JOIN Racquets Fitness, Thame, for their annual Halloween party. This year’s theme is Scary Legends. Members and guests welcome!
Racquets fitness centre, North Street, Thame Ox9 3TH
More: http://www.racquets-fitness-centre.com/menus/main.asp?PN=Events
ONE of the best Beatles tribute bands around will be appearing in Thame on Friday (26/10/12, at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame.
They came last October and proved to be very popular. Now they are embarking on another tour for charity and have chosen to come back to Thame – another chance to enjoy and sing along to all the Beatles greatest hits!
‘Meet the Beatles’ perform such hits as Please Please me, Love Me Do, Help, Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude and many more. If you were, indeed are, a fan of the Fab Four then this fantastic show is a must for you!
The performance will be at 7.45pm. Tickets cost
WITH Halloween fast approaching, the police are reminding people to make sure they spend their time trick or treating responsibly:
“Last year, Thames Valley Police recorded the highest level of crime on Halloween compared with any other single day across the rest of the year. There was also a significant rise in urgent calls to the Police Enquiry Centre in 2011. Although Halloween always shows a peak in calls, last year showed the highest levels in five years.
Across the force, 526 crimes were recorded on Halloween last year. The majority of these crimes were theft or handling stolen goods offences and criminal damage.
There will be Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), Special Constables and police officers on late shifts, to be able to cope with the demand Halloween brings, but also to act as a visible deterrent to anyone looking to commit crime or anti-social behaviour.
Tim De Meyer, Head of Neighbourhood Policing and Partnerships said: ?I know for some people, this time of year can be unsettling as your evenings are interrupted with people knocking on your doors for treats.
?Most of these children or teenagers are just getting involved in the Halloween celebrations and will be friendly.
?Your neighbourhood team will be carrying out patrols in the evenings to make sure people who are trick or treating are doing so in a friendly manner and not causing a nuisance.?
Halloween can be a lot of fun and we are not opposed to people wanting to have a good time, but keep in mind that it can be unsettling for some. Residents who would rather not be bothered by trick or treaters this Halloween can download and print a ?No trick or treat? flier and display it in a window.
We would like to encourage all parents, if they have children who will be going out on Halloween night, to recognise this flier and if they see it displayed in a window to move on to the next house.
We will also be encouraging people to watch our ?Click Your Trick? film which highlights the consequences of anti-social behaviour. The film features a teenager who was convicted of arson after he and his friend put a firework through a family home as a prank in 2008. The prank went horribly wrong with the firework setting the house on fire causing damage to the house. Luckily nobody was seriously injured.
We want everybody to have fun during Halloween and Bonfire night, but don?t want children and teenagers to be influenced by others into doing things that may seem minor at the time. Please remember, your actions could have a massive impact on not only people inside their house but to your life as well.
If you are trick or treating this year:
Don?t knock where you see a ?No Trick or Treat? poster
Be visible and stick to well lit streets
Don?t enter any house
Although Halloween is meant to be spooky, be careful not to frighten people
Plan your trick or treat route before you go and let an adult know where you?ll be going and what time you will be back
Go with an adult when possible
If at any point you do feel nervous or unsafe:
Don?t open your door if you?re unsure who is there. Use your spy-hole, look out of a window, and use your door chain if you do decide to open your door.
Have a contact number of a close relative or good neighbour by your telephone, just in case you need to phone them.
if you are part of a Neighbourhood Watch scheme, let your coordinator know that you will be on your own at Halloween. If you are a coordinator, please identify people in your scheme that may be vulnerable and offer them reassurance.
Thames Valley Police will not tolerate any anti-social behaviour at any time of the year.”
To report anti-social behaviour call the 24 hour non emergency number 101. If it is a crime in progress, call 999 immediately.
THAME’s MP, John Howell, has welcomed the news that an independent Planning Inspector has approved a plan which will provide the blueprint for the district’s growth over the next 15 years.
South Oxfordshire District Council’s ‘Core Strategy’ sets out how many new homes should be built and where, and where employment sites will be created in Thame, Henley and Wallingford, by 2027. It has been developed over a four-year period with extensive community involvement and technical assessments of the proposed sites – but not without controversies on the way.
Thame Town Council, at one point in the consultation process, questioned the legality of the Core Strategy. READ MORE
South Oxfordshire District Council itself was involved in a spat with the inspector over the fact that he would not allow it to include ‘windfall’ sites in its allocation of new housing. READ MORE
Recently the core strategy underwent a public examination where the planning inspector heard evidence from local councils, residents and other interested groups and individuals.
John Howell said of the Inspector’s approval of the Core Strategy: ?This gives the boost to those wishing to complete their Neighbourhood Plans that many have been looking for. It represents another Council which has brought forward a successful Core Strategy to ensure that the sustainable development of the area can be planned rather than left to chance.
?I offer my congratulations to the Council for this result. It is a good result which reflects the hard work which has been put in to the Plan. I am sure Thame will now want to deliver a positive vote in the referendum on its Neighbourhood Plan. I am sure too that Henley will want to assess how the 400 houses can best be accommodated.?
BACKGROUND ARTICLES REGARDING THE CORE STRATEGY: LINK
BACKGROUND ARTICLES REGARDING THE THAME COMMUNITY PLAN
ON Wednesday (24/10) between 18:00hrs and 21:00hrs, a property in The Green, Cuddesdon, was burgled. Entry was gained by forcing open a front door. A laptop computer, TV and kindle were stolen.
Please be extra vigilant. 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 the new national single non-emergency telephone number 101 and state you are responding to a Community 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.
SOURCE: Thames Valley Police Alert
A cycle shop in Thame is celebrating its third anniversary in business with the owners sayings it?s exceeded their expectations.
Tim Parsons and David Green opened the cycle repair, sales, servicing, accessories and clothing shop ?2Wheels? – at 99b High Street in 2009, with London Mayor Boris Johnson doing the honours. After two years ticking along as they established a customer base and stock to suit, business is really picking up: ?Thinking how the economy was when we started, we were happy to be ahead of the bills after two years, but now we?re seeing it suddenly go, which is really encouraging,” said David.
SOURCE: Contributed by Iain Nicholson of OTCN (Oxfordshire Towns Chambers Network)
PHOTO: L to R: David Green, Tim Parsons, John Howell MP, Boris Johnson
“The interest generated by Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France, and the cycling wins at The Olympics, the impact of higher petrol prices and the success of Thame as a town overall have combined to give us a boost so that we?re now in a stronger position than we?d imagined.?
Boris Johnson, who attended 2Wheels? official opening with local MP John Howell, still comes back as a customer – part of a growing customer base. David added: ?We?ve learned as we?ve gone along what the customers want rather than what we think. With petrol prices as they are we?ve had people in asking about converting their mountain bikes into road bikes so they can use them to get to work. We?ve also employed a mechanic now to deal with the increasing demand for repairs and that?s gone well too.?
Tim owns the car parts and accessories shop, Autoparts, next door to 2Wheels, and David and he worked there together for six years in the 1990s. They used to do cycle accessories at Autoparts and when the premises that is now home to 2Wheels came on the market they decided to start the cycle sales, repair, accessories and clothing shop.
2Wheels opened in one of four retail premises in Thame owned by Jennings, who run business parks at Chalgrove and Garsington, office centres in Abingdon, Didcot and St Clements, and have units at Berinsfield. Jennings MD, Paul Mabbutt, says: ?This is a great story of two guys who had an idea for a business out of one they were already involved in and took an opportunity when it came up. They?ve worked hard through what have been challenging economic times to build a customer base and a reputation, and it?s great to see them doing well and able to celebrate a third anniversary in business.?
THERE will be a special guest at this month’s meeting of Thame Amnesty. Dr Robert Ridgway, who lives in Seven Acres, in Thame, will be talking about land rights in Namibia and other countries of which he has in-depth experience.
Thame Amnesty is currently urging people to sign a petition to the Indonesian President about Human Rights violations in Indonesia/West Papua, copies of which will be available at the meeting.
The Thame Amnesty meeting is on Wednesday, October 24, at Lord Williams’s Lower school, Thame, at 7.30pm-9pm.
CLAIMS by a country side lobbying group and others that a proposed wind turbine would spoil the view across the landscape from Thame, have been disputed by Thame councillors.
At a meeting of the town council’s Planning & Environment committee last night (23/10), members where discussing their response to an invitation to comment on a Planning Application for the erection of a 15kW wind turbine measuring 20.5m to hub (27.1m to tip) at Rowan Farm, Henton.
CPRE Oxfordshire and CPRE Bucks (Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England) are opposed to the plan and have said that the turbine would be visible from Thame.
Cllr David Laver said that in his opinion, having looked at the plans, the turbine would not be visible from Thame and therefore would not impact on the town. He added: “Phone masts can be more intrusive than wind turbines.”
Cllr Nigel Champken Woods added: “This proposed turbine is well off ‘the beaten track’ and you would have to be looking through a very strong pair of binoculars to see it from Thame. We have to get our electricity from other sources these days and this is one alternative.”
The committee concluded that “The location was considered too far away from Thame to have any strong views.”
Both Chinnor and Sydenham Parish Councils have objected to the plan, whilst Towersey has expressed “No strong views.”
IMAGE: Courtesy of usedwindturbines.org
LOCAL support for the family of Alex Wood, who became severely disabled after a tragic rugby accident, continued on Saturday when over 190 people took part in a Zumbathon.
The total raised to support Alex’s recovery was a staggering
MATCH REPORT: Hellenic League Floodlit Cup – Highworth Town 3, Thame United 1 – 23/10/12
Thame?s recent unbeaten mini run was ended at Highworth (near Swindon) on Tuesday evening (23/10) when they were beaten 3-1 by Highworth Town in the Floodlit Cup. Player availability is often a problem for mid-week away games, particularly for minor cup matches, and as a result United ?s line up contained five players who are inexperienced at this level.
Thame started brightly but then the home side recovered and went ahead on 15 minutes with a good finish from Aaron Maximem. United were giving their opponents too much space and, despite Dan West being brought on to strengthen the side, Thame conceded their second goal in the 38th minute when the unmarked Talif Hamza fired home. In the last minute of the half Thame Striker Niall Hodgkins thundered a long shot against the post and Calvin Evans reacted quickly, met the rebound and hit a low shot from an acute angle, pulling a goal back for the visitors.
It was a more even game in the second half, with chances at both ends. Both goalkeepers were busy and Lee Farrow was in particularly good form for Thame making some outstanding saves. Highworth scored the final goal when, with 20 minutes remaining, when Maximem met a low ball across the 6-yard box to tap home. United fought to the final whistle and substitute Aaron Bonham went close with a good header, but it is Highworth who will play in the next round.
Thame United: Farrow, Barr, Way (West), Rhodes, Johnson, Rogers, Connelly, P Pykett, Hodgkins (Hercules), Gray (Bonham), Evans.