Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • 28/10/11…..Dog thefts warning – Community Message

    THIS is a community message from Thames Valley Police. a silver Golf that was involved in the theft of dogs from the Letcombe Bassett area of Wantage and also several other thefts and suspicious incidents across the Vale and South Oxfordshire, has been found abandoned in Leatherhead in Surrey on Tuesday evening. Forensic examination of the car is taking place and police are following up on information about numerous offences connected to this car.

    Occupants of a grey (almost green) Jeep Cherokee have been involved in almost identical suspicious incidents across Berkshire and Oxfordshire over the last two days including when disturbed saying they are looking for their lost dog. They may be connected to the silver Golf.

    The part index of the Jeep is R658 – please report any sightings immediately to the police on 08458 505 505 or please use 999 if you think a crime is being committed.

    PHOTO: Courtesy of www.grumpyvegan.com (For illustrative purposes only)

  • 28/10/11….Sparksartists postcard poetry Art Trail winners

    SPARKSARTISTS, Thame, have expressed their thanks to everyone who took part in the POSTCARD POETRY Art trail during the recent Thame Arts & Literature Festival weekend, and say they were especially pleased that so many shops in Thame were prepared to display the postcards.

    The joint winners were Nancy Blood and Jennifer Armstrong from Wingrave. The second prize went to Frankie White from Weston-on-the-Green and third prize to Jill Hind of Wellington Street, Thame.

    PHOTO: Shows the original artwork for one of the postcards in the Poetry Postcard Trail in Thame shops throughout the TAL weekend, ‘And is there honey still for tea?’

  • 28/10/11…..Horrible, haunted Thame!

    DON’T look now but there’s something very spooky creeping up on you…All Hallows Eve or Halloween as it’s more popularly known these days, October 31st.

    The local witches, werewolves, ghouls and ghosts are no doubt planning their evening and we’re all lamenting the loss of Woolworth’s pick n’mix counter to keep the eggs… I mean evil spirits, away from our doors. It will be a night of spooky tales, unexplained happenings, myths and legends for which we’re all suckers. But what of Thame itself? Where lurk our town’s apparitions and other supernatural presences?

    Now, we know that Thame is an old town with a lot of history, so I expected that it would be jam-packed with ghosts. I mean, you don’t find buildings as old as many of ours in every Oxfordshire town, so you can imagine that I was a bit disappointed only to be able to rustle up a hand full. Anyway, settle down on this cold, grisly night but make sure your windows are locked because here we go???

    Robin Gibb and his wife Dwina have often spoken affectionately about the many guests that they apparently share their home, the Prebendal, with. Dwina is quoted as telling one visitor: “When we first moved in here, the house wouldn’t accept anything new. Washing machines would break down, televisions, video machines, telephone systems. They wouldn’t function properly. An engineer from BT came out and said, “It’s not us, it’s the house.”

    Lord Williams’s school has its own legend too. It is said that George Plummer, a housemaster in the early 19th century, murdered the Matron and disposed of her body in the vast Main House attic. It is said that once a year her ghost rings the old assembly bell which is on top of Main House which is now rarely used.

    The next time you drive to Aylesbury from Thame on the A418, at night, beware when you approach the village of Gibraltar. Try not to be alone as it is at this spot that the ghost of a Thame man, known as the Noble Edden who apparently appears to warn travellers about the danger ahead, might appear. What danger you may ask? Well, it was here that Noble Edden was murdered, and he wants to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else! (He’s buried in St Mary’s churchyard by the way)

    Around St Mary’s itself, stories of the lady in grey have been rife for many years. The story goes that a lady in grey appeared to the vicar of St Mary’s just before the turn of the 19th century. As he approached, a lady dressed in Elizabethan costume who was kneeling at the altar rail, vanished right before his very eyes. During World War II, members of the Home Guard often claimed to have seen her while climbing to their lookouts on the church tower.
    Interestingly, whilst doing this research, I noticed that Long Crendon also boasts a lady in grey whose ghost haunts their church. Could it be the same lady? Did she perhaps marry her true love at Thame only to lose him and see him buried at Long Crendon, and now her unhappy spirit walks them both in grief? It could be, or maybe someone local knows the true story of our lady in grey? Please do get in touch and let us know.

    The last story that I’m going to tell concerns the Bird Cage in Cornmarket, Thame. It’s one of the oldest and most well-known buildings in Thame and there are many accounts of strange happenings. The source of the loud nocturnal footsteps has never been traced, but One story says the entity is a leper that was once imprisoned there. Legend has it that he met a horrible end, being stoned to death by the local people of Thame! And I thought we were such nice people! Apparently, there is a secret underground passage that runs from the Bird Cage to St Mary’s Church and it was along here that his battered, bruised and broken body was carried for the last time.

    I’m sure there’s a lot more spooky history to be uncovered in Thame, so if you know of any local ghosts or other unexplained goings-on, do share it with us.

  • 28/10/11….Thame hair salon goes pink for charity

    THE staff at BROTHERS hairdressers in Thame are running a week-long raffle and will be ‘in the pink’ today and tomorrow, october 28 & 29, and donating their tips. One of the girls, Sarah, has gone as far as to dye her hair pink and to attract sponsors.

    All the proceeds will go to Florence Nightingale Hospice, their chosen charity because one of the staff’s aunt died recently from breast cancer and it was the wonderful staff their who looked after her.

    The salon will also be selling limited pink GHD’S the sale from which

  • 27/10/11…Town council to consult the public over flag controversy

    FOLLOWING the loss of a resolution by some Thame Town Councillors to have the St George standard flown from Thame town hall, the council has decided to consult with the public over which flags should fly from the two poles above the main entrance.

    Cllr Adam Buckland, former Mayor of Thame, has responded to a rash of correspondence in the local press about the topic, including letters from county councillors and members of the public. (See LINK to Letters to the Editor to read Cllr Buckland’s letter).

    No time scale has yet been published of when the public consultation will be carried out.

    PHOTO: The Union flag and the European flag flying together from Thame town hall – no longer allowed until the council has consulted the public about which flags should be flown.

  • 27/10/11…Former Thame Mayor’s response to flag furore

    Dear Editor, I would like, if I may, respond to recent articles and letters concerning the proposal to fly the St George?s Flag on the Town Hall.

    As one of the councillors (and last year?s mayor) accused of being unpatriotic and being ?small minded? I would like to point out the following, over the last few years the town councillors have had a direct role in: The new Meadowview football complex, installing a new play area at Southern Road Recreation Ground and soon, Queen Elizabeth circle, initiating and taking forward a new town plan for the next 20+ years, supporting and working alongside Chinnor Rugby Club, giving out grants to local organisations, supplying 30 extra allotments, improving the Christmas lights switch on event, the first Music in the Park event, The first Tidy Thame Day, annual Civic Pride Awards and recently agreeing to investigate future funding of Youth Work in Thame.

    We/I have also given active support to:

    Thame Food Festival, the new Arts and literary Festival, The new Thame Library, the new Street Pastors, new Saturday Farmers Markets and French and Italian Markets.

    If this is what we can all achieve with a SMALL MIND imagine what we can do with a LARGE one.

    Also on a more personal level, my business, which has been in Thame for 17 years (which when we arrived proclaimed: ?Happiness is a State of MIND? If you?re not happy change your MIND!) has over recent years initiated the project ?Brothers Community Spirit? where my staff (at my expense) tidy up areas of Thame that are a bit down at heal and raise money for local good causes such as the Thame Youth Memorial (which is another first for our town, initiated by councillor Dyer and Bretherton). Also, once a year all my employees give their time on a Saturday to help and take part in the carnival that, if you watch TV, was said to be the best in recent memory!

    I feel all these achievements have given the residents a huge sense of pride in their town, much, much, much more than raising a flag on a Town Hall.

    I personally have a lot more positive aspirations on my list for Thame than what coloured material is draped from our Town Hall, as long as there is still the community sprit in Thame which residents and visitors talk about so widely

    So please don?t lecture me about putting pride back into our Town.

    I?m getting a bit bored of a few people constantly snipping from the sidelines and slagging off the council especially when they don?t seem to be in position of all the facts.

    In your first article a lot of councillors where named but funnily enough not the name of Nick Carter (our conservative county councillor) who went huffing and puffing to your paper after the vote on the flags didn?t go his way (he wasn?t even part of the vote).

    You won?t find me slagging off the county council about their withdrawal of our youth service and appalling potholes in our roads in a local paper (Oops)!

    I would politely suggest that Nick and other councillors (who seem to have a slight obsession with the St George?s flag) and their supporters have a look at their own government?s website that states:

    ?On St George?s Day, the Cross of St George?s may be flown from UK Government buildings in England with two or more flagpoles?

    Not my rules. Theirs! Debate over?

    I would suggest that those residents, councillors and county councillors who would like to fly the St George?s flag lobby their MP and government rather than slagging off councillors who are only upholding this government?s rules (which for us labour councillors does seem more than ironic).

    Lastly I would like to assure some of your readers that I will be standing down at the end of this term of the council as after what would have been 12 years of trying to do my best for this great town of ours and to the detriment of my family and business life, I think, I know, it?s time for more OPEN MINDED people like E.R King to step up to the plate and show us what they can do!

    I wish You good luck.

    Councillor Adam Buckland

  • 26/10/11…..Closure of Nelson Street, Thame is delayed

    DUE to unforeseen operational difficulties, the closure of Nelson Street has had to be postponed. Work will now start on 30 November 2011 and last for 10 days.

    If you require further information or have any queries, contact Fred Fanyinka at Oxfordshire County Council on 01865 815262.

    A Temporary Traffic Order will be be in place prohibiting through Traffic in Nelson Street from 30 November. The Order is being introduced because of carriageway maintenance works in Nelson Street.

    A copy of the Order, with a map showing the location of the works, is available to view in the Information Centre in the Town Hall.

  • 26/10/11……Town council to consider funding youth worker

    SINCE Oxfordshire County Council withdrew funding for youth workers in the county, including Thame’s, the town has been without a youth worker.

    At a meeting of Thame Town Council on September 27, it accepted a proposal by Cllr Mary Stiles to consider the viability of employing a full-time, paid youth worker itself.

    The council’s Budget Working Group will consider ways of finding the money either through reviewing and cutting some services, increasing its 2012-13 precept (the council’s share of the Community Charge) or a combination of the three.

    The Budget Working Group will meet in a couple of weeks and then take its proposals to full council on December 6.

  • 25/10/11……Getting rid of or recycling unwanted items to get easier!

    PEOPLE living in Oxfordshire will soon be a able to find advice on how they can dispose of unwanted items through a new on-line initiative.

    Oxfordshire Waste Partnership, a collaboration between Oxfordshire County Council and the county’s district councils, has come up with a new recycling A-Z website to help people reduce, re-use and recycle almost anything.

    The site is due to be launched tomorrow, October 26. It will enable residents to select an unwanted item and discover various ways to avoid sending it to landfill.

    The new site will also help people learn how to repair broken items rather than just throwing them away.

    SOURCE: http://www.publicservice.co.uk

    IMAGE: Courtesy of euinfrastructure.com

  • 25/10/11…Thame toilets to get

    THE public toilets in Montesson Square in Upper High Street, Thame, are to be refurbished following years of grumbles from visitors and residents about their disgusting condition.

    Temporary toilets are being installed today next to Market House and the seven-week project is due to begin tomorrow, at a cost of