Archive

  • Postal boycott on the cards

    Postal workers in the county could refuse to deliver competitors’ mail after union members voted to oppose privatisation. Chad Croom, from the Oxfordshire branch of the Communication Workers Union, said: “A boycott could be the next thing, but

  • Here's the answer to the riddle of my loo trip

    A number of my more perspicacious readers — not to say more suspicious ones — were quick to ask me, in respect of last week’s column, what I was doing loitering around the lavatories at the M40 services at Wheatley while supposedly on my way ‘home’

  • Stage stars back at the cradle of their talents

    What a huge debt the world of the arts owes to Oxford’s Pegasus Theatre for nurturing the talents of some of the stage stars of our age. Last Friday morning, members of Complicite, in the city with their children’s show Lionboy at Oxford Playhouse,

  • Laurel & Hardy, Watermill Theatre, Newbury

    FOUR STARS "If anyone at my funeral has a long face, I’ll never speak to him again.” It’s a famous Stan Laurel line, and it’s wheeled out with relish in Tom McGrath’s 1976 play Laurel & Hardy, which has been given a new production by the Watermill

  • Preview of Eton Choral Course at Trinity College

    If you are aged between 16 and 20, love singing and want to share that love with like-minded people, then the week-long Eton Choral Course, to be held at Trinity College in August, ticks all the boxes. The Eton Choral Courses were launched over

  • Ann Widdecombe talks about her autobiography

    People seem inordinately surprised that Ann Widdecombe is enjoying herself so much these days. That she delights in anything as shallow as dancing, panto, hair dye or celebrity seems to go against everything we know about her — the formidable, strict

  • The Feathers, Woodstock

    The Feathers Hotel Market Street, Woodstock. OX20 1SX 01993 812291 feathers.co.uk   Fully three decades have passed since I sat with Gordon Campbell Gray amid a plethora of antique furnishings and stuffed birds in the bar of The Feathers

  • Pick of the Week, June 20

    Shows, workshops and more Something for the weekend The Mill in Banbury, The Theatre in Chipping Norton, The North Wall, Oxford Playhouse, Arts at the Old Fire Station, Pegasus and Cornerstone, Didcot.  June 22 and 23 See venues’ websites

  • Jekyll & Hyde, Creation Theatre, Blackwell's Bookshop

    THREE STARS   The first stage play version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde opened in London in 1888. Days later, the first of five killings by Jack the Ripper became headline news. Journalists were quick to

  • ROWING: Triggs Hodge heads home challenge

    A large contingent of Oxford-shire competitors will be in the huge Great Britain team for the World Cup Regatta which starts at Eton Dorney tomroow, writes Mike Rosewell. The Oxford contingent in-cludes Olympic champion Andy Triggs Hodge stroking

  • Flats favourite to win ‘hideous design’ gong

    OXFORD residents have already labelled the controversial development at Port Meadow “ugly”. Now the Castle Mill student flats have been put forward for an award that “celebrates” the most hideous new buildings in the UK. The scheme has been

  • Cyprus veterans part of study

    OXFORDSHIRE war veterans who served in Cyprus in the 1950s are the focus of a research project. The Annual Study Day of the Friends of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry will be held at Edward Brooks Barracks, Abingdon, on Saturday

  • Former staff ‘excited’ to rejoin supermarket

    THERE will be some familiar faces at a new Sainsbury’s store as the company prepares to open in Cowley after a 13-year break from the area. A total of 135 jobs have been created by the new supermarket, which is expected to open the middle of next

  • Stabbing in Headington

    A 27-YEAR-OLD man was stabbed in the shoulder during an argument in Headington earlier today. Police believe a knife was used in the attack at about 1am at the junction of London Road and Gladstone Road. The victim was treated at Oxford’s John

  • Plans spark fear over road safety

    TRAFFIC, noise and safety are among concerns voiced by residents about a plan for two large warehouses near Didcot. The 1m sq ft distribution centres are planned for land west of Didcot power station, off Sutton Courtenay Lane. The site would have

  • Before Midnight (15)

    FOUR STARS Even if the idea of a romantic movie usually leaves you cold, if not a little nauseous, don’t dismiss Before Midnight. It’s about as far from a cliché romance as you can get. As one of its stars, Ethan Hawke, puts it: “Most romances

  • Tribute for dad killed in Corfu holiday tragedy

    A THANKSGIVING service will be held on Friday in memory of the social worker who drowned on the Greek holiday island of Corfu. Richard Milne, 39, known as Richie, died while swimming in the sea earlier this month. The thanksgiving will be at

  • Hey! That's a great story

    TODDLERS gathered round for a special poetry session at Oxford’s Story Museum yesterday. Wallingford-based poet James Carter was reading some action rhymes from his now book Hey, Little Bug. His poems are about things as varied as pirates, dinosaurs

  • Mistake to remove buses

    Sir – Our county council is a national leader in promoting buses — except in central Oxford, where it keeps dismembering what was once a simple, well-connected network. In 2001, it banned buses from Cornmarket and sent them on a diversion so long

  • Accounting thuggery

    Sir – I write with regard to Oxford City Council’s desire to increase the rents in the Covered Market by between 50 and 70 per cent. The city council is not a business but a body that should work on behalf of people living, working and visiting

  • Westgate homes

    Sir – We are used to the council inventing figures, for example, to justify the demolition of Temple Cowley pools. Now councillor Bob Price is too free with his numbers. He admits (Letters, June 6) that only 30 new homes are included in the Westgate

  • Thoughtless students

    Sir – Last Friday, I was visiting Oxford when I saw groups of students throwing food and drink over each other. My sister informed me that students do this to celebrate the end of their exams. I am truly appalled that in the current climate

  • NHS bonuses

    Sir – One cannot but agree with the very adverse comments made by several organisations about the disgraceful bonuses awarded to the NHS directors (Directors of hospital trust shared bonus pot of £135,000, June 6). Have they no awareness at all

  • 999 delays not new

    Sir – The problems of patients being kept in ambulances outside of accident and emergency at the JR (A and E) in an attempt to avoid exceeding waiting time targets is not a new one. And it has ripple effects because people needing ambulance services

  • Long live language

    Sir – Melinda Tilley “absolutely disagrees” with Professor Simon Horobin apparently on comments he made at the Hay Literary Festival (Education head hits out at don’s remarks, June 6), reported by Damian Fantato to the effect “that teachers need to

  • Orlternativ spellin

    Sur – Ai right in risponce tu ye rtickle on Prerfesser Horrorbin’s aideeaz on ‘kerekt’ spellin (Oxfordshire Limited Edition, June 2013). It iznt kwait klere frum ye artickull weather ye prerfessor iz beein sumhaough priskriptiv. Hiztorickli, ar

  • Artistic ‘horse-cure’

    Sir – The latest Art via Cinema show, the 150: Munch exhibition, showing at the Phoenix on June 27, will be eagerly awaited by Munch admirers because it draws from Oslo’s two major sources of the artist’s work, the National Gallery and the Munch Museum

  • Aircraft pollution

    Sir – The final episode of BBC’s TV topical science programme Bang Goes the Theory dealt with the huge problem Britain is still facing with air pollution. It stated that: ‘air pollution is now second only to smoking as a killer in the UK, yet as

  • What has changed?

    Sir – When planning permission for Shilton Park was granted, the residents of Brize Norton were given assurances that no further development to the east of Carterton would be permitted. Furthermore, West Oxfordshire District Council’s Local Plan

  • Pioneering work

    Sir – I am writing to say thank you to all your readers who are doing something during Diabetes Week (June 9 to 15) to help make life better for people who have diabetes or are at risk of developing it. The focus of this year’s Diabetes Week is

  • Shut street for market

    Sir – I have just returned from a holiday in East Yorkshire. Every town we visited, or passed through, had their high street or market square closed to traffic on a Thursday, Friday, and/or Saturday, for market days. If these towns can close their

  • Most people not interested in politics

    Sir – Mr Brian Wallis suggests (Letters, May 23) that I have forgotten the referendum about proportional representation. Not so. I recall that only about one-third of voters bothered to vote in it and of those some two-thirds rejected the proposal

  • Popular notion

    Sir – Helen Robertson (Letters, June 6) says of describing Professor Grayling as a thinker: “This seems to imply that most people do not think.” It clearly doesn’t, any more than it would if it were said of a Christian thinker. As for seeking

  • Dogmatic debates

    Sir – I’m finding some of the atheist vs. believer debates in these columns rather polarised and dogmatic. An atheist friend of mind once derided the spiritual, and then proceeded to describe his wonder at the vastness of the universe, the fathomlessness

  • Folk tale with not Aladdin sight...

    MIDDLE Eastern folk tales are to be told in Oxford at a school drama production starting tonight. Girls from Oxford High School will be performing the play Arabian Nights, by Dominic Cooke. Head of drama Julie Bramall said: “It’s very colourful

  • Cinema is top of residents’ wishlist

    A CINEMA is the most important part of a £3.5m plan to revamp Abingdon’s Guildhall, according to residents. The results of a public survey conducted by the town council found 94 per cent of the 230 people asked were keen for the scheme to go ahead

  • The Times hides the truth of its play title blunder

    There are some wonderful plays on in London at present, a few of which I have been privileged to see over the past few days. I am writing this before witnessing Daniel Radcliffe’s return to the West End stage in Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Innishmaan

  • County's best chefs reveal their secrets

    Recipes devised by our finest chefs are renowned for their complexities and the many different processes involved in putting them together. The recipes featured in Relish Cotswolds & Oxfordshire (Relish Publications £20), pictured, devised by the

  • Beekeepers all abuzz in ban furore

    The recent banning of some unpronounceable pesticides has sent a buzz through the genteel world of beekeeping and thrust the humble honeybee into the heart of a furious row between big business, farming, politics and the environmental movement. What

  • Preview of The 39 Steps, Oxford Playhouse

    You don’t expect to see The 39 Steps described as a “smash-hit comedy”. Thriller, maybe – or “shocker”, as original author John Buchan called it – but comedy? The explanation is simple. This is not the Buchan version, but an adaptation by actor

  • Leaps of faith

    Sir – Given the limitless suffering and waste inherent in the struggle for existence on this planet, Helen Robertson (Letters, June 6), and millions of others, are entitled to their wishful thinking that there are magical entities which somehow Make

  • Audi TT stolen in Thame

    A SILVER Audi TT was taken in a burglary at a house in Thame, along with jewellery, cash, mobile phones and computer games. The burglary happened in Southern Road between 6.30pm on Saturday and midnight on Sunday. The thieves broke in by smashing

  • Bicycles taken in Abingdon

    ABINGDON: Three bikes have been stolen in a spate of raids in the town. On Monday, a mountain bike was taken from a garage in Old Farm Close between 4pm and 6pm, and an off-road bike was stolen from a garage in Meadowside between 8pm and 10pm.

  • Search for survivor

    Sir – I am writing a book about New Zealanders who flew from Britain in the last year of the war. I am trying to find family or friends of a man called Williamson Charles John Beeson. He was the sole survivor of a Lancaster, shot down over Stuttgart

  • GOLF: Pepperell so happy for US Open winner Rose

    EDDIE Pepperell hailed his appearance at the US Open as a great learning experience and was thrilled to see Justin Rose capture the title at Merion. The two players share the same management company and have crossed paths several times in Pepperell

  • Hundreds back Wootton surgery battle

    WOOTTON: Up to 500 people have signed a petition to save Wootton’s GP surgery. Residents in the village near Abingdon are fighting plans to close the surgery in Besselsleigh Road. Members of the Wootton Surgery Supporters group are meeting

  • GOLF: Ron and Eddie in TV scoop

    OXFORDSHIRE’S No 1 golfer Eddie Pepperell, from Abingdon, may not have been involved on the final day of the US Open at Merion, after failing to make the cut, but two of his supporters made quite an impact. His dad Ron and Eddie Cavanagh, who manages

  • CRICKET: Banbury lifted by ton-up Hawkes

    NATHAN Hawkes hit a century as Banbury made it through to the semi-finals of the Home Counties Premier League Twenty 20. Hawkes hit an unbeaten 103 in the 37-run win over Harefield in their last eight clash at White Post Road. The visitors

  • CRICKET: Shipton's home tie

    BANBURY have been drawn away to Shipton-under-Wychwood in the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, July 2. OUTSTANDING 2ND ROUND RESULTS Cumnor 144-7 (J Williams 41), Shipton-under-Wychwood 150-3 (G Seacole 35, J Hunt

  • Voluntary fee?

    Sir – Re the booking fee at the Oxford Playhouse. If the fee is retained by the Playhouse for charitable purposes (Letters, May 23) surely it should be voluntary. For the Playhouse director Michelle Dickson to say that without this ‘booking fee

  • Disappearing bins

    Sir – Three weeks ago my green wheelie bin was stolen from its usual place outside the house. I reported this to the police and the council. The police officer told me that a number of green wheelie bins had been stolen from Oxford, but none from the

  • Spate of car break-ins

    Thieves have stolen fuel, power tools, and a sat-nav, after targeting cars. Between Thursday and Sunday, vehicles were broken into in Drayton Road, Abingdon; Lansdown Road, Faringdon; Lacey Drive, Thame; Longford Way, Didcot; and Christmas Common

  • COMMENT: Read it here first

    SINCE its launch in September, the Oxfordshire Reading Campaign has captured the imagination of everyone from the seven-year-old children taking part to award-winning authors. The Oxford Mail has been on board from the beginning, and it is great

  • CRICKET: Taylor boosts Moreton

    FORMER England star Claire Taylor is pictured with Moreton Ladies at their weekly training session. She spent two hours putting the women through their paces. Moreton ladies’ coach Tim Haworth said: “Claire is an inspirational sportswoman,

  • CRICKET: Sobers at Cothill

    WEST Indies legend Sir Garfield Sobers visited Cothill House prep school, near Abingdon, to give a talk to the youngsters. Sobers, is pictured with Cothill’s first XI. Standing (from left): Richard Sutton (director of sport), Nick Compton-Burnett

  • Cyclist arrested over bike lock attack

    A cyclist was last night in custody after allegedly hitting a driver over the head with a bike lock. The 32-year-old suffered head injuries in the incident after the near-miss with a cyclist in Parks Road, Oxford, on Saturday. His car was also

  • AUNT SALLY: Duo to the fore in quality top-flight clash

    JOHN Townsend and Kevin Giles were in sparkling form during a top-notch Premier Section clash, writes ANDY BEAL. The duo both hit 16 dolls as Townsend’s Cricketers B side beat Giles’s Three Pigeons team 2-1. Cricketers took the opening leg on a three-stick

  • Face of dog attack suspect

    Police have released this image of a man they suspect owned a small ginger dog that bit a 26-year-old along the path between Old Place Yard and Pingle Drive, Bicester. The victim suffered cuts to his leg and bruising. Police believe the owner

  • Court told of attack by 'deranged' dog

    A “DERANGED” Staffordshire Bull Terrier attacked a man and tried to rip his dog’s throat out, a jury heard yesterday. Deborah Exley, of Witney Road, Ducklington, denies being in charge of a dog which caused an injury while dangerously out of control

  • Small shops need help

    I FEEL so sad that the city council is not doing more to protect the livelihoods of small shops in Headington. There will be either a Tesco or Sainsbury’s store on every corner soon. I am totally in support of both stores and use them both

  • Sad sign of the times

    TOSH, tosh and tosh. Where exactly do the opening times of the lap dancing club and the ice rink in Oxpens coincide? One is open during the day and the other opens very late at night. Why do certain people in this city always insist on holding

  • A breach of trust

    SO poor Jason Roberts, of Robinson Road, Wootton, near Abingdon, was “extremely distressed by what has happened” (Oxford Mail, June 12). Are we supposed to feel sorry for this pervert? This man sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl and shows

  • Soaking up the culture

    MAN About Town without doubt encapsulates what is great about living in this city. This week I note how he enjoys sitting on the steps of Martyrs’ Memorial…and “truth be told, I could sit there for 24 hours a day… watching the world go by”.

  • Cut foreign aid

    THE coalition Government is keen to cut the costs of the disability living allowance bill, bringing in non-medically qualified flunkeys to do the politicians’ dirty work for them. DLA costs the nation £12bn per year. Foreign aid costs the UK £12bn

  • Invest in machinery and staff to combat flooding

    ON BBC Radio Oxford on Friday morning (June 14), Ed Turner, deputy leader of Oxford City Council, said it had been proactive in preventing flooding – how? He then went on to state it was disappointing the council didn’t get Government cash it they

  • Mac the Knife: All kitted out for a weekend under canvas

    How I’d managed to avoid camping this long remains to be seen, but save for a couple of teenage ventures under canvas which are clouded in an alcoholic fog and therefore don’t count, I was a camping virgin... until this weekend. Why my life-time

  • State of road is a disgrace

    IN support of Barbara Taylor (The road to nowhere, ViewPoints, June 18), I have to agree London Road, Headington, is an absolute disgrace and is in dire need of repairs now. It was allegedly said the road is to be resurfaced in 2014. What is wrong

  • Market rent increases are so unfair

    I WISH to complain about the large increases in rent on the shops in the Covered Market, Oxford. If they charge the extra 50 per cent in rent, many businesses will have to close. It is a case of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

  • It's called slow progress

    RECENTLY, Sir Tony Baldry was shown puting his full weight behind the first spade in the ground, marking the start of construction for the new Bicester Community Hospital. By coincidence, I had read an edition of a local Bicester newspaper, dated

  • MP needs some Respect

    WITH the unsurprising news the West is likely to arm the Syrian rebels that include Al Qaeda, I wonder why another Tory on BBC Question Time has to repeat the Prime Minister’s suggestion that George Galloway backs dictators. This was repeated in

  • Family pays tribute to 'bright and vibrant' boy

    A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy killed by a falling mirror in Bicester Village was “a bright and vibrant boy who injected life into everything he touched”, his family said. The youngster, who died after suffering a head injury at the Hugo Boss store, was yesterday

  • CRICKET: Buoyant Risden eyes progress

    TIDDINGTON captain Darren Risden is confident his side can prove their worth in the national stages of The Cricketer Village Cup. Risden’s men defeated Horspath by 15 runs in the Oxfordshire final as the hosts’ challenge stuttered badly on home

  • THE DISABLED SPACE: My turbulent time in hands of airline staff

    So my last column was about going on holiday. Guess what? So is this one. I don’t normally have a life quite so ridiculous as over the past few weeks, but I have just returned from 10 days in the Côte d’Azur. I’m very lucky, as I have a good friend

  • Cash and computer stolen from house

    KIDLINGTON: Burglars smashed patio doors to steal cash, jewellery and a computer from a house in Benmead Road between Friday and Saturday. Thieves also targeted a Bicester Road home between 8.30am and 3.30pm on Friday and took jewellery. Call police

  • Youth made to remove graffiti

    BICESTER: A 16-year-old youth was made to clean up graffiti from the garden wall of two homes in Oxlip Leys and a fence in the alleyway linking Barry Avenue and Bure Park. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been at a house party

  • Leading lights receive honorary degrees

    LEADING figures from the worlds of medicine, motorsport, healthcare and business are this week being recognised by Oxford Brookes University. Today, Margaret Evison, whose son Mark studied at Brookes before joining 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, will

  • Man attacked and tied up in business park raid

    MASKED robbers punched and kicked a worker before tying him up and demanding cash. The attempted robbery happened at a business property in Heyford Park in Upper Heyford on Monday. Three men approached the man outside the firm before assaulting

  • Torex fraud case jury deliberates for third day

    JURORS will continue deliberations for a third day at Oxford Crown Court today in the trial of two men accused of a fraud conspiracy. Mark Woodbridge, 42, and Nigel Horn, 58, deny planning to defraud shareholders of Torex Retail, which had offices

  • ‘I was one of lucky few to be liberated’

    ARTHUR Jack Hodgins braced himself as British planes bombed the train tracks he was forced to lay as a Second World War captive. But he knew not to lose hope. Despite being detained inside one of Germany’s most notorious camps he was “among

  • Man bailed again a year after police arrest

    A CHILD prostitution suspect has been rebailed again by police after spending more than a year on bail. The 35-year-old from Garsington, who was arrested on suspicion of causing prostitution of girls under 18 in the first Operation Bullfinch raids

  • Judge considers neglect verdict

    A JUDGE is expected to deliver his verdict on Monday on a family charged with animal neglect at an Oxfordshire sanctuary. Yesterday District Judge Tim Pattinson retired after Bicester Magistrates’ Court heard closing speeches on behalf of the eight

  • Oxford United fixtures 2013/14

    OXFORD United will visit Portsmouth on the opening day of the season after the 2013/14 League Two fixtures were unveiled this morning. And although Chris Wilder's side have been handed away games on the first and last days of the season for the

  • COMMENT: 'Boris Bikes' may break cycle of city congestion

    THE introduction of Oxford’s very own ‘Boris Bike’ cycle hire scheme must be welcome news to the hundreds of people who work in Headington. It provides a quick, easy and free way for doctors and other hospital staff to travel between hospital sites

  • New 'Boris Bikes' could be rolled out across city and county

    OXFORD’S own ‘Boris Bike’ scheme was unveiled yesterday. The project aims to encourage commuters to ditch their cars for short journeys. Users of the so-called Oxonbike will be able to rent cycles for free for up to 30 minutes to travel between

  • Masonic lodge housing development moving ahead

    THE redevelopment of Oxford’s former masonic lodge has come a step closer. Development company Homespace has unveiled its plans to transform 333 Banbury Road into 17 family homes. The Oxford Centre was put on the market by the Oxfordshire Masonic

  • A new website for niggly jobs you need done

    A PENSIONER from Headington has inspired a new website that helps people find odd job men. Julia Colwell is 74 and needs help with heaving lifting, cleaning and other day-to-day jobs. Her son, former Cheney School pupil Robert Colwell lives

  • Blue plaque marks Civil War surrender

    SURRENDERS and defeats aren’t usually celebrated, but Oxford’s most crucial military loss has been marked with a blue plaque. When King Charles I was expelled from London by the Parliamentarians during the English Civil War he moved his court to

  • Potter signs new deal for Oxford United

    ALFIE Potter has become the latest key player to commit himself to Oxford United. The forward has signed a new two-year deal, with the club retaining an option to extend it a further 12 months until the end of the 2015-16 campaign. He follows