Archive
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Derelict mill could become flats
A derelict mill and the remains of Osney Abbey in Oxford could be turned into flats -- if developers get planning permission. The buildings beside Osney Lock The buildings beside Osney Lock could be converted and extended into 14 flats and an office building
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Schools' status bid fails
Abingdon's three secondary schools have failed in their bid to achieve Specialist Schools Status -- but they plan to try again in March. Fitzharrys, John Mason and Larkmead schools joined forces in a bid to attract about £1.8m of Government funding to
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Council seeks cash for statue from US lawyers
American lawyers are being targeted in a bid to fund a statue of one of Wallingford's most famous sons -- Judge Blackstone. Sir William Blackstone was the first Professor of Law at Oxford University. His most famous work is his Commentaries on the Laws
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Firefighters study hotel blaze
An investigation is under way to find out what caused a blaze at Thame's oldest hotel. The Swan Hotel, in Upper High Street Seven people escaped from The Swan Hotel, in Upper High Street down a builder's ladder after fire broke out just before 2am on
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Review: Carousel at the New Theatre, Oxford
Surely I wasn't the only member of the audience to shift awkwardly as I watched Carousel, reputedly Rodgers and Hammerstein's favourite work? The seats were knee-crampingly spartan, despite the theatre's revamp last summer. But it was the musical's dubious
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Review: Chinese Whispers by Peter May,(Hodder and Stoughton, £18.99, NEL paperback, £7.99)
"Terror is a pleasure. Murder is a passion. Death is a game," the blurb proclaims on the cover. Welcome to the world of the "Beijing Ripper", who has resurrected the modus operandi of his infamous London predecessor. This serial killer is not the only
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Shoplifting starts at age seven
Traders have called a crisis meeting in Wantage next month to thrash out the increasing problem of children shoplifting. They say the situation has become so bad that it is now time for police, parents and town councillors to find ways of reducing the
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Badminton: County edge home for second victory
Oxfordshire bagged only their second win of the season in Division 1A of the Inter County Championships with an 8-7 victory over Sussex 2nd at Brighton. With the score tied at 7-7, Emma Martin and Marti Graham won the deciding game 15-17, 15-5, 15-3 to
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Football: North Leigh bid to halt Brackley
North Leigh face a crunch clash at Eynsham Park tomorrow as they take on Premier Division title-chasers Brackley Town. Defeat would be a massive dent to the west Oxfordshire club's fading hopes of retaining their crown. Stivelle Cooper (calf), Matty Ellis
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TV presenter backs launch of new recycling drive
Television presenter John Craven will return to Bicester to launch the second phase of a recycling scheme. Mr Craven, who lives at Adderbury, near Banbury, and presents the BBC's Country File programme, visited Bicester last summer at the start of the
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Fixtures: All the week's sporting fixtures
FOOTBALL NATIONWIDE LEAGUE Div 3: Oxford Utd v Kidderminster Harriers. RYMAN LEAGUE Div 1 North: Oxford City v Uxbridge. Div 2: Leighton Tn v Abingdon Tn. DR MARTENS LEAGUE Eastern Div: Folkestone v Banbury Utd. UMBRO ISOTONIC SOUTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE
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Review: Big Fish (PG, 125mins)
"In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from the fiction, the man from the myth. The best that I can do is tell it the way he told me . . . it doesn't always make sense, but that's what kind of story this is." Steve
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Hospital bid raises job fears
About 60 jobs could be lost at Banbury's Horton Hospital if the anticipated closure of the Sterile Unit goes ahead. The unit is the latest in a series of Horton departments threatened by cutbacks imposed by the John Radcliffe Hospitals Trust which controls
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Football: Ex-U's star Knight signs up for Didcot
Former Oxford United goalkeeper Richard Knight has become the latest big-name capture by Didcot Town manager Peter Foley. Foley, who has used U's legend Alan Judge on a number of occasions this season, has signed Knight as cover for Keith McLoughlin,
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Interview: Aaron Sterne from Matchbook Romance talks to Tim Hughes
Finding the perfect name for your new band is notoriously tricky. So it was with Matchbook Romance. "I came up with it -- but I don't know how!" explains drummer Aaron Sterne. "We were sitting around a kitchen table and got delirious." But what does it
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Review: Sugar Daddies,The Oxford Playhouse
A Christmas tree twinkles beside the bay window of the spacious London flat in which Alan Ayckbourn's new comedy Sugar Daddies is set. The action begins with Santa Claus himself entering through the front door. Are we in for more festive fun (and fiascos
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MPs split over BBC Hutton resignations
Boris Johnson has defended BBC director general Greg Dyke, following his resignation. The Hutton Report claimed its second BBC scalp when the corporation's top man quit. Mr Dyke resigned a day after BBC chairman Gavyn Davies stood down. The Henley MP
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Revised flats design rejected
A developer has had a second set of plans for flats near a nature reserve in Headington, Oxford, turned down. Members of Oxford City Council's north east area planning committee voted unanimously against proposals for 27 flats at Spring Lane, near Shotover
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Board rejects more air quality controls
Proposals to cut air pollution in Oxford have been rejected by county councillors -- prompting criticism that they are complacent. John Power, county councillor for Oxford West, told the county executive board urgent action was needed to reduce high nitrogen
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Loving it lite
Eating out with children can fill the most professional parent with dread and horror -- particularly with five of them to contend with. However, it is well-documented that the mere mention of a trip to the hallowed Golden Arches should induce impeccable
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Licence dodgers face big risk
TV licence dodgers in Oxford had better watch out -- the number of detection officers working in the city has trebled. Oxford had one of the worst records for TV licence evasion in the South of England last year, prompting a recruitment drive by TV Licensing
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Rugby: Blues pick captain
Although tonight's election of the Oxford University new captain is shrouded in secrecy, there are known to be at least three candidates for the post. Those with previous captaincy experience include Australian lock Dave Lubans, who led New South Wales
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Football: Skipper Saulsbury eyes up City move
Oxford City are involved in a tug of war with Ryman League Division 1 North rivals Thame United for their skipper James Saulsbury. Ex-Thame boss and now City chief Andy Sinnott, who is in talks with the 22-year-old defender over a move to Court Place
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Rugby: Serious injury rules out Stephenson
Oxford Harlequins are forced by injury to make two changes to the pack for their South West 1 trip to Keynsham tomorrow. Their New Zealand second row Elliott Stephenson suffered a fractured cheekbone and a broken eye socket during their home defeat by
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Review - Runaway Jury (12A)
Justice may be blind, but when it comes to money - or more specifically, making obscene amounts of the stuff - the American legal system possesses perfect vision. Runaway Jury is the latest courtroom thriller based on a trashy bestseller by the king of
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Review: Bar Meze, London Road, Headington
Strange things, olives. Only a couple of years ago I used to recoil from the things, but now I just can't resist nibbling on them, especially when they're doused in oil, nestling in a neat little tray alongside a hefty sundried tomato and a pickled mild
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Plain delicious
The delicious smell of Alex Mackay's cooking hit me as soon as I opened his front door in Wheatley. His dining room table groaned under an abundance of beautifully-prepared simple fare, from roasted red peppers to asparagus with freshly-grated parmesan
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New homes site back in melting pot
The entire issue of Didcot's planned 3,000-home expansion has been questioned once again. Despite a public inquiry which recommended development to the north east of Ladygrove, Oxfordshire County Council finally voted in favour of expansion to the west
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Jails kick the habit
Doctors are being given more than £9,000 to help some of the 1,060 smokers in Oxfordshire prisons kick their habit. About 80 per cent of inmates at Bullingdon, near Bicester, and at Huntercombe Young Offenders Institution, near Wallingford, are smokers
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Mini sets roll-out milestone
The Cowley-built Mini has set another production record at the plant, official figures show. Last year 174,366 vehicles rolled off the production line compared to 160,037 in 2002 -- a rise of nine per cent. Bosses admit the plant's capacity is about 180,000
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Strikers picket courts centre
Court staff braved the freezing weather to mount picket lines in Oxford at the start of a two-day pay strike on Thursday. Pickets at the entrance to Oxford's courts in St Aldate's Brandishing placards demanding "fair pay for all", union members stood
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Health chiefs deny closure
Health staff have denied accusations that they are planning to close down Oxford's 30-bed community hospital. Union members claimed Oxford City Primary Care Trust managers were proposing to shut OxComms, at the Churchill Hospital site, in Headington,
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Football: Waterman's back
Dave Waterman's strong performances in two friendlies this week have given him every chance of breaking into Oxford United's team for tomorrow's Division 3 home game against Kidderminster. The former Portsmouth player seems to be playing with a great
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Review: The Fabulouse Girl's Guide to Life by Kim Izzo and Ceri Marsh (Corgi, £6.99)
Claiming to offer "extreme etiquette for the stickiest, trickiest, most outrageous situations", this is a mixture of factual advice on how to be socially desirable through manners, charm and wit, interspersed with the social gaffes of one fictional "Fabulous
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Review: Due Preparations for the Plague by Janette Turner Hospital (Fourth Estate, £17.99)
Lowell Hawthorne is a depressed thirtysomething struggling with two young children, a divorce and a lingering sense of terror after his mother was killed by Muslim terrorists in a plane hijacking when he was 16. None of this is helped by a suspicion that
