Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • 22/01/13…….Happy birthday Thame Foodbank

    CELEBRATING its first birthday this week, the Foodbank, run by a local charity, Sharing Life Trust, has helped over 150 people in its first year of operation.

    Ex Thame Headteacher, John Hulett, a Trustee of The Sharing Life Trust, said: “Despite its rural charm, this market town is home to an increasing number of families struggling to make ends meet.

    “This Christmas the Trust distributed 85 basic food parcels with a seasonal twist to people nominated by the front-line agencies who have been referring clients who they knew would benefit.

    “The Foodbank couldn?t operate without the generous support of the many people who regularly add a few extra items to their shopping list and take them to one of our town centre drop in points. We are very grateful for this support and especially for all the special Christmas food items donated during our special Saturday collection at Waitrose.”

    More information about the Foodbank and the other work of the Sharing Life Trust can be found at: www.sharinglifetrust.org

  • 22/01/13….There’s a ‘pong’ in the air over Thame

    RESIDENTS in Thame and other parts of the county and the Vale stayed behind windows and doors today after reports a ‘bad smell’ in the air, but apparently its harmless and is expected to dissipate soon.

    The smell, described as being ‘like rotten eggs’ and ‘chemically’ is suspected of emanating from a cloud of gas that drifted across the Channel following an accidental discharge of ‘mercaptan’ from a factory in Rouen.

    The gas is described as ‘harmless’ though it can cause nausea in some people. Residents in parts of Kent, East Sussex and other areas in the South East affected by the smell, have been advised to keep their doors and window closed.

    Although the smell was reported in parts of Thame, local cyclist, John Francis, reported that it was stronger in the Milton Common area as he cycled home this evening.

    PHOTO: Many people in the Thame area stayed inside today to avoid the ‘pong’ that pervaded parts of the town.

  • 21/01/13….All Thame schools remain closed

    AS the wintry weather continues to disrupt some services in the area, all the schools in Thame are closed today.

    The only exception is Lord Williams’s school, which is open ONLY to pupils with exams scheduled.

    PHOTO: The schools may be closed but as this picture by Deborah Porter taken at Cuttlebrook Nature Reserve in Thame shows, children are making the most of their time off !

  • 21/01/03….Thame Neighbourhood Plan – Public Meeting

    THE Thame Neighbourhood Plan is to have a public hearing at Thame Town Hall. A notice will be placed in the local press two weeks before the hearing.

    The date of the hearing has been set for Tuesday, February 19, 2013 from 12pm to 2.30pm.

  • 21/01/13……An invitation to discoveries on your door-step

    IMAGINE that on the outskirts of Thame there lies a special land ? a land crossed by many paths that each lead to a new and exciting place. You step onto one of these paths and it takes you down through swishing grasses, alive with crickets and grasshoppers chirping their welcome.

    You arrive at a pond where emerald dragonflies and azure damoiselles dance in the sunlight, skimming the water in a dazzling display of aerobatics. Frogs wallow in the mud, keeping cool until sundown when they emerge to romance in the moonlight.

    Imagine this path then leads you through beds of reeds and sedges that whisper secrets in the wind. Songbirds nestle safely between their swaying stems and sing out their gratitude in a repertoire of chirps, clicks and warbles. The path leads to a wooden bridge that crosses a meandering stream. A kingfisher darts by – electric blue – hunting for fish and other edible delights. A small crayfish scuttles under a rock in case he?s on the menu, but the kingfisher is already long gone.

    You cross the bridge and find yourself in a beautiful meadow, where wild flowers glow pink and yellow amongst the waving grasses. Brightly coloured butterflies flit past like excited fairies and bees hum happily as they fill their sacks with pollen.

    Imagine the path leads you along the stream, under weeping willow trees and blossom-filled hedgerows. You reach the entrance to a woodland, dark and mysterious ? should you go in? You decided to enter and discover that it is not such a scary place after all, but a place full of birdsong and playful squirrels, and gently swaying trees.

    As you emerge back out into the sunlight the path takes you along the woodland edge, where butterflies bounce across the hedgerow and out onto yet more meadows ? there appears to be no end to this mysterious land.

    Imagine if this place really existed! Well, actually it does: It?s called Cuttle Brook local nature reserve; just a few minutes walk from Thame town centre and it?s YOURS!

    So please accept this invitation to come and walk its paths, discover its secrets and enjoy a real breath of fresh air. All are welcome, but please ensure that you leave only footprints so that others may enjoy a pleasant visit and the wild life is not disturbed or endangered.

    If you would like to get to know this magical land better you are welcome to join a group of dedicated volunteers, who work away at maintaining Cuttle Brook?s magic places and keeping the wild ones happy.

    Also, this summer they are building a new bridge over the brook and would welcome any extra helping hands.

    For more information contact: Elaine Aldridge via 01844) 292307- Email: leafylaine@yahoo.co.uk

    Website: www.cuttlebrook.org.uk
    PHOTE: Courtesy of Deborah Porter

  • 21/01/13……Mental Health charity needs your unwanted jewellery

    OXFORDSHIRE Mind’s adult mental health project in Oxford is looking for unwanted jewellery for an upcycling jewellery making course they are running in Cowley.

    If you have any jewellery to donate, contact the project on 01865 263758.

  • 19/01/13…..Chilling thriller at Thame Cinema 4 All

    THIS weeks’s film at Thame Cinema 4 All, on Saturday, January 19, will be BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO. It was released in 2012, is 92 minutes long, a 15 certificate, Directed by Peter Strickland, Starring Toby Jones, Antonio Mancino, Cosimo Fusco.

    This chilling and unique British thriller, about strange goings on in 1970?s post-production, came and went from our cinema screens last summer, without much fanfare, but with critics unanimous in their effusive praise. ?…my highlight of 2012 ? adventurous, enigmatic and sound as a pound? (Mark Kermode); ?its vision, ingenuity and sheer gobsmacking audacity have blown me ten feet out of my seat. …a great, rumbling thunderclap of genius? (Robbie Collin, Telegraph); ?…one of the most remarkable British movies of the last couple of years? (Philip French, Observer).

    In another consummate performance, Toby Jones ? who has cemented his place as one of the greatest character actors of his generation – is Gilderoy, a prissy and introverted sound engineer from the home counties. For reasons that are uncertain, he is recruited by the Berberian Sound Studio, and travels to Italy to provide sound effects for the producers of a film called The Equestrian Vortex. Turns out it has nothing to do with horses. Rather, it is one of a string of gaudy, sadistic, sexually explicit horror films of the period known as ?giallo? pictures. Gilderoy, more accustomed to working with clipped Shakespearean thesps and Vaughn Williams? Lark Ascending, is very much the innocent abroad in a studio that feels more like a high security psychiatric institution, peopled by the luridly flamboyant and menacingly desirable. Gilderoy becomes increasingly entrapped in this nightmarish new world, but it is the sounds themselves ? the sounds of violence and terror – that ensnare him, gradually eroding his interior life and obliterating his psychic retreats into pastoral England.

    This is a film about the moralities of movie making and its relationship with popular culture. In particular, it explores the power of sound, often an overlooked element of the cinematic art, but one that is intrinsic to the psychological impact of the movie experience. A real one-off.

  • 18/01/13…..Thieves targeting pedigree dogs – police warning

    THAMES Valley Police are advising dog owners to be extra vigilant following a spate of dog thefts. Nearly 20 dogs have been stolen from several counties in the past month with thieves targeting pedigree breeds.

    As a result of working dog thefts some five years ago, consultations took place with local MPs and Thames Valley Police. As a result DOGWATCH was founded to help combat rural crime and the theft of dogs in particular.

    For further information and to join DOGWATCH, please visit www.dogwatchalert.com this is a FREE service, only available in the Thames Valley police area.

    If you have any information relating to the theft of dogs, please call Thames Valley Police via the non-emergency telephone number 101.

    Alternatively if you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please contact 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.

  • 18/01/13……The Secret Garden comes to Thame Players Theatre

    CAN you find the key…? What would you do if you found a key? What would you do if you found the door that belonged to the key? And what would you do inside the Secret Garden?

    Mary Lennox is lost and lonely, sent away from her home in India she finds herself in the wilds of Yorkshire in a vast mansion owned by a distant Uncle. Soon the house begins to give up its mysterious stories, but can she find the key to the secret garden and discover what?s inside? A story of unlocking hearts and minds, the redemptive power of nature and why some rules should be broken…..

    This well loved children?s classic is brought to life by critically acclaimed, award winning Proteus and the creative team behind ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Snow Queen’, ‘The Princess and the Pea’ and last year?s ?Arabian Nights?. Fusing circus, puppetry, film and music this is a magical journey beyond the door, into the garden of imagination.

    The Secret Garden will be performed at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame at 7.45pm on Friday 18th January. Tickets cost

  • 17/01/13…Breaking news: Pitch inspection at Chinnor RFC

    PITCH inspection tomorrow, Friday, 4pm, plus a review of the weather forecast before the organisers of Saturday’s Chinnor RFC Youth Day make their decision as to whether the event goes ahead. (See item below)

    Further up-dates will follow.