Author: Sonja Francis

  • 06/07/12…VIRUS ALERT from Thames Valley Police

    VIRUS ALERT FRIDAY 6TH – Alert message sent 06/07/2012 15:19:00 – Information sent on behalf of Thames Valley Police

    This message is dated Friday July for the whole area.

    I have received a report of a new Trojan virus that is allegedly circulating. I have yet to verify it, but it has been reported by CNN.

    An email pops into your inbox from the name of someone you know (someone previously infected by the virus). It is an invitation to access FaceBook which incorporates an attachment asking you to update Adobe Flash Player. Apparently many of these emails arrive.

    This installs the virus. A picture is displayed of an Olympic torch burning ? as your hard drive is wiped.

    CNN report that this is a new virus and will be circulating widely over the next week or so, as the Olympic approaches.

    As always with suspect messages ? DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS.

    Eyes and Ears.

    Jeff
    jeffrey.pick@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk
    thamesvalleyalert@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

  • 06/07/12…Help for farmers understanding new cattle movement rules

    TRADING Standards and the NFU have joined forces to host a training event to help farmers understand new rules on cattle movements.

    From July 1, new regulations came into effect nationally governing the movement of cattle in areas with a high incidence of bovine tuberculosis ? and parts of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire fall into this category.

    The training event, hosted by NFU with Oxfordshire County Council?s Trading Standards animal health and farming standards team, is on Thursday, July 12, at Agriculture House, Oasis Business Park, Eynsham.

    Richard Webb, acting head of Oxfordshire County Council?s Trading Standards service, said: ?This is a great opportunity for us to work with the industry, to help farmers understand the new additional measures implemented to further prevent the spread of bovine TB.?

    NFU South East policy adviser James Osman said: ?We want to ensure that NFU members are fully compliant with these new animal health measures which are geared towards containing the disease and limiting its spread.

    ?There are a whole host of changes, including a removal of pre-movement testing exemptions for animals attending shows that are taking place over a period of days.?

    This training event has been funded via the Livestock Health South East programme which is supported by Defra and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

    To book a place, email: info@livestockhealthsoutheast.org.uk or see the website www.livestockhealthsoutheast.org.uk

  • 06/07/12….They did it! Emotional finish for three peaks wheelchair challenge

    A TEAM of Thame friends and colleagues have successfully completed a gruelling fund-raising challenge to get a wheelchair user and his chair to the top of three mountains in less than 36 hrs.

    Nigel Pattison and his team, mostly made up of members of Racquets Fitness Centre, in Thame, encouraged and supported Gaz Houston, also from Thame, up the Three highest peaks in the United Kingdom, to raise money for the Matt Hampson Foundation.

    Nigel Patterson has summed up his feelings after his team’s success, in a personal message to them:

    “I cannot describe the feeling so I thought I would share a personal message with the rest of the team. I feel this best sums up the size of the challenge.

    To the Team

    “I really don’t know where to start to express my thanks and gratitude for what you all did this week-end. I was so choked at the end of Snowdon I honestly could not say a word. Yes I did have to wipe a tearful eye. This last week I don’t think I stopped worrying about the week-end.

    Why did I ever worry, why did I ever question?

    You are the ones who took a silly idea and turned it into reality. You turned the challenge into an achievement.

    I was in awe of your strength, endurance and spirit to take on a challenge so unknown! You inspired each other, you supported each other!

    It was an absolute pleasure to be a part of a T.E.A.M. “Together Everyone Achieves More”. Wow! Never has this been shown to be the case more?

    I hope like me you are finding yourself smiling, giggling and occasionally whincing about some of the week-ends events?

    Thank-you all so much and lets re-live those memories soon.”

    THE STATS

    Journey time to Ben Nevis, 10 hours

    Start time 4.31am Saturday

    Journey time to climb Ben Nevis 5 hours up then 5 hours down thankfully dry.

    Mountain 2 Helvellyn, we had to change from Scaffel Pike as the waterfall section was not passable even without a wheelchair. Difference in height 40 feet. This was started at 8.50pm Saturday so we had an hour of daylight before the head torches took over. This was completed just after midnight, thankfully still dry.

    Snowdon the 3rd peak was started at 5.05am Sunday it poured with rain all the way up and down! However with the path being very stable we were able to pull the chair much easier which is why we could climb up and down by 9am.

    Total time 28 hours 29 minutes, 7 hours 31 minutes inside the target time and quicker than many complete a normal 3 peaks challenge.

    Team members
    Nigel Pattison
    Gaz Houston – disabled
    Martin King
    Laura King
    Natalie Babington
    Nick Babington
    Owen Fisher
    Jack Shrimpton
    Heather Newport
    Tom White
    Andy Ford
    Andrew Stansfield
    Keith Crane
    Adam Buckland
    Nick Mauger – driver

    So far, the team has raised over

  • 05/07/12……Band With No Name to feature at Thame First Thursday Music Club

    YES, it’s that time of the month again! Thame’s First Thursday Music Club, at The Stables (behind James Figg pub)is gearing up for another splendid evening of diverse LIVE music from some of Thame’s most talented musicians.

    The Band With No Name (TBWNN) are set to take the 10 o?clock feature spot at this month?s First Thursday Music Club next Thursday, July, 5. TBWNN features Dave Bradley on vocals and rhythm guitar, Kev Lucas on lead guitar, Clive Henry on Harmonica backed by Clive Taylor on drums/cajon and Phil Westerman on Bass.

    Having just played Thame Carnival as a loud, Indie Rock outfit, TBWNN have arranged an acoustic set for the night but promise to feature some up-beat rock – as well as a few laid back toons!

    Last month?s FTMC event featured Emma Davidmann who returned to Thame from her Brighton base to play to her home crowd. Another 13 acts also performed throughout the evening including 2am Blue, Kerraleigh & Martin and Sir Walter J Wallis.

    The July Open Mic event is on Thursday will get underway with the first act around 8.30pm. Sign up for performers is from 7.45pm. Check out the club on Facebook, ?The First Thursday Music Club? or at: www.firstthursdaymusicclub.com where you can find more info, including contact numbers and addresses for the organisers.

    PHOTO: TBWNN – One!(Kev Lucas was otherwise engaged when this latest shot of the band was taken – but we all know what he looks like by now!)

  • 05/07/12……UP-DATE: Sign up for Racquets’ quiz

    RACQUETS Fitness Centre in Thame, is holding its first official quiz night and needs a minimum of six teams; currently they have five teams, one from Vale Life magazine called Half Hearted, The Fire fighters, Thame trainers, The Green Dragons and Photographer, Heather English has a team as well. Racquets is aiming to get eight teams.

    Happy hour prices from 6:00pm till 9:00pm so make the most of It.

    Quiz kicks off at 7:00pm

    Ideally the teams will consist of 4 – 6 people

  • 05/07/12…..Latest news from Haddenham

    COMMUNITY LIBRARY More than 30 prospective volunteers attended a meeting on May 29 to hear about the plans for the new Haddenham Community Library (HCL) and to ask questions. Steve Sharp, who is co-ordinating the project talked about the community support for the library, the agreement which is being thrashed out with BCC, arrangements for September, volunteer roles, opening hours and volunteer rota and training for volunteers. Since the meeting there have been further discussions with BCC about appointing staff and training volunteers. The role description for the future manager has been approved and staff at risk in the review of the 14 libraries which are being handed over to the community have been invited to apply. It is hoped that interviews will be held in the week beginning 2 July, with HCL represented on the interview panel. If there are not sufficient applications, the post will then be advertised more widely within the County Council.

    On training: the next steps are, for anyone wishing to help ‘on the counter’, provision of the names of two referees. BCC will then allocate a password for volunteers to login to the self-directed Spydus training (Spydus is the BCC library IT system). Volunteers need to work through an online information /questionnaire document. When this is successfully completed library support staff will create and email a login to Spydus. Volunteers will then be invited to attend a morning session of briefing and familiarisation at Amersham, Hazlemere or Princes Risborough library. As soon as possible these sessions will be offered at Haddenham, when the staffing is known. This will complete the basic library counter work training. Higher level training will also be available for those wishing to specialise in some aspect of the library work.

    Steve says it would be great if anyone would like to help by acting as a co-ordinator of volunteers, helping in due course with the rota and liaising with the staff – please don’t be shy! Contact him on 290597 or email stephsharp@aol.com if you think you might be able to help.

    CHARITY NEWS F

  • 05/07/12…..Thame school celebrates 30 yrs of German exchange

    CELEBRATIONS have been taking place this week at Lord Williams?s School, Thame, to mark the 30th anniversary of the school?s exchange with Friedrich-Ebert Gymnasium school in Bonn, Germany.

    Yesterday, Wednesday, a tree planting ceremony with Thame’s Deputy Mayor, Peter Lambert took place, and a time capsule buried.

    The 28 students from Bonn who took part in this year?s exchange returned home today after a nine day stay which included a visit to Warwick and Windsor Castles, London and Oxford.

    In ‘The Tamensian’ for the year 1981-1982, regret was expressed that the exchange with a school in Marktoberdorf had to be abandoned after 15 years due to the high cost of transport to southern Germany.

    Friedrich Ebert Gymnasium was willing to run an experimental exchange that year, 30 students came to Thame where they spent most of their days in school with their hosts.

    The Lord Williams?s School party went out to Bonn in the July and visited Cologne, Koblenz, Bruhl, the Eiffel hills and several swimming pools. The report ended: ?We look forward eagerly to many more years of the exchange which seems sure to become a permanent fixture.”

    Over the years approximately 600 students from each school have participated in the exchange. Year 12 students also used to take part and do work experience in Germany.

    As the Head teacher of Lord Williams’s School, David Wybron, conluded: “The partnership has grown from strength to strength because of the dedication and hard work of staff in both schools. To see the obvious friendships between students is very special.”

  • 05/07/12….Hospice charity’s big, sunny ‘thank you’ to Thame

    The Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity (FNHC) has extended a big ‘thank you’ to the people of Thame, after their contributions to street collections across the area during ‘sunny sunflower month’, helped raise over

  • 05/07/12….Chilterns Board welcomes protection of public forests

    MORE investment in public forests and more protection of ancient woodlands are two of the main messages in this week?s report from the independent panel on England?s forests and woods, set up after the Government cancelled its plans to sell off the nation?s forests last year. These findings are strongly welcomed by the Chilterns Conservation Board, based in Chinnor, near Thame, which looks after the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which has some of the country?s most valuable woodlands.

    The findings of the panel are also a direct challenge to the Government which plans to bulldoze ancient woodland to make way for the HS2 high speed railway as it crosses the Chilterns AONB.

    In a statement today, the Board said: “The panel makes many wide-ranging recommendations on the basis that the country needs more woods as they are good for the environment, the economy and the country?s physical health and well-being. It also says that public forests should not be sold off and the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has confirmed this will not happen.”

    Steve Rodrick, Chief Officer of the Chilterns Conservation Board, welcomed the panel?s findings: ?The panel has taken its time to deliver a thoughtful and well researched report which confirms that the country needs both public forests and more private woodlands. Trees and woods offer so many benefits at such modest cost that I really hope the government will respond positively and invest more in forestry despite the recession.?

    Mike Fox, Chairman of the Board, added: ?We particularly welcome the recommendation that the value of woods to society should be fully recognised. We call on the Secretary of State for Transport to make sure the plans for High Speed 2 avoid damaging irreplaceable ancient woodland.?

    The panel?s report suggests that an enhanced Forest Service should receive an additional

  • 04/07/12….Thame shops celebrate ‘Independents’ Day’

    USUALLY associated with commemorating American Independence, today’s date, July 4, has special significance for independent retailers all over the country – including Thame.

    Today was designated ‘Independents’ Day’, aimed at, in the words of its sponsors, Skillsmart Retail: “flying the flag for local retailers: the ones who help make our villages, towns and cities so special. It?s about championing diversity on the high street and recognising the skills behind the shopfront.”

    Throughout the day, shoppers were being encouraged to photograph a purchase from a local, independent retailer, upload it to the social networking site, twitter, using the hashtag, southernoxonindependents, stating where they had bought it.

    The best picture from each of the seven towns in the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse areas, Thame, Henley, Abingdon, Wallingford, Wantage, Farringdon and Didcot, will be selected and the shopper awarded a