TEMPORARY Traffic Order: Nelson Street, Thame. A Temporary Traffic Order will be in place prohibiting through Traffic in Nelson Street from October 17.
The Order is being introduced because of carriageway maintenance works in Nelson Street and it is anticipated this will take two weeks to complete.
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.
THERE could be a knock at the door for people in South Oxfordshire in the next couple of weeks as the District Council undertakes its latest residents? survey.
From September 26, SODC will be contacting 1,100 individuals to conduct face-to-face interviews to find out their views on council services, how satisfied they are with SODC and how well informed they feel about the Council?s work.
The interviews will be carried out by MEL Research. All representatives will carry ID but anyone who is unsure or would like more information can contact Kate Prince, Consultation Officer, at SODC on 01491 823093 or haveyoursay@southandvale.gov.uk
Anyone who is not selected for a face-to-face interview can still take part in the survey by filling in an online questionnaire at: www.southoxon.gov.uk/haveyoursay
Councillor Angie Paterson, Deputy Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: ?We use the results of the survey to help to decide the Council?s priorities and to find ways to improve how we serve our residents.
?We will also compare the latest findings with those from 2009 so that we can check our progress and make sure that we are improving.
?We are always grateful for input from residents and I would encourage anyone with an interest in their community and the services we provide to take part and give us their views.?
TWO Thame sister pubs are to go head to head to boost the coffers for Macmillan Cancer Support with world record attempt to whip up the most cappuccinos ever made in an hour!
It will be all hands on deck between 10am and 11am at The Thatch and The James Figg in Thame, next Friday, 30th September, when each of the pubs? baristas will be attempting to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records by steaming up the largest number of cappuccinos ever made in one hour, all for a good cause.
The world record attempt is in support of this year?s ?Macmillan World?s Biggest Coffee Morning? which is due to take place across the country next Friday, with all donations for the coffees going straight to Macmillan Cancer Support.
The current world record stands at 106 cups in an hour; the teams at each of the two sister pubs are aiming to smash this with their sights set on 150! To ensure everything is above board, the attempts will be independently witnessed and filmed, with the footage being sent to Guinness World Records afterwards.
?The Thatch and The James Figg are both really popular places for locals to hook up with friends and colleagues for a catch-up over coffee, so we thought it would make sense for us to do our bit to help make next Friday Macmillan?s biggest ever coffee morning,? explains Frazer Sutherland, owner The Thatch and The James Figg. ?The teams have had a few practice runs so are all fired up and ready to go, it?ll be interesting to see which pub makes it into the Guinness Book of World Records.?
No money will be taken by the pubs for the coffees on Friday morning, instead they will donate a sum of
MARMITE cheddar, Kobe beef, Del Boy’s and Ena Sharples’ favourite tipple and a challenge to the quizmaster over black onion seeds – nigella or sesame seeds, were just some of the answers that got heads scratching at The James Figg last night.
The first of the build-up events for Thame’s fourth Food Festival, a Foodie Quiz Night, challenged teams of gastronomy enthusiasts from all over the town on their knowledge of food and drink.
And the winning team was…..(no, not the Thame News Tasters but..)The Festival Ferrets, pictured here with Manager of the Thatch and quizmaster, Frazer Sutherland.
ROTARY CLUB. A member of the Haddenham and District Rotary Club has submitted the following report: ?On Wednesday 7th September Haddenham and District Rotary Club delivered against their commitment to ?Service above Self? by presenting the money raised at the Waddesdon Horse Event and the Haddenham Christmas Santa to local deserving causes. Immediate past President Alan Dichler made donations to the following recipients: Age UK Buckinghamshire (Mike Brookes), Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs (Jeremy Mulkern), Florence Nightingale Hospice, Aylesbury (Karen Shardlow), Ickford School Science Project (John Ronane), Life Education Centres, Thames Valley (Ellen Goodwin), [Thame] Lighthouse (Linda Newton), Monks Risborough Cricket Club (Mohammed Amjad), Snakemoor Nature Reserve, Haddenham (Robyn Thorogood), Tetsworth Little Kites (Pre-school) (Adrian Cannon), Thame Air Training Corps (Colin Anderson and 3 cadets)?
Donations will be made at a later date to Waddesdon Village Hall and the Rotary Club of Thame. Alan also presented trophies to the top sponsors of the Horse Event; they were represented by Clair Mortimer who was the senior top sponsor.
Each recipient gave short but interesting explanations of the role of their organisation in our community. Adrian Cannon of Tetsworth Little Kites revealed that he was about to climb the three highest mountains in Great Britain in support of his cause.
As he closed the meeting President Peter Davis (the 24th president) reminded everyone that Rotary was ?good fun and useful? and encouraged all who were not yet Rotarians to consider attending the inaugural meeting of a new club to be formed in the district. This club will be targeted at those younger men and women who wish to contribute to their local community and the developing world while having fun. There will be a meeting of interested people at the Rose and Thistle at 7 for 7.30pm next Wednesday (September 28). As Peter said ?The current club is aging and we owe it to the community to enable local men and women to carry forward the Rotary ethic for another 25 years?.?
RISING SUN. Just over a year after taking over the running of the Rising Sun pub, Haddenham, (for Oak Taverns), Rob and Miranda are delighted that the pub has received a mention in the 2012 CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Good Beer Guide for the first time for many years. Rob says that all their ales are served from the barrel (as are real ciders) and the pub has 3-4 different ales on sale at any one time – from the Vale Brewery in Brill and also guest ales. Rob and Miranda live on the premises with their 2 young daughters and are aiming to run a family friendly establishment. There are live music nights once every 2 weeks or so, featuring different types of music: jazz, rock ?n? roll, blues etc – look out for notices around the village. Look out too for community notices – which will soon have a dedicated notice board – just inside the entry lobby.
ROAD WORKS. The long awaited work to resurface Tacks Lane/Fort End/Banks Rd (from the Rising Sun, Haddenham,to the junction of Banks Rd with Stokes Croft) will be taking place next week. The road is due to be closed or partially closed from September Wednesday 28 to Friday 30. A diversion will go via Thame Rd/Station Rd/Churchway.
Sat 24th Snakemoor Work Party. Robyn Thorogood says he?ll be pleased to see volunteers at a work morning at the local nature reserve, near Haddenham and Thame Parkway station, from 10am. The main jobs to be tackled will be general tidying up, clearing around trees etc. Forks, spades or any digging tools you can bring will be useful.
Sat 24th Ready Steady Cook Off! Michelin-starred chef Toby Hill, who grew up in Haddenham, is hosting a cookery event (10.30am – 2.30pm) at Hardings Restaurant, Aylesbury College. Talented young chefs will compete against each other to see who can come up with the most creative and tastiest dish given limited time and ingredients. There will then be a buffet lunch, after which Toby will Ready, Steady, Cook Off! against another qualified chef.
The event is being organised by The Friends of Stoke Mandeville Hospital and local, registered charity Scannappeal. All proceeds will go to Scannappeal?s new appeal for
A THAME woman has spoken of her relief as her decades-long battle to have her property decontaminated is won, as the diggers move in to begin the work.
Sam Gee lives in one of four properties built in the early 1970s on the site of the old Thame Gas holder in Wellington Street, Thame, in the house originally owned by her parents. Suspicions began around 1975 when residents noticed a strange smell. Plants didn?t seem to grow properly in the strange, black soil and most alarming of all, they noticed that some of the stones in the ground in their gardens were blue – apparently a sign of the presence of cyanide.
Mother of three, Sam, told Thamenews.Net that she had been wrangling with the developer, the landowner and South Oxfordshire District Council for many years over who was responsible for dealing with the contamination and who should pay.
?The most distressing aspect about the whole thing,? said Sam, ? has been the lack of information and communication from SODC throughout. At one point they just told us to wash our hands! Further along the line, they did eventually promise to keep me informed but that fizzled out until I was told I would have to pay for the work.?
SODC has now appointed contractors to dig out the whole of the area around the four properties, carefully removing and taking away all the affected soil to a depth of about a metre and a half. They will then lay down a special membrane to prevent any further seepage up into the soil and infill with new top soil.
?Although I have lost so many childhood memories with my dad?s plants and his workshop etc getting trashed, and little things like my daughter?s baby footprints in the concrete taken out, and the graves of our dead pets over the years having to be disturbed, I am looking forward to being able to have a proper garden again and not having to worry about my children playing outside in the garden.?
Because of the contamination, the four properties affected have been blighted by a bad reputation, but now, as Sam said, ?We can genuinely say that only have we got the safest garden in Thame, we?ve probably got the the safest garden in England!?
PHOTO: Sam Gee and two of her children spot a patch of black, contaminated soil in what was their front garden
ARE you an experienced Company Secretary used to taking full responsibility for financial matters? Would you like to work part-time for a vibrant charity that protects victims and supports offenders and their families?
The charity is Thames Valley Partnership headed up by its Chair, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair.
This paid post is for 2.5 hours, based at The Thames Valley Partnership’s Headquarters at Townhill Barn, Chilton, in Buckinghamshire.
The Job
The role of the Assistant Director (Finance) is a new position to take over Company Secretary and all financial responsibilities; to act as deputy to the director, to line manage some of the staff team and have oversight of incoce and HR matters.
FULL DETAILS & JOB REQUIREMENTS:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/jobs/assistant-director-finance-part-time-thames-valley-partnership/88292803
For more information and application form, contact: Mac Webster, email: mac@thamesvalleypartnership.org
Applications must be received by October 7, 2011
THAME’s MP, John Howell was guest of honour at an event hosted by 21st Century Thame recently, to learn about the work undertaken by the Partnership and to see for himself the fruits of the organisation?s hard work on behalf of the community.
John was joined at Thame’s new, state-of-the-art library by representatives from South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC) as well as other partnership members, to hear details of the work and take a tour of some of the town centre projects, specifically some of the retail businesses stunningly transformed as part of the shop front improvements scheme.
Local businesswoman and Chair of 21st Century Thame, Cat Young addressed guests ahead of the town ?walk about?. She explained how the Partnership had been working together over the last two years to introduce a wide range of initiatives aimed at promoting Thame, encouraging tourism, attracting business and ensuring that Thame maintains and builds on its position as one of Oxfordshire?s most important market towns.
The projects have been funded by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), match funded by SODC and with the help and support of Thame Town Council.
Cat, who is a Partner of Thame-based business, STW, in North Street, outlined some of the projects’ key achievements which included creating promotional material to inform and welcome visitors and newcomers, implementing a highly successful Loyalty Card scheme designed to support local traders, installing no less than four blue plaques (within Oxfordshire, the most ever approved at one time!) and – soon to be completed ? placing way markers on the heritage trails around the town. She explained that positioning planters on the approaches to Thame and extending the coverage of the Christmas lights will benefit visitors and residents alike.
?Thame is a vibrant and thriving community,? Cat said, “and those of us who work or live here already know what a great town it is. But to ensure it stays that way requires us to continually find ways to make it even more attractive to residents, businesses and visitors.?
She added: ?The energy and enthusiasm of the volunteers in 21st Century Thame is remarkable and shows what a commitment there is to making sure Thame stays well and truly a shining star on the map of Oxfordshire!”
Dear friends and colleagues, Please see below a letter I have written to my MP in respect of a proposal under the Localism Bill. If you are concerned about the
power of big business in forcing through planning applications against the wishes of communities, please write to your MP about this. Further information at
LINK
As a local councillor myself I would certainly want my community to have such powers if a large company was seeking development in my area.
Regards
David Lyons
Haddenham.
Dear John Bercow
I write in respect of the proposal before parliament under the Sustainable Communities Act by Leiston Town Council in Suffolk and the Suffolk Association of Local Councils.
Please write to Localism Minister, Greg Clark, asking him to please agree to implement the planning reform proposal to empower parish and town councils submitted under the Sustainable Communities Act.
The Sustainable Communities Act was intended to help local democracy prevent communities turning into ?Ghost Town Britain? and empowering local people.
If agreed by the government this proposal will apply nationally. 1100 Town and Parish Councils across the country have formally given their support to the proposal.
The proposal is a modest and reasonable suggestion for the government to amend planning guidance in a way that would help locally elected decision makers.
In summary, the proposal is to require applicants of major developments to:
– attend a meeting of the local Town or Parish Council, or of a duly called Town Meeting, to answer questions on the application for development; and
– fund the council or duly called town meeting to commission an independent report on the application and critique of any reports that the applicant has submitted in support of the application for
development.
The rationale is that local elected representatives and local people should be making their decision on whether an application should go ahead based on the best evidence, and this would help ensure that evidence was available.
I would be most grateful if you would forward me the respone from the Localism Minister.
Many thanks
David Lyons
THAME Boys Under 13s 6, V Summertown Stars AFC 1; MATCH REPORT (Contributed by Andy MacDonald)
THAME Boys started their season with a superb win against an Oxfordshire league team they had come across in several tournaments previously and were well aware of the threat posed by a quality team.
Having signed three new strong players over the summer, Jack Kennedy, Ben Pearson and Shaun Rounding, despite their successful season last year, Thame quickly showed their class with some great attacking football and controlled the game for the first 20 minutes.
As time wore on and chances were squandered, it was only a matter of time before the counter attacking danger of Summertown punished Thame. Having pushed too many defensive players forward, an opposition clearance was latched upon by a lively strike force which outpaced Lewis who had been left isolated at the back. Summertown clinically dispatched on the break to take the lead 1-0.
Thame were given some strong advice by Manager Gerald Reilly at half time about keeping their shape, and came out looking a different team. The interplay was excellent, the players stuck to their positions and our midfield totally bossed the game allowing the strikers to run Summertown ragged. Shaun notched his first of four well taken goals, Brad smashed home a penalty and Alex slotted a sixth just before the final whistle.
With strong players like George, Matthew, Duncan, Louie, Cameron and Brad closing down every tackle, Jack was able to skilfully distribute the ball to either Max on the left or Ben on the right causing problems for an opposition defence forced to run round in circles. Lewis and Nathan stuck to their men well to nullify a very dangerous attack, with Nathan starting to enjoy his left favoured defensive role. Aiden started to show his confidence in coming out for loose balls and his communication with Duncan was vastly improved on last season.
Thame had the luxury of bringing on players of equal quality and the season ahead looks exciting. The league starts next week and this is where the business really starts. But what a great win for a team that played as a cohesive unit in the second half.
Man of the match was Shaun Rounding.