A crash on the A40 near Sandhills is causing congestion this evening. Two vehicles crashed into each other at around 7.40pm, leaving one on its side. The incident closed one lane of the Oxford-bound A40 near Thornhill park and ride.
A crash on the A40 near Sandhills has been causing congestion this evening. Two vehicles crashed into each other at around 7.40pm, leaving one on its side. The incident closed one lane of the Oxford-bound A40. The driver of one of the cars was left
IF YOU’VE ever wondered what happens at the county’s museums after dark, next Friday is the perfect time to find out. And you might be surprised to find DJs playing in Oxford’s historic Ashmolean while a murder mystery unfolds in Wallingford. World
A ROYAL charter has been granted to Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, with Prince Charles hosting a celebration next week to mark the event. The centre is due to open its multi-million pound new home in Marston Road at the end of next year
Acting must be a true vocation for Hayley Mills. Not only was she born into an acting dynasty, but she won her first BAFTA aged 12 and has been a star ever since. Katherine MacAlister is granted a rare interview with this legendary British actress to
MARC EVANS discovers magnificent paintings, nose-to-tail eating and a hotel with a difference in London. ANYONE accusing us Brits of being a bunch of philistines should take a look at the viewing figures for the latest exhibition at the
Former Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes talks to Tim Hughes about breaking-up, going it alone, and why he is still proud to be an Oxford boy. IT’s not easy getting hold of Gaz Coombes. The former frontman of Supergrass just never seems to sit
After taking a year off, Oxford’s feast of live music, the Punt is back. Tim Hughes speaks to organiser Ronan Munro. TWENTY acts playing five venues in one night. Yes, it can only mean one thing. It’s time for the city’s greatest showcase
A 26-YEAR-OLD man was robbed at knifepoint by three men in an attack police believe may be linked to a similar robbery in the same spot five days earlier. The victim was approached by two white men and a black man in Barns Road at the junction with Blackbird
PEOPLE in Oxford will get their first chance to see the fast and furious sport of Roller Derby in the city. The city’s team will go up against squads from other cities on its home turf for the first time, and local spectators will get a chance to see
ANDREW FFRENCH talks to author Dominic Sandbrook, right, about his latest book chronicling life in 1970s Britain HISTORIAN Dominic Sandbrook, who lives in Chipping Norton, would like to point out he has never been invited to join the infamous
DARK SHADOWS (12A) Comedy/Horror/Romance/Action. Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bella Heathcote, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Grace Moretz, Gulliver McGrath, Jackie Earle Haley, Helena Bonham Carter. Director: Tim Burton
We think we're masters of the universe with our tablets, HD, 3D, LCD, GPS... But put the gadgets down. Let LIZ NICHOLLS take you by the hand and whisk you back five centuries or so. When adorable know-it-all Brian Cox was just a twinkle in
IT MAY sound morbid, but too many people in Oxfordshire are unable to confront the idea of their own death. An event at Oxford Town Hall next week – including a talk from TV celebrity Esther Rantzen – will encourage people to live each day to the full
A PRISONER is on the run after allegedly attacking a woman he was working in a charity shop with while on day release. Police today have appealed for help in finding Richard Hunt, a 29-year-old convicted robber, but have warned the public not
YOU reported (last Thursday’s Oxford Mail) that the company behind a planned language academy says it will pump millions of pounds into the city’s economy. Anna Ireland’s claim that the academy which EF plans to create at Cotuit Hall, Headington will
IT IS not often that you find an artist with a valid claim to be the finest singer/songwriter in the world playing the city. And if such artists do turn up, they have tended to play larger venues. Think Beck supporting Radiohead in South
FOR a night of drum and bass, this was VERY early. Arriving at the venue at 8.30pm, alone and sober - the smoking area outside was almost empty and the streets quiet. Inside felt like a school disco, full of young girls in short shorts
At any moment now, four very special birds will return to the UK for the summer. Their arrival is eagerly awaited, for the information they carry could revolutionise what we know about migration. Clement, Martin, Kasper, Lyster and Chris set out from
THIEVES used a stolen car to ram-raid a hospital car park cash machine. The green Subaru Legacy Estate – stolen from outside a home in Church Way, Iffley, Oxford — was driven into a parking machine at the Littlemore Mental Health Centre in Sandford Road
WebbA £2M scheme to relocate an Oxford Catholic primary school has moved a step closer. Consultation has begun on the plan to move Our Lady’s Primary School in Oxford Road, Cowley, to a vacant site next to St Gregory the Great School in Cricket Road
LESLIE Bellinger, well-known Rotarian, garage managing director and volunteer ambulance driver, has died aged 90. The father-of- two, pictured right, passed away on March 31, and a service of thanksgiving was held on April 20 at SS Peter and
Pub chain Greene King are still unable to confirm what their plans are for Headington’s historic Crown and Thistle, left, which closed earlier this year. There had been a pub on the site of the Crown and Thistle for some 400 years but it was closed on
A charity that takes disabled children and adults river boating is hoping the Oxfordshire Jubilee Fund will help more groups enjoy the Thames. The Rivertime Boat Trust was the brainchild of husband and wife team Simon and Pat Davis. In the last three
Medical staff who perform in the Radcliffe Orchestra, based at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, are to play a concert in aid of Helen & Douglas House. The performance, at Tingewick Hall, in the Headington hospital, on Saturday, June 16, will raise
ORGANISERS of Abingdon’s annual dragon boat day have postponed this weekend’s event because of the wet weather. More than 3,000 people gather for the fundraising event on the River Thames – which normally nets about £25,000 for charities – but Sunday
An Oxford academic has described how the discovery of a postcard written by Adolf Hitler sent a shudder down his spine. Dr Stuart Lee was handed the previously unknown postcard – sent by Hitler when he was a First World War soldier – by a member
Masons A and Kennington Club are through to the Scotland Ash League Cup final. Kennington saw off Comrades Club 4-1 at the West Oxford Democrats Club. Mark Trafford (10,560) and Kevin Godfrey, who sank the last ball to win 4,830-4,790 against Simon
Vale of White Horse Schools lifted the ESFA Under 15 Trophy with a dramatic 7-6 sudden death penalty shoot-out win over Newcastle upon Tyne at Hull City’s KC Stadium on Wednesday. Three times Newcastle had a spot-kick to grab the glory in
THE finishing touches are being put to a historic mill before it reopens to the public. The Combe Mill is a Grade II listed building is the original ‘power house’ of the old Blenheim Palace Estate timber mill and workshops. It has been closed since
Former Oxfordshire all-rounder David Taylor may have set a world record for the highest ever individual score in a 50-over recreational cricket match. Taylor, who has Henley and Kidlington among his numerous former clubs, hammered an amazing 330 not
Junior captain Dan Willoughby screamed with delight as he aced the second hole at North Oxford on Saturday. What made it such a thrill for the 17-year-old was that it came less than six weeks after his younger brother Scott, 14, had achieved the same
BICESTER & Banbury bagged the local honours in round one of the National Young Athletes League at Horspath. The joint team finished second behind Stratford Upon Avon, while Oxford City were third. Under 13 Seb Harwell was Bicester & Banbury’s star man
IN 1767 astronomers at Oxford’s Radcliffe Observatory used quill pens to record weather readings in large leather-bound ledgers. Fast forward 245 years and climate change student Helen Pearce takes daily readings at Britain’s oldest weather station with
WITNEY Under 12s completed an excellent season by winning the International Mini Rugby Series Festival in Chichester. Their seven matches featured five wins and two draws, with 16 tries scored and just two conceded. Witney’s under 14 A team lost only
Season tickets go back on sale at Oxford United on May 10, with prices frozen from the same period last season. The cheapest adult tickets are £273 if bought by June 29, after which the prices rise. Fans responded in record numbers when ‘early bird
WELL it looks like it’s hamburgers all round. Work will soon begin on a third hamburger roundabout for Oxford’s busy ring road later this year, and Oxfordshire County Council is to be applauded for its initiative. As the council’s
INVESTIGATIVE work has started on one of Oxford’s most congested junctions as highway chiefs order a third hamburger roundabout. Consultation on the finer details of the scheme for the Kennington roundabout, where Abingdon Road meets the Southern
PAUL Jegou romped to victory in the Neolithic Marathon – a multi-terrain race that finishes at Stonehenge. The White Horse Harrier completed the 26.2-mile course, which began at Avebury Stone Circle in 2hrs 56mins 50secs, winning by almost
FLANKER Alex Waddingham was named Chinnor’s player of the year at their end of season awards. Waddingham, who joined the club this season, won the top honour, while another newcomer, scrum half Frank Jones, won the players’ player accolade.
Belinda Ellis is exhibiting her paintings in her house and studio, which she describes as “the perfect studio”. It is here that she creates her abstract pieces. Often they are very large ones. In the past she has used figurative elements in
Drivers are experiencing delays on the southbound carriageway of the M40 near Bicester following a fuel spill. The 2-3ft wide diesel spill is covering two miles on the southbound carriageway close to junction 10 at Ardley and one lane is closed.
COULD I thank all your readers who used their vote last week, especially those who voted for the Labour Party? Labour has run an efficient city council, building more homes, keeping streets cleaner and providing new playgrounds and all within a sharply
The photograph on the right of The Big Book beside its sculptor, Diana Bell, demonstrates well the magnitude of the work itself and makes reference to the scale of the interactive project that Bell has created via the book. The book is beautifully executed
Oxfordshire Artweeks celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It had a comparatively modest start: a single week with a small number of mainly city-based artists taking part. It now runs for three weeks, with well over 1,000 artists taking part across
TRAINS between Banbury and Oxford have been cancelled after a tree has fallen on the track just south of Heyford. The incident occurred at around 8.50am. It is not yet clear when services will resume.
THIS is the new scheme developers have drawn up to build student accommodation on Oxford’s St Clement’s car park. An earlier proposal for the site sparked months of protests from residents, traders and Oxford University – with objections about the loss
TWO prospective councillors had their eyes opened to party politics last week with the publication of their profiles in the Oxford Mail ahead of polling day. We contacted party agents for details of each candidate as part of our coverage. It was a shock
HAVE there been local elections in Oxford? I must have missed it, because all I saw were a couple of election addresses. Nobody came to canvass or campaign and I saw only a handful of election posters throughout the city. Maybe this explains the low
I agree with Patrick Moles (ViewPoints, May 4) that the traditional Oxfordshire pronunciation of the River Cherwell is with an “ar” rather than “er”. This is confirmed by the spelling of a village near the river’s source: Charwelton. According to experts
STRANGE weather lately – hail as big as frozen peas causing the alarm to go off at the Witney Cineworld cinema, a mini-tornado reported in Kidlington – and this is supposed to be our summer! To top it all off I made myself a cuppa while hearing the freak
UNLIKE Judge Mary Jane Mowat, I should not have recognised pop star Lee Ryan, nor had I heard of the group Blue. According to your article (May 3), though, this gentleman was excused jury service because he had ridden horses in the past. I was aware
I notice bosses at Thames Water say the recent deluge of rain is not enough “because we are still supplying customers”. Pardon us for being a nuisance! Words absolutely failed me. It is the customers that keep them in business. Try ringing Thames
Your front page headline (last Friday’s Oxford Mail), paid tribute to the wonderful work of Professor Robert MacLaren and his team at the John Radcliffe Hospital in restoring partial sight to a sufferer from retinitis pigmentosa who previously had no
THANK you for printing the full results of the Oxford City Council elections on Saturday. I am far from clear why Labour gained seats considering the disgusting way they have treated pensioners, abolishing the one Dial-a-Ride minibus they used
IT has been an encouraging County Championship Shield season for Oxfordshire, regardless of what happens this weekend. That is the view of head coach Richard Williams, whose side could still reach the semi-finals, depending on the result of Saturday’
This exhibition brings together 12 artists each exploring what love means to them. Kay Jamieson takes as her theme the Oxford Canal, where indeed she met love. Working in acrylics she captures the gentle pace of both the canal itself and the boats
FIJIANS from Bicester will sing traditional hymns to bid farewell to their compatriot at today’s repatriation of two servicemen. Private Ratu Silibaravi, 32, and his colleague Corporal Andrew Roberts, 32, were killed in a mortar attack on their Afghanistan
A NINE-year-old boy was punched in the stomach and robbed of his Blackberry phone as he played on a climbing frame in Oxford. The schoolboy was alone in Blackbird Leys Park at about 3pm on Saturday when a teenager, aged about 16, came up and demanded
WORKERS at Oxfordshire branches of retailer Clinton Cards were last night facing an uncertain future after the company became the latest victim of the high street spending slump. Up to 60 staff are affected across the county after the company went into
ASTON Rowant rider Joe Hill went top in the race to be the leading novice men’s under 21 rider this season with victory on Ravethebrave as racing returned to Mollington, near Banbury, after an absence of five years. The 16-year-old took his tally for
FIFTEEN Oxfordshire primary schools are without a permanent headteacher, new figures from Oxfordshire County Council show. The number of schools without a permanent head has risen from 11 in 2009, although it is a small number proportionately of the
CARTERTON were given a scare before emerging 61-57 winners over Shiplake in the Oxford & District League Cup quarter-finals. They will now will face holders Headington A, who crushed Kidlington 99-37, in the semi-finals at South Oxford on Thursday, August
A COUNCIL boss told jurors a road where a biker was killed was “not perfect” but did not pose a danger to motorists. Oxfordshire County Council’s Kevin Haines yesterday gave evidence in the trial of Jonathan Bridger at Oxford Crown Court. Bridger, 20
FINALLY, the floodgates have burst... True, there never really was any fear the people of Oxford would not embrace the spirit of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, but the fact that, countywide, more than 100 streets – so far – have applied to stage Jubilee
OXFORD: A 26-year-old man has been re-arrested as part of the Operation Bullfinch investigation into an alleged child sex ring in the city. Kamar Jamil, of Aldrich Road, Summertown, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to rape, sexual activity
MORE than 100 streets will be out celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee next month, the Oxford Mail can reveal. The number of street parties planned across the county has shot up in recent weeks, with all five councils now suspending deadlines
The three players considering contracts from Oxford United would be “daft” to turn them down, according to manager Chris Wilder. Of the eight U’s players whose deals ended this summer, only Adam Chapman, Asa Hall and Wayne Brown were offered the chance
This is a very appropriate time to bring a production of Shakespeare’s Henry V to Oxfordshire. With the repatriation of fallen troops returning to RAF Brize Norton, the whole question of whether we should be fighting a war in Afghanistan at all seems
Sir – There is a very large puddle in the bus stop at Camp Road, Upper Heyford, getting bigger with every rainfall. It was exactly the same last year. There are three drains, all blocked. How difficult can it be to lift drain covers and clear blockages
Sir – After the saga of the bats in Wolvercote tunnel, we now have nesting birds in the trees bordering Port Meadow holding up work to expand the capacity of the railway line. If the section of line being restored had not fallen into disuse, the vegetation
Sir – Bob Forster’s letter (April 26) jolted me into action in praise of our local ‘bin men’. We are so lucky to have a magnificent service, worthy of an A* award. Thank you. Perhaps this serves as a reminder that criticism comes easy, yet praise less
Sir – I know this is a bit late in coming, but I would just like the chance to openly thank The Oxford Tube for allowing all London Marathon Runners free transport to and from London over the weekend of the Marathon. I think it was a really lovely gesture
Sir – Anna Ireland’s claim that the academy which EF plan to create at Cotuit Hall, Headington will pump £12m in the city’s economy (Letters, May 3) highlights the sheer scale of the development they have in mind. This is comparable with the turnover
Sir – How good it is to read that Oxfordshire County Council is building nine new traveller plots at Redbridge Hollow (Report, May 3) when other local authorities seem to be at best identifying criteria by which to choose where traveller sites should
Sir – All too often we read or hear stories that imply or suggest that the NHS in a terrible state, close to collapse or similar tales of woe and disaster. Well my good news is that I have just spent nearly five weeks as a patient at the John Radcliffe
In May 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person on record to run a mile in under four minutes, right here in Oxford on the Iffley Road Running Track. As part of their PlaysOut series, Oxford Playhouse have produced this retrospective and reflection
Sir – The term gay marriage, instead of same sex partnership, may bother Dr Anthony Cheke (Letters, May 3) but it has been widely used in the press for quite a long time and arguing for the purity of dictionary definitions now makes as much sense as pouring
Sir – Two of your correspondents (Letters, May 3) seem unaware that language inevitably changes, whether we like it or not. So there is nothing unusual about the word ‘marriage’ expanding its meaning. Dr Anthony Cheke refers to me as a lexicographer
Sir – I noted that Bucks County Council have now approved plans for their incinerator to be built at Calvert. A look at the map shows that Calvert is a small village nowhere near any major roads. That begs the question of what effect the extra traffic
Sir – I am a frequent visitor to Osney Island and I have always admired its Victorian charm and the determined efforts of its residents and the local council to preserve that ambience. I have heard home-owners on the island complain about how difficult
Sir – You published my previous letter about the award of a Bomber Command Campaign Medal (April 19). Our PM, Rt Hon. David Cameron, MP for Witney, made a statement in the Commons on April 30 as follows: “This Government is fully committed to recognising
Sir – Richard Samuelson (Letters, May 3) suggests that the nine Oxfordshire 16th- and 17th-century bodies uncovered 20 years ago in Eynsham by archaeologists should “in the interests of not fanning further the flames of Christian division and enmity”
Sir – This morning I found myself once again in a 59.5mph queue in the outside lane of the A34, while we waited for five minutes for one Sainsbury’s lorry, whose speed limiter was set a tenth of a mile per hour faster than another’s, to pass it. The
SKIP Caroline Campion’s crushing 39-5 victory proved crucial as Oxfordshire Ladies beat Leicestershire 126-110 in their opening Middle England League match at Banbury Central. Campion’s victory was one of only two winning Oxon rinks, with Jeanette Berry
Sir – In recent months I have seen television coverage of villagers in India and also of President Sarkozy of France voting in their respective national elections. In each case an electoral officer could clearly be seen carefully checking the
Sir – It is right that Ann Spokes Symonds’s letter (April 26) should recall and celebrate the undoubted influence of Dr W P Brookes and Much Wenlock on the foundation of the modern Olympics. However, another major influence (similarly often overlooked
Sir – Your article on the newly named Cowley Retreat pub was a bit of a filler was it not? Surely this cannot be a newsworthy item the way it was presented? A Cowley Retreat not in Cowley! Wow in that case we need to rename the Cowley Road on which it
Sir — As party election leaflets dropped through our doors they begged the question of how much councillors actually listen to their electorate. When the city council refuses to listen to 12,000 residents something has gone badly wrong. Despite the
Much has been written about the healing and transformative power of music, but there can be few greater examples than Dame Myra Hess’s legendary lunchtime concerts, held daily at the National Gallery to boost public morale during wartime Britain
On May 6, 1954, Oxfordshire legend Roger Bannister became the first person to break the four-minute mile barrier at Iffley Road track in Oxford, and on the 50th anniversary of this great achievement a commemorative 50p coin was minted. Sir
With spring well established and the new season’s lamb still readily available, what better wine to choose than Rioja? These lovely elegant yet rich wines are the perfect match for lamb roasted with rosemary when the aromatics of both the wine
It was always one of the drawbacks of the B-movie series produced in Hollywood in the 1930s and 40s that the star would outgrow the role and it would be taken over by a less imposing personality. In the case of The Saint, the opposite proved to be the
Much has been written prior since Faust won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival about director Aleksandr Sokurov's association with newly restored Russian president Vladimir Putin. Having struggled for seven years to find funding for his reworking
Controversial plans to move sports facilities could be scrapped after a major power shift on Witney Town Council. The ruling Conservatives held a closed meeting on Friday night and voted against David Harvey, pictured, retaining the position of group
“I might have had David Cameron’s job.” Pondering an intriguing ‘might have been’, Keith Mitchell is quick to explain he is not talking about Downing Street but the Prime Minister’s safe Witney seat. For Mr Mitchell 12 years ago made it to on to a shortlist
Jean Fooks became a much-maligned figure when she brought controversial fortnightly bin collections to Oxford. But in the fullness of time the system has proved a success. Now the long-standing councillor has taken on a new challenge – leading the
THE wet weather failed to dampen spirits during the second week of the Witney Music Festival. Live events took place at Marriotts Walk Shopping Centre, Cogges Manor Farm Museum and St Mary’s Church – with much of the action moving indoors because
A £180,000 water park set to open in Wallingford this month may be restricted amid drought concerns. Thames Water said the water feature, including fountains operated by pressure pads, would not be affected by the hosepipe ban imposed in April
