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  • Thame scooterists get a soaking for charity

    THE  autumnal, seasonal weather, impending dark clouds and the sudden onslaught of rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of approximately 68 Scooterists and pillion passengers who met in Thame on Sunday, October 13,  for the Red Kites Scooter Club (Thame) Inter County Ride Out (ICRO).

    Thame Red Kites Scooter Club prepare to leave for their ‘rideout’ in the rain

    Throughout the year, various clubs in neighbouring counties take it in turns to host a monthly rideout, with scootering friends and buddies travelling from Beds, Bucks, Herts, Oxon, Northants and other surrounding counties to catch up, share news, show their Scooters and discuss technical and engine matters – amongst other things.

    Meeting outside the Swan Hotel was the perfect location; with plenty of room to park the Scooters (the fair had left only hours earlier) and everyone soon warmed up and dried out in the cosy pub, run by the ever helpful Rich and Nic – who along with their happy staff kept up a steady and speedy supply of hot coffee/tea and bacon baps – hugely welcome!! We can’t thank you enough…. http://www.theswanhotelthame.co.uk/

    The rideout departed at 12.00 noon (or thereabouts) and originally had been practiced and routed to take in the delights of all the surrounding villages before ending up in Great Kimble (mere miles away) and originally, we had thought the scenic scoot from Thame via Milton Common, Tetsworth, Postcombe, Aston Rowant, Kingston Blount, Chinnor and Longwick would be ideal…on a dry day !! However, after numerous discussions regarding the state of the roads (very slippy) further rain clouds and the distance that some Scooterists had already travelled (and some were drenched – despite the waterproof protection) it was sensibly decided to head directly to our destination pub; The Swan at Great Kimble and forewarn them, that we were on the way…cold, wet, and desperately seeking further refreshments.

    The Swan at Great Kimble had not long been taken over by new Landlord Alex and his welcoming and friendly staff – and what a fantastic welcome we received. The marquee had been left standing in the beer garden, following their successful Beer Festival only the weekend before, and even better – the heating was on – full blast – with plenty of room and pegs to hang up soggy wet waterproofs and jackets. Furthermore, the BBQ was in full swing and the marquee bar and inside bar was coping extremely well with thirsty scooterists and their families – I dare you to try their hot chocolate with whipped cream…and…mini marshmallows – divine ! Scootering tunes were playing in the background and everyone had a chance to mingle and chat, warm up, enjoy the food and have lots of friendly banter before anybody began heading home…some only needing to travel a short distance, with others a couple of hours journey away, and one intrepid scooterist  heading to Yorkshire that very afternoon! http://www.kimbleswan.co.uk/

    A successful donation took place for Aimee’s Fund – with all proceeds going to Keech Hospice, on behalf of the Varney Family, which is a very close and loving cause to many of the Scooterists present, made even more poignant on this particular day, as Aimee’s Dad and younger sister took part in the rideout and were warmly greeted by good friends.  We raised £73.51 on the day.  At each ICRO hosted by other scooter clubs over the last few months, a collection of loose change and generous donations have been made and the Just Giving fund has just passed the £18,000 mark – which is a loving testament to Aimee and her family and Fiancee. Donations can still be made on this link: http://www.justgiving.com/Laura-Varney2

    We also sold raffle tickets on behalf of Wasps Scooter Club (London) who are once again raising money for the British Legion Poppy Appeal to coincide with their annual Ride of Remembrance taking place in London on Sunday, November 10, with all proceeds going directly towards the Poppy Fund. The  prize is a restored GP200 Lambretta,  supplied by AF. These tickets sold extremely well…who wouldn’t want a ‘Lammy’ for Xmas – and given the golden opportunity for just a £5 raffle ticket – Billy Bargain !

    In addition, the Red Kites were also selling tickets for their End of Season ‘ Do’ which is again taking place this year at Thame Snooker Club  on Saturday, November 23, with DJs Mike Collier and Dave Deans spinning the discs. Tickets are £5 each with a charity raffle currently being organised and arranged. This year, the club are donating all raffle ticket sales to two charity choices; Thames Valley and Chiltern Air Ambulance  which is hugely supported and recognised, especially by those who regularly travel on two wheels, and Thomley Hall Centre  a local recreational facility for disabled children and their families and friends. We are hoping once again to “sell out” and cannot thank the snooker club and staff enough for their continuous support to our club.

    Overall,  a wonderful and very happy day (despite the British Weather !) with all scooter riders safely heading back to the warmth of  home and making the most of the last few scootering days left available to us  before the Autumn/Winter season keeps the majority of us off the road (on two wheels at least). The free time will give us plenty of opportunity and time to spend the winter months tinkering and sorting the scooters out for the new 2014 Scootering season ahead. Thank you to everybody who braved the weather and joined us – with huge thanks for all who took part in donations and purchases for charity – we salute you !

    Contributed by Serena Chamberlain

  • Firefighters swap pumps for the pool and win Thame Swimathon

    A TEAM from the Thame Fire Station are celebrating after winning the second Thame Swimathon, which took place at the Thame Leisure Centre on Sunday, October 13, part of the lasting legacy of the London Olympics and Paralympics. 
     
     
     Image Courtesy of Nick White Photography
     
    Over 70 people of various ages swam in teams of six for one hour. Groups from Thame SAFARI (Self Advocacy for Adults who Require Independence), Racquets, Thame Swimming Club, Thame Town Council, Thame Fire Brigade, Chinnor Kettlebells, Haddenham Super-ducks and others were represented by enthusiastic swimmers. The swimmers were honoured by Peter Lambert, Mayor of Thame who, together with Jeannette Matelot, President of the Thame Rotary Club, awarded the teams with their medals. 
     
     
    Jeannette Matelot Green, President of the Rotary Club of Thame, said: “This year’s Thame Rotary Swimathon was an exciting event from start to finish – although I never tipped a toe into the pool! From our young swimmers through to our Thame Firefighters, not forgetting the Thame Town Council team, it was a fun-filled day which also raised a lot of money for our local Thame charities.”
     
    Marius Ciortan, who chairs the Thame Rotary Swimathon steering group added: “Our Swimathon this year went from strength to strengt. We had 45% more teams than last year and we raised at least 30% more funds than in 2012. All teams had a fabulous time and helped raise, so far, over £2,000 for charities for which the Rotary Club of Thame is very grateful. However, the moneys continue to  come in as the on-line fundraising did not stop and some teams are still busy fundraising.”
     
    The team from the Thame Fire Station swam the highest number of lengths – 174, being followed by the two teams from the Thame Swimming Club.
     
    Marious added: “The Thame Rotary Swimathon has now become a traditional community event in Thame, so look out for details next year.  Our thanks go to our sponsors, club members, friends and relatives, but especially to the teams of swimmers from Thame and neighbouring villages without whom this event could not have happened. “
     
    For more information about Rotary Club of Thame and to get in touch,  visit www.thame.rotaryweb.org or ring on 07764 85 49 49.

  • It’s child’s play! New toy shop to open in Thame

    THE owners of a new toy shop in Thame, are keeping their fingers crossed that all will be ready to open the store on Saturday, October 19.

    The old Domesco store in High Street, Thame, soon to be re-opened as Wally’s Toy Shop

    The toy shop, to be called Wally’s Toy Shop, is at 97 High Street, formerly Domesco.  The owners are aiming to open on Saturday, and hope to be fully functional in time for the half-term school holidays. 

     

  • Road Traffic incident A418

    TRAFFIC is reported to be gridlocked along the A418, Aylesbury to Thame road, due to a RTI near The Bottle and Glass, Gibralter.

    No further information at the present time. Contact: editor@thame.net if you have any details or an update.

  • Red carpet movie premiere for village school hall

    A glamourous, champagne reception and ‘movie premiere’ is being planned to raise funds for a village school near Thame, in need of a hall.

    A scene from Jadoo, Amit Gupta’s latest film

     

    South Oxfordshire-based Feature Film Director, Amit Gupta, will be screening his latest movie ‘Jadoo’ at a red carpet event to raise money for Aston Rowant, his daughter’s primary school’s new hall project.  The red-carpet event will be compered by BBC Television Presenter Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes, also an Aston Rowant mum.

    Co-starring Madhur Jaffrey, Jadoo is a British-made comedy about two feuding brothers and their curry restaurants in Leicester. The film has just finished its UK general release following its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival.

     QUOTE: The Express – “Buoyant and beautifully shot, the picture is a celebration of food and family life that adroitly sidesteps many cultural clichés.”
     
    The BBC’s Mark Kermode – “I watched the whole thing with a big smile on my face.”
     

    Jadoo’s classification is 12a, running time – 84 minutes. Local celebrities will be invited as well as cast members. There will canapes and a licensed bar. Popcorn and snacks will also be for sale and the organisers are aiming to have some Bollywood style dancers. 

     Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes explained: “Aston Rowant Primary is a small school in South Oxfordshire with around 85 pupils but it currently doesn’t have a hall. The children can’t do PE if it’s raining and any plays or performances have to be squashed into a classroom. It’s hoped the money raised will be enough to buy a stage and sports equipment for the new school hall due to be built in Spring 2014.
     
    “This event has been very kindly supported by the following organisations – The professional screening is by Kandya Ltd and it’s hoped that Waitrose will supply the champagne and popcorn. Chinnor Indian restaurant, Duo Chef, are providing the canapes and Haddenham Carpets are giving us the red carpet. “
     
    The event will be held at Kingston Blount Village Hall hall which holds 120 people and tickets will cost £15. This includes a glass of champagne and canapes. Tickets will be available to the wider public in a couple of weeks, once they have been made available to the school for a week. 
     

     

  • ‘No illegal workers here’ says restaurant manager

    THE Manager of a Thame restaurant, raided by Immigration Enforcement Officers last week, has insisted that the two men arrested were not employees of his.

    Shek Basher, the Manager of The Star and Garter in East Street, Thame,  told Thame.Net: “These two guys were only visitors here. They had arrived earlier in the week and were staying up stairs.

    “The Star and Garter has a very good reputation in the town and I would not want to destroy that by employing illegal people! I am still paying the fine when the restaurant was fined two or three years-ago so of course, so of course I am very careful and do not employ illegal people to work here.”

     

    Related story

     

    The Star and Garter restaurant in Thame
    The Star and Garter restaurant in Thame

  • Thame restaurant raided by immigration enforement officers

     A restaurant in Thame is facing a potential fine of up to £20,000 following an operation by Home Office immigration enforcement officers last weekend.

     

     

    The Star and Garter Pub and restaurant in Thame

     Acting on intelligence, officers visited the Star and Garter, in Wellington Street, at 8.15pm on Wednesday, October 2. Individuals were questioned to check if they had the right to be in the UK. Two Bangladeshi men, one, aged 20, was working in breach of his visa conditions, the other, aged 25, having  overstayed his visa, were arrested.

     The 20-year-old was transferred to immigration detention pending his removal from the country. The other man was placed on immigration bail while his case is progressed. He too faces removal from the country if found to have no leave to remain.

    A spokesperson for the London and South Immigration Enforcement area said: “The restaurant was served a notice warning that a civil penalty of up to £10,000 per illegal worker found will be imposed unless proof is provided that the correct right-to-work checks were carried out. This is a potential total of £20,000.”

     These arrests in Thame came just a day before the Government published the new Immigration Bill, which carries a number of proposals to clamp down on illegal working and rogue employers. These include potentially doubling the maximum penalty for those using illegal labour to £20,000 and making it easier to enforce unpaid debts in the civil courts.

     The Government has said that it is also planning to simplify the right to work checks to make it easier for compliant employers to fulfil their responsibilities.

     Immigration Minister Mark Harper said: “Illegal working encourages illegal immigration, undercuts legitimate businesses and is often associated with exploitation. The existing illegal working regime isn’t simple enough; the penalties have remained the same since 2008 and don’t provide a sufficient deterrent; it is also too easy for companies to evade paying them.

     “New legislation will increase the penalties for rogue businesses, make it easier to enforce payment, while also making it easier for legitimate businesses to verify individuals’ right to work.”

     Employers unsure of the steps they need to take to avoid employing illegal workers can visit http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/preventing-illegal-working/ or they can call the Employers Helpline on 0300 123 4699.

     Anyone with information about suspected immigration abuse can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously or visithttp://www.crimestoppers-uk.org.

     No one from the restaurant was available to comment this afternoon, but we are expecting a response soon from the management.

  • Building bridges in Thame

    ONE of Thame’s most ambitious community projects, involving a large number of volunteers, was celebrated on Wednesday (09/10) yesterday, when the Mayor, Peter Lambert, helped to officially unveil a new bridge in the Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve.

    Dave Watkins, bridge designer and Town Mayor, Cllr Peter Lambert cutting the ribbon

    The Mayor congratulated and thanked all the volunteers involved for their ‘magnificent effort’  and particular thanked Dave Watkins who designed the bridge, and even went so far as to built a miniature model that was used when applying for grant funding, to demonstrate what was being proposed.

    The design obviously impressed the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment (TOE2), who supported the project with funds from Grundon Waste Management.  Fiona Danks from TOE2 attended the ribbon cutting ceremony formally opening the bridge, as did a number of Cuttle Brook Volunteers, members of the team that built the first bridge in 1995 and representatives from the town council.

    Dave Watkins, who designed the new bridge, payed tribute to the volunteers too saying:“This has been a huge achievement for the volunteers, with hundreds of hours of work going into this project.”

    More photos of the new bridge and information about the Cuttle Brook Volunteers can be found on the Cuttle Brook Facebook page.

     

  • Barley Hill school to close for teachers’ strike day

     

    IMAGE courtesy of Barley Hill School. Children from Barley Hill school, with Nick Clegg, when he visited the school.

     

    BARLEY Hill primary school, in Thame, will be closed for the day on October 17th, as some staff will be joining the regional strike by teachers’ unions, objecting to proposed changes to their working conditions, times and pensions.

  • Thame school to close for teachers’s strike

    LORD Williams’s school in Thame, will be closed for the day on October 17, because of a regional strike by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT Teaching Union.

    Image courtesy of http://www.lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk/

     

    Pupils at Lord Williams’s School, in Thame, will have an extra day off next Thursday when some of their teachers join a regional strike

    The South East is on of several regions striking on October 17. The others are the North East Government region, Cumbria, London and South West Government regions. The teachers say that they are not happy with proposals to ‘dismantle’  their national pay system, are against attacks on their working conditions – Michael Gove (Education Minister) wants a longer school day and year, and are against new pension proposals which they say will mean them “working for longer, paying more and getting less.”

    Michael Gove has been reported as saying: “The problem with industrial action is that parents suffer as their routines are disrupted, they have to get childcare – the poorest lose out most.  Children suffer because they lose valuable time with teachers, learning and achieving more. “

    The teachers’ unions have published an explanatory leaflet for parents about why they are striking.

    The Government’s education policies can be found on the Department For Education’s website