Author: Sonja Francis

FOLLOWING the overwhelming grief expressed on social media, and the many tributes paid to 18 year-old Megan Biddle after her death in March this year, her friends and family have been fund-raising to produce a permanent memorial to ‘Bid’, as she was affectionately know, in the form of a unique bench.

Michael Gibbs, who designed the hand sculpture in the Youth Memorial garden in Thame, has come up with a design based on ideas from Megan’s friends, expressing her many ‘trademarks’ and passions, including music, skate-boarding, crazy sunglasses and bobble hats! The design is based on a long-board (a long skateboard) and will be made of metal and playfully incorporate wheels at each end that can be spun at will.

A website http://thatbidkid.com/, has now gone live, through which Megan’s friend will be fundraising to build the memorial bench and the project is being co-ordinated through Thame Youth Memorial (charity number 1135630).

The target is £10,000 and already around £1,000 has been raised through the sale of wrist bands and donations, and Lord Williams’s school will be sharing funds raised with the schools’s Gambia Child project, on the last day of term when the teachers will be sporting Christmas jumpers. Megan’s friends were selling wrist bands at the Barley Hill Christmas Disco and raised around £50.

To find out more about Megan’s bench and to make a donation or to find out where you can get hold of wrist bands, visit: http://thatbidkid.com/fundraising/

THAT was the verdict of Paul Mes, of The Federation of Small Business Thames Valley, after his visit to Small Business Saturday in Thame last weekend, December 5.

After the event, Paul said: “This event showed just what excellent results can be achieved by an enthusiastic group of volunteers, even in a short space of time. Easily the best event in my area for Small Business Saturday. I am sure that it will be even better in 2016 if even more people in Thame get behind it!”

The importance to Thame’s economy of its many small businesses is one of the town’s under appreciated assets but after Small Business Saturday last weekend, more of them were able to learn about what each other has to offer, to learn from the experts and raise their profiles in the high street.

Shoppers and passers-by were handed out free shopping bags and information about the event from a stall outside the town hall, while they enjoyed live performances from some of Thame’s talented – and brave, considering the weather – musicians.

Workshops and presentations

Dozens of small businesses attended a series of presentations and workshops in The Stables venue, behind the James Figg pub, with MC, George Anderson, who revealed how his first small business experience was running his school tuck shop aged 11.

A string of inspiring speakers included Jean Gamester of Semaphora Consulting, who spoke about converting goals into reality, Sarah Fletcher of Mushroom Soufflé with her Social Media Strategy workshop, Blooberry Design’s Tracy Staskevich and Yvonne Dean who spoke about good branding, and Thames Valley Business Advisers representative, Tim Luscombe, suggested some basic strategies for small businesses to boost their revenues.

Cake and champagne

At lunch time there was an opportunity for small businesses to network and join in the celebrations for Thame’s ‘Rising Star High Street’ Award, with the Mayor of Thame, Nichola Dixon, and Thame’s MP, John Howell. A magnificent cake, made by Jenny Walker of A Piece of Cake in Thame, was ceremoniously cut by the Mayor and distributed among those present, and taken round to Thame’s hardworking, independent retailers in the town centre to share in the celebration, by Cllr David Laver.

Networking and sharing

The networking and learning continued into the afternoon with a surgery with Graham Hunt, Thame’s Town Clerk, who answered questions about business rates and related matters that affect businesses in Thame and locally. Phil Westerman, of Darwin Swan Associates, was able to talk about the issues involving in buying or selling a business and the pitfalls to be avoided.

Paul Mes, representing the Federation of Small Business, was on hand to explain the benefits of joining the FSB, including tax, legal and financial advice.

The pop-up art exhibition, curated by James Taylor of Poseytude , featuring some young and emerging artists, was held in the currently empty, ex Whittal’s wine shop and proved to be very popular. Glassware designed and made by the ex Mayor of Thame, Jeannette Matelot Green was also on display.

Independent shops joined in too

Many of the independent shops in the town put on special events to support Small Business Saturday, including the Book House with a Christmas book display, Newitts Butchers with a sausage tasting, Steamer Trading gave coffee demonstrations throughout the day, book binding demonstrations were hosted by Kew Book Binding, Rumsey’s held chocolate-making demonstrations and What’s Cooking offered mulled wine along with their Christmas food display which had to be staged indoors due to the wet and windy weather that prevailed throughout most of the day.

Fitch & Fellows in Thame held Christmas dog collar making demonstrations. Christmas tree making and sweet art workshops were held in Swan Walk at Sweet Art Creations and Racquets Fitness Centre and Thame Library also put on special events to support Small Business Saturday.

‘Fantastic day’

Sally Dickinson, a Director of What’s Cooking in Cornmarket, Thame, summed up the day: “What a fantastic day Small Business Saturday was, not only for the shop but also for all the golden nuggets of information we picked up at the workshops. It was the best Small Business Saturday yet and this comes with a huge thank you to everyone who organised the day.”

In the evening, after all that networking and sharing ideas, it was off to The Cross Keys pub for a welcome pint of a special Small Business Saturday brew, specially selected by landlord, Peter Lambert.

Helen Johns, who co-ordinated the Small Business Saturday team in Thame, said: “Small Business Saturday is a national campaign to support, promote and inspire small businesses of any size up to £10m turnover.  A small team of us set out to put on a small business event in Thame that would appeal to non-retail as well as retail businesses, including as many as possible in the activities and marketing it using leaflets, balloons and live music from Black Frog Studios on the day. We have had excellent feedback from those who presented as well as those who attended, and this has encouraged us to build on a promising start and create a bigger and better Small Business Saturday in 2016.”

The date of next year’s Small Business Saturday has not yet been announced but it is expected to be held at a different time of the year in 2016.

I write in my capacity as Chair of the Red Kite Children’Centre Advisory Group to encourage as many people as possible to take part in Oxfordshire County Council’s consultation on the proposals to close all 44 Children’s Centres, replace them with about seven hubs across the county and provide services only for referred families.

This Saturday morning, December 12, I shall be in Thame town centre near the Town Hall 10.00 – 12.00, to draw the public’s attention to the threat to our Red Kite Centre in Thame and Chinnor and to gather signatures on a petition to OCC, urging them to think again about closing all of its Children’s Centres, which provide a vital service for babies, young children and their families.

To cut these services is very short-sighted, because prevention is always better than cure and saves money in the end.

To join with Children’s Services to have a 0 – 19 provision, as proposed by OCC, does make sense and would definitely save money, but for those services to be available only to referred families, would stigmatise those families, making them harder to reach. It would be crisis intervention, with no preventative work, which would store up problems for later, not only causing grief for families, but also resulting in a greater expense to the public purse.

There are many other problems with OCC’s proposals, some examples being:

• the distance from Thame and Chinnor to Didcot, which would be our “local” hub and the lack of public transport in that direction the cost and time involved for outreach workers from Didcot to come to Thame and Chinnor – and nowhere to hold meetings
• another venue would have to be found for health visitor, speech therapist and physiotherapist clinics – at a cost
• most families would be denied access to what many consider vital support
• public money invested in providing Children’s Centres in the first place would be wasted

I hope that many people will join me in Thame on Saturday morning to sign the petition and that many will take part in OCC’s consultation, which is on their website. Hard copies of the consultation document are also available from the library, the Town Hall and the Red Kite Centre.

If anyone would like more information or discuss the issues with me I can be contacted via the Red Kite Centre or on 07779654840 or by email maryandstella@aol.com

Yours sincerely
Mary Stiles
Chair of Red Kite Advisory Group
3 Willow Road, Thame

THE family and friends of popular Thame photographer and drummer, Nick White, have been devastated by the tragic news of his sudden death while on holiday with his wife, Sarah in Cornwall.

Nick, 51, who was originally from Wheatley, had lived and worked in Thame for many years as a photographer and for some time running Print.com. He originally trained as a medical photographer and worked at the John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford.

Nick was a familiar sight taking pictures at Thame’s big events, like Music In The Park, the Carnival, the annual Service of Remembrance (usually at the top of a ladder), the Thame Swimathon and often gave up his time to take photographs for local organisations like The Thame Youth Memorial and The Day Centre. With Peter Lambert, landlord of the Cross Keys pub where Nick was a regular, he set up the Thame Camera Club where he was always willing to share his expertise to help others take better pictures.

Tributes have been piling into to Nick’s facebook page, paying tribute to his kindness, his generosity and his sense of humour. The following eloquent tribute reflecting the outpourings of many, was posted by Norman Brand on behalf of the Thame and District Day Centre – Nick provided some of his stunning shots of Thame for the Centre’s 2016 calendar :

“We at Thame and District Day Centre are so very sad to hear of the sudden death of our friend and unfailing supporter, Nick White. He gave his time to us as a superb professional photographer, to record in pictures so many of the highlights of our life in Thame and in doing so contributed to the increasing public recognition of our work.

“But his role in the life of our town extended much further. His pictures of so many aspects of Thame day to day, against the background of the landscape in which it nestles, capture the very essence of this very special part of Oxfordshire, always produced with consummate artistry. We really miss him.”

A collage of photographs of Thame taken by Nick is now in Romania where they will be on display permanently at the town museum due to open soon, in one of Thame’s twin towns, Sinaia.

Nick’s many other interests included identifying edible fungi, astronomy and playing drums in the band Doghouse, which regularly plays at The Falcon pub in Thame.

Just on Friday, Nick was in among the crowd taking pictures of the town’s Christmas Lights event, including shots of the guest of honour, Olympic cycling gold medalist, Victoria Pendleton. Thame Town Council, for whom Nick became its official Mayoral photographer, said this: “It is with great sadness that the Town Council has learned of the untimely death of local resident and talented photographer, Nick White.

“The Council has enjoyed many years working with Nick through his role as the Mayor’s official photographer. Whilst he may no longer be with us, his legacy will live on through the many wonderful photographs he has taken that so remarkably capture the spirit of the community in which he lived.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time.”

As well as his wife Sarah, Nick also leaves two daughters, Lucy and Martha.