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Category: Thame news

  • ‘What a wonderful advert for Thame’

    Peter Lambert, the Mayor of Thame, shares a 'cheesey' jokes with stall holders, What's cooking, Thame
    Peter Lambert, the Mayor of Thame, shares a ‘cheesey’ jokes with stall holders, What’s cooking, Thame

    What a wonderful day Thame had last Saturday at the Food Festival where thousands from all parts of the country came to enjoy a veritable feast of tasty delights. Over 150 stall-holders presented Thame and its visitors with a celebration of exciting, delicious, and mouth-watering real food and drink. The Town was bracketed by two demonstration kitchens where TV chefs jostled with other skilled chefs to cook good, honest, real food recipes throughout the day. The celebrities signed their books and chatted to the customers. Champagne Masterclasses and wine tasting was provided free at the Thame Players Theatre.

    Visitors waited patiently for variously prepared delicious meals of meats, pizzas, wraps, breads, and confectioneries enjoying their food and drink while listening to music and chatting to friends.  A vast array of fresh foods, preserves, pickles, jams, fish, meats, cheeses etc could be purchased. 

    What a wonderful advert this was for visitors to Thame showcasing its own shops, cafes, pubs, architecture, history and above all its hospitality. Our visitors went away able to return to Thame to shop, to site see and to relax in a venue that they experienced as friendly and welcoming.

    Congratulations to those who organised and provided Thame with one of its most memorable and enjoyable days in many a long time.

    Andy Gunn
    Ormond Road
    Thame

     

  • Appeal for witnesses to Haddenham crash

    At about 5.05pm on Tuesday (24/9) a black Toyota RAV4 was in collision with a black Peugeot 307 at the crossroads of Standbridge Road junction with Woodways causing extensive damage to both cars.

    Police Tape
    Police Tape

    Three occupants of the Toyota were extracted from their vehicle by the fire brigade and taken to Stoke Mandeville Hospital with chest and leg pains.

    The three occupants of the Peugeot were also taken to Stoke Mandeville for their injuries which were not life threatening.

    Air Ambulance attended together with two Bucks fire engines, four ambulances and two roads policing units to assist the injured persons and conduct a full investigation.

    PC Liz Johnson, of Roads Policing, Milton Keynes said: “We urge frequent road users through Haddenham to take extra care when travelling through the village and to note that we will be conducting road safety checks in the near future.”

    If you have any information, particularly if you saw the collision or the events leading up to it, please call PC Johnson via the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

    If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. (opens new window)

    No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

    Join us on www.thamesvalleyalert.co.uk/ (opens new window) (opens new window) to receive local crime and safety messages.

  • All aboard! Take the FREE park & ride to the food festival

    IF you’re planning a visit to The Thame Food Festival this year, why not let someone else take the strain? The organisers of the event have arranged a special free park and ride service from just outside town, so that visitors can leave the car behind while they enjoy all the tasty treats on offer.

    A fleet of traditional red London Routemaster double-decker buses has been laid on to ferry festival-goers to and from the Thfood festival veg basket edited (266x300)ame Showground, allowing them to make the most of their day out without having to worry about where to park. 

    Buses leave every few minutes from the showground. If driving from out of town, just look out for the Thame Showground which will be signposted from all approaches to Thame, or pop the address (The Thame Showground, Kingsey Road, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3JL) into your sat-nav and let TomTom do the rest.

    Park the car for free all day and then hop on board. Visitors can enjoy a bird’s eye view over the countryside from the top deck whilst travelling the short distance into town and back again, and find plenty of room for all those foodie purchases too!

    More travel information online:

    http://www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/2013/08/park-and-ride-service-from-thame-showground/

    MORE Festival  information

    A road closure will be in place on Saturday, September 28,  in the centre of town to make way for the annual Food Festival. This year sees even more stalls plus celebrity appearances from Tom Kerridge, Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi and Festival Ambassador, Raymond Blanc OBE. The first cooking demonstration kicks off at 10am with a full line-up of talks and demonstrations running until 6pm.  Festival programmes are available from the Information Centre.

    Full programme and lists of stalls on the Thame Food Festival website

  • Town centre webcam invitation to Thame businesses

    A Thame business which attracted thousands of viewings to a ‘webcam’ it set up of Thame fair, is doing the same for the food festival, and hoping to raise funds for a local charity at the same time.

    webcam (400x294)Pentangle Internet Ltd, based in the town centre, is offering local businesses the opportunity to advertise on the webcam page for just £25, and will donate all the proceeds to the Thame Youth Memorial Fund.

    For more information, visit Pentangle’s website:http://www.pentangle.co.uk/articles/thame-food-festival-webcam

  • Two apprenticeship honours for Thame

    Lydia Feasey and Tony Shepherd
    Lydia Feasey and Tony Shepherd

    A THAME apprentice and a Thame business are celebrating this week after scooping top honours at the Thames Valley Apprenticeship Awards last Thursday (20/09). 

    Lydia Feasey won the Advanced Apprentice of the Year award and Thame-based DAF Trucks were awarded the Large Employer of the Year title at a ceremony held at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. Both will go onto the national finals at the NEC in Birmingham in November. 

    Fun and rewarding experience 

    Lydia, 22, a former student at Lord Williams’s school in Thame, who is in the fourth Year of her apprenticeship at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, was delighted to win and is looking forward to the finals. She said: “It is a great feeling to have won the Advanced Apprentice Award for the Thames Valley. I have put in a lot of effort and worked hard throughout my apprenticeship and in return it’s been a very fun and rewarding experience.”

    Tony Shepherd from DAF Trucks was pleased that his company had been recognised for the work it does with apprentices. He said: “Winning this award is a reflection of the great work that goes into the DAF Apprentice Programme. It is particularly rewarding to be recognised this way at a time when we are currently reviewing all aspects of the programme in line with our continuous improvement philosophy.”

    Remarkable achievement 

    Paddy Patterson, from Oxfordshire County Council, who leads the Oxfordshire Apprenticeships group, said: “There are around 50,000 Apprentices across the Thames Valley, so to be nominated either individually or as a company is a remarkable achievement. To have category winners from Oxfordshire is an excellent advertisement to prospective candidates and employers about the quality of the Apprenticeship scheme locally.”

    SOURCE: Press release

  • Quiz night helps with final push for Youth Memorial funds

    DESPITE the occasional gremlin in the PA system, a quiz in aid of the Thame Youth Memorial, proved to be a very entertaining night, raising over £400 towards the final stages of raising the funds to build the memorial.

    Peter Butt, Chair of the Thame Youth Memorial Trust, was obviously delighted with the result of the quiz which was held at Barley Hill School, in Thame. He said: “Thanks to everyone who joined us for the quiz night last Friday. We raised just over £400, thanks to the generous bunch that turned out and all the raffle prizes donated by attendees and local businesses.

    “A special ‘thanks’ to Sue Boyle and her quiz adjudicating team who run these quizzes for groups such as ours to help raise funds, volunteering their time. I can’t thank them enough, on behalf of all the groups they have helped over the years and continue to do so.” 

    The Thame Youth Memorial will be officially opened by the Mayor of Thame, Peter Lambert, on Sunday morning, September 29, starting at 11.30am with street entertainment, and the opening ceremony itself from 12 noon.

    PHOTO: To winning team, Brains of Britain 67: (L to R) Simon Fiddler, Mike Dyer, Quiz Mistress – Sue Boyle, Nicola Dixon, Alison Champken Woods and Nigel Champken Woods

  • Chiltern Rail top for punctuality

    Chiltern Railway's train at Haddenham & Thame parkway
    Chiltern Railway’s train at Haddenham & Thame parkway

    LOCAL commuters travelling from Haddenham and Thame Parkway stations and Princes Risborough might complain about overcrowding, but at least the trains are on time!

    Chiltern Railways has been named top rail operator for ‘right time train punctuality’ for the tenth period running, according to the latest research released on Friday by Network Rail.

    The official rail industry figures, which are based on the percentage of services that arrive within a minute of their scheduled time, revealed that 87.8% of Chiltern Railways trains were on time against a national average of 67.4%, placing the train operator miles ahead of companies such as Virgin and London Midland.

    Andrew Munden, Operations and Safety Director at Chiltern Railways said: “We are delighted to maintain our position at the top of the league table for the tenth consecutive period running. This really does demonstrate the dedication from our staff across the business to ensure our passengers have a punctual service and a first class experience.”

    For more information and to view the new performance data, visit: http://www.networkrail.co.uk/about/performance/

  • Thame Guinness Squash record is in the book!

    guinness

    IT’S OFFICIAL! The Guinness Book of Records, 24 Hour Squash record, smashed by two veteran players from Thame, in 2012, is actually in the latest book – on page 250!

    Guy Fotherby and Darren Withey played 475 games of competitive Squash in 31 hrs 19 mins and 4 secs, at Racquets Fitness Centre, in Thame, beating the then verified standing record of 29 hrs and 55mins. 

    To celebrate the official publication of the event, Racquets Fitness Centre is offering a free week’s full gold membership to anyone who purchases the Guinness Book of Records from The Book House in Thame. 

    Hundreds of people followed the event on twitter. Professional Squash coach, Darren, who is 47 years-old, has coached and played for Racquets Fitness Centre. 52 year-old Guy is Director of Marketing & Development for Meritus Hotels & Resorts, who are one of the main sponsors of the club’s first team, and pledged £100 for every hour of the World Record attempt.

    So far, the two record-breakers have raised almost £9,000 through sponsorship for their two charities, Cancer Research and the Chiltern Centre for Disabled Children, both of which are close to the hearts of both players. Their target is £10,000 and more donations and pledges are still coming in. 

    Simon Martin from Racquets Fitness Centre, who helped organise and oversee the event, said: “They both were stiff the next day but as they had excellent training advice, have stretched and loosened muscles affected through massage and stretching and working in the gym.” A sweepstake was held at the beginning of the challenge for the best guess at the total number of games played. It was won Personal trainer, Nick Wynd’s mum, (he was substituted by Darren after damaging his wrist during training for the event) who guessed 433. Jenny Wynd generously put the £120 cash prize in the chiltern centre charity box. 

  • The August List to feature at First Thursday Music Club

    august_list_band (274x300)

    THE August List, one of Thame’s FTMC’s favourite acts, is returning to take the feature slot on Thursday, October 3, at The First Thursday Music Club at The James Figg in Thame. Hailing from Dorset and now residing in a small barn perched on a hill in Oxfordshire, The August List are a boy/girl two-piece who play ‘backwards country/porch folk’ with a startling rock ‘n’ roll attitude.

    Acoustic guitars, kick drums, harmonicas and their voices are deployed with verve and passion on songs that take in life, love, death and making merry. After the success of their debut EP ‘Handsome Skin’ which received play on both local BBC Oxford radio and BBC 6 Music, they are looking forward to releasing their second EP this Autumn. 

    FTMC has become the regular monthly music event in Thame – and it’s FREE! A typical night includes around a dozen different acts ranging from singer song writers through to full bands. Round up some friends, get along, and have a great night out. Anyone can play just by signing up at the venue from 7.45pm. The music starts at 8.15pm. 

    Check out the club on Facebook “The First Thursday Music Club” or at: 
    www.firstthursdaymusicclub.com where you can find more information, including contact numbers and addresses for the organisers.

    Useful links for The August List:
    www.facebook.com/theaugustlistmusic

    https://soundcloud.com/theaugustlist

    https://twitter.com/theaugustlist‎

  • Sign up for half term kids’ Squash Camp

    OCTOBER squash camp – For juniors aged 6 – 13 yrs; at Raquets Fitness Centre, Thame. Fun and tuition developing Tabletennis, Squash & Racketball skills.

    October 29 & 30, 2013; From 10 am to 3pm. Application and full details on the website: http://www.racquets-fitness-centre.com/menus/main.asp?PN=Events