Category: More News

THE man who has overseen a massive growth in the popularity and sales figures of the Oxfam Bookshop in Thame, is moving on to pastures new, and will, for sure, be missed by customers and volunteers alike.

Recognisable from his distinguished, sartorial individuality (more of that later!), Dick Jennens has been manager of the Oxfam Bookshop for most of the fifteen years since it opened in 2000. The shop’s sales figures over the 15 year period, are stunning, making it one of the top performing Oxfam Bookshops in the country:

Sales of over £2million of donated stock – books and music; over three quarters of a million items that have generated almost £1.7m of income for Oxfam; around 2.5 million items donated by the people of Thame – with about half a million passed on to other Oxfam shops; Single most expensive sold item – Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier, signed first edition in its dust jacket £1800.

Most interesting (Dick’s own choice), War In Iraq, published in 1918; book of photographs compiled by the father of the spy, Kim Philby, sold via the Oxfam Online shop to a customer in France for £1500. Oldest – ‘Art of Distillation’ published in 1653, a book on distilling Whisky and making Gin, sold for over £750.

Biggest single donation – £5,750 made by a donor following the sale of a family autograph book.

Marianne Parslow (pictured right), Deputy Shop Manger, spoke on behalf of Dick’s army of Volunteers: “It’s hard to say what the volunteers will miss most about Dick when he moves up north to Matlock in the New Year. It’s not just his always-interesting ties and his stripy jacket, his cheeriness and good temper, nor even the photographs of his grandchildren on his desk, but we will miss his interest in every person, whether volunteer, community service person, or driver of a delivery van. He can sense what people are good at, and values us for it, whether it is doing up parcels, washing the tea-towels, skills with the till, the pricing gun or the computer, or doing the window displays.

“He listens to us, and then usually does his own thing, but that thing is always the right thing in the context of a busy charity bookshop. He is a truly professional retailer. He has also been a friend, mentor and an example for all the young people doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award or Work Experience with us, as well as to his nearly ninety volunteers, and it is as a friend that we will miss him most.”

“But don’t worry the shop will remain the same as always, so keep your donations coming in. Yes, we will miss him and we wish him lots of success.”

Up until he moves on to the next chapter in his career in the new year, Dick will still be managing the Thame Shop for two days a week, and driving up to Matlock for two days a week until a new manager is appointed for Thame – a manager who will find he or she has a very hard act to follow, but a bunch of wonderful volunteers and loyal customers to help him on his way.

THAME Town Council’s Transport Representative, Cllr Mary Stiles, has said that she is ‘shocked’ to learn that subsidised bus routes to and from Thame are likely to be scrapped, leaving elderly people and students isolated and stranded.

Oxfordshire County County’s Cabinet yesterday voted to remove the subsidies that the council pays to commercial bus companies to operate low use routes. The council has said though that it is continuing to talk to these companies to see if they can take on any of the services commercially.

The Thame routes under threat are Carousel Buses Service 40, that runs between Thame and High Wycombe, the Vale Travel Service 124, that runs between Watlington and Thame, the Vale Travel Service 120, that runs between Thame and Princes Risborough and the Service 123, Thame local service bus.Also, the first and last 280 journeys on Sundays and Bank Holidays would be affected.

Cllr Stiles said: ” I am shocked at this news. It makes a mockery of public consultation and I think that Parish Transport reps will be very angry at our next meeting with OCC, which I will be attending soon on behalf of Thame Town Council.

“Local people need these services which are subsidised by OCC, but as part of the consultation suggestions were made whereby some bus services could be changed to save money e.g. not duplicating the 40 and 123 through Towersey. When I travelled on the 123 to meet passengers and discuss with them OCC’s proposals, we followed the 40 bus from Chinnor to Thame via Towersey!

“The people I met all need the subsidised buses to get to and from work or college or, if elderly or disabled, to get from the eastern end of Thame into the centre. This is vitally important in order to prevent isolation and the health problems that can result from it. I shall be doing all I can to lobby for these services to be retained. OCC’s cabinet say that they may be able to avoid cutting bus subsidies, if Government provide more money. Therefore I urge Cllr Nimmo-Smith and the Leader of the Council to be like Oliver Twist and ask for more!”

The cuts are aimed at saving the council around £million 3.5. It is hoping that voluntary groups will take up some of the slack by providing similar schemes to the Dial-A-Ride service, which it also wants to scrap, and says that some funding may be available for such schemes where a proven need is identified in an area.

‘Difficult choices’

Cllr David Nimmo Smith, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “As a county council we are faced with very difficult choices. We are now in our sixth year of cuts since 2010. We’ve stopped using more than 100 properties, reduced our staffing by 30 per cent and our senior management by 40 per cent since 2010. We’re sharing services with other councils.

“We have a legal and moral duty to support the most vulnerable in society – that means adults who are in our care because they need help washing, dressing, eating and other personal care, and children at risk of abuse and neglect. Almost 50 per cent of our budget goes on care services for adults and children. We need to make savings in other areas to fund those vital services.

“We have already successfully made big savings by running and funding supported transport services more efficiently and have plans to do much more. To make the remaining savings we have consulted on options to either reduce or end the subsidies we pay to bus companies while discussing with them the prospects for them continuing to run services. It is really important to understand that more than 90 per cent of bus services in Oxfordshire would be unaffected by these proposals.

“We’re in the process of saving £290m from 2010 to 2018 and may have to save as much as £50m on top of this.”

What next?

This recommendation will now be fed in to the council’s overall budget process, with a final decision being taken in early 2016.

Under the cabinet’s approved option, bus services would cease at different times throughout the Summer and Autumn 2016 depending on contract termination times.

A special paving stone has been installed at the Thame Youth Memorial in Thame’s Upper High Street, by the friends and family of a popular Thame teenager who died tragically back in March, 2015.

The stone was laid on Sunday, November 1, which is Megan Biddle’s birthday. Family and friends of Megan, known as ‘Bid’ to her friends, are currently working on a bespoke memorial bench for installation at Southern Road Recreation Ground. Megan already has a walk-way sign named after her, as a tribute from neighbours.

A separate bench is also planned by Megan’s skater friends, to be installed at the new Thame skate park, shortly to be opened after an extensive update and extension.

PREVIOUSLY – Link

FIRE crews from Thame and Aylesbury were called to a property in Orchard Close, Thame on Monday, (9/11) at 12:05pm, where they were faced with smoke issuing from a bungalow. A team of firefighters in breathing apparatus, carrying a high pressure hose reel jet and using a thermal imaging camera were sent into the property. Using this specialist equipment, the crew were  quickly able to locate and put the fire out,  preventing it from developing further.

On further investigation it was found that the fire had been started by hair straighteners which had been accidentally turned on and set fire to a pile of clothes they were laying on.

Fortunately the elderly couple who live in the bungalow noticed the smoke, left the bungalow and called the Fire and Rescue service straight away. Their couple were praised by fire crew who said that their prompt action prevented, what would have become, a much larger fire.

Thame Watch Manager, Andy Ford from Thame Fire Station, said: “If it had not been noticed, the fire could have gone undetected for a lot longer and certainly would have been a lot more severe. It is so important to make sure electrical items are turned off and if not needed, unplugged.” Mr Ford went on to say that the smoke alarm fitted in the property had not sounded because it was very old.

“I would remind everyone,” he went on, ” how important it is to make sure your smoke alarms are in date and in full working order by carrying out a weekly test to ensure the battery and internal components are still capable of sounding the alarm.”

For further advice on electrical safety, smoke alarms or any other fire related concerns, visit: www.365alive.co.uk  If you have a fire safety question you can call the free phone community safety helpline on 08000 325 999 or email: community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk

A van driver had to be cut from his vehicle earlier this afternoon, after the van collided with a house in Kingsey Road, Thame, near the Chinnor Rugby Club round-about.

Firecrews released the injured man, using hydraulic rescue equipment. It is not known at this time how seriously he was injured.

PROPOSALS for a revamp of Elms Park in Thame, have been firmly planted following the appointment of TEP (The Environment Partnership) to work with Thame Town Council’s Open Spaces Working Group to come up with three different concepts for the park, and carryout a public consultation to determine the final design.

Improvements to Elms Park are part of a scheme by the developer Rectory Homes which has gained planning permission for a new housing development The Elms next door to the park. Links to the park via footpaths and cycle tracks through the housing development from Upper High Street, will be included in the scheme, which will be funded by the developer.

Thame Town Council has stated that: “We propose to look at each option holistically and to ensure that any proposals carefully consider the historic nature of the park, reflect the ‘Vision for Thame’, appeal to many users and can accommodate the annual ‘Music in the Park’ event and sports usage by the school.”

TEP’s Principal Landscape Architect, Nicola Hancock said: “TEP is delighted to be working with Thame Town Council on the Elms Park Improvement Project. We will be working hard over the coming weeks to really understand the needs of the community and the regular park users. We will use the information that we gather to guide our designs, ensuring that we create a very special and beautiful Park for the people of Thame.”

PREVIOUS: https://www.thame.net/?s=Elms+park

CHRISTCHURCH in Upper High Street, Thame, is once again hosting the Cards For Good Causes charity Christmas card shop this year.

The Good Causes Charity shop, which is staffed by volunteers, has been selling Christmas Cards on behalf of some 30 local and national charities for several years.

At least 70 pence in each £1 of sales will go the relevant charity. The shop is situated in Christchurch, Upper High Street, Thame and will be open six days a week from 10th November to 4th December 2015 – from 10.00am to 4.00pm.

BREAKING NEWS 11.30pm (via twitter) TWO people arrested by Thame Neighbourhood Police team after a drugs warrant in #thame. Enquiries ongoing.

THAME’S Neighbourhood Policing team has been busy throughout October dealing with a range of incidents including stolen petrol, burglaries and Anti-Social Behaviour.

The team’s local priorities include Operation Motor, covering road offences and thefts of petrol at Esso Services, Long Crendon Road; Welcome Break Services and junction 8A, M40. One of the big challenges for the team has been the targeting of while panel vans in the car park of Travelodge where vehicles have been broken into and valuables stolen. To help them in combating this type of crime, motorists are being encouraged to ensure their vehicles are secure and that any valuables are removed from vehicles. A number of untaxed and uninsured vehicles have been seized from drivers.

There has been, what the team have called ‘small spate of garage burglaries’ within the Thame area and residents are being asked to take crime prevention measures against this particular offence, available at the website: LINK HERE

Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

TETSWORTH skate park ramp and the Jack and Jill School roof have been damaged. Anyone with any information about these is asked to call the police non-emergency number 101. The Community team’s latest report talks about identifying the owners of two quad bikes and one owner of a motorcycle causing antisocial behaviour. Strong words of advice have been given with the promise of police action if they do not comply.

The report goes on to say that cannabis warnings have been given to a group of young people and their parents spoken to.

Have Your Say meetings

HAVE Your Say meetings are an ideal opportunity for local residents to speak to their local PCSOs about any local issues. No appointment is necessary, just turn up. Upcoming Have Your Say meetings are:

Thursday, 05 November 2015, 10am – midday at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame
with PCSO Diane Jackson
Monday, 09 November 2015, 11am – midday at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame
with PCSO Lee Kehoe
Wednesday, 18 November 2015, 11am – midday at the Memorial Hall, Chinnor Road,Towersey
with PCSO Jacky Madden
Monday, 30 November 2015, midday – 1pm at the Chinnor Village Centre, High Street, Chinnor
with PCSO Jacky Madden

The Thame Sector covers the neighbourhoods of Thame, Chinnor and Watlington. Your Neighbourhood Policing Team is Inspector Mark Harling, Sergeant Aidan Donohoe, PC Mick Goodenough, PC Ian Kent, PC Lucie Roberts, PCSO Jacky Madden, PCSO Diane Jackson, PCSO Natalie White and PCSO Lee Kehoe.

THIS year’s Service of Remembrance at Thame Memorial Gardens, will be this coming Sunday, November 8, 2015. The procession, which will include Town Councillors, members of the Royal British Legion and other community groups, will assemble outside the Town Hall at 10.30am and proceed to the War Memorial.

Following the service everyone is warmly invited to Christchurch for refreshments.

A copy of the Order of Service can be downloaded from the Town Council’s website at www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk. Copies are also available at the Information Centre and will be distributed at the memorial gardens on the morning of the service.

The Mayor, Cllr Nichola Dixon, has also invited anyone from the community to join her on November 11, at 11am, as she leads a two minute silence outside the Town Hall.

A study commissioned by Thame Town Council has concluded that a large format foodstore, such as that proposed by Tesco, could significantly harm the town centre.

The full Thame Retail Capacity and Impact Study will be discussed at a meeting of  Thame Town Council on Tuesday evening (03/10).  Town Councillors recommended refusal of Tesco’s plans for an edge-of-town supermarket on the current DAF site, on August 25, 2015. The plans are currently with South Oxfordshire District Council but no date has yet been set for a planning decision as the Planning Officer is awaiting revised figures from Tesco of its projected profits from the proposed Thame store, which SODC’s independent consultants believe were ‘under stated’.

The Thame Retail Impact Study’s findings include the observation that food shopping is the principle reason for shoppers in Thame’s primary catchment area visiting the Town Centre, and that 80% of shoppers link their food shopping trip to other activities, in particular for non-food shopping and for financial services like banking.

The report suggests that although a new, edge of town foodstore could help to claw back leaked expenditure from larger shopping centres, turnover would be drawn away from Thame’s key anchor store, Waitrose, as well as from other convenience retailers such as Co-op and Sainsbury, causing linked trips to other shops in Thame to be lost; linked trips that would otherwise have been supported between Waitrose and other town centre businesses.

As the report puts it: “The potential diversion of food shoppers to a competing edge or out-of-centre foodstore will impact on the potential for linked trips. This in turn will impact on the vitality and viability of the wider town centre.”

In its conclusions and recommendations, the impact assessment states that: “.. a smaller format foodstore or a deep discount foodstore (such as Lidl or Aldi) would have a lower impact on the trading performance of the town centre and its retailers. In contrast, the assessment indicates that a larger format traditional foodstore could have a significant harmful impact on the town centre, leading to the potential closure of the existing Co-op store.

The full Thame Retail Capacity & Impact Study, which has been prepared by Carter Jonas, can be read here: LINK TO PDF

You can read all previous posts on the subject of Tesco’s proposals here: LINK