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Stories for 6 March 2008
Abingdon
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Abingdon News
Petrol thefts warning
Drivers are being warned that petrol has been stolen from vehicles in the Vale of White Horse area. more...
Drivers fined over seatbelts and phones
More than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Grants axe set to fall
Community groups could feel the pinch after the Vale of White Horse District Council decided to cut the amount of money it will give out in grants. more...
Art
It's off the wall
In the sunny world of visual arts this fortnight I visited two exhibitions, both of which I am happy to report I enjoyed as much as Damian Hirst loves formaldehyde (i.e. a lot!). more...
Slam dunk
Slam is the new sex, at least according to its latest protegée Oxford's Sian Robins-Grace. more...
Within Walls: The Oxfordshire Museum
Over nine days, artists selected by Art in Situ and funded by The Arts Council, responded in their own way to the medieval tower of Crest, in South East France, a prison for 200 years. more...
Bicester News
Delays on M40 as lorry overturns
A driver needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Books
Rhyming reason
OXFORD POETS 2007 ed. David Constantine and Bernard O'Donoghue (Carcanet, £12.95)This is the fifth anthology in this series and contains 17 poets. Twelve are women, several have Oxford connections, some are from Ireland and one, Adam Hansen, has Serbian roots. more...
Life and times of governess
The governess is a familiar figure in 19th-century fiction, writes Maggie Hartford. Despised, ill-paid, insecure, isolated and terminally lonely, she appears in novels like Jane Eyre or Vanity Fair. more...
Emperor vanquished
THE BAREFOOT EMPEROR Philip Marsden (Harper Press, £17.99)The medieval kingdom that was Abyssinia in the middle of the 19th century witnessed an extraordinary campaign against the might of Queen Victoria's empire, some years before the holy war in the Sudan. more...
Poet with an ear for words
Journalists sometimes have to fight the temptation to use a beautiful but obscure word, knowing it will fall victim to an editor's delete key. Poets face no such constraints, explains Jamie McKendrick. "With a poem you have the liberty to use the exact word you want, and not just the liberty but the obligation. A poem should be where language is at its most active, where one word is being played against another. In journalism, the obligation is to be understood; in a poem, the obligation is to delight." more...
Local author
Charles West worked as a professional actor for 45 years, starring in the West End and on Broadway. Now a full-time author, his latest thriller is The Long Hook (Robert Hale, £18.99) more...
Food books choice
My Life in Food Steven Berkoff (acdc Publishing, £10.75) Steven Berkoff's My Life in Food may be just a pocket-size book, but he has packed so much into it that it's actually a very big read. Indeed, it could be described as a gastronomic rollercoaster, written by a man who has chomped his way around the world and therefore knows what he is talking about. He begins by recalling Lyon's cafe in Bedfordshire, where he was evacuated during the war, with a self-service counter that you dragged your tray along as you headed for the cash desk. It was there you would be confronted with a giant streaming cauldron of boiling water, which was used to fill your brown teapot. He recalls that the Lyon's tea, which was dark and strong, tasted like the real tea which was served until tea bags took over. more...
Business News
Green win
GREEN cleaning products company Ecover has asked an Oxford-based consultancy to help measure its environmental impact. more...
Tax office 'in chaos'
THE Oxford tax office is "in chaos", according to a husband-and-wife business team who face £200 penalties. more...
Cimena
DIARY OF THE DEAD (18)
You just can't keep a good zombie franchise down. Forty years after George A Romero reinvigorated the horror genre with his low budget classic Night Of The Living Dead, the sexagenarian godfather of gore returns with the fifth instalment of the blood-soaked franchise. more...
THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (12A)
Falling victim to the same excesses as Elizabeth: The Golden Age, The Other Boleyn Girl is beautiful to look at but lacks deep emotion. more...
THE GAME PLAN (U)
Although the setting and underlying themes are contemporary - the corruptive allure of celebrity, the pressures of single parenthood, rampant materialis -The Game Plan is, at its soft, gooey heart, an old-fashioned Disney yarn extolling the virtues of the family. more...
VANTAGE POINT (12A)
Sometimes the truth is hidden in plain sight - you just need to know where to look. more...
Cinema
Lars and the Real Girl, Garage and Son of Man
There are some films that cause you to wince simply by reading the synopsis. Take, for example, the tale of a creepy nerd in a small US town, who sends off for a designer sex doll and proceeds to pass it off as his girlfriend. But, far from being another sniggering piece of teen-targeted smut in the Superbad mould, Craig Gillespie's Lars and the Real Girl is an utterly charming study of crippling loneliness, unspoken affection and community spirit. Refusing to mock its admittedly far-fetched premise, this is a paean to a plastic Pollyanna who makes everybody feel better about themselves and each other. Frank Capra couldn't have done it any better. more...
Vantage Point
Sometimes, the truth is hidden in plain sight - you just need to know where to look. Vantage Point is an intricate action-thriller, which replays a devastating terrorist attack from eight perspectives, exposing a web of intrigue, which leaves the American president fighting for his life during a high-profile visit to Salamanca in Spain. more...
Clubbing
Trashy/Transformation/Room 101 at the Carling Academy, Oxford
Sixties music doesn't turn me on. Seventies music doesn't do it for me either. So why does Eighties music create a chemical imbalance in my brain, causing me to dance in such an outrageous fashion? more...
Columns
Cabbages and Kings
Friend and foe alike say I have one of those faces - it encourages others to share confidences. Perhaps they're right. more...
Country Matters
Caring for our countryside
A pioneering £2.8m project, Caring for the Cotswolds, has just completed a five-year programme to conserve this beautiful area, writes ELIZABETH EDWARDS Creamy-grey walled cottages, with natural slated roofs, dry-stone walls, the rolling hills - all these are distinctive features of the Cotswold landscape and the Conservation Board for the area has the responsibility to ensure they remain so. more...
Dance
Birmingham Royal Ballet, All That Jazz: New Theatre, Oxford
It's a brave venture to take a programme of three jazz works and a live band of more than 20 musicians on tour, but this is a great evening from Birmingham Royal Ballet and the audience certainly gets its money's worth. more...
Tavaziva Dance, Town Hall, High Wycombe
Two companies with African roots on successive nights! But Bawren Tavaziva has moved further into the field of international dance than Bode Lawal's company Sakoba, reviewed today on Page 5. more...
Simply Ballroom: Wycombe Swan
The theatre was packed out for this Sunday evening extravaganza, which just goes to show how this once dismissed form of dance has sprung back into the limelight. First off, we met our hosts - Sophie Lawrence (Frank Butcher's occasional daughter in EastEnders, soon to re-appear), and Sam Kay, a gravel-voiced ego-trip in a silver suit. more...
Didcot
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Didcot News
Village primary gets top report
Harwell primary school has been classed as "a good school with outstanding features" by Ofsted inspectors. more...
Editorial Comment
It's worth signing up for scheme
It's full steam ahead for pensioner Roger Jenking in his novel way to test the new bus concessionary scheme. more...
Drug fears
We hope the powers that be will carefully consider the call by Pc Leigh Thompson, the police's local drugs expert, to reclassify cannabis from Class C back to B. more...
Education
Universities unite to support teachers
Joint conference helps teachers with advice for their A-level pupils, writes PETER CANN Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities have got together for the first time to organise a joint teachers' conference. Teachers from 52 schools and colleges visited Oxford's two universities to attend a conference on how best to advise their students on university admissions. more...
Bright ideas and fine food at Trinity College
I have long held Oxford's Trinity College in high regard. With fewer than 300 undergraduates - rather less than half that of the much grander Cambridge establishment of the same name - it has a cosy atmosphere, though its justly famous garden certainly gives a feeling of spaciousness. It was the first Oxford college I regularly visited, a Lincolnshire friend of mine having secured a place there in the year I arrived to work on The Oxford Times in 1973. I have later happy memories of a wedding in its neoclassical chapel, when a friend married a daughter of one of the dons, and a party in a pretty room looking out on the aforementioned garden, where I found myself in a most-unlikely threesome (conversation only, I hasten to add). more...
Features
Cleaning contract
GREEN cleaning products company Ecover has asked an Oxford-based consultancy to help measure its environmental impact. more...
Fairtrade or food miles?
Fairtrade Fortnight (February 25 - March 9) seems a good time to address a conundrum - should you buy locally produced food and drink or go for Fairtrade produce from far away, thereby helping poor farmers in the Third World? more...
Food
Why Raymond Blanc and I say Delia is wrong
From the moment her first book came out in 1971 Delia Smith has been highly influential - people have followed her cooking instructions blindly. When St Delia demonstrates a recipe requiring fresh coriander, her public clear the supermarket shelves of this delicious herb in hours. Her mention of cranberries sent sales of this fruit rocketing and eggs sold in their million once she'd taught us how to boil and fry them properly. Now, in her recent book, How to Cheat at Cooking, she has given the thumbs up to a different style of cooking, which relies heavily on prepared foods, even frozen roast and mashed potatoes! And what's more she has named the producer and the supermarkets that stock these products. more...
Old-fashioned poppy seed cake recipe
When my grandmother used to make poppy seed cake she served it spread with a generous amount of butter - it was delicious, especially when eaten moments after being taken from the oven. more...
Football
FOOTBALL: Aslett's hat-trick sinks Chippy
David Aslett hammered a hat-trick as Chesterton Juniors thrashed Chipping Norton Town Swifts 5-0 in the Giles Sports Witney Youth Under 15 A League. more...
FOOTBALL: Ardley squeeze home in sudden-death epic
Supplementary Cup holders Ardley United survived against Division 1 West opponents Winterbourne United, but only after an extended penalty shoot-out. more...
FOOTBALL: Green strike in vain for Launton
Launton Sports went down to a 3-1 defeat at ten-man Wootton Bassett Town in Division 1 West. more...
FOOTBALL: Keeper Kelly is hero as Bardwell triumph
Goalkeeper Craig Kelly's penalty save helped struggling BCS Bardwell gain a welcome Oxfordshire Senior League Premier Division point in a 1-1 draw at home to Chadlington. more...
FOOTBALL: KEA see off derby rivals
KEA edged out local rivals Slade Farm 2-1 in a tight Banbury District & Lord Jersety FA Division 1 promotion battle to go top. more...
Gardening
A must for each garden
VAL BOURNE says now is the time to plant the very valuable rhubarb Many years ago, in a lowly research post, I worked on rhubarb, a valuable crop if forced into early growth. The stems are rose-pink, the foliage crinkly yellow and, when it's cooked, it's an ambrosial food quite unlike the garden-grown, acidic rhubarb that appears later. more...
Gray Matter
We must shut Chris Evans up
A friend of mine, who had been a distinguished broadcaster for many years, reacted with amazement when I told him I was starting to find Chris Evans quite grown-up and tolerable on his Radio 2 drive-time programme. That was before he started talking over all the blasted records. more...
A book no Dessie fan should miss
Even if you couldn't see the title of the book on the right, I would hardly need to tell most of my readers that the horse in the picture is Desert Orchid (1979-2006), much the most famous grey of recent years, indeed of all time. more...
Headlines
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Meet First Great Western managers
TRAIN operator First Great Western is holding a 'meet the manager' event for passengers at the Charlbury railway station on Friday, March 7. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Players' gift for captain
YOUNG Matthew Lee misses his football . . . and his mates are missing him as captain of their junior team. more...
Horse Racing
POINT-TO-POINT: Hill's veterans on track
Mr Splodge and Bering Gifts, Aston Rowant trainer Alan Hill's veterans, could run at the Oxford University Hunt Club meeting at Kingston Blount, near Chinnor, tomorrow. more...
Letters
Bleak future?
It looks like another pub will bite the dust. more...
One cup of tea - eight taxes!
I drove to Oxford on Sunday recently and parked in St Giles to have a cup of tea in a nearby restaurant with a friend. more...
Close the doors
A points system for non-EU immigrants? Apparently so. However, a few questions: What gives us the right to purloin, for example, an Indian brain surgeon, probably much-needed at home? more...
Motorsport
MOTOR CYCLING: Bradley is raring to go
The waiting is almost over - and Bradley Smith is raring to go Oxford's teenage sensation has just a matter of days to wait for the start of the MotoGP 125cc season, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. more...
Music
Bach Bminor Mass: The Queen's College
Queen's College Choir is among the leading mixed-voice collegiate ensembles in the UK," a publicity flyer proclaimed. After hearing the choir last Thursday, in Bach's magnificent Mass in B minor, I can understand why. From the opening Kyrie eleison, delivered fearlessly and powerfully, it was clear that this was going to be a performance of exceptional quality. The 30 voices - spread, unlike some choirs, more or less evenly among the four sections - fused so perfectly, and produced such a thrilling sound, that I had to fight the temptation to applaud every individual number. more...
Tony Kofi: The Spin, Oxford
The last time I saw Tony Kofi was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank, where he was playing the whole of Thelonious Monk's works with the Monk Liberation Front. Though Kofi is a great interpreter of Monk's music, this was not a very liberating experience. The number of pieces to be played and the size of the hall left little room for self-expression. In the more intimate environment of the Spin, with a highly responsive trio and no musical target to hit, Kofi was able to take control of the proceedings and give himself and the rest of the band room to spread. more...
The Conspirators CD review
Released this week is a single that revisits 1967 with a very 2008 treatment. The Conspirators are a Yorkshire band who are making waves in the North of England with their energetic guitar riffs and catchy tunes. The song, One Sure Thing (Transcend Records), is by Richard Thompson and appeared on Fairport Convention's eponymously titled debut album in 1967 and the singer then was Judy Dyble. more...
Who's next?
GILES WOODFORDE talks to the singer Richard Suart, famous for his role as Ko-Ko in The Mikado, and a certain little list . . . Having been appointed Lord High Executioner of Titipu, Ko-Ko must plainly demonstrate that there could be work to do: "If I should ever be called upon to act professionally," he proclaims, "I am happy to think that there will be no difficulty in finding plenty of people whose loss will be a distinct gain to society at large." more...
News
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Voters name exotic theme
MASQUERADE is set to be the theme of this year's Cowley Road Carnival, in Oxford. more...
Diners cook up cash
CURRY fans in Oxfordshire have helped raise more than £6,000 to support Oxfam's relief work in cyclone-hit Bangladesh. more...
More PCSOs for estate
AN OXFORD estate is to get two more Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs). more...
Search for budding young performers
YOUNG actors are being given the chance to take part in a new film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet - which is set in Oxford. more...
Friends compete in Irish Sea challenge
TWO friends from Oxford are training hard for one of the world's toughest rowing races to raise thousands of pounds for a hospice in Wales. more...
Foals perform free gig
OXFORD rock band Foals will be performing a free show and signing session at the city's HMV store in Cornmarket Street later this month. more...
Bosom pals unite for Race for Life
THE aptly-named Bosom Friends are putting on an united front - and their trainers -for this year's Race for Life. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Police warn of fuel thefts
POLICE in the Vale of the White Horse are urging motorists to take care of their vehicles following three fuel thefts in the area. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
'Direct action' threat to Westgate
PROTESTERS are planning a prolonged campaign of direct action to hit the construction of Oxford's new Westgate Centre. more...
Murder trial jury retires
A JURY has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in a field. more...
Top honour for Benson pilot
A WOMAN pilot based at RAF Benson who dodged low-flying missiles to rescue a dying soldier in Iraq will tomorrow be awarded the forces' highest honour. more...
Bypass litter 'a disgrace'
LITTER along the Oxford Eastern Bypass has been branded a disgrace by a man who has called for urgent action to clean the area. more...
Police aim to recruit graduates
A THAMES Valley Police team wants to encourage graduates to take up the challenge of becoming a police officer at an event in Oxford next week. more...
Revival for riverside pub
A RIVERSIDE pub is set for a revival after a couple stepped in to spruce up the neglected Oxford drinking spot. more...
Gang filmed attack on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. more...
Burial space a serious problem
BURIAL ground in Oxford will run out within ten years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem. more...
Police raid suspected squat
POLICE raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. more...
Teachers miss out on academy jobs
FOUR more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have not worked at the school it will replace. more...
New debate on call to prayer
THE debate on whether a call to prayer should be broadcast from the Oxford Central Mosque comes under the spotlight on Sunday. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
MK rail link plan on track
WORK on a rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
MK rail link plan on track
WORK on a rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Immigrants arrested
ILLEGAL immigrants were arrested in a raid on a medical warehouse in Chipping Norton. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Last tributes
FAMILY, friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a popular former mayor of Bicester who died suddenly last week. Dr Ajit Bhart suffered a heart attack, just a day after celebrating his 70th birthday. more...
The man who always wore a smile
ON Wednesday a two-minute silence was held at the town council meeting in memory of Dr Bhart. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
MK rail link plan on track
WORK on a rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
MK rail link plan on track
WORK on a rail link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Non Leage
FOOTBALL: Merritt slams Errol ban
Oxford City manager Justin Merritt has hit out at the Football Association after striker Errol Telemaque was handed a four-match ban for his sending-off against Paulton Rovers. more...
FOOTBALL: Ackling unhappy over Milton axe
Gary Ackling has spoken of his disappointment following his sacking by Sport Italia Hellenic League Premier Division side Milton United. more...
FOOTBALL: Powell is back at Didcot
Former Oxford United star Paul Powell has been given another chance by Didcot Town manager Stuart Peace, just weeks after he left the Division 1 South & West leaders for Hungerford Town. more...
Obituaries
Dr Ajit Bhart, Former mayor of Bicester
FAMILY, friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a popular former mayor of Bicester who died suddenly last week. Dr Ajit Bhart suffered a heart attack, just a day after celebrating his 70th birthday. more...
On The Box
Lots to put me in Meldrew mode
I know I sometimes sound like Victor Meldrew from One Foot in the Grave - the archetypal grumpy old curmudgeon. Characteristically, I found myself uttering the Meldrew slogan "I don't believe it!" while watching several of this week's programmes. more...
Other Sport
MOTOR CYCLING: I can't wait to get started
IF you've got to hang around waiting for something big to begin, then the Ritz's Carlton hotel in Qatar is the right place. more...
MOTOR CYCLING: A new dawn
The waiting is almost over - and Bradley Smith is raring to go Oxford's teenage sensation has just a matter of days to wait for the start of the MotoGP 125cc season, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday. more...
CYCLING: Didcot roll home in trophy
Host club Didcot Phoenix CC regained the coveted inter-club roller competition trophy, despite competition from Newbury, Swindon, Reading and Oxford. more...
BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford were crowned Division 2 champions in the Five Disciplines League with a 231-185 win over Park at Holton Sports Centre. more...
BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford made a quick return to Division 1 of the Five Disciplines League when they overcame Park 231-185 in their final Division 2 match at Holton Sports Centre. more...
POINT-TO-POINT: Tuckey is cream of the crop
Owner-trainer Mike Tuckey had reason to celebrate after his horse Pro Am captured the members' race under his jockey-son Ben (pictured receiving his trophies from sponsor Michael Forbes) at Dunthrop, near Chipping Norton. more...
Oxford News
Murder jury: no verdict yet
A jury considering whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field has not yet reached a verdict and is set to continue deliberations tomorrow. more...
60-year-old to test out new bus scheme
Most people travelling from Oxford to Crewe would go by car, book a coach or catch a train, but not Roger Jenking. more...
Men charged after drugs raids
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, have been charged in connection with an alleged cocaine drug dealing gang spanning the south of England. more...
Jane gets set for a giant leap
Cancer specialist Jane Gibbard is preparing to take a leap of faith from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to raise millions of pounds for those suffering the disease. more...
Murder jury retires
A jury has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field. more...
Bypass litter 'a disgrace'
Litter along Oxford's Eastern Bypass has been branded a disgrace by a pensioner who has called for urgent action to clean the area. more...
Organ donor register saved my life
Susan Kinch was only 10 years old when her mother died from kidney failure. more...
Call to prayer debate hots up
The debate on whether a call to prayer should be broadcast from Oxford Central Mosque comes under the spotlight on Sunday. more...
Riverside pub to be revived
A riverside pub is set for a revival after a couple stepped in to spruce up the neglected Oxford drinking spot. more...
Work experience scheme praised
An innovative scheme aimed at giving Oxford youngsters with learning disabilities a headstart has been praised. more...
Rough night highlights plight
About 140 people slept rough on Wednesday night to highlight the plight of the city's destitute asylum seekers. more...
Fathers' group to go online
A new project to create a website which serves the needs of fathers in Oxfordshire has been launched on an Oxford estate. more...
Ten remanded on cocaine charges
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Teachers miss out on Academy jobs
Four more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have never worked at the school it will replace. more...
Direct action promised over Westgate
Protesters are planning a prolonged campaign of direct action against Oxford's yet-to-be-built Westgate Shopping Centre. more...
Suspected squat raided
Police raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. more...
Rail link work may start in 2009
Work to create a railway link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin as early as next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
Gang filmed assault on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. more...
Burial space a grave problem
Burial ground in Oxford will run out within 10 years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem, the Oxford Mail can reveal. more...
Pasttimes
Gathering liquorice around the well
Palm Sunday sees villagers maintaining a long-held tradition in the Wychwood Forest, writes CHRIS KOENIG The last silent and hauntingly beautiful remnant of the old Royal Forest of Wychwood, part of the Cornbury estate, still the county's largest piece of broad-leaf forest, will be open to the public on Palm Sunday, thereby fulfilling a longstanding tradition. more...
Pegasus News
Pegasus Gets In The Swing
Last night (Wednesday 5th March) was the opening of a new show co-produced by Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company and Pegasus Theatre. Ain't Misbehavin' is an all music show featuring the songs of the legendary Fats Waller. more...
Racing
RACING: Fit-again Harald to lead Bradstock's Festival bid
All roads lead to the Cheltenham Festival next week, and Mark Bradstock is hoping King Harald can repeat his success of three years ago for his Letcombe Bassett yard, near Wantage. more...
Restaurant Reviews
Republic needs a revolution
Gingerbread latte, I ask you! I mean, without wanting to sound like my dear old gran, God rest her soul, whatever next? more...
German wine isn't that bad, honest
If you thought German wine meant Blue Nun, you'd be a good 15 years out of date. more...
Restaurants
The Black Boys in Hurley, near Henley
The Black Boys Inn in Hurley styles itself "a corner of France in the English countryside". It could as well be called a chunk of Devon and Cornwall that has strayed to Berkshire. While the former appellation acknowledges this splendid restaurant's commitment to all that is best in France's traditional cuisine bourgeoise, the latter description is surely justified for a restaurant whose culinary success depends so much on the fishy products of the South West. more...
Results And Fixtures
FIXTURES March 7
SATURDAY. more...
Rowing
ROWING: Osiris coach speechless after victory
Crews from Oxford excelled in the Women's Eights Head at Putney on Saturday. more...
ROWING: Brodie heads Oxon trio in Boat Race crew
The three Britons in Oxford University's crew for the 154th Boat Race on March 29 were born and bred in Oxfordshire The president, Nick Brodie, was the most successful cox from Abingdon School, achieving a rare hat-trick of wins in the Schools Head, the National Schools and Henley. more...
Rugby
RUGBY UNION: Bowers' rallying call
Chinnor coach Jason Bowers is asking his players for a fully focused performance when they host Bournemouth in South West 1 tomorrow (2.30). more...
Share Prices
Today's local share prices (AM)
AEA Technology 76 BMW 2679 Electrocomponents 172.75 Nationwide Accident Repair 134.5 Oxford Biomedica 28.75 Oxford Catalyst 151.5 Oxford Instruments 192.5 Reed Elsevier 625.25 RM 211.25 RPS Group 294.25 more...
Theatre
The Clean House, Oxford Playhouse
While I was growing up, my best friend's mother had a fridge magnet that read: "A tidy house is the sign of an untidy mind." It's something I always bring up when my partner sees the state I leave my own bedroom in. It's also perhaps the message of this week's big play in town, although you probably would not guess it, buried as it is, in a mire of middle-brow sentiment and half-baked character observations. more...
Omid Djalili: The Oxford PLayhouse
'One of the best things to come out of my BBC1 show is the corporate brand sponsorship," boasts Omid Djalili. "I got £1,000 last week from Speedo not to wear their products." more...
The Sound of Music, the London Palladium
Monday night's show was a gala performance' (meaning?) to welcome Summer Strallen to the role of Maria. The world of reality' star-manufacture must now go to such lengths to top itself (if only!) that the show's producers cast Ms Strallen - to replace another talent-show winner, Connie Fisher - and then shoe-horned her into TV's Hollyoaks, playing an aspiring starlet (called Summer, no less), in order that Andrew Lloyd Webber could turn up and cast' her as Maria all over again. Neat, eh? more...
Sir Clement Freud, Headington Theatre
An air of gentility pervaded the Theatre in Headington last Thursday, when Sir Clement Freud took to his leather chair and pedestal desk to amuse a nearly full house for 90 minutes. more...
The Heiress: The Mill at Sonning
The Mill at Sonning keeps its loyal audience happy, in the main, on a diet of well-crafted comedy interspersed with the occasional thriller. It departs from the pattern, however, in its excellent new production of The Heiress, Ruth and Augustus Goetz's 1947 adaptation of Henry James's novel Washington Square (though it has to be said that the play is not without welcome shafts of wit and, indeed, elements of mystery). more...
Preview of Hanging Hooke and Sam and I: Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford
Why was Robert Hooke, the polymath genius of the 17th century whose interests knew no bounds, written out of history? No portrait survives of Robert Hooke, and relatively little is known about his life, though he did come to Christ Church, before joining the Wadham College scientists who founded the Royal Society in 1660. Those who do know of his achievements believed him to be our English Leonardo. Like Da Vinci, Hooke was a fine artist, an accomplished engineer, an architect and an extraordinary scientific thinker. He died in London on March 3, 1703. more...
Take That: Never Forget — Milton Keynes Theatre and Savoy Theatre, London (from May 7)
West End bound - and bound to be a huge hit there - TakeThat: Never Forget pauses en route this week at Milton Keynes Theatre. What a surprising (for me) delight it proves, with its combination of impeccable performances from singers, dancers and band (musical director Matt Smith), suitably lavish standards of production and a heart-warming story in the very familiar "Hey-let's-put-on-a-show!" mode. more...
Epic drama of an age of damaged idealism revived
Our Friends in The North became famous on TV but is being staged at the Oxford Playhouse in its original form as a play. NICK UTECHIN talks to its author, Peter Flannery Few writers have penned the work for which they will be defined before their 30th birthday. But that is exactly what happened to dramatist Peter Flannery in 1982, when his epic play Our Friends In The North was first staged at the Barbican. more...
U'S News
We must not slip up again – Foster
Luke Foster says Oxford United must not let their recent improvement count for little by losing to promotion-chasers at home again this weekend. more...
Voluntary Voice
A fit St John Ambulance still needs volunteers
What will you be doing this evening? You could be helping a young person achieve their potential through the St John Ambulance youth programme if you became a volunteer. more...
Wallingford News
Hero pilot to be honoured
A woman pilot based at RAF Benson who dodged low flying missiles to rescue a dying soldier in Iraq will tomorrow be awarded the forces' highest honour. more...
Wantage And Grove
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Wantage News
Celebrities boost hospice funds
Celebrity sportsmen helped fundraisers boost a charity for the terminally ill - with about £15,000 in donations. more...
Witney News
Thieves target OAP five times
A conman posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Face fractured in attack
A man suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Abingdon Herald News
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Celebrities boost hospice funds
CELEBRITY sportsmen helped fundraisers boost a charity for the terminally ill - with about £15,000 in donations. more...
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Banbury Cake News
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Immigrants arrested
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Bicester Advertiser News
Last tributes
FAMILY, friends and colleagues have paid tribute to a popular former mayor of Bicester who died suddenly last week. Dr Ajit Bhart suffered a heart attack, just a day after celebrating his 70th birthday. more...
The man who always wore a smile
ON Wednesday a two-minute silence was held at the town council meeting in memory of Dr Bhart. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Bicester Advertiser Sport
POINT-TO-POINT: Tuckey is cream of the crop
Owner-trainer Mike Tuckey had reason to celebrate after his horse Pro Am captured the members' race under his jockey-son Ben (pictured receiving his trophies from sponsor Michael Forbes) at Dunthrop, near Chipping Norton. more...
Oxford Mail News
Ten remanded on cocaine charges
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Teachers miss out on Academy jobs
Four more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have never worked at the school it will replace. more...
Direct action promised over Westgate
Protesters are planning a prolonged campaign of direct action against Oxford's yet-to-be-built Westgate Shopping Centre. more...
Bypass litter 'a disgrace'
Litter along Oxford's Eastern Bypass has been branded a disgrace by a pensioner who has called for urgent action to clean the area. more...
Suspected squat raided
Police raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. more...
Rail link work may start in 2009
Work to create a railway link between Oxford and Milton Keynes could begin as early as next year, with a new study signalling the start of detailed construction planning. more...
Village primary gets top report
Harwell primary school has been classed as "a good school with outstanding features" by Ofsted inspectors. more...
PM's wife is storytime hit
The Prime Minister's wife is "warm and fuzzy" according to children who met her in Oxford yesterday. more...
Courage under fire
A pilot from RAF Benson, who dodged missiles to rescue a wounded soldier in Iraq will make history today when she receives the airs forces' highest award. more...
Gang filmed assault on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. more...
Vandals show off on camera
A yob laughs as he stamps on a car windscreen and a boy is threatened with a knife in internet videos that appear to have been filmed in Oxford. more...
Burial space a grave problem
Burial ground in Oxford will run out within 10 years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem, the Oxford Mail can reveal. more...
Face fractured in attack
A man suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Drivers fined over seatbelts and phones
More than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Organ donor register saved my life
Susan Kinch was only 10 years old when her mother died from kidney failure. more...
Call to prayer debate hots up
The debate on whether a call to prayer should be broadcast from Oxford Central Mosque comes under the spotlight on Sunday. more...
Hero pilot to be honoured
A woman pilot based at RAF Benson who dodged low flying missiles to rescue a dying soldier in Iraq will tomorrow be awarded the forces' highest honour. more...
Murder jury: no verdict yet
A jury considering whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field has not yet reached a verdict and is set to continue deliberations tomorrow. more...
Riverside pub to be revived
A riverside pub is set for a revival after a couple stepped in to spruce up the neglected Oxford drinking spot. more...
Celebrities boost hospice funds
Celebrity sportsmen helped fundraisers boost a charity for the terminally ill - with about £15,000 in donations. more...
Grants axe set to fall
Community groups could feel the pinch after the Vale of White Horse District Council decided to cut the amount of money it will give out in grants. more...
Men charged after drugs raids
Ten men, including seven from Oxfordshire, have been charged in connection with an alleged cocaine drug dealing gang spanning the south of England. more...
Work experience scheme praised
An innovative scheme aimed at giving Oxford youngsters with learning disabilities a headstart has been praised. more...
Rough night highlights plight
About 140 people slept rough on Wednesday night to highlight the plight of the city's destitute asylum seekers. more...
Fathers' group to go online
Petrol thefts warning
Drivers are being warned that petrol has been stolen from vehicles in the Vale of White Horse area. more...
Delays on M40 as lorry overturns
A driver needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
Jane gets set for a giant leap
Cancer specialist Jane Gibbard is preparing to take a leap of faith from the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford to raise millions of pounds for those suffering the disease. more...
Murder jury retires
A jury has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in an Oxfordshire field. more...
Oxford Mail Sport
CYCLING: Didcot roll home in trophy
Host club Didcot Phoenix CC regained the coveted inter-club roller competition trophy, despite competition from Newbury, Swindon, Reading and Oxford. more...
BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford were crowned Division 2 champions in the Five Disciplines League with a 231-185 win over Park at Holton Sports Centre. more...
The Oxford Times News
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
MK rail link plan on track
The epic bus trip
Top honour for Benson pilot
A WOMAN pilot based at RAF Benson who dodged low-flying missiles to rescue a dying soldier in Iraq will tomorrow be awarded the forces' highest honour. more...
Bypass litter 'a disgrace'
LITTER along the Oxford Eastern Bypass has been branded a disgrace by a man who has called for urgent action to clean the area. more...
Police aim to recruit graduates
A THAMES Valley Police team wants to encourage graduates to take up the challenge of becoming a police officer at an event in Oxford next week. more...
50 drivers stopped in police check
MORE than 50 motorists have been fined for driving without a seatbelt, using their mobile phones or for motoring offences during police stop checks. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Revival for riverside pub
A RIVERSIDE pub is set for a revival after a couple stepped in to spruce up the neglected Oxford drinking spot. more...
Gang filmed attack on woman
A 57-year-old woman who was punched in the head by a teenage girl as a gang of youths filmed the attack said the ordeal had left her humiliated. more...
Burial space a serious problem
BURIAL ground in Oxford will run out within ten years - but city officials remain undecided how to tackle the problem. more...
Police raid suspected squat
POLICE raided a suspected squat in Oxford today and seized drugs paraphernalia. more...
Teachers miss out on academy jobs
FOUR more top jobs at Oxford's first academy school will go to people who have not worked at the school it will replace. more...
New debate on call to prayer
THE debate on whether a call to prayer should be broadcast from the Oxford Central Mosque comes under the spotlight on Sunday. more...
Fair for peace
A ROUGH Guide to Peace is the subject of an educational fair at Oxford Community School, Glanville Road, tomorrow. more...
Celebrities boost hospice funds
CELEBRITY sportsmen helped fundraisers boost a charity for the terminally ill - with about £15,000 in donations. more...
Towpath repair work set to start
Ten held on drugs charges
TEN men, including seven from Oxfordshire, are to appear at Oxford Crown Court next week accused of being part of a cocaine dealing gang. more...
Work experience scheme praised
AN innovative scheme aimed at giving Oxford youngsters with learning disabilities a head start has been praised. more...
Cold night highlights plight
ABOUT 140 people slept rough to highlight the plight of the city's destitute asylum seekers. more...
Fathers' group to go online
A NEW project to create a website which serves the needs of fathers in Oxfordshire has been launched on an Oxford estate. more...
Immigrants arrested
Flats plan rejected for cinema site
CAMPAIGNERS bidding to save the 1920s Regal cinema, in Wantage, breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after an inspector threw out a plan to convert it into flats. more...
Ten face drugs charges
TEN men have been charged with conspiracy to supply class-A drugs as a result of 23 drugs raids carried out on Tuesday. more...
Crash brings down power line
POWER cables were brought down after single-vehicle accident in Tackley this afternoon. more...
Murder trial jury retires
A JURY has retired to consider whether a Polish cleaner is guilty of killing her employer and dumping the body in a field. more...
"Direct action' threat to Westgate
Green win
GREEN cleaning products company Ecover has asked an Oxford-based consultancy to help measure its environmental impact. more...
Tax office 'in chaos'
THE Oxford tax office is "in chaos", according to a husband-and-wife business team who face £200 penalties. more...
Police warn of fuel thefts
POLICE in the Vale of the White Horse are urging motorists to take care of their vehicles following three fuel thefts in the area. more...
Overturned lorry causes M40 delays
A DRIVER needed treatment for minor injuries after his lorry overturned near junction 10 of the M40 this morning. more...
The Oxford Times Sport
MOTOR CYCLING: Bradley is raring to go
The waiting is almost over - and Bradley Smith is raring to go more...
BADMINTON: Radley & Oxford are champs
Radley & Oxford made a quick return to Division 1 of the Five Disciplines League when they overcame Park 231-185 in their final Division 2 match at Holton Sports Centre. more...
Witney Gazette News
Thieves target 91-year-old five times
A CONMAN posing as a policeman tricked his way into the home of a 91-year-old woman - the fifth time the pensioner has been targeted by thieves in three years. more...
Man's cheek fractured in attack
A MAN suffered cuts and fractures to his face during a serious assault in Carterton. more...
Immigrants arrested
Players' gift for captain
YOUNG Matthew Lee misses his football . . . and his mates are missing him as captain of their junior team. more...
Meet First Great Western managers
TRAIN operator First Great Western is holding a 'meet the manager' event for passengers at the Charlbury railway station on Friday, March 7. more...
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