Archive
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Oxford United taken to extra time by brave Kidlington
Hellenic Leaguers Kidlington took a strong Oxford United side to extra time in the Oxfordshire Senior Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night before the U’s edged through 3-2. United, who fielded several first-teamers, had Billy Turley to thank for some
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40 caught in police checks
Forty drivers were caught in two Oxfordshire roadside police checks today. During a two-hour check on Buckland Road, Bampton, a total of 25 drivers were found to be exceeding the 30mph speed limit. Sixteen of the drivers have been
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'Mummy, I need a oui!'
THE Entente Cordiale is flourishing in Oxford where children as young as three are being taught both French and English at a pioneering nursery. The 12 pupils at Iffley Montessori Nursery School, in Church Way, learn everything in both languages except
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Police net drug ring after raids
POLICE targeted a network of cannabis gangs with six simultaneous drugs raids. Officers smashed their way into a warehouse at Warren Barn Farm, in Little Milton, near Thame, shortly after 8am today and found 147 mature cannabis plants hidden
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Planning changes are rejected
CONTROVERSIAL proposals that would have given city councillors just one chance to consider major planning applications have been dropped. Oxford City Council had been due to vote on Monday whether large planning applications should be considered by a
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Landlord prosecuted for unlawful eviction
A landlord who packed up his tenant’s possessions and removed them from her house while she was on holiday has been given a community order. Stoyan Manev, of Green Road, Headington, Oxford, admitted one count of unlawful eviction at Oxford Crown
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Holocaust victims are remembered
CIVIC and religious leaders joined members of the public to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. Between 30 and 40 people stood in silence on the steps of Oxford Town Hall today to remember the victims of the Jewish holocaust and other genocides. Lord Mayor
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Children's charity celebrates 10 years
AN OXFORDSHIRE charity for bereaved children will celebrate its 10th anniversary tonight. SeeSaw, which is based in Merewood Avenue, Headington, will host a private party for volunteers and supporters at the Bodleian Library’s Divinity School from 6pm
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£25m sports centre plans go on display
Oxford University’s Iffley Road Sports Centre will be unveiled to the public today. The university last night released artists' impressions of what the centre could look like if a multi-million pound redevelopment goes ahead. The £25m
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Crackdown on bad landlords
A COMPULSORY licensing scheme for landlords is set to be introduced in Oxford. Today Oxford City Council announced it would adopt new powers designed to clamp down on bad landlords and improve the quality of private rented accommodation following
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Villages start food recycling
FOOD waste recycling has been rolled out to villages surrounding Bicester. Kitchen caddies were delivered this week to homes in villages including Ardley, Upper and Lower Heyford and Weston-on-the-Green. Next week villages including Islip,
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MP Harris to raise fire cuts in Parliament
OXFORD West and Abingdon MP Evan Harris has said he will raise the proposed cuts to the town’s fire cover in Parliament. Oxfordshire fire and rescue service says moving two full-time staff from its stations in Didcot and Abingdon will reduce county-wide
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Revamp starts on dilapidated park
CHILDREN on a Cumnor estate will soon be whizzing down a zip wire after demolition work began to tear down their dilapidated playground and replace it with a new £100,000 play park. For years the Pinnocks Way play park in Dean Court has sported only
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LINDA HACKETT: Our 'lovely lady'
A POPULAR face at Oxford United and a Marston primary school will be remembered as “our lovely lady”. Linda Hackett died on Friday following a battle with cancer that lasted 15 years. The 54-year-old, from Sandford-on-Thames, was well known in the office
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FRED DAWSON: Man who dug up hoard of treasure
A LABOURER who discovered a rare hoard of gold coins at Childrey Manor in 1937 has died. Fred Dawson, who died aged 98 at The Crown Nursing Home, Harwell, on January 17, was a well-known character in Wantage. He enjoyed a moment of fame in April 1937
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MEINEKE COX: Champion of Abingdon local history
ONE of Abingdon’s best known historians has died, aged 80. Mieneke Cox, who passed away last month, was born in Holland in 1928 where she studied history at the University of Utrecht. She met her future husband, George, on a walking holiday in the Lake
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A weekly update from the corridors of power
A red-face moment for Oxford city councillor Antonia Bance on Monday when she was accused of swearing at a member of the public. Ms Bance, right, was alleged to have uttered the words “Bloody rubbish, what bloody rubbish” on hearing what was said during
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New independence
Andrew Smith MP is using parliamentary expenses to pay for literature telling us that he is, “making a stand when independence is right”. Presumably, we are to infer that independence would have been wrong every time he failed to make a stand – voting
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It is vital school is run democratically
WE, the undersigned, call on Oxfordshire County Council to ensure that the governance of Oxford School properly reflects democratic principles and the right of appropriately balanced representation from parents, staff and community partners. The Interim
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Residents get ready for battle over Wallingford housing plans
A NEW lobby group will lead attempts to stop South Oxfordshire District Council earmarking fields north of Wallingford for 750 new homes. Members of the ‘No To Site A’ group said a council-commissioned report by urban design consultancy Studio Real was
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Bus promise
PLEASE could somebody from each of our local political parties – who has the ear of their party leaders – please ask them if old age pensioners’ free bus passes will be safe in the hands of whoever wins the General Election. We don’t want vote-winning
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Ransom travesty
The way that David Miliband has handled the the kidnap of Britons Paul and Rachel Chandler [kidnapped by pirates in the Indian Ocean] has been an absolute disgrace. Gordon Brown should sack this incompetent minister. Mr Miliband states
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Fears over phone
After several letters here concerning the use of mobile phones by motorists, I was pleased to see a reply from Thames Valley Police (Oxford Mail, January 19). While it is encouraging to read that the police do recognise this problem, the issuing of 518
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Disquiet over plans for thousands of homes in Wantage
PROPOSALS for thousands of new homes in Wantage and Grove were met with disquiet by residents during consultation. They packed into Charlton Village Hall to voice their concern at plans to build 4,900 homes by 2026. They include 2,500 at the former airfield
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Police watchdog inquiry on Witney rough sleeper death
THE death of a man whose body was found above Witney’s Post Office will be investigated by the police watchdog. The body was discovered at 9am yesterday on the second floor of offices in Market Square. The man, who is thought to have been sleeping rough
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Thieves steal disabled mum's 'lifeline' wheelchair
A DISABLED woman has pleaded with thieves to return her wheelchair. Mother-of-three Lisa Dunn, from Cowley, has had her manually operated chair stolen from outside her house in Church Hill Road, along with her youngest child’s pushchair.
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RUGBY UNION: Burke rewarded by Witney debut
Witney assistant coach John Campbell has hailed prop Jamie Burke’s emergence as a first-team player. Burke made his debut in Witney’s 36-0 victory over Beaconsfield in Southern Counties North on Saturday, which capped quite a transformation. Campbell
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Fury as bridge work is dropped
RESIDENTS fear they have been left defenceless against flooding after a promised new bridge was scrapped. Seven households in The Heath, Milton-under-Wychwood, have been flooded up to three times in as many years. They were told that the nearby Church
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RUGBY UNION: Bulls show strength
Banbury Bulls are showing the right battling qualities as their promotion push gathers pace in Midlands 2 East South. That is the view of player-coach Grant Holmes whose side face a potential title decider at home to Market Harborough on February 13.
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RUGBY UNION: Socking it to them
Oxford University players (from left): Dylan Jones, Rhodri James, Sam Beer, Michael Harris and David Keys show off the Help For Heroes socks they are wearing this term in support of the charity.
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RUGBY UNION: Morris in Lisbon double
Oxford University wing Sean Morris is set to play in Lisbon for the second Saturday running after being named in the England Students squad to face Portugal. Morris was in the Dark Blues side that lost 24-18 last week and will now hope for another start
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BAR BILLIARDS: Get your entries
The closing date for the Oxfordshire Open, which will be held at Didcot Conservative Club on Saturday, February 13, is this weekend, January 31. The draw will take place at the Gladiators Club on Tuesday, February 2. Entries to Pete Ewins.
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BAR BILLIARDS: Sheard seals it
Kennington Social Club strengthened their lead at the top of the Premier Section in the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League after a convincing 4-1 win at Democrats, writes PETE EWINS. Mark Trafford (8,790), Ian Gordon (3,350) and Kevin Godfrey (6,320) reeled
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RUGBY UNION: Taking on the best in the world
As well as selecting a team, the panel were asked for the outstanding memory of their time with Oxford. For Ray Tapper and David Bagnall, it had to be playing against London Welsh in the John Player Cup at Old Deer Park in 1971. “They had six or seven
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RUGBY UNION: Oxford RFC centenary timeline
June 7, 1909: Oxfordshire Nomads RFC formed. October 2, 1909: First match – a 24-3 victory over St Edward’s School. October 17, 1919: Oxfordshire Nomads disbanded due to number of players killed during the war. October 21, 1921
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RUGBY UNION: Stalwarts roll back the years
When Oxfordshire Nomads defeated St Edward’s School 24-3 in their inaugural match on October 2nd 1909, it was the start of a journey that continues today. Nomads, who became Oxford RFC in 1947, survived two world wars and many highs and lows, but the
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Lice-busters!
Head lice are an unpleasant business — and one that parents struggle to cope with. Treatments can be messy, ineffective, and expensive — but one innovative company has come to the rescue. You can put this nitty problem in the hands of professionals at
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RUGBY UNION: Marr at double
Oxford University kicked off their 2010 home campaign with a 38-14 win over the RAF at Iffley Road last night. Fly half Charlie Marr led the way by going over for two tries and he also added one conversion. Other tries followed from Will Browne, Australian
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Stop bashing parents!
Being a parent has to be the hardest job in the world, but it can also be the most rewarding. Jill Berry, president of the Girls’ Schools Association, explains why children do want – and need – boundaries to reassure them that they are loved
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Playground birdwatch
The biggest survey of the birdlife in UK schools took place throughout January, with hundreds of children in Oxfordshire watching excitedly to find out which creatures share their playgrounds. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ (RSPB) annual
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Emma plans to be real-life OX5 Wally
HOSPITAL play specialist Emma Soper is planning to wear stripes in this year’s OX5 Run so she looks like the elusive character in Where’s Wally — the popular children’s books. Mrs Soper, 29, from Chipping Norton, has worked at Oxford Children
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Mobile classroom
Most schools in Oxfordshire and the rest of the country either ban mobile phones altogether or view them as a nuisance that has no place during lesson time. However, the tide could be turning as an increasing number of teachers come round to the idea
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SATs on the scrapheap?
W hen and how we should test our children — and what we should do with their results — is a subject which gets teachers and parents hot under the collar. Since the marking fiasco over the Key Stage 2 SATs in 2008, when results were repeatedly
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Building on tradition
Nestling unobtrusively alongside St Mary’s Church at Church Green, Witney, Henry Box School presents an image of cosy tranquillity. For more than 300 years this was the town’s grammar school, and for much of that time it was for boys only. It became
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Is science really just a matter of choice?
The type and breadth of science teaching in schools is vitally important to ensure lessons are both fun and full of learning. Here, Dr Giles Preston explains his passion for the subject. T he first time it dawned on me that I was capable of making
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Cutting-edge talks inspire more than 10,000 pupils
GCSE Science Live! was created to inspire thousands of 15 and 16 year-olds to take science further than GCSE. Here, Dr Kate Lancaster, who works at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, reflects on her experiences with the programme When I
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Hip-hop artist tackles knife crime
A TEENAGE hip-hop artist is hoping his hard-hitting lyrics will help “rap up” knife crime. Rapper Aaron Coleman says seeing other young people fall into a life of crime inspired him to record a song about the consequences of youth violence. And tomorrow
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Foreign territory
New rules forcing parents to undergo Criminal Records Bureau checks in order to host children on foreign language exchange trips are still causing problems for many schools, despite having been scrapped. The regulations were part of the government’s
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Academies — a decade of debate
W hen academies were first promoted by the Government, they were heralded as a way to combat decades of under-achievement and unlock millions of pounds. But there was fierce opposition about the prospect of handing over so much responsibility and
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Residents fear floods as £100k scheme dropped
RESIDENTS fear they have been left defenceless against flooding after a promised new bridge was scrapped. Seven households in The Heath, Milton-under-Wychwood, have been flooded up to three times in as many years. They were told that
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Why I'm still dubious about the Michelin Man
The Michelin Guide awarded its highly coveted two-star restaurant rating to Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons in 1984 before it had served a single meal – a remarkable lapse from its much-vaunted standards that I noticed and at once exposed
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The Magdalen Arms, Iffley Road, Oxford
Excellent reports have been reaching me for a couple of months concerning the revamped Magdalen Arms, in Iffley Road, and the superb quality of its food. I can recall no bigger buzz about a new place in more than three decades of covering the
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Building a business on the best of veg
It was at least one degree below freezing. Everyone was wrapped in fluffy hats and scarves as they plodded through the icy white streets of my home village of Eynsham to buy provisions for the weekend. Most people wanted to get their shopping done quickly
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Recipe for cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup: serves 6
Jerusalem artichokes are knobbly little winter root vegetables that are very difficult to peel without waste because of their shape. This problem can be overcome by scrubbing them vigorously and leaving their skins on. Alternatively, cut off all the knobbly
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Edge of Darkness
Award-winning, meaty British television dramas are providing plentiful food for thought across the pond in Hollywood. Last year, Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams headlined an accomplished distillation of the Bafta award-winning 2003 mini-series
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Real Estate: Jericho Tavery
New Jersey boys Real Estate couldn’t sound less like where they come from. New Jersey is to America’s musical history, what Manchester is to Britain’s. It’s industrial, it’s grey, it’s wet and it’s very very cold a lot of the time. It has given us Bruce
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Chicago: Milton Keynes Theatre
Unlike those dedicated individuals who have seen Phantom 50 or 100 times and Les Mis perhaps even more, I am not a repeated attender of stage musicals. Yet I have seen – and loved – John Kander and Fred Ebb’s Chicago on at least half a dozen occasions
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Children of Gaza under Fire
Children’s paintings can be a powerful witness to the experiences and pains they have suffered. Those on show at The Gallery in Oxford Town Hall certainly are. While children in the UK are using their crayons to depict smiley pictures of mummy and daddy
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Victoria Pearson: O3 Gallery
The dramatic landscape of Iceland is the subject matter of Victoria Pearson’s superb photographs, on show at the O3 Gallery, Oxford Castle, until February 14. Victoria is a self-taught artist who only began taking photography seriously when she visited
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Status Quo, New Theatre, Oxford
It’s so easy to poke fun at Status Quo, and their critics have had enormous fun over the years doing just that. But the newly-OBE’d Parfitt and Rossi – the latter now minus his trademark ponytail – clearly couldn’t care less. Though already entitled
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ATHLETICS: Bellinger lands county title
Oxford City’s Darrell Bellinger was crowned senior men’s champion at the 2010 Oxfordshire Cross Country Championships at Middleton Cheney, near Banbury, on Sunday. The event, postponed from two weeks earlier due to the heavy snow, attracted a smaller
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Six Degrees of Separation: The Old Vic, London
John Guare’s 1990 stage (and later film) success Six Degrees of Separation is witty, incident-packed and utterly gripping throughout the 90 minutes it plays, without interval, across the wide, all but empty vista of the Old Vic stage. The action
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ATHLETICS: Oxon XC Championships results
Senior men (top ten): 1 D Bellinger (Oxford C) 35.33, 2 C Gillespie (WHH) 36.08, 3 S Fisher (Abingdon) 36.23, 4 P Fernandez (Abingdon) 36.36, 5 O Ellis (Abingdon) 36.49, 6 J Robertson (Oxford C) 37.27, 7 P Jegou (WHH) 37.51, 8 T Wright (Banbury H) 38.38
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ATHLETICS: Glastonbury leads way for Radley juniors
Rhys Glastonbury took the honours in the under 20 men’s race, as Radley and Oxford City dominated the junior events at the Oxfordshire Cross Country Championships at Middleton Cheney. Glastonbury clocked 40mins 02secs over the 10km course to win the
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Preview of The Maccabees at The Regal, Cowley Road
Having ended 2009 with their second album Wall of Arms featuring heavily in every music scribe’s best of the year, indie rock quintet The Maccabees are set to rock the Regal on Wednesday. Made up of singer Orlando Weeks, guitarists and brothers Hugo
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ATHLETICS: Stepney sets up
PETE Stepney, of Abingdon Amblers, became the veteran 45 champion at the British Masters Indoor Pentathlon at Lee Valley. Stepney scored 2565 points – 247 ahead of his nearest rival – thanks to the following displays: 60m hurdles 11.22secs, long jump
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Die Fledermaus
As I write, my head is still whirring with a myriad melodies from Die Fledermaus, following Opera della Luna’s exhilarating production at the Playhouse last week. This is partly due, of course, to the genius of Richard Strauss, but also to director
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Going Down: OFS Studio
Coming out of Darren A. Furniss’s Going Down, I was asking myself many questions. Unfortunately, they weren’t to do with the play’s themes of morality and sin; they concerned why this play ever made it out of the Edinburgh Fringe. The action centres
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David O'Doherty: OFS Studio
‘Every review I read about me always seems to say the same thing. They always go: “He’s good, if you like that sort of thing,” says rising stand up David O’Doherty to a loud laugh from a full OFS Studio. Which is a bit odd, as Irishman O’Doherty is really
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GOLF: BB&O academy gets thumbs-up
THE Berks, Bucks & Oxon Golf Partnership’s Junior Academy programme has been commended at the annual Invesco Perpetual Awards evening. Nine centres across the three counties, including Studley Wood and Hadden Hill, are involved in the project to fast-track
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AUNT SALLY: Deddington in groove for title
Deddington sealed the Banbury Indoor League in style with a 6-0 win over Bowling Green. Steve Arthurs, who hit a maximum the previous week, led the way with 14 dolls, including a six in the first leg. Punchbowl’s Pete Coates was the week’s top scorer
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ICE HOCKEY: Stars brought down to earth
Oxford City Stars’ joy at winning 2-1 at Wight-link Raiders in Division 1 South proved short-lived as they were then beaten 3-1 at home by the Islanders. Stars were without Dean Francis, Yousif Abu Saada and Nick Oliver for the trip to Ryde on the Isle
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CRICKET: Horspath keen to recruit umpires
HORSPATH CC are looking to recruit a fully-qualified umpire to represent the go-ahead club on the MP Sports Cherwell League panel. The club would also welcome umpires to cover their 2nd, 3rd and 4th XI games on Saturdays, and to help with Sunday League
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Local share prices
AEA Technology 25 BMW 2586 Electrocomponents 176.5 Gladstone 27.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 89.5 Oxford Biomedica 11.25 Oxford Catalysts 50.5 Oxford Instruments 246.5 Reed Elsevier 499.1
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Bicester man on drugs charges
A 27-YEAR-OLD Bicester man has been charged with producing cannabis and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Christopher Hill, of Corncrake Way, was charged with the offences yesterday. Hill will appear at Banbury Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday
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Man faces drug charges
A 27-year-old man has been charged with producing cannabis and possession of cocaine with intent to supply. Christopher Hill, of Corncrake Way, Bicester, was charged with the offences yesterday, after a drugs raid on an address in Bicester on November
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Bogus police steal £150 from 86-year-old in Burford
Bogus police officers stole £150 from an 86-year-old woman in a distraction burglary in Burford. At about 9pm yesterday, two men knocked on an elderly woman’s door off Barns Lane, claiming to be police officers. The offenders were large
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Burglars posed as police
A BURFORD pensioner was robbed by two distraction burglars who claimed to be police officers. The 86-year-old woman had £150 stolen yesterday by men who knocked on her door claiming they had received a call from a neighbour stating her bedroom window
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Town to get new £3m youth centre
A YOUTH centre in Banbury used by almost 900 young people is set to be demolished and replaced with a £3m state-of-the-art building. The 1960s style building — home to Banbury Youth Centre, Woodgreen, — will close in June to make way for the multi-million
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City leave door ajar for rivals
In division 1 of the Oxfordshire league, the matches between Oxford City 1 and Cowley 1 more often than not decide the title. In the first match of this season, City had narrowly beaten Cowley by 3.4-2.5; but in the January 11 return, a beefed up City
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Torex pair charged with fraud
Two businessmen have been charged with offences in connection with the collapse of Witney-based Torex Retail, which went into administration in June 2007. Edwin Nessim Dayan and Christopher Mark Ford have been charged with conspiracy to defraud, false
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Four arrested in drugs raids
FOUR men have now been arrested following six simultaneous drugs raids this morning. Police are also examining a batch of cigarettes which they believe may be illegal following one of the raids at a pub in Thame.
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AA urges pothole repair funding
A rise in VAT profits from petrol could be diverted to repair all the potholes in the UK within 100 days, the AA has said. The average price at the pumps is currently more than 112p per litre compared with the typical £1 at this time of year, the
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Paramedics at crash scene
PARAMEDICS have been called to a collision involving two cars on a residential street in Didcot. Emergency services are in Abbott Road following the crash, which happened shortly before 7.30am. A spokesman for South Central Ambulance said there was
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One arrested following drugs raids
POLICE raided six properties simultaneously this morning. Officers are currently at an industrial unit in Warren Barn Farm, Little Milton, following a raid at 8.15am. Five other addresses, including three in Thame, have also been raided
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Oxford United close in on Hargreaves deal
Oxford United are closing in on the deal to bring Chris Hargreaves back to the club. The 37-year-old midfielder has expressed a strong desire to return to the Kassam Stadium to try to help the U’s win promotion. Torquay left him out of their squad
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Shaun plans to open a sanctuary for crocs
IT is unlikely Shaun Foggett will be bothered by burglars any time soon. The 30-year-old has a collection of pets that should keep unwelcome visitors at bay. Mr Foggett keeps 24 crocodiles and alligators in his Witney home and now wants to open a
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Well protected from burglars
AS WE report today, west Oxfordshire’s very own Steve Irwin, Shaun Foggett, won’t be having a lot of trouble with burglars. Mr Foggett keeps 24 crocodiles and alligators at his home in Witney and wants to build a sanctuary for them.
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We’re not clear of the storm yet
SOME people might have been fooled into believing that the economic gloom that has shrouded the country for the past 18 months suddenly lifted yesterday. Blaring headlines trumpeted: It’s Official — UK Out of Worst Ever Recession. If only it were that
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Caution urged over recession figures
OXFORDSHIRE’S financial experts last night said the county should brace itself for more economic gloom – despite tentative signs of growth. Business leaders yesterday heralded the beginning of the end for the recession which has blanketed the
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Teen's future secure after £2.5m payout
A WHEELCHAIR-bound teenager has won a £2.5m payout after he was left brain-damaged a day after his birth. Nathan Preece, from Bosley’s Orchard, Grove, has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism and suffers seizures. But the payout, secured
