Archive
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Axe on anti-knife crime funding upsets stab victim's sister
THE sister of a man stabbed to death in Oxford has criticised the Government for stopping cash designed help cut knife crime in the county. Karis Daniels, whose 22-year-old brother Blayne Ridgway was killed outside a city centre night- club, said money
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Veg Out
The vegetarian menu at The Gardeners Arms may have fooled her friends but KATHERINE MACALISTER knows she’s on to a winner. That is one of the best burgers I’ve ever eaten,” my friend said happily, tucking into her enormous hand-made patty
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On Fire
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (15). Thriller/Drama. Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Andersson, Georgi Staykov, Micke Spreitz, Johan Kylen, Hans-Christian Thulin. The late Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millennium
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Strong Flavours
You expect Martin Blunos to speak with a thick Latvian accent to match his long hair, impressive handlebar moustache and Iron Chef persona. So when he comes out with a West Country burr the celebrity chef is immediately less intimidating. Think WWF
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Thrills and Skills
RICHARD BELL just about manages to not explode with excitement as he heads down to Jaguar Skills @ The Coven, Oxpens Road, Oxford. It feels like I haven’t been to the Coven in a while, so much so that I had really started to miss it. So
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Mercury and Beyond
Ahead of their headline slot at Reading this weekend, TIM HUGHES finds out where the Klaxons have been hiding. WRITTEN off in some quarters as day-glo one trick ponies, Klaxons have confounded their critics by bouncing back – revitalised
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Cutteslowe Park wind turbine plans stalled over MoD radar concerns
PLANS for a wind turbine at a North Oxford park have stalled amid fears it could interfere with RAF radar systems. Oxford City Council and Partnerships for Renewables (PfR) have announced aviation studies and discussions with the Ministry of Defence
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Forsyth Saga
As his latest hit thriller hits the shelves, top author Frederick Forsyth tells some hair-raising stories of his own. Top author Frederick Forsyth has had more brushes with danger during his career than most of us have had hot dinners. He
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Your Carriage Awaits
KATHERINE MACALISTER reacquaints herself with the capital in regal style. Where are you going?” our waiter asked as we tried to creep past him back to our room. “To lie down. Fabulous tea by the way,” we mumbled clutching our bellies.
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Game For A Laugh
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (12A). Comedy. Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mark Webber, Alison Pill, Johnny Simmons, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Satya Bhabha, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, Mae Whitman, Keita Saitou, Shota Saito,
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All Four One
It all started in Oxford for Alison Skilbeck back in her salad days, and now here she is, bringing her own one-woman show to the Burton Taylor Theatre tonight to prove just how far she’s come. Having starred in films like Phantom Of The Opera, and with
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Bloc Buster
Kele Okereke of Bloc Party looks forward to going solo at the place where it all began - Reading weekend. IT seemed an odd thing to do. Riding high on the strength of three platinum albums, and on stage in front of an adoring festival
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Retail stars win awards
A GROUP of young apprentices have become trailblazers for their industry after getting a retail qualification. Five teenagers, aged 16 to 18, who work at Bicester Village, completed a fast track bespoke retail programme that also bagged them
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Oxfam worker sees aid in action
AN OXFAM worker has returned from a visit to Rwanda where she experienced for herself the difference aid can make. Sarah Dransfield, 30, from Charlbury, spent time with children at Rwebare Primary School. Five years ago, she witnessed pupils gathering
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Community responders save lives
EVERY minute a cardiac arrest patient is left without first aid slices 10 per cent off their chances of survival. Community first responders (CFRs) aim to bridge the gap between the 999 call and an ambulance arriving with vital help.
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Lorry breakdown causes M40 jams
A broken down lorry this afternoon caused delays on the M40 in north Oxfordshire. The breakdown happened on the southbound carriageway between junction ten at Ardley and junction nine at Wendlebury. Very slow traffic is reported in the area. Camera
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Teenagers held after Range Rover found on A40
Four teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated vehicle taking after a Range Rover was found beside the A40 near Witney. The green Range Rover was spotted by police officers at the side of the road on the A40 Witney bypass, near the Ducklington
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Local share prices
AEA Technology 18.5 BMW 3430 Electrocomponents 206.2 Nationwide Accident Repair 87.5 Oxford Biomedica 9.4 Oxford Catalyst 76.5 Oxford Instruments 346.5 REED 514.25 RM 132.25 RPS Group 170.9Courtesy Redmayne Bentley
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Len Hemming - Cricketer with high standards
ONE of Oxfordshire’s best-ever cricket all-rounders has died aged 93. Len Hemming, who played for Witney Mills Cricket Club, passed away at Oxford’s Sobell House hospice last month. Mr Hemming was a former sales manager at Witney blanket factory Early
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Coping with A-Levels: some tips
If you got the GCSEs you wanted, well done. But if you are now about to do A-Levels, then watch out. Study at AS-Level is far more demanding than at GCSE. The concepts are more difficult, and there tends to be a lot more material to absorb. Here
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Young Bicester cyclist plans to do London Sky Ride - twice
A FIVE-year-old boy is taking part in a sponsored bike ride around central London for the second year running – but this time he wants to lap it twice! Last year Owen Scott surprised his family when he rode 17 miles around the capital just
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Cherwell College — turning pupils into students
If you have just got your GCSE grades, congratulations, school life is now over. This might seem a strange thing to say, but when it comes to A-Level there is a sixth form alternative which more and more students have come to enjoy over the years
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Ready for the opportunities of the sixth form?
The long wait is over and Year 11 students now know their GCSE results. These students have been tested in a range of ways: oral exams in modern foreign languages, written course work, practical coursework in creative subjects such as art, design and
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A new year, a new beginning
Headmistress of Rye St Antony, Alison Jones, looks ahead to the new school year. The arrival of GCSE and A-Level results brings both an end and a beginning. As results close one phase, they open the next, A-Level results confirming university places,
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GCSE – a springboard to the future
The excitement of opening the results envelope is the culmination of years of learning for your son or daughter. When they were just starting out on the road to education you, as parents, made a choice of school for them that you hoped would match
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Reading the stars
Tim Hands, Master of Magdalen College School and chair of the Independent Schools Universities Committee offers advice to university applicants. Last week, the papers were full of record A-Level results and the new A*grade. At MCS, we were delighted
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Alonso happy to be back
Fernando Alonso returns to the track this weekend in a buoyant mood as he targets a third Formula One world title. The Spaniard revived his championship challenge in the last two races by winning the German Grand Prix and finishing second in
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Headington girls on top of their game
Headington sportswomen hit the national headlines last week when two Headington School rowers, Georgia Howard-Merrill and Fiona Gammond claimed a gold medal for Great Britain at the Youth Olympics in Singapore. Their Olympic gold in the
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Why it is essential to ensure good GCSE grades
For competitive courses where places are limited, admissions tutors will be looking for the highest grades. The GCSE stage has always been accepted as an important point in any student’s education marking, as it does, the first public examination of
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Man knocked out in Oxford robbery
Police are appealing for witnesses after a robbery in Oxford last night in which a man was knocked unconscious by thieves. Shortly after 11pm the 38-year-old victim got off a bus at the junction of Marsh Road and Cowley Road. He walked along Marsh
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Wallingford School head defends 'anomalous' A-Level results
WALLINGFORD School’s headteacher has moved to reassure students and parents after the school’s “disappointing” A-Level results last week. The results showed 46 per cent of students achieved the top three A* to B grades, down by 10 per cent from last
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BOWLS: Witney's title hat-trick
Witney Town Ladies celebrated the club’s centenary by winning the West Oxfordshire Ladies League for a third successive year. Back row (from left): Sandra Grinrod, Margaret Stonebridge, Deanna Radband, Val Hill, Caroline Bloomfield, Jan Cameron, Yvonne
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ATHLETICS: Male in groove to claim crown
Steve Male was crowned British Masters over 45 champion after a strong run at the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon. The Oxford City athlete came third overall and first vet 40 in the race in a time of 1hr 14mins and 2secs. Just ahead of Male in second
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BAR BILLIARDS: Oxford in last four
Oxford A marched into the Inter Area Cup semi-final with a 6-4 aggregate win against Eynsham A, writes PETE EWINS. Taking a 4-1 lead into the return match at the Vikings, Oxford found themselves 2-0 down following wins by Ian Moss (6,100) and Dave Bartlett
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SPORTS AWARDS: Time to select Oxfordshire heroes
Nominations for the 2010 Oxfordshire Sports Awards open in ten days time – with the Oxford Mail this year’s official media partner. The 2010 event at the Kassam Stadium on Friday, November 26 is set to be the biggest and best yet as we hunt
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GOLF: Results round-up
SHAW GIBBS OXFORDSHIRE FOURSOMES LEAGUE Section 2 Oxford City 1½ (2pts), Studley Wood 1½ (2) (Oxford City first): M Hall & P Higgens halved with N Lawton & N Pettit, C Marriott & G Soave bt J Fathers & S Jenkins 6&4, J Stevens & D Stevens lost to
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Clean-up team blitzes Bicester streets
A CORNER of Bicester is getting a wash-and-brush-up in a clean-up campaign by Cherwell District Council. The council’s cleaning team is clearing up litter, fly-tipped waste and dog fouling, and tackling graffiti. About 1,800 households in the Southwold
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Wholefoods firm marks a milestone
CHAMPAGNE corks will pop next week to mark the 20th birthday of an Oxford company which helps people with learning difficulties. Oxford Wholefoods, a not-for-profit venture employing 40 disabled people and eight supervisors, began life at the
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BOWLS: Trophy triumph for Hall
Hagbourne's Dale Hall was a member of the Berkshire side, who celebrated their association’s centenary by lifting the Balcomb Trophy in the National County Top Two Fours at Worthing. Hall, together with England’s Commonwealth Games duo, Mark Bantock
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BOWLS: Buoyant Bicester
Bicester's Mick Davis, Kevin Taylor and Jason King were crowned Thame Triples champions in thrilling fashion. The Bicester trio edged out Headington’s Paul Arundell, Mark Peachey and Mark Charlett 8-7 in the ten-end final.
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BOWLS: City & County delight
Oxford City & County’s Gill Blackmore, Mick Charlett and Nigel Wharton triumphed in the mixed triples at Abingdon’s annual open gala day, sponsored by S&R Childs, Independent Funeral Services. They won four of their five games to pip clubmates Pat Strange
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GREYHOUNDS: Thursday's Oxford runners
7.35: Leaseoflife, ABSINTHE, Power Phil, Blue Rose Lady 2, Kilmore Amey 3, Blue Natalie. 7.50: Malbay Beyonce, Danielles Shelly 2, ABBY JEFF, Ring The Chief, Isle Of Tara 3, Faypoint Kris. 8.05: Burwood Tamara 2, Rooskey Rascal 3, Enchantedmorning,
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Oxford chemist fears for safety after threats
AN OXFORD chemist says he fears for the safety of his family and staff after a spate of threats and attacks on his business. Pupinder Singh Ghatora, who runs Woodlands Chemist, in Botley Road, has endured several days of death threats, attempted arson
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BOWLS: Whitehead lifts national crown
Headington's Colin Whitehead was crowned the Bowls England National Over 55 Singles champion at Worthing. The 58-year-old captured the title with a 21-17 win over Joe Stevens (Epsom Park, Surrey) in the final at Beach House Park yesterday.
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I did not force girl, rape trial accused tells jury
A MAN accused of raping a teenager in a portable toilet told jurors yesterday: “I didn’t in any way force her”. Austin Blacker denies making the 14-year-old girl perform a sex act at a birthday party at Gagingwell, near Enstone, in March last year.
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GOLF: Vessey shines
Chipping Norton’s Imogen Vessey secured her second runner-up spot of the summer in BB&O Golf Partnership junior events with a fine effort at Studley Wood. Vessey finished second to Lucy Matthews (Ellesborough) in the girls’ 13 and over category after
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Drugs worth £100k found in luggage
A WOMAN attempted to smuggle almost £100,000 worth of drugs into the country at Heathrow airport, a court has heard. Sarah Hughes, 32, of Samuelson Court, Banbury, was arrested by UK Border Agency officers on Sunday after they found 30 kilos
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GOLF: Boyd pipped in play-off
Banbury's Gary Boyd produced the best performance of his professional career to finish joint-second in the Czech Open. Boyd, 23, shot a final-round 68 to finish level with Peter Hanson and Peter Lawrie on ten-under-par before Hanson sealed the title
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GOLF: O'Connor gets Wales call
Oxfordshire champion Katherine O’Connor has been named in the Welsh team for next month’s Ladies Home Internationals. The Tadmarton Heath member will look to help Wales seal a third straight crown at Whitchurch, near Cardiff from September 8-10. She
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‘Tee off to help hit £30k target’
ALMOST 10 years ago the Dyer family was forced to take the impossible decision to turn off their daughter’s life support machine. Victoria Dyer was starved of oxygen at birth and the family was told to expect the worst. But the brave youngster battled
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Show home proves a winner with buyers
Agents marketing a new-build apartment block in Kidlington say the show home is a major reason why they are so popular with buyers. Apartments similar to the one showcased in the Oxford Homes scheme sold out, prompting the developer to fit-out a second
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Apartments in good locations snapped up fast
One- and two-bedroom apartments in central Oxford are being snapped up, often before they are even advertised on agents’ websites. Simon Smith, of Thomas Merrifield, said: “We are always busy at this time of year and properties in the right location
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Actress's home on the market
Actress Susan Hampshire is selling her 17th-century converted Oxfordshire barn, set in grounds of one-and-half acres. Warren Barn, in the village of Little Haseley, has been put on the market for £1.15m with the TV and film star and husband, Sir Eddie
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Modern manor packed with potential
Despite looking as though it is a Cotswold manor that is hundreds of years old, Orchard House is so recently built that it is not yet finished. The property, which is in Islip, has the potential for around six or seven bedrooms when complete
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COMMENT: Bring back free swims in the future
Most people have accepted cuts have to be made. Many people have lost jobs, seen services axed and, so far, have managed to grin and bear it. But today the Oxford Mail has learned the free swimming programme is set to suffer cuts. The
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The Insider: A weekly update from the corridors of power
Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, Rodney Rose, right, has recently been seen driving around in an electric Mini. It’s good to see him taking green issues so seriously. The BMW-built electric car is being tested by ordinary
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Road to nowhere
IN REPLY TO Vim Rodrigo’s letter about the council letting gas, electric and water suppliers dig up new roads, it is a fact that those who dig up have to pay up. So why not let them dig up before new surfaces are put down? That would be too easy, though
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False economy
EARLIER this month, my wife and I decided to take a day trip to Oxford, a place that I had not visited since my teens, and one which my wife had never visited. My wife, who was driving was, as I’ve said, unfamiliar with the road plan of the city, accidentally
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Home concerns
THE report of an incident at a Harwell nursing home prompted serious thought (Oxford Mail, July 25). Hopefully, such incidents are infrequent but occasional reports do tend to raise suspicions. The period 1980-2000, was one of considerable improvement
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GOLF: Younie bags Frilford medal
Michael Younie pipped clubmate Joe Richardson to win the Buildbase Frilford Heath Junior Gold Medal. The contest, played on Frilford’s Blue and Red Courses, went down to the 36th hole, with Younie claiming victory at his home club by one shot. Younie
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The Big Fellah: Oxford Playhouse and Newbury Corn Exchange
‘Good. There was more of a pattern in the conversation that time,” says director Max Stafford-Clark in his calm, gentle voice. In rehearsal is a scene from The Big Fellah, a new play by Richard Bean which is being produced by Max’s own Out of Joint theatre
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OAPs' free swimming is sunk
PENSIONERS will have to pay to swim in city pools from September as Oxford City Council prepares to cut its £113,000-a-year free swimming programme. Under the plan, some free swimming will still be offered to children but will be limited to set sessions
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City must show it’s not wasting money
Oxford City Council’s publication of spending information for the year 2009-10 is welcome, as is deputy leader Ed Turner’s willingness to provide details of any transaction on request. I suspect he will be a busy man, as the 28 page Spend by Amount document
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A gardener's delight
Just stepping out into the back garden is a religious experience for the owners of a house in Shipton-Under-Wychwood. The view from the stone-built property in Evenlode Cottages is dominated by the beautiful 13th-century village church of St Mary’s.
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River Evenlode on Flood Watch
The Environment Agency today put the River Evenlode on Flood Watch. The river is on alert from Moreton-in-Marsh to Cassington following yesterday's heavy rain. The River Ray from Shipton Lee to Islip is also on Flood Watch, the lowest
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Old Gaol redevelopment under way
WORK on an Abingdon landmark is getting under way after the Vale of White Horse District Council gave the developers the freehold. The news comes as it emerged that developers Cranbourne Homes paid £2milion for the Old Gaol site – as part of a project
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Boaters in jam after woman's body found
HUNDREDS of boaters were left stranded for more than 24 hours after a woman’s body was found in the Oxford Canal. Police were called to the canal at Shipton-on- Cherwell, north of Kidlington, at about 11am on Tuesday after boaters saw the body
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Two drug arrests as squatters are evicted
SQUATTERS have been turfed out of a house in East Oxford. At least four members of the public complained about the noise from a house in St Mary’s Road on Monday, August 16. Two days later, the landlord, backed by the police and Oxford City Council’
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East Oxford squatters evicted
Squatters have been evicted from a house in East Oxford. At least four members of the public complained about the noise from a house in St Mary’s Road on Monday, August 16. Two days later, the landlord, backed by the police and Oxford City Council
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Steaming ahead
Chris Rayner strides across a large but almost empty room to join us in the corner where a couple of workstations stand, with two more taking shape alongside. This is the operations room of the Thames Valley Signalling Centre in Didcot, which opened
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Wheeling in: Nissan Qashqai+2 1.5d Acenta
NISSAN’S British-built Qashqai is the car that looks like a 4x4 but isn’t. It also doesn’t look anything like a van, but by the time I had finished with it, the Qashqai+2 — the seven-seater version — proved it was more than capable of transforming
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COMMENT: Catching culprits
AT LAST the city council will be able to do something about young litter louts. It is planning to use new powers to take a tougher line with youngsters who drop rubbish in the street. Until now, under-18s have got away with being messy
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Children face littering fines as city adopts new powers
CHILDREN as young as 10 could be hit with £80 fines as part of a purge on people dropping litter in the city. Oxford City Council decided to take the step after calls for a tougher line on youngsters. Last night the Town Hall insisted
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History of courtiers
Some writers are so enthusiastic about their chosen subjects that they are able to draw their readers into the very heart of the world that fascinates them — historian Lucy Worsley is one such writer. She displays a rare gift for bringing to life not
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Connected by social networks
CONNECTED Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler (Harper Press, £12.99) Humans have evolved to be social beings and our networks are vitally important to us. These two social scientist authors recount their exploration of how these networks
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Two lives of John Henry Newman
When John Henry Newman died in 1890, he left instructions that he should be buried with another priest, his friend Ambrose St John, and he also made it clear that he wished his body to decay. However, in 2008 the Catholic Church opened the grave, hoping
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Free swimming for over-60s to be axed
Over-60s will have to pay to swim in city pools from next week under a plan by Oxford City Council to cut its £113,000-a-year free swimming programme. Under the proposal, some free swimming would still be offered to children but would be limited to set
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Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 26/8/2010)
It's a decade since FrightFest became part of the August bank holiday movie scene and this year's Film4-sponsored event sees it installed in the Empire, Leicester Square. Yet, despite the plush new surroundings, the programme has returned to its cult
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Parky at the Pictures (DVD 26/8/2010)
Some 30 years have passed since Drew Barrymore captured hearts in Steven Spielberg's E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Yet, despite the odd hit, she has not had the stellar acting career that many predicted. However, the 35 year-old shows genuine
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All at sea
The decision of Oxford City Council and Partnerships for Renewables (PfR) to put on hold plans for a wind turbine at Cutteslowe Park only serves to highlight the weaknesses in the arguments for placing such facilities around our less-than-windy but heritage-rich
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Tremendous!
Our coverage of exam results this week makes tremendous reading — particularly that for GCSEs. It has long been recognised that exam results in Oxfordshire have been average when compared to national statistics and have lagged behind our peers. This
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Mapping the county's cuts
It’s not an exaggeration to say that everyone is concerned about the government’s proposed cuts to services, education, culture and all aspects of British life. People in Oxford, as everywhere in the country, are going to see familiar local services
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Jake Wright: Let's kick on
CENTRAL defender Jake Wright says Oxford United must use their terrific Carling Cup performance at West Ham as a springboard to start registering wins in League Two. The team’s impressive showing in a 1-0 defeat against the Premier League outfit can
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Mosquito makes some troublesome Blackbird Leys teens buzz off
A DEVICE put up to disperse troublesome youths outside a shop on an Oxford estate has only been a partial success, according to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, who has asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, at the Premier Supermarket, in Pegasus
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Feel free to write on Bodleian book
IMAGINE hundreds of tour-ists scribbling on a book in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. For the library’s executive secretary Mike Heaney, this would normally be a nightmare. But this time Mr Heaney was happy for tourists to record their thoughts because the
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Get out and go wild
A host of wildlife: I have been the Cothill Fen Project Officer for four months now, but in that short time I have been amazed by the incredible wildlife of BBOWT’s nature reserves around the Cothill area. I have waded through sulphur-smelling swamp
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Red Kite: The true master of the air
Recently, I was given access to an article written by someone I worked with some years ago. Phil is an expert glider pilot in his spare time and his article described a very long flight he had successfully made. Watching a Red Kite working over the meadows
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Fruity Beaujolais, £103
The Beaujolais region stretches from the granite-based hills just south of Mâcon to the southern end of Burgundy and is famous for its relatively light and extremely fruity wines made from the Gamay grape variety. These are ultra fresh, aromatic wines
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One for all
Sir – In your columns recently someone suggested that residents’ parking permits should allow the residents to park in residents’ parking slots all over Oxford. The zoning is stupid and no doubt expensive to administer. How much simpler to have one
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City in safe hands
Sir – Nice to know that Oxford is safe in the city council’s hands, with two new Tesco stores and a proposed tower block at Magdalen Bridge. That’ll bring the tourists in. Victoria Paleit, Southmoor
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More welcoming
Sir – You have reported (Weekend, August 12) that choirmaster Stephen Darlington says: “Twenty-five years ago, Christ Church Cathedral’s relationships with the outside world was difficult — to put it politely, and from experience. It was very different
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Stop destruction
Sir – Cameron and Clegg seem in haste to dismantle all the services that make our society tick. They tell us that all these functions can be provided by the private sector or by charities and volunteers. Latest in the line of cuts is our
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Balance and harmony
Sir – Along with many residents of Osney Island, West Oxford Community Renewables (WOCR) regrets the need to fell the two rowan trees in the garden of numbers 33-38 South Street because they were diseased with Ganoderma. If anyone doubts the presence
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TV brainwashing
Sir – It would be interesting to read the comments of other readers on the question of television advertising/commercials. My own briefly are as follows: The mindless iteration of numerous advertisements, some as frequently as five times in one hour
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Oxford’s Dodos all dead
Sir – While Michael Johnson’s tale of a pet dodo is an engaging story, there’s no chance of it being true (Feature, August 19). Firstly, Oxfam are much too canny these days to let such a precious item go for 95p in their bargain bin. Then if the ‘discoverers
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Flouting highway law
Sir – I am puzzled by your correspondents and feature writers who expect British drivers to be law-abiding. One has only to drive at the legal speed limit in the fast lane of the Oxford ring road or on the M40 to find puzzled and impatient vehicles
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Yesterday’s technology
Sir – The public shouldn’t get too concerned about the switching off of speed cameras in Oxfordshire (Report, August 19). Sadly, the effectiveness of speed cameras was compromised years ago when the government imposed strict rules on where they could
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In the Penal Colony: Oxford Playhouse
‘This is not an entertainment,” Michael McCarthy says with a slight laugh. “This is cultural activity . . . it’s not just an opera, it’s a very alive, very dynamic, very engaging piece of work.” He is talking about Philip Glass’s chamber opera In the
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Grab a taste of Manoir wine list
When a good friend of mine told me she was inviting her best friends to Le Manoir (www.manoir.com) to celebrate her 40th birthday I could not quite believe it. What a treat! I have to say I have been looking forward to her older age for some weeks now
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No-touch policy
Sir – Christopher Brown, the director of the Ashmolean, is pictured prominently on your front page (August 19) with a proudly proprietorial right hand placed firmly on the knee of the unique and no doubt priceless statue of The Ram of Amun, a knee clearly
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Inconsistent sentences
Sir – When I sat as a magistrate in this city we were often given “sentencing guidelines” by (in those days) the Lord Chancellor’s office. The main purpose of these guidelines, other than to bring us up to date with changes in the law, was to encourage
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Political game
Sir – Such hypocrisy from three Labour party members is astonishing! (Letters, August 19). Where were they when the city reorganisation was in the consultative and approval early stages in 2001? The Labour-controlled city council gave tacit approval
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World of mirrors
Sir – Klaus Fuchs may not have been the only ‘big fish’ netted by Sonya, the Kidlington spy (Feature, August 12). In his book, Too Secret Too Long, the veteran espionage writer, Chapman Pincher, suggests that Sonya moved to the Oxford area specifically
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Camera switch-off had to be made public
Sir – I hope you will allow me to reply to two letters (August 19) criticising the county council’s decision on speed camera funding? To John Bates of Abingdon, my answer is a single word: “democracy”. I am proud of the fact that our
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Libraries face terminal damage
Sir – The Friends of Kennington Library are rather concerned by suggestions of volunteers running local libraries (Letters, August 5). We are an active group and so presumably just the kind of people the government and local authority has in mind. That
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Abbey Chamber Concerts
Anyone who has enjoyed the Sunday afternoon chamber concerts at St Nicolas Church in Abingdon over the last few years will be pleased to know they are back this autumn — but with some new hands at the helm. David Pedder, who founded the series in 2001
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Grow your grub
If you’re in a garden club, Marshalls Seeds are launching a new discount scheme aimed at groups at ten and more on September 6. If you’re not in a club, it might be time to form one so that you can benefit from 25 to 40 per cent discounts. Postage is
