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Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

  • ‘Eyesore’ building on the edge of Thame criticised

    A Young People’s Assessment Centre has been branded ‘a nightmare’ by Thame’s County Councillor, who has been facing questions about the visual impact of the building.

    Cllr Nick Carter helped cut the first sod before building work began on the new Children’s Assessment Centre

    Since the fencing obscuring the building blew down in the wind some weeks ago, and hedging that was apparently supposed to have been planted failed to materialise since it was built around 18 months ago, several people, including town councillors, have complained about the way the building looks from the road, one calling it ‘an eyesore’.

    According to County Cllr Nick Carter, speaking at the anuual Thame Town Meeting on Tuesday evening (28/03), he had been unable to get any answers from Oxfordshire County Council, who run the assessment centre, about when the landscaping required will be completed. “The whole site has been a nightmare to be honest,” he said. “When the building was 4/5ths finished, the contractor (Ed.EIC) ‘went bust’ and so there was a transition period between contractors. The building was then occupied before it should have been. All I can say is that I will keep a watching brief.”

    Town Cllr Ann Midwinter said that the town councillor had no idea what goes on in the building, and that it had never been invited to visit and look round. Cllr Nick Carter said that he would try to arrange such a visit.

    LINK to background to this story

  • ‘No magic wand’ to fix Thame’s potholes

    SPEAKING at the annual, Thame Town Meeting last night (28/03), ex Mayor of Thame, Cllr Peter Lambert, compared Park Street to ‘a ploughed field’ before asking County Cllr Nick Carter, when the street’s pot holes were going to get fixed.

    “I live at the end of Park Street,” Cllr Lambert, Landlord of The Cross Keys pub, continued, “and it’s getting so bad now that I regularly see cars swerving to avoid potholes, including those outside the primary school; this is becoming a very dangerous spot.”

    But Cllr Carter was unable to offer him much hope, stating that Park Street was not a top priority of the county council and that it was his understanding that any major work was unlikely, but that some patching was due to be carried out sometime between September and December.

    Cllr Carter went on to say that there are 4,000 miles of roads needing repair in the county and that the problem was mainly due to ‘an enormous decrease in government grants for roads last year. “In that context,” he went on, “I am trying to make sure Thame has a fair a shout as possible but there are some more, very heavily used roads that are used more.

    “Patching is the best we can hope for,” he concluded.

    Thame resident, Matthew Robinson, stated that he, and others in the town were ‘fed up with the neglect of the roads’ and that ‘it was about time Thame’s voice was heard.” He had done some research, he said, into various sources of government funding, including a Pothole Action Fund. (LINK Government allocates £1.2 billion roads funding to councils) Read Matthew’s full statement HERE

    Cllr Carter responded: “Rest assured that if there is a pot of money, then Oxfordshire County County Council will be bidding for the maximum amount it could get!”

    Town Cllr Mary Stiles pointed out that not only cars are affected by potholes, but that they are dangerous for cyclists too. “We want to encourage people to cycle more,” she said, “not put them off riding their bikes because of the state of the roads.”

    The Town Clerk, Graham Hunt said that the town council was just as concerned about the state of the Parish’s roads and that every day people go into the town hall to report problems. He reported that the town council was in discussion with the county council about taking over responsibility for car parks, and that TTC was currently looking at transport issues as part of a Transport Plan (see LINK) which could present opportunities to feed back to the county council to get something better for Thame. “However, there is no magic wand,” he said, and thanked Matthew Robinson for his research, adding that the town council will keep looking for answers.

    Useful links – Oxfordshire County Council’s Fix My Street weblink HERE
    Government’s ‘Report a pothole’ website: LINK

  • Could you contribute to Thame Day Centre’s future?

    THE Thame and District Day Centre is looking for experienced and committed people to join its Board of Trustees. The current Chair of the Trustees, Tyrell Gillman, explained the role of the Board:

    Sewing flowers at Thame & District Day Centre

    “The Board of Trustees sets the overall strategy and direction for the future of the Day Centre, to ensure the continued support for the senior members of the community of Thame and the surrounding area in the way that has existed since Thame & District Day Centre started thirty years ago in 1986,” he said.

    “Expressions of interest from those with accountancy, social media and fundraising experience would be particularly welcome. Trustees normally meet five times each year with occasional extra meetings that may need to be called for a special reason. Further opportunities get involved and to contribute are substantial and, are to some degree, at an individual trustee’s discretion.”

    If you’re interested in finding out more, or want to apply for the post of Trustee of the Thame and District Day Centre, contact Tyrell by phone on 01844 214906 or e-mail: GTyrellgillman@aol.com

  • Adwell House garden open this Sunday

    THE beautiful garden of Adwell House, near Thame, currently blooming a sea of daffodils, will be open to the public on Sunday, April 2, for the second time, in aid of Sobell House.

    To mark the beginning of Spring, Tom Birch Reynardson and his wife Imogen are kindly opening the garden of Adwell House when visitors will be welcome to go and enjoy the beautiful landscape, and admire the Springtime daffodils.

    Proceeds from the event will be donated to Sobell House as the hospice continues to strive towards its target of raising an additional £4m over four years to expand its services.

    The garden of Adwell House, with its perfect lawns and impressive array of ancient trees, has been developed by many generations of the Birch Reynardson family and spans over around fifteen acres.

    Friends and family can enjoy beautiful Spring colours including a sea of daffodils where the Birch Reynardson’s have planted about 30,000 daffodils with 300 different varieties over the past three years.

    The proceeds from the event will go to supporting the hospice, which provides specialist palliative care and support to approximately 3,000 adult patients and their families each year across the county.

    Dominique Cadiou, Head of Fundraising at Sobell House, said: “For the second year running we’ve been fortunate enough to invite our supporters and the wider public to come and admire the beautiful gardens at Adwell House.

    “We’re delighted that the Birch Reynardson’s have opened the gardens once again to raise money for Sobell House and help us to raise public awareness about our plans.

    “We are investing £9m to grow the level of end of life care that our team offers. Last year we had £5m already in place and we set out to raise an additional £4m. The fundraising has been going well and we’re excited about what this year can bring. Events like these will really help us move closer towards our target.”

    Tom Birch Reynardson said: “We’ve had a personal experience with Sobell House and seen for ourselves the level of care for the dying and the bereaved that the hospice offers. Their approach to palliative care is second to none. There is an increasing need for hospice care in Oxfordshire and Sobell House’s plans for expanding their services are ambitious and require local support.

    “I hope the sun comes out for us and we have a great turn out to support the hospice.”

    The gardens at Adwell House will open on Sunday, April 2, from 2pm to 5pm. Entry is £5 on the day and all proceeds will go to Sobell House. For more information visit http://www.sobellhouse.org.

  • Town mucks in to ‘Tidy Thame’

    MORE people than ever turned out for the annual Thame Tidy and Moreton Muckout Day last Saturday (25/03), with over 20 groups on the day and the Scouts working on Thursday and Friday evening clearing the Southern Road recreation ground and some of the surrounding road.

    Some of the residents of Lea Park cleared paths with shovels, and the Stones Close allotment holders set-to on the Thame park road bridge by cutting back loads of overgrown hedging and clearing the path to enable buggies to pass freely. They filled six, one tonne bags of waste!

    It’s refreshment time, as Morton residents takes a break from mucking out Moreton

    There were eight drop-off points for litter and recycling on the day which were gathered up on the day by ASM and taken to the playing field by the scout hut for collection by Biffa on the Monday. The skip there was sponsored by Unicarriers.

    Rosie Bryant, who organised the event for 21st Century Thame,  said: “We need to be proud of where we live! This needs to be the most pleasant place to be and it drives me insane when people just leave their rubbish after a picnic and just leave their junk in our lovely public places, like the phoenix trail.

    “On the day, we had great support from residents and community groups. A group of local residents did a brilliant job on the phoenix trail and we had lots of individuals turning up to help. The Grace Church who meet at Lord Williams lower school, cleared Towersey drive and Queens road and even our Mayor, Linda Emery turned up and worked with a a group on Chiltern Vale.

    “We had additional support this year from the Thame Lions club who helped handing out litter pickers all day. We also thank ASM who drove around in a van collecting rubbish from the collection points, and the Fire Service who picked up old dumped bikes etc and, the weather was perfect too.”

  • Walk into Spring in the Chilterns

    Image courtesy of Outdooraholics

    THIS spring, The Chilterns Walking Festival invites experienced and novice walkers alike to explore the landscapes, locations and lifestyles of The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The inaugural festival runs from May 15 – 29, with an exciting programme of over 80 walks, talks and special events.

    Spring festival highlights include:

    • An Ancient Feast walk, including a recreated Iron-Age menu.
    • Guided walking tours of Henley’s Midsomer Murders locations, bringing to life various plot lines and ‘stand in their shoes’ activities;
    • Woodland walks around Chalfont exploring outdoor bushcraft, foraging and bread-making;
    • Have-a-go Nordic Walking events
    • Gruffalo spotters trail where the characters come to life in Wendover Woods,
    • Guided electric bike tour with a picnic lunch from Henley on Thames, taking in Chiltern Valley Winery & Brewery, Hambleden Valley, Turville and Warburg Nature Reserve,
    • Expert led wild medicine walk around The Sunnyside Trust’s Hemel Food Garden, discovering what plants can be used for medicinal purposes,
    • Take the train for a walk, starting from Princes Risborough station journey together to Haddenham, and walk back to Princes Risborough

    Annette Venters, People and Society Officer at Chilterns Conservation Board, said: “We are tremendously excited about the Chilterns Walking Festival. Spring’s programme sees enthusiastic local guides and walk leaders sharing their love and understanding of the Chilterns countryside.”

    Details of every walk, event and activity, including length and scale of the challenge involved, is available on the website. For more information and to book places go to www.visitchilterns.co.uk/walkingfest.

  • Double showing for A United Kingdom

    THAME Cinema 4 All will be showing the film, A United Kingdom, twice this week as it is predicted to be extremely popular. The first screening will be on Thursday, March 30, at 10.30 am, and the second the following evening, Friday, March 31, at 8pm

    THIS British-made film is a 12A certificate, is Directed by Amma Asante and stars David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Tom Felton, Laura Carmichael.

    Asante’s wonderful movie tells the story of a true life post-war interracial love affair that would have a significant impact on British politics, the colonial administration, and the nation that would become Botswana.

    It begins in 1947. David Oyelowo plays Seretse Khama, a young man from Bechuanaland, then a British protectorate, studying law in London. He meets Pike’s Ruth Williams, a woman of humble middle class South London stock, working as a typist. Their first date goes exceptionally well. Realising that he wants to see this woman again, Seretse has to come clean: he is actually a prince in his homeland, and must return imminently to take the throne of Bechuanaland. The two are soon very deeply in love, and in spite of the multiple obstacles to their being together, they marry and he makes his triumphant return with Ruth as his bride. The reaction of Seretse’s people is, to say the least, suspicious, even hostile. But still more chilling is the response of Her Majesty’s government. Neighbouring South Africa, which was in the process of legislating apartheid, is appalled at the prospect of an African king with a white wife, and is threatening to withdraw from the Commonwealth – cutting off British access to its mineral resources.

    The machinery of the Commonwealth, desperate to appease, does everything in its considerable power to come between the couple. They force Seretse to return to England alone and plead his case in exile, with considerable public support but up against the duplicity and imcompetence of the government. Meanwhile Ruth is effectively hostage in Bechuanaland, giving birth to their child, and gradually establishing a rapport with her new neighbours. This is a powerful and uplifting love story, a slice of colonial history, and a damning indictment of colonial politics and its functionaries, quite breathtaking in their smug arrogance (including a particularly juicy performance from Davenport as Alistair Canning). It will have you cheering as the credits roll, a real gem. View the trailer here.

    CONTRIBUTED BY Catriona Gilmour Hamilton

  • Appeal following serious collision

    THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a serious collision in Haddenham on Sunday (26/3).

    At around 4.35pm, a collision took place between three cars on A418 Aylesbury Road.

    The collision involved a red Ford Focus, a red Renault Clio and a grey Range Rover.

    Road closures were in place whilst emergency services attended the scene. The road was reopened shortly after 8.40pm.

    An occupant of the Clio, a woman in her sixties, sustained serious injuries and was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital by ambulance where she currently remains.

    A man in his thirties and an eight year-old boy, who were both travelling in the Focus, were also taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

    PC Ashley Jordan, from the Joint Operations Unit for Roads Policing, said: “We would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the collision.

    “If you have any information which may assist with the investigation, please call the Thames Valley Police 24-hour enquiry centre on 101, quoting URN 943 of 26 March.

    “I’d also like to thank nearby motorists for their patience whilst the road closures and diversions were in place.”

  • Feel, see and try-on at Chinnor’s Forget Me Knot cafe

    THIS photograph was take at the Forget Me Knot café, in Chinnor, held on March 20, when Hands on Heritage visited with lots of interesting things to feel, see and try on.

    The Forget Me Knot Cafe meets twice monthly on a Monday at the Chinnor Village Centre, between 10.30am to 12.30pm. Its purpose is to provide information, support and fun activities aimed at helping people with their coordination, brain stimulation and general health, and well being for people suffering with dementia, mental health issues, old age or isolation. Everyone is welcome.

    The next Forget Me Knot session will be on Monday, April 3, when Chiltern Music Therapy will visit with music and instruments.

  • Clifton click to spoil Chinnor’s title chances

    AFTER their previous outing, Chinnor RFC made a number of changes against Canterbury on Saturday (25/03), with Nathan Hannay returning to the second row, Connor Adams coming in for his debut at Nine, Junior Fatialofa at inside centre and Henry Lamont at outside centre. Luke Hibbard started on the left wing with Charlie Broughton on the right wing.

    Chinnor dominated the first 10 minutes with scything runs from Burns and Pineaar taking play to the Clifton try line where a dropped pass prevented a score. Clifton’s clearance kicks relieved the pressure and enabled them to counterattack with their backs giving winger Sharp an overlap to round Chinnor’s defence and score near the post. Fly half Newey converted for a 7 – 0 lead.

    This gave Clifton the confidence to run with the ball and keep the pressure in the Chinnor half with their forwards driving at the Chinnor line. Hannay was then yellow carded and from the resulting penalty and driving maul, prop Alex Giltrow grounded the ball for Clifton’s second try converted by Newey.

    Five minutes later Chinnor had a second yellow card with Burns sent to the sin bin for a late tackle, leaving them with 13 players to finish the half. Chinnor responded well with probing runs from Bentley, Fatialofa and Lamont but the Clifton defence held out until half time.

    Chinnor were now playing with the wind and kicked deep into Clifton territory. Full back Ian Clark caught the ball in his own 22 metre area and went on a swerving run to the half way. From the resulting loose scrum he did another penetrating venture through the Chinnor defence to put centre Sam Harrison away to score under the posts after just 3 minutes of the second half. Newey converted for a 21 – 0 lead.

    With Chinnor now back to 15 players, they were into an attacking rhythm and following nine phases of play Jonny Bentley cut through a gap to score and convert his own try. A revitalised Chinnor took play back to Clifton’s try line where various forward interchanges put hooker Koree Britton over for an unconverted try.

    Clifton’s attacks were annulled by replacement full back, Strang who kicked well to take play back into Clifton’s half. Clifton realised that the running game played to their strengths and soon full back Clark broke through a tackle to feed centre Malcolm Peacock who scored an unconverted try.

    Driving runs by Tom Burns and Ben Manning took the game to the Clifton try line where their players were sucked into the loose scrum and a quick blind side pass put Jonny Bentley over in the corner to score an unconverted try and a score of 26 – 17.

    With minutes to go, Chinnor were piling on the pressure to score a try worth 2 bonus points when they were awarded a penalty, which if converted would give Chinnor a losing bonus point. Chinnor opted to run the ball and no bonus points were achieved as the Clifton winger, Pomphrey intercepted a try scoring pass on his own line to run the length of the field to score the final try of the game converted by Newey giving Clifton a well-deserved 33 – 17 victory; their best display of the season according to their supporters. Chinnor now aim for a place in the playoffs to achieve promotion.

    TEAMS:
    Clifton
    Clark, Pomphrey, Peacock, Harrison, Sharpe, Newey, Spencer, Bullimore, Wheeler, Giltrow, Hawkins, Uren, Luckwell, Woodward,Chesters
    Interchanges: Vaughan, Edwards, Renwick, Luxton, Barnes

    Chinnor
    Kieran Goss, Luke Hibberd, Henry Lamont, Junior Fatialofa, Charlie Broughton, Jonny Bentley, Connor Adams, Joe Hutchinson, Koree Britton, Jay Tyack, Nathan Hannay, CJ Osazuwa, Ben Pienaar ©, Alex Bradley, Tom Burns

    Interchanges: Tom Price, Jamie Townsend, Ben Manning, Ali Bone, Basil Strang

    SCORERS:
    Clifton
    Tries (time): Sharp 13, Giltrow 29,Harrison 41, Peacock 65, Pomphrey 80
    Conversions (time): Newey 14, 30, 66, 80
    Penalty Goals (time):

    Chinnor
    Tries (time): Bentley 46, 77 Britton 53
    Conversions (time): Bentley 47
    Penalty Goals (time):
    Referee: Lius Caviglia
    Attendance: 163
    Half time score: 14-0
    Full time score: 33-17
    Star man: Mike Uren – Clifton