Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

ENTHUSIASTIC crowds, warm weather and outstanding performances marked this year’s Towersey Festival, held over the Bank Holiday weekend on the Thame Showground.

There were packed headline appearances from Kate Rusby, Midge Ure, The Young’uns and Billy Bragg, who charactically arrived after visiting striking bus drivers in Dorset. Other memorable performances included The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, The Wonder Stuff, 9Bach and the Tom Robinson Band. Some new bands too made strong impressions including Elephant Sessions in venue 65, and Cosmosis, invited along by the organisers of Thame’s First Thursday Music Club who ran The Bar Tent stage; an exciting band and one to watch!

Fifteen year-old Billy Watman, familiar to Thame music-goers from Music in the Park back in May, and fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe, mesmerised his audience with his Flamenco style fingering, accoustic guitar playing, and had them singing along to his very special version of Bohemian Rhapsody. And what confidence to play something you only composed the day before for your encore! Such a bright star!

Alongside many familiar elements, such as the traditional closing Lantern Parade and Festival Choir, this year saw the introduction of new programmes of activities for 5-11 year-old festival-goers and young people, both of which proved highly popular.

Attracting in the region of 7,000 revellers, the infamous British weather didn’t disappoint bringing bright warm sunshine on Friday and Monday, and only fleeting showers on Saturday and Sunday. Monday was hot and sunny seeing icecream stalls, iced coffee sellers and the two bar tents, practically selling out. There were over 40 beers and ales available, many from local breweries, and Tea Kettle Stout from Tring Brewery was voted the Best Ale at Towersey this year.

Towersey Festival Director Joe Heap said: “This year was our biggest ever line-up, and visitors really responded positively to the bill, as well as the site and infrastructure improvements we have made.

“There were so many highlights, from the family-friendly events and Towersey Festiva patron, Roy Bailey, launching his new album, to the Festival Dance House (FDH) stage, where there was a buzzing atmosphere with lots of young people embracing the festival’s strong dance programme.”

The artists also enjoyed the event with Sunday headliner Midge Ure Tweeting: “A beautifully run festival. Lovely organisation and great crowd… it was a joy to play.”

The Wonder Stuff’s lead man, Miles Hunt, told an adoring Towersey audience that this, his band’s first ever gig at Towersey, was the most enjoyable his band had experienced in years – though his language was somewhat more colourful !

And though the crowd felt a little thinner at times on the new, more spacious site, and a few merry-makers may have tripped on the ‘rubber road’, many in that audience and others throughout the three day festival, would have agreed with him.

Many more snippets and shared memories from Towersey 2016, on the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Towerseyfestival

NOT only did we see the start of the seventh series of The Great British Bake Off on Wednesday, but we also had last year’s winner hitting our screens with ‘The Chronicles of Nadiya’ which, as Thame Food Festival Patron, Lotte Duncan suggested, should probably win a BAFTA for it’s title alone!

“All at Thame Food Festival Towers will be watching to see how the first week goes,” said Lotte. “What disasters lay in wait for these GBBO newbies?

“We count ourselves extremely lucky to be having our own BIG THAME BAKE in the town again on the day of the festival, and we’re even luckier to have some GBBO competitors, and of course the very lovely Nadiya herself.” They will be judging and baking on the day of the festival, September 24 – and they’ll all be interviewed by Lotte at 2.15 pm on the Big Thame Baking Stage.

Do you have any questions for Thame’s baking stars? Does your tart have the proverbial soggy bottom? Does your cake sag in the middle? And do your meringues have a mind of their own?

Well, send in your question now and you could be one of the lucky ones to have it answered.

Email your question to bake@thamefoodfestival.co.uk

THE BIG THAME BAKE – FULLY RISEN – 2.15PM ON THE BIG THAME BAKING STAGE WITH:

Nadiya Hussain
Richard Burr
Miranda Gore Browne
Chetna Makan

And the show Schedule now available to download from the new website: LINK HERE

This, the latest evolution of the original Thame Show that started as a ploughing match over 130 years ago, is to be know as The Thame Horse and Country Show. It will include many of the same things as the old ‘Oxfordshire County and Thame Show’ including a very big Horse Show with top class Showing Classes, Show Jumping with the country’s very best show jumpers taking part, and Dressage.

There will be a large, well filled Countryside Arena, with local packs of hounds and other animals like Alpacas and Rare Breeds, Cattle & Sheep classes, Shetland Pony Agility, Donkeys & Pony Scurry Driving. Another big attraction will be an Open Dog Show with classes for all including Scruffs that qualify for Crufts in 2017.

As usual, there will be plenty of Trade Stands and a Farmers Market, so plenty of food and drink to chose from.

The original Oxfordshire County & Thame Show was cancelled for 2016, following a number of year of financial losses. An experiment to move the show date to the summer and then back again the following September, both failed to draw the crowds, mostly because of bad weather.

The Directors chose to cancel the show for 2016, in order to protect the assets of the Association concentrate on letting the showground out to other event organisers for the time being.

Visit the new website HERE from time to time, for more details as the show approaches.