Archive

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Who was Oxford United's Man of the Match against Stevenage?

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Oxford Utd 1 (Craddock pen 45+3), Stevenage 2 (Worley og 19, Reid 48)

THEY will keep dreaming, of course, but this eighth home defeat of the season was a body blow to Oxford United’s hopes of reaching the play-offs. It was a night when they really didn’t play well, and gave away two poor goals. The first was an own

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United drawing at half-time

It was 1-1 at half-time in tonight's npower League Two clash between Oxford United and Stevenage at the Kassam Stadium. Stevenage took the lead with an own goal from Harry Worley, but Tom Craddock's penalty made it 1-1 just before the break

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Pensioner sentenced for role in £50m drug plot

A PENSIONER convicted for his part in smuggling £50m of cannabis into the UK has avoided a jail sentence. Barry Haydon, from Oxford Road, Burford, was found guilty at Isleworth Crown Court last month of conspiracy to import the controlled drug. He was

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Man arrested over street attack

A 26-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm in connection with an incident in Thame over the weekend. He was last night being held in custody. The arrest follows an incident in which a 37-year-old man was found with

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Police recover stolen cycles at Kassam Stadium car boot sale

STOLEN cycles have been recovered by police officers patrolling the Sunday car boot sale at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium. Police have seized nine stolen bikes in the past two months in the Blackbird and Greater Leys area, including a number spotted

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Pen pals signed up for 60 years together

GROVE couple Joyce and Pete Arnold celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with a party for 40 family and friends. The celebration was held at the Dog House pub in Frilford, near Abingdon, on Saturday. The couple became pen friends in 1946 while

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Garden centre boss hits out over safety prosecutions

A GARDEN centre chain’s chief executive has reacted furiously after being told to pay £30,000 over injuries to two elderly customers. The Garden Centre Group, formerly Wyevale, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court over two incidents at its garden centre

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Employers support campaign for young jobseekers

EMPLOYERS are queuing up to pledge their support for a campaign designed to generate meaningful careers for young people and jobseekers. The National Apprenticeship Service, backed by the Oxford Mail, is hoping to recruit 100 apprentices in 100 days,

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Rowing coach honoured after 23 years' service

UNSUNG hero Tony Wheel is being rewarded for 23 years of voluntary work after coaching about 800 young rowers in Wallingford. Mr Wheel has been nominated for a High Sheriff’s award for his coaching at Wallingford Rowing Club and the tribute

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Local share prices

AEA Technology 4 BMW 4667 Electrocomponents 256.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 98.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.26 Oxford Catalysts 90.5 Oxford Instruments 600 Reed Elsevier 510 RM 155 RPS Group 204.9

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United launch computer course for the over 55s

OXFORD United is giving pensioners the chance to master a mouse, find their way round Facebook and get a grip on Google. The club has joined forces with the BBC to offer free computer courses to people aged over 55, by offering the First Click Beginners

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Bicester sites revamped

A pair of empty industrial sites are to be revamped as two new businesses set up in Bicester. Philip Ponting has bought the former Golden River Traffic site, on the corner of Launton and Churchill roads that has been empty for five years and plans to

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Figurines stolen in Chipping Norton burglary

Police are appealing for witnesses following a burglary at a house in Chipping Norton in the early hours of today. Burglars entered an unlocked porch at the property in Walterbush Road at about 1.30am and stole two matching Edwardian figurines, both

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LTi Metaltech grows

Business leaders have praised the investment of a major industrial employer in newly expanded premises.LTi Metaltech has taken on additional space to boost the size of its headquarters at Milton Park, near Didcot to cope with increased demand for its

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Hotel jobs saved

The Holiday Inn Express hotel in Banbury has been bought out of administration, saving 16 jobs. The business on Ermont Way has been acquired for an undisclosed sum by the Akkeron Hotels Group after its previous owner, Butterfly Hotels, failed. The

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Abacus expands in Bicester

Economics consultancy Abacus International is expanding in Bicester. The firm has taken a five-year lease on 5,059 sq ft of space at the Talisman Business Centre (pictured), which will be in addition to its existing premises in the town’s Market Square

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Bids invited for hotel site

Bids are being invied for a new hotel development in Bicester. Part of the Kingsmere development, outline planning consent has been granted for the development of a hotel of between 60 and 100 bedrooms, with the opportunity for an additional restaurant

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River moorings

Historic moorings on the Thames at Henley have been sold for an undisclosed sum. This rare opportunity to purchase a length of moorings on one of England’s most famous stretches of river generated interest from a broad cross-section of potential purchasers

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'Crashproof' bike video receives 4m hits

An Internet video campaign which has gained more than four million hits in less than a year was produced by Thames Valley Police and the Thames Valley Safer Roads Partnership (TVSRP). The ‘Crashproof motorbike’ video was posted on YouTube

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Vaccine runners get to the point

HOPING for a shot of natural adrenaline to get them through the five-mile course, the latest conscripts to this weekend’s OX5 Run are a 23-strong team from the Oxford Vaccine Group. The team, based at the Churchill Hospital in Headington, Oxford, conducts

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Searching for cheap fuel

With all the talk of electric cars, that other great contender for greener transport, hydrogen, is in danger of being left by the wayside. But one small and highly motivated and innovative firm has just won a major award for championing this

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Local author John Dougill

John Dougill is currently a professor of British Culture at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, but lived for seven years in Oxford, and has written two popular guides, Oxford’s Famous Faces and Oxford: A Literary Guide as well as co-authoring Pubs of

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Historical fiction

Heresy S. J. Parris (HarperCollins, £7.99) Stephanie Merritt assumed a pseudonym to write this romp through the history of Elizabethan Oxford. It’s a detective story, the sleuth being Italian monk Giordano Bruno, who did really flee to Oxford to

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Interview with Niall Ferguson

Niall Ferguson’s office in the London School of Economics is situated in the lofty-sounding ‘Ideas’ department. I meet the eminent historian there one lunchtime, to find him hungrily attending to an assortment of sushi. Introductions made, I soon discover

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Police issue Olympic tickets alert

Police today issued a warning over the sale of bogus tickets for the 2012 Olympic Games. As the ticketing process for the games launches today, police said the rise in the use of the Internet to purchase tickets and accommodation packages online

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Free school bid must wait a year

A school aiming to become one of the county’s first ‘free schools’ said it has been forced to wait until 2012 before joining the state system. Last month, Oxford Montessori Schools applied to the Department for Education (DfE) to convert its Forest Farm

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Going Dutch on crime-fighting tips in Witney

STUDENT police officers from Holland have discovered how crime-fighting works in West Oxfordshire. Cadets from the Police Academy of the Netherlands met Witney’s police neighbourhood team during a whistle-stop tour on Thursday. The visit was organised

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2011 Baby of the Year competition begins

IT’S time for Oxfordshire’s bonniest babies and cutest kids to step forward for the Oxford Mail Baby of The Year 2011 competition. The annual contest aims to show off the smiles of the county’s children – and offers one lucky family a free trip to Disneyland

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Blackbird Leys couple have windows smashed twice in a week

A disabled Oxford couple have urged vandals to leave them alone after being woken up twice by having bricks thrown through their windows. Peter Jordan, of Prunus Close, Blackbird Leys, said: “I sleep downstairs near the front window, and on both occasions

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Police hunt gunman after robbery

A teenager was attacked by three men in Witney last night - one of whom was believed to be armed with a handgun. Shortly before 9pm, the 17-year-old man was walking along Fieldmere Close when he was approached by the gang. They were described as three

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Third consultation ahead on Frideswide Square

A THIRD public consultation is set to be launched this autumn on the future of Oxford’s most notorious junction. Oxfordshire County Council wants to remove all the traffic lights from Frideswide Square, outside Oxford railway station, and replace them

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RUGBY UNION: Alchester so close to title

BB&O Round-up ALCHESTER were effectively crowned Premier Division champions after a 37-30 victory at Swindon College. The win and Slough’s 21-21 draw with Thatcham mean Alchester need just one point to be sure of the title, but their points difference

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OAP jailed for sex attacks on child

A PENSIONER abused a 10-year-old girl while she was off school for the summer holidays, a court heard. Chun Wai, 72, exposed himself and sexually assaulted the girl a number of times over a two-month period up to August 22 last year. Wai, of Broad Oak

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DARTS: It's four in a row for rampant Rileys

Rileys Social Club C are the Greene King Oxford & District Darts Association Winter League Premier Section champions for a fourth year in a row. They sealed yet another title with a convincing 8-1 victory over clubmates Rileys B, making it ten wins

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Last stage of Cherwell flood work to start

THE final phase of a £15m flood alleviation scheme for the river Cherwell will start on Friday. It is hoped the scheme will reduce the risk of flooding to more than 500 properties in North Oxfordshire. Since Banbury flooded in 1998, the Environment

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DARTS: Rileys wrap up fourth title in a row

Rileys Social Club C are the Greene King ODDA Premier League champions for a fourth year in a row. They sealed yet another title with a convincing 8-1 victory over clubmates Rileys B, making it ten wins from ten games. Peachcroft took

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DARTS: Youth line-ups

Oxfordshire Youth are away to London in the Inter-Counties League at Rileys in Victoria on Sunday (12noon). Under 18s: S Smith, M Burns, J Lucas, M Clarke, J Carter, D Mobey, S Allmond, S Wright, A Scott, J Bumpass, R Bull, L Stallwood, A Jones. Under

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RACING: Hill puts on Sunday best

Make no mistake, when it comes to training racehorses, Aston Rowant handler Lawney Hill means business. Based just off the M40, nestled snugly within the Chiltern Hills, Hill has had quite a season with her talented 23-strong team. And on Friday, it

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RUGBY UNION: Beer's double not enough

University match Oxford University fell to a heavy 43-16 defeat at Trinity College Dublin on Saturday. Trinity stormed into a 12-0 lead, but two penalties from fly half Charlie Marr pegged them back. It was 19-11 at the break after wing Sam Beer

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RUGBY UNION: Depleted Oxford well beaten

Southern Counties North Oxford started with just 11 players as they lost 71-7 at Tadley. Injuries and unavailability meant they kicked off four players down, but they did at least get two more after ten minutes. Tadley had scored four tries by this

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Disputed Land by Tim Pears

Disputed Land by Tim Pears Oxford author Pears is on top form in this powerful coming-of-age story, narrated by middle-aged Theo, looking back at his teenage years, and a rare family Christmas with his grandparents in an old house on the

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Producer suspended in Midsomer row

The producer of long-running TV hit Midsomer Murders has been suspended after sparking a row when he claimed part of the show's appeal was an absence of ethnic minorities. Brian True-May has been suspended by production company All3Media pending

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HOCKEY: Mutsa magic lifts Rover

Rover Oxford grabbed a lifeline in Division 2 by winning their bottom-of-the-table clash 3-1 against Trojans 2nd. Mutsa Mutembwa opened the scoring with a brilliant goal, and a solo effort from Lynn Cockshott made it two. Trojans pulled one back, but

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Self-help from Montaigne

WHEN I AM PLAYING WITH MY CAT, HOW DO I KNOW SHE IS NOT PLAYING WITH ME? by Saul Frampton (Faber, £16.99)Montaigne was a highly regarded Renaissance writer who in 1570 chucked up his day job and spent the next ten years working on what became his Essais

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HOCKEY: Two for Tolsma

Sjouke Tolsma (2), Kara Kerr, Amy Reed, Fi Walton and Claire Werlinger hit the target as Oxford Hawks 2nd beat Wokingham 2nd 6-2 in Trysports 3 Counties League Premier Division 1. Abingdon Pilgrims, who are fifth in Premier 2, are looking for a Level

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CRUFTS: Oxfordshire competitors celebrate big wins

GILLY has proved success runs in the family when it comes to being top dog. Not content after missing out on a spot in last year’s Cruft’s Best in Show, the Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen proved every dog does have its day. The 20-month-old

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RUGBY UNION: Chinnor battle back to claim victory

National 3 South West Chinnor recovered from a slow start to win 42-12 at Coney Hill. Blindside flanker Andy Macrae powered over from 20 metres to open the scoring for Coney Hill on 20 minutes, fly half Rory Baker converting. Home wing Jamie Cole

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HOCKEY: Hawks clinch derby double

Oxford Hawks men maintained their promotion charge in Premier 1 of the South League with a 4-1 win at Wycombe. It gave them a derby double over their local rivals. Knowing there was no margin for error, with Richmond and Eastbourne also aiming for the

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Closing good schools is foolhardy

SO MICHAEL Waine thinks the community of Botley is best served by a more co-ordinated approach to education and management (Oxford Mail, February 24)? He has left out the detail of how he thinks this can be achieved, so I would like to explain to your

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Give parents a choice over education

I WRITE regarding the story (Oxford Mail, February 21) about the bid by the Oxford Montessori School to become the first free school in Oxfordshire to offer a Montessori education. There seems, from the feedback and the letter from David Buckwell, to

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Is Keith just shooting his mouth off?

IN HIS political blog (krmcbe.co.uk /political _blog.htm), county council leader Keith Mitchel states there will be no youth service cuts in Witney. This is great news. I’m really happy for my colleagues in the youth service who were recently told by

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On Yer Bike: View from a lorry cab is a real education

Anyone organising a cycling seminar obviously has great intentions; it’s just a pity their message doesn’t reach those who need it most. That’s what I thought recently as I sat down in the Sheldonian Theatre for another dose of safe cycling messages

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FOOTBALL: City suffer McIllwain setback

Oxford City have dealt a blow in their bid to stay in the Premier Division after Craig McIllwain suffered a broken nose. The centre back suffered the injury in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Cirencester Town and definitely misses Tuesday's home game

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RUGBY UNION: Hawks hang on

National 2 South Henley Hawks pipped Canterbury 31-27 in a nine-try thriller at Dry Leas. Scrum half Nick Dangerfield’s penalty put Canterbury ahead, then Henley centre Neil Baggett went over. Visiting fly half Gert de Kock crossed

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ASK THE VET

Q. My cat is FIV positive and suffers from mouth sores. It hurts him to eat dry cat food, he does not like canned food, has been drinking cat milk but seems to not like it any more and I throw it away at the end of the day. He will eat soft moist snacks

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Reaction seemed uncharitable

MY wife and I are in the process of moving house, so while boxing up our belongings, we decided to donate some of our things to a charity shop. We made sure it was all clean decent stuff, not broken or rubbish, packed it up carefully, and drove it to

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Fantastic work of volunteers

DERRICK Holt’s letter (The Big Delusion, Oxford Mail, March 3) does not acknowledge the fantastic work that volunteers already do in this county. I’m pleased to say that, according to the statistics, Oxfordshire has higher levels of volunteering than

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Should dog be on the menu?

Should we be eating dogs in Britain? In Korea and some other Asian countries dogs are considered a good source of protein. Although UK residents are likely to be shocked at the thought, why is it considered wrong to eat dogs yet acceptable to eat cows

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Oxford's churches seek U-turn on Sunday parking fees in the city

SUNDAY parking charges set to be imposed at St Giles, in the centre of Oxford, have been branded a “tax on going to church” by the clergy. Five places of worship, with combined congregations of more than 1,500 people, are opposing Oxfordshire

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RUGBY UNION: Blaszko brace proves in vain

South West 1 East Wallingford fell off the pace in the last ten minutes to lose 36-24 at Olney. The visitors led 24-22 after 70 minutes of this yo-yo encounter, having earned a four-try bonus point, but they could not hold on to victory. Olney took

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RUGBY UNION: Banbury on the brink

Midlands 1 West Banbury Bulls’ relegation was effectively sealed by a 45-7 defeat at Worcester Wanderers. Bulls are 20 points adrift of safety with a maximum of 20 available and a hugely inferior points difference. Banbury started well and took

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RUGBY UNION: Witney's nine-try joy

Witney 64, Wimborne 5 Witney ended their home drought in style with a nine-try demolition of South West 1 East’s basement boys. Having not tasted victory at Hailey Road since November 13, the hosts would surely have been happy just to edge it. But

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RUGBY UNION: Coaches' delight at win

It had been a long time coming, but Witney’s coaching team felt the signs had been there before their thrashing of Wimborne. John Campbell said: “For the last few games, we have played well, but just not converted it into points. “They

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70 firefighters tackle cottage blaze

A family was saved by a fire alarm after a blaze ripped through their thatched home last night. More than 70 firefighters from ten crews worked through the night to stop flames spreading from the property in Lower Radley, near Abingdon. Crews arrived

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United hero Alfie calls in to help Comic Relief

A FOOTBALL-mad schoolboy came face to face with his hero after offering to help a good cause. Daniel House, 11, decided to go to school as Oxford United winger Alfie Potter when pupils were asked to pay to dress up as their heroes for Comic Relief’s

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Was the city council right to use new powers to strip a licence from Thirst Lodge lapdancing club in the centre of Oxford?

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Creator defends all-white Midsomer show

One of the creators of long-running TV hit Midsomer Murders has claimed a key to the show's appeal is its absence of ethnic minorities. Producer Brian True-May is defiant about the all-white portrayal of rural life in Britain's murder capital

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It's crunch time for United

Oxford United will be out to make home advantage tell as they begin the most crucial period of their season against Stevenage on Tuesday night. Chris Wilder’s team kept their League Two play-off hop-es alive by winning 2-1 at promotion-chasing

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Son takes over family's souvenir stall in city centre

AN Oxford street trader is maintaining a family tradition after taking over the business from his father. John Irvin works seven days a week for 11 months of the year on his stall at the junction of Queen Street and St Ebbe’s in the city centre. Last

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Vicar sets sail for pastures new

AN OXFORD vicar is swapping his dog collar for a life of sun, sea and sailing, as he heads off into the sunset next month. The Rev Jonathan Sewell has been vicar of St Mary’s Church, in Barton, for more than 12 years. But now he is taking six months

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Stolen Road Bike - 18th Birthday Present

I had my blue Trek 1.5 road bike (2009 model) stolen from Cardigan St, Jericho on Saturday March 5th. It is a women's specific design, therefore a shorter frame. This was an 18th birthday present from my parents and of huge sentimental value. It has a

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CANCER RESEARCH: Oxford will lead world in war on the disease

OXFORD will soon be “setting the pace” in global cancer research thanks to a new centre which opens today. The new Oxford Cancer Research Centre is aimed at developing new treatments for a variety of cancers, including breast, skin, urological and gastrointestinal