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Category: Thame news

  • Thame hospital’s superstars are the ‘Patients’ Choice

    BUCKINGHAMSHIRE Healthcare NHS Trust staff celebrated local healthcare superstars at the annual staff awards on Friday, November 10, and Thame won a top award.

    In a ceremony, held at the Gateway in Aylesbury, individuals and teams were recognised for going above and beyond in delivering safe and compassionate care for patients both in hospitals and in community settings.

    Michael Smith with Healthcare team at Thame Community Hospital

    Staff at Thame Day Hospital were the winners of the Patients’ Choice Award. They were nominated by Michael Smith, one of their service users. Mr Smith explained in his nomination that after his wife died, his health deteriorated and he was referred by his GP to Thame Day Hospital and this caring and compassionate group of staff helped him get his life back on track.

    He added: “They are brilliant; always professional and respectful. In my assessment they asked me what my problems and concerns were, they listened and wanted to know me, my life, not my illness.

    “This team encouraged me to learn best how to help myself and supported me to do this, always with a smile and a positive attitude. They looked at what I could do so I didn’t feel useless and they built on that. They always made time and seemed happy all the time. They are still my sunshine on dark days although I don’t have too many of those thanks to them.”

    From his life in the navy Michael said he knew real teamwork when he saw it, and this group of staff have it at all levels throughout – he calls them his A team. There was a standing ovation in the room after everyone heard Michael’s very moving story.

    Neil Dardis, chief executive, said: “The annual awards are a fantastic opportunity to recognise the amazing team we have working at the Trust. It is a night for everyone to feel proud and celebrate success.”

    The other winners on the night were:

    Dr Nawal Bbahal received the Care award for Collaboration. Dr Nawal is the Trust’s guardian of safe working hours for junior doctors, a new role established in 2016. His collaborative working ensures positive outcomes for all concerned!

    Bereavement midwife Jennifer Higgs won the Care award for Aspire. “Her commitment goes above and beyond what is expected working flexibly to support women and families who have suffered bereavement. ”

    Dee Irvin picked up the Care award for Respect.” Dee is a shining example of the high standards of respect we hope our staff demonstrates to patients and each other at all times.”

    Janie King is won the Care award for Enable. “Janie has revolutionised the doctors’ rota by her effective style of management which involves an open door policy, a friendly greeting to anyone who comes to see her, however difficult the problem.”

    “Our amazing in-reach palliative care team were the very deserving winner of the Partnership Working Award. The service, set up in collaboration with Macmillan, supports people admitted to hospital with life limiting illness.”

    Julia Phillips, clinical nurse lead for sepsis and outreach sister was the winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award. “Julia’s commitment, professionalism and sheer tenacity were recognised by the judges.”

    The medical staffing team won the Support Services Ambassador Award. “The team’s smooth implementation of the new junior doctor contract and the flexible approach they take helped them win this award.”

    Elaine Trump was the very worthy winner of our Volunteer of the Year Award. “Elaine gave up two days to star in films for endoscopy about having a gastroscopy & colonoscopy. By sharing her experiences she’s helped reduce anxiety others may feel.”
    The Radiology PACS/IT team were named as Healthcare Team of the Year. “This small team are responsible for the running of all of radiology IT across the Trust. Their strap line is: ‘always a pleasure, never a chore’.

    Ramesh Chennagiri won the CEO Award for Leadership. “Ramesh has been a strong voice for change and his passion and energy for service improvement has engaged his colleagues and team.”

    Mr Bruce James won the Lifetime Achievement Award. Bruce was appointed in 1995 & established the Trust’s first specialist glaucoma service. “He has a passion for training, mentoring many young surgeons who’ve since become consultants in this unit and elsewhere.”

     

  • Invitation to taste wines from the Transylvanian Alps

    THAME-Sinaia Friendship Association, in collaboration with Thame Youth Memorial, are organising a fundraising wine tasting event at Thame Town Hall, on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30 pm.

    Sinaia Peles Castle

    Malcolm Dent, event organiser and a fan of Romanian wines, said: “This is a good opportunity to taste Romanian wines produced in wineries in the Subcarpathian Hills bordering the majestic Transylvanian Alps, also known as the Carpathians.”

    Some of the wines originate from Sinaia’s county, Prahova. The wines will be served with an assortment of cheeses including Romania’s famous Telemea, pates and savoury biscuits.

    A slide show with photos of Sinaia, as well as of the wineries will be on display.

    Tickets can be booked in advance at £10 per person by ringing 01844 215 178 or 07764 854949. Tickets can be purchased on the day at £12 per person.

    Participants must be over the age of 18 to be able to attend. Proof of ID will be required.

    For more information about the twinning between Thame and Sinaia, visit www.facebook.com/thamesinaia

  • Van broken into in Pym Walk, Thame

    THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a theft from vehicle in Thame. (more…)

  • Fire officers’ quick action saves antique centre

    THE antiques centre in Tetsworth, near Thame, had a lucky escape early this morning, when fire appliances from three local stations were called to a fire in the kitchen of the Swan pub and restaurant next door.

    Image: courtesy of Oxfordshire Fire Service

     

     

    The emergency services received a call of reports of a fire at 12.20am this morning, November 15, and fire appliances from Thame, Watlington and Slade Park, Oxford, were quickly on the scene and officers wearing breathing apparatus rapidly entered the building and, using hose reels and high pressure fans, were able to prevent the fire spreading from the restaurant to the adjoining antiques shop.

    Fire investigators from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service were still at the scene investigating the cause this morning.

    Incident Commander, Station Manager Paul Webster, said: “The sounding of a smoke alarm raised a near-by neighbour who called the fire service. Our crews were on the scene very quickly and along with a good routine of closing the doors in the property prevented this incident escalating and fire spreading to the antiques shop. This type of incident reminds us all to check our smoke alarms because a fire like this can go undetected so easily and then the losses can be so much greater.”

  • New Express Way could mean thousands of new homes in Oxfordshire

    THE Oxfordshire EAG (Expressway Action Group) reports that it has been told informally that the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) Final Report with its recommendations for the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway route(s) will be published before the autumn budget on November 22.

    Image courtesy of RMF Training Academy

    On November 28, Highways England will begin its Stage 1a “consultations” on alternative routes which they call ‘corridors’ with an MPs group and with “Strategic Stakeholders” from December 4, to end in February 2018. The EAG says this means they will have to reveal what the alternative routes are before beginning their engagement with Stakeholders. Highways England has confirmed that it intends to announce its decision on the final route/corridor by July 2018. However, no public consultation is proposed by them on the alternative routes, or by the NIC on the principle of the Growth Corridor.

    ‘200,000 new houses for Oxfordshire’

    Commenting Peter Rutt, Co-ordinator of the Oxfordshire Expressway Action Group said: “Unfortunately, it is safe to assume that the NIC will endorse the OxCam Growth Corridor concept, with its one million new homes. This could mean nearly 200,000 more houses in Oxfordshire alone. I suspect very few people in Oxfordshire realise that this means they are planning to nearly double Oxfordshire’s total housing by positioning this new Expressway motorway as a ‘growth corridor’.

    “This approach would require a similar doubling of schools, surgeries, hospitals, roads and town centres. This is not sustainable, and it is all being planned behind closed doors. How can such a vast change to our countryside be proposed without asking Oxfordshire if it agrees? Why are there no plans for a full Public Inquiry? Consultations after the fact are just box-ticking exercises.”

    District Councillor gives her support to the action group

    South Oxfordshire District Councillor, Elizabeth Gillespie said: “Upgrading the A34 and the current roads to Cambridge seems the only rational route for a new Expressway, if one is justified at all. It is hard to see what case could be made to go through the Green Belt and countryside of South Oxfordshire instead, with all the environmental damage that would inevitable cause. I fully support the aims of the Expressway Action Group in opposing any such route.”

    The original NIC report in November 2016 recognised that the Green Belts around Oxford (and Cambridge) are a development constraint. However, as both cities are attractive economic targets, the Green Belt may not mean less development into the County, just that it will be highly concentrated on the non-designated areas.

    Chancellor to relax Green Belt constraints ?

    Peter Rutt explained: “Given Philip Hammond has hinted at relaxing Green Belt constraints in his Budget, and is expected to endorse the NIC findings, it is reasonable to fear these two issues are linked, so the Oxford Green Belt may not be as secure as we would all hope. Whatever the route of the Expressway, the Growth Corridor will be a transformative change, and not in a nice way, for all of largely rural Oxfordshire. The least harmful option would be upgrading the A34 while the greatest harm would be done if a route through the countryside South of Oxford was selected. It will reduce our open countryside, harm most people’s amenity and cause permanent damage to the environment and wildlife. There is no Oxfordshire need for it as we already have a prosperous economy and full employment, they are trying to make us to sacrifice our great rural assets for nothing.”

    Implications for Oxfordshire

    The NIC state in their earlier official Report that the Corridor project would mean one million more homes and could create up to 700,000 new jobs. EAG estimates that this means an average of 10,000 houses and 7,000 new jobs per mile. As the Expressway through Oxfordshire would be at least twenty miles on the Expressway’s Southern route and nearly thirty on the Northern, that would mean 200,000 – 300,000 new houses, and bringing new people here to live in them – all this in a County which already statistically has more than full employment.

    At the last census Oxfordshire’s existing housing stock was 270,000. Assuming it’s now 290,000 the EAG calculate that the Growth Corridor aims to increase Oxfordshire’s housing stock by 70% to 100%, and would increase Oxford’s current working age population of around 500,000 people by up to 40% in just a few years. Oxford currently has full employment – so if new jobs were created they would have to be filled by people and their dependents from elsewhere in the UK.

    ** (Ed. One of the options, Option A, would see a new carriageway branch off the A34 and pass between the Oxfod and Abingdon, before crossing the M40 at Wheatley and proceeding north of Aylesbury to Milton Keynes.)

    ** Thame Town Councillors are waiting to learn which route is announced before deciding whether or not to join the Expressway Action Group, and to see if there are any implications for Thame. (Route A will pass to the North of Thame – see map)

    SOURCE: Contributed by Expressway Action Group (AEG)

  • Concert to fund African clinic in memory of young cancer victim

    TOM Finlay, a student at Lord Williams’s school in Thame, is presenting a charity concert in memory of his friend, Josiah Andrews, who passed away in 2015.

    “Josiah and I grew up together at Long Crendon Baptist Church,” explained Tom. “I witnessed the great faith he had in God that was unwavering, even during his battle with cancer, and that gave him the courage and the strength that all of us who knew him so admired. It was this faith that inspired me to put on this concert.

    “Josiah was diagnosed with bone cancer in the summer of 2013. When his cancer returned, his faith helped him to keep his good humour and not to be afraid of dying.”

    His mother Kathy added: “Josiah’s priorities showed in his plans for his money. He knew that most children around the world don’t have the kind of medical care we have. So he was very clear; choose a charity that is Christian, Medical, in Africa and for Children.”

    Josiah’s parents chose The Good Samaritan Clinic in Senegal, West Africa, run by Tenebou and Bethan Manga. “It was a perfect choice,” said Kathy. “Josiah met the Mangas when they were home at our church, and we knew of their excellent work. Also, Dr Bethan grew up in Thame and her parents still live here.”

    Rather than spend Josiah’s gift on a piece of equipment, the Mangas have decided to start a new medical outpost in a village that is difficult to reach. Financial gifts toward the project are being collected in the Josiah Fund, at Long Crendon Baptist Church.

    The concert will be at Long Crendon Baptist Church, on Saturday, November 18, at 7pm. Entry is free but donations toward the Josiah Fund will be gratefully received on the evening.

  • A ‘Momentous moment’ for Thame’s Cricket Club (amended)

    THAME Town Cricket Club is celebrating tonight after Thame Town Council agreed to provide extra funding and a loan to ensure that work on a new pavilion and shared community facility can go ahead.

    The project seemed in peril after no tenders for the job were received within the club’s estimated costings for the project, and a funding opportunity hung in the balance unless more funding could be assured. Although some councillors were unhappy about additional town council funding being committed from section 106 money that might be needed in the future, and some fears of a possible request for even more money if the project’s costs increased, the town council tonight voted by majority to underwrite the project so that it could go ahead.

    Depending on how much will be needed (negotiations with a preferred tenderer and the architect over ways of reducing the costs are on-going), the town council has agreed to award an additional £60K-£80K on top of £120K it has already committed.

    Chairman of Thame Town Cricket Club, Matt Swain

    Matt Swain, Chairman of Thame Town Cricket Club, told Thame.net tonight: “Epic feeling! Four years in the making, this project marks a momentous moment in the club’s 140 year history. Thanks to everyone who has supported the cricket club, and in particular Thame Town Council.”

    Background article HERE  and more information about the cricket club pavilion development HERE

     

  • Park for FREE in the run up to Christmas

    MOTORISTS in Thame can park for free in district council car parks on selected days in the run up to Christmas.

    The annual free parking tradition is provided by South Oxfordshire, and the Vale, to encourage people to shop locally for their Christmas presents. The free parking days allocated to Thame, as for all the other towns in the district, have been agreed with the town council, as being the day which best suits local traders.

    Free Christmas parking days also mean people don’t have to pay to park if they wish to catch up with friends and family in the great pubs, cafés and restaurants during the festive period.

    Drivers will be able to park for free in South Oxfordshire, and in the Vale car parks, on the following days up to December 24, without the need to display a ticket:

    Thame – Saturdays from 2 December
    Abingdon – Saturdays from 2 December
    Didcot – Fridays from 1 December
    Faringdon – Saturdays from 2 December
    Goring – Tuesdays and Saturdays from 28 November
    Henley – Tuesdays from 5 December
    Wallingford – Thursdays from 30 November
    Wantage – Fridays from 1 November.

  • Thame Remembers

    THAME’S Memorial Gardens and the adjoining Upper High Street, were packed on Sunday, for the town’s annual Service of Remembrance to play homage to those men and women of the armed services, of all creeds, who lost their lives in wars and conflicts.

    ‘At the setting of the sun, we will remember them’

    Hundreds of people of all ages gathered in the chilly but bright, autumn sunshine to pay there respects with a minute of silence and spoken dedications by local church leaders, Alan Garratt, Vicar of St Mary’s Church, Father David from St Joseph’s Catholic Church and Paddy Harris, Pastor of the Cornerstone Church. The Mayor of Thame opened the service with a moving reading from a poem, Remembrance Sunday by Maria Cassee (**see below), and laid a wreath on the steps of the War Memorial, one of many laid by representatives of local community groups, the emergency services and local authorities. Thame’s MP John Howell also layed a wreath.

    During the minute’s silence, marked at the start by a lone bugler, barely a sound could be heard, just a gentle rustling from the few leaves left on the trees in the Memorial Gardens. During the service, two army helicopters flew low over the assembled crowd, reminding us all that there are men and women in our armed forces today, standing ready to put their lives on the line to protect the rest of us, in these uncertain times.

    In his sermon, Rev Alan Garratt said: “Whichever way we remember, we should remember the courage, the ingenuity, the spirit of working together for a common cause, the planning together for a better world that would come with peace.” He spoke of ‘the colossal horror of war, adding: “We remember the widows of seventy years and more, the old men and who never knew their fathers and mothers. We remember the love, the wisdom wasted, the minds that are still pained by memories.”

     

    As Rev Garratt concluded: “As we remember we must vow to do all we can to ensure that our children and grandchildren never have to face what has gone before.”

    Father David ended his prayer with: “God of wisdom, we pray for all whose decisions this day will affect the lives of nations. We think especially of the leaders of countries threatened by war or torn by division. We ask that their hearts and minds may be guided by your spirit into resolving conflicts, and establishing peace with justice and mercy.”

    To see more pictures from Sunday’s Remembrance Service, Click on the LINK HERE

    **Poem: Remembrance Day

    Remembrance Sunday

    On a cold November Sunday morn, an old man sits a while
    Looking through old photographs, he can’t help but smile
    They’re all there, all the boys, with hair cut short and neat
    Uniforms of khaki, strong black boots upon their feet.
    They met as strangers but soon became like brothers to the end
    Smiling at the camera, there could be no truer friends.
    They all took the Queen’s shilling, went off to fight the hun,
    Soon learnt the pain of loss once the fighting had begun.
    So many never made it home, lost on foreign shores
    Many more were injured and would be the same no more.
    The old man’s eyes mist with tears as he remembers every face
    Each of his fallen brothers and the killing which took place
    He proudly dons his beret, his blazer and his tie
    For today he will remember the ones who fell and died.
    On his chest there is a poppy, a blaze of scarlet on the blue
    He steps out into the cold, he has a duty he must do
    Once at the Cenotaph he stands amongst the ranks
    Of those who marched to war and those who manned the tanks,
    He bows his head in reverence, as the last post begins to play
    And he wonders what will happen at the ending of his days
    Will anyone remember? Will anybody care?
    About the lads so far from home whose life was ended there?
    I wish that I could tell him, that he should fear not
    For this soldier and his brothers will NEVER be forgot
    We owe a debt of gratitude that we can never pay
    And this country WILL remember them, on each Remembrance day.

    Maria Cassee

  • Thame’s young squash players shine in one day tournament

    RACQUETS November one-day tournament was definitely a case of quality over quantity, with fantastic nail biting matches being played by our the club’s junior entries.

    Having smaller draw sizes meant Racquets’ players got the opportunity to play matches best of five, challenging both their endurance and mental strength.

    The tournament was split into two round-robin competitions, with four players in each. The B tournament included 10 year-old Jack Turner who fought hard to win one of his matches, despite only picking up a squash racket for the first time eight weeks ago – a young talent to look out for in the future!

    Grit and determination was shown by the youngest entry, Myles Glover, approaching every match with a positive attitude and a big smile! The B tournament was eventually won by Thomas Taylor who kept his cool throughout the whole event, finishing with a convincing 3-0 win in the final, over Richard Wheeler.

    The competition couldn’t have been tighter in the A tournament, made up of four improver players from Racquets. Wildcard, Anthony West, rocked a few boats with a powerful forehand, and managed to take games from the club’s more experienced players; another one to watch out for!

    Representing the girls was Allegra Michopoulou who was placing the ball well all day, and was involved in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, playing eventual winner Artie Shrimpton. Both players were hunting down the volley and attacking the ball at every opportunity. Coach, Chloe Marshall, commented: “who knew one of the first matches of the day would be so thrilling! Both players showed great awareness of the game, attacking the ball and hitting into space.”

    After a string of tough matches, Artie secured his gold medal, defeating good friend and rival Alex Glover 3-1.