Archive

  • Orchard Meadow School praised for ‘outstanding’ work

    A SCHOOL placed into special measures last June has been praised for some outstanding teaching. At its third monitoring visit since being placed in special measures, Orchard Meadow Primary School, in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, was told it was making

  • Bushes that screened noisy road cut down

    OXFORD City Council has been criticised for cutting back “harmless” bushes in Cutteslowe without telling anyone. The bushes are outside a block of flats off Wentworth Road and screen the homes from busy Banbury Road. But they have been cut

  • Supermarket gives more buying power to people

    THE People’s Supermarket in Cowley Road has announced a new “crowdfunding” campaign so it can “give more” to its customers. The co-operative will launch the campaign on its first anniversary on Sunday via Buzzbnk – an online platform dedicated

  • Neighbours win in round one of fight to keep pub

    RESIDENTS have scored an important victory in a battle to keep their pub. Oxford City Council has designated the Fairview Inn in Headington as an asset of community value. The pub has become only the second site in Oxford to be listed as such,

  • Youth leader vital to get with programme

    THE search is on for a youth leader for Kennington Youth Club. The group, which meets in a purpose-built club behind Kennington Village Centre, has more than 100 members and has been in the village for about 70 years. Current leader Alice Dore

  • School transport shake-up: 'We will keep on fighting it'

    TODAY was set to see a decision made on alterations to council payments for buses to school. A late change has delayed that decision, but the debate is set to continue with the campaign against the changes growing steadily, writes political reporter

  • UPDATE: A34 clear after broken-down vehicle is removed

    ALL lanes on the A34 are clear again after a broken-down vehicle near Milton was removed.  One lane of the northbound carriageway was closed between the junction with the A4130 and the A415. It reopened just after 6.30pm.   

  • Community first in county vision for Wood Farm site

    CALLS for dilapidated buildings in Wood Farm to be replaced with community facilities have been made after the site was put on the market. Oxfordshire County Council has asked for statements of interest in the Marywood House site in Leiden Road

  • Bike shed referendum

    RESIDENTS of a sheltered accommodation block are being asked their views on plans for a new cycle shed. Alice and Margaret House in Desborough Crescent, Rose Hill, has been awarded £2,000 for a new shed by its housing association, GreenSquare.

  • Vicar looks north for a new rural challenge

    AFTER eight years at the side of villagers during their ups and downs, team vicar the Rev Hilary Campbell is leaving for pastures new. Mrs Campbell has led the Anglican Parish of Kidlington with Hampton Poyle and will leave for Cropredy, north

  • Enhancing medieval church for all to use

    A MEDIEVAL church in North Hinksey could be transformed for the community to use. Plans for St Lawrence Church include installing toilets, a small kitchenette and replacing the pews. The project would swap the old pews with stackable pews or

  • Council bids for funds to overhaul play area

    DETAILED plans to revamp a recreation ground – including constructing a BMX course – have been unveiled as a bid for funding is launched. Littlemore Parish Council has enlisted environmental charity Groundwork South to work on the plans for Herschel

  • The Gospel according to a new rock extravaganza

    THEY thrilled thousands with their renditions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And now Blackbird Leys Choir are getting ready to rock your socks off with a brand new show. The group are to perform Rock Nativity, a contemporary

  • Cogges link road was lesser of two evils

    Sir – Before CPRE and their cohorts get too excited in their orgy of self-congratulation (Link road campaigners win award, Report, July 4), perhaps they should road test their own proposal. Many of the drivers who would use any new connection to

  • Public transport must rival seamless driving

    Sir – Bus Users UK, Oxford Civic Society and Oxfordshire Unlimited want public transport to meet needs identified by impartial professional research. People who want to remove buses from more of central Oxford and cram them into fewer streets further

  • Dangerous mish-mash

    Sir – With regard to Noam Bleicher’s letter (July 4). In 1963, yes, it worked with Queen Street closed to traffic with far fewer buses then, so who says it’s going to work with even more buses on the roads now? Queen Street is a dangerous ‘mish-mash

  • Dangerous pollution

    Sir – Nitrogen dioxide inflames the lining of the lungs and reduces immunity to lung infections. Children with asthma and older people with heart disease are most at risk. It is called the invisible killer. In Oxford, our councils publish all the

  • Inward facing plan

    Sir – Currently there are consultations on the ‘outline proposals’ for the redevelopment of the Westgate Centre. Consultation is a strong term for a fully resolved scheme, lacking detailed facade treatment. The outline planning covers the “the

  • Time to speak up

    Sir – The city council, both directly and through a development partner, is ‘consulting’ on proposals for two major city centre developments: The Westgate Centre and car parks, and Oxpens/the West End. These two large areas (over 20 acres) lie

  • Digital dreaming

    Sir – You do not need to paint the flats green, on Roger Dudman Way, or cover them in soil. All the campaigners have to do, if they want to preserve the precious views that they claim have been lost, is to screen digital trompe l’oeil images on

  • Serious work ethic

    Sir – Charlie Allen’s letter (Paying for education, June 27) is clearly no more than a subtle sideswipe at Carterton Community College. Prejudiced views of its quality have prevailed for many years but the time has come for the people living in the

  • Higher fees sought

    Sir – Notwithstanding the stiff recent increase in university tuition fees to a — frankly — high limit at £9,000 a year, some universities are not happy and are pressing for a limit of £14,000, an increase of more than 50 per cent. Bristol University

  • Market is dying

    Sir – When Tesco opens on the old Fox and Hounds site, from Bevington Road to the north end of Kennington, and from the railway station to Glanville Road, you will never be more than half a mile from one of their shops. Meanwhile, our lovely Covered

  • Patients put first

    Sir – I am fortunate that I rarely require the services of the NHS, but on Saturday I did. With a sudden onset of very severe abdominal pains, I took a taxi to a very busy John Radcliffe Hospital accident and emergency ward expecting a long wait.

  • Signs still in place

    Sir – We did not agree with all of Laura Barries’s comments (Letters, June 20) about the closing of streets for community events, but how typical of the Green Party to completely miss the point of her letter and to quite happily toe the party line

  • Special Italian secret

    Sir – Christopher Gray harks at the loss of Italian restaurants for “robust” appetites quoting the only remaining restaurant as being in North Parade. Perhaps he should stray across Magdalen Bridge to La Cucina in St Clements where very special

  • Prayer for atheists

    Sir – Given that there are many sensible and intelligent individuals who have religious faith, people like Dane Clouston must accept the possibility that it is more than just wishful thinking (Letters, June 27). Admittedly, religious faith can’

  • Atheism is a belief

    Sir – Dane Clouston (Letters, June 27) decries dogmatism in the religious, but do I not sense a hint of it in his unsubstantiated declarations that God is “imaginary” and human spirits are “mortal”? His spiritual experience seems to be based on

  • Life beyond the grave

    Sir – Mr Dane Clouston (Letters, June 27) writes of his “mortal human spirit”. But the great majority of those who have studied psychic research have concluded that people’s spirits live long after the death of their physical bodies. This is nothing

  • Save heritage of Vale

    Sir – It has taken just two years since the reservoir saga ended for the proposal to build on the area to be mooted (Report, July 4). It is not a new idea. Twenty years ago, our MP at the time said better to have a reservoir than a new town there

  • Swallowed up

    Sir – It is to be sincerely hoped that the proposed fracking jamboree (Report, July 4) does not cause the Sainsbury’s store in Kidlington to be swallowed up by the earth. Otherwise, we shall have to switch to the outlet in Littlemore, which is

  • School shines for golden jubilee

    IT’S 50 not out for Cherwell School. And visitors to the school’s half-century anniversary party pledged another half decade of success during Saturday’s celebratory festival. Headteacher Paul James planted a tree to mark to mark the occasion

  • Archie goes for the whole hog at Osler House fun day

    ARCHIE Taylor-Moore couldn’t decide which to scoff down first, his ice cream or his hog roast. In the end the eight-year-old ate both at the Osler House Family Fun Day on Sunday. The day was held to raise funds for the sick and premature babies

  • Play date for all the family

    HUNDREDS of families enjoyed go-karting, crafts and circus skills in the blazing heat at Oxford’s city play day. The free activities, organised by Oxfordshire Play Association, were at Rose Hill recreation ground in Ashhurst Way on Saturday.

  • Primary's 50th birthday bash

    HUNDREDS of parents, staff and pupils at Northbourne School were treated to a thundering rendition of classics from Didcot Community Gospel Choir. On Friday, crowds gathered at the school in Cockcroft Road, Didcot, to take part in the celebrations

  • A trench in a garden in East Oxford

    Visitors to Oxford often ask locals ‘where is the university?’ – a question which is traditionally impossible to answer, as it is composed of colleges each with their own identity. The Bodleian Library perhaps? The University Offices (not much

  • New school age limits

    OXON: Plans to allow two Oxfordshire schools to take younger children have been approved. Yesterday Melinda Tilley, Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for children, education and families, approved alterations to the lower age limits of

  • Rapist behind bars for breaching order

    DIDCOT: A convicted rapist who was banned from the town and admitted breaching a restraining order has been jailed for 12 months. Paul McLaughlin, 51, formerly of Kynaston Road, Didcot, and now of Clarks Row, Oxford, was made subject to the order

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Cavaliers closing in on title

    OXFORD Cavaliers became the first side this season to win at Somerset Vikings as they cemented their place at the top of the West of England League table. Fotu Topou, Wes Newton and Adam White led the way with a brace of tries each, while Stewart

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Clough's drop goal earns Oxford last-gasp draw

    JOHN Clough landed a drop goal two minutes from time to earn Oxford a share of the spoils in a 14-14 draw against Gateshead Thunder in Kingstone Press Championship One at Filtrona Park on Sunday. Clough’s kick came just minutes after a drop goal

  • ‘How Olympics helped me lay the ghosts of Munich to rest’

    FOR almost everyone the London Olympics was just a wonderful event in its own right. For Kathryn McNicoll volunteering though healed a 40-year wound. Mrs Forty had been a volunteer at the Munich games in 1972, when terrorists murdered some of the

  • DARTS: Green Road B expose the class gap

    THE gap between Premier and Section 1 in the Greene King ODDA Summer League told in the Kidlington Green Social Club local derby as the B team prevailed 7-2 against their A side. The B team, from the Premier Section, romped into a 3-0 lead thanks

  • MOTORSPORT: Wolff homes in on dream

    Susie Wolff this week moves a step nearer to racing in a grand prix when she takes the wheel of a Williams in the Young Driver Test at Silverstone. The Scot, 30, a development driver with the Grove-based team, drives on Friday, with Pastor Maldonado

  • Katherine an inspiration to Academy stars

    BRITAIN’S most successful female rower has inspired some of Oxford’s most promising athletes. Olympic Gold and three-time Silver medallist Katherine Grainger CBE presented prizes at Oxford Academy’s annual Sports Personality Awards. Sports

  • Appeal over pub plan

    A developer will argue its case for planning permission to turn a pub into flats at a hearing today. Saxonville Ltd appealed to the Government after its proposals for the former Maroon pub, on the corner of Oxpens Road and St Thomas Street, were

  • Escaped prisoner is still on run in Europe

    Littlemore Hospital escapee Ian McLean has not been spotted in mainland Europe, a police spokeswoman said yesterday. McLean, given a life sentence in 2004 after stabbing his former lover in Banbury, escaped from an unlocked unit at the mental health

  • Space plane moves step nearer after £60m grant

    THE company building a space plane will today reveal how it plans to use a £60m Government grant. Reaction Engines, based in Culham, will make the announcement at the 2013 UK Space Conference in Glasgow. Reaction says the Skylon space plane

  • Power tool is stolen

    A JCB breaker power tool and a Stihl petrol cutter have been stolen from a vehicle in Hawkins Way, near Whitecross, Abingdon. It happened overnight between last Thursday and Friday. Thieves smashed the passenger-side window to get inside.

  • Once 'satisfactory' school now told it must do better

    A SCHOOL which fought against forced academy status after a damning Ofsted report four years ago has again found itself facing criticism from inspectors. St Christopher’s Primary School, Cowley, went into special measures in 2009, coming out as

  • FOOTBALL: Boss Ford uncertain on future of Felipe

    Oxford City manager Mike Ford has admitted he is unsure about the future of talented Brazilian striker Felipe Barcelos at the Conference North club. Barcelos, who scored 12 goals in 43 appearances for City last season in all competitions, flies

  • Father banned from keeping any animals

    Oxford: A father was yesterday banned from keeping animals for five years after five baby rabbits died at his Oxford home while he was away. An RSPCA inspector found the animals dead at the Church Hill Road home of Graham Dunn, 50, on November

  • Follow the Highway Code

    IN reply to Alexander Young’s letter, (View Points, July 11), apparently very soon a law is being passed whereby the police can issue fines and points to people like Mr Alexander who think it is good to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude and drive solely

  • Important to give a voice to all groups

    JEZ Cook (Letters, July 8), claims to talk about “tolerance and integration.” I am an eco-socialist and I’ve met both Dr Hojjat Ramzy and Dr Taj Hargey – they both represent their religion well. We live in a multicultural world and most have

  • Many will suffer due to coalition backing down

    WHAT a disgrace that the Tory and Lib Dem Government have backed down on curbs to cigarettes and alcohol. Their policy seems to be to chase every vote and they forget how many people will suffer as a result. We need plain packaging and graphic

  • I was impressed with my treatment at centre

    MY experience in the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre recently for a hip replacement was excellent. The treatment and care I received was brilliant – and the food was good if one felt well enough to enjoy it. All I can say about the NOC is wow.

  • WEIGHTLIFTING: Watson retains GB crown

    Ben Watson, of the St Birinus Club at Didcot, retained his title at the British Championships in Bangor – and he did it in style. He set a British Under 23 record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 176kg in the 105kg class. Added to his snatch

  • Stanley in GB squad to collect world goal

    Oxford United’s Katie Stanley received a gold medal at the World University Games last night after Great Britain thumped Mexico 6-2 in the women’s football final. Britain twice came from behind to equalise in the first half and the score was still

  • Arrest after Abingdon Road accident

    OXFORD: A man was arrested on suspicion of cannabis possession after a Audi Q7 crashed into traffic lights in Abingdon Road on Sunday night. Thames Valley Police were called at 7.26pm following the collision, near Redbridge Park and Ride, which

  • Charity shop cash helps to pay for vital research work

    ALMOST £300,000 was raised to pay for lifesaving equipment, vital research and six nurses by British Heart Foundation shops in Oxfordshire last year. The charity said it was delighted that donations and sales, plus volunteering to help the foundation

  • ON YER BIKE: Sometimes less really is more when travelling

    A lot of holidays my partner and I take are spur of the moment decisions and primarily camping is involved somewhere in the UK. Throwing a tent in the back of a car is easy, together with the sleeping bags, blow up mattress, stove, pots and pans

  • Report on West Side Story merely factual

    NO thanks to the Oxford Mail for their report of West Side Story at The Cherwell School – there was no point of merely recording that it happened. What should have been reported was that it was a gripping, moving, dynamic and innovative performance

  • In principle it is right for health charge levys

    I am writing about Roger Tucker’s comments on the NHS (Letters, July 12) concerning contributions paid in over the years through earnings helping to pay your health bills. I’m happy for you when you say you haven’t needed medical treatment since

  • Oxford does need a good Toby Carvery

    I HAD to chuckle, John Maden suggests Barton people might like to have a Toby Carvery. I couldn’t help wondering if he has shares in Mitchells and Butler. Yes I am sure many Oxford area residents would like a Toby Carvery closer than Banbury. Personally

  • Please help me to try to trace descendants

    I AM trying to trace any relatives of mine who are descended from my late grandmother’s family. Her name was Mabel Thornett and she was born in Charlbury in north Oxfordshire in 1905. She had nine brothers and sisters some of whom I can remember as

  • Arriving by car means a long wait at hospital

    In regard to the new hospital car parking charges I was wondering – motorcycles were not charged at the JR, is this why parking for motorcycles has disappeared? Is it coincidence that if you arrive at the JR on an out-patient’s visit by ambulance

  • A parking lot for many travellers out of Oxford

    I’M sorry if I misinterpreted Mary Clarkson’s views on commuters but she must feel that no matter where houses are built, a percentage will be taken up by London commuters. The point I was trying to make is that London commuters are blighting an

  • Symonds joins Williams F1

    The Williams F1 Team today announced the appointment of Pat Symonds as chief technical officer, replacing Mike Coughlan. Starting from August 19, Symonds joins the Grove team from the Marussia F1 Team, at Banbury, where he held the position of

  • COMMENT: Many old recipes really are effective

    YOU might squirm at Nicola Lillie’s new book of family cures, but many of Mother’s old recipes can be surprisingly more effective than modern over-the-counter remedies. So, it might be worth keeping a bottle or two of Malmsey of Canary sack handy

  • Do you know this man?

    OXFORD: Police want to speak to this man in connection with a burglary in Hurst Street, East Oxford. A burglar got into a house at 7.40am on Saturday and stole a camera, mobile phone, cash and contents of a wallet. Anyone with information should

  • Cyclist hurt near bridge

    OXFORD: A cyclist was taken in hospital yesterday following a collision with a car during the morning rush hour near the railyway bridge on Botley Road at the junction of Cripley Road. Police and ambulance crews attended and the cyclist was taken to

  • Bike lock assault case

    OXFORD: A 41-year-old charged with hitting a driver over the head with a bike lock will face trial at Oxford Crown Court on September 27. Luke Wilmshurst, of Banbury Road, denies causing actual bodily harm and criminal damage at an incident in

  • Haboakus confirms building work will start this year

    WORK on the controversial Barns Road development spearheaded by Grand Designs TV presenter Kevin McCloud will begin later this year. The multi-million pound developments will involve building more than 100 homes over three sites as well as state-of-the-art

  • Spot-on Hall stakes claim

    Asa Hall wants to become Oxford United’s new penalty-taker this season after grabbing a chance in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Berwick Rangers. The position is up for grabs after Peter Leven, who previously had the role, was released at the end of last

  • That’s the way to cool off

    THERE was plenty of doggy-paddling in Lower Wolvercote, by Port Meadow, yesterday, with swimmers cooling down as temperatures continued to soar. Visitor Bill O’Mahony, 59, enjoyed another scorching summer’s day with his Labradors Maisie and Ruby

  • Heat may have wiped out power supplies

    OXFORD: More than 1,700 homes in Cowley and East Oxford lost power yesterday caused by a fault that may have been triggered by the heat, according to Southern Electric. It confirmed that 1,766 homes in the OX4 postcode area lost power at 11.15am

  • How a spoonful of snail syrup helps the medicine go down

    HAVE you ever thought about using vipers’ broth or snail milk water to cure a cold? Or how about a cure for the bite of a mad dog? No, these aren’t fictional recipes from a witches’ handbook but real-life concoctions widely used in the early 18th

  • GOLF: Pepperell not distracted by Race to Dubai chance

    EDDIE Pepperell insists a place in the star-studded climax to the season in the Middle East is not his focus despite breaking into the all-important top 60. The Abingdon golfer’s tie for 12th place at the Scottish Open on Sunday lifted him into

  • GOLF: Calnan makes a big splash after title double

    TOM Calnan was too hot to handle as he won both Oxford City club championship titles and he celebrated by diving in the green-side lake. The 27-year-old shot 72 and 77 to finish a single stroke ahead of Mark Hall and regain the scratch competition

  • GOLF: Watkins destroys field to take ninth crown

    LAURA Watkins remains the lady to beat at Bicester after cruising to her ninth successive Bicester club championship. Rounds of 76 and 81 saw the one-handicapper finish 26 strokes clear of her nearest challenger. Vicky Shepherd finished second

  • GOLF: Wychwood boost charity

    THE Captain’s Day at Wychwood raised £3,500 for Richard Sale’s chosen charity. About 70 players turned out in the hot weather, with Adrian Underhill winning the men’s stableford on 44 points from Rick Yorston. Linda Baird’s 40 won the ladies

  • GOLF: Club results

    SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 2 Drayton Park 0 (0pts), Studley Wood 3 (4) (Drayton scores first): D Moreton & S Naylor lost to S Bulman & J Fathers 5 & 4, H Wilkinson & N Elmey lost to N Lawton & R King

  • Meadow’s future now set in stone

    A PLAQUE has been put up to mark special status that will protect Oxford’s Oxpens Meadow from development. The meadow, next to Oxford Ice Rink, has been designated a Field in Trust as part of celebrations to mark the 2012 London Olympics and last

  • Training call to stop ‘aggressive’ defence

    JUSTICE Secretary Chris Grayling is looking into specialist training for defence barristers in trials like Bullfinch after lobbying by Nicola Blackwood. A scheme trialling ways to ease the burden of giving evidence for vulnerable victims is to