Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • 11/11/11…Hat Trick for Thame swimmers

    MEMBERS of Thame Swimming Club were in action again recently at the Handy Cross pool in High Wycombe, for the Wycombe District Swimming Club BC meet. For the third year running, Thame Swimming Club were the top visiting club taking away the trophy and scoring the hat trick.

    There were fantastic swims at the meet with some great personal best (PB) times. Florence Savage, celebrating her birthday at the meet, opened her account with a 10 second PB. Boys Captain, George Finch pushed hard and was rewarded with an ASA South East Regional qualifying time. He?ll be off to the regional meet in December.

    Thame SC?s volunteer coaches and official pulled the stops out to support the event and make it fun and rewarding for the swimmers. The medals were flowing thick and fast and all agreed it was a great event.

    If you would like to get involved in competitive swimming as a master or a junior swimmer, or would like to become a coach or official, please contact secretary@thameswimmingclub.co.uk

  • 11/11/11….Hoax and scams warning from Thames Valley Police

    THIS is a Community Message from Thames Valley Police about some of the latest scams and hoaxes, including those on the web, and what to do about them:

    SCAMS

    We have received an increase in concerns from residents in the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse area about scams and hoax email messages.

    There are hundreds of types of scams and hoax emails, fake lotteries and prize draws, incredible schemes to make money quickly, fake investment plans, the list goes on and on.

    A lot of the emails received are urban myths, an example of one email that resurrects itself every year around Christmas time is the PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) scam, where a card is posted through your door asking you to phone a number for delivery of a parcel. This email is passed around every year but when checked no one has actually received a card, so if received please do not pass on again this year.

    Before forwarding any emails about scams, please check on the following sites to find out if the scam is true or false.

    www.snopes.com

    www.hoax-slayer.com

    WHAT TO DO IF YOU DISCOVER A SCAM

    If anyone thinks they have been the victim of a scam, or suspects a scam is being attempted, please contact Consumer Direct for clear, practical advice.

    Tel: 08454 04 05 06 or visit: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

    Publications on scams are available free of charge from the Office of Fair Trading.

    Tel: 0800 389 3158 or email: oft@ecgroup.co.uk

    You can also contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards if you have concerns about scams or hoax emails.

    Tel: 0845 051 0845 or visit: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards

    Message Ends

  • 10/11/11…..How will Thame Grow? Second community planning event

    A second drop-in weekend of exhibitions and discussion groups are planned for next weekend, as part of the Thame Community Plan consultation.

    The dates are Friday, November 18, between 11am and 8pm, and on Saturday, November 19, between 10am and 6pm.

    Those who went to the previous events on October 7, 8 and 9, were able to feed into the process the key issues that concerned them and shared a wide range of ideas for the future of the town.

    “Now is the time to think about what the ideas from the first community planning event could mean in reality,” says the town council.

    As before, the drop in will involve a variety of different things to do and will include:

    * A summary of the key points from the first drop in
    and what needs to be achieved.

    * A vision for the future of Thame.

    * A number of options showing how Thame could grow in
    the future.

    * Detailed ideas about issues such as housing design.

    * Exhibition material, with Tibbalds Consultancy’s team
    and Councillors on hand to answer any questions.

    * Informal 30 minute discussion groups throughout the
    day.

    The Town Council says that it particularly wants to make sure that young people feel welcome and to take be part of the consultation and has organised an event with pupils at Lord Williams?s School on November 16.

    More details on the Town Council website, Facebook and Twitter;
    http://www.facebook.com/thametown#!/ThameTownPlan

    Twitter: @ThameTownPlan or use the hashtag #ThameTownPlan.

  • 10/11/11….Thame Air Cadets ‘fly in’ to support Thame’s Got Talent

    THAME Air Cadets are the latest recruits to lend a helping hand in support of this year?s Thame?s Got Talent event, taking place on Sunday, November 20, at the Spread Eagle Hotel, with doors opening at Midday.

    The cadets have signed up to provide the ?muscle? on the big day ? assisting with the behind-the-scenes set up, ticket collection, as well as meeting and greeting audience members and visitors to the show, which promises to be a sensational showcase for local talent.

    Commenting on the new recruits, Karen Shardlow, Development & Events Manager at FNHC said: ?We are delighted Thame Air Cadets have kindly offered their support on the big day. Their help will be much appreciated by everyone involved with the event ? and we hope they are all looking forward to taking part.?

    Acts so far signed up for this fantastic one-day only event include dance troupes, a gymnast, a young drummer, singers, bands and duos? all hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year?s winner Rowan Carter, and runners up, rock group Milk (now Empire) who are also taking part again this year.

    All entrants will have to face THE JUDGES, who include Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Bretherton, celebrity chef Lotte Duncan, who runs Lotte?s Kitchen in Chinnor, Sonja Francis, Editor of Thamenews.net, Lindsey Fealey of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and Mark Green of Brothers Hair Salon, Thame, who previously appeared alongside Peter Andre in his Here2Help ITV2 show, in support of the Thame Carnival – with Matthew Cundy, Owner of Kismet Jewellers, Thame, once again hosting the event.

    Last year?s winner, Rowan Carter, will open the event, which will see a variety of acts battling it out to win some fantastic prizes including a day in a recording session with Black Frog recording studios, a cash prize of

  • 10/11/11….Housebuilder becomes Top of the Props at Chinnor Rugby

    FOLLOWING the 2011 Rugby World Cup, local housebuilder David Wilson Homes was overcome with rugby fever, and is now sponsoring two junior teams at Chinnor Rugby Club in Thame.

    The Under 17s and the under 15s were delighted with their new kit which they were presented with by David Wilson Homes last weekend as part of the sponsorship package.

    The much needed new team kit provides an added boost to the team?s spirit and will be worn for all home and away matches for the 2011/2012 season which begins next month.

    Paul Moran, Sales Director for David Wilson Homes Southern commented: ?We are thrilled to be sponsoring both the Under 15 and Under 17 teams at Chinnor Rugby Club. As a local housebuilder we believe it important to make links with the local community and this is central to our company ethos. Our new development in Thame is located close to Chinnor Rugby Club and we hope that the facilities the club provides can be enjoyed by the new residents at Windmill Place.?

    Chinnor RFC Treasurer Jerry Austen-Smith commented: ?It is fantastic that Chinnor Rugby Club now has the backing from David Wilson Homes and we are grateful for their support for two of our successful junior teams.

    ?With 12 teams in junior and senior leagues, plus nearly 300 minis we provide an excellent facility for the whole town. The club relies on sponsorship not only for the provision of new kits but also for support on and off the pitch. It is great to see the housebuilder getting involved in local community activities so that the town?s recreational facilities can benefit.?

    For more information about the club, visit LINK
    For further information about Windmill Place, visit LINK or call 01844 260 606

    PHOTO; Chinnor Under 17s team

  • 09/11/11….Thame man guilty of driving offence

    A THAME man has been convicted of driving without due care and attention in Cornmarket, Thame.

    Julian Barker, 41, of Van Diemans Road, Thame, was fined

  • 09/11/11…Thame salon’s hair-raising charity success

    A THAME hair salon has raised over

  • 08/11/11….Battle of the Thame housing sites goes on

    THE planning inspector currently looking at where thousands of new homes will be built across the district, including a minimum of 775 for Thame, has been taking evidence from the various Thame protagonists.

    As part of his ‘Examination for Soundness’ of the district council’s Core Strategy for future development to 2026, representatives from several of Thame’s Residents Associations, prospective developers and landowners waiting to see if the final decision will make them multi-millionaires, spoke at last Wednesday’s session.

    The three options that the Inspector will have to eventually decide between are whether Site F, previously the pig farm opposite Lord Williams’s school in Oxford Road will take 600 new homes, whether the same number will be built on site D, part of the greenfield site between Thame Park Road Cuttlebrook, or, Thame Town Council’s and some residents’ groups preferred option, the houses spread around a number of smaller sites.

    The arguments generally continued along previous lines, concerns over inadequate control of flooding on Site F, increased traffic to and from the site to the town centre, traffic congestion, the relative effects on the Landscape of sites D and F, whether or not sufficient infrastructure can be made available from each option and the relative effects on community cohesiveness, the town’s economy and age demographic.

    Further details about the Examination to date, future hearings and all documents relating to it, can be viewed on South Oxfordshire District Council’s website http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-building/planning-policy/core-strategy/core-strategy-examination

  • 07/11/11…Thame remain unbeaten away

    MATCH REPORT (Contributed) CHELTENHAM SARACENS 0, Vs THAME UNITED 2; Saturday, November 5, 2011.

    A goal in each half secured the points for United as they came away from Cheltenham with a comfortable 2-0 victory to maintain their unbeaten form away from home in the league. Whilst the three points were never in doubt, the margin of victory could have been so much greater had United taken their chances, especially in the first half.

    Although United went in to the game with influential midfielder Dan West serving a one match suspension, the side were bolstered by the return of Connor Hayes and Ben Connelly in midfield, with Alex Stewart available up front. The opening exchanges were fairly even before United opened the scoring after 18 minutes. A swift counter-attack resulted in a cross from the right to Aaron Rogers who dummied his marker before coolly beating the keeper from 8 yards. United nearly doubled their lead 5 minutes later when, following a goal mouth scramble, the ball ricocheted off the post before being cleared by a defender off the line. Stewart then had two chances, the first a header that went just wide from a Connelly cross, and the second where he turned his marker on the left, with the keeper blocking the effort with his legs.

    The second half was much the same, with United pressing forward. Luke Ricketts went close from the edge of the box, before Cheltenham were reduced to 10-men following a late challenge on Ricketts. Thame continued to press and were rewarded on 77 minutes, when a Stuart Barr free-kick was headed in at the near post by Stewart. The remainder of the game was uneventful, with Thame securing their first clean sheet in the league ? in fact, Nick Bennion in the Thame goal did not have a save to make in the whole game.

    United now travel to Highworth Town for a league match on Tuesday evening.

    United: Bennion, Barr, Hall, Meredith, Cowan, Hayes, Keeble, Connelly (Little), Stewart, Rogers (Steedman), Ricketts.

    Jake Collinge

  • 07/11/11…..Thame business woman voices the benefits of town’s talent search

    A THAME businesswoman who is supporting the town’s talent event in less than two weeks time, says that such events are vital for helping local acts gain in confidence.

    Thame?s Got Talent ? a showcase for local talent, has seen a variety of acts over the years since its launch in 2009, and has also seen familiar faces taking part year on year, which, claims Yvette Cundy, owner of Kismet Jewellers, Thame, goes a long way towards helping entrants boost their confidence.

    Yvette, a local businesswoman and sponsor of the event explains: ?We have seen some familiar local faces over the last three years, keep coming back to take part, which is really great for their confidence-building and experience. It really is a fantastic way to banish those butterflies in the stomach, by getting up on stage to a full house of people, and I would recommend anyone wishing to become a performer, to take part in this fantastic local event.?

    Over 20 acts have signed up to the event so far, which will see Thame Air Cadets also offering a helping hand on the day.

    TGT takes place at the Spread Eagle Hotel, in aid of the Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity (FNHC), which provides comprehensive care and support for local families affected by life-limiting illness and raised over