Archive

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Family in fear after Rose Hill arson attacks

A FATHER in Rose Hill said he is frightened for his family after a spate of arson attacks near his home. Kevin McKenna, from Butler House in Ashurst Way, said there had been three fires in six months. The latest, in the early hours of

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Bus crash leaves four injured and one trapped

Four people were injured and one possibly trapped in a bus crash in Oxford tonight. The bus crashed into a bus stop and ended up in a garden of a property in Banbury Road, Summertown. Police and ambulance crews are currently on the scene

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Money worries sparked chef's suicide

A CHEF committed suicide because he was scared he could not send money home to his family in Thailand, an inquest heard. Artit Suthanan had worked at the Suwanna Siam restaurant in Bicester to help support his wife and child in his home country. But

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Crackling Addict

You’ll never believe what you can do with a pork scratching. TIM HUGHES discovers why this once-humble snack is now a global delicacy to the stars. THE French Canadians call them Oreilles de Christ – the Ears of Christ; the Dutch go mad

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Hop Stars

HOP (U). Family/Comedy/Action. James Marsden, Gary Cole, Elizabeth Perkins, Kaley Cuoco, Tiffany Espensen, David Hasselhoff, and the voices of Russell Brand, Hugh Laurie, Hank Azaria. The next time you tuck into the creamy chocolate

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Code Reality

SOURCE CODE (12A). Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller/Romance. Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan, Jeffrey Wright, Russell Peters, Michael Arden, Craig Thomas. Director: Duncan Jones. Time certainly isn’t on the side of the

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Star Quality

TIM HUGHES gets to know the voice of 2011, the ambitious Clare Maguire, who explains how once she sets her sights on something, she always gets her way. SHE has performed with The Streets, drum and bass duo Chase & Status, supported Plan

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She's The Boss

With the next series of Lewis about to hit our screens, Rebecca Front tells KATHERINE MACALISTER why she has so much fun playing the chief. Rebecca Front laughs when I ask about any romantic developments in Lewis. “A bit of rampant sex

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Sad Journey

ANDREW FFRENCH considers the beauty of the Oxford Mail/Waterstones April Book of The Month. * THE BOOK: AAFTER writing the stunning Star of the Sea, Joseph O’Connor could have retired. But the talented author was born to write and has

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Sax Appeal

Jazz could be arriving at a neighbourhood near you – TIM HUGHES discovers what’s in store at this year’s Oxford Jazz Festival. FEW cities have a musical reputation as rock-solid as Oxford. The springboard for any number of successful rock

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Urban Expose

SARAH MAYHEW discovers a surprising serenity in an exhibition of photographs by Gerry Badger at Art Jericho. Stepping off the unassuming Jericho back street into the interesting art gallery that is Art Jericho is always a pleasure, and never

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Super Powers

Stefanie Powers’ perfect white teeth, huge smile, radiant complexion and sparkling eyes are every inch the American dream. But as her new book reveals, there’s much more to this Hollywood star than meets the eye. Katherine MacAlister talks to the world

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Horspath wind turbine plans abandoned

PLANS for a massive wind turbine between the Cowley car works and Horspath have been scrapped – but council chiefs have pledged similar plans for the city. The 130m turbine plan, for land opposite the Horspath Road athletics track, has been

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First drive: New Honda Jazz and Accord

As well as making cars, Honda has a happy habit of turning out contented car owners. None more so than the drivers of the company’s compact Jazz supermini, which has been a solid seller since its launch. With its clever flip-up rear

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Local share prices (PM)

AEA Technology 4.15 BMW 5204 Electrocomponents 266.8 Nationwide Accident Repair 101 Oxford Biomedica 5.75 Oxford Catalysts 100.25 Oxford Instruments 704.5 Reed Elsevier 540.25 RM 149.5 RPS Group 213 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley

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Van stolen from North Aston field

Police are appealing for witnesses after a van was stolen from a field in North Aston while it was being loaded. The van was parked in a field in North Aston while its owner loaded it with fresh vegetables. Two men got in to the van

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Train breakdown causes delays

A broken-down train today caused delays for travellers in Oxfordshire. The line towards Oxford from Didcot Parkway was blocked by the train, disrupting First Great Western services. Engineers are on site and hope to have the train operational

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Bratt on pace at Snetterton F2 test

Six months since his last track outing in any car, Banbury racing driver Will Bratt made an outstanding return to action during official FIA Formula 2 Championship testing at the new Snetterton 300 circuit. The 22-year-old was an immediate

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Oxfordshire's pre-Olympics party project

SCHOOLS and community groups across the county are being urged to sign up for Oxford’s big pre-Olympics Party. They are being invited to take part in the Tree of Light project, that will culminate in large-scale outdoor performances next summer. More

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Bicester eco-showhome revealed to a mixed response

IT might look like a big log cabin but eco town developers say this is the home of the future. After years of wrangling, the exterior of Bicester’s long-awaited eco home development has finally been unveiled. The home at Garth Park, Launton Road, is

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Facebook face-off over Charlbury festivals noise

RIVAL campaigns have been set up to fight for and against noisy festivals in Charlbury. They are vying for residents’ support for limiting or keeping noise levels at major events at the West Oxfordshire town. The Charlbury Noise Limitation Group is

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New service to provide extra help to Oxfordshire's carers

A NEW service to provide better support for many of Oxfordshire’s 60,000 carers goes live tomorrow. County council social services fear they are in contact with as few as 15 per cent of the tens of thousands of carers in the county, many of whom are

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Illness forces closure of Oakwood Builders

A FAMILY building firm has been forced to close after its 31-year-old boss contracted leukaemia. Managing director Martin Fenn has been forced to shut Oakwood Builders and Joinery in Benson while he undergoes treatment at the Churchill Hospital, Headington

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Staff at honey firm Rowse make own TV adverts

WHEN you tell people you work at a honey factory the jokes run thick and fast. But now staff at Rowse Honey in Wallingford can stop people droning on by telling them how they got a buzz out of making their own TV adverts. In a hive of

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Low carbon action group holds first meeting

A LOW carbon action group which has turned a tennis court into a vegetable patch will hold its first public meeting tonight. Low Carbon South Oxford joins groups in the north, east and west of the city in an attempt to help residents make a

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Penny McVities: Fiesty dresser of movies stars

A PENSIONER who travelled the globe dressing Hollywood stars has died, aged 76. Penny McVitie passed away at Katharine House Hospice, Adderbury, near Banbury, on March 22, after an eight month battle with cancer. Before Miss McVitie, of Cropredy, near

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Woman charged with fraud

A 28-year-old woman has been charged in connection with a series of fraud offences carried out against an 85-year-old man. Lisa Darani, of Gainsborough Crescent, Henley on Thames, has been charged with 11 counts of fraud by false representation, contrary

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Dapper Oxford pupils see their ship come in

PUPILS helped transport Blenheim Palace back to 1779 with a school play with a difference. And they were helped by a host of top theatrical names in the process. Magdalen College School pupils performed an Evening of Home Theatricals over the

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BAR BILLIARDS: Didcot in final spot

Didcot Conservative Club reached the Group A final in the Johnsons Buildbase Oxford League Team Knockout Cup with a 4-1 win against Masons B at the Comrades Club, writes PETE EWINS. Jenny Florey (6,210), Tony Broadway (7,780), Dave Tooke (5,260) and

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AUNT SALLY: Search on for world champ

Players in Oxfordshire will get the chance to battle it out in the World Open Singles Championship at the Charlbury Beer Festival on Saturday, July 9. Forty-eight local league players will be invited to enter the tournament to produce six finalists

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GOLF: Club results

OXFORD CITY Mueller Trophy: 1 J Cooper 85-21=64 (cb), 2 M Bidmead 70-6=64, 3 M Rawlings 78-12=66. OXFORD LADIES March Stableford – Div 1: 1 C Whittle 40pts, 2 M Findlay 39, 3 C Fox 37. Div 2: 1 D Torgersen 36, 2 F Killen 35, 3 G Hawley 32. BICESTER

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Kidlington landlady drowned on her honeymoon

A PUB landlady drowned accidentally while on honeymoon in the Maldives, a coroner has ruled. Sharon Duval had an alcohol level more than three times the drink-drive limit when her body was found in the sea by a fellow British tourist. The 42-year-old

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GOLF: New men's captains drive in

Lifelong Swansea City fan Ray Davies drove in as Oxford City’s new captain. Davies delivered three precision drives in front of an enthusiastic gathering of members, past captains and presidents. The event raised £480 for Helen & Douglas House and Cystic

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GOLF: Smith delivers a hole-in-one

Chipping Norton’s Mary Smith aced the 164-yard par three eighth hole during the club’s Ladies’ Social competition.

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Local share prices (AM)

AEA Technology 4.2 BMW 5160 Electrocomponents 264.3 Nationwide Accident Repair 101 Oxford Biomedica 5.8 Oxford Catalysts 100.25 Oxford Instruments 704 Reed Elsevier 537.75 RM 149 RPS Group 215 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley

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GOLF: Kerrison's ace proves in vain

Jason Kerrison’s third career hole-in-one could not save Bicester from a 3-0 whitewash defeat at Ellesborough in their opening Shaw Gibbs Oxfordshire Foursomes League clash. Kerrison aced the 141-yard par three tenth hole with a pitching wedge during

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ICE HOCKEY: Stars in wait for play-off spot

OXFORD City Stars’ bid to secure an English National League South Division 1 play-off berth will go to the wire. A 7-2 defeat at Romford – a game that saw Oxford lead 2-0 – means that this Sunday’s home clash with Bracknell Hornets will decide Stars’

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Future's brighter for brave Latisha

LITTLE Latisha McMillan has been “to hell and back” during the first 18 months of her life. Born with a rare condition which meant she had no soft spots in her skull, she faced a life of facial deformity, pressure on the brain and possible

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Airbase moves hit school finances

SCHOOLS in Carterton could be forced into the red or make job cuts because of RAF personnel movements. The schools expect significant pupil increases when RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire closes and personnel and their families move to RAF Brize Norton. But

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RUGBY UNION: Chinnor and Banbury in cup joy

A BRACE of tries from Iestyn James helped Chinnor win the Oxfordshire Under 14 Cup with a 28-17 victory at Wallingford. Chinnor recovered from 5-0 and 10-7 down before James’s second try finally killed the game. Charlie Krabbe and Thomas Strathdee also

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Top-end new properties go on the market

Two newly built six-bedroom homes in Nuneham Courtenay combine a rural location with contemporary design. Woodside and The Courtyard each come with approximately nine acres of land, including a courtyard-style garden, lawn and woodland. The detached

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ICE HOCKEY: Lauren's delight at call-up

LAUREN Summers is over the moon after making the final squad for the Great Britain senior women’s team in the world championships in Caen, France. And she hopes it will lead to her realising her dream of taking part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi

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Room in the country

Six bedrooms and more than three acres of land are on offer with a property in Ascott-under-Wychwood. The Gables, tucked away in a no-through road, includes a sitting room, dining room, playroom and kitchen with range cooker and gas-fired stove. The

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Man escapes serious injury after M40 crash

The driver of a car which crashed off the M40 yesterday morning escaped without serious injuries, fire officers have said. The vehicle left the northbound carriageway between Junction 8a and Junction nine at about 9.30am. The road remained open as

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Tesco inquiry: Chain branded a bully by local trader

AN OXFORD shopkeeper branded supermarket giant Tesco “the number one bully in the UK” at a public inquiry yesterday. The company wants to build a Tesco Express shop on the site of the former Friar pub, in Old Marston Road, Marston. The

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Childhood memories were deciding factor

Childhood memories were what clinched it for Lindsay Smith when he was deciding where to buy a new home. Mr Smith opted for a three-bedroom house on a new development in Southam, near Banbury, where he had spent part of his childhood. He said: “I had

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Landmark site fight resumes

CONSERVATIONISTS are renewing their fight to save Victorian buildings in Oxford which look set to be turned into shops and student accommodation. Developers Shirehall Properties won planning permission last year for a £15m development on the corner of

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RUGBY UNION: Coach Kimber praises champs

ALCHESTER head coach Chris Kimber hailed winning the BB&O Premier Division title as a “fantastic” achievement. Kimber’s men took the crown after beating Drifters 18-13 on Saturday. He said: “It was a little nervy, but we had control for most of the

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Foster support

A campaign is launching in your local area to help support children who are separated from their birth families through private fostering. Many children in these situations will be very well-cared for but others may feel confused, isolated and sometimes

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Humanist reasoning

WITH regard to the letter by Roderick Taylor (Oxford Mail, March 16), many readers support the idea that all school children should learn about the world’s major religions, how much they have in common, and that for communal wellbeing all of us should

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Labour has become the real green party

David Williams (Oxford Mail, March 26) couldn’t give his wholehearted support to Earth Hour. Switching off lights across Oxford to save energy, save money and the planet, is so obviously a good thing. But the track record of the so-called Greens in Oxford

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The Insider

IT emerged this week that Banbury MP Tony Baldry’s son is the editor of the anti-authoritarian and punk ’zine Last Hours. Mr Baldry said his son Ed, like everyone else, was free to hold his own views and he would defend that right. But the

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Eastern promise

I SAW our great leader Mr Cameron was out, strutting around the Middle East recently, telling people there what should and shouldn’t be done to rectify their problems. He professes not to like the level of violence being used against communities

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Hooked again

Further to my published letter (Oxford Mail, March 25, Sainsburies have now installed coat hooks in all of their stores’ disabled toilets. So a big thank-you to them for listening. Despite some readers’ online comments, disabled folk need small facilities

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Kids don't kill people

Why all the concern recently about seven- and 10-year-olds being given shotgun licences? Has anyone known of a death because of this? No. They are being taught how to handle guns, safely and correctly. Maybe we should have a licence

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Young people who trained for war deserve a plaque

I READ in the Oxford Mail (March 18), that a blue plaque had been unveiled on the house where John Brookes lived. I wonder if, or when, they will put up some kind of recognition to the many thousands of young people who trained for war at the TA Centre

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ATHLETICS: Naylor's England gold joy

STEVE Naylor starred as England gained gold at the Home Countries International in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Naylor, a late call-up for the event, was over the moon at being the third points-scorer home for England as he made a fairytale debut in a national

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ATHLETICS: Radley's medal glee

RADLEY youngsters came away from the Bracknell Open with a clutch of medals. The first major outdoor track & field event of the 2011 season saw Lois Waknell take gold in the under 15 girls’ 100m, clocking 13.21secs in the final. Waknell also won silver

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ATHLETICS: Perrin rises to the occasion

Radley teenager Hayley Perrin won a gold medal in the Bracknell Open. Perrin triumphed in the under 15 high jump with a leap of 1.60m, with Alex Cross claiming silver. Perrin also gained a silver medal in the long jump with 5.10m and came fifth in the

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Theatre company fears for future after losing grant

CUTS have put an Oxfordshire theatre group in ‘severe jeopardy’ after it lost 60 per cent of its income. Yesterday Arts Council England (ACE) announced which projects would receive cash after its budget was slashed by £100m. More than

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Close race for Oxford United player of the year award

Oxford United’s player of the year award looks like being the most open for years. As the U’s season comes to the boil, with Chris Wilder’s men chasing a play-off place for the second season running, and only three home games remaining,

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Landlord fined £3,000 over unsafe house

A LANDLORD has been fined £3,000 for failing to carry out safety work at his property Aliaz Ali Hussain, of Quarry Road, Headington, admitted three offences relating to the shared house he owns at 18 Crown Street, East Oxford. Mr Hussain was fined a

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COMMENT: Arts groups must stand on their own feet

AS services and jobs are cut across the country, it was pretty obvious who was going to feel the pinch. Yesterday Arts Council England announced which projects in Oxfordshire would receive cash after its own budget was slashed by £100m. It has meant

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RUGBY UNION: Wallingford's survival boost

WALLINGFORD have received another boost in their relegation battle, with rivals Reading Abbey being deducted five points. Abbey’s penalty takes them into the drop zone and means that Wallingford may only need one more win to stay up in South West 1 East

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JET SKIING: Didcot duo make their mark

Gary Austin and Dean Carter only took up the sport of jet skiing just over a year ago – but the Didcot duo are already making their mark. At the recent British Winter Championships at Tattershall Park in Lincolnshire, Gary excelled in notching

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Should the city council continue looking for sites around Oxford for wind turbines following the scrapping of its latest plans?

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Should community groups now talk to the county council about finding ways to keep local libraries open?

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Do you believe that the introduction of Sunday on-street parking charges are a threat to churches in the centre of Oxford?

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Movie star speaks up for British fashion

HOLLYWOOD actress Thandie Newton had a fairly easy mission yesterday when she visited Bicester Village to support rising fashion designers. The Mission Impossible star opened a new pop-up shop at the outlet centre. The store, called

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MoD forces city to scrap turbine plan

Plans for a massive wind turbine between the Cowley car works and Horspath have been scrapped – but council chiefs have pledged similar plans for the city. The 130m turbine plan, for land opposite the Horspath Road athletics track, has been

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Devoted couple found dead in suspected suicide pact

AN OXFORD couple described as "pillars of the community" have been found dead in what is being treated as a suspected double suicide. Bill and Mary Warburton, of Lime Road, North Hinksey, were discovered at their home at about 7.30pm on Monday

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Breakdown causes A34 delays

A broken-down lorry today caused delays for drivers on the A34 in Oxfordshire. The lorry, which had a tyre blow-out on the southbound carriageway between the Milton Interchange and the Chilton Interchange, is blocking one lane. The brakes on the lorry

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Illness forces builder to close

A FAMILY building firm has been forced to close after its managing director contracted cancer. Martin Fenn is suffering from leukaemia and has been forced to shut Oakwood Builders and Joinery in Benson while he undergoes treatment at the Churchill Hospital

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Mansion tax

Should we prepare to shed a tear or two for the poor old rich, many of whom seem to have taken up residence in lovely Oxfordshire houses ? They are, after all, scheduled to be targeted by a new property tax — according to proposals just released by deputy

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Interview with Tim Smit

Tim Smit is scathing about people who tour the world giving speeches.“It’s quite striking that their businesses suffer,” he says. “It’s valuable in that it gives you feedback, but ultimately you lose momentum for actually doing stuff.” But luckily

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Local author Jenny Lewis

Oxford poet Jenny Lewis’s verse drama After Gilgamesh (Mulfran, £7) is being performed at the Pegasus Theatre in Magdalen Road, Oxford, until tomorrow and again in July. The book will be launched at the Oxford Literary Festival on April 10 at a discussion

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Nocturne by James Atlee

Noctune by James Atlee (Hamish Hamilton, £18.99)James Attlee believes, and I quite agree, that there is something sacred about moonlight and darkness. But it is getting harder and harder to see the night sky since men have flooded their cities with artificial

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Background to Ashmolean exhibitions

Thousands queue up for major exhibitions, and the newly transformed Ashmolean Museum in Oxford is aiming to take advantage of this trend with its new temporary exhibition galleries. Next month it will showcase more than 500 Greek treasures of gold, silver

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Ignoring realities

Sir – Many readers support the idea that all schoolchildren should learn about the world’s major religions, how much they have in common, and that, for communal wellbeing, all of us, should ‘live and let live’, regardless of personal beliefs, or lack

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Opium of the masses

Sir – People have been complaining rather ingeniously that Sunday parking fees would be a tax on religion. Well, why not? Tobacco and alcohol are taxed, and religion has been described as the opium of the masses. If religion is to remain legal

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No need to defend God

Sir – My word — what a hornets’ nest of atheistic indignation my comments stirred up! (Letters, March 24). I don’t wish to prolong the discussion, except to say that the reader who asked where the ‘aggressive atheists’ are, supplies an answer himself

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Much more to life

Sir – Just as there isn’t any scientific evidence for the existence of God, there also isn’t any such evidence for the non-existence of God. Atheism, then, would appear to be a type of faith. Fortunately though, it doesn’t end there.

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No longer welcome

Sir – Cars are discouraged in the city centre, bus services are limited and nobody knows when or whether public conveniences are open or closed. Now that people are no longer welcome in Oxford, what will the city centre be used for? Social housing, perhaps

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Flying a kite

Sir – You report (March 24) the comment made by councillor Fooks regarding the KFC balloon at the Pear Tree junction (“This is something we really ought not to put up with.”). Whilst I admire the clever way in which she echoed Winston Churchill’s brilliant

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Grubbier street

Sir – We have just had a letter from the council through the door asking us to move vehicles in preparation for deep cleaning our street. Surely this service could be cut? I’m sure the council will have an excuse for its continuation and why the money

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‘Lost inside hospitals’

Sir — Battling with the rabbit warrens of the John Radcliffe, Churchill and Nuffield hospitals, Oxford, put me thinking back to the dear old Radcliffe. They had an excellent volunteer guider scheme of about 12 persons stationed on the main desk, who

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Consultation denied

Sir – Cherwell District Council’s lavishly produced Cherwell Link newsletter has just arrived, and proudly boasts that the council have contributed £50,000 of our money to lobby against the high-speed rail link. Apparently this is because Cherwell with

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Sustainable future

Sir – Climate Change week (March 21 to 27) was a reminder that we all have to save energy to save the planet. Petrol prices are at record levels and the cost of heating our homes continues to rise. Oxford City Council has cut its own carbon footprint

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Decline in standards

Sir – In the edition of March 17, you printed a photograph of a police operation at Oxford station. The scene encapsulated the decline in the standard of police uniform and appearance. Here we have shaven-headed individuals, dressed in black with cargo

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Preserve bluebells

Sir – Since the English bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is under threat from hybridisation with the ubiquitous Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica), many advocate digging up and burning the latter at every opportunity. While the form and fragrance

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More magic paint

Sir – During the poor weather over Christmas, a number of potholes appeared on Jubilee Way in Didcot, just as they did the year before. A few weeks later, the council painted some lines around them, presumably in the somewhat forlorn hope that this might

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Misdelivered mail

Sir – Is it only the people of Kennington who have to put up with frequent deliveries of other people’s mail put through their letterbox? On an almost weekly basis, sometimes twice a week, I get mail for a dwelling in The Avenue, while I live in Poplar

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Lose-lose situation

Sir – The report in last week’s issue about the financial troubles of the Southern Cross Healthcare nursing homes is a frightening warning to council and NHS commissioners regarding the outsourcing of public services. Locally some 200 older people face

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Bigger and greedier

Sir – I was shocked to hear of the recent relaxation of the MPs’ expenses rules and wonder how our local MPs equate this with the two-year wage freeze presently being enforced on NHS hospital staff? It seems to me that one part of our society is perhaps

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All at sea

When we first expressed our doubts about the suitability of Oxford for a series of wind turbines, little did we know that it would be the Ministry of Defence’s concerns about their impact on radar that would thwart the city council’s ambitions. Our concern

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Making parking easy

Sir – We noted the article Dismay as city’s station gets rid of its parking system (Report, March 10), which outlined that Didcot Parkway and Charlbury are changing from the RingGo system. RingGo is a system that we use at our stations,

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Enough space to park

Sir – Cyclox agrees with Genieve Boon (Letters, March 24) that parking needs to be controlled, in the Iffley Road area, as in the rest of inner Oxford, to prevent commuter parking. A controlled parking zone already covers the first group of streets,

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Community focal point

Sir – It’s wonderful news that the county’s libraries have been saved. I’d like to congratulate the public for their magnificent campaign, which forced the county council to rethink their savage proposals. We all accept that savings have to be made

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Congratulations on library rethink

Sir – Congratulations are due to the county council for going back on plans both in relation to the closure of libraries and reforms to arrangements for waste disposal, as reported in last week’s issue. I may not yet be happy about the outcome on either

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Time to fight history cuts

Sir – Now that Oxfordshire’s libraries are to be reprieved, can we all please turn our minds to the cuts facing Oxfordshire History Service, comprising the Centre for Oxfordshire Studies, formerly in Westgate Library and the Oxfordshire Record

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Cowley Road Carnival steps up fund appeal

The Cowley Road Carnival is a fusion of street carnival and summer arts festival that attracts an estimated footfall of 66,000 in Cowley Road and South Park every year. The carnival is much loved by a huge sector of the Oxford community and is regarded

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Parky at the Pictures (In Cinemas 31/3/2011)

Jim Loach swore he would never follow his father Ken into film-making. He worked on the Granada documentary series World in Action before switching to such small-screen staples as Coronation Street, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City, Bad Girls, Shameless

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Parky at the Pictures (DVD 31/3/2011)

One romance dominated the movie headlines in 1970 and it wasn't that of teenagers Rolf Sohlman and Ann-Sofie Kylin. Instead, the world fell for Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw in Arthur Hiller's shamelessly lachrymose adaptation of Erich Segal's Love

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Closed Barton post office is found a potential new home

A COMMUNITY centre in Barton could house a temporary Post Office as residents urge the service is re-opened on the estate. Space at Barton Community Centre could be offered to the Post Office following the closure of the Underhill Circus branch on February

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'Panto, Glee and High Street Musical all mashed together'

MORE than 350 children are to appear in a panto spectacular aiming to raise £7,000 for good causes, including Oxford’s Children’s Hospital. Young members of the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School are rehearsing for a modern version of Cinderella for the

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Catch the avian sound of spring

Through the dark, cold days of winter our natural world slumbered deeply on. In February and March, life moved into an early seasonal doze but with April almost here, and May just around the corner, it is now fully awake in all its riotous colour and

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The elusive Red Baron

I have recently visited every garden centre for 20 miles around in search of my Red Baron onion sets, but to no avail. This is the first time I have failed to get some. I thought I was just unlucky, but when I visited the Edible Garden Show at Stoneleigh

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High Sheriff’s Community Choirs Concert: Oxford Town Hall

In just over a week’s time, a diverse selection of choirs from different areas of Oxford will be gathering at the Town Hall for a choral shindig — and there will be opportunities for the audience to join in with favourites such as Zadok the Priest and

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Humble Boy: Oxford Playhouse

“It's a good old-fashioned family comedy in many respects because of the dysfuncton — in the same way that Ayckbourn is funny when his characters and situations lend themselves to humour but in a dark and real way.” So says Simon Tavener

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A bold white wine to go with a spicy dish

I have rekindled my interest in Thai cooking. I think it is a spring thing; somehow the colours and scents of Thai food seem to match the season. Well, for me anyway. In recent times the aromatic Gewürztraminer (Gewürz to its friends) wines from Alsace