Archive

Date

Dead soldier's mother demands extra pension

THE mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan is locked in a battle with the Ministry of Defence over compensation. Lee Mackie, of Moonraker Lane, Bampton, is appealing against the MoD’s decision not to give her annual dependency payments after her

Date

Bicester ex-Land Girl retires at 80

SALLY Stone has finally called it a day – retiring at the age of 80. And her retirement coincided with her receiving a medal for her work as a Land Girl during the war. For the past 21 years Mrs Stone has worked at Cherwood House Nursing Home, in Bicester

Date

New heart centre ready for first patients

OXFORD’s new £29m heart centre is about to open its doors to patients. Doctors, nurses and equipment will move into the new centre at the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Headington, over the weekend, before the building opens to patients on Monday. Up to

Date

Woman thanks heroes who saved her life

A CAR crash survivor today personally thanked three selfless heroes who dragged her from a burning vehicle and saved her life. Katrina Dawkes, 51, of Carterton, Neil Norridge, 49, of Swinbrook, near Burford, and John Busk, 40, of Shipton-under-Wychwood

Date

Police promise new drugs crackdown

POLICE last night warned drug dealers and users they were targeting them after the first of a series of raids planned in Witney. Officers raided a property in Lowell Close on Wednesday after anonymous tip-offs about drug dealing. And while they only

Date

Roll out the real ale

THOUSANDS of pints of real ale will be downed this weekend at the annual Oxford Beer Festival. Drinkers are already sampling more than 140 beers and ciders from around the world at the three-day event, which started yesterday and runs until

Date

Voyeuristic farmer faces jail

A VOYEURISTIC farmer set up a network of cameras in a holiday cottage to film women tourists. Farmer David Sturgess, who is originally from Abingdon, was today warned by a judge he faced jail for rigging up cameras at his mid-Wales smallholding to secretly

Date

Three real heroes

Date

All in the name of progress

THERE was never any likelihood of a blue plaque, but to see my grandparents’ home being torn down and the bedroom in which I first exercised my lungs, open to the elements, left me with a strange sense of bereavement. I know nothing is for ever

Date

Legion members pay double respects outside John Radcliffe

THE body of Lance Corporal James Hill, 23, from the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards, was repatriated today. Members of the Royal British Legion turned out in Headley Way, Oxford, to pay their respects as his body passed in a cortege to the John Radcliffe

Date

Compensation new was welcome change

YOU report that 10-year-old Harry Snowdon is to receive £7.1m for being left brain-damaged at birth as a result of medical negligence at the John Radcliffe. It makes a welcome change to see an appropriate amount of “compensation” being awarded to a

Date

Tory puppets dance to master's tune

When one reads a newspaper one hopes for an objective and unbiased report of affairs. Therefore it is somewhat disappointing when a newspaper such as The Sun announces its decision to back a political party. The recent Conservative Party Conference

Date

Keep up support

On behalf of the Disasters Emergency Committee, I would like to personally thank your readers for their generosity towards the people of Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam who were hit by a series of disasters within a single terrible week. Since

Date

No to pro-hunters

I felt that Andrew Coles had it spot on (Letters, October 13), reminding people of what David Cameron will do if he gets elected, re-instating fox hunting. The most barbaric pastime/sport, to exist in this country, now thankfully illegal. Well done Labour

Date

Anti coal activists harm environment

The activists who played a part in delaying the construction of a new coal-fired power station in Kingsnorth have done the environment a great disservice. If the plans had been allowed to go ahead, a brand new coal-fired power station with all the latest

Date

Hunters exploiting the legal loopholes

WHAT ON Earth motivates people like Christopher Hodgson (The Issue, October 9) to come out with such crass statements as “repeal of the Hunting Act would be a public service”? Has he lost his marbles while out terrorising our wildlife and infuriating

Date

Dead soldier's mother demands extra pension

THE mother of a soldier killed in Afghanistan is locked in a battle with the Ministry of Defence over compensation. Lee Mackie, of Moonraker Lane, Bampton, west Oxfordshire, is appealing against the MoD’s decision not to give her annual dependency payments

Date

A40 to close as viaduct comes down

The A40 in Oxford will be closed for three nights from tomorrow night for demolition work to start on the Wolvercote viaduct. The road between Wolvercote roundabout and Cassington will shut between 10pm and 6.30am on Saturday and again between 10pm

Date

Carluccio's pulls out of Castle complex with loss of 27 jobs

ITALIAN restaurant chain Carluccio’s is to become the latest food outlet at Oxford Castle to close, with the loss of 27 jobs, it was announced tonight. The restaurant, which opened in 2005, has been placed on the market – despite the company recording

Date

FOOTBALL: Bicester can escape the drop says Hurley

THE new boss of crisis-club Bicester Town, Chris Hurley is confident the FTL Futbol Hellenic League Premier Division strugglers can escape the drop. Hurley, 42, has taken over a side which has yet to win a game this season, following the departure last

Date

Oxford United will field strong side against Thurrock

If any Oxford player who can’t get in the side at the moment thought he might stand a better chance of a place against Thurrock, he’d better think again. Manager Chris Wilder has indicated they will be treating next Saturday’s home FA Cup tie against

Date

Oxford United won't take a break

United resume their northern tour on Saturday – but there is no chance whatsoever of them taking a break at KitKat Crescent. The Blue Square Premier leaders know that this is a much more testing away game than those recently at Gateshead and Barrow.

Date

Local shares (PM)

AEA Technology 31.25 BMW 3126 Electrocomponents 155.4 Gladstone 26 Nationwide Accident Repair 79.5 Oxford Biomedica 16.5 Oxford Catalysts 57.5 Oxford Instruments 202.75 Reed Elsevier 465.4 RM 162.75 RPS Group 222.8 Courtesy of Redmayne

Date

Clarke salutes Oxford United defenders

Goalkeeper Ryan Clarke said he was delighted to scoop the Blue Square Premier Player of the Month award for September – but insisted it was really a team effort which helped him win it. “It’s nice to get it, on a personal level, but I think we deserve

Date

Let battle resume, say Stags

One FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie which definitely raised an eyebrow is the pairing between Mansfield Town and Altrincham. That’s because, when the two sides met in the league last Saturday, all hell let loose. Altrincham had two men sent off and

Date

Hatters blow

Oxford United's promotion rivals Luton Town have been dealt a blow with star striker Liam Hatch facing another spell out with an ankle injury. The 27-year-old missed the start of the season and, after only four games back, had to sit out last Saturday

Date

Man wanted over Wallingford rape allegation

Police are hunting an illegal immigrant wanted in connection with an alleged rape in Wallingford. Michael Buka, 31 – also known as Michael Kiberu - met a woman in a club in Oxford and went with her to a flat in Wallingford, where he attacked her on

Date

Perfume stolen in raid on Boots

Burglars stole £3,000 worth of perfume from a chemists in Faringdon. Police believe the raid on Boots at about 1am yesterday is linked to three other burglaries in Oxfordshire in the past two weeks. Perfume was also stolen from Lloyds Pharmacy, in

Date

Thieves steal perfume worth £3,000 from chemists

Burglars stole £3,000 worth of perfume from a Faringdon chemist's. Police believe the raid on Boots at about 1am yesterday morning is linked to three other burglaries in Oxfordshire in the past two weeks. Perfume was also stolen from Lloyds Pharmacy

Date

Student attacked in Oxford robbery bid

Police are appealing for witnesses to an attempted robbery on a student in Oxford. At about 11pm on Thursday, October 8, a student was walking home after buying some food at the kebab van in Broad Street. He was followed by a man into New College

Date

RUGBY UNION: Quins 'must keep it tight'

Oxford Harlequins director of rugby John Brodley says they will need to keep it tight to defeat Cleve in National 3 South West on Saturday. Quins host the Bristol side having won three of their last four matches, but their opponents have shipped

Date

RUGBY UNION: Trio back for Wallingford

Wallingford welcome back flanker Will Woodward, fly half Pete Strang and centre Johnny Collett for Saturday's visit to Walcot in South West 1 East. Last season’s top points scorer, Jackson Sayce, returns on the bench after missing the start of the season

Date

RUGBY UNION: Blues to face Saints

Oxford University will now play Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens on Monday night (7.15). The Dark Blues were due to face Worcester Warriors, but they have pulled out due to injury problems. Oxford will also host Saints at Iffley

Date

Dealers cash in on new goldrush

THE boom in trading precious metals and collectables for cash during the recession has hit Oxford. And taking advantage of the demand to turn gold into hard currency is the Treasure Hunters Roadshow, which is taking place at the Cotswold Lodge Hotel

Date

Royal ghost busy haunting Oxford Castle

GHOSTHUNTERS hoping for a close encounter need look no further than Oxford Castle. A survey of 140 different spooky locations and 22,000 visitors across the country found that Queen Matilda, who was incarcerated in the former prison in the

Date

Kassam opens ‘Gleneagles of the South’

FORMER Oxford United chairman Firoz Kassam has opened a championship golf course in the grounds of a luxury hotel he owns in north Oxfordshire. The 7,088-yard 18-hole course, described as the Gleneagles of the South by its owner, is the latest stage

Date

Family criticises city crematorium rules

FAMILY members have hit out after mementoes placed on their mother’s memorial were removed. A small fairy figurine and a vase were taken from former Rose Hill resident Alice Menzies’s plot at Oxford Crematorium, because they did not conform with its

Date

Skateboarders 'down to last option'

SKATEBOARDERS fear their hopes of building a new skate park could be dashed for ever if a report rules they cannot build in Oxford’s flood plain. The Wheels Project, which runs temporary ramps in Meadow Lane, East Oxford, has been fighting for more than

Date

School celebrates 150th anniversary

PUPILS past and present joined teachers and parents to celebrate the 150th anniversary of their school’s founding. The Oratory School, in Woodcote, south Oxfordshire, was founded by Cardinal John Henry Newman in 1859, and about 200 people got together

Date

£10,000 grant aids waste fight in Dorchester

A SOUTH Oxfordshire village has won a Government grant of £10,000 to promote efforts to cut household waste. Dorchester has been chosen as one of six new Zero Waste Places, after a campaign by a voluntary group to reduce the amount of waste generated

Date

Fresh appeal top help save dog's sight

AN ANIMAL sanctuary has renewed an appeal for donations after it revealed one of its dogs needed a £4,000 operation to help him see again. Hamish, a six-year-old King Charles Spaniel, lives at the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary, in Stadhampton. He is

Date

£9k debt threatens future of Bicester FC

A football club that has been part of the community for 130 years is under threat over a £9,000 debt. Bicester Sports Association (BSA), which owns football and rugby pitches off Oxford Road, Bicester, has issued a legal notice asking Bicester Town Football

Date

Boris pays back expenses

Former Oxfordshire MP Boris Johnson has agreed to pay back £1,266 of expenses he claimed while he was a member of Parliament. The ex-Henley MP, who quit the House of Commons after being elected Mayor of London last year, received the cash for council

Date

FIXTURES: October 16

SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. York City v Oxford Utd. PUMA YOUTH ALLIANCE. Under 18 South West Conference: Exeter City Youth v Oxford Utd. FA TROPHY. 1st qual round: Banbury Utd v Bridgwater

Date

'Botley GP jobs not at risk' NHS trust tells petition organisers

PATIENTS fear the jobs of GPs at Botley Medical Centre could be under threat after questions were raised over its prescriptions policy. A petition has been launched by patients backing local GPs and demanding an end to any moves to replace

Date

Exhibition offers insight into Islip's long history

OBJECTS offering a glimpse into the 1,000-year history of the birthplace of Edward the Confessor are to go on show. The two-day exhibition at Islip village hall, starting tomorrow, charts the history of the village through the years — with particular

Date

Audioscope festival hopes to hit £20,000 for Shelter

ORGANISERS of a music festival in Oxford are hoping to raise thousands for the homeless. Audioscope has raised £17,000 for Shelter since it started in 2001. And organisers of this weekend’s event hope it will push the total above £20,000. This year

Date

Tastier blend

Nissan’s Qashqai+2 is a condundrum. It looks like a 4x4 but it isn’t. It doesn’t look like a seven-seater people carrier, but it is. Designed in London and built in Sunderland, this compact family crossover proves curiouser and curiouser.

Date

This grass needs cutting......

So that’s it then. The annual Drama Splinter Group returned from Eastbourne having fitted in brilliantly with the locals. A bus trip to Beachy Head and another to Hastings all included. My my here we are having joined the stick and wheel club and I don

Date

Local share prices (AM)

AEA Technology 31.25 BMW 3094 Electrocomponents 160.3 Gladstone 26 Nationwide Accident Repair 79.5 Oxford Biomedica 18.5 Oxford Catalyst 57.5 Oxford Instruments 202.5 Reed Elsevier 467.75 RM 162 RPS Group 225.4 Courtesy of Redmayne

Date

Biomedica shares rise

SHARES in gene therapy company Oxford BioMedica shot up after it announced an update on trials of its treatment for Parkinsons Disease, ProSavin. Six-month assessments of the volunteer patients showed further improvement in motor function, said the

Date

Late good looks of salvias

Although climate change could never be called good news for our planet, it’s not all doom and gloom for the gardener. It’s more swings and roundabouts at the moment. The weather seems more turbulent and aggressive. Winds seem stronger and rain more prevalent

Date

Survey sees wildlife thriving in gardens

More than one in every five gardens in Oxfordshire is home to hedgehogs and foxes, and five per cent attract badgers, according to participants in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ first summer wildlife survey. The results of the Make Your

Date

Trees work for man and beast

Woodlands on the Blenheim Palace estate are a good example of how to strike the right balance between the production of timber and the promotion of wildlife. For if woodlands are neglected, they are a waste of a precious resource for commercial use and

Date

Oxford Philomusica season

It’s a bit like a novelist starting a new book with a blank sheet of paper. Where to start? As the Oxford Philomusica orchestra begins a new season, and enters its second decade playing to local audiences, I asked music director Marios Papadopoulos

Date

Faringdon offers new home tonic

For Dr Pamela Stagg-Jones and her husband, Ray it was ‘love at first sight’ when they viewed a new home in the Vale of White Horse. However, having set their hearts on living in somewhere like Marlborough or Cirencester, they were initially reluctant

Date

Bloxham Mill

Bloxham Mill Business Centre is nearing the completion of a £250,000 data centre which will house its IT and telecoms business bm-it. The firm aims to provide high quality, low cost location and off-site back-up to businesses in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire

Date

Turnaround at Trajan House

Up to 200 jobs could be created at an office development on a site formerly proposed for a probation centre in Oxford. Last month the WE Black/Ardant Partnership pulled out of the controversial scheme to develop the site in Mill Street, Oxford, at a

Date

Roosting place

An office with real character and good transport links has come on the market. The Dovecote near Nuneham Courtenay, described as “a rare find” by agents Carter Jonas, comprises a former stable block converted to form a modern office facility near the

Date

Oxford Lieder Festival

It’s that time of year again, when Sholto Kynoch’s career as a pianist goes on the back burner and his life becomes totally consumed by the Oxford Lieder Festival. Now in its eighth year, this glorious song fest looks bigger and better than

Date

Excelling at Howbery

A ‘green’ office building has been fully let, before fitting out has been completed. The £5.4m Kestrel House (pictured above) at Howbery Park, near Wallingford, has secured two new tenants to occupy 40,000 sq ft of its office space. Owners

Date

Selling antiques

Steeped in history, you would imagine Burford would be an ideal place to sell antiques. In fact, one particular business allows no fewer than 18 dealers to do just that, offering a wide range of silverware, glassware, jewellery, prints, books, furniture

Date

Electric dreams

Electric power is being seen as a major player in the future of vehicle development. Last month alone it was announced a network of charging points for electric cars will spring up in Oxford in the next two years, while the latest university spin-out

Date

Royal Shakespeare Company season: Stratford

Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Michael Boyd writes that “live theatre is in rude health” in the company’s annual report. Going to meet him in his Stratford office, a chorus of hammering coming from inside the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Date

LPG motoring

With fuel costs seeming to rise every month or quicker, the car is becoming an increasingly expensive item — a luxury, some would say. But this does not help the business person who relies on the company car to transport them often long distances around

Date

Taming the Bear

It takes bravery to run a pub/restaurant these days, considering the alarming rate that such establishments are closing down across the country. How many people would take on an underperforming establishment and try to put their own stamp on it, spending

Date

Beauty break-through

When three colleagues from the beauty business got together three years ago to form their own company, CGI Beauty, Britain’s high streets were booming. Co-founder Colin Gordon said: “We have all had careers with other companies who supply cosmetics and

Date

No vein attempts

The windmilling turbines of an aero engine and a device the size of a mobile phone may seem worlds apart, but they are both landmarks in the career of Dr Mark Reeves, founder of MRA Technologies. The Oxford company has two business strands, consultancy

Date

Lid-lifters

Here is a rubbish idea that might cook up a fortune for one Oxfordshire enterprise — and make some pocket money for the inmates of a prison into the bargain. The idea was first publicly aired on BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den when entrepreneur Peter Jones gave

Date

Wines of Bordeaux

Bordeaux needs little introduction as the world’s best-known wine region and one which holds a special meaning for us here in the UK. It is from here that some of the world’s most famous (and expensive) wines come. It is, however, possible to find

Date

Think long-term

Hands up if you’ve sat on the stock market sidelines since March, waiting for a seemingly short-term surge in equity markets to peter out. Mmm; that’s quite a few. Lots of investors remain marooned on the sidelines, looking increasingly more like sporting

Date

Knowledge shared and some fabulous Bordeaux enjoyed

Ihope regular readers of this column know me well enough to forgive me this week’s self-congratulatory tone. I am feeling so cock-a-hoop because we have just had the third of The Oxford Times Wine Club’s wine dinners at The Corner Club and it was

Date

Charity is a business

Paul Cann, chief executive of Age Concern in Oxfordshire, highlights the importance of running a charity as a business The national network of Age Concern enterprises last year generated almost £17m in profit. And that profit went straight into charitable

Date

Fuel of future?

It sounds almost too good to be true — a system that will cut fuel consumption in cars by more than 50 per cent and reduce emissions by the same level. That is what Mark Miller thought when he first came across the concept of using hydrogen as a fuel

Date

Making a name

Starting a business often involves making a life-changing decision and timing can be all-important. Usually the idea comes years before the dream becomes a reality and can be driven by circumstances. In the case of Jodie Gaul, (pictured)

Date

Road to discovery

DR MARIO POLYWKA of Evotec answers our questions What was your first job and what did your responsibilities include? My first non-academic job was with Oxford Chirality, an Oxford University spin-out from Professor Steve Davies’s labs

Date

Barn blaze closes road

Fire crews from Bicester are tackling a barn fire this morning in Finmere. Two crews from Bicester are fighting the blaze after it broke out in Valley Road during the early hours. Valley Road is closed to traffic between Fulwell Road and Water Stratford

Date

Personal organiser

When former PA Susie Lanson-Carr was thinking of a name for her new business, her thoughts turned to flowers. “I looked for something that was soft and pretty, but I wanted a name that was completely original. I love poppies, but when I put it into Google

Date

Wealthy and wise

The rolling farmland of north Oxfordshire is the last place you would expect to find a successful investment firm making a return on more than £200m of its clients' money. Tony Yarrow started Wise Investment in 1992 in his basement and now employs 20

Date

Home-grown wood

A story exists of the Oxford University college bursar who, faced with rot in the 16th century hammerbeam roof of the great hall, called in the head woodman of the college estates. “I wondered whether I would ever hear from you in my lifetime

Date

Baptism of fire

Despite the Government’s efforts to keep as many people in education for as long as possible, sometimes it is not the right course. Take Chris and Nick Parisot La-Valette, for example. Both were at Portsmouth University and were not exactly excelling

Date

Forging ahead

Maybe it has been something to do with the weather this year, for when Mick Merchant was asked recently if he could make a weathervane for a customer, it was the sixth such request in recent months. But weathervanes are just one of many

Date

New golf course opens

A CHAMPIONSHIP golf course, described as the Gleneagles of the South, has opened in the grounds of Heythrop Park, Enstone. Owned by former Oxford United chairman Firoz Kassam, the 18-hole course is the latest stage of a £50m business plan at

Date

Oxford graduate with eye on popularity

Oxford University has always been a hotbed of literary talent, nurturing young, thrusting writers, eager to make their mark on the world of letters. But its bookish alumni are rarely associated with ‘chick lit’, that most female-focused and commercial

Date

A portrait of empire

The picture on the Boys Own Paper of March, 1913, says it all with panache. It portrays the Scots Greys in their triumph at Waterloo, epitomising the military power of the British Empire in its heyday. Pick any patriotic subject — maps of red, postcards

Date

Farmer 'spied on naked women'

A farmer originally from Abingdon used hi-tech cameras to record women naked at a remote holiday cottage he rented out, a court heard yesterday. David Sturgess, 53, is accused of hiding a series of cameras in fake smoke alarms to spy on women and young

Date

'Spy' who became an academic

A MOTH ON THE FENCE Nikolay Andreyev (Hodgson Press, £12.99) Nikolay Andreyev had a singular life. He was born in Russia in 1908, left at the age of 11, lived as an émigré in Estonia and Prague between the two World Wars, and was arrested in 1945 by

Date

Farmer 'set up cameras to spy on holidaymakers'

A farmer originally from Abingdon used hi-tech cameras to record women naked at a remote holiday cottage he rented out, a jury heard yesterday. David Sturgess, 53, is accused of hiding cameras in fake smoke alarms to spy on women and young girls as they

Date

Monstrous development

Sir – Oxfordshire County Council has made a terrible mistake in agreeing to a massive industrial incinerator in rural Ardley. Nineteen parish councils and Cherwell District Council oppose the building of this toxic monstrosity but the county council

Date

Same rules apply

Sir – The answer to Mrs Bale (Letters, October 1) is ‘yes’. The same rules for refuse collection will apply at Christmas as the rest of the year. It’s odd, isn’t it, that at the festive season we buy lots of stuff we don’t want and then throw it away

Date

Roads not made for cars

Sir – I can quite appreciate the problems of parking especially for people who have set up business in the areas around Magdalen Road streets, and Iffley Fields. We must remember though the comment that this is a medieval city and Oxford was never

Date

Financial implications

Sir – An important issue is being highlighted in reporting on recent events at Oxford School. The assumption appears to be that what the local authority presents to the public is fact. The truth is that a few officers and some (ex) governors have managed

Date

Double whammy

We have long been critics of Oxfordshire County Council’s market-based approach to coming up with a plan for the county’s excess waste. The council decided that it would let the market dictate what was best for Oxfordshire rather than itself examining

Date

Open book

The decision to focus Oxford’s efforts on attaining World Book Capital status rather than UK Capital of Culture is a good one. Treading the Capital of Culture Route is an uncertain process. One is never quite sure what the judges are seeking. Is it a

Date

Queen Street failure

Sir – If one stands at Carfax and looks along Queen Street, it has indeed been visually improved, the pleasant brown roadway curving between the two broad black kerbs and showing off the reasonably attractive buildings to best advantage. However, walking

Date

Better access to A34

Sir – The longstanding debate about extending the Lodge Hill A34 interchange continues. An additional southbound exit and access to the A34 would help those in north Abingdon, and would clearly take pressure off the Marcham road interchange and the

Date

Impressive strategies

Sir – How sad that Michael Waine, county cabinet member for schools improvement, should be so economical with the truth. He speaks as if the campaigners’ only ground for opposition to the proposed change to an Academy is that “it’s a happy school”.

Date

Promotion not required

Sir – Mr Bob Forster (Letters, October 8) wonders how state schools can promote themselves in the face of the glossy advertising barrage of the independent sector. In my experience, if a product is of superior quality and free of charge, it will need

Date

Power to change lives

Sir – Bruce Cane (Letters, October 8) has a valid point in saying you can’t accept that a person is the Son of God just because he says he is. There needs to be evidence to confirm the claim. C.S. Lewis famously said that Jesus’ claims meant that he

Date

Proof not needed

Sir – Bruce Cane (Letters, October 8) is quite right that the Divinity of Jesus Christ cannot be proved rationally. The whole point of being a Christian is that you have faith in Jesus Christ as a real and ever present divine spirit; a friend and companion

Date

Mere gimmickry

Sir – Richard Mann claims “there’s no evidence that driving closer to cyclists is dangerous”. Anyone else can see that if a car driver at a junction disregards the closeness of an approaching cyclist in a main road before pulling out, the cyclist will

Date

Unjustified nonsense

Sir – I am afraid the correspondence in The Oxford Times regarding the 20mph speed limit is not adding any clarity to the situation. The idea that reducing speed is the best answer to all accident related problems, as suggested by Richard Mann, is

Date

When will police enforce the city’s 20mph limits?

Sir – Like The Oxford Times’ reporters, I find it very difficult to spot any motorists who are actually obeying the new 20mph speed limits. This must be the greatest campaign of mass illegallity since the Suffragettes — though this time the law-breaking

Date

Opera enjoyment diminished

Sir – As enthusiastic opera lovers, my wife and I attended a new opera on tour at the Oxford Playhouse on Sunday. Letters Of A Love Betrayed is a new work composed by Eleanor Alberga and well presented by Music Theatre Wales, commissioned by the Genesis

Date

Testing electric Mini

Might this be the end of the road for the internal combustion engine? As part of a quest to discover the answer to that question, BMW this week started road-testing the all-electric Mini. What is certain is that from next month more Mini Es will appear

Date

SHOWJUMPING: Young Ami jumps to new heights

Steventon showjumper Ami Measor recorded the best result of her fledgling career by finishing third aboard Belle Fleur at the Horse of the Year Show at the NEC, Birmingham. Competing in the BSJA Amateur Classic Championship, the 22-year-old was just

Date

York boss Foyle gunning for Oxford United

York City manager Martin Foyle believes his team did Oxford United and their boss Chris Wilder a big favour. The two clubs lock horns again this Saturday at KitKat Crescent and it’s a massive match for the Blue Square Premier with York unbeaten at home

Date

Local author

David Forrester, former Catholic chaplain at Oxford University, is now retired and living at Abingdon. In his memoir Led by a Thread (Redemptorist, £8.95), he asks what it means to be a Catholic priest today.

Date

CRICKET: It's D-day for Rowant

The long-delayed disciplinary hearing into the pitch battle involving players from Aston Rowant and Basingstoke will be held tonight. The Home Counties Premier League Division 1 match was interrupted by a fracas involving Rowant's Australian seam bowler

Date

HOCKEY: Hawks women home in on victory

Oxford Hawks produced a strong home performance to beat Woking 4-2 and they remain second in Division 1 of the Womens’ South Clubs League. Henri Coles struck early and Laura Wingfield Digby converted a short corner moments later. Woking kept Hawks on

Date

HOCKEY: Boardman seals it for Banbury

Banbury notched their first South League Premier Division 1 win in a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Brighton. A goal down in five minutes, it took the introduction of Adrian Simmons to spark Banbury’s attack into life. Tyson Nunneley levelled

Date

BADMINTON: Bradbury's on top of the world

Julie Bradbury is on top of the badminton world at the age of 42. The former English singles champion, from Drayton near Abingdon, has won the over 40 mixed doubles title at the world veteran championships in Spain. Bradbury and her

Date

ROWING: Headington girls win at two Heads

While clubs are tending to wind down as the summer season finishes, schools, such as Headington, St Edward’s and Radley are already getting the action going with thoughts of 2010, writes Mike Rosewell. Headington girls, appeared at the Evesham Head

Date

University unveils 'wow factor' designs for RI site

THESE are the £200m buildings that will form Oxford’s newest academic powerhouse. The Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, as the former Radcliffe Infirmary site between Woodstock Road and Walton Street will be known, will feature courtyards and gardens alongside

Date

Turley back in fortnight for Oxford United

OXFORD United’s experienced goalkeeper Billy Tur-ley will be sidelined for just two weeks. Results from a scan on a tear in his calf were better than expected, and the 35-year-old should be back in action at the end of the month. It

Date

Five Oxford tower blocks to get cameras to deter crime

HIGH-rise tower blocks in Oxford are being monitored by CCTV surveillance cameras in a bid to end years of vandalism and antisocial behaviour. The city council has installed more than £110,000 of CCTV equipment at Evenlode and Windrush towers, in Blackbird

Date

Westgate Centre to be revamped

DEVELOPERS are planning a smallscale revamp of Oxford’s ageing Westgate shopping centre but promise the £330m redevelopment of the 1970s mall is still going ahead. Capital Shopping Centres (CSC), the company behind the stalled rebuilding of the city’

Date

When Oxford really rocked

The advice given to Will Jarvis by his doctors earlier in the week might have been for him to “slow down”. In fact, it was to be the classic Larry Williams song that Will and his friends chose to end their emotionally-charged set with, in a packed

Date

Revamp raises Westgate doubts

DEVELOPERS are to revamp the existing Westgate shopping centre, a move that will raise fresh doubts about the £330m redevelopment scheme to create a new Westgate. Capital Shopping Centres say they want to remodel and improve the existing centre, bringing

Date

Future of Oxford Royal British Legion branch still in balance

THE future of an Oxford Royal British Legion club was unclear last night after HM Revenue & Customs failed to get in touch over an unpaid tax bill. Managers of the Marston RBL Club, which has more than 500 members, feared it would be shut down, due to