Archive

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Residents enjoy annual Apple Day

FRUIT lovers squeezed the juice out of their apples until the pips squeaked at Summertown’s first annual Apple Day. Low Carbon Oxford North organised the event at St Michael’s Church to try to get Oxford residents to make use of home-grown fruit.Organiser

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Bid for 45 new student rooms

A DEVELOPER has applied to build 45 student bedrooms in a new five-storey building off Park End Street. Cantay Investments Ltd, which owns Victorian Cantay House, wants to redevelop a former garage behind the building into a five-storey accommodation

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Gannett grant's no rubbish idea, says recycling charity

A VOLUNTEER from an Oxford-based scrap store is urging other charitable organisations to apply for a grant from the Oxford Mail’s parent company. Grants are handed out twice a year by the Gannett foundation, the charitable arm of Gannett Co

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Drivers fume as park-and-ride parking charges return

DRIVERS now have to pay to park at three of the city’s park-and-ride sites for the first time in four years. From this week, motorists at the Oxford City Council-run Pear Tree, Redbridge and Seacourt sites have to pay £1.50 a day on top of

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GREYHOUNDS: Thursday's Oxford runners

7.45: Chapelane Lucy, Greencroft Flo 2, Chapelane Molly, Pinch Of Salt 3, Greencroft Teddy, Oi Oi Libby. 8.00: Hay Tess, Sharons Guest 3, How About That 2, Barney Fella, WARBELOUS, Liosgarbh Branch. 8.15: Geneva Robbie, Romily Flash 2, Pennys Bono,

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Local author Maureen O'Connor

Patricia Hall is the penname of Maureen O’Connor, a former journalist on the Guardian who now writes fiction full-time from her home in Garsington. Her first series of crime thrillers, with journalist sleuth Laura Ackroyd, was set in her home town of

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Books choice

Beast in View Margaret Millar (Phoenix, £7.99) The late Margaret Millar was a North American who wrote dark, disturbing mysteries not unlike Ruth Rendell’s; this one was first published in 1955. A woman makes telephone calls telling people things they

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Kennington Literary Festival

Korky Paul, illustrator of the award winning Winnie The Witch series, lives in North Oxford with his wife and two children, but his recent book Winnie Under the Sea, with its zany underwater adventures, may well have been inspired by his long summers

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Should councils consider reintroducing the weekly collection of non-recyclable waste?

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Songs we loved in the Summer of Love

So how was it for you? The recent spell of glorious weather, I mean. Myself, I lapped up every sun-drenched minute, my enjoyment — pedant that I am — only slightly impaired by being continually told by the media that we were experiencing an ‘Indian

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Gaffe from the commentary box

‘When did ‘at’ the weekend become ‘on’ the weekend, and why?” asked Kate Wade, of Henley, in a letter to the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday. It was news to me that Brits are saying ‘on the weekend’. If they are, though, it has clearly become another

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The Spice Lounge, Summertown, Oxford

If I had a penny for every time someone said “you’re so lucky eating out for a living”, I’d be . . . well I wouldn’t be working here any more, I can tell you. And while it is an enormous privilege, you all assume that eating out is a nice experience,

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Making the most of a bumper fruit harvest

If you are faced with baskets overflowing with ripe apples from your trees and have no idea what to do with them, worry not. There are at least two apple juice producers in Oxfordshire who will process them for you — Millets Farm, at Frilford,

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Why persist in the outdated tradition of titles?

Julian Fellowes, on whose snobby, solecism-laden Downton Abbey I have not squandered a single second of my life, has evidently been complaining about how unfair it is that his missus cannot succeed to her uncle’s earldom and become Countess Kitchener

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Recipe for caramelised apple and croisssant pudding (serves 2)

Sandy Hellig from Cornucopia Cooks, Eynsham, inspired this dish. She cooks it regularly, using crisp croissants that have been made with butter — part-baked croissants contain a fat that makes the outcome greasy. Having made it to her instructions, I

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The Lion King 3D and Johnny English Reborn

Disney’s highest-grossing hand-drawn animation of all time strides majestically back on to the big screen, looking more sensational than ever in the increasingly fashionable 3D format. Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, The Lion King may

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The Terrible Infants: The Oxford Playhouse

Think Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll and Hilaire Belloc, add a helping of almost every theatrical style imaginable, and you have some idea of what The Terrible Infants is all about. Brought from the Edinburgh Festival by Les Enfants Terribles Theatre

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What we owe to Nancy Lancaster

Recession or no recession, money is again being lavished on doing up houses to the nines — at least in such rich parts of Oxfordshire as the Cotswolds, where it sometimes seems that whole villages are being polished up, inside and out. Much of

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Inspired by India: The Sinolink Gallery

The Sinolink Gallery in St Clements usually provides a platform for Chinese art, but its walls are decorated at present with vibrant works inspired by India. The pictures are the work of the talented local artists Wendy Gilmour and Anna Sandham who were

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Inaugural organ recital: Keble College Chapel

‘The organ was on its last legs when I was here,” said former Keble organ scholar Jeremy Filsell. In due course it expired completely, to be replaced by an electronic instrument. But somehow that never seemed quite right in the vibrant, High Victorian

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Great Expectations: The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, near Newbury

As well as being regularly translated to film, television and radio, Charles Dickens’s gripping novel Great Expectations has long been a staple of the stage. As recently as May, the Oxford Playhouse hosted English Touring Theatre’s version, with the

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Degas and the Ballet: The Royal Academy

artist’s ballet imagery over several decades, from the documentary mode of the early 1870s to the sensuous expressiveness of his final years. The work of Edgar Degas is probably more widely known than that of any other artist through its appearance on

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Preview of the Oxford Guitar Society concert at the Holywell Music Room

Steve Greenslade is a lawyer by profession, but meet him in his Oxford home, and you will discover not legal textbooks but sheet music for guitar laid out on the table. How did the instrument first enter his life? “I was about 12 years old

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Fizzy pop

Loud, sassy, original, bright and fearless. If you’ve caught a glimpse of Frisky and Mannish you’ll know why they’re the names on everyone’s lips. From Radio 1 to the Edinburgh Fringe, Frisky and Mannish are being hailed as the new act to watch, and

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Preview of Frisky and Mannish at the Oxford Playhouse

Loud, sassy, original, bright and fearless. If you’ve caught a glimpse of Frisky and Mannish you’ll know why they’re the names on everyone’s lips. From Radio 1 to the Edinburgh Fringe, Frisky and Mannish are being hailed as the new act to watch

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The Society of Wood Engravers, Art Jericho

This, the 74th annual exhibition of the Society of Wood Engravers opens in Oxford before touring the UK and ending in London. Wood and allied engraving provides an extraordinary delicacy that allows the artist to expose the depth and detail their subject

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Thames Consort: St Peter's, Wallingford

Autumn must be here — Wallingford’s Music at St Peter’s season is over, wrapped up in glorious style by the ever-reliable Thames Consort. The first half was given over to Pergolesi’s intensely moving Stabat Mater, sung with great passion by soprano Lisa

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Three Days in May: Milton Keynes Theatre and Trafalgar Studios, London

It was a moment when the nation’s very survival lay in the balance — three days in May 1940 during which Winston Churchill and his war cabinet agonised over whether to talk terms with Adolf Hitler (in effect, give in to him, as our new Prime Minister

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Armed police respond to "meat cleaver attack"

ARMED police and dog handlers have been sent to Berinsfield following reports of a man being attacked with a meat cleaver. A man living in Wey Road told the Oxford Mail: “I can see one police car outside my front door, two police cars down

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ON YER BIKE: Jekyll and Hyde drivers

We’ve been driving a lot more than usual lately because my wife is pregnant – or was, at the time of writing. Her due date is today. We don’t know if the little critter is a boy or a girl but one thing’s for certain: it’s a cyclist. It whirrs its little

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Life on the road with Enter Shikari

MANY metal bands pride themselves on the explosive power of their performances, and ability to send their deafened fans home with ringing ears. But causing structural damage? Now, that’s got to be a new one. Unless you are Enter Shikari.

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Conserve connoisseurs spread joy in Marcham

CONSERVE connoisseurs will be getting in a jam near Abingdon this weekend. The Women’s Institute’s Real Jam Festival is set to attract hundreds of visitors in a search for the UK’s best preserve maker. Launched last year at Denman College

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Walk in remembrance of Alex

MORE than 1,000 school pupils will trek across south Oxfordshire next week in memory of a former pupil. Pupils at Wallingford School will swap lessons for a country walk in memory of former sixth-former Alex Lewis, who died aged 22 from bone

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Thong Rangers do some spadework for little Leanna

DIDCOT’s charity legends the Thong Rangers dug deep to raise more than £500 for four-year-old Leanna Cheshire, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Three Thong Rangers, led by binman Clifford Oakes, completed a 12-hour spade walk on Saturday to raise funds

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Business guru holds masterclass

An expert in starting up businesses is to hold a special masterclass. Kim Hills Spedding, who set up the Thames Business Advice Centre (TBAC) in Oxford will host the free event at Blackwell’s in Broad Street, Oxford on October 13 at 7pm. Mr Hills Spedding

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Event to help employers gain from training

Employers across Oxford are invited to a free event to find out how a team of national training and skills experts can boost their business. Intraining, one of the UK’s largest training providers, is hosting Good for Business at The Oxford

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Wildlife park hopes rhino will soon feel horny

A WEST Oxfordshire wildlife park is hoping to hear the pitter-patter of tiny rhino hooves. Monty is a white rhino, whose species is threatened in the wild by poachers and the destruction of their natural habitat. His keepers at Cotswold Wildlife Park

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FOOTBALL: Royals reign to shock Kings

Division 1 leaders Kidlington Royals stretched their unbeaten start to five games with a thrilling 3-2 win at Premier outfit Kings Arms Wheatley in the Critchley's UTV League's Hedley Toms/Michael Brown Trophy first round. Kings Arms twice led through

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FOOTBALL: Northway shoot-out joy after 10-10 draw

Red Lion Islip and Northway served up one of the most extraordinary scorelines of all time when they drew 10-10 after extra time in an amazing Oxfordshire FA Sam Waters Sunday Cup first-round tie, writes Tim Siret. Visitors Northway eventually won the

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FOOTBALL: Shepperd shatters Hailey's run

Youngster Declan Shepperd bagged a brace as North Leigh ended Hailey’s unbeaten run with a 3-2 home win in the Witney & District FA Premier Division, writes Anthony Barlow. Sam Duffy scored North Leigh’s other goal, while Joel King and Luke Manning replied

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FOOTBALL: Drew's at the double

Matt Drew struck twice in Abba Athletic’s 5-0 home win over Kings Sutton in Banbury District & Lord Jersey FA Division 1. Craig Warmington, Michael Lewis and 16-year-old substitute Jake Fuller completed the job.

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FOOTBALL: Tackley sunk by Burton hat-trick

Rocky Burton was a hat-trick hero as Graystones won 3-1 after extra time at home to Tackley in the John Fathers Oxfordshire Junior Shield first round. Burton’s goal in normal time was cancelled out by Greg Finnemore, but the Graystones marksman scored

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FOOTBALL: Benson shoot down Saxton

Benson AFC continued their scorching start to the season with a 3-1 home win over North Berks League Division 1 pacesetters Saxton Rovers, writes Phil Annetts. Chris Roberts, Pete Ashman and Nick Skiller struck as Benson made it three wins out of three

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FOOTBALL: Jennings hits a trio

Chris Jennings hit a second-half hat-trick as Nuffield Arms stormed to a 5-0 win at Fairview to take over at the top of the RT Harris Oxford City FA. Kerry Walters and Kenny Saunders had netted for Nuffield before the break. Jack Munt’s late equaliser

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FOOTBALL: Crook's treble lifts Adderbury

Gary Crook’s hat-trick gave Adderbury Park a 3-0 home win over Garsington in the Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division. Simon Hodger’s double saw Oxford University Press march on at the top with a 2-1 win at Slade Farm. Lee Clack

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Council backs Banbury Museum handover

PLANS to hand over management of Banbury Museum to volunteers have been backed by councillors. Cherwell District Council said the move to transfer it from the authority would save £67,548, as trust status gives an 80 per cent cut in business rates.

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CRICKET: Strauss receives OBE at Windsor Castle

England captain Andrew Strauss, who began his cricketing career in Oxfordshire, received his OBE from the Princess Royal at Windsor Castle. South African-born Strauss, who has an English mother, was awarded the honour for leading the side to a famous

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'Nurse is our guardian angel' say Nuffield patients

SHE is the ‘guardian angel’ of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre. And now, ward sister Louise Flaxman has been handed the hospital’s highest accolade – the Nurse of the Year award. The 36-year-old was surprised to win the coveted trophy during the NOC

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Timetable change blamed for train delays

PUNCTUALITY of Chiltern Railway trains slumped last month amid teething problems with new signals and the firm’s new speeded-up timetable. The company is now planning timetable changes to improve reliability. Just 87 per cent of Chiltern’s trains reached

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Display captures African way of life

STUNNING photographs shot in remote areas of Africa have gone on display in Oxford to mark Black History Month. The exhibition, Pastoralist Herders East Africa, is the work of North Oxford photographer Adrian Arbib and went on show at Pegasus Theatre

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Postman accused of abuse in 1980s

A FORMER postman abused young girls in his post van while going about his rounds, a jury heard yesterday. Alfred Cooper, from Beechcroft in Dorchester, denies 15 counts of indecent assault and three of indecency with a child. They relate to three alleged

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Long tradition

Oxfordshire today comes together for an occasion we hoped we would never see. The first repatriation of a British serviceman to RAF Brize Norton was always expected but it has sadly come much sooner than feared. From the testimony given by his friends

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FOOTBALL: Heapy quits Didcot for City

Just two weeks after Didcot Town manager Francis Vines resigned from his post, the club have been stunned by the news veteran skipper Jamie Heapy is leaving to join Oxfordshire rivals Oxford City. A true one-club man until this point, Heapy

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Lansley Bill 'will put patients at risk'

THE man leading the controversial shake-up of the NHS in Oxfordshire was unavailable to comment on claims the plans would do “irreparable” damage to the provision of public health services. The Government wants GPs to take control of most of the NHS

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Unblocked

We welcome the intervention of Dr Stephen Richards in helping to tackle the difficult problem of bed-blocking in the county. Dr Richards, a GP who has worked for 22 years in the south of Oxfordshire, must be commended for stepping in and forming a new

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No changes

The Oxford Times’s lead story this week centres on potential changes to the county’s Parliamentary constituencies. On the face of it the proposed changes are very minor. When one compares what is likely to happen here with what is being suggested in

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Road delays

After almost 25 years, the controversial Cogges Link Road, in Witney, has been held up yet again. The public inquiry into the compulsory purchase of land for the road opened on Tuesday, but only very briefly. After an hour, the inspector decided to adjourn

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On road

It is hard to believe that the idea of a half marathon in Oxford has not caught on properly before. Ours is an ideal city to appreciate on foot and it was wonderful to see so many runners supporting the event. The route quite rightly took in both the

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FOOTBALL: Banbury are hammered

BANBURY United slipped to a 5-0 defeat at Stourbridge in last night’s Evo-Stik Southern League clash. The Puritans were trailing just 1-0 in the Premier Division match when the game was delayed by an injury to assistant referee Adam Dean, but conceded

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Trust confident it handled GP case well

HEALTH chiefs last night said they were confident they did everything they could to monitor North Oxford GP Mark Huckstep ahead of his suspension. It comes as Dr Huckstep’s patients spoke of a decent man with a ‘lovely bedside manner’. The father of

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Taxpayer burden

IN the 1960s, 70s and 80s, big business would complain that the nationalised railway was being subsidised by the tax payer. Now, the railways are privatised and still subsidised by the tax payer. Big business is silent on this. I wonder why? GLYN

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Rebuilding politics

THE Euro and the EU is about to implode and yet William Hague MP is continuing to ask permission from the EU commissioners to give more powers back to Britain. Does he take us British for fools? Britain is now bequeathing £48m a day to Brussels – for

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Support for air ambulance

I READ with interest the letter about air ambulance donations (Oxford Mail, September 28). My husband and I have supported them for quite a long time. Whenever we have a party or raffle we send money to them and always get a lovely letter back to say

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Playing God

REGARDING the story on Mr Clive Stone (Oxford Mail, September 28), the cancer drug campaigner, who are these so-called specialists on the use of life-extending drugs? Have we really got to the stage in our country where a group of people can dictate

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We were ripped at the double on Oxford visit

ON Sunday, I drove from Swindon to Oxford so that my daughter could catch her bus north back to university. To park, which was for less than 20 minutes, I had to pay a minimum £3.10 fee, which I feel is extortionate. Then we realised that my daughter

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Focus on sex

The views of the head of Didcot Girls’s School on the value of single-sex education are unequivocal. The school is one of only two single-sex state schools in the county, the other, of course, being St Birinus, also in Didcot. Rachael Warwick argued

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Fire alarm

It is not often that this column praises the work of county councillors, but credit where it is due. Oxfordshire county councillor Rodney Rose vetoed a lease on a £25m building in Fareham that would have been the South-East fire control room. His refusal

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Cobble squabble

Only in Oxford, we feel, would you find a situation where an historic street is given precisely the same sort of treatment as ever other patch of road in the city. Merton Street is the only cobbled street in the city, but for the past 18 months or more

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RUGBY UNION: Dark Blues outgunned

Oxford University 8, University of Queensland 25 OXFORD University’s first home game of the season ended in a disappointing defeat last night. They struggled to mount any sustained pressure and were deservedly beaten by their Australian

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Send money our way

I am pleased to see Eric Pickles has found some money for weekly bin collections (Oxford Mail, October 1). Oxford City Council will certainly be applying for some of the cash. Of course we already have weekly collections of food waste. And we are

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Britain no longer great

DAVID Cameron says he wants to put the ‘Great’ back into Britain but he’s got more chance of going to the moon on his bike. This Great Britain, as we all used to know it, disappeared with one swoop of Tony Blair’s pen when he signed us up to join the

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Sensible policing

I believe it was less than half a century ago that the first university graduate was recruited into the British police. I bet no one spoke to him! Now there are, of course, a fair number with honours degrees, who expect to rise fairly swiftly up the

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The streets have been neglected and it’s time to clean this city up

Autumn is now here and the trees are heavy with leaves ready to fall and make a mess all over the city. It’s time to put away the cherry pickers and give the street cleaning staff a broom to clear up our city centre and districts, and make it, once again

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SASSY & SINGLE: The Queen misses out on the likes of queuing

I was really shocked this week to read that one of the most exciting things Her Majesty has ever done is a bout of duty free shopping. I mean, I know getting a 30 per cent discount is a bit of a buzz, but I would have thought getting an invite to Kate

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Chalgrove 5 - 5 Kidlington Youth. Under 11s A league

Ethan provides couling influence on scorching day. On a baking hot Sunday morning in Chalgrove everyone needed cooling down. Fortunately for Kidlington they had brought just the tonic, Ethan Couling scoring twice in a see-saw game which swung both

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Driver was ‘going too fast for road’

A DEAF driver was “going too fast” when he lost control of his car and crashed it into a tree, killing his back seat passenger, a jury was told. Stephen Hocknell had been driving home from work with his two pals, local footballer Callum MacKinnon

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Smalley all smiles after breaking duck for Oxford United

A beaming Chris Wilder could not hide his delight after seeing summer signing Deane Smalley get off the mark at Aldershot. The striker scored a superbly taken second goal as United booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s

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Diabetic ‘rage’ led to assault on wife

A SENIOR figure in repatriation ceremonies has said a diabetic “rage” led him to assault his wife. Steve Radband admitted two counts of assault by beating against his wife Sarah. But he said “dangerously” low blood sugar levels had caused

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Efforts to improve Campsfield 'stalled'

EFFORTS to improve conditions for detainees at Campsfield House immigration removal centre have stalled, according to inspectors. Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said not enough had been done to deal with problems – particularly in healthcare

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Police thought student was a suicide bomber

STUDENT Goudarz Karimi was just hoping to get fitter when he went out for a quiet jog with a weight vest on. The item is used by the likes of Prince Harry, but the Iranian PhD student ended up being confronted by armed officers reacting to fears he could

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Women trapped in crash wreckage

TWO women were trapped in the wreckage of their car after it crashed into a ditch last night. The pair were travelling between Curbridge and Ducklington when the crash happened. Fire and ambulance crews were called out at 8.30pm to rescue them.

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood by David Madden

Charles Dickens: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, completed by David Madden (Unthank Books, £15)When Dickens suddenly collapsed and died, in June 1870, he left one half of a novel which would have been his best for a decade, and left generations of readers

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Soap star to switch on Christmas lights

Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle in TV soap Emmerdale, will switch on this year’s Banbury Christmas lights. He will push the button at 5.30pm at the Town Hall on November 27. The event will begin at midday and will include a fairground in Market

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Project set to dig up East Oxford's history

RESIDENTS can get their hands dirty and help uncover more of East Oxford’s history. The Archeox project has started work on a major excavation at the site of a former leper hospital and adjoining chapel in the tiny hamlet of Bartlemas, off Cowley Road