Archive
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Kettering 1, Oxford Utd 2
CRAIG Nelthorpe made a sensational return from suspension to inspire Oxford United to victory against play-off rivals Kettering at Rockingham Road last night. The former Doncaster Rovers winger scored a classy free-kick goal after six minutes
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U's in command
OXFORD United raced out of the blocks and led 2-0 at half-time in tonight's Blue Square Premier clash at Kettering. And to make matters worse for the home side, they were reduced to ten men just before half-time when Craig Westcarr was sent off for raising
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Cameron challenges Brown to see state of Witney college
Tory leader David Cameron has challenged Prime Minister Gordon Brown to visit the stalled £30m redevelopment at Abingdon and Witney College. Mr Cameron, MP for Witney, used the case of the campus in his constituency to highlight the gap between the Government
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Oxford pub hit by arson 'will stay shut for months'
A pub hit by arsonists in South Oxford will remain closed for at least four months, its owners said today. Fire crews were called to the blaze at the Berkshire House pub, in Abingdon Road, at about 2am on Wednesday. The kitchen was destroyed and three
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Oxford Literary Festival is 'bigger and better than ever'
MORE than 25,000 book lovers are expected to give the Oxford economy a boost as they arrive for the city’s annual literary festival. This year, the festival at Christ Church has been extended to run for an extra day from Sunday, March 29, to
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Oxford college students help soccer stars shine
A PARTNERSHIP between a college and junior football team has been praised for getting results on and off the pitch. Students from Oxford and Cherwell Valley College, in Oxpens Road, Oxford, have become volunteer coaches at Summertown Stars FC in the
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Oxford fountain restored to former glory
HISTORIANS, councillors and local householders joined together to celebrate the restoration of the Victorian fountain at The Plain, in East Oxford. Months have been spent cleaning and restoring the monument, which was built to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond
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Oxford Greens help Maldives plan to go carbon neutral
TWO Green Party activists from Oxford have been hired by Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives, to save the low-lying islands from the effects of climate change. Mark Lynas and Chris Goodall have been asked to come up with a plan to
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Let people decide
JOHN Tanner said (in Tuesday’s Oxford Mail) we should scrap the idea of choosing the head of state by heredity. He then compares it with deciding the Lord Mayor of Oxford on the basis that their mum, dad or grandparent was Mayor. I would say what dafter
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Norman wisdom
WHEN John Tanner advocates the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of an elected president, what exactly does he mean? Does he mean a figurehead or does he want a leader with more power but fewer privileges than the Queen? While I am in
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Let us improve MP standards
I HAD to laugh when I saw the latest flight of fantasy by John Tanner (Tuesday’s Oxford Mail). Doesn’t he realise that politicians of all parties, especially those in central government, are viewed with contempt by the general public in light of a few
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Cabbages & Kings
WHEN one is as fit as I am – a condition courtesy of the Great MD in the Sky and in no way down to my own efforts – the slightest ache and pain is seen as a prelude to the ‘last trump’ as mentioned by St Paul in one of his emails to the Corinthians.
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Oxford motorist angry as car crushed
A MOTORIST is demanding compensation after returning from holiday to find his car had been towed away and crushed. Dr Martin Goodson, 37, who confessed he rarely drives, parked his Vauxhall Astra near his home in Canal Street, Jericho, Oxford
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Bodleian's Swindon depot plan under fire
THE BODLEIAN Library has been accused of snubbing Oxford after revealing it is to build a £25m book storage centre more than 27 miles away. The library is to shift millions of its books to an industrial estate on the edge of Swindon, at South
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Tuning up for Oxford Folk Festival
A THREE-DAY celebration of folk music and morris dancing will begin in Oxford on Saturday. More than 3,000 people are expected to attend Oxford Folk Festival events over the weekend. The annual celebration of folk music was set up six
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Town drivers pay more for fuel
BICESTER motorists are paying up to 2p a litre more for their fuel than drivers in nearby towns. All five major filling stations in Bicester charge the same, but in Kidlington and Banbury a tank of fuel costs less. We found petrol stations
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Double win for security specialist
COWLEY: Bosses at Unipart Security Solutions (USS) are celebrating after winning two major honours. USS became the first company to attain both the National Security Inspectorate’s Guarding Gold approval, a scheme for companies involved in the provision
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Trees protest latest
A stand-off over the future of trees near Port Meadow in Oxford is continuing today. The city council has decided not to continue pollarding the willows on land adjacent to Cripley Meadow Allotments today, but refused to rule out carrying out
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Gunshot death pensioner named
A pensioner found dead in his back garden in Didcot with a shotgun wound to the head was named today. Arthur William Barnes, 78, was found at a house in Bowness Avenue, Didcot, on Monday afternoon. An inquest to decide the cause of death is expected
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Update: Trees protest continues
A stand-off over the future of trees near Port Meadow in Oxford is continuing today. The city council has decided not to continue pollarding the willows on land adjacent to Cripley Meadow Allotments today, but refused to rule out carrying out
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Local share prices (PM)
AEA Technology 15.75 BMW 2101 Electrocomponents 124.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 6.25 Oxford Catalysts 56.5 Oxford Instruments 116.75 Reed Elsevier 504.5 RM 160.25 RPS Group 140.25 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley
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RAF Benson to exercise Freedom of Wallingford
THE sight of marching RAF personnel will bring Wallingford to a standstill when they exercise their freedom of the town at a special parade. RAF Benson received the Freedom of Wallingford in 1957. One hundred and twenty personnel from
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Oxford find casts doubt on Shakespeare portrait
A PORTRAIT claimed to be the only known picture of William Shakespeare to be painted during the Bard’s lifetime looks like having only a fleeting moment of fame. It is now being claimed that the painting is in fact a copy of a portrait in Oxford’s Bodleian
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Oxford hostel residents plan decorating business
RESIDENTS of an Oxford city centre homeless hostel who started painting and decorating less than a year ago are now planning to set up their own business. The residents of Simon House — a dry hostel for 18- to 65-year-old former drug addicts
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Wood Farm residents take in healthy advice
THE benefits of healthy eating, exercise and massage were extolled at a community event in Oxford. Wood Farm Community Centre’s first Community Health Day saw people from the estate given advice about issues including debt, diet and staying
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RUGBY UNION: Chinnor must front up
Chinnor will have to front up when they visit National 3 South basement boys Havant on Saturday. That is the view of coach Jason Bowers, who was not happy with their forward display against Henley last week. Havant, who secured a bonus-point victory
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Rural 999 calls missing target
PARAMEDICS are not getting to enough emergencies in time across large parts of Oxfordshire. South Central Ambulance Service has admitted its service in rural areas of the county is unacceptable. Ambulance crews should reach 75 per cent of high- priority
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Leys course aimed at silver surfers
OLDER people have been invited to try their hand at surfing the Internet for the first time. The newly formed Clockhouse IT Project has been created to give over-50s advice on how to enrich their lives with the aid of computers. People living in Blackbird
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BADMINTON: Foster on song
Oxfordshire 2nd completed their Inter-County Championship Division 3B season with a 9-6 win over Bucks 3rd at Eynsham. Despite missing four regulars, Oxon chased everything, with Norfolk import Becky Foster again the table-topper with three
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FOOTBALL: Skipper McMahon handed extended ban
Witney United captain John McMahon begins a four-game ban when they travel to Shrivenham in the FTL Futbol Hellenic League Premier Division on Saturday. McMahon was handed a three-match suspension after being sent off at Almondsbury in February
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FOOTBALL: Jeffrey wants repeat display
Banbury United boss Billy Jeffrey has saluted the efforts of his players against Stourbridge and asked for more of the same when they entertain Tiverton Town at Spencer Stadium on Saturday. Although Jeffrey’s side are one place above the BGB
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Historic farm buildings of Oxfordshire
The rural landscape of Oxfordshire is dotted with hundreds of historic farm buildings that tell a story of life and agricultural practice in past centuries. The siting, design and construction of these buildings all contribute valuable and substantial
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Spring-flowering clematis
Visit any garden centre in late March and April and you should find some spring-flowering clematis tucked away with the other climbers. The flowers will vary in shape from a double tutu to single Peter Pan skirt reflecting two differing species – C. macropetala
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Susanna Spicer in Child of Our Time: St Mary Magdalene, Woodstock
One of the first female choral scholars at Trinity College, Cambridge, mezzo-soprano Susanna Spicer went on to sing under conductors such as Simon Rattle, Kurt Masur, John Eliot Gardiner, and Trevor Pinnock. As a graduate of ‘the other place’, I assumed
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Oxford Youth Theatre Dance Company: Oxford Playhouse
The Oxford Youth Theatre Dance Company is a bit of a mouthful, but it has to separate the new company from Oxford Youth Dance, with whom Cecilia MacFarlane has being doing such excellent work for many years with children of all ages. The new company,
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Courtney Pine and the Afropeans: Oxford Playhouse
Saddled with such trophy descriptions as ‘Eighties wunderkind’ and having already received an OBE almost ten years ago for his contributions to the black community and jazz (recently updated to a CBE), saxophonist Courtney Pine seems able effortlessly
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Update: Culham railway victim yet to be named
Police are still working to formally identify the man who died on railway tracks at Culham. Although his next of kin have been informed, British Transport Police have still not officially identified the man, so his name cannot be released. Officers
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Oxford to take part in big switch-off
Oxford’s landmarks are to be plunged into darkness when their floodlights are switched off in a global campaign to raise awareness of climate change. Earth Hour 2009, on Saturday, March 28, will see 900 cities across the world turn off non-essential
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Crash pilot recovering
A pilot is recovering in hospital this morning after his plane crashed at an airfield in west Oxfordshire. Firefighters were called just before 11am yesterday after reports the plane overturned after failing to land on the runway at the airfield in Enstone
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Woman cyclist dragged along road
A cyclist was dragged along the road by a car passenger who tried to snatch her bag. Police today appealed for information to the attempted robbery on Temple Road, in Cowley, Oxford, at around 9.15pm on Tuesday. A man leant out of the window of a small
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Pub arson inqury continues
Police continuing their investigation into an arson attack on a pub in South Oxford. Fire crews were called to the blaze at the Berkshire House pub in Abingdon Road, at about 2am yesterday. The fire destroyed the kitchen and severely damaged three
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City plans lights switch-off
Oxford’s famous landmarks are set to be plunged into darkness in a global electricity shutdown to raise awareness of climate change. Earth Hour 2009 on Saturday, March 28, will see 900 cities across the world turn off non-essential lights and appliances
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70 police raid Oxford homes
Cocaine and cannabis have been seized in a series of dawn drug raids across Blackbird Leys. Thirteen people are in custody accused of drug possession, drug dealing and possessing a firearm after ten properties were targeted across the estate. About
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Pilot injured after plane crashes
A pilot is recovering in hospital after his plane crashed at an airfield in west Oxfordshire. Firefighters were called just before 11am yesterday following reports the plane had overturned after it missed the runway while landing at the airfield
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Drugs seized in Oxford dawn raids
Cocaine and cannabis were seized in a series of dawn raids in Oxford today. Thirteen people were arrested on suspicion of possession of controlled drugs, drug dealing and possessing a firearm after 10 homes in Blackbird Leys were searched.
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Green plans for the Mini
A new generation of Minis designed to be family city cars could soon be in the production pipeline. Reports have revealed a “bold plan” to introduce a highly efficient model line-up headed up by a car powered by an environmentally friendly electric
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Cyclist dragged along Oxford street by bag thief
A cyclist was dragged along an Oxford road by a passenger in a car who tried to steal her bag. Police today appealed for information about the attempted robbery in Temple Road, Cowley, at about 9.15pm on Tuesday. A man leaned out of the window of a
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FIXTURES: March 21
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Banbury v Tiverton, Oxford C v Brackley Tn. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Didcot Tn, Bracknell Tn v North Leigh. FTL FUTBOL HELLENIC LEAGUE. SBJ Insurance Brokers Cup quarter-final
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ROWING: Oxford heaviest ever
Oxford's crew for the University Boat Race is the heaviest in the event's 180-year history. The crew came in at an average weight of 15st 9lb and 13 ounces today, surpassing the previous record of 15st 6lb set in 2005, again by Oxford.
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Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 15.5 BMW 2168 Electrocomponents 120.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 6.25 Oxford Catalyst 56.5 Oxford Instruments 115.75 Reed Elsevier 503.75 RM 159.75 RPS Group 143 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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A taste for life in a country home
A farmhouse in a sought-after village on the edge of Oxford has proved to be the perfect home for a celebrity chef Cookery writer and broadcaster Sophie Grigson and her two teenage children, Florrie and Sid, have lived at Hillside Farmhouse, Cumnor,
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Police continue pub arson investigation
Police are continuing their investigation into an arson attack on a pub in South Oxford. Fire crews were called to the blaze at the Berkshire House pub, in Abingdon Road, at about 2am yesterday. The fire destroyed the kitchen and severely
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Unreliable Memoirs
It's been an interesting few days. Earlier this week, I visited the book-sorting grotto in the basement of Oxfam St Giles, where I was given the opportunity to value a stack of old first editions. A mint copy of Graham Swift's 1996 novel Last Orders
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CROATIA: Grabbing a pizza the action!
Croatian pizzerias are like nowhere you have ever eaten before in your life. Nothing on the menu is recognisable to the English eye. Smoke from 50 tar-heavy eastern European cigarettes hangs in the air like industrial smog, while glamorous residents
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BADMINTON: Foster shines as Oxon 2nd end on high note
Oxfordshire 2nd completed their Inter-County Championship Division 3B season with a narrow 9-6 win over Bucks 3rd at Eynsham. Despite missing four regulars, Oxon chased everything, with Norfolk import Becky Foster again the table-topper with three wins
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ROWING: Dark Blues boost Boat Race hopes
Oxford University boosted their Boat Race prospects with a second warm-up victoryon the Tideway on Sunday. Two weeks after beating Washington University, USA, with something to spare, they revealed the same sort of dominance over Molesey. The Molesey
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United boss Wilder makes Poppy appeal!
Chris Wilder has issued a stark warning to his Oxford United players ahead of tonight’s Blue Square Premier game – don’t underestimate Kettering. Although Mark Cooper’s play-off chasers were in action only 48 hours ago, Wilder does not expect
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Green joins campaign to save North Oxford allotment trees
WORKERS cutting back trees in Oxford agreed to down tools yesterday as a city councillor pledged to join a campaign to save branches from the chop. The Green party’s Sushilla Dhall backed Mike Hamblett, who protested for a second day, in a
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Oxfordshire jobless count leaps 22 per cent in month
The number of people signing on the dole in Oxfordshire has taken its biggest leap for at least 20 years. Shock Government figures show 1,538 more people claimed Jobseekers’ Allow-ance in February than the previous month, bringing the total
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Absolute triumph
Sir – A really big thank you to the hundreds of people who took part in the fantastic Oxclean (Report, March 12) which was even better than last year. The Oxford Civic Society and The Oxford Times encouraged us all to clean up our neighbourhood and
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Picture of health
Sir – If, as you suggest (picture, March 12) Anthony Gormley has modelled the statue overlooking The Broad on his own physique, I cannot help feeling that he needs to visit his GP at once. He appears to have some very nasty boils on both his shoulder
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Tit-for-tat
The question of improvements to the environment of Oxford city centre appears to have descended into a tit-for-tat between the county council and the bus companies over whose ideas can deliver the quickest results. At the same time, there is no question
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Case of regret
It reflects badly on Oxford that the new Bodleian book depository will be built on an industrial estate in Swindon. We do not seek to lay the blame at the door of one or other of the University or the city council, for it surely lies at both their doors
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Monstrous carbuncle
Sir – I moved to Oxford last summer. Preparing myself for a life of urbane high culture, and witty and stimulating social enlightenment, imagine then my sheer, abject horror and anguish when I recently acquired my very own Oxford Yellow Pages to be
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‘My type’ not needed
Sir – I would like to thank the Summertown traffic warden who on Saturday morning issued me with a parking ticket. He was right, I had parked there for 37 minutes. Thank you Mr Traffic Warden, you have just saved me £499 which I was just about to spend
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Wrong signals
Sir – Matthew Arnold saw his “Signal Elm” against “the orange and pale violet evening sky”, which means he was looking from the north, so it cannot possibly have been north-west of the track as suggested by Jim Tallett (Letters, March 12). Nor is it
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Pricey agreement
Sir – In the euphoria greeting proposals for joint bus ticketing and timetabling, should we perhaps remember Adam Smith’s observation that people of the same trade seldom meet together without forming some contrivance to raise prices. Frank Bland,
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Trams are only answer
Sir – Dr Pritchard (Letters, March 12) is quite right to point out that neither the county council’s nor the bus companies’ plans go far enough to resolve the problem of transport within greater Oxford. Nothing less than a light-rail system
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To be or not to be him
A PORTRAIT claimed to be the only known picture of William Shakespeare to be painted during the Bard’s lifetime looks like having only a fleeting moment of fame. For it appears to be a copy of a portrait in Oxford’s Bodleian Library of an altogether
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999 service 'unacceptable'
THE county’s ambulance service is not providing an acceptable emergency service in large parts of Oxfordshire. The South Central Ambulance Service has admitted there are inadequacies in the 999 service in a report submitted to Oxfordshire County Council
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Park-and-ride victim
Sir – I have had to travel to London twice this week. Needing to be there for around 2pm on both Monday and Tuesday I arrived at the Thornhill park-and-ride in good time, at around midday. On both occasions the parking facilities were ‘full up’ and
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Inclusive process
Sir – Mr John Letts’ representation both of what has happened regarding the future of Cogges Manor Farm, and of the relationship between the County Council and the Community Enterprise Group is incorrect (Letters, March 12). Firstly the council’s position
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Petty politics
Sir – Can I put one thing right regarding the article (March 12) about the Gormley sculpture. Firstly we did put in a planning application in plenty of time. It is not our fault that, at the last minute, the application was called in, after we had
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Desire for reform
Sir – Far from endangering “the future of medical research”, the EU Directive on animal research is being revised because it is over 20 years out of date. Since 1986 we have as a society made considerable progress both ethically and scientifically.
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Dismount and walk
Sir – I agree with Graham Smith (Letters, March 5) that the cycle lane on Thames Street/Oxpens is unsatisfactory, but this does not entitle cyclists to ride on footpaths and pavements. Pedestrians have needs too. The issue about the path by Castle
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Turning back the clock
Sir – Many years ago — before you stripped your editorial of its clock, and long before you turned The Oxford Times into a tabloid — there was a significant farming column in the news section of the paper. As soon as the column stopped, there was a
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Help with job search
Sir – With job losses and redundancies in the county I was pleased to see in various new items that ‘Job Shops’ and Advice Days had been set up in order to advise people facing redundancy and unemployment. The advice would help with job search and retraining
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Development would badly damage street
Sir – Developers are making a second bid to develop flats opposite Kidlington’s High Street Conservation Area. Having previously failed with an ultra modern scheme to replace two bungalows at 64 and 66 High Street they have this time opted for a
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50mph should be limit
Sir – I graduated with a teaching qualification in 1971 from a college affiliated to the University of Oxford. My little car took me from college to lodgings to lectures in South Parks Road. Petrol cost 3s and 8p per gallon and we had an oil crisis.
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Burning not the solution
Sir – Responding to Abi and Pauline Wilson's letter (March 12), I think it time our elected servants at County Hall started to realise that incinerators are not the best solution to our waste problems, especially so at the proposed site at Sutton Courtenay
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Charities fight to survive as credit crunch hits donations
The recession has forced the closure of an Oxford charity and many more in the county could follow, say worried fundraisers. Oxfordshire charities said the outlook for the next two years was bleak as they battle the effects of the credit crunch
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The Insider
HOW many Conservatives does it take to send a letter? Quite a few, by the looks of things. Oxfordshire’s Tory high command got itself in a lather after The Insider last week suggested the race for Oxford City Council’s Headington Hill and Northway
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Removing bus stops will cause scramble
Sir – With so many passengers and associated buses attempting to depart from St Aldates, should the proposal to remove bus stops from Queen Street occur, then it is inevitable that “double-loading” will occur. In other words, whilst one bus collects
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Charities need our help
The message from many is clear: Charity begins at home. Today’s Oxford Mail investigation unveils a new impact of the recession. Charity groups are fighting to make ends meet with redundancies and cut backs in the people they help. Ithaca, a mental
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Tackling diseases of affluence
They are calling them the diseases of affluence but it hardly looks like even the deepest of recessions is going to cure us of them. Cancer, heart disease, stroke, lung disease, diabetes and obesity are all linked, with alarming frequency,
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University 'snub over Bodleian move'
The Bodleian Library is facing accusations of “snubbing Oxford” after revealing its plans to build a £25m book storage facility near Swindon. The historic library is to shift millions of its books to an industrial estate on the edge of Swindon, a decision
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Doubt over bus cut plan
DOUBT has been cast on bus company proposals to cut bus numbers in the city centre by a quarter and deliver the early pedestrianisation of Queen Street. Oxford’s two main bus companies last week set out how they hoped to take buses out of Queen Street
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Swiss friends take over South Oxford pub
TWO friends from Switzerland have quit their jobs to fulfil a dream of running an English pub. Thomas Furrer and Renate Maag picked up the keys to the Duke of Monmouth, in Abingdon Road, Oxford, on Monday. The pair — who have never run a pub before
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Wine Tasting with out the Ponce!
This is the first wine tasting in the UK that I have been to that didn't have a man in either a tweed jacket with elbow patches or a beard searching for his pipe. The crowd was young and fun, a mixture of young couples, young women on a night out