Archive

  • Yesterday's closing prices

    LOCAL: AEA Technology 117.5 BMW 3161 Electrocomp 270.25 iSoft 130 Oxford Bio 30 Oxford Inst 210.25 RM 204 Reed Elsevier 547.5 RPS 188 Torex Retail 95.5 Local shares supplied courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon NATIONAL: Alliance

  • Finding out how our poor neighbours are

    This year marks the 20th anniversary of Oxford's link to Leon, the university city of Nicaragua, the poorest country in Latin America. Maggie Hartford, who spent six months as a volunteer teacher there, reports on the plight of the people "I don't

  • Take a deep breath

    It is a good job that people under anaesthetic are not awake to see the tubes that go down their throat, says Paul Wightman. It is doubly fortunate that the patients do not realise what is happening, because as well as the tubes, people coming round in

  • GROWERS' LONG INNINGS

    Oxfordshire is a longstanding centre for the growing of willows for cricket bats, writes ELIZABETH EDWARDS The year of 1920 was a very good one for cricket bats. This is the year in which two men who were to become involved in the growing of willow

  • Albee's tall tale

    GILES WOODFORDE talks to director Irina Brown about the demands of staging Edward Albee's Three Tall Women It's as easy as ABC. Well it should be easy, given that Edward Albee's play Three Tall Women contains just three principal characters, and they

  • A celebration of tales and music

    Sir John Mortimer hosts a Mortimer's Miscellany as a fundraiser for the special care baby unit at John Radcliffe Hospital, writes REG LITTLE Gardener Stephen Relton did not have to dig far into his address book when he needed help in organising a

  • From Beijing to Oxford

    On the eve of a concert at the Sheldonian Theatre, PHILIP MACKENZIE tells of the Amadeus Orchestra's epic tour of China No sane man would try and take a 70-piece orchestra around China, taking in ten cities and giving 11 concerts over a period of

  • Knowing the drill

    How do you order the machinery for a production line manufacturing a totally new, revolutionary product, which was invented in a faraway country in a scientific culture totally different from our own? The answer, according to the chief executive of

  • Bright idea on tap

    Being served a dodgy pint of beer will be a thing of the past, if Jolyon Tidmarsh has anything to do with it. Mr Tidmarsh, who runs Smartcellar from a base at Milton Park, near Didcot, has spent the past two years developing Thermobuoy, a beer quality

  • Spokes-men who love bicycles

    Almost every month, The Oxford Times carries a report about another traditional Oxford business closing down. But you may be cheered to hear that at least one old-established industry is going from strength to strength. Cycling after a period in the

  • Tawdry review

    Shouldn't the Oxford Mail be supporting the city's largest non-professional theatre company? This was my first production with the Oxford Theatre Guild and I have been astonished at the level of energy and commitment that guild members have demonstrated

  • Care for tripe?

    Oxfordshire children once skipped home from school at lunchtimes to feast on it, but tripe is now the nation's most detested food, according to a survey. A poll carried out by Olive magazine says the delicacy the lining of cows' stomachs, traditionally

  • Driver denies A34 death crash charge

    A man has denied causing death by dangerous driving in a crash which caused 12 hours of chaos on the A34. Richard Brown, 55, pleaded not guilty at Oxford Crown Court yesterday to causing the death of John Kilty, 46, by driving dangerously on the A34

  • Blaze at joiners

    Thirty-five firefighters were called to a blaze at a joinery on an industrial estate near Wantage this morning. Staff on the estate at East Challow, off the A417 Faringdon Road, alerted crews to the fire at the Oakmead joinery at 7.10am. Firefighters

  • Minister on right path

    Employment minister Margaret Hodge was visiting staff at Oxford's Pathway Workshop today. The workshop, in Dunnock Way, Blackbird Leys, provides jobs for people who might struggle in a "conventional" workplace. Staff at the workshop make everything

  • No hiding place for this lout

    David Reid is a pain in the neck, a thorough nuisance and thoroughly deserves the weight of the law to descend upon him. Police have clearly lost patience with this persistent antisocial yob and have successfully applied to magistrates for a far-reaching

  • Big apple turnover

    It wasn't quite as scripted. I woke up in a city and found I was king of the bill all right a dirty great hospital bill.o Ah, New York ... but it wasn't quite what ol' Blue Eyes had in mind. Marching along Broadway, taking a subway to downtown, kicking

  • The Insider: April 20

    CONSERVATIVE Party leader David Cameron, who was this week depicted as 'Dave the Chameleon' by Labour, turned from blue to green and probably back to blue again yesterday when he jetted off to explore the melting polar ice cap in the Arctic. The Witney

  • Eco cabs reduce emissions

    Bicester-based Ecocabs2go, the pioneering brainchild of Union Cars owner Chris Whiteley, uses hybrid cars that reduce emissions by up to 50 per cent. Mr Whiteley, 46, said: "I've been in the business for 12 or 13 years and now, as we are all trying to

  • Flu threat prompts action plan

    VisitBritain, the national tourism marketing agency, has drawn up a plan to deal with either a flu outbreak in birds, or an outbreak of the virus among people. Suzanne Lockhart, tourism officer with Oxford City Council, said: "VisitBritain has been monitoring

  • Cycle crime in Oxford fifth highest in country

    CYCLISTS are more likely to have their bicycles stolen in Oxford than almost anywhere else in the country. The city has one of the highest rates of claims according to Halifax General Insurance, which has ranked Oxford fifth in a national league table

  • Wacky cards feature in Hollywood film

    Greetings cards designer Ann Edwards thought it was a hoax when she answered a phone call from a film producer wanting to use her cards in a star-studded movie. But this was no joke and the film, The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, will

  • Oxford graduate wins deportation battle

    A UKRAINIAN Oxford University graduate fighting for the right to stay in Britain, is "overjoyed" after winning her final appeal against deportation. Eleonora Suhoviy, 24, who works as a personal assistant at the oncology department at the John Radcliffe

  • Judges sift through entries

    Judges for the 2006 Oxfordshire Business Awards are now sifting through the 230 entrants to decide the winners. Organiser Stephen Dexter, of accountants Grant Thornton, said: "We are going to meet all the entrants over the next month, so that when we

  • Opposition growing to parking charges

    PEOPLE across Oxford are about to be consulted about controversial plans to charge car-owning housholders for parking outside their homes. But the scheme, a policy of Conservative-run Oxfordshire County Council, has angered Labour-run Oxford City Council

  • Jail for man who had sex with teen

    A MAN caught by police having sex with a teenage girl in a hotel room has been jailed for ten months. Paul Short, 32, of Arlington Drive, Oxford, pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual activity with a child, after police arrested him at the Premier

  • Special service to mark Queen's birthday

    A SPECIAL service to mark the Queen's 80th birthday is being held at Christ Church, Oxford, tomorrow evening. The cathedral service will be attended by the chairman of the county council, councillor Lesley Legge, and the Lord Lieutenant, Hugo Brunner

  • Calls for inquiry into killer nurse

    ONE of the survivors in the case of Benjamin Geen has called for an independent investigation to discover why it took so long to discover there was a murderer working on the ward. On Tuesday at Oxford Crown Court, Geen, 25, from Banbury, was convicted

  • New twist unveiled in Silverstone battle

    Doubts have emerged over plans to involve Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone in the redevelopment of Silverstone after a new twist in the power struggle at the British Racing Drivers' Club. Rebel member Harry Stiller, an ex-Formula Three champion,

  • Renault keep up pressure in Imola

    World championship leader Fernando Alonso said the Enstone-based Renault F1 team would have to continue working hard to keep ahead of the challenging teams. Speaking in the run-up to the San Marino GP, at Imola, on Sunday, he said Ferrari, McLaren and

  • BOXING: Jake's set for ring return

    Abingdon's unbeaten middleweight, Jake Guntert, returns to the ring next month seven months after his last fight. The 23-year-old (pictured), who has won all six of his professional bouts, is on the bill against an as yet unnanmed opponent at the York

  • Human worse than animals

    First it was dogs, then squirrels, then foxes, pigeons and now it's cats. I would like to say to Marjorie Kelly and Evelyn Cooper (Oxford Mail, April 11 and 12) have you never driven along the A40 and seen all the rubbish discarded by humans, lots

  • FOOTBALL: Star on song to ease drop fears

    Morrells of Oxford Sunday League: Star Wanderers snatched a vital three points to move away from the Premier Division relegation zone with a 3-0 victory at home to Mansfield Road. Mansfield Road agreed to play the game at Eynsham as their ground was

  • FOOTBALL: Super Cooper secures crucial victory for Keys

    Autotype UTV League: Gareth Cooper's late goal secured a 2-0 victory for Cross Keys against Brightwell as they continued their hunt for Division 2 title on Sunday. Graham Cole had cracked home a 25-yard free-kick to put Keys in front, before Cooper

  • BAR BILLIARDS: Oxford storm back to triumph

    Oxford A beat Reading 4-1 in the Inter-Area Competition second round, second leg at Morris Motors to tie the match 5-5 and go through on aggregate. Trailing 4-1 after the first leg, Oxford were given hope when Alan Oliver (10,890) took the first game

  • GOLF: Latest club results

    FRILFORD HEATH Ladies' April Stableford Div 1: B Sandys-Lumsdain 36pts, 2. A Gowing handicap 35, 3 M Chaundy 33. Div 2: 1. J Stringer 35 (cb), 2 H Mercer 35, 3 D Phipps 33. Chrysler Ladies Golf Challenge qualifier: 1 B Sandys-Lumsdain 36pts, 2. J

  • GOLF: City slickers

    DEFENDING champions Oxford City continue to set the pace in Section 1 of the Shaw & Co Oxfordshire Foursomes League. Their 2-1 home victory over newly-promoted Tadmarton Heath was their third in a row and could have been a second successive whitewash

  • Gripping exposé of fraud

    Every now and then, life gives cinema a little helping hand. No sooner has the Enron case re-opened in the US than Alex Gibney's exceptional documentary Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room goes on release over here. The levels of arrogance and greed

  • GOLF: Johnson claims BB&O trophy

    CHIPPING Norton's Matt Johnson underlined his potential with an excellent performance in the BB&O Junior Championship at The Oxfordshire. The 15-year-old, who is already Chippy's lowest handicapper on 0.5, finished second in the main event and won the

  • Disney dog adventure delights

    Based on the Japanese blockbuster Nankyoku Monogatari, Eight Below is an engrossing and engaging real-life adventure set in the treacherous ice kingdom of Antarctica. At the film's heart is a simple story of one man's enduring love for eight cute-as-can-be

  • Stylish adaptation of Christie classic

    "Tradespeople are like gardeners, you can't trust them," says Lady Lucy Angkatell dismissively, as she waves an unsatisfactory lobster in the air. It soon becomes apparent that snobbery reigns supreme at The Hollow, the country house where Lady Lucy (

  • Romeo launches Stratford's Complete works

    A weapons amnesty has clearly been declared in Verona. As Romeo and Juliet begins, members of the feuding families of Capulet and Montague are seen handing in their guns and rifles in an operation overseen by Prince Escalus (Jonny Weir), whose cheesy

  • Warm welcome at La Tasca

    They gave us the warmest welcome on a cold, rain-lashed night for which courtesy I have always felt tremendously well-disposed to La Tasca and its staff. The occasion was the opening party for Trevor Osborne's brilliantly conceived Oxford Castle development

  • Life ban for Leys thug

    A violent thug has been banned from setting foot in Blackbird Leys for the rest of his life. Magistrates slapped an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) on David Reid, 37, after hearing about 26 convictions for offences including theft, burglary and

  • We are amused

    "Absolutely wonderful, more wonderful than I ever could have imagined!" was the verdict of Jean Barrett, after chatting to the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday. Mrs Barrett, 79, from Fringford, near Bicester, shares her birth date with the monarch

  • No leap year

    Magdalen Bridge will be protected by a ring of steel to stop students throwing themselves to injury and even death on May Day. The 25ft-high bridge will be shut between 3am and 9am on May Morning and guarded at both ends by a cordon of 40 police and

  • Disease drove Dean to death

    The dean of Oxford Brookes University's prestigious business school stepped into the path of a train because he feared he would die of an incurable disease. Simon Williams, died of multiple injuries at about 6am on December 6 last year, just outside

  • Taxman chases identity mix-up

    Simon Graham's marital bliss would face a glitch if he gets hitched because an identity mix-up means he is already registered as married and living with his wife and three children in the north of England. During the past three years, the 31-year-old

  • '05 winner set to try tri again

    The cream of the triathlon crop will be descending on Blenheim Palace next month for the second Blenheim Triathlon. Oxford triathlete Sophie Whitworth, the winner of last year's women's event, is hoping history will repeat itself this year but she

  • Cinema in the frame

    Work is set to start within weeks on the multi-million pound cinema planned at the heart of Didcot's town centre redevelopment. Building contracts and a deal with cinema chain Cine UK have been signed and work is due to start on the Station Road site

  • Commons clash over NHS crisis

    David Cameron went head to head with Tony Blair in the House of Commons yesterday over the crisis facing the county's health services. The Tory leader and MP for Witney told Mr Blair problems in the NHS were being caused by "Government mismanagement

  • Geen survivor wants inquiry

    One of the survivors of killer nurse Ben Geen has called for an independent investigation to discover why it took so long to catch him. On Tuesday at Oxford Crown Court, Geen, 25, from Banbury, was convicted of murdering two patients and causing grievious

  • Production celebrates anniversary

    Young performers have donned their lederhosen and nuns' habits and perfected their yodelling, in preparation for a performance of The Sound of Music. The 35 teenagers and children, who are all members of the Oxfordshire Youth Music Theatre (OYMT), were

  • 'We fear drought control'

    Sports clubs have warned that grounds and parks could become "parched" and may be forced to close if a strict water ban is imposed. Warnings have also been issued that car washes, window cleaning firms and industrial cleaners could also be jeopardised

  • Son demands answers over late-night transfer

    A businessman has questioned why his 89-year-old mother was moved from one Oxford hospital to another in the middle of the night. Lesley Seligman was taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital on April 2, after hurting her leg in a fall at her home in

  • 'Cars will clog lane'

    Side streets in Oxford which no-one appears to own could become blocked with parked cars when they are left out of a controlled parking zone planned for next year. Residents living in the Marston South area are holding a meeting next week to discuss