Category: More News

A man whose daughter was helped by a little-known service when their home was wrecked by flooding, intends to take part in The Great North Run to raise funds for the charity.

This year’s GNR, on September 16, will be the 19th for Steve Bannister, best known as the joint founder of the Thame Arts & Literary Festival. Steve has lived and worked in Thame for 20 years and explains his motivation for his marathon challenge with his familiar, ‘Geordie’ humour:

“After 18 Great North Runs, you would think I might have got the hang of it by now! Every year it gets a bit longer and the hills get a bit steeper but I will not go quietly into that good night. As Dylan Thomas would have it, I will rage and rage again against the dying of the light!”

Every year Steve, as he puts it himself, likes “to connect the trauma of running 21kms from Newcastle to the Seaside to a good cause and some people very kindly sponsor us. The more committed spend an hour and a half staring at the television to see if we can be seen amongst the 49,999 other runners crossing the Tyne Bridge, and that we are actually running! In 19 attempts, I have not made the Telly yet ? but I have always made it to South Shields!”

The Red Cross to the rescue

In December 2010, the night before Steve and his partner returned from a trip abroad, their house was completely wrecked due to burst pipes. Their daughter discovered the water streaming down the stairs and through the ceilings and called the fire brigade who worked through the night to rescue what they could. They in turn called the Red-Cross who arrived with a large ‘camper-van’ fully equipped to look after a very wet, somewhat traumatised young lady. Having done what they could at the site, administering tea and comfort and practical support, they booked a hotel and took her along so she didn’t have to worry about anything.

Steve said: “Whilst our experience is trivial compared to many, I had no idea the Red Cross ran such a service and in more serious circumstances I can understand its value. I can imagine a serious fire or traffic accident or similar.

“This run is dedicated to thank the team that worked all night to help us even though we didn’t know we needed it and to help ensure the service can continue for others.”

Anyone who would like to If you would like to sponsor Steve Bannister’s 19th Great North Run, and help this very valuable service, you can find full details on the website:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SteveBannister

GUINNESS World Records? has this week confirmed that the world record for the most people signing and singing a song simultaneously has been broken, and it includes a Thame school.

National charity, SignHealth, organises the sign2sing record breaker every year and this February (2012) 114,277 pupils and teachers from across Great Britain, including 81 from Thame, participated in the event.

Steve Powell, Chief Executive at SignHealth, the healthcare charity for Deaf people, said: ?We are delighted to have broken the world record for the second year running and we are going to try and beat it again next year.

?We organised the sign2sing event to help raise awareness of deafness and the work we do at SignHealth. It was also a fundraiser for the charity through sponsorship from businesses and a voluntary donation from everyone taking part.?

The school in Thame that took part in sign2sing was Barley Hill Primary School on Ludsden Grove.

Schools that registered for sign2sing received a DVD to help them learn and practise the song, as well as a set of new classroom resources aimed at increasing Deaf awareness.

The song, entitled ?sign2sing?, was composed especially for the event. The lyrics were written by Garry Slack, author of the award-winning ?Sign with Olli? books and the music was composed by Paul Fairey, who has written various theme tunes for television and radio.

The Minister of State for Children and Families, Sarah Teather MP, Actor, Louise Jameson, children?s Laureate and famous author, Julia Donaldson and children?s TV presenter, Dave Benson Phillips all supported sign2sing 2012.

Dave, who attended the sign2sing flagship event, said: ?Every child I spoke to was having such a good time and I was completely overwhelmed by their enthusiasm for signing.?

IMAGE: General shot of chidren taking part (not those from Barley Hill School) Courtesy of: http://www.worldrecordacademy.com

THE final consultation on Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan has commenced today, and will last for six weeks, to October 3, 2012.

What Thame Town Council, who have commissioned the plan, is calling its ?Consultation Draft,? including documents to download, is available for comment on the town council’s website: www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk

This is the last time Thame Town Council will be asking local people for comments before submitting the Plan to South Oxfordshire District Council.

Watch out for dates and times of various meetings and exhibitions which will be taking place over the next few weeks, the times of which haven?t yet been agreed. The most important date, of course, will be the Referendum, the date for which has not been decided.
Keep a look out for information on notice boards, posters, on the Town Council website and of course on ThameNews.Net.

A NEW website has been launched to help thousands of people in Oxfordshire take control of their care.

Support Finder has been developed as a quick, easy and comprehensive ‘one-stop-shop’ for people with personal care budgets.

Personal budgets are an allocation of funding given to service users after an assessment, to meet their needs and provide them with more choice and control over their care and support.

It will also be useful for anyone looking for care providers, help with living at home, staying healthy and safe, transport services or leisure activities.
The site is provided by Oxfordshire County Council and has been developed with the help of local people and organisations that represent older people, carers and people with disabilities. L

ocal businesses and organisations that provide an adult social care service are able to submit their details online for a free listing on the website. Around 650 organisations and services are listed so far. Users of the site can find what they need quickly, thanks to the simple design and useful features such as the ability to make and store lists.

County Councillor, Arash Fatemian, Cabinet member for Adult Services, said: ?Support Finder is certain to be a useful resource for people in Oxfordshire. We are now at a point where more and more people are seeking to take control of their own care and decide exactly which services they want to use. That?s a really good thing, but to be able to do it properly you need information to make decisions.

?Support Finder has been designed specifically for anyone looking for services, whether they pay for them themselves or have personal care budgets. There?s more than 2,600 people with these budgets at the moment in the county and that will increase over time to 5,100.
That?s why Support Finder is so important. It is the only site of its kind in the county, bringing together information from many organisations on support and advice for adults in one place for the first time.?

PHOTO: L-R – Nigel Taylor and Tracey Taylor (My Life My Choice champions), Amber Ryan from Oxfordshire County Council

SOURCE; Press release

GREAT Haseley resident, Lucy Edwards is set to swap her 9-5 job for life in the Jungle next Summer. Lucy has gone through a tough selection process and been selected to Project Manage a three month expedition for the youth and sustainable development charity, Raleigh International.

The expedition will be a mix of community and environmental projects mixed with a challenge of adventure. Lucy will be living and working among rural communities near Sabah in the north of Borneo. Sabah is often referred to as “Land below the wind”, a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe lands south of the typhoon belt. Many people in Sabah are living below the poverty line, with Sabah having the highest rate of poverty throughout Malaysia.

Lucy has been set a fund raising target of nearly

HADDENHAM HORTICULTURAL SHOW: see link on the www.haddenham.net LINK September 1, 2012.

Sat 18th Line Dance: The Pondarosa Line Dance group has its next social dance evening on Saturday (8-11pm) at Haddenham Village Hall. Entry is

SOHA (Soha) Housing, the Oxfordshire housing association with many Thame tenants, has just completed a project to contact every one of its residents over 80 years-old.

Apart from making sure that tenants were getting a good service, Soha staff got out and about to check that older people were able to sustain their tenancy, managing to pay bills, get help when needed and access local facilities. ?We found high satisfaction with our services, but that isolation and financial exclusion are a real worry for some of our older residents?, said Maureen Adams, Director of Customer Services and Operations at Soha. ?We wanted to make residents aware not only what support was available but that they can contact us out of hours, order lifeline alarms and get advice on financial matters such as energy costs. I met many residents myself and was struck by the difference we can make as a good landlord. We are happy to visit any tenant over 80 who missed our visit and who would welcome our contact.?

The visiting campaign ran alongside a tenant-led inspection of sheltered housing and a postal survey for sheltered residents. The results showed that residents in Soha?s 24 sheltered schemes were happy with Soha as a landlord but wanted even more time with their scheme managers. A newsletter for sheltered schemes will be introduced as will a simpler comments, complaints and feedback form for older people.

photo: Rental Income Manager Teresa Gowers sets off on the Older Persons’ Visiting Scheme

MANY of us enjoy the annual Towersey Festival, but as we revel in the wonderful music and party atmosphere, how many of us realise how much the festival puts back into the community?

Now in its 48th year, Towersey Festival, which always takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend, has long been supporting the local economy through sheer visitor numbers but it does more than just attract a crowd.

Over the last 10 years alone, Towersey Festival raised over

GREAT Haseley resident, Lucy Edwards, is set to swap her 9-5 job for life in the Jungle next Summer. After battling though a tough selection process, Lucy has been selected to project manage a three month expedition for the youth and sustainable development charity, Raleigh International.

Lucy has been set a fund raising target of nearly

THE THAME and District Day Centre said farewell to a very special lady this week, when the Trustees appointed a new chairman, following the retirement of Mrs Brenda Prosser, who was one of its founding organisers 25 years ago.

Throughout that time, the Centre has met at Thame Community Hospital in Park Street and Brenda has led her team through the various changes in health and social care and raising money to meet threatened shortfalls in funding following reorganisation of budgets at county council level.

At their August meeting, the Trustees paid tribute to Brenda’s devoted service since 1986 ad welcomed her successor, Thame resident Tyrell Gillman.

He takes on the new appointment with a great deal experience of Thame and its people, as he is a member of Thame Rotary Club and, as its Community and Vocational Chairman, has had much experience of working with and for the town?s senior citizens, especially with Christmas celebrations.

The centre has a manager, Gill Coleman and a deputy, Stephanie Johnson, who are assisted by a loyal band of volunteers, some who help at the Centre and others who act as drivers, providing the members with transport to and from the Centre, which meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

PHOTO: Brenda Prosser enjoying the Thame Day Centre’s regular Christmas celebration at The Oxfordshire Golf Club last year.