CHILDREN’S favourite, the famous Police Pup TV character, will be attending Thame’s Christmas Lights Switch-On this Friday, December 2!
Also flying in will be ‘Tink’ the Green Fairy. Both of them will be walking around the event between 4pm and 7pm, and will be available for meet and greets, and of course lots of photo opportunities.
‘Tink’ and the Police Pup are really looking forward to meeting everyone on Friday!
A young brother and sister, who play squash and train at Racquets Squash Academy in Thame, both achieved considerable success at the recent South East Regional Junior Squash GB Tournament 2016.
The event was held at Winchester Tennis and Racquets Club, where juniors from across the whole of the South Region traveled to compete for their place in the South Regional squad.
Oliver Coulcher-Porter pulled through to win the Under 11 boys, taking the title of South Regional Champion 2016. Oliver’s younger sister Emily, aged only eight years old, achieved second place in the Under 11 girls. This secures her spot as second seed in the South Regional squad.
Coach Sue Martin Downhill, said: “Both were feeling confident and prepared, Oliver having won the age group above (under 13s), the same as Emily in the Abingdon Junior Open the previous week.
Despite being ill with a sickness bug a few days prior, Oliver battled his way through the top 14 opponents in the region. He proved far too strong and didn’t drop a game throughout the whole tournament. In the South Regional boys under 11s final, he played an ‘old’ rival who has an England Squash Ranking of eight in the country. This was a test of Oliver’s mental strength, however he won 3-0, scores being 11-7 11-7 11-7. His opponent stated: “I simply didn’t know how to beat him.” At the end of the match, a rather thin and pale Oliver was able to say: “I was feeling really tired, but all the training at Racquets and in county training gave me the confidence and self-belief that I could pull through.”
Eight year old Emily beat her rival in the Semi finals comfortably, showing how quickly her game has come on in such a short period of time. In the South Regional girls under 11s final, Emily lost the first game 12-10. Her opponent was two years older and much more experienced; Emily was definitely the underdog. This was Emily’s first major final. Her coach Ben Hedger said: “She showed excellent determination and focus during her match, and I am extremely pleased with her performance even though the result didn’t go her way. However the England coach watching felt she was more than capable of winning next time.”
A Chinese takeaway in Thame has been fined after council officers found mice droppings during a routine food safety inspection.
On Tuesday, November 22, at Oxford Magistrates’ Court, Novarra Limited, owners of Tommy Yaki, Wellington Street, Thame, pleaded guilty to four food safety offences. As a result they were fined £2,400 and ordered to pay £1,876 costs.
Magistrates heard how, during a routine food safety inspection at Tommy Yaki on March 21, 2016, food safety officers from South Oxfordshire District Council found the premises littered with mice droppings and a filthy kitchen. The building also had construction defects that allowed pests to get on the premises, and important cleaning and pest control procedures hadn’t been carried out.
Officers immediately forced the premises to close, the takeaway was given a food hygiene rating of zero meaning “Urgent Improvement Necessary”, and it was prevented from reopening until action had been taken to remove the risk.
Cllr Tony Harbour, Cabinet member for Waste, Grounds maintenance, Food Safety and Environmental health at South Oxfordshire District Council, said “At the time of the inspection the premises posed a serious health risk to customers and was shut down as a result.
“I hope other food business learn from this example, if you are putting the public at risk we will not hesitate to take action.”
Council officers revisited the premises a number of times since the enforced closure to ensure that improvements were made, and to assist Novarra Ltd with meeting their food safety requirements.
Following urgent improvements, the takeaway reopened a week after the closure – it was recently inspected and has now been awarded a rating of four.
In sentencing Novarra Ltd, Magistrates took the company’s guilty plea, and the financial difficulties it had experienced as a result of having to close Tommy Yaki, into account when determining the sentence.
THE contestants for Thame’s Young entrepreneurs competition, have been limbering up their presentation skills, ready for their big day on Saturday.
Five of them attended a Workshop at Christchurch, Thame, with Jean Gamester of Semaphora Consulting, who specialises in developing people, training in public speaking and communications skills.
Jean provided her time free of charge to the young entrepreneurs, who are all under 30 and live in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire. The finals of the competition are being held in Thame next Saturday, December 3, as part of a series of events for Small Business Saturday. Prizes for the winners include a first prize of £500 cash and mentoring for 12 months, with trophies for three winners.
For more information about Semaphora or to connect with Jean Gamester go to www.semaphora.com, @JeanGamester, or email Jean@Semaphora.com.
For more information about Small Business Saturday in Thame go to www.smallbizthame.uk or search on twitter for #SBSThame or email the organisers at sbsthame@gmail.com. Follow Small Business Saturday Thame on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thame.Smallbiz2016/
THE Mayor of Thame, Linda Emery, is sponsoring an Activity Day for children, to raise money for her two chosen charities, The Red Kite Childrens’ Centre and th Thame Youth cafe, on December 17, at Lord Williams Lower School Theatre. 10am to 4pm.
The Dream Team Creative Workshop, led by Jennifer Veal star of Disney’s Jessie & Descendents, and Livvy Nichole Singer/Songwriter, is open to children between 10 and 18 years-old, and will feature singing, performance skills and audition techniques. Each student will need bring lunch and drinks and wear work clothes and suitable closed shoes. Tuition fees for this theatre arts workshop are £45. Class size is limited, so early registration is recommended. Contact: jv@jenniferveal.com for further details.
The Red Kite Centre plays an essential role in giving children and families the early support they need. They are open to our whole community on a regular basis. They work in partnership with other agencies such as health visitors, midwives and local schools.
Thame Youth Cafe provides young people with a vibrant and safe environment where they can access the latest skills, personal development and opportunities. The cafe has been set up by the local community and developed by local partners who share a number of core values. They meet Wednesdays at Christchurch, Thame and Thursdays at the Co-op Café.
THE founders and owners of smart homes technology and AV specialists, Cyberhomes, based in Thame, have won one of this year’s Great British Entrepreneur Awards.
The award, in the category Smart Home/Internet of Things Entrepreneur of the Year 2016, was presented to Andy Mack and Ion Smith who founded Cyberhomes in 2004, in recognition of how they have steered and grown the company over the last 12 years to the point where they are now winning projects worth over £500,000 each.
The awards ceremony was held at Lancaster Hotel, London on Tuesday, November 22, and the award presented by popular comedian and broadcaster, Hardeep Singh Kholi.
Cyberhomes Director, Ion Smith, said: “This award came a bit out of the blue to be honest. We’ve had our heads down designing and installing great technology solutions for our clients, so to be recognised like this from outside our niche industry is a genuine honour.”
Fellow Directo, Andy Mack, said: “I’m really proud of the company we’ve built; and it was great to find ourselves alongside other highly respected entrepreneurs that were shortlisted or won their respective categories. Thanks also to the sponsors, including NatWest and Kingston Smith, who helped make this
all possible.”
Cyberhomes work closely with clients, architects, developers, interior designers and M&E consultants to integrate control and AV systems within overall building design and performance. The Cyberhomes founders have a background in live broadcast studio technology for the BBC and take the same rigorous approach with the equipment, cabling and software behind home automation projects.
THROUGHOUT our lives our activity levels go up and down. We might be very active when we are young, then the kids come along and our time is squeezed so our level of fitness drops. We get into the habit of lower levels of activity and then, when we enter the ‘silver years’, the time comes when we really need to think how to increase our mobility and improve our fitness levels.
Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame is now offering more opportunities for healthy fitness options for the older generation, with its Healthy Hearts gym circuit on Monday mornings at 11am, which consists of easy exercises to improve mobility with Claire Finch. Members work at their own pace and their own level. Claire caters for any injuries, for instance, seated leg raises for those with balance issued or light weights if the exercises are too easy. Whatever your level, you’ll be catered for and given help you achieve more mobility and fitness to make your life a little easier throughout the rest of the week. And, you can have a nice cup of tea and a chat afterwards!
On Tuesdays at 10am, Racquets has a Silver Servers racketball group where members can chose to either run or walk around the court ‘chasing’ after a big bouncy ball with a racket. For those with some mobility this group will ensure you get your heart and lungs working. Again – a nice cup of tea and a chat afterwards.
The third option is on Fridays, 12.30pm – 2.30pm – Ballroom Tea Dancing. Joanne Gresty has been ballroom dancing since she was 11 years-old. Tea Dancing is a great social way of keeping active. It’s not just the physical benefits dancing offers, but dance is now known for its benefits of increasing cognitive acuity (sharpness of the mind – memory, focus, concentration, and understanding).
“So,” says Sue Martin Downhill of Racquets: “Come tea dancing and stay smart and healthy. We have a huge variety of age groups that use Racquets, from babies in the crèche right up to our over 80s who regularly use the gym.
“We hope that our new groups will help mobilise the older generation of Thame who’ve forgotten the great feeling of well-being that physical and mental exercise can produce.”
The Only Way is Essex star Jasmine Walia will be turning on Thame’s Christmas lights on December 2.
Before the big switch-on itself, the town centre will be buzzing with activity as the expected crowds gather from 3pm to join in the festive fun which will include stilt-walking and balloon-making from local entertainer Colonel Custard. Among the seven different performance groups throughout the evening in the Town Hall Upper Chamber, the Masonic Hall and in the High Street itself, will be the Towersey Morris Men who are celebrating their 50th year. Festive music will play throughout the High Street to accompany Christmas shopping at over 20 gift stalls throughout the area.
Remember, keep searching for all 24 Go-Kart Santas in this year’s Santa Circuit Town Trail, and you could be pushing the plunger to turn on Thame’s Christmas lights alongside Father Christmas, the Mayor of Thame, Aladdin and Jasmine Walia as Princess Jasmine.
ASM Auto Recycling have kindly sponsored the Christmas Tree again this year, and other sponsors include Kubota and Risborough Carers.
Programmes will be available to download from www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/christmas or can be collected from Thame Information Centre from Monday, November 28. Programmes will also be distributed on the day of the event.
DOWNTON Abbey star, Samantha Bond, aka Lady Rosamund Painswick, will be in Thame on December 3, when she will present the prizes in a Christmas shop window display competition, part of Small Business Saturday in the town.
Samantha, also recognised for her role as Miss Moneypenny to Piers Brosnan’s James Bond and other roles including in the Hercule Poirot films, will present the first prize of a case of Prosecco, a consultation with retail marketing expert, Keith Slater, and a trophy to the winning shop, as well as runner-up prizes.
The winners of the Small Business Saturday Young Entrepreneurs Competition will also be announced, following a Dragon’s Den-style presentation to the panel of judges on the same day. The winner will receive a cash prize of £500, a year’s mentoring from a business expert, and a trophy. There are also prizes for two runners-up. The prizes will be given by John Howell MP and Tim Luscombe of Thames Valley Business Advisers, Chair of the judging panel.
The organisers of Small Business Saturday in Thame have lined up nine, free-to-attend workshops and one2ones with several business experts, and there will also be entertainment throughout the day, provided by the Thame Pop Choir and Stagecoach Thame.
Small Business Saturday is a national campaign that puts small, independent businesses across the country in the national spotlight, using the theme ‘Small Business Big Difference’.
The organisers are expecting lots of interest from local small businesses as well as from anyone planning to start a small business, and advise pre-booking to avoid disappointment. Events can be pre-booked at www.smallbizthame.uk where more information about the workshops, one2ones and other events can also be found.
THE Thame/Wheatley neighbourhood policing team is encouraging local people to share some caring this Christmas and donate to its (VERA’s) Vulnerable Elderly Residents Association. Any tinned food items would be much appreciated to help the team create a Christmas hamper for a local resident who has been a victim of crime and who may live alone.
PCSO Ryan Dollery said: “While out shopping why not pick up an extra item to donate to one of the collection boxes we have put out? You will find the collection boxes at Thame Town Hall, ASDA Wheatley, Chinnor Council Chambers and Watlington council office.
“Any donations will be collected by Wednesday, the December 14, when we will then visit our VERA’s to deliver the lovely hampers full of goodies!”