Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Thame’s prospective Labour candidate speaks out on The Elms

    WE want to liven things up on Thame.Net and SAM JUTHANI, the Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Thame, is the first of our guest opinion piece contributors, a feature we would like to introduce as a regular part of Thame.Net. Here’s his contribution and do please feel free to comment: (PLEASE NOTE that opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Thame.Net)

    Sam Juthani, Labour Candidate for the Henley Constituency
    Sam Juthani, Labour Candidate for the Henley Constituency

    AROUND Thame, the Neighbourhood Plan continues to be a major issue- most recently, focused on Tesco’s plans for the edge of Thame. However, nothing has got Thame talking like the plan for the Elms. I have been surprised by the lack of generosity and understanding in John Howell’s public statements on the matter. The Elms is a contentious issue, but he has consistently sought to portray those who raised a fundamental objection to the plan as unconstructive and unhelpful to the process.

    He is right to say that as candidates running for election next May, he and I must be circumspect in what we say about planning applications. He is also right to say that we need to work together to ensure the best outcome. However, in our respective roles, we also need to be championing the local community. I first realised how much of an issue the Elms was when I was canvassing Thame residents ahead of the European Parliament elections in May. Not only did almost every single resident mention it as a local issue, they were almost uniformly against the proposal to develop the site at all. Local residents’ voices should be heard.

    seans_choice_crendon_bedsI would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the work of the Elms Petition Group. Whether you agree with them, or not, they are a shining example of extraordinary civic leadership. With no previous experience of campaigning or politics, they have built up a grassroots movement simply because they think that is the right thing to do. They deserve to be commended.

    Sam Juthani
    Labour Party Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Thame

  • Thame.net gets ‘crafty’

    THAME.NET was recently invited to sample a course at Ardington School of Crafts, so we sent our ‘crafty’ friend, Susan Koffler along to join a two-day course making resin jewellery with tutor, Kathie Murphy.

    ardington_schoolArdington School of Crafts was set up two and a half years ago when an old primary school building was purchased, and renovated to create a pleasant space for workshops and courses with plenty of light, as well as a lovely garden. After the primary school closed, the building had a variety of uses and the present owners have kept a file of historic papers and news clippings to show parts of its fascinating history.

    Being 25.8 miles from Thame, there are various routes to take to Ardington; I chose the meandering back roads via the A329 which conveniently by-passed all the present delays at the Oxford ring-road and A34 roadworks.

    There are an ever expanding wide range of craft courses to choose from – 205 on offer for 2015! from china and ceramics, to wood and willow. Some are just one or two-day courses, and others or 2 day courses, including some over a weekend. The tutors selected are always experts in their field and have usually published books in their field of expertise.

    ardington_diningroom (2)My course ran from Thursday to Friday and I was made most welcome each morning with a selection of biscuits and a wide choice of coffee or teas, in the pleasantly relaxing dining room. There were eight of us on the course and after introducing ourselves over coffee, we had the course agenda explained to us and queued up to pay for our materials (not included in the course in this instance).

    Katie explained the technical issues of our first task and briefly demonstrated what to do, and we were soon all immersed in the task of forming a mould master from quick drying and microwaveable Fimo. All was silent as we were all concentrating and working on our clay forming skills…. This was baked and attached to a base and then we built cardboard walls to contain the liquid rubber compound.

    ardington_pooring_rubber (400x300)While we enjoyed a relaxing and delicious lunch (included in the course) , chatting sociably and being inspired by the ample supply of art and craft magazines provided for our perusal, the tutor poured the rubber so that the moulds could start to set.

    The afternoon was spent using a resin compound to create bangles and pendants from pre-prepared moulds that were bought from the tutor, or ones that we had brought with us such as silicone ice cube or chocolate mould trays. We were also experimenting with colouring compounds to make the transparent resin more colourful. For inclusions into the resin there was lots to try out: buttons, beads, sequins, glitter, paper and even fish-tank gravel were some of the additions that were used.

    Needless to say the afternoon flew by. We had a delicious afternoon tea with cake and soon it was time to call it a day. We had learned so much and were looking forward to seeing how our set resin pieces would turn out .

    The following morning we had the pleasure of unveiling our moulds and to fill them with a resin compound to make unique creations. This took up the whole morning. The compound used on the second morning differed from the one used on day one, and had a very strong and rather unpleasant scent during ‘’curing’’ but it sets much quicker and has less temperamental reactions with colouring media . Due to the smell however it was all stored in another room, with fans in place and open windows to maximise ventilation.

    ardington_mouldsAfter a soothing coffee break with delicious cakes, we finished the day with advice on how to finish jewellery pieces with findings and fittings, which was discussed sitting in the lovely garden. We were also able to unmould  the pieces set the previous day and decide what finishing was needed, and watched a demonstration of filing, polishing and finishing to create smooth pieces of resin.

    After a super lunch with a wide choice of delectable sandwiches, some smaller ‘’smelly resin ‘’ pieces were ready to be finished and we could practice our filing, which was very necessary as the moulds were very coarse and produced dull and textured rough resin pieces, not the glossy smooth and glass-like pieces we had imagined.

    There was an awful lot of finishing filing and sanding work to be done!

    Some of the participants had made bracelets the previous day and these were taken out of the moulds and were much admired, needing very little finishing as they were made from the less scented but longer curing resin compound.
    ( see photo)

    Finally it was time to say goodbye to the welcoming and warm hospitality of the Ardington team and take our creations home.

    Overall the best liked pieces made were the bracelets.

    To anyone thinking of taking this course, my personal warning would be that the ‘’scented’’ resin pieces continues to smell very bad indeed for another 10 days to 2 weeks! It seemed to get worse if anything and driving home in the car it was almost unbearable, even with all the windows open. The mould-making skills and practice were very interesting and useful, though I would work on perfecting a shiny and perfectly smooth ‘’master’’ next time and use a different material, as none of the moulds made with the microwaveable FIMO were in a useable state for my purpose.

    Overall I would highly recommend the Ardington School of Crafts for it’s facilities, the light and spaceous work-rooms, the lovely food and relaxing atmosphere.
    Do choose your course carefully and ensure it will teach you what you are aiming for; you will have a wonderful and enriching time.

  • South Oxon is tops for recycling!

    IT”S official – South Oxfordshire’s residents are the best recyclers in the country.

    biffa_dustcart (400x269)The district has topped the latest official league table of England’s local authorities by recycling nearly two thirds of its household waste (65.71 per cent).

    Their neighbours in the Vale of White Horse are also sitting proudly in third place with a recycling rate of 65.27 per cent. Both councils have been in the top three for the past three years.

    Cllr David Dodds, Cabinet Member for Waste at South Oxfordshire District Council, and a Thame Town Cllr, said: “We are very proud that South Oxfordshire is the number one area in the country for recycling. The service we provide is designed to make recycling easy and our residents have responded to that by ensuring they recycle as much rubbish as possible, and by limiting the amount of other waste that is produced. They are the ones who are setting the standard for others to follow and deserve our congratulations.”

    South and Vale councils have had a shared waste collection service with Biffa since 2010, saving an estimated £1.2 million. The councils recently extended the Biffa contract until 2024.

    The council is currently looking at the possibility of bringing in a kerbside collection of small electrical goods and textiles to help increase recycling rates even further and will shortly be launching a new service, Recycleopedia, which is like a search engine for your bin – users simply type in the item they want to throw away, enter their postcode, and the results page explains which bin to put it in.

    seans_choice_crendon_bedsAlso on the way are free iCal waste calendars, which means that residents can download a copy of their waste calendar straight onto their smartphone. Their chosen calendar app will display a reminder on the day before they put their bins out, and then on the collection day itself, telling them whether it’s a grey or a green bin week.

    Keep an eye on the councils’ websites at www.southoxon.gov.uk and www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk for more information.

  • Bumper prizes for Carnival theme competition

    SUGGESTIONS for the theme for this year’s Thame Carnival are coming thick and fast, and promise to create quite a challenge for the event organisers, after the closing date of November 30, when the theme will be chosen.
     
    Three pupils from Barley Hill School, Thame, post their theme suggestions for Thame Carnival 2015
    Three pupils from Barley Hill School, Thame, post their theme suggestions for Thame Carnival 2015

    There are four, great prizes up for grabs donated by local businesses; a chocolate fondue experience at Rumsey’s, Thame,  a toy from Wally’s Toy Shop, three months junior membership at Raquets Fitness Centre and a month’s membership of the Pauline Quirke Academy in Oxford.
     
    seans_choice_crendon_bedsThe prizes will be presented at the ‘big Christmas Lights Switch On’ on December 5, by a very special guest!
     
    Suggestion boxes have been distributed to all the local schools and are filling up fast!  The competition is open to all school-age children and a suggestion form can be downloaded from the Thame Carnival 2015 Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thamecarnival2015/posts/1523864101166101
     

  • MP conducts scratch choir for church charity

    THAME’S MP, John Howell, conducted a scratch choir in a choral evensong on Saturday (15/11), to help the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust (OHCT) fund-raising campaign for its Jubilee Year.

    Scratch choir (400x300)The evensong was held at Great Milton church, a church which had received funds from OHCT to deal with death watch beetle. Afterwards, John said: “Singers from different communities across the Deanery rose to the challenge and the service was much appreciated by the special congregation which came together to celebrate with the choir. I think they were a bit surprised to find their MP conducting.”

    He added: “Many churches have small congregations of increasingly elderly members. OHCT does a great job in helping with the restoration of many churches and I am pleased to have supported it.”

    Refreshments after the service were provided by Nicholas and Philippa Wills.

  • Thame builder is region’s top apprentice

    A THAME building firm is patting itself on the back this week, after one of its young employees was chosen as Southern Counties Regional Apprentice of the Year, in the prestigious Master Builder of the Year Awards 2015.

    Zak Lafford
    Zak Lafford, who works for Stuart Bar CDR Ltd, Thame, was rightly proud of his achievement and said afterwards: “It’s a great achievement. I feel proud to have won the award and feel like my hard work and dedication has started to pay off, especially in an industry that’s not always full of compliments and praise; this is the best type of ‘pat on the back’ you can get.

    “Working for Stuart Barr has played a massive part in me getting where I am today. They have helped every step of the way, giving me the time, patience and training needed to develop my skills which has allowed me to reach the high quality of work that Stuart Barr provides.”

    Zak’s boss, Stuart Barr himself, said: “Zak has always shown the highest levels of commitment and been keen to extend his knowledge. As well as producing the highest quality of work, he is punctual and presentable with great communication skills, which is exactly what is required to give great customer service in our industry. Within the Stuart Barr group of companies, investing in young people is core to our business and we take on at least two apprentices each year across our business interests of construction, joinery and kitchens.

    seans_choice_crendon_beds“We are delighted with Zak’s achievement – he is a great role model for the other apprentices following in his footsteps. and we wish him the best of luck for the finals in February.”

    The national winners of the 12th Master Builder of the Year Awards will be announced by TV presenter and architecture enthusiast Charlie Luxton who will present the coveted accolades at a high profile ceremony at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in London, on February 18, 2015.

    The awards represent a nationwide search by the FMB to find the best builders in the UK. Nominations must come from a satisfied client, and builders are judged on their technical ability together with their customer service skills and attention to detail, along with the project’s end result.

    The finalist for Apprentice of the Year will receive a cheque for £1,000.

  • Thame butchers strike gold

    A top-notch ‘Q Guild’ butcher from Thame has struck gold in the prestigious Smithfield Awards.

    Tom Newitt, of Newitt & Sons, with Matthew Fort
    Tom Newitt, of Newitt & Sons, with Matthew Fort

    M Newitt & Sons, of High Street, Thame, won four gold awards – for their Green Back Bacon, their Smoked Back Bacon, their Long Crendon Black Bacon and their Steak, Ale & Stilton Pie.

    A total of 479 products from 54 Q butchers nationwide, virtually half of the national membership, were entered for the eight categories in this year’s Smithfield Awards, the annual national product evaluation competition. They were judged by independent panels of food and meat industry experts.

    Awards were announced and presented last Thursday (13/11) at the Butchers Hall in Smithfield, London, ancestral home of the Q Guild, by Matthew Fort, the food and drink editor at the Guardian for over a decade, author of several award-winning books on food, and one of the expert judges on the popular TV series, The Great British Menu.

    Mathew Fort spoke of his life-long admiration for butchers, adding: “There’s something about the skill, watching butchers break up a carcass with their calm assurance; it’s like watching a magician at work; it’s like the finest theatre. The knife coming down, even sharpening the knife – the noise and the crunch when the cleaver comes down with such precision. To someone like me this is absolute magic.

    seans_choice_crendon_beds“I’ve spent many hours watching butchers going about their business and every time there’s something to be learnt. I’ve never had a serious conversation with a butcher where I haven’t learnt something from that conversation.

    “I think the future can be extremely positive for the Q Guild butchers; the emphasis on quality, precision and wisdom – you can’t put too high a price on that.”

    Q Guild national chairman, West Yorkshire butcher, Brindon Addy, said: “Smithfield Awards are among the meat industry’s most esteemed and cherished accolades, recognising and rewarding both product quality and innovation, at the same time reflecting the skills continually demonstrated by our members – Great British butchers one and all.”

  • Thame finally through on penalties against North Leigh

    IT went right to the wire with penalties, but

    Luke Ricketts
    Luke Ricketts

    Thame United eventually overcame visitors North Leigh United to book their place in the next round of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup and a trip to Easington Sports.

    After a slow start to the game, it was the visitors who opened the scoring after eight minutes when, following some confusion in the home defence, a powerful shot from eight yards beat Cockerill in the Thame goal. United were, at this stage, unable to find any real penetration and their first effort on goal did not arrive until the 20th minute when a drive from distance by Ollie Lynch was saved by the visiting keeper. Indeed, it could have been worse five minutes later, when some indecision between Calvin Evans and Cockerill allowed Seacole to nip-in, only to see his lobbed effort go wide.

    However, United were on terms after 29 minutes when a through ball from Lynch found Dan West 25 yards from goal and with the keeper coming out to challenge, West lobbed the ball into an empty net. United were then indebted to Cockerill two minutes before the break, pushing a shot from ten yards wide of the goal when a goal looked the more likely outcome.

    United came out the stronger of the two sides in the second half, and went close on 50 minutes through a Dan Jones volley. Jon Coverley then saw a goal-bound effort cleared off the line, before Marcus Mealing struck the bar from a free kick on 60 minutes, with Ellis Hercules scoring from the follow-up, only for the goal to be disallowed for an earlier offence. There followed another clearance off the line by the visitors before, on 81 minutes, a Jones free kick was headed on to the bar by Mealing. Three minutes later and United, following a goalmouth scramble, struck a post, but were unable to find the net.

    And so the game moved in to Extra Time with United enjoying the majority of the possession but unable to break down the visitors, who were reduced to 10 men five minutes in to the second period. With no change to the score line, the game went to penalties. After both sides had scored four from five penalties, it was in to sudden death, with Cockerill saving the seventh penalty to give United a chance. Up stepped Luke Ricketts who sent the keeper the wrong way to settle the tie. Final score: 1 – 1.

    United: Cockerill, Evans, Hall, Hercules, Coverley (Hodgkins), Lynch, Jones (Connelly), Morris, Mealing (Gray), West, Ricketts

  • Thame residents fear impact of Tesco

    A group of Thame residents is planning a campaign to oppose a proposal for a Tesco store and petrol station on the outskirts of the town, because they fear its effects on them and on town centre businesses.

    A recent Tesco store in Newmarket
    A recent Tesco store in Newmarket

    Chair of the East Thame Residents Association, Bob Austin, told Thamenews.net: “Our reasons for opposing the Tesco development- subject to confirmation at a general meeting- are based on of its potentially adverse impact on residents in the surrounding area as well as on the prosperity of the town centre itself. In particular:

    1. The DAF site is surrounded on three sides by residential dwellings and the scale of the development would seriously affect the quality of life of those people living there. The superstore would be open from 7am to 11pm- we presume the petrol station would be the same (?)- and the noise and light pollution could be a serious problem. The latter would obviously be exacerbated by delivery vehicles. Traffic on the bypass could be problematic and would need to be carefully managed.

    2.The DAF site is zoned for employment use only and would require a ‘change of use’. The latter normally requires a one year period of advertising to establish a justification for change. Given the uncertainties imposed by the Local Plan 2031 on housing numbers for Thame, the site should not be waved through for change of use automatically before future needs are clear.

    3.The building of a superstore would be contrary to the Thame Neighbourhood Plan (TNP). Page 28 of that document states: “Thame is a small town and any major shopping development outside the town centre would be likely to undermine the town’s vitality and the viability of town centre shops”. These words are a confirmation of an independent study undertaken when Tesco previously sought an edge of town superstore.

    4.The TNP identified an additional food (or convenience) retail need of only 600 sq. metres (6500 sq. feet) by 2027. The new superstore would be six and a half times that size. As a community we should address need not just convenience.

    5. We are concerned at the potential to replace the employment land at DAF by other sites around the town. The additional land (not in the TNP) given to the new warehousing on Howland Road was in part justified as replacing the employment land taken by the ‘permitted development’ conversion of the old Angus Fire Armour Offices into flats.

    “Any decision on the DAF site development should not undermine the well-being of residents or of town centre itself. Thame is justly proud of its ability to resist the retail blight that has hit other towns and should continue to do so.

    seans_choice_crendon_beds“The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) emphasises that the promotion of town centre vitality must be the core policy. We would urge that Thame Town Council ensure this is the case by commissioning its own study, independent of that required of Tesco, and supporting the conclusions of the Neighbourhood Plan. The latter may bend but it should not be allowed to break.”

    Editor: A response from Thame Town Council and South Oxfordshire District Council is awaited

    PREVIOUS; Supermarket’s bid to build in Thame

  • Small firms spinning over music rights says FSB

    THE Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is critical of the progress made by copyright collecting societies and wants to see a more transparent service for small firms wanting to play music. Collecting societies protect the rights of intellectual property in industries such as music, the media and design but the FSB suggests many small businesses are confused by the way the rules and regulations work.

    copyrightNew research from the FSB found as many a quarter of FSB members with a relationship with a copyright collecting society (24 per cent) had made a complaint of some sort. The findings also show the lack of progress towards achieving greater transparency and simplicity of charges over the past 12 months. Without such progress, trust amongst small businesses in the current system will be undermined.

    The firms questioned also thought that copyright collecting societies had not improved their understanding of the needs of small businesses. However, small firms did acknowledge some improvement to joint working between PRS for Music and Phonographic Performance Ltd (PPL). Businesses also welcomed improvements to the accuracy of information used by collection societies.

    Later this month collecting societies are expected to publish a response to an independent review of their codes of conduct as laid out by their self-regulatory body the British Copyright Council.

    Previous FSB surveys have indicated most small businesses who have a relationship with collecting societies are licensees of both PRS and PPL. Two per cent of FSB members have membership of other collecting societies, including of PRS, the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS).

    David Knowles Leak, Thames Valley Regional Chairman of Federation of Small Businesses, said: “An unexpected demand for licence payments to allow you to play music in your business can be a very unpleasant shock to some small businesses, and the industry should be sensitive in how they approach the issue. For trust to be built, they need to make sure they are very clear on why a licence is needed and completely transparent on how charges are calculated.

    “Although collecting societies have a strong code of conduct in place, we are not convinced they are making enough progress in meeting their own standards. This research should be seen as a warning sign that without faster change, small business will start seeking stronger regulation of the industry.”

    SOURCE: Press release