Archive
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Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. The group, who have been charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court
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Teachers miss out on academy jobs
FOUR more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have not worked at the school it will replace. Teachers at Peers School have been overlooked in favour of external candidates for four vice-principal roles at The Oxford Academy
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Police raid suspected squat
POLICE raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. A 17-strong team of police officers and police community support officers smashed down the door of the three-storey Victorian house in Walton Street, Jericho. They seized
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Burial space a serious problem
BURIAL ground in Oxford will run out within ten years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem. Half the city's cemeteries are already full and within five years only one will have space left. As yet, however, no replacement
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Gang filmed attack on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. Ellen Howard was outside a parade of shops in Littlemore when she fell victim to a so-called "happy slapping
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Burial space a grave problem
Burial ground in Oxford will run out within 10 years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem, the Oxford Mail can reveal. Half the city's cemeteries are already full and within five years only one will have space left. As yet
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Gang filmed assault on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. Ellen Howard was outside a parade of shops in Littlemore when she fell victim to a so-called "happy slapping
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FOOTBALL: Powell is back at Didcot
Former Oxford United star Paul Powell has been given another chance by Didcot Town manager Stuart Peace, just weeks after he left the Division 1 South & West leaders for Hungerford Town. Last month, Powell quit the Railwaymen to join the Hellenic League
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FOOTBALL: Ackling unhappy over Milton axe
Gary Ackling has spoken of his disappointment following his sacking by Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division side Milton United. Ackling, who took over in November 2004, was axed on Monday, with Roger Nichols and Matty Whitehead taking control
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FOOTBALL: Merritt slams Errol ban
Oxford City manager Justin Merritt has hit out at the Football Association after striker Errol Telemaque was handed a four-match ban for his sending-off against Paulton Rovers. Merritt had expected the former Yeading striker to be suspended for three
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Rail link work may start in 2009
Work to create a railway link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin as early as next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. The "congestion busting" link holds out the promise of 12-minute train journeys
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Suspected squat raided
Police raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. A 17-strong team of police officers and police community support officers smashed down the door of the three-storey Victorian house in Walton Street, Jericho. They seized
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Direct action promised over Westgate
Protesters are planning a prolonged campaign of direct action against Oxford's yet-to-be-built Westgate Shopping Centre. With construction of the £330m mall expected to take three years, protesters tonight threatened to hound the developers "right to
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Teachers miss out on Academy jobs
Four more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have never worked at the school it will replace. Teachers at Peers School have been overlooked in favour of external candidates for four vice-principal roles at The Oxford Academy
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Ten remanded on cocaine charges
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. The group, who have been charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court
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RUGBY UNION: Bowers' rallying call
Chinnor coach Jason Bowers is asking his players for a fully focused performance when they host Bournemouth in South West 1 tomorrow (2.30). Title-chasing Chinnor need convincing victories to have the best chance of overhauling Bracknell, so they can't
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POINT-TO-POINT: Hill's veterans on track
Mr Splodge and Bering Gifts, Aston Rowant trainer Alan Hill's veterans, could run at the Oxford University Hunt Club meeting at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor, tomorrow. Now a 14-year-old, Mr Splodge is entered in the men's open alongside old rival Tanager
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BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford were crowned Division 2 champions in the Five Disciplines League with a 231-185 win over Park at Holton Sports Centre. Relying upon a squad of players throughout the season, Radley & Oxford fielded Derek Holt, James Mignanelli, Lauren
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German wine isn't that bad, honest
If you thought German wine meant Blue Nun, you'd be a good 15 years out of date. True, it's possible still to buy 'hock' with shiny labels and Gothic script on it, but it's no longer taboo to say you enjoy a tipple from the Rhineland or northern Bavaria
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VANTAGE POINT (12A)
Sometimes the truth is hidden in plain sight - you just need to know where to look. Vantage Point is an intricate action-thriller, which replays a devastating terrorist attack from eight perspectives, exposing a web of intrigue, which leaves the American
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Slam dunk
Slam is the new sex, at least according to its latest protegée Oxford's Sian Robins-Grace. "Poetry is to slam what making love is to fast and furious stand-up clothes-on sex in an empty train carriage at three in the afternoon," she says. "You've
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THE GAME PLAN (U)
Although the setting and underlying themes are contemporary - the corruptive allure of celebrity, the pressures of single parenthood, rampant materialis -The Game Plan is, at its soft, gooey heart, an old-fashioned Disney yarn extolling the virtues of
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THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (12A)
Falling victim to the same excesses as Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl is beautiful to look at but lacks deep emotion. Screenwriter Peter Morgan, who was nominated for an Oscar for The Queen, fails to delve beneath the glossy surface
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Republic needs a revolution
Gingerbread latte, I ask you! I mean, without wanting to sound like my dear old gran, God rest her soul, whatever next? Easter Egg muffins perhaps, or grass paninis with rainwater tea for the spring? But no, in winter, it's gingerbread lattes all the
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It's off the wall
In the sunny world of visual arts this fortnight I visited two exhibitions, both of which I am happy to report I enjoyed as much as Damian Hirst loves formaldehyde (i.e. a lot!). I went along to Earth Soul Music, an exhibition of paintings by Lynette
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DIARY OF THE DEAD (18)
You just can't keep a good zombie franchise down. Forty years after George A Romero reinvigorated the horror genre with his low budget classic Night Of The Living Dead, the sexagenarian godfather of gore returns with the fifth instalment of the blood-soaked
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Trashy/Transformation/Room 101 at the Carling Academy, Oxford
Sixties music doesn't turn me on. Seventies music doesn't do it for me either. So why does Eighties music create a chemical imbalance in my brain, causing me to dance in such an outrageous fashion? Did my parents play me these songs through headphones
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Fathers' group to go online
A new project to create a website which serves the needs of fathers in Oxfordshire has been launched on an Oxford estate. The Oxondads.com venture was unveiled at Rose Hill and Littlemore Children's Centre in The Oval, Rose Hill. The website
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Rough night highlights plight
About 140 people slept rough on Wednesday night to highlight the plight of the city's destitute asylum seekers. The Oxford Sleep-Out took place in the churchyard at St Mary Magdalen, in Magdalen Street and was inspired by Amnesty International's Still
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Work experience scheme praised
An innovative scheme aimed at giving Oxford youngsters with learning disabilities a headstart has been praised. There is no work experience programme currently provided for Oxfordshire teenagers with learning disabilities. So teachers at Mabel Prichard
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Grants axe set to fall
Community groups could feel the pinch after the Vale of White Horse District Council decided to cut the amount of money it will give out in grants. Cuts to the off-peak opening hours of Tilsley Park and the Guildhall in Abingdon have also been agreed
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Celebrities boost hospice funds
Celebrity sportsmen helped fundraisers boost a charity for the terminally ill - with about £15,000 in donations. Jockey Frankie Dettori and Manchester United footballer John O'Shea donated their kits to a charity auction in honour of horse-mad Sarah
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Riverside pub to be revived
A riverside pub is set for a revival after a couple stepped in to spruce up the neglected Oxford drinking spot. Part-time psychiatrist and former corporate lawyer Dr Jonathan Price and his wife Jane have bought the Isis Tavern, on the River Thames towpath
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Murder jury: no verdict yet
A jury considering whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field has not yet reached a verdict and is set to continue deliberations tomorrow. Jolanta Kalinowsica, 41, denies killing Thea Zaudy
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Hero pilot to be honoured
A woman pilot based at RAF Benson who dodged low flying missiles to rescue a dying soldier in Iraq will tomorrow be awarded the forces' highest honour. Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman - who flies Merlin helicopters stationed at the South Oxfordshire
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Police aim to recruit graduates
A THAMES Valley Police team wants to encourage graduates to take up the challenge of becoming a police officer at an event in Oxford next week. The Community Recruitment Network will have a stand at Oxford Brookes University's Graduate Recruitment
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Organ donor register saved my life
Susan Kinch was only 10 years old when her mother died from kidney failure. At 20, she also developed the same life-threatening kidney disease. But her life has been saved, because a stranger signed the organ donor register. Mrs Kinch, 49, from
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Call to prayer debate hots up
The debate on whether a call to prayer should be broadcast from Oxford Central Mosque comes under the spotlight on Sunday. The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev John Pritchard, mosque general secretary Altaf Hussein, and Eton College Imam Monawar Hussain
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CYCLING: Didcot roll home in trophy
Host club Didcot Phoenix CC regained the coveted inter-club roller competition trophy, despite competition from Newbury, Swindon, Reading and Oxford. A team of five riders from each club race their bikes on rollers at speeds of up to 60mph over a distance
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Village primary gets top report
Harwell primary school has been classed as "a good school with outstanding features" by Ofsted inspectors. They said the 147-pupil school's curriculum was outstanding, and the pupils' behaviour and personal development were excellent. The foundation
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Bypass litter 'a disgrace'
Litter along Oxford's Eastern Bypass has been branded a disgrace by a pensioner who has called for urgent action to clean the area. But Oxford City Council says mounting an operation to clear up the mess would cost too much. David John, 70, said the
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Murder trial jury retires
A JURY has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in a field. Jolanta Kalinowsica, 41, denies killing 94-year-old Thea Zaudy, whose battered body was found in a suitcase on a pile of burning
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FIXTURES March 7
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. Oxford Utd v Burton Albion. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Corby Tn v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn v Newport IoW, Hillingdon Boro v Abingdon Utd, Oxford City v Godalming
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Murder jury retires
A jury has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field. Jolanta Kalinowsica, 41, denies killing Thea Zaudy, 94, whose battered body was found in a suitcase on a pile of
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Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. Delays are expected due to the accident in Medcroft Road both ways between Nethercote Road and The Green. Police are at the scene.
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Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack at about 11pm outside Giles Sports in Alvescot Road on Saturday. The man suffered three fractures to his cheek
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MOTOR CYCLING: I can't wait to get started
IF you've got to hang around waiting for something big to begin, then the Ritz's Carlton hotel in Qatar is the right place. On the edge of the desert overlooking the sea with a brilliant gym, swimming pool and those really comfortable beds make the
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50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. Police were joined by Oxfordshire Fire Service and Oxfordshire County Council in Ock Street, Abingdon
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Drivers fined over seatbelts and phones
More than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. Police were joined by Oxfordshire Fire Service and Oxfordshire County Council in Ock Street, Abingdon
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Face fractured in attack
A man suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack at about 11pm outside Giles Sports in Alvescot Road on Saturday. The man suffered three fractures to his cheek bone
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Close the doors
A points system for non-EU immigrants? Apparently so. However, a few questions: What gives us the right to purloin, for example, an Indian brain surgeon, probably much-needed at home? And does the acceptance of such people lead to chain-immigration
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Bleak future?
It looks like another pub will bite the dust. I'm referring to the Fox and Hounds, at the corner of Abingdon Road and Donnington Bridge Road in Oxford. Refurbishment is taking a very long time, but wait - now I see huge concrete blocks across the
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One cup of tea - eight taxes!
I drove to Oxford on Sunday recently and parked in St Giles to have a cup of tea in a nearby restaurant with a friend. On emerging, I found a ticket on the car for not "purchasing" a ticket. The notice on the machine, which I read before going to
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Cabbages and Kings
Friend and foe alike say I have one of those faces - it encourages others to share confidences. Perhaps they're right. It is less than a year since a concert soprano, within five minutes of our meeting, divulged where she wished to have her ashes scattered
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Police warn of fuel thefts
POLICE in the Vale of the White Horse are urging motorists to take care of their vehicles following three fuel thefts in the area. Between 5.30pm on January 10 and 6.30am on January 11 a vehicle had its fuel lines cut and the fuel stolen at Greenways
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Pegasus Gets In The Swing
Last night (Wednesday 5th March) was the opening of a new show co-produced by Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company and Pegasus Theatre. Ain't Misbehavin' is an all music show featuring the songs of the legendary Fats Waller. The show opens with 3 musicians
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Jane gets set for a giant leap
Cancer specialist Jane Gibbard is preparing to take a leap of faith from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to raise millions of pounds for those suffering the disease. Staff at the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust are working together to raise
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RACING: Fit-again Harald to lead Bradstock's Festival bid
All roads lead to the Cheltenham Festival next week, and Mark Bradstock is hoping King Harald can repeat his success of three years ago for his Letcombe Bassett yard, near Wantage. The ten-year-old gave Bradstock his first Festival winner with a thrilling
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BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford made a quick return to Division 1 of the Five Disciplines League when they overcame Park 231-185 in their final Division 2 match at Holton Sports Centre. Relying upon a squad of players throughout the season, Radley and Oxford fielded
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Petrol thefts warning
Drivers are being warned that petrol has been stolen from vehicles in the Vale of White Horse area. Police in the Vale today are urging motorists to take care of their vehicles following three fuel thefts. Between 5.30pm on January 10 and 6.30am on
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ROWING: Brodie heads Oxon trio in Boat Race crew
The three Britons in Oxford University's crew for the 154th Boat Race on March 29 were born and bred in Oxfordshire The president, Nick Brodie, was the most successful cox from Abingdon School, achieving a rare hat-trick of wins in the Schools Head,
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ROWING: Osiris coach speechless after victory
Crews from Oxford excelled in the Women's Eights Head at Putney on Saturday. Osiris, the Oxford Women's Boat Race line-up, finished as the top crew of the day for the first time, five seconds ahead of their Oxford Brookes in second place. As a pointer
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MOTOR CYCLING: Bradley is raring to go
The waiting is almost over - and Bradley Smith is raring to go Oxford's teenage sensation has just a matter of days to wait for the start of the MotoGP 125cc season, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. Smith has been flying on board his new Polaris
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Dr Ajit Bhart, Former mayor of Bicester
FAMILY, friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a popular former mayor of Bicester who died suddenly last week. Dr Ajit Bhart suffered a heart attack, just a day after celebrating his 70th birthday. Dr Bhart, had been to visit Banbury police station
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Live review: Futureheads @ The Carling Academy
With the stage looking like we were in for a night of Top Gear re-runs (the drum kit was labelled Dave) and the venue pretty much filled, the spritely Futureheads came bounding onto the stage, ready for some good old fashioned fun. I have to say I was
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Tax office 'in chaos'
THE Oxford tax office is "in chaos", according to a husband-and-wife business team who face £200 penalties. Angela Frost, who runs Own Your Lifestyle with her husband Philip, claims she delivered her self-assessment tax return on January 31, the day
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Green win
GREEN cleaning products company Ecover has asked an Oxford-based consultancy to help measure its environmental impact. Best Foot Forward, run by Oxford green party leader Craig Simmons, will focus on the "ecological footprint" of three Ecover products
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A book no Dessie fan should miss
Even if you couldn't see the title of the book on the right, I would hardly need to tell most of my readers that the horse in the picture is Desert Orchid (1979-2006), much the most famous grey of recent years, indeed of all time. Among recent racehorses
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Fairtrade or food miles?
Fairtrade Fortnight (February 25 - March 9) seems a good time to address a conundrum - should you buy locally produced food and drink or go for Fairtrade produce from far away, thereby helping poor farmers in the Third World? Oxfam is so concerned about
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Cleaning contract
GREEN cleaning products company Ecover has asked an Oxford-based consultancy to help measure its environmental impact. Best Foot Forward, run by Oxford green party leader Craig Simmons, will focus on the "ecological footprint" of three Ecover products
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We must shut Chris Evans up
A friend of mine, who had been a distinguished broadcaster for many years, reacted with amazement when I told him I was starting to find Chris Evans quite grown-up and tolerable on his Radio 2 drive-time programme. That was before he started talking over
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Food books choice
My Life in Food Steven Berkoff (acdc Publishing, £10.75) Steven Berkoff's My Life in Food may be just a pocket-size book, but he has packed so much into it that it's actually a very big read. Indeed, it could be described as a gastronomic rollercoaster
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Local author
Charles West worked as a professional actor for 45 years, starring in the West End and on Broadway. Now a full-time author, his latest thriller is The Long Hook (Robert Hale, £18.99)
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Bright ideas and fine food at Trinity College
I have long held Oxford's Trinity College in high regard. With fewer than 300 undergraduates - rather less than half that of the much grander Cambridge establishment of the same name - it has a cosy atmosphere, though its justly famous garden certainly
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A fit St John Ambulance still needs volunteers
What will you be doing this evening? You could be helping a young person achieve their potential through the St John Ambulance youth programme if you became a volunteer. There are St John Ambulance groups for young people all round Oxfordshire and half
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Poet with an ear for words
Journalists sometimes have to fight the temptation to use a beautiful but obscure word, knowing it will fall victim to an editor's delete key. Poets face no such constraints, explains Jamie McKendrick. "With a poem you have the liberty to use the exact
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Gathering liquorice around the well
Palm Sunday sees villagers maintaining a long-held tradition in the Wychwood Forest, writes CHRIS KOENIG The last silent and hauntingly beautiful remnant of the old Royal Forest of Wychwood, part of the Cornbury estate, still the county's largest
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Lots to put me in Meldrew mode
I know I sometimes sound like Victor Meldrew from One Foot in the Grave - the archetypal grumpy old curmudgeon. Characteristically, I found myself uttering the Meldrew slogan "I don't believe it!" while watching several of this week's programmes. Stephen
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A must for each garden
VAL BOURNE says now is the time to plant the very valuable rhubarb Many years ago, in a lowly research post, I worked on rhubarb, a valuable crop if forced into early growth. The stems are rose-pink, the foliage crinkly yellow and, when it's cooked
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Emperor vanquished
THE BAREFOOT EMPEROR Philip Marsden (Harper Press, £17.99)The medieval kingdom that was Abyssinia in the middle of the 19th century witnessed an extraordinary campaign against the might of Queen Victoria's empire, some years before the holy war in the
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Caring for our countryside
A pioneering £2.8m project, Caring for the Cotswolds, has just completed a five-year programme to conserve this beautiful area, writes ELIZABETH EDWARDS Creamy-grey walled cottages, with natural slated roofs, dry-stone walls, the rolling hills
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The Black Boys in Hurley, near Henley
The Black Boys Inn in Hurley styles itself "a corner of France in the English countryside". It could as well be called a chunk of Devon and Cornwall that has strayed to Berkshire. While the former appellation acknowledges this splendid restaurant's commitment
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Old-fashioned poppy seed cake recipe
When my grandmother used to make poppy seed cake she served it spread with a generous amount of butter - it was delicious, especially when eaten moments after being taken from the oven. Poppy seeds are a slate-blue colour and really tiny. They have
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Today's local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 76 BMW 2679 Electrocomponents 172.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 134.5 Oxford Biomedica 28.75 Oxford Catalyst 151.5 Oxford Instruments 192.5 Reed Elsevier 625.25 RM 211.25 RPS Group 294.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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Why Raymond Blanc and I say Delia is wrong
From the moment her first book came out in 1971 Delia Smith has been highly influential - people have followed her cooking instructions blindly. When St Delia demonstrates a recipe requiring fresh coriander, her public clear the supermarket shelves of
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Epic drama of an age of damaged idealism revived
Our Friends in The North became famous on TV but is being staged at the Oxford Playhouse in its original form as a play. NICK UTECHIN talks to its author, Peter Flannery Few writers have penned the work for which they will be defined before
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Vantage Point
Sometimes, the truth is hidden in plain sight - you just need to know where to look. Vantage Point is an intricate action-thriller, which replays a devastating terrorist attack from eight perspectives, exposing a web of intrigue, which leaves the American
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Men charged after drugs raids
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, have been charged in connection with an alleged cocaine drug dealing gang spanning the south of England. They were charged last night with conspiracy to supply class A drugs following 23 raids by police across
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Who's next?
GILES WOODFORDE talks to the singer Richard Suart, famous for his role as Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and a certain little list . . . Having been appointed Lord High Executioner of Titipu, Ko-Ko must plainly demonstrate that there could be work to
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Lars and the Real Girl, Garage and Son of Man
There are some films that cause you to wince simply by reading the synopsis. Take, for example, the tale of a creepy nerd in a small US town, who sends off for a designer sex doll and proceeds to pass it off as his girlfriend. But, far from being another
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The Conspirators CD review
Released this week is a single that revisits 1967 with a very 2008 treatment. The Conspirators are a Yorkshire band who are making waves in the North of England with their energetic guitar riffs and catchy tunes. The song, One Sure Thing (Transcend Records
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Universities unite to support teachers
Joint conference helps teachers with advice for their A-level pupils, writes PETER CANN Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities have got together for the first time to organise a joint teachers' conference. Teachers from 52 schools and colleges
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Take That: Never Forget — Milton Keynes Theatre and Savoy Theatre, London (from May 7)
West End bound - and bound to be a huge hit there - TakeThat: Never Forget pauses en route this week at Milton Keynes Theatre. What a surprising (for me) delight it proves, with its combination of impeccable performances from singers, dancers and band
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Life and times of governess
The governess is a familiar figure in 19th-century fiction, writes Maggie Hartford. Despised, ill-paid, insecure, isolated and terminally lonely, she appears in novels like Jane Eyre or Vanity Fair. The feminist writer Mary Wollstonecraft, author of
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Tony Kofi: The Spin, Oxford
The last time I saw Tony Kofi was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank, where he was playing the whole of Thelonious Monk's works with the Monk Liberation Front. Though Kofi is a great interpreter of Monk's music, this was not a very liberating
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Rhyming reason
OXFORD POETS 2007 ed. David Constantine and Bernard O'Donoghue (Carcanet, £12.95)This is the fifth anthology in this series and contains 17 poets. Twelve are women, several have Oxford connections, some are from Ireland and one, Adam Hansen, has Serbian
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Preview of Hanging Hooke and Sam and I: Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford
Why was Robert Hooke, the polymath genius of the 17th century whose interests knew no bounds, written out of history? No portrait survives of Robert Hooke, and relatively little is known about his life, though he did come to Christ Church, before joining
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The Heiress: The Mill at Sonning
The Mill at Sonning keeps its loyal audience happy, in the main, on a diet of well-crafted comedy interspersed with the occasional thriller. It departs from the pattern, however, in its excellent new production of The Heiress, Ruth and Augustus Goetz's
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Sir Clement Freud, Headington Theatre
An air of gentility pervaded the Theatre in Headington last Thursday, when Sir Clement Freud took to his leather chair and pedestal desk to amuse a nearly full house for 90 minutes. The grumpiness that attended my interview with him here a fortnight
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Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. The ten men, who will appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court today, are: Stephen Munro, 29, of Valley Road, Banbury Elton Celbeqiri
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Simply Ballroom: Wycombe Swan
The theatre was packed out for this Sunday evening extravaganza, which just goes to show how this once dismissed form of dance has sprung back into the limelight. First off, we met our hosts - Sophie Lawrence (Frank Butcher's occasional daughter in EastEnders
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Tavaziva Dance, Town Hall, High Wycombe
Two companies with African roots on successive nights! But Bawren Tavaziva has moved further into the field of international dance than Bode Lawal's company Sakoba, reviewed today on Page 5. On Tavaziva's first outing four years ago, he changed the
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Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regent cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. A Government planning inspector dismissed an appeal against a Vale of White Horse District
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The Clean House, Oxford Playhouse
While I was growing up, my best friend's mother had a fridge magnet that read: "A tidy house is the sign of an untidy mind." It's something I always bring up when my partner sees the state I leave my own bedroom in. It's also perhaps the message of this
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Within Walls: The Oxfordshire Museum
Over nine days, artists selected by Art in Situ and funded by The Arts Council, responded in their own way to the medieval tower of Crest, in South East France, a prison for 200 years. Helen Ganly was struck by the similarity between the castle and
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Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. Officers from the Border and Immigration Agency and local police surrounded Owen Mumford in Worcester Road and arrested three men and a woman for working illegally
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The Sound of Music, the London Palladium
Monday night's show was a gala performance' (meaning?) to welcome Summer Strallen to the role of Maria. The world of reality' star-manufacture must now go to such lengths to top itself (if only!) that the show's producers cast Ms Strallen - to replace
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Omid Djalili: The Oxford PLayhouse
'One of the best things to come out of my BBC1 show is the corporate brand sponsorship," boasts Omid Djalili. "I got £1,000 last week from Speedo not to wear their products." Omid is funny. Not only is he a bit funny to look at (with his bald egg-shaped
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Birmingham Royal Ballet, All That Jazz: New Theatre, Oxford
It's a brave venture to take a programme of three jazz works and a live band of more than 20 musicians on tour, but this is a great evening from Birmingham Royal Ballet and the audience certainly gets its money's worth. As soon as Colin Towns and his
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Bach Bminor Mass: The Queen's College
Queen's College Choir is among the leading mixed-voice collegiate ensembles in the UK," a publicity flyer proclaimed. After hearing the choir last Thursday, in Bach's magnificent Mass in B minor, I can understand why. From the opening Kyrie eleison, delivered
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Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. Neighbourhood Watch groups have now been put on red alert after so-called distraction burglars
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Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. The accident happened on the A43 at Baynards Green, close to junction 10, causing major tailbacks on the southbound carriageway of the
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We must not slip up again – Foster
Luke Foster says Oxford United must not let their recent improvement count for little by losing to promotion-chasers at home again this weekend. Cambridge climbed into second place in the Blue Square Premier with a smash-and-grab 2-1 victory over the
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MOTOR CYCLING: A new dawn
The waiting is almost over - and Bradley Smith is raring to go Oxford's teenage sensation has just a matter of days to wait for the start of the MotoGP 125cc season, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. Smith has been flying on board his new Polaris
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Delays on M40 as lorry overturns
A driver needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. The accident happened on the A43 at Baynard's Green, close to junction 10, causing major tailbacks on the southbound carriageway of the
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Search for budding young performers
YOUNG actors are being given the chance to take part in a new film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet - which is set in Oxford. City-based Youngstar TV and Film School is looking for young people aged between ten and 20, who are interested in acting and
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More PCSOs for estate
AN OXFORD estate is to get two more Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys was the first area in the city to get PCSOs on the streets three years ago. It will have a team of six by the end of March.
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Voters name exotic theme
MASQUERADE is set to be the theme of this year's Cowley Road Carnival, in Oxford. For the first time, the theme of the carnival - the biggest public event in Oxfordshire's calendar - was chosen by public vote. The winning idea was announced at a
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Drug fears
We hope the powers that be will carefully consider the call by Pc Leigh Thompson, the police's local drugs expert, to reclassify cannabis from Class C back to B. While the figures of cautions may not seem to be a huge increase, it cannot be debated
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It's worth signing up for scheme
It's full steam ahead for pensioner Roger Jenking in his novel way to test the new bus concessionary scheme. The new system for free travel for our pensioners starts on April 1 but Mr Jenking is no fool in his planning. He wants to journey from Oxford
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Bosom pals unite for Race for Life
THE aptly-named Bosom Friends are putting on an united front - and their trainers -for this year's Race for Life. A support group for breast cancer sufferers and survivors from across the county, Bosom Friends is fielding a team of eight for the
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Thieves target OAP five times
A conman posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. Neighbourhood Watch groups have now been put on red alert after so-called distraction burglars
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Diners cook up cash
CURRY fans in Oxfordshire have helped raise more than £6,000 to support Oxfam's relief work in cyclone-hit Bangladesh. The money came from donations made by customers visiting curry restaurants, and through a fundraising dinner at Oxford Town Hall.
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Foals perform free gig
OXFORD rock band Foals will be performing a free show and signing session at the city's HMV store in Cornmarket Street later this month. Foals are celebrating the release of their new single Cassius with a series of shows across the country. They
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Friends compete in Irish Sea challenge
TWO friends from Oxford are training hard for one of the world's toughest rowing races to raise thousands of pounds for a hospice in Wales. Oxford Rowing Club members Imogen Crawford-Mowday and Sian Findlay are taking on the Celtic Challenge - a
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60-year-old to test out new bus scheme
Most people travelling from Oxford to Crewe would go by car, book a coach or catch a train, but not Roger Jenking. On April 1, the 60-year-old is undertaking a more ambitious way of tackling the 100-mile trip - solely using local buses. He has decided
