THAME’S MP, John Howell, conducted a scratch choir in a choral evensong on Saturday (15/11), to help the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) fund-raising campaign for its Jubilee Year.
The evensong was held at Great Milton church, a church which had received funds from OHCT to deal with death watch beetle. Afterwards, John said: “Singers from different communities across the Deanery rose to the challenge and the service was much appreciated by the special congregation which came together to celebrate with the choir. I think they were a bit surprised to find their MP conducting.”
He added: “Many churches have small congregations of increasingly elderly members. OHCT does a great job in helping with the restoration of many churches and I am pleased to have supported it.”
Refreshments after the service were provided by Nicholas and Philippa Wills.
A THAME building firm is patting itself on the back this week, after one of its young employees was chosen as Southern Counties Regional Apprentice of the Year, in the prestigious Master Builder of the Year Awards 2015.
Zak Lafford, who works for Stuart Bar CDR Ltd, Thame, was rightly proud of his achievement and said afterwards: “It’s a great achievement. I feel proud to have won the award and feel like my hard work and dedication has started to pay off, especially in an industry that’s not always full of compliments and praise; this is the best type of ‘pat on the back’ you can get.
“Working for Stuart Barr has played a massive part in me getting where I am today. They have helped every step of the way, giving me the time, patience and training needed to develop my skills which has allowed me to reach the high quality of work that Stuart Barr provides.”
Zak’s boss, Stuart Barr himself, said: “Zak has always shown the highest levels of commitment and been keen to extend his knowledge. As well as producing the highest quality of work, he is punctual and presentable with great communication skills, which is exactly what is required to give great customer service in our industry. Within the Stuart Barr group of companies, investing in young people is core to our business and we take on at least two apprentices each year across our business interests of construction, joinery and kitchens.
“We are delighted with Zak’s achievement – he is a great role model for the other apprentices following in his footsteps. and we wish him the best of luck for the finals in February.”
The national winners of the 12th Master Builder of the Year Awards will be announced by TV presenter and architecture enthusiast Charlie Luxton who will present the coveted accolades at a high profile ceremony at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, on February 18, 2015.
The awards represent a nationwide search by the FMB to find the best builders in the UK. Nominations must come from a satisfied client, and builders are judged on their technical ability together with their customer service skills and attention to detail, along with the project’s end result.
The finalist for Apprentice of the Year will receive a cheque for £1,000.
A top-notch ‘Q Guild’ butcher from Thame has struck gold in the prestigious Smithfield Awards.
Tom Newitt, of Newitt & Sons, with Matthew Fort
M Newitt & Sons, of High Street, Thame, won four gold awards – for their Green Back Bacon, their Smoked Back Bacon, their Long Crendon Black Bacon and their Steak, Ale & Stilton Pie.
A total of 479 products from 54 Q butchers nationwide, virtually half of the national membership, were entered for the eight categories in this year’s Smithfield Awards, the annual national product evaluation competition. They were judged by independent panels of food and meat industry experts.
Awards were announced and presented last Thursday (13/11) at the Butchers Hall in Smithfield, London, ancestral home of the Q Guild, by Matthew Fort, the food and drink editor at the Guardian for over a decade, author of several award-winning books on food, and one of the expert judges on the popular TV series, The Great British Menu.
Mathew Fort spoke of his life-long admiration for butchers, adding: “There’s something about the skill, watching butchers break up a carcass with their calm assurance; it’s like watching a magician at work; it’s like the finest theatre. The knife coming down, even sharpening the knife – the noise and the crunch when the cleaver comes down with such precision. To someone like me this is absolute magic.
“I’ve spent many hours watching butchers going about their business and every time there’s something to be learnt. I’ve never had a serious conversation with a butcher where I haven’t learnt something from that conversation.
“I think the future can be extremely positive for the Q Guild butchers; the emphasis on quality, precision and wisdom – you can’t put too high a price on that.”
Q Guild national chairman, West Yorkshire butcher, Brindon Addy, said: “Smithfield Awards are among the meat industry’s most esteemed and cherished accolades, recognising and rewarding both product quality and innovation, at the same time reflecting the skills continually demonstrated by our members – Great British butchers one and all.”
Thame United eventually overcame visitors North Leigh United to book their place in the next round of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup and a trip to Easington Sports.
After a slow start to the game, it was the visitors who opened the scoring after eight minutes when, following some confusion in the home defence, a powerful shot from eight yards beat Cockerill in the Thame goal. United were, at this stage, unable to find any real penetration and their first effort on goal did not arrive until the 20th minute when a drive from distance by Ollie Lynch was saved by the visiting keeper. Indeed, it could have been worse five minutes later, when some indecision between Calvin Evans and Cockerill allowed Seacole to nip-in, only to see his lobbed effort go wide.
However, United were on terms after 29 minutes when a through ball from Lynch found Dan West 25 yards from goal and with the keeper coming out to challenge, West lobbed the ball into an empty net. United were then indebted to Cockerill two minutes before the break, pushing a shot from ten yards wide of the goal when a goal looked the more likely outcome.
United came out the stronger of the two sides in the second half, and went close on 50 minutes through a Dan Jones volley. Jon Coverley then saw a goal-bound effort cleared off the line, before Marcus Mealing struck the bar from a free kick on 60 minutes, with Ellis Hercules scoring from the follow-up, only for the goal to be disallowed for an earlier offence. There followed another clearance off the line by the visitors before, on 81 minutes, a Jones free kick was headed on to the bar by Mealing. Three minutes later and United, following a goalmouth scramble, struck a post, but were unable to find the net.
And so the game moved in to Extra Time with United enjoying the majority of the possession but unable to break down the visitors, who were reduced to 10 men five minutes in to the second period. With no change to the score line, the game went to penalties. After both sides had scored four from five penalties, it was in to sudden death, with Cockerill saving the seventh penalty to give United a chance. Up stepped Luke Ricketts who sent the keeper the wrong way to settle the tie. Final score: 1 – 1.
A group of Thame residents is planning a campaign to oppose a proposal for a Tesco store and petrol station on the outskirts of the town, because they fear its effects on them and on town centre businesses.
A recent Tesco store in Newmarket
Chair of the East Thame Residents Association, Bob Austin, told Thamenews.net: “Our reasons for opposing the Tesco development- subject to confirmation at a general meeting- are based on of its potentially adverse impact on residents in the surrounding area as well as on the prosperity of the town centre itself. In particular:
1. The DAF site is surrounded on three sides by residential dwellings and the scale of the development would seriously affect the quality of life of those people living there. The superstore would be open from 7am to 11pm- we presume the petrol station would be the same (?)- and the noise and light pollution could be a serious problem. The latter would obviously be exacerbated by delivery vehicles. Traffic on the bypass could be problematic and would need to be carefully managed.
2.The DAF site is zoned for employment use only and would require a ‘change of use’. The latter normally requires a one year period of advertising to establish a justification for change. Given the uncertainties imposed by the Local Plan 2031 on housing numbers for Thame, the site should not be waved through for change of use automatically before future needs are clear.
3.The building of a superstore would be contrary to the Thame Neighbourhood Plan (TNP). Page 28 of that document states: “Thame is a small town and any major shopping development outside the town centre would be likely to undermine the town’s vitality and the viability of town centre shops”. These words are a confirmation of an independent study undertaken when Tesco previously sought an edge of town superstore.
4.The TNP identified an additional food (or convenience) retail need of only 600 sq. metres (6500 sq. feet) by 2027. The new superstore would be six and a half times that size. As a community we should address need not just convenience.
5. We are concerned at the potential to replace the employment land at DAF by other sites around the town. The additional land (not in the TNP) given to the new warehousing on Howland Road was in part justified as replacing the employment land taken by the ‘permitted development’ conversion of the old Angus Fire Armour Offices into flats.
“Any decision on the DAF site development should not undermine the well-being of residents or of town centre itself. Thame is justly proud of its ability to resist the retail blight that has hit other towns and should continue to do so.
“The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) emphasises that the promotion of town centre vitality must be the core policy. We would urge that Thame Town Council ensure this is the case by commissioning its own study, independent of that required of Tesco, and supporting the conclusions of the Neighbourhood Plan. The latter may bend but it should not be allowed to break.”
Editor: A response from Thame Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council is awaited
THE Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is critical of the progress made by copyright collecting societies and wants to see a more transparent service for small firms wanting to play music. Collecting societies protect the rights of intellectual property in industries such as music, the media and design but the FSB suggests many small businesses are confused by the way the rules and regulations work.
New research from the FSB found as many a quarter of FSB members with a relationship with a copyright collecting society (24 per cent) had made a complaint of some sort. The findings also show the lack of progress towards achieving greater transparency and simplicity of charges over the past 12 months. Without such progress, trust amongst small businesses in the current system will be undermined.
The firms questioned also thought that copyright collecting societies had not improved their understanding of the needs of small businesses. However, small firms did acknowledge some improvement to joint working between PRS for Music and Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). Businesses also welcomed improvements to the accuracy of information used by collection societies.
Later this month collecting societies are expected to publish a response to an independent review of their codes of conduct as laid out by their self-regulatory body the British Copyright Council.
Previous FSB surveys have indicated most small businesses who have a relationship with collecting societies are licensees of both PRS and PPL. Two per cent of FSB members have membership of other collecting societies, including of PRS, the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS).
David Knowles Leak, Thames Valley Regional Chairman of Federation of Small Businesses, said: “An unexpected demand for licence payments to allow you to play music in your business can be a very unpleasant shock to some small businesses, and the industry should be sensitive in how they approach the issue. For trust to be built, they need to make sure they are very clear on why a licence is needed and completely transparent on how charges are calculated.
“Although collecting societies have a strong code of conduct in place, we are not convinced they are making enough progress in meeting their own standards. This research should be seen as a warning sign that without faster change, small business will start seeking stronger regulation of the industry.”
A Deputy District Scout Commissioner for Oxfordshire has been jailed for fraud after fiddling the books over a payment for the hire of Thame Show ground.
Colin Arter (Image courtesy of The Oxford Mail)
Oxford Crown Court heard Colin Arter, of Spruce Drive, Bicester, told that he had ‘set a terrible example’ by taking the money from Oxfordshire Scouting, where he had volunteered for more than 25 years, and that by helping himself to £18,200 of the movment’s money he had committed a ‘grotesque breach of trust’.
The court heart that Arter had requested £10,000 for a deposit to book the Thame Show Ground for the county’s One World camp last summer, and £4,600 to hire a marquee. But he provided his own bank details and those of a friend he owed money to, and the sums were deposited to their accounts. Arter was caught when the Scouts tried to recover their deposits and when questioned he also admitted claiming a further £3,600.
His defence lawyer told the court that his client had run into financial difficulties and ‘had not been himself for some time’. Arter had, he said, at one time ‘found himself standing precariously on a bridge over the motorway’.
Arter was jailed for 14 months after admitting one count of fraud by abuse of position between June 1, 2013, and March 27, 2014 this year.
ST JOSEPH’S Catholic Primary School in Thame rose to the occasion to mark this year’s Remembrance Day with a range of activities to commemorate all those who have been affected by conflict.
Prior to Tuesday, November 11, the children learnt about the significance of Remembrance Day and recorded their findings on large paper poppies to form a red poppy display in each classroom.
On Remembrance Day itself the older children stood in attendance at Thame’s war memorial at 11am and attended a special assembly. Later in the day, they worked in small groups of mixed ages to produce special ‘prayers of peace’.
“We feel it’s incredibly important to teach the children about both past and current conflict and its impact, as well as nurture their respect and understanding on something they have little experience of,” said teacher Fiona Dyer.
The children also undertook various writing tasks ranging from letter and descriptive writing following a visit to Thame’s war memorial by the school’s 7-11 year olds, as well as an imaginative piece by the younger pupils describing what aliens would see looking down onto Earth on Remembrance Day.
The upper years also made clay poppies inspired by the poppy installation at the Tower of London and had the opportunity to ask questions, which they had prepared as a part of their studies, to a visiting member of the British Legion.
CARDS for Good Causes, the UK’s largest multi-charity Christmas card organisation, opened its latest pop-up shop in Thame today (12/11).
Photo by Nick White Photography
The Mayor of Thame, Jeanette Matelot Green, pictured with Janet West, the Shop Manager, and three of the volunteer staff, officially declared the shop open at Christchurch, in the Upper High Street, Thame. It will be open from 10am to 4pm, every Monday to Saturday, until Friday, December 5.
The Charity Christmas card shop is staffed by volunteers and sells Christmas cards for more than 25 national and local charities, including Scannappeal, Thame Cottage Hospital, Breakthrough Breast Cancer and Thames Valley Chiltern Air Ambulance.
Janet West, Manager of Thame shop, said: “Not only are Christmas cards an important source of funding for charities, they also help to raise awareness of their work. By popping into the Thame shop, anyone can choose from a fantastic array of charity cards and stock up on all the Christmas essentials, such as wrapping paper and gift tags.”
In the past five years, charities have received more than £20 million from Cards for Good Causes – representing at least 70p in every pound out of which charities had to pay for the production and distribution of their Christmas cards and any VAT.
THE TV personality and former Atomic Kitten, Kerry Katona, will be turning on the Christmas lights at Thame’s Santa Convention on Friday, December 5.
Kerry Katona
Kerry has regularly been spotted in Thame since her move to the area two years ago. A spokesperson for Thame Town Council who is organising the Christmas event, said: “We are delighted to welcome Kerry and her family to this highlight in Thame’s calendar. Kerry will be flipping the switch at approximately 7pm with the help of the winner of this year’s Santa Hunt.” (Spot all 24 Cool Santas around Thame and you could be in with a chance! LINK HERE for more information).
Before the the big switch-on, there’ll be lots of other activities, stalls and entertainment in the town centre from 3.30pm, and to really get in the ‘Santa Convention’ mood, everyone is encouraged to dress as a Santa character.
The festive fun doesn’t stop after the big switch on event on Friday. The next day is Small Business Saturday, a national event which aims to ‘support, inspire and promote’ small businesses, and from 10am there’ll be stalsl, attractions and events going on around the Town Hall and Butter Market areas, including a Frozen sing-a-long, Racquets fitness test, mulled wine and a hog roast. And, for music fans, live bands will be playing outside Vintage and Modern Guitars in the Shambles in the Buttermarket.
After all that eating and drinking, what better way to burn off some of those naughty-but-nice treats than to enter the ‘Santa Dash’ Fun Run in aid of the Florence Nightingale Hospice on the Sunday, December 7. Register to take part on the website – www.fnhospice.org.uk – or sign yourself up at their Christmas stall on Friday or Saturday.
The evensong was held at Great Milton church, a church which had received funds from OHCT to deal with death watch beetle. Afterwards, John said: “Singers from different communities across the Deanery rose to the challenge and the service was much appreciated by the special congregation which came together to celebrate with the choir. I think they were a bit surprised to find their MP conducting.”
