Karl Bushell will see how close he can get to a world record at the Oxfordshire Sports Awards at the Kassam Stadium on Friday night. The table tennis player, who is shortlisted for veteran sportsperson of the year, will give a demonstration
11.03: Paige And Bonnie 2, Snazzy Moon, Sunrise Buck, Smarinio Madame 3, WRONG ROAD, Memories Queen. 11.19: Leaseoflife 3, Bourbon Beauty, PRIMO LIKO, Portdrine Rocket 2, Herachio, Scatty Dazl. 11.34: Broadacres Spot, Bronco Gold, Tha One Show 3, Badger
7.35: 1 KINGSBROOK CIARA 6-4 fav, 2 Ballysally Mikie 8-1. (3x5x1). Trainer: A Kibble. Time: 27.39. 7.50: 1 ZIGZAG WORKABOUT 3-1 co-fav, 2 Dd Ht Springville Luc 3-1 co-fav & Nikitas Kewell 3-1 co-fav. (2x3x4), (2x4x3). Trainer: Colton. Gowna Star (6)
A RIFLEMAN killed in an explosion proposed to his girlfriend on the day he flew out to Afghanistan, his mother said today. Philip Allen, from 2nd Battalion The Rifles, called to ask his "soulmate", Karina Pharoah, to marry him at the end of
MORE than 10,000 dead fish, mostly perch, have been found at the intake to Farmoor Reservoir, near Oxford. They were found at the reservoir’s water intake on the River Thames. The discovery was reported to the Environment Agency today
CAMPAIGNERS opposing plans to extract sand and gravel west of Oxford protested outside County Hall tonight. Next week a public inquiry will be held into whether 1.55m tonnes of sand and gravel can be extracted from a 146-acre site at Stonehenge
A CORONER is calling for tougher controls on the sale of alcohol after an inquest on a father of two killed who rode his motorbike while over the drink-drive limit. Martin Cruickshank, 42, was two-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when he rode
Network Rail has earmarked Oxford train station for a £10m investment as part of a £3.25bn package of improvements to hundreds of stations across the country between now and 2014. Improvements include new passenger information systems, toilets and waiting
A PENSIONER fighting plans to knock down her bungalow to make way for new council homes, has vowed to stay in her home for Christmas. Widow Beryl Mitchell, who has lived in her former council house in Lambourn Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, for 42 years, had
A CONVOY of up to 40 vintage tractors draped in Union Flags will chug through the streets this weekend in aid of Help the Heroes. Drivers are planning to visit Bicester and eight villages to show their support for local servicemen and soldiers serving
POLICE raided two homes and arrested three people as part of a crackdown on illegal drug use in west Oxfordshire. Officers who forced their way into the homes in Carterton today uncovered stashes of what they believed were illegal class A and class B
SOLDIERS were given a standing ovation at a fashion show aimed at raising thousands for their charity. More than 400 people turned out for the event which saw dozens of models strut their stuff on the catwalk. Part-way through, 10 soldiers
LEVELS of toxic fumes linked to long-term lung damage have been found to exceed Government safety standards on a road in Abingdon. Nitrogen dioxide readings are 15 per cent above national standards in Marcham Road, and close to the limit in Ock Street
TWO men who handled stolen goods worth £170,000 amassed from an eight-month burglary spree are behind bars. Thomas Frank, 25, from Tilehurst, and Nicholas Shackleford, 20, from Whitley, in Reading, were found guilty of handling property from 22 break-ins
BMX riders tonight called for assurances a new skate facility will definitely be built in Blackbird Leys. Teenagers on the Oxford estate claim they are forced to travel to Abingdon and Thame to ride their bikes since their rundown skate park was bulldozed
ELDERLY residents face losing their home in the new year over an increas-ed rent demand. This week it emerged that Southmoor House Residential Home, near Abingdon, would close in February after a long-running row with its owners, St John’s College, over
TEN days earlier he had been in Afghanistan, hoping his luck would hold to see him reunited with his family. It did – and on Sunday the tall, young subaltern stood alongside his parents as the village paid tribute to the fallen of two world
POLICE investigating the thefts of a number of Poppy Appeal collection boxes made two arrests in Oxford today. A 25-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were taken into custody in Fettiplace Road, Barton, after the Oxford Mail published CCTV images
Staff at The Bookstore in Bury Street, Abingdon, precinct are looking forward to a visit from BBC Radio 2 presenter Terry Wogan. Ian Collett, the owner of the bookshop, said Mr Wogan would be visiting the shop on Tuesday, November 24, from 12.30pm to
IF YOU fancy a pint of real ale, then drop into six pubs in Oxford competing to be named the city’s pub of the year. Each year, the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale picks its favourite hostelry. Last year, the winner was the
WORK on a £2.5m development at Burford School is set to start in January. The scheme will see the school’s last four temporary double-classrooms knocked down and a new, eight classroom and drama studio block built. It has outline planning permission
MP TONY Baldry has waded into the row over the opening of a new kidney dialysis centre – raising concerns that the plan could be shelved because of financial problems. The Banbury MP has pledged to talk to both Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust’s interim
THIS week’s FA Cup results have demonstrated just how strong non-League football has become. Northwich Victoria’s famous win over Charlton on Sunday followed on from great results for Oxford against Yeovil, Bath City at Grimsby, Kettering at
Oxford United’s Under 18s have been drawn away to Millwall in the second round of the FA Youth Cup. United have already beaten Alton, Henley Town and Gloucester City in this season’s competition. The match will be at the New Den next Tuesday, November
CHILDREN got a taste for healthy eating when they rustled up a cake at their Oxford nursery. Youngsters sliced, sieved and mixed ingredients to make an apple and pear upsidedown cake. The aim was to help them learn about the benefits of making healthy
James Constable and Mark Creighton go back to their old stomping ground when United travel to Kidderminster tomorrow with a legion of fans behind them. All-action striker Constable makes his second return, but for giant centre half Creigh-ton, who joined
Jack Midson, enjoying an FA Cup run for the second successive season, is determined to make up for missing out on Histon’s big third-round clash with Swansea in January. Having helped the Stutes to their giantkilling wins over Swindon Town and Leeds
Two men have been sentenced to a total of three years imprisonment at Oxford Crown Court today for offences linked to animal rights. Robert Griffiths, 59, of Kingsfield Oval, Stoke-on-Trent, and Robert Lewis, 62, of Pheasant Road, Trebanos, Swansea
Police investigating the theft of a charity box in Headington on Monday, November 2, have arrested two people. A 25-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested today at an address in Fettiplace Road, Barton. They are in police custody. The
A GRANDMOTHER has had her first tattoo at the age of 60 to raise money for charity. When Jane Barefield, of Pinsley Road, Long Hanborough, discovered her sister Shirley New had pancreatic cancer in July, the grandmother-of-four wanted to do
Where on earth does one start when discussing a best-selling author such as Laurie R King, whose publications and awards are so numerous there’s not enough space on this page to list them all? Perhaps the best way forward is to identify her Oxford link
Oxford writer/artist Mike Philbin has been writing his own brand of ‘anti-corporate’ apocalyptic fiction for 20 years. The sixth issue of his Chimeraworld anthology, of 23 stories by different authors on the theme New World Disorder, is available from
Owning your own home in Oxfordshire is just a dream for many, according to a new report released this week. The National Housing Federation report, Home Truths 2009, finds that last year the £293,128 cost of an average house in the county was 13.2
PEPYS’S NAVY J. D. Davies (Seaforth, £40) Subtitled Ships, Men and Warfare 1649-1689, this explores, with outstanding analysis, paintings and portraiture, what may be considered the true birth of the Royal Navy. While Pepys was a man who embellished
AEA Technology 28 BMW 3006 Electrocomponents 159.9 Gladstone 29.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 80.5 Oxford Biomedica 13.6 Oxford Catalysts 52.5 Oxford Instruments 220 Reed Elsevier 472.4 RM 146 RPS Group 208.6 Courtesy of Redmayne
One of the leading eco developers in the UK is building four properties in South Oxfordshire with contrasting architectural styles. The development of a three-acre site in the grounds of The Manor House, Sutton Courtenay, is being carried out by Oxford-based
The Age of Wonder Richard Holmes (Harper Press, £9.99) When we think of the Romantics, we think of daffodils and a preference for the natural world above the horrors of industrialisation. They also valued mystical explanations, rejecting the idea that
DILLY: THE MAN WHO BROKE ENIGMAS Mavis Batey (Dialogue, £19.99) Mavis Batey is known in Oxford as a conservationist and expert on garden history, but her latest book is about her wartime boss at Bletchley Park, Dilly Knox, the code-breaker who helped
ALLOTMENT owners are being tormented by yobs. Vandals have been targeting property in Didcot’s Broadway for weeks, they say. Sheds have been overturned, benches wrecked, and garden tools used by intruders to smash up allotments. Since October 17, there
Make your Christmas Party one to remember Finest Mediterranean & English Food Traditional Greek Dancing Belly Dancing Plate Smashing Disco Dancing And lots of Festive Fun! Quality ensuite rooms available From mid November
A SHAKE-UP in the way cash is distributed to compensate councils for the number of free bus journeys made by pensioners could see Oxford City Council benefit by more than £2m. The Vale of White Horse District Council is also set to gain £200,000, but
WOMEN are being urged to get to grips with saws, drills and nails to put them on the path to a new career. The DIY taster sessions cover drilling into walls, putting up shelves and cutting skirting boards. The three-hour skills course, run by Oxford
Hugo Spowers from Riversimple will lead a discussion on the the development of his hydrogen powered car. Mr Spowers, an Oxford-based entrepreneur-engineer, co-ordinated the development of the Morgan LIFEcar sports car project that was launched at the
A Great Party Venue available to hire this Christmas DJ available on request Private courtyard Full Christmas menu Dining for up to 30 guests For for more information and to book call Jacqui on 01295 810419 Website: www.banburygolfclub.co.uk
Zamaretto Southern League The hard work starts now – that’s the stark message from Oxford City manager Mike Ford. Ford says they need to put last weekend’s FA Cup adventure behind them and focus on pushing up the league, starting with
FTL Futbol Hellenic League Abingdon Town manager Mark O’Hara is pleased with his side’s progress, despite last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at leaders Reading Town. With Abingdon slowly, but surely, returning to full-strength, O’Hara’s men produced an excellent
Party Nights start on Saturday 4 December and run until Saturday 18 December 2010 For bookings and enquiries, please contact the Christmas Co-ordinator on 01869 340259 The Holt Hotel, Nr Steeple Aston, Oxford Road, Oxfordshire OX25 5QQ
FA Carlsberg Vase Witney United boss Andy Lyne has boosted his squad with the permanent signing of Chris Harper from Didcot Town. Harper, who has had several loan spells at Witney, goes straight into the squad for Saturday's second round
A NEW policing team in Barton has set out its priorities for the area, including tackling antisocial behaviour and dog fouling. Reported crime on the Oxford estate fell by 15 per cent last month, from 296 incidents to 236, when compared with the same
OXFORDSHIRE 3rd picked up their first Yehlex Inter-County Championship win of the season with a commanding 12-3 success over Wiltshire 3rd at Melksham. The visitors, who secured maximum points from the Division 5B contest, took a commanding 3-1 lead
Oxford Harlequins coach John Brodley has been browsing the internet and feels he knows all there is to know about tomorrow’s opponents Bournemouth in National 3 South West. “Bournemouth have this fantastic website, with comprehensive coverage
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. Kidderminster Harriers v Oxford Utd. PUMA YOUTH ALLIANCE. Under 18 South West Conference: Oxford Utd v Yeovil Tn. ZAMARETTO SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Nuneaton Tn, Oxford C v Chippenham
A WOMAN from Oxfordshire is backing a campaign to get the Government to fund a drug she believes has stopped the progression of her incurable disease. Low Dose Naltrexone or LDN has been used for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, a disease of the
Guitarist, entertainer and all-round nice guy Joe Brown talks to TIM HUGHES. ROCK pioneer Joe Brown is roundly hailed as one of this country’s most influential guitarists. Awards surely clamour for attention on the groaning mantelpiece of
A HELICOPTER which helps police make arrests and hunt for missing people has reached 10,000 flying hours. The Eurocopter EC135 aircraft, based at RAF Benson, reached the landmark on Thursday, October 15. The helicopter first flew in April 1999, and
THREE people have been taken to hospital after a crash on the B4035 Broughton Road, near Banbury. A red Rover 25 and a silver Mitsubishi collided at about 10.30am today. The road is currently closed both ways between Banbury Road and Burns Road.
SOME feared the MPs’ expenses scandal would deter young people from going into politics — but for 21-year-old Julia Bricknell it’s had the opposite effect. No amount of duck houses or moat cleaning could stop her from throwing her hat into
A £3.25bn plan to improve hundreds of train stations, including several in the South East, has been unveiled by Network Rail. More than 2,000 stations will benefit from the investment between now and 2014, with sums spent ranging from tens
AEA Technology 28 BMW 3015 Electrocomponents 159.75 Gladstone 30 Nationwide Accident Repair 80.5 Oxford Biomedica 13.8 Oxford Catalyst 52.5 Oxford Instruments 220 Reed Elsevier 471.75 RM 145.25 RPS Group 205.5 Courtesy
Reigning Euroseries 3000 Champion Will Bratt produced an outstanding performance during official GP2 Series testing at Paul Ricard in France yesterday, to end the outing fourth fastest on combined times – a mere tenth of a second shy of the best
A MAN who was the director of an Oxford art gallery for five years has been found stabbed to death in Australia. Nick Waterlow ran the Bear Lane Gallery in Oxford from 1967 until it merged with the Museum of Modern Art to become Modern Art
A family from Oxfordshire whose son was killed in Afghanistan has reacted angrily to news that civil servants at the Ministry of Defence shared performance bonuses of almost £300m since the start of the war in Iraq. Official MoD figures
IT IS a real sign of the acutely environmentally-conscious times that within weeks of Peugeot allowing me to drive this car’s V6 version the decision was made to withdraw it from the UK range. Presumably a V6 engine, even running on diesel, was doing
The small grassy plants you can see in the photograph, being planted out at the beginning of July by my own fair hands, are now providing us with one of the best winter vegetables ever – leeks. These delicious members of the onion family are sweet and
A wetland created a decade ago is now regarded as the jewel in the crown of six nature reserves managed by a group of birdwatchers in Oxfordshire. In the autumn of 1999, the Bicester Wetland Nature Reserve was officially opened as a haven for birds,
If the name ‘Pavlova’ suggests puddings or ballet to you, the chances are you’re not alone. You might also wonder what they have to do with a wind quintet. Happily, it’s easily explained. “My house is in Anna Pavlova Close,” Simon Payne, founder of the
What is it about other people’s rooms? The enduring popularity of television property programmes and make-over shows testifies to the appeal of peering into others’ living or work spaces. It’s voyeurism, of course, or partly; the ability to
Giselle is a wonderful work, but it only offers one major dancing role for a man. Faced with the prospect of a long tour of the ballet, Wayne Eagling decided to create a piece that would give the men of the company more dancing to do, and the result is
Gemini, vibes player Jim Hart’s quartet, is a trenchantly forceful group. On the first gig of a national tour to publicise their second album Narrada, a fresh set of pieces by Hart himself, the group played to a packed and enthusiastic audience
A PAIR of thieves who stole Poppy Appeal collection boxes were today branded the “lowest of the low” by the Royal British Legion. There have been 11 thefts and one attempted theft of the boxes reported in Oxford since October 1 – with Headington
Sir – It’s a shame to see Cyclox’s Ann Furtado falling back on the good old stereotypes of “selfish” car drivers and “sainted victim” cyclists (Letters, October 29). It’s this caricaturing that’s stopping road safety evolving past the stage of external
Want a preview of four of the 32 wines on show at The Oxford Times Wine Club Christmas Tasting on December 3? We have put together a case to give you a flavour of this very popular event in advance. The tasting itself will take place at 6.30pm at The
I am delighted to hear that South Oxfordshire vineyard owner, Phil Rossi, is celebrating becoming the first John Lewis employee to win a contract to sell his wine to sister company, Waitrose. Phil, who owns Oaken Grove vineyards in Fawley, and planted
Campaigners against plans to turn Oxford School into an academy have been delivered a blow by Schools Minister Vernon Coaker. The minister dashed hopes that the scheme is to be abandoned because of concerns over the work done in its existing academies
THE company behind plans to build a wind turbine in Cutteslowe Park has moved to allay fears that the structure could pose a safety threat at London Oxford Airport. Residents opposing the idea of a turbine being built in North Oxford fear the wind turbine
New sports halls, a grandstand and an indoor cricket school are part of a proposed multi-million-pound redevelopment of Oxford University’s Iffley Road sports facilities. No budget has been set for the project next to the track where Sir Roger
For more than an hour I had sat listening to the story of a pile of wooden bricks. Gripping stuff eh? You bet. For these very bricks transformed Leslie Scott’s life forever, placing her firmly at the top of any world ranking of game inventors. Now, after
WHEN Len Rees joined the Army just after the Second World War he had no idea he would end up marrying a German woman. But it was love at first sight for the teenager when in 1947 Len spotted shorthand typist Paula in his first weeks serving with the
The Blue Cross, one of Britain’s leading animal charities, helps thousands of sick and homeless animals every year through its network of animal hospitals and adoption centres. The charity receives no Government funding, so relies on the support
A TRADE union has raised fears 500 jobs could be outsourced at one of Bicester’s biggest employers. Unite representatives claim the town’s arm of the Defence Storage and Distribution Agency could be forced to outsource up to 500 jobs if Government
There was a time, not that long ago, when the tossing away of a cigarette or a match would have been seen as normal behaviour. Not today. As we report this week, one student received a fixed penalty fine for tossing a match away in Cornmarket Street.
Sir – Having phoned Stagecoach to ascertain what buses ran from Didcot to Wantage and been informed that the service had been transferred to Thames Travel, who do not appear in our local directory, I was appalled to be told by Stagecoach that they could
Sir – I am surprised at your editorial against the proposed wind turbines in Oxford (November 5). I see no reason why a historic city like Oxford is not an appropriate place for them. A single turbine at Horspath is scarcely going to wreck the view
Sir – While, in principle, I sympathise with renewable forms of energy and the need for human kind to reduce its destructive impact upon the planet, I find myself recoiling in horror at this monstrous arbitrary unsolicited scheme to place a wind turbine
Sir – Before Oxford City Council entered into the current enthusiasm for wind power, did they determine whether or not the energy cost (note, not the financial cost) of producing the turbines, foundations and control gear was less or greater than the
Sir – Whoever said that the young and old don’t get on should have been at the Town Hall recently, when a group of Oxford Agewell members, and some youngsters from The Pegasus Theatre came together in a workshop to discuss Shakespeare’s King Lear. The
Sir – It is not just the Old Fire Station that needs redeveloping, the New Theatre needs rebuilding. This week the Welsh National Opera are here for the first and only time this year, Glyndebourne have pretty well given up coming. If the backstage
We hope our readers are not, once again, being given a false sense of optimism over plans for the resurrection of a train station for Wantage and Grove. Over the course of 20 years, we have been here many times before. Studies have been carried out,
Sir – I much regret that I was misinformed, (Weekend, November 5) and that in fact there appears to have been an earlier complete performance of the Puccini Requiem at The Queen’s College, Oxford, and also in Northamptonshire in 2006 directed by Daniel
Sir – The environmental campaigners squatting at the top of Didcot Power station’s chimney seem to have missed the point. Didcot’s six cooling towers are throwing 65 per cent of the heat its boilers produce up into the sky. In Virginia, Minnesota,
Sir – Harry St John (Letters, November 5) is right to say that free parking and new shopping centre make Witney a good hub. But, even more cleverly, the council had already put a three-hour limit on their existing free parking which means that it
Sir – I have been a frequent visitor to the Ashmolean, perhaps two or three times a month. Often when I was there no other visitor was in sight. With over £60m in refurbishing the Ashmolean and Oxford not being able to maintain its public toilets
Sir – Over two years ago the possibility of placing a wind turbine on sites owned by the city council, including Cutteslowe Park, was seriously considered and given publicity in the press and council papers. Each turbine could provide renewable electricity
Sir – I’m sure I’m not alone, amongst readers of your columns, in enjoying BBC3 Radio’s World Routes programmes featuring local musicians from around the world. So I was, last Sunday, both surprised and disappointed to find so few of us had availed
Sir – I support David Widdowson’s suggestion that the redesigned Westgate Centre should include a performing arts centre that would be a source of pride for our city. In Oxford, no municipal building of distinction has been erected since I arrived as
Sir – Was last week’s lead story (Anger over turbine bid in city park) accurate? Is there really a groundswell of opinion against building a wind turbine in Cutteslowe Park? Are the views attributed to the Friends of Cutteslowe Park shared by all its
KEBLE College has submitted revised plans this week for a £50m scheme to create a new campus between Woodstock and Banbury Road. The college wants to build on the site of the former Acland private hospital, which the college acquired four years
Stanford/Chalgrove v Kidlington Colts/Ox City Oxford Irish v Didcot Town Youth B Horspath v Didcot Town Youth A Abingdon Town v Abingdon Youth Kidlington Youth v Marston/Summertown Dr Summertown Stars v Cholsey Bluebirds
