CONGRATULATIONS to Thame Boys U10′s for winning the Holmer Green Tournament convincingly, yesterday and to Thame Boys U12′s who won the Haddenham Tournament beating Risborough Rangers 2-0 in the Final.
AND Thame Boys U9′s team also won their respective age group – great weekend for Thame’s young footballers!
MEMBERS of Thame’s retained fire brigade today stood in silence for one minute to observe the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the twin towers in New York.
Among the 2976 fatalities were 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters.
ACCORDING to data obtained by the BBC, the number of empty shops in Thame up to June this year, was only three out of 117 – that’s 2.5% – the national shop vacancy rate is 14.3%.
The Data, released today by retail analysts, the Local Data Company, showed that Thame had the least empty shops in Oxfordshire, while Banbury had the most.
So why is the town managing to keep the town centre virtually free of empty retail space?
BBC Radio Oxford asked several Thame shoppers what they liked about Thame shops and you can hear their responses, and an interview with Sonja Francis of Thame4Business, on the BBC’s Listen Again facility here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00jxldg/Phil_Gayle_08_09_2011/ Move the pointer along to 1:24:24 to catch the Thame spot in this mornings’s Breakfast programme with Phil Gayle.
THAMENEWS would like to point out that the wonderful work carried out on the Memorial Gardens ponds, was lead by local company, RH Aquatics & Landscaping who were contracted by the town council to do the work and oversee the job.
Robbie Hinton of RH Aquatics & Landscaping said: “I had great assistance from the council team who were absolutely brilliant in helping the job move forward quickly.”
THAME’s memorial ponds and landmark fountain in the Upper High Street, are undergoing a much needed clean out and re-piping which should see the fish a lot happier and the fountain working properly again.
The town council’s maintenance team have completely removed piles of accumulated rotted leaves and mud after draining the ponds and safely decanting the fish to a temporary swimming pool on site.
New pipe work should make future cleaning and maintenance a lot easier and keep the water flowing through filters to the fountain.
Among the more unexpected wild life safely transferred from the pond were chubb, roach and a mirror carp!
ENSAR Gol, aged 21, from Ireton Court, Thame, was remanded in custody when he appeared at Oxford Crown Court this morning.
He is charged with the murder of Julie Sahin, aged 50, from Ireton Court, Thame, and Michala Gol, nee Burgess-Hall, aged 28, of the same address, and the attempted murder of a third woman.
As he was lead away from the dock, Gol turned to the public gallery and pointed, then pointed to his eye.
He was summoned to appear before the court again on October 19, to enter a plea.
The judge ordered that the names of any children in the case should not be published until further notice. The prosecuting barrister said that the fact that the parents had been named in some quarters of the media could cause problems in the future, particularly if there were to be a trial.
THAME’S MP, John Howell, will tour the town to see for himself the work of the 21st Century Thame Partnership, projects aimed at enhancing the town’s economy by making it more appealing for residents and visitors.
On Friday morning (9/09) John will see for himself how thousands of pounds worth of funding from SEEDA (South East Economic Development Agency) matched by funding from SODC and the support of Thame Town Council, has been spent in the town. He will see how town centre businesses have benefited from the Shop Fronts Improvement Scheme, the new Shopping Guide boards in the Cattlemarket, Sainsbury’s car park and the Co-Op car park; the Blue Plaques on buildings previously occupied by historic and famous residents, as well as experiencing guided Historic Walks around the town. An associated project, way-marking the points of interest on the Historic walks with metal, engraved discs in the pavement, is currently with the Town Clerk for finalising. John will be given the new Cycling and Walking Map and talk to retailers and customers taking advantage of the Thame Loyalty Card scheme. John will also be the first to receive one of the new Welcome Packs which have been distributed to all Estate Agents in the town and to the Sales Office of the new Windmill Road development of David Wilson Homes.
Hopefully too, he will notice the new planters at the main entrances to the town, beautifully maintained by the town council’s maintenance team, as he drives into Thame.
The funding for these projects is part of SEEDA’s Small Rural Towns Programme which is matched locally by funds raised by the community group; SEEDA?s funds are funding similar programmes in towns across the South East and Oxfordshire has six towns that currently are beneficiaries including Thame. Without government support such projects would not be feasible. This funding round will end in March 2012 and there is no intention on the part of the Government to replace it with anything else.
The accountable body in Oxfordshire for administering the funding has been the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council which is seeking other sources of funding to continue the work.
NOTE: 21st Century Thame was established in 2004, and is made up of representatives from the local community, businesses and local authority groups including Thame Town Council, South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, to take on the responsibility of implementing Action Plan projects that evolved from the Market Town Healthcheck process.
To find out more, visit the 21st Century Thame website http://www.21stcenturythame.org.uk/
To find out more about ORCC, visit: http://www.oxonrcc.org.uk/what-we-do/market-towns
A THAME member of the High Wycombe Cycling Club, just happy to have been selected for the British Time Trial Championship last Saturday (03/09), couldn’t believe his luck when he came away with a Silver medal in his class.
John Francis, 62, of Langdale Road, Thame, has been cycling with HWCC for over six years and has gradually increased his experience and fitness to become one of the club’s most successful stalwarts. John recounted his experiences and observations from that memorable day offering a taste of the life of a Time Trialler:
After yet another of his regular 4.30am starts and eager to drive round the course prior to the race, John set out early for his trip to Huntingdon to ride in the British Time Trial Championships. At first glance it seemed more like orienteering than time trialling he said, but he realised that the important part of the course to memorise was at Winwick, turn left by the red phone box on the first lap, straight on to the finish on the second.
“Approaching Winwick in the car,” he recalled, “I saw with horror that a local farmer had decided to do a bit of hedge trimming, throwing debris right across the road. After driving the course, the second objective was to find the HQ, a full 40 minutes on the bike to the start.
“There is nothing to set you wondering if you have prepared properly for a ride than to open your car door and hear a conversation that begins, ‘Yes, and then I stayed on to do a bit of training at altitude.’
“I Signed on and and then set off to the start, which needed directions from an early morning dog walker. Despite a bit of panicking, I arrived with ten minutes to spare. The weather was perfect despite a forecast of heavy showers. A short incline from the start had to be taken steadily and then it was off down narrow roads with poor surfaces until joining the circuit which, for the Masters, had to be negotiated twice. Once on the course proper there was a mixture of long flat straights, fast downhill sections, sharp bends and a few short climbs.
“The wind picked up on the second lap but was not a real problem. Heading for the finish there was first one climb, through Great Gidding, and then a final climb to the finish. I felt the ride had gone well enough but for a customary dip in heart rate about two thirds of the way round; must try to do something about that.”
Back at the HQ with four or five results in, John was in poll position on the results board with 51:38 for the 21 mile course. Next time in was David Jones 51:27. The time for Graham Huck was absent as other times went up around him. John thought that he must be a DNF (Did Not Finish) and went off for a cup of tea. On his return a time of 47.07 had been posted. John thought that a bronze was as much as he could have hoped for.
The presentation was made by Sheila Hardy, Chairman of Cycling Time Trials. In Masters G category, third prize went to Robert Woodford, Rockingham Forest Wheelers. John apparently thought that he must have slipped to fourth. But to his surprise was awarded the silver with David Jones taking the first spot. It transpired that the 47:07 awarded to Graham Huck should have read 57:07.
Also riding for Wycombe was Steve Golla who recorded a second place 46:18, an agonising nine seconds short of the first placed rider, Peter Weir from Maidenhead and District CC.
“It turned out that everyone had 11 seconds of agony as well as me,” added John, “So close for both of them, but great rides all the same!” HWCC’s Malcolm Freeman recorded a time of 56:34 in Masters Category G for 5th spot.
THE man accused of murdering two women at a house in Thame in the early hours of Sunday morning (04/09)was remanded in custody by Oxford Magistrates court this morning.
Ensar Gol, 21, is also charged with the attempted murder of a third woman. He will appear before a judge at Oxford Crown Court tomorrow morning at 10am.
A LOCAL, talented young golfer raised the trophy at this year’s Junior Open, hosted by The Oxfordshire Golf Club, near Thame, on Wednesday (31/08)
Upper against fifty-six other talented young golfers, 18 year-old Jordan Garnish from Chinnor, and a member of the The Oxfordshire Golf Club, won after a successful 18-hole round with a fantastic gross score of 71, playing off a handicap of -1, followed on the Junior Leaderboard by the 16 year old Jacques Cooke from Burhill Golf Club with a gross score of 73, playing off a handicap of 4.
Junior golfers ranging in age from 11 to 18 and from more than 15 different Clubs were eager to tee-off and play on the championship golf course on Wednesday. Once the young players completed four hours play and score cards were handed in, the prize-giving ceremony was held at the Club House with Jordan receiving a year?s free membership at The Oxfordshire and a Titleist Cart Bag. Runner-up, Jacques Cooke, won a selection of golfing gear.
The competition was open to all Junior Members at affiliated clubs who were under 18 years of age at the time of the competition. 18-holes were played in the Medal format, where each player adds up his or her score for the round with the lowest score winning after handicaps have been deducted. A handicap limit of 18 applied; players with higher handicaps played to the above limit.
Tim Pettifer, General Manager at The Oxfordshire, commented: ?We are pleased to host the annual Junior Open. The Oxfordshire is dedicating a great deal of effort to support the upcoming golf generation, and the Junior Open is one of the many initiatives taken by the club to nurture young local talents.?
THAME has been chosen, along with Woodcote in South Oxfordshire, to be among the first areas to produce Neighbourhood Plans, under a new power being introduced as part of the Localism Bill.
Neighbourhood Planning will give local people an opportunity to decide how development will evolve in their area. Plans should be in line with the local planning authority’s core strategy and can include preferred locations for housing, shops, offices and schools.
Thame and Woodcote are among 36 areas of the country, including towns, villages and business parks, that have been picked by the Government to pilot the new scheme. As part of the ?front-runners? scheme South Oxfordshire District Council will receive a grant of