Archive
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Woodley's joy at Oxford United deal
Oxford United’s youth team striker Aaron Woodley says he is delighted after signing a three-year professional contract with the club. The 17-year-old former Radley Youth star has already made two sub appearances for United’s first team and has been snapped
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Abingdon beer celebrates 30th birthday
ABINGDON’S most famous beer has celebrated its 30th birthday. Old Speckled Hen was created at Morland Brewery in 1979 to celebrate MG’s 50th anniversary of car production in the town. The brewery and MG factory are both long closed, but key figures
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MPs back BBC over Question Time BNP stance
NICK Griffin today challenged Witney MP David Cameron as the debate over the BNP leader’s Question Time appearance rumbled on. Mr Griffin questioned whether the Tory leader would “disassociate” himself from the protests outside Television Centre last
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Greater Leys yob given curfew
A TEENAGER has been banned from going out at weekends after drunkenly brandishing a stun gun at revellers. Joseph Byrne, 19, admitted using the stun gun to threaten two men in the early hours of August 29 outside a bar in Cowley Road, Oxford
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No guarantees to clear backlog before next Royal Mail strike
ROYAL Mail last night could not guarantee hundreds of thousands of letters and parcels would be delivered in Oxfordshire before postal workers next go on strike. Nearly 1,000 postal workers in the county refused to work yesterday in a protest over pay
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Bicester FC asks for help to stop it folding
FOOTBALL fans are being urged to help save a club that has been at the heart of Bicester’s community for more than 130 years. Bicester Town Football Club is under threat of closure over a £9,000 debt. The club is expecting to hear in the coming days
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Two charged over drug package
Two people have been remanded in custody charged with drug offences after a package allegedly containing heroin was posted from Pakistan. Safana Ijaz, an 18-year-old woman from Danvers Road, Oxford, has been charged with possession of a Class A drug
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Bournemouth can be a winter wonderland
Thomas Hardy once wrote to a friend exclaiming that Bournemouth was a great place to winter. If you’re the type of person who ‘winters’ anywhere these days you likely won’t be looking to Bournemouth (or anywhere in Britain for that matter) for your
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Shops feel heat over bonfire night
SHOPS illegally selling and storing fireworks are being targeted in a countywide crackdown on antisocial behaviour. Trading standards, police, fire officers and district council officials are carrying out spot-checks to find traders breaking the law
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TV star helps mum say ‘bye’ to school
TV PRESENTER Kate Garraway turned up at an Abingdon primary school to say goodbye to a very special teaching assistant — her mum. Marylyn Garraway, 67, has helped with art classes at St Edmund’s Catholic Primary School for 24 years, watching
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Land Army gets Royally treated
TWO former Land Girls from Oxfordshire chatted with the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace about their contribution to Britain’s war effort. Joan Clifford, 88, and Helen Dann, 87, joined former members of the Land Army from across the country
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Banbury knife raider faces jail
A KNIFE-WIELDING robber has been warned he faces jail after he was foiled by a shopkeeper during a raid. Christopher Huxham, 22, was remanded in custody at Oxford Crown Court today, after admitting an attempted robbery. Huxham brandished a knife and
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Nastiness exposed for all to see
IF ODIOUS Nick Griffin had something coherent to say he wouldn’t have spent most of yesterday bleating about being stitched up on Question Time. While the leader of the British National Party moaned about being picked on during Thursday night’s BBC debate
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Islamic music goes under the spotlight
RAPPERS, folk artists and dancers from across the Muslim world will entertain hundreds of revellers at an all-day musical extravaganza. For the fifth year, the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford (MECO) is hosting its day-long Oxford Muslim Music Festival
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Woodstock wows on the arts scene
WOODSTOCK is getting arty during a week-long festival. Art in Woodstock, which runs until Sunday, November 1, involves a host of exhibitions, along with talks and events. The festival is launched today in the Town Square, with an opening performance
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Painting scheme teaches real life skills
A GROUP of adults with learning difficulties volunteered their time to spruce up Witney town centre. The project, carried out by volunteers from the Guideposts Trust, was designed to teach new skills, while contributing to the community. It saw people
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Beat the post strike on Gannett applications
CHARITIES can beat the postal strike and drop their applications for grants from the Gannett Foundation in at any of our offices. With backlogs because of the postal strike, late entrants are being urged to deliver their applications by hand to guarantee
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Book gives insight into 1920s' Cowley
A BOOK setting down memories of a childhood in Oxford in the 1920s is being published for the second time. Phyl Surman,who grew up in Howard Street, East Oxford, put pen to paper in the 1970s, but died seven years before her book hit the shelves. She
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Education system 'failing young in need'
MORE than 100 of Oxfordshire’s most vulnerable children left school without a single qualification, new figures reveal. Department for Children, Schools and Families statistics show that 125 children with special educational needs did not gain any GCSE
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Saga of the missing sports kit
T he schools have been back for several weeks and everything is back in full swing. I have a full diary of events and try hard to plan in advance to make sure that I’m on top of things on both the mayoral and domestic front. My son, on the other hand
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CYCLE SPEEDWAY: Horspath land triple crown
Horspath clinched their fifth British Premier League title in seven years with a 105 -71 win at Great Blakenham on Sunday. The club thus completed the triple crown of British Team Championship, plus the South West Division 1 and Premier League titles
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GYMNASTICS: Kennet girls in the medals
THE five Kennet DC members competing in the two-piece Championships held at the Phoenix Gym, Maidenhead, were delighted to bring home two medals apiece. Rebecca Griffin, competing in OOA (out of age) level 5, won gold on bars and silver on beam. Polly
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MOTORSPORT: Rees is in the wars
OXFORD driver Paul Rees’s hopes of finishing the Formula Palmer Audi Championship with a win disappeared as he crashed out twice in the final round at Snetterton. Having qualified in pole position, the 23-year-old led the day’s opening race until lap
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TABLE TENNIS: Leaders race to big win
RUTHERFORD remain top of Division 1 after a comprehensive 9-1 victory over Vikings A. Anders Markvardsen and Chris Lanlsey gave Rutherford a 9-0 lead, with Vikings consolation coming from Gareth Hayward. Forum A defeated Vikings B 9-1 to ensure they
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SNOOKER: Abingdon cruise home
Abingdon RBL A recorded a 5-1 win against Witney A and sit at the top of Premier & Division 1 of the Gentworks Oxford & District League, writes David White. Dave Noake defeated Colin Cutler in the opening frames before Kev Higgs edged out Colin Adams
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BILLIARDS: Ashton surprise champions Riley
NEWLY-promoted Ashton beat reigning champions Riley A 2-1 to go top of the Oxford League Division 1 table. Pete Fenn (+50) put Ashton ahead after beating last season high-flyer Malcolm Bough (+20) by 200-131. John Street (+50) then beat Allan Copelin
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Local shares (PM)
AEA Technology 31 BMW 3276 Electrocomponents 154.8 Gladstone 25 Nationwide Accident Repair 78.5 Oxford Biomedica 14.4 Oxford Catalysts 54.5 Oxford Instruments 222.5 Reed Elsevier 463.75 RM 154.5 RPS Group 212 Courtesy of Redmayne
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Crashes cause A34 delays
Crashes caused delays on the A34 through Oxfordshire today. The northbound carriageway was blocked for a time by a crash involving two vehicles near the Chilton Interchange, leading to long delays. One lane was later reopened. Earlier
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GREYHOUNDS: Friday BAGS results
11.03: 1 SPIKE PREVIEW 5-1, 2 Enchantedmorning 5-1. (2x3x5). Trainer: Hannan. Time: 27.93. Nightfire Pearl (4) 9-4 fav. 11.19: 1 KATIE DEAR 7-2, 2 Fenians Hero 6-1. (4x5x3). Trainer: Curtin. Time: 27.49. Newlawn Rover (6) 5-2 fav. 11.34: 1 HOT ONTHE
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Weird and truly wonderful
A wonderful, crazy, new art form has hit Oxford. ‘Steampunk’ is the subject of a (very) special exhibition, running at the Museum of the History of Science, featuring 18 of what must be the world’s loopiest artist/craftspeople. I mean that as a compliment
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GREYHOUNDS: Isis can aid Angie's assault
Hillcross Isis can help Angie Kibble's bid for the trainers championship in the S1 over 595 metres on Saturday night. Mullamore Bella, impressive on debut, looks the danger. SATURDAY NIGHT’S CARD 7.35: Steeple Rd Di, SCATTY OSCAR, Garryglass Bud, Majestical
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GREYHOUNDS: Poacher enters record books
Jolly Poacher gave the large crowd something to roar about when Sandy Lane’s best prospect for years re-wrote the record books at Oxford Stadium in romping to a unique treble in breathtaking style. The brindle and white dog made it six wins on the trot
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GREYHOUNDS: Inquiry date set
The long-running inquiry into the unauthorised withdrawal of Agincourt Goal is set to resume on November 2. Also on the agenda is the fact that two greyhounds wore the trap 6 jacket in a race recently, one running from trap four! JOHN Bailey, kennel
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo, New Theatre, Oxford
One thing I took away from this wonderful concert was that supporters of the South African team (competing on home turf in next year's FIFA World Cup competition) will be a whole lot more tuneful than anyone else when it comes to the big kick-off
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CRICKET: Somerton sparkles
Ed Somerton smashed five sixes in his 46 not out as Cropedy A beat Broughton & North Newington by 23 runs in Division 3 of the Banbury Indoor League. Cropedy set 123-4, Ollie Wright the pick of the Broughton bowlers with 2-33, before Broughton were restr-icted
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Scrappage scheme helps car industry
Car production fell last month but the decline was the smallest for a year, it was announced. The number of cars made in the UK in September 2009 totalled 119,616 - a 16.1% dip on the September 2008 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
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SCHOOL SPORT: St Thomas More in festival joy
St Thomas More ended West Kidlington’s domination of the Kidlington School Sport Partnership Tag Rugby Festival at Stratfield Brake. Winners for the first four years that the competition has been staged, West Kidlington had to settle for joint third
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SWIMMING: Murphy breaks county record
Oxon & North Bucks’ Alex Murphy broke the county record for the 100m breaststroke in the British Gas National Team Championships at Ponds Forge, Sheffield. Swimming in the 14/15 years age group, the Didcot Barramundi youngster recorded a time of 1min
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ICE HOCKEY: Taylor back on board for Stars
Oxford City Stars welcome back Shannon Taylor from illness for their English National League Division 1 South clash against Peterborough Islanders at Oxford Ice Rink tomorrow (6.15pm). Stars will be looking to repeat their 14-2 win over the Islanders
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SCHOOL SPORT: Windrush quartet in nationals
Four students from Windrush Valley Independent School have qualified for the National Independent Schools Association (ISA) Finals at Coventry on Sunday, November 22. Ross Hedigan (50m freestyle & relay), together with Neil Atkinson, William
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ANGLING: Perch king Kirk is clear winner
With the lack of rain leaving the Thames clear, and an overnight frost causing the temperature to drop just below freezing, it was always going to be tricky for anglers fishing the Angling Times Winter League at Medley last Sunday. As predicted last
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ANGLING: Pike has meal in keepnet!
Dorchester’s Ron Skates Memorial was fished by eight anglers on the Thame downstream from the bridge. The river is painfully low and clear and a frost didn’t help, resulting in four blanks. John Wheeler drew a noted chub swim, but was out of luck
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ANGLING: Farmoor is flying
Martin Fisher and Malcolm Hensher had a day to remember on Farmoor II on Monday, catching 12 fish for 42lb, including rainbows of 8lb and 6lb. They fished by the cages on sinking lines and boobies, with just a nine-inch leader, so the fish are obviously
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True Pud
THE BLACK BOY, MILTON, NR BANBURY, 01295 722111 PAUL STAMMERS finds life is sweet when it comes to pick-n-mix pudding. LET’S start with puddings, like the oddball 19th century philosopher Jeremy Bentham. He preferred
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Unlucky Jim
Oxford children’s book illustrator Mini Grey tells a slightly nervous ANDREW FFRENCH about her colourful re-telling of one of Hilaire Belloc’s more gruesome Cautionary Tales. WHEN I was a kid, I was fascinated by a collection of children’
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Slow Motion
ANGELA SWANN winds down with a weekend in the beautiful flatlands of the north Norfolk coast. Sitting on the patio of our hotel, glass of wine in hand, enjoying a view of the setting sun over the Norfolk coastal marshes, we asked ourselves
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Super Furry Animation
FANTASTIC MR FOX (PG). Family/Comedy/Drama. With the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Anderson, Bill Murray, Hugo Guinness, Michael Gambon, Brian Cox. Director: Wes Anderson. Hip indie director
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Take Your Partner
KATHERINE MACALISTER talks to married couple Damien O’Kane and Bernadette Flynn about their 14 years with Michael Flatley’s hit show Lord of the Dance. If you want to know about commitment and passion then look no further than Bernadette
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Ode Master
Roger McGough has been described as the ‘pop star of poets’ and having hung out with The Beatles and Bob Dylan, he’s certainly known a few. But does he still enjoy it? Katherine MacAlister gets on his case. Roger McGough leapt out of bed
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Three-car crash closes road
A crash involving three cars closed the Oxford Road near Chandlings School today. The road was closed both ways between Bagley Wood Road and Sugworth Lane following the accident which happened at about 9am.
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Extra Special
RICHARD BELL is very glad he ventured into the wilds of Witney for ‘Do the Ska’ at The Palace. I had never been to Witney before travelling there for this week’s article. Having only my own presumptions to go on, I’m afraid to say that while
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Dread Beat
After 17 years of mixing up the best foot-stomping music this country has to offer, Tim Hughes discovers Dreadzone are still going strong – and show absolutely no sign of flagging. FUSING rock, reggae, rap, dub, dance, techno, punk and even
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Seven Stars
Tim Hughes talks to Harriet of Los Campesinos! and finds this band of brothers and sisters are not like other groups... NOT so much a band as an extended family, Los Campesinos! are a 14-legged indie-pop machine. Playing joyous, uplifting
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Cyclist injured in car collision
A cyclist was injured in a collision between a bicycle and a car in Oxford this morning. The incident occurred at about 8.15am at the junction of Iffley Road and Iffley Turn and involved a blue Ford Ka and a bicycle. A Thames Valley
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Two charged with Class A drug offences
Two people have been remanded in custody charged with drug offences after a package allegedly containing heroin was posted from Pakistan. Safana Ijaz, an 18-year-old woman from Danvers Road, Oxford, has been charged with possession of a Class A drug
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Two held on heroin charges
Two people have been remanded in custody charged with drug offences after a package containing heroin was posted from Pakistan. Safana Ijaz, an 18-year-old woman from Danvers Road, Oxford, has been charged with possession of a Class-A drug with intent
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Keep Trade Local event
The Federation of Small Business Oxfordshire is holding an anniversary celebration event of its successful Keep Trade Local campaign. Local businesses are invited to join FSB membersand guest speakers Karon-Louise Allen, sales director at Jack FM and
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Aspect not reflected
Sir – In 1931 Elizabeth Duchess of York (later, the Queen Mother) opened the stylish Maternity Home at the Radcliffe Infirmary where generations of Oxford and Oxfordshire citizens were born. In 1956, a plaque was unveiled that 18,500 babies were delivered
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Ill-judged attempt
Sir – Chris Koenig (Past times, October 15) wonders how serious Sir William Osler was in commending the compulsory euthanasia of elderly men as described in Trollope’s satire on bureaucracy The Fixed Period. Certainly, Sir William proclaimed that all
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Centres of excellence
Sir – A very great friend of mine died recently from recurrent cancer. The last four-and-a-half weeks of her life were spent first in the oncology ward at the Churchill Hospital and then in Sir Michael Sobell House. I should like to put on record my
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Witney needs bus hub
Sir – The article about proposed orbital bus routes makes me wonder how many of us are taking purposeless trips in and out of the city centre. From our West Oxfordshire village, it usually takes just over half-an-hour to drive to Thornhill to catch
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Prepare to stop the car
Sir – Barbara Cleary (Letters, October 15) commented that cities such as Oxford were not built with cars in mind. Arguably, the present level of use of cars in Britain and elsewhere is a wasteful, unsustainable aberration. This can’t continue indefinitely
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Chance for rethink
Sir – The Oxfordshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is delighted to learn that Oxfordshire County Council’s planning committee has rejected schemes to build incinerators at both Ardley and Sutton Courtenay. CPRE understands
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Post workers man picket lines
Postal delivery staff across Oxfordshire were out on picket lines this morning on the second day of a 48-hour strike. More than 1,000 Royal Mail employees in Swindon, where Oxfordshire’s mail is now sorted, walked out at midnight on Wednesday
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Councillors’ judgement
Sir – There has been some criticism of councillors for rejecting Oxford Brookes University’s planning application for a large new building on the Gipsy Lane site. In fact, councillors have a good track record with respect to major planning applications
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Affordable entry
Sir – In response to Mike Woodward (Letters, October 15), who blames bad pricing and programming for a relatively small audience at Oxford Playhouse for the new opera Letters of a Love Betrayed, I would like to counter that we are committed to building
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Historical inaccuracy
Sir – The final two paragraphs of Dr Daniel Emlyn-Jones’ Christological letter (October 15) are spectacularly simplistic and unhistorical. His cariacature of the Roman Empire as an “imperial culture of cruelty, sadism and power hunger” excludes the
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Unacceptable closures
Sir – In the summer we responded by letter to Oxford City Council’s public request for views on their Public Conveniences Review as part of their consultation exercise. We were very disappointed, therefore, to hear that the city executive board, when
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Deafening silence
Sir – As someone who had the pleasure of working for the local authority in the 1960s and 1970s I have followed, with some horror the correspondence from parents and governors concerning a proposed Academy, and I wonder what on earth is going on. There
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Tip of the iceberg
Sir – It is encouraging to hear from councillor Bob Price about the redevelopment of Old Fire Station and Pegasus Theatre. However, these are long-needed redevelopments of existing arts premises: their welcome improvement will not increase the stock
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Rat run fears
Sir – Your headline No opposition to A34 change (October 8) is misleading. There may well be benefits to be derived from a change to the layout of the junction at Abingdon North Lodge Hill, but increasing access to the junction potentially increases
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Open Islamic centre
Sir – It was disheartening to read Reg Little’s report (October 1) of an indefinite delay in completing the interiors of the externally sublime buildings of the Centre for Islamic Studies. Governments interested in furthering Islamic studies will prefer
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City needs an arts centre
Sir – As a local musician I was interested to read Susie Crow’s letter (October 1) and realise that dance artists share the same lack of support as Oxford’s musicians. The concentration of the city on image before content is exemplified in the excess
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Car industry revs up for good news
Car production figures for September 2009 are due to be revealed, with the motor industry hoping for more good news as the sector continues its recovery. The car-scrappage scheme has boosted new car sales and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and
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Deering on Oxford United mission
SAM Deering says he’s desperate to get back playing for Oxford United again – to remind the fans just what he can do. The 18-year-old looks set to get his chance at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow, in some capacity, whether it’s from the start or as a substitute
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Heavy cost of fly-tipping
Every time we highlight the issue of flytipping we find ourselves asking, ‘why?’. Why are people so ignorant that over the course of two decades a section of land near the Redbridge recycling centre, off Abingdon Road, has grown into a filthy pit the
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Customers suffer in post dispute
We fear there will be little sympathy today for the legions of striking postal workers. It is true their actions will mean no weekend post and chaos next week as the service struggles to catch up. The strike means grandma will not be able to receive
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Drunk boxer beat up gay bar landlord
A COMPANY director flew into a drunken rage and attacked a pub landlord, then bit a customer, after being asked to leave a gay bar. Amateur boxer Kris Manclark, 35, drank four cocktails at The Jolly Farmers, in Paradise Street, Oxford, during a night
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Diggers start work to clear illegal Oxford tip
A £500,000 project has started to clear an illegal dump which has been a blot on the landscape in Oxford for two decades. Fly-tippers have used land near the Redbridge recycling centre, off Abingdon Road, to dump everything from building waste
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Benson ambulance driver blinded by laser beam
An ambulance driver took a badly-injured patient to hospital despite being partially blinded by a laser beam. Clare Bray, 40, from Benson, was on an emergency call and negotiating a set of red traffic lights when a car pulled alongside
