OXFORDSHIRE County Council wants residents to take photographs of potholes (only if it’s safe to do so of course!) and report them, as part of its highways ‘spring clean’.
The council says that it has boosted its pothole repair programme as part of a highway ?spring clean? after a wet and icy winter that has taken its toll on the County?s 3,000 mile road network.
A new online reporting service has also been launched.
THIS evening, the Thatch restaurant in Thame will playing host to a rather special charity event when The Thame Players and their guest of honour, Nicholas Parsons OBE, who lives not far from Thame, will be dropping in for dinner.
More than 50 guests are expected to pack out the Thame pub for the sell-out event which will raise funds for the development of the Players Theatre to offer an even better experience for visitors.
Thatch head chef, Tom Upham, has created a special menu for the three course dinner, with the pub giving the proceeds from the event to The Thame Players. BBC Radio’s ‘Just a Minute’ and TV presenter and after dinner speaker, Nicholas, will also help with a charity auction over coffee after the meal.
Frazer Sutherland and his team from The Thatch are hoping the evening will provide a big boost to the theatre?s building fund, as well as offer a night of great food, drink and entertainment.
THAME photographer, John Comino James’ latest book is about to be released, his third of photographs taken in Havana, Cuba, a city of images that have captured a special place in his heart.
Havana: Intimations of Departure, due to be published on April 1, by Dewi Lewis Publishing, is John’s third book of photographs made in Havana, a city which, he says, “.. still surprises me: just when I think I know parts of the city well, I catch myself walking in streets made unfamiliar by my photographs.”
John explained: “The monochrome images are arranged in five sections. The photographs are a contemplation of some of the visual experiences and emotional connections I feel I might lose were I unable to walk through Havana again. I record moments in the history of buildings, find myself drawn into and almost overwhelmed by the energy of the street, and observe moments of individual preoccupation and solitude.
“The sixth and final section of the book, using text and colour images, is in reaction to the blandishments of a tourist industry which all too often proposes that ?Cuba is on the verge of change and that therefore now is the perfect time to visit before its distinctive character is altered forever?, and which invites would-be visitors to ?check out the charming glory of Old Havana where American 50?s cars line the streets and where they can relax with a cigar and a mojito?.
“In revealing something of my relationships and my photographic practice I hope to counter the proposition that the admittedly photogenic Havana landscape simply presents an opportunity ?for great dramatic photos for competitions and portfolios.?
“Even before I knew that Cuba?s story would become part of my grandchildren?s cultural heritage,” concluded John, “I became increasingly preoccupied with the need to learn something about the historical events and culture that underpinned the life I was witnessing in the streets. This last section of the book therefore concludes with pointers towards a wider culture of film, music, literature, painting, and politics beyond the Che Guevara T-shirts and other souvenirs.”
Hardcover: 168 pages
Publisher: Dewi Lewis Publishing (1 April 2013)
ISBN-10: 190789330X
ISBN-13: 978-1907893308
Price:
THE pitch at the ASM Stadium on Tuesday (19/03), which was waterlogged on Saturday, recovered well despite Sunday?s snow, Thame United?s fixture against Abingdon Town was able to go ahead.
It was a fast, entertaining game which Thame won 2-1. The visitors played better than their lowly league position suggested but were unable to penetrate the Thame defence and their efforts on goal were mainly from long range.
The opening exchanges were even, but United gradually gained the upper hand and went ahead in the 18th minute. Luke Ricketts took a corner on Thame?s right which Nik Rhodes met, near the penalty spot, with a strong, unstoppable header. Thame was looking the sharper side, creating chances with Matt Johnson and Matt Hall both going close. It was 1-0 at the break.
United increased their lead a few minutes after the restart. Ben Gray played a short ball to Ricketts, just inside their opponents half, and the on-form Rickets broke down the left wing, cut inside and hit a perfect low cross to Gray who finished confidently from five yards. The game ebbed and flowed with united having slightly more possession. Thame keeper, Lee Farrow made some good saves, until with, 10 minutes remaining, he was beaten by a strong 25-yard shot from Ben Taylor which found the corner of the net.
In the final minutes Alex Stewart and Hall brought good saves from the visiting keeper.
Final score: Thame United 2, Abingdon Town 1
Thame United: Farrow, Meredith, Way, Johnson, Rhodes, Jewell, Connelly, Hall, Stewart, Gray (Dell), Ricketts.
United are away to Oxford City Nomads next Saturday (23/03), whilst Thame United Reserves meet Penn and Tylers Green Reserves at the ASM Stadium. The first team?s next home game is on Easter Monday April 01, when league leaders Marlow visit in a rescheduled fixture.
A CANAL boat trip, a cottage holiday in the Lake District, pampering and chocolate treats were just a few of the lots up for bidding when TV and Radio personality, Nicolas Parsons took the hammer last night to raise funds for improvements to Thame Players Theatre.
The dinner and auction at The Thatch pub in Thame was a sell out with around 50 local theatre supporters enjoying good food, good company and a seasoned entertainer doing his best to charm, cajole and playfully bully commitments of cash out of them – all for a cause close to his own heart – local theatre.
The total raised from the proceeds of the auction, a raffle and part of the ticket sales (The Thatch generously provided the three course meal at cost to the Players) is expected to have raised around
THE arrangements for the third, annual Tidy Thame and Muck Out Moreton Day next Sunday, March 24, have now been firmed up. Community groups, local businesses and individual residents will be sprucing up areas such as Lea Park, the Phoenix Trail, the Cricket Ground, Cuttlebrook Nature Reserve and the village of Moreton, by clearing up litter and cutting back brambles.
The day will be supported by BIFFA, ASM, the Fire Service, the Police, SOHA, Town Council staff and local business, Brothers, whose owner, Adam Buckland started Tidy Thame Day when he was Mayor of Thame in 2011.
Community groups will include the Scouts, Cornerstone Church, Stone Close Allotments and Lea Park Residents Association. Individual residents will either clear the area near their homes or join one of the larger groups. It?s not too late to join in ? just contact Mary Stiles by phone or email: 01844 213851, 07779654840, maryandstella@aol.com
The day will conclude at Southern Road Recreation Ground with tea, biscuits and cake in the Scout Building there. We still need help with providing cakes and with serving tea ? again please contact Mary if you can help in this way.
Everyone taking part will be provided with litter pickers, high vis tabards and sacks and are reminded that only recyclables and residual waste, as collected from our homes will be collected on the day and shreddable vegetation such as brambles. Information leaflets will be provided with a map showing the collection points. Unfortunately there will be no way of disposing of large items.
HAVE you been impressed with the service given to your community by a member of your neighbourhood policing team? Residents of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, are being asked to nominate community police officers, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), volunteers, and Special Constables who have had a positive impact on the their local community. The Community Officer of the Year Awards recognises staff who have made the greatest contribution to addressing the concerns of local residents over the past year.
Last October, one of Thame’s PCSOs, Diane Jackson, was voted Thames Valley Police’s top PCSO of the year for Oxfordshire.
Assistant Chief Constable Richard Bennett said: ?The Community Policing Awards is an aspect of this job that I particularly enjoy and value. It is an opportunity to pay tribute to the important grassroots work that neighbourhood policing teams carry out in their communities.
?The nominations show a range of innovative and effective initiatives carried out by neighbourhood teams to address the concerns of residents, and it is clear that these are greatly appreciated by the people we serve.?
The awards will be taking place in July and nominations will be open until 12 April. The categories you can vote for are: community police officer, PCSO, volunteer and Special Constable.
Members of the public and partner organisations who would like to nominate someone for an award can do so by submitting a nomination form on the Thames Valley Police website.
At: www.thamesvalley.police.uk/newsevents-events-cpa-nominate
Or email: communitypolicingawards@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
Hard copies of the form are also available from your local police station.
SOURCE: Press release
“This is a great honour for us as there were other, much larger brokers being considered,” said Sandra Pearson, of Pearson Insurance Services, in Swan Walk, Thame
The award comes on top of another in 2010 from Stroud Life readers, in Gloucestershire (where Pearson’s were based before moving to Thame later that year), who voted Pearsons ‘Small Business of the Year’ for their customer service levels.
“We try to be different, by truly listening to our clients and not selling them anything!” continued Sandra. “We try to arrange the insurances they need at a competitive price with reliable insurers, and we support them with their claims.
“Sometimes clients have not taken a holistic look at their insurances and are paying for overlapping covers. We offer free reviews of insurance policies at any time but on March 23, which is ‘Make a Day of it in Thame’ day, we are also offering a £10 voucher to use in The Swan’s new Cygnet Restaurant with any policy purchased on that day, in addition to £20 off buildings and contents policies for Thame Loyalty Card members.
NB To find out more about Thame’s Loyalty Card scheme, visit LINK HERE
By announcing such a commitment, and working with the town council to develop the site ?with the best interests of the community of Thame in mind,? he said, ?A lot of time and money fighting such applications could be saved.?
Helena Richards Spoke to the committee on behalf of Cmag (Cattle Market Action Group), explaining that her working group represented more than 100 community groups, whose aim was to ensure that the site be used ?for the best, possible benefit to the people of Thame,? including that a significant portion be developed for community use. She told the committee that it was her group?s view that Sainsbury?s plans for a community centre did not meet the aspirations and needs of local people. (You can see Helena Richards? full representation HERE at 01:23:50)
Angela Wilson spoke on behalf of the Lea Park Residents? Association which, she said, had voted in a poll against the development. ?Sainsbury?s have chosen to ignore the views of the people of Thame,? she said, ?and based their argument on the legal framework without regard to the particular character of the town.? She said that she felt a supermarket on the Cattle Market site would be ?sufficiently distant from the heart of the town centre to monopolise customers and actively prevent them from visiting other shops.?
Following her statement that the current cattle market is only busy and noisy for a limited number of hours, and that a supermarket, trading seven days a week would adversely affect neighbours, Cllr John Cotton asked her: ?How would you compare that to a mixed used development that would probably involve some retail?? She replied that the majority of shops in Thame now trade between 9am and 6pm, whereas these days people expect supermarkets to be open all hours. (Angela Wilson?s full representation and Cllr Cotton?s questioning can be seen on the webcast HERE at 01:26:30)
Two supporters of the Sainsbury?s plan addressed the meeting, Chris Turner (Agent for the applicant) and Richard Ivory, on behalf of the Thame Farmers Auction Mart, who were relying on the plan being approved to gain promised funding from Sainsbury?s to pay for the Cattle Market to move to larger, new premises to be developed on the Thame Show ground.
Richard Ivory told the committee that the redevelopment of the cattle market site, would be ?a catalyst for the building of a new auction centre on Thame Show ground” and would ?secure the future for 300 farmers that use Thame market, Thame agriculture show and keep Thame a thriving market town.? Refusal of the plan, he said, would result in a possible move of the market away from Thame and possibly out of Oxfordshire. He feared, he said, that if agreement could not be found for development of the Cattle Market site, it could remain ?a dilapidated eye sore? and ?a drain on the council?s finances? for many years. (You can see Richard Ivory?s full presentation and questioning by councillors HERE at: 01:30:34
Chris Turner, on behalf of Sainsbury?s, drew laughter from the public gallery when he said that the planned development had the approval of 53% of local residents. ?It will improve main food shopping, choice and competition in Thame,? he said, adding that ?almost 40% (of residents?) currently do their main food shopping elsewhere. He maintained that the plan would increase footfall to the town, increase parking places, provide a new community centre and create around 80 new jobs.
Cllr Rook later questioned Mr Turner on the methodology of the shopping survey. (01:42:50)
Mr Turner said that the Local Plan policy to preclude a supermarket for the site was based on outdated data and took no account of ?over-trading by Waitrose of £10 million per year, nor the likely ?claw back? of trading from the likes of Asda, Wheatley.? He complained of a lack of consultation in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan regarding the possibility of a supermarket on the site and, when questioned by Cllr Jenni Wood, his fellow supporter Richard Ivory, said that he would encourage people to vote against the TNP because the community centre offered in Sainsbury?s plan is being denied them. (paraphrased ? see 01:37:14 for his full comments)
Mr Turner was asked about the actual design of the building, and whether it was ?the best you can do?, particularly with reference to the North Street frontage and the choice of materials. He replied that: ?Given the difficulties having to run a supermarket, a public face and requiring services, there are many competing influences on design. In terms of making this a viable building???., this is the best we can do.?
Cllr John Cotton asked Mr Turner why this proposal was the only viable way of funding the move of the cattle market. He replied that the Thame Auction Mart is happy that Sainsbury?s can deliver the cost of the move in a suitable time period. Without Sainsbury?s, he added, the Cattle Market is left without any principle backer to enable it to move to the show ground.
Cllr Mike Welply, the council member for Thame, then spoke, referring to the Local Plan?s stated policy that there should be no food store built on the Cattle Market, a site ?of enourmous impact on the social fabric of the town.? He told the committee (01:43:50) that it was his opinion that the Cattle Market was ?? of no importance to Thame. ? He said that the farmers came and sold their animals and then went away again without making any impact on the town,? and said that pigs were now sold over the internet.
Cllr Welply suggested that the farmers, who, he said, were set to pick up £50 million in land value from new developments around the various sites identified in the Neighbourhood Plan, should ?give them the money.?
A letter from District Cllr David Bretherton was read out to the meeting in which he stated that the Sainsbury?s application was ?a predatory proposal, seeking to exploit a perceived gap in planning policy.? Criticising the design of the store, Cllr Bretherton said that he thought the applicant had ?mistaken Thame for the Cotswolds? in its choice of materials, and that the plan would push long-term parking into the High Street.
The concluding proposal and and discussion can all be viewed in the webcast, including a suggested amendment by Cllr Cotton, that was lost. HERE
PHOTO: The Mayor of Thame Nigel Champken Woods
THAME Cinema 4 All will be showing AMOUR, Directed by Michael Haneke, Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva; Made in France 2012, 125 minutes, 12A certificate.
For those interested in meaningless statistics, this year?s Oscars ceremony included the youngest ever and the oldest ever nominees for Best Actress – Quvenzhan