Masons Arms

Headington Headlines #41

TonyOX3

Here is my round-up of local news for the week 5 – 11 December —

Like them or loathe them, the Christmas lights in Headington sparked a big debate on the e-democracy forum this week.

Sobell House Hospice (by the Churchill Hospital) benefited from £200 raised by @OxTwitChoir (the Oxford Twitter Choir), organised by @Ox_Bex of Bayswater/Sandhills.

@TVP_Marston hosted a Coffee With Cops meeting at Café Bonjour on Wednesday, giving local people an opportunity to meet their local police team and raise any matters of concern. They report it went well.

The Masons Arms (@TheMasonsArmsHQ) made it to second place in CAMRA’s Oxford City Pub-of-the-Year competition. Far From The Madding Crowd was top.

Oxford City Council granted permission for The Bricklayers Arms in Church Lane, Old Marston, to become a four-bedroom house, with five new homes in the grounds. Oxford Car Audio on Cherwell Drive closed.

Costa Coffee have submitted a planning application (11/03106/FUL) to change the frontage of what was Cartridge World on the London Road. To open a coffee shop they’ll have to get a change of use agreed, which might not be easy.

The Barton Area Action Plan Proposed Submission goes to the City Council 0n 19 Dec. Download it here: http://bit.ly/uqjNek

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Christmas lights in Headington
  • Londis corner shop in receivership
  • Library
  • Church Bells in Ferry Rd, Marston
  • Blocked drain/leak on corner of Headley Way and Staunton Road
  • Oxford Car Audio

I try to cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.

Headington Headlines #36

TonyOX3

Here is my round-up of local news for the week 31 October – 6 November —

As world leaders at the G20 summit in Cannes struggled to keep the Eurozone intact, here in Headington we seem to be having a spate of burglaries. There was a series of them over the last two weeks of October and @TVP_Oxford has issued a request for information and set out advice to householders to help prevent their property being targeted.

Churches have also been hit. Burglars broke through a window into the United Reform Church in Collingwood Road, Risinghurst and damaged cupboards inside the church, stealing money and The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal collection pot, totalling £11. Again, @TVP_Oxford are appealing for information.

Another church, St Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Russian Orthodox Church in Ferry Road, Marston was burgled on two consecutive nights. A brass-plated steel cross from the church’s roof was stolen on Saturday, October 22, and irreplaceable religious relics were taken the following night. Members of the congregation have started sleeping in the church to prevent further intrusions.

On a lighter note, members of St Nicholas’ are getting together for informal social evenings on the first Tuesday of each month in the Victoria Arms, Old Marston, and Headington Baptist Church celebrated the fifth anniversary of its new building on Saturday with coffee, cakes, games & fun.

Four men (from Wembley & High Wycombe) were charged with robbing a taxi driver in Headington early on Sunday morning and a woman had her handbag snatched in Gardiner Street in the early hours of Thursday morning.

In other news (as they say) the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals and the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre merged to become the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Oxford Ink (@OxfordInk) opened a new tattoo studio on Roundway (by Headington Roundabout), but Caffé Toscano on the London Road closed.

The Masons Arms (@TheMasonsArmsHQ) launched their shiny new website and @BigBangMax (aka @BigBangPopup) re-emerged as a pop-up sausagery at @Oxford_Brookes‘ Gypsy Lane Restaurant, open from Thursdays to Saturdays.

The campaign to recognise the “Final Turn” into the JR Hospital was reported in the Oxford Mail.

The postponed Barton Bash, a mix of facepainting, bouncy castles, and a host of arts and crafts workshops, will be held in the refurbished Neighbourhood Centre, due to be completed in time for the event on Saturday, November 19.

And finally (as they also say) the Internet and twitter triumphed in identifying the location of ‘the stinky’ in Marston, which was mentioned in one of the police reports. It turns out to be the copse/nature reserve just off Copse Lane opposite the old Cavalier pub. It only remains to know why it earned that name, and whether the developers building flats on the Cavalier site will recognise this local tradition in the name of their development.

My favorite Headington-related tweet this week:

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Disused Cricket Ground Barton Road.
  • Road works at Rock Edge
  • Bus Defiance Clogs Headington
  • Smoking at JR Hospital
  • Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Headington & Barton bus service
  • Quarry Gate Pub
  • Thames Valley Police messages
I try to cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.

Headington Headlines #28

TonyOX3

Here is my round-up of local news for the week 29 August – 4 September —

In an otherwise rather quiet week, the University’s Old Road Campus development proposals were agreed by the Planning Review Committee on Wednesday and look set to go ahead.

BT Infinity hi-speed broadband is available in Headington (at least, it is in my bit). You can check here.

@HeadingtonSch‘s new Head Teacher started her new job this week. Welcome to Headington, Caroline Jordan.

@Oxford_Brookes launched their new website.

@TheMasonsArmsHQ beer festival was on over the weekend, and ran out of beer before lunch on Sunday.

A $75m student residential development will be named Headington Hall in honour of its major donor, OU alumnus Tim Headington. You didn’t know about this? You can stop panicking – that’s OU as in Oklahoma University <sighs of relief>.

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Improvements to online Planning/Licensing information
  • Quality of cycle racks
  • Old Road Campus development
  • Oxford Half Marathon – September 25th
  • Eggs

I try to cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.