Overnight between 30th and 31st May, a vehicle in Thame was broken into.
Offender(s) broke a window to gain entry to a white Ford transit van parked in Ormond Road and stole power tools.
If you have seen any suspicious looking people or vehicles in the area or have any information relating to this message please call the police on 101 and state you are responding to a Thames Valley Alert message.
Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online @ crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.
SUNDAY June 15, sees the return of Thame & District Round Table’s annual duck race, held as usual on the morning after Thame Carnival.
The race, which involves dropping more than 2,000 rubber ducks into the River Thame, has now been running for more than 10 years and has long become a family favourite in Thame’s summer calendar.
Tickets always sell well, so you will need to be quack off the mark if you don’t want to miss out! You can still buy tickets at the Falcon and Cross Keys pubs and on Saturday 7th June, Thame Air Cadets will be selling tickets outside the Town Hall. They will also be available on the Duck Race stall at Thame fete the following Saturday, the day before the race, immediately after the Carnival. There will also be some tickets on sale at the start line on the morning of the race.
The race starts on the old town bridge, accessed from the bottom of Priest End, behind St Mary’s church. Gates open at 10.45am and the race will start at 11.00.
Thame Duck Race is organised each year by Thame & District Round Table, with a bit of help from Captain Ducky, Thame’s resident pirate. The money raised is divided between local causes, many of whom contribute to the fundraising themselves by helping to sell tickets.
At 15:37 on Thursday 29th May 2014 Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service received a call to a report of a smoke alarm operating and a smell of burning from a property in Van Diemens Road in Thame. Two fire crews from Thame were on scene within minutes and made entry to the building to find a fire in the oven at the house. The fire was dealt with by crews and the occupant was led to safety. The neighbour, was alerted by the sound of the smoke alarm and called the emergency services. Fire service spokesperson Crew Manager Kevin Morgan said, “The occupant was very fortunate that his smoke alarm alerted his neighbour , this situation could have been far more serious had the neighbour not been so vigilant” he went on to say, “Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service cannot stress the importance of having a working smoke alarm on each floor of your property, on this occasion I have no doubt that the reason for the successful outcome of this incident was because of working smoke alarms. We would also strongly discourage people from cooking after consuming alcohol”.
CHINNOR RFC are running weekly Touch Rugby sessions for over 16’s and adults every Wednesday 7pm until 8pm over the summer, starting on Wednesday, May 28.
It’s aimed at all abilities and an opportunity for non-members to come along and join in too. No experience necessary, and no need to book in advance and sessions are completely free.
For more information please contact Adam Woodliffe at: clubcaptain@chinnor-rfc.com.
THAME residents may have the opportunity to vote again on aspects of their Neighbourhood Plan, if recommendations made by Planning Officers are taken up by district councillors.
Image courtesy of pas.gov.uk
The possibility was mooted at a recent meeting of South Oxfordshire District Council’s Scrutiny Committee, during an agenda item to consider the council’s approach to the recently published Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMAR) figures, which could see Thame having to have as many as 2,000 more new homes in the coming years than are allowed for in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan. (See previous reports here https://www.thame.net/archives/13972and here https://www.thame.net/archives/13474)
The full report in the Minutes of the Scrutiny Committee meeting, which includes an explanation of how the new figures were arrived at, and the Scrutiny Committee’s full response to it, can be read here: LINK
AS part of Thame Carnival week, the popular annual Thame Carnival Quiz will be held at Racquets Fitness Centre, on Friday, June 13, the evening before Carnival Day. The Carnival Quiz (aka Festival Quiz) has been running since 1993. The Wild Geese are named nine times on the Shield – could your team name join them?
Teams of up to six can sign up, at £5 per person. There will be a licensed bar, and a raffle. Contact Quiz mistress, Sue Boyle, via facebook to book a table. https://www.facebook.com/events/687805924613759/
The victorious team, Russell’s Cyclists, after receiving their prizes for winning The Mega Quiz on May 9
A MEGA quiz, held recently in Thame, raised hundreds of pounds for a Thame charity that supports young people with learning difficulties.
The quiz was held in aid of SAFARI and the Thame & District Day Centre at John Hampden School, and the quiz mistress, Sue Boyle was delighted with the result.
“This was a great evening,” she said, “and I am thrilled to announce that we raised £1000! This figure was doubled, thanks to Barclay’s Bank, who had agreed to match-fund money raised. So each charity received £1000 – not bad for a night’s work! Thank you to everyone who came and supported the event so generously.”
UPDATE: 07:45 hrs : London results in – Labour four seats, Conservatives two seats, UKIP and Green Party, one seat each. The one Lib Dem seat was lost. Therefore, our region, the South East, has the only Lib Dem seat for the UK in the European Parliament.
MEP Catherine Bearder – the only Lib Dem MEP left in the UK
RESULTS in for the South East region Euro elections 2014 are in. Four seats for UKIP, Conservatives have three seats, Labour has one, Green Party has one and the Lib Dems retain their one seat – the only Lib Dem seat in the whole of the UK (London results not included at this time 01.55 hrs due to a hold up in the count in Tower Hamlets).
Here, the council says it had a big turnout of more than 50%, as well as having to deal with the knock-on effects of counting the votes in a close mayoral battle on Thursday night, as well as a recount of a local elections ward . The BBC has reported that the counters may be sent home for a rest and resume counting tomorrow.
AFTER their phenomenal performance at Thame’s Music in the park, so many of us were ‘blown away’ by Urban Strides, and have wanted to know more about them. So we decided to catch up with Andy Instone, this amazing Street Dance group’s Creative Director, to find out about what those inspiring the next generation of dancers is doing differently to create such extraordinary results.
Tommy Russell
Urban Strides have been one of the leading lights on the UK Street Dance scene for over 10 years. They were the first Street Dance crew in the World to open the Royal Variety performance in the presence of her majesty the Queen and have performed on over 108 arena stages. Their students have gone on to become Hollywood stars, successful dancers and to have confidence in all aspects of their lives. Founder Andy Instone is clearly putting something in the water! Although Urban Strides perform all over the UK, they reside and train in Bucks and have classes and links to schools in Thame. Here’s how the interview went:
Q: The level of performance you attain with a group of young people is far above the ‘normal’ standard of performance, what’s your secret?
AI (Andy Instone): Confidence. We give our students the confidence to believe they can achieve their dreams. From a beginner’s class right up to the professional companies we re-enforce the belief that we are all capable of achieving great things if we put our mind to it.
Q: How do you get such a transformation from taking a beginner to professional standard dancer?
AI: Expectations. In all our crews whether it’s the kids or the teens and adults we set the bar extremely high and expect them to reach it. We find when you raise the expectations of someone you open their eyes to a standard they never thought possible. After that it becomes an addiction, once you get to a level you never thought you could achieve it gives you the confidence to raise the bar again.
Q: The performances are so dynamic what is it that sets your choreography apart?
AI: We are Street Dance specialists so everything we do is based from that. I spent the last 15 years traveling around the world learning the original Street Dance styles from the creators themselves. I’ve been fortunate enough to learn from the teachers of Michael Jackson and the worlds most famous Breakin’ (Break dance) crew, The Rocksteady crew from New York. I’ve taken these real deal Street dance moves and teach my teachers to pass these skills on to our younger students.
Freya Hargreaves
Q: Have you any success stories from students from Lord Williams in Thame?
AI: Yeah quite a few! But a couple spring to mind. Freya Hargreaves who was a student at Lord Williams came to class as a beginner to learn some moves and transform her confidence. She ended up performing with our professional company and even performed at the O2 arena.
We also had Tommy Russell who also started as a beginner and is now in London on a scholarship with a top musical theatre school and is about to embark on his journey as a full time professional dancer.
At the moment we have a another young man called Alex Cook who started off in our Thursday night beginner class in Thame and now performs regularly for the Junior crew. His confidence, team working skills and dance ability have soared in the last 4 years and he is showing huge promise to continue a professional career in dance if he wants to.
Alex Cook n the middle with Urban Strides crew members, Tom on the left and Jacob on the right
Here’s what Alex’s Dad Rob had to say about Alex’s involvement with Urban Strides:
“Urban Strides has been amazing for Alex, he was never really interested in sports but street dance with Urban Strides gave him an outlet for his energy and passion. He’s gained so much strength, confidence and self belief it’s been wonderful to see. Urban Strides and the crew are truly his second family – sometimes his first! and their commitment to supporting and developing their students goes so much deeper than “just” street dance, he’d be lost without them.”
If you would like your child to inspired, get fit, be a part of something positive take a look at the Urban Strides website for classes for children, teenagers and adults. www.urbanstrides.com or 08448488825.
HOW would you like to test your squash playing skills against a UK, Gold Medal, top squash player? Well, now’s your chance!
Alison Water, British Squash Champion 2014
Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame is running another of its popular Graded and Doubles squash and racketball tournaments on June 6/7/8th, for all ages and levels, and is running a competition offering the lucky winner the chance to play Alison Waters – the British number one, 1 lady squash player.
Sue Martin-Downhill, who is organising the event, explained: “For racketball everyone will be playing doubles. It’s a fun game; one hit each and everyone of every standard can play. For squash players who are new to the game – men, ladies or juniors, there’ll be singles tournaments.
“For the more experienced players we’ll be playing doubles! We’ll teach you the tactics and the rules – so don’t worry if you’ve never played before. Also, if you don’t have a partner that’s no problem either as we can pair you up. We hope you are up for some fun! We look forward to seeing you there.”
On the Saturday, after the games have been played, Alison Waters will be playing Will John – Thame and Racquets’ home-grown professional squash player.
As well as your name, email address and telephone number, you will need to answer to this question :
When is British squash No 1 Alison Waters playing at Racquets fitness centre? A. Saturday 7th June 2014 at 7:00pm B. Monday 2nd January 2014 at 7:00pm C. Wednesday 2nd December 2015 at 7:00pm
ADVANCE notice of a road closure – B4445 Chinnor Road/Thame Road – Closed from Towersey Turn to Waterlands Farm entrance; REASON: to facilitate carriageway resurfacing work.
DURATION: Starting on Tuesday, June 3, 2014 for 4 days (Traffic Regulation Notices cover a maximum of 5 consecutive days).
ACCESS: Limited access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for frontages within the closed section of road, subject to the progress of the works. Scheduled buses will be able to pass through the works under the control of gatemen at each end of the closure.
SUGGESTED ALTERNATIVE ROUTE: via B4445 southeast to Chinnor, southwest on B4009, Kingston Blount, northwest on A40, northeast on B4012 to Thame, southeast on B4445 and vice versa.
