Oxford's StreetSports programme has been given top marks by a national quality scheme. The StreetMark accreditation ensures that street sport schemes meet a series of standards. Oxford City Council’s StreetSports programme runs during the summer holidays
A 23-YEAR campaign for a permanent skate park in Oxford looks set to move ahead at last. One of the last obstacles to the East Oxford park has been lifted after the Environment Agency dropped its objections over flooding risks. And Oxford City Council
INDEPENDENT traders in Headington have hit out at plans for a Costa Coffee shop. The chain has applied to change the use of the former Cartridge World shop in London Road, opposite a Starbucks coffee shop. But while Headington residents would be spoilt
TIME will be called on badly-behaved drinkers thanks to a new Pubwatch scheme in Oxford. Landlords have joined forces with police to launch the initiative in Cowley in time for Christmas. So far seven pubs have signed up to the scheme, which helps licensees
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Artists are helping youngsters brighten up their homes with Christmas decorations made from recycled materials. Groovy Su, left, and Emily Cooling, right, who made the Christmas Light Night lanterns for the parade on Friday, December 2, are hosting workshops
Exam results could suffer across North Oxfordshire if Warriner School gets permission to open a sixth form, Banbury School has warned. It said the proposed Bloxham sixth form would be too small, risked money being taken from school budgets and could
A £2M EXPANSION of a Wantage school will not be enough to curb primary place shortages, opposition councillors have warned. Oxfordshire County Council last week gave planning permission to Charlton Primary School to build a block of two new
POLICE have charged a man in connection with the Soak graffiti tags daubed across Oxford last year. Charlie Silver, 20, of Upper Fisher Row, has been charged with four counts of criminal damage relating to incidents between May 20 and September 24 last
FORMER mayor of Wallingford Dee Cripps is launching a fundraising group for Macmillan nurses as she battles breast cancer. Ms Cripps was diagnosed with cancer in July and had a lump removed from her breast the following month. She has been undergoing
EVERYONE is being urged to put their best feet forward again to raise cash for Sport Relief. Oxford has been confirmed as one of the hosts for the Sport Relief Mile next year, and enthusiastic fundraisers are now needed to take part. It will set off
COUNCIL taxpayers in Didcot will have to help foot the bill for overspending on the new civic hall which could reach £650,000. Town councillors have been told the final bill for the refurbishment and extension of the building in Britwell Road
In a letter that was sent to, but not published in, the Daily Telegraph (see below) Geoff Chessum asked: “Are there any petrol stations left in Britain where your car is filled up for you by a cheery attendant, who also wipes your windscreen?” Well,
Witney’s splendid £3m Blue Boar hotel, restaurant and pub was launched in traditional style last Thursday with a ‘first pint’ of beer poured by handpump at the gleaming new pewter and zinc bar (see picture) that overlooks the town’s historic market
Elizabeth Luard, the award- winning food writer and winner of the much coveted Glenfiddich Trophy, is one of the most respected cookery writers in Britain today, and one of the leading authorities on European food and cooking. Her 15 years spent
As Poet Laureate to George III, Dr Thomas Warton (1728-1729) had an unusual problem. He earned his bread — and wine too, as it happens — by writing odes to order in praise of his sovereign; then, all of a sudden, his sovereign went stark, staring
THE cost to the NHS in Oxfordshire of dealing with illnesses associated with obesity tops £1m each year, according to a new report. For the first time a price has been put on how much it costs to treat people who get ill because they are dangerously
TEENAGERS aged just 13 have been reprimanded for setting fire to two council-owned play areas. Three boys were given the warning after they set fire to fence posts around Trinity Park, Bretch Hill. A 17-year-old male was also given a final warning by
O’Neill’s has supplied a little corner of Ireland in Oxford city centre for nearly 15 years. The George Street premises were previously the showrooms for the Southern Electricity Board. I once bought a Hoover vacuum cleaner there to earn a free
So many people admit to being chocoholics that I thought it might be fun to give some of my festive drinks a chocolate twist this year. I was partly inspired to do this when a large book — Couture Chocolate: a Master-class in Chocolate (Jacqui
The sleuthing is far from elementary in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Guy Ritchie’s action-packed sequel to his 2009 reinvention of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective. The dense narrative taxes what Hercule Poirot referred to as
This show comprises a wide range of collectable items and attractive presents, all at affordable prices and all made by 18 local artists: jewellery, wood carving, ceramics, glass, books, prints, photo-art, lithographs, water colour, textiles and felt-work
This year is the 50th anniversary of OUP’s Carols for Choirs books, and on Tuesday night, in the exquisite setting of Merton College Chapel, a special concert was held to celebrate this milestone and mark the launch of the latest in the series, Carols
To celebrate the centenary of his birth next year, Oxford Theatre Guild look at the tragic life of Enigma machine decoder, computing pioneer and eventual social pariah Alan Turing in their dignified production of High Whitemore’s eighties play
The first thing to impress about this striking Creation Theatre adaptation and production of Dickens’s classic is the set. The North Wall stage is turned 90 degrees to the right as the audience enters the space, and doubles in size. A huge broken
‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” sang adult members of the audience — we were styled ‘the giants’ — as the charming festive production Dear Father Christmas got under way at the Burton Taylor last week. And indeed — as the picture on the
Legendary Hungarian musician Andràs Schiff did some impressive multi-tasking on Saturday night, giving regular conductor Marios Papadopoulos a night off as he took on the mantles of both piano soloist and conductor. In the opening piece, Haydn’s Piano
The adult in me was livid at a potentially review-missing 45-minute afternoon wait for a bus from Headington (two Saturdays from Christmas?). What remains of the child in me revelled in what I eventually saw at the Playhouse: a pantomime whose
Last week saw the Home Farm Trust’s annual Coming of Christmas concert at Dorchester Abbey. This year’s merry offerings included the choir of New College alongside readings from guests Imogen Stubbs and Dominic West (pictured right). Dorchester
joyful affair, with a touch of the familiar mixed with some rarely-heard gems. Corelli’s Christmas Concerto needs little introduction; this popular piece by one of Italy’s leading 17th-century composers beautifully evokes the essence of Christmas in six
This exhibition of paintings by Pamela Franklin, Addy Gardner, Neil Drury, Margaret Charlton and Will Cotterill creates a wonderful sense of light and hope at this, the darkest time of year. Halcyon, the mythical bird was said to have had this effect
The first solo tour of the N-Dubz front man began last Friday. Dappy had previously declared his hopes that his album No Regrets would deliver him an auspicious solo career. With the first single (also titled No Regrets) striking the top of the charts
Ollie Halliday bagged a brace as Chalgrove stormed to a 4-0 win at Golden Ball in the RT Harris Oxford City FA. They went ahead when Peter Clarke rounded the keeper before sliding home from an acute angle. Halliday then blasted home Chalgrove’s second
Danny Jones hit a hat-trick to help Kidlington Old Boys to a 6-1 win against Henley Town Res in the third round of the Oxfordshire Intermediate Cup. Jones got the opener, with Chris Fujak making it 2-0 at the break. Craig Sinclair pulled one back in
This year’s Celebration of Christmas was in fact a double celebration for Macmillan Cancer Support. Not only was it Macmillan’s 15th annual Christmas concert at Christ Church Cathedral, but 2011 also marked 100 years of charitable work by Macmillan
With numbers like Some Enchanted Evening, A Cockeyed Optimist and I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, the tune-packed musical South Pacific is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s greatest successes. Yet they took considerable risks. Set on
Launton Res won 3-2 at neighbours Slade Farm Res in Division 2 of the Oxfordshire Senior League. Goals from Craig Ellis, Ashley Payne and Johnny Moore appeared to put Launton in control, only for James Allen (penalty) and Callum Wynne to cut the lead
Luke Beauchamp scored an injury-time winner as Bletchingdon snatched a 2-1 win against Launton Sports in the Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division. With minutes left, it looked as though Launton would hold on for victory, but Bletchingdon
LATE night noise complaints to Oxford City Council will continue to be dealt with by a third party. The council was criticised last year for moving its out-of-hours call cover to Cheshire after closing its own centre in Barton. This contract has now
PRIVATE owners in West Oxfordshire are being asked to keep their ditches, brooks and streams clear to reduce the risk of flooding. It comes as the district council’s annual ditch clearing has been completed as part of its flood defence work. Council
WITNEY Town Council has confirmed plans to sell Langdale Hall to finance refurbishment of the Corn Exchange. The Oxford Mail revealed the plan, which could generate up to £1m, in February and it remains in place, despite the sudden closure of the Corn
SOUTH & WEST COUNTIES YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP OXFORDSHIRE Under 16s slid to a 2-0 loss against Berks & Bucks at Abingdon United.
THIS was the moment a Sainsbury’s home delivery van arrived just a little too close to home. The vehicle became wedged under the low roof of a block of flats in Apiary Way, Cholsey, scraping off the wooden trim. Residents had to help the driver let
GILES SPORTS WITNEY YOUTH LEAGUE GEORGE Meyer fired a five-timer as Carterton Colts won 9-2 at home to Deddington Town Colts in the Under 12 B League. Danny Allsworth hit a hat-trick and Gareth Newman also netted for Carterton after Dan Campling scored
Three Finstock players were sent off as they crashed to a 6-1 defeat against Minster Lovell in Division 1 of the Witney & District FA. Darren Tasker fired Finstock ahead before Jordan Beck, Ryan Johns and Matt Eaton were red-carded. Nathan Harris took
Lawrence Hoey hit a hat-trick as Didcot Casuals ended Division 1 leaders Crowmarsh Gifford’s unbeaten record in a 4-0 win to throw the title race wide open. Richard Knight was their other marksman. Saxton Rovers could not take advantage
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SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL CHENEY, Oxford, lifted the Oxfordshire Under 13 Cup with a 6-0 win over St Gregory the Great, Oxford in the final. Molly Lygo-Jackson hit a hat-trick, with Courtney Sumner bagging a brace and Jasmine Mirnam also netting
AN OXFORDSHIRE cameraman has unearthed footage of David Bowie performing on Top of the Pops that was thought lost for almost 40 years. The long-lost clip of the glam rock star performing Jean Genie live in 1973 had been described as the ‘holy
The number of people out of work and claiming jobseeker’s allowance in Oxfordshire fell by 113 in November to 7,612 or 1.8 per cent of the working age population, the lowest since June. The figure is a 0.1 per cent increase on the same month last year
Staff at eight county branches of troubled holiday firm Thomas Cook were today breathing a sigh of relief after learning their were jobs were not going to be axed. The company said it will close 178 UK stores over the next two years as it battles to
OXFORD: Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has confirmed the city as one of 20 “pioneer areas” earmarked for new local TV stations. The station could go live on Channel Six on Freeview by 2014. Capital funding of £25m, and a further £5m a year towards the
OXON: Rail and bus firm Go-Ahead, the parent company of the Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said full-year profits would be above expectations after record passenger numbers. Its profits are on course to hit £95.7m in the year to June 30, compared
THE Oxford Mail’s fifth Senior Citizens Film Festival, co-sponsored by the Phoenix cinema in Walton Street, Oxford, got off to a flying start yesterday with its screening of The King’s Speech. Pensioners from around the county flocked to the cinema to
NEWS that Oxford Stadium has been struck off a list of potential housing sites will be met with a roar of approval by speedway and greyhound fans. It will keep hopes alive that speedway may once again return to the city. But the decision to strike the
OXFORD: Clothing and homeware store Matalan in Cowley will tonight stage a VIP shopping night for Oxford Mail Loyalty Club card holders. When readers show their Loyalty Club cards they will receive a free mince pie and glass of mulled wine. And when
Oxford City Council has axed plans to designate the city’s greyhound stadium for houses and last night called for its owners to bring back speedway. In May, Oxford Stadium was included in a list of sites put forward by their owners to be
SCHOOLS' FOOTBALL OXFORD City slipped to a 4-0 defeat against Brent in the ESFA Under 13 Trophy third round. A Brandon Ramsey goal saw Oxford trail at half-time, and Brent clinched victory after the break with further strikes from Luke Galvin and
If you never go to the theatre any other time of the year, you really can’t afford to miss it at Christmas. And as one might expect from the Pegasus in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, their Christmas production is deliciously seasonal, intimate and enchanting
THE MP for Witney will have no influence in Europe at all after the disastrous failure of his talks in Brussels (Oxford Mail, December 10). In one fell swoop, David Cameron has kicked the euro in the teeth, denied his backbenchers a referendum and
IT WAS brave of PM David Cameron to give the V sign to Europe. He has shown some true leadership at last. The eurozone is a sinking ship and frankly we are better off out of the vessel. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy
DAVID Williams (letters, December 12) refers to the proposed redesign of Frideswide Square by saying the: “Tory controlled county council” is “arrogant” because it “fouled it up in the first place”. Mr Williams has obviously failed to check the facts
I had to go to the local post office to collect an item that couldn't be delivered as there was insufficient postage on it, the item was going to cost me £1.22 to retrieve. The item was a Christmas card sent to me by a friend, as the edges of the card
LYNN Wright has been running the Bicester Beds store for decades and is a popular personality in the town. The store opened in 1947 and has been run by her family since then. She has lived in Bicester all her life and campaigns for the town. Lynn
OUR thanks go to White’s coaches and their driver, Brian, for the years of friendly and reliable service they have given now that their contract for the 63 bus has come to an end. We have been able to set our watches by the bus, and Brian has a smile
I THOUGHT ‘What a load of old rubbish’ was a good headline (Oxford Mail, December 5) and very true in many cases. Years ago the cleansing department, which in those days was in Botley Road, was run by a superintendent and inspectors to oversee the everyday
I HOPE that Oxford’s licensed vehicle drivers will oppose the compulsory introduction of video and audio recording in their vehicles, if not for themselves, then on behalf of those of their customers who object to being filmed and recorded while travelling
HAVING had very little experience of TV this millennium, I was ignorantly under the impression that Top Gear was a high street clothes shop and that Jeremies Clarkson and Paxman were the same person, whereas the one is in fact a “professional loudmouth
THE Henry Box School is set to become the first school in Witney to reject county council control and become an academy. Governors voted on Monday night to apply to the Department for Education for academy status, with the conversion likely to take place
A MAGICAL mystery is baffling staff at Oxford’s Story Museum. Workers at the building in Pembroke Street, which aims to open in 2014, displayed a Father Christmas suit in a phone booth outside as a publicity stunt. The booth was padlocked
One too many coffees or breaking the seal after a few pints down the pub? I bet you all know that feeling of needing a wee so badly it hurts. Well many disabled people don’t get that feeling or the luxury of holding it in. Picture this. I am in a pub
WHO would pinch a santa suit from a padlocked phone box? The Story Museum’s fun festive display was meant to entertain children as they walked past. But that’s been scuppered thanks to Oxford’s very own Grinch. He might have the suit, but Santa won
CRITCHLEYS UPPER THAMES VALLEY LEAGUE CARLY Bloomfield hit a hat-trick as Rover Cowley maintained their 100 per cent Premier Division record with a 6-2 victory at home to winless Dorchester United, writes TIM SIRET. Dorchester surprised Rover by twice
OXFORD MAIL GIRLS LEAGUE ELLA Burt’s hat-trick saw Summertown Stars defeat Carterton 3-0 in the Under 13 League. The comfortable victory also meant Summertown leapfrog Carterton in the table, rising to seventh place. Under 16 Leah McLennon and
IT WAS a day of double surprises for young patients at the Oxford Children’s Hospital yesterday. Not only were the children treated to an early visit from Father Christmas, but they were delighted again in the afternoon when Oxford United stars arrived
AUSTRALIAN striker Matthew Fletcher agreed a short-term contract with Oxford United yesterday – and is determined to show people he deserves a place in the U’s squad. The 19-year-old, who has spent the last three years at Sunderland, wanted a fresh challenge
TWO men who rescued a trapped driver from his burning car were last night hailed as lifesavers. Father-and-son builders Michael Kennedy Snr and Jnr were driving to work when they saw a 67-year-old’s silver Volkswagen Golf hit a tree and catch fire on
TRAFFIC is being held up after a collision between three lorries on the A34 at the Botley interchange. Reports say there is a partial blockage of the northbound sliproad at the interchange with the A420.
TO SOME people our Badvent day 14 suspect is Abdelkaren Arressia. Others call him Belgassim Araissia and then there’s those who know him as Abdul Raesea. But all police officers want to know is where he is. The 24-year-old Algerian, right, is suspected
HIGH winds battered parts of Oxfordshire yesterday morning, bringing down trees on several rural roads. And the county is braced for more stormy weather in the coming days. Drivers in Challow, near Wantage, faced delays last night as a number of cars
OXFORD City missed the chance to go top of the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division tonight when they drew 1-1 at Chesham United. City were heading for a 1-0 win until their former Oxford United defender Chris illmottturned the ball past his own
