Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • 15/04/13….County Council Election candidates for Thame

    THERE will be nine candidates running for two seats on behalf of Thame and Chinnor in the County Council elections on May 2, 2013

    They are:

    David William Bretherton Liberal Democrat Party
    Nick Carter Conservative Party
    Colin Dennis Grenville Green Party
    David Arthur Laver Liberal Democrat Party
    Michael Montgomery UKIP
    William Parkinson UKIP
    Mary Honora Stiles Labour Party Candidate
    Simon Stone Labour Party Candidate
    David Noel Wilmshurst The Conservative Party

    A full list of the candidates for all divisions is available at Oxfordshire County Council’s website

  • 15/04/13….County Council Election candidates for Thame

    THERE will be nine candidates running for two seats on behalf of Thame and Chinnor in the County Council elections on May 2, 2013

    They are:

    David William Bretherton Liberal Democrat Party
    Nick Carter Conservative Party
    Colin Dennis Grenville Green Party
    David Arthur Laver Liberal Democrat Party
    Michael Montgomery UKIP
    William Parkinson UKIP
    Mary Honora Stiles Labour Party Candidate
    Simon Stone Labour Party Candidate
    David Noel Wilmshurst The Conservative Party

    A full list of the candidates for all divisions is available at Oxfordshire County Council’s website

  • 15/04/13….Controversial Thame park gates plan to be heard

    THE Planning committee of South Oxfordshire District Council will, on April 17, consider an application by Thame Town Council for retrospective planning permission to leave out a pedestrian gate, contrary to plans originally submitted and approved by the district council.

    The plan to leave out the pedestrian gate has been opposed by some local residents on safety grounds. The town council however, has denied that failing to provide a pedestrian gate to the side of the main gates, would not constitute a danger.

    You can read previous news items on this subject here and

    The meeting will start at 6pm on Wednesday, in the council chamber at South Oxfordshire District Council, Council Offices, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8NJ.

    Anyone with concerns and would like to speak at the meeting, needs to register by 12 noon on April 16, by contacting public.speaking@southoxon.gov.uk

  • 15/04/13…..Relief as Chinnor RFC bouces back

    NATIONAL 2 South – Saturday, April 13, 2013 – Score: Chinnor 33 Clifton 12. CHINNOR was glad to get back to its winning ways on Saturday, scoring five tries in a 33-12 victory over Bristol side, Clifton.

    The game started in the best possible way for Chinnor. Right from the kick-off, Chinnor?s young fly half, Will Millett, sidestepped the Clifton defence and took the ball a full 75 metres before delicately chipping for touch. Chinnor stole the resulting five metre lineout ball and a few passes later, Stoop crashed over for a try in the first minute. Millett?s conversion put the home side 7-0 up with just two minutes on the clock.

    Clifton came back from this early upset well and kept Chinnor pinned in their own 22 for the next 15 minutes. This Clifton pressure eventually led to their opening score when Barnes glided over for a try which he duly converted to square the match at 7-7 with 19 minutes played.

    Four minutes later, some smart and rapid handling saw Harrison slip the ball to Gray who sped over for Chinnor?s second try. The 29th minute saw the highlight of the match. From a solid scrum on their own 10m line, Chinnor attacked the narrow blindside at pace using dummy and miss passes to set Gray thundering down the tramlines. A neat inside pass allowed the supporting No 8, Gilbert, an easy canter to the line. Millett?s conversion put the home side 19-7 ahead, a score they defended until half time.

    Chinnor?s bonus point try was scored just five minutes into the second half in unusual circumstances. Awarded a penalty a metre or so inside the Clifton half and wide out to the right, Millet, for Chinnor, opted to kick for goal in wet and gusting conditions. Although accurate, the ball dropped short in front of the Clifton posts where an unfortunate defender knocked the ball on. From the resulting scrum, Chinnor piled on the power and the referee, Mr Vertigan penalised the Bristol side severely by awarding a penalty try and Millet had an easy kick for goal to increase the Chinnor lead to 26-7.

    Clifton came right back and Pomphrey went over for Clifton?s second try to decrease the deficit to 26-12 in the 51st minute. They continued to test the Chinnor defence until Jones? long clearing kick finally relieved the pressure. Chinnor then set up their own series of attacks leading to Fielding going over for Chinnor?s fifth try of the day. Jones? conversion was the last scoring action of the match to record a 33-12 victory to the boys from Oxfordshire.

    Clifton were a competitive outfit and never stopped trying but were ultimately undone by Chinnor?s pace and a wobbly scrum as they tired.

    Chinnor showed, in patches, some of the good form that has made their entry at this level perhaps more comfortable than they expected. Gilbert’s try in the 29th minute was a thing of joy. There were notable contributions from Berry and Harrison with Stoop having a good all-round purposeful game despite couple of uncharacteristic dropped balls.

    Scorers:
    Chinnor: Stoop T; Gray T; Gilbert T: Penalty T; Fielding T; Millett 3C, Jones C
    Clifton: Barnes T, C; Pomphrey T

    Chinnor team:
    Colver (Mountford 51), Fielding (Corpe 66), Goode, Stoop, Gray, Millett, Jones, Winpenny (Whelan 66), Tattersall (Holyland 66), Berry, Hughes (Vickers 26), Smith, Mowbray, Harrison, Gilbert
    Replacements: Whelan, Holyland, Vickers, Corpe, Mountford

    PHOTO: Man of the Match, Andy Berry
    SOURCE: Contributed by Bill O’Donnell

  • 13/04/13……Come And Sing for Cancer Research UK

    COME AND SING! for Cancer Research UK Vaughan Williams – Five Mystical Songs with Baritone Stephen Hamnett; Also Bach – Wachet Auf; Handel – Zadok The Priest

    Conducted by Ian Westley
    Organ Colin Spinks

    Saturday 13th April
    St. Mary’s, Haddenham, Bucks. HP17 8AH

  • 12/04/13……Neighbourhood Plan – Clarification of points raised in local press

    DEAR editor, We all share Claire Forrest?s concerns for the future of Thame [letter – local press Apr 5], but her’s is a personal view.

    All the points she makes were addressed during the 18mths of consultation. The resulting Plan represents a consensus view, which is both deliverable and sustainable. It disperses development sites around Thame, whereas the alternative would be SODC?s proposal to put most of the housing on one single estate. Site F is already carrying its fair share of development under the Plan with a large housing estate, plus expansion of Lord Williams School, plus a reserve for a new Primary school. Each site presents challenges with increased amount of traffic but the time to address these is when the individual sites come forward for detailed planning consent.

    One of the key elements of the Neighbourhood Plan is the low level density of housing on each site which will mean houses will have decent gardens. The last thing Thame needs is another Lea Park with its high density of housing, narrow roads & insufficient parking. I believe each site is required to have 40% affordable houses, so they will be spread around the town too.

    On a point of detail the ?centuries old grazing field? has not been used for grazing for many years, and the reduced relatively small amount of development on The Elms would release the land for public access and leisure- an extension of Elms Park giving better connectivity to the town centre.

    Most importantly Ms Forrest states that if the town votes No it will still have a say where the new housing goes. WRONG! A No vote means the SODC planning officers & the district councillors from Didcot, Wallingford & Henley, who know nothing of & care little about Thame, will decide.

    We elected the town council to represent us. They have spent the last 2 years working hard on this Plan, consulting widely & taking professional advice. No Plan can be perfect but they have come up with an excellent one, which I note was applauded by the Independent Examiner. Our Councillors deserve our support at this crucial time. Say Yes for Thame on May 2nd.

    Barry Yates
    Yes for Thame group

  • 12/04/13..Police appeal after woman found dead near A40 bridge

    THAMES Valley Police is appealing for information after a woman was found dead on the A40 at Wheatley, near Thame, early this morning.

    The incident occurred near to the Holton over-bridge, at 00.38am.

    Police believe that a woman fell from the over-bridge onto the Oxford-bound carriageway of the A40. The woman was confirmed dead at the scene by paramedics.

    The A40 was closed following the incident, and was reopened at about 6am.

    The death is being treated as ‘unexplained’ by the police.

    Investigating officer, Sgt Michael Bettington said: ?I would appeal to motorists who may have been travelling along this stretch of the A40 at this time, or pedestrians who may have been using the Holton over-bridge to contact police via 101.?

    If you don’t want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded and you will not go to court.

  • 12/04/13….Thame cyclist, Karla takes it to the max!

    AS its Thame membership continues to grow, High Wycombe Cycling Club has thrown up yet another talented, rising star in local girl, Karla Boddy. After just two years of road racing, Karla has been grabbed by pro team, MG Maxifuel http://www.mg-maxifuel.com/ where she supports the team’s two star girls, Helen Barns (British Olympic team) and Charline Joiner, Scotish Commonwealth Games team sprint Silver Medalist.

    Karla is the latest rider from HWCC to join a distinguished list of members and associated members who have gone on to great things in the world of cycling, including Tour de France stage winner, David Miller, Commonwealth and Olympic racer, Stuart Dangerfield and the current holder of the Best British Amateur All-rounder Cup, Adam Topham.

    Since she joined HWCC, Karla has been instrumental in organising club runs, helping to put together the clubs?s own race team, organising training camps in Spain and encouraging the growing number of juniors in the club. Although she will be racing now for MG Maxifuel, Karla insists that she will be maintaining her connections with HWCC, not least with its own race team that gives her such support at elite events, with things such as travel, organising food and drink during her races and generally taking the pressure of the peripherals so that she can give the racing 100%.

    Despite a challenging training programme of 10 ? 15 hours a week of short and hard, long and steady sessions and intervals, either out on the road or on rollers indoors, Karla likes to keep a life-work-racing balance, spending time with her partner, fello HWCC racer, Adam Brittain, and their adored Pug, Gary.

    Like most cyclists, Karla?s cycling experience had not been without spills as well as thrills. In February, 2010, she was out of the saddle for almost four months with the classic cyclist?s injury, a broken collar bone, after touching the bike in front?s back wheel during a ride and colliding with a wall. Since then she?s gone on to experience the high of the podium place, taking five during the Rasna na Mban, Women?s Tour of Ireland in September 2012, which included three stage wins and an overall placing of fifth.

    Last weekend, Karla helped Pro team mate, Hannah Barnes to second place in the City of Perth Women?s Grand Prix in Scotland. You can read Hannah?s blog here describing the race, conjuring up the atmosphere and strategy of the team and the important contribution Karla made to her success.

    The roads around Thame are very popular for road races (pot holes allowing!) and on Saturday, Karla and the MG Maxifuel girls will be in action racing in the Antelope Open 50km 3-up Team Time Trial, starting on the A4 at Chalgrove, against 40 other teams, including two men?s teams from HWCC and its girls team. The route will take the riders through Milton Common, Chalgrove, Stadhampton and Tetsworth for two laps.

    Karla?s male counterparts in a second MG Maxifuel team in the race, will include ex Tour de France stage winner, and recent Paris Roubaix winner, Magnus Baxstead. If you can?t make that as a supporter (standing about in the rain is only for the very dedicated spectator, and the forecast is not good!), you’ll be able to see Karla in action during ITV4?s Tour Series of city centre criteriums to be televised during May/June.

    For the future, Karla and Adam have no plans to start a family, happy that Gary the pug is the love of their lives. ?I?ll just keep on doing what I?m doing, to become the best rider that I can. The sacrifice of no annual holiday leave etc is worth it to me, to be part of such a dynamic team and a wonderful sport,? concluded Karla.

    Oh! and I want one of those coffee machines in Karla’s kitchen – and I’m warming to pugs!

  • 12/04/13…..Seventh charity match in Memory of Jack

    EVERY year since the tragic death of 15 year-old Jack O’Donnell from Thame, several football matches have been organised to raise funds for a Sports Foundation set up in his memory.

    Tim Field and Jamie Surman arranged the seventh match of the Jack O’Donnell Foundation Charity football matches on Sunday, April 7, at Thame United Football Club. The game finished up 3-2 to Reds Athletic with Lorien Gordon, Tom Sykes and Julian Reed scoring.

    The Gatecrasher’s replied with a Dave Porter goal and a Phil Coulson penalty after Parminder Bains handballed. In total,

  • 11/04/13…….Be a part of it as Thame makes history!

    IN exactly three weeks from today, Thame will be the first community in the country to vote on a Neighbourhood Plan that includes specific sites for development. To mark such an historic stage in planning history, Nick Boles MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Planning, Department for Communities and Local Government, will be visiting Thame for the second time, on Saturday, April 27, in preparation for the Neighbourhood Plan referendum on May 2, 2013.

    The Minister, escorted by the Town Mayor, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods, will be wandering around Thame between 12 noon and 2pm visiting shops and businesses, ready to answer questions – and pose for photographs.

    The 15-year plan for Thame is the first neighbourhood plan to allocate sites for future development of an additional 775 homes, three hectares of new employment land and up to 5,700 square metres of new retail within the town centre. It also sets out potential locations for a new community facility, plans for new and improved connections in and around the town and new and improved open spaces.

    Planning Minister Nick Boles has said: ?Neighbourhood Planning is an incredibly important new right and one that provides a real opportunity for people to bring about the homes, shops and facilities they want to see to make their community thrive.?

    Supporting this view, the Mayor added: “Local people are being given the opportunity to vote on a plan that has been put together by the community. It is giving Thame a say in what happens in the local area rather than a plan that has been developed to serve the whole district.?

    The next stage in the process is the referendum where the community has the final say on whether a neighbourhood plan comes into force. If more than 50 per cent of people voting in the referendum support the Plan, then South Oxfordshire District Council will use it to help it decide planning applications in Thame.

    “Your vote counts!” concluded the Mayor.