THE funeral of legendary jockey, Pat Eddery, was held at St Mary’s Church, Thame, this morning, when racing personalities, including Frankie Dettori, carried the coffin.
Pat Eddery died at Stoke Mandeville hospital on November 10, following a heart attack, attributed to alcoholism.
The service was followed by a private cremation in Oxford, and a celebration of his life at Notley Tythe Barn in Long Crendon.
IN a match much affected by fierce winds, Chinnor overcame Barnes in their first ever league meeting by 35-25.
After a penalty goal to the visitors by O’Toole, Chinnor began to dominate scoring in the first half hour, with three tries. Oliver went over after a series of goal line pick and drives. Goodfellow bamboozled the Barnes defence by running in a try from half way, dancing in the tram lines throughout.The third try in the sequence was probably the best of the match when Adams broke through, off loaded to Fatialofa who, under pressure, slipped the ball in the tackle to Manning who dotted down for a 15-3 lead to Chinnor.
Fortunes then dramatically reversed and Barnes ran in their own trio of tries in a 7 minute purple patch with Lewis, Alteirac and O’Toole scoring. O’Toole’s conversion at the break gave Barnes a 20-15 lead. Chinnor levelled on 52 minutes with a try from Oscar Heath. Hopkin’s wind defying conversion gave Chinnor a 22-20 lead. Barnes benefitted from a Chinnor kick that went dead in goal and brought play back to the Chinnor 22. From the scrum, Barnes pressure down the right brought a try from Cornish to complete the visitors scoring for the afternoon and a three point lead.
Chinnor, through Hopkin, then used the gusting wind at their backs to score two long range penalty goals for a 28-25 lead. A few minutes before full time, Adams carved straight through the visitor’s defence for try under the posts. Hopkin’s conversion closed the match out for a 35-25 victory for Chinnor.
This was a curious match in which Chinnor showed dominance for most of the match except for a 7 minute deep sleep in which Barnes scored three tries.
Barnes to their credit never kicked the ball and kept it in hand throughout. Whether it was adapting to the strong wind or the desire to play a high tempo game, it produced a great spectacle for those on the touch line.
The Chinnor pack were strong and resolute. Adams’ influence was evident in the scoring of two top quality tries. However the astonishing work rate of Ben Manning made the biggest contribution to the victory. His lung busting support run to score the third try was particularly special.
Teams
Chinnor
Oscar Heath, Marcus Beer, Jack Adams, Junior Fatialofa, Salva Lloret, Bertie Hopkin, Greg Goodfellow , Andy Berry, Mark Darlington, Jay Tyack, Darren Oliver, Tom Burns, Ben Manning, James Tyas ©, Joe Vandermolen
Interchanges: Andy Darlington, Jamie Townsend, Andy Tibbatts, Frank Jones, Jake Olley
Barnes
Tom O’Toole, James Greenwood, Daniel Holmes, David Butler, Kristopher Cottenden, Gareth Williams-Davies, Hamish Reeves, Tom Galvin, Edouard Alterac, Richard Matthews ©, Alexander Crane, Jamie Collins, Richard Mortimer, Robert Malaney, Rupert Crossland
Interchanges: Tom McArthur, William Armitage, Thomas Kynge, Jack Franklin, Matthew Cornish
Scorers
Chinnor
Tries (time): Oliver (14), Goodfellow (25), Manning (31), Heath (52), Adams (74)
Conversions (time): Hopkin 53, 75)
Penalty Goals (time): Hopkin (65, 68)
Barnes
Tries (time): Lewis (33), Alteirac (37), O’Toole (40)
Conversions (time): O’Toole (40)
Penalty Goals (time): (O’Toole)
Referee: Neil Chivers
Attendance: 288
Half time score: 15-20
Full time score: 35-25
Star man: Ben Manning (Chinnor)
AFTER the mulled wine imbibed during the Thame Christmas Extravanganza on the previous Friday evening, and the champagne to celebrate Thame’s Rising Star, Great British High Street award during Small Business Saturday, anyone witnessing a sea of red ‘santas’ racing through the town on Sunday morning (06/12) might have wondered whether they’d perhaps taken a dram or two too many!
However, the 120 people dressed in all kinds of festive attire, dashing to Thame Town Hall, were all taking part in a 3k fun run in support of Florence Nightingale Hospice – and between them, have pledged over £5,000.
“It was great to see so many people dressing up for the occasion”, commented FNHC’s Karen Shardlow, who helped organise the fun run, in partnership with Thame Lions Club and Thame Town Council. “We saw all sorts of outfits, from Santa’s and elves to Christmas puddings and even a giant Christmas Turkey!”
Starting from the Town Hall, the scarlet swarm ran through the High Street, past the festively decorated FNHC shop in Cornmarket, and continued towards the Phoenix Trail, coming out past Lord William’s School, before making their way back towards the High Street, passing the Thatch and finishing off back at the Town Hall, where all the finishers were awarded a special festive medal, and a present from ‘the big man in red’ himself!
“We’re really pleased that the rain held off this year, so no one’s costume got wet, which made the event even more enjoyable,” added Karen. “We were especially happy as our biggest team of 30+ people, including Jessica Bray and her family, ran the route whilst pushing Jessica’s father, Anthony Morris around in his wheelchair. Anthony is currently being cared for at Florence Nightingale Hospice so it was really wonderful to see him being part of the event.
“On behalf of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, I must say a very big thank you to Thame Lions Club for supporting the fun run for the second year in a row. The Lions have been great in terms of helping with organisation and getting marshals together to help on the day,” explained Karen. “Also thanks to the Mayor of Thame, Cllr Nichola Dixon and Thame Leisure Centre for providing the fabulous warm-up for all our fun-runners.”
Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity has to raise over £650,000 a year, to continue providing first class palliative care and support to families suffering with life-limiting illnesses across Bucks, Beds and parts of Oxon.
THAME & District Round Table have launched their Santa Tracker for the third year in a row with the help of Pentangle Internet, a Thame IT & Web company.
Peter Butt of Thame & District Round Table explained: “Santa sometimes had to change the planned route on some collection evenings due to weather or traffic issues so, to try and avoid disappointing anyone, we trialled live updating through Facebook, and Alun Rowe of Pentangle contacted me the first night we tried and said simply: “We can make this easier for you!” The very next evening, the Santa Tracker was live and each year the Pentangle team have improved the app and the website to help everyone see where Santa is on his route. Thanks to Santa Tracker, no need to be disappointed- if Santa hasn’t made it to you, you can come to him!”
Last year Thame Roundtable raised £6,400 and are hoping to raise even more this year. You can sponsor the Santa Tracker and all funds raised through the sponsorship will be used to help fund the running of Thame Round Table as a club, allowing the Roundtable to provide the charitable fundraising ‘vehicle’ of the club and its members. This means that more of the money donated by the public as part of the sleigh runs can go to the charitable groups carrying out the collections.
Collections start on Thursday, December 10, at 6pm from Churchill Crescent. For more information on the full schedule and to track Santa’s every move go to http://santatracker.pentangle.co.uk
FACT: Round Table is the original social network, offering men under the age of 45 the opportunity to expand their social and business networks, develop life skills, have fun and help others. Thame & District Round Table meets every other Tuesday and has a busy calendar of fun and
interesting events, as well as organising various fundraising activities on behalf of local causes.
Twitter: Thame Round Table – @Thame753
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThameDistrictRoundTable753
Website: www.thame.roundtable.co.uk
THAME swimming club is growing and growing and the members achieving some great things in the pool. Helen Williams gives a flavour of the what has been achieved this year, with here take on the club Champions of 2015:
OVERALL we had just under 100 swimmers and some 85% of the Club take part in at least one or more race, which is a significant uptake in participation on previous years! We also had representation from each of our Groups from Group 1 right through to Masters, so a massive ‘well done’ to all the swimmers who took part and who made the Championships the success it was.
We kicked off on Sunday November 15, with the 400m Freestyle and 400m IM for both the girls and boys with new County Accepted times being achieved for Sam White and Oscar North for their 400 Free, and Josh and Ben Williams for their 400 IM. There were some fabulous PBs in evidence too, so special call out to the following swimmers who knocked a whopping one minute or more off their previous times: Joshua Greig, Lucy Block, Laura Creswell and Kaycia Socrates.
Next, Sunday, November 22, was the 800m for the girls and 1500m for the boys with Elizabeth Humphreys bringing home First place overall for the girls and Ben Williams for the boys. There were some amazing PBs in evidence here too, so again ‘well done’ to the following swimmers who knocked over a minute or more off their previous best times: Hazel Randall, Elizabeth Humphreys, Zoe Cooke, Isobel Nelson, Ellen Ludlow, Jo Hewitt, Josh Williams, Elliot Riley-Brown, Hallam Cozier, Rory Pridmore and Henry Bell.
Club Championships
The main event was the full day Club Championships on Sunday, November 29, and what a fabulous day of swimming it was! Full of fantastic swims and lots of personal bests too. A massive well done to every swimmer, especially to all those for whom it was their very first gala. There was very little time between races so kudos to all the swimmers who kept their energy and motivation levels up.
New for 2015 was the Will Finch Breaststroke Canon Relay in memory of Thame Swimming Club swimmer, Will Finch, who very sadly passed away earlier this year. What a fitting tribute race it was too with 50 of our swimmers (in five teams of 10) each swimming 25m breaststroke in canon style to celebrate Will’s favourite stroke. Fitting too that George Finch brought his team home to win overall with each swimmer winning a £10 voucher. Well done to all those who took part and to those who cheered and made lots of noise during the race too!
Club Champs also saw the second year of the Tom Birmingham Skins event in memory of coach Tom Birmingham who passed away in 2014. The event was as nerve wracking and exciting as ever, as the top five swimmers from the 200IM competed against each other in an elimination style challenge … would it be breast, back, fly or free pulled out of the hat?! For the girls Kaycia Socrates, Lily Hawkes, Maisie Randall, Laura Cresswell and Ella Simms all competed, with Ella just pipping Laura to win the trophy. For the boys it was Hallam Cozier, Elliot Riley-Brown, Josh Williams, Ben Williams and Harry Block with Harry also just pipping Ben to the top spot! Well done again to all the swimmers!
As a special call-out I would like to highlight that it was Elizabeth Smith’s (one of the Club’s very first swimmers) last gala for Thame Swimming Club so good luck Lizzie for the future.
Homemade treats and special thanks
Thank you to all the parents who baked such delicious cakes and to all the parents/children who bought and enjoyed them too. I’d like to thank Colin Gibbs for running the stall which made a massive £150 in total! Thanks also to Rachel Humphreys for supplying the deliciously tasty homemade apple juice.
This is the first time we have run a ‘licensed’ meet and as ever, such an event cannot take place without all the support of the parent volunteers and officials, so many thanks to everyone who helped to make Club Champs the success it was. A special call out to Wendy Randall for being lead referee overall for the gala, supported by referee Mark Simms – without either of them we would not have been able to run this gala. Thank you also to all the coaching staff, under the leadership of Ian Blyth who encouraged their swimmers throughout the Championship and to our Chairman, Simon Haarburger for orchestrating the whole event!
We now look forward to a fabulous Awards Evening on Saturday 30th January 2016 to celebrate everyone’s success.
THAME Food Festival, which this year attracted over 20,000 people to the town, has earned a Bronze Award in The Beautiful South Awards 2015.
At a glittering award ceremony in Brighton on Wednesday evening, December 2, a delighted Lotte Duncan and Alison Isherwood collected the award on behalf of everyone involved in the event that after just six years since its inception, has become the biggest, free food festival in country.
Commenting on the awards, Nigel Smith, CEO of Tourism South East (pictured right), said, “It was a fantastic evening at the Grand Hotel and a real privilege to be in the company of so many dedicated and passionate tourism businesses. The excellent quality of facilities, service and approach makes our role of promoting the South East so much easier and is one of the main reasons why we are the most popular UK tourist region outside London.”
Thame Food Festival benefits good causes
Not only does the Thame Food Festival showcase the town to thousands of visitors, it is a not-for-profit organisation and raises funds for local good causes and charities, and this year raised a total of £3,420.
Alison Isherwood, Food Festival Administrator, said: “The following organisations have benefited and we would like to thank our visitors, sponsors, directors and volunteers who came and helped in the run up, and on the day. Everyone was responsible for contributing towards the donations.”
The Thame ATC (Air Training Corp) who transported equipment from the equipment bank and were responsible for putting out tables, chairs etc £250, Thame Lions Stall at event £785, Thame Rotary Club Stall at event £700, Lions and Rotary who stewarded the stallholders’ car park £500, Thame Foodbank from proceeds of The Big Thame Bake £500 and the Belazu Foundation Pop-up restaurant in Christchurch £685 – a grand total of £3420.
In a letter to Thame Food Festival and The Big Thame Bake, John Hulett, Trustee of Sharing Life Trust wrote: “Thank you so much for thinking of us. This is a very welcome donation indeed which we can use towards the cost of our ‘Community Christmas in a Box’ project which we are running for the third year.”
The Lions and Rotary Club, both based in Thame have been involved with the Festival for a number of years, and they raise money throughout the year for many local causes. Money raised from both their stalls and the producers’ car park on the Festival day, helped The Rotary Club support their chosen charities – the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Medical Detection Dogs and The Multiple Sclerosis Centre at Wendover.
The Thame Lions Club organise an annual Pantomime trip to the Thame Players theatre, followed by a tea party for approximately 60 elderly and underprivileged people, and the money they raised on the day helped towards making this possible.
“The Thame Food Festival relies on the help of so many people to make it the success it is and I’d like to say a big thank you to them all,” said Lotte Duncan, Patron and Director of the Thame Food Festival. “We are hugely grateful to all the chefs who give their time for nothing to come to Thame, the directors who provide their input and expertise, the new foodie force of volunteers helping out on the day, Jane Hornby who did a wonderful job running the Big Thame Bake and of course our hard-working organiser, Alison Isherwood. Thank you to everyone – it’s a true team effort,”
The Thame Food Festival is a community event run by the community for the community. For more details, or to get involved by sponsoring or supporting next year’s festival, visit: www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk
FROM 3pm on Friday, December 4, in the town centre. This year’s event will include some new attractions and the return of some family favourites plus, special guest Olympic Cyclist, Victoria Pendleton, will be helping to turn on the Christmas lights.
Upper Chamber Cabaret – Mulled wine and a mince pies served up by Thame Lions, at the same time as live performances throughout the including Stagecoach, Thame Pop Choir and Thame Youth Theatre.
Rides & Attractions – Meet some real Christmas donkeys who will be giving rides to children in Cornmarket.
The skating rink is back by popular demand! Book your slot in advance at the Town Hall Information Centre. Children can also visit Santa in his magical grotto!
Entertainment – Other live acts in the High Street throughout the evening will include Thame Players, Thame Concert Band and the Emerald Dance Academy.
THAME’S town partnership, 21st Century Thame, which runs the Thame Carnival, Thame Tidy Day and Small Business Saturday among other events, and has been instrumental in initiating so many great projects such as the Food Festival, the Thame Equipment Bank, Blue Plaques, Historic Walks pavement waymarkers, more bicycle racks, planters at the town’s main entry points, Welcome Packs and loads more, is looking for new blood.
A planned AGM for October 7, unfortunately had to be postponed and the new date will be Tuesday, December 8, at 7:30pm in the Upper Chamber of Thame Town Hall. If you run a business, or work or live in the town, and want to help shape Thame’s future for everyone, 21st Century Thame would love to see you at the AGM and to hear what you might have to offer.
21st Century Thame is a Town Partnership, including local authorities, local community groups and volunteers, set up to facilitate projects which enhance the town for residents, businesses and visitors alike. It’s stated aim is: “To enhance the historic market town of Thame by protecting its past and promoting its future as a vibrant and flourishing centre serving the whole community.”
You can find out more by visiting 21st Thame’s website
A Thame Town Charter, aimed at strengthening community spirit throughout the town, has been launched by the Mayor of Thame.
Cllr Nichola Dixon, alongside the Town Clerk, Graham Hunt, and representatives of Sharing Life Trust, came together on Friday, November 27, 2015, to formally launch the Thame Community Charter and it is hoped that local groups, clubs and businesses will sign up to share its vision and spirit.
The Charter is described as: “Setting out a vision for our town around which individuals and both the voluntary and commercial sectors can coalesce and actively participate in building a stronger community identity. The simple, recognisable ‘mark’ of the Charter will be a clear identifier of all that makes our town a special place in which to live and work.”
On receiving her copy of the Charter, Cllr Dixon said: “Thame is such a wonderful place to live; full of passionate individuals and businesses who care deeply about the future of their community. This Charter puts into words what we are all striving towards for our town. I am delighted to support it and strongly encourage others to do so.”
Phil Stratton of Sharing Life Trust said: “As a local charity providing relief of hardship and poverty, we are passionate about enabling those in the community to make a difference.”
Anyone wanting to adopt the Community Charter, can visit www.thamecharter.org or contact Sharing Life Trust on 0845 466 0264.
THAME Chamber Choir, together with its children’s choir, TCC2, is putting on not one but two concerts of Christmas music, on Saturday, December 19.
The evening performance at 7.30 pm will be preceded by a shorter matinée at 4.30 pm., specially for younger children and their parents. As well as home-made mince pies there will be plenty of music for all tastes: traditional carols, modern carols, jazzy carols, and carols to sing along to – with mulled wine to keep vocal cords lubricated (and juice for the children).
Both concerts will be in St Mary’s Church, Thame. Tickets are available from the Book House, Thame, or on the door, and are free for children under 16!
More details: http://thamechamberchoir.org/concert.php?which=45