WITH just over three weeks to go until the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity’s sixth annual Midnight Walk sets off from Aylesbury College on Saturday, July 11, the countdown is well and truly on to get signed up!
Over 470 ladies have already registered to take on the six or 13-mile walking challenge across Aylesbury, including both teams and individuals – all taking on one united goal, in one fabulous night – to raise vital funds for the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, which needs to raise over £600,000 each year to ensure local Hospice services continue to run for many years to come.
You can still register for a place at this year’s event by visiting www.gemstonewalk.co.uk or simply call the Fundraising Team on 01296 429975. Entry costs £17 per person to include pint t-shirt, walk entry, refreshments on the night, a well-deserved breakfast on completion of the challenge and a souvenir medal. Organisers are encouraging walkers to add extra touches of neon to t-shirts this year, as part of the new ‘Glo4Flo’ theme.
If every walker taking part raises £100 in sponsorship by appealing to family, friends and work colleagues, the Charity will be well on its way to reaching its fundraising target of £50,000. Sponsorship pages can be set up online, and also shared easily via social media, plus downloadable sponsorship forms can be printed via the Gemstone Walk website.
The night is sure to be a colourful affair with fluorescent pink t-shirts and pink flashing bunny ears, so join us and let’s light up the night sky in aid of Florence Nightingale Hospice. Let’s make this the best year yet!
OVER the next few weeks, strange yellow/green neon lights will start to appear on the grassland of Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve, near Stokenchurch, but don’t worry, the aliens haven’t landed! These tiny lights are actually female glow worms trying to attract a mate.
Glow worm – photo Matthew O’Byrne
From late June to late July, the Chilterns Conservation Board and Natural England will be giving you the opportunity to hunt for these fascinating creatures by night and learn more about them.
Two glow worm walks are taking place between 9.45pm and 11.30pm on Saturday, June 20, and Saturday, July 11. Meet at the Aston Rowant National Nature Reserve car park.
Glow worm – Image by Matthew O’Byrne
The walks cost £3 for adults and £2 for children. Spaces are strictly limited and booking is essential. Call early to avoid disappointment on 01844 355 500.
Remember, it will be dark, so intrepid glow worm hunters should bring a torch, dress warmly and wear sturdy footwear. The event isn’t suitable for young children, but over 10’s are welcome with adult supervision.
THAME’S Community policing team have been kept busy over the past month dealing with Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) in Thame and Chinnor, as reported in their latest monthly Crime update.
Thame’s Neighbourhood Policing team
The team has apparently been receiving reports of ASB in Southern Road recreational ground car park area, in Thame, involving the smashing of bottles and noise, and at Whites Field, Mill Lane, Chinnor, involving cannabis smoking and littering. The team is asking that local people please tell them immediately by calling the police non-emergency number 101, and they will deal with it firmly.
Cannabis and alcohol has been seized from persons near the river at Priest End, Thame and alcohol has also been seized from persons drinking inside the exclusion zone of Southern Road recreational ground. Officers say they will continue to monitor the areas of concern pro-actively.
Traffic issues/Parking
The team has continued to monitor illegal parking in the area and have been issuing parking tickets to offending vehicles. Parking on double yellow lines carries a fine of £30 and parking on zigzags at crossings is £60, plus three penalty points. Don’t get caught! Tickets have been issued in Thame and Watlington for both parking on double yellows and parking in a disabled bay without displaying a valid badge.
Offenders brought to justice
A 15 year old male will appear in court after being charged with handling stolen goods and causing criminal damage in Chinnor.
Following a spate of plant thefts including hanging baskets and box shrubs, the suspects were identified and arrested. The items have now been returned back to the rightful owners.
Two neighbourly disputes have been managed and resolved by local PCSOs in Thame and a vehicle seized in Chinnor.
You can read PCSO Jacky Madden’s full update here: LINK
NB
‘Have Your Say’ meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local police officers and PCSOs about any local issues, no appointment is necessary just turn up and speak to your local officers. Upcoming Have Your Say meetings are:–
Saturday, 20 June 2015, 3pm – 5pm at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame with PCSO Diane Jackson.
A CAMPAIGN group that opposes a proposal for an edge of town supermarket in Thame, now has over 1,000 signatures to its on-line petition of support for its cause, and has been analysing where that support is coming from.
Chris Wren (right) in his butcher’s shop in Buttermarket, Thame
Thame Centre First states that it is opposing an out-of-town supermarket development to keep shops together at the heart of Thame, and that it has evidence to show the valuable role Thame town centre plays as a retail hub, not only for residents of Thame but for the surrounding community in a 10 mile radius.
The group has analysed responses to the petition that has been running at various shops around the town in recent weeks, and now states: “Well over 1000 people have now signed the petitions which oppose the proposed Tesco development on the DAF site at Howland Road. Of these, 58% of respondents were from Thame town, while 42% were from other locations. These included villages such as Haddenham, Chinnor, Chearsley, Shabbington, Ickford, Cuddington and Tetsworth, and shows how vital a role the centre of Thame plays for shopping and other services in the local area.
Independent butchers have their say
“The success of the town centre as a retail centre is exemplified by the fact that it supports two independent butchers, Newitt’s and Wren’s,” continued TCF. Tom Newitt, MD of Newitt’s, said: “Our family business has been trading on our present site for 50 years and we are here for the long term. We live and work in Thame and provide employment in the town. We want to be around for the next 50 years and not considering shutting up shop because of reduced footfall and vanishing customers.
“We urge all our customers to support Thame Centre First.” Christopher Wren, MD of Wren’s, in the Buttermarket, said: “We’ve been butchers for over 40 years in Thame, 20 of these on our present site. I believe independent shops like ours are vitally important as we offer outstanding customer service and best quality meat at value-for-money prices. The disastrous effect on town centres is evident from other places where supermarkets have opened on the edge of town, leading to loss of business and shop closures.”
RETAIL IMPACT
Thame Centre First has commissioned a retail impact study from Strutt & Parker, the leading property consultants and have reported that the initial findings of this study show that: “…the proposed Tesco store will lead to a diversion of trade away from Thame town centre.”
Thame Centre First added: “The initial assessment carried out by experts we have instructed indicates that Tesco has understated the negative impact on the successful retail units in the town centre, which will over time lead to a reduction in choice for shoppers. The proposed Tesco store is inconsistent with the adopted planning policy set out in the South Oxfordshire Core Strategy and the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, which set out limited requirements for additional convenience shopping and nothing on the scale proposed by Tesco.”
For more information on Thame Centre First, visit http://www.thamecentrefirst.org/ or email info@thamecentrefirst.co.uk.
To sign the petition opposing the Tesco development, visit shops including Newitt’s, Wren’s, Glynswood, Robert Stanley, Planet Health, The Book House and others in Thame. Alternatively sign the petition online at www.thamecentrefirst.org.
To object to the proposed Tesco development, go to:
DESPITE the news this week, that there has been a significant drop in the number of people participating in swimming as a sport, Thame Swimming club is thriving and three of its swimmers recently competed at the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association), South East Regional Championships.
Over the weekend of May 30/31, the three Thame Swimming Club swimmers competed at the ASA South East Region Championships in the 50m Olympic sized pool at Crawley, Sussex with Ian Blyth (far right) as their Head Coach.
Ben Williams (far left), Boys Club Captain, competed in three events – 50m Free, 100m Free and 200m Free and achieved personal best times in all
three races.
Marcus Birmingham (second from the right), Boys Vice Captain achieved a personal best in his 200m Free race.
Jo Hewett (second from the left), Masters, competed in six events overall, winning Silver medals in the 200 Free and 100 Breaststroke, and also
achieved a personal best for her 50m Free, in the Multi-Disability discipline.
Dear Editor, Amidst all the worries about the future of the centre of our unique and beautiful town I will say, as I have before, that it was a mistake for our separate Tourism Office to have been closed.
A tourism office would confer on us the status of being a place for people from far and wide to visit, to savour the character of this quintessential English market town in beautiful countryside, and the visitors would bring ‘footfall’ to all the small shops which are the kind of places which attract holidaymakers wanting to explore, and who are looking for something different.
FOLLOWING the news today that Oxfordshire County Council is considering closing some Childrens’ Homes in the county to save money, Thame’s county councillor, Nick Carter, has assured Thame.Net that any closures will not include the new Assessment Centre, currently being build on the outskirts of Thame, as it is being built in order to save the huge cost of placing ‘looked after’ children in facilities outside the county.
Cllr Carter was not, however, able to say that Thame’s Red Kite Childrens’ Centre, will escape closure, and issued the following statement:
Cllr Nick Carter
“The County Council has 44 children’s centres, including the Red Kite centre in Thame. These have been in existence for about ten years, and because of big cuts in funding, we have to start looking for different ways of running them or of providing an equivalent service.
“The County Cabinet is looking at how to deliver these services, and next week it will decide whether to accept the principle that changes could be made. If so, the options will be worked out and everyone will be able to consider them during a thorough consultation in the autumn.
“The County Council provides about 85% of everyone’s services in Oxfordshire, and a large part of the funds for this come from the Government. However, the national finances are still in deficit and more cuts are inevitable.
“Since 2010 when the deficit reduction began, the County Council has achieved £200 million of savings. This has had a massive impact on how services are delivered, but so far, we have managed to avoid affecting aspects such as children’s centres. But those savings are nowhere near finished yet. By 2018, we know that total savings have to reach £290 million. And now, on top of all this, there’s likely to be about £60m more to add to that total.
“This will be a huge challenge, particularly with the increasing pressure on both adult and children’s social care – currently around 50% of the County Council’s budget is spent on just 2% of Oxfordshire’s population. We can no longer avoid the fact that more than £6m has to be saved from what is known as the early intervention service, which includes children’s centres.
“What happens after this will start to become apparent next month. The Government Budget on July 8, along with the spending review later in the autumn, will provide more details about the impact of further cuts in funding.”
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for information following the theft of a tractor from Milton Common, Thame.
At around 2.11 am yesterday morning (15/06), offender(s) stole an old model green John Deere 7530 tractor, registration number OU59 AY0 from a business premises in Rycote Lane.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message, please call the police on the 24 hour non-emergency telephone number 101.
Alternatively if you have 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.
TOWERSEY festival has some lovely big sign boards that they want to get up in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire so that passing traffic get an eyeful of Towersey magic. So that they don’t get into bother with land owners and highways they are looking for private sites for them.
These need to be peoples fences, gardens, fields on good busy roads ideally or at least somewhere with enough traffic to make it worthwhile.
The signs are about 1m sq. and festival folk will come and erect them and take them down (no fuss or bother).
They will be in the area doing this on July 1 and 2, so let Joe Heap, via joe@towerseyfestival.com know as soon as you can if you have a spot in mind. Do ask friends and neighbours, friendly local farmers, land and fence owners. In return there are some FREE Day tickets to give away for the use of the site. (Please note, the image here is NOT what the signs will look like !)
THAME Town Cricket Club’s First team maintained its great start to the season with a nail-biting, two-wicket win at Leighton Buzzard on Saturday, June 6. Thame’s opponents won the toss and elected to bat first, starting quickly and racing to 60 off 12 overs.
Hassam Mushtaq
However, tight spells from Sam Lachlan and Mike Higgs put Thame back in control. At the halfway point, Buzzard were 90 for 2 and Phil Watmore’s 52 helped steer them to 194 for 9 off their 53 overs. Thame’s Hassam Mushtaq ended up with figures of 4-56. In reply, the in-form Will Sutcliffe smashed 60 off 40 balls to get Thame to 77 off 11 overs, for the loss of no wicket.
However, Buzzard’s veteran bowler, Lee Selfe, then took 5-45, leaving Thame precariously set on 120 for 6. Thanks to Honey Garg (35) and Jarryd McPhee (35 not out) Thame reached the victory with 9 balls to spare.
CUMNOR TOO SUCCUMB TO THAME
Lying second in the Cherwell League 1st division, Thame then went on to entertain Cumnor at Church Meadow last Saturday, June 13, where, after another thrilling 2-wicket victory, Thame Firsts remain unbeaten and now stand clear at the head of the table.
Mike Higgs
In a rain-reduced game, one of only two to be played in the 1st division, Thame elected to field in a 33/30 over game. Sam Lachlan and Jarryd McPhee put pressure on the Cumnor openers and when spin twins Hassam Mushtaq (3-26) and captain Mike Higgs (6-61) were introduced, Cumnor were soon in trouble, with the score at 60 for 6.
However, D. Warmer’s 57 not out steered Cumnor to what looked like a below-par 138 all out in 28 overs, giving Thame five, much-needed extra overs. In response, Thame made a shaky start, finding themselves 30 for 4, but the new-found belief and spirit amongst the camp meant the team wanted to gamble and win.
Gritty knocks from Matt Furness (26) and Sam Lachlan (26 not out) steered Thame to victory in the 34th over.
Thame travel to Great Brickhill next Saturday, June 20, for a top-of-the-table clash, with both sides currently unbeaten.
