http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/ The Oxford Times /forum/letters/ en-gb Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:53:20 +0000 Sun, 12 Feb 2012 03:53:20 +0000 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/rssterms/ M6 nvincent@newsquest.co.uk (Nigel Vincent) webmaster@digitalmedia.newsquest.co.uk (Tim Joy) http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/resources/images/999282/?type=rsslogo http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/ http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518489.New_vital_link_for_Oxford/r/?ref=rss Sir – Your paper has been covering the discussions over redevelopment of the former railway land at Oxpens.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:50:00 +0000 746f80f2bb61c6fa3af02084769e93ba http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518493.Love_they_neighbour/r/?ref=rss Sir – Robert Triggs’ arguments are misconceived (Letters, February 2). While Mr Triggs, the Fellows and Master of Pembroke College, not to mention the rector of St Aldate’s church are evidently not partial to kebabs, the fact remains that someone in the vicinity must be, or the kebab vans wouldn’t bother to park there!

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:50:00 +0000 a7cfc070327c197dc2543f91326eb3c8 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518510.Bazaar_excitement/r/?ref=rss Sir – I was surprised at the prominent position you gave to Robert Triggs’ offensive letter regarding kebab vans in Oxford.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:50:00 +0000 dc721bb581021e252229c21e868112b9 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518512.Hidden_college/r/?ref=rss Sir – I have cycled along Brewer Street regularly for years and although being vaguely aware that Pembroke College was somewhere in the vicinity, it was only after reading about the tensions between historic sites and kebab vans (Letters, February 2) that I realised this bastion of collegiate propriety was on the other side of the gloomy Brewer Street wall.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:50:00 +0000 9451a348c233667aa9d6b7702162fb01 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518517.International_city/r/?ref=rss Sir – So nearly half of all births in Oxford in 2010 were by mothers not born in the UK (Report, February 2). It underlines is how young, successful and international Oxford is. Whether it’s the universities or the BMW car plant, what attracts people to Oxford is job opportunity. What keeps people here, and encourages them to have children, is the prosperity, tolerance and beauty of our city.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 2f81543b2cea864eb194ba3d7fa788e5 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518520.Hard_nosed_attitude/r/?ref=rss Sir – I can only echo the thoughts of many Oxonians regarding Oriel College’s hard-nosed attitude to not renewing the lease of Oddbins who have served Oxford for 40 years on the High Street.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 b98ca564b503122989dd17bee71f26ba http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518524.Listen_and_engage/r/?ref=rss Sir – Your editorial comment (February 2) bemoans, quite rightly, the cost to the public purse of repeated consultations on the East Oxford Controlled parking Zone (CPZ) and remarks that “one thing is for sure, the residents of East Oxford will not be able to claim they were not consulted”. The inference appears to be that those residents who oppose this parking scheme have behaved in a churlish and duplicitous way by rebuffing the repeated attempts of the county council to address the area’s parking and congestion problems. Let me explain why such insinuations are both misinformed and insulting.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 d07a90233d9baf735102bc667a35acfb http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518531.Light_delays/r/?ref=rss Sir – Has the Game Fair come to Oxford again without telling anyone? It took me two hours to get to Long Hanborough from Kidlington at 5.30pm on January 30. There was nothing on any of the local radio stations. There had been no accident, instead by the time you eventually got through Bladon and on to Church Hanborough, there were temporary traffic lights allowing four cars in per light change and surprise, surprise, no workmen!

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 5d718630c095826d895d4a373b4c7595 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518533.Less_than_pleasant/r/?ref=rss Sir – I can remember when station waiting rooms in winter had open coal fires. Today, it seems, you’re lucky to have a waiting room.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 65c933750718f2ba7fd66b41c4bd817c http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518536.Level_playing_field/r/?ref=rss Sir – Working with ethnic minorities is a win-win policy for the city. I was very pleased with the recent statement by councillor Armitage and strongly believe it will be a win-win situation for the city and county. Ethnic minority companies such as ours believe the city must do more to ensure that there is a level playing field. We do not require extra treatment, in the case of MEMO, we do not need it. The measures below are just good business practices and due diligence and will ensure that the council gets value for money. The city should continue to ensure that bids are open, well publicised and sent out as early as possible. It should look carefully at bids that are won year after year by the same company.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 9dc1f94059b0525c53dfcf34e8650f97 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518538.Put_children_first/r/?ref=rss Sir – The report (January 19) of (The) Cherwell School’s decision to become an academy as part of a “gold-rush” led by the hyperactive Michael Gove (1,529 academies and still counting) might be a good moment to celebrate the achievements of the now deceased local education authorities and their dedicated educationalists who, with vision and precision, always put pupils and teachers first.

]]> Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000 7bde79db79b187d038af176dbc6fa531 http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/forum/letters/9518543.Olympiad_of_country/r/?ref=rss Sir – Re: (Oxfordshire Limited Edition, February, Debbie Dance: Our Sporting Heritage, p.95). One aspect of Oxford’s sporting heritage that should not be forgotten is cudgel-play, also known as singlestick. According to The Victoria County History of Oxfordshire, this popular and traditional martial art was a feature of Cowley Wake which was ‘famed as the Olympiad of the country’.

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