Author: Sonja Francis

A WARNING of a ‘very high’ risk of wildfires for parts of Oxfordshire has been issued by the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The Met Office’s Fire Severity Index (FSI), is an assessment of how severe a wildfire could become if one were to start. The index uses information such as wind speed, temperature, time of year and rainfall to produce a fire severity assessment.

The following advice about how to reduce the risk of wildfires is being given out to the public:

· Extinguish cigarettes properly and don’t throw the cigarette end on the ground.
· Never throw cigarette ends out of car windows.
· Avoid using open fires in the countryside.
· Don’t leave bottles or glass in woodland. Sunlight shining through glass can start fires. Take them home and or put them in a waste or recycling bin.
· Only use barbecues in a suitable and safe area. Never leave them unattended and make sure it is fully extinguished and cold before disposing of the contents.

What to do if you see a fire

· Report it to the Fire and Rescue Service immediately.
· Don’t attempt to tackle fires that can’t be put out with a bucket of water.
· Leave the area as quickly as possible.

Group Manager Rob MacDougall from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Every year, wildfires destroy thousands of acres of countryside and wildlife habitats. They also put lives and surroundings at risk. Some fires are started deliberately, but most are due to carelessness. A cigarette end thrown from a car or perhaps a bottle left behind after a picnic could start a blaze which destroys acres of fields, woodland, crops or undergrowth and with them the habitat of local wildlife.

“We are asking everyone to be extra careful during this hot dry period. Oxfordshire has some fantastic countryside and as well as enjoying it, we all need to protect it!”

Visit www.365alive.co.uk for fire safety advice. If you have a community safety question you can call the free phone community safety helpline on 08000 325 999 or email: community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Further details of the Fire Severity index can be found at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/fire-severity-index. The Fire Severity

A suggestion that Thame re-instates the medieval form of punishment, the stocks, has met with a lukewarm response from its town councillors.

The idea was first mooted by Cllr David Bretherton, who was afterwards interviewed by the BBC – and a Canadian network – after his idea was picked up by national media. Cllr Bretherton’s idea was that the stocks could be used by local charities and organisations as a fund-raiser, may be persuading local celebrities to be put in them, and have wet socks or something thrown at them (originally, apparently, people who had done good things were put in the stocks and had flowers thrown at them, and those guilty of some misdemeanor would have have been tickled!).

But some councillors, including Cllr Nigel Champken Woods, Cllr Peter Lambert, and Cllr Helena Fickling, failed to share Cllr Bretherton’s enthusiasm, and were concerned about the cost to the council, the possibility of vandalism and in Cllr Champken Woods’ case, that the provision of stocks would ‘turn the town into Disney Land’ and possibly lead to even wackier requests like putting a gibbet in the High Street !

Cllr Bretherton stated that Woodstock had had stocks in the town for some time and that their’s had never been vandalised, and that a local tradesman had offered to build a set of stocks at cost.

Many councillors failed to be persuaded of the value from tourism to the town from the siting of stocks, but agreed to allow Cllr Bretherton to go away and research costs and the benefits or otherwise, and come back to them at the Policy and Resources committee, at a future date.

A Civic Service to celebrate the coming year in Thame, was officiated over by the Mayor of Thame, Cllr Linda Emery, at St Marys Church.

The Mayor’s Civic Service was conducted by Reverend Alan Garratt, and the Address was given by Reverend Graham Choldcroft. “Both ensured that the service was full of fun, song, praise and worship for the community,” reported The Mayor, “and of thanksgiving for those who give their time and talents in service to the community.”

St Mary’s Church choir sang as the Civic Procession filed into the church. The scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1:13, “A Time for Everything” was read by Jeannette Matelot Green, Deputy Chair of South Oxfordshire District Council SODC. Prayers were led by Town Cllr Helena Fickling who is also the Church Warden of St Mary’s, and Nichola Dixon, the Deputy Mayor of Thame.

The Mayor’s two chosen charities are The Thame Youth Cafe and The Red Kite Children’s Centre. Representatives of both charities, Linda Newton and Barbara Thompson, Youth Cafe and Amy Spicer, Red Kite Centre, gave a short presentation on their objectives. The offertory collection was generously given to the two charities.

The service was attended by civic dignitaries from Oxford and Buckinghamshire, including John Howell MP, Tony Stratton Deputy Lieutenant, The Lord Mayor of Oxford, Cllr Mohammed Atlaf Khan, local Mayors from Abingdon, Farringdon, Henley, Woodstock, Witney, Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Thame Town Councillors, Errol Bateman of The Rotary Club of Thame and many others.

Afterwards, Mayor Linda Emery said: “I was delighted that so many people were able to celebrate with me. It was a truly memorable day and I am grateful for all the support I received.”

THE Co-ordinator behind the team that organised the The Thame Carnival and fete this year, Sue Martin Downhill, dropped into a recent assembly at Barley Hill School, to thank the school for its participation in the Thame Carnival 2016, and present special certificates to the children.

Barley Hill’s float in the Carnival parade was a riot of British weather, from sunshine and wind to rain, with all the children and adults taking part dressed in bright yellow, plastic ponchos.

The school’s PTFA had previously received £300 from the money raised from the carnival.

Other organisation that took part in the Carnival will soon be receiving their certificates. These include Kubota, for ‘Best float’, Thame Town Council, and the other two primary schools in Thame.