Author: Sonja Francis

FROM this week brown bins will start to be collected again, on the same day as recycling, following the Christmas and New Year collection schedule.

From Wednesday, January 12, brown bins should be put out for collection on the normal day your recycling collection is due, and can put out a reasonable amount of extra garden waste next to the brown bin. This extra waste, which can be up to the equivalent of an extra bin load, should be put out in a black bag, plastic box or sturdy container and should obviously be garden waste so please leave the bag open or lid off so crews can see what it is.

The extra waste must also be able to be lifted by one person.

Christmas trees can be left next to the brown bin if that helps create more space in the bin for garden waste.

THE in-patient ward at Thame community Hospital is to be closed temporarily as part of the general refurbishment work currently being undertaken at the hospital to bring infection control up to modern standards.

The works, which will be completed by the end of February 2011, include a number of improvements to the outpatient department, day services and inpatient ward such as new flooring, paint and general refurbishment. The inpatient ward will also receive new sinks, ceilings and lighting.

In a statement today, the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust explained: “To complete this work in a timely way, with little disruption to patient care, it will be necessary for us to temporarily close the inpatient ward from 14 January 2011 for a period of six weeks (reopening 28 February 2011). During this time patients requiring an inpatient stay will be cared for at either Buckingham or Amersham community hospitals ? although as far as possible, patients who are well enough will be seen in their own homes by our specialist staff.”

The rest of the hospital will continue to be open during this time, although some outpatient clinics and day services may be moved to other parts of the Thame Hospital site or rearranged for another date. Patients will be contacted directly if there are any changes to their appointment.

Rachael Corser, lead nurse for the community hospital, said: ?Staff are doing everything they can to try and minimise disruption to patients using the rest of the hospital whilst the works are ongoing. However, we do apologise in advance for any inconvenience caused.

She added: “Following the successful integration between acute and community healthcare services last year, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has been working hard to improve and develop services in the community, providing high quality care closer to patient?s homes wherever possible. We believe the refurbishment works at Thame Community Hospital will put the hospital in a better position to support services as we look to develop them there into the future.”

FOLLOWING on from Wednesday’s review of the main Thame news stories of 2010 up to April, the rest of the year proved just as eventful.

The General Election on May 6, which saw the re-election of Thame?s MP John Howell, attracted a turn out of 73% in the Constituency ? the biggest for many years.

The sunny month of June sadly brought the death of two popular local men, ?The father of Thame allotments,? Ken Jones, who was also an ex manager of the Co-op store, and 29 year-old motorcyclist, Robert Thompson, who was killed in accident at a Bicester round-about. Thame?s very first Arts and Literature festival towards the end of June proved to be a huge success with 1,450 people attending 30 events, including poetry nights in pubs, over the weekend, June 25-27.

Early in July the beautiful land-mark Weeping Willow tree in the Memorial Gardens had to be felled by the town council because it was diseased and dangerous. But the gap in Thame?s townscape was soon re-filled with a replacement tree of the same species. Also in July, Thame responded to the hand of friendship extended by Romania, and the Thame-Sinaia Friendship group was launched.

The month brought an extended dry spell of weather and Thame fire station was kept busy putting out fires in hedgerows and railway embankments, and more seriously, a fire in the car park at Thame Show which damaged 22 cars. Thame Show was, for the first time, held during July, having been staged for generations during the third week in September.

Also in July, a town branding initiative was launched to help promote the town and ?Its Thame4Me? stickers began appearing in shop windows and on event posters etc. Soha became the first ?green? housing association to come up with practical ideas to mobilise neighbourhoods to adapt to climate change by encouraging everyone to reduce energy consumption in anyway they can.

It was during July 2010 that Oxfordshire County Council voted to take the controversial step of turning off the county?s speed cameras. (These are now due to be turned on again following a financial contribution from Thames Valley Police)

For ten years, Thame had been fighting for a new library to replace the small, inadequate building in Southern Road, and on August 2, a brand new, state-of-the art library, with computer, self-service equipment was opened.

For three days over the August bank holiday, a red double decker bus became a regular sight in the town when, in its 46th year, the now internationally renowned Towersey festival attracted top folk, blues and Roots musicians and drew some of Thame?s most colourful annual visitors to the town providing a much-welcome boost to the local economy.

Concerns over future funding for the Thame & District Day Centre began to emerge in August and the local community was asked to get behind fund-raising challenges, and as a result, in part, of local lobbying, the centre later received reassurance from the Buckinghamshire Hospitals Trust, its landlord, that it could stay for a reasonable rent, far from the

A Chinnor-based storyteller has given up her job to travel the world in search of stories which she will broadcast live on the web.

Victoria Parsons, who at 29 years-old is already an accomplished UK storyteller, has left her job writing subtitles for the BBC and flies off tomorrow, Friday, January 06, to dedicate herself full time to finding inspiration from the different cultures she experiences.

First stop for Victoria will be India, where she will take part in the biggest literary festival in Asia, in Jaipur which takes place from January 21 to 25.

The world tour, which includes Thailand, Burma and Sri Lanka, has been planned for Victoria to gather, collect and write traditional oral stories which will be available fortnightly via her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TaleTimeStories and her website http://taletimestories.com

?Story has the power to bring people together and I’m using the internet as a 21st century tool to achieve this,” explained Victoria. “Telling a story connects you there and then in a space and connection is something we are sadly missing in today?s society. My goal is to share stories as a means to a greater understanding between people.?

Aimed at eight to twelve year olds, Victoria?s stories will bring Gods and Goddesses, astrological myths and traditional folktales to life.

Victoria will be visiting schools, talking to locals and meeting other travelers to find her stories.

Tracey Smith, author/broadcaster on sustainable living said: “Victoria?s work will inspire parents the world over to slow down their pace, conjure up a few characters and set aside the time to create special memories with their children, before the opportunity to embrace it has sadly passed.”

When she returns to the UK in a year?s time, Victoria will be publishing her first book, Circle of Stars, which she will be writing on her travels.

Mark Boyle, author of The Moneyless Man and founder of Freeconomy said: ?Stories play a huge role in the types of society we create. Every moment, of every day, we are enacting a story that has evolved over millennia; and almost always, unknowingly. Until we change these underlying, silent stories, very little will change in society. What Victoria is really doing is teaching children – and more importantly, their parents – that there are many ways we could live, some potentially much better, and that this way is but one.?

Victoria will be updating her website two or three times a week from where ever she is in the world. A story map on her site shows where she is currently traveling. Her itinerary includes India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka and will take a year to complete.

THAME, Oxfordshire 06/01/10

AS Barley Hill School in Thame begins the new term with a new headteacher, the outgoing Head, John Hulett has spoken about the changes in support for education during his time and reflecting on his 16 years at the school.

Writing in the school news letter, Mr Hulett has written: “In my early years here the Local Authority used to play a much more central role in supporting teachers than it does today. I used to receive regular visits from our local adviser and friendly advice from our area education officer. Support for headteachers now comes largely from external providers and the Local Authority community has changed greatly and diminished in size.”

Mr Hulett expressed his appreciation for the support of The Thame Partnership of local schools, and talked about how he had valued his close working relationship with the other Thame schools’ heads and how their priority had always been cooperation and collaboration and never competition.

He thanked Chris Neal who was Chair of Governors at the school when Mr Hulett became headteacher and the current Chair, Paul Nicholas, as well as the many parents and community representatives who had served as Governors. He also paid tribute to the parents for their high level of interest and support to their childrens? education, which he said, ?..is one of the great strengths of the school.?

Mr Hulett went on to thank, what he called, “.. an
incredibly energetic and talented team of teachers,” and concluded that leaving behind the community that is Barley Hill School, “…would leave leave an
enormous hole in my life.”

Sam Eels Taylor, who is the current Vice Chair of Governors at Barley Hill School, said: “John will be sorely missed. We have now welcomed a new Head Teacher, Anne Stopforth, an experienced head from Reading who started the role this week and we are confident that she will build on the excellent foundations laid by John.”