THE trustees of the charity behind the Thame Food Bank have thanked all those who went to special screenings of the film, I Daniel Blake, for raising almost £600 towards the Food Bank.
In a letter to Thame Cinema 4 All who showed the film, John Hulett, spokesperson for Sharing Life Trust, wrote: “A message to all those who attended the two screenings of Ken Loach’s film ‘I Daniel Blake’ last Sunday, January 15, at the Thame Cinema For All.
“I am sure that all who have seen this film will agree that it was a worthy winner of the Palme D’or at the Cannes Film festival earlier last year. This superbly acted drama highlighted the frustrations and hopelessness that vulnerable people in our society can experience through no fault of their own and how ‘the system’ seems to be stacked against them. The situations portrayed in the film are very close to many that we hear from the people we support through our Foodbank.
“A big ‘thank you’ to Thame Cinema For All for inviting us to have a collection at both screenings. The astonishing total of £592.59 was collected. Thank you to all who attended for your great generosity. This money will all be used to support the work of the Foodbank and the people who we help through it.”
Click on the image to find out more about Sharing Life Trust’s work in Thame and South Oxfordshire.
BFS Records, based in Thame, has announced the impending release of the new EP from Oxfordshire’s Andy Robbins, entitled Into The Night. This release follows Andy’s 2016 EP, Element of Surprise and it will be available via iTunes and all major digital retailers and streaming sites on the March 1, 2017.
Andy Robbins
Andy signed to BFS Records in January 2016. The 31-year-old musician is a regular on the Oxford music scene and has performed regular venues locally including Thame Snooker Club’s BFS Presents events, and widely at renowned venues such as Oxford’s O2 Academy and the Jericho Tavern, as well as playing shows up and down the UK. Andy’s career highlight to date was a support slot at Hop Farm Festival which saw him perform on the same day as his hero, Bob Dylan.
Last year Andy came second in the Cornbury Music Festival competition.
Talking about the upcoming release, Andy said: Into The Night is slightly darker in it’s subject matter and its tone than Element Of Surprise. However I think it stays true to my live sound and I believe it’s my strongest release to date. Into The Night is bigger and bolder than any of my previous music and am very excited to share it!”
BFS Records will be releasing the EP’s lead single, ‘On Another Morning’ early in February.
LATEST UPDATE: Oxfordshire County Council has agreed to waive rent payments for the current centre’s building, for the whole of the first year.
THE news of the rescue of Thame’s Red Kite Childrens centre has just today been announced by the local charity, Sharing Life Trust, which has been leading a working group to try and save the Centre from planned closure by Oxfordshire County Council at the end of March, 2017.
Image courtesy of Action for Children
A delighted John Hulett, Sharing Life Trust spokesman, told Thame.net: “We’re Going Ahead! Just before Christmas the decision was taken that, with the promises we had received for funding, we could afford to plan for running the centre for one year. It is still our plan and hope to continue for at least three years but there is much work to do to secure the centre’s future.”
What next?
An application will be submitted to the Charity Commission within the next few days for the Centre to become a charity and it will be known as the ‘Red Kite Family Centre’. Its core purpose will be exactly the same as at present – providing support for pre-school children and their parents in Thame and Chinnor.
“We have started the process of creating a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO),” explained John. “The charity has four trustees: Mary Stiles, Sarah Roberts, Rosie Pearce and myself.”
Mary is a town councillor and has championed the centre’s work and chaired its advisory board for many years. Sarah has been a parent user and has 10 year’s experience as a manager in the NHS. Rosie is a nutritionist who has been a long standing volunteer at the centre and John, a retired headteacher, formerly of Barley Hill School in Thame. He is also a trustee of Sharing Life Trust which has been leading the campaign to keep the centre running.
“Our aim is for the current Centre’s programme to continue, with some new activities arranged in response to survey feedback from parents,” continued John. “Health Visitors and the other health professionals will continue to use the centre in Thame and Chinnor for their sessions. The position over future staffing arrangements is currently being decided and we will give an update on this within the next few weeks.”
Funding update
Of the approximately £70,000 needed to run the centre in its first year, about £45,000 has so far been promised and the Trust is waiting to hear the result of an application for further grants. The centre has also been one of the Thame Mayor’s chosen charities for this year and all concerned are grateful for all the generous support given by the local community.
“Many have registered an interest using our website link” said John, and we will be writing to them all shortly.
“We are delighted that the centre’s future is looking much brighter for the growing numbers of families with babies and young children in Thame and Chinnor. We still need to raise a lot more funds.”
Anyone who would like to help with a one-off donation or regular gift, is invited to go to the Sharing Life Trust website www.sharinglifetrust.org and press the link button for the Red Kite Family Centre.
A proposal to abolish all six councils in Oxfordshire and create one new ‘unitary’ council for Oxfordshire has been published by Oxfordshire County Council.
John Cotton, the current Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council
Oxfordshire County Council has stated that two independent studies, by Grant Thornton and PwC, it commissioned, and the district councils themselves, estimate that amalgamating related services would save £100m over the first five years – money that could be spent on improving public services and keeping council tax down.
The statement published today goes on to say: “Central government is changing the way councils are funded, and councils will soon have to pay for services mainly from council tax and business rates. Unless local government is reorganised, Oxfordshire councils will not be able to pay for vital public services for local communities and vulnerable people as the population increases and gets older.”
Oxfordshire currently has a two-tier local government – a county council plus five district and city councils.
Back in September, 2016, SODC’s official response to a suggestion then of a single unitary authority was that three authorities would be their preferred model (See LINK ) but today, the Leader of SODC, John Cotton tweeted: “I’ve long believed that unitary councils are better placed to deliver services than current arrangements.
“However, we must be certain that proposals for something new actually amount to change rather than just creating an excuse to kick difficult decisions into the long grass. Also, it’s important that the analysis of current problems is accurate; we need to know what’s broken before setting out to fix it.”
THAME Town Cricket Club’s winter nets for men from the age of 16 upwards, will start at Lord Williams’s Lower School gym on Sunday, January 29, from 5pm to 6pm.
Contact Andy Jinman via: marketing@thamecricket.org.uk or call 07968201152.
THAME Town Council is to increase its part of the council tax for the coming year (the precept) by up to 1.99%, which will provide it with just under £12,000 extra to meet its budget, and cost each household on average an extra 16p per week.
This amounts to an average total contribution of £2.80 to Thame Town Council. To put TTC’s contribution into context, around an average of £30 per household per week is paid to Oxfordshire County Council, the police and South Oxfordshire District Council.
In a statement today, the council said: “In preparing its budget for 2017-18, Thame Town Council has again looked hard at where it can make savings (both in terms of cuts and further efficiences) while at the same time providing the projects, functions and services that the community of Thame expect to be delivered.
Two new Thame projects are to be given funds, £5,000 of seed money to a new community led, music festival and £5,000 towards flood prevention measures for the Cuttle Brook.
The Town Council has also decided to step in to fill gaps where Government austerity measures have led to direct cuts being made by Oxfordshire County Council. £10,000 each is allocated to the Red Kite Children’s Centre and the Thame and District Day Centre. £5,000 is allocated to help find a potential new ‘around town’ bus service. “This is in effect a partial devolution of services as part of the localism initiative,” explained the council.
The Town council’s Budget statement can be read in full HERE and if you would like to comment, the Town Clerk, Graham Hunt, has said that he would be pleased to talk through the current budget with anyone who has an interest, or has any comments or suggestions as to whether the proposed average £2.80 per household per week (based on a Band D house) is a reasonable amount, or where the council should spend more, or less, or the same, to help it set the right budget for the community of Thame in the future.
POPULAR Thame Quizmaster, Sue Boyle, will be the leading a Winter Quiz Night in support of the Thame Youth Memorial and the Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association.
Near Sinaia, on top of Carpathians, in winter time
The event will take place at Barley Hill School Hall, Ludsden Grove, in Thame, on Friday, January 27, at 7 pm. The people of Thame and neighbouring villages are invited to form teams of six, and to take along their own snacks and drinks and have a good time!
The entry fee is £5 per person and there will be lots of raffle prizes to be won too!
Marius Ciortan, Thame-Sinaia Association’s Secretary said: “We are delighted to be able to combine our efforts with those of Thame Youth Memorial in organising this quiz night for another year. This year in September we will celebrate five years since Thame has been twinned with the beautiful Romanian mountain town of Sinaia. This quiz will help us to meet some of the transport costs for some of Sinaia’s literary and artists groups expected to visit Thame around October time.”
COMPLAINTS about Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) outside Co-op and Costa in the High Street, Thame, are being tackled by local Community Police officers.
After receiving numerous complaints, the police now say that they have put in place a Section 35 notice. This is a notice to leave the area for up to 48 hours, given to anyone seen causing ASB. Failure to comply with the notice is an arrestable offence.
In its latest monthly report on Neighbourhood Policing in the area, the team states that a meeting was arranged with Costa management to discuss the issues and put measures in place to tackle the anti-social behaviour.
Parking blocking emergency service vehicles
The same report, which can be read in full HERE, states: “There have been reports of vehicles parking close to junctions and parking on each side of the road making it difficult or impossible for emergency vehicles to get through.
“We appreciate that every household has limited parking and more than one vehicle. Please park considerately and be mindful of other drivers’ visibility and access when parking your vehicle. An operation will be running shortly with the Fire Service looking at access routes, and could possibly mean offending vehicles could receive a Fixed Penalty Notice for £30 should the Emergency vehicle not be able to gain access through.”
Have Your Say Meetings
You can go along and speak to your local PCSOs about any local concerns or issues on:
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following numerous shed breaks at the Thame & District Allotment site in Kingsey Road, Thame.
Since the start of the new year, unknown offenders gained access to the allotments and broken into sheds, vandalised and spread petrol across the site.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the Police via the 24 hour non-emergency telephone number 101.
Alternatively, if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
FIRE FIGHTERS were called to a house in Thame on Wednesday, January 11, to reports of a kitchen fire.
On arrival at the property in Ormond Road, Oxfordshire County Council Fire & Rescue Service crews were faced with smoke issuing from the kitchen to the rear of the property.
Positive Pressure Ventilation fans were subsequently used to remove any remaining smoke from the building. Luckily at the time of the fire the residents were inside the property and so were able to raise the alarm immediately.
Incident Commander, Watch Manager Andy Ford said: “Due to the swift actions of the occupier covering the dishwasher door with damp tea towels and a prompt emergency call to the Fire and Rescue Service, fire escalation and smoke damage to other parts of the building was prevented.
“Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service would like to remind the public of the potential dangers of leaving any electrical appliance, such as dishwashers, washing machines and tumble driers turned on, when going out or overnight, even if it’s only for a short period of time. We would also like to remind people of the importance of having working smoke alarms on every level of their homes.”
In a letter to Thame Cinema 4 All who showed the film, John Hulett, spokesperson for Sharing Life Trust, wrote: “A message to all those who attended the two screenings of Ken Loach’s film ‘I Daniel Blake’ last Sunday, January 15, at the Thame Cinema For All.
“A big ‘thank you’ to Thame Cinema For All for inviting us to have a collection at both screenings. The astonishing total of £592.59 was collected. Thank you to all who attended for your great generosity. This money will all be used to support the work of the Foodbank and the people who we help through it.”
