Oxford and Oxfordshire news, sport and information updated throughout the day

Stories for 25 July 2006

Abingdon News

Runaway prisoner ordered to serve extra time

A prisoner who walked out of jail and visited his family in Oxfordshire, then handed himself in three days later, has been given an extra two months inside.  more...

Bicester News

Come rain or shine: the show goes on

Thousands of people braved the summer storms to enjoy a weekend of activities in Bicester's Garth Park.  more...

Business

'Sticky plastic' is hit with investors

A new form of plastic developed in Oxford has received a £500,000 vote of confidence from investors.  more...

Grants on offer to build new careers

Oxford building firms are being urged to take on apprentices in a bid to help them cash in on a booming industry.o Figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) show there are 129 young people in the city registered on its books who are ready and willing to start full-time training for a career in the building trade.  more...

Grants on offer to build new careers

Oxford building firms are being urged to take on apprentices in a bid to help them cash in on a booming industry.o Figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) show there are 129 young people in the city registered on its books who are ready and willing to start full-time training for a career in the building trade.  more...

Today's closing local share prices

AEA Technology 102 BMW 2657 Electrocomponents 233 Isoft Group 58 Oxford Bio 22.25 Oxford Instruments 213 Reed Elsevier 528.5 RM 176 RPS 225.25 Torex Retail 53   more...

Cinema

Cars and Stay Alive

Pixar's seventh full-length computer animated feature may not be as fine-tuned as its most recent models (The Incredibles, Finding Nemo), nor souped-up with as many super-charged thrills and spills, but Cars is nevertheless terrific, high-performance family entertainment. The visuals are absolutely stunning, from the reflections in the glass and bodywork of the automotive protagonists as they accelerate through beautifully rendered towns and deserts, to clever touches, like the bluebottle fly cars which buzz noisily in the heat.  more...

Glory in some Gallic contrasts

Luc Besson once said he that would only direct ten films and he hits his quota with Angel-A, a glorious throwback to his cinma du look past. Riffing on Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire (1988), the story centres on maverick angel Rie Rasmussen's bid to break serial schmuck Jamel Debbouze's losing streak. But while their banter is crisply cut and full of slick, fortune-cookie philosophy, there's nothing particularly interesting about her efforts to kickstart his life or deliver him from the clutches of sinister gangster, Gilbert Melki even though her methods could never be called conventional.  more...

Columns

Running man wins skirmish over tickets

I am late for the cinema and cycling like a demented banshee. I am in the middle of the lane heading from Magdalen Bridge into the city centre in the middle of the lane because there are ruts and ripples on the gutter-side of that lane which would give Chris Bonnington a run for his money.  more...

Cricket

CRICKET: Smith helps Oxon turn tables

Banbury left-hander Chris Smith starred with a century as Oxfordshire hit back on the second day of their Minor Counties League Western Division match at Salisbury yesterday.  more...

CRICKET: Motors close the gap at top

Morris Motors Exiles took advantage of the abandonment of the rest of the league programme to close the gap between them and Horspath at the top of the Division 3.  more...

Darts

DARTS: Dukes haul in vain

Jon Jukes hit a maximum, but could not prevent Cowley Community Centre C losing 5-4 to their B team in a thrilling all-Premier clash.  more...

Division 3

CRICKET: Morris Motors close the gap

Morris Motors Exiles took advantage of the abandonment of the rest of the league programme to close the gap between them and Horspath at the top of the Division 3.  more...

Editorial Comment

A waste of time and money

What is the point of holding consultation if a decision has already been taken?  more...

Letters

Talk to police before demos

Your report, Police ban lab campaign demo (Oxford Mail, July 24), accurately reflects the decision by Thames Valley Police to place restrictions on the planned demonstration in Oxford city centre last Saturday.  more...

Much too grand

I am afraid my colleague, city council leader John Goddard, is becoming increasingly delusional about the power he thinks he can wield.  more...

News

'Sticky plastic' is hit with investors

A new form of plastic developed in Oxford has received a £500,000 vote of confidence from investors.  more...

Grants on offer to build new careers

Oxford building firms are being urged to take on apprentices in a bid to help them cash in on a booming industry.o Figures from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) show there are 129 young people in the city registered on its books who are ready and willing to start full-time training for a career in the building trade.  more...

Other Sport

MOTOR SPORT: Turner turns it on in Portland

Banbury driver Darren Turner (left) teamed with Tomas Enge, who was driving with a broken hand, to finish second in the GT1 class at the Portland Grand Prix on Saturday in the Banbury-built Aston Martin DBR9.  more...

MOTOR SPORT: Bratt confident

Formula Renault UK teenage star Will Bratt heads to Donington Park this week confident his Scorpio Motorsport team will provide him with the car he needs to open the second half of the season with a place on the podium.  more...

Oxford News

Auditor's report absolves council over Kassam deal

Oxford City Council "probably" got the best price when it sold the land on which Oxford United's ground was built but it has been panned over how it did the deal.  more...

Mother, 46, tells of lucky escape

Eynsham mother Jacqui Hudson told yesterday of her lucky escape after lightning struck her TV aerial and her ceiling collapsed on her.  more...

Flooded city sports centre reopens

The Ferry Sports Centre in Oxford was left counting the cost of the freak weather yesterday, after flooding forced the venue to close for 48 hours.  more...

Factory fire is arson – police

An arsonist is believed to have started a factory fire which saw 50 people evacuated from their homes in Oxford because of fears a gas cylinder would explode.  more...

Big response to permit fee plan

Controversial plans to charge Oxford car drivers for permits to park outside their homes have prompted one of the largest responses to public consultation in the city.  more...

Guardian angel in gang attack

A good Samaritan helped fight off a gang who attacked a man and slashed his face in Oxford.  more...

Police follow towpath trail of blood

Police were last night searching for an injured man who left a lengthy trail of blood along the Thames towpath in Oxford.  more...

Uni keeps quiet about animal work

Fear of retribution by animal rights activists has led Oxford University to withhold information about the number of animal experiments it carried out last year.  more...

Asbo evidence‘was too weak’

A man banned from his Oxford estate can return home after a court revoked his Antisocial Behaviour Order, branding claims against him as "tittle-tattle".  more...

Plaque unveiled to Inspector Morse

The cracking crime-solving at Oxford's St Aldate's police station has been officially recognised with a plaque.  more...

Driving centre search shifts

The search for a site to build a new driving test centre has switched from Oxford to Kidlington.  more...

Mosque opens doors to community

Families and dignitaries from throughout the community flocked to an open day at the new Central Oxford Mosque.  more...

Rugby

RUGBY: Bicester plea for sponsors

Bicester Rugby Club are appealing for more sponsors to back them as they bid to win promotion from the BB&O Premier Division.  more...

Share Prices

Today's closing local share prices

AEA Technology 102 BMW 2657 Electrocomponents 233 Isoft Group 58 Oxford Bio 22.25 Oxford Instruments 213 Reed Elsevier 528.5 RM 176 RPS 225.25 Torex Retail 53   more...

Tennis

TENNIS: Oxfordshire ladies lose in opener

Oxfordshire Ladies' suffered a disappointing start to County Week as they lost 6-3 against Buckinghamshire in Group 2 in Worthing.  more...

Witney News

Shoppers warned after purse snatch

Shoppers in Witney are being warned to protect their belongings from opportunist thieves after a woman's purse was snatched from her daughter's pushchair.  more...

  
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