Category: Thame news

A MAN who was found dead in a burning car near Thame, has been identified as Simon Rowe, 53, from Haddenham Road, Kingsey, near Thame.

On September 2, the police were called after Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue attended a car fire in a lay-by on the A4129, Risborough Road between Longwick and Kingsey, at round 2.30am.

The fire crew had discovered a body in the car when they arrived at the scene and called the police.

The Aylesbury Coroner’s office has not yet ascertained the cause of the Mr Rowe’s death.

THAME is now officially twinned with the town of Sinaia in Romania, following a signing ceremony in Sinaia itself between the two town’s Mayor.

The Thame delegation to Sinaia last weekend included the Mayor of Thame, Nigel Champken Woods; David Bretherton, Chair of the Sinaia Twinning Committee; Margaret Bretherton, Alison Champken-Woods, Mayoress, and James Green who is Treasurer of the Twinning Committee.

Nigel Champken Woods said: “We had a fantastic time! The Romanian people were exceedingly friendly and generous. We visited Peles Castle, the Casino – a copy of Monte Carlo now a conference centre, the ski slopes above the town of Sinaia and took part in the ?Sinaia Forever? celebrations.

“Already school teachers from Thame have visited Sinaia and two of their teachers are coming to Thame later this month. We hope the twinning will go from Strength to Strength.

PHOTO: The Mayor of Sinaia, Vlad Opera, and the Mayor of Thame, Nigel Champden Woods signing the Twinning agreement between their two towns.

LOCALS and visitors from far and wide flocked into Thame on Saturday (Sept 29), where the fifth Thame Food Festival broke all records on a beautiful, autumn sunny day, drawing together the most bountiful of both the people’s spirits and the best regional produce.

The smiling faces were testament to the ethos, passion, quality and dedication that goes into this event and how it has been built up over the past five years by the festival team. ?We couldn?t have hoped for better,? said festival administrator, Alison Isherwood. ?Each year is a real step forward and it is wonderful to see all the food producers, chefs and visitors coming to our beautiful town.?

An estimated 20,000 visitors thronged to the event where the closure of all roads in the centre of the town for the first time, and a vastly expanded area for the 100 plus stallholders, itself a festival record, attracted an amazing line-up of events, exhibitors and celebrity chefs.

Raymond Blanc, Festival Ambassador, was there all day signing books and performing in the chef demo theatre with Kush from The Very Hungry Frenchman. Crowds gathered to watch and enjoy all the antics on stage from them and other local celebrity chefs with a highlight cook off at the end of the day between Aylesbury College and The Raymond Blanc Cookery School from Le Manoir aux Quat?Saisons.

Steve Love and Ian Craddock from headline sponsors, McCormick UK, demonstrated using a wealth of ingredients and the whole day was compered by comedian Chef, Jams Davies.

The Cookery Theatre line-up also fatured:

Beverley Glock: Splat Cooking, Laurie Gear of The Artichoke, Amersham; Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House;
the food festival’s Patron and local distination cafe owner and star of the Food Channel, Lotte Duncan; Marcus Bean; Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi; Nigel Rumsey of Rumsey’s Chocolaterie in Thame and Mark & Adam from The Raymond Blanc Cookery School v Hardings Restaurant.

?I wobbled home on my bike laden with goodies?; ?I did a 280 mile round trip to come along to this fantastic event?; ?last year broke all records for all the food festivals but this year has even broken that?, were but a smattering of quotes from festival-goers and stallholders alike.

The festival featured a Pop-up Pub run by Frazer Sutherland of The Thatch and James Figg free house in Thame, ?Sausage Making? run by The Thatch kitchen team, a talk on Artisan Ales and Wine Tasting for Beginners in The Stables of the James Figg by Susanna Forbes of DrinkBritain.com and a host of offerings for children, including Rumsey?s chocolate lollipop making, a smoothie bike, and Whizz Bang Foods from Splat Cookery.

“Thame Food Festival is set to grow and grow and is really helping to put Thame truly on the map!” Festival organiser and promotor, Sally Dorling of Marketing Foods.

?Thanks once again must go to our fantastic sponsors, headline sponsor McCormick UK, South Oxfordshire District Council, Rectory Homes, Aga, Sainsbury?s and The Thatch and The James Figg free house,? concluded Alison Isherwood.

A COMMEMORATIVE Blue Plaque was unveiled on Sunday, (30/09)to honour the musical achievements of Robin Gibb, formerly of the Bee Gees, who lived in Thame until his death in June.

The plaque was unveiled by Robin’s widow, Dwina Gibb and their son RJ, at the family’s home, The Prebendal, where hundreds of friends and admirers gathered to witness the event, organised by The Heritage Foundation, of which Robin was a past President.

The on-lookers included Peter Andre, DJ Mike Reid, Nicholas Parsons and Sir Tim Rice, who spoke of the ‘great honour’ he felt at having known Robin, and of being at the unveiling of the monument to his great contribution and achievements.

After the unveiling ceremony, a party was held for hundreds of guests who had paid

JUST two weeks to go before Thame’s third Arts and Literature festval launches and the excitement is mounting. Here’s a snap-shot to whet your appetite!

The Festival kicks off on Friday, October 12, with debut author, Liz Harris, who lives close to Thame, in Watlington. Her impressive first novel, The Road Back, is a love story set in the Himalayas. It is a beautiful tale of love, loss and tragedy against a backdrop of the Indian state of Ladekh. Liz will be talking about her novel and how she got started as a writer, in Thame Library at 1pm. This is a must for all aspiring writers, as well as lovers of romantic fiction.

Following on from Liz, at 3pm, will be Gillian Tindall, who is both an accomplished researcher and elegant writer, with the ability to present localised history in a fascinating and accessible way. Her latest book, Three Houses, Many Lives, follows the lives of a Cotswold vicarage, a former girls? boarding school in Surrey and a Jacobean house now buried in inner London. Learn about the eccentric and the strange as Gillian weaves amazing stories about the former residents of these houses. You can hear Gillian Tindall at the Players Theatre, on Friday, October 12, at 3pm.

Thomas Mogford and Kay Langdale are two young talented writers who are quickly making a name for themselves in the literary world. Thomas? book, Shadow of the Rock, has led critics to describe him as ‘a rare and enviable talent.’ Kay?s novel, Her Giant Octopus Moment, is her third novel and has received rave reviews. You can meet both writers at Christchurch on Saturday, October 13, at 10.30am.

If you like your Saturday mornings tinged with controversy, then Sonia Purnell?s biography, Boris, is for you. Come and listen to Sonia and decide for yourself who the real Boris really is! Christchurch, Saturday, October 13, 12 noon.

PHOTO: Liz Harris

LOOK who arrived at Jordans Courtyard this afternoon! Meet Doris the cow, one of a ‘herd’ of black and white plastic cows, spotted ‘grazing’ around the town.

Doris and her sisters will be used as mobile notice boards to publicise events like the food festival, the Arts and Literary Festival, the Carnival etc. They will have a blackboard hung around their necks on which posters and fliers can be temporarily applied.

The cows were the idea of 21st Century Thame, the town partnership, which raised the funding from a grant from LEADER and matched by South Oxfordshire District Council. Other 21st Century Thame projects aimed at supporting economic development in the town include such projects as The Thame Loyalty Card scheme, the Historic Trails Waymarkers and the Blue Plaques recently inaugurated around the town.

THE voluntary work of Oxfordshire social housing tenants is to be pitted against professional teams from Glasgow City Council and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Annual Report, which Soha residents produced for their landlord last year, has been shortlisted for The Guardian newspaper?s Public Services Award for best communications project.

Chief Executive Richard Peacock said: ?It is very exciting to see our residents? production in this illustrious company. Glasgow is one of the largest local authorities in the UK and the stock-in trade of the FCO is communicating British foreign policy. Soha, by contrast, is a mid-sized rural housing association. Over 100 tenants were involved in the creation of a watercolour which they called ‘Painting a Picture’.

“The scenes from a year in the life of Soha, which the watercolour featured, were the basis for articles the tenants wrote about Soha?s performance. Another group of tenants has just designed, written and photographed for the 2012 report.?

RECIPE: Plans for Thame Food Festival, the wonderful showcase celebration of regional food and drink, food and drink producers and retailers, are in the mixing bowl and will shortly be put in the oven on gas mark 4, to finally appear at 9am in Thame town centre on Saturday, September 29.

Ingredients:

8oz Alison Isherwood
1 Lotte Duncan (Unpeeled)
2 Generous Helpings of Frazer Sutherland
2 Drops of Imaging Essence
A Pinch of Sally Dorling

Method:

8oz of ex South Oxfordshire market towns co-coordinator Alison Isherwood doesn?t sound much, but a little of Alison goes a long way. From her previous role Alison knows nearly all the businesses in Thame and provides a vital link between them and the festival. Her outgoing and friendly manner allows her to sort issues out on the spot before they become trouble. Alison also has the vital role of overseeing stallholder applications for the festival and ?laying the table? – setting out the stallholder plan.

Anyone who knows the bubbly and irrepressible Debbie Jones from food photography company, Imaging Essence of Aylesbury, would be amazed that you could contain her in two drops. Debbie adds huge amounts of energy and enthusiasm to the recipe as well as her expert eye as official festival photographer; capturing all those amazing images on the day.

It is vital that you remove the outer peel of your Lotte Duncan before adding her to your bowl. She has more than enough zest for anybody. Lotte is patron of the festival and her enthusiasm for the event is incredible and wonderfully infectious. If any of the organizers ever have any doubts they simply call up Lotte and leave feeling a whole lot better.

Several versions of this recipe have been tried over the years, but the end product seems better with the inclusion of generous helpings of the effervescent Frazer Sutherland, of the James Figg and The Thatch pubs in Thame, part of the Peach Pubs chain. He is becoming the glue that holds the recipe together and is increasingly known as that vital ?Mr Fixit? ingredient.

Last, but not least, the marketing twist that is Sally Dorling of Marketing Foods: a pinch of magic that enhances all the flavours around her and ensures that they combine in the most rewarding and tasty way. It?s no good having a great final product if you don?t tell anybody about it. Sally knows how good the recipe is and wants everyone to know. So, make sure you get a slice of the action next Saturday, September 29. Your reservation awaits you in Thame town centre from 9am onwards.

NEXT Saturday, September 29, is set to be a major landmark in the history of Thame Food Festival 2012. With the closure of roads in the centre of the town for the first time and a vastly expanded area for the 100 plus stallholders – a festival record – this fifth festival has an amazing line-up of events, exhibitors and celebrity chefs.

Appearing live and performing fantastic mouth-watering and audience enticing demos in the Cookery Theatre are the following food ?super stars?:-

Appetizers: Beverley Glock of Splat Cooking (on stage 10am)

Starters: Laurie Gear, patron and chef of The Artichoke restaurant in Amersham (10.45am) and Adam Simmonds of restaurant Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House, Marlow (11.30am)

Main Courses: Steve Love and Ian Craddock from headline sponsors, McCormick UK, the home of Schwartz herbs, spices and seasonings (12.15pm) and Raymond Blanc OBE, festival ambassador, with Kush from Le Manoir aux Quat?Saisons and the BBC?s ?Very Hungry Frenchman? (13.00)

Dish of the Day: Festival patron, Lotte Duncan (13.45)

More Mains: Marcus Bean of The New Inn in Baschurch, Shropshire (14.30) and festival regulars Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi of Caldesi in Campagna, Bray and Caffe Caldesi and La Cucina Caldesi in central London (15.15)

Dessert: Nigel Rumsey of Rumsey?s Chocolateries in Thame & Wendover (16.00)

Followed by: The Big Cook Off Mark & Adam from The Raymond Blanc Cookery School v Harding?s Restaurant at Aylesbury College (16.30)

This awe inspiring line-up of cookery performers is followed at approx 17.30 by the Raffle draw featuring some amazing prizes, including the set of Raymond Blanc by Anolon Professional Cookware used on the day in the Cookery Theatre, a one day course worth

EX MAYOR and popular Town Councillor, Adam Buckland, has decided to bow out of local politics after taking stock of his own life, following the recent death of his father.

Adam, who runs Brothers Hair Salons in Buttermarket, Thame, and High Street, Oxford, told ThameNews.Net: “I would like to thank everyone who has supported me over my nine years on the Town Council, especially in the year when I was honoured to be chosen as Mayor of this great Town.

“I have enjoyed NEARLY every minute of my time on the council but recently after the death of my father I have had time to reflect on what really is important in life.

“After 9 years of leaving my wife and children in the evenings to attend meetings, I feel now is the time to put my family first. My wife Sinead is going back to her beloved nursing and my two boys are at the age where I need to help them with their all-important school work. I have recently opened a third Brothers Salon in Marlow and this has added to my Work commitments.

“I would like to say a special thank you to Helen Stewart, Cassie Pinnels and all the staff in the town Hall, and also a big thanks to the Maintenance team who I have shared some good laughs with while out and about on their rounds. Thank you to all the Councillors for all their continued hard work in the town and for some stimulating ‘Debates’ over the years!

“Lastly I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who voted for me at the last election, especially those who aren’t natural Labour voters but who were willing to give me a chance. I’m sorry that I could not fulfil my role and your expectations on this occasion. Who knows, when my boys are older or there is a fight I need to fight, I may be back! Meanwhile I will still strive to play an active role in our community and will still lead the way on events like the Carnival and Tidy Thame Day.

“Thank you again for all your love and support. Onwards and Upwards!”

A Vote of Thanks for Adam’s contribution to the town council was lead by the current Mayor, Nigel Champken Woods at a meeting of the full council on Tuesday. He said: “Adam has contributed immensely to the work of the Council during his nine years in office and his ?youthful contribution? will be greatly missed. He had a very successful year as Mayor of Thame encouraging and building on the community spirit within the town. Tidy Thame Day was one of Adam?s initiatives and continues to grow year on year.

“We wish Adam every success in the future and if he should decide to return to local politics and be successfully elected, he will be most warmly welcomed by the Town Council.”