Archive

  • Behold the hornicator: Thomas Truax @ Modern Art Oxford

    Paul Stammers takes in a night of creative sound courtesy of Thomas Truax A troubadour dressed in a suit and tie who produces experimental soundscapes using his own avant-garde instruments fashioned from salvaged junk is likely to be a crashing

  • Police shoot Taser at woman with knife

    A KNIFE-wielding woman was shot at with a Taser in Oxford last night. A police spokesman said officers were called to Lockheart Crescent in Cowley just before 10pm yesterday by people worried about the woman. The spokesman said: "Officers discharged

  • SCALES OF JUSTICE

    BANBURY. Mark McGowan, 23, of Elmhurst Way, Carterton, admitted using threatening words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress in Witney on January 26. Also admitted failing to surrender to magistrates on February 18. Fined £250 and

  • Concerns raised over 1,500-home plan

    A new 1,500-home estate on the edge of Wantage will have just 360 primary school places. That was one of the concerns raised at the first public exhibition of plans for the Crab Hill development on Monday. Residents are concerned that Wantage

  • Record-breaking run raises £70,000 for hospital

    A RECORD-BREAKING £70,000 was raised for the Oxford Children’s Hospital at the annual charity OX5 Run this year. The OX5 Run for the Headington hospital took place in the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock on March 10. The 11th annual

  • It's the London look

    A top London designer brought his spring and summer collections to an Oxfordshire stately home yesterday for a charity fashion show. The event at Ditchley Park, Enstone, featured designer Daniel Blake in association with Women for Women International

  • Landlord let off lightly by council court error

    OXFORD City Council enabled a slum landlord to be given a lighter sentence because it failed to inform magistrates he had previous convictions. Imran Hussain Ali, 34, of Cowley Road, was given credit for his “previous good character” when he was

  • Try this bio hotel for a healthy holiday

    Jon Murray experiences the delights of a bio hotel with a very special ambience in the Alps   The move towards eating healthier, locally-grown food — a trend which has gathered pace following the horsemeat crisis — need not be restricted to

  • Jaw Dropping

    As we gear up for our Bond-themed film festival, TIM HUGHES catches up with one of 007’s most fearsome adversaries – Jaws aka Richard Kiel Measuring almost 7ft 2ins tall and with a formidable set of metal teeth, Jaws was among the most formidable

  • Magic Nights

    KATHERINE MACALISTER  talks to Duncan Heather, star of Jersey Nights about what makes the show so special It would be easy to get confused between the two shows Jersey Boys and Jersey Nights, especially as their subject matter is so similar. But

  • Getting in tune for Oxford Folk Weekend

    Tim Hughes looks forward to the Oxford Folk Weekend with the help of director Cat Kelly Hundreds of musicians, dancers and craftspeople will descend on Oxford city centre this weekend for a celebration of one thing – folk music. From Gloucester

  • What's Hot, What's New, What's In, What's Hip...

    * It’s cream tea time and Langford in West Oxfordshire is making the most of spring by opening the gates of their gardens this Sunday. Spend an afternoon wandering around over a dozen beautiful spring gardens, including one created by the late Sir

  • Top of The Bill

    A new restaurant chain in the middle of Oxford has KATHERINE MACALISTER truly impressed from the word go Here’s the challenge. Take a rundown homeless drop-in centre in the middle of Oxford, battle for planning permission to convert it into a 135

  • Six Appeal

    Half a century and six different Bonds, all with one thing in common – their licence to kill. A licence which, as we all know, stands for Vodka martinis, Moneypenny, M, SPECTRE, Aston Martins, Pussy Galore, Blofeld, ejector seats, Shirley Bassey

  • The Game's Bond

    One of the joys of being a gamer is knowing that when you watch a good film, you will be able to relive it as the hero once it has been released on your favourite console. Whether you’re an action fan saving the world as John McClane in Die Hard

  • Dog is Dead: Off The Leash

    Tim Hughes catches up with Lawrence ‘Trev’ Cole of the band Dog is Dead, and asks him what it is that makes his lively band unique TREV laughs as he struggles to explain what it is that makes his band so special. The bass player with indie-pop

  • Obituary: Dr Alison Redmayne, expert on African tribal life

    AN OXFORD ethnographer who became an adopted member of an African royal family, has died at the age of 76. Dr Alison Redmayne was well known for her work in Tanzania where she studied the Hehe and their neighbouring peoples. Born in Birmingham

  • Getting a better deal

    Chris Pomfret believes passionately in what he does, to the point where he has an almost religious zeal about his business. He has set up CommunityBuying unLimited (CBL), an organisation that empowers communities by arranging bulk buying of commodities

  • Embracing change

    It may seem a long way from bangers and mash to BritArt, but photographer Chris King has been there for the ride. By the age of 27, he had a flourishing commercial studio in London, and at one time employed five staff, taking shots for Fortnum and

  • Pub wins real ale fans' votes

    A PUB in Chipping Norton has been named the north Oxfordshire pub of the year by real ale fans. The Chequers, in Goddard’s Lane, was one of six pubs in the area to be shortlisted and was voted the most popular by the North Oxfordshire branch of

  • What's in a name

    The Brunsdon family have been making windows in Oxford for more than 80 years but times have changed since Jack Brunsdon first opened his business in Summertown and ran his joinery and DIY shop in St Ebbe's. Now his grandson, Chris, has taken the

  • An Oxford Bestiary

    Science graduate Sophie Huxley, a distant descendant of scientist Julian and writer Aldous, is a gardener for Oxford colleges and the author of the Oxford Science Walk, Oxford Trees and Eric Gill in Oxford, published by her own business Huxley Scientific

  • True blue who turned Oxford faces red

    Nowhere did true blue Mrs Thatcher cause more faces to turn red than in Oxford; specifically those faces belonging to academics of the older school who felt she should not poke her nose into their business of setting standards in education for the

  • Fresh deals agreed to keep former RH Buses routes on road

    EMERGENCY contracts agreed to keep bus routes in West Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse running after the collapse of RH Transport last year will be replaced by new deals in June. The Witney company stopped operating with just one day’s notice

  • Profile: Michael Grange runs a seriously hospitable place

    Tim Hughes talks to the general manager of an Oxford institution, the five-star Randolph Hotel With a life spent working at some of the country’s finest hotels, Michael Grange is under no illusion as to the gravity of his latest role. As general

  • Jury hears how father-of-three is "on trial for his life"

    A DAD-OF-THREE "on trial for his life" was wrongly accused of child sex crimes by girls whose lives were in "complete turmoil", the Old Bailey heard this morning. Married Kamar Jamil, 27, is one of nine men accused of running a child sex exploitation

  • College trebles intake on motor mechanics' course

    THE number of students being admitted to a college course aimed at providing the motor mechanics of the future is being almost trebled thanks to major investment. Work has started on the construction of a £741,000 purpose-built teaching block at

  • Setting the musical tone

    Disco or jazz band? From magician to string quartet, choose from a wealth of wedding reception music options.  The cake is cut, the speeches are made, and your guests are ready to party! Read on for a little inspiration on how to choose your wedding

  • First person - Elizabeth Brown: Oxford is a rich pomegranate

    Christ Church art history student Elizabeth Brown reflects on the city scene Would-be art students around the country must be suffering from variously crippling visions of being dumped in decrepit studios — tumbleweed to boot — and told to get

  • Breakfast back on the menu for former cafe owner

    A CAFE owner has stepped back into the kitchen opposite his old Oxford premises after becoming bored in retirement. Mick Harris closed the iconic Mick’s Cafe, at the junction of Botley Road and Cripley Road, near the railway station, in February

  • History man aims to make profit from past

    FOR the past 3,000 years, some of the biggest characters in history have left their mark in Abingdon. Now, a new company is offering visitors the chance to step back in time on a guided walk through its historic streets. Kevin Thomson, a 59

  • The city's role in patron's day

    St George’s Day was first officially recognised as a holiday (holy day) at the Synod of Oxford in 1222; but the various divines who gathered for the meeting at Osney Abbey that year would probably be amazed that of all their weighty deliberations,

  • Former soldier sets sights on business success

    A WAR hero turned businessman is celebrating success after taking a leap of faith out of the military. Damion Pointin, 29, has just started to make a profit after starting his own Carterton company. The dad-of-one, who is having another daughter

  • Benefits from Botley path

    Sir – Senior Oxfordshire county councillors (Ian Hudspeth, Rodney Rose and Charles Mathew) have recently asked what the benefits are of constructing a community path along the B4044 from Eynsham to Dean Court? Reviewing the results of the Eynsham

  • Health concerns

    Sir — I strongly support the plea by former GP colleague, Richard Thorne, for more publicity about the serious threat of privatisation of the NHS (Letters, April 4) which the general public seems remarkably unaware of. In an editorial in the current

  • NHS battleground

    Sir – As Dr Richard Thorne explains, so clearly (Letters, April 4), the future of the NHS is precarious and the majority of people seem not to know. As he says, under proposed regulations, the commissioners of care are not left free to stick with

  • Pollution levels vary

    Sir – Pollution in Oxford is falling, not rising, as suggested in your front page story last week (April 4). Overall levels of nitrogen dioxide should be at no more than 40 parts per million and levels have fallen significantly in the last 10 years

  • Controversial status

    Sir – I refer to Mr O’Dwyer’s letter (March 21). His timely letter placed some of the comments of previous correspondence and articles in The Oxford Times into a factual, corrective context. He posed the question to The Oxford Times “why does your

  • Problem for bats

    Sir – Mr Dancey (Letters, March 28) does not quite seem to have understood my point regarding the bats in Wolvercote Tunnel. My argument was that the railway built the tunnel in the first place and, despite reductions in services for some years,

  • Planning poser

    Sir – On November 2, 2011, West Oxfordshire District Council threatened me with planning enforcement action regarding a single fence panel that I had erected at the front of my property on the basis that it was “unsightly and out of character”. I

  • Unpicturesque fringe

    Sir – I must point out that the photograph of the university flats near Port Meadow published in your March 28 issue is seriously misleading. It is captioned: “The contentious flats seen from Port Meadow”, but is actually taken from a point some way

  • Quick paint job

    Sir – Once the city council has had its fingers rapped for granting consent for the flats over looking Port Meadow, a means must be found for reducing their prominence in the landscape. The narrow strip of land now allocated for tree planting will

  • Worrying pointer

    Sir – In the controversy over skyline intrusions, there has been little debate on the strength and mechanism of controls. Since this Government came in, the Department of Culture Media and Sport has stripped away funds and legislative underpinning

  • Destroying habitat

    Sir – Given that all hedgerow and tree-cutting operations are discouraged between March 1 and July 31 by law to protect nesting birds, I noticed with some horror this week that our city council tree team are pollarding the willows growing along the

  • Boat Race apathy

    Sir –  I refer to Jeremy Smith’s article It’s a big opportunity missed (First Person, April 4). Yes, it’s a pity he didn’t find many local people celebrating the great win of Oxford winning the Boat Race. I was away from Oxford myself, but the hotel

  • Restaurant revelation

    Sir – What a revelation (Weekend, March 28) — a new restaurant critic who can write entertainingly and informatively — Liz Nicholls’s article on The Angel really whetted the appetite and inspired a rapid visit to the hostelry reviewed. More of the

  • Role of the reviewer

    Sir – Your new Weekend format is a great improvement with the glaring exception of your ‘food and drink’ column. The best that can be said for your reviewer Katherine MacAlister is that, in her own words in this week’s dreadful article: ‘things can

  • Disparaging faith

    Sir – Paul Surman (Letters, April 4) must live a sheltered life if he has failed to notice the increasing trend of disparaging religious faith, and Christianity in particular. Even as an agnostic with no particular axe to grind, I cannot help noticing

  • Misguided messages

    Sir – I read with dismay your article (April 4) concerning the death of a Clint Townsend, due to complications sustained whilst partaking in an act of violent armed robbery. The article if anything conveyed a sympathetic bias towards the deceased

  • Killing of animals

    Sir – As a member of BBOWT, it was very disappointing to read the article from Giles Strother (Weekend, April 4) advocating the ‘culling’ of deer. What is worse is his belief that the killing of animals is somehow in their best interests. Mr Strother

  • Witney air cadet squadron’s seven decades celebrated

    AN air cadets squadron which has helped youngsters learn self-discipline and new skills is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Since 1943 hundreds of 13 to 20-year-olds have learned such skills as flying, target shooting, canoeing and abseiling,

  • Friendship scheme helps prevent isolation

    MARIANNE Talbot and Thelma Morris look like any good friends enjoying lunch. But they met just a few months ago through the county’s Surviving Winter campaign and are now encouraging others to extend the hand of friendship to help beat elderly isolation

  • Is it 'Thatcher denial' to question the style of funeral?

    With some trepidation I ventured to London yesterday, to the House of Commons. My afternoon visit had nothing to do with the big event of the day, though a number of those present will certainly have been at the funeral of Baroness Thatcher. Whether

  • Oxford couple tried to smuggle baby into the UK

    A COUPLE from Barton were caught trying to smuggle a Nigerian baby into Britain. Simon Heap, 47, and Gladys Effa-Heap, 52, were given a suspended jail sentence on Tuesday after admitting facilitating a breach of immigration law. A Border Force

  • CHIPPING NORTON LITERARY FESTIVAL: Stars line up for event

    BOOK lovers will be able to listen to big-name authors in small venues at Chipping Norton Literary Festival this week. The event will take place across 10 venues in the town and feature 50 discussions, workshops and children’s events. Writers

  • French onion soup

    Onion soups were once considered the food of the poor, as the ingredients were both cheap and plentiful. Now that Gruyère cheese and wine is added to the base of simmering onion slices and rich stock it is considered a soup of great worth and particularly

  • School field development recommended for approval

    PLANS to sell off school playing fields in Banbury for housing and improved sports facilities look set to be approved. Banbury AAT Academy, formerly the Banbury School Trust, has submitted outline plans to Cherwell District Council to build 44

  • Peace in our time

    Tim Hughes meets indie-rockers Peace - tipped as one of the year’s biggest acts With a name like Peace, you might reasonably expect the band to fit the stereotype of the dreamy hippy. But that’s barely half the story. Cool indie-rockers

  • RUGBY UNION: Chippy and Banbury joy

    CHIPPING Norton and Banbury proved the most successful clubs in Bicester’s ‘B’ team festival at Chesterton. Both secured two titles, with Chippy winning the under 10 and under seven events, and Banbury collecting the under 11 and under nine crowns

  • FOOTBALL: Oxford City's new president 'is no sugar daddy'

    OXFORD City managing director Colin Taylor has stressed that the appointment of Florida-based businessman Thomas Anthony Guerriero as their new president and director did not mean the club had found it’s own sugar daddy. Guerriero, the founder

  • RUGBY UNION: Memorial for Laman

    WHEATLEY are holding a memorial event for Jason Laman on Saturday. The day will feature a competition between Wheatley Old Boys team, a current XV and Crowthorne RFC, who were Wheatley’s opposition when Laman died. As well as the match, there

  • FOOTBALL: North Leigh stunned by quickfire Wort

    A HAT-TRICK in seven first-half minutes from Sholing goal machine Lee Wort condemned North Leigh to a 5-0 defeat in last night’s Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West fixture. Wort struck in the 26th, 30th and 33rd minutes to give

  • Oxford City boss wary of strugglers

    OXFORD City boss Mike Ford has warned his side face a rigourous test of their unbeaten run at lowly Colwyn Bay in Blue Square Bet North tonight. Although Frank Sinclair’s side are third from bottom, they pulled off a shock 3-1 win at Brackley Town

  • Three held in immigration raid on Jericho food outlets

    THREE workers were arrested during an immigration raid on two food outlets in Oxford yesterday. Officers from the Border Agency apprehended the men at Peppers Burgers and the Bombay Restaurant – two doors apart in Walton Street, Jericho – at 1.30pm

  • New exhibitions at Christ Church Picture Gallery

    Prophecies, Histories, Legends and Law in drawings by Old Masters & Two Landscapes Revisited Until June 9 and Until May 27 respectively The theme of Christ Church Picture Gallery’s two exhibitions this spring came about partly as a result

  • Soundbites: Oxford Folk Weekend and Record Store Day

    What's new on the Oxford music scene... BRACE yourself for the sound of bells, clashing sticks, and frantic fiddling because tomorrow marks the start of Oxford’s Folk Weekend. The event, which takes place in venues across the city until

  • RUGBY: London Welsh eyeing up flying finish

    LONDON Welsh head coach Lyn Jones has urged his side to show their worth by finishing with a flourish. The Exiles were relegated from rugby’s Aviva Premier-ship after losing 31-14 at home to Northampton at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium on Sunday. But they

  • THATCHER FUNERAL: Peaceful, still and eerie, people wait

    Oxford resident Charlotte Krol travelled to London to line the streets with thousands of others in observing Baroness Thatcher’s funeral. Here is her account of the momentous occasion...   It’s a typically grey morning with workers suited for

  • Folk girl Jackie Oates Waking up to lullabies

    Tim Hughes speaks to Jackie Oates ahead of her Oxford Folk Weekend gig For generations, young children have been lulled to sleep by a soporific song. But, like so many things, in recent years the humble lullaby has fallen out of favour. Few

  • RUGBY UNION: Burrows will give Grove priority

    CRAIG Burrows will put club before county if Grove reach a promotion play-off. Burrows is head coach of Grove and Oxfordshire, who open their County Championship Shield campaign away to Surrey on April 27. Should Grove, as expected, finish

  • Preview of Life is a Dream: Oxford Playhouse

    Calderón de la Barca’s La Vida es sueño (Life is a Dream) is a great masterpiece of Spain’s 17th-century Golden Age of drama sometimes referred to — for its fame and importance rather than its plot — as “the Spanish Hamlet”. It is not as well known

  • Maurice's Jubilee

    Its preoccupation with death hardly makes Maurice’s Jubilee comfortable viewing at times, especially for some of us Oxford Playhouse oldies who might prefer cheerier topics than a soon-to-be nonogenarian’s imminent encounter with his Maker. The

  • RUGBY LEAGUE: Benson praises Oxford backing

    OXFORD RL head coach Tony Benson said the club were delighted by their first home crowd at Iffley Road. Some 352 fans watched Oxford’s Kingstone Press Championship One clash with South Wales Scorpions on Saturday. Benson said there had been

  • BOWLS: Oxon lift national crown

    An Oxfordshire side grabbed the glory in the fours competition at the English Short Mat Bowling Association National Championships at Bromsgrove. The quartet of Geoff Cross, Tim Cross, Gareth Davies and Andrew Brown crushed a Cornwall four, led

  • POINT-TO-POINT: Jackson-Stops in Gidam Gidam joy

    Novice rider James Jackson-Stops was elated after Gidam Gidam galloped his rivals into the ground to capture the Lord Ashton of Hyde’s Cup at the Heythrop Hunt meeting at Mollington, near Banbury. The London-based property surveyor was riding just

  • Crime report important

    THANK you for highlighting the fall in crime on the Rose Hill estate, the importance of the local police office and also the wider regeneration (April 16). To set readers’ minds at rest: the housing regeneration only covered Orlit properties and

  • Alive and building

    MAY I thank Mr Biggs of Kennington for his concern. I am alive and well but have been busy with building alterations. I enjoyed the article about Sunnyside Hospital, in the late ’50s. It was a police “Tea Spot” if on night duty. One night a

  • Rising to the festival

    I was delighted to see that the Oxford Mail is running another film festival from the Phoenix, this time on James Bond. Having attended a few screenings at previous offerings, I have to say that they really do offer a very enjoyable and different

  • Speculation on Mrs T

    ENOUGH of all this sterile speculation as to whether or not Margaret Thatcher was the greatest British Prime Minister since the Second World War. Has this fickle nation so rapidly forgotten the unique contribution of the premier who so honestly

  • A Sturdy response

    WITH reference to an article in the Oxford Mail regarding Sturdy’s Castle restaurant, which has recently opened. My husband and I and two friends have visited the last two weekends and found the reporter’s comments damaging. We all had the

  • Dreaming spires

    LOOKING at Oxford from Port Meadow, I personally never found the view of the ‘dreaming spires’ very impressive. To me (perhaps to me alone) the city never dominated the skyline. The spires were simply too far away. HANS HAMMERSCHMIDT Compass

  • A way around the cuts have made plans public

    ELAINE Bennett (ViewPoints, April 4) complains about the lack of consultation on planning applications in Marston. In particular, she refers to mistakes made by the planning department, which have meant that on several occasions Old Marston Parish

  • LEGAL CHALLENGES: So when is a gift not a gift?

    Lawyers are very often asked in the event of a breakdown of a relationship between couples or between parents and children, what happens to a gift when someone asks for it back. In most circumstances the legal position is that gifts will remain

  • RACING: Music Master calls tune for Candy

    Wantage trainer Henry Candy has a trip to Royal Ascot in mind for Music Master after the colt opened his account at Newmarket yesterday. A promising fourth on his debut at Salisbury last October, the 13-2 chance kept finding more for Fergus Sweeney

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Democrats claim title

    West Oxford Democrats Club clinched the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League Section 1 title by the narrowest of margins, writes PETE EWINS. Democrats won 3-2 at Headington Conservative Club, while rivals Masons A triumphed 4-1 at home to Marlborough

  • U's supporters loyal

    I WAS pleased to read in the Oxford Mail that Oxford United’s fans are to remain loyal on buying season tickets, but isn’t it about time that the club did something for them? Once again the team is languishing in the lower regions of League Two

  • In praise of Iron Lady

    Emmett Schlueter, (ViewPoints, April 16), is praising Margaret Thatcher. Therefore, presumably, he is criticising the most powerful economy in Europe that, as far as I know, did not close down its coal mines, nor its heavy engineering industries

  • Carnaby Street: Wycombe Swan

    FOUR STARS   Carnaby Street was not so much a London thoroughfare as an idea. It was fashion. It was where we mods bought our hipsters and deep-vented mohair suits (Lord John) and our slip-on loafers (Ravel). Our pop heroes of The Who and Small

  • Preview of Singing For Freedom

    Imagine your grandfather and uncle being brutally murdered by the Taleban when you are just three years old, and then your parents and baby brother go missing, presumed tortured and killed. This is Hassan’s story, and the youngster, now seven,

  • ICE HOCKEY: Party time for Oxford City Stars

    OXFORD City Stars rounded off their South Division 2 campaign with a bang – and then the celebrations could really begin. The champions beat Bristol Pitbulls 4-3 in their final game of the season, before being handed the league trophy following a sensational

  • Bullfinch trial: Day 46

    Our coverage of the Oxfordshire child sex ring trial continues this morning Day 46 in the #Oxford child sex exploitation trial. Old Bailey due to hear closing speech for first defendant Kamar Jamil. — @Ben_Wilkinson_ 18 April 2013

  • COMMENT: Family links

    FRED and Ron Boyes have seemingly struck a blow in the debate of nuture over nature. The fact the now-reunited brothers were unaware of each other for almost 80 years while living just 127 miles apart is heartwarming. But the coincidences in

  • Man bailed over Broadways pub assault

    DIDCOT: A 28-year-old man has been bailed until May 3 on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. It follows an assault at the Broadways pub which left its victim with a fractured jaw.

  • Mercedes stolen from house in Chipping Norton

    A BLACK Mercedes A150, registration AO05 PYX, was stolen from a house in Church Street, Chipping Norton. Thieves stole the keys and also took a laptop computer and jewellery between 9am on Wednesday, April 10, and 6pm on Saturday. Anyone with

  • Unemployment figure in Oxfordshire falling

    OXON: The number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in the county has fallen for the first time since November. Latest figures show 7,090 people claimed the benefit in March, a fall of 135 on the previous month. The data also shows there

  • Blackwell’s to shed 55 library service jobs

    BLACKWELL’S is to shed 55 jobs after closing its library services arm. The company’s boss has said the firm would now be focusing on its bookselling and online services. The jobs are to be axed at the division’s Cowley base as part of a continuing

  • Drayton man reunited with his brother after 80 years apart

    TO discover you have a long lost brother is one thing. Learning he lived just 127 miles up the road for almost 80 years is another. But then to find out you gave your daughters the same name, played the same position in football and reached

  • Photo firm Blue Amigo applies to cease trading

    TROUBLED Oxford photography firm Blue Amigo has applied to be dissolved. It has notified the London Gazette and filed with Companies House to strike off. Following a series of stories by the Oxford Mail, several customers have come forward

  • £3.55m grant can help fill in potholes

    A £3.55m Government handout will be used to plug some of the county’s pothole-damaged roads. This week, Oxfordshire County Council confirmed the one-off sum would be spent over the next two years. The council allocated the money after the Government

  • COMMENT: Council must bite the bullet

    IT does not bode well for campaigners that, two months after there was finally an admission an error was made over approving the Castle Mill accommodation blocks, councillors have only progressed to passing a motion demanding a meeting with Oxford

  • Witney complete the double double

    Witney 1 have added the Frank Wood Shield to the first division title to complete ‘the double’ for the second time in as many years. The final of the Frank Wood — against Witney 2 — proved something of a walk-over for Witney 1 who have only suffered

  • Two lanes closed in M40 crash this morning

    TWO lanes on the M40 are closed this morning following a crash. Police were called at 1.20am to the M40 northbound between junctions 8 for Oxford and 9 for Bicester where a lorry had come off the road. The lorry is yet to be recovered. No one

  • GOLF: Teen to green as Cara stars at county championships

    TEENAGER Cara Gainer held her nerve to win the Oxfordshire Ladies Golf Championship in testing conditions. The 16-year-old, from Frilford Heath, won 2 & 1 against defending champion Sam Round, who was attempting to land her fourth county title

  • ATHLETICS: Atyeo on song in Brill tester

    JOHN Atyeo was the leading Oxfordshire finisher in the Brill Hilly 10K. The 46-year-old Oxford City athlete clocked 38mins 8secs for third place in the challenging event, which is organised by his club. Charlie May (Vale of Aylesbury) successfully

  • ATHLETICS: Good day in Vienna for Alex

    ALEX Scrivener backed up her cross country form with victory in the Vienna mini marathon. Oxford City’s under 11 star entered the 2km race, which took place a day before the city’s marathon, while on a family holiday. Scrivener stormed to victory

  • ATHLETICS: Beardsmore stays top of the rankings

    SUZANNE Beardsmore maintained her position as leading lady after round three of the Enfield Race Walking League. Beardsmore was pipped on the line by clubmate Noel Blatchford in the Pat Furey Open five-mile event at Lee Valley, but still tops the

  • GOLF: Club results

    SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 1 The Oxfordshire 2 (3pts), Burford 1 (1) (The Oxfordshire first): M Shimmin & A Stubbs bt B Gaertner & A Salter 2 holes; P Green & J Garniish bt M Potts & D Summers 5 & 3;

  • Festival fun to support charity and the abbey

    It is incredible how people of all ages from the village get involved and do whatever they can to help,” says Steph Forman, Director of the Dorchester Festival. The festival, which takes place in Dorchester-on-Thames, has raised almost £50,000

  • Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 18/4/2013)

    While Mathieu Kassovitz has remained one of France's most popular actors, he has also become one of its more inconsistent directors since making his exceptional debut with the hard-hitting banelieu drama, La Haine (1994). The hitman saga, Assassin(

  • Parky at the Pictures (DVD 18/4/2013)

    Last July, we devoted a couple of DVD columns to the collections of short films released by Peccadillo Pictures in the Boys on Film series. This week, we focus on the three volumes in the companion lesbian strand, Here Come the Girls, as well as a

  • 'I've won planning permission - but won't be using it'

    MARTIN Young has won planning permission to finally change a rundown house that has stood empty for more than five years. But he’s not going to use it. Councillors at the East Area planning committee approved an application from Mr Young for

  • Roller skiing takes off in South Oxfordshire

    A NEW sport is causing a rumble in South Oxfordshire. Roller skiing is almost exactly like skiing but on wheels, which means you don’t need snow to do it. South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) is running taster sessions in the sport in

  • Student is cleared of rape at crown court

    A STUDENT has been cleared of rape after arguing he was “sleepwalking” when the crime allegedly took place. Maximillian Hessel was found not guilty yesterday and walked free from Oxford Crown Court following an eight-day trial. The 22-year-old

  • Rail fans chuffed with plan

    STEAM rail enthusiasts in Wallingford are investing £10,000 in a new visitor centre to bring in more tourists. Volunteers at the Cholsey and Wallingford Railway Preservation Society have been running steam and diesel trains on the five-mile round

  • On tour with Stornoway

    Fresh from their European venture and before they embark on a US tour, Thomas Burrows catches up with Stornoway bassist Oli Steadman, and asks him about life on the road Oxford-based Stornoway, with their collection of folk indie hits, began their