Archive
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Election: IWCA leader hangs on
The Independent Working Class Association have seen their number halve after a disastrous night at the polls. High profile city councillors Lee Cole and Claire Kent both lost their seats to Labour, in Blackbird Leys and Churchill respectively. Mr
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Election: Tories storm W Oxon
Conservatives have 15 of the 17 seats up in west Oxfordshire. More to follow.
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Election: IWCA lose 2nd seat
The Independent Working Class Association has lost the second of its three seats in Oxford. Lee Cole has lost his seat to Val Smith in Blackbird Leys and Claire Kent has now lost her Churchill seat to Mark Lygo. Mr Lygo said "I am really pleased.
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Election: Labour win in Leys
Labour candidate Val Smith has won Blackbird Leys from Lee Coles of the Independent Working Class Association. Councillor Smith had previously left the city council voluntarily to focus her attentions on her seat on the county council where she felt
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Election: 'Rat campaigner' fails to win seat
Dr Frances Kennett, who has been strongly critical of Oxford City Council's move to fortnightly rubbish collection, has failed to win a seat. She stood as a Conservative candidate in the North area but came second behind Lib Dem Clark Brundin. Dr Kennett
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Mayor Boris could stay as MP
Confusion about Boris Johnson's future in Oxfordshire was growing last night as local Tories appeared to cast doubt on his pledge to step down as Henley MP "very soon" if elected London mayor. The chairman of Henley Conservative Association, John Walsh
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Election: Lib Dem defector loses seat
Paul Sargent, who crossed the floor to switch his allegiance from the Liberal Democrats to the Conservatives, has lost his seat. The seat has been won by the Lib Dem candidate Stephen Brown. Mr Sargent's 'defection' caused outrage among some voters
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Election: First Oxford result in
The first result has been announced in Oxford City. Green Candidate Matt Morton has won St Mary's. This is a hold as it was a seat previously won by Sid Phelps who stood down this year.
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Enjoy a hearty stroll in the Brecons
Chomp on the wrong sort of mushroom in the Welsh hills and you could end up tripping like a hippy or heading for an early grave. So I was glad that Dan Butler, a man who knows his 'shrooms, was in charge as we threaded our way through the misty Brecon
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Election: Tories happy in w Oxon
Conservative councillors are delighted with developments in west Oxfordshire. They have held onto three seats in Witney West, Witney East and Chadlington and Churchill and also won Witney South from Independent councillor Peter Green.
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Don't lose count
Counters begins their long task
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Eyes down and counting
Ballot boxes arrive at Oxford Town Hall
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Election: First result in
The first result has come in and it is from Witney West. Conservative councillor Louise Chapman secured 705 votes gain victory over Labour candidate David Wesson (137) and Green Sandra Simpson (94).
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Bestival is a record sell-out
WITH months still to go, everyone's favourite boutique festival has exceeded its own reputation - and sold out in record time. The cult Bestival, which takes in September down on the Isle of Wight, boasts an incredible line-up that includes indie giants
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Dancer sweeps board at contest
Dancing queen Nicole Faux dazzled judges at a national dance competition to wIn four first-place prizes. The five-year-old from Kidlington strutted her stuff in front of crowds at the British Theatre Dance Association's novice festival in Tamworth, near
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Commuters urged to 'bombard minister'
RAIL commuters fed up with delays and cancellations are being urged to bombard Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly with letters in support of a upgrade scheme. The appeal comes from the county council, which says it is "taking nothing for granted" over
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Surveillance 'breached human rights'
The High Court yesterday heard that the Metropolitan Police's policy of routinely photographing anti-arms fair activists was a breach of human rights, in a case brought by an Oxford man. Campaign Against Arms Trade member Andrew Wood was photographed
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Signal support for rail update
Rail commuters fed up with delays and cancellations are being urged to bombard Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly with letters in support of a upgrade scheme. The appeal comes from the county council, which says it is "taking nothing for granted" over plans
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Cultural history goes online
Oxford University's Bodleian Library has launched a 65,000-item cultural history collection online. The John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera is one of the largest and most important collections of such material in the world, consisting of more
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Cameron launches flood debate
Conservative Party leader David Cameron will break with Parliamentary tradition next week to lead a debate on flooding in his Witney constituency. In a highly unusual move for a party leader, Mr Cameron has secured one of a handful of slots normally
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Bleary eyed
A bit knackered this morning having been up until 4am to cover the local elections. But still I managed a genteel jog and enjoyed it. Too tired to write much tho......
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Traveller has obscure hobby
A scientist is embarking on an unusual European trip - to find the places where the idea for the camera was born. Retired physicist and engineer Roger Smith has an unusual interest. He is fascinated by the history of the scientific instrument, the
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Bus pass confusion
Have other people had trouble with their bus passes? My granddaughter has a bus pass for herself and a carer, as she has learning difficulties. With her mum as carer, she had no trouble on the journey to town from Northway Estate on the No 13. Coming
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Clean-up cash
And we thought that Oxford University was a stuffy institution. How ingenious to use the Internet to trace students guilty of antisocial behaviour after their exams (Oxford Mail, April 28). But what a pity that the fines will not be given to the city
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Why don't they pull together?
I have often thought that our councilors do not communicate with each other. Now I know why. They sit in air-conditioned offices, turn off telephones, ignore emails and develop their self-important departmental quangos. It makes me wonder if they ever
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Friends get Ian bench memorial
Family and friends of a teenager who died suddenly from meningitis have unveiled a special memorial bench to mark his life. Former King Alfred Community Sports College pupil Ian Donald was 18 when he died in March 2007 from the killer disease. Now
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Police honour brave grandad
A grandfather who thwarted a robbery and a police officer who helped jail a rapist have been praised. Jim Crocker, 61, won a Chief Constable's Commendation for detaining the robber until police arrived. The grandfather-of-two, of Chatsworth Drive,
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Are your tiny tots on drugs?
Parents of primary school children are being targeted by a new project to make them aware of the signs that their children may be using drugs and how to discourage them from doing so. The course, How to Drug Proof Your Kids, is at Pegasus Primary School
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Bonn Square ' ready in the summer'
Work is now progressing well on the £1.5m revamp of Oxford's Bonn Square - after a tricky start to the project when a protester occupied a tree. At the end of January, Gabriel Chamberlain carried out a 12-day protest to save a sycamore tree in the square
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Football course achieves goal
A football school in Oxford is enjoying watching its former pupils achieve their goals on the pitch, as well as off it. But the football development centre at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, which counts Nottingham Forest striker Garath McCleary
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Flood cameras plan for river
Web cameras could be put up at weirs along the River Thames in a bid to improve safety, the Environment Agency has said. Members of the Oxford Flood Alliance quizzed the agency's Thames waterways manager, Eileen McKeever, about proposals to sell off
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RUGBY UNION: Hutchings steps up
Chinnor captain Matt Hutchings will skipper Oxfordshire as they begin their County Championship Shield campaign against Cornwall at Redruth tomorrow. Hutchings, who led Chinnor to the South West 1 title, is joined by eight clubmates, including wing
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Today's local share prices (PM)
AEA Technology 68.5 BMW 2775 Electrocomponents 184.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 128.5 Oxford Biomedica 25.75 Oxford Catalyst 168.5 Oxford Instruments 211 Reed Elsevier 635.5 RM 207.5 RPS Group 317.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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CRICKET: Shallow set to star
Hyron Shallow returns once again to haunt the bowlers as the OCA League gets under way tomorrow. The West Indian star all-rounder should have a massive influence on Tetsworth's season as they look to reclaim their Division 1 title after missing out
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CRICKET: Teens called up
Promising teenagers Jack Taylor and Matthew Woods feature in Oxfordshire's friendly against Oxford University in The Parks on Monday (11). The pair provide the youth in a fairly strong line-up, while Stratford's Matt Hancock, a left-arm spinner, also
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CRICKET: Derby clash
There is an Oxfordshire derby on Sunday when Kidlington host Home Counties Premier League rivals Thame Town in the first round of the ECB Cockspur Cup. The clash should give an indication of form ahead of the league's opening fixtures next Saturday.
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All set for Town & Gown
There are are just three weeks to go until Oxford's Town and Gown fun run and hundreds of runners are putting the finishing touches to their training. More than 2,700 people have already signed up for the popular 10km event, which is due to weave its
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Traders urge cut in buses
A REDUCTION in the number of London buses travelling on the High Street, Oxford, should be central to improvements to the historic road, transport planners will be told. Traders say the 2,500 buses a day thundering up the High could be significantly
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NIM'S ISLAND (U)
If any more proof were needed that 12-year-old Abigail Breslin, Oscar-nominated star of Little Miss Sunshine, is destined for superstardom, look no further than Nim's Island.o The diminutive actress takes top billing for this island adventure above
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MADE OF HONOUR (12A)
How soon is too soon when it comes to a remake? Two years? Five years? Ten? Made Of Honour is a gender-reversed revamp of the 1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding, about a bed-hopping, commitment-shy 30-something who realises, almost too late
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Iron Man (12A)
With great power comes great responsibility... and an equally great temptation to abuse that power for significant personal and financial gain. The tug-of-war between altruism and materialism is at the heart of Iron Man, Jon Favreau's marvellous nuts
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Garsington Opera seeks new venue
THE search has begun for a new home for Garsington Opera following the announcement that it must leave the idyllic manor house that has been its home for two decades. The board of directors of Garsington Opera said that the 2010 season would be the
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New-look eaterie serves up jobs
Thirty jobs are being created with the redevelopment of a restaurant near Banbury. The Wobby Wheel at Warmington has become a Brewers Fayre eaterie after it was bought by parent company Whitbread from the Spirit group last month. A £400,000 facelift
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Rococo: It Rocks!
Nestled between Heli Beds and Oxford Interiors in the West Way Shopping Centre in Botley, Rocococor doesn't seem promising. The precinct looks like the kind of backdrop beloved of Punk and New Wave bands in the late 70s/early 80s. But every time I pass
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The Whine Column
DEAR JESSICA: After months of asking, I have finally got the girl of my desires to agree to go out with me. Now I'm stuck. She likes wine, but I know nothing about it. Where in Oxford can I take her to get good wine, that won't empty my wallet and maybe
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The Fall Guy
Welcome to Mountain Dream, live your dream adventure" reads the advert promoting Simon Yates' holiday company, the irony of which isn't lost on the famous mountaineer. Because when you consider that his mountain exploits have led to two life-and-death
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Killer nurse launches appeal bid
A nurse serving life for murdering two patients and bringing 15 to the brink of death has launched a bid to clear his name. Benjamin Geen, 27, of Banbury, today applied for a fresh hearing at the Court of Appeal claiming to have new expert evidence
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Murder case nurse bids to clear name
A NURSE serving life for murdering two patients and bringing 15 to the brink of death has launched a bid to clear his name. Benjamin Geen, 25, of Banbury, has today applied for a fresh hearing at the Court of Appeal claiming to have new expert evidence
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Baby Simple: Sofa So Good!
We arrived at Baby Simple shortly after ten o'clock to find that it was the best kind of busy. There were plenty of people there, creating a bustling and lively atmosphere, but there were minimal queues at the bar - so buying a drink was a brilliantly
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Death-crash car 'travelling at 80mph'
TWO men were killed speeding at about 80mph in a car while a friend filmed them on a mobile telephone, a coroner heard today. James McCabe, of Hemingway Drive, Bicester, and Adam Davis, of Oxlip Leyes, Bicester, died when Mr McCabe's red Peugeot 205
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Charlatans: the last gang in town
Swaggering, confident, and terrifying talented, The Charlatans are among the coolest bands in the world. Looking as good as they sound, it's startling to remember that the band have been together for almost 20 years. Those two decades, however, have
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Accidental verdict for friends' death
Two men were killed speeding at about 80mph in a car while a friend filmed them on a mobile telephone, a coroner heard today. James McCabe, of Hemmingway Drive, Bicester, and Adam Davis, of Oxlip Leyes, Bicester, died when Mr McCabe's red Peugeot 205
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London Lights
'Music was shaken to its roots in June," writes James Hamilton in his book London Lights, "When the Italian violinist Nicolò Paganini gave a series of performances at the King's Theatre, for which he initially demanded £4,000 a show." Even now, this is
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Local author
James Conan is the pen-name for a collaboration between Duncton Chronicles creator William Horwood and historian Helen Rappaport, whose novel City of Dark Hearts (Arrow, £6.99) is set in 1890s Chicago. Helen is an expert on black Crimean nurse Mary Seacole
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Book events
TODAY Lecture: James Attlee talks about his book about Cowley Road, Isolarion: A Different Oxford Journey. 2.30pm, Holywell Music Room, Holywell Street, Oxford. Part of Oxford May Music Festival. For details, see www.oxfordmaymusic.co.uk or call 01865
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Paperback choice
Notes From an Exhibition Patrick Gale (Harper Perennial, £7.99) The central figure in this family saga with a gay touch is bipolar (manic-depressive) artist Rachel Kelly, who has just died of a heart attack in her Cornish loft-studio. Each chapter
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Rehash won't satisfy fans
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY: IAN FLEMING + JAMES BOND Ben MacIntyre (Bloomsbury, £20)I feel for Ben MacIntyre with this latest attempt to chronicle and analyse the similarities and relationship between Ian Fleming and James Bond. It's not that MacIntyre, with
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Self-sufficient eco-twins
A degree course in nutrition and food science at Oxford Brookes University sparked Dave Hamilton's interest in cooking and growing food. Now 33, he and his twin brother Andy remember making nettle soup with their grandmother, who made pickles, chutney
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Italy's descent into civil war
by Laura Wurzel ITALY'S SORROW: A YEAR OF WAR, 1944-45 James Holland (Harper Press, £25)Holland's book is a enthralling, detailed, exhaustively researched page-turner. He uses over 50 illuminating eyewitness accounts from Italian civilians and partisans
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Today's local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 68.75 BMW 2775 Electrocomponents 184.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 128.5 Oxford Biomedica 26 Oxford Catalyst 168.5 Oxford Instruments 210.5 Reed Elsevier 633.25 RM 207.5 RPS Group 316 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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Saudi Prince's Oxfordshire estate
Should any inhabitant of west Oxfordshire happen to look up and see an Airbus flying overhead, resplendent in silver and blue, they should wonder not: it is only their neighbour, Prince Bandar, stopping off at his Oxfordshire pad between Riyadh and Washington
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Tycoons slip down rich list
TWO Oxfordshire billionaires feature among the biggest risers and fallers in this year's list of Britain's richest people. Sir Anthony Bamford and family live at Daylesford, near Chipping Norton, where Lady Bamford's farm shop now sells luxury clothes
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Moon dance
DAVID BELLAN talks to Lin Hwai-min, founder of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, about performing Moon Water Lin Hwai-min, Cloud Gate's now legendary founder, came late to contemporary dance after studying Chinese opera movement and classical court
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Rewards of sweets leaves bitter taste
Survey discovers significant number of teachers rewarding children with sweets, writes PETER CANN The information website Netmums has announced the results of a survey in which they asked mothers if their children got sweets given as rewards by
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To Be Straight With You, DV8, The Oxford Playhouse
Had your critic arrived a minute or two late at the Oxford Playhouse on Wednesday night, this space would now contain something other than a review of DV8's powerful new show, To Be Straight With You. Were I to have been caught short during the 80 minutes
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Daybreak offers mental health carers a lifeline
As the result of advances in medicine, the majority of us will now live longer. This may seem an attractive idea, but as we get older, our mental health can deteriorate, and some of us will develop such conditions as dementia, of which Alzheimer's Disease
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ROWING: Houghton still on course for Olympics
Thirteen Oxfordshire rowers have been named in the British crews for the first World Cup Regatta in Munich next week, raising hopes for their selection for the Beijing Olympics. World champions Frances Houghton, in the women's quad, plus Richard Chambers
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Of fires, replicas and choristers in May
Magdalen College is not the only place where choristers have been heard on May morning, writes CHRIS KOENIG Anyone concerned about the fairness or otherwise of tax bands should perhaps spare a thought for the inhabitants of Churchill, near Chipping
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For beetles it's brutal
VAL BOURNE says there can only be one way to deal with the menace of the lily beetle Gardeners hate bright-red lily beetles and I am constantly being asked how to deal with them in a green way. There's only one method and it's brutal - pick the
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'Good shoes and a hat' style
DENISE DANE, of Oxfordshire Geology Trust's Diversity in Stone project, explores the local links between buildings and North Wessex Downs geology The North Wessex Downs form the largest designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in southern England
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May Morning
Tomas Autchier tells Oxford Mail reporter Andrew Ffrench how he celebrates May Day.
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May Morning
The water awaits this May Day jumper.
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Music teacher who added another string to her bow
As the East Oxford Community Choir prepares for a joint concert with a choir from Grenoble, NICOLA LISLE talks to the choir's founder, Mel Houldershaw The phrase "glutton for punishment" springs to mind. Not content with teaching music to children
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May Morning
Girls have fun as May Day dawns. Pictures by Ed Nix.
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May Morning
Angelic reveller Emily Cox.
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CRICKET: Young Taylor and Woods to face Varsity
Promising teenagers Jack Taylor and Matthew Woods will feature in Oxfordshire's friendly against Oxford University in The Parks on Monday (11). The pair provide the youth in a fairly strong line-up, while Stratford's Matt Hancock, a left-arm spinner
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May Morning
Celebrating May Day.
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May Morning
Crowds watch the May Day jumpers.
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May Morning
A jumper at the point of no return.
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May Morning
Ahmed Jarnaranz, left, and Jean-Baptiste Joslet on dry land after jumping off Magdalen Bridge.
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May Morning
Preparing to take the leap.
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May Morning
Police on May Day patrol.
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May Morning
Crowds gathered to hear the Magdalen College choir.
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Westgate given go-ahead
THE final stumbling block in the way of the £330m redevelopment of Oxford's Westgate Centre has been lifted. The city council has been given the go-ahead for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for 14 sheltered homes in Abbey Place, behind the Westgate
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May Morning
Splashdown for a May Day jumper.
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May Morning
Ahmed Jarnaranz in mid air after jumping off Magdalen Bridge.
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'I was an atomic test guinea pig'
A PENSIONER who says he was a "guinea pig" during atomic bomb tests in the 1950s is suing the Government. Ex-serviceman Derek Connelly, of Churchill Road, Kidlington, says he was made to stand just wearing his shorts and socks to witness nuclear and
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May Morning
Revellers capture the action on video and camera as a jumper prepares to take the plunge.
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Update: May Day ‘a success’
The emergency services have hailed this morning's May Day operation a success despite four people jumping off Magdalen Bridge. Police and Oxford city and Oxfordshire county councils closed the bridge this morning to prevent a repeat of the 2005 event
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I hear little people
Since littl'un started talking, her dad and I have had this running argument. You see she often says things when he's at work that I find pretty amazing. We're not talking things like: "Put the kettle on I'm dying for a brew mum," but we are talking little
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No time to lose on Westgate
The decision to remove one of the last major obstacles to the £330m redevelopment of the Westgate Centre in Oxford will be widely welcomed. The Government has given the go-ahead to the compulsory purchase orders on the land needed for the scheme.
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Update: Jumpers 'celebrate' May Day
AT least four men jumped off Magdalen Bridge this morning as part of the May Day 'celebrations'. Officials had closed the bridge for the third consecutive year as thousands of people gathered to hear the Magdalen College choir sing the Hymnus Eucharisticus
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Historic forge saved from scrapheap
AN HISTORIC blacksmith's forge bound for the scrapheap has been saved - and will now become a working museum piece at Tooley's Boatyard, in Banbury. The forge was rescued from the Sapa works, in Southam Road - formerly Alcan. It was due to be sent
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Jumpers 'celebrate' May Day
At least four men have jumped off Magdalen Bridge this morning as part of the May Day 'celebrations'. Officials had closed the bridge for the third consecutive year as thousands of people gathered to hear the Magdalen College choir sing the Hymnus Eucharisticus
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Big surge
THE Wheatley local branch of the Royal British Legion has been given the Duncan Cup, which is awarded to the fastest growing branch in Oxfordshire. The Wheatley branch was reformed in 2006 and has built up its membership to 37 people. Anyone interested
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Angler's death 'not suspicious'
THE death of a street drinker whose body was found in an Oxford lake was accidental, a coroner ruled. Kenneth Pollard, 57, who lived at Lucy Faithfull House, a hostel for the homeless in Speedwell Street, Oxford, was found in Hinksey Lake, South Oxford
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City bands to play Glastonbury
THREE Oxford bands are due to appear at this year's Glastonbury festival, it has been announced. Organisers of the event, which takes place at Worthy Farm, Pilton, in Somerset, from Friday to Sunday, June 27 to 29, unveiled the line-up. Oxford bands
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Battery scheme gets longer life
A BATTERY recycling scheme is to be extended after a successful first year. Cherwell District Council launched the scheme in April last year, and since then around four tons of batteries have been handed in at collection points in the area. The
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10,000 Eastern Europeans live in county
Nearly 10,000 eastern European immigrants are living in Oxfordshire but many will choose not to settle here, new research suggests. Figures released yesterday estimate 9,478 Poles, Czechs, Estonians, Hungarians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Slovakians and
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Art of the matter
ART by more than 200 young artists is to go on display at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Almost 1,000 schoolchildren in the county submitted their best efforts for the first Oxford Young Art exhibition. The scheme, which sees all the artwork sold
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Westgate's in store for city
The final stumbling block in the way of the £330m redevelopment of Oxford's Westgate Centre was lifted last night. The Oxford Mail can reveal the city council has been given the go-ahead for a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for 14 sheltered homes in
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I was an atomic test guinea pig
A pensioner who says he was a "guinea pig" during atomic bomb tests in the 1950s is suing the Government. Ex-serviceman Derek Connelly, of Churchill Road, Kidlington, says he was made to stand just wearing his shorts and socks to witness nuclear and
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Small traders fighting back
SMALL shops in Witney are forming their own network to fight the threat from multi-national stores. Ten independent businesses in the town have already agreed to be part of the new group, the Witney Independent Retailers' Association. Its first
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Join in with dancing in streets
A COLOURFUL annual parade, which accompanies Oxfordshire's biggest public event, is set to double in size. Organisers of Oxford's Cowley Road Carnival, which will this year be held on Sunday, July 6, are hoping to get 2,000 people in the procession
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Quad-bike case dropped
AN OXFORDSHIRE man and the Princess Royal's former husband attended court to hear a judge rule in their favour and halt a prosecution against his eventing company. Captain Mark Phillips' firm, Equiland, and two of its directors, Timothy Clayton, 66,
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FOOTBALL: Cool Pond puts City into final
Darren Pond struck the winning penalty as Oxford City saw off county rivals Didcot Town 5-4 on penalties to reach the Division 1 South & West play-off final in a thriller at Loop Meadow Stadium last night. With the game poised at 2-2 after extra-time
