E-mail has become one of the most important tools of communication for businesses. And instant messaging is also becoming an easy way of spreading information among companies. But there can be security tasks attached to both. In a free breakfast seminar
DIDCOT: Head-hunting agency Halo Recruitment has opened a new base at Milton Park. It will provide temporary and permanent personnel for companies in Oxfordshire, and has a specialist publishing, marketing and public relations division. Managing director
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. JULY 22: Self Managing Leadership managing yourself through turbulent times, Global
BOTLEY: Mike Pickering has been appointed southern membership development co-ordinator to increase awareness and opportunities for members of the Midcounties Co-operative Society. As membership administrator, Olivia Gardener will improve communication
ABINGDON: Architects and town planners West Waddy ADP, has strengthened its team with the appointment of Rupert Beverley-Smith as a chartered architectural technologist. Mr Beverley-Smith brings with him a wealth of knowledge and a thorough understanding
Bosses at an Oxfordshire business park are looking for tenants to occupy three new office blocks. The buildings at Milton Park, near Didcot, have 20 units suitable as offices, labs or studio space, from 1,500 to 40,000 sq ft, designed by architects Stubbs
A Witney business park is set for further development in a move that is likely to create more than 100 jobs. Abingdon-based construction company Bluestone has won a £1.9m contract to design and build an industrial warehouse complex of 16 units for developer
Customer demand has led an Oxford takeaway owner to expand his business empire and open a fully-fledged restaurant. Caf Spice is in the same building in The Parade, Rose Hill, but now offers up to 40 diners the chance to sit down to enjoy their meal.
Work has started on a new business centre at Grove Technology Park, Wantage. Glenmore Commercial Estates will build 18 high quality industrial and business units ranging from 988 sq ft upwards. The scheme will total 23,986 sq ft. Units are to be offered
Andy Griffiths, deputy managing director of ProLogis UK, which has a Didcot base, explores the controversial question of employment density and quality in warehouses The 21st century has seen a boom in large distribution buildings, with the realisation
Two units at the Staplehurst office centre in Weston-on-the-Green in north Oxfordshire have been rented out to high-tech equipment manufacturer Comtrol. The company has taken 2,410 sq ft of high quality office accommodation providing central heating,
Two friends who met when they arrived at an Oxford college at the age of 18 are celebrating their 10th year in business. Young entrepreneurs Tom Fryer and Jasper Smith set up their company, Sparks, just three years after leaving St Peter's College. Mr
It took James Dyson five years and 5,127 prototypes to invent and produce the world's first cyclonic vacuum cleaner. He's a rare breed a man with the vision to create new solutions in areas of unfulfilled need and the commercial savvy to get them to
Doctor Anushika Sharma is one of life's achievers. Still only 29, she has owned and run the Bury Knowle Dental Practice in Headington for the last three-and-a-half years, while bringing up two young sons, aged three and eight months. Recently, she decided
Katie Rainscourt, family solicitor at Boodle Hatfield, Oxford, discusses the difficulties facing co-habiting couples when their relationship breaks down High profile divorce settlements have been hitting the headlines recently, but what happens at
Many people choose to live in Oxfordshire because, on paper, it has excellent transport links allowing them to work in London. But is it really that convenient? On a cold winter's morning when the train is late or overcrowded, or there is a major traffic
In today's business world, communication has become a critical element in the perceived success of an organisation. How we talk to customers, develop a brand and manage the internal structure and development of the company now comes under that umbrella
Many Oxfordshire people, who every day casually switch on the immersion to heat the water for their morning shower, are probably unaware that both the water and the power are provided by the same giant German company RWE, owner of npower and Thames Water
AEA Technology 100 BMW 2630 Electrocomponents 233.5 Isoft Group 61.75 Oxford Bio 23.5 Oxford Instruments 208 Reed Elsevier 521 RM 176 RPS 22.5 Torex Retail 54.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Professor Roger Mumby-Croft, assistant dean (enterprise and management development) at Oxford Brookes University, argues that a back-to-school approach is essential if British businesses are to thrive Business in the UK needs fewer buzzwords and more
AEA Technology 100 BMW 2630 Electrocomponents 233.5 Isoft Group 61.75 Oxford Bio 23.5 Oxford Instruments 208 Reed Elsevier 521 RM 176 RPS 22.5 Torex Retail 54.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
Chancellor Gordon Brown's Budget earlier this year knocked the shine off gleaming tax breaks for investors in venture capital trusts. So is the party over for such adventurous spirits? Take a look at the performance graph for shares in the four Oxford
Jeremy Batstone, head of private client research at Charles Stanley stockbrokers, Oxford, reviews recent stockmarket activity The crucial question facing the UK equity market this summer is whether the recent fall in share prices marks the end of the
I suppose the fact that many of our towns and cities now house a variety of different-sized industrial museums provides the hardest possible evidence of the structural shift in Britain's economic activity over the past half-century. Great swathes of
With his wife and two young children, Rumi Mohideen lives a refreshingly simple life on his narrowboat on the outskirts of Oxford. Their power is supplied mainly from solar panels and a wind turbine, so life on the boat is certainly low-impact. The Mohideens
There is a common misconception about QEK, that it simply operates a big car park where thousands of vehicles are left in storage by manufacturers for months on end. Not only is this assumption not true, it also bears no reflection on its business. Yes
Oxfordshire may not be the biggest county in the UK but it continually throws up surprises for residents and tourists alike. Despite living here for several years, I am continually discovering new places to visit, each with a very distinct personality
Where does White Van Man' buy that ubiquitous vehicle which pounds the highways and byways of Britain? You would presume that it works in the same way as buying a car so a visit is made to a showroom, a van is chosen and the deal is done. But where
Chocolate, champagne and water fountains, marquees, firework displays, children's entertainers it's getting more and more difficult to keep up with the latest party trends. One man who has taken on the challenge is 37-year-old Tony Sheppard, whose credits
A top figure within the UK field of research and education has been given a glimpse into his own organisation's future in Oxfordshire. Tim Marshall, chief executive of UKERNA, visited the site of its new £5m property at Harwell, where up to 100 people
Take a well established, competent and respected saloon car, give it a turbocharged engine, stiffer suspension and a facelift, and what do you get? The answer is probably what Mazda means in its advertising campaigns by "zoom zoom." If the MPS version
When Wendy Hughes' marriage ended she was 63, but it was not so much the end of an era as the beginning of a new life. Two years later she has not only set up her own millinery business, she is winning awards and tackling life with the enthusiasm of a
Forced into hiding in the small clandestine retreats in the great Catholic houses, the Jesuit priests sent directly by the Pope to succour his oppressed flock became hunted martyrs across the landscape of Tudor and Stuart England. The most ruthless
I couldn't get over the length of the first sentence of Emma Richler's book, Feed My Dear Dogs (Harper Perennial, £7.99), because I think it's about the longest opening sentence of a novel that I have ever read, if you don't count that book by I-forget-whom
SALLY LANE describes where in city areas animals are increasingly having to adapt to survive Many urban dwellers are unaware that they live alongside pockets of thriving wildlife, which can offer vital refuges for native species. Nature is ever versatile
Climbing the steep hill to the centre of Cortona, I was struck by just how many American accents I heard en route that is, until I realised that this handsome town was the location for a much-loved book and film. Under the Tuscan Sun charted a year in
Step back in time this weekend and take part in a medieval festival. Joust is a family event in the grounds of one of England's most celebrated castles, Berkeley, in Gloucestershire. Apart from jousting displays, you will be able to witness a castle
I've just been enjoying a country walk on a perfect summer's day, through grassy meadows surrounded by butterflies. As I walked, a sea of meadow browns, speckled woods, gate keepers, ringlets and marbled whites were zooming over the grass, looking for
The framed certificates in the entrance hall of Stanford in the Vale Primary School tell of the many awards of its Wildlife Watch group, but it is the enthusiasm with which the youngsters go about their activities that represents its greatest success.
In true Bampton style, this year's open-air offering in the exquisite Deanery Garden will not be standard Mozart fare in honour of the great man's 250th birthday. Instead, director Jeremy Gray has turned the spotlight on Spanish composer Vincent Martin
Taking advantage of the fact that the excellent and the original OxDox documentary festival is having a sabbatical, two new events have appeared in 2006. The Oxford International Film Festival, which took place in May, seemed to rather opportunist affair
This is the face of a burglar spotted by his victim as he calmly walked out of her Oxford home after rifling through her handbag. The quick-thinking woman sketched a drawing of the burglar, who knocked on her door in Meadow Lane, Iffley, on Wednesday
By examining the remains of our forebears and their tools, archaeologists have discovered how resourceful and imaginative early man was at finding and cooking food. Indeed, their diet was far more varied than you might think. In Prehistoric Cookery:
No parking charges, no congestion charge, no road tax, no worries about spiralling oil prices, no carbon dioxide emissions. That is the promise that two West Oxfordshire engineers are presenting to Londoners at this week's British International Motor
Old-fashioned service is making a comeback, according to the manager of Pettits department store in Wallingford, which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary. Kevin Willis, though coy about giving out actual turnover statistics, said: "There has been
Moving from dentistry to theatre photography seems like a pretty dramatic career change, but photographer Geraint Lewis, 51, can see plenty of similarities. He said: "When I was a dentist, I used to take X-rays and develop them myself. You look at X-rays
The flame lily is a startling bright orange-red flower that blooms in the arid bush of Zimbabwe. It has inspired a designer fashion business which although now based in Thame began life under a tree in the middle of an African drought. Flame Lily was
by Jenny Lunnon It has been called the new yoga'. Over the last decade hundreds of thousands of people in Europe and North America have taken up knitting as a relaxing antidote to the stresses of modern life. It is something soothing and purposeful
Jeannine Alton sees the Visions of the Universe Per ardua ad astra . . . the way to the stars is the theme of the new exhibition at ever delightful Compton Verney. It's a series of glimpses and hints at (mainly Western) man's aspirations, ambitions
The moment rival Formula 1 teams applauded as the Super Aguri car emerged was when the Leafield workforce knew they had made it in just 100 days They call it "Aguri Suzuki's Dream" but, in many ways, it is Leafield's very own motoring miracle. For
AEA Technology 100 BMW 2618 Electrocomponents 234.25 Isoft Group 61.25 Oxford Bio 23.75 Oxford Instruments 209 Reed Elsevier 519 RM 172.75 RPS 222.25 Torex Retail 54.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
AEA Technology 100 BMW 2618 Electrocomponents 234.25 Isoft Group 61.25 Oxford Bio 23.75 Oxford Instruments 209 Reed Elsevier 519 RM 172.75 RPS 222.25 Torex Retail 54.5 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon
A country where all the trains run on time, food slurping is approved of and David Beckham enjoys God-like status? Phil Vinter travelled to the land of the rising sun to find a culture clash in full swing - glorious and intricate history surrounded by
Alternately tough, desperate and vulnerable, Cate Blanchett contributes a deeply moving portrayal to Little Fish, a consistently disconcerting Sydney drama about a reformed junkie's fraught bid to put her life back on track. Moreover, she's ably supported
IT'S BEEN a strange couple of months for the Lib Dems in Oxford. Two months after winning control of the city council, two councillors have defected and now Mike Gallacher has resigned as chairman of the Oxford East constituency party. County councillor
MORRIS Motors are six points clear at the top of Oxford & District League Section 1 after trouncing Masons B 6-0 at home. They hold all the aces at the halfway stage and have dropped just three frames in four matches. Their demolition of Masons B
Geoffrey Sax's film version of the first book in Anthony Horowitz's best-selling adventure series pitches itself as a teen Bond movie, complete with gadgets, guns, pretty girls and a deranged megalomaniac. Unfortunately, Stormbreaker isn't a patch on
Banbury Town Council's popular accountant Keith Brailsford has died following a stroke and short illness. Mr Brailsford, who had been with the town council since 2001, died in the Horton Hospital on Thursday, July 6. He was 63. He was married to Pauline
Summon up the stereotypical image of a public library and you'll probaby think of a silent, slightly dusty building, where the only sound is the ticking of a clock and the occasional "sshhhhhh" from a spinsterly librarian. But libraries have come a
FRILFORD HEATH July Stableford Div 1: 1 J Simpson 42pts, 2 S Parker 39 (cb), 3 F Banks 39. Div 2: 1 A Southwell 41(cb), 2 J Hill 41, 3 J Kilpatrick 39. WITNEY LAKES July Medal Div 1: 1 D Barber 78-13=65, 2 A King 74-4=70, 3 I Hancock 83-12=71. Div
Now in its 28th year, Art in Action has, year on year, drawn large numbers to this four-day event. Many come a long way and one can see why. Waterperry House and gardens provide a beautiful setting, and visitors can enjoy the gardens and magnificent herbaceous
Once again the Said Business School is hosting a fascinating exhibition this time by Rod Craig who has spent 25 years in Oxfordshire, working as artist and designer. Many of his works depict scenes with which we are familiar, Woodstock being a favourite
TADMARTON Heath pair Mavis Pountney and Catherine Jenkinson lifted the Oxfordshire Ladies' County Shield after a strong showing at Brailes. The duo scored 69 points in the 36-hole fourball event to finish seven clear of Jill Hampsen and Heather Slevin
The Oxford Theatre Guild is back in Trinity College gardens this month with a stirring production of The Tempest. But on the first night, with the record-breaking heat wave at its height, the opening sound effects were hardly sufficient to evoke bad weather
I was delighted to see (Oxford Mail, July 15) that Martin Everton has been let off the hook and commonsense has prevailed over his care in the gardens of his neighbours. But it got me thinking how many more people are bullied by the council when they
For many, free improvisation is like a country where they have spent an hour in the railway station and hurried away without seeing anything they find attractive or comprehensible. But, like so many travelling experiences, an hour in a station where the
The pressure to save cash in one part of our care services is predictably starting to have an impact on another. As the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust cuts its spending, it appears social services are taking up some of the slack. The simple
BURFORD'S course record was broken twice on the same day during their Pro-Am tournament. Drayton Park pro Martin Morbey and Henley's Joe Templer both carded rounds of 62, nine-under-par. Their excellent scores beat the previous mark of 64 set by West
It is always good to see local talent flourishing, and there was certainly talent a-plenty in Woodstock last weekend when the 16-year-old Kidlington violinist, Esther Monaghan, took to the stage for Bach's Violin Concert No.2 in E Major. Esther's training
Recent discussions over the Green Belt around Oxford have included some calls for its boundaries to be reviewed. That is a dangerous suggestion, as the whole point of a Green Belt is that it should safeguard the individuality of communities and avoid
What a fun idea it has proved to create live shows from the hugely popular Horrible Histories stories by Terry Deary, the most popular non-fiction books for youngsters world-wide. Terrible Tudors was chosen as the Best Book of Knowledge of All Time by
AN excellent batting display saw Oxfordshire's Development XI cruise to a four-wicket victory over Bedfordshire in the Tom Orford Trophy at The Queen's College Ground. The day began in inauspicious style when Beds failed to provide an umpire, which
"If you want to know who we are, we are/We are gentlemen of Japan/and we play jazz trombone and guitar." Thus begins the Watermill's new production of Hot Mikado. Savoyards will note that already there's a change to W.S. Gilbert's original lyrics: it's
SOARING scorebox temperatures could not dampen Rod Clarke's enthusiasm as he made his Lord's debut in the first Test. The Banbury and Oxfordshire scorer looked after Pakistan's book against England and thoroughly enjoyed the experience despite the heat
David Mellor's opinion of a new recording of Richard Strauss's Alpine Symphony was delivered to me this week, via the Mail On Sunday, in the highly appropriate setting of an airliner passing at precisely the moment I was reading his review high above
As the county baked in scorching temperatures yesterday, schoolchildren were sent home, roads had to be gritted to stop them melting - and animals at a wildlife park were given fruity ice cubes and a good hosing down. The mercury rose as high as 35C
Witney MP David Cameron has said moves to scrap Oxford's two-tier system of local government in favour of a unitary authority for the city were "gerrymandering" to give Labour a boost at the polls. The new Department for Communities and Local Government
Doctors have been cleared of blame over the death of a great-grandmother who fell head-first off an operating table during surgery on a broken ankle. Sylvia Whipp, 60, fell off the table at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital on October 20, 2003, and died
Children from Oxford's most deprived estates will be offered their largest ever programme of summer activities this year. But it's still not enough, say some Labour councillors. Teenagers living in Barton and Wood Farm will be learning circus skills
The eviction of a council tenant who subjected her neighbours to "two years of hell" has prompted calls for a hostel for vulnerable youngsters to be built in Oxford. Earlier this week bailiffs boarded up the two-bedroom Atwell Place flat in Headington
Most people would be delighted just to meet the Queen, but a group of young Oxfordshire musicians had the chance to play for her at a garden party held at Buckingham Palace. The Wood Green School concert band received rapturous applause and a standing
Bus operator Stagecoach is using the local touch to improve services for rural passengers. The company has introduced 'satellite' garages to provide country areas with more efficient transport. The move means that buses can be parked overnight near
A company set up by a Bicester mother whose son developed autism as a toddler, is moving into its own premises. Jane Stooks and her business partner Stephanie Eramus, from Fritwell, founded Future Kids after Ms Stooks son George, eight, was helped by
The £250,000 vision of an overhauled Market Place in Abingdon is a little closer. Abingdon Town Council is pushing ahead with a major refurbishment of the historic market place, with building hoped to start next spring. The project is expected to
Vandals caused hundreds of pounds of damage after showering a Didcot shop with paint just weeks after it opened. Staff at Oxford Beds, in Lower Broadway, were alerted to the damage when staff at a neighbouring business arrived for work. Vandals had
Police will hit the streets of Abingdon and Wantage over the summer to stop teenage yobs causing mayhem. As thousands of youngsters prepare for the summer holidays, police have launched a campaign to crack down on youths loitering, drinking underage
Oxfordshire's social services are creaking at the seams because of the NHS funding crisis, councillors claim. Conservative county councillors are set to complain to the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust that changes to its services are putting the
With their faces hidden by homemade masks, these two robbers are caught on camera holding up two service stations at knifepoint. The images - showing the pair as they hit the service stations in the early hours of Monday and Tuesday in Faringdon and
