Considering how important wine is to the French economy and its culture, it's surprising that more films haven't been made about viticulture. Agnès Varda set Sandrine Bonnaire's travails in wine country in Vagabond (1985), while Eric Rohmer touches
A 35-year-old man who drove a stolen car the wrong way down Cowley Road has been jailed for 13 months and disqualified from driving for three years. Robert Wells, of North Way, Headington, took his ex-girlfriend’s car and crashed it. He admitted
FUZZY top lips appeared on thousands of men last month. Some were manly bushy affairs and others a little stragglier, but all were grown to raise money and awareness about men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer. But one of
Schoolchildren showed an impressive knowledge of books as the Kids Lit Quiz celebrated its 10th birthday. Teams from Oxford’s Cherwell School and Henry Box School in Witney were among 30 local schools which dazzled the quizmaster of the regional
OXFORDSHIRE’S MPs remained split yesterday over whether any new press watchdog should be backed by the power of the law. Lord Justice Leveson last week called for a new regulator for the press to replace the Press Complaints Commission. Yet while
BMW 5541 Electrocomponents 204 Nationwide Accident Repair 57.5 Oxford Biomedica 2.25 Oxford Catalysts 136 Oxford Instruments 1400.5 Reed Elsevier 650.75 RM 78.5 RPS Group 208.4 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
NICK Moorbath smiles as he reaches an arm over the latest love in his life. “Isn’t she beautiful,” he grins. “Absolutely amazing.” The object of his affections — a huge 1980s mixing desk — is the centrepiece of Evolution, the recording studio set up
PROTESTERS fighting to stop hundreds of homes being built have fallen foul of planning laws themselves. Brize Norton residents put up dozens of posters and banners in the village against the plans for 700 homes off Burford Road on November 27.
PEOPLE have helped boost the stocks of Bicester Food Bank by donating almost two tonnes of groceries. Volunteers braved the cold to stand outside Tesco, in Pingle Drive, and collect supplies. And the food bank will get a double donation whammy
A DIDCOT county councillor is vowing to fight a report which has dashed hopes of improving access to the town’s largest estate. Motorists can drive out of the 3,500-home Ladygrove estate using the Cow Lane tunnel under the railway line, but have
What do you think of the Chancellor's statement? Leave comments below or write a letter for publication to letters@oxfordmail.co.uk
Here we are in the season of goodwill; pantomimes, lights and Christmas trees bringing with them the feelings of expectation and jollity. So I thought in this article, I would follow this theme and highlight some of the good things that have happened
CHILDREN celebrated a frosty start to December at Oxfordshire’s largest ice rink. Laura Sem, from Ducklington in Witney, took two-year-old William, to have a go at ice skating to mark the countdown to Christmas at Millets Farm in Frilford on Monday
A MEMORIAL to honour Botley and North Hinksey residents who died in the Second World War is to be installed in the New Year. A fundraising drive has raised £660 for the plaque, to go by the First World War memorial in St Lawrence Church. Retired
PUPILS at West Oxford Community Primary School have been sent home after staff reported a suspected gas leak. The children were sent home at about 9.10am after staff reported smelling gas. The authorities are being contacted.
Thames Water, which serves customers across Oxfordshire, has seen its fortunes dip. Bosses said more people were struggling to pay their bills as a result of the recession.
A woman, 23, suffered a swollen lip after she was headbutted by a woman who tried to push past her in the queue for a cash machine. The assault happened by the Barclays cash point in The Square at about 11.05pm on November 24. The attacker is described
Thick, toxic smoke billowed from a building in Witney after a fire broke out. Fire crews were called to a large disused warehouse, part of the Buttercross Works on Station Lane, at 8.45am yesterday. Six fire engines from Witney, Rewley Road
LOUIS VUITTON luggage sets, Chanel dresses and ball gowns by Ralph Lauren all went under the hammer yesterday in Kidlington. More than 2,000 items – part of the estate of a woman from north London – were sold at Bonham’s auction house in Banbury
Eddie Pepperell begins his debut season on the European Tour in South Africa today. The Abingdon golfer tees off in the Nelson Mandela Championship after earning his card thanks to an excellent year on the European Challenge Tour. Pepperell
NICK Stanley’s 30-yard screamer earned Oxford City a 1-0 home victory over Bishop’s Stortford in the FA Trophy first round on Tuesday night. City will now visit Sutton United in round two on December 15. The all-important goal came after just
LONDON Welsh are targeting a record crowd when they host neighbours Wasps at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium on Decmber 29. Welsh are running a series of promotions for the Christmas Aviva Premiership clash, including £10 tickets. The Exiles’ Premiership
AN OXFORDSHIRE secondary school has been told it has “serious weaknesses” after it was judged inadequate by school inspectors. Fitzharry’s School, in Northcourt Road, Abingdon, was put in the new Ofsted category of serious weaknesses after pupils
A RECYCLING plant in South Oxfordshire will operate for an extra 11 years, despite objections from neighbouring residents. The centre at Sutton Courtenay currently processes 600,000 tonnes of waste a year. Operator FCC Environment was given
Police have issued a CCTV image of one of two men wanted for questioning in connection with a bike theft from Oxford Railway Station on Wednesday, November 14. British Transport Police only released details of the theft of the light blue and white
Oxford Brookes Wheatley campus was last night running on two temporary power generators. Lectures were cancelled at 4pm on Monday after the campus suffered a power cut. Engineers from Southern Electric restored power before midnight using the
Freeland A stayed rooted to the foot of the Witney & District FA Division 1 table after a 2-1 defeat at Chadlington, writes ANTHONY BARLOW. Martin Plumbridge and Josh Catling put Chadlington 2-0 up, before Dan Alsworth pulled one back.
A DEFENDANT on trial for the murder of Denis Witney has taken the stand for the first time. Wayne Cattell is one of three people accused of killing the homeless man during an incident at a house in St Clement’s Street, East Oxford, on November
JURORS were told to brace themselves before they were shown gruesome images taken in the aftermath of the horrific murder of a grandmother. The nine men and three women heard how Jennifer Hume was hit with a rounders bat and repeatedly stabbed.
The Prime Minister justified not funding a nationwide mail-shot for the police commissioner elections on the need to save money at a time of austerity. In fact, as council taxpayers, they cost us all dear to staff the polling stations, most having
WITH regards to R. Leavis’s letter (ViewPoints, November 30) asking why Hamas set up rocket sites in civilian areas in Gaza. The answer is that the whole of Gaza is a civilian area, 1.7 million people crammed into 365sq km. There’s no evidence
HOW dare David Cameron (November 30) try to wriggle out of proper controls on the media? Lord Leveson is spot on. We need a commission independent of both Government and the newspapers to guarantee decent standards. But it has to be underwritten
What I'm called: Dan Sames. My age: 40. What I do: On top of the day job I am a district and town councillor and mayor of Bicester. As you can imagine, this takes up quite a lot of time, especially with all the extra duties as mayor. Where
JURORS were told to brace themselves before they were shown gruesome images taken in the aftermath of the horrific murder of a grandmother. The nine men and three women heard how Jennifer Hume was hit with a rounders bat and repeatedly stabbed.
THE merry-go-round at the top of North Berks League Division 1 continued as Saxton Rovers became the fourth side in as many weeks to top the pile, writes Phil Annets. And they did it in style, as Kyle Allsworth hit a hat-trick in a 7-0 win at home
Conservative Cabinet minister Francis Maude previously said that official trade union strike ballots with a turnout of fewer than 20 per cent of union members should be banned for lacking democratic legitimacy. With a turnout in the police and
I thought your readers might be interested in the experience I had when I went shopping at Marks & Spencer in Witney for some underwear. I am disabled with MS (not M&S) so I was using my scooter. I found the store quite difficult to
THE latest Government decision not to back a Palestine state is shameful. No doubt public opinion forced the abstention! But despite its despicable stance and huge US pressure, the vote passed them by, 138 to nine with 41 abstentions. Some
AM I right in thinking the Government is proposing that some form of a degree be offered to those who complete an apprenticeship? If so, it’s about time that those employed in trades receive the recognition that they deserve because, let’s face
ON Monday, November 26, at about 5.05pm, I found myself trapped in Kennington due to flooding. A very pleasant young lady, in a BMW saloon, gave me a lift into Oxford, from where I got a bus home. Drivers have had a bad press due to driving
How on earth they managed to vote against women bishops is beyond me. How a group of men could have passed judgement on the entire other half of the population defies belief. How dare they decide that women can’t be bishops. Whose side are they
OXFORD MAIL BOYS LEAGUE RESULTS Under 9 White League: Cumnor Minors 1, St Edmunds 0; Oxford City Whites 1, Harwell & Hendred 1; Abingdon Yth Yellows 0, Crowmarsh Yth 1; Kennington Ath 0, Summertown Stars Giants 3. Blue League: Cholsey Bluebirds
RYAN Clarke was the hero last night as Oxford United won a penalty shootout to seal their best-ever campaign in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The 30-year-old enhanced his reputation as a penalty-saving expert by keeping out two of Plymouth Argyle
Two people have been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving since the police launched their annual campaign on Saturday. James Campbell-Cook, 29, from Brackley, was arrested in Longelandes Way, Banbury, and charged with drink-driving. He will appear
Congratulations are in order to everyone concerned with this year’s OX5 Run. An astonishing £60,000 has been raised for the Oxford Children’s Hospital which, considering the state of the economy, is miraculous. But knowing the people of Oxford
LITTLE Mikayla is only six but she has already endured brain cancer, blindness and chemo-therapy. She receives regular care from the staff at Oxford Children’s Hospital, which is set to receive a huge boost from the next OX5 charity run. The
Oxfordshire residents will have the chance to meet not one but two royals tomorrow. The Duke of York will visit the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to officially open the Appleton Space Conference. Scientists from NASA and Oxford University
All the flood barriers have been taken down across Oxford as river levels continue to drop. The aluminium flood defence barriers around Osney Island were dismantled by the Environment Agency yesterday. Barriers around Hinksey Lake were removed
Aston Leach hit a hat-trick as Hanborough hammered Middle Barton 7-0 in the third round of the Oxfordshire FA John Fathers Junior Shield. Liam Harris bagged a double (2), with Arrun Hobley and Craig Johnson also finding the net. Billy Warner
THE county council wants to spend more than £13m to drag Oxfordshire’s broadband internet service into the 21st century. Taxpayers’ money would be used to subsidise a private company to come into the county to increase some speeds more than tenfold
FOR husband-and-wife architect team Rhian Woods and Andrew Francis, slow broadband speeds in rural Watlington hamper their business and personal lives. They run Purple Architects from an office in their garden, and their 6mbps connection is not
PLANS for a new private radiotherapy centre in Oxford have been approved, despite objections from hospital chiefs. Senior doctors at the Oxford University Hospitals Trust and the Churchill Hospital expressed concerns that staff could be poached
Normally the knee-jerk reaction to news that the county council wants to spend taxpayers’ money – and a great deal of it too – should be met with alarm. But in this instance, it makes sense. The fact Oxfordshire County Council wants to spend
TODAY’S festive fugitive hiding behind our Badvent door for December 5 is 18-year-old Jake Goodwin, who is suspected of shoplifting vodka. The teenager is the fifth face to be revealed in this year’s Oxford Mail and Thames Valley Police Badvent
SNOW which was blocking one lane of the M40 has now been cleared. One southbound lane of the M40 at junction 10, Cherwell services, was blocked earlier. • Check our traffic service for live updates • If you've got nice pictures of the snow
A TEENAGER so struck with the poverty she saw when volunteering in Sri Lanka has started her own charity. Isabel Niner, 16, from Kirtlington, visited Galle in south-west Sri Lanka in July 2010 with Volunteer Sri Lanka. Now, two years later,
THE people who look after protected land in Wolvercote are hoping to plant new trees to shield it from a neighbouring railway development. Network Rail wants to reinstate a disused freight line that runs north from Oxford station, parallel to Port
