Archive

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Halifax refunds victim's money

THE Halifax has refunded £4,600 to a customer in a “goodwill gesture” after she had her money stolen by con artists outside its Oxford city centre branch. Violet Burnejko, 84, of West Oxford, and her daughter Pauline Driver, 60, were outside the bank

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Missing man found in Yorkshire

Police said this evening that Michael Hall, 60, of Kingham, near Chipping Norton, had been found safe and well. Mr Hall, who went missing from his home yesterday morning, was found safe and well at an address in Yorkshire late this afternoon

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Inquest delay on former Radio Oxford volunteer

AN INQUEST into the death of a former BBC Radio Oxford volunteer was postponed today. Anjool Malde, who worked at the station’s Summertown studios between 2005 and 2006, fell to his death from a rooftop restaurant in London on July 5, last

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Get a preview of this year's Gang Show

PERFORMERS will offer a preview of this year’s Oxford Gang Show at a charity concert in Oxford Town Hall on Saturday, starting at 7pm. Tickets are available on the door for £3.

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Street wardens safe from cuts, city council pledges

FINANCIAL constraints at the Town Hall will not mean a reduction in Oxford’s “much valued” street warden service, the leader of the city council has promised. This year’s budget-setting process will be among the toughest ever, with the council struggling

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Man knocked out in nightclub, jury told

A 24-YEAR-OLD man was knocked unconscious and suffered a fractured cheekbone after being punched in the face in a nightclub, a jury heard. Jamie Mcanulla appeared at Oxford Crown Court today, charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Craig Sewek

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Day eyes start

Defender Rhys Day followed up his impressive midweek performance for Oxford United by saying: “Now I want a regular Starting XI shirt”. The experienced former Mansfield and Aldershot centre half gave another authoritative display at the back, and also

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Gateway development scheme is seriously flawed

I WRITE in response to Giles Sheldrick’s article (Oxford Mail, January 13), which said anti-housing campaigners wanted Oxford “not to become Swindon”. Those opposed to the city council’s current core strategy plans have been invited to make statements

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Best and worst

ISN'T it strange how a sudden change from our hum-drum lives catapults certain people into becoming superheroes – and vice-versa. The stories in last Friday’s Oxford Mail were a classic example. I had just settled down with a nice cup of tea after work

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Nominate a Lottery winner

WE ARE calling on the people of Oxfordshire to nominate their favourite lottery-funded projects for The National Lottery Awards. The awards are the annual search to find the UK’s favourite lottery-funded projects, and recognise the dedication of the

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Opportunity lost in the snow

WOULD it not have been a grand gesture – which, at the same time, would have improved their public image – if all the traffic wardens, instead of searching for yellow lines under the snow, had joined council staff in helping to clear snow from the pavements

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Lacking leadership

OXFORDSHIRE County Council was again shown to be lacking leadership from its chief, Keith Mitchell, with his recent outrageous suggestion that the public should have been more responsible in doing the council’s work of snow clearing. How much more preposterous

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Compensation disgusts me

I NOTED with shame and disgust that a farmer got more compensation from the MOD for his chickens which didn’t lay after being scared by RAF jets, than a troop received after being injured in Afghanistan. I trust that eggs will stick in the throats of

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Many good things about the snow

THERE were many good things about the snow: more care and kindness shown toward others; children prised away from computer games and into the playfulness that snow engenders; and all the deliriously happy dogs cavorting around. It also brought a temporary

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Cabbages and Kings

NO-ONE could deny Tuesday was a grey old day, cold and miserable. The gloom seemed to be contagious and raising a smile among the good people of Oxford was like trying to knit fog. Monday, according to so-called experts, had been a ‘black day

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RACING: Delighted Buick lands dream job

William Buick has spoke of his delight at landing a dream job as stable jockey to top Newmarket trainer John Gosden. The 21-year-old, who is based at Letcombe Regis, near Wantage, replaces Jimmy Fortune. It continues his meteoric rise as he only rode

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Families offered chance to beat the bulge - for free

FAMILIES who want to beat the bulge are being offered the chance to benefit from a free healthy lifestyle programme. The Mind Exercise Nutrition Do It! (Mend) programme aims to help children who are overweight learn to manage their size. NHS Oxfordshire

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Author calls for help with Barton book

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Big names line up for literary festival

JOHN Le Carré and Martin Amis will lead an impressive line-up of writers and speakers at the 2010 Oxford Literary Festival. Hundreds of authors are taking part in this year’s festival which runs over nine days from March 20. Crime writer Le Carré will

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£1m boathouse to boost Olympic bid

A BOAT club with an Olympic heritage is set to undergo a £1m transformation. Oxford Brookes University Boat Club has won planning permission to extend its boathouse on the River Thames near Wallingford. The university is now aiming to

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Farm shop is top of the crop

A FARMING couple’s passion for local produce has won their shop a top countryside award. Foxbury Farm, in Burford Road, Brize Norton, has been named the Best Local Food Business in the South of England by campaign group the Countryside Alliance. The

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HAITI: Marie's moved to do her bit

A WOMAN who could barely walk a year ago will be climbing into a pool to raise hundreds of pounds for victims of the Haiti earthquake. Marie Jones, from Headington, suffered months of excruciating pain as a result of two prolapsed discs, which

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HAITI: Rotary Club fundraisers take to the streets

ROTARY Club members will be out on the streets on Saturday raising money for the Haiti appeal. Bicester club members will be shaking tins in the town’s Sheep Street from 9am to 5pm. And Rotarians in Thame will be outside the town hall

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Thug banned from railway

A man who threatened to stab a 61-year-old ticket inspector in the neck has been jailed and banned from travelling on trains in Essex for five years. Unemployed Scott Cootes, 25, formerly of Bowness Avenue, Didcot, was given an antisocial behaviour order

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HAITI: Surgeon flies out to help man mobile clinics

AN OXFORD surgeon is preparing to fly out to Haiti this weekend to help treat victims of the devastating earthquake. Prof Chris Bulstrode, who is employed by Oxford University and works in the emergency department of the John Radcliffe Hospital, will

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Ex-patient helps lives of children in hospital

A TEENAGER who has battled a brain tumour has opened a set of new computer rooms at Oxford Children’s Hospital. On Wednesday, Jessica Taylor cut the red ribbon on the new facilities, which were financed using the majority of £30,000 her family has raised

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Bicester Harriers go on run for beer money

RUNNING club members have vowed to carry a stretcher the length of Hadrian’s Wall to raise money to buy beer for troops returning from Afghanistan. About 10 members of Bicester Hash Harriers have signed up to run the 72-mile route in Cumbria and Northumbria

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District honours exceptional young people

MORE than 40 young people from South Oxfordshire have won cash prizes for their dedication to sport, the arts and their communities. South Oxfordshire District Council presented 43 exceptional youngsters with £250 for becoming Young Achievers

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'Sky's the limit for Edinburgh flights from Oxford'

A NEW air route linking Oxford and Edinburgh is expected to attract 6,500 passengers over its first 12 months. Flights to the Scottish capital will begin on Monday, March 1, with the journey taking 90 minutes compared to the average rail journey of six

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John bounces back again

WOODSTOCK: JWPC Town Planning and Development Consultants has appointed John Phillips as a senior team member to deal with strategic planning and public relations. The consultancy is also opening an office in London. Recent commissions include Gleeson

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Janauary 2010 Minutes

Present Alan Wilkins, Steve Simmonds, Mary Simmonds, Paul Lyon, Leighton Greenslade, Neil Smith, Claire Newell, Kenny Moore Apologies Dave Ashman, Tracey Haslam, Chris Madden 1. Minutes of last meeting Agreed as a true record 2. Matters arising

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Ryan gets ricket out of system

Ryan Clarke put his Tamworth error behind him with a fine performance against Woking in midweek. So just when Billy Turley might have been thinking he was set for a recall, Clarke appears to have held on to pole position. As often happens in these situations

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Sam back in frame again

Oxford United make the first of successive Saturday visits to Essex on Saturday, looking for a first win at Grays. Before Chris Wilder’s arrival, the U’s had a pretty poor record against the club situated just north of the Thames. In Oxford’s first

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New date for Cambridge as fixtures pile up

Oxford United’s Blue Squ-are Premier game at home to Cambridge United has been rearranged for Tuesday, February 2, subject to neither side facing FA Trophy matches on that date. The match, originally scheduled for November 28, was postponed then because

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Fowler's an eye-catcher

New signing Lee Fowler showed Oxford United fans on Tuesday night that he can be a very useful acquisition. Playing in the midfield holding role, he passed the ball well. “I was pleased,” said Fowler. “It was a quiet performance really

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Foster dilemma

Luke Foster has admitted it was a difficult decision to leave Oxford – especially considering the season they’re having. The 24-year-old centre back, who joined United’s Blue Square Premier rivals, Mansfield Town, this week, said: “At the beginning,

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The recently-launched Government boiler scrappage scheme

The recently-launched Government boiler scrappage scheme is attracting considerable interest from homeowners. It offers a £400 grant if you have a G-rated boiler which has permanent pilot ignition or was installed before 2005. Whether the

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Top ideas to beat draughts

Draught proofing is one of the least expensive and effective energy efficiency measures for the home, yet it is too often overlooked. Draught proofing also offers the quickest return, frequently paying for itself within a year and then saving

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Wrap up to keep warm

Most new houses have insulation fitted all around the house as this is an important requirement set by the Government. However older houses were built to lower insulation standards and are more expensive to heat. So why put up with this

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Bold steps with flooring

Naturally beautiful and practical too, stone, slate and terracotta floor tiles are a stylish and sound investment for the home. No longer just for the kitchen, natural surfaces are now being used to create a seamless look between rooms, with bolder

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Harriers go on the run to raise money for troops

RUNNING club members have vowed to carry a stretcher the length of Hadrian’s Wall to raise money to buy beer for troops returning from Afghanistan. About 10 members of Bicester Hash Harriers have signed up to run the 72-mile route in Cumbria and Northumbria

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Local share prices (PM)

AEA Technology 26 BMW 2780 Electrocomponents 181.4 Gladstone 29 Nationwide Accident Repair 91.5 Oxford Biomedica 11.6 Oxford Catalysts 49.5 Oxford Instruments 236.5 Reed Elsevier 523.25 RM 183.75 RPS Group 205.2 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley

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RUGBY UNION: Quins can make fresh start

Oxford Harlequins director of rugby John Brodley is urging his players to bounce back tomorrow when they host Exmouth in National 3 South West. Having lost 36-22 to second-placed Old Patesians last time out, Quins are anxious to rediscover

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RUGBY UNION: Haydon names 13 Blues

New captain Nick Haydon has named 13 Blues in the Oxford University side to face Portugal in Lisbon on Saturday. The showpiece match marks scrum half Haydon’s first game in charge and of his team, only centre Ed Boyes and No 8 Mike Rickner have not played

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FOOTBALL: Lyne targets Vase success

FA Carlsberg Vase WITNEY United boss Andy Lyne has called on his players to seize their big chance when they travel to Derbyshire to take on New Mills in the delayed FA Carlsberg Vase fourth round tomorrow. Victory for Witney would put them in the last

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Taxi appeal after death fall

POLICE are trying to trace a taxi driver who may have been the last person to see a Wheatley man alive. Joshua Nunan, 22, plunged to his death from the Westgate shopping centre in Oxford on Boxing Day. Today officers, who are treating the death as unexplained

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Taxi clue to death of 22-year-old man in Oxford

Police would like to speak to a taxi driver in connection with an unexplained death of a young man in Oxford on Boxing Day. At about 9.30pm, a man was picked up by a taxi, just outside the grounds of the Jphn Radcliffe Hospital, near Headley

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FOOTBALL: City aces are a bit of all-white!

Zamaretto Southern League OXFORD City boss Mike Ford says that continuing to train through the snow has given them the edge in their bid for the play-offs. City travel to struggling Tiverton Town tomorrow in the Premier Division, and Ford says although

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Get It Booked

What new books - fiction and non-fiction - can we curl up with this winter? Read on to find out... * Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. Orhan Pamuk’s first novel after a six-year hiatus, Museum of Innocence, is an 83-chapter tome that

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FOOTBALL: Fincher suspended for Kidlington return

FTL Futbol Hellenic League KIDLINGTON will be without the suspended Sam Fincher as they return to Premier Division action at home to Flackwell Heath tomorrow, writes KIEREN BUSHNELL. Tom McNamara, Ben Will-oughby and Darren McNamara are all sidelined

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Chomp Eysees

CAFé ROUGE, LITTLE CLARENDON STREET, OXFORD 01865 310194. A jaded JEREMY SMITH puts himself in the capable hands of the staff at Café Rouge for a little bit of TLC – French style... There are two places I always visit whenever

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Good Grief

THE BOYS ARE BACK (12A). Drama. Clive Owen, Nicholas McAnulty, George MacKay, Laura Fraser, Emma Booth, Julia Blake, Natasha Little. Director: Scott Hicks. A widower struggles to raise his young son in the aftermath of terminal

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Quiet Weekend

Getting away from it all couldn’t have been easier for GILES SHELDRICK as he ventured into the Forest of Dean. Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s good for the soul to get away for the weekend, to a place where life is... slower. Now I’m not

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Brothers At Arms

BROTHERS (15). Drama. Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare, Carey Mulligan. Director: Jim Sheridan. All's fair in love and war. In Jim Sheridan’s English

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In The Mood

JEREMY SMITH finds out why the big band sounds of Glenn Miller are still as popular today as they were in the 40’s. It was a time of Swing when the big bands ruled... Women wore knee-length dresses and padded shoulders, hair was curled,

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Douglas House hospice grows to meet demand

OXFORD’S Douglas House hospice is set to benefit from a £1m extension. The facility for 16- to 35-year-olds became the world’s first hospice specially designed to serve young adults when it opened alongside Helen House children’s hospice, in

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Thank God it's Monday

RICHARD BELL rekindles his love affair with Monday nights thanks to Free at The Purple Turtle in Oxford. I’ve had a long and loving relationship with Monday nights at the Purple Turtle over the years. When I was a mere fresher, excited and

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Cheesy Girl

Tim Hughes enjoys a double espresso with singer-songwriter, and foxy fromagère, Emily Maguire. DYLAN did it, Joni Mitchell did it, and so did Jeff Buckley. Now another talented singer-songwriter is following in the footsteps of the greats

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Out and about

If any vehicle summed up the complexities of modern motoring manufacture it is the Mitsubishi Outlander. The compact 4x4 is built on a platform that was developed in conjunction with DaimlerChrysler and chosen by PSA Peugeot Citroën to form the basis

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Fixtures: January 23-29

SATURDAY FOOTBALL BLUE SQUARE PREMIER Grays Ath v Oxford Utd. PUMA YOUTH ALLIANCE Under 18 South West Conference: Bristol Rovers v Oxford Utd. FA CARLSBERG VASE 4th round: New Mills v Witney Utd.

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Fewer drivers fail breath test

Fewer people were caught drink-driving during the recent festive crackdown. Police caught 75 drivers over the limit during December, compared to 86 in 2008. This was despite the number of Oxfordshire drivers tested by police increasing by 20 per

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Fewer drivers fail breath tests

FEWER people were caught drink-driving during the recent festive crackdown. Police collared 75 drivers over the limit during December, compared to 86 in 2008. This was despite the amount of Oxfordshire drivers tested by police increasing by 20 per

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Keep afloat

Jokes about boats abound. There is the one about the two great moments of boat-owning: when you buy it and when you sell it. Then there is the one about the only difference between owning a boat and pouring money straight into the sea is that the

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Search for ideal family home ends in Banbury

Ever since they became parents, Peter and Rebecca Quinn have been keen to find a new home which would provide the space needed for a growing family. However, with the economic climate looking bleak, the thought of selling their present home so they could

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Local share prices (AM)

AEA Technology 26 BMW 2785 Electrocomponents 181.1 Gladstone 29 Nationwide Accident Repair 92.5 Oxford Biomedica 12 Oxford Catalyst 49.5 Oxford Instruments 227.5 Reed Elsevier 512.75 RM 186 RPS Group 205.4 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley

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Ring-road resolution

Sir – Councillor John Tanner appeared on television news in December, promising that his New Year’s resolution would be to tackle the litter problem on the Oxford ring road (following my letter to you published on December 10). New Year’s resolutions

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The word is ...

Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk. Orhan Pamuk’s first novel after a six-year hiatus, Museum of Innocence, is an 83-chapter tome that comes with its own museum. Each chapter corresponds to 83 displays of objects to be exhibited at Pamuk’s actual museum

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A quiet weekend away

Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s good for the soul to get away for the weekend, to a place where life is... slower. Now I’m not talking about a city break to some European capital, no – but to somewhere random.... like the Forest of Dean.

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Love can be war

All's fair in love and war. In Jim Sheridan’s English language remake of Susanne Bier’s celebrated Danish drama Brodre, love is war as two siblings – polar opposites – are divided by their deep bond to the same woman. Like the original film, Brothers

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A moving drama

A widower struggles to raise his young son in the aftermath of terminal illness in Scott Hicks’s moving drama, based on the emotionally devastating memoir of Simon Carr. By turns touching and funny, The Boys Are Back is a tribute to the resilience of

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Thank God it's Monday

I’ve had a long and loving relationship with Monday nights at the Purple Turtle over the years. When I was a mere fresher, excited and wild-eyed to see and experience all the sights and sounds this city could throw at me, it was Monday night

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Dining on the Chomps Elysees

There are two places I always visit whenever I get a dose of the blues... One is the downstairs department in Boswells, on the corner of Cornmarket (idly perusing aisle after aisle of cooking accessories produces a calming effect on me). The other bolthole

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Give Ninja nonsense the chop

The title of James McTeigue’s martial arts action adventure succinctly sums up the vicarious thrills of this chopsocky nonsense. Littered with gems of dialogue like, “You disrespect me and I tattoo the ceiling with your brains”, Ninja Assassin is a relentless

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In the mood for Glenn

It was a time of Swing when the big bands ruled... Women wore knee-length dresses and padded shoulders, hair was curled, legs were tea-stained, hats were wild; men took their ‘honeys’ out wearing zoot suits and wingtip shoes. And on the radio and in

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Girl cheesy

DYLAN did it, Joni Mitchell did it, and so did Jeff Buckley. Now another talented singer-songwriter is following in the footsteps of the greats – by hitting the coffee shop circuit. Unlike her predecessors, however, this musician is setting up stage

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When cheques go

Cheques are on the way out — but what will replace them? How will we pay the plumber, and what will we find in the card from granny at Christmas 2018? Cheques seem fairly secure. If a hacker discovers your credit card details given by computer, they

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Reviving the Talbot Inn

With UK pubs closing at a rate of more than 50 a week, one landlord can clearly demonstrate solid business analysis and targeted marketing leads to success. Having run a number of pubs in and around the Thames Valley, Trevor Johnson turned around an Arkells

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Weathering the storm

Where have the noughties gone? One minute, we’re preparing to counter the impact of the Millennium Bug — remember the money wasted on that panic-inducing, non-event — the next, we’re becoming used to nationalised banks and, some might say, still wasting

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Saudi venture

Oxford and Riyadh — two cities separated by 3,500 miles and very different cultures, but possessing a common bond — biotechnology. Oxford can trace its history back to medieval times, and Riyadh goes back a long way too. But it was only in 1823 that it

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Hot chocolate

Coco Noir is a piece of chocolate gourmet heaven. Beautifully decorated in Rococo style, the overall feel is welcoming, warm and ever so slightly decadent. A round table in the centre of the room offers up myriad delights, while on shelves and dressers

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Amey birthday

A major Oxford employer is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its apprenticeship scheme. Amey, which provides a range of support services to road and rail networks across the UK, has seen nine apprentices graduate from the Logistics Apprenticeship Sceheme

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Pubs on the up

A new pub has been launched at the Oxford Castle site. The Swan and Castle, based in the former Ha! Ha! Bar in Castle Street, will create 50 new jobs and comes as a boost for the complex which has seen burger chain Tootsies and the Ha! Ha! Bar

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Hire a Hubby

Some people embrace DIY and like nothing better than being able to carry out a range of practical tasks around the home. But others, this author included, have no aptitude for mending or installing fixtures and fittings, and their skills stop somewhere

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Stitch in time

A generation ago the idea of throwing something out when it was broken or worn was hardly considered. The question for those brought up through the austerity of the Second World War was always whether the item could be fixed or, in fact, was needed in

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A happy chef

A midlife career change led Paul Bellchambers to give up his global marketing role in the IT industry to follow his passion for cooking. At the age of 52 he has launched his own business, offering restaurant-quality meals made from locally-sourced ingredients

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Office venture

A building once part of the former Oxfam premises in Summertown, Oxford, has been completely refurbished. Mayfield House (below) has had a full refit costing £1m, including the office interiors, new shop frontages, plus enhancement and finishing to external

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Mobile move

Expansion has prompted two major companies to spread their wings at Milton Park. Mobile phone management company ttMobiles, which specialises in corporate mobile phones, has won several new contacts during the last year and has boosted its existing space

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Kidlington space goes

A removals company has snapped up space at the Chancerygate Business Centre in Kidlington. House & Carriage has taken a 7,455 sq ft space on a new 15-year lease and requires additional storage space on top of its existing facility in Charlbury. Duncan

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Ashmolean

The feast of architecture on offer at the Dining Room, on the top floor of Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum, complements the feast of food. I’ve come across modern buildings stitched onto Victorian art galleries before, notably at the Tate in London,

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Rum career

Name: David Smith Age: 42 Job: Global brand director, Cockspur Rum, Witney Time in job: Five years Contact: 07730 314 162 Web: www.cockspurrum.co.uk What was your first job and what did your responsibilities include? I started

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Telecoms success

Telecommunications is a fast-moving world where staying ahead of the game is of paramount importance. But it can also be a highly profitable business, as Brendon Cross has proved in the last 15 years, running two successful companies. In

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Cooking up the future

There is a new mood of optimism in Oxford as far as one of its most influential citizens is concerned. Hotelier and restaurateur Jeremy Mogford has been impressed with the progress made that has seen £65m being spent on the Ashmolean Museum, while the

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Flights to Edinburgh

Daily flights to Edinburgh from Oxford Airport are to start on Monday, March 1, with a new operator called Varsity Express. Jets will leave Oxford Monday to Friday at 8am, arriving in Edinburgh at 9.30am. Return flights leave Edinburgh at 5pm. The launch

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Helping Haiti

When the worst humanitarian disaster in 200 years struck the poorest nation in the western hemisphere on Tuesday last week, Paul Sherlock of Oxfam was the man in charge of mobilising help — fast. Initial aid — including heavy water tanks, pipes, latrines

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Town revival

Work on the long-awaited £70m Bicester town centre redevelopment is underway. Building work on a 50,000 sq ft Sainsbury's supermarket, a seven-screen cinema, car parking and six shops and restaurants should be complete by the end of 2011. A new civic

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Six new shops planned

Plans for a £15m development in Jericho on the corner of Oxford’s Little Clarendon Street and Walton Street have been submitted to the city council. Shirehall Properties claims the area has become “run down” in recent years and says its planning

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Share your booty

Louise Trueman is 24. But at an age when most of her schoolfriends are just graduating from university, or planning a second gap year in the hope the economy will improve, she is already on to her second career, running her own business — a quirky

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Riding the recession

Jokes about boats abound. There is the one about the two great moments of boat-owning: when you buy it and when you sell it. Then there is the one about the only difference between owning a boat and pouring money straight into the sea is that the

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Kia Sedona

There are times when only a large car will do and when those occasions happen more often than not, then it makes sense to consider a people carrier. Twenty years ago the idea of a seven-seater vehicle that wasn’t a mini-bus was radical. Today, there are

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Oil gets through

A PENSIONER was in danger of being left without heat in the freezing cold after oil could not be delivered. Clare Stott, 87, of Top Lane, Wootton, near Woodstock, told The Oxford Times: “I ordered oil from my regular supplier CPL before the snow but

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Real Lark Rise

When Ted Flaxman and his wife Joan moved to Cottisford 20 years ago they had no idea they would become so wrapped up in the world of Flora Thompson and her trilogy Lark Rise to Candleford. They made their new home in The Old School, where Flora walked

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Plan to end 'veto' on big city projects

CONTROVERSIAL proposals that would give city councillors just one chance to consider major planning applications in Oxford have been described as an “affront to democracy”. Oxford City Council is to vote on changing the planning process so

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How plants were named

SEARCHING FOR ORDER Anna Pavord (Bloomsbury, £14.99)We owe a lot to plants, and over the ages man has investigated the plant kingdom to harvest its resources for our benefit. It has always been important to correctly identify plants, especially as the

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Man who wrote Tintin

Mention the word Tintin and most people will have heard of the intrepid reporter’s exploits across the globe, detailed in 24 books, with Captain Haddock and dog Snowy in tow. But his creator Herge is more a mystery, writes Emily Ashton. Pierre Assouline

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Grid-Tools

Data is vital to the operation of all companies and is becoming as important as cashflow to their success. Its value cannot be underestimated, not just for the business involved but also to those who can sell it on to competitors at a high price, or criminals

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Hong Kong links

At first sight, they are unlikely bedfellows — Oxford’s 900-year-old university and a family-owned Hong Kong firm with its roots in watchmaking. But cutting-edge research taking place beneath Oxford’s dreaming spires has attracted the attention of the

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Foster joins Stags

Oxford United defender Luke Foster has signed for Blue Square Premier rivals Mansfield Town. The centre back, 24, who made 102 starts for United, scoring three times, has joined David Holdsworth’s side for an undisclosed fee. Foster,

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Appeal for missing Kingham man

Police have issued an urgent appeal for information on the whereabouts of a “high risk” man, missing from Kingham, near Chipping Norton, in west Oxfordshire. Michael Hall, 60, was last seen leaving his home yesterday morning. Detectives

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Tamiflu's terrible legacy

SAMANTHA Millard’s story is heart-wrenching. A young woman with everything going for her, the teenager was struck down by an allergic reaction to the swine flu drug Tamiflu. She has been left with a string of health problems and an enormous mountain

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Shot at work

IMAGINE going to work one day and being shot by a careless colleague. That is what happened to Keith Tilbury. The 999 call handler, shot in the chest during a firearms awareness course, has received an estimated £300,000 compensation from Thames

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Crazy for crocuses

Before the cold weather set in (over a month ago) I could see crocus buds aplenty and I fully expected to have them in flower by now. After the cold weather, which kept me penned into my village for three weeks, I am desperate for a sign of spring to

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Help garden visitors through the hard times

As I sit watching the swirling snowflakes through my window further thickening the already substantial covering of snow over the garden, I ponder on the staggering ability of birds, encased only in a mere bundle of feathers, to withstand such intense

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Top authors to appear at city festival

JOHN Le Carré and Martin Amis will head an impressive line-up of hundreds of writers appearing at The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival. This year’s festival will run from March 20 to March 28 at Christ Church. Le Carré will give a lecture in the

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Garden of the Year Photographic Competition and Exhibition: Blenheim

On the Wild Shotover Ramble on Boxing Day, I found myself musing in front of the oldest oak on the walk, thinking that it was probably just 25 when King Charles held his parliament in Oxford, during the Civil War. Simon Norfolk’s dramatic photograph

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The natural path to health

As a nation we are becoming more sedentary, more obese and more depressed. An estimated 22 per cent of the UK adult population is classed as obese and as many as one in four is likely be affected by a mental health problem at some point in their lives

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Paul Davies: Oxford Concerto Orchestra

Forty years: not many conductors spend that long at the helm of the same orchestra. But Paul Davies has been in charge of the Oxford Concerto Orchestra ever since he founded it the best part of half a century ago. “We got together one Saturday afternoon

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New home for storytelling

To many it is not in the least fanciful to describe Oxford as the Hollywood of children’s literature. With a list of greats stretching from Lewis Carroll, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien to Philip Pullman, it seems that Oxford has always been the home of

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Dim view of lights

Sir – Pat Whitehouse (Letters, January 14) says I should not come in to Oxford if I do not approve of the Christmas lights. My absence will not make the lights any less wasteful of our resources. Is it compulsory to be environmentally irresponsible

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Meeting rescheduled

Sir – The revised Oxford Pensioners’ Action Group meeting on Tuesday, January 26, has been cancelled. The next scheduled public meeting will be held in Oxford Town Hall on Wednesday, April 14, at 2pm. As the Budget will likely have been held

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Ill-conceived plan

Sir – Am I the only person who thinks that the idea of building another 7,000 houses in West Oxfordshire is lunacy? The whole of the Government’s South-East Plan, from which this figure derives, is predicated on moving millions of extra people into

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Swine flu drug reaction victim didn't have virus

A TEENAGER who suffered a severe reaction to swine flu drug Tamiflu was later told she had not even contracted the virus. Samantha Millard had taken Tamiflu after advice from the NHS swine flu helpline, but 72 hours later she was in hospital

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Australian Blends, £68

The blending of different grape varieties provides the winemaker with the potential to produce a wine that is greater than the sum of its component parts. When the grapes work together in harmony they can resonate and bring out the best in each other.

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Colossal waste

Sir – I was very sorry to see Borders close, such a useful place to shelter from the rain while waiting for a bus, but I am equally sorry to see the colossal waste of electricity in the old store. Every day and night since its closure the extensive

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Vision for Abingdon

Sir – The Vale of White Horse is conducting a consultation process, and one of the topics for discussion is the redevelopment of Abingdon precinct area. I found myself agreeing with a man who was passionately regretting the wanton destruction of fine

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Late-night theatre

Sir – At midnight on the day of the last General Election, research suggests that two-thirds of all those watching the television were watching election coverage on one channel or another. According to the BBC, just under 15 million viewers watched

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Tram-trains to Witney

Sir – The complaint about the lack of road capacity in Witney (Report, January 14) with 3,000 proposed new homes and Carterton (1,500 new homes) emphasises the need for improved transport facilities. It is time to shake the dust off the Mott MacDonald

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Salt solution

Oxfordshire County Council has defended itself against critics of its road-gritting operation. There is no question that it was hamstrung by Government instructions to all local authorities to reduce the amount of gritting to only the ‘A’ routes in order

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A good plan

Taking decisions on planning applications is not for the faint-hearted, particularly when the subjects are controversial. Whatever anyone says, making decisions on individual planning applications has little to do with democracy. The rules say planning

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Summon up courage

Sir – I am a great fan of The Oxford Times but sometimes I wish you’d hit your sub-editors over the head with a rolled-up copy of it, as I was frequently when learning the trade (on the Harrogate Herald not The Oxford Times). In your item

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Clear education needs

Sir – As I write, thousands of pounds is being spent by Oxfordshire County Council to build a new classroom at St Ebbe’s School, to accommodate ‘rising fives’, who are at present attending the wonderful Grandpont Nursery School just down the road

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Riotous behaviour

Sir – Four policemen have been tobogganing on riot shields on Boars Hill (Report, January 14). How else can four young chaps use riot shields on Boars Hill, especially with all that lovely snow about? Roger Martin-Mason, Oxford

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Winter sights

Sir – Thank you for printing the picture of a snow plough – it is nice to know what they look like. Please will you now give us a picture of a council refuse lorry? Alan Broad, Headington

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Pioneering researcher

Sir – Chris Gray (Judging the impact of an earlier decade, Weekend, December 31) touches upon the sociological and ethnographic work in Oxford of the late John Macfarland Mogey and might like to have provided readers with a source for his quotation

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World heritage site

Sir – John Thompson (Letters, January 7) sees the refurbished Ashmolean and a fence in Wolvercote as signs that in cultural terms the underperforming Oxford has ‘found its touch’. I hope that he is right, and that we see many other projects to enrich

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Aspirational statement

Sir – According to the city website “Oxford City Council staff have been working to ensure that Oxford is kept clear of snow and ice . . . Oxford City Council officers have been ensuring that residents have been able to get to work, get to school, get

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Spirit sadly lacking

Sir – In response to Keith Mitchell, leader of Oxfordshire County Council’s comments (January 7) that each householder or shopkeeper take a shovel and clean the pavement in front of their house or shop — this is exactly what happens in other parts of

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Make the buses free

Sir – There is a simple and effective way to regulate the use of the park-and-ride car parks; charge for parking and make the buses free. Not only would this encourage families and groups to use the buses rather than drive into town, it would remove

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Storm brews over Oxford planning shake-up

CONTROVERSIAL proposals that would give councillors and the public just one chance to consider big planning applications have been described as an “affront to democracy”. Legal officers at Oxford City Council want to shake up the planning process

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Haggis and wine can go together but do be bold

It has taken me the best part of four years, but I have finally got my own little website off the ground. I am disproportionately excited about it given that just about everyone has one these days but it is there, it is done and I hope you will