Archive
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Ricky's Flanimals help Oxfam fight poverty
COMEDIAN Ricky Gervais has launched Oxfam’s new gift range for Christmas. The 48-year-old star of The Office is allowing the charity to use five characters from his Flanimal books to go on gift cards dedicated to specific areas of Oxfam’s work. He called
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Police raid Didcot man's garage in fireworks hunt
A FIREWORKS enthusiast has branded as ridiculous a raid on his Didcot home in which officers confiscated chemicals used for experimental displays. Professional pyrotechnics expert Karl Shead, 21, was surprised when a police counter terrorist
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Teenager held over shop break-ins
A 19-year-old man was last night in custody in connection with a string of shop burglaries. Three men forced their way inside Budgens, in High Street, Burford, at about 3am today and stole alcohol. Forty minutes later men were spotted trying to break
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Crash closes country road
A crash involving a car this evening blocked the Stanton Harcourt Road in South Leigh. The road was closed both ways, near Station Road, following the accident which happened at 5.45pm. The road was reopened by 7pm.
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More postal strikes loom
A FRESH wave of strikes threatens Oxfordshire’s postal service next week if negotiations fail to produce an agreement. The announcement came from the Communication Workers' Union just hours after more than 1,000 union members walked out in Swindon, where
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Police claim success in tackling late-night trouble
Police said the first phase of an operation to reduce late night crime and disorder in West Oxfordshire had resulted in a 45 per cent decrease in alcohol-related incidents. The operation involved Thames Valley Police and the district council’s licensing
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Ramsden millionaire's inquest told of depression
A MILLIONAIRE businessman who “carried a great deal of sadness” committed suicide by tying himself to weights and jumping into a river. Andrew Wallis, 51, of Lower End, Ramsden, near Chipping Norton, weighed himself down before jumping into the River
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Vandals slash tyres on five cars in Banbury
Five cars were targeted by vandals in Banbury and had their tyres slashed. The vehicles attacked in Beaumaris Close on Tuesday night were two Vauxhall Corsas, an Audi A6, a Peugeot 206 and a Peugeot 306. Sgt Kate Beckett said: “This type of behaviour
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Trust public instinct
On the night of October 19 last I slept soundly, for a change. The reason was Oxfordshire County Council Planning Committee’s rejection of proposals to build waste-burning incinerators in the county, on sound planning grounds. I would like to thank
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Playhouse full of youthful vigour
SPEAKING as one who recently reached the landmark age of three score years and 10, I confess to never having felt better. Oxford Playhouse in Beaumont Street is of the same vintage. Today, thanks to a wagon-load of tender loving care, dispensed by devotees
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Time to forgive
Recent condemnations of Derek Honey’s letters about Christianity appear to have disgruntled several readers, who have attacked Mr Honey’s letters in a way that is not very Christian. All religions have one thing in common, and that is that a higher power
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Operation on shot cat costs owner £1,500
A CAT had to have a four- hour operation after it was shot with an airgun. Rosie, a 14-month-old black and white Persian cross, was shot in the neck with a metal pellet in her owner’s garden. Vets spent hours painstakingly searching for the pellet,
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Make Mail employees shareholders
Bad managers usually generate militant unions. If the union hierarchy are reaching beyond their remit then disaster usually results. Add to the mix a Government which does not seem to either care or know about how to use one of its formerly best-run
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Pedestrian injured by trailer in Chipping Norton
A man was last night recovering in hospital with serious head injuries after an accident in Chipping Norton. A 72-year-old man was walking along the pavement outside the Blue Boar pub in High Street when a pick-up towing a trailer went past
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Ex-policeman's canal tales are hit with children
A FORMER assistant chief constable whose grandson noticed narrowboats had faces has bought Oxfordshire’s waterways to life in a series of children’s books. Dan Clacher, of Broad Field Road, Yarnton, put pen to paper after his bedtime stories
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Try working as a postie before you criticise
So ‘here we go again’ is the outcry I expect from the public regarding the postal strike. I am one of the many at my local office that will be having a day off without pay (£55 a day aprox). So when you see the managers doing our work, ask yourself
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Oxford music project marks 10th anniversary
A MUSIC project which has given hope to hundreds of disadvantaged young people in Oxford is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a live music extravaganza. Since it started in 1999, Cowley’s Ark T Centre has helped more than 1,200 kids create
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Victim's family come face-to-case with man accused of Wychwoods murder
THE family of Vikki Thompson today came face-to-face with the man accused of killing her 14 years ago. Mark Weston, 34, appeared for a short hearing at Oxford Crown Court after detectives charged him with murdering the 30-year-old mother-of-two
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Local share prices
AEA Technology 31 BMW 3213 Electrocomponents 154.2 Gladstone 25.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 78.5 Oxford Biomedica 14.25 Oxford Catalyst 54.5 Oxford Instruments 226 REED 457.3 RM 152 RPS Group 213.5
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Charity gig ends on a sour note
A MUSICIAN was left singing the blues after police were called in to settle a dispute over his clamped car. Charlie Cooke, lead singer of the Oxford band Inlight, was fuming when his Volkswagen Polo was clamped as he got ready for a Children In Need
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Learn about wildlife at free event
WILDLIFE lovers can learn all about the nature thriving in the county’s gardens at a free two-day event. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, which is holding the event at Oxford’s Port Meadow, said it aimed to highlight the diversity of animals
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Retail park store plan is opposed
TOWN councillors have opposed plans to build a supermarket in Carterton. Sainsbury’s applied for planning permission for a 25,000sq m store at the West Oxfordshire Business and Retail Park, in Upavon Way. But the town council has objected to the plans
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Hospital bids to retain staff
A HOSPITAL dogged by staff shortages is hoping to get training status in a bid to lure doctors to take up posts there. One of the major problems faced by Banbury’s Horton Hospital in the past has been recruiting staff, particulary paediatricians — but
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'Bicester eco-town plan is not a done deal'
CAMPAIGNERS have accused a council of misleading people by claiming an eco-town in Bicester is a done deal. Cherwell District Council says it will only consult residents over the details of the 5,000-home eco-town on farmland at North West
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Team aims to beat London to Cape Town driving record
A PILOT will swap his cockpit for a Land Rover in an attempt to drive 10,000 miles from London to Cape Town. Father-of-two Chris Rawlings, from Shilton, near Carterton, will join a crew of six driving day and night through 20 countries and across three
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Pedestrian seriously injured in Chipping Norton
A pedestrian was seriously injured in a collision with a lorry in Chipping Norton today. Police closed the A361 High Street following the collision, which happened at about 1pm. The road was closed in both directions.
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Curries go down a treat in Wantage classroom
CHILDREN from Wantage Primary School experienced all the attractions of the Indian sub-continent – without leaving the classroom. Year Three pupils took part in a series of activities relating to India as part of a geography topic called Passport to
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Groups welcome university's plans for RI
THE £200m landmark buildings proposed by Oxford University on the former Radcliffe Infirmary site have been given a guarded welcome by local civic groups. The university has won plaudits for opening up views of the Radcliffe Observatory, for
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Police look at budget savings
THAMES Valley Police is facing cuts as the force draws up sweeping budget reductions. Chief constable Sara Thornton said last night she hoped frontline police and community support officers (Pcsos) would not lose their jobs as the force finalised its
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Traffic warning ahead of half-term break
Rainy conditions and the start of the school half-term holidays are likely to lead to the worst traffic congestion of the year so far tomorrow, it was predicted today. The gloomy forecast came from the AA which warned that queues were likely to build
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FOOTBALL: Jeffrey praises his young guns
Zamaretto Southern League Banbury United boss Billy Jeffrey is telling his young players not to get carried away, despite their run of form. Banbury, who beat Bridgwater in their midweek FA Trophy replay, could move up to fourth place in the Premier
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FOOTBALL: Boss Lyne confident of revival in fortunes
FTL Futbol Hellenic League Witney United manager Andy Lyne is confident that they have turned the corner after a poor run of results was ended with last weekend’s 3-0 win at Fairford, writes GEORGE NEWMAN. Witney had suffered three successive
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RUGBY UNION: Defeat would not end Chinnor hopes
Chinnor head coach Jason Bowers says they will remain in the promotion hunt regardless of what happens against National 3 South West high-fliers Old Patesians on Saturday. Defeat at Kingsey Road could leave Chinnor as many as 15 points behind Patesians
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RUGBY UNION: Grove brothers to the four
Grove will have four sets of brothers in their team when they host Beaconsfield on Saturday in the Southern Counties Intermediate Cup first round. Twins Terry and Garry Eltham are in the front row, with Guy and Ben Nicholl in the back row. Lock and
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BADMINTON: Headington already look strong
Reigning champions Headington A got off to a good start with a 5-1 win over Abingdon A in Ladies’ Division 1 of the Oxford and District League. The team of Ali Ross, Becky Foster, Helen Ashdown and new county champion Helen Palmer are surely favourites
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Pub aims to champion local veg
A FORMER East Oxford boozer is on the lookout for local produce from allotment holders in the city after undergoing a £60,000 transformation into a gastro pub. The new managers of the Magdalen Arms, on the corner of Iffley Road and Magdalen
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Famous hostelry rolls out the barrels
ONE of Oxford’s most famous pubs is offering beer lovers a choice of more than 30 ales from across Britain. The Turf Tavern, in Bath Place, is hosting a three-day beer festival which starts with a ‘meet the brewers’ event tonight. John Bexon, head
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Kelvin steps up for United fun walk
OXFORD United fans hoping for success on and off the field have been joined in their fundraising mission by the club chairman. A group of supporters will walk from Kidlington to the Kassam Stadium ahead of the home game with Altrincham on Saturday
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School praised for helping travellers
A SCHOOL where one in 10 pupils is from the Irish travelling community has been praised for the way it works with children from different backgrounds. New Hinksey Primary School, in Vicarage Lane, South Oxford, has been rated ‘good’ by inspectors Ofsted
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Car hits road sign in Enstone
A driver narrowly escaped serious injuries this morning after crashing into a road sign in Enstone. The accident happened at about 9am at the junction of Charlbury Road and the A44. Part of the sign embedded itself in the windscreen of the
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Car crashed into A44 road sign
A driver escaped serious injuries this morning after crashing into a road sign. The accident happened at about 9am at the junction of Charlbury Road and the A44. Rebecca Webber, a spokesman for Thames Valley Police, said: “This was a damage-only accident
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Heading west on an energy quest
Renewable energy specialist John Parker and his wife Pamela are selling their home in Sunningwell so they can relocate their company, Earth Energy Engineering, to the West Country. The couple have lived at the historic five-bedroomed Manor
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Economic serviced office suite on show at Grove Business Centre
A furnished show suite in Boston House, part of the Grove Business Centre at Grove Technology Park, is now available for inspection and letting. The compact executive suite comprises a separate room for the principal and a connecting outer office for
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A warm welcome awaits at Egrove
Egrove Park is the Saïd Business School’s purpose-built Executive Education Centre, located just off Oxford’s southern bypass, two miles from Oxford city centre, and is easily accessible by road and rail with ample free parking. To meet the increasing
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Picasso makes sense
MOST car makers are content with a triple assault on the senses to woo car buyers — not Citroën. It decided that the Citroën C3 Picasso should not only look, sound and feel good, it had to smell good too, but more of that later. The sensual approach
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Saab 9-3 still flying high
For such a young company, in motoring terms, Saab has seen some interesting times. Created just over 70 years ago as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Swedish Aircraft Company) it was a further decade before the firm came down to earth with its
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Car insurance rising at record rate
The cost of car insurance is rising at its fastest rate on record, research has shown. Average premiums for comprehensive motor cover jumped by 5.6% in the three months to the end of September, the biggest increase since the AA first started monitoring
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Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 31 BMW 3175 Electrocomponents 154.7 Gladstone 25.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 79.5 Oxford Biomedica 14.5 Oxford Catalyst 54.5 Oxford Instruments 225 Reed Elsevier 461.5 RM 154.5 RPS Group 212 Courtesy of Redmayne
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City's small firms defy the recession
Small firms in Oxford have weathered the recession better than most of the UK, a new report has revealed. The BT Business Pulse survey shows one in four Oxford firms saw an increase in turnover during the downturn and 72 per cent are expecting an upturn
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New cinema to open in Witney
THE finishing touches are being put in place for Witney’s new cinema. The five screens of Cineworld, in Marriotts Close, Welch Way, have been installed — including two 3D screens — ready for its opening on Thursday, October 29. Members
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Good news for Evotec
BIOTECH company Evotec received its second dose of good news in a month with a £2.3m milestone payment from a pharmaceutical company. Evotec, which is based in Germany, employs about 200 people at its laboratory at Milton Park, near Abingdon. It received
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Still waiting at Heyford
Could a change of ownership at Heyford Park, the former RAF and United States Air Force airfield, finally break the planning deadlock which still hangs over it? Looking at the history of the estate, there is little wonder that successive Government reports
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Hopes for Aids treatment
A TREATMENT for HIV developed in Oxford is to be tested on volunteers, to see if it prevents the onset of Aids. Scientists at Oxford University spin-out company Adaptimmune have succeeded in creating a 'bionic assasin' which enhances the body's natural
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An autumn delight
Mr Wilkins Micawber was famous for saying that “something will turn up” in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield. I think this eternal optimist must secretly organise our Harvest Lunch. Every year it’s a mystery where the food and the people come from.
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Protecting the badger
For 20 years a small group of people have been looking after the badgers of Oxfordshire. Formed out of a need to understand where badgers were living so they could be protected, the group has since built up extensive records about badgers in the county
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Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts: V&A Museum
The V&A’s autumn exhibition Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts is the first to comprehensively explore the world of the maharajas. Some of the objects left India for the first time, after 18 months patient negotiation. Among the finest
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Get out and go wild
A day at office: You never quite know what will happen when you turn up for work at your local wildlife trust. Just the other morning I was sitting at my desk when Nicole, our Oxfordshire reserves officer, popped her head through the door and asked if
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Do not take our birds for granted
For those who love birds, Britain is a marvellous place to live. More than 500 species have been recorded at least once in this small island and roughly half of those are resident and breed here. For such a highly populated nation that is a remarkable
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Peach Boy: The Adventures of Momotaro: OFS Studio
A little piece of Japan is being created in a corner of an East Oxford primary school. No, it’s not a new approach to school dinners, it’s Oxfordshire Theatre Company and Pegasus Theatre’s co-production of Peach Boy: The Adventures of Momotaro. The
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Chile's finest, £91
Chile is not just about great value for money wines. For some years now the country has been producing top-quality wines from their superb microclimates. The growing conditions here are sublime and the cool air from the Andes and the Humboldt Current
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Oxford Symphony Orchestra season
Dating back to 1902, the Oxford Symphony Orchestra is one of the city’s more venerable institutions. Formed originally to accompany the Bach Choir, the orchestra has long since ploughed its own furrow as a large-scale amateur group, working under a professional
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Rediscovering an unexpected taste of central Europe
Four years ago I found myself — somewhat unexpectedly — in Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. To my eternal shame I hadn’t given any serious thought to their wines and was ill-prepared for the quality of the local wine that I drank during my time there.
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UPDATE: Man charged with murder
A 34-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Oxfordshire mum Vikki Thompson 14 years ago. Police arrested the man in a dawn raid in Ascott-under-Wychwood yesterday and he was held in police custody overnight. He has now been charged with
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Dark side of paradise
THE LAST ENGLISHMAN Roland Chambers (Faber, £20)I have to confess that I did not really enjoy Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons as a child. But I did find delight in his yarns when I read them as bedtime stories to my own children. The nostalgic
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In tune with his audience
The first time I met Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce, some years ago, he told me a blisteringly accurate, but unrepeatable, joke involving one of his on-air colleagues. This cemented our friendship. Nearly seven million listeners tune in each week to his
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Stalker caught
FEVER OF THE BONE Val McDermid (Sphere, £18.99)The sixth in McDermid’s series Wire in the Blood, broadcast on ITV, this features the clinical psychologist and profiler Dr Tony Hill and his colleague and friend Det Chief Insp Carol Jordan. With her
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Egyptian fakery
We all expect the exhibits in museums such as Oxford’s Ashmolean to be genuine. But Oxford does feature in Egyptian Fakes (Flammarion, £25) by art historian and novelist Jean-Jacques Feichter. He tells the story of a so-called ushabti, a statue purporting
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Paperback round-up
The Good Divorce Guide Cristina Odone (Harper Press, £7.99) Despite its title, the cover of this book leaves us in no doubt that it is fictional, and, indeed, very lighthearted chick-lit. Erring husband Jonathan Martin has been having an affair, but
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Local author
Oxford poet and writer Merryn Williams, an expert on Wilfred Owen and Thomas Hardy, has compiled an anthology of The Georgians 1901-1930 (Shoestring, £13,95). She believes the group, ranging from Masefield to DH Lawrence, has been unfairly neglected
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Incinerator to cost £651m
Oxfordshire's controversial rubbish incinerator will cost taxpayers about two-thirds of a billion pounds. And the likely delay of 12 months to the project, following the rejection of planning permission to build an incinerator at Ardley, is going
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Oxford United strike duo get a warning
Oxford United right back Damian Batt has issued a message to striking duo James Constable and Matt Green . . . when you’ve been suspended, getting your place back is not that easy! Constable and Green, who have scored 17 goals between them this season
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Taxpayers need to know incinerator costs
WE FEEL it is vitally important that you, and every other council taxpayer in Oxfordshire, can today learn the huge cost of the incinerator Oxfordshire County Council wants to build at Ardley. The Oxford Mail obtained a report outlining the forecast
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Last orders
YET another licensed venue in Oxford has bitten the dust this week, further reducing the options for nights out in the city. Some residents will welcome Bar Risa and Jongleurs’s demise. While there are now a number of empty ‘units’ available to anyone
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As pubs get fewer, the survivors get better
Gown was certainly mingling very freely with Town in Oxford’s Four Candles pub on Saturday. Wave after wave of first-year students, complete with bow-ties, mortar boards and – yes – gowns, passed through its doors following their matriculation. A tough
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Oxford on William Golding: 'Not quite a gent'
The Pitmen Painters, which I review today on Page 7, is a play much concerned with the class structure as it used to be in Britain. Its focus is a group of Northumbrian colliers who took up painting – a hitherto unheard of activity for men of their background
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Rock star discovers lost village
Brian May, the guitarist with Queen, could barely contain his excitement. After years of effort, the rock star’s long search had come to an end in a quiet corner of Oxfordshire. “It’s the fulfilment of a dream. I’m thrilled — really thrilled
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£651m cost of waste burner
OXFORDSHIRE’S controversial rubbish incinerator will cost taxpayers about two-thirds of a billion pounds, the Oxford Mail can reveal. And the likely delay of 12 months to the project, following the rejection of planning permission to build
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Unwelcome
Calls for Oxford City Council to return to the drawing board over plans to develop the Westgate are most unwelcome. Various plans to revitalise this area of the city and to provide the modern shopping facilities Oxford deserves have been pursued for
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No say for us
The decision on how to deal with Oxfordshire’s excess waste was always going to be a difficult one. It was a decision that had to be taken. Doing nothing and continuing to bury the county’s excess waste at landfill sites was a far more costly option than
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Guarded welcome
The £200m landmark buildings proposed by Oxford University on the former Radcliffe Infirmary site have been given a guarded welcome by local civic groups. The university has won plaudits for opening up views of the Radcliffe Observatory and
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"Kill off Westgate," say Greens
OPPONENTS of the £330m Westgate redevelopment are to mount a surprise bid to kill off the scheme. A motion will go to next month’s meeting of Oxford City Council calling for the Town Hall to reconsider the Capital Shopping Centre plan to develop the
