Archive
-
Date
Landowner reveals why he won't sell for town centre revamp
A LANDOWNER who has refused to sell up for the £70m Bicester town centre redevelopment has broken his silence. Brian Westbury, owner of Wesley Lane shopping centre, questioned the benefits of the scheme, which will build a supermarket, cinema and six
-
Date
Petrol station back in business after rebuilding
A DILAPIDATED petrol station has been transformed into a hub of community services. The site at Yarnton, which has been operating for more than 100 years, was in danger of closure. But now it has been taken over by Didcot-based Fraser
-
Date
Marathon man braves Arctic run
IF you think you have had it bad through the recent cold snap, spare a thought for Tony Jones. The freezing temperatures could have been considered practically tropical for the father-of-three, who battled 26 miles through snow and ice in temperatures
-
Date
Local shares (PM)
AEA Technology 5.92 BMW 4984 Electrocomponents 267.6 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.4 Oxford Catalysts 74 Oxford Instruments 705.6 Reed Elsevier 538 RM 173.25 RPS Group 232.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
-
Date
Grant bonus for badminton club
BICESTER Badminton Club has been given a grant of £387.50 from Cherwell District Council to train coaches and increase teaching to junior players. The council awards grants of up to £500 to sports clubs to increase participation in physical activities
-
Date
Helping hand for homeless
HOMELESS people in Oxford got a bumper delivery of food, clothing and games this Christmas. The goodies were handed over to Lucy Faithfull House, in Speedwell Street, by Pete and Carol Ann Bonney. They were donated by people visiting the Christmas light
-
Date
Tesco to appeal over store refusal
Supermarket chain Tesco has submitted an appeal after Vale of White Horse District Council refused planning permission for a store in Faringdon. Councillors rejected the application in October, on the grounds that the Park Road store would divert trade
-
Date
Easy-to-make cock-a-leekie soup
Cock-a-leekie soup is a Scottish soup traditionally made with an old cockerel or boiling fowl complete with giblets. Prunes are added for extra flavour. However, on a day when you need an easy-to-make nourishing hot soup to keep out the cold, short
-
Date
Out with the haggis for a Hogmanay feast
Isn't it strange - countries all around the world that will be celebrating New Year’s Eve tomorrow night centre some of their celebrations on food, whereas the English have no special dish that heralds in the New Year? Brazilians eat lentils
-
Date
Watching the weather in Oxfordshire
Oxford has the oldest weather station in Britain, the Radcliffe Meteorological Station, dating from 1772. It is in the garden of Green College beside the Observatory building and next door to the old Radcliffe Infirmary in Woodstock Road. It has
-
Date
Love & Other Drugs
The bare necessities of Ed Zwick’s dark-tinged romantic comedy Love & Other Drugs are hard to miss. Namely, the arresting sight of bright young things Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway rolling around naked for the entire middle third of the film, flaunting
-
Date
Plans to publish speed camera data
Drivers will be able to find out which speed cameras catch the most motorists under new plans outlined by the Government. Local authorities and the police will have to publish full information about speed cameras under proposals announced by Road
-
Date
Band records single for Help for Heroes
“IT IS possibly one of the worst four months you will ever go through in your life.” Those were the words of an Oxfordshire musician who was spurred on by his experience of living through his father’s tour of duty in Afghanistan to raise money for Forces
-
Date
Office staff win royalties
ENTERPRISING office workers Sarah Green and Judith Coles stand to win up to £1m in royalties from their innovation. The pair, who both work in the customer services depatment of educational software firm RM at Milton Park, won the company’s annual entrepreneur
-
Date
Apprenticeship pilot scheme
A NEW service designed to help employers recruit the next generation of high-tech talent is being piloted in Oxford. The Apprentice Agency is partnering with Oxford and Cherwell Valley College to help small businesses by offering them ‘work-ready
-
Date
Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 6.15 BMW 4994 Electrocomponents 267.6 Nationwide Accident Repair 99.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.65 Oxford Catalysts 72.16 Oxford Instruments 710.8 Reed Elsevier 540 RM 165.68 RPS Group 231.9 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
-
Date
'Why don't you come back and steal the whole thing?'
A THIEF who stole part of a bicycle trolley, making the rest of it unusable, has been invited to come back and take the whole thing. Rowan Tilly, of Percy Street in East Oxford, was upset at the theft, but even more angry at the fact the frame was useless
-
Date
Hundreds turn out to support hunt
HUNDREDS of people gathered in Chipping Norton on Monday to support members of the Heythrop Hunt. Although the winter weather meant there was no actual hunt, hundreds of people gathered in the town centre to enjoy a stirrup cup and show their support
-
Date
Marking Finnley’s Day by helping others
LUKE and Gemma Froude always felt the first birthday of their tragic premature son Finnley was going to be difficult. So they will mark the January 29 birthday with a bid to help others by holding a fundraising day for the Support for Sick Newborn And
-
Date
Early birds bag Christmas sales bargains
HUNDREDS of shoppers queued from the crack of dawn to get their hands on some bargains in the post- Christmas sales. About 300 shoppers were lined up outside the Next clothing shop, in Cornmarket Street, Oxford, before it opened its doors at 5am on
-
Date
United are on the up
Oxford United rocketed to 11th in League Two after beating the frosts, snow, and eventually the fog on their way to seeing off Macclesfield at the Kassam Stadium yesterday. And manager Chris Wilder pledged: “We will get better.” Goals from Simon Heslop
-
Date
Vale unveils £660k cuts to council services
ABINGDON’S Abbey Meadow pitch and putt golf course is set to be closed as part of a package of £660,000 council spending cuts. Liberal Democrat-run Vale of White Horse District Council plans to close the Abbey Close facility to save £9,000
-
Date
COMMENT: Better than cuts in jobs
Cuts, cuts and more cuts. Today we learn how Vale of White Horse District Council plans to keep itself lean going into the New Year. Superloos, mini-recycling centres at supermarkets and a pitch and putt course are among the services which could be
-
Date
Meat is unhealthy
HUMAN AID charities and environmental groups do not appear to be giving out the right message when it comes to the western diet. While we indulge in our seasonal dinner parties which, by and large, consist of animal produce, it takes half of the world
-
Date
Punch and Judy
IT HAS been interesting over the past few weeks to see county councillors Susanna Pressel and Keith Mitchell battle it out in the letters page as to who is responsible for the cuts. Pressel tells us it was the greedy bankers, while Mitchell tells us
-
Date
Winters were much worse in the 1940s
NOW we’re having a bit of cold weather, dramatised by the media, reflection often goes back to the winter of 1947. I can only write about country living, since then, as now, the countryside was the worst affected, but to the question ‘is it as bad?’
-
Date
Woman and dog rescued from river
A DOG-WALKER was hauled to safety from the River Cherwell in Oxford by firefighters after she tried to rescue her dog, which had fallen through the ice near University Parks. Firefighters said the 39-year-old had a lucky escape after being spotted in
-
Date
Sassy and Single: Resolving to be a better person
Well, that’s Christmas over and done with... And what have I learned? Absolutely nothing. Which is why, once again, I’m starting to think about resolutions – you know, those New Year jobbies. Every December 31, stretching back as far as the
-
Date
Pat on the back for hospital staff
I recently spent five weeks in the Neuroscience Ward of the John Radcliffe Hospital. I would like to thank everyone involved in my care. From Sandra and the ladies on reception to the dieticians, physiotherapists, nurses, doctors and surgeons, I was
-
Date
Public spirited
I was caught up in the traffic delays on December 18. It took me eight hours to get from Junction 10 on the M40 to the Botley Interchange on the A34. I really want to say a big thank you and well done to the three men that were managing traffic at Botley
-
Date
Nuns develop their own iPhone apps
RELIGION is sometimes accused of being stuck in the dark ages. But for the hi-tech nuns of East Hendred, 2011 promises to be an exciting year of apps, podcasts and maybe even some new additions to their fold. It has been six years since
-
Date
Bomb disposal expert dies in blast
A bomb disposal expert has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said. The soldier, from 23 Pioneer Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, was serving with the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force and
-
Date
Lucky escape despite no smoke alarm
SEVEN people had a lucky escape from a house fire on Monday night after flames were spotted around a first-floor bedroom door. Firemen said the family living at the house in Bulan Road, Headington, could have died because there were no working smoke
-
Date
Missing driver found in Oxford
A GRANDFATHER who fell victim to the airport snow chaos while trying to take his wife to catch a Christmas holiday flight, spent three days and nights driving around the South, trying to find his way home. The 72-year-old man was eventually found on
-
Date
COMMENT: Everyone can benefit if we all get involved
There is a very simple message in today’s front page story. Don’t sit around and assume it will never happen to you. James Phillpott has helped to raise thousands of pounds for Oxford Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. Sick children
-
Date
Kelly probe case 'unanswerable'
Campaigners for a full inquest into the death of government weapons inspector David Kelly have said they believed they had presented Attorney General Dominic Grieve with an "unanswerable" case. A lawyer for the group of doctors behind the demand
-
Date
Tories to boycott Witney by-election
LABOUR, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party will battle it out in a by-election next week – but the Conservatives will not. The Tories are not contesting the Witney East ward of Witney Town Council, calling it a waste of cash as all seats are up
-
Date
Police praised for helping stranded truckers
POLICE have been praised for digging stranded lorry drivers out of the snow. Pcs Chris Bennett and Laura Jones and Pcso Larry Gardner were unable to get out and about in their cars. Prevented from reporting for duty in Thame and Wantage, they walked
