Archive

  • Today's local closing share prices

    AEA Technology 108.5 BMW 2595 Electrocomponents 240.25 Isoft Group 53.75 Oxford Bio 27.75 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 533.25 RM 181 RPS 204.25 Torex Retail 78 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Today's local closing share prices

    AEA Technology 108.5 BMW 2595 Electrocomponents 240.25 Isoft Group 53.75 Oxford Bio 27.75 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 533.25 RM 181 RPS 204.25 Torex Retail 78 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • CRICKET: Williams leads Oxon home

    ROB Williams and Charlie Knightley led Oxfordshire to an impressive five-wicket victory over Cambridgeshire at Challow on Sunday, writes Ed Mezzetti. But ironically their win ensured Wiltshire qualified for the semi-finals by virtue of a superior net

  • HORSE RACING: Kennedy's delight

    VODAFONE Derby-winning stable groom John Kennedy, who hails from Didcot, has told of how Sir Percy fulfilled his dream by landing the Epsom Classic. Speaking after parading Sir Percy at Tuesday's media open day at trainer Marcus Tregoning's Kingwood

  • TENNIS: North defeated

    NORTH Oxford's hopes of winning the Mixed Division 1 3-Pair title suffered a big setback when they lost 6.5-2.5 to Bicester in their opening OLTA Wilson Inter-Club League match of the season. Recognised as arguably the strongest club in the county,

  • ROWING: Ejsmond-Frey is new president

    ROBIN Ejsmond-Frey has been elected as the new Oxford University president, writes Mike Rosewell. Ejsmond-Frey, 20, learnt his rowing at St Paul's School, London, achieving a GB Junior vest, before coming to Oriel and rowing in the 2005 Isis crew and

  • CRICKET: Buckingham knock in vain

    AN excellent knock of 83 off 91 balls from Andy Buckingham was not enough to give Kidlington victory in a tense finish against Burnham in Division 2 West at Stratfield Brake on Saturday. After winning the toss, Burnham elected to bat in ideal conditions

  • CRICKET: Bicester outclassed

    BICESTER & North Oxford were always second best to North Maidenhead on Saturday, but did enough to earn a comfortable draw and pick up seven points in Division 2 West. Winning the toss and electing to field first, Bicester started brightly and reduced

  • CRICKET: Thame up to second

    THAME Town stormed up to second place in Division 2 West after Saturday's comfortable five-wicket win over Basingstoke & North Hants at sundrenched May's Bounty. Electing to field first, Luke Merry struck an early blow, while Thame's overseas pro, Haresh

  • CRICKET: Banbury hang on

    BANBURY were left hanging on for a draw in their Division 1 match against Finchampstead on Saturday. Things started so well for the visitors when they reduced their opponents to 0-1 inside the first over, but a 194-run second-wicket partnership between

  • CRICKET: Henley claim spoils

    HENLEY came out on top in Saturday's big derby to put themselves second in the Division 1 table and leave Oxford rooted to the bottom. After losing the toss, Oxford were reduced to 63-4 by the 16th over. A stand of 59 in ten overs between Stewart

  • Review: Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse

    Oh no!Not only is thisTwelfth Night delivered in Russian, at the beginning the whole company marches on stage dressed in identical black trousers, black braces and white shirts. Furthermore, this is an all-male production, so it looks as if we might

  • Realising a dream

    A BLOXHAM soldier, who is battling to beat cancer, is being helped to live out his dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Sean Cain plans to join an expedition to Africa's highest mountain with the help of his Commando colleagues and a Banbury nightclub

  • £13.1m benefits blunder

    ADMINISTRATIVE blunders have led to 16,000 Oxfordshire families being overpaid £13.1m in tax credits. Hard-pressed families across the county were overpaid by an average of £825 each in 2004/. Many may have to repay the money. The figures, compiled

  • Facelift for town's daycentre

    A DAYCENTRE for adults with learning disabilities is to be officially re-opened on Wednesday. The Redlands Centre, in Neithrop Avenue, Banbury, which is run by Oxfordshire County Council, has been given a £379,000 facelift. The newly-refurbished building

  • Plea from protest chairman

    A PROTEST rally over looming health cuts at Banbury's Horton Hospital will be held in People's Park on Sunday, June 18, at 3pm. The meeting is being organised by the Keep the Horton General action group. Chairman George Parish said: "It is important

  • Anger at Horton comment

    A GOVERNMENT minister has caused outrage by saying cutbacks at Banbury's Horton Hospital will not reduce health services in the area and that local people will have to "get used" to travelling for an hour to get treatment in Oxford. The statement came

  • Blow or blessing?

    THE Horton Maternity Hospital is already known for its holistic approach to labour. Its midwives are trained in massage during labour, and women are encouraged to use the delivery suites in a way to suit them. Despite this, many still go to Chipping Norton

  • Cutting back on agency staff may avoid NHS redundancies

    WORK to slash agency staff at Oxfordshire's major hospitals could avoid any nurses being made redundant as part of £33m cost-saving measures. Since July last year, senior nursing directors overseeing The Horton, Banbury, as well as Oxford's John Radcliffe

  • Clarkson in war of words

    MOTORMOUTH car lover Jeremy Clarkson and environmentalist Sir Jonathon Porritt are embroiled in a bitter war of words over the future of the planet. In a scathing attack Sir Jonathon has labelled the Top Gear presenter, who lives in Chipping Norton,

  • Deluge eases drought

    HEAVY downpours and showers, which made last month the wettest for 23 years, have made it less likely that there will be tougher curbs on the use of water. Thames Water is continuing to review the need for a drought order but has admitted May's record

  • Rope at the ready

    PEOPLE with pulling power are being sought by Banbury Cherwell Rotary Club. Men and women with muscles are required for tug-of-war teams at the club's annual family fun day and beer festival in August. For the third consecutive year, the event will

  • No World Cup boost from me, says dejected Button

    JENSON Button hopes to do his bit in an "awesome" weekend for British sport, but admits England are unlikely to get much of a World Cup boost from him at Silverstone. Button's quest for a maiden win in this weekend's British Grand Prix will take a back

  • Crash hits victory hope

    BANBURY'S Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg finished the Acropolis Rally of Greece with a flourish by winning every gravel stage of the final leg. But even Solberg's best efforts weren't enough to make up for the time lost through no fault

  • The Insider

    Liberal Democrat city councillor Sajjad Malik has vowed to stick a metaphorical two fingers up to the politically-correct brigade at Oxford Town Hall by flying a flag of St George from his taxi. Pakistan-born Mr Malik was incandescent with rage after

  • Lesson to us all after this evil act

    The people who left a bag of unwanted clothing outside the Sobell House Hospice shop no doubt did so with the charity's best interests at heart. In fact, they have unwittingly contributed to a crime which may have lost it thousands in income. Vandals

  • No longer green

    I refer to your front front page about the racist attack in a busy Oxford street on Rattandeep Singh Ahluwalia (Oxford Mail, May 31). I have been mugged twice in Oxford, the first time at a cost of more than £400 it never made the front page. It's

  • Drug solutions

    Bob Vincent, Restore the drug clinics (Oxford Mail, June 2) might be interested to know that, after a number of trial runs, the Government in Germany is giving free heroin to long-term addicts. It has found that the crime rate has been significantly

  • Give up your free parking

    I almost agree with the Tory County Council (Oxford Mail, June 3). Of course, we want to discourage people from driving in and out of Oxford during the rush hours. The polluting, time-wasting rush hour jams make no sense. So the £4 an hour morning rush-hour

  • Rent overpaid for 10 years

    A pensioner living in sheltered accommodation run by Oxford City Council was overcharged rent by the authority for 10 years. And it has emerged the council could have to pay £75,000 after it told the Oxford Mail 15 tenants living in other sheltered

  • The RED LION, YARNTON

    An old friend who has recently become a narrowboat dweller telephoned to say that she and her partner were heading towards the area along the Oxford Canal. Could we get together? Charlotte guessed she and Tony would be tying up near Thrupp. Perhaps we

  • Such Good Things and a Restaurant too

    Gill Draycott calls herself a cook, but those who know her and have tasted her food insist she's a chef. After all, the difference between a chef and a cook is not simply a matter of one being a professional and the other not though that's what most

  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Oxford Playhouse

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is associated in most people's minds with Milos Forman's film adaptation of 1975. Among its seven Oscars was one for Jack Nicholson and his bravura performance as a rebellious inmate fighting the oppressive regime in a

  • Macbeth: Creation Theatre Company

    Although it's not often found in the outdoor Shakespeare repertoire, Macbeth is of course ideally suited to darkening skies and threatening clouds. For their first production of the summer season the Creation Theatre Company have taken full advantage

  • Tonight's The Night: New Theatre

    I reviewed Ben Elton's Rod Stewart tribute musical Tonight's The Night when it opened in London three years ago and castigated some of my fellow critics for their po-faced attitude to the show. One called it "eye-poppingly, knee-huggingly, mind-bogglingly

  • Deborah Colker: Wycombe Swan

    Deborah Colker's Knot is a full evening work that falls into two distinct halves, but with one constant theme desire. Her Brazilian company gave a thrilling performance of the piece, created last year, which is by turn shocking, exciting and at times

  • La Traviata: Milton Keynes Theatre

    There are probably a dozen danced versions of Alexandre Dumas' novel La Dame aux Camelias, the most distinguished being Frederick Ashton's compact one-acter Marguerite et Armand, made for, and for many years danced exclusively by, Fonteyn and Nureyev.

  • The Sixteen: Sheldonian Theatre

    The Sixteen's concert on Friday was exactly mid-way through their Choral Pilgrimage tour, which began in Cambridge at the beginning of March and continues until November, winding up at Wells Cathedral. Their mission this year is to give a platform to

  • Twelfth Night: Oxford Playhouse

    Oh no! Not only is this Twelfth Night delivered in Russian, at the beginning the whole company marches on to the stage dressed in identical sets of black trousers, black braces, and white shirts. Furthermore, this is an all-male production, so it looks

  • Thais: Grange Park Opera

    With its heart-searching tune, the Mditation from Massenet's opera Thas was always a firm favourite at Reginald Dixon's Sunday afternoon organ recitals at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Little did I know at the time how appropriate the piece was for a

  • See the Tate Modern in a new light

    You may think you know the Tate Modern, which after opening in 2000 on London's Bankside rapidly became one of the world's most popular galleries, but it's time to think again. For Tate Modern had just undergone a major rehang, the first since its move

  • The fruits of my (!) labours

    I have grown used to flying back from Greece three or four times a year with half a dozen litres of gin clanking in my hand luggage. This is absurd, I know no, not the fact of my bringing it (entirely understandable since it costs about a third of the

  • Webber fears Silverstone struggle

    Australian Mark Webber will treat this weekend's British Grand Prix as a second home race, but he expects the Grove-based Williams team to find the going tough at Silverstone. Webber was the star of the show in Monaco two weeks ago, running third until

  • Today's local share prices

    AEA Technology 107 BMW 2613 Electrocomponents 235 Isoft Group 60.75 Oxford Bio 28 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 534.75 RM 181 RPS 201.25 Torex Retail 79 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Today's local share prices

    AEA Technology 107 BMW 2613 Electrocomponents 235 Isoft Group 60.75 Oxford Bio 28 Oxford Instruments 204 Reed Elsevier 534.75 RM 181 RPS 201.25 Torex Retail 79 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Bodleian Library nets a winner

    What's the connection between the World Cup and the Bodleian Library? The august Oxford University institution is involving itself in questions more usually discussed in the pub, after being given the manuscript of the Rules of Association Football 1863

  • Lunch break linguists

    Languages have never been the greatest strength of British people in general. The reasons are partly historical, with the days of the Empire ensuring that everyone from India to Australia should speak the Queen's (or King's) English, rather than adapt

  • Business is bubbling

    There is something just a little decadent about sitting in a hot tub, sipping Champagne and contemplating the good life. Many people enjoy this pleasure perhaps without the drink at the gym, but usually time is limited, and you have to share with others

  • Firm intentions – by design

    Sheer hard work and some inspiration have allowed Saeed Khan and Calvin Weaver to be in a position where they have set up their own firm of architects. Mr Kahn, from Oxford, and Mr Weaver, from Swindon, met at Oxford Brookes University but their story

  • SPEEDWAY: Ace Todd can't save Cheetahs

    Todd Wiltshire beat Poole spearhead Bjarne Pedersen three times last night, but still ended up on the wrong side of a 15-point defeat. The Oxford rider was in superlative form in Dorset, but even his 15-point haul, which included a tactical rider triumph

  • Joining the British

    They take arts and crafts seriously in France, and when master joiner Bruno Boulay arrived in Wantage nine years ago from his home town of Linas-Montlhry, near Paris, he was amazed at what he found. "In France we don't have builders. We have people who

  • BOWLS: Sparkes fires up Oxon challenge

    Captain Baden Sparkes led by example as Oxfordshire made a winning start to their EBA Middleton Cup campaign with a 120-113 victory over Isle of Wight at Shanklin. Sparkes' Carterton four of Andy Wise, Stuart Richens and Robert Clanfield gained a thumping

  • BOWLS: Gleeson leads way as City get off mark

    Oxford City & County bounced back from their disastrous start in Division 1 of the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries Garden Centre, with a 5-1 win over Carterton. Beaten in their opening two games, City & County finally got off

  • CRICKET: Hero Heritage in birthday joy

    BIRTHDAY boy David Heritage celebrated in style with a match-winning spell as Horspath upset Aston Rowant by 85 runs in the Oxfordshire semi-finals. oThe medium-pacer, 31 on Sunday, took 5-30 to rip the heart out of the Rowant batting in front of his

  • CRICKET: Hole knock sees Oxford march on

    Opener Simon Hole steered Oxford to a six-wicket win at Radlett in the second round. Chasing the Hertfordshire side's 204 all out, Hole hit an unbeaten 73 to take Oxford to 205-4 with four overs to spare. He was supported by Shami Mendis with 69.

  • CRICKET: Twenty20 challenge

    Town and Gown clash tomorrow night for a high-octane Twenty20 encounter in The Parks that organisers hope will pull in the punters. The third annual match between Oxford UCCE and Oxfordshire gets under way at 5.30 with the county bidding to make amends

  • CRICKET: Morteza magic boosts Cumnor

    Opener Ali Morteza smashed 70 off 36 balls to set Cumnor on the way to a crushing 89-run win over Witney Mills in the second round. Morteza's whirlwind knock set Cumnor on the way to 208-4 off their 20 overs, with good support from Matt Neilson (40no

  • BOXING: Berinsfield bag vital new funds

    Berinsfield ABC are celebrating a second cash injection from the Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF) that will provide vital equipment. The £3,500 grant will equip the gym with new punch bags, sparring gloves and other accessories to benefit the

  • BOXING: Townsend family double

    The Townsend brothers, Bradley and Clinton, both made winning starts to their ring careers at Banbury. And the Leafield-based duo, who compete for Wolvercote, could herald the start of a family dynasty at the North Oxford club. Clinton, 13, imposed

  • FOOTBALL: Stowell is Milton coach

    Matt Stowell has agreed terms to become Milton United's player/coach. The 28-year-old midfielder, who has played league football in both England and Italy, joined the club in January. Milton boss Gary Ackling said: "Matt is the ideal person to take

  • FOOTBALL: Ian's joy at five in a row

    Didcot Town's record-breaking striker Ian Concannon was presented with the Hellenic League Premier Division's leading goalscorer award for the fifth successive year. Concannon, who scored 44 goals last season, taking his tally to 259 in five years at

  • Staff training escapes cuts

    Staff training programmes at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital have escaped cuts, despite a multi-million pound funding deficit, it emerged yesterday. The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust is facing a £33m deficit, and announced last month that 600

  • Queue of misery

    The tax credit row which has seen Oxfordshire families overpaid £13.1m reached Westminster yesterday with Tory leader David Cameron saying his Witney surgeries are full of people who have been told to repay the money. Speaking during Prime Minister's

  • We're gutted

    One of Oxfordshire's best-known hospices, which cares for hundreds of dying people a year, could lose up to £60,000 after arsonists torched a Witney charity shop. The Sobell House hospice store, which raises money for palliative care at Sobell House

  • Hero calls it a day

    A policeman who twice was almost killed while on duty in Oxfordshire has retired after 30 years. Pc Gerry Reed, 48, of the Oxford city centre policing unit, retired last month. Pc Reed said his first near-death experience happened when he was dealing

  • Shop raid nets stolen goods

    Designer perfumes, bottles of champagne and electrical equipment were among items seized by police yesterday when they raided a store as part of an investigation into the sale of stolen goods. A 25-year-old man was arrested following the raid, in which

  • College votes to admit men

    Oxford University's last remaining all-female college has finally bowed to financial pressures after governors voted yesterday to admit male students and academics. St Hilda's College, in Cowley Place, founded in 1893, will make the change within two

  • Happy 100th

    New research shows that enjoying a few treats like chocolate and wine can lead to a longer life and two sherry and fish and chips-loving centenarians from Oxford are living proof. Gladys Forster turns 100 today and Olive Rawle will celebrate her birthday

  • Cameron attacks BBC show

    Tory leader and Witney MP David Cameron has accused Radio 1 of encouraging knife and gun crime. Mr Cameron singled out the station's Saturday night schedules which feature DJ Tim Westwood's hip-hop show. "I would say to Radio 1, do you realise that

  • Mother's pride

    Oxfordshire author Sheila Kitzinger says her daughter's High Court fight to have her gay marriage legally recognised in England is a question of justice. University professors Celia Kitzinger, 49, from Oxfordshire, and her partner, Sue Wilkinson, got

  • 'Flats are now a slum'

    A block of council flats on an Oxford estate has been described as a "slum" after it has stood spray painted and vandalised for three months. Communal areas at Pickett Avenue flats in Wood Farm have become a magnet for antisocial behaviour. But Oxford

  • GOLF: Results round-up

    CHIPPING NORTON Senior Ladies' Stableford: 1 J Porter 31pts, 2 J Jones 30 (cb), 3 J Wells 30 (cb). Ladies Monthly Stableford: 1 S Odell 40pts, 2 C Johnson 38pts (cb), 3 M Bradburn 38pts (cb). OXFORD CITY FH Taylor Bowl: 1 M Bidmead & B Cerra nett

  • Three held in road checks

    Eight cars were seized and three people were arrested during a police operation during which scores of vehicles were stopped in Oxford. Community beat officers and Police Community Support Officers from Headington teamed up with Automatic Number Plate

  • GOLF: Summers chip shot seals it

    OXFORD City and The Wychwood reached round two of the Shaw & Co Oxfordshire Foursomes League Knock-out Trophy. City had to work hard for a 2-1 victory at Chipping Norton, but Buckingham gave The Wychwood a walkover. Match two sealed it for City. Visiting

  • 'Give me a decision'

    A popular pick-your-own fruit and vegetable business could close because it has not been given planning permission for a new farm shop. Richard Stanley, of Rectory Farm, Stanton St John, has been waiting 14 months for a decision after the old shop was

  • Evening class fees to soar

    Fees for leisure courses at Abingdon and Witney College are set to soar following a cut in subsidies. One class fee has almost doubled, prompting its tutor to predict that there will be no leisure courses for adults in two years' time. But the college

  • GOLF: O'Connor cruises to county crown

    KATHERINE O'Connor kept up her fine early season form by retaining the Oxfordshire Girls Championships at Hadden Hill. The three-handicap Welsh international and Frilford Heath member shot a 78 in difficult conditions to win the title by 13 shots.

  • BMW 'is on the wrong path'

    People campaigning to keep a historic bridleway open will meet tonight (Thursday) to discuss their strategy. Ramblers, horse riders, cyclists and BMW workers who use a bridleway which runs through the Cowley BMW plant are urged to attend a meeting at

  • GOLF: Seven bid for Solheim glory

    THE Oxfordshire will do battle with six rivals to host the Solheim Cup in 2011 and two of them are from the UK. Courses from Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as Italy, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Spain have all tendered bids, it was announced

  • Homes bid with a twist

    Another 1,500 new homes could be built in Didcot on top of more than 7,000 already planned or proposed. In return, the town could expect millions of pounds from the Government for infrastructure improvements, including roads and sports facilities.

  • Class act is 50 today

    Larkmead School in Abingdon is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its official opening. Although formally opened by Sir John Cockcroft on June 8, 1956, Larkmead saw its first pupils a year earlier, when 122 children moved from the old secondary school