Archive

  • Former President visits city

    FORMER American President Jimmy Carter paid a flying visit to Oxford today in his second visit to the city within a year. Mr Carter was guest of honour at this year's Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, hosted by Oxford University's Said

  • See you, Jimmy!

    Former American President Jimmy Carter paid a flying visit to Oxford today in his second visit to the city within a year. Mr Carter was guest of honour at this year's Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, hosted by Oxford University's Said Business

  • Villagers ignore police surgeries

    A POLICE Community Support Officer spent hours pinning up notices about a series of police surgeries in Oxfordshire - but no one turned up. Police Community Support Officer Tom Mynehan said surgeries were held in Cholsey, Moulsford, the Hagbournes and

  • FOOTBALL: King wants North Leigh focused!

    North Leigh's Andy Helby will have to miss their derby trip to title rivals Witney United tomorrow - due to a contact lens problem. The midfielder lost a lens during their 1-0 win at Almondsbury, but despite his efforts he was unable to find it. It

  • FOOTBALL: Murphy's on the move

    Banbury United boss Kieran Sullivan has spoken of his disappointment after striker Matt Murphy joined Unibond Division 1 South basement boys Spalding United. The former Oxford United player signed on the dotted line after talks with the Lincolnshire

  • FOOTBALL: Merritt aims to sink Fleet

    Oxford City player-manager Justin Merritt has warned British Gas Business Southern League Division 1 South & West leaders Farnborough - the title race isn't over yet. Although the Hampshire side are seven points ahead of City, Merritt, whose side are

  • Squatters leave house in squalid state

    Squatters left behind a trail of rubbish after finally being turfed out of a home, up for sale at £1m, in a sought-after area of Oxford. The eight squatters abandoned the three-storey house, in Walton Street, Jericho, after living there for more than

  • Guns, gangs and the walking dead

    SIXTY teenagers were today warned to stay away from 'guns, gangs and the walking dead' at a hard-hitting conference to keep them on the straight and narrow. For the past two months about 20 young people at the Leys Community Development Initiative

  • Turning their back on crime

    Sixty teenagers were today warned to stay away from 'guns, gangs and the walking dead' at a hard-hitting conference to keep them on the straight and narrow. For the past two months about 20 young people at the Leys Community Development Initiative in

  • Town loses two more pubs

    TWO Banbury pubs have closed after their parent company failed to find buyers for 95 of its loss-making sites. The Slug and Lettuce, in Broad Street, and Yates's, in Parson's Street, were axed by the Laurel Pub Company. A spokesman for the company

  • MP's expenses stay under wraps

    Conservative Party leader David Cameron today refused to release a full breakdown of his second home expenses to the Oxford Mail - but insisted he would be happy for them to be published by the Commons authorities. The Commons Commission, which manages

  • New camera will make streets safer

    A tenth crime-busting CCTV camera will be installed in Didcot to help catch criminals. The camera will be switched on at the junction of Broadway and High Street by South Oxfordshire District Council in the next few months. The council said there

  • Wedding bells still ring loud

    Marriage rates have fallen to their lowest since records began - but love is still very much in the air in Oxfordshire. Figures released by the Office of National Statistics show that while the number of unmarried adults rose in 2006, the number who

  • Plea issued after man goes missing

    POLICE this evening appealed for help from the public to trace a 34-year-old man who has gone missing from his home in Headington. Terry Marks was last seen on February 14 and was reported missing to the police on March 15. Mr Marks is slim, 5ft

  • Hire cabbies win bus lane fight

    More than 300 Oxford private hire drivers are celebrating after a crusading cabbie yesterday won a 10-year battle to use the city's bus lanes. The victory means the city's 357 private hire taxi drivers will be able to share bus lanes with their black

  • Hire drivers win bus lane fight

    MORE than 300 Oxford private hire drivers are celebrating after they today won a ten-year battle to use the city's bus lanes. The victory means the city's 357 private hire taxi drivers will be able to share bus lanes with their black cab-driving counterparts

  • Jobs take-off as work starts on new airport building

    More than 20 jobs are being created at Oxford Airport with the construction of a new business aviation centre. The £2m facility, due to open in the summer, will be used by business aircraft crew and passengers. A new airport manager is being recruited

  • After Corelli

    Romantic novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin may have put Louis de Bernieres in the bestseller lists, but it's been difficult for the author to move on. "I'm just waiting for the refreshing time when people don't mention Captain Corelli's Mandolin when they

  • Local author

    Philosopher Mary Warnock, former head of Oxford High School, and author of Easeful Death: Is There a Case For Assisted Dying? will discuss the end of life at the Oxford Literary Festival next Thursday with Robert Twycross, emeritus clinical reader in

  • Bookings

    TODAY Exhibition: Man Of A Thousand Faces, display of books connected with Portuguese poet Fernando Mil Pessoa. Taylor Institution Library, St Giles, Oxford. For details, contact Liz Baird, 01865 278141. Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, Sat 10am-4pm, until April 12.

  • Short story king

    The Dream Lover William Boyd (Bloomsbury, £7.99) This anthology of short stories is an amalgamation of two previous collections, On The Yankee Station and The Destiny of Nathalie X. I thought I had read more or less everything Boyd has written, but

  • Fight to the death

    NOTHING TO BE FRIGHTENED OF Julian Barnes (Jonathan Cape, £17.99)Perhaps this book should come with the health warning: "Could take hours off your life", for it is certainly not an easy read. At one point, Barnes points out to his readers that they

  • Today's local share prices (AM)

    AEA Technology 73 BMW 2728 Electrocomponents 185.5 Nationwide Accident Repair 132.5 Oxford Biomedica 22.75 Oxford Catalyst 154 Oxford Instruments 188.5 Reed Elsevier 630 RM 200 RPS Group 328.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley, Abingdon

  • Plucky Poles

    WARSAW 1920 Adam Zamoyski (Harper Press, £14.99)Ruthless with restless energy, Lenin was not content to be just the ruler of the new Russia. He determined to export his liberation theories to the heart of Europe. Poland, whose young blood patriotism

  • Burglars raid homes

    POLICE today appealed for information following two burglaries in the Vale of the White Horse. Between 5pm on Thursday, March 20, and 2pm on Monday, a house in The Old Pound in Wootton was burgled. Details were only released this afternoon. The thieves

  • Going Dutch

    Prince William of Orange was 14 and his bride, Princess Mary, was nine, when this wedding portrait was painted by van Dyck. It appears in Lisa Jardine's book Going Dutch: How England Plundered Holland's Glory, which examines how William was able to

  • RUGBY UNION: Chinnor up for strong finish

    Chinnor are in great shape as they approach their final push in South West 1, according to coach Jason Bowers. The leaders, who will secure the title by winning their final three games, host third-placed Weston-Super-Mare tomorrow (2.30) with a strong

  • RUGBY UNION: Basement battle

    Henley Hawks have to beat fellow National 2 strugglers Nuneaton at Dry Leas tomorrow to stave off relegation - for this week at least. Centre Luke Burns returns to the squad for the first time since December. Lock Rob Hurrell has fully recovered from

  • BADMINTON: Kings reigns for Headington

    Amanda King produced an unbeaten display to help Headington A drew 3-3 with Wantage in Division 1 of the Oxford and District Women's League. Other players to win all their matches in that league were Kathryn Schutterlin as Abingdon finished all square

  • CYCLING: Jones on song

    Mark Jones finished second in High Wycombe's ten-mile time trial on the A420 between Southmoor and Besselsleigh. The Oxford City Road Club star, who lives in North Leigh, clocked 21mins 50secs in windy conditions, with leading British time-triallist

  • Oxford love story

    REMEMBER ME Melvyn Bragg (Sceptre, £17.99) Oxford looms large in the latest episode in Bragg's loosely autobiographical saga. The story started with Sam returning from fighting in the Second World War to his Cumbrian wife Ellen and their young son Joe

  • Festival opens fresh chapter

    More than 20,000 book lovers will be heading for Oxford next week for the city's annual Literary Festival, with record-breaking attendances anticipated. The festival will start in style on Monday when Cumnor novelist Philip Pullman launches the latest

  • Pulling power

    An antiques fair could be the latest weapon in the campaign to breathe new life into the centre of Abingdon. Campaigner Steve King - who runs the online forum action4abingdon.org - has suggested hosting a fair in the Market Place each Friday to the

  • Theatre hosts African craft market

    A flavour of Africa is set to infuse East Oxford on Saturday with a special African craft fair and market. The event at the Pegasus Theatre in Magdalen Road will be sandwiched between two performances of Journeys to Freedom. Journeys to Freedom is

  • Mystery surrounds beaver's origins

    Conservationists at England's only wild beaver colony denied a beaver which has set up home on the River Thames near Oxford is a fugitive from their estate. The new beaver, which has been living for more than three months at a secret location, has been

  • Chicane sparks town debate

    A controversial chicane in Bicester has split locals over whether it should be removed. A number of drivers have called the safety measure, in Buckingham Road, a hazard. But, despite a campaign and petition to get rid of it, other residents in the

  • £13bn airtanker deal for Brize

    A £13bn deal has been signed to replace the RAF's ageing refuelling and transport fleet of VC-10 and Tristar jets, based at RAF Brize Norton. Under the private finance initiative contract, agreed today, the AirTanker consortium will provide specially-adapted

  • Solve parking problems our way'

    Residents affected by a long-standing parking problem have said it could be solved cheaply and easily - if only Oxfordshire County Council would listen to them. People living in Chillingworth Crescent, in Wood Farm, Oxford, said cars parked on both

  • Multicultural projects get kids' vote

    Providers of youth activities in multicultural parts of the county have collected awards voted for by the children they serve. The Equality and Diversity awards, which honour schools, youth clubs and community groups, saw eight winners walk away with

  • Let's be Frank

    Yessirree, this is the show that marks legendary performer Frank Sinatra's latest, greatest and most ambitious comeback. And at the heart of it is 'Ole Blue Eyes himself, captured at the peak of his career, singing his greatest hit songs, direct to

  • Highs and lows turn pure gold

    Every band has its ups and downs, but few have been as extreme as Lowgold's. The band have been through serious turmoil, experiencing financial ruin when their record label collapsed, virtual break-up, and the death of their manager - Wonderstuff drummer

  • Red alert

    Blood Red Shoes are punchy, explosive and dynamic. So it comes as some surprise to the unwary to learn that this glorious racket is created by just two people. And a young, shy and waif-like couple, they are too - with a fragile looking girl on guitar

  • Thirst Lodge

    Unforseen difficulties last Friday night forced a drastic change to our plans! But as they say; every cloud has a silver lining. So rather than panic we took a risk and decided on Thirst Lodge next door to the Westgate Centre. I'm glad we did as it

  • £13bn RAF tanker plane deal signed

    A £13bn deal has been signed to replace the RAF's ageing refuelling and transport fleet of VC-10 and Tristar jets, based at RAF Brize Norton. Under the private finance initiative contract, agreed today, the AirTanker consortium will provide specially-adapted

  • 27 Dresses (12A)

    Grey's Anatomy surgical resident Katherine Heigl continues her makeover into fully-fledged leading lady with 27 Dresses, a frothy romantic comedy penned by Aline Brosh McKenna, screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada. Anne Fletcher's film waltzes down

  • Infectious wine

    Dear Jessica: I'm afraid I may be responsible for my boyfriend's athlete's foot, what should I do? JESSICA UNCORKED: You have to tell him. If you want him in your future, you must disclose everything and hope his feelings for you are stronger than

  • Jaflong, 48-51 Market Square, Bicester

    Is it me or has curry got more expensive? More expensive, later, colder and unpredictable if our delivery from Jaflong is anything to go by, writes Katherine MacAlister. Which is a shame because things had started off so well. Our first takeaway from

  • Lap of honour for cancer survivors

    A man who survived prostate cancer is urging people to join him in Cancer Research UK's Relay for Life in Witney. Alan Bradley, of Burwell Meadow, Witney, has recently celebrated his 60th birthday and will be among many cancer survivors taking part

  • Veggies are in the pink

    VEGETARIAN pork, beef and chicken - once you've got over the surprise and amusement, you will see this restaurant is offering something truly special. My wife is a veggie - has been since she was 13 years old - and most Chinese restaurants in this country

  • Veggies are in the pink

    VEGETARIAN pork, beef and chicken - once you've got over the surprise and amusement, you will see this restaurant is offering something truly special. My wife is a veggie - has been since she was 13 years old - and most Chinese restaurants in this country

  • March movers

    WANTAGE: Law firm Charles Lucas & Marshall has appointed Simon Mee as a specialist in its wills and estate planning team. Mr Mee will work on existing accounts and develop his own client portfolio. He was previously with Farnham firm, Bells. He said

  • Barn in business

    A historic barn at a south Oxfordshire farm has been converted into state-of-the-art offices. The listed Grade II barn at Manor Farm, Cholsey, was built in the early 1700s, then added to throughout that century. It was originally used for threshing corn

  • Owner closes two pubs

    Two Banbury pubs have closed after their parent company failed to find buyers for 95 of its loss-making sites. The Slug and Lettuce, in Broad Street, and Yates's, in Parson's Street, were axed by the Laurel Pub Company. A spokesman for the company

  • The Hottie & The Nottie (12A)

    There's a rather sweet romantic comedy buried deep within The Hottie & The Nottie, a modern day fairytale about an ugly duckling who emerges from her shell and turns out to be a swan. Unfortunately, you have to wade through wooden performances, crass

  • Don't panic

    Oxford's industrial market will enjoy rental growth of more than five per cent in 2008, according to agents Lambert Smith Hampton. The company claims the current market downturn is entirely due to yield/price adjustments, and little to do with an underlying

  • Gym will become offices

    Potential tenants are lining up to occupy the former Arena nightclub and gym, which is being converted into offices. The 1980s building in Oxford Road, Cowley, is being refurbished and will offer suites ranging from 250 sq ft to 1,500 sq ft, aimed

  • Architects' new project

    Planners have given the green light for a new accommodation block to be built at Wolfson College in Oxford. Berman Guedes Stretton Architects will again design the building, following the success of its accomodation building in 2004. The new structure

  • East meets West

    The Chinese economy is one of the largest in the world and, with average growth of more than ten per cent a year, it is set to become ever more prominent. As a rapidly expanding industrial nation, China has many environmental and development concerns,

  • Championing awards

    Tracy Hoodless is no stranger to winning Oxfordshire Business Awards - she has picked up three in the last 12 years. The owner of Champion Recruitment took the Customer Service award in 1996 and a decade later was made Business Person of the Year. And

  • Sitting comfortably?

    Last year, a new audiobook of a much-loved Oxford classic appeared on shop shelves in and around Oxford. Alice in Wonderland and Nonsense Verse & Prose is set to be the first of many books from Oxford Storypods. Francis Ainley and his wife Elizabeth

  • Right type

    Strange times, these, for small printing companies. In the face of the electronic revolution they seem to either prosper, and attract investment, or go to the wall in almost equal numbers. Take the old established Abingdon company Leach's the Printers

  • Take your pickup

    Who would buy a car like that? This was the question I was asked more than any other when people saw the Mitsubishi L200 complete with its special "tweaking," courtesy of Enstone-based Walkinshaw Performance. On the face of it, I suppose they had a point

  • Natural born killers

    The latter half of the 20th and these early years of the 21st century have witnessed truly groundbreaking advances in medicine, improving the health, life expectancy and quality of life for millions. Yet in the field of oncology - the study of tumours

  • No need to book

    Such is the price of popularity - I had targeted The Trout at Wolvercote for the subject of this month's review but made the cardinal mistake of not having booked. Not a table was to be had at the popular eaterie, which was the venue of an excellent

  • Morals of buy-to-let

    Drive due north out of Cardiff towards Merthyr and about 12 miles from the Welsh capital's centre, you happen upon a low-rise industrial estate clearly visible from the road. In the early 1990s, one of the estate's nondescript buildings became a major

  • School-gate ethics

    Buying organic and fairtrade products may bring a warm glow to your heart, but the cold reality is that they cost more. Now an Oxford couple have hit on a novel way of easing the burden on the family budget - the School Ethical Supplies Initiative, or

  • Jason's hat-trick

    Some people are happy with their lot. They find a career, do reasonably well, make a comfortable living and then retire. They may not have changed the world but then they had no particular desire to do so. Then there are the Richard Bransons of this

  • Decent people

    I worked with county councillor Val Smith for a year between 2004 and 2005, and I can reassure Craig Simmons (Oxford Mail, March 20) that her work is outstandingly good value for public money. A lot of people in Oxford East get in touch with their MP

  • All about Eve

    Life has certainly moved fast for Tamsin Beard. Three years ago she was happy being a mother of two with additional responsibilities exercising a horse and two dogs and had not considered a career. Now she is the owner of Eve, a jewellery, giftware and

  • No evidence

    Can it be that Toby Shergold, the Oxford police spokesman, has been misquoted when he is reported as saying (Oxford Mail, March 21): "Police are not currently investigating the incident because there's no evidence for us to go on." I was always taught

  • Talking shop

    Planning the best moment to start a new business venture is never easy, but Sean and Nicole Hargrave have impeccable timing. Their company, Voxswap, has been launched just weeks before the birth of their third child, due on April 4. Voxswap.com - a

  • Faceless mandarins

    Having previously read a few of Glyn Limmer's letters, I wouldn't have labelled his views as of the rose-tinted variety. However, his conclusion that residents of countries denied a Lisbon Treaty national vote would get their own back by voting their

  • Catering for the discerning

    If experience counts for anything in catering, then Nicole Taylor could write a book on the subject. Raised in an Australian farming community, Ms Taylor has worked her way around the world from Thailand to Canada, with Europe in between. Now she has

  • Burning ambition

    Back to the future with wood-burning stoves. That seems to be the credo of a chimney sweep cum heating expert who claims to know more about flues than anyone else in Oxfordshire. Now Ian Bush, 42, who has been in the business of supplying heating systems

  • Right advice 'crucial'

    Robert Kirtland, managing partner of Critchleys, Oxford, says the secret of a happy workforce is respect and responsibility. Here he answers our questions. What was your first job and what did your responsibilities include? Packing pizzas for Marks

  • Why give them an extra day?

    Can the chief executives of Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council explain why their offices are closed for the extra day after every Bank Holiday? Surely when cutbacks are being forced on the electorate, full-time working should be in operation

  • Juwel in crown

    What do you do when you have been a paper millionaire during the telecoms and dotcom boom - and then seen it all fade away when the bubble burst? The answer, in the case of one Henley entrepreneur, is to turn to "something more concrete, something more

  • Royal seal

    An Oxfordshire vineyard and microbrewery has become the first enterprise of its kind to gain a royal warrant from the Queen. The Chiltern Valley Winery and Brewery had to supply some of its bottled beer to Buckingham Palace for five years before it was

  • Cabbages and Kings

    The queue was a daunting sight. It stretched from the main door, wound between display stands and barriers before fanning out to await a disembodied voice inviting St Aldate's Post Office customers to head for the next free desk. My heart sank at the

  • M4 drugs haul 'worth millions'

    POLICE seized more than 20 kgs of drugs from a Mercedes-Benz stopped on the M4 at Chieveley last night. Supt. Chris Shead, of Thames Valley Police, said: "This is a substantial seizure of what we believe to be heroin which would be worth millions

  • Watch this space

    This year had already started well for a young Oxford start-up company and recently it became even better. Fresh from raising a six-figure sum from angel investors, David Langer and Andy Young, the founders of GroupSpaces, have just heard their company

  • Death-crash driver named

    THE driver killed in a road accident near Swerford on Tuesday morning has been named as 40-year-old Ronald Zvidzai Kamuduariwa. He lived at Lodge Close, Banbury, and a formal inquest was expected to be opened and adjourned today in Oxford. He was

  • Dead driver identified

    The driver killed in a road accident near Swerford on Tuesday morning has been named as 40-year-old Ronald Zvidzai Kamuduariwa. He lived at Lodge Close, in Banbury, and a formal inquest was expected to be opened and adjourned today in Oxford. He was

  • Knife death man's fiancée pays tribute

    THE fiancée of a father-of-two who died outside an Oxford pub has said his death has left her "devastated". Stephen Pinker, 43, of Burford Road, Witney, died from a knife wound in the neck outside The Corner House pub in Hollow Way, Cowley, on Tuesday

  • Man, 25, charged with murder

    POLICE have today charged a man with the murder of father-of-two Stephen Pinker. Mr Pinker, 43, of Burford Road, Witney, died from a knife wound to the throat outside Corner House pub in Hollow Way, Cowley, Oxford, on Tuesday. Christopher John Philp

  • Man charged with pub murder

    Police have charged a man with the murder of father-of-two Stephen Pinker. Mr Pinker, 43, of Burford Road, Witney, died after he was stabbed in the throat outside The Corner House pub in Hollow Way, Cowley, Oxford, on Tuesday. Christopher John Philp

  • Arson blaze causes £2,000 damage

    ARSONISTS caused almost £2,000 damage by setting fire to an allotment shed. Police are appealing for witnesses after a shed was burned to the ground in an arson attack in allotments in Burford Road, Chipping Norton last week. Details were only released

  • Fiancee's tribute to stabbing victim

    The fiancee of a father-of-two killed outside an Oxford pub said today his death has left her "devastated". Stephen Pinker, 43, of Burford Road, Witney, died after he was stabbed in the neck outside the Corner House pub, in Hollow Way, Cowley, on Tuesday

  • FIXTURES: February 28

    SATURDAY. FOOTBALL. BLUE SQUARE PREMIER. Oxford Utd v Northwich Victoria. BRITISH GAS BUSINESS SOUTHERN LEAGUE. Premier Div: Team Bath v Banbury Utd. Div 1 South & West: Abingdon Utd v Bracknell Tn, Didcot Tn v Winchester City, Oxford City v Fleet

  • Shed fire causes £2,000 damage

    Arsonists caused almost £2,000 of damage by setting fire to an allotment shed in Chipping Norton. Police are appealing for witnesses after the shed was burned to the ground off Burford Road last Thursday. Details were only released today. The fire was

  • ATHLETICS: Veteran Chris on top of the world

    Oxford City's Chris Padmore was part of a world record-breaking 4x200m relay team as he struck gold at the World Masters Indoor Championships in Clermont Ferrand, France. Competing in the vet 55 race, the quartet's time of 1min 41.4secs knocked almost

  • ROWING: Oxford can power to victory

    "A good big 'un will always beat a good little 'un" is an old rowing adage - that's why I'm taking Oxford to win the 154th Boat Race from Putney to Mortlake on Saturday (5.15pm). Duncan Holland, Cambridge's coach, whose crew are giving away 12lbs per

  • BADMINTON: Unbeaten King rules

    Amanda King produced an unbeaten display to help Headington A drew 3-3 with Wantage in Division 1 of the Oxford and District Women's League. Other players to win all their matches in that league were Kathryn Schutterlin as Abingdon finished all square

  • Dress to impress

    Choosing a name for a new Internet fashion company is a difficult task. Most businesses would hold a brainstorming session with an advertising agency, perhaps. But finance director Chris Powles decided to ask his local priest. Mr Powles, who has had

  • Outcry at rent rises

    A STREET vendor selling flowers from a pitch outside Oxford's Westgate is facing a rent hike from the city council of nearly 50 per cent. Darren Oretagu, who has been selling flowers from his stall since September, said that the increase will cause

  • Tasting wine on the move

    I'm just back from a few days of wine tasting in France; not this time on a no-frills airline but via that much more relaxing Eurostar from the remodelled St Pancras station. Given that we had a 7.30am kick-off, there were no pre-departure visits to

  • Change of climate

    Here is a tricky equation. You have a charity which helps scientific research into environmental change by offering volunteers the opportunity to travel the world and work on projects that could save whole species from extinction; at the same time you

  • Tough Love

    After several weeks of interupted sleep, drastic measures were called for. Being poorly a few weeks ago meant her whole sleep routine was out the window - and frankly I was knackered. I knew what I had to do - I'd done it before. But I was still dreading

  • Police hold two in murder inquiry

    A FATHER-OF-TWO was slashed across the throat and left dying outside an Oxford pub. Two people were today being held by detectives who launched a murder inquiry following the death of Stephen Pinker, 43, outside The Corner House pub in Hollow Way,

  • Murder: Pair still held by police

    A man and a woman arrested over the killing of a father-of-two outside an Oxford pub remain in custody this morning. Stephen Pinker, 43, of Burford Road in Witney, was slashed across the throat outside The Corner House in Hollow Way, Cowley, on Tuesday

  • Placebo? It's all in the mind

    Is hynotism like taking a sugar pill in the belief it's medicine? asks DR PETER NAISH Have you seen how many hypnotherapists there are in Yellow Pages? When people learn of my own interest in hypnosis they often say things like, "Oh, I've got a

  • Volunteers help keep door open for refugees

    Could you take on the challenge of cooking meals for up to 40 people and all for under £1 a head? Could you help an organisation apply for charitable status? Or are you keen on chess, pool or table tennis or simply like to meet people and listen to their

  • County curiosities both funny and sad

    CHRIS KOENIG delves into stories that are bizarre, but also tragic, from Curiosities Of Oxfordshire How to pave the streets of Oxford seems to have been a headache for councillors since time immemorial. Most recently there was the tragi-comic fiasco

  • Nice time at the theatre

    It's spring and VAL BOURNE is enjoying the colourful tiered auricula show One of the pleasures of spring is setting up my auricula theatre, a rather grand name for a set of tiered wooden shelves that hold my collection of about 30 plants. I will

  • A green way to stay healthy

    ELIZABETH EDWARDS celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Green Gym movement which combines keeping fit with preserving the countryside This year is the tenth anniversary of the Green Gym movement and Oxfordshire is where the idea has achieved

  • Cameron wants expenses resolution

    Tory leader David Cameron is said to be hoping for a "speedy resolution" to the legal row over the publication of his expenses. An aide to the Witney MP spoke out yesterday as Commons Speaker Michael Martin faced a backlash from MPs over the decision

  • Not such a strong impression

    THERESA THOMPSON is disappointed by the works of the Camden Town Group on display at Tate Britain If you were asked to name an Impressionist, no problem: Degas, Monet, Manet . . . you could reel off a few. An Abstract Expressionist, trickier. A

  • Town choir on a high note for birthday concert

    NICOLA LISLE talks to members of Didcot Choral Society as they prepare to celebrate their 50th anniversary Reaching 50 is a considerable achievement for any choir, and Didcot Choral Society intends to celebrate in style with its first-ever trip abroad

  • Tributes to 'devoted family man'

    EX-SOLDIER Stephen Pinker was a devoted family man who will be sadly missed, his childhood sweetheart said last night. The 43-year-old, who served more than a decade with the Royal Green Jackets, died after being knifed in the neck outside The Corner

  • Honoured

    We are at last recognising those who helped us win the Second World War, yet were never recognised for their efforts. First it was the Land Girls, who worked the land to keep Britain fed. Now the Bevin Boys, who worked in the pits, are receiving badges

  • What a blooming shame!

    If it is a choice of giving money to housing, play areas, swimming pools or flowers, there is no question what should lose out - flowers would come last every time. But what a great shame that Oxford finds itself in such a parsimonious state that it

  • Sreena appeals for builders

    VOLUNTEER builders - with no skills necessary - are needed to spend a month building a school in India. Oxford paediatrician Sreena Das, from Woodbine Place, off Oxpens Road, is looking for a team to lead a £6,000 building project in West Bengal.

  • Search starts for top village

    THE search is on to find Oxfordshire's Village of the Year. Last year's winning village, Steeple Aston, is now through to the Calor Village of the Year for England Competition and is preparing for a visit from judges next month. Sixteen villages

  • Pooh Sticks set to attract crowd

    HUNDREDS of people from around the world are expected to descend on an Oxfordshire village this weekend for the annual World Pooh Sticks Championships. This year's championship, on the River Thames at Day's Lock, in Little Wittenham, will be held on

  • Pair 'rammed police to evade capture'

    COUSINS appeared in court yesterday accused of ramming a police car and speeding off in a bid to escape arrest. Anthony Smith, 28, of Woodin's Way, Oxford, is alleged to have helped suspected drug dealer Triston Lawrence escape police custody on July

  • Centre gift

    ROYAL Mail staff made a special delivery when they called at the Elms Day Centre for the elderly, Witney. They handed over money raised by the annual Christmas raffle among staff at the town's delivery office. Each year the staff donate to a local

  • Beat racism

    MUSICIANS have banded together to form a campaign group to fight racism. The Oxford Love Music Hate Racism group includes many bands from the city, including Smilex, Easy Tiger, Space Heroes of the People, Borderville, Shirley, and The Evenings.

  • Appeal after M&S theft

    A WOMAN is being asked to come forward with information about a theft in Bicester. Just over two weeks ago, £70 worth of meat was stolen from Marks & Spencer in Sheep Street. On Wednesday, March 12, at just after 4.30pm, a man put the stolen meat

  • Key day for link road plan

    THE long-awaited countdown to a Cogges Link Road, Witney, is about to start. Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet is being urged to go ahead with a planning application for the £16.4m road at a meeting today. It is seen as vital to the traffic network

  • Cycle protest

    CAMPAIGNERS hoping to close a controversial immigration detention centre hold their monthly demonstration on Saturday. Members of the Campaign to Close Campsfield will cycle to the centre in Kidlington after meeting at Martyrs' Memorial, in St Giles

  • Pupils on song for anniversary

    CHILDREN from nine Oxford primary schools came together to celebrate ten years of joint musical performances at the Sheldonian Theatre. The schools started the performances after they were selected for the 'Excellence in Cities Partnership', a Government

  • Problem alley set to be closed

    AN Oxford alleyway which has been plagued by drug dealers finally looks set to be shut after a six-year battle. Oxfordshire County Council has recommended a gating order should be made for the alley between Windale Avenue and Pegasus Road, in Blackbird

  • Oxfringe festival starts

    OXFORD will have a fringe festival to rival Edinburgh or Brighton if the organisers of a music, theatre and spoken word festival have their way. On Saturday, Oxfringe - Oxford's first fringe festival - will begin with a variety of events designed to

  • Town display to support armed forces

    HUNDREDS of balloons are to be launched from the centre of Carterton to show support for the armed forces. The town is home to thousands of servicemen and women at RAF Brize Norton and the Yellow Ribbon Foundation, set up to provide information for

  • Rare map 'should be on show'

    ONE of the most important maps ever made in Britain should be placed on display, according to a member of staff at Oxford University's Bodleian Library. The Gough Map, which dates from about 1360, is the earliest surviving map of Great Britain to show

  • Honour at last for wartime miners

    An Oxford man who battled claustrophobia to dig coal for Britain during the Second World War has been thanked for his efforts by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Eighty-two-year-old Dan Duhig, who lives in Lime Road, Botley, was one of 27 so-called Bevin

  • Last appeal to stay in bloom contest

    A last-ditch attempt is to be made to save Oxford's entry in the prestigious Britain in Bloom competition. Oxford could miss the competition for the first time in 23 years after Oxford City Council slashed £40,000 from its budget because of its financial