MAYOR Fiona Roper has invited re-enactment group The Vikings to invade Wantage She has contracted the group to take part in the Alfred’s Day celebrations on October 26 and 27. They will set up a Viking encampment in the Manor Road Park over
A TESCO warehouse creating 750 jobs near Didcot has been given the green light tonight. All 11 Councillors at the Vale of White Horse planning committee voted to support the planning permission for the dotcom centre at Milton Hill. The warehouse
STAFF at a retirement home complex are working for new bosses after their company was snapped up by a healthcare giant. About 160 workers at Richmond Care Villages complex at Letcombe Regis, near Wantage, have been assured their jobs are safe following
AN "EXPERIENCED criminal" who has spent almost half his life behind bars has been cleared of an attempted knife-point robbery. Eamonn Anderson, of Salter Close, Oxford, was charged with one count of attempted robbery and one count of possession
THE call comes without notice, announcing the impending visit of a team of inspectors analysing every aspect of your school. And the outcome of the new, tougher inspection regime could see your school, previously ‘satisfactory’, told it requires
Stamford Bridge was packed to the rafters – and it’s not only the fans who are acclaiming the return of the Special One. I am sitting high in the stand watching a great man receive total adolation from the blue hordes. But at pitch level, there
Freddie Whittaker enjoys the scenery at Wales's Green Man Festival THE first thing to say about Green Man is its location and site are absolutely beautiful. I could genuinely spend four nights camping there without the music. Luckily I didn
MORE than a year after action was promised to fix “dangerous” tennis courts in Witney, nothing has yet happened. Witney Lawn Tennis Club has been complaining to its landlord Witney Town Council over the state of its courts at West Witney Sports
WILL Moult strutted his stuff on the catwalk as part of the modelling auditions for Oxford Fashion Week next Friday. Mr Moult, 23, from Harcourt Hill, North Hinksey, said: “I’m awful on the catwalk and terrified whenever I do stuff in public, but
COUNCILLORS say their “hands are tied” over an unwanted housing estate planned for Abingdon. Abingdon residents, councillors and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood have fought the plan to build 160 homes off Drayton Road since it was revealed in October
OXFORD’s rape crisis charity has backed a move to give victims of child sex abuse greater protection in court. Natalie Brook, manager of the Oxford Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, welcomed new guidelines for prosecuting cases, intended to
NEIGHBOURHOOD police officers are hoping they can keep a healthy presence in Wood Farm after moving into a hospital. Thames Valley Police announced in May that the estate’s office in Atkyns Road would be closed and the seven-strong team would move
YES: BT’s general manager for the South East Andrew Campling IN Oxfordshire, we have more than 175,000 homes and businesses that already have access to fibre broadband. They span across 19 exchange areas including Abingdon, Cowley, Banbury and
Sir – You have covered the progress of the Summertown/St Margaret’s Neighbourhood Forum as it has developed over the last months. We are now nearing the time when the city council will be consulting on a development brief for the very large site, which
Homemade jam is no longer the preserve of the Women’s Institute, it is back in fashion with a vengeance. Jam making is becoming as popular as home baking. It’s certainly a great way to use up summer crops, particularly this year with its glut of soft
Sir – Over the last two or three weeks, at least two articles critical of the proposed development at St Cross College have appeared in The Oxford Times, but it is impossible from these to understand the rational basis of the criticism. “Horrid
Sir – When your correspondent Ag MacKeith takes me to task, I am afraid it is from reading the alarmist propaganda rather than the science on climate change. If so, no wonder Ag is worried, and feels unreliable renewable electricity at three times
Division 5 DANE Bailey took 7-21 as Cumnor 2nd shocked promotion chasing Leighton Buzzard Town 2nd. Cumnor collapsed to 133, Callum Russell hitting 50 and Gareth Benger taking 6-43, but the visitors dismissed Town for 84. Leighton Buzzard
Divisions 7-10 EAST & West Hendred’s promotion hopes from Division 7 suffered a setback as they lost by four wickets at home to Kidlington 2nd. Batting first, Hendred were bowled out for 203, Archie Napper top-scoring with 59. Kidlington
A MAN who threatened to cut a police officer’s throat has avoided prison. Joshua Dodd, of Marlborough Street, Faringdon, was convicted of assaulting a police constable in the execution of her duty after a trial at Oxford Magistrates’ Court.
ABINGDON: Jewellery, a laptop, and a camera were stolen in a raid on a town centre home. The burglary happened in Bath Street between Thursday and Monday.
DIDCOT: A burglar smashed a plastic window to break into a shed. It happened in Tamar Way between 4pm on Friday, August 9, and 2pm on Monday. Police said it was not clear if anything had been stolen. Witnesses can call 101.
OXON: An accident involving a car and a lorry yesterday blocked one lane of the A34. Police were called to the collision on the southbound carriageway at the Marcham interchange at 9.38am yesterday morning. No injuries were reported.
OXFORDSHIRE suffered Yorkshire Bank County Cup semi-final heartbreak as the under 17 boys fell to an 86-run defeat against a very strong Gloucestershire side at Stonesfield on Sunday. Oxon had reached the last four by topping their group, but found
EAST HENDRED: A would-be burglar broke through padlocks to get in to two containers in Reading Road between 5pm on Friday and 9am on Monday. Police said nothing appeared to have been stolen.
BOTLEY: The death of a great-grandmother-of-five who fell down the stairs was an accident, an inquest heard. Doris Williams, 97, was found in her Conifer Close home at the bottom of the stairs and was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital on April 22
BRIAN Collins has been making the sticks for Oxfordshire’s favourite pub game Aunt Sally since he was 19 years old. But the man who reckons to have made more than 100,000 sticks has a confession to make. “I have never thrown at a doll in my
Launton Sports enjoyed an opening-day goal bonanza as they ruthlessly destroyed Oxford Irish in the Oxfordshire Senior League. The hosts cantered home 12-1, but the pivotal moment came in the tenth minute when Irish’s Liam Hastings was sent off
Division 4 DIDCOT sealed promotion in a tense affair at East Oxford. The hosts managed 196 all out from 48.4 overs, Atif Ali top scoring with 48 while Jordan Morrison claimed 5-52. Matt Jones hit 81 for the visitors, but Ali Malik took
Divisions 6-10 GUY Redcard-Siler steered Aston Rowant 3rd to a 139-run win over Bledlow Ridge 2nd in Division 6. He destroyed the visitors’ batting order, taking 8-25 as Bledlow Ridge fell to 74 all out. Aston Rowant had earlier clocked
Sir – A recent letter (August 1) about the outsourcing of education services by the county council does not tell the whole story. Outsourcing is being proposed not only for ‘back office’ services but many education support and improvement services
Sir – The Tory Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld has recently highlighted the issue of rural crime at the same time as the force he oversees is considering closing the custody suite at St Aldates Police Station, and thus risking a reduction
Sir – Mr Weavers’ metaphysical mayhem (Letters, August 8) starts with the word suppose, but at the end of his little dance of creators we are no further forward as to why we should have supposed something. We may imagine things, but that does not
Sir – So now, thanks to Ken Weavers, we have an ABC of Creation. Creator C created creator B who created creator A, who created the universe with our and all the other innumerable galaxies, our star, the sun, and all the hundred thousand million other
Sir – A week ago last Friday, I tripped on the pavement before the Said Business School and fell on my face. A small family from Singapore came to help me and gave handkerchiefs to mop up the flowing blood before guiding me to the station and handing
Sir – Chris Gray appears to rail against the House of Lords (“Who would want to join this shower?”, August 8) on the grounds that several dubious characters have recently been “ennobled”. Despite the presence of genuinely noble souls, the House of
Sir – Several readers have demanded that two storeys be taken off the top of the new university accommodation beside Port Meadow, although this would not reveal anything much which could not be seen before. I would like to take two storeys off
Sir – Those rightly concerned about the potential traffic impacts of the 190 dwellings proposed at Wolvercote Mill should note the applicant’s transport proposals include ‘car club facilities’. A general reduction in the ownership and use of the
Sir – Your report of August 8 on Tyndale Community School was not quite accurate in an important particular — the city planning committee rejected the school application because of traffic issues and because the site overall is too small (barely a
Family theatre GRANDPA IN MY POCKET: TEAMWORK! New Theatre, Oxford Thursday 22 – Sunday 25 August Call 0844 871 3020 or atgtickets.com/oxford Grandpa in my Pocket comes to the stage for the first time for young fans of the hugely popular
Sir – May I briefly say how totally I agree with Chris Pearson about censorship (Letters, August 8) but how wrong I think he is about anonymity. From Socrates to Tom Paine, Mary Wollstonecraft to Germaine Greer, women and men through the ages have
Sir – The Oxford planners in their wisdom refused an application by Travelodge for a hotel at the south end of Abingdon Road because it only had 45 parking places. Now there is permission for Tynedale House on the Cowley Road to be converted to
Sir – It is encouraging in the wider interests of democratic accountability, that Eric Pickles (Conservative), is considering making council meetings come under scrutiny of both public and press. A few years ago, at a local planning meeting (no
A binman with a history of drug abuse was found dead at home following concern for his welfare, an inquest heard. Darren Dickson, 35, was found slumped in his bed at his home in Darenth Court, Hamble Road, Didcot, when police forced their way into
Division 3 HORSPATH 2nd are back in the promotion places and still have a chance of being champions after beating leaders Long Marston in style. Stephen Green hit 84 and Steve Moss took 6-35 in Horspath’s 162 all out. Then Ceri Holmes captured
Divisions 4-6 EYNSHAM are a win away from the Division 4 title after defeating Wootton & Boars Hill by 35 runs. Batting first, Eynsham declared after 35 overs on 167-7, Liam Rainbow hitting 64 and Chris Bowles 39 not out. Wootton closed
RICHARD Brown turned in a match-winning 5-39 as Hanborough lifted the Steve Dixon Memorial Cup with a seven-wicket victory over Risinghurst at Hook Norton. Brown took the man-of-the-match award as the Oxford side were restricted to 134-8 from their
A MAN who described himself as an “experienced criminal” denied committing a knife-point robbery and said whoever did it “didn’t have a clue”. Eamonn Anderson, of Salter Close, Oxford, is charged with one count of attempted robbery and one count
OXFORDSHIRE completed their ECB Under 17 County Championship Division 3B campaign with a 30-run victory on first innings against Huntingdonshire at Banbury. But rain in the final hour of the second day denied Oxon the chance of an outright win,
A FARMER’S £2,000 grain crop was destroyed after a large fire swept across five acres of barley. The blaze was at a barley field on land next to Tilbury Farm in Botley and started after an electrical power cable fell to the ground and ignited the
I CARE for two disabled parents who have many hospital appointments per annum. I also have a yearly hospital check. Over the past couple of years, my parents and I have received numerous letters from Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals. These letters are
HORSPATH clinched their second Cherwell League title in four seasons after Pat Foster took 8-44 to blast his way through the Buckingham Town batting line-up. The home side – the champions’ nearest challengers for much of the campaign – were rolled
IT is surely foolhardy to dismiss the proposal for a major hub airport on land between Marcham, East Hanney and Drayton as ‘laughable’. From a commercial point of view it could make more sense than creating an artificial island in the Thames estuary
THE city council is spending £44,800 to find out how to make the Covered Market more favourable to shoppers. Without spending all that money, an answer could be to keep the rents at a level to enable traders to sell their goods at prices which
SO another trader (Hot Chocology) has been forced to close their shop in the Covered Market (August 19). It appears to me that the city council’s intention by forcing this outrageous rent rise is to attract shops of a certain calibre, or do they
Division 2 CUMNOR'S promotion party was put on hold after they suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Oxford & Bletchingdon Nondescripts. Alex Davies was Nondies’ hero, taking 5-13 as the champions-elect collapsed to
Divisions 1-3 WESTBURY and Shrivenham remained locked together at the top of Division 1 heading into the final three games of the season, and look set for a title showdown on the last day on September 14. Westbury cruised to a six-wicket home
A South Oxford team finished runners-up to Aylesbury in the final of the Thame Triples Trophy. The trio of Mick Keen, John Hall and Mick Rockett were beaten by Ken Barber, Phil Gregory and Tony Osborne in the decider. Twelve teams took part
Oxford City & County’s Donna Knight completed a full set of Oxfordshire ladies’ titles with a 21-9 win over Banbury Central’s Caroline Campion in the singles final. Playing on her home green, Knight added the premier crown to her successes
The jury is out in the trial of a man accused of sexually assaulting and poisoning a teenage girl by giving her diazepam. Jamie Gardiner, of Colwell Road, Berinsfield, denies one charge of administering a noxious or poisonous substance with intent
SUMMERTOWN TROPHY Div 1: Carterton A 11, Chadlington 11; Witney Town 10, Witney Mills B 16; West Witney 17, Hanborough 11. Div 2: Banbury Chestnuts 10, Banbury Central 18; Witney Mills A 15, Banbury Borough 14; Carterton B 16, Chipping Norton
PETER Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle-Duck and friends were guests of honour at a garden party yesterday. It all came to pass when the ladies of the Childrey and Sparsholt WI held their annual fundraising bash at Manor Farm bed and breakfast
Watlington veteran Henry Franklin will make what is believed to be Oxfordshire history by becoming the first bowler to play over a 50-year period for the county when he lines up against Buckinghamshire at Thame on Tuesday, writes RUSSELL SMITH.
Oxfordshire Ladies were defeated 129-100 by Somerset in a friendly at Witney Town. Oxfordshire Ladies 100, Somerset 129 (Oxon skips first): J Berry 6, S Nicolls 25; W Cross 18, J Price 28; P Wilson 22, M Nodding 14; C Morgan 8, S Wederall 28; S
Banbury Borough’s AJ Docherty and Calvin Carpenter reached the last 16 of the National Pairs Championship at Worthing before bowing out 26-19 to Chris Daniels and Michael Hutley (Boscombe Cliff, Hampshire). They had beaten David Lockhart and Anthony
My last column talked about attitudes and I would like to carry on with this theme because attitude affects everything we do; people’s attitudes towards us, our attitude to others and, of course, to ourselves. Feeling sorry for yourself is not
SUE Nicholls (August 14) will be pleased to know that the John Allen Crane fascia is in the process of being re-erected on the retail park site. It can be seen at the corner of Between Towns Road and Rymers Lane on the back wall of the retail units
I TOTALLY support the views of Risinghurst and Barton councillors over the parking issues outside McDonald’s near to the Headington roundabout. Despite having a car park behind the restaurant, many drivers seem to take the easy option and park
I TAKE issue with Colin Smith’s view (August 20) that there is such a thing as “road tax”. This hasn’t existed for decades and the money taken from some car owners is and has been for many years, the vehicle excise duty. Furthermore, many cyclists
MATCH OF THE DAY Shipton-under-Wychwood’s slim title chances were washed away by rain at Banbury 2nd just as they were bearing down on victory. Horspath were almost out of sight before the weekend, and their win at Buckingham Town and Shipton
THOSE behind a sex shop licence application have said linking it to the Bullfinch child abuse case was an “insult to everybody who lives in the area”. Last night councillors agreed to renew the licence for The Private Shop in Cowley Road. Ten
OXFORDSHIRE fell agonisingly short of pulling off a great escape in their final Western Division match of the season at Sidmouth yesterday. Having been set 522 for victory, Oxon resumed the final day on 89-1. But after an heroic effort, they
AN 88th-minute goal from Kynan Isaacs gave ten-man Banbury United a second Calor League Premier Division win with a 2-1 victory at Burnham last night. The visitors went ahead on 32 minutes when Nick Evangelinos netted, but were reduced to ten men
JAMES Roberts scored Oxford United development squad’s first goal in a 3-1 defeat at Bournemouth. The Championship club raced into a three-goal lead by half-time thanks to Jordan Chiedozie’s double and one from Jayden Stockley. United, whose
JAMES Constable says being left out of Oxford United’s starting line-up has only increased his commitment to winning a place back. The striker has been used as a substitute in the opening three games of the Sky Bet League Two season. His only
ARON Wint scored a fortunate equaliser two minutes into injury time to give Solihull Moors a point and deny Oxford City a first win of the season last night. Mike Ford’s side trailed early in the second half, but hit back through Mike Symonds and
OXFORD: A man wearing a baseball cap exposed himself to a 39-year-old woman near a cemetery. The indecent act took place at 6pm last Wednesday on the footpath behind Rose Hill Cemetery. Police described the flasher as white, between 40 and
A DRUG dealer who stashed £230 worth of heroin and cocaine inside Kinder Surprise Eggs has been jailed. Police found the plastic eggs containing nine wraps of heroin and 14 wraps of cocaine in a search of Stuart Nixon’s car. The 25-year-old, left
OXFORD: The controversial Castle Mill student accommodation near Port Meadow is a step closer to being officially labelled the ugliest new building in the UK. Construction industry journal Building Design (BD) awards the Carbuncle Cup to the “most
THEY used to put in hours of hard work for Morris Motors, but now they are proud owners of the cars they helped build. A group of former employees and motor-enthusiasts gathered with their Cowley-built cars at Mini Plant Oxford yesterday to celebrate
The Westgate Shopping Centre was evacuated yesterday afternoon after a “joke shop firework” was let off, right. The children’s toy was set off in clothes retailer Primark and led to the entire centre being evacuated at about 3.50pm for approximately
LITTLEMORE Hospital escapee Ian McLean has been found hanging in a prison cell days before he was due to face a Polish court that would send him back to Britain. McLean, 44, was serving a life sentence for stabbing his former partner when he walked
THE conduct of the authorities, both here in Britain and in Poland, in the case of Ian McLean is extremely worrying. We do not seek to lionise Mr McLean, a 44-year-old jailed quite properly for a horrific attack on his former lover that could have
WOODTURNER Brian Collins works in what you might call a niche market. The niche is largely confined to Oxfordshire, where the quaint, but still popular sport of Aunt Sally thrives. Brian, 73, has been making the tools of the Aunt Sally trade
FARM staff had to move 26,000 chickens to safety when a fire broke out in a barn yesterday. Firefighters placed a 200m cordon around the single-storey building at Ricksfield Farm, in Station Road, Milcombe, near Banbury, after discovering it contained
LUKE Purcell clanged off a six to help Rose Hill Club A become the first team to win a section title as their winning streak stretched to 15 matches, writes ANDY BEAL. The runaway Section 2 leaders confirmed their promotion as they preserved a
OXFORDSHIRE Under 14s recovered from defeat to league leaders Staffordshire in fine style, with a six-wicket victory over Buckinghamshire at Campbell Park in their final ECB County Cup Group 2 match of the season on Sunday. Bucks won the toss and
Premier/Section 1: Red Lion B Eynsham 2, Three Pigeons 1; Gladiators A 2, Red Lion A Eynsham 1; Garsington Sports A 2, Six Bells C Kidlington 1; Cricketers B 1, Vikings Sports B 2; Ampleforth Arms A 1, New Club A 2. Section 2: The Griffin 1, Rose
OXFORDSHIRE Best of Districts Under 12s got their south east tour off to the perfect start with a 73-run victory over Stoke Newington Under 13s at Hackney Marshes. Freddie Williams top-scored with 42 to send Oxon on their way to a total of 220-
OXFORDSHIRE Best of Districts Under 11s began their tour of the south-west with victory over East Devon Under 10s by 82 runs at Exeter. The East Devon side contained four county players, but Oxon’s bowlers made short work of dismissing them for
OXFORD: A new radio station was launched in Oxford yesterday. Jack FM 2 took over from Glide FM on the 107.9 frequency at 10am yesterday morning. The new radio station is aimed to capture female listeners and is designed to complement the more
PLANS to replace an old block of flats and bedsits for homeless people with nine affordable homes have sparked a mixed response from residents. Oxford City Council wants to demolish Eastern House in Eastern Avenue, Littlemore, and replace it with
READY Steady Cook regular Alex Mackay tried to keep all his eggs in the air as he helped launch the annual Foodies Festival. He will be joined by other top chefs at Oxford’s South Park this bank holiday weekend for the event, now in its seventh
WANTAGE: To help townsfolk know their councillors, photographs of past and present mayors will be hung in the Civic Hall. The town council has also decided that photographs of all current councillors will now be put up in the notice board in front
OXON: Views are being sought on how mental health services will be purchased by the NHS. Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group wants to buy services from providers based on outcomes, rather than quantity. It is now seeking views on what
A PHOTOGRAPHY shop which closed with customers claiming it had taken money but not supplied goods is set to be replaced with an upmarket “liquid deli”. In May Trading Standards dropped an investigation into photography firm Blue Amigo, in Little
