Christmas is supposed to be the season of goodwill - and that has proved true in one Oxfordshire village. Residents of the flood-stricken Nuneham Courtenay were fearing that Christmas might have to be cancelled because some homes remain uninhabitable
A SEVERE weather warning was issued this evening for drivers in Oxfordshire. The Met Office said thick fog could reduce visibility to less than 50 metres in places overnight. Traffic was heavy around the county today and the M40 between junction nine
POLICE searching for missing woman Maria Pereira are liaising with the church where she was last seen. She was last seen on Sunday, December 3, at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Henley. Officers will be attending the church on Christmas Day to
Tuesday evening was our 'bring some nibbles and a bottle' night for Christmas. We did start to read a play honestly but with the festive mood no one's heart was in it. The beauty of our group is that there is a great social side to it. As I have said
AEA Technology 96 BMW 2863 Electrocomponents 295 Isoft Group 53.5 Oxford Biomedica 40 Oxford Instruments 252.75 Oxonica 149 Reed Elsevier 555.5 RM 191.25 RPS 271 Torex Retail 49.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
In a few weeks' time the closure of Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary will bring to an end more than 200 years of service to the community. But as staff and patients prepare to make the journey to Headington, where they will become part of an expanded John
A MOTHER who went on the school run while four times the drink-drive limit escaped jail after magistrates heard she was suffering from stress and depression. Joy Haukozi-Jones, of West End, Witney, appeared at Banbury Magistrates' Court yesterday after
FIREFIGHTERS from Bicester were called to the M40 last night after a car engine caught fire. The incident happened at about 8.36pm. No one was injured, but one lane of the motorway was closed while the crew dealt with the fire.
Immersing us in a world of intoxicating sensory pleasures, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer is an audacious, dreamlike work, which will either seduce you or leave you cold. Based on Patrick Suskind's seemingly unfilmable novel, Tom Tykwer's ravishing
The image of six soldiers raising the flag at The Battle Of Iwo Jima, fortuitously captured by photographer Joe Rosenthal, turned around the Pacific War for America, reigniting national pride at a time when public opinion was turning against the conflict
No-one can doubt Ben Stiller's comedy skills. From great turns in comedies as diverse as the high(ish) brow The Royal Tenenbaums to the more, well, gross comedy of Farrelly Brothers hits like There's Some- thing About Mary, there's no questioning that
It was a typical wintry Monday. Cold, wet, grey - the sort of weather that makes you pile on the layers and reminisce back to those long-gone balmy summer nights. So where better to recreate that feeling with a taste of Italy than at Don Giovanni's
Just when you thought it was safe to go out, we're here to blast you straight into next year with an all singing and dancing look at the fantastic shows, comedy and drama coming to Oxford in 2007 The panto season may be in full swing all but over, but
Party-goers heading to the Zodiac this New Year's Eve can be forgiven if they find themselves doing a double-take. For up there on the stage, where you might reasonably expect to find a band or DJ, will be the unlikely spectacle of a garden shed - complete
A mother who went on the school run while four times the drink-drive limit escaped jail after magistrates heard she was suffering from stress and depression. Joy Haukozi-Jones, of West End, Witney, appeared at Banbury Magistrates' Court yesterday after
An Oxford University student who allegedly attacked a wealthy businessman with a bottle has been arrested and was due to appear in a US court yesterday. John Washington, an American who is studying for a postgraduate degree at St Cross College, was
An Oxford Mail investigation has found traces of cocaine in public toilets in the city centre - prompting police to say they will increase patrols to catch drug users. We discovered the illegal drug in city council-run toilets in Castle Street, next
Gloves, scarves and winter coats are flying off shop shelves and gritters have started salting major roads as the Christmas cold snap goes on. Shoppers are reacting to the sudden drop in temperatures following one of the mildest starts to winter on
Police have blamed a near doubling of burglaries in an area of Oxford on a "small group of indiv iduals". In south east Oxford, which includes the Rose Hill, Littlemore and Iffley areas, the number of reported burglaries went from 71 in the period April
Police have stepped up a campaign against dangerous drivers after they were alerted by the Oxford Mail to footage of road races posted on the Internet. Police have now put on extra high-visibility patrols in the Launton Road area of Bicester. The
A father is angry his children's Christmas has been ruined by a charity Santa stripping off his costume in front of them. Gavin Harsham, of Lancut Road, is fuming that his son Kayne, four, and daughter Kahrina, two, had their dreams shattered when they
So First Great Western is to look again at the timetable changes, which are causing such chaos. The question is - why did we get to this farcical situation in the first place? It was obvious to rush-hour travellers, as soon as the cuts and alterations
Your report on the wages of the county council's top management team (Oxford Mail, November 29) didn't tell us much. Is £160,000 too much for a chief executive, or £100,000-plus exorbitant for directors of services? These pre-tax figures are the rewards
As a regular reader of the Oxford Mail, I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year - but especially Peter Unsworth for giving us Cabbages and Kings. For me, this has humour and pathos in spades. Many like me will always go first to
Singer Amy Dow, from Cholsey, is now a 'platinum girl'. With other members of her classic/pop crossover group Angelis she received a platinum disc on GMTV on Wednesday morning to mark 350,000 copies of the sale of the album called Angelis. And the
Police have praised taxi drivers in Oxford after stopping and checking cabs in the city. Of 76 vehicles examined, only one had to be taken off the road, and 11 were served notices for minor violations such as substandard tyres or headlights. Officers
Eleven months ago many members of the Blackbird Leys Choir did not know they could sing a note - let alone dream they could perform for the Queen. But the choir has rounded off a remarkable year's journey: from the early auditions at the Blackbird Leys
New Year revellers need to plan ahead if they want to avoid being stranded in Oxford after a decision was made not to run night bus services. Police and Nightsafe have warned party-goers to plan a way to get home or book a taxi beforehand when welcoming
A private detective has described the part he played in a six-year police investigation into a former teacher and paedophile. Phil Lewis spent months searching for former pupils from Oxfordshire who had come into contact with the former Olympic gymnastics
The death toll on Oxfordshire roads continues to grow after two more people died yesterday in difficult driving conditions. So far this year, 67 people have died in the county, the highest toll in 16 years. Eight people have died in the past five
Ask someone to name the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Christmas and 'presents' is likely to be the top answer. Each year the nation goes mad in search of the latest gadget or toy that no good Christmas could be the same without,
Oxfordshire commuters are up in arms about cuts in fast rush-hour trains to London. Charlotte Bailey braved the crush to hear their views yesterday. Arriving at a foggy Oxford station at 6.50am, I made my way to platform one, only to find the 7.05am
Oxford United players showed team spirit when they visited youngsters at the John Radcliffe Hospital yesterday - and announced the Children's Hospital Campaign will be their key charity to support in 2007. There were smiles all round as the children
THERE were more flashing cameras than you'd find at a West End first night; more cheering than on a banana republic's presidential parade. I was party to both excesses. It was the Nativity play at my three-year-old grandson's nursery; he'd been chosen
Carterton chairman Nick Truman has resigned after 12 years at the Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division club, because of a lack of support. Truman said it was after consulting his family and friends that he decided to call it a day. "Over
POLICE today appealed for witnesses to a crash on a notorious stretch of the A415 near Witney in which a van driver died. The death added to the rising toll on Oxfordshire roads. So far this year, 67 people have died in the county, the highest toll
VOLKSWAGEN has unveiled its compact 4x4, the Tiguan, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and has announced that the first examples of the compact sports utility vehicle will be delivered to customers by the end of next year. The car is expected to go on sale
DREAMING of a white Christmas? Well forget it, because weather experts say it is extremely unlikely that even the smallest flurry of snow will be seen in Oxfordshire on Monday. Richard Wild, a director of the Oxford-based Tornado and Storm Research
A SHED, some old chip fat and some mechanical know-how are all helping one man to stay on the road. Paul Shotton, a father-of-one from Upper Heyford, has halved his car's fuel bill after building a small biodiesel plant in his garden. The 28-year-old
Sir - Oxford has slid into Christmas as usual, with less controversy than has been reported from some other towns. The majority of people are only nominally Christian, or not so at all, yet they seem to have no argument with the name normally used in
Sir - Because of the city council's policy of 'offloading' sports facilities to private management, it seems that access to the Alexandra tennis courts in Summertown will be denied not only to Norham Gardens tennis club (Report, December 1), but, more
Sir - The correspondence kicked-off by Jeremy Clarkson's article (Report, December 1) is really about causation, that is, the identification of the link between road layouts, speed restrictions etc on the one hand and, on the other, a sufficiently wide
Sir - As I see it, the two principal arguments against continuing with buses in Oxford are the pollution they bring right into the centre and the fact that they conflict with safe cycling. The latter is largely because of their incessant need to pull
Sir - Despite a wealth of recent rainfall our water-supply crisis continues, and the problem can only worsen with the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes over the next 20 years across the whole of the South East, from north Oxfordshire
Sir - It's not only the commuters of Oxford and Didcot who have been seriously adversely affected by the new First Great Western timetable (Report, December 15). Some passengers from local stations between Oxford and Banbury have been placed in a position
Sir - Your article Rail commuters to step up campaign over London train (Report, December 15) does not do full justice to the extent of First Great Western's disastrous new timetable, introduced on December 10. Before this change, there were three early
OXFORD United players showed team spirit when they visited youngsters at the John Radcliffe Hospital yesterday - and announced the Children's Hospital Campaign will be their key charity to support in 2007. There were smiles all round as the children
DARREN Patterson spoke last night of his "great disappointment" after failing to land the Brentford manager's job. The Oxford United youth team coach and former Northern Ireland international was offered the post at the League One club earlier in the
CHINNOR will be hoping for better luck on the motorways when they travel to Hertford in National 3 South tomorrow. Last week an accident on the M4 stopped their coach reaching Bridgwater & Albion, so they could do without a repeat performance on the
Banbury United are set to give a debut to Wycombe keeper Dean Thornton when they host Wealdstone in tomorrow's British Gas Business Southern League Premier Division. Thornton, 19, the Chairboys' third choice, has been signed from the Nationwide League
Witney United are set to give a debut to Mark Simms when they host Abingdon Town in the Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division tomorrow. Simms, who has signed from Abingdon United, is set to link up with midfielder Nando Perna, who has returned
OXFORD have been upgraded on the BAGS (Bookmakers Afternoon Greyhound Service). As from February 6, they will stage the main BAGS programme in the country which goes out live to bookmakers worldwide on Wednesday instead of the usual Tuesday slot.
WIN, lose or draw - it'll be a bumper Boxing Day for Oxford United. The team will be playing Woking at home and ticket sales have already broken the Nationwide Conference attendance record of 9,432. Last night, club secretary Mick Brown said there
A 41-YEAR-OLD man who bigamously married one woman and deceived two more while pretending he was a CIA agent has been jailed for five years at Oxford Crown Court. American-born William Jordan, 41, from Edinburgh, who has at least ten children - three
HEADINGTON A go into the holiday break 29 points clear of Didcot Power Station A at the top of Divison 1 in the Wallingford Three Disciplines League. Their 137-135 win over North Abingdon was down to Graham and Vicky Ashdown, who were in devastating
Ardley United have suffered a big blow after strikers Chris Hill and Ryan Wiffen were ruled out until the end of January. Hill, the Premier Division's top hot-shot, will be sidelined for at least a month after breaking three toes during last weekend's
Sites for new housing in Didcot will come as a surprise - more possibly a shock - to many. While the last major debate about new housing in the town was played out between the West and the North, it seems that district planners are now proposing that
New Year's Eve will be one of the biggest party nights of the year in Oxford - and there will be no buses running. It is extraordinary that neither of Oxford's major two companies will have late buses running on one of the busiest nights of the year
Sir - In your December 8 edition, Christopher Gray gives three unrelentingly enthusiastic reviews, for a restaurant, a comedian and an author. Please pass on my best wishes for his speedy recovery and return to form. Julian Le Vay, Oxford
Sir - Unsightly fly posters are the least of Oxford's worries. These can be easily removed. The same cannot be said for the proposed Westgate shopping centre exterior, which has to be the ugliest, most self-indulgent, misguided and uninspiring piece
Sir - By using land within the ring road more effectively there would be much less pressure to build on Oxford's Green Belt. Instead of encouraging, our local planners obstruct the efficient use of land. I could cite dozens of examples but I give just
Sir - It has always been my belief that if a law is being broken with police knowledge, then appropriate action would be taken. However, whereas prior to the hunting ban, police officers were frequently and very noticeably present - for instance, 24
Sir - I have done a small survey among local householders who have decided to have a water meter fitted. The biggest problem they have experienced is (surprise, surprise) leaks. I have recommended to everyone who has had a water meter fitted (or is
Sir - Those of us living in flats have to wait till next year to know how our rubbish will be collected. So we are very interested in observing our local area to see how they are coping with the New Order. It seems obvious that properties without front
Sir - Actually I rather like our new wheelie bin - it is certainly easier to put out in the road than our old dustbins. It also prevents foxes and other animals from attacking the rubbish and spreading it around. However, I can certainly understand
Sir - There has been a great deal of debate over waste disposal in recent months. Our motto needs to be: reduce, re-use, recycle. Here are three easy steps which any household could take to reduce dustbin waste. 1: Avoid shopping at supermarkets where
Sir - I was interested to read your editorial comment on the A34 (December 15). The A34 is the Government's responsibility. The county council has won some money to help with access to Oxford and this will include the A34 interchanges to the city.
Sir - I was astounded to read (Report, December 15) that Oxford commuters have any objection to standing on the train to London. Back in the 1960s, a friend of mine who had moved to Rochester waited on the platform on his first Monday for the next London
Sir - Robert Sephton's arguments against trams (Letters, December 8) are highly misleading. Where a tram stop has no platforms, other traffic must not pass between the tram and the kerb (Highway Code 238). Tram rails can catch bicycle wheels, but only
PEOPLE celebrating New Year's Eve in Oxford have been warned to plan ahead if they want to avoid being stranded in the city after a decision was made not to run any night bus services. Police have warned party-goers to plan a way to get home or book
TRAIN company First Great Western will start reviewing in the next few days the controversial train cuts that have caused rush-hour misery for Oxfordshire's commuters. Specialist timetable planners will work extra hours over the Christmas holiday to
IT was D-Day' for Chevrolet at this month's Bologna Motor Show as the company took the wraps off its first diesel-engined car for the UK. Set to go on sale in the first half of 2007 and distinguished by a new, chrome-finished radiator grille, the new
COMPACT, economical, low emissions - just the sort of car that the Government and the tax-grabbing bureaucrats running Richmond council should be bending over backwards to encourage us to drive. Not a bit of it. Despite its apparently green credentials
ONE of Abingdon's most famous buildings, the Old Gaol, will be put on the market for development bids early in the new year. But it is expected to take at least a year before work starts on what the Vale of White Horse District Council hopes will be
SHOPPERS getting stuck in the Christmas rush have at least one festive gift to be grateful for - some car parking charges have been lowered. Managers at Templars Square, in Cowley, have reduced all parking to 50p regardless of the length of stay.
