Category: Thame news

LATEST: The trial of Ensor Gol has been adjourned following legal argument. A new date for the trial will be published at a later date.

THE trial of a man accused of murdering two Thame women and of the attempted murder of a third, began today at Oxford Crown Court.

Ensar Gol, from Ireton Court, Thame, is acccused of killing his wife and his mother-in-law, and of the attempted murder of a family friend, Casey Wilson.

The bodies of 28 year-old Michaela Gol and 50 year-old Julie Sahin were found in the early hours of Sunday, September 4, last year and the accused arrested shortly afterwards in Thame town centre.

Both women appeared to have been stabbed. Gol had recently arrived in the UK from his native Turkey at the time of the killings.

The trial continues tomorrow and is expected to last two weeks.

PHOTO:(Courtesy of www.focushaber.com) The accused, Ensor Gol

THAME Town council has paid tribute to former town Mayor and GP, Dr Andrew Markus, who died on April 7.

Dr Markus, was a Town Councillor from 1963 until the mid Eighties, and Town Mayor in 1969, and probably best remembered as a outstanding doctor and the man who fought the rapid growth of Thame. He was the driving force behind establishing Thame town centre as a Conservation area.

In a statement today, Thame Town Council recalled Dr Markus reminiscing at the Town Hall in December 2008, when he received his Past Mayor?s Badge.

“Dr Markus spoke of the early Sixties when he was a local GP. Two major issues had faced the town and he felt strongly about them both. The first was that Thame (which then had a population of about 5,000) was being given the choice of either rapid growth and getting sports and other facilities quickly, or growing relatively slowly but, as he considered, retaining the character of the town.

?The second issue?, he explained, ?was that developers were creating mayhem in the High Street, such as destroying the old girls? grammar school, and it was imperative that a Conservation Area be declared as quickly as possible.”

“At first, he wasn?t sure whether, as a practising GP, he should take part in an election. In the event, Geoff Goodall (Headmaster of Thame Grammar School), Frank Bailey (Adult Education Tutor) Pip Whiteman (a local dentist) and Dr Markus all stood on these issues and were elected. Dr Markus proceeded to work very closely with the County Architect to establish the Conservation Area.

“A keen cricketer, Dr Markus was also an influential member of the working party that set up the squash courts at Lord Williams?s School. ?He was a brilliant squash player,? remarked Honorary Citizen Cllr David Dodds this week, ?as I know to my cost!?

“A talented photographer, Dr Markus travelled widely and returned with inspirational images; his work was exhibited at Thame Museum a couple of years ago. But it is perhaps Dr Markus?s passion and determination to create a Conservation Area that has most influenced Thame.

“It is a lasting legacy for the town that he loved.
The Councillors and staff send their condolences to Mrs Markus and family.”

More information and a tribute to Dr Markus from Green Templeton College Oxford, where he was an Emeritus Fellow and Alumni
______________________________

NB What are your memories of Dr Markus? Wendy from Thame, recalled how, when a young mum with two very young children, she was told she would have to go and see a Pediatrician at Stoke Mandeville hospital.

Dr Markus apparently telephoned the hospital and asked “How the heck do you expect a young mum with a pushchair to travel with two young children on a bus?”
Apparently, after that, the Consultant from then on came to Thame hospital to see his patient.

PHOTO: courtesy of http://www.gtc.ox.ac.uk

IF this is a question YOU find yourself asking, then the annual Thame Town Meeting is the ideal opportunity for you to get some answers.

Residents can give their views about Thame and ask their representatives from the Town, District and County Councils anything they like, if they go along to the Annual Town Meeting next Tuesday, April 24, at 7.30pm, at the town hall.

The meeting will be chaired by the Town Mayor, Councillor David Bretherton and all the electors of Thame are invited to take part.

Why you should come!

It?s bound to be lively with plenty of current issues to discuss. Helen Stewart, the Town Clerk, says, ?There is so much going on at the moment, with the Neighbourhood Plan and the uncertainties regarding the Cattle Market, to name just two!?

What else?

As the Draft Thame Town Plan reaches the final stages of development, Cllr Mike Dyer, will speak about ‘Neighbourhood Planning ? what?s it all about?’

Trudy Godfrey, Economic Development officer at South Oxfordshire District Council, will present: ‘Thame?s Economy: could we do more? Tell us what you think.’

And finally, a lady at the sharp end of Thame’s business community, Cat Young, Chair of the 21st Century Thame Partnership, will talk about ‘Thame For Business’ – what the partnership has been doing to promote ‘brand Thame’ and some new ideas to continue promoting Thame as a great place to visit, to live and to do business in.

Want to know more?

So come along and grab this chance to get your questions answered!

Agendas are available from the Town Hall. Tel 01844 212833. email: clerk@thametowncouncil.gov.uk

MUSIC is the expression of thoughts, ideas and feelings. Mathematics is the language of fact, rigour and knowledge. They seem separate, but they are linked.

Want to find out how? Dr Thomas Woolley of Oxford University?s Mathematical Institute, will have you riveted to your seat, when he delivers another Pulse-Project Science Lecture at Thame town hall next Monday, April 23, at 7.30pm.

Join him on a tour of only a few of these connections and leave with an appreciation of both maths and music.

Who is Dr Woolley?

Dr Woolley?s work mostly involves using mathematics to research the skin patterns of animals, but he also spends much of his time explaining mathematics to the ?man in the street.?

He has been involved in a number of mathematical workshops, activities and talks for the public, such as the Mathemusica group which opened the Oxford Science Festival in March, with a performance fusing mathematics and music.

?As an academic I spend most of my time producing mathematics that very few people would understand,? says Dr Woolley. ?The goal is to push back the boundaries of knowledge, make the unknown known, and pure mathematicians aside, make the world a better place.?

Free tickets are available from Thame Town Hall.

THE Rotary Club of Thame is asking the public to check their sheds and lofts and bring their old tools to the Market square car park, near the Market House, Montesson Square, on Saturday morning, on May 12, between 9am and 2pm.

Every year the Rotary Club of Thame runs a collection point for unwanted tools. These are then taken to ‘Tools for Self Reliance’ at Netley Marsh near Southampton, the charity which refurbishes them and sends them to NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisations) in Africa. The NGO’s then distribute them free to men and women who can then use them to obtain work.

Rotarian, Erroll Bateman, said: “The Rotary Club of Thame would like to encourage everyone to check their garages and lofts and bring their unwanted items to us to give the craftsmen in Africa a chance to put their skills to good use for the benefit of their community as we believe it is a worthy cause.”

Here are a few examples of items to be collected:

?Sewing machines
?Blacksmiths tools ? especially anvils, leg vices, hand
operated pillar drills
?Carpentry tools ? especially large carpenters’ vices,
metal jack planes and tri-planes, drawknives;
?Engineering and Metalworking tools ? especially HSS
twist drills, metric taps & dies, hand operated bench
grinders;
?Bicycle repair tools ? especially spoke spanners;
?Shoe repair tools ? especially complete sets of individual lasts;
?Auto mechanics’ tools ? especially HD screw jacks, tyre pressure gauges, foot-pumps;
?Electrical repair tools ? especially multi-meters, Arc
Welders (240V);
?Industrial quality power tools ? especially drills and
bench grinders.

The collected items will be taken to the very well equipped TFSR depot at Netley Marsh where they will be refurbished by a group of retired engineers, before being packed into containers for shipment to African countries. From the port of arrival they will then taken by members of the organisation to villages to help the people become more self-reliant.

If you have got tools available to donate and you are not able to go on May 12, contact Thame Rotary via their website: www.thame.rotaryweb.org

THE family of Disco superstar, Robin Gibb, who lives in Thame, are at his bedside in a London hospital, where he is apparently in a coma.

Robin seemed to be in remission from the cancer he was diagnosed with last year, but has now contracted pneumonia.

Robin’s wife Dwina, his brother Barry, 65, and his three children, are widely reported as being at his bedside most of the time.

Sadly, Robin was too ill to attend the London premiere of his classical piece, Titanic Requiem, last week, which he co-wrote with his son Robin-John Gibb.

Brian and Louise Pattinson, who run the Book House bookshop in Thame, were lucky enough to have been invited to the launch of Robin’s Titanic Requiem, written in memory of those who drowned when the great ship of that name sank exactly 100 year-ago.

Brian and Louise have spoken of “a very moving, and special event” that they were invited to share by Robin and Dwina, and described the emotional moments when Robin’s vocals in the piece were replaced by a recording, to the live accompaniment of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

A message on Robin’s Web site, speaks for his many fans: ?We are all hoping and praying that he will pull through.?

PHOTO; Courtesy of http://www.brothersgibb.org Robin and his son, Robin John, work on the recording of their requiem.

A woman from Chinnor has been banned from driving for a year, after admitting drink-driving in North Street, Thame.

Esmeralda Martinez, 37, of Thame Road, Chinnor, who admitted carrying out the offence on December 11, 2011, had 89 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of blood, above the legal limit of 80 milligrams.

She was fined

THAMES Valley Police will be taking part in the European TISPOL (European Traffic Police Network) police campaign to crack down on speeding motorists.

All police forces across Europe will be tackling speeding concerns throughout the week commencing Monday, April 16, to Sunday, April 22.

Thames Valley Police will conduct random speed checks throughout the Thames Valley area at all times of the day and night. Drivers who are caught speeding will be issued with anything from a Fixed Penalty Notice to a summons to attend court.

During last year?s campaign, 1329 drivers were issued with Fixed Penalty Notices for speeding in the Thames Valley.

Sgt Chris Appleby, from the Joint Roads Policing Department, said: ?This campaign is another example of the determination and continuous commitment of Thames Valley Police to tackle the issue of speeding in our communities. Drivers who choose to break the law will be prosecuted.?

Follow us on Twitter @ThamesVP for updates on how the campaign is going throughout the week.

THE overall level of crime in the Thames Valley has fallen by more than 13 per cent according to the latest figures released yesterday (11/04) by Thames Valley Police.

In a year where the Force has had to make budget cuts while protecting front-line policing, statistics for April 2011 to the end of March 2012 show there were 22,566 fewer crimes in the Thames Valley compared with the same period in 2010/11, equating to a fall of 13.1 per cent.

In the South and Vale Local Policing area, which includes Thame, the crime rate fell by 15.6 per cent.

Categories of crime showing the largest reduction include violent crime against the person, sexual offences and serious acquisitive crime.

The end of the year crime summaries show that in 2010/11 there were 172,397 crimes recorded across the Force area which serves more than two million people, compared to 149,831 crimes during the period 2011/12.

The number of offences of causing death by driving dropped by more than 62 per cent, and offences of violence against the person without injury fell from 35,910 to 27,324, a reduction of 26.9 per cent. The total number of violence against the person offences fell by 23.9 per cent.

Serious sexual offences fell by nine per cent from 1,524 to 1,387 and serious acquisitive crime fell from 28,414 to 24,709 representing a decrease of 13 per cent.

Domestic burglaries fell by 8.2 per cent from 9,600 to 8,817 and the number of burglaries of business premises fell by more than ten per cent from 11,206 to 10,051.

Theft of vehicles and from vehicles have fallen by 25.7 per cent and 12.7 per cent respectively, while vehicle interference offences have dropped by 38.5 per cent.

The number of criminal damage offences has fallen by 15.3 per cent, but drug possession has seen an increase of four per cent and drug trafficking has increased by 14.9 per cent.

The number of offences listed in the ?other? category which includes hate crime, domestic abuse, homophobic and racist incidents has also fallen.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said: ?Cutting crime is Thames Valley Police?s most important responsibility and I am really pleased that we have cut crime by 13 per cent over the last year. We have done this despite reductions in our budget which makes it more impressive. Most important of all, this means that there were over 20,000 fewer victims in Thames Valley last year.?

Thames Valley Police Authority chairman, Khan Juna, said: ?The continued reduction in crime across the Thames Valley area over the last year is certainly good news for people living in the Thames Valley area.

?The improvement in our crime figures confirms the ongoing success of our commitment to responding to the priorities of the public, being to cut crimes that are of most concern to the community; to increase the visible presence of the police, and to protect our communities from the most serious harm.

?On behalf of our communities I would again like to thank the Force for their efforts and hard work in achieving this further improvement in crime reduction. Nevertheless, we all want to see this improvement continue and will support our Force in their challenge to reduce crime even further.?