Stories for 21 May 2004

Oxfordshire Business

It's change or bust, says hospitals chief

Oxfordshire hospitals boss Trevor Campbell Davis said significant cuts and changes were vital to make services "fit for the future".   more...

Staff await jobs news

The 100 Oxfordshire staff of a pub company are still waiting to find out if their jobs have been axed -- two months after a takeover by a major rival.   more...

Staff await details of merger

The workforce at health software company Torex is waiting to discover the effects of a restructuring after its merger with Isoft.   more...

Software experts tune in to opera

An opera company has secured a £6,000 sponsorship deal to sing anti-virus computer adverts for a leading software company.   more...

Oxfordshire News

Shocked by guns

Sir -- Many readers who passed the Army recruitment tent at the Westgate Centre in Oxford last weekend, will have been shocked by the sight of young children being allowed to handle guns and rocket launchers as if they were toys.   more...

Good Samaritan praised

Sir -- I want say thank you to a Good Samaritan called Katherine Reed.   more...

Traditional ceremony

An ancient ceremony traditionally carried out to mark parish boundaries took place in Oxford yesterday (May 20).   more...

Proposed A34 route could be a blunder

A scheme to divert the A34 away from Oxford has sent shockwaves across Oxfordshire.   more...

Schoolboy discovers dumped bag of mail

A schoolboy went to retrieve a football from a hedge -- and found a bag full of dumped post.   more...

Worker died after falling from bridge

A man drowned after falling off a bridge into the River Thames following a night of heavy drinking in Abingdon.   more...

Drunken girl told to behave

A young woman has been given an Antisocial Behaviour Order banning her from misbehaving in public places for three years.   more...

Woman defies odds after injury to do run

A woman who was told she would never walk again without a stick, let alone run, has celebrated completing the Town and Gown Fun Run.   more...

Palace gives up secrets

A secret garden in the grounds of Blenheim Palace has been restored to its former glory as part of a year of celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim.   more...

Staff await details of merger

The workforce at health software company Torex is waiting to discover the effects of a restructuring after its merger with Isoft.   more...

All change at top for council

A former mayor of Wantage has become the new chairman of the Vale of White Horse District Council.   more...

Call to end torture

People are being urged to protest to British and US defence secretaries Geoff Hoon and Donald Rumsfeld about torture and war crimes in Iraq.   more...

Finally, facilities fit for champions

A governor of Oxford Brookes University said his championship rowers deserved "only the best," following the opening of their new boathouse.   more...

Domestic violence unit ignored pleas

Sir -- It was heartbreaking to read the tragedy of Yvonne Heap who was murdered by her ex-partner (Oxford Mail, May 17). It was even more disturbing to hear that the police response was not quick enough.   more...

Hospital jobs on the line

Workers at Oxfordshire's major hospitals face the threat of redundancy as the county's major NHS employer battles with a possible £30m deficit.   more...

Mother's plea to moped youths

The mother of tragic schoolboy Ross Doyle has pleaded with joyriders to stop putting lives at risk after youths riding a stolen moped knocked a woman unconscious.   more...

Oxfordshire Sport

Speedway: Pedersen ruled out

Oxford Silver Machine skipper Greg Hancock's eagerly-awaited rematch with Eastbourne's Nicki Pedersen is off after the Dane pulled out of tonight's Skybet Elite League clash at Oxford Stadium.   more...

Sporting calender: All the week's fixtures

SATURDAY   more...

Tennis: Champs Woodstock give Witney a lesson

Defending champions Woodstock showed local rivals Witney no mercy, cruising to an impressive 8-1 victory in Division 1 of the Wilson OLTA Inter-Club 3-Pair League.   more...

Rugby: Depleted Oxon face stern Essex tester

Oxfordshire have encountered selection problems ahead of their final Tetley's Bitter County Championship tie of the season against Essex at Banbury tomorrow (3pm).   more...

Cricket: Shipton waiting on ace Hartley

Oxford Times Cherwell League: All-rounder Jon Hartley faces a late fitness test ahead of Shipton-under-Wych- wood's home clash with Bourton Vale in Division 1 tomorrow.   more...

Tennis: North Oxford playing host to rising stars

The rising stars of British tennis will be on show at North Oxford next week when the latest leg of the British Tour comes to town.   more...

Cricket: Angove faces battle to take on Henley

IC3 Home Counties Premier League: Oxford paceman David Angove faces a race against time to be fit for the Division 1 clash against Henley at the Breakspear on Saturday.   more...

Cricket: Oxon veterans destroy Shropshire in opener

Oxfordshire Over 50s thrashed Shropshire by eight wickets in their opening game in the ECB 50+ Championship at Whitchurch.   more...

Oxfordshire Whats On

Review: 1812 By Adam Zamoyski (HarperCollins, £25)

When Byron met Stendhal, and learnt that the great French writer had been with Napoleon in the invasion of Russia, he wanted only to know about the retreat from Moscow and every detail of the comportment of the Emperor. Byron's intense interest in both the 1812 campaign and Napoleon is mirrored down the ages.   more...

Taste notes

The air was thick with the smell of burning flesh. It was as if the whole world had been cast into the fires of Hell.   more...

Review: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (15)

Every once in a while, a film comes along which reminds us that originality, verve and invention are not completely dead in Hollywood.   more...

Review: Kill Bill 2 (18)

The second half of Quentin Tarantino's eagerly anticipated martial arts epic begins with a whimper and ends with a bang.   more...

Review: An Evening With Gary Lineker (The Mill at Sonning)

Ah, Gary. That silver-templed, silver-tongued frontman of the TV vista?   more...

'Don't call me Britney'

With his trademark colossal choruses, emotive melodies and sharp shirts, Mark Joseph is a natural star. The grandson of two Hungarian refugees who fled to Britain during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, he has been playing since the age of 13, when he discovered learning three chords on a cheap acoustic guitar meant "you could actually play a song. Genius!"   more...

Review: Troy (15)

Classical scholars will wince. As will moviegoers who had hoped the much-hyped epic might deliver more than armour, sandals and sunshine.   more...

Drugs: journey from passion to despair

If you've ever wondered why young people take drugs, read Olivia Gordon's book, The Agony of Ecstasy. She has written a thoughtful, sometimes brutally honest, account of her experiences. It will resonate with many who have taken drugs and provide an insight for those who haven't.   more...

Georgeous George

A smoky cafe full of students may not be the best selling point. But take it from me, Georginas is fun, lively, unpretentious, popular and the food is quick, fresh, delicious, innovative, and of course cheap -- hence the students.   more...