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AEA Technology 108.5 BMW 2587 Electrocomponents 240 Isoft Group 61 Oxford Bio 25.5 Oxford Instruments 205.5 Reed Elsevier 515 RM 175.25 RPS 199.25 Torex Retail 72.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

AEA Technology 108.5 BMW 2587 Electrocomponents 240 Isoft Group 61 Oxford Bio 25.5 Oxford Instruments 205.5 Reed Elsevier 515 RM 175.25 RPS 199.25 Torex Retail 72.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

Seventeen-year-old CHRISTOPHER LILLYCROP reflects on seven years as a boarder at Abingdon School I have often wondered what an outsider would think if they wandered around one of our boarding houses at eight o'clock in the morning. Dayboys are often

NICOLA LISLE talks to Roderick Williams about his new jazz-style Choral Evensong, which premieres at the University Church this week Baritone singer and composer Roderick Williams or Roddy as he prefers to be known is a delightful person to meet,

Strawberries planted in the garden far surpass any commercial varieties If you've got room, growing your own strawberries is one of the most rewarding experiences because the flavour and freshness of home-grown berries just picked surpasses the firm-fruited

The Cotswolds are being celebrated after four decades as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, writes REG LITTLE The Prince of Wales is a man who can recognise a significant anniversary when he hears of one. Given his interest in conservation, he

The best of the Edinburgh Fringe comedy acts can be seen in here in Oxford, writes LUCY CROSSLEY Every year, thousands of comedy fans flock to Scotland to experience the world's largest arts festival the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Originally envisaged

Check out our terrific pictures from the World Cup Crazy supplement, a selection of images of Oxfordshire people cheering on England. You can view the full set and order copies at our special picture site.

TO find out more details of the events listed below, contact Business Link Solutions on 0845 606 4466 or visit www.businesslinksolutions.co.uk unless otherwise stated. JUNE 17: Seminar, Self Managing Leadership Managing Yourself Through Turbulent

ABINGDON: Biotech firm Vastox has promoted Darren Millington to chief financial officer, from his former role as head of finance. Mr Millington, 30, joined Vastox in April 2005 and has been instrumental in helping to establish and build the company's

DIDCOT: Parcel carrier TNT, which has a base at Milton Park near Didcot, has won a prestigious award from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). TNT took the title Best Services Supplier after reducing costs and delivering increased service efficiency in

BODICOTE: A bricklaying apprentice has been named Best Craft Certificate Student by the South Warwickshire branch of the Federation of Master Builders. Joe Bourne was praised for his work both in the classroom and out on site for housebuilder KingsOak

BANBURY: Law firm Brethertons has merged with Rugby-based Simpson and Co with senior partner Jim Simpson becoming a consultant to the firm. Richard Pell, senior partner at Brethertons, said: "I have known Jim for many years and he is a familiar figure

Four new industrial and office schemes are being marketed in Oxfordshire. In Banbury, Office Villages is looking for occupiers of its new office scheme, Northgate, at Noral Way, just off Southam Road, where site clearance works have already started.

GILES WOODFORDE talks to Rupert Goold, the new boss of the Oxford Stage Company What to do for your first show? Start with a big splash, or dip your toe gently in the water? It's an important question for any new artistic director of a theatre company

On the anniversary of The Battle of the Somme, in which 310,000 soldiers died, a group of Oxford schoolchildren saw for themselves the site of the slaughter They say that when the wind blows through the arches of the immense memorial at Thiepval it

Three of the largest buildings which made up the former headquarters of Oxfam in Oxford have been sold in a multi-million-pound deal. Oxfam House in Banbury Road, Summertown, and Milford House behind it, have been bought by developer Tilbe Land for £3.47m

If you have not got pots of cash, but want to create or revamp your website, then the quirky graphic and web-design company Lumpy Lemon may be able to help you. Set up three years ago by husband and wife team Simon Blackbourn and Ishka Michocka, it is

by Gayle Curry Compared to the financial consequences of Paul McCartney's marriage crisis, the prospect of the Beatles' record company Apple Corps facing legal costs of an estimated £3m might be considered a drop in the ocean. Nevertheless, the loss

Languages have never been the greatest strength of British people in general. The reasons are partly historical, with the days of the Empire ensuring that everyone from India to Australia should speak the Queen's (or King's) English, rather than adapt

by Stephen Archibald Since opening in 1995, around 2,200 companies have been admitted to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and more than £24bn has been raised. Specifically tailored to growing businesses, giving companies from all countries

It takes a very special kind of machine to find out the answer to life, the universe and everything. This machine is also very large and very expensive and is being built in Geneva. It is called a Large Hadron Collider and scientists at the European

The boss of only one Oxfordshire company received an invitation to a high powered celebration of Britain's 100 fastest growing private companies. The bash at tycoon Sir Richard Branson's Kidlington house was thrown for directors as selected by the Oxford

The boss of only one Oxfordshire company received an invitation to a high powered celebration of Britain's 100 fastest growing private companies. The bash at tycoon Sir Richard Branson's Kidlington house was thrown for directors as selected by the Oxford

by Jonathan Fink Business owners and managers can be forgiven for being obsessed with search engines. Services like Google, Yahoo and MSN are used for every conceivable purpose, from tracing family roots to booking holidays, buying books and selecting

What do maternity clothes, cycling holidays and horse massage have in common? The answer is that they are all to be found within a few square miles of each other in the village of Tackley. The unsung talents of various villagers were uncovered by businessmen

by Nigel Barlow To re-think means to come up with different and better solutions to familiar problems. You could call this innovation, but that is not as easy as it sounds in practice. "One month in a job and you go blind!" is a revealing phrase. Especially

Sam Sadler, of Bicester accountants Sadler Talbot, asks why Oxfordshire residents pay more tax than average Recently the Government published the national statistics on household income per head for 2004. These figures represent the amount of income

Like warm beer, the sound of willow on leather and bracing walks along a windswept seaside promenade, an easy-paced meander around a bookshop is one of life's genuine pleasures. I do not subscribe to the view that to be enjoyed, bookshops must be quaint

Like warm beer, the sound of willow on leather and bracing walks along a windswept seaside promenade, an easy-paced meander around a bookshop is one of life's genuine pleasures. I do not subscribe to the view that to be enjoyed, bookshops must be quaint

It is difficult to imagine anyone with more enthusiasm than Basil Mienie. Those familiar with the TV series The Armstrongs will remember him as the expert brought in to motivate the workforce at U-Fit double glazing Coventry's third biggest double glazing

Simply possessing enough cheek to think the unthinkable or what others in your chosen profession think is unthinkable was the recipe for success for Mike Collen, managing director of Diagnos. The company, which has just expanded into new offices in

For years, it has been a designer's dream to produce a fully functional electric car that can do everything its petrol-engined equivalent is capable of. Significant steps have been made, but the downfalls have always been the size of the batteries needed

For years, people have been saying that The Anchor is a potential goldmine waiting for the right management to come along. Situated on the corner of Hayfield and Polstead roads in prosperous north Oxford, in recent times, at least, it has never fulfilled

Is your carpet stained, tired looking, in need of replacement? If so, before you rush out to buy a new one consider this you can now have your carpet dyed for about one third of the cost and it will look just like new. In operation in the United States

When arranging a holiday, dog owners are always faced with a dilemma. Do they just go where they want and put up with the guilt of leaving their beloved canine companion in kennels? Or do they compromise and try to find pet friendly accommodation which

There is something just a little decadent about sitting in a hot tub, sipping Champagne and contemplating the good life. Many people enjoy this pleasure perhaps without the drink at the gym, but usually time is limited, and you have to share with others

Sheer hard work and some inspiration have allowed Saeed Khan and Calvin Weaver to be in a position where they have set up their own firm of architects. Mr Kahn, from Oxford, and Mr Weaver, from Swindon, met at Oxford Brookes University but their story

During the long winter months, while they are in their workshop maintaining the Cherwell Boathouse's fleet of punts, boathouse manager Roger Forster and boat-builder Bob Dowling often bounce ideas for inventions off each other. Most get no further than

They take arts and crafts seriously in France, and when master joiner Bruno Boulay arrived in Wantage nine years ago from his home town of Linas-Montlhry, near Paris, he was amazed at what he found. "In France we don't have builders. We have people who

Following in father's footsteps' could be the motto of Laura Whinney's new travel company, Upland Escapes. Her father, Christopher Whinney, set up the Alternative Travel Group in 1979, offering journeys on foot in Italy, expanding it into a major player

Twelve years ago Robert Montague, then chief executive of the Tiphook container business and owner of the multi-million pound, 1,300 acre Pusey House estate near Faringdon, not to mention a large private aircraft, went bankrupt to the tune of £30m owed

Everywhere you look these days there seems to be someone urging you to get fit. But the more that happens the more evidence suggests that we are doing exactly the opposite. Why this is so seems unclear, but one theory could be that taking exercise can

A new testing kit which will allow police to tell whether drivers are under the influence of drugs has been launched by an Oxfordshire firm. The Drug Detection System will reveal whether people have been using drugs including cocaine, amphetamines or

A group of teenagers who wrote, illustrated and produced their own children's book are looking to build on the success of their company. Having won the ultimate accolade at the Oxfordshire Young Enterprise Awards, the 18-strong team of sixth formers from

AEA Technology 110 BMW 2545 Electrocomponents 239.75 Isoft Group 60.25 Oxford Bio 26.5 Oxford Instruments 205.5 Reed Elsevier 514 RM 174.5 RPS 199 Torex Retail 70.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

AEA Technology 110 BMW 2545 Electrocomponents 239.75 Isoft Group 60.25 Oxford Bio 26.5 Oxford Instruments 205.5 Reed Elsevier 514 RM 174.5 RPS 199 Torex Retail 70.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

Honda boss Nick Fry has been warned the Brackley team's desperate situation could get far worse before it gets any better. For the first time this year, Honda emerged from a grand prix without a point to their name, with Jenson Button in particular

Oxford Cheetahs 44, Coventry Bees 51:A magnificent 17-point haul from skipper Todd Wiltshire was not enough for Cheetahs to secure the points against Coventry at Oxford Stadium last night. With too many riders out of sorts, they were always fighting

Oxford Mail's multi-talented reporter, Emma-Kate Lidbury, took part in her first triathlon only 12 months ago and now she is looking forward to competing at the world champion- ships. Lidbury swam, cycled and ran her way around Ellesmere in north Shropshire

Oxfordshire ace Tim Henman produced what he described as his best performance on a grass court for four years to breeze into the third round of the Stella Artois Championships at Queen's Club. Henman made a mockery of his recent slump down the world

Oxfordshire opened their account in the Home Counties League with a 121-110 win over Sussex at South Oxford. Having been hammered 137-106 by Surrey in their opener, Oxon bounced back by winning on four of the six rinks against Sussex. Oxon always

Paul Hooley snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for Bicester against Thame with the last wood of the game in Division 2 of the Oxford & District League, sponsored by Yarnton Nurseries Garden Centre. With Thame set to triumph in the battle between

Oxfordshire ran out 121-95 winners over Leicestershire in a friendly at Han- borough. Oxon won on three of the six rinks, with Eddie Evans, Ron Havard, John O'Shea and Mick Ford providing their biggest victory with a 32-8 triumph.

Hundreds of cyclists are expected to take part in a ride across the Cotswolds in memory of a physicist and cycling fan who died after being knocked off his bike. The 105-mile Circuit of the Cotswolds event, starting in Witney on Sunday, has been organised

Young Eddie Pepperell equalled the course record on the way to a six-stroke victory in the Frilford Heath Gold Medal, writes Michael Knox. The 15-year-old England junior international, who lives in Abingdon, went round Frilford's Green course in a six-under-par

Paul Barrow landed the North Oxford Club Championship for the first time following a two-shot victory over Ben Millar. Barrow who joined the club as a junior and now plays of a handicap of one, owed his title to a superb two-under-par second round of

Two crashes in two hours caused long delays to traffic on the A34 near Abingdon today. A lorry and four cars were involved in the separate accidents near the Marcham interchange. In the first, at about 5.30am, a car were in collision on the north-bound

Youngsters John Rusk and Andy Tucker starred as Frilford Heath beat Burford 2-1 in the second round of the Shaw & Co Oxfordshire Foursomes League KO Cup. Rusk and Potter edged out Tom Potter and Tom Green by one hole in the decider to secure victory

Oxford Downs marched on in the Bernard Tollett Oxfordshire Cup with a four-wicket win over Challow & Childrey in the second round. Chris Sandbach took 3-14 to restrict Challow to 111-8, before Jamie Perkin (44) and Richard West (32) guided Downs to

There was the story, probably apocryphal, about an Oxford college bursar who summoned a forester from a distant woodland to tell him the sad news of woodworm in the great hall rafters. "I've been wondering when you would call," said the forester. "You

ENVIRONMENTAL initiatives by the Government are helping fuel the rapid resurgence of an Oxfordshire company which was on its knees little more than a year ago.o The Harwell-based environment division of AEA Technology, which employs 600 staff, is being

WILLIAM KENT: ARCHITECT, DESIGNER, OPPORTUNIST by TIMOTHY MOWL (Jonathan Cape, £20) The last word of the title and be assured that its pejorative overtone is intended demonstrates that Timothy Mowl's new life of Kent, the first full biography

Joyce Tyldesley, whose book, Egypt: How a Lost Civilization was Rediscovered, inspired a recent exciting BBC series (see Oxford Times, 20 January 2006), now takes us further into that fascinating land, writes Gertrud Seidmann. Tales From Ancient Egypt

John Snow, 19-century physician and founding father of the modern science of epidemiology, is best known for his work with cholera. The scourge of Victorian Britain, cholera struck four times in the 1800s, subjecting tens of thousands to an exceptionally

JOHN CAREY John Carey is former Merton Professor of English at Oxford University, and a former judge of the Booker Prize, Britain's top literary award. His latest book What Good Are The Arts? (Faber, £7.99) has ruffled a few opera-lovers' feathers

If Joanna Trollope is the queen of the Aga Saga, then Amanda Brookfield must be a strong contender for princess. I don't mean this pejoratively, though the person who first coined the term 'Aga Saga' undoubtedly did. Both authors specialise in relationships

Falling Blossom Peter Pagnamenta and Momoko Williams (Century, £12.99) It was the year of the Tokyo Olympics, 1964, when I married my Japanese bride and I thought at the time that I was among the first Englishmen to bring together the West and the

Oxfordshire County Council leader Keith Mitchell, a staunch patriot and man who once said he was "proud to be politically incorrect", has hoisted the flag of St George in the garden of his country home in Adderbury, near Banbury. He also has St George's

SATURDAY, JUNE 17 Talk: Local actor and historian Robert Hardy will speak about The Great Warbow, his history of the longbow and crossbow, at Charlbury War Memorial Hall at 2.30 pm. Tickets: £5 adult/£2.50 child from New & Things and The Pharmacy in

I sympathise with Debbie Cummins, whose son had some of the items in his lunchbox confiscated at Bayards Hill School at Barton, Oxford (Oxford Mail, June 7). But the fact that these rules were written in advance makes it a difficult point to argue.

Brian Duffy (Oxford Mail, June 8) thinks he has experienced a healing from Christianity. His supposed cure and his thanks for it prove beyond doubt that he never had the condition. I "caught" a real spiritual faith in Jesus Christ 16 years ago and

A letter and questionnaire are about to be sent to all residents in Oxford who will be affected by the proposed charges for residents' parking schemes. The Tory-controlled county council is committed to the laudable plan to keep council tax increases

The philosopher Stephen Law will probably ruffle a lot of feathers with his latest book. He's entered a debate about children's education one which, at least in the United States, seems to be dominated by the other side and is gaining ground in the UK

In the 1930s, across England and Wales, local authorities were becoming concerned about the rapid loss of written heritage. Bedfordshire had shown the way by creating a county record office. Hugh Walton spent three months there, learning the basics

Banbury-born Gary Glitter today lost his appeal in a Vietnamese court against his conviction and a three-year prison sentence for molesting young girls at a seaside villa in southern Vietnam. The 62-year-old singer - whose real name is Paul Gadd - been

Abingdon's reopened open-air swimming pool is in troubled water with complaints about dirty changing rooms, queues, refreshment shortages and breakdowns. Swimmers also want the Abbey Meadow pool opened at lunchtimes. The owners, the Vale of White

A man who launched a savage attack on his estranged partner, before assaulting two police officers called to detain him has won a cut in his jail term. London's Criminal Appeal Court noted Gareth Edwards had no previous convictions and had turned to

All the girls love a man in uniform and now Jane Davies is marrying one after meeting her future husband on a website for singles with a passion for people in uniform. The former NHS worker from Oxford is getting hitched to her retained firefighter

Campaigners trying to prevent service cuts and job losses at The Horton Hospital in Banbury are urging residents to attend two crucial public meetings. The first is a protest rally in People's Park on Sunday, at 3pm. The event is being organised by

Rail passengers say fares in Oxfordshire fail to provide good value for money, although most were satisfied with their overall experience of train travel. The National Passenger Survey, carried out by the rail passenger watchdog Passenger Focus, found

In or out? This is a question any opera lover must address as the season for festivals at country houses comes round again. No, not a question about bitters in the pink gin (who drinks that these days?); I refer to the matter of where supper is enjoyed

There are two ways of making this attractive dessert, the lazy way and the classic way. The latter means you will have to stand over the oven waiting to mould the baskets the moment the ginger biscuit base has cooked. The first calls for no more than

As a result of the proliferation of polytunnels across our green and pleasant land, the English strawberry season, which once lasted just six weeks, now carries on until October. While the tunnels help extend the soft fruit season and protect the strawberries

A week into the World Cup and British film distributors are still shying away from releasing anything whose core constituency is currently preoccupied with qualification for the second phase. So, the schedule is packed with oldies and curios that might

After a brief hiatus from the big screen, Jennifer Lopez returns with more a whimper than a bang in a rather drab yarn of familial strife that asks us to accept the singing superstar as a battered, down-on-her-luck single mother. She delivers a typically

How to describe a happening of this sort? Burford Biennale would be good, for time but not for place: we're a couple of miles short of that delectable Cotswold spot where it's always teatime. How about Asthall Assembly? That's better. The place is beautiful

'AM I writing the tale, or is it writing me?" murmurs Ibn Al-Muqaffa, as he is dragged into a maelstrom of intrigue and sectarian violence engulfing eighth-century Iraq. The play unfolds in Basra, where Al-Muqaffa (Neil Edmond) a Persian man of letters

A fresh fight will be launched against the May morning closure of Oxford's Magdalen Bridge after it was labelled an "extreme over-reaction". Earlier this month police, ambulance and council officials unanimously agreed to continue closing the bridge

When the Daily Telegraph theatre critic Charles Spencer began his review of this revival of Sunday in the Park with George, he dismissed Sondheim fans as a gang of weird saddos. He ended it as a paid-up member. Wyndham's Theatre flutters with the five-star

Fans of Oxford United are queuing up to show their support for the club by snapping up the new Oxford Loyal wristbands launched yesterday. The bright yellow-and-blue wristbands proved to be a massive hit with fans when they went on sale yesterday,

Local theatre group Tomahawk have every reason to be proud of their latest venture with a new production of the rarely performed Ibsen drama Little Eyolf, in a translation by Michael Mayer. The intimate space of this studio theatre lends itself to the

Tiger! Tiger! burning bright In the forests of the night What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? I wonder if the hand of Joanna May was influenced by this piercing poem of the artist William Blake. The visions of Joanna guiding

A 17-year-old has been arrested after a spate of graffiti in the Eynsham area. The teenager's arrest follows the launch of a crackdown on criminal damage by police in west Oxfordshire three months ago. Last month, eight people were arrested in the

The death of an Oxford woman who fell from a first floor window at her nursing home was an accident, a jury at her inquest ruled. Maisie Jones, 82, who suffered from dementia, fell 11ft from the window of Brookfield Christian Care Home in Oxford on

Once again, the revue talent is spread so thinly that three universities have to combine to provide one evening's entertainment (I use the word loosely). There were five performers from Durham, Cambridge Footlights contributed 14, and Oxford Revue 13

More than 26,000 people have said a resounding NO to plans to close and downgrade Oxfordshire community hospitals and more joining them every day. The joint petitions from Wallingford, Wantage, Abingdon, Didcot and Henley will be handed over to health

A pile of rubble at an Abingdon primary school has been transformed. For years a corner at the bottom of the playground at Carswell school in Bostock Road housed temporary classrooms, which were then pulled down. But, thanks to a grant of £4,000 from

The Music at St Peter's season continued last Saturday with a wonderful a capella recital by the Choir of Worcester College, in a programme that encompassed a range of madrigals and devotional music from the mid-16th century up to the late 20th century

About 50 detainees at the Campsfield Removal Centre have gone on hunger strike in protest against the treatment they are receiving. An estimated 100 detainees at the centre in Kidlington refused breakfast yesterday morning and although half stopped

World Cup excitement turned sour in an Abingdon pub after a charity England shirt signed by nine of the 1966 winning team was stolen. For two weeks the red shirt in a glass frame was displayed and admired by customers at the Old Anchor Inn in St Helen's

Mourners from far and wide turned out for the funeral of a traveller from Marston, in Oxford, yesterday. Hundreds of friends and family arrived at St Nicholas' Church in Elsfield Way to pay their respects to Bill Loveridge, who lived on land in nearby

Boaters on the Thames have been warned about a gang of yobs after a spate of summer mayhem at Oxford's Iffley Lock. A 61-year-old man was pushed into the river, a canoeist stoned, another tipped out, a digger driven into a fence, and logs thrown into

What's the best way of getting rid of a rich, aged husband? Well, you could bump him off, but that is likely to attract the attention of the police. It's far better to spend all his money as Norina will tell you. Egged on by Dr Malatesta, Norina has

There is probably no other player in this country who occupies the same position of respect on the international scene as Julian Joseph. It was therefore another coup for the Spin to have got his Electric Band down to Oxford, and it is a mark of a well-informed

Police seized drugs and goods they suspect were stolen during an Operation Backlash raid. Officers found stereos, mobile phones, digital cameras and a small amount of a substance believed to be heroin at the house in Pipley Furlong, Littlemore, Oxford

It's always fun, at a production by the Oxford School of Drama, with its distinguished record of placing its graduates in leading companies, to try to spot the stars of the future. The two plays Lark Rise and Candleford, both by Keith Drewhurst and based

All the books on writing style that I possess satisfy me that R.Hedges is mistaken in his view that "it's" should not be used in writing except when directly reporting speech. He referred to this "convention" in a letter to the Editor published in last

One die-hard football fan will prove he's a real Lion-hart as he hitch-hikes to Germany with a friend to see England's World Cup clash with Sweden. When Peter Hart, 35, found he won tickets to England's match with Sweden he was over the moon. But he