Archive
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Last salute to a 'soldier's soldier'
MOURNERS paid tribute at the funeral of a bomb disposal officer who was killed in Afghanistan just weeks after shrugging off wounds and returning to the front line. Captain Daniel Read, of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, part of the
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Recovery in Mini sales gains pace
SALES of Oxford-built Minis in the UK were up more than 30 per cent year-on-year last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said today. In January 2,135 Minis were registered, compared with 3,859 in December, and 1,638 in January last
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Our scanners beat the terror bombers
POWERFUL new body scanners, which will be used to check passengers at UK airports, are being developed in Oxfordshire. The machines use state-of-the-art technology to reveal objects hidden under clothing such as explosives, weapons, or drugs. Didcot-based
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Oxford United's dual mission
Oxford United will be eager to set the record straight on two counts on Saturday. They want to overturn their 3-1 defeat by Kidderminster last November, and make amends for their last home league performance, when they lost 1-0 to Tamworth
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Oxford United physio expecting busy time
With Oxford United about to enter a hectic schedule of matches – probably having to play Saturday and midweek for the next 13 weeks – one person who knows he’s going to be in for a busy time is physio Jon Brown. The toll that so many games
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Oxford United face testing run
By the time they next play in the FA Trophy, Oxford, and for that matter, rivals Stevenage and York, will have a clearer picture of how hard the challenge for promotion is going to be. Before the Trophy quarter-finals on February 20, Oxford have four
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Luton v Oxford United set for sell out
Ticket had virtually sold out this afternoon for Oxford United’s all-ticket Blue Square Premier game against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road next Tuesday. Oxford United supporters without a valid ticket for this match should not travel to this game. United
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Boxing Day 2 ... the sequel
Supporters group OxVox are calling on Oxford fans to recreate the spirit of Christmas by designating the Histon fixture a week on Saturday as Boxing Day 2. Around 10,000 fans were expected for the December 26 fixture against Rushden, with the
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Feast of music to aid Help for Heroes
A MUSIC festival will celebrate its 21st birthday by raising funds for the forces charity Help for Heroes. Chalgrove Live Music Festival started as an afternoon of folk music in the back garden of a small village pub. Over the past two
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Local share prices (PM)
AEA Technology 23.5 BMW 2670 Electrocomponents 179.6 Gladstone 27.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 88 Oxford Biomedica 11.5 Oxford Catalyst 45.5 Oxford Instruments 257.75 Reed Elsevier 492.3 RM 175 RPS Group 190.3 Courtesy
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Horspath residents rally to save chapel
AN EMERGENCY meeting is being held to try to secure the future of Horspath’s century-old Methodist chapel. The meeting was called after it emerged the chapel could be sold to developers. The Methodist Church said that due to dwindling numbers of worshippers
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Gum work is a sticky business
FOR as long as there is chewing gum, Dennis will never be out of work. A cheerful mountain of a man, working for a Portsmouth firm, Gum Clearer with his three mates, he said they were in the city to again remove the unsightly stuff from Gloucester Green
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Applaud actions taken by police
IN view of several letters by myself to this forum with reference to the use of mobile phones by drivers, I was greatly encouraged to read The Scales of Justice, (Oxford Mail, January 25). A printed reply to my critisism of Thames Valley Police and their
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Not a fun person if you don't like 2CVs
REGARDING Andrew Smith’s piece on the 2CV (Your Wheels, Oxford Mail, January 22) – he is obviously not an experienced driver nor a fun person! I have had my 2CV since 1990 having bought it new in Portugal. We bought it as it was cheaper than hiring
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Even Americans had to suffer the Marina
I FOUND Andrew Smith’s column on the Morris Marina interesting (Your Wheels in last Friday’s Oxford Mail). The car in your picture is the Marina TC Jubilee, which comes as standard with ‘sodium’ tinted glass. The Americans and Canadians
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Conservative's NHS claims are 'laughable'
SO the Tories claim that the NHS is safe in their hands, and David Cameron vows “to back the NHS”. That’s laughable when you consider the Conservatives’ history concerning the NHS over the past 30 years. I seem to remember Thatcher using the same slogan
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County’s cuts will be mean-spirited
The county council budget the Tories will push through next week means significant cuts in children’s services and in community care. It shows just what we will be in for, if Mr Cameron ever gets into 10 Downing Street. Youth services are still to
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FOOTBALL: I'm staying at Witney, says Lyne
Witney United boss Andy Lyne has vowed to stay on despite a second budget cut at the Polythene UK Stadium. Chairman Steve Lake said: “It was a tough decision to cut the playing budget, because of rising overheads and a downturn in function
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Illegal ballot anomaly
HAVING studied with interest the legal ruling on the British Airways strike ballot, and with the local elections fast approaching, may I point out the similarities and anomalies between the two issues? Mrs Justice Laura Cox declared the ballot was illegal
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Buoyant outlook for canalside pub
WHEN canal boat enthusiast Andrew Cannon floated past an Oxfordshire pub two years ago, he felt a tug of love. So when the Jolly Boatman, in Thrupp, came on the market late last year he wasted no time buying the lease with his business partner Craig
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FOOTBALL: Ford aiming to shock leaders
Oxford City boss Mike Ford has set his players a challenge – to wreck Farnborough’s unbeaten away record. The Hampshire side, who boast former Didcot Town midfielder Jack King, are nine points clear and Ford said they would have to put on one of their
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RUGBY UNION: Chinnor out to topple leaders
Chinnor head coach Jason Bowers insists they have nothing to lose when they visit National 3 South West leaders Taunton on Saturday. The Somerset club have now won a remarkable 40 consecutive league games and appear nailed on to clinch the
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RUGBY UNION: Wallingford's busy weekend
Wallingford head coach Chris Norrington admits his resources will be tested by a double-header this weekend. Norrington’s side visit Salisbury in South West 1 East on Saturday, then host Chipping Norton in the Oxfordshire Cup quarter-finals
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BADMINTON: Hungry Oxon bash Berks
Oxfordshire under 15s started 2010 in stunning fashion with a resounding 14-6 victory over a well-disciplined Berkshire squad. It was the determination displayed by a hungry Oxfordshire side that was the key to victory. Mixed double wins for Oxon came
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Gangsters take over Abingdon school hall
PUPILS at Larkmead School in Abingdon have been getting splattered during their production of musical gangster show Bugsy Malone this week. The show is based on the movie by director Alan Parker, which was filmed in 1976 with Jodie Foster starring as
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Musical star to start OX5 Run
SINGER Jason Donovan will take a break from his hectic theatre schedule to start this year’s OX5 Run. The former Neighbours star started the five-mile race around the grounds of Blenheim Palace in Woodstock three years ago, and said he was delighted
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ONE IN THREE: Fresh hope for the NHS
A Happy New Year. Yes, I’m back again; you can’t get rid of me that easily. I thought it best to give us both a break from all this boring old cancer stuff over the Christmas period, as it would be the last thing you want to read about while tucking into
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Fresh call for safety scheme
PARISH councillors have joined the fight for safety improvements at an Oxford road junction. Old Marston Parish Council has written a letter to every member of Oxfordshire County Council saying its members believe the decision not to improve a crossing
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Take a taxi ride to help Haiti
A TAXI driver is doing his bit to help victims of the Haiti earthquake. Tahirul Hasan Juned, pictured, will donate 10 per cent of his fares until Monday, February 15, to the Oxfam Haiti appeal. He has also been visiting shops near his Chipping Norton
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Model hopeful Emily is bidding for big time
A TEENAGER has beaten thousands of aspiring catwalk stars to land a place in the final of a national modelling competition. Emily Hadfield, of Shakespeare Road, Eynsham, is one of 25 contestants to reach the last stage of Top Model UK 2010. The 17-year-old
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Mum uses Facebook to boost dialysis campaign
A MOTHER is urging people to join a pressure group calling for a new kidney dialysis unit to be built in Oxfordshire. Julie Vincent’s 15-year-old daughter Kelly has nephrotic syndrome, which means her kidneys do not work correctly, and she may need dialysis
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Swimmers seek pools reprieve
MORE than 1,000 people have signed a petition to keep Oxford’s Temple Cowley Pools open, but their efforts appear to have been made in vain. Oxford City Council plans to shut the swimming pool and fitness centre and sell the site to help pay
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Retirement village jobs pledge
ABOUT 100 jobs will be created in south Oxfordshire when a £60m retirement village opens in Letcombe Regis. Bosses have promised jobs such as chefs, drivers, beauticians, carers and nurses will be filled by locals when the village opens in March. Residents
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Jaguar returns to Le Mans
Jaguar has confirmed it will return to the Le Mans 24 hours race this year. With a total of seven wins between 1951 and 1990, Jaguar is the single most successful British make in the race’s history. Jaguar will return to Le Mans this
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Tributes to bomb disposal officer
Mourners have paid tribute to a bomb disposal officer killed in Afghanistan just weeks after returning to the front following an injury in a previous explosion. Captain Daniel Read, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps
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County MPs 'in clear on expenses'
A detailed list of the expenses that Oxfordshire MPs had incorrectly claimed and were told to pay back has been made public today. However, none of the county’s six MPs has any outstanding balance to pay. Sir Thomas Legg published his
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INJURED BABY: Condition remains 'serious'
An injured baby remains in a serious condition in hospital today, following an incident on Tuesday. Police were called to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital on Tuesday night when doctors raised concerns about a baby’s injuries. A 16-year-old girl and
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EXPENSES PAYBACK: County MPs in the clear
A detailed list of the expenses that Oxfordshire MPs had incorrectly claimed and were told to pay back has been made public today. However, none of the county’s six MPs has any outstanding balance to pay. Sir Thomas Legg published his long-awaited
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Chips Ahoy
KATHERINE MACALISTER drops anchor at an Oxford pub with a fearsome reputation for fine food. My 11 year-old son paused while reading How Much Poo Does An Elephant Do? to recite this interesting fact. Quote, unquote: “90 per cent of restaurants
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A Spectre Calls
ANDREW FFRENCH is gripped by our latest Book of the Month by top author Sarah Waters. The Book: Sarah Waters is best known for her lesbian historical romps Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith. She branched out with her wartime
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Belfast Slink
GILL JAGGERS is pampered to within an inch of her life at luxury hotels in Northern Ireland. Three days of being pampered at luxury hotels in Northern Ireland – excellent! Arriving at the George Best Belfast City Airport I reflect on the
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Captain Marvel
INVICTUS (12A). Drama. Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Adjoa Andoh, Tony Kgoroge, Patrick Mofokeng, Matt Stern, Julian Lewis Jones. Director: Clint Eastwood. On February 11, 1990, when Nelson Mandela walked free from Robben Island after
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Maid of Orleans
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (U). Comedy. Featuring the voices of Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Terrence Howard, Oprah Winfrey, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings. Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker. In
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Mack Attack
KATHERINE MACALISTER quizzes TV and stand-up star Lee Mack on his very down-to-earth approach to comedy. Lee Mack is back – and as unapologetic as ever. Because he’s the first to point out that while he’s not trendy or cutting edge, he just
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Fletch Lives
Shaun Williamson tells KATHERINE MACALISTER how he went about taking on Ronnie Barker’s iconic role in the stage version of Porridge. THE urge to call him Barry rather than Shaun had me digging my fingers into my palms. ‘Just think of
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FIXTURES February 5
SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. Oxford Utd v Kidderminster. PUMA YOUTH ALLIANCE. Under 18 South West Conference: Oxford Utd Youth v AFC Bournemouth. ZAMARETTO SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div:
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Talent Spotted
The residents of Witney share their mid-week night out secret with a wide-eyed RICHARD BELL at Fat Lil’s. Having spent almost all of my time in Oxford partying in the city centre or clubbing at some destination along the Cowley Road, I find
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Mini sales update
THE Cowley-built Mini was shunted out of the January league table of the UK's top ten best-selling cars by its main rival, the Fiat 500. Mini sales in the UK shot up more than 30 per cent in January, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
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ROWING: Hinksey race in for gold
Hinksey Sculling School produced a gold medal-winning performance in the Thames Valley Trial Head at Dorney Lake on Sunday. Their crew of Dan Bowen, Johnny Kruip, Freddie Myatt, Tim Swan (pictured left to right) won the J16 coxless fours, beating six
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Group Hugs
Tim Hughes talks to the gentleman of country-rock, Danny George Wilson, one of the stars of this weekend’s Equitruck. HIS warm and dreamy country-rock has the magic to transform live performances into misty-eyed love-ins. And Danny George
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Duo Have Earned |Their Stripes
THEY look like them, sound like them and even party like them. To all intents and purposes Jonny B Jack and Nelly B Meg ARE the White Stripes. Cunningly named The Stripe Whites, this East Oxford drum and guitar double act are as close to the Detrioit
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Heidfeld signs for Mercedes GP
The Brackley-based Mercedes Petronas team have signed Nick Heidfeld as reserve race driver and test driver for the 2010 Formula One season. He completes the team's line-up with race drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Like Michael
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Off The Scale
Tim Hughes talks to Oxford saxophonist Adam Waldmann of super cool jazz quartet Kairos 4tet. IN THE best jazz tradition, the Kairos 4tet never play the same set twice. In fact they never really play the same song twice. This young quartet
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Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 23 BMW 2721 Electrocomponents 179.9 Gladstone 27.25 Nationwide Accident Repair 88.5 Oxford Biomedica 11.6 Oxford Catalyst 45.5 Oxford Instruments 253.5 Reed Elsevier 503.5 RM 177.5 RPS Group 193.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley
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House prices rose 1.6% in 2009
HOUSE prices in Oxfordshire rose by 1.6 per cent in 2009, according to figures from the Government’s Land Registry. The average price of a property in the county in December was £228,317 — £3,624 more than in December 2008 and a 0.4 per cent rise. It
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Young Enterprise fair
MORE than 100 teenagers gathered in Cowley to give shoppers a glimpse of the entrepreneurs of the future. The youngsters, representing schools from across Oxfordshire, set up their stalls at the Templars Square Shopping Centre for the Young Enterprise
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Tightly woven web
RUBY’S SPOON Anna Lawrence Pietroni (Chatto & Windus, £12.99) Oxford University graduate Anna Lawrence Pietroni’s debut novel of mysterious quests and tragic histories is a rich, tightly woven web. It’s marketed as a tale
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New fiction
Some novels you read not for pleasure or escapism, but for the ‘factual’ information that they impart, which may be unattainable elsewhere. Yiyun Li’s book The Vagrants (Fourth Estate, £7.99) definitely comes into this category. It is a novel, but reads
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Crisis of Brilliance
A photograph of a picnic taken in 1912 inspired David Boyd Haycock to write A Crisis of Brilliance. The moment he saw the group of young artists from the Slade School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture, gathered together for a formal picture, he knew
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'It could be you'
Early advertisements for the National Lottery, brainchild of prime minister John Major in 1994, featured a finger in the sky pointing to a single individual in a crowd with the slogan: “It could be you.” Now Big National Lottery Awards, in a bid to advertise
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Mr Geoff Hedge, chief property writer of The Oxford Times
Geoff Hedge, chief property writer with The Oxford Times, died suddenly last week at the age of 58. Mr Hedge, who had worked at the newspaper for 20 years, was brought up in Littlemore and attended the local grammar school. After leaving
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Palm's Delicatessen on market
Whether you want caviar or tinned snails, for those who take their food seriously there is nowhere that cuts it quite like Palm’s Delicatessen in the Covered Market, Oxford. Now after almost a decade of selling speciality food Ailsa Goodall is preparing
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Clampdown on student ghettos
NEW measures to combat the growth of student ghettos across Oxford will target bad landlords and rowdy students. Oxford Brookes University has announced plans to pay for its own police support officers to ensure “responsible behaviour” of its students
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Mr Stewart Pether, St Edward's School master
Geography master Stewart Pether, who survived when a bullet hit his brandy flask during the D-Day landings, died on January 17, aged 93. Born into an Oxfordshire farming family in 1916, he became a pupil at Magdalen College School, Oxford, where his
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Franny back in business for Oxford United
Striker Franny Green says he’s relieved that Oxford United fans are now seeing just what he’s made of. The 29-year-old forward, who joined from Kettering, has plenty of Football League experience behind him with Peterborough, Lincoln, Boston
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A fine line on paying for Pcsos
THAMES Valley Police is walking a fine line with its scheme allowing private organisations to ‘buy’ Police Community Support Officers. Funding of Pcsos was always going to be a tricky issue when they were first introduced by the Government. Central
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An icon of Market values
SINCE 1953, Palm’s Delicatessen has been one of the cornerstones that gives Oxford’s Covered Market its unique identity. As news comes that the market will now open permanently on Sundays, it is also revealed that Ailsa Goodall is trying to sell Palm
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Sunday trading to go permanent at Covered Market
Oxford’s historic Covered Market will open on Sundays on a permanent basis, the Oxford Mail can reveal. In May last year, the city council launched a Sunday trading trial at the 18th century market to see how many traders would be in favour of the move
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Roads for all vehicles
Sir – The A415 is the major trade route between Abingdon and Witney. All vehicles which are legal and have paid all of their taxes should be able to use all roads. At the moment, there is a weight restriction at Newbridge because of the state of the
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Time to pay to park
Sir – I moved into Witney from a nearby village because I wished to leave my car at home and to walk to work. The distance from my house to Bridge Street Mills is less than a ten-minute walk. The time taken is often double this trying to cross Bridge
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Reckless with resources
Sir – A succesion of your readers have tried to trivialise my concern about the wastefulness of Christmas lighting. Thank you for publishing their objections, as that proves my point — that too many people are reckless about the misuse of our precious
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Shiny metaphor
Sir – Is not Marriotts Walk shopping centre, that was opened at the end of October by ‘local boy’ David Cameron MP, a rather neat analogy for the party he represents? All shiny and new on the outside with a few superficial good things targeted at
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Search for airman’s past
Sir – My name is Mike Kleinlugtebeld, 39, and I live in a town named Zwolle in the county of Overrijssel in the east of the Netherlands. I am researching the air war in and around my home town during the Second World War. My main goal is
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Two good ideas
Sir – Two good ideas for Oxford in one week! The suggestions of the Crown Estate taking over Westgate and city council compulsory purchase of the Jericho boatyard are developments in the right direction. Being public land, the Westgate land ought to
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Free-for-all must stop
Sir – Whilst Ken Weavers has a valid point, that people ought to be able to do some of the separation of recyclable materials (Letters, January 28) the council faces a dilemma: many people see recycling as unnecessary and a bother. The council
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Ridiculous waste
Sir – Pamela Vivian is exactly to the point in indicating that incineration of waste is a dead policy, especially given recently improved rates of recycling (Letters, January 28). I would add that incineration is a ridiculous waste of resources. It
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Relative standards
Sir – Your recent report of local schools’ results, highlighting Faringdon Community College as ‘top state secondary’ in last summer’s league tables, masks interesting detail. Discounting debates about politicians setting curricula; the perils
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Undemocratic system
Sir – In your report of the poor quality of mobile phone reception in Oxfordshire (Report, January 28) you state that James Elles is the European MEP who has special responsibility for Oxfordshire. Quite where he gained that special responsibility
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Many joys of rural life
Sir – There are many joys to be had in living in rural north west Oxfordshire, between Woodstock and Chipping Norton, but decent mobile and broadband strengths are not ones. James Elles’ points are well made. And why does it have to be our MEP who
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Lack of communication
Sir – I would like to add my voice to your paper’s comments and those of James Elles MEP concerning the sorry state of mobile phone reception in rural Oxfordshire. I operate an Orange phone for business reasons and a Vodafone one for personal
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20mph limit needed for safety
Sir – Thank you for publicising our campaign to reduce the speed limit past Cherwell School (January 14th). We note the negative comments received but it is overwhelmingly the opinion of the Cherwell community (staff, parents, students and
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Appalling reception
Sir – Not for the first time, James Elles MEP has hit the nail on the head. Mobile phone reception in Oxfordshire generally, and in much of Woodstock, is appalling. What makes this worse is that customers are duped by network coverage maps into buying
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Too simple to be true
Sir – Jeremy Mogford is, and always has been, absolutely right about the appalling volume of bus traffic in St Aldates and The High (Report, January 21). For my part, I am delighted to see cars excluded but the effect has merely exacerbated the problem
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Prosecco and Pinot Grigio, £76
Here we have a mixed case full of the two trendiest wines on the market and they are both Italian. Prosecco first came to fame in the 1930s, when Harry’s Bar in Venice invented the Bellini cocktail using Prosecco and peach juice. Pinot Grigio became popular
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You can now try a Japanese wine with your sushi
My decision to buy a Nintendo Wii for Christmas was more than a bit surprising; I do not much like computer games and I get more than a bit irritated at the endless volumes of intermittently-used technology left strewn around these days. As a result,
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Pool must be local
Sir – In my back yard — that’s where I want a swimming pool: in Cowley, as is the case at present. It is also what is promised under the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016: Policy SR.1 — Protection of Indoor Sports Facilities. In addition, the
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University 'buys' two PCSOs for £62,000 each
OXFORD Brookes University is buying a pair of police community support officers (PCSOs) to patrol its campus, the Oxford Mail can reveal. Thames Valley Police also said it was open to offers from other businesses which wanted to buy pscos. The university
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Two arrested over injuries to baby
TWO teenagers were arrested after a baby girl suffered injuries consistent with being assaulted. Police were called to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital on Tuesday night when doctors raised concerns about the injuries of the baby which had been brought
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Impact of dementia in Oxfordshire underestimated
A HUSBAND whose wife suffers from dementia last night backed calls for increased funding for research into the condition. Mike Sammons, 73, of Marston, Oxford, helps care for his wife Loni, 81, who is one of about 7,000 people across the county suffering
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My Wonderful Day: Oxford Playhouse
“I like to frighten myself as a writer,” Alan Ayckbourn said, “and I called my casting director and told him that the central character for this play, who is on stage the whole time, is a nine-year-old Afro-Caribbean child. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘thanks
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The Queen's new man in county
The Queen has, down the years, been represented in Oxfordshire by other men with close ties to Eton College, but surely never one quite like Monawar Hussain. The last time I met Mr Hussain, at the petrol station in Clifton Hampden that he has run
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Licensed to rent
Activities of Oxford Brookes University have filled a fair few column centimetres in the news pages and letters pages of this newspaper over the last 12 months. Its proposed new campus block in Headington was one of the biggest stories of 2009 and the
