A Kidlington dad-of-two is set to raise thousands in memory of his father. Oxford University proctor Paul Franklin, 56, is cycling from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Angkor Wat in Cambodia for the Alzheimer’s Society. His father Kevin battled the disease
Pull on your hiking boots and pack a very big packed lunch because the 50-mile Tour De Trigs event is back. After two years off, the 46-year-old trek across three counties will return on Saturday, December 1, and Sunday, December 2. Top times for the
THE brother of a 1940s Olympic athlete, who missed out on a gold medal by just two inches of track, says he is proud people are remembering her. Maureen Gardner, from Cowley, Oxford, won a silver medal in the 80m hurdles at the 1948 London Olympics.
An Oxfordshire volunteers’ group is calling for a new online system for background criminal checks to be free. Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) says the new Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) system should be free, to ease the burden on the
A direct bus from Oxford’s Blackbird Leys estate to the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital is desperately needed, residents say. There is currently no service to the hospital – meaning non-drivers must change buses in Cowley or get a taxi. Critics say
ALL things bisexual and bi-friendly will be celebrated at an East Oxford event later this month. Organisers hope the second annual BiFest on March 31 will go some way to breaking down the barriers surrounding bisexuality. And in a separate move, Oxford
HER job is to make sure our boys are fighting fit before being deployed across the world. Now Kathy Ruane is facing her own battle – in the running to become the Nursing Standard’s Nurse of the Year. The mother-of-one, who is based at
Faringdon wants people to vote to help reward the people, groups and businesses doing good in the town. This is the third year the Faringdon Town Council Community Awards have been handed out. The finalists this year for the Clive Davis Community Hero
A PARKING campaigner who won victory for scores of unfairly fined motorists says the Local Government Ombudsman did not go far enough. David Hulse was one of five motorists who took his case to the ombudsman over a change in parking fees. That led to
This group of friends fear they could soon be torn apart by changes to dial-a-ride bus services. They use the bus to get to their social club at the New Marston Pastoral Centre in Jack Straw’s Lane, Oxford. But changes to the system, that have seen
WALKERS can pick up the pace over the coming months. They are being invited to take part in a challenge which will allow them to walk a marathon. With Oxford Health Walks they will be able to choose whether to walk 10km, a half marathon or a full marathon
SIBLINGS Joy, Pam and Chrissy Kellaway felt their worlds come crashing down when sister Ann was diagnosed with cancer last year. But on Saturday, May 19, they will all take part in the Breast Cancer Care Pink Ribbbonwalk at Blenheim Palace and show there
COMMUNITY groups in the Leys will be throwing open their doors for the first time this May. The Oxford estate’s inaugural open day will celebrate the work of more than 20 organisations and allow residents to see exactly what is available to them. Groups
COMMUNITIES could seize more control over how their streets develop. New legislation allows residents to create “neighbourhood plans” that carry weight when planning applications for homes and businesses are decided. Under the Localism Act, which became
A SMALL Abingdon brewery has celebrated selling its 250,000 pint. The Loose Cannon brewery opened in Suffolk Way in August 2010. The microbrewery, which produces four beers, is also opening its doors to beer lovers as it starts to offer
A 17-year-old girl missing from Abingdon since Friday night is being sought by police. Courtney Baudry was last seen outside of Abingdon College, Wooton Road, Abingdon at about 3.30pm and was later reported missing at 8.20pm on Friday.
ANTI-FLOOD campaigners will urge Prime Minister David Cameron to pull the plug on a £2.5m replacement for a historic Thames weir. Northmoor Weir, near Eaton, is one of the last hand-operated paddle and rymer weirs left on the river and a campaign
IT’S not the way we encourage our children to behave in the playground, but we’ve all heard the phrase an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, except, thank goodness, for the tooth fairy who unbelievably swaps old teeth for ready cash. This is surely
HUNDREDS of happy future brides and grooms flocked to the region’s biggest bridal event at Oxford Town Hall. It comes as the Oxford Mail launches its Bride and Groom Of The Year competition offering lucky couples an exclusive wedding package worth more
A property developer has just seven days to comply with a council order to smarten up a house in a Conservation Area. Martin Young has until next Monday to carry out improvements to 29 Old High Street, in the Old Headington Conservation Area
People convicted of offences at magistrates' courts around the county recently: Emma Luker, 29, of Ock Street, Abingdon, admitted two counts of shoplifting a £99.99 Shark Steam Mop from Home Store and More in Abingdon on October 23 and 29
In February, Berry Bros. & Rudd, the 300-year-old vintner and wine retailer to the Queen, announced a staggering £25 million in internet sales of wine for 2011. That is a 72% increase over online sales in 2010. With that much money being
AEA Technology 0.29 BMW 5836 Electrocomponents 243.4 Nationwide Accident Repair 66 Oxford Biomedica 3.1 Oxford Catalysts 56 Oxford Instruments 1142.5 Reed Elsevier 541.25 RM 84 RPS Group 224.75 Courtesy of Redmayne Bentley,
OXFORD: About 500 pupils are expected to take part in a workshop today to celebrate the 50th birthday of Britten’s War Requiem at the Town Hall, St Aldate’s. Benjamin Britten created the piece in 1962 for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral destroyed
OXFORD: A 33-year-old man has been convicted of a child sex offence. Rakesh Masih, of Garsington Road, Cowley, was found guilty by jurors at Oxford Crown Court on Friday of having sexual activity with a child. The incident took place
THOUSANDS of litter pickers armed with gloves and sacks have helped spruce up the streets of Oxford. More than 2,000 people took to the city’s streets over the weekend as part of OxClean’s fifth annual Spring Clean. From Blackbird Leys
Old Woodstock Town closed the gap on leaders Tyrherington Rocks at the top of Uhlsport Hellenic League Division 1 West to 11 points with a 3-0 home win over Malmesbury Victoria. Liam Godin, Danny Bone and Alan Robinson did the damage. Carterton drew
Oxford City Nomads took over at the top of the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division on goal difference following a 1-0 home win over Highworth Town. James Dobson’s penalty on the stroke of half-time proved decisive. Previous leaders Ardley United
Witney Town’s Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division survival hopes look even bleaker following a 6-0 thrashing by Thame United at Marriott’s Stadium on Saturday. They remain 11 points from safety, and such was the manner of this battering it’s hard
GOALKEEPER Ryan Clarke says that Saturday’s clean sheet is his best at Oxford United. The U’s No 1 was forced to produce several fine saves as Swindon looked to take advantage of the hosts being a man down. But Clarke says that considering the occasion
The River Cherwell has become almost entirely dependent on sewage plants for water because of the drought sweeping the south of England. And the upper parts of the River Ray, which rises from springs in the East Cotswolds, have already dried up. Last
PAOLO Di Canio begrudgingly admitted a clinical Oxford United deserved to win Saturday’s derby against his Swindon Town side. The U’s had few clear chances after James Constable’s early sending off, but Asa Hall and Oli Johnson made the most of openings
A footballer who repeatedly punched an opponent in the face during a pre-season friendly has been spared jail. Jamie Debanks was playing for Kidlington against Yarnton when he attacked Thomas Nee. The victim had teeth knocked out and
OXFORD is world famous for its ancient books and iconic libraries. But now the city could be on the brink of a literary revolution after library bosses added electronic books to their collections. Although Oxfordshire County Council’s decision has been
OLI Johnson says that Oxford United’s performance on Saturday showed that they can mix it with the best. The winger scored the second goal as the U’s defeated Swindon – and the former Norwich man was full of praise for his teammates. “We really dug
FAMILY and friends helped a grandmother-of-five celebrate her 100th birthday yesterday. Edith Hatton, known as Billie, was the guest of honour at her party in the Tall Trees home in Shipton-under-Wychwood. Mrs Hatton, nee Gadd, was born in 1912 and
Thatcham Tn 1 (Johnson 66) Abingdon Utd 0 Abingdon United are still seeking their first win of 2012 in Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West after losing a game they should have won easily. They were beaten by Thatcham
Arlesey Tn 2 (Cole 32, Marsh 45+3) Banbury Utd 1 (Angus 69) Banbury United suffered a double injury blow as they slipped to defeat against a poor Arlesey Town side in the Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division at the Armadillo Stadium. Danny Edmond
Was it a matter of deep spiritual significance? Er….no. Was it an issue of bee-in-the-bonnet proportions? Er….yes. But I can defend my anxiety. You see, when I travel, whether to a Travel Lodge on the outskirts of Slough or a hotel I can’t
l IT has recently come to my attention that Oxford is a city of animal suffering. The fact that thousands of animals are being abused and killed within the city by Oxford University every year is simply appalling and unjustifiable. I am therefore
IT’s about time something was done for the people in West Oxford. What leisure pursuits have we? Susanna Pressel would like to see houses on the old MFI site. Yes, the city needs more housing. You also need places for people to spend their leisure time
A HUGE thank you to the people of Wallingford. Local volunteers took to the streets of Wallingford on Saturday, February 18, to raise money for Compassion in World Farming, Britain’s leading farm animal welfare organisation. The £91.67 raised will enable
IN regards to the the ‘Soak’ graffiti tagger, the answer to this problem is simple – Charlie Silver should be invoiced with the cost of the clean-up then he will be able to repay to the council the full amount. Is this unreasonable? Hitting the pocket
I am hopeful that the recent calamity concerning the Corn Exchange in Witney provides an opportunity at last for the town to develop a proper arts centre on a par with Chipping Norton Theatre, the Mill Arts Centre in Banbury or the Cornerstone at Didcot
THE figures given by Mr White in his letter regarding Christian defections have no value as there is no back-up information on whether their leaving is temporary or permanent. The source of both religion and science is God. The conflict between them
Sholing 4 (Mason 51, Gibbens 58, McLean 73, James 90) Didcot Tn 0 Didcot Town were swept aside as a rampant Sholing fired a four-goal blitz in the second half of their Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West clash. The Railwaymen weren’t
AFTER getting a taste of the derby atmosphere, Anthony Tonkin would love Oxford United to battle with Swindon Town in League One next season. The full back was part of a magnificent defensive display which saw the U’s beat the league leaders 2-0 despite
PROFESSOR Richard Dawkins, like other atheists, is continually attacking archaic, fundamentalist ideas of God which many liberal Christians themselves reject. This is the image of God as a supreme potentate and judge, who is above and wholly separate
WEST Oxford is going through a building boom. This week the City Council gave permission for 312 student housing developments on the north side of the Railway Station. On the southern side of the station some 260 houses are planned, while building also
St Albans City 3 (Bakare 63, 70, Ngakam 90) Oxford City 2 (Blossom 20, Woodley 58) Oxford City let slip a two-goal lead before being beaten in the last minute as their Evo-Stik Southern League Premier Division promotion
OXFORD United youth team player Aidan Hawtin could not have expected to be at the centre of one of the big incidents in Saturday’s derby clash. But the 16-year-old, from Bicester, found himself just that. Acting as a ball boy in front of the Oxford
OXFORD: Debates and speeches at the Oxford Union could be televised live for the first time, after a deal was reached with a local media company. A spokesman for Oxford Media Associates last night said it was in talks with major companies to broadcast
CHRIS Wilder said he could not praise his Oxford United side highly enough after they completed the double over League Two leaders Swindon against all the odds. The U’s went into Saturday’s game missing several influential players through injury. And
Football bosses will today be assessing damage to the Kassam Stadium after trouble during the game against Swindon Town. Fans ripped up seats and threw them at rival supporters during Saturday’s match, which Oxford won 2-0. Police wearing protective
There seems to be nothing but praise from Oxford United supporters of the way the police handled Saturday’s derby game with Swindon. A potentially fiery clash – off the field as well as on it – was handled in a professional and controlled way
OXFORD: Traffic bossses have not yet decided if anything will replace controversial yellow lines that were removed from streets in Headington. Oxfordshire County Council removed the double yellow lines – painted at right angles across the street – after
A GUN-WIELDING robber threatened a shop worker before fleeing with cash. A man went into Martins Newsagents in Northcourt Road about 6pm on Friday and threatened a woman working there with a gun before demanding money. The woman handed over an undisclosed
THERE were tears of joy and relief yesterday, as ‘miracle’ twins Ruby Ann and Megan Hope Livingstone celebrated their first birthday. The identical twin girls, from Bulan Road, Oxford, tucked into ice cream and blew out their candles, just over a year
Does Abingdon need to elongate its name to Abingdon-on-Thames? Debate may still rage on that, but one town institution marches on regardless. Abingdon Arts Festival is in its 14th year. How, I ask festival co-ordinator Malcolm Ross, did it all start?
It sounds like advice on avoiding Ryanair’s excess baggage charges, but in fact Travelling Light is the title of a new play by Nicholas (Vincent in Brixton) Wright about the movie industry. The story starts at the dawn of the 20th century, and features
“Did you hear that? You called me Nigel!” says the actor Graham Seed. I had indeed — if you can collapse in confusion on the telephone, that is what I did. Seed was, of course, Nigel Pargetter on The Archers from 1983 until famously falling off a roof
The noise, the dreadful loudspeakers, the ballboy, the red card, the bet on who'd score first, doing the double, and is it worth travelling across the World for a game like this? Let's do it again next year in league 1?!
The cost of watching a day’s TV at Oxfordshire’s hospitals has more than doubled in six years. In 2006, patients at Oxford’s John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals paid just £3.50 a day to use their bed- n Continued on page 2 side TV set. Now, the cost
Hospital patients are quite literally sitting ducks for television companies. Stuck for days – if not weeks – with very little to do means television becomes much more than just a welcome distraction. It is hard to understand quite what
An electronics boss has backed a controversial Government work experience programme, calling it a “win-win” for his firm and young people. Nick Allsworth said the unpaid scheme offered vital training as well as labour for Witney electronics firm Vigortronix
TWO weeks of science fun kicked off with a bang over the weekend. About 5,000 people turned up to Bonn Square in Oxford for the launch of Oxfordshire Science Festival. Plenty of hands-on fun was lined up, including stalls laid on by Siemans, Oxford
ROSE Hill is getting ready to party as the estate celebrates the arrival of scores of new families thanks to the completion of a £20m housing redevelopment. A special event on Friday, March 23, will help neighbours get to know each other following the
