Archive
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Ock Street Fair to close Abingdon streets
DRIVERS in Abingdon are being warned that two town centre streets will soon be occupied by the Ock Street Fair. The fair sets up in the town on Sunday and runs on Monday and Tuesday. Steve Rich, projects and technical manager for Abingdon
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March 4 Honour parade to hit city to raise Poppy Appeal cash
TROOPS and war veterans will march through Oxfordshire in tribute to their fallen and injured comrades to boost the Poppy Appeal this year. Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets along route – which includes Oxford, Bicester and West Oxfordshire
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Mini Cooper faces safety probe in America
AN investigation has been launched in the United States after reports that Cowley-built Mini Cooper cars are suffering from potential power steering problems. The US government’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received
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Mosquito inventor seeks new site to test antisocial behaviour deterrent
THE inventor of a device used to drive young yobs away from shops on Oxford’s Blackbird Leys estate is now looking to test it in a second location. Howard Stapleton said there had been a “substantial reduction” in antisocial behaviour outside the Premier
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Man charged after baby's death
A 26-year-old man was today charged with manslaughter following the death of a baby in Sonning Common in June last year. Colin Scholey, of Blounts Court Road, Sonning Common, was arrested after a four-month-old boy died at the John Radcliffe Hospital
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Oxford's Co-op workers volunteer in community
OFFICE workers in Oxford swapped their calculators for paint brushes to help out at a garden in Cowley. Colleagues from the finance team at the Midcounties Co-operative gave a helping hand at Barracks Lane Community Garden. They painted an entrance
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Boy attacked in Oxford robbery bid
Police are appealing for witnesses after an attempted robbery on a teenager in Oxford by three hooded men. At about 8.45pm last night, a 17-year-old boy was walking back from the Sainsbury’s supermarket at Heyford Hill across the bridge that leads
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Village bounces back from play area funding setback
A village is working to raise £100,000 to provide a play area for its children after it was dealt a funding blow. Appleton was to receive a grant of £47,000 from the Department of Education play builder programme – but the scheme was frozen
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Gang attacks teen near supermarket
THREE hooded men demanded a 17-year-old boy’s wallet and struck him in the face when he refused to hand it over. The incident happened at about 8.45pm yesterday, when the boy was walking back from Sainsbury’s supermarket at Heyford Hill, Oxford, across
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BAR BILLIARDS: Oxford shine to close in on final
OXFORD took a giant step towards a place in the Inter Area Cup final with a 4-1 victory at Wycombe B in the last four, writes PETE EWINS. Stuart Florey scored 5,120 to win the opening game against the break, before Steven Sheard (7,560) and his Kennington
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BOWLS: City & County foiled in thrilling finish
OXFORD City & County Ladies were denied by the narrowest of margins in their bid to regain the National Top Club title at Torquay. City & County, winners in 2008, went down 3-1 to Portishead RBL (Somerset) in the final, with the shots tied 74-74. However
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Local shares (PM)
AEA Technology 16.5 BMW 4399 Electrocomponents 236 Nationwide Accident Repair 100.5 Oxford Biomedica 9.5 Oxford Catalyst 69 Oxford Instruments 501 REED 532 RM 140 RPS Group 184.3
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High tech exhibition for building managers
A major exhibition offering an insight into the latest hi-tech breakthroughs in building services is being staged in Oxford. Chris Lewis Fire and Security is hosting the event featuring seminars, demonstrations and displays from the country’s leading
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Gas leak evacuates bank
A CITY centre bank was evacuated today after a suspected gas leak. Police were called at 11.40am after workmen near to HSBC in Cornmarket Street reported smelling gas. The area was cordoned off for one hour and was declared safe at 12.40pm
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Plenty to enjoy on a capital weekend
Those wishing to avoid the ubiquitous Stephen Fry will find London’s Dorchester Hotel a convenient and comfortable, if rather costly, bolthole — on the assumption that the versatile actor, writer and wit is in the habit of obeying his mum.
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The Big Bang and Bottega, Walton Street, Oxford
In the mistaken belief that the Big Bang in Walton Street did not offer starters — an error arising from my misreading of a menu on the outside wall — we decided to precede dinner there with a visit to the recently opened bar next door, Bottega. This
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Receating a victory meal for the Iron Duke
The most obvious dish to place on a menu which celebrates the Duke of Wellington is the classic Beef Wellington, the dish named in his honour, but the food historian Anne Menzies chose something far more subtle for the Woodstock Literary Festival
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SASSY & SINGLE: Letter of advice I’d give to a teenage me
I have to confess I’ve stolen an idea for this week’s musings. I saw a book the other day where a group of celebrities were asked to write a letter to their teenage selves. Some of them gave out advice, others dished out encouragement for the future
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Recipe for suedois de peches en croustade (serves 8)
This pudding, which was offered in individual portions at the literary dinner, was originally served as a large tarte with peaches heaped up like a pyramid. It was intended to create the imagery of a crown as it was served after Napoleon’s coronation
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Islip: birthplace of a king and saint
The area that is now Oxfordshire has been the birthplace of several kings and princes — I might mention Richard I, Coeur de Lion, or John, or Alfred the Great, or Edward of Woodstock, otherwise known as the Black Prince — but only one, as far as
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Made in Dagenham and Takers
The 1960s were a time of great change: America mourned the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum and man took his first steps on the moon. For the 187 women machinists employed at Ford’s Dagenham assembly plant in
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Andrew Maxwell: The Regal, Oxford
Much has been made of the explosion of live music in the last few years, but in Oxford it seems to be stand-up comedy that’s booming. Within the last year, Glee Club has opened, bringing four top notch comedians to the town every single weekend, the New
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Bochmann String Trio: Iffley Church
‘I always think of it as being like a song,” Michael Bochmann said of Schubert’s Trio in B flat major. “We’d be very pleased if you would make up your own words.” As Schubert only finished the first movement, there wasn’t much time to think up a storyline
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Fyfe Dangerfield: O2 Academy 2
As frontman of the Guillemots, Fyfe Dangerfield seemed to present himself as a kind of professor of pop music, a new Brian Wilson with tales of lost loves instead of hallucinogenic references. He and his band were signed for a colossal amount of money
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The Author, The North Wall
Was it good? I don’t know. Was it effective? Certainly, and it was also the first play I have ever attended which specifically precluded under-18s from attending. “This makes me feel as if I’m in that film The Truman Show”, said the person next to me
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Spend Spend Spend! - Watermill Theatre, touring to the Oxford Playhouse
It’s just over a year since director, aka Strictly Come Dancing judge, Craig Revel Horwood and arranger Sarah Travis staged Steve Brown and Justin Greene’s musical Spend Spend Spend! at the Watermill, Newbury. Their production won the prestigious
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Chess: Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
As Cheltenham hosted Oxford United, another game was being played at the Everyman: chess, as depicted in the eponymous musical. It’s no ordinary game of chess either, for Russian Grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky is facing his American opposite number at
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Minister launches free Wallingford wi-fi netwrok
WALLINGFORD'S free town centre wi-fi internet network will be officially launched on Friday at a ceremony in the Market Place. Wantage MP Ed Vaizey, whose ministerial portfolio includes promoting broadband technology, will cut a wire, rather than a ribbon
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The Talented Mr Ripley: Royal&Derngate, Northampton
One of fiction’s most appealing badhats — the killer conman Tom Ripley — exerts his remarkable ability to charm even as he horrifies in the gripping stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley at Northampton’s Royal Theatre.
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Charity Opera: Kennington Village Centre
For an incredible 42 years, Kennington Overseas Aid has been raising funds to help people in deprived areas of the world, with an emphasis on sustainable development. Past projects have included improving health care and education in countries such as
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Sixties Gold: New Theatre, Oxford
Each time these 60s music tours come through, there’s one individual who catches the eye. Earlier this year, it was Ray Ennis, the remaining Swinging Blue Jean; in 2009 it was John Walker of the Walker Brothers. Last Wednesday, it was . . . the one I
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Faust and The Makropulos Case: English National Opera, The London Coliseum
It is a tale of two directors at present at English National Opera. We’ve had the company’s season opener — a new production of Gounod’s Faust directed by Broadway darling Des McAnuff — and also a revival of Christopher Alden’s surreal take on Janacek
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Lacuna Coil: O2 Academy 2
Italian sextet Lacuna Coil occupy that odd little pocket of music, where classical orchestration meets heavy metal. Loosely defined as gothic metal, much of Lacuna Coil and their contemporaries Nightwish and Within Temptation’s DNA is the same as conventional
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Vertigo: Oxfordshire Theatre Company
It was a delight to visit the new (to me) arts venue in Didcot, the Cornerstone, to see the opening night of the latest production by Oxfordshire Theatre Company. The town is fortunate to have this comfortable and well-presented theatre providing
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Hairspray: Milton Keynes Theatre and The New Theatre, Oxford
‘Don’t touch yourself anywhere while on camera,” instructs the producer. Auditions are under way for the Corny Collins teen dance TV show. The latest crop of hopefuls have nearly all been selected when Tracy Turnblad puffs in, worried that she has missed
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College unveils scaled-down campus facelift
THIS is what Abingdon and Witney College’s campus in West Oxfordshire would look like under scaled-down plans reviving a lost project. As revealed yesterday in the Oxford Mail, the college has applied for planning permission for a £7.5m rebuilding
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Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 17 BMW 4271 Electrocomps 237.8 Nationwide Accident Repair 100.5 Oxford Biomedica 9.5 Oxford Catalyst 68.5 Oxford Instruments 495.5 Reed Elsevier 535 RM 140 RPS Group 187 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
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Funding axe falls on children’s centres
TWO pre-schools in north Oxfordshire including one in Banbury were among those which lost out as 14 improvement projects were scrapped across the county. The Grimsbury Family Association Play Group in East Street and Deddington Village Nursery have
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FOOTBALL: Jordan at the double
Oxford Mail Girls League Didcot Casuals enjoyed a 5-0 victory over Thame in the Under 13 league. Jordan Harris fired the hosts into the lead, before Mollie Merrett doubled the lead. After the break, Harriette Titchener and Becci
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Dragon Duncan opens new spa
Duncan Bannatyne, chairman of the Bannatyne Group and star of TV’s Dragons’ Den, has unveiled his latest investment – a £350,000 wellbeing spa in Banbury. The Banbury spa is the 30th in the Bannatyne Spa chain and has created eight new jobs in the town
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Market traders in parking row with city council
MARKET traders say Oxford City Council has added insult to injury by raising car parking charges – and then asking traders to drop prices to lure back shoppers. Covered Market stall holders said a council boss suggested they offer discounts to shoppers
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Blanket champion marks her 100th birthday
A FORMER Oxford cleaner who helped knit hundreds of blankets for deprived children across the world has celebrated her 100th birthday. Louisa Smith marked the centenary with family and friends at her home at Longlands in Blackbird Leys yesterday
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House prices static, figures show
HOUSE prices in Oxfordshire have remained almost static since March, according to the latest figures from the Government’s Land Registry. The average house price in August was £240,628, an increase of 0.7 per cent since July. Prices have risen 9.1 per
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Were you comedian Ronnie’s old flame?
Are you Ronnie Barker’s long lost love? That is the question currently being asked by a biographer searching for the late comedian’s old Oxford flame. Richard Webber, a journalist and author, has been studying the life of the late Two Ronnies funnyman
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In the Green corner
I READ with interest the recent viewpoints between Keith Mitchell and John Tanner and the cheap political points being made between the two of them. I can imagine those two at the next St Giles’ Fair, in the boxing booth, with Mr Mitchell in the blue
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Watch the brake lights
WHILE rightly criticising bus drivers who break the law, Graham Roberts (Oxford Mail, September 16) admits to his own violation of the law which states that any vehicle crashing into the back of another, is automatically at fault. Ever heard of brake
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Family values
I AM sure we all are beginning to question what this coalition Government’s motives are and how much our Prime Minister, David Cameron, values families, when he is taking away so much and leaving them with so little. How can he justify it, when he knows
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Rewarding loyalty
With reference to your article on Abingdon’s loyalty card scheme (September 22) we are happy to participate in this scheme and know that our regular customers will appreciate that we value their returning custom with this reward scheme. Surely its a
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Graduate worth
The ISSUE debate on Higher Education (Oxford Mail, September 21) made me recall a programme, many years ago, in which Arnold Weinstock, of GEC, bemoaned the fact that he could not get academically bright school leavers to join the firm to be trained as
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Compensate them
The Council has just spent millions of pounds of our money on a vast so-called improvement scheme along the London Road. Yet, when I was cycling along it yesterday, near to the junction with Stile Road, I noticed a large pothole filling up with rainwater
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Renewable energy
With reference to the article on solar panels at Edward Field School, Kidlington, (Oxford Mail, September 7), I would like to point out that it will hardly raise awareness and obvious benefits of renewable energy. The essence of the article is incorrect
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We need jobs not jams Mr Mitchell
In response to Keith Mitchell’s reply to my letter (Oxford Mail, September 24) I stand by my comments as printed. Oxfordshire County Council is wasting huge amounts of council taxpayers’ money on useless schemes designed to implement total
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Controversial judge calls it a day
A CONTROVERSIAL judge fired a parting shot at his critics as he stepped down, claimed they had shown a ‘profound ignorance of the facts’. Judge Julian Hall, the resident judge at Oxford Crown Court, has courted national controversy for some
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SCHOOL FOCUS: Windmill Primary School
IN 2006, Ofsted inspectors decided Windmill Primary was “inadequate” and handed it a notice to improve. Within three years, the watchdog was praising its improvement, rating it “good” and heralding a bright future for the school. And when inspectors
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COMMENT: Judges play critical role in society
In some ways, it’s like being a football referee. Whatever decision you make, you will upset someone, somewhere. So not only will the acuity of your senses be brought into question (“Didn’t you see what happened, Ref?”) but challenges to your
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FOOTBALL: Battling Thame denied at death
Thame United suffered late heartbreak with a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Poole Town in last night’s FA Cup second qualifying round replay. The hosts produced a fine defensive performance, led by experienced centre halves Martin Brown and James Saulsbury
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Camera switch off is right
So, cameras have been switched off, and speeding has increased (Oxford Mail, September 13). Is anyone really surprised? But this is rather missing quite an interesting point as when I looked at the data comparing three years data at
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Ali's cancer diaries win posthumous US award
AN OXFORDSHIRE broadcaster’s cancer diaries have won a silver award at the New York Radio Festival Awards, almost three months after she died. Jack FM presenter Ali Booker’s audio diaries had already won a Sony Award and an Arqiva Commercial Radio Award
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FOOTBALL: Hayhurst brace puts Jericho top
Autotype UTV League PROMOTED AFC Jericho went top of Division 2 following a 4-1 win at Abba Athletic. Jericho led 2-1 at half-time through Jack Hayhurst’s lob and Aaron Williams’s free-kick, Joe Long replying for Abba. Hayhurst and Reece Ward
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SCHOOLS FOOTBALL: Jones doubles up for Gosford
MAX Jones’s double helped Gosford Hill (Kidlington) to a 3-2 win over Icknield Community College (Watlington) in the ESFA Under 15 Schools’ Cup first round. Oliver Hazel also netted for Gosford Hill, with Tom Clark getting both Icknield goals. Cherwell
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FOOTBALL: Hat-trick heroes lead Hinksey rout
Autotype UTV League HAT-TRICKS from player-manager Gavin Preston and Jelroy Constant helped AFC Hinksey thump AFC Cowley 11-3 in the Premier Division, writes TIM SIRET. Long-range goals were the order of the day with Preston firing home a powerful 25
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Families welcome our troops back home from Afghanistan
AFTER seven months of risking life and limb in Afghanistan, troops from Abingdon got a hug from their loved ones when they arrived home yesterday. Army families gathered to welcome 60 troops from 12 Logistic Support Regiment, part of the Royal Logistic
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COMMENT: Deserved award
Congratulations to the much-missed Ali Booker, the Jack FM presenter, whose audio diaries on her battle with cancer have won her, posthumously, an award at the New York Radio Festival Awards. As in life, her work and professionalism continue
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SCHOOLS FOOTBALL: Last-gasp Dale stars
TOM Dale’s last-gasp goal gave Mid Oxon a 4-3 victory at Coventry in their warm-up for the ESFA Under 15 Trophy first-round tie against Oxford City at Ardley United tomorrow (7pm). Thomas Mazur had earlier opened the scoring for Mid Oxon only for Coventry
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FOOTBALL: Dash leaves it late
OFA Invitation Youth League DASH Ward hit the winner five minutes from time as Summertown Stars snatched a 3-2 victory over Charlbury in the under 16 league. An own goal put Summertown ahead, with Ward doubling the lead before the break. Charlbury
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Pub landlord tells of armed raid shock
A PUB landlord says he is still shaking after masked raiders threatened him with a gun and hammer before stealing £16,000. Rick Windell, 42, was cashing up when he was forced to hand over a week’s takings from The Hobgoblin, in Cowley Road, Oxford.
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FOOTBALL: Barrett on song for Iffley
Autotype UTV League In-form Iffley Harriers top Division 3A following a super 4-0 win at Abingdon Exiles. Jack Barrett’s hat-trick did the damage, with a goal from Richard Kennell completing Iffley’s tally. Northway Boys and Girls came away from Yellow
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FOOTBALL: Brize secure bragging rights
BRIZE Norton thumped local rivals Carterton 10-0 in Division 3 of the Thames Valley Women’s League. Katie Round scored a quickfire hat-trick, to add to strikes from Amanda Nolan and Jess Day. Nolan went on to complete a treble of her own, with Day also
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Healthcare workers to protest over job cuts
MORE THAN 300 nurses, carers and senior health workers are expected to protest against job cuts in Oxford today. Organisers are calling for workers to demonstrate in Cornmarket at 5.30pm. On Saturday, the Oxford Mail revealed 1,900 jobs could be lost
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Oxford United boss hails young guns
Chris Wilder praised young defenders Steve Kinniburgh and Leigh Franks as his Oxford United side kept up their unbeaten away record at Cheltenham last night. The U’s ended up with a very youthful side, and a defence with an average age of
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GPs plead for day centre to be spared
FAMILY doctors in Thame have called for the town’s day centre to stay open, despite expected cuts by Oxfordshire County Council. GPs from the Rycote Practice said the Thame and District Day Centre’s closure would increase the likelihood of users needing
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Bishop and school pupils go back to nature for harvest festival
CHILDREN in North Hinksey went back to nature to celebrate this year’s harvest festival. The youngsters, all from North Hinksey CofE Primary School, swapped the school hall for the fresh air and gathered at the village allotments to praise the autumn
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City executives back Temple Cowley Pools demolition
COUNCILLORS have backed the plan to demolish Temple Cowley Pools and replace it with one in Blackbird Leys, but were warned there may still be financial question marks over it. The Labour-controlled council plans to sell the Temple Road site in Cowley
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Brewery first past post for second year running
GROVE'S Pitstop Brewery has become the first in the country to win the prestigious Ascot Beer Festival’s prize beer award two years in a row. Brewer Peter Fowler’s seven per cent Horsepower IPA, brewed as a festival special following last year’s victory
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£5.7m revamp of station next March
A £5.7M contract to redevelop the Didcot Parkway railway station forecourt is going out to tender — and the station could get a new name. More than three million passengers a year use the station and the new scheme is designed to make the busy
