The Oxford Times | Profiles

Small objects of desire

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:45:41 +0000

The Zena REX is both a humble vegetable peeler and a design classic. It is so easy to use and enduringly popular that in 2004 it was chosen to illustrate a postage stamp in Switzerland, where it was first made more than 60 years ago.

Paper-trail makes fools of us all

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:34:41 +0000

A sizeable number of investors consider many of the statutory written statements the financial services industry is obliged to make to be completely superfluous. A waste of paper, postage and time. I often find myself agreeing with them.

Man with many caravans

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:33:33 +0000

W hen one door closes, there is always the hope that another will soon open. But a more positive approach, especially in a work-related situation, is to go out and look for another on which to knock.

Open for business

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:31:49 +0000

T he Coalition’s programme to cut Government spending is forcing significant job reductions in the public sector. In aiming to stimulate alternative economies, Prime Minister David Cameron and his Cabinet have made it clear they are targeting the private sector to promote growth and sustainable employment.

Face of sound and vision

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:21:54 +0000

Look through the handsome windows of Oxford Audio Consultants and the uninitiated may wonder how such a shop survives.

On the home front

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:24:05 +0000

When it comes to training, most of us would assume the British armed forces are second to none. So it may come as something of a surprise that training is being carried out by an external company which has drawn praise from senior army personnel as a potential lifesaver.

Taking stock

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:29:29 +0000

Ria Shepheard, of Charles Stanley stockbrokers, talks about her career

Building for future

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:19:33 +0000

Developer Brian Cade has a problem to solve — and is building a five bedroom house to help him solve it. The problem is: How to construct the eco-homes which planners and legislators will insist upon in the future and still make a profit.

Drayson's rading green machine

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:16:20 +0000

Question: Name a minister who requested leave of absence from the government to compete in a Le Mans race? Answer: Paul Drayson, who became Lord Drayson in 2004 before becoming Minister for Defence Procurement in Tony Blair’s government — and who, in 2007, went off to compete in the American Le Mans Series in the United States.

Magicians Young and Strange

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

I smugly handed over my 20p piece to the magician. Within three seconds he had not only made it disappear right in front of my eyes, but had returned it bent in two. Baffling.