Stories for 4 June 2004

Oxfordshire News

Let's ditch Labour

I write as a lifelong Labour Party supporter.   more...

Report calls for tolls to reduce gridlock

Motorists could be made to pay to use the A34 trunk road through Oxfordshire to prevent gridlock.   more...

Nerve repair excites bio firm

A nerve repair treatment developed by an Oxford company has restored movement and feeling to animals with damaged limbs for the first time.   more...

Riding through the pain

Cancer sufferer Jane Tomlinson greeted well-wishers in Oxford on June 3 as she neared the end of a 2,000-mile charity cycle ride.   more...

Aide denies Chancellor gaffe

Tony Blair's key aide Jonathan Powell has denied telling south Oxfordshire MP Boris Johnson that Gordon Brown would never become Prime Minister.   more...

Fiancee strangled in hotel, court told

A lorry driver stuffed a tie into his bisexual fiancee's mouth and strangled her in an Oxford hotel room.   more...

Medical marvels

Doctors have praised a group of children who raised money to replace expensive medical equipment stolen from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.   more...

Paying respect

Abingdon town centre fell silent and traffic came to a standstill as more than 100 mountain-bikers paid homage at the funeral of a 17-year-old rider.   more...

Friday, June 4: Shine forth

Lights should not be hidden beneath a bushel. Any churchman will tell you that.   more...

District loses bidding war

District councillors were outbid by supermarket chain Sainsbury's when they tried to buy a shopping centre in the middle of Bicester.   more...

New bobby on beat

South Oxfordshire residents are getting to know their new police community support officer Nina Roughley.   more...

Fired up for charity trek

Six Abingdon-based soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are preparing to face another arduous assignment.   more...

Nowhere to exercise

Home Secretary David Blunkett attended a meeting in Oxford to discuss crime and antisocial behaviour (Oxford Mail, May 28).   more...

Football yob barred from matches

A football thug has been banned from travelling to Euro 2004 after he jeopardised England's qualification chances by ignoring FA and Government appeals not to travel to last October's tense away qualifier with Turkey.   more...

999 calls shake-up 'will put lives at risk'

Firefighters have warned lives could be put at risk if Oxfordshire's fire control room is shut down.   more...

Oxfordshire Sport

Football: Hackett 'near to signing'

Speed merchant Chris Hackett is on the verge of agreeing a new deal to stay at Oxford United.   more...

Tennis: Huge task for Henman

Oxfordshire's Tim Henman was today aiming to defy all the odds when he tackled clay court king Guillermo Coria in the French Open semi-finals at Roland Garros.   more...

Football: Ardley and Witney joy after 'shock' promotion

Witney United and Ardley United are celebrating, after being belatedly promoted into the Hellenic League Premier Division, following a surprising vote at the league's annual meeting.   more...

Fixtures: The week's sporting calender

SATURDAY   more...

Cricket: Adams back for derby

Home Counties Premier League: All-rounder Russell Adams returns for Oxford's trip to face arch rivals Banbury in Division 1 tomorrow.   more...

Cricket: Jeacock returns for Oxon one-day tie

Paul Jeacock is set to return to the Oxfordshire side for their Minor Counties Knockout Cup first-round tie with Wales at Banbury this Sunday (noon).   more...

Cricket: Oxon edge to thrilling win

OXFORDSHIRE over 50s edged out Herefordshire by two wickets in their latest ECB 50+ Championships game, after a low-scoring affair at Challow & Childrey.   more...

Speedway: Wagstaff eyes up revenge mission

Promoter Nigel Wagstaff has issued a battlecry as Oxford Silver Machine seek revenge against Coventry Bees at Oxford Stadium tonight.   more...

Tennis: There's no splitting North Oxford and Thame

North Oxford B and Thame fought out an extraordinary draw in Men's Division 1 of the Wilson OLTA Inter-Club 3-Pair League.   more...

Oxfordshire Whats On

Fancy joining Mel on stage?

Are you up to the challenge? Can you learn, rehearse and perform in a musical in 48 hours? If so, the Showtime Challenge team want to hear from you. Talented actors and singers are being sought to take part in a special gala event at the New Theatre, Oxford, on Sunday, July 18. Presented by Eyebrow Productions, the evening will open with a selection of songs from popular musicals, sung by a junior choir, followed by a performance of Steven Sondheim's Into the Woods.   more...

Who's on where in jazz . . .

The Oxfordshire Jazz Federation Jazz Week gets under way from June 7. It is not so much a festival, more a bringing together of the different strands of jazz available in the area plus some major names to add icing to a very rich cake. Lillian BouttÈ may be the "New Orleans Musical Ambassador" but she also is a pretty good ambassador for music in local schools.   more...

INTERVIEW: Mary Zacaroli

Why did the suffragette Emily Davison throw herself under the King's horse at the Epsom Derby in 1913? The simple answer is because she thought it would convince the Government to give women the vote.   more...

Death of a couturier

Even before Ninette de Valois came on the scene, Marie Rambert had sowed the first seeds of ballet in Britain with her Ballet Club performances at the tiny Mercury Theatre in Notting Hill. Among the small group of dancers working with her was Frederick Ashton, a young man who had started late after being inspired by Pavlova. He hadn't much of a technique, but was a brilliant character dancer, and in 1926 Rambert chose him to play Monsieur Duchic in her new work A Tragedy of Fashion, a light-hearted tale of a couturier who commits suicide with his own scissors when his masterpiece is rejected by his rich client.   more...

Interview: The Killers

Growing up in a city like Las Vegas is bound to do something to you. Sin City's mix of sleaze and glamour, high living and skid row can't help but give you a twisted outlook on the world.   more...

Nasty treatment for a 'healthy' food

When I announced that I intended to write about lettuce, my colleagues laughed, No one could possibly sustain that subject for an entire page and still keep people reading to the end, they remarked. Having spent the weekend enjoying freshly cropped organic lettuce from Coleshill Organics, I disagree.   more...