Archive

  • Snow: Travel misery finally eases

    Christmas travel misery is beginning to ease - a day late for Heathrow Airport's boss who decided to sacrifice his 2010 bonus. As thousands of exhausted passengers finally began to move at the airport, under-fire Colin Matthews announced he would

  • Drink-drive arrests rise

    Police said the number of drivers arrested during the first 19 days of this year’s Thames Valley drink-drive campaign has increased to 168, despite snowy weather and treacherous road conditions. Of the 168 people arrested, 96 people have been charged

  • SNOW: Oxford waste collections update

    MOST planned waste collections in Oxford will take place tomorrow, so long as there is no heavy snow overnight. Oxford City Council ran a limited household bin collection service today and on Tuesday. Crews will tomorrow empty green

  • SNOW: Woman and dog are found dead in Oxford river

    THE bodies of missing pensioner Ann Powles and her dog have been found in the River Cherwell in Oxford. Search and recovery team officers made the discovery shortly after noon today, near the Sunnymead Recreation Ground, after a member of the

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  • Body found in River Cherwell

    Police have this afternoon pulled the body of a woman from the River Cherwell, believed to be missing pensioner Ann Powles. The search and recovery team made the discovery about 12.15pm, near to Sunnymead Recreation Ground, Cutteslowe. Officers pulled

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    The quadrangle Conference & Exhibition Centre aspires to greater heights when it comes to organising events. With complimentary car parking for over 2,000 cars, and within easy access from M4/M40 motorways and other major routes, The Kassam

  • Police recover body from River Cherwell

    Police officers searching for missing woman, Ann Powles, 74, have recovered a body in the River Cherwell. The body was found near the Sunnymead Recreation Ground at 12.15pm today. The body of an elderly woman matching her description was found under

  • Wednesday, December 22: Gang stole cigarettes worth £5,000

    THESE seasonal suspects are wanted by police after a large quantity of cigarettes and cash disappeared from an Oxford shop. The suspects were caught on a CCTV camera at New Marston Stores, in Marston Road, on Friday, December 3, at about 3.30pm, when

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  • Lotus Renault GP confirms Petrov for 2011

    The Enstone-based Lotus Renault GP team announced today that Vitaly Petrov would complete its driver line-up for the 2011 and 2012 Formula 1 seasons. The 26-year-old Russian will partner Robert Kubica next year. Gérard Lopez, chairman

  • Security firm sounds warning note

    SECURITY and fire protection consultancy Westminster warned that cost-cutting measures were on the cards after declaring an operating loss of more than £2m for 2010. The company, based in Banbury, said Government contracts worldwide had dried up because

  • Council leader criticises grant cuts

    A CONSERVATIVE council leader has criticised Government cuts in spending grants, saying they were much harsher than expected. South Oxfordshire District Council’s Ann Ducker said she was “bitterly disappointed” by a 16 per cent cut as ministers

  • £3.6m injection for biotech merger

    AN OXFORDSHIRE company researching new treatments for cancer and wasting diseases has merged with a fellow biotech company in a deal described as a "complete success story". Hybrid BioSystems, based at the Cherwell Innovation Centre at Upper

  • Mince pies - ideal for your festive visitors

    As I write, a glorious spicy aroma fills the air because I have a batch of mince pies cooking in the oven. They are almost ready, which means the mincemeat filling is bubbling away like mad and the pastry is turning a delicious golden brown.

  • The Oxfordshire background to Swift's Gulliver

    What would Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) have thought about shrinking Blenheim on the big screen in order to make a backdrop for Mr Lemuel Gulliver in the new 3D film, Gulliver’s Travels, to be released on Boxing Day? Probably he would have enjoyed

  • Recipe for mulled wine

    You can buy excellent bottles of mulled wine ready-made, but you can also make your own — if you want the house to be filled with a spicy festive fragrance, then making your own is the order of the day. Besides, continually tasting it as it heats

  • Gulliver's Travels and Meet the Parents: Little Fockers

    The subtle, underlying themes of Jonathan Swift’s classic novel Gulliver’s Travels are almost completely lost in a new film adaptation. But it’s hard for Rob Letterman’s film to tread lightly with comic dynamo Jack Black in the title role.

  • Oxford Philomusica: Sheldonian Theatre

    Last week saw the Oxford Philomusica’s Christmas Concert at the Sheldonian Theatre. On a cold December night, the concert proved to be banquet of festive favourites for all ages. Conducted by multi-award-winning composer and conductor Howard Goodall,

  • The Bees: O2 Academy 2

    Isle Of Wight sextet The Bees have always been unashamedly retro in everything they do. Since arriving in 2002, they have produced summery, psychedelic pop music that could have been plundered from Woodstock. They’ve never really gained much of a following

  • David Austen: Modern Art Oxford

    Artist David Austen describes his film End of Love, at Modern Art Oxford until February 20, as a musical without music, performed at the end of the world. Others describe it as a poetic expression of love’s elusiveness, the non-linearity of time

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    AEA Technology 6.1 BMW 5523 Electrocomponents 268.4 Nationwide Accident Repair 98.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.5 Oxford Catalysts 68.5 Oxford Instruments 702.75 Reed Elsevier 531 RM 167.75 RPS Group 233.1 Courtesy of Redmayne

  • Thomas Houseago: Modern Art Oxford and the Ashmolean Museum

    Unlike many of his contemporaries who use the detritus of every day life to create their installations and art forms, sculptor Thomas Houseago has chosen to work within the domain of figuration to express himself. Perhaps you have already seen

  • Sophie Ellis Bextor: O2 Academy 2

    As Sophie Ellis Bextor’s first show in Oxford for over five years has the misfortune to coincide with the snow, it leaves her gig with a less than brilliant turnout. However, it seems odd that she would play the top room of the O2 Academy anyway. The

  • Parkinson's disease hope

    GENE therapy company Oxford BioMedica has announced encouraging safety results from the first human trials of its treatment for Parkinson's Disease, ProSavin. The company, based at Oxford Science Park, said ProSavin continued to be safe and well-tolerated

  • Cathedral Singers of Christ Church

    Christ Church Cathedral on a starlit night is the perfect setting for carols. Not surprisingly, the annual concert of the Cathedral Singers attracted a large crowd last Friday. The magical backdrop of the college buildings, the singing of the choir

  • SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL: Caldecott crowned

    Caldecott triumphed in the Vale of White Horse Primary Schools’ FA indoor five a-side tournament at Wantage Leisure Centre. They lifted the cup with a 3-1 win over Wantage CE in the final. In the semi-finals, Caldecott defeated Cholsey 2-0, while Wantage

  • How We Pushed to Keep Cars Moving

    They took account of most things, our Victorian forefathers — including the fact that in Britain it sometimes snows. So, when Osney Bridge was constructed in 1889, replacing an earlier structure that had collapsed into the river, it came complete with

  • Nativity: Pegasus Theatre, Oxford

    For centuries the re-telling of the Nativity has been a feature of traditional Christmases, whether it is a primary school play or a decorative manger scene. But how often do you see the story told with the inclusion of Herod’s cull of the newborn

  • Maslanka talks wordgames with polymath Fry

    A meeting between two mighty minds can be savoured next Tuesday when The Oxford Times’s master puzzler Chris Maslanka and polymath Stephen Fry talk wordgames on Radio 4. Fry’s English Delight is a series in which Stephen probes areas of the language

  • Aberrant apostrophe observed

    Captain Beefheart would seem from his obituaries to have been a rather nastier character than his hippyish, ‘love and peace’ image suggested. Sean O’Hagan, writing in the Observer, described how he ‘brainwashed’ the Magic Band as they recorded Trout Mask

  • Oxford robbers marched victim to get cash

    TWO robbers who marched their victim to a cash machine have been jailed for a total of more than four years. Lewis Thompson and Jordan Anderson, who was subject to an antisocial behaviour order at the time, stole £10 from Nicholas Howe next

  • SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL: Mullis brings Wood Green cup joy

    Katie Mullis’s second-half brace gave Wood Green (Witney) a 3-2 win over Cherwell (Oxford) in the Oxfordshire Schools’ Under 16 Girls’ Cup final at Rover Cowley. Wood Green twice came from behind with Charley Hamilton equalising in the first half after

  • SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL: Shoot-out joy for Wheatley

    Wheatley Park staged a terrific fightback to beat Northampton Academy 4-2 on penalties in the ESFA Under 16 Schools’ Cup after their fifth-round tie finished 2-2 after extra time. Trailing 2-0 at half-time, Wheatley Park hit back after the break with

  • SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL: Vale fire a late blitz for victory

    Three late goals gave Vale of White Horse Under 14s a convincing 4-0 win over Mid Oxon in the Vale Cup at Milton United. Owen Shaw chipped the ball home from 15 yards to give Vale the lead after 20 minutes. But it was not until the last ten minutes

  • Snow: Waste collections resume

    Waste collection crews in West Oxfordshire are today expecting to reach homes in Witney, Bladon, Cassington, Eynsham and Standlake which usually receive a Wednesday bin collection. A spokesman for West Oxfordshire District Council said: "Householders

  • Brother to give the gift of life by donating bone marrow

    FIVE-YEAR-OLD Edward Sherwood is getting a priceless late Christmas present from his brother – the gift of life. Earlier this year, the primary school pupil developed the bone marrow disease aplastic anaemia. The condition means Edward’s bone marrow

  • Appeal to find county's Top 100 Employers

    Work has started on compiling the list of Oxfordshire’s Top 100 employers for 2011. Launched last year, the supplement, which will appear in the In Business magazine published with The Oxford Times, has rapidly become the definitive reference point for

  • Serial burglars exploit insecure houses

    POLICE are linking three burglaries in and around Watlington and Thame. In Pauls Way, Watlington, on Tuesday last week, jewellery, a sat nav, credit cards and £100 in cash were stolen from a house sometime between 10pm and 5am. Thieves also tried to

  • Spreading advice

    LETTERS about avoiding butter in favour of low fat spreads makes me wonder whether the writers favouring this approach (using NHS noticeboards as ample evidence) are, at best, misguided or just incapable of thinking it through. Most health claims made

  • Free information

    WITH all the talk about Wikileaks, I would like to say it’s not only national secrets that are a problem but also local ones. For instance, when I asked Horspath Parish Council about prices quoted to drain the new burial ground, certain councillors did

  • Cards for crooks is a waste of police time

    THE ideas of a certain Chief Inspector Boyd and his sidekick Santa hat- wearing Inspector Ian Money to send Christmas cards to persistent offenders, and the have them visited by officers on Christmas Day (Oxford Mail, December 16) is in my mind totally

  • ROWING: Women battle to cox Oxford

    Two women are vying to become the cox of next year’s Oxford University Boat Race crew. Zoe De Toledo and Hannah Leadbetter, both aged 23 and weighing 7st 12lb, are aiming to be the first Oxford female cox since 2000. Leadbetter, from

  • Protesters lobby council over cuts

    PROTESTERS continued yesterday to make their pleas to save services at Oxfordshire County Council. Almost 60 people – and a few snowmen to boot – held a pre-Christmas lobby to make their feelings heard as councillors held a cabinet meeting inside County

  • Sassy & Single: It’s not so bad being all alone at Christmas

    IT IS Christmas! I am single! Go figure! At least, I’m sure that’s what all my friends will be thinking when they hear me talking about how much I’m looking forward to Christmas. You know: poor girl, all alone, without a Prince Charming in sight...

  • Fight for library

    BURY Knowle Library in its beautiful building and grounds is greatly treasured by the residents of the Headington are of Oxford. Its closure will lead to the sale of the property, and an amenity which is of enormous social value will be lost for ever

  • Blame the bankers

    IN reply to Geoff Morris, (Oxford Mail, December 20), I’m afraid he misread my letter. I never anywhere stated, as he said, this current economic crisis had “nothing to do with New Labour”. I did say it was “pretty much accepted by most people”, and

  • SNOW: Police rescue three dogs in Jericho

    POLICE rescued two dogs and a puppy which were left to eat snow and tree bark after being abandoned on a freezing narrowboat in Jericho. Neighbours alerted police after hearing continuous barking from the boat for days. They were worried the

  • SNOW: Steventon couple's honeymoon is scuppered

    A bride and groom who got married despite the heavy snowfall had their honeymoon plans scuppered when their flight to Prague was cancelled. In Monday’s Oxford Mail, readers learned how Katie Martin, 23, married Robert Salmon at St Michael and All Angels

  • COMMENT: Preparations for snow not good enough

    “HOW does a man who drives a snowplough get to his work?” It’s an old Billy Connolly joke but unfortunately for the past few days we haven’t been laughing. Putting our practical head on and there is a simple answer — the snowplough driver

  • United sign defender Gaughan

    Oxford United have signed centre-back Laurence Gaughan, from Evostick League Division 1 South club Sheffield FC. The 20-year old, who has played for Sheffield United, Liverpool and Celtic joins the club this month to help boost United's defence

  • SNOW: Weather provides unexpected boost for Abingdon traders

    HEAVY snow gave Abingdon traders an unexpected boost after it stopped Christmas shoppers leaving the town. One business leader described the weather as “ a gift from the sky for Abingdon”. Many shopkeepers said sales and footfall had been better than

  • SNOW: 'Severe weather has cost Oxford £10m so far....'

    BUSINESS leaders estimate the snow has lost city firms about £10m as they demanded more is done to keep the county moving during cold snaps. Oxford City Council drafted in a team of just 25 street cleaners to tackle Arctic weather conditions

  • SNOW: Chiltern Railways update

    Chiltern Railways is again running a reduced special timetable from Bicester North and Banbury stations today to London Marylebone and Birmingham because of the freezing conditions. After 8am the operator is running just one train an hour from Bicester

  • SNOW: First Great Western update

    First Great Western has again cancelled all high speed services to London Paddington today but is offering two stopping trains an hour to the capital instead. Departures from Oxford will leave at 7 minutes and 37 minutes past the hour. Services on

  • Snow: Freeze keeps pressure on transport

    Transport operators are under severe pressure to get the Christmas getaway back on track after days of disruption caused by the snow. Heathrow Airport's second runway reopened on Tuesday night, raising hopes for the thousands of stranded air

  • Bird's nest may have sparked Palace blaze

    Firefighters were called to Blenheim Palace after staff set fire to the roof while attempting to thaw frozen pipes. More than 40 emergency responders were called in to tackle the blaze at the birthplace of wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill

  • Oxford United counting the cost of the big freeze

    Oxford United are counting the cost of the big freeze. And they are just praying that their big Christmas game is not called off for the second year running. The club lost potentially thousands of pounds when Saturday’s home match against Shrewsbury

  • SNOW: Oxford Airport to open

    Oxford Airport is expected to reopen this afternoon when snow and ice has been cleared from the runway. The airport in Langford Lane, Kidlington, has been shut since Saturday when a heavy deluge of snow hit the county. The airport is

  • Silence is golden for appeal

    A SCOUT leader who managed to keep a group of youngsters silent for 30 minutes has won an award. Jill Edwards has helped raise more than £3,000 over the past 15 years for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal from sponsored silences. And earlier this

  • Street pastors make debut in Witney

    AN evangelical Christian group which offers support to drunken revellers has made its debut in Witney. The 11 “street pastors” gave out flip flops to women in uncomfortable footwear, lollypops to help keep up drinkers’ blood sugar levels and foil to

  • School Kids Given Chance to Design Calendars

    Digipress – a Didcot-based printing company - has given pupils at St. Nicolas School, Abingdon the chance to design their own calendars. In a move to grow links between the business and the local community, each class in the school designed a page