Thame’s Memorial Gardens in Autumn – image by Chris Bradford
THIS year’s Service of Remembrance at Thame Memorial Gardens, will be this coming Sunday, November 8, 2015. The procession, which will include Town Councillors, members of the Royal British Legion and other community groups, will assemble outside the Town Hall at 10.30am and proceed to the War Memorial.
Following the service everyone is warmly invited to Christchurch for refreshments.
A copy of the Order of Service can be downloaded from the Town Council’s website at www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk. Copies are also available at the Information Centre and will be distributed at the memorial gardens on the morning of the service.
The Mayor, Cllr Nichola Dixon, has also invited anyone from the community to join her on November 11, at 11am, as she leads a two minute silence outside the Town Hall.
THAME home care provider, Autumn Years Care, recently won a Leadership in Dignity and Care”award from AgeUK Oxfordshire and Healthwatch Oxfordshire. Now they are hoping to bring home three more awards after being shortlisted as a finalist for the South East Great British Care Awards in three different categories; The Care Employer Award; The Dignity in Care Award and The Home Care Registered Manager Award.
Christina Walford, founder of Autumn Years Care said: “Winning the Leadership in Dignity and Care award from AgeUK Oxfordshire was a lovely surprise, so when we also found out we had also been selected out of all of the home care providers in the South East of England for the finals of the Great British Care awards as well, we were over the moon. It`s a real honour and a lovely recognition of the hard work and dedication that all of our carers put in.”
The winners of the Great British Care awards are due to be announced at an awards ceremony set to take place on the December 3, in Brighton.
A study commissioned by Thame Town Council has concluded that a large format foodstore, such as that proposed by Tesco, could significantly harm the town centre.
The full Thame Retail Capacity and Impact Study will be discussed at a meeting of Thame Town Council on Tuesday evening (03/10). Town Councillors recommended refusal of Tesco’s plans for an edge-of-town supermarket on the current DAF site, on August 25, 2015. The plans are currently with South Oxfordshire District Council but no date has yet been set for a planning decision as the Planning Officer is awaiting revised figures from Tesco of its projected profits from the proposed Thame store, which SODC’s independent consultants believe were ‘under stated’.
The Thame Retail Impact Study’s findings include the observation that food shopping is the principle reason for shoppers in Thame’s primary catchment area visiting the Town Centre, and that 80% of shoppers link their food shopping trip to other activities, in particular for non-food shopping and for financial services like banking.
The report suggests that although a new, edge of town foodstore could help to claw back leaked expenditure from larger shopping centres, turnover would be drawn away from Thame’s key anchor store, Waitrose, as well as from other convenience retailers such as Co-op and Sainsbury, causing linked trips to other shops in Thame to be lost; linked trips that would otherwise have been supported between Waitrose and other town centre businesses.
As the report puts it: “The potential diversion of food shoppers to a competing edge or out-of-centre foodstore will impact on the potential for linked trips. This in turn will impact on the vitality and viability of the wider town centre.”
In its conclusions and recommendations, the impact assessment states that: “.. a smaller format foodstore or a deep discount foodstore (such as Lidl or Aldi) would have a lower impact on the trading performance of the town centre and its retailers. In contrast, the assessment indicates that a larger format traditional foodstore could have a significant harmful impact on the town centre, leading to the potential closure of the existing Co-op store.
The full Thame Retail Capacity & Impact Study, which has been prepared by Carter Jonas, can be read here: LINK TO PDF
You can read all previous posts on the subject of Tesco’s proposals here: LINK
LIKE to improve your spoken German? A friendly group in Haddenham is looking for members to join them, no matter what level of German they already have.
Group member Roger Powell said: “We have a variety of levels, high to low -which is me – but we are all passionate about maintaining and learning more.”
Anyone who would like find out more can contact Roger on 07768118529, or email him: cpl.rapowell@gmail.com
IT’S that time of year for gunpowder, treason and plot, and of course to dust off the bobble hat and don your wellies for a firework spectacle to remember.
On Saturday, November 7, Long Crendon will hold its annual Fireworks Display, starting with an exciting Glow Stick Light Procession for all the children and families to enjoy. Building on the success of last year, Chilton Road in Long Crendon will be closed as the parade takes place from the Scout Hut up to the Long Crendon school field.
And the fun won’t stop there. As well as the fabulous firework display, there will be a barbeque, disco, tuck shop and bar selling local XT brewery beers and warming mulled wine – all to make sure the whole family has a great time. Come rain or shine, organisers are confident that this is sure to be one of the best fireworks displays in the area and over 1,000 spectators are expected to attend the event.
The Glow Stick Light Procession starts at 4.45pm at the Scout Hut, Long Crendon, and doors open at Long Crendon School at 5pm.
The event this year is sponsored by Fisher German estate agents and tickets can be bought online, with a discount to buy early. For more information and to buy tickets, visit www.longcrendonfireworks.co.uk
NEXT Thursday, November 5, should see some fireworks at the next edition of the First Thursday Music Club at The Stables in Thame. The 27, featuring Henry Parker Tom Michell, and David Page, recently recorded an EP at the world famous Abbey Road Studios in London and have recently taken to the road to promote it – with FTMC being one of their early gigs.
Heavily influenced by the music their parents were listening to in the 60s and 70s, The 27, produce a big sound from two guitars and bass with a focus on some stunning three-part, vocal harmonies. The 27 are this month’s feature act and will be on at 10pm.
Joshua Gilbert returns to FTMC for a cameo appearance, together with A little Bit Country and The Vibe. A great night is guaranteed!
In addition, at least 10 other artists and bands will be appearing in the Open Mic section in front of a crowd of around 200. Entrance, as always is completely FREE! First time amateurs through to full time professionals, and any genre of music, are welcome. The club has a full house PA system with keyboard, bass amp, guitar amp, cocktail drum kit all set up. Just turn up and plug in!
THAME Town Council is starting work on setting its budget for 2016-17, and it wants residents to tell them where they think more money, less money or the same amount of money should be spent on the council’s various projects, functions and services.
Currently the average household contributes £2.40 per week towards the funding TTC’s various areas of responsibility. The council states on its website: ” Under the current drive for Localism, there is much discussion about devolution of services from County / District to parishes and we must consider whether to take on certain services that Oxfordshire County Council can no longer fund.
“There are other pressures on the budget through National Insurance changes and the removal of a Government grant. The cost of monitoring and ensuring continuity of the Neighbourhood Plan is also significant and there are also suggestions that Thame would benefit from a Market Town Co-Ordinator.”
The town council will agree its budget at a meeting scheduled for January, 19, 2016. Contact the council via the website: http://tiny.cc/oq9c5x
Cricket at Church Meadow, photo coutesy of Mark Lord
THAME Town Cricket Club has successfully taken the first steps towards an ambitious scheme to redevelop its clubhouse and facilities, with a commitment from Thame Town Council to fund the pre-planning work.
During a presentation to the town council on Tuesday (27/10), Cricket Club representatives Matt Swain, Angus Lachlan and Alastair Thomas explained their plans for a new club house to be shared by Thame Hockey, Netball and possibly other sports clubs, with extra parking facilities to be shared with the Barns Centre.
If Planning is approved, other funding towards the £825,000 estimated cost of the project, will be sought from South Oxfordshire District Council, Sport England, the English Cricket Board (ECB), local businesses and through Thame Cricket Club’s own fund-raising which has already started to the tune of £30,000.
The town council sees the cricket club development as part of its Sports Strategy that has emerged from the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, and most of the funding it will contribute will come out of Developer contributions known as Section 106 contributions, from the various future housing and other developments that are, and will be in the future, springing up around the town. Section 106 monies have been identified specifically for the Cricket Club pavilion of £12,816 from Site F and £14,770 from The Elms development.
If all goes goes to plan, the cricket club hopes to begin demolition of the existing facilities in September 2017, in preparation for building a brand new, modern facility in Church Meadow that should last this growing, Premier League club at least as long as the 40 plus years that the current barn conversion has served it.
YOUNG Ben Hedger’s preparations for the British Junior Open Squash Tournament in Manchester this coming weekend, are on track following his win in the under 19s boys category in both the Abingdon Junior Open and the Southampton Junior Open last weekend (24/09).
Ben, who is a pupil at Lord Williams ‘s Upper School in Thame, plays and trains at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, and plays for the men’s First team in the Oxfordshire leagues. He has been playing squash for about eight years.
Although the Abingdon Junior Open was a fairly local, Oxfordshire event, which Ben won without dropping any games, the Southampton tournament involved Ben in pitching his skills against players from further afield. One of Ben’s coaches, Simon Martin, said: “We are so proud of Ben’s determination in coming back from behind in both the ‘semis’ and the final to win both matches.
The semi-final was against the number one seed, Adam Sindall-White, ranked 63 in England, who had travelled all the way from Somerset. The final was against the number two seed from Sussex, Julian Standish who is ranked 113 in the Under 19s in England.
Ben is hoping this determination will be strong enough this coming weekend to create some upsets, as there will be players from all over the world.
Another of Racquets’ young squash players, Nick Harbour, also played in the Abingdon tournament coming a very respectable third, having recently moved up to the Under 17s.
On behalf of the club, a proud Simon Martin said: “Well done to both of them and good luck this weekend!”
Mayor of Thame, Nichola Dixon, lays a cross at the gravestone of Brian Perry
THIS weekend, October 30-31, forty people from Thame will be visiting the WW1 battlefields of France & Belgium as part of the Thame Remembers project which aims to honour the town’s war dead by challenging the people of Thame to deliver a cross to the grave of every man named on memorials in the town, wherever in the world they may be.
The tour, which will be joined by a reporter from BBC South, will visit some of the Commonwealth War Grave Cemeteries as well as the major memorials at Thiepval, Tyne Cot, Vimy Ridge, Arras, and Cambrai. A highlight of the tour will be at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres on Friday evening, where a wreath on behalf of the town will be laid during the nightly Last Post ceremony.
The party will also visit a German War Cemetery at Langemark, the preserved trenches at Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme, the Lochnagar Mine Crater, and other locations along the Western Front where so many died in the so-called ‘war to end wars’.
Nearer to home, Thame’s Mayor, Councillor Nichola Dixon, visited Rectory Lane Cemetery in Berkhamstead last week to commemorate Sergeant Brian Perry, who was educated at Lord Williams’s School in Thame, and was just 18 years old when he died. He served with the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps, nicknamed The Devil’s Own, which occupied tented accommodation in a field near Berkhamstead railway station throughout the war. In June 1915, Brian contracted meningitis in the camp and died in hospital in Wandsworth. Although he had not seen active service, he was given a military funeral.
Councillor Dixon said: “It was an honour to place this cross for Thame Remembers, something I have been wanting to do since the project was launched. It’s a tremendous undertaking and one that has gathered so much support from the people of Thame, and reminded us of the sacrifices made in two world wars. I look forward to seeing further crosses delivered and helping in any way I can as the project continues.”
To date, 88 of the 213 graves and memorials to men from Thame have been visited by members of the community, and crosses have already been delivered as far away as Tanzania, New Zealand, India and Korea. The project still has three years to run but many challenging locations remain, including Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, and Bahrain.
You can find out more about the Thame Remembers project by visiting the website HERE
