WHITE STUFF is coming to Thame! The fashion and lifestyle brand that sells women’s and men’s clothing, accessories and gifts, will be adding the new Thame store to over 100 existing shops in the United Kingdom, and several others in Germany and Denmark.
White Stuff will be taking over the ex Country Casuals building in Buttermarket, Thame.
The company is currently advertising for an Assistant Mananger:
A Thame Hockey Fest is planned to take place on Saturday, September 10, at Thame Leisure Centre, when Thame Hockey Club will throw open its pitch to the local community, to encourage people to get involved with the club, play some hockey and most importantly to have some fun!
There will be a junior session in the morning consisting of:
Under 8 and Under 10 sessions from 10-11am with warm up, a few simple practice drills and then into mini games
Under 12 and Under 14 sessions from 11-12am following a similar approach
A mini tournament for adults is planned for the afternoon from 1-3pm with informal drinks afterwards. Refreshments, music, and games will be there to enjoy from 10am to 3pm.
Whether you’re getting back into hockey or picking up a stick for the first time, anyone can go along and give hockey a go.
Thame Hockey Club can be found at the Thame Leisure Centre astro turf, Oxford Road, Thame, OX9 2BB. For more information go to www.thamehockey.co.uk or contact Laurence Archer on thamehockey@gmail.com
THAME Town Cricket Club were defeated on Saturday (August 6) by local rivals, Aston Rowant, though the club’s second side was happier, with a win over Leighton Buzzard. The third team drew against old adversaries, Dinton.
MATCH REPORTS contributed by Andy Jinman
1st XI
THAME lost at home to local rivals Aston Rowant last Saturday. After winning the toss, Thame elected to bat on a good pitch and battled well to reach lunch at 90 for 5, in the face of consistent bowling. After lunch, Thame never really kicked on as they would have liked and lost wickets regularly. Only Matt Macdonald (57 not out) and Hassam Mushtaq (30) made significant contributions, enabling Thame to reach 162 all out in the 58th over, which was to prove well below par. In reply, Sam Lachlan got Thame a couple of early wickets but Josh Smith, the Aston Rowant captain, scored an unbeaten half-century to steer the visitors past the target for the loss of 3 wickets. With four games to go, starting at Buckingham this Saturday 13th, Thame need to win two to give themselves a good chance of survival.
2nd XI
THAME seconds travelled to Leighton Buzzard knowing that they had to avenge their only defeat so far this season back in June. After Thame had won the toss and asked the home side to bat on a grassy pitch, the gameplan was working well as Leighton Buzzard lost both openers for just 2 runs. The prospect of a quick Thame win then started to recede as Raine and Krynauw built a 99-run partnership. One of the beauties of cricket however is that matches can change so quickly and their two wickets in one over from Ali Thomas (15-3-35-4) swung the game back to Thame. With support from Chris Penny (17-3-57-3), plus 3 catches by James Nielsen, the home side were restricted to 177 for 9 from 53 overs, which looked like a par score on such a variable pitch. In reply, Thame had to endure lively spells from the opening bowlers but, having moved slowly to 25 from 10 overs, they started to score freely. With James Nielsen (92 not out) batting imperiously, supported by Andy Jinman (38), they put on 142 for the 1st wicket. Matt Furness (22 not out) then came in to finish the job, as Thame reached 181 for 1 from 38.4 overs. This Sunday they entertain Chearsley 1sts at Church Meadow, knowing they must continue to record wins to maintain their 22 point lead at the top of Division 5.
3rd XI
THAME thirds travelled to bottom side, Dinton 3rds, looking to keep up with Buckingham at the top of the league. Thame won the toss and chose to bat, with Ian Chappell leading from the front again with 45, ably backed up by Guy Holmes (43) and Christian Warwick (38). Despite several wickets falling at the end, Thame reached a strong total of 212-5 from their 45 overs. Dinton never looked like overtaking Thame’s score but started resolutely, before Pete Tervet got the opening wicket. Thame continued to be frustrated by dogged batting and dropped catches, until Matt Anderson’s fine spell of 3-19 and Danny Thompson’s 2-6 gave Thame hope of a win. Guy Holmes 2-4 put Dinton on the brink, but their youngsters held on well for a draw. Thame took 20 points from the match, but were disappointed not to win and now travel to play Chearsley 2nds on Saturday.
BEN Williams, Hallam Cozier and Josh Williams from Thame Swimming Club, all competed last week at the Welsh National Open Swimming Championships at the National Pool in Swansea and wow what a week it was!
Ben swam strongly, PB’d in 4 events and qualified for 3 finals in the 50 Back, 100 Back and 200 Back, coming 7th, 5th and 6th respectively which is a great achievement given the 17+ age grouping. Ben also took the 400 IM Open Club Record with a PB time of 5.11.05.
Hallam PB’d in all eight of his events with notable mentions being 5.5 seconds off his 200 Free time and 3.5 seconds off his 100 Back and came 6th in the 50 Free final, taking the 15 Year- Old Boys Club Record.· Josh PB’d in all nine of his events, qualifying for eight finals and coming home with 5 x Bronze medals (100 Free, 200 Free, 400 Free, 50 Fly and 50 Back), 1 x Silver medal (200 Back) and a Gold Medal (100 Back). Josh’s outstanding swim in the 100 Back gave him National Champion status with him now being 4th in the Region and 34th in the whole of Great Britain in this event for his 14 year old age group.
Many thanks to Head Coach Ian Blyth who supported the boys throughout the week and to Sherri Cozier and Paul Williams for officiating.
The boys did Thame Swimming Club proud and the camaradarie and support amongst the three was fantastic.
Well done boys – it was an absolute pleasure to cheer you on!
SOURCE; Contributed
IT’S lobster season and The Thatch in Thame is marking the occasion with a month of mouth-watering weekend specials dedicated to this amazing British produce.
Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening in August, the chefs at The Thatch will be creating a special dish made with the best, freshest native lobster they can get their hands on. There will be a different dish each week, chalked up onto the specials board until it runs out.
“We’ve been on the hunt for the finest native lobster to serve our guests and have found it, caught by local fishermen off the Brixham coast,” said Tom Upham, Head Chef at The Thatch. “We’re proud to work closely with one of the most experienced, lobster fishermen in Devon, Rob Adams, who is born and bred in Brixham and has been fishing the local waters for over thirty years.
“His small day-boat, The Little Pearl, puts out to sea at the crack of dawn each morning to inspect the lobster pots he has set on the sea bed a short distance from the shore. Reaching carefully into the pot, he only picks the lobsters when they’re at their peak and of the very highest quality, ensuring that the fishing remains sustainable and only the best lobster is selected. He rushes his catch back to shore and delivers it the very next day, ready to put on the plate.”
Not only is native lobster the freshest it can be, it is also packed full of flavour, making this British seafood simply the best. Now it’s available every weekend at the pub in three stunning dishes, starting with a superb native grilled lobster with avocado, pink grapefruit and cashew salad from Thursday, Saturday 11, to August 13.
Pop in for dinner between August 18 and 19, and feast on native grilled lobster with garlic butter and skinny fries and if you visit between the 25th to 27th, there’s a divine butter-poached native lobster with new potatoes and samphire to look forward to.
“We’ve caught the best of these British beauties and brought them at their best to the pub,” continued Tom. “Native lobster is undeniably the best and there’s a real ‘wow’ factor in seeing a whole one arrive at your table. But be quick – they’re bound to prove popular and once they’re gone they’re gone. So book your table today!”
Native lobster dishes created by the chefs at The Thatch in Thame, will be served every Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening during August, until they sell out.
To reserve your table, go to www.thethatchthame.co.uk or call 01844 214340
HIGHWAYS England will be carrying out major maintenance works on both the northbound and southbound carriageways between Junction 6 (near Adwell) and Junction 8 (A40 Oxford Spur / Wheatley). The works will involve extensive traffic management including some overnight carriageway closures, occasional slip road closures and night time lane closures. It will also be necessary to keep traffic management in place during daytime hours to allow materials to set.
For the duration of the works speed restrictions will be in place for 24 hours a day, enforced by average speed cameras, to ensure the safety of our road workers and road users. The works include deep reconstruction of lane 1 in both directions of the carriageway, resurfacing of the hard shoulder and lanes 2 and 3 in both directions and safety improvements to safety barriers.
It is expected that all resurfacing work to be complete by mid-December, subject to weather conditions and progress. Once the resurfacing is complete, the plan is to install traffic sensors in the road surface to help monitor traffic flows. This cannot be done whilst we are laying the new surface and will require additional overnight lane closures for approximately four weeks. The work has been planned to minimise disruptions to road users and it will be carried out when traffic flows are low.
When and where is this happening?
The works will take place between junction 6 (near Adwell) and junction 8 (A40 Oxford Spur / Wheatley). Preparation works will start on Monday, August 15. Main reconstruction works commence between junctions 6 and 8 on Thursday, September 8, 2016 and will continue 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When junction 6 to 8 northbound carriageway works are complete, works will then commence between junctions 8 to 6 southbound.
For further information, visit the Highways England website: LINK HERE
THAMES Valley Police are appealing for the help of the public, after a garage owner and a customer were injured during an attempted robbery by two men, one armed with a hammer.
A police statement reads: “Were you in Churchway Haddenham, this afternoon (Tuesday, August 9) at around 4pm?
“We’re currently at the scene of an attempted armed robbery when two men entered a garage (Miles’ garage), one carrying a hammer. They demanded cash. A bit of a scuffle ensued between the offenders and the man at the garage and a member of the public also in the garage.
“The two offenders then ran off, empty-handed — they even left their hammer. The two victims are being treated at the scene for injuries. It’s believed the two offenders are injured too.”
Anyone with any info or concerns about this incident is asked to call 101. Or you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously https://crimestoppers-uk.org/
PEOPLE in Thame and the rest of South Oxfordshire have only days left if they want to give their views on updated proposals for how the district should meet, what the district council says, is a need for more new housing to 2032.
So far almost 1,000 responses have been submitted while over 1,300 people have attended special drop in sessions across the district to find out more about the plans. However, people only have until 4.30pm on Friday, August 19, to submit their comments on the plans.
‘No thanks’ says Thame Town Council to ‘dreadful’ plan
SODC’s Local Plan 2032, includes its ‘Preferred Options’ – which for Thame, include provision for an additional 600 new homes, on top of over 700 ‘enshrined’ in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan. At a packed public meeting held last Thursday, August 4, at St Mary’s church in Thame, the most strongly expressed feeling was against any more new homes in the town, and that any necessary infrastructure should be in place before any additional development, if there was any.
Thame Town Council is strongly against any more development in Thame and at a meeting of its Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Commmitte, Councillors called the plan ‘dreadful’, and ‘a poor piece of work with holes all over it’. Cllr Ann Midwinter questioned SODC’s motives, and said that it needed to be made clear to SODC that it was necessary to concentrate on the impact the proposed plan would have on Thame, and not on the discussions about a Unitary council.
People of Haddenham feel ‘dumped on’
Councillors also fear the impact on Thame of the proposed Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan, for whcih a public meeting meeting was held last week in Haddenham, attended by three district councillors and a Senior Planning Officer. Reporting back to the NPCC, Cllr Mike Dyer said: “The people of Haddenham feel as though they are being dumped on big time!” (5,500 extra houses are proposed for Haddenham)
He reported that a very strongly worded letter to Wycombe District Council from Haddenham, accused Wycombe DC of ‘abusing ‘ its position, by allowing a lower housing density in its own area, thereby forcing more houses elsewhere, to meet an unmet need for houses in its own district (15 houses per hectare in Wycombe, and 25-30 in Thame) !
What else?
Over the past three years, South Oxfordshire District Council has been preparing its new Local Plan 2032. The document will set out where the main new housing sites in the district should go, as well as the shops, jobs, road improvements and leisure facilities needed for the district. The plan will also include detailed policies the council will use to help decide planning applications for the lifetime of the plan. It is hoped that this will be delivered through the neighbourhood planning process – in Thame’s case, a revised Neighbourhood Plan.
A completely new settlement?
The consultation includes seven possible options for a new sustainable settlement of 3,500 new homes. The council’s preferred option is to build a new community on the Chalgrove Airfield, which is near to existing and future employment sites. Most of the other options are in the green belt, which the council has said it does not believe is appropriate.
Thame Town Council will be submitting its draft response to the Consultation to SODC, along with the presentation it made at the public meeting in Thame last week.
How YOU can have your say
To view the proposals and have your say on the Local Plan 2032 and the Sustainability Appraisal, visit www.southoxon.gov.uk/newlocalplan.
WHO thought that squash was a winter game? Throughout the school holidays there have already been three junior tournaments: The Mote Kent Open, the Winchester Open and the Abingdon Open – and that doesn’t even include the local Racquets Open Junior One-Day tournament recently won by Ollie Dudley-Heidkamp, from Thame.
Oliver Coulcher-Porter, 10, and his sister Emily, aged 8, train and play at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, and both have been competing and being highly successful all around the South of England tournament scene.
Oliver has won the Under 13 boys’ Mote Kent Open, the Winchester Under 11 boys Open and the Abingdon Under 11s boys Open tournaments. These results will take his ranking well into the top ten boys in Great Britain.
Meanwhile, sister Emily won the Under 11 girls Abingdon Open – despite being a full two and a half years younger and much lower ranked than the other finalist. She also came fourth in the London Open Under 13 girls where she was the youngest by about four years! Mum, Jane, said: “‘I couldn’t be more proud of my kids who are punching above their age and succeeding. We’re visiting clubs all across the country and meeting so many wonderful people.”
“We love squash and try to go to Racquets for the morning squash drop-in training sessions throughout the summer holidays as much as possible, said Oliver. “We enjoy playing with all the different standards of players, whether they are beginners or nationally ranked. It was great to have one of our older boys from Racquets, Oliver Cartwright, support me in my tough final at Abingdon. He played so well in the U15 boys section against extremely formidable opponents.”
The next tournament for Oliver and Emily will be the Silver South Great Britain Tournament in August, which will be held in Exeter.
A new planning application for an Extra Care housing development, on land at The Elms, Upper High Street, Thame, submitted by Rectory Homes, is currently open for Consultation until August 31.
The application is for apartments, houses and a communal residents’ centre with basement parking and storage areas and creation of new public open space, provision of new vehicle access from Elms Road and a new pedestrian/cycle link onto Upper High Street with associated infrastructure works and landscaping.
A previous application by Rectory Homes for 37 dwellings on land at The Elms, was awarded Planning Permission over a year ago, but no work was ever started.
An organisation that lobbied against the original application, the Elms Petition Group, has stated in its recent news letter: “This volume of housing clearly exceeds the allocation of ‘up to 45 houses’ which is detailed in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan. This volume of housing of this type will also heavily increase the pressure on local support services such as doctors and ambulance first responders. Anyone that currently lives in Southern Thame will testify that ambulances and fire services (first responders) are already an all too regular sight at the existing care homes in the area.
You can read the full application on South Oxfordshire District Council’s website HERE