THE future of an outstanding-rated playgroup has been secured after £80,000 was raised to replace its dilapidated building. Minster Lovell Playgroup had faced a race against time to replace its temporary building, in the grounds of St Kenelm’s Primary
People convicted of offences at Magistrates' Courts around the county recently OXFORD Daniel Hughes, 22, of Exe Close, Didcot, admitted driving without insurance in Cow Lane, Didcot, on May 15. Fined £100, a £15 victims’ surcharge and £85 costs. Detained
A FORMER Oxford teacher has abandoned her attempt to row across the Pacific Ocean after being struck by a tropical storm. Sarah Outen, who is attempting to row from Japan to the United States, made mayday distress calls early this morning and
A HOUSING association’s headquarters could be demolished in a multi-million-pound scheme to improve the area opposite Didcot Parkway railway station. South Oxfordshire District Council is asking Soha Housing to consider demolishing its current
THE final two winners of the Oxford Mail’s round-the-world flight competition are Megan James and Selim Karama. Miss James, 24, of South Parade, Summertown, Oxford, plans to take her twin sister, Bethan, on holiday to China and Japan. Mr Karama, 19,
RED TAILS (12A) Action/Drama/Romance. Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Tristan Wilds, Elijah Kelley, Ne-Yo, Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr, Bryan Cranston, Lee Tergesen, Daniela Ruah. Director: Anthony Hemingway Inspired by a true
Picture the scene, writes KATHERINE MacALISTER. StreetDance champions Flawless and the English National ballerinas are all warming up together, ready to perform for The Queen at Buckingham Palace. They get talking, compare notes, show each other a few
TIM HUGHES talks to baroque ’n’ roll star, Oxfordshire’s own Tamara Parsons-Baker. INTENSE, dark and quirky, Tamara Parsons-Baker is far from the usual image of the demure girl singer-songwriter. Classically beautiful and possessed of
A THIEF snatched a painting of the Archangel Gabriel off the wall of an Oxford pub. Artist Lorna Marrison exhibited some of her work at The Punter on Osney Island as part of this year’s Artweeks. But her efforts took a sour turn when
PROMETHEUS (15) SciFi/Action/Horror/ Romance. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Logan Marshall-Green, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Guy Pearce. Director: Ridley Scott More than 30 years after
KATHERINE MacALISTER is impressed with more than just this chef’s food... My friend whispered “you can’t review it purely based on him” as we discussed the extraordinarily-handsome French chef who had emerged to introduce himself at the
With two films out, a TV series following and a stint with the RSC in the West End up next, Amara Karan is going places. She tells Katherine MacAlister how her time in Oxford set the precedent for everything that was to follow Promoting two
TIM HUGHES previews one of the summer’s first festivals, coming to Charlbury soon. STARTING life 17 years ago as an intimate gathering of music-lovers, with one portaloo and a couple of barrels of beer, the Riverside Festival has come of
A VITAL advice service has warned it could struggle to survive unless more volunteers are found to cope with a rise in demand. Banbury Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) said demand has rocketed. It is expanding its Cornhill premises but says people will
A designer of luxury handbags, who began creating her collection while living in shelters for the homeless in Oxford, is now talking to Selfridges about bringing her bags to the fashionable West End store. Hayley Miller, 20, a former teenage model
Adam Chapman has turned down two improved offers from Oxford United – but will stay with the club. The out-of-contract midfielder is after a better financial deal, from the U’s, but chairman Kelvin Thomas says the club feel they have offered a fair deal
AEA Technology 0.21 BMW 4883 Electrocomponents 208.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 62.5 Oxford Biomedica 2.8 Oxford Catalysts 53.5 Oxford Instruments 1186 Reed Elsevier 485.9 RM 75.3 RPS Group 198.3 Courtesy of Redmayne
Oxford United have rejected Bristol Rovers' second bid for striker James Constable. The Pirates saw an initial offer rejected last week for United's leading scorer, but came back with an improved bid. However, that has also been turned
About 60 workers at the Oxfordshire branches of stricken retailer Clinton Cards have had their jobs saved after the company was bought by an American firm. Ohio-based American Greetings, which has been one of Clinton's biggest suppliers, will take on
Two Oxfordshire villages are to be brought into the 21st century with a new broadband internet service. Appleton and neighbouring Eaton will reportedly have broadband speeds that match the best in the country once the system operated by an Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire has more than 100,000 people giving up their free time to help people in their community. This week is National Volunteers’ Week and Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) is celebrating by asking the county’s charities and community
It was the most forward hawthorn bush I had seen this year with its snow white blossom almost dazzling in the rarely seen bright sunlight, and then the plants full glory hit me as the sweet scent of its flowers wafted in waves on the light spring breeze
It can be really easy to miss something, especially when it’s staring you right in the face. On holiday in Costa Rica I was relaxing in a hammock when my friends started frantically pointing at a bush next to me, but I couldn’t see anything. Then suddenly
A FRENCH artist is showing his imagination is certainly not rusty as he gets ready to exhibit a unique array of photographs. Henri Thierry, from the Champagne region of France, specialises in photographs of rust. And now he is bringing his collection
IF YOU are still looking for a reason to donate to the Jubilee Fund for Oxfordshire, Gaynor Pollard can give you 21. Mrs Pollard is Brown Owl of the 7th Headington Brownies and has one wish for her little charges — for them to enjoy a fun-packed trip
A WELL-KNOWN Abingdon character who fostered more than 100 boys has died aged 96. Frederick Mombassa Edwards was born on May 20, 1916, five minutes after his identical twin brother Albert Kitchener Edwards. He died on Sunday, May 27, at Abingdon Community
ALBERT Ford, one of the Covered Market’s most colourful characters, has died aged 67. The father-of-five, who ran the Plain Leather store, died on May 30 of suspected heart failure. His funeral will be held on Monday at 12.45pm at Oxford Crematorium
A CULTURAL quarter, a new park and a centre of sporting excellence are all part of a new vision for Bicester. Councillors have been given a first glimpse of a blueprint for how Bicester could develop over the next 30 years. Proposals include splitting
OXFORD: Boswells department store in Broad Street had to close on Monday after its basement and part of the ground floor flooded. A pumping system flooded the basement with two inches of water. The shop reopened on Tuesday.
OXFORD University’s world famous Museum of Natural History is to close for a year to allow major restoration work. The museum attracts more than 600,000 visitors a year, but the repair of its vast glass roof will mean the closure of one of the city’
CUMNOR: More than 3,000 homes around Cumnor were left without electricity after a tree fell onto overhead cabling. Southern Electric said its engineers were alerted to the problem at 5.10pm on Tuesday and had restored power to 1,500 properties within
A BUS route in South Oxfordshire has been saved after a campaign by residents and parish councils. Oxfordshire County Council had suggested cutting the subsidy for the number 134/135 between Wallingford and Goring and maybe cutting the service altogether
Tara Clegg ended her four-year wait for a first winner with victory aboard Zakeeta as the curtain came down on the South Midlands Area season with the Berks & Bucks Draghounds meeting at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor. Clegg, 25, who hails from East Hendred
THOUSANDS of people snapped up free tickets yesterday for Oxford’s Olympic Torch Relay celebrations in South Park. By 4pm, Ticketmaster, which is issuing the tickets on behalf of Oxford City Council, reported that 3,264 tickets had been taken, despite
DIDCOT: A 39-year-old man has admitted stealing cash from a charity box. Stephen Godfrey, of North Road, Didcot, pinched a total of £9 from a Macmillan Cancer Support collection at Glide Pharmaceutical Ltd in Milton Park. Godfrey, who admitted one count
STEVE Naylor proved he is still the man to beat with victory in the Mota-Vation Series race at Bletchingdon. Naylor, from Woodstock, clocked 21mins 15secs for the undulating 4.25-mile course to finish 16 seconds clear of Oxford City’s Darrell
Captain Stuart Richens’s big win helped keep Carterton at the top of the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries, in a 5-1 home victory over Banbury Chestnuts. Assisted by Oxon Under 25s star Shane Cooper at lead, Richens ran up a 37
Oxfordshire Under 25s beat Middlesex Under 25s 51-34 in the National Double Rink preliminary round tie in the competition for the White Rose Trophy at Kidlington. Skips George Schwab and Gary May, together with May’s brother, Dean, had all featured in
Triple Olympian Fran Houghton said being named in the British team for London 2012 gave her an extra boost. The 31-year-old, from Wheatley, won silver in the women’s quadruple scull in 2004 and 2008 and has been selected again in that boat alongside
Oxfordshire got their Middleton Cup campaign off to a flying start with an emphatic 136-83 win over Hampshire at Oxford City & County. Oxon were always in charge in the Group 2 South encounter as they triumphed on four of the six rinks and
AS the 2012 Olympic Torch weaves its way through Oxford next month it will travel along a route defaced by graffiti tags and spray paint. It will start in Blackbird Leys on July 9 and make its way through Cowley and East Oxford before finishing
TARA Clegg ended her four-year wait for a first winner with victory aboard Zakeeta as the curtain came down on the South Midlands Area season at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor. Clegg, 25, who hails from East Hendred, brought the five-year-old
LONDON Welsh have until 4pm today to submit a formal appeal against a ruling preventing them from bringing Premiership rugby to the Kassam Stadium in Oxford next season. A ruling from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) board of directors last month deemed
TRIPLE Olympian Fran Houghton said being named in the British team for London 2012 yesterday gave her an extra boost. The 31-year-old, from Wheatley, won silver in the women’s quadruple scull in 2004 and 2008 and has been selected again in
A SWINDON man has denied causing thousands of pounds of damage to Oxford United’s pitch. Liam Jones appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday and entered a not guilty plea to a charge of causing criminal damage. The 20-year-old is alleged to have
The funeral of Bee Gee Robin Gibb will be held at St Mary’s Church, Thame, tomorrow. Mr Gibb, who had lived in Priest End since 1983, died on Sunday, May 20, after a lengthy battle with cancer and pneumonia. The funeral at 2pm will be for family and
I notice Wallingford residents are appealing against plans to build houses in areas of outstanding natural beauty and East Hanney residents are complaining about houses being built on flooded fields. Is there no limit to where housing will be allowed
I’m writing this letter as a means to vent my frustration and abhorrence with society and its apparent moral breakdown. I was lead to believe that humans, as a species, had the power to reason and make complex intricate decisions which, with the aid
I WAS reading with interest our Chief Constable Sara Thornton’s wish for more public action in regards to electing the new police commissioners, and I quite agree with her (Oxford Mail, May 29). Yet I would like to suggest starting at the other end,
No... Andrew Opie, the British Retail Consortium's food director It’s simplistic to imagine a minimum unit price for alcohol. The UK already has some of the highest alcohol taxes in Europe, yet antisocial drinking remains an issue for some. Irresponsible
Mr Skolar was the right man for the job Oxfordshire was well represented at the Queen's Jubilee flotilla on Sunday, with no question that our Lord Lieutenant had picked the right man for the job. County councillor Peter Skolar was on the Thames on
We have a mass immigration of a quarter of a million people being let into Britain each year and there’s a chance that thousands of Greeks will want to come here as well, once they are out of the EU. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, it seems, sees nothing
From time to time, one hears of elders lamenting the lack of manners and acceptable behaviour from their children – as if this were a new thing. Take heart, however. The following is a letter, recorded in Wiliam Hickey’s diary for January 1808, when
Good Samaritans are alive and well in Oxford. My wife and I were lost in the city after we had unfortunately booked a hotel near the Kassam Stadium. We were headed back to the hotel by bus, but our driver had no idea where the hotel was and he let us
RADLEY’S Tara Kafke won a silver medal at the England Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Kafke clocked 55.10secs to finish second in the ladies’ 400m, having won her heat in 54.95. The 23-year-old will now compete in the Olympic
ROWERS are set to have an oar-some time with Oxford’s fifth Bangladeshi boat competition. Twenty-two teams from all over the UK will take part in the event on Sunday, June 17, at Falcon Rowing and Canoeing Club, off Meadow Lane, at Donnington
Oxford’s Keith Sheard (right) is all smiles after defeating England No 1 Kevin Tunstall to win the Surrey Open. Sheard triumphed 19,000-16,000 on aggregate against the Sussex star in the final. In the semi-finals, Sheard rallied to beat Portsmouth’
GREAT Britain’s flagship boat for London 2012 will be an all-Oxfordshire line-up. The men’s four, who will be defending their gold medal from Beijing, comprise Oxford’s Andrew Triggs Hodge, Leander club members Alex Gregory and Pete Reed, plus
IT was possibly the coldest, most remote and extreme Diamond Jubilee street party in the world. But despite temperatures dropping to a toe-curling -70C and complete darkness until August, one Oxford doctor was determined to celebrate in style
A NEW planning application to build accommodation for 140 students on the St Clement’s car park has been submitted to Oxford City Council. The revised scheme proposes study rooms in two blocks, linked by a glass bridge. An earlier scheme sparked months
UNBEATEN Section 3 leaders Witney Lakes caused an upset when they beat Section 2 side Oxford City 2-1 in the preliminary round of the Shaw Gibbs Oxfordshire Foursomes League KO Cup. Witney's pairings of Neil Clayton and Steve Putt, plus Dave
FRILFORD HEATH Ladies Scratch Salver (36 holes over Red & Green Courses): 1 B Harries (Haverfordwest) 137, 2 K O'Connor (Tadmarton) 143, 3 E Swallow, (Newbury & Crookham) 143 (cb). Mary Carswell Memorial Cup (bogey): 1 A Reeves (5) +5,
TEA from Fortnum and Mason, a can of Heinz baked beans, and some home-made scones – could it be more English, more celebratory? Of course not, which is why Alexander Kumar, an Oxford doctor currently doing scientific research in Antarctica, deserves
OXFORD A have been drawn away to Reading C in the Inter Area competition third round. Wallingford A entertain Portsmouth, while Wallingford B visit Wycombe. 3rd round draw: Wallingford A v Portsmouth, Reading C v Oxford A, Reading B
THE head boy of Oxford’s Matthew Arnold School has criticised plans to turn it into an academy. The school has confirmed that it is consulting parents, staff and students about whether it should become a academy, funded directly by the Government. Plans
Great Britain’s flagship boat for London 2012 will be an all-Oxfordshire line-up. The men’s four, who will be defending their gold medal from Beijing, comprise Oxford’s Andrew Triggs Hodge, Leander club members Alex Gregory and Pete Reed, plus
Jack Briggs scored a hat-trick, but Oxford Cavaliers were edged out 30-28 by a late try at Bristol Sonics in the RL Conference West Division. A see-saw game was in the balance throughout, but a dramatic score from the home side proved critical
Next week an unusual dance combination arrives at The New Theatre; English National Ballet and world street dance champions, Flawless. This is a programme in which the two sets of dancers with such contrasting styles combine: ten ballerinas from English
A CYCLIST who hit a pensioner on a pedestrian crossing in Oxford left her with a broken wrist and chipped teeth. Teenager Tafari Miller cycled through a red light in the High Street and knocked over Barbara Sandford. The 71-year-old
Promoting two new films while rehearsing for a Shakespeare lead in the West End, you’d expect Amara Karan to be harassed at best. Instead she’s funny, lively, eloquent and cool as a cucumber. But as an Oxford graduate who cut her teeth at the Playhouse
ALMOST half of those due to carry the Olympic Flame through Oxfordshire will be Americans flown over by a corporate sponsor. People from the county whose applications to carry the torch were turned down have reacted angrily to the news. Jeanette Howse
IS IT really art? A question about graffiti that’s surely as old as the aerosol. While British street artist Banksy may be feted worldwide, the spray-can daubers that blight our streets and buildings are no more than simple vandals. Albeit highly stylised
FORMER members of ’60s legends The Kinks will headline a county music festival that has raised thousands for charity. The Kast Off Kinks top the bill at Music at the Crossroads at Ferris Hill Farm, near Hook Norton, on Saturday July 7.
Carol Bunyan worked for BBC TV for 12 years before becoming a freelance writer and director. A member of the Voice Box choir, she lives in Witney, which is the setting for her first novel The Choir Mistress (Legend, £7.99), a thriller about
WATERDROPS by John Lucas (Greenwich, £9.99)The first half of this splendid novel is set in 1944. David and Sarah have been evacuated to a quiet Midland village; their beloved father has been absent for three years and their mother has a suspicious friendship
Plantaganets by Dan Jones By any reckoning the Plantagenets were the longest-reigning Royal house to rule England, but the date they start and end is debatable. By the reckoning of historian Dan Jones, they start with Henry II, that colourful monarch
The beauty of Malcolm Schuyl’s photographs of swans gliding on the Thames or nesting on river banks contrasts vividly with his chapter on the perils which face these graceful birds in modern life. Although anglers’ use of lead weights was banned 25
Sir – In my letter about Siegbert Prawer (May 24) I stated that, apart from Adrian Tahourdin’s appreciation on the Times Literary Supplement website and a short article in The Oxford Times, no other appreciations of Professor Prawer’s life and work had
It is early when I speak to Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, breakfast time actually, writes Katherine MacAlister. But she has been up since 4am walking her new puppies around Cardiff. Imagine that: the world’s most famous opera singer just wandering around the
Sir – In his letter published in your May 31 issue, fellow fan, Ken Marsland, bemoaned the puzzling replacement of a photo of Chris Gray quaffing wine in an Athens cafe in the previous week’s Gray Matter. Personally, I think one of your sub-editors may
Sir – Chris Gray’s sad declaration that he had never seen the Queen during his fifties childhood (Gray Matter, May 31), had me sobbing into my Jubilee gin. She was not a distant presence, Chris, you just had to be in the right place — definitely, not
Sir – Councillor Pressel (Letters, May 17) raises an interesting issue concerning the power given to planning officers in this city in that it was left to them to approve a controversial design, despite Osney being not only in a conservation area but
Christ Church’s Tom Quad has seen some sights in its time. For instance, in 1893 some disgruntled students staged a riot there. They were upset because they had been invited to the 21st birthday party of Sunny, the ninth Duke of Marlborough
LANCE Corporal Matt Thacker watched his platoon commander repatriated from Afghanistan last week – today he will watch his brother. Corporal Michael Thacker, from 1st Battalion, the Royal Welsh, will be repatriated alongside Private Gregg Stone, from
Sir – We have heard much about how Bank Holidays are bad for the economy because they lead to lost production. This seems to me yet another example of wrongly blaming the workers for our economic ills. In fact, not only does extra spending on Bank Holidays
Sir – I am writing this letter as a means to vent my frustration and abhorrence with society and its apparent moral breakdown. As a human being I was led to believe that we as a species had the power to reason and make complex intricate decisions which
Sir – I refer to Mr Stableford’s letter (May 24) supporting local authority provision of caravan ‘pitches’ for gypsies and travellers (legally, these may be two distinct groups). At the risk of inviting accusations of being racist, misogynistic or xenophobic
Sir – To the motorists who are angry, rude and sometimes dangerous to cyclists riding in groups in the countryside — you are in a minority. Most drivers are polite. It is legal to ride two abreast, you don’t have more of a right to be on the road, and
Sir – After the brilliantly thought-out decision to close the centre of Oxford all day for a cycle race (the rush-hour traffic towards the station stretched back up Walton Street to the Oxford University Press), a thought arises. Shouldn’t cyclists, like
Sir – Congratulations to Oxfordshire County Council for organising the national cycling racing in St Giles. It was a wonderful day and hugely successful, particularly for the hundreds of children involved. Let’s hope it returns next year. And perhaps
Sir – To your correspondent K. Del Nevo (Letters, May 31), who urged opening up the Trap Grounds in North Oxford to encourage increased access by children, I would point out that the site, not overlooked by houses and featuring unfenced ponds, streams
Sir – A letter from the chairman of the St Margaret’s Area Society in your edition of May 31 was given the misleading heading Trap Grounds owes its status to our work. The SMAS did indeed oppose plans to build a warehouse on the Trap Grounds — but that
THERE was panda-monium at the Turl Street Kitchen. Two pandas were on the loose in central Oxford performing poetry to a full house. Performance poet Laura King, from Sandford-on-Thames, dressed up with Oliver Gozzard to perform Panda Pride on Sunday
Sir – A reader recently pointed out some examples of erroneous mathematics when an increased figure was described as ‘times’ the previous amount rather than ‘more than’. Another area in which poor maths is prevalent is that of comparing temperatures.
Sir – In reading Samantha Mandrup’s letter (May 24), I found myself wondering what a “bible believing Christian” is. The Bible is not a simple instruction manual which can be believed or not believed, but a complex set of writings which have to be selectively
Sir – Some regard extra access as their common right; others see the land as their private reserve. Conflict is inevitable. John Porter, Oxford
Sir – If the threat posed to the astonishing diversity of species of bats using Wolvercote Tunnel were truly lifted we could all heave a huge sigh of relief (Report, May 31). Unfortunately, that is not the case. In 2010, Natural England rightly regarded
The closure of such a popular and well-loved institution as the University of Oxford’s Museum of Natural History for an entire year is obviously regrettable. Six hundred thousand people a year pass through the doors of the Grade I-listed building, whose
Sir — Here comes the city’s discredited old plan to sprawl out over the Green Belt at Grenoble Road yet again, despite it being struck from the SE Plan, and not even making it into the city’s own Core Strategy. This time it is claimed the new National
Long after the last embers of the beacons have faded, memories of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend will burn brightly in the memories of Oxfordshire residents. People in towns and villages across the county threw themselves wholeheartedly into the
Coming just a few weeks after the Oxford Film Festival at the Phoenix, Woody Allen: A Documentary will be essential viewing for all those who enjoyed the six-feature slate. However, it also provides a few answers for those who have never quite understood
OXFORDSHIRE’S nostalgic flight festival has announced a salivating new partnership with Jamie Oliver’s catering company. Jamie Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts, based in Bicester, has been announced as the sole caterer for Fly to the Past. It will be providing
So, the Diamond Jubilee passes into history. But, as the bunting comes down and the souvenir supplements are put out for recycling, Madonna is determined that we all remember why we are marking the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952 rather than 1972. Hence
OXFORD United fans will be able to get into the swing of things before the new season starts and raise some money for charity. United’s charity day takes place on Sunday at the High Ropes tree top adventure centre near Culham. Families will get the
A CONTROVERSIAL bid to expand Oxford University Press headquarters looks set to get the go-ahead despite concerns from heritage experts. The Jericho-based firm wants to build a new three-storey wing because it says it is running out of space for staff
