE have much sympathy with New Marston residents who are concerned about the proposed rebuild of the former Friar pub as a Tesco Express. The area already has sufficient convenience shopping. The Marston/Oxford Road junction is busy and is already
MIDDLE East campaigners protested outside Science Oxford over its use of an environmental firm to sponsor a wildlife photography exhibition. The Oxford Palestine Solidarity Campaign said Veolia should not be allowed to sponsor the contest as it built
THIS is a layman’s perception of the declining planet Earth. By the mining of vast amounts of oil from its source, man is removing the natural insulation that acts as a barrier between the Earth’s molten core and its outer crust. Over a period of
THE article (Oxford Mail, February 20) regarding Oxford city toilets and the near half-a-million pounds to spend on upgrading them, this should never have been allowed to come to a situation like this. If the toilets had been kept open and properly
So for men – at least so the myth goes – this coming Wednesday should feel like Friday 13th and Armageddon all rolled into one. Yes, February 29 marks a leap year when, as tradition has it, women can propose marriage. Now if one were to
OXFORD University Conservative Association has been refused permission to use the university’s name after reportedly failing to pay a dinner bill. A university statement said it refused to affiliate the club due to a “failure to reach the financial and
OXFAM has told its shops not to take on people under a controversial Government work experience scheme. It said programmes where the unemployed have to do unpaid work to keep their benefits undermined charities. Oxfam’s head of volunteering Georgia
AS stress levels go, being a football manager must be near the top of the list for heart-testing occupations. But a fitness expert who monitored Oxford United manager Chris Wilder’s ticker during their clubs’ last two games said he put in
MANY of us would be interested to know how our heart copes with moments of great stress and anxiety. Our story today about how U’s boss Chris Wilder’s heart fared during United’s previous two games shows he is well-placed for this season’s
OXFORD University has used an example of an “aggrieved” student who bombarded them with Freedom of Information requests to argue that the right-to-know law needs tightening. FoI is mostly used in a sensible way to uncover true matters of public
ASSISTANT manager Mickey Lewis pointed to a lack of quality and cutting edge in the second half as Oxford United drew 1-1 with Macclesfield on Saturday. The U’s were kept at bay by the visitors, who came to the Kassam Stadium having lost their previous
CORONER Nicholas Gardiner last night promised he was no political stooge over the death of Government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly. In an exclusive interview to mark his retirement, Mr Gardiner spoke for the first time about his controversial decision
HOMELESS people in Oxford are reconditioning old bikes dumped at Redbridge recycling centre so they can be used again. Oxfordshire County Council staff are working with Cowley charity Emmaus to put bicycles taken to the South Oxford centre almost as
SINCE it premiered at the reconsecration of bombed Coventry Cathedral, Britten’s War Requiem has won plaudits for its anti-war message. Now about 500 Oxfordshire pupils will be guided through the components that make up the moving 85-minute piece to
