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  • Councils’ sharing services plan nominated for award

    A ground-breaking deal between five councils, which are nearly 100 miles apart, has been short-listed for a prestigious public sector award.

    lc_awardsThe Five Councils Partnership is the first time local authorities have looked beyond their immediate neighbours to share services. The councils are South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council and Mendip District Council.  East Hampshire District Council is also involved through services already shared with Havant.

    The deal, which should save the councils around £40m, has been nominated in the Most Innovative Service Delivery Model category of the LGC’s 2017 awards. The shared services are being provided by Capita, one of the UK’s leading business process and support companies, and VINCI Facilities, with experience across the UK and Europe, and its partners Arcadis and Indigo. The services are already live in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.

    Cllr John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “I am glad this pioneering partnership has been recognised and shortlisted for an LGC Award. The financial pressures facing the public sector are shared by every council in the country. If we are to carry on delivering the quality of services our residents expect it is vital we find novel solutions to these challenges.

    “Councils that share services with neighbouring authorities are becoming more common but we have shown there is no reasoson why any group of councils that share similar values and common goals cannot join forces equally as effectively.

    Independent Mortgae Solutions (RGB) - R1“This complex partnership of councils, ranged across such a large geographical area, is one of national significance.”

    The partnership will present its model to a judging panel in January and will find out if it has won at a ceremony on March 8.

    SOURCE: Press release

  • Thame school congratulated by Minister

    BARLEY HILL primary school in Thame, has been congratulated by the Minister for School Standards on achieving a very high standard of achievement its recent 2016 Phonics Screening Test.

    Flashback to Barley Hill School's visit by another famous MP, back in 2013
    Flashback to Barley Hill School’s visit from another famous MP, back in 2013

    Nick Gibb MP, in a letter to Mrs Anne Stopforth, the Headteacher at Barley Hill, said: “..I was delighted to see your results. With at least 95% of pupils reaching or exceeding the pass mark in the check, your school is in the top 8% of all primary schools in the country.

    “I am pleased to hear that you have ensured your Year One children at Barley Hill Primary School have a firm foundation in reading, from which they can develop further and become increasingly fluent readers. this will help them develop a life-long love of reading.”

  • Medal haul for Thame duellists at County Championships

    FENCERS from Thame Duellists Fencing Club were in action on Sunday, November 6, at the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire County Championships in Langley.

    L-R-William Nethercleft, Hal-Seed, Isaac-Sallé, Katie Oliver and India George
    L-R-William Nethercleft, Hal-Seed, Isaac-Sallé, Katie Oliver and India George

    Thame fielded four fencers including two who were competing for the first time, and all achieved success.

    Competing were Hal Seed (12), Isaac Sallé (11), William Nethercleft (8) and Katie Oliver in the adults event. Seed and Sallé both have plenty of competition experience and it showed, with Hal winning the Under 14 boys event and Isaac picking up a bronze medal in the Under 12 Boys event. Katie Oliver, who only started fencing in September, entered the Women’s Championships. The senior and Under 18 events were grouped together this year at the group stage and Katie was faced with the daunting prospect of fencing a number of much more experienced opponents and was beaten in each of her bouts. However she managed to score hits against all of her opponents and managed to collect some silverware of her own, becoming champion by default as the only entrant in the Women’s event this year.

    Thame’s youngest competitor this year, William Nethercleft, also fencing in his first competition, also managed to pull off an upset, winning a bronze medal. He won three out of his six bouts in the group stage of the competition and so was seeded in the middle of the draw for the knockout phase of the competition. Nevertheless he managed to reach the semi-final where he came up against an opponent who, at the top of the age range, was over a year older than him. He fenced bravely but couldn’t beat his opponent, the eventual winner of the Under 10s event.

    Club coach James Kingston said: “I was really pleased with all our fencers. Even some friends of the club who train with us occasionally, Darcy Herring-Johnson and India George, who were competing in the girls’ Under 12 and Under 14 events, were successful. For me though the best moment of the day was William’s performance in his semi-final. He had to be brave against a bigger and stronger opponent; but, as well as that, he was able to change his tactics in the second half of the fight after we talked through what to do during the one-minute break between rounds. He started to move better and scored an additional hit almost straight away.

    “It’s difficult to alter your style but to do that at his age and under pressure was fantastic. His teammates gave him lots of support too, which was great to see. He really earned his medal.”

    Thame Duellists fencing club meets on Thursday evenings from 6.45 p.m. in term time at Thame Leisure Centre. For more information, contact club coach James Kingston on 07947 049511

    SOURCE: Contributed

  • Maggie’s Plan at Thame Cinema

    SHOWING this Saturday November 12, 8pm USA, 2016, 97 minutes, 15 certificate – Directed by Rebecca Miller, starring Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader.

    maggies_plan-400x319

    GRETA Gerwig is Maggie, a slightly batty bookish New Yorker who enjoys a successful career as an arts facilitator but who is unlucky in love. A bit of a control freak, she has decided to become a mother with or without a partner, and has a carefully mapped out plan to conceive using sperm donated by an erstwhile school friend who is now a pickle magnate. Meanwhile, she meets Hawke’s John – “one of the bad boys of ficto-critical anthropology” if you please – unhappily married in mid-life crisis and struggling to complete his first novel. His wife is the terrifyingly glacial Georgette, a formidable intellectual who ‘has tenure at Colombia’ – a superciliously hilarious turn from Julianne Moore who steals every scene she’s in. Maggie becomes John’s confidante and muse and, as they say, one thing leads to another.

    When things turn out not quite as Maggie had dreamed, she sets out to re-engineer her life and everyone else’s with the help of her erstwhile adversary, Georgette. What ensues is a story about the messiness of love and fate and our attempts to control them, a contemporary metropolitan configuration of the screwball comedy: witty, very funny, erudite and razor-sharp but also very sweet, which will have you rooting for its flawed heroine and her haphazard attempts to get what she wants. Don’t miss it.

    Film tickets are available on the door or online- Click here

    Note: The capacity of the theatre is 130 seats. 100 seats are allocated for pre-booking online, and 30 reserved for those who prefer to buy on the door.

    Doors open half an hour before films start, admission £5, licensed bar – www.thamecinema.org.uk

  • Invitation to the Late Breakfast

    THIS month’s business networking The Late Breakfast in Thame will be on Thursday, November 17, at The Spread Eagle Hotel, Cornmarket, Thame.

    The Late Breakfast - Monthly networking
    The Late Breakfast – Monthly networking

    The theme this month is Agency-Client Relationships: The (Brutal) Truth, the title of Alex Minchin, of Zest Digital’s presentation.

    ‘All businesses need to be in front of their customers if they are to thrive, and many achieve this by partnering with agencies. Some partnerships flourish, whilst others break down at cost to both parties. In his short presentation, founder of Zest Digital, Alex Minchin, will referee the argument from both sides and will share his advice on how you can achieve knockout success from your relationships.’

    Doors open at 8:45am

  • New group of life savers to launch in Thame

    A new group of life savers is being established in Thame by St John Ambulance. The nation’s leading first aid charity is forming a new unit for adults to complement the popular and well established Cadet unit in the town.

    st_johns_volunteer-generic-400x267

    Volunteers will receive free training in life saving skills, enabling them to provide first aid cover at public events in the local area. The training will also give them the confidence to do the right thing should there be a medical emergency in the local community. No previous experience is required.

    Independent Mortgae Solutions (RGB) - R1Thame’s new unit manager, Rachael Harding, said: ‘We hope there are many people living in and around Thame who would be interested in learning to save lives and to volunteer with St John Ambulance. Of course those first aid skills aren’t just used when the volunteers are at events. Learning first aid means they’re equipped to help family and friends at home, work, or anywhere else that an emergency happens. They can be the difference between a life lost and a life saved.”

    To find out more, of for an informal chat, call Rachael Harding on 07753 227387 or email Rachel.harding@sja.org.uk

    For more information on St John Ambulance, including how to make a donation, volunteering opportunities, and details of training for the public, schools and businesses, visit www.sja.org.uk or call 0303 003 0101.

  • Invitation to music & fun at the Forget-me-knot cafe

    THE Forget Me Knot Café in Chinnor will be hosting another great morning with Music for Health, lots of singing, listening to music, and playing instruments.

    forget_me_not

    The session, on Monday, November 14, will begin at 10.30am with a welcoming cup of tea, biscuit and chat. Warm up exercises before a visiting expert will entertain the audience for an hour. The session will finish with parachute games, flat football, seated balloon volleyball, beanbags and juggling or some other fun game, and at the end of the session a member of the group will give either a poem or a reading.

    The Monday morning cafe is to provide information, support and fun activities which are aimed to help with coordination, brain stimulation and general health and well being for people suffering with dementia, mental health issues, old age or isolation. The cafe meets twice monthly 10.30am to 12.30 at The Chinnor Village Centre every Monday morning. All are welcome. A small donation of £2.50 per person is appreciated.

    Facebook page: LINK HERE

     

  • Five Thame cars broken into in two days!

    THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a number of thefts from Vehicles in the Thame area.

    Image for illustrative purposes only
    Image for illustrative purposes only

    Between 8am on Saturday (5/11) and 8am on Monday (7/11) unknown offenders broke into a vehicle on Queens Road, Thame and stole tools.
    Between 00.25am on Monday (7/11) and 00.44am today (8/11) unknown offenders broke into a van parked on Sedgemoor Drive, Thame and stole a hedge trimmer. A witness saw three men drive off in a 2003 silver Ford Focus from the scene.
    Between 8.30pm on Monday (7/11) and 6.48am today (8/11)) unknown offenders broke into a vehicle on Onslow Drive, Thame by smashing a window. Nothing was taken.
    Between 10pm on Monday (7/11) and 6.18am today (8/11) unknown offenders have broken into a van on Cavendish Walk, Thame. It is not yet known what was taken.

    If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in these areas or have any information relating to this message please call the Police via the 24 hour non-emergency telephone number 101. Please remember to remove valuables from your vehicles if possible.

    Alternatively, if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online by visiting www.crimestoppers-org.uk. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

  • Burglary in Lee Court – police appeal

    THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burglary in Thame, Oxfordshire

    On 03.11.16 at approximately 13:00 a property in Lee Court was burgled. Entry was gained through the front door.

    Money was stolen.

    If you have seen any suspicious looking vehicles or people 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 any information but wish to remain anonymous, please call crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

  • Serial distraction burglar jailed

    David Kerrigan, also known as David Brown
    David Kerrigan, also known as David Brown

    A distraction burglar who preyed on elderly women, including a 101 year-old from Thame, has been sentenced at Harrow Crown Court.

    David Kerrigan, also known as David Brown, aged 36, from Wellow Road, Ollerton, Nottinghamshire, was jailed for seven years after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to seven offences across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Thames Valley. All of the offences happened between June and July this year (2016).

    Kerrigan’s tactics included telling victims that he was carrying out security checks following a spate of robberies and thefts. He asked victims where their valuables were so he could check them, before making off with jewellery and cash. On other occassions he said that a neighbour had problems with their water and that he needed to come in and check the valves on the radiators. He made the victim clear out the cupboards under the sink and turn on the taps while he walked around the property.

    On June 10, a 90-year-old woman was targeted at her home in Luton, Bedfordshire, where she woke to find Kerrigan in her bedroom. After he left, she found her flat had been ransacked and cash and jewellery had been taken.

    The burglary series was investigated by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Operation Manhunt unit and a search for Kerrigan was launched. An appeal to trace him was also featured on BBC’s Crimewatch programme in September. He was later arrested in Nottingham on September 21.

    Detective Constable Sam Casey, from Operation Manhunt, said: “David Kerrigan preyed on elderly, vulnerable women in their own homes and his despicable actions have had a devastating effect on his victims and their families. Sadly, one of his victims has since passed away and was never able to recover from her ordeal.

    “I hope today’s sentence can at least provide some small comfort to everyone who has been affected by Kerrigan’s callous behaviour.

    “The majority of the jewellery stolen from victims has not yet been recovered and I am appealing for any jewellers or pawn shops that may have been sold items by David Kerrigan to please get in touch on the non-emergency number 101.”