Archive
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Baldwin keeps fingers crossed
OXFORD United's Nick Baldwin (pictured) is keeping his fingers crossed that he will be short-listed for one of the divisional groundsman-of- the-year accolades after being visited by two awards judges this week. Tottenham groundsman Darren Baldwin (
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Royals help hospice funds
STAFF at Oxford's pioneering Helen and Douglas House hospice are celebrating after a Royal concert for its 25th anniversary celebrations swelled its coffers by more than £10,000. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who is patron of the
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Royals give Helen House a boost
Staff at Oxford's pioneering Helen and Douglas House hospice are celebrating after a Royal concert for its 25th anniversary celebrations swelled its coffers by more than £10,000. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, who is patron of the
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FOOTBALL: It's make or break time, says Gee
North Leigh boss Mark Gee reckons Saturday's Sport Italia Hellenic League top-of-the-table clash with Almondsbury could make or break their season. The Premier Division leaders go into the crunch match two points clear at the top, although the Gloucestershire
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FOOTBALL: Bridges waits on Exeter call
Banbury United teenager Scott Bridges could be on his way to Blue Square Premier side Exeter City if a trial proves successful. And now Bridges, 19, is waiting to hear back from the west country club having spent the first three days of this week on
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What’s the point of history?
Budding historians at a Kidlington school took a step back in time to learn about the Tudor period. About 80 pupils at Edward Feild Primary School dressed up in Tudor dress, handled imitation weapons sampled Tudor dishes and learned about everything
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Life's rich tapestry
This fortnight, I tottered along in my glad rags to the Town Hall, in Oxford, for the opening of The Wychwood Tapestry 2007 - the amazing creation of children from schools in Finstock, Stonesfield, Chadlington, Leafield and Wychwood. Artists Sally Howkins
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Life at a funny angle
As Van Gogh would have told you, getting exposure when you're an artist is a nightmare. So the Oxford Mail has teamed up with Modern Art Oxford to exhibit the work of up-and-coming artists from Oxfordshire. To kick off the series, these photographs
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Wines with shellfish case, £83
This time of year, shellfish and particularly crab come into their own and can make some delicious pre-Easter dishes. Here are some suggestions for the right wines to partner them. The wines with shellfish case costs £83 and includes three bottles
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Abort, Retry, Fail? At the Cellar
Saturday night at the Cellar got off to an atrocious start... After getting drenched in the queue during what felt like Britain's very own monsoon season, I was confronted by a creature with a foul temper demanding a £5 entry fee. The beast on the
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Josh's new conquest
If you meet Josh Ritter in Oxford next week, feel free to give him a present. Just make sure it isn't chocolate - particularly the brand that shares his name. "I'm the owner of a great collection of Ritter chocolate!" he laughs. "Everywhere I go
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When boyz become men
Twenty years ago, a group of singers from Philadelphia got together and formed a group. They went on to sell 60 million records worldwide and won eight Grammy awards, becoming the most successful R&B group ever. They went by the name Boyz II Men.
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£13m traffic cuts deal blow to High
A £13m funding shortfall has left transport schemes across Oxfordshire in disarray. Plans to improve bus services and refurbish Oxford's historic High Street will be hit, along with road safety programmes. Oxfordshire county councillors have been
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Beaver on loose in Thames
FOUR hundred years after beavers in England were hunted to extinction, a European beaver has happily set up home on a stretch of the River Thames outside Oxford. The beaver has offered the clearest proof that the species can survive in the Oxfordshire
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Anger at plan for private surgeries
GPs took part in a demonstration to continue their fight against plans by Virgin chairman Sir Richard Branson for a new health centre. According to Keep Our NHS Public, his Virgin Group wants to build and administer NHS health centres using sub-contracted
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Double act pull out of show
COMEDIANS Mitchell and Webb have pulled out of a fundraising show in aid of East Oxford hospice charity Helen and Douglas House as they have been nominated for a Bafta award. The pair had signed up to take part in Childish Things 4, at the New Theatre
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Today's local share prices (PM)
AEA Technology 65.5 BMW 2750 Electrocomponents 168.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 133 Oxford Biomedica 21.25 Oxford Catalyst 154 Oxford Instruments 190.5 Reed Elsevier 635.5 RM 203 RPS Group 320 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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Hear my voices
How many people can have a 20 minute conversation with Madonna without knowing they're talking to one of the most famous women on the planet? Jez Rose for one. He met Madge by the punch bowl at Elton John's 60th birthday celebrations and had a lovely
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No right
We have another example of people power today - in East Oxford. Those living there have put forward a strong case for a residents' parking scheme - and the county council has listened. It won't be too long hopefully before commuters, who have no right
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Power of the people triumphs
The campaigners who fought so hard to save services at The Horton Hospital, Banbury, have scored a momentous victory. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel has backed all the fears they expressed. In almost every previous case it had considered, the
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Life at a funny angle
As Van Gogh would have told you, getting exposure when you're an artist is a nightmare. So the Oxford Mail has teamed up with Modern Art Oxford to exhibit the work of up-and-coming artists from Oxfordshire. To kick off the series, these photographs
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Residents win zones rethink
Residents in East Oxford are celebrating a key victory in their campaign to end parking chaos in streets off Oxford's Cowley Road. The East Oxford Safe Streets campaign fears children are being put in danger by commuters parking on pavements. They
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Skippers cool it for The Fishes
I'm one of those sad people who find Radio 4's shipping forecasts strangely cosy (although I don't tune in especially for them). Of course it's anything but cosy for the folk who spend a week at sea for a living, such as the skippers who supply The
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POINT-TO-POINT: Festival duo at Lockinge
Man From Highworth and Mel In Blue, who were last seen in action at the Cheltenham Festival, could line up at the Old Berkshire Hunt meeting at Lockinge, near Wantage, on Easter Monday. The pair found the opposition too hot in the Christie's Foxhunter
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Double act pulls out of charity show
Comedians Mitchell and Webb have pulled out of a fundraising show in aid of East Oxford hospice charity Helen and Douglas House as they have been nominated for a Bafta award. The pair had signed up to take part in Childish Things 4, at the New Theatre
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BADMINTON: Colts are ninth different champs
Colts & Co have become only the ninth club to be crowned champions in the 20-year history of the Oxfordshire Five Disciplines League. In the final round of the county's premier team event, hosted by Feathers, last year's runners-up went one better thanks
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Mother gives a thousand thanks
A young mum whose baby son suffers from haemophilia has helped raise more than £1,000 for the hospital unit where he receives his treatment. Nikki Munn, 21, joined forces with mother Deirdre, 47, and partner Danny, 22, to raise £1,313 for the Churchill
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BADMINTON: Wilson's five star show
Kathryn Wilson, with five titles, and Ben Proctor, Ella Boyd and Amy Lawson, with three each, were the stars of the Oxfordshire Junior Championships at Abingdon's Vale of White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre. RESULTS Under 7 - Boys' singles (BS):
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Turning Point
Multi-millionaire businessman Richard Farleigh is leading the battle to revive Oxonica, the Oxfordshire company that hit a crisis last year. Oxonica, based at Begbroke Science Park, made 10 people redundant last May, after it lost a £6.1m contract from
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Accident verdict on rider
A CORONER recorded a verdict of accidental death yesterday at an inquest into the death of a Witney motorcyclist. Lawrence Gunter was killed in a collision with a car outside Hilltop Garden Centre on the B4022 Witney Road at Ramsden in April last year
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Common good
I write about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which has just completed its passage through the House of Lords and will be debated by MPs soon. This Bill extends the scope of scientific research on human embryos and even allows the creation
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Bottomless pit
Roger Lee's argument (Oxford Mail, March 13) that we would be much better off if Britain had adopted the euro a year or more ago is very simplistic. It isn't just a matter of relative exchange rates and the price of oil. Adopting the euro would have
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BADMINTON: County Colts step up as champions
Colts & Co this week became only the ninth club to be crowned champions in the 20-year history of the Oxfordshire Five Disciplines League. In the final round of the county's premier team event, hosted by Feathers, last year's runners-up went one better
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Elderly hit by mean councils
I wish Roger Jenking well on his senior citizen's bus pass journey (Oxford Mail, March 6). Unfortunately, because Cherwell District Council has decided that my bus pass concession cannot apply before 9.30am, the earliest time I could start such an epic
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All invited to football academy event
Soccer stars of the future will be able to find out more about a football academy being run by Oxford United and Peers School at an open day next weekend. The academy - which is open to 16- to 18-year-olds eager to make it as professional footballers
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ROWING: Oxon's new Blues are raring to go
There are just three Britons in this year's Oxford crew - Nick Brodie, the president and former Blue, and new boys Ben Smith and Olly Moore - and all of them have strong Oxfordshire connections, writes Mike Rosewell. Two of team, Brodie, from Abingdon
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Pupils turn 'climate cops'
Pupils became police officers as they hunted out 'climate crimes' in a special energy-saving workshop at their school. Northbourne Primary School in Cockroft, Didcot, hosted energy firm npower's first Climate Cop Academy in Oxfordshire, teaching pupils
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Anger at plan for private surgeries
Oxfordshire GPs took part in a demonstration to continue their fight against plans by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson for a new health centre. According to Keep Our NHS Public, his Virgin Group wants to build and administer NHS health centres using
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FIXTURES March 21
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. Halifax v Oxford Utd. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Cheshunt. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Thatcham. Didcot Tn v Paulton Rov, Oxford C v AFC Hayes. SPORT ITALIA
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215 DOLCE VITA, BANBURY ROAD, OXFORD 01865 553990
It's late at night and you get that won't-go-away craving. Pizza, it has to be pizza. But you don't want to sit down in a restaurant and go through the whole 'eating out' rigmarole. Neither do you want a brand name pizza, oozing with cheese and saturated
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Bicester Village, 01869 323 200
No matter how you look at it, shopping just isn't as enjoyable 'post-children". I used to love Saturday afternoons spent idling around shops, languishing over lunch and enjoying a well-earned coffee. But it doesn't have the same appeal when you have
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School play dedicated to past pupil
Pupils taking to the stage for the annual play at an Oxford school had more reason than most to feel a few first-night nerves. The production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Magdalen College Junior School was dedicated to the memory of past
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Accident verdict on rider
A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death at the inquest into the death of Guy Evans, a 17-year-old killed in a motorcycle crash in August last year. The teenager, from Long Wittenham, was killed a he rode with three friends in Featherbed
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Chain reaction
The set itself would challenge any Hollywood director, let alone writing nine scripts for nine plays, organising the 140 performers aged six to 19, making 1,000 costumes and assembling 400 props for three shows in two cycles. But this week, years of
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Cabbages and Kings
One of the penalties of good health is that those who have cheery cheeks or lithesome limbs that allow them to bound up stairs or run for a bus, are never allowed to feel under the weather'. Family, friends and acquaintances alike take any change
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Club wants its Beatles photo back
A photograph of the Beatles in Oxford is believed to have been stolen as part of a student prank. The photo, which shows the Fab Four and a young Jeffrey Archer at Vincent's Club in 1964, went missing from the club, in King Edward Street, after the
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Trust issues warning to city council
A MOVE to build a wind turbine near South Hinksey would damage "iconic views" of Oxford, the city council has been warned. Council leaders have given the go-ahead for a detailed examination of four possible sites for Oxford's first wind turbines,
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£29,000 worth of antiques stolen
BURGLARS escaped with £29,000 worth of antiques from a house after getting in through a rear window. Police are appealing for information following a high-value burglary in Kingston Hill, in Kingston Blount, near Chinnor, overnight between Sunday, March
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Cab driver assaulted teenager
A MAN driving a black cab sexually assaulted a teenage girl in his vehicle as he drove her home in Oxford. Police are appealing for witnesses after a 17-year-old girl got into a black cab at Gloucester Green and asked to be taken to Jericho at about
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'Cab driver assaulted teenage girl'
A man driving a black cab sexually assaulted a teenage girl in his vehicle as he drove her home in Oxford. Police are appealing for witnesses after a 17-year-old girl got into a black cab at Gloucester Green and asked to be taken to Jericho at around
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Drivers fined over lack of seatbelts
More than a dozen drivers were stopped for failing to wear their seatbelt in Islip today. Police carried out road checks in Kidlington Road, Islip, from 8-10am. Officers stopped 15 people for driving without wearing their seatbelts. Three were fined
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Dozen drivers stopped in safety check
MORE than a dozen drivers were stopped for failing to wear their seatbelt in Islip today. Police carried out road checks, in Kidlington Road, between 8am and 10am. Officers stopped 15 people for driving without wearing their seatbelts. Three were
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Burglars steal TV
BURGLARS broke into a house after the owner failed to lock their front door securely. Police are appealing for witnesses after a burglary in Edinburgh Way, Banbury, sometime overnight between Monday and Tuesday. They got in through the front door
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Moules frites and Muscadet
As a child, I spent many Easter and summer holidays with my adopted French family, more often than not swimming, sailing and playing in and around the Atlantic coast. A highlight of the Easter trip was the massive family gathering that was celebrated
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Pullman unveils his new work
Philip Pullman has often said that "it takes Once upon a time' to reach the heart". And on March 31, he will headline the Oxford Literary Festival, to unveil the latest episode in the His Dark Materials universe - his new book, Once Upon a Time in the
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HORTON VERDICT: Services saved
Health Secretary Alan Johnson has rejected proposals to downgrade maternity and children's services at Banbury's Horton Hospital. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) today backed campaigners in rejecting the plans by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals
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Warning after house burgled
Burglars broke into a house after the owner failed to lock their front door securely. Police are appealing for witnesses after a burglary in Edinburgh Way, Banbury, sometime between Monday night and Tuesday morning. They got inside through the front
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Thank you Ma'am for a day to remember
<p>On the 4th March I ventured down to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Her Majesty to receive my MBE. It was one of those things that I was desperate to get out of the way so that I could have conversations with people that didn’t start with
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Horton report rejects downgrade
A report out today has rejected proposals to downgrade services at Banbury's Horton Hospital. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel, which has been considering proposals to downgrade maternity and children's departments, has backed campaigners. The
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Cancer charity calls on you to support its work
Every day, ten families in the UK are told their child has cancer. The role of the charity CLIC Sargent is important in providing the care and support these families need. CLIC Sargent is the UK's leading cancer charity for children and is very active
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Extravagance — and all in 'good taste'
Ditchley Park had to rely on the American rich to help restore it to its former grandeur, writes CHRIS KOENIG. The rich are different to the rest of us, American author Scott Fitzgerald maintained; to which a friend replied that, yes, they had
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Minister backs Horton's future
HEALTH Secretary Alan Johnson has rejected proposals to downgrade maternity and children's services at Banbury's Horton Hospital. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel (IRP) today backed campaigners in rejecting the plans by the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals
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The versatile hazel is tops
VAL BOURNE says every garden should have at least two hazel bushes Every garden should have at least two or three hazel bushes - Corylus avellana - tucked into a corner. You can cut the catkins in spring, to add structure to a vase of daffodils
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Rollers, runners and creepers
Oxfordshire-based expert Steve Gregory is updating an atlas on perhaps one of the least popular of small creatures, the humble woodlouse, writes ELIZABETH EDWARDS I have always been fascinated by woodlice, shy creatures, some with an ability
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Wagner direct from New York to Oxford
GILES WOODFORDE talks to the people behind the new phenomenon of opera shown live on cinema screens "We are at the beginning of a new era," announced the august trade publication Kinematograph Year Book with considerable understatement as it
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Wall to wall theatre
Always looking for a fresh challenge, Creation Theatre has chosen a new venue, the North Wall Theatre, for its latest production, Measure for Measure, writes HELEN PEACOCKE When Measure for Measure was first staged in 1604 it was classified as
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Epic drama
NICK UTECHIN talks to Helen Edmundson who brings her adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace to the Oxford Playhouse Scarcely has the Playhouse seen off Peter Flannery's phalanx of characters in Our Friends in The North than its stage prepares
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Police close Northern Bypass
POLICE briefly closed the A40 Northern Bypass last night after receiving reports of a man acting strangely on the Marsh Lane flyover at about 8.30pm. A police spokesman said a 38-year-old man was "detained for his own safety".
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D-Day for Horton
A REPORT due out today is expected to shape the future of services at The Horton Hospital, Banbury. The Independent Reconfiguration Panel, which has been considering proposals to downgrade the maternity and children's departments, is expected to publish
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Nightclub says it will be business as usual
AN OXFORD nightclub which had its licence suspended over drink-related problems is considering appealing and has promised it is business as usual this weekend. The Imperial, in Park End Street, had its premises licence suspended for six weeks by the
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Bursary keeps memory alive
DISADVANTAGED boys are today being offered a place at one of Oxford's public schools with the creation of a bursary in memory of an "inspiratonal and exceptional" teacher. Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Magdalen College School teacher
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Swan survives brush with floods
THE champagne corks were flying last night as a west Oxfordshire pub opened for the first time since last summer's flooding in the Evenlode valley. But it is also a case of fingers crossed as Swan Inn landlord Richard Lait and neighbours in Ascott-under-Wychwood
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Sensible
When it comes to health and safety issues, we often take the easy way out, banning this and banning that, on the basis that someone might get hurt. But the decision to postpone the Easter egg rolling competition at Shotover is probably wise. If high
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Legacy of a skilled teacher
Everyone who knew David Brunton agreed that he was an inspirational teacher. So it is fitting that his memory should be perpetuated in a scholarship at the school, where pupils benefited from his exceptional classroom skills. It is just a year since
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Patto waiting for departures
Darren Patterson is still striving to improve his Oxford United squad for the final few weeks of this season. But he needs players to move out before he can get anyone else in, and two of his transfer-listed trio rejected possible moves last week.
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Museum comes back to life
THE Cogges Farm Museum, Witney, saved from the immediate threat of closure, comes back to life at the weekend as it opens for a new season. And, after volunteers gave up their time two weekends ago to give the place a spring clean, it received another
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Goodwood offers upmarket camping
MANY visitors to this year's Goodwood motorsport events - the Festival of Speed (July 11-13) and Goodwood Revival (September 19-21) - will be able to rest a little longer in the picturesque West Sussex Downlands setting. Major enhancements are being
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Student wins contest to create TV ad
A STUDENT from Oxfordshire has won a competition to create a TV advert for a best-selling crime novel. The winning advert, by Jamie Childs, 20, of Lucerne Avenue, Bicester, was chosen ahead of 200 others by Patricia Cornwell for her thriller Book of
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Scientist given top honour
AN Oxford professor has been named a woman of outstanding achievement in science, engineering and technology. Prof Kay Davis was one of six women chosen from 125 nominations for the UK Resource Centre for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology's
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Customers face drugs checks
CUSTOMERS were tested for drugs before they could go for a pint in an Oxford pub. About 80 people were tested with a drugs itemiser outside the Blackbird, in Blackbird Leys, last Friday night, with the promise of more crackdowns to come. Two people
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Egg hunting
CHILDREN can spend the day hunting for chocolate treats during a special Easter-themed day at the weekend. On Saturday, Snakes and Ladders, in Audlett Drive, Abingdon, will hold a fun day for children with a Easter hunt. The coffee shop will also
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Green light for garden
A BOTANICAL garden was being officially opened by Hugo Brunner, the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, today. The Northmoor Trust's Broad Arboretum is a collection of native trees and shrubs from across the county originally planted on two acres of the
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Post closures rethink call rejected
The closure of a number of Oxfordshire post offices will go ahead as planned after a last-ditch attempt to save them was defeated in Parliament last night. A Conservative Party motion demanding the suspension of the Government's national programme to
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Brick attack
POLICE have appealed for witnesses after a vandal attacked five cars with a brick. The yob smashed windscreens on five vehicles parked in Lamarsh Road, Oxford, at about 12.05am on Sunday. He fled the scene after setting off an alarm on one of the
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Bursary keeps teacher's memory alive
Disadvantaged boys are today being offered a place at one of Oxford's public schools with the creation of a bursary in memory of an "inspirational and exceptional" teacher. Today marks the first anniversary of the death of Magdalen College School teacher
