THAME YOUTH THEATRE’S summer project has had to be cancelled because insufficient young people came forward to take part.
The project, which was due to culminate in a performance at the Towersey Festival over the August bank holiday weekend, was to be the first step in the group’s relaunch after the opening of the Phoenix Studio.
The summer holidays often proves difficult to recruit people for projects, but the Youth Theatre will be announcing an exciting project for the Autumn, soon.
FIRE officers from Thame quickly arrived on the scene of a fire in Pearce Way yesterday morning (12/08/09), and stopped the fire spreading.
The seat of the fire is thought to have been a washing machine in the front porch of the property which was damaged by the fire. Smoke had spread to adjoining roof spaces but the fire itself fortunately did not.
The fire happened at about 8.45am
A drama student from Lord Williams?s school in Thame has secured a coveted place at the National Youth Theatre.
17 year-old Tom Colley of Haddenham is one of 600 young people out of 4,000 who successfully auditioned to join the company and starts his training in the next few days
“I am thrilled to have such a golden opportunity in developing my chosen career path,” said Tom. “For many years my dream has been to become a professional actor and to work in the theatre and other genres. Joining the National Youth Theatre brings that dream a step closer to reality,” he said proudly.
To-date Tom?s experience has included playing the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory and Kashoggi in We Will Rock You. Just recently he has taken up another new challenge, as a leading light in a new community based organisation, youngSTARS Thame, currently working to support The Phoenix Appeal to secure funds to complete the fitting out of the Phoenix Performing Arts Studio on the Lord Williams?s School site in Thame.
Tom continued: “The school had a proud history of creative achievement, and when the old drama studio was burnt down, this was a real blow. So, having a new space to rehearse and stage plays in is great.
“When I discovered that there was an organisation I could join to help stage events and raise funds for the completion of the project, and be part of the decision making process, I jumped at the chance.
“I feel strongly that young people should have a greater say in how local things are run and get done. If we can deliver support by young people, for young people, that will be a great community achievement,” Tom concluded.
LOCAL people have identified speeding as their top concern in consultation with local NAGS, or Neighbourhood Action Groups.
So recently, the neighbourhood policing team for the Thame, Chinnor and Watlington area have been concentrating their efforts on resolving one of the issues of top priority for the area, speeding along the B4009 from Watlington towards Britwell Salome.
PC Ian Kent, from the neighbourhood policing team, said: “The Thame, Chinnor and Watlington NAG has reviewed the community concern of speeding along the B4009 which had been highlighted as an issue through local public consultation.
“We have been working with key partner agencies to try and tackle this and have carried out enforcement operations to catch those speeding and education initiatives to inform drivers of the dangers associated with driving too quickly. There have been mobile speed camera vehicles from the Safer Roads Partnership regularly deployed at various points along this stretch of road after its adoption as a community concern area.
“This increased enforcement will continue and the local neighbourhood policing team would like to take this opportunity to stress that all motorists need to adhere to the speed limits for the safety of everyone and those who choose to ignore this advice may be prosecuted.
“We are taking this firm approach to speeding motorists because the consequences could potentially be fatal and we want to make the area and enjoyable, and safe, place to be.”
For more information about your local neighbourhood team, visit www.thamesvalley.police.uk or contact 0845 8 505 505.
THAME today celebrated ten years of fresh, local produce provided by its Farmers Market, with street entertainers, Beau the friendly alpaca and a very special birthday cake.
Celebrity TV cook, Lotte Duncan, who lives at Long Crendon, cut a magnificent birthday cake specially made by Thame WI, which was decorated with a symbol to represent each stall, including a suger beehive.
Children were entertained by Colonel Custard with his magic, a stilt-walker and balloon sculptor, juggling and face-painting.
Also enjoying a piece of birthday cake, distributed by Lotte Duncan and the Deputy Mayor of Thame, Nicola Dixon, was Mike Le Mesurier, a former town councillor who was Mayor of Thame when the Farmers Market first came to the town in 1999.
As we are now at the height of summer, food on offer today included freshly-picked strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums and the first of the new season?s apples.
Five of the original Farmers Market stall-holders, who will be celebrating their tenth year at Thame, were each presented with a bottle of wine by the Deputy Mayor. They were:
? Meat producers Jane Bowler from Dews Meadow
Farm, East Hanney
? Dennis Cox from Oakley
? John and Joan Parslow from Bledlow, with
their range of honey and beeswax products
? Trout farmer, Tim Lobb from East Hendred
? Ian and Sally Forster from Long Crendon with
Baker?s Basket.
Raymond Blanc OBE, Chef Patron of Le Manoir Aux Quat?Saisons, at Milton Common, near Thame, was unable to attend the celebrations but sent his good wishes, and said: “I am passionate about sourcing food locally, so passionate that we grow as much as we can of our own produce at Le Manoir. It is incredible to think that ten years ago Thame was the first town to organise a Farmers? Market in Oxfordshire, and wonderful that five of the original traders are still among the 16 giving local people the opportunity to reconnect our food culture with the soil from which it springs.”
Thame Farmers? Markets provide all-year-round fresh vegetables, free range and organic meat, speciality and traditional breads, eggs, cakes and pastries, preserves, dairy produce, fish, beer and wine.
The Farmers’ Market is held on the second Tuesday of every month in the Upper High Street Car Park from 8.30am to 1.30pm. For more information visit www.local-food.net or www.tvfm.org.uk.
Photo: The start of the show at today’s 10th birthday celebrations at Thame Farmers’ Market, was undoubetly the cake, made by members of Thame WI.
LOTS MORE PHOTOS OF TODAY’S CELEBRATIONS
UPDATE: A418 Oxfordshire – Aylesbury Road closed both ways (as at 6.15pm) due to serious accident, a motorcycle and a car involved at A4129 Kingsey Road, in Thame. Police at the scene are conducting an investigation in to the incident. 10/08/2009
THE Oxford Road out of Thame was closed for around an hour at around 4.30pm this afternoon, following an incident at the Aylesbury Road roundabout, Thame.
A motorcyclist was taken to hospital with, what an officer at the scene, described as “significant injuries” after his motorbike swerved off the road as he was negotiating the roundabout, and ended up facing the wrong way on the Oxford Road exit from the roundabout.
It is not clear at this time whether any other vehicles were involved but witnesses were interviewed at the scene.
More information as and when it is known.
Photo: The motorcycle involved in this afternoon’s incident, after it had been moved by police from where it came to rest, close to the debris shown in the picture. Shortly afterwards, the road to Oxford was reopened.
ON Saturday, 08/08/09, the Rotary Club of Thame presented a cheque for
TWO young Thame men are trying to gain support for a sport that involves jumping, leaping and acrobatic moves to travel around the town.
Free Running, as its know, or Parkour, the original name for this discipline with French origins, has had a bad press but Robert Fairweather and his friends, believe that it can build self-confidence, respect, fitness and creativity in young people.
They have approached the town council and the local police about providing a Parkour park in Thame, where they and other young people can train and learn the skills to do Free Running safely and effectively.
Rob told ThameNews.Net: “We have approached the local police about Free Running in Thame but they say that it would encourage anti-social behaviour with groups of young people hanging around, that someone not participating could get hurt and that there could be damage to property.
“We understand these concerns but the idea is that people are properly taught to chose benches etc that are sturdy and to do the moves in a safe as well as an aesthetic way. Why would we want to damage our urban playground and ruin our own fun?
“Proper Free Running is nothing to do with people jumping across roof spaces and getting injured as seen on TV. Its all about knowing your limits, moving in an aesthetically pleasing manner by flipping over obstacles etc, and importantly, what we do is spend a large amount of time training to prepare out bodies for the physical rigours of the activity before venturing onto the streets.”
Free Running already takes place all over the world, including London, Mexico and Austria as will as other places in the UK including in Leicester, Salisbury and Bristol, where the local community police officer helped to set up training facilities.
Rob explained that he has been told by Thame Town Council that if he can show that there is sufficient support and they come up with a business plan, the town council would look into supporting the setting up a Parkour Park.
Find out more about Free Running, by visiting LINK
A man has been arrested on suspicion of burglary after a warehouse was broken into in Thame at 2.20am yesterday (6/8).
The 29-year-old man has been released on police bail until 7 September.
The arrest is in relation to a burglary in Jane Morbey Road in Thame where power tools were stolen from a warehouse.
A Laser pen shone up into the sky in Thame, could have caused a plane crash and killed everyone on board, say police.
The Thame incident, which happened in January 2009, is one of a dramatic increase in incidents of pilots being distracted by lasers during critical phases of flight. Thames Valley Police and other regional police forces, working in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other Government departments, are working to track down the perpetrators of these attacks.
There were a total of 206 reported cases of lasers being used against aircraft throughout the UK in 2008, according to the Mandatory Occurrence Reports submitted to the CAA by pilots and air traffic controllers. In stark contrast, the previous year saw just 29 incidents.
In a statement today, Thames Valley Police said: “We are appealing for the public?s help in catching foolish individuals who maliciously shine lasers at aeroplanes and helicopters ? a very dangerous activity that could potentially cause the aircraft to crash and kill everyone onboard.”
Even inexpensive laser pointers can have a very long range of several miles. Shining a laser at an aircraft will dazzle and disorientate the pilot ? the front windscreen has thousands of tiny scratches on its surface, which diffract the laser beam in every direction. Essentially, the laser beam lights up the whole of the windscreen in a bright green glow, which can potentially blind the pilot.
Sgt Andy Watson of Thames Valley Police Operational Support said: “Shining a laser at an aircraft is extremely dangerous, and anyone doing this will be dealt with severely. This is not just a childish prank ? you could potentially kill hundreds of people by causing the aircraft to crash.
“I want to also appeal for anyone who witnesses a laser being shone at an aircraft to contact us immediately via the Thames Valley Police non-emergency number on 0845 8 505 505, or if it is an emergency by dialling 999.
“I?d like to issue a warning to all would-be laser users ? we have the technology and tactics to catch people who do this. If you are found with a laser device, you can even be arrested for simply carrying it if the questioning officer is not satisfied with your reasons for having one.”
In support, Bob Jones, Head of Flight Operations at the CAA, said: “To those individuals targeting aircraft with laser devices the message is clear ? don?t. You will be caught and you will be prosecuted and you could spend up to five years in prison. We strongly urge anyone in the local area who sees a laser being used against aircraft to contact the police immediately. These things are not toys, they pose a serious risk to all flight safety.”
OXFORD MAN CHARGED
On Monday (03/08/09) Jamir Ali, aged 19, from Leon Close, Oxford, was arrested and charged with endangering safety of aircraft. He was released on bail to appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on August 12. This is in relation to an incident on August 03, when a light, believed to be from laser pen, was shone at the Chiltern Air Support helicopter as it flew over East Oxford.
NB Some makes of these pens, which are freely available on the internet for just a few pounds, have been banned from being exported into Australia.
Photo: FOR ILLUSTRATIVE PURPOSES ONLY – Courtesy of www.nationalterroralert.com (USA)