Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Match Report Thame Netball Club 22/9/10 (Contributed)

    THAME TORNADOES 31 Vs Psycho Physios 12 – The Tornadoes arrived at their match on Wednesday evening feeling confident, but at the start of a new season you can never underestimate the opposition. Physios came out strongly at first, with both teams playing a fast paced game. Tornadoes soon took control though and set the pace for the rest of the match.

    As Tornadoes settled into the game, we saw some excellent shooting from the attaching partnership, playing their first game together. The defence was also strong across court, and Physios had to work really hard to get the ball into their attacking third. Tornadoes maintained their game into the third quarter, showing good positional play and creating lots of scoring opportunities.

    The final quarter was sealed by an excellent defensive performance, getting a great number of interceptions and forcing missed passes and held balls. These were then converted by a steady mid court and a determined attack. GD Sheena earned player of the match for her outstanding efforts. A great second game of the season!

    Team: Hannah White (captain), Sheena Maguire, Karen Fowler, Lisa Sydenham, Lyn Palmer, Sarah Piddington, Helen Hann and Emma Young.

    HURRICANS 48 Vs Southcott 22 – Thame Hurricanes repeated their winning form on Wednesday night, beating Southcott convincingly 48 -22. A confident Hurricanes team made their mark from the first whistle. Hurricanes led from the first quarter with awesome shooting from Vanessa Hake and Becky Froud. Excellent mid court play by Mel Rose, Penny Caudle and Carol Storey meant Thame dominated the game and kept possession well.

    Substitutes Donna Jones and Shelley Weeks helped to continue the strong play. The goals kept coming for Hurricanes but Southcott shooters were in excellent form and took every chance they were given. Defenders Sue Farrow and Lyn Hopwood helped keep the Southcott score down with some excellent intercepting and blocking play. Hurricanes looked confident and strong and the whole team played well.

    Team: Carol Storey (captain), Vanessa Hake, Becky Froud, Donna Jones, Penny Caudle, Sue Farrow, Mel Rose, Lyn Hopwood and Shelley Weeks.

    Thame Netball Club has been funded by The Oxfordshire Community Foundation Grassroots Grants Project for the 2010/11 season.

  • 22/09/10…Taste of the high life for Thame’s Mayor

    FOLLOWING his presentation of a cheque to the Upward Bound Trust in Haddenham, Thame?s Mayor, Cllr Adam Buckland, was taken up into the clouds to get a bird?s eye view of Thame.

    The Trust, founded in the early 1960?s, is a charity that teaches young people to fly at a highly subsidised cost. It is one of 12 local community organisations to have received a grant from Thame Town Council this year, the

  • 21/09/10……Thame to Haddenham community path plan ‘suspended’

    PROPOSALS for a community path to enable cylists, walkers and horseriders to travel between Thame and Haddenham, will not be progressed.

    Following a recent consultation by Buckinghamshire County County, council members have decided not to go ahead with the route and have issued the following statement by Cllr Rodney Rose:

    “The decision has been made in light of three key issues. Firstly, given the current financial climate, it is not the right time to be pursuing such a venture. Secondly, it is clear that there is substantial objection from the landowners both sides of the County boundary. The associated risks of pursuing creation orders, with unknown compensation costs, make this an unattractive option. Thirdly, this is an area of low lying meadows known to flood in wet winters and after heavy rain.

    “To promote such a route without adequate investment to address safety issues or maintenance costs (which by their nature would be in conflict with the character of the route) would be building up future problems with path users and landowners.

    “A commuting and recreation route between the two settlements remains an aspiration through the Oxfordshire Rights of Way Improvement Plan and Local Transport Plan. We will continue to try and seek this type of route to be put in place, but our preference would be for a constructed facility which is suitable for year round use, possibly in part alongside the A418. We will continue to work with your council if such a route becomes likely.”

    Val Letheren, BCC’s Cabinet Member for Transport, in a letter to those who had registered support for a community path between the two settlements, added:

    “In light of Oxfordshire?s decision not to take forward a joint creation order to provide a route for cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians over the line of the public footpath between Moorend Lane, Thame and Scotsgrove Mill, Haddenham, Buckinghamshire County Council are unable to proceed with this route.

    “Given only a short section of the route is within Buckinghamshire?s County boundary it is not practical to go through the necessary legal conversions for this section in isolation. Therefore, Buckinghamshire County Council is suspending work on this route at this time, pending a change in decision by Oxfordshire County Council.”

    PHOTO: A group of local cyclists on the Pheonix Trail, the shared-use community path between Thame and Princes Risborough.

  • 20/09/10..Apples, cucumbers, cuts and more – Monday news round-up

    GET YOUR GARDEN TIDIED & YOUR APPLES PRESSED! Transition Thame will be at the Thame Food Festival on Saturday (25/09/10) with their apple press, and will collect windfalls and apples from anyone who would like to donate them, on Thursday and Friday this week – the benefit is that you get their garden tidied! Anyone with appled to offer can phone Lindsey on 01844 290331, to discuss a suitable time to collect.

    Transition Thame have been asked about pressing people’s own apples. Although they are not encourgaing people to bring their own as they need to wash them well before using the press, they are willing to lend people the press for a small donation. So go along to the festival for a demonstration anyway to to taste the delivious juice fresh off the press!

    WORLD’S LONGEST CUCUMBER

    The Guiness world record for the longest cucumber, set by Frank Dimmock of Thame, two years ago at 41 inches, still stands after a 47 inch challenger’s cucumber rotted before it could be verified recently. But a 42 ins specimen grown by the same woman could yet be verified – if it doesn’t rot first.

    CUTS TO COUNTY’S FUNDING FOR YOUNG CHILDREN’S SERVICES

    The government has now advised the county council of a substantial cut in the capital grant for Children’s Centres and Early Years capital grant funding.

    Cllr Louise Chapman, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: “The government has now advised the county council of a substantial cut in the grant for Children’s Centres, pre-schools and nurseries grant funding. Council staff and councillors are now working to identify which projects originally on the list will be able to go ahead and be completed by March next year which is the deadline for the funding.

    “We will let people know as soon as possible and I know it will be very disappointing but given the national financial situation – it is also understandable.

    “I will be meeting early this week with council staff responsible for the projects to discuss how we cut our cloth according to the budget we have now been given.”

  • 20/09/10…..Comfortable win for Chinnor over Harlequins

    NATIONAL DIV 3, SW – Saturday, September 18, 2010 – Match Report By Bill O’Donnell.

    The sun shone at the North Hinksey but mostly on Chinnor as they comfortably defeated local rivals Oxford Harlequins 32-12.

    With Prescott still out, Hopwood continued to deputise at scrum-half, Nick Harrison retained his place at open side and Ben Farr made a welcome return on the wing.

    Attacking straight from the start, Hewitt soon got Chinnor on the score board with a penalty goal in the 3rd minute. Undismayed, Oxford Harlequins, in their first attack on the Chinnor line scored the first try of the day in the 10th minute when flanker Tim Knapp took a short ball to power over. With the conversion missing, Harlequins led 5-3. Chinnor regained the lead some three minutes later when Goode, with a mazy run through the centre of the field dotted down to give Hewitt an easy conversion and Chinnor the lead by 10 points to 5. Three minutes later Goode turned provider by giving Stoop a short late pass which allowed him to dance again through centre field to score under the posts. With Hewitt converting, Chinnor were now in the lead 17-5 with just 16 minutes gone.

    Stoop for Chinnor was yellow carded for a late tackle on the 23rd minute and, to balance, Stewart for Harlequins was similarly carded for an early tackle just 3 minutes later.

    On the 35th minute, Hopwood chipped a kick artfully into the Quins in-goal area. The hapless Harlequin full back Crapper dived to ground, missed the ball and allowed the chasing Harrison to score his first try for Chinnor to give them a 22-5 lead.

    Harlequins battled strongly but found the Chinnor defence well organised until the 39th minute when Stewart brushed aside a weak tackle to score under the posts and then convert his own try to make the match score 22-12 to Chinnor. Hewitt increased the Chinnor lead with a penalty goal with almost the last play of the half to send Chinnor in with a 25-12 lead.

    Shortly after the restart, Chinnor increased their lead with a scintillating move using all the backs with Farr completing the wizardry with a try. Hewitt converted to give Chinnor a 32-12 lead which was to become the final score. Serrano chased a long kick and fairly grounded the ball but the referee, well behind play, ruled the ball dead contrary to the excellent press photograph (showing a properly scored try) sadly inadmissible at this level.

    In the 56th minute, Stewart for Quins was yellow carded for foul play with Chinnor?s Goode similarly punished for being on the receiving end. With most of the second half riddled with niggles and slow and mistake ridden play, the spectacle of the first half spluttered. On the 76th minute, following a period of intense pressure on the Chinnor try line, Goode received his second and the fifth yellow card of the match, this time for lying on the ball. Despite protestations of mistaken identity and a frank admission by a Chinnor front rower, the referee converted the punishment to a red card as the bewildered Goode trooped off.

    Oxford Harlequins struggled to get into the match except at lineout time where they functioned well. Their backs looked dangerous at times but the Chinnor defence held sway for most of the match.

    The Chinnor pack provided the platform for this victory with the front row effective and industrious throughout. The Chinnor back row were efficient at messing up opposition possession. The backs moved the ball well and the centre pairing showed moments of real promise. Hewitt with some good kicking and increasingly effective generalship kept Chinnor on the front foot.

    Scorers:

    Chinnor: Hewitt 2PG, 3C; Goode T; Stoop T; Harrison T; Farr T;

    Oxford Harlequins: Knapp T; Stewart T, C;

    Chinnor team: Williams, Serrano, Goode, Stoop, Farr (Powell 54), Hewitt, Hopwood, Winpenny, Tattersall, Pickett (Whelan 41), Hutchings, Smith, Jackman (Hastings 67), Harrison, Mowbray

    Replacements: Whelan, Hastings, Powell

  • 20/09/10…No Vase this year for Thame United

    FA VASE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND – BITTON 3, Vs THAME UNITED 2 – Match report by Jake Collings:

    FOR the second time in three seasons Thame returned from Bitton knowing that the outcome could, and should, have been very different but for the intervention of the local referee. Whilst on the first occasion Thame fell to a 3-0 defeat, this time they were much the better team and, even without the refereeing decisions, left Bristol knowing that had they taken their chances the game would have been over long before the late rally from the home side.

    The game started in lively fashion with United forcing a corner in the first minute from which the ball crashed against the bar and, after a goal mouth scramble, was eventually cleared by the home defence. Bitton then showed their own attacking credentials when a cross from the right was headed against the thame bar from six yards. However, it was United who opened the scoring after 10 minutes when Mark Jones superbly chested the ball in to the path of striker Aaron Rogers on the halfway line. Rogers then outpaced the defenders before his first effort was saved by the keeper. Likewise, the keeper saved his second effort before the ball came back to Rogers for a third time and he expertly headed the ball over the keeper. The lead, however, only lasted two minutes as a ball in from the right was volleyed beyond Barisic and in to the far corner of the net.

    The game at this point was end-to-end and the only surprise was that there were no further goals in the next twenty minutes, albeit Mark Jones saw a close range header flash over the bar from a Rogers corner. Nevertheless, it was Thame who struck just before half time when a quick break saw Adam Rhodes feed Rogers who hit a superb first angled shot from the edge of the box that gave the home keeper very little chance to move before it hit the back of the net.

    Expecting an onslaught from the home side going in to the second half, it was Thame who started brightest and only two minutes in to the half captain Nik Rhodes fired over from close range following a corner. Ten minutes later and Rogers was put clean through, forcing the keeper in to a fine save low to his left. Shortly after Jones did well to block a clearance from the keeper and hit the rebound towards goal before seeing his effort cleared off the line. It was all Thame at this point and twenty minutes in to the half was the first controversial moment when the keeper spilled a free kick from Luke Ricketts, Jones beat the keeper to the ball and was hauled back by the keeper. With the travelling Thame support calling for a penalty, the referee simply waved play on. Five minutes later and Thame were on the wrong end of another decision when Nik Rhodes seemingly timed a tackle on the edge of the box to perfection, only to see the referee point to the spot. The penalty was dispatched with ease. Five minutes later and Bitton scored the winner when Thame failed to clear their lines and the ball was placed beyond Barisic from twelve yards. United pushed forward in search of an equaliser with the best opportunity falling to Hoskin in the last minute who skewed his effort wide from ten yards.

    United now have one of their biggest games for a number of years next Saturday as they travel to Poole Town in the next round of the FA Cup. First they have a local derby with Oxford City Nomads on Wednesday evening.

    Thame United: Barisic, Barr, Way (Stallwood), N.Rhodes, Saulsbury, Braun, A.Rhodes, Hoskin, Jones, Rogers, Ricketts.

  • 18/09/10….Local news round-up

    A GROUP of young supporters is seen here enjoying a Quiz Night held recently in aid of Thame and District Day Centre, which meets on three days a week at Thame Community Hospital. The evening raised

  • 17/09/10…..Greg’s family thanks the people of Thame & describe the full impact of their tragedy

    The family of 18 year-old Greg Stiles, who died as a result of the dangerous driving of a convicted hobby racing driver, has thanked the people of Thame for their support throughout their ordeal.

    In a statement yesterday after the trial of 26 year-old Sam Edwards of Marsh, Aylesbury, Maggie Stiles, Greg’s mother, said:

    “The last three weeks have been a harrowing ordeal and we are very thankful that it is now over and we have achieved some measure of justice for Greg. He was a phenomenal kid and we have done this for him. We have come into court every morning and felt such distress but we know that we have done our very best for him.

    “We would like to thank the police, especially those from the Aylesbury Roads Policing Unit for their work and dedication.

    “We would like to thank as a family the CPS for all their hard work and to thank personally the emergency services and the air ambulance for all they did, and especially the Thame community without whom we would have struggled to cope.

    “We must now learn to live without our son of whom we are so proud, and who is so desperately missed, and to mend our shattered lives.?

    Maggie Stiles, a Practice Nurse, then spoke about the dreadful day she heard the news of her son?s death, while she was shopping in High Wycombe.

    “But now,” she concluded: ?We have been dealt this card and it is up to us to deal with it the best we can.?

    THE FULL IMPACT ON GREG’S FAMILY AND FRIENDS

    Unless such a tragedy as this has happened to them, few people can imagine the full impact that the loss of a family member and friend can have on those left behind. As is becoming more and more common after such trials, Greg’s family have issued the following Victim impact statement which was also given to the judge and lawyers on both sides at the conclusion of the trial:

    “There are no words in any dictionary or any language to describe what losing Greg, our 18-year-old son and brother, has done to us as a family. Words are insufficient to say how our world has been blown apart, our lives devastated and us as individuals changed forever. Nothing in life is worse than losing a child especially so suddenly and unexpectedly. What started as a normal Sunday ended with Greg?s dad Rob needing to identify his son?s body in a hospital mortuary and his mum Maggie having to tell her other son Mark, that his younger brother had been killed. The total shock and pain we felt that day is indescribable and that pain and shock continues every day.

    It was absolute torture knowing that two post mortems had to be carried out on your child because the accident was a coroner?s case. No parent should ever have to endure that on his or her child. Having to arrange Greg?s funeral was unbearable. How do you choose a coffin for your child and what music do you have at his funeral?! There were over 350 people at Greg?s funeral, across all ages, family friends and hundreds from the local community in Thame, which was an indication of the shock and grief being felt by others as well as us.

    In the weeks and months that have followed we wake up every day to feel a train hit us in the chest at the total disbelief that Greg is no longer here. We have endured torture waiting to hear from the police as to whether there was enough evidence to result in a trial, every rolled over bail date sent us into freefall again wishing the nightmare would end. We still can?t believe we have lost Greg, we cannot comprehend never seeing him again as ?never? is too long. Not only have we lost a son and brother but he was our friend too who we love and miss more and more every day.

    Following the accident Rob, Maggie and Mark were not fit to work and were all signed off sick. Rob was unable to work for four months. As a HGV driver it is crucial to be able to concentrate and drive safely and Rob was unable to do this as his mind was preoccupied and he was in shock. When he did return to work he was put on short shifts for several weeks. Subsequently Rob has reduced his hours permanently as he is unable to undertake such long hours as he used to.

    Mark was on an industrial placement as part of his Engineering Degree and was only able to take two weeks sick and two weeks holiday off work, otherwise he would not have completed the required element for his degree. It was almost impossible for him to psychologically cope with what was required of him. Despite this he gained a First Class Honours Degree in motor sport engineering this summer and has recently commenced full-time employment within the motor sport industry. He misses Greg terribly as a friend as well as a brother, and the banter that used to go on between them. He will never have the chance to be an uncle to Greg?s children, or a best man at his wedding, his future with his brother has been destroyed.

    Maggie was unable to return to her job as a full time nurse manager in the Health Service. A position she had worked hard to achieve. She was unable to cope with the stress and demands of the job and was off work for eight months. During this time she started having counselling each week, which is still continuing. She suffered anxiety and panic attacks for several months. She tried to return to work after six months off sick but was unable to cope. Eventually in January this year she managed to change her job to a part-time nurse in a local GP practice. She is just about coping with her new job, thanks to a very supportive team with whom she works and also the ongoing weekly counselling sessions through the CRUSE charity.

    We are weary of life and often struggle to keep going, as there seems little point. Our lives are devastated forever, and our future has been blown apart, through no choice of our own or Greg?s. We have no control over what has happened and we will never come to terms with losing Greg and never get over this nightmare. All we will ever do is somehow learn to cope and function within the nightmare. Thankfully, we are surrounded by a supportive family and fantastic friends who are always there for us, but they are suffering their own grief at the loss of Greg too. Thame community as a whole has been incredibly supportive and we have been overwhelmed by people?s kindness but the pain and loss, hurt and anger we feel will continue forever. Sometimes we have to live day by day, as that is all we can manage, as the future is too frightening to contemplate.

    Rob, Maggie and Mark Stiles
    September 2010

    PHOTO: (Copyright Sonja Francis) Maggie Stiles (front-right) Greg’s mum, watches with others who have lost young people, as dozens of balloons are released into the air at the recent launch of the Thame Youth Memorial Trust. http://www.thameyouthmemorial.org/
    The Stiles family have been huge supporters and promotors of the Trust’s work and tireless fund-raisers

  • 17/09/10….Thame truck makers in fair trading investigation

    THAME based truck maker, Daf, is among several UK commercial vehicle manufacturers being investigated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for suspected price-fixing activity.

    See full article by Maggie Hartford for the Witney Gazette:
    http://www.witneygazette.co.uk/business/8397548.Truck__cartel__investigation/

  • Racing driver jailed for death of Thame teenager

    A world-class Porche racing driver was today found guilty of causing the death of a Thame teenager by dangerous driving.

    Sam Edwards, 26, of Marsh, near Aylesbury, was given a prison sentence of five years and disqualified from driving for eight years.

    The court heard how Edwards’ dangerous overtaking caused a Ford Fiesta being driven towards him by 19 year old Greg Stiles, to veer off the Kingsey Road, Thame, in May last year, and crash into a vehicle travelling behind Edwards.

    Edwards was second in the world in the 2008 Porche Carrera World Championship. He is a professional HGV driver.

    In sentencing Edwards, the judge took into consideration a previous conviction in November 2004 when he was found guilty of dangerous driving and violent disorder.