Stories for 26 March 2004

Oxfordshire Business

Westgate chief warns of delay

The modernised Westgate shopping centre in Oxford will not be ready until 2010 if talks on transport links drag on, says its owner.   more...

Oxfordshire News

CCTV vans will aid fight against crime

CCTV cameras will be on the move across Oxfordshire in a bid to improve community safety.   more...

Extra money must be put into care, not in the bank

Councillor Don Seale has got it wrong (Oxford Mail, March 24).   more...

Our paranoid society

We are told that bellringers are to undergo police investigation, because of a possible risk to children (Oxford Mail, March 23).   more...

Big Yin to play Oxford to help pal's family

Billy Connolly is to perform two special shows in Oxford next month and they promise to be among the most emotional nights of his career.   more...

Salon staff's fashion show raised £4,000

More than £4,000 was raised at a charity fashion and hair show organised by Oxford stylists whose lives have been touched by cancer.   more...

Park-and-ride project looks at long haul

A major expansion of Oxford's park-and-ride bus network is being proposed, with three major car parks planned for county towns.   more...

Oxford unionists back rebel party

Trade union members in Oxford are campaigning for a split from the Labour Party to support a new party backed by controversial MP George Galloway.   more...

£400k deal raises fears over school

St John's College has sold the lease of a North Oxford community centre for £400,000.   more...

Man, 64, conned out of almost £1,000

Detectives in Bicester are hunting a conman who duped a man into handing over almost £1,000.   more...

City target must be 1,000 homes a year

Of course, the Green Belt is not at risk (Oxford Mail, March 19).   more...

Oxford family wins High Court organs fight

An Oxford mother who accused the NHS of unlawfully taking organs from her dead daughter without permission has won £2,750 compensation.   more...

Coach: I didn't abuse brothers

A boys' football coach was never left alone with any of the three boys he is accused of sexually abusing, a court heard.   more...

Oxfordshire Sport

Football: Pitt fits the bill for U's

Graham Rix unveiled his first signing as Oxford United's caretaker boss - and promised excitement.   more...

Speedway: Smooth Machine take the sting out of Bees

Coventry Bees 43, Oxford Silver Machine 49: Coventry Bees were well and truly stung by Oxford Silver Machine in last night's challenge at Brandon, writes LEON HILL.   more...

Fixtures: All the week's sporting fixtures

FOOTBALL   more...

Rugby: Chinnor pack will hold most of aces

Chinnor will start as strong favourites to lift the Oxfordshire Cup for the fourth time when they take on fellow South West 1 side Oxford Harlequins in the final at Iffley Road on Sunday (3.30pm).   more...

Football: Odom turns down Witney move

Chipping Norton Town's prolific striker, Mark Odom, has turned down a lucrative offer from Division 1 West promotion chasers Witney United.   more...

Football: City loan star Hale heading for Windies

Maidenhead United striker Steve Hale completes his month's loan spell with Oxford City tomorrow - before heading off to support England's cricketers in the West Indies.   more...

Badminton: Burns stars as Oxon 2nd escape drop

Oxfordshire 2nd survived the drop by the skin of their teeth with victory over Devon 2nd.   more...

Football: Dons eye up Shane

STRIKER Shane Small-King could be on the move from AFC Wallingford to runaway Seagrave Haulage League leaders AFC Wimbledon.   more...

Oxfordshire Whats On

Review: Othello (Oxford Playhouse)

At the beginning of Declan Donnellan's production of Othello for the Cheek by Jowl theatre company (Oxford Playhouse until March 27)) Othello and Desdemona stand motionless before the audience while Brabantio rants about the trials of fatherhood and virtually everyone else scampers around in search of the elusive Moor. And throughout the play characters not involved in the action remain present on stage as statuesque witnesses to the events going on around them.   more...

In to the ordinary

Despite their self-deprecating name, indie-pop darlings The Ordinary Boys are an extraordinary band. One smitten music critic described them as combining the mod-pomp of Paul Weller, the wit of Oscar Wilde and the cynical detachment of Graham Greene -- which pretty much sums up their appeal.   more...

Review: Mona Lisa Smile (12A)

American college administrator William Arthur Ward once noted: "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."   more...

Author interview: Joanne Harris

Never judge a book by its cover applies as much to best-selling author Joanne Harris as her novels. She is as enigmatic as they come, at odds with the fluidity and warmth of her writing.   more...

Review: Saffron French-Indian restaurant

When a colleague suggested I drop by at Saffron, a north Oxford restaurant that styles itself as Indian-French, I was intrigued. Would curried frogs' legs be on the menu, alongside l'escargots vindaloo?   more...