OXFORDSHIRE County Council should take control of the A34 and its budget to tackle major congestion problems, a senior councillor has said. Council leader Ian Hudspeth wants the Highways Agency to let the authority take control of the road.
Victoria Huxley, who lives in Adlestrop, has opened a new window on the Cotswolds family of Jane Austen, and their influence on her work. Austen visited her Leigh cousins several times and it was here that she first heard of Repton’s garden designs
This country once had three V bombers, built to help keep the UK safe during the Cold War: the Valiant, the Vulcan and the Victor. The Valiant was something of a failure and had to be grounded after a short service life. The Handley Page Victor
J. Mordaunt Crook on William Burges, reviewed by Geoffrey Tyack One of the most surprising architectural discoveries in Oxford awaits anyone who opens the inconspicuous door leading from the 18th-century loggia of Worcester College into the chapel
W hen the hero of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four wants to escape his ugly totalitarian society, he goes to a bluebell wood. There he finds ‘The Golden Country’ he has dreamed of all his life — an old pasture with a path, a molehole here and there
All that is left of Deddington Castle is a ditch, a mound and a grassy bank topped with trees, but thisparadise for dog walkers was once the headquarters of the second most powerful man in Britain, Bishop Odo. Depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry on
OXFORD Carmen Hutchinson, 33, of Union Street, Cowley, Oxford, convicted of stealing a purse containing £40 and a mobile phone in Upper Barr, Oxford, on May 25. Also admitted committing a further offence while subject to a conditional discharge
THEY were invited to drink the pumps dry. And the hundreds of visitors to the Witney Beer Festival on Saturday gave it their best shot. Sun shined on crowds in the grounds of St Mary’s Church green for the second annual event, hosted by Witney
COMMUNITY groups have praised the impact of the Oxford Mail can have on neighbourhoods as we give you the chance to shape this paper’s future. A series of focus groups will be held later this month for readers to suggest improvements. You will
YOUNGSTERS took to the slides and enjoyed the latest new climbing frame at Cogges Manor Farm. The Witney tourist attraction, in Church Lane, has spent £100,000 on a range of projects, including recently revamped play equipment. The work has
VOTING in the Oxford Mail’s Win Your Wedding competition opens tomorrow – with 41 couples vying for the £14,000 prize. The entrants will be featured in a special supplement tomorrow when readers can vote for their favourite by phone, text or coupon
THE BISHOP of Oxford wiped the floor with the Bishop of Buckingham in a contest to judge their baking skills. The Rt Rev John Pritchard wasn’t loafing around, but he kneaded a little help from his assistant and chaplain, the Rev Dr Amanda Bloor
LOOK who just dropped in to town. Top UK military parachute display team The Falcons of RAF Brize Norton wowed hundreds of schoolchildren with a display in Witney on Friday. The team performed at The Leys, reaching 120mph terminal velocity
DORCHESTER Festival is in full swing with families flocking to the village to enjoy the Bank Holiday weather yesterday. The bi-annual event in the grounds of Dorchester Abbey runs every day until Sunday. See tomorrow’s Oxford Mail for a full
CONTROVERSIAL housing plans that would increase the size of Southmoor by 10 per cent should be approved despite going against policy, a council officer has said. Vale of White Horse District Council planning officer David Rothery has recommended
OXFORD City Stars have requested to turn down their promotion to the English National Ice Hockey League (ENIHL) South Division 1. The Stars won the South Division 2 title last month, but have opted to remain in the same division next season.
A fantastic spell of bowling from Carl Needham on his 300th Marsh Gibbon appearance led his side to a 46-run win at home to Watlington in Division 2, writes KIEREN BUSHNELL. Needham returned the extraordinary figures of 9-24 in 10.4 overs as Watlington
OXFORD United could look to offer key players contracts of up to five years, according to chairman Ian Lenagan. The U’s opened talks on Thursday with Deane Smalley and Scott Davies, whose deals expire at the end of the month. Of the other 12
HENLEY Hawks won promotion to National League 1 in sensational fashion with an eight-try 55-27 victory over Worthing Raiders on the final day of the season, writes MATTHEW BRUCE. A crowd of 3,270 turned out at Dry Leas on Saturday to witness a
OXFORD fought back from 18-4 down to beat Hemel Stags 23-22 in a thrilling game at Iffley Road in which Jonny Leather slotted a late drop goal to secure victory. It saw Oxford record their first success on home soil and inflicted a first defeat
FORMER champion Paulette Guy, of Nuffield Bar, will be appearing in her seventh Greene King ODDA singles final when she faces Michelle Ewins, from Florence Park Community Centre A, in the Winter League decider next month. Ewins, the reigning Summer
OXFORDSHIRE eased their Premier Division relegation worries with a thumping 31-8 victory over Surrey in their BDO Inter-Counties Championship match at Bicester. Inspired by their ladies, who won 11 of their 12 ties, Oxon moved out of the drop zone
Daniel Warne hit a late winner as Oxford City Nomads beat Cheltenham Saracens 2-1 in the Uhlsport Hellenic League’s Bluefin Insurance Cup final at Ardley United yesterday. Warne struck with the clock ticking down to see Nomads lift the cup for
Dr MARY Keenan (ViewPoints, May 2) is either being disingenuous, or she lives in a different world to the rest of us. The NHS has been run for years on the basis of providing services which can be afforded and now that David Cameron has done what
I think this proves that birds do use their brains to their advantage. My wife had placed some stale dry cream crackers on the bird table, shortly after an inquisitive magpie started pecking the crackers to find them unpalatable. Later the
After all the back-slapping and congratulations to the successful candidates in the county council elections on May 2, I feel it would be pertinent to put the results into perspective. Alongside each ward result it would be helpful if the number
I am pleased to see the Oxford Mail highlight the issue of ‘double-yellow parkers’ who are putting children at risk (April 25). After many requests and near-misses, double-yellow lines have been painted around Rose Hill Primary School, learning
CHINNOR ended their season sixth after a gutsy 27-19 defeat at Shelford in coach Jason Bowers’s last match in charge. With a number of injuries and unavailabilities, the visitors were forced to make a host of changes. Veteran prop Simon Matthews
LYN Jones said London Welsh will go down from the Aviva Premiership with plenty of pride in their performances. Head coach Jones accepted there had been plenty of mistakes made as Welsh finished ten points adrift of safety, but he was keen to stay
EVERY year we are warned of the dangers of jumping from Magdalen Bridge on May Day. The river is too shallow, there are hidden dangers which may lay undetected below the surface, health and safety etc. Is it not beyond the realms of possibility
The Oxford Mail (May 1) headline, ‘Anti-gay marriage protesters lobby PM’s base’ above the photo of the Witney for Marriage rally, was quite misleading. The 300 or so people who took part in the rally are certainly not anti-gay. It is very important
‘Fish migration is better with new hydro scheme’ was the title of a letter put in the Oxford Mail by Osney Lock Hydro director Saskya Huggins. This was in reply to Nigel Plunkett’s letter expressing concerns about the impact the scheme at Osney would
I AM shocked to read that county councillor Rodney Rose has blamed the Prime Minister for the Conservative party’s poor showing in the Oxfordshire elections, telling your reporter that “It was a national protest vote against David Cameron” (4 May).
The Covered Market is the jewel in the crown of the Oxford shopping facilities. It is uniquely British. I love shopping in this magical setting in the heart of Oxford which is easily accessible by bike. The Market is well frequented by tourists
OXFORDSHIRE were comprehensively beaten 58-14 by Dorset & Wilts in their County Championship Shield Pool 3 clash. However, Oxon did show some improvement from their opening-round defeat against Surrey, a host of tries in the final 15 minutes
POLICE have renewed their appeal for information about a suspected arson at Oxford railway station. A fire broke out in a toilet cubicle in the main concourse at around 4am on Thursday. Call 0800 405040.
THREE post offices are set to close today through a national strike, St Aldate’s, Oxford, Market Square, Witney, and High Street, Banbury, will shut over a dispute between employers and the CWU union. The one-day strike is in protest at plans to
A SCHOOL for children with autism and learning disabilities will open next year on the former site of a special school in Oxford. The academy has already received planning permission to set up at the former Ormerod School, in Waynflete Road, Barton
SCHOOL projects can instill a sense of “dread” in pupils’ minds. But for one group of children that word took on a totally different meaning after they managed to enlist the help of top 1990s band Dreadzone. Callum Walton, Alex Warner, Adam
A CONSULTATION on plans that could give greater protection to under-threat Oxford Stadium closes today. Oxford City Council is seeking views on whether to include the Sandy Lane facility on its Heritage Assets Register. Galliard Homes wants
HOW long can areas East Oxford hold out before the parking permit revolution comes their way? Residents in the Magdalen Road south area say more cars are parking there since permits were introduced nearby. The solution? Slap £50-a-year permits
OXFORDSHIRE basked in its hottest day of the year so far yesterday – but forecasters say it won’t last. The Met Office said temperatures hit 21C. But cloud is expected to cover parts of the county today as the weather turns unsettled, with
HISTORY fans enjoyed a jousting tournament over the Bank Holiday weekend. Knights in armour did battle on horseback at Blenheim Palace, in Woodstock, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Visitors also enjoyed falconry displays and demonstrations
YOU know summer is getting close when one of Oxford’s best-loved seasonal attractions opens its doors. Hinksey Outdoor Pool sprang into life on Friday and offered free swims to those with an Oxford Bus Company ticket the next day. Among them
MOVIE star Sir Ben Kingsley will be the guest of honour at a Witney cinema tonight to help a girl who lost her arms and legs to meningitis. The Gandhi star and Spelsbury resident will introduce a special screening of his new movie Iron Man 3 at
TRANSPORT bosses are looking at whether a controlled parking zone in East Oxford should be expanded. Six months on from the Magdalen North zone coming into force, some residents have complained the restrictions have just pushed motorists into other
LONG waiting times at A&E are a symptom of major failings in the whole health and social care system. Most people who these days go to A&E don’t need to be there and could be better looked after by other services. Today’s Oxford Mail
WAITING times at Ox-fordshire’s accident and emergency departments have plummeted to their worst level in more than two years. Experts last night said the “unacceptable” delays – which have steadily got worse over the past six months – had led
A YOUNG man was taken to hospital last night with head injuries after a hit-and-run in Oxford's Cowley Road. The man, who is about 20, was hit by a silver VW Polo at about 10.40pm. The driver then abandoned his vehicle and left the scene on
THE 50-year love affair began for Richard Mayon-White back in his days as a medical student at St Thomas’ Hospital, London. In moments of stress or boredom as a young doctor-in-the making at the famous institution, he would gaze down from the window
families who are separating can get free help and advice from a new weekly service in Oxford. Oxfordshire Family Mediation will offer the sessions at the Leys Children’s Centre in Wesley Close, Blackbird Leys, from 9.30am to 11.30am each Friday
