Archive
-
Date
More and more people in Oxford struggling to pay back debts
PERSONAL debt in Oxford is at crisis levels, a charity warned last night. New figures show the number of people in the city able to repay their debts has fallen to a five-year low, with more residents asking for advice. Last night, one debt advice centre
-
Date
Arsonists destroy £3k wildlife viewing platform at North Hinksey beauty spot
residents are saying ‘we told you so’ after vandals set a viewing platform on fire at a beauty spot. Fire crews were called to North Hinksey on Monday afternoon to reports of a blaze in Hutchcombe Copse, near Hurst Rise Road. The fire was started on
-
Date
United's Face in the Crowd winner gets a pleasant shock after nasty defeat
A 24-year-old shop worker got a shock while reading his morning newspaper yesterday. Daniel Gittus, from Cropedy, near Banbury, was picked out as this week’s Oxford Mail Face in the Crowd winner after Oxford United’s defeat at the Kassam Stadium to Stevenage
-
Date
Sweet taste of success at new business awards
STAFF at a cake firm enjoyed the sweet taste of success when they took the top prize at a business awards ceremony. The Fabulous Bakin Boys, which makes muffins, flapjacks and other snacks for the sweet-toothed at its Witney factory, was named West Oxfordshire
-
Date
Safe Hands
KATHERINE MACALISTER tries out the recently refurbished Turnpike Inn in Yarnton. The Turnpike Inn is the kind of venue that has me waking up in the middle of the night, sweating and screaming. Not because it was a nightmare. Far from it.
-
Date
Coming of Age in Swansea
SUBMARINE (15) Comedy/Drama/Romance. Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Gemma Chan. Director: Richard Ayoade. Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh) makes an impressive directorial
-
Date
Perfect Ten
Graham Gouldman talks about life as the only remaining original member of one of the 1970s’ most interesting and enduring acts - 10cc. EMERGING on to a pop scene stuffed full of flamboyant, overblown celebrities, 10cc quietly captured hearts
-
Date
Drumming To A Different Beat
Stephen Fry has agreed to narrate Drumchasers, the new innovative musical everyone’s talking about, so it must be good, writes KATHERINE MACALISTER. DRUMCHASERS is a wipe-the-board-clean musical with no precedent. Part musical, part dance
-
Date
Snow Ball
CHALET GIRL (12A) Comedy/Drama/Romance. Felicity Jones, Ed Westwick, Bill Nighy, Brooke Shields, Tamsin Egerton, Georgia King, Bill Bailey, Ken Duken, Sophia Bush, Nicholas Braun. Director: Phil Traill. Felicity Jones confirms
-
Date
Talking Pictures
Five British artists, below, are exhibiting their work, entitled Dialogue, in Oxford, writes SARAH MAYHEW. Oxford is so packed full of fantastic creative happenings, it seems too often we find ourselves slapping our thighs in dismay as friends
-
Date
Cosmic Crush
The Cosmic Girls, twins Stephanie and Charlotte Walker, tell TIM HUGHES what it takes to stand out in the world of pop. The Cosmic Girls are convinced they have been put on this world for a reason – to give us a vision of the future of pop
-
Date
Past Masters
JEREMY SMITH flicks through a pictorial recollection of Oxford. God, according to celebrated American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, “is in the details”. An apt observation with which to open this book since it contains a stunning,
-
Date
Model Citizens
Daniel Lee is 6ft 4in and gorgeous, with a six pack like a toast rack. He has modelled for Gap, Givenchy and featured at London Fashion Week, but on Saturday you can see him for yourself strutting his stuff on the catwalk at the Oxford Style Show. Daniel
-
Date
Summertown charity gets a Royal wedding gift
A city environmental group has been selected by Prince William and Kate Middleton, above, as one of the charities to benefit from wellwishers donating money to celebrate their Royal Wedding. Earthwatch, based in Banbury Road, Summertown, has sent 96,000
-
Date
Residents hit out at 'compound' railings
RESIDENTS have hit out at officials who allowed railings to be put up around their homes that are more suited to a “high security compound.” Oxfordshire County Council installed the railings around Hanover Gardens, sheltered housing for OAPs, and
-
Date
Local share prices
AEA Technology 4.2 BMW 4710 Electrocomponents 263 Nationwide Accident Repair 97.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.7 Oxford Catalysts 91.5 Oxford Instruments 619.5 Reed Elsevier 509.5 RM 153.75 RPS Group 208.1 Courtesy Redmayne-Bentley
-
Date
ECO EVENTS: Oxfordshire to hold its first Climate Week
WAYS to save energy, food, money and our planet will be showcased in Oxfordshire next week as the county marks the first national Climate Week. Schools, charities, businesses, and councils will run events from Monday to next Sunday to help cut the county
-
Date
John Olding: Man of the movies
GARDENER, chef and film extra John Olding has died from pneumonia in the John Radcliffe Hospital, aged 85. Mr Olding, of Upper Bar, Cowley, moved to Oxford in the early 1980s to study theology. Born at Paddington, London, in June 1925
-
Date
Doris Goff: Helped found Mothers' Union branch
BOTLEY resident Doris Goff, a founding member of Botley Mothers’ Union, has died aged 90. She and her husband Kenneth moved to Botley in 1953 where she raised four sons. She became active in the local Young Wives Group and went on to become a founding
-
Date
GREYHOUNDS: Friday's Oxford BAGS runners
11.03: Cecilias Choice 3, Royalty, Gulta Pride 2, Blue Rose Lady, LINGRAWN HERO, Smile On Sveta. 11.19: Demontforts Lady, VEVAS TIGER, Memories Queen, Newhalls Risky, Fane Cracker 2, Jodys Pixie 3. 11.34: Leetial, KILKEEDY MALDINI, Swift Top Tex, Annacurra
-
Date
Disappointment for Doris at card's lack of glamour
A 100-year-old was left “disappointed” by her card from The Queen as she reached the milestone. Doris Hall, who turned 100 on Tuesday, said: “I thought it would be more glamorous.” She has decided not to keep the card, but instead to
-
Date
Sadness as school merger goes ahead
A BOTLEY primary school and nursery will merge despite protests from teachers and parents, it has been agreed. Elms Road Nursery will close at the end of August, with the building and staff transferring to neighbouring Botley Primary School ahead of
-
Date
Boys arrested over Oxford rape
Two teenage boys have been arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in Oxford. A 16-year-old and 17-year-old were arrested after a 23-year-old woman attended Cowley police station at about 8.30pm yesterday reporting she had been raped by two
-
Date
Prototype racer enters Silverstone auction
A unique prototype 1960s racer is confirmed as an early entry for Silverstone Auctions’ July 23 event during the Silverstone Classic race weekend. The Prototype Deep Sanderson 301 ran in 24-hour Le Mans, Spa and Nurburgring races in 1963 and ’64
-
Date
SCIENCE WEEK: School events capture imagination
CHILDREN across Oxford have been learning more about the world around them through a series of events staged during National Science and Engineering Week. Larkrise Primary School, in Boundary Brook Road, received a flying visit on Tuesday when
-
Date
Woman raped in Oxford
A WOMAN was raped in Oxford last night. Police are investigating the attack in Church Cowley Road. A 23-year-old woman told police she was raped at about 8pm. Two men have been arrested and are currently in police custody.
-
Date
Agatha Christie letters go on show at museum
HER murder mystery novels were bestsellers around the globe and were turned into numerous plays, but Agatha Christie was happy to devote her time to her local theatre group. One of the world’s biggest selling authors sprinkled some dramatic
-
Date
Soldier tackles gruelling Sahara marathon for British Legion
A SOLDIER will brave scorching temperatures, blistered feet and total exhaustion in the Sahara Desert to help the Royal British Legion. Captain Sue Doran, from Marcham, near Abingdon, will trek the equivalent of six marathons in six days during the Marathon
-
Date
Oxford United sign Ryan Burge
Oxford United have signed 22-year-old midfielder Ryan Burge on loan until the end of the season from Doncaster. Burge, who played in United Reserves' 2-0 win over Colchester United Res last week, has previously played for Barnet, and in Spain
-
Date
GOLF: Results round-up
OXFORD CITY March Bogey: 1 J Payne +2, 2 G Weaving +1 (cb), 3 S White +1. OXFORD LADIES Charity Stableford – Silver Div: 1 M Findlay 31pts, 2 R Caunt 28, 3 T Rawlings 26. Bronze Div: 1 D Torgersen 36, 2 G Hawley 35, 3 S Sadler 34. KIRTLINGTON
-
Date
Tribute issued to crash rider
The family of a man who died in a road crash in Great Shefford today released a tribute to him. Louise Purton released a family tribute which said that Steven Huntley, who died on Friday, March 11, in a motorcycle crash, "was our beloved father, soul
-
Date
POINT-TO-POINT: The Polomoche back with a bang
THE Polomoche made a sparkling comeback from injury for an Oxfordshire-based syndicate at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor. Formerly trained under National Hunt Rules by Nicky Henderson, the eight-year-old was handed to Marcus Foley by owner Anthony Speelman
-
Date
Festival unveils tasteful sounds
An ECLECTIC line-up including TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and singer-songwriter KT Tunstall has been unveiled for Oxfordshire’s newest festival. Harvest, which will be held at Blur bassist Alex James’ farm in Kingham, bills itself as promoting
-
Date
Technicolour rhinos spring up at museum
ART in the form of a group of 40kg rhino sculptures arrived in Oxford ahead of a year-long project aiming at promoting environmental issues in the county. The Woa Rhino initiative will see colourful 1.6m long and 1.5m high sculptures located
-
Date
Local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 4.15 BMW 4742 Electrocomponents 260.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 97.5 Oxford Biomedica 5.7 Oxford Catalysts 91.5 Oxford Instruments 610.75 Reed Elsevier 508.75 RM 153.75 RPS Group 207 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
-
Date
Japan crisis hits supply of key Mini part
The top boss at Cowley-based Mini parent company BMW has admitted supplies of a key component of the car could run out in a week because of the Japanese disaster. Tim Abbott, managing director of BMW UK, said a semi-conductor component used in the gearbox
-
Date
CRICKET: Fixtures needed
OXFORD & Bletchingdon Nondescripts are looking for an away friendly for a combined third and fourth team on Saturday, April 30. The club are also looking for under 15 players. Training starts on Sunday at Gosford School, Kidlington (5.30pm). For more
-
Date
County GP to lead shake-up of NHS
A DOCTOR is set to be picked to head the controversial shake-up of NHS services in Oxfordshire. Local GPs are about to vote for the doctor they want to put in charge of creating a reformed NHS in the county. The move reinforces Oxfordshire’s place at
-
Date
RUGBY UNION: Oxford lose in last 16
OXFORD Rugby were knocked out of the National Colts Plate in the last 16 after a 37-20 defeat at Barking. The visitors showed plenty of skill, but lacked the commitment required to earn victory. Despite having the better of the opening 20 minutes, Oxford
-
Date
Mum praises son for quick fire action
A TEENAGER helped prevent a fire from spreading to his family home. Fire crews were called to a house in Dean Court Road, off Cumnor Hill, Oxford, where a blaze had started in a shed and spread quickly to the garage. Fire officer Bob Paterson said:
-
Date
BOWLS: Hawes helps England to international glory
KATHERINE Hawes helped England’s women retain the Clara Johns Trophy in the British Isles Indoor International Series at Stanley, County Durham. The Oxford & District ace and her teammates enjoyed a clean sweep of wins, beating Ireland 171-75, Wales
-
Date
BAR BILLIARDS: Title race set to go to wire
THE Premier Section title race looks set to be a tight tussle as Vikings A and Kennington both won their latest matches in the Johnson’s Buildbase Oxford League, writes PETE EWINS. Vikings beat Masons A 4-1 at Kennington, with Ian Moss (4,450-3,290),
-
Date
Student car ban ‘is unenforcable’
RESIDENTS claim new rules mean a ban on student cars cannot be enforced in Oxford. And they have called for a moratorium on new student accommodation as a result. Members of the Divinity Road Area Residents Association (Drara) said the
-
Date
RUGBY UNION: Poole in England call
OXFORDSHIRE’S Joshua Poole has been named in the England Under 16 squad for two internationals in April. The Cokethorpe School and London Wasps Academy flanker (pictured) is part of a 22-man squad to face Italy Under 17 at Macclesfield on April 20 and
-
Date
Fallen troops to be flown to Brize Norton
PEOPLE living near RAF Brize Norton were last night preparing to honour the country’s fallen soldiers in their own way. The air station was yesterday confirmed as the new location where soldiers killed in action overseas will be returned to
-
Date
RACING: Carruthers aiming to spike the big guns
Carruthers will be out to exploit any chinks in the armour of the big guns in tomorrow’s totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup. The eight-year-old, trained by Mark Bradstock at Letcombe Bassett, near Wantage, made much of the running in chasing’s blue riband
-
Date
Get your laughing gear around some wine
Comic Relief will be bursting — full force — onto our television screens tomorrow and I am happy to report that the wine trade is once again contributing to the cause via Wine Relief. It joined the Comic Relief efforts in 1999, and, since that time,
-
Date
RUGBY UNION: Holmes to quit Banbury
BANBURY Bulls head coach Grant Holmes is to step down at the end of the season. The New Zealander, in charge since 2007, led Bulls to the Midlands 2 East South title last season, but his side will almost certainly be relegated from Midlands 1 West, having
-
Date
A Weekly Update from the Corridors of Power
Frideswide Square has been the focus of much attention over the past couple of weeks. First the traffic lights failed at the notoriously congested junction, and motorists rejoiced as they glided through unimpeded. Oxfordshire County Council then confirmed
-
Date
The elderly deserve to be treated better
MUCH has been in the papers and on television lately about the care of the elderly in our hospitals, particularly those nearing the end of their lives. As a trained SEN I find this very sad. I did four years in geriatrics, and it was a job I adored.
-
Date
RUGBY: Quins take the bite out of Hounds
Oxford Harlequins powered into the Oxfordshire Cup final with a 31-13 victory over Oxford University Greyhounds at Iffley Road on Wednesday night. After a slow start, Quins found their form to run in three tries, young fly half Joey Todd kicking 16
-
Date
RUGBY UNION: Stevenson stars
Captain Alex Stevenson kicked 20 points as Oxfordshire defeated Berkshire 40-18 in their final National Under 20 Championship match. But victory was not enough for Oxon to qualify from South West Region A as Dorset & Wilts saw off Buckinghamshire 36-
-
Date
U-turn over NHS
Why does the coalition Government want to turn Oxford’s health service upside down and waste so much money on reorganisation? Before the election the Tories promised the opposite. David Cameron said he would protect frontline NHS services, stop money
-
Date
No human touch
I VISITED the children’s section of Oxford’s Central Library last Saturday. After selecting some books I went to the desk to have them scanned and stamped by the librarian. However, the librarian instead took me to a desk near the exit which had a
-
Date
Desert shambles
What a major embarrassment Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague is turning out to be. Two weeks ago he was claiming that Gaddafi of Libya had fled to Venezuela despite his regular appearances on Libyan TV. Then came the botched SAS mission in eastern
-
Date
Pay to jump
I HAVE just read the article (Monday’s Oxford Mail) about people jumping off Magdalen bridge on May Morning and the cost to the police and NHS. I feel that the costs incurred by the emergency services on the day should simply be charged to the jumpee
-
Date
Taking advantage
I WANT to tell everyone about Orinoco, in Peat Moors, Headington, Oxford. I’m sure everyone has been told about what a good service they run, in keeping things out of landfill by passing them on to people who need them. I have supported Orinoco for
-
Date
Yet more waste
Can anyone explain why I saw more than a dozen cars parked at the ends of Langford Lane, Kidlington, conducting a traffic survey at 8am on a Saturday morning? What a waste of our money to employ so many people when the traffic flow was so sparse that
-
Date
GOLF: Bob drives in at Chippy
Bob Fleming started his year as Chipping Norton captain with a well-attended drive-in. It was followed by a Ladies & Gents Stableford and a champagne reception. Heather Stone, with 33 points, won the ladies’ competition, while outgoing captain Andy
-
Date
COMMENT: Time is needed to consider Caterton's tribute
FINALLY the Government has confirmed what we all knew: the bodies of fallen military personnel will be repatriated at RAF Brize Norton from September. Immediately the spotlight has fallen on Carterton with an expectation that it will take up
-
Date
ICE HOCKEY: Stars suffer play-off blow
English National League Oxford City Stars remain in real danger of missing out on the South Division 1 South play-offs after a 3-1 home defeat to title-chasing Invicta Dynamos. Stars have won just one of their last nine matches, while play-off rivals
-
Date
Islamic centre set to open next year
A MULTI-MILLION pound building which has lain empty for almost a decade is set to finally open next year after a £25m boost. The Oxford Centre For Islamic Studies (OCIS), with its minaret dominating the view over the River Cherwell from Marston Road,
-
Date
RUGBY UNION: Witney's regret
Witney may well look back on their debut season in South West 1 East with regret, despite some fine displays. Having led the table early on, a run of eight successive defeats ended any outside promotion hopes. But although survival is no mean feat for
-
Date
Customs raids seize big haul of cigarettes
CUSTOMS officers seized around 60,000 ‘smuggled’ cigarettes and 3kg of tobacco in a series of raids across Oxfordshire. More than 20 premises in Witney, Banbury and Watlington were raided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) inland detection teams
-
Date
ATHLETICS: Parsons leads City veterans to silver
Dave Parsons led Oxford City’s veteran 55-64 team to silver in the British Masters National Cross Country Championships at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. Parsons, 64, was the star turn for City as he earned individual bronze in the vet 60-64 category
-
Date
When the Children Came Home
The three million children who were evacuated during the war are now elderly people, and few of them have spoken publicly about their experiences. In those days you were expected to shut up and ‘get on with it’, and there was little interest in the psychological
-
Date
Mini teams up with Red Bull
Mini will support a unique free-running event at The National Theatre, on London’s South Bank, as part of the brand’s ongoing relationship with Red Bull. At 6pm on Sunday, visitors to the UK debut of ‘Red Bull Art of Motion’ will see 24 of the world
-
Date
Lap dancing club takes licence veto to High Court
DEFIANT lap dancing club bosses last night revealed they are taking the fight over the loss of their licence to the very top. Managers at The Lodge, in Oxford city centre, yesterday signed off legal documents which will see their case taken to the High
-
Date
Islamic centre 'to open next year'
Many of us drive or cycle past the £60m-plus Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), on the Marston Road, wondering why it has been standing empty for so long. It breathes top quality work and materials from every pore of the solid stone
-
Date
Oxford Business Development
An Oxford-based business education company believes medium sized enterprises (ME’s) could be the universities of the future. With the need for the UK and Europe to create 10 million new and sustainable jobs by 2020, MEs could be at the vanguard of the
-
Date
Royal Sun, Begbroke
Visitors from another country armed with knowledge that the British pub industry is on its knees may be surprised if they take a trip up the A44 towards Woodstock. On one side there is the successfully revamped Turnpike Inn at Yarnton reviewed here last
-
Date
£11m for new research equipment
GOVERNMENT funding of £11m will pay for a new scientific instrument at Harwell to test the safety of electronic systems found in aircraft and cars. The investment was announced by Universities and Science Minister David Willetts in a visit on Monday
-
Date
In the cloud
As many businesses in Oxfordshire know, being able to access data and applications from anywhere at any time is becoming increasingly important. We are working from different environments more now than ever before — be it at home, on site with customers
-
Date
Nissan Micra
With fuel prices continuing to rocket, even the most hardened petrol heads are being forced to think twice about their choice of car. If you spend a lot of your time driving short distances and/or around town, then large, fuel-efficient cars are not
-
Date
Science festival
It has long been recognised that while Oxford is a small city, it is one of global importance in many respects. Indeed, Oxfordshire as a whole is a hotbed of scientific innovation, whose status can be matched by very few places. These days we boast world-leading
-
Date
Maylarch
Take one look at a Maylarch operator in action and you soon realise why training is so important. Clad from head to foot in a protective suit, each worker is dealing with hazardous substances. This is not a job for the faint-hearted, but thanks to the
-
Date
The So Fast Studio
No one can pretend things have been anything but tough in the furniture business in recent years. But, as the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. And that certainly applies to Homestyle, the sofa manufacturing business which
-
Date
William Martin Productions
Tucked away on a side road off the A420 near the village of Tubney, you could be forgiven for thinking this is rather a sleepy location for a business. But nothing could be further from the truth for William Martin Productions (WMP), a dynamic audio-visual
-
Date
Stock market risk
In a recent article, I mentioned the steady, continuing exodus by savers and investors away from savings accounts paying pitifully low levels of interest into more adventurous, higher-yielding securities, such as shares. The piece prompted a number of
-
Date
OrganOx medical device
Ask people: “When was the first organ transplant?” and they may well say Dr Christiaan Barnard’s successful heart swap operation in 1967. But transplants started long before that, and a kidney transplant in 1953 was the pioneer. The first liver transplant
-
Date
JSB Models
Cars, despite the seriousness of the green agenda, remain a fact of life for most people — for the school run, travel to work, for an evening out or for holidays. For some they are also an absorbing hobby during leisure hours, as a restoration project
-
Date
Studio PT
Step into the cool, professional surroundings of Studio PT and it is difficult not to be impressed by the array of new, specialist equipment in a purpose-built gym. In fact it would be difficult to find more state-of-the-art equipment at a club charging
-
Date
Happy business couple
My Wife Next Door may conjure up images of the 1970s TV sitcom starring John Alderton, but it also happens to be the winning formula for two entrepreneurs. Mina Mandalia is a qualified podiatrist who runs the Happy Feet Plus clinic from a Witney business
-
Date
Clarify Interiors
Clare Parrack has always been creative. With an art and design A-Level, she planned to go on to art college. She said: "One of my teachers asked me what I wanted to do, and said: "You do write quite well." A job came up on the local paper and I was on
-
Date
Culham Innovation Centre's 10th birthday
Tokamak Solutions is one of 15 companies at Culham Innovation Centre, which last month celebrated its tenth birthday. Since it opened, 66 companies employing about 250 people have used the centre. One of them, Internet security firm Kaspersky Lab UK
-
Date
Mystery of Doctor Who
From the outside, Doctor Who’s time-travelling machine The Tardis appears to be a small and rather battered 1950s police box. Closer inspection reveals it to be vastly bigger than imagined and bursting with possibilities, a neat metaphor for the
-
Date
History round-up
Tolstoy: A Russian Life Rosamund Bartlett (Profile, £25) The author of two of the world’s greatest literary epics, War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Tolstoy was a man of monumental vision whose influences spread far outside his writing. In this beautiful
-
Date
Switch Solar Energy
Here is a thought for the future — if you covered an area of the Sahara three times the size of Wales with solar panels, you would generate enough electricity to power the whole of Europe. I gathered that gem during a chat with Max Hobbs, executive chairman
-
Date
Wessex Mill
The best thing since sliced bread could be a homemade loaf, and the move to real food, grown locally and bought locally, is spelling business success for Wessex Mill in Wantage. The smallest flour mill left in Britain to still commercially roller-mill
-
Date
Forest Footprint
Jagged trails slashing through the trees announce the relentless wholesale clearance of thousands more acres of tropical forest. Satellite pictures reveal the full scale and speed of destruction, while close-ups contrast the beauty and biodiversity of
-
Date
Oxford United offer early bird deal to fans
Oxford United supporters have been handed the chance to make big savings on a season ticket for next season. The U’s have announced prices for the 2011/12 campaign – and the club are hoping their new strategy will help surpass the 4,000 they sold this
-
Date
County GPs 'rushing ahead'
PLANS to advance the overhaul of the NHS in Oxfordshire are set out today, in the face of doctors’ calls for “rushed” health service reforms to be ditched. Local GPs will shortly vote for the doctor they want to put in charge of creating a
-
Date
'Ban new student halls'
EAST OXFORD residents are demanding a moratorium on new student accommodation in the city until a ban on student cars can be enforced. The Divinity Road Area Residents’ Association claims the universities cannot police the no-cars rule at student halls
-
Date
Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 17/3/2011)
It's always disappointing when a long-admired director misfires. Unfortunately, this is becoming something of a regular occurrence for both Woody Allen and Ken Loach. Since starting out in the 1960s, each has developed a recognisable style that has served
-
Date
Unsafe to cross
Sir – The technician who was trying to fix the lights in Frideswide Square told me that although the traffic was running smoothly, it wasn’t safe for pedestrians. I have a question for the traffic department: how long a queue of cars should we create
-
Date
Hiding to nothing
Sir – The sundry adherents to the quaint faith of atheism don’t seem to appreciate that they are on a hiding to nothing. Both sides must agree that scientifically there must be a possibility of doubt. So if we religious-minded people are wrong, and no
-
Date
Minimise role of faith
Sir – John D White “strongly urges those readers, who do not practise or strongly identify with any particular religion, to tick the ‘No Religion’ box in the 2011 Census”,(Letters, March 10). Well, as a Humanist, he would do, wouldn’t he? Just because
-
Date
Foundation of belief
Sir – In reply to Bob Forster’s letter, (March 10), contrary to Bob’s reasoning, religious indoctrination is the foundation of belief. The building blocks of character development are solely dependent on knowledge with genetic influence. Knowledge can
-
Date
Higher standards
Sir – Dr James Powell (Letters, March 10) is wrong to suggest that education has nothing to do with a price tag. For example, private schools in general can afford to have smaller class sizes, and this confers several proven advantages to a child’s education
-
Date
Divert money
Sir – Oxfordshire has 27 youth centres, of which the county are proposing to close 20, leaving seven as hubs with a focus on youth activities there. However, surely the essence of a youth centre is that it is local, not the other side of Oxford
-
Date
Gone forever
Sir – A village meeting in North Leigh demonstrated enthusiastic support for keeping all Oxfordshire’s libraries open by reducing the opening hours of all 43 sufficiently to achieve the required £2m saving. County councillor Judith Heathcoat and director
-
Date
Reconsider, Mr Gray
Sir – From the space he devoted in his column of March 10 to rebutting my assertion about his having omitted a comma from an earlier piece, it would appear my harmless correction got well and truly under the skin of your esteemed culture and restaurant
-
Date
Divine life force
Sir – John D White (Letters, March 10) complains that Question 20 in the Census, “What is your religion?” is a leading question, in that it encourages people to give a positive answer. But the alternative formulation he prefers is equally leading in a
-
Date
No prayers?
Sir – Having had experience as a parent of three children at Church of England state schools — because they were the local schools — I know well how such schools encourage and indoctrinate Christian beliefs. Nevertheless, I would be happy to take up
-
Date
Widening gap
Sir – Councillor Waine is right to highlight per-pupil differences in Government funding as one factor explaining why Oxford city primary schoolchildren progress less well on average than their counterparts in Tower Hamlets (Disadvantaged city pupils
-
Date
Foolhardy closure
Sir – So Michael Waine thinks the community of Botley is best served by a more co-ordinated approach to education and management. He has left out the detail of how he thinks this can be achieved, so I would like to explain to your readers that he intends
-
Date
Remove Iffley Road parking
Sir – Cyclox has been discussing with the county council whether there could be cycle lanes in both directions on the inner section of Iffley Road, as part of the reconstruction which starts in May. If the parking remains, this either means taking a
-
Date
Village volunteers praised for hands-on help
Residents of Kidlington and neighbouring villages should be proud of their volunteering population. In June 2010, the information centre in Kidlington set about introducing a more caring and hands-on approach to providing help and make life easier to
-
Date
Parky at the Pictures (DVD 17/3/2011)
Despite the hedged claims in the publicity that Castleton Knight's The Flying Scotsman (1929) was `arguably the first full length British feature film to use sound', it was nothing of the sort. The dialogue and sound effects heard in the second
-
Date
Impossible to complain
Sir – Your article (March 10) says . . . “RingGo chief executive Joanna Miller said hundreds of people had contacted them to complain about the loss of the service.” You should ask Ms Miller how this is possible. I would be very interested to hear how
-
Date
Threat to religion
Sir – As representatives of places of worship on St Giles in Oxford, we wish to express our alarm at the proposed introduction of parking charges on Sundays in the St Giles area by the county council. St Giles is distinctive in having a
-
Date
Fire wrecked Dean Court Social Club wins £21k in grants to rise from ashes
A FIRE-wrecked social club is set to rise from the ashes after campaigners won big cash donations. Dean Court Community Centre landed a £20,000 grant from the community- and charity-sector umbrella group, the Oxfordshire Stronger Communities
-
Date
Sarah hopes dream business will be a shoe-in
AFTER a year-and-a-half of saving, shoe-mad Sarah Watkinson-Yull is to laun-ch her first range of footwear. The Charlbury 21-year-old is bidding for fashion glory after launching her collection through yull.co.uk on Monday. Miss Watkinson-Yull, whose
-
Date
What's plan B?
The transport planners at County Hall have come up with some attractive designs for Frideswide Square. Gone are the traffic lights and in their place come the roundabouts everyone has asked for. The proposals include some significant public space and
-
Date
Act now to retain county’s woodland
Oxfordshire is not the most wooded county in the south-east; but many of the woods we do have are ancient, and were there 400 years ago in the time of the first Queen Elizabeth. Many of our woodlands are beautiful and rich in wildlife, some of
-
Date
Train firm boss apologises for delays
CHILTERN Railways’ chairman Adrian Shooter has apologised to passengers after services were badly disrupted by signalling problems between Bicester and Banbury on Monday. The problems followed weekend engineering work at Aynho junction, where the Chiltern
-
Date
Globe artichokes: summer feasting
I know that spring must be here. The dried flowers cut from the globe artichokes last August have started to release their seeds. They resemble giant dandelion parachutes, but with daddy long legs’ limbs. Although the large blue thistles have delighted
-
Date
David Briggs: Christ Church
David Briggs has a few surprises up his sleeve for his organ recital at Christ Church on Saturday night. In a programme dominated by Bach, he will be slipping in a few improvisations as well, writes Nicola Lisle. “It’s a fairly rare thing that organists
-
Date
Christus - The Passion According to St Mark: University Church of St Mary the Virgin
Simon Whalley has an impressive list of instrumental works, anthems and other settings for choirs to his credit, but his latest creation is a first for him — a full-scale setting of the Passion. Christus: The Passion According to St Mark draws
-
Date
Bronte: Oxford Playhouse
Set in 1845, Polly Teale’s play Bronte tells the story of Branwell Bronte, who has returned to his family home, the remote parsonage at Haworth, Yorkshire. He has been dismissed from domestic service following an affair with the mistress of the house
