Archive

  • Dawn Chorus

    Littl'un suddenly started waking up at 5.30am. At first we thought it was a left over symptom of when she was poorly. She'll wake up, cry a bit, then when you go into see her, she seems wide awake and ready to play. After a week or so of this and spending

  • Teenager attacked by gang

    A TEENAGER was threatened in an attack by a gang in Bicester last night. A 17-year-old boy was walking along George Street with a friend at 11.40pm when he was approached by a group of eight to ten youths aged between 14 and 17. One of the youths

  • Cashpoint taken by ramraiders

    BURGLARS smashed through the glass doors of an Oxford cinema, attached a cash machine to the back of a Jeep Cherokee and ripped it straight out of the wall. About £5,000 is estimated to have been taken in the incident which happened the Vue cinema

  • Best time of the year

    I am now into my eighth year if exile in the USA, and April has now become my favorite time of year. The reason? The baseball season has started and my beloved Atlanta Braves are starting out in their attempt to win their 15th division title in the last

  • Best time of the year

    I am now into my eighth year if exile in the USA, and April has now become my favorite time of year. The reason? The baseball season has started and my beloved Atlanta Braves are starting out in their attempt to win their 15th division title in the last

  • Best time of the year

    I am now into my eighth year if exile in the USA, and April has now become my favorite time of year. The reason? The baseball season has started and my beloved Atlanta Braves are starting out in their attempt to win their 15th division title in the last

  • Police hunt yobs

    Yobs who have been targeting homes in St Nicholas Road, Wallingford, for months are being sought by police. Officers are asking the public for help to find out who is involved in the vandalism, which has seen youths throwing stones and breaking the

  • 'Hoodies' attempt to rob teenager

    A group of youths attempted to rob a teenage boy while he was walking along a street. The 17-year-old was in George Street, Bicester, with a friend at 11.40pm yesterday, when he was approached by a group of eight to 10 youths aged between 14 and 17.

  • A Good Read

    Delphiniums by David and Shirley Bassett. Batsford Books, £25 THIS thorough monograph by husband and wife delphinium breeders David and Shirley Basset tells you all you need to know about delphiniums. It lists a range of fine cultivars according to

  • Grisly masterpiece on display

    VISITORS to the European Porcelain Room at the Ashmolean Museum will discover a spectacular new addition to the collection now dominates the central display case. It's a boar's head tureen made from soft-paste porcelain by the English porcelain factory

  • New World wines beating Bordeaux

    NOT that long ago, I went to a tasting of affordable red Bordeaux wines at Somerset House in London. There were more than 70 wines to taste, priced between £4 and £15, which had all picked up medals in the Decanter World Wine Awards last year. You

  • Spring razzmatazz

    SPRING can be a sensational time of year. But some gardens are sadly lacking in spring razzmatazz. If you need some inspiration head down to Oxford Botanic Garden and have a stroll along their Spring Walk. The path meanders along the river before arriving

  • Dipping into conservation

    A NEW project being launched to further previous work by the Pond Conservation Trust is entitled the Oxfordshire Parish Pond Survey. It aims to establish a database of as many as possible of the ponds that exist in the county and to do this needed to

  • Tasty soop of green goose

    THIS recipe has been taken (complete with antiquated language) from The Lady's Companion, which was first published in two volumes in 1736 as The Whole Duty of Woman. From 1736 the detailed advice on lifestyle and the moral behaviour of women of all

  • New World Bordeaux-style case, £87

    CABERNET Sauvignon is to some the king of the red grape varieties with its ability to age and produce amazingly complex wines in its homeland of Bordeaux. But how does it fare outside this hallowed area? Very well, in fact. It's true that few of the

  • Local share prices

    AEA Technology118 BMW3025 Electrocomponents300.5 Isoft Group35.5 Oxford Biomedica49.75 Oxford Instruments257.75 Reed Elsevier615.75 RM184.25 RPS Group329.25 Torex Retailsuspended Oxonica122.5

  • Woman is sexually assaulted

    A woman was sexually assaulted while walking across Langford Fields in Bicester. Police have issued an appeal for witnesses following the assault, which happened at around 9.20pm on Wednesday, April 11, when a 40-year-old woman was walking from the

  • FIXTURES April 13

    FIXTURES. SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE St Albans City v Oxford United. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Team Bath. Div 1 South & West: Didcot Tn v Bracknell Tn, Oxford C v Bashley, Uxbridge v Abingdon

  • RESULTS: April 13

    RESULTS. FOOTBALL. NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE Northwich Victoria 1, Oxford Utd 0. PONTIN'S HOLIDAYS COMBINATION East Division: Northampton Tn Res 5, Oxford Utd Res 0. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE Saturday Premier Div: Banbury Utd 0, Stamford

  • ROWING: Dark Blues have nothing to be ashamed of

    Oxford lost the 153rd Boat Race - or perhaps, to be kinder to them - Cambridge won it. Cambridge were hot favourites - stronger, bigger with better pedigree - but nobody seemed to have told Oxford this. After winning the toss and choosing Surrey,

  • Woman sexually assaulted

    A WOMAN was sexually assaulted in Bicester last night. The 40-year-old woman was walking home from the area of Langford Village across Langford Fields towards the London Road at about 9.20pm when she was assaulted. A white man attacked her from

  • BADMINTON: Headington secure league title

    Headington A are celebrating after winning the Men's Division 1 title in the Oxford & District League. Their nominated team of Dave Soanes, Nick Raven, Jon Campbell, Ian Ross, Nick Watkins and Ken Liu have proved too strong for their opponents. Oxford

  • RACING: Sam achieves National dream

    Sam Waley-Cohen will fulfil a childhood dream when he rides the tough mare Liberthine in the John Smith's Grand National tomorrow, writes Russell Smith. The amateur jockey, from Edge Hill, near Banbury, who is 25 the day after the big race, can't wait

  • Signal problems cause rail delays

    RAIL passengers in the Banbury area were suffering delays and cancellations this afternoon due to a signalling problem. Chiltern Trains have warned customers to expect delays of up to an hour, cancellations and some short notice alterations following

  • Passengers face delays

    Rail passengers in the Banbury area are suffering delays and cancellations this afternoon due to a signalling problem. Chilton Trains have warned customers to expect delays of up to an hour, cancellations and some short-notice alterations following

  • Concern for missing 13-year-old

    Police today appealed for help to trace a missing boy. Jake Peck, 13, was reported missing from his home at Cardinal Close, Blackbird Leys, on Sunday, where he was last seen on Saturday. Pc Jane Crump, of Oxfordshire's Missing Persons Unit, said

  • Mini-market raiders hunted

    POLICE are appealing for information after a burglary at the Mini Market in New Road, Stokenchurch, on Tuesday. At about 8.30am a man entered the shop and went through to a flat. He was escorted back into the shop by the owner of the flat. While this

  • Surprise in Store

    The girl at the check-out didn't bat an eyelid. In fact she was so unphased that I had to ask: "Do a lot of people do this?" She said: "No", and continued to scan my goods with a look of severe boredom. I suppose I'd expected to get some kind of reaction

  • Police search for missing boy

    POLICE are appealing for help from the public to trace a missing boy. Jake Peck, 13, was reported missing from his home at Cardinal Close, Blackbird Leys, on Sunday where he was last seen on Saturday. PC Jane Crump, from Oxfordshire's Missing Persons

  • How the rich got richer

    House prices would drop for sure within three years. So said a group of Oxford economists - well, almost three years ago now. But still we hear that prices, particularly in London and southern counties such as Oxfordshire, are continuing to rocket through

  • Story of urban rat race

    The bottom of Blake Morrison's garden was so heavily populated with foxes that he decided to write a novel about them. Although the writer had ideas of what the novel might contain - creation myths, a naturalist's diary, an account of a fox-hunt - he

  • Coming events

    THURSDAY, APRIL 19 Reading: Ian McEwan reads from his new novel On Chesil Beach. 7pm, Sheldonian Theatre, Broad Street, Oxford. Talk: James Delingpole talks about his book How To Be Right. Borders, Magdalen Street, Oxford, 7pm. APRIL 20 Talk:

  • Local author

    Mary Hoffman, who lives in Brize Norton, first garnered awards for a picture book, Amazing Grace, and then for her bestselling children's fantasy series Stravaganza. Her latest book, The Falconer's Knot (Bloomsbury, £12.99) is set in 14th-century Umbria

  • Paperback choice

    Johnny Come Home Jake Arnott (Sceptre, £7.99) Set against the meteoric rise of glam rock, this is a portrait of an era when free love and flower power gave way to the anarchy and bombs of the 1970s. The slightly awkward writing style takes a bit of

  • Fighter for freedom

    by Jack DoylePERFECT HOSTAGE: THE LIFE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI Justin Wintle (Hutchinson, £18.99)Since her party won Burma's national election in 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi has been denied her rightful post as Prime Minister of the small south-east Asian country

  • Sex, lies and pebbles

    I know men are supposed to think about sex a lot, but Ian McEwan must dwell on the delicate subject more than most. According to the Philip Larkin poem Annus Mirabilis, sexual intercourse began in 1963, which does not bode well for newlyweds Edward

  • Love of uniform

    WE ALL WORE BLUE Muriel Gane Pushman (Tempus, £14.99)Muriel Gane was a pretty, unsophisticated girl of 18, from a close, happy English middle-class family when she volunteered for the Women's Royal Airforce. She admits that it was the colour of the

  • Lots of Monty

    They gave us the Full Monty but - to be honest - I would have been happier with half an hour less of it. Though the show reminds us more than once, in a different context, that length is not important, I am afraid it is. Three hours is too long. The

  • The Insider: April 12, 2007

    A DAMNING critique of life at County Hall, according to one anonymous correspondent at least, landed on The Insider's desk this week. Some of the allegations were unprintable, but the former employee's rant included "council staff spend all day chatting

  • Bridge barriers

    Time is fast running out for the 'will they, won't they?' decision. I am talking about Magdalen Bridge having barriers erected on May Morning - to keep those university types from injuring themselves in the shark-infested waters of the Cherwell below

  • Cycle helmet saved my life

    Your article about cycle helmets (Oxford Mail, On Yer Bike, April 3) treads dangerous ground. Whereas I quite agree that in collision with a car, a cycle helmet does little to protect the overall injuries that might be sustained, it most certainly does

  • Separate lives the best way

    It is hardly a surprise that Angela Dublin, the driver involved in the horrific Oxford Eastern Bypass crash, which claimed four lives, has been released from jail. Provided prisoners behave themselves, they can generally expect to be freed on licence

  • FOOTBALL: Senior cup date announced

    BANBURY United will take on Oxford City in the final of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup at the Kassam Stadium, on Tuesday, April 24 (kick-off 7.45pm)

  • Author best-known for Italian detective novels

    THE author Michael Dibdin, who lived in Oxford for most of his writing career, has died aged 60 in Seattle, USA. He was best-known for his Italian detective Aurelio Zen, who battled corruption and violence in a wide variety of idyllic settings, from

  • Man charged with nightclub assaults

    A MAN has been charged with two counts of actual bodily harm following an incident on April 8 at Strattons nightclub in Abingdon. Joseph Wenham, 20, of East Paddocks, Drayton Mill, Drayton, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Monday and he will

  • Man charged over nightclub fight

    A man has been charged with two counts of actual bodily harm following an incident on 8 April at Strattons nightclub in Abingdon. Joseph Wenham, 20, of East Paddocks, Drayton Mill, Drayton, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Monday and his next

  • Young offenders failed by 'prison'

    A report has claimed that a young offenders' institution in Oxfordshire is failing in eight key areas. Huntercombe at Nuffield in south Oxfordshire is for boys aged 15-18 but is failing in its "central purpose", a report by the Independent Monitoring

  • FOOTBALL: Tarry is hero and villain

    CR Marks Kirtlington's Matt Tarry must have had mixed emotions as the Division 3A title-chasers went down to a 2-1 defeat against Henry Box OBs, writes TIM SIRET. Matt Tarry cancelled out Joe Turner's opener for Henry Box and then saw his penalty saved

  • Juvenile prison is 'failing'

    A report has claimed that a young offenders' institution in Oxfordshire is failing in eight key areas. Huntercombe at Nuffield in south Oxfordshire is for boys aged 15-18 but is failing in its "central purpose", a report by the Independent Monitoring

  • Mail bags left in city street

    Royal Mail sacks containing documents with people's personal details were left on the streets for a week, the Oxford Mail can reveal. A dozen sacks containing documents with customers bank details, names, addresses and other personal details, were left

  • Young writer pens BBC sitcom

    Aspiring scriptwriter Tim Dawson is hoping for a stellar TV career after having a show commissioned by the BBC at just 19. Mr Dawson, from The Warren in Abingdon, has just seen the pilot of his sitcom Coming of Age finished at Television Centre and

  • Murder accused ‘scared for her life’

    A woman accused of murdering a man has admitted she did nothing to help him because she was scared for her own life. Sean Miles, 37, was found bruised, naked and drowned in the River Thames at Sandford Lock last May 1. Karen Fathers, 35, of Alice

  • No shame in rise in single parents’

    With one in four children living in a one-parent family, Oxfordshire single parents can now take stress-busting workshops to help them cope. Nearly a quarter of children lived with just one parent last year - treble the proportion recorded in 1972,

  • Traffic cone collection tops 500

    They may be dreaded by motorists but there is nothing that warms David Morgan's heart like a traffic cone. Or, indeed, 500 of them - which Britain's very own coneman has collected at his west Oxfordshire home. Mr Morgan, 64, sales director for a plastics

  • Truck festival proves sell out

    Tickets for this year's Truck Festival sold out within hours. Truck, a showcase of local, national and international rock, folk, dance, country and alternative musical talent, takes place on July 21 and 22, at Hill Farm, Steventon, near Abingdon.

  • Digging in for green energy

    Villagers in north Oxfordshire will be among the first in the county to have heating and hot water provided using energy from the Earth. Engineers are digging 70m-deep boreholes in Weston-on-the-Green for ground source heat pump systems. The technology

  • ‘We need a top-up’

    Government cash is being sought to help a council with its workload for the proposed £1bn reservoir between Abingdon and Wantage. And the Vale of White Horse District Council is also lining up support from three MPs to fight its corner. The water

  • Choir has trip of a lifetime'

    A choir of youngsters from deprived backgrounds in India is on a once in a lifetime tour in Oxford. Dr Graham's Homes' Choir - made up of 31 boys and girls from Kalimpong in West Bengal - met Lady Sedhar Ball who has helped promote and raise money for

  • Australian student at Oxford scoops regional honour

    Oxford University student Emma Link is celebrating after being named South East International Student of the Year. The 25-year-old Australian mathematics student fought off competition from more than 2,000 students, representing 130 nationalities, to

  • Anger after 'dump' insult

    Residents at a mobile home park are outraged after a council leader labelled the area "a dump". People living at Duvall Park in Upper Heyford took offence after Cherwell District Council leader Barry Wood made the comments during a planning meeting.

  • Yobs smash OAP windows

    Stone-throwing youths have been terrorising elderly residents at an old people's home. Westgate House, in Wallingford, has 61 frail, elderly residents, yet has been the target of vandals since it was opened by Princess Alexandra in October 2003. But

  • Truck festival proves sell-out

    TICKETS for this year's Truck Festival sold out within hours. Truck, a showcase of local, national and international rock, folk, dance, country and alternative musical talent, takes place on July 21 and 22, at Hill Farm, Steventon, near Abingdon.

  • Artist aims to clear up plastic waste

    An artist has promised to rid Didcot of stray plastic bags - but only if 50 other activists join her campaign. Ann Rapstoff, of Sinodun Road, has pledged to clean up the town's plastic bags, which she recycles by weaving them into art objects. She

  • Drink-drive case delay

    TWO people arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after the death of a Bicester Ministry of Defence worker have had their bail extended for a second time. Peter Ryczowski, 52, of Austen Walk, Bicester, was cycling home from work along Leach Road on

  • Raid foiled

    TWO teenagers made an unsuccessful attempt to burgle a house in the early hours of yesterday. They broke into the home in Herschel Crescent, Littlemore, at about 3am but were spotted by the householder. They were both white and aged about 18. Anyone

  • Murder accused ‘scared for her life’

    A WOMAN accused of murdering a man has admitted she did nothing to help him because she was scared for her own life. Sean Miles, 37, was found bruised, naked and drowned in the River Thames at Sandford Lock last May 1. Karen Fathers, 35, of Alice

  • Michael Dibdin — a sad loss to fiction

    Like many who met him in Oxford and, indeed, others who knew him only from his work, I was saddened to learn of the death of crimewriter Michael Dibdin at the age of only 60. His quirky fictional creation, the Italian detective Aurelio Zen, was a compelling

  • Any Dream won't do

    The Easter weekend is a special time. Even if you're not religious, it's a holiday when most people can do something special or get together with the family. So what did the TV stations offer us last weekend? More of the same, mostly. Good Friday brought

  • David is king cone

    THEY may be dreaded by motorists but there is nothing that warms David Morgan's heart like a traffic cone. Or, indeed, 500 of them - which Britain's very own coneman has collected at his west Oxfordshire home. Mr Morgan, 64, sales director for a plastics

  • What's on in jazz and contemporary music: April 13-20

    The Exeter Arms on Oxford Road, Cowley, having had a very welcome revamp and now known as the X, is an increasingly lively venue for live music including, finally, jazz. The second event, organised by bassist Paul Jaffries, is this Wednesday and features

  • Barefoot in the Park: The Mill at Sonning

    'I've got a case in court in the morning," wails lawyer Paul at frequent intervals. He has just puffed up five flights of stairs to the tiny apartment that his new wife has found in New York. As yet there is no furniture ("Bloomingdale's have promised

  • Motorcyclist dies in crash

    A MOTORCYCLIST died last night following an accident involving a 4x4 vehicle on a road between Dry Sandford and the A420, near Wootton. The biker, who was riding a GSXR 1,000cc blue and white Suzuki motorbike, was involved in a collision with a Mitsubishi

  • Mail bags left in city street

    ROYAL Mail sacks containing documents with people's personal details were left on the streets for a week. A dozen sacks containing documents with customers bank details, names, addresses and other personal details, were left outside the former Post

  • Cyclist hurt

    A CYCLIST fell off his bicycle after suffering a fit. The accident happened at 5.30pm yesterday in Botley Road, just before the railway bridge. The man, thought to be in his 30s, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital with a shoulder injury and

  • The Full Monty, Headington Theatre

    They gave us the Full Monty but - to be honest - I would have been happier with half an hour less of it. Though the show reminds us more than once, in a different context, that length is not important, I am afraid it is. For the total comfort and enjoyment

  • TABLE TENNIS: Forum in title joy

    Forum A made certain of the Oxford & District League Division 1 title by demolishing Rutherford 8-2. Karl Bushell and Fraser Harris recorded maximums as Forum were crowned champ- ions. Rutherford put this setback behind them by whitewashing visitors

  • GOLF: Academy plans to be UK No 1

    A new golf academy has opened at Witney Lakes, which its director hopes will become the best in the country. The John Cook Golf School, which has taken over the club's driving range and practice area, is also targeting overseas business to tie in with

  • FOOTBALL: Wanderers sink Highfield

    Cecil Rodney bagged a brace for Star Wanderers as they eased to a 4-1 victory against Highfield in the Morrells of Oxford Sunday League Premier Division, writes GEOFF BOWER. Tom Mason headed Star ahead, only for Wayne Blossom to lash home the equaliser

  • Sans Titre: The Jennifer Gerard Gallery, Abingdon

    Colour can speak volumes and so perhaps an exhibition of abstract paintings does not need a title. The artist, Laetitia Lecque, gives her pictures captions but you can have an individual response to them. Her work is neither cold nor impersonal. Gallery

  • Missing boys found

    TWO boys who went missing last night were tracked down in Wantage thanks to a police helicopter and a loud hailer. The boys, aged seven and eight, disappeared at about 8pm yesterday. Police immediately scrambled the force helicopter which is fitted

  • Radcliffe Infirmary Gala Concert — Preview

    A gala concert to celebrate the Radcliffe Infirmary's 237 years of service to Oxford city and the county of Oxfordshire will take place at the Town Hall on Saturday, April 21, at 7.30pm. The Infirmary, in Woodstock Road, closed in January. Its services

  • Charley's Aunt, Milton Keynes Theatre

    Dimly aware as a non-telly viewer of Stephen Tompkinson's eminence in the area of TV drama, I was impressed to see how adept he proves in what must be for him the comparatively neglected field of stage performance. His Lord Fancourt Babberley - the aristocratic

  • Eastern Bypass crash driver freed

    FREED Eastern Bypass crash driver Angela Dublin has been banned from more than a quarter of the city so she does not meet the families of her victims. Dublin was released from jail on Tuesday, half-way through a two-year sentence for causing the deaths

  • Dispersal order 'is working'

    POLICE and council leaders in Abingdon are pondering whether to renew a dispersal order which has cut bad behaviour on the streets. The order has been credited with cutting vandalism and problems in the area after it was introduced in May. The Vale

  • Champion fundraisers honoured

    KEEN gardeners Ann and Carl Gross have raised more than £10,000 for charity - thanks to generous customers at their fruit and vegetable stall on Deddington farmers market. Most of the money has gone to help vulnerable children in Thailand, where the

  • Anger over water metering 'rip-off'

    AN ELDERLY man who is paying nearly £200 a year for his water says he is being 'ripped off.' He says his bill more than doubled when he moved flats, even though his water consumption did not increase. Stanley Cooper, 85, of Dillon Court, Bodicote,

  • Couple's year-long campaign

    A TSUNAMI survivor plans to "swim the English Channel" to raise money for the British Red Cross. Richard Hastie and his wife, Pam, were in Sri Lanka when the 2004 disaster happened and they saw at first hand the work of the charity. In 2005, they

  • MP visits M40 services

    MP Tony Baldry, above, visited a motorway service station near Bicester to see the effect of its £1m facelift. Mr Baldry had a behind-the-scenes look at Moto's Cherwell Valley site on the M40 near Ardley. The revamp has included the creation of a new

  • Bags boost for recycling

    A PIONEERING glass collection scheme has helped Cherwell District Council push up its recycling rate. Cherwell is already among the best-performing councils in the country, with a recycling rate of 43 per cent - but a rise in glass recycling will push

  • New store sparks road safety fears

    A RUSH of shoppers looking for budget bargains at a new supermarket has sparked road safety fears. Discount chain Lidl opened its doors in Cowley, Oxford, two weeks ago and already locals say they are worried over the lack of a proper crossing for pedestrians

  • Red tape hitch for council

    PARISH councillors in Adderbury are caught up in a legal wrangle that has halted discussions on a new sports and community centre and a housing development. Cherwell District Council has been called in to advise parish councillors - including Oxfordshire

  • Plea issued on flood cash

    BUSINESSES and town centre developers could be asked to fund a flood prevention scheme for Banbury. The idea will be put forward at a meeting of Cherwell District Council's executive on Monday, as the council attempts to revive a flood alleviation project

  • Eastern Bypass death driver freed

    Freed Eastern Bypass crash driver Angela Dublin has been banned from more than a quarter of the city so she does not meet the families of her victims. Dublin was released from jail on Tuesday, halfway through a two-year sentence for causing the deaths