Banbury United aim to appoint a new manager later this week, according to their interim chairman Paul Jones. It follows the resignation of Kieran Sullivan who quit following their 5-0 home thrashing by Chippenham to leave the Puritans one place
‘TO LET’ signs are set to go up outside the Oxford Mail Centre as the Royal Mail prepares to wind down operations in Cowley and move to Swindon. More than 450 staff are employed at the 83,912 sq ft depot in Garsington Road, which is expected to close
DRIVERS are being asked to take care after changes on the A34 as part of the £44m scheme to rebuild Wolvercote Viaduct. Yesterday, traffic heading south on the busy road was diverted on to a new temporary bridge, while tonight drivers going
HUNDREDS of people made clear their opposition to a planned waste incinerator in Sutton Courtenay by forming a human ‘NO’ at Wittenham Clumps, above. The protest marked the start of a three-week public consultation on Oxfordshire County Council’s plans
COMMUNITY safety – with a big dash of fun – will be the order of the day at the first Blackbird Leys Action Day. Organised by Oxford City Council on behalf of the Leys Neighbourhood Action Group, the Action Day has been funded by Oxford Safer Communities
A MAN has been remanded in custody pending psychiatric reports after he hurled a rock at a passing lorry on the A34. Oxford Crown Court heard Timothy Wall, 26, hid behind the barrier of the dual carriageway at Botley, clutching rubble, before
THREE men have admitted hare coursing. Jason Bradford, 37, of Foster Street, Walsall, Tom Connors, 22, of Shirenewton Caravan Park, Cardiff, and Brian Powell, 44, of Brant Lees, Pontypool, pleaded guilty at Oxford Magistrates Court yesterday
Wallingford coach Chris Norrington felt his side were well-placed to defeat Olney at half-time. He said: “We felt if we could sort out our retention and get some quick ball, the chances would come. “We looked after their full back pretty well and knew
Witney climbed to fifth in the Southern Counties North table following an impressive 31-0 victory at Slough. They showed their intent when Matt Brocklebank, Brad Groeblar and Alan Richens shoved their opponents back in the opening scrum. Witney pressure
A superb defensive display saw Chinnor secure a shock 20-13 victory at home to second-placed Ealing in National 3 South. Ealing went into the match as the division’s top scorers, but Chinnor, buoyed by their win at Dings Crusaders, restricted them to
Oxford Harlequins had three players sin-binned in a 30-19 home defeat to Redingensians and returned to the bottom of the South West 1 table. Flanker Ed Davies, lock Cameron Gray and No 8 Anthony Jackson all saw yellow, as did visiting hooker Tom Clare
Wallingford 12, Olney 17 One bad error cost Wallingford dear as they were edged out in a tight South West 2 East clash. The hosts kicked the ball straight to Olney’s danger man Rhys Peakman on 60 minutes and watched him break a series of weak tackles
Rob Barker’s conversion earned Abingdon an unlikely 21-20 victory at Harwell in the BB&O Premier Division. Harwell looked in control when they led 20-8 with 20 minutes to go, but they could not hold on. The hosts led 13-8 at half time, thanks to a try
Oxford University coach Des Brackett says his team go into Tuesday night’s Varsity Match with Cambridge as underdogs. The Dark Blues have won the last three encounters, but only one of last year’s team remain for the nine-bout contest at Old Billingsgate
Oxfordshire let slip a commanding lead as they crashed to a 19-17 defeat against Cambridgeshire in the British Darts Organisation Inter-Counties Championship Premier Division. Oxon led 8-2 at one stage in the clash at March United Services Club, but
Dave Taylor grabbed a hat-trick of tries as Banbury Bulls crushed basement boys Huntingdon 53-0 in Midlands 3 East South. Centre Taylor opened the scoring and converted before flanker Chris Phillips crossed for 12-0. Taylor completed
A 38-year-old man who admitted shoplifting and using a false identity card has been jailed for a year. Oxford Crown Court heard Malik Labidi, of no fixed address, stole food from Waitrose in Wantage on February 21 and then lied to police about his name
Residents across Cherwell district are being encouraged to have a spring clean to boost recycling rates. People will be able to get rid of small electrical items such as kettles, televisions, hairdryers, computers and irons in special collections. Over
Section 1 side Cowley Workers Social Club sprang a surprise 5-4 home win over Premier team Shears in the Greene King Oxford & District Darts Association. The Workers had lost their last two games 7-2 and 8-1, and when Shears took the opening
VISITORS to an Oxford church which is offering a free meal to cash-strapped people have welcomed the offer. Half a dozen people turned up for the free food at the Temple Cowley United Reformed Church on Saturday. However, organisers – who are keen to
Sales of Minis continued to tumble in February. BMW sold 11,583 of the Cowley-built cars, 27.2 per cent fewer than in the same month last year. Year-to-date figures also show a 30.8 per cent drop compared to the first two months of 2008, at 21,702.
OXFORD is a cleaner place after a frantic weekend of litter picking in the city. Community groups, businesses and schools banded together to take part in the second OxClean spring clean to rid the city’s streets of rubbish. A total of
STUDENTS created a human vending machine to give away Fairtrade chocolate bars and other Fairtrade products in Oxford city centre. Eight members of the Oxford Students Fairtrade Coalition took part in the stunt in Cornmarket Street on Friday, as part
THE RSPCA has released an X-ray image of a second cat to be shot at with an air rifle in three months in Banbury. The pet was shot in the Cherwell Heights estate last month and is still recovering from its injuries. The pellet just missed the animal
A young author from Oxford has won a national competition for storytelling. Theo Ross, 10, from Walton Street, Jericho, impressed children’s author Stewart Ross with his tale about bullying at school. The Year Five New College School
TWO friends from Oxford who created a chilli and chocolate flavoured crisp are now battling it out for a £50,000 prize. Walkers Crisps’ Do Us A Flavour finalists Catherine Veitch and Sian Smith showed off their unusual recipe at Sainsbury’s
Abingdon captain Josh Tomlinson scored five times as his side ran out 7-5 winners in a 12-goal thriller in Division 1 against local rivals Bicester at Tilsley Park. Rhe hosts got off to the prefect start when Tomlinson pounced on Andy Ringsell's
Witney progressed to the semi-finals of the HA Vase on Sunday with a 4-3 victory over Addiscombe from Surrey. Ben Norton, Mike Godwijn and Tim Hardy put them 3-1 up but Addiscombe hauled themselves back to 3-3. Penalty flicks were looming when Witney
Oxon Under 14 boys finished off the season in fine style on Sunday, Joe Brownill scoring nine goals in two matches. They beat Sussex 4-2 and then crushed Berkshire 9-0 to finish second in their Southern Counties group, with Bucks top on goal difference
Rover Oxford slipped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Swansea in Slazenger England League Women’s West Conference. Swansea broke the deadlock early in the second half, scoring from one of their many penalty corners.. Oxford Hawks’ fading hopes
Police are appealing for witnessses after a pregnant horse was slashed in a sick attack. The mare called Peanuts was attacked in the village near Faringdon, sometime between 6pm on Thursday, and 8am on Friday. The attacker used a sharp
COMEDIAN and actor Bill Bailey will perform for a six-night run at Oxford’s New Theatre in the summer. Mr Bailey, who has starred in Black Books, Skins and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, will perform his new live show at the George Street theatre from Monday
A BUDDING author from Oxford has won a national competition for storytelling. Theo Ross, 10, from Walton Street, Jericho, impressed children’s author Stewart Ross with his tale about bullying at school. The Year Five New College School pupil had been
THE boys and girls will be back in town from tomorrow night for Oxford’s 58th annual Gang Show. The all-singing, all-dancing spectacular will be held at the New Theatre, in George Street, from Tuesday to Saturday this week. It rounds off with a matinee
AEA Technology 15 BMW 1847 Electrocomponents 123.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 102.5 Oxford Biomedica 6.7 Oxford Catalysts 57.5 Oxford Instruments 136 Reed Elsevier 481.5 RM 161 RPS Group 146.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
A fight between two groups of men in Barton, Oxford, left one man with a fractured elbow. At around 1am yesterday, two groups clashed in Bayswater Road, near the Green Road Roundabout. A 21-year-old man suffered a fractured elbow and
A 101-year-old was assaulted in his own home and robbed of £400 by a man who befriended him at a church service. The victim met his attacker at morning mass at Blackfriars Priory in St Giles, Oxford city centre, yesterday morning. The
POLICE have appealed for witnesses after a driver was injured by broken glass during an attempted robbery in Headington last night. Two men, aged 42 and 33, and a 29-year-old woman were sitting in a silver Mercedes in Northfield Road, near
JEAN Fooks (Oxford Mail, March 6) claims that the Liberal Democrats have always insisted that the option chosen for waste disposal should be the one least damaging to the environment. If only they had done! She has already acknowledged (Oxford Mail,
I WONDER if Britain’s Green Party members are now the only ones in step. While they continue to oppose the revival of nuclear power, the rest of the world moves on. The British government has, at last, accepted that we desperately need more nuclear
PATRICK Murray asks whether Labour can be trusted to build a gym at Barton Pool – something he failed to do in his time as a leading councillor. The answer is yes. And why have we agreed to this request from the people of Barton? The answer is that by
IT is great to see that, in this current recession, human kindness is still alive and well. It is a thoughtful gesture by the Temple Cowley United Reformed Church to open its doors and offer tasty hot soups and sandwiches for the public to enjoy. The
I WRITE regarding the letter in Saturday’s Oxford Mail, about giving up your seat for a lady. Last year I was on a bus coming home, when an elderly gentleman got on. He must have been in his 80s, yet despite there being several younger and more able
IT IS perfectly obvious that cars should be banned in Broad Street, except perhaps for early-morning Covered Market deliveries. Even my mother, a conservative 75-year-old and lifelong driver, branded vehicle access to the street “neanderthal”. Where
SIX years ago, Ann Freeman went through every parent’s nightmare when her five-year-old daughter Kelly-Ann suffered a convulsion and was rushed to hospital. Doctors at The Horton Hospital, in Banbury, found she had a blood clot on the brain, and surgery
These children were set to raise the roof. They had been preparing for weeks to put on a Scout and Guide Show to mark the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977. This picture was taken at the dress rehearsal, by which time every song should have been memorised
E n route to Cheltenham in 1996, my wife Cathy and I spotted a sign, ‘Pedigree British shorthair kittens for sale’ — irresistible! We found half a dozen or so tiny bundles in a pen, some already spoken for. Scarcely had we approached than a
The woodburning fire was a vision of dancing flames, and provided a welcome blast of heat, as we stepped from the cold and wet outdoors into the cosy confines of The Trout at Tadpole Bridge. This historic 17th-century pub is prettily situated beside
Cyril Arapoff (1898-1976), born Kyril Semeonovitch Arapov, was the son of a high-ranking Russian diplomat who was the country’s Consul in Florence until his death in 1909. Kyril and his mother fled Russia for England in 1919, feeling threatened because
If you know a man in wine sales at the moment, you know a man with a job on his hands. As consumers tighten their purse strings, wine sales are on the decline and high street wine merchants, along with restaurants, are reducing their range in a bid to
Fifty years ago today, the infamous Cutteslowe Walls, which divided rich and poor on a North Oxford housing estate, were knocked to the ground. The controversial walls divided Wentworth Road from Aldrich Road and Carlton Road from Wolsey Road
THERE was shimmying, shaking and stomping but no sound as around 30 revellers put on their dancing shoes for Oxford’s first silent disco. The off-beat event – part of the Dancin’ Oxford festival – saw music lovers turn up with their iPods and
THE final phase of Abingdon’s Integrated Transport Strategy (Abits) is under way in an attempt to get traffic moving around the town. The work, which started today, is expected to be finished in the summer. County councillor Ian Hudspeth
Lapis lazuli was a favourite gemstone of the ancient Egyptians. Intense dark blue in colour and lightly flecked with gold-coloured inclusions, the opaque gem was highly-prized by the pharaohs, as evident from the treasures found in their tombs and temples
OXFORDSHIRE Primary Care Trust will be giving out information about how to give up smoking this week. The national No Smoking Day events on Wednesday are being held at Templars Square Shopping Centre, Cowley, from 10am-2pm, Blackbird Leys Community Centre
It may only be March but one plant, the herbaceous peony, is already thrusting through the ground looking like red asparagus. It is one of the earliest perennials to appear because it flowers in May before almost any others. But peonies provide more
An arresting black-and-white photograph of a stuffed giraffe is not, perhaps, the starting point you would expect for an exhibition relating the history of Oxford Playhouse. The exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, called Roars to Applause, has been
Last month I promised to continue our investigation of reduplication (argy-bargy, helter-skelter, zig-zag, etc.), and the subject seems particularly appropriate as I write. A footballer called Kaka has been in the news for being offered £100m to
Forbidding, seven-foot-high walls, topped with iron spikes and barbed wire — not the boundary to a prison yard, as you might expect, but the so-called ‘snob’ walls erected in North Oxford to separate private residences from an adjoining council estate
On the weekend of March 20-22, the Oxford Folk Festival will celebrate its sixth year. The roster of artists at the Town Hall is headlined by the incredible Kate Rusby, rated by The Guardian ‘the most beautiful voice in England’. A multi-award-winning
Next time you need a new throw for the sofa or to jazz up your bedroom, instead of heading for the shops, you could try your hand at making one. Not only will you save money, but the satisfaction you’ll get from admiring your handiwork in years
N ovellist Simonetta Agnello Hornby was born into an aristocratic Sicilian family and brought up in Palermo. She might have continued to live a life of cosmopolitan comfort indefinitely had she not been sent to Cambridge to learn English.
A 15-YEAR-OLD has been described as a “credit to us all” by Carterton Lions Club after he went through to the finals of the Lions Young Ambassador of the 21st Century award. Matty Yallop, of Ashdeane, Shilton Park, Carterton, has been involved
A CONSERVATION park in Abingdon is set for a £40,000 four-year restoration project. Work will start in the spring to help preserve the Grade II listed Albert Park, which was landscaped in 1864 for the benefit of townspeople. The project
In September 1868, a small boy “was hauled ignominiously” onto the platform at Oxford Station. From there he was taken by hansom cab to St Edward’s School, then in New Inn Hall Street. This was to be the centre of his world for the next nine years.
In the Long Vacation of 1857, Edward Burne-Jones was much amused by the sight of his fellow Pre-Raphaelite artist, William Morris, dancing with rage and roaring with anger in the debating chamber of the Oxford Union. The visor of the basinet, or helmet
Otis Ferry, the son of rock star Bryan, was told today that charges of “witness nobbling” — which saw him locked up for four months — are likely be dropped. Ferry, 26, the son of the former Roxy Music singer, is due to stand trial on charges
Four teenagers and a man arrested after a girl was sexually assaulted and a shotgun was fired at a party have been released on bail. Police were called at 1am yesterday to Enstone Road, Gagingwell, near Chipping Norton, after reports that a 14-year-old
A woman from Chipping Norton was given a conditional discharge for illegally claiming housing and council tax benefits and income support. Sarah Smith, 33, of Coopers Close, pleaded guilty at Banbury Magistrates’ Court to fraudulently obtaining
Drivers were delayed by two accidents on the M40 in Oxfordshire this morning. The first, involving a van and two cars, took place near junction seven for Thame on the southbound carriageway shortly after 7am. The incident caused tailbacks to junction
Oxford United manager Chris Wilder criticised his players' decision-making as they twice let slip a winning position in Saturday's 3-3 draw at Forest Green Rovers. Although the point extended United's unbeaten away run to four games, it felt like a defeat
“THE walls were snobbery – plain and simple.” Vernon Brooke lived the ‘wrong side’ of the Cutteslowe Walls and, along with his old neighbours, today remembers when the partition was pulled down 50 years ago. The infamous wall divided
Former regulars of one Bicester pub have launched a campaign on the Internet site Facebook in a bid to get their local — affectionately known as The Office — reopened. The Swan, in Church Street, closed on January 25 after the landlord suddenly moved
Pubs in Oxfordshire are closing at a rate of one every 25 days, according to a new report. And the cull, which is showing no sign of slowing down, is affecting every Parliamentary constituency in the county. Between June 2005 and last month – just 45
