Author: Sonja Francis

ON a day that brought the heaviest rain for weeks to Thame yesterday, over 300 children and young people braved the elements to take part in Thame Playday, part of Playday 2010, a national initiative that celebrates a child?s right to play.

The children and young people were treated to free activities including swimming, trampolining and dance at Thame Leisure Centre, as well as face painting, drumming, circus skills and more activities at the South Pole Recreation Ground in Southern Road, Thame.

Deputy Mayor of Thame, Don Butler, opened proceedings as the young people were encouraged to make the most of the activities and facilities available to them, particularly on a day when all the activities were free of charge, thanks to a small grant from Oxfordshire County Council.

Jamie Hazeldine, Club Services Manager for Oxfordshire Association for Young People who helped organise the event, said: “Despite the weather, the children and young people all had a very good time, with some even making the most of the conditions and playing in the puddles.

?It is fantastic to see so many children, particularly from the local children?s centres, benefit from what Thame has to offer and it would not have been possible to achieve this without the support of the local community.

?Specifically, a big thank you must go to Thame Town Council, Thame Leisure Centre (Nexus) and Oxfordshire Association for Young People for all their support throughout the project, but also to Sainsbury?s and Co Op for their donation of Water for the event. Waitrose have given us a slot in their Community Fund for the month of August, so all money raised will be used to continue to create play opportunities for children and young people.

“Finally, a big thank you to Atalay Kebab Van, who supplied food for the event, but also donated further drinks for the children at no charge.?

It is hoped that this can become a regular event for Thame, looking to encourage children and young people to get outside and take part in activities, rather than playing on computers and watching television.

PHOTO: Local children try their hand at drumming during Thame Playday 2010 at Thame Leisure Centre

THAME Town Council has rejected a planning application for a new nursery school in the Tithe Barn in Church Road, in case it spoils the view and causes traffic congestion.

The application was discussed at length at last night’s Planning Committee meeting, following an appeal to turn it down from a Church Road resident who feared it would cause noise and make traffic problems their worse.

Cllr David Laver pointed out that traffic already had a problem turning out of The Barns Centre because of parked cars in the road and feared that parents dropping off their children would make matters worse.

“The ambience of the area would be spoiled,” he said, “and the outdoor play equipment would destroy the view across to the church. It would be out of character in that area.”

Other councillors said that they had sympathy for the need for more nursery provision in Thame, but felt that the Tithe Barn was unsuitable.

The town council voted to recommend refusal of the application which will now go to South Oxfordshire District Council for a final decision.

THOUSANDS of people flocked to Thame Show on Saturday, the first time in its 123 year history, that it has been held on a weekend.

The warm weather and the new diary slot moved from september, meant that more families could attend and the extra attractions, like the human circus, this year aimed at them, proved a great crowd puller.

As well as the traditional country show favourites such as the livestock parades and showjumping, the main ring included a spectacular gun carriage race by girls and boys from The Volunteer Cadet Corps, from the Portsmouth naval bases of Dolphin, Sultan, Collingwood, Blockhouse and the Royal Marines. The equipment that the cadets used is the original 7lb muzzle loading field guns used in the late nineteenth century at the Battle of Ladysmith.

A fascinating display of sheepdog herding of ducks and cockerills caused much amusement and one of the highlights for children was the opportunity to meet the packs of hunting dogs after they had been put through their paces by the Master of the Hounds.

Entries for Domestic categories were well down, according to Chief Steward and Show Director, David Bretherton, though the reasons were probably, he thinks, because of the new categories of flowers and vegetable suitable for harvesting in July, rather than September, that entrants will need to get used to.

After meeting the Mayor or Thame, Adam Buckland and his wife Sinead, The Honoury President of the Show, Marie Jean Barnett, who lives at Towersey Manor, presented the Silverware to deserving winners such as The Countryman and the Countrywoman of The Year.

Whether the experiment to hold the show in July will become permanent, will no doubt be discussed by the Thame show committee at their next meeting, but going by the crowds and comments made by the visitors, it looks as though the Oxfordshire and Thame Show will become a permanent fixture in the Summer diary.

BY 1pm today, 477 people had passed through the doors of Thame’s new, state-of-the-art library in North Street, to see for themselves what they had waited for for over ten years.

And they were not disappointed. Hundreds of books, attractively displayed, sofa and chairs to sit on, coffee and tea making machines, internet access, helpful staff and a self-service checking out system for books make this the most modern library in Oxfordshire.

In the afternnon, author and illustrator, Shoo Rayner, the originator of such characters as Ricky Rocket and Vic the Viking, talked about how he came to re-write the Just So stories after a middle-of-the-night epiphany, after his own children had rejected Kiplings tales. His reading of his own story, How the Whale got his throat, was both funny and enspiring for both the children and the adults who sat up in the mezanine floor which includes teenage fiction.

John Ansell, spokesperson for The Friends of Thame Library, who have done so much to fight for Thame’s new library, said: “We are delighted to see what an excellent job Oxfordshire Libraries have made of the new Thame branch. The new building is a tremendous improvement in terms of space and its much more central location in the town. The building capitalises on natural light and is colourful and welcoming; it should be an asset to Thame for many years to come.”

Beatrice Dobie of the Friends added that it was wonderful to see all the work and effort over many years come to fruition.

The North Street library’s opening hours will be 9.30am to 5.30pm on weekdays, except Wednesdays when it will be closed and Thursdays when it will open at 9am and not shut until 7pm, and 9.30am to 4.30pm on Saturdays.

PHOTO: Shoo Rayner reads from his book, How the whale got his throat.

TWENTY TWO cars were damaged by fire at Thame Show yesterday, when a fire in a car park in a stubble field spread to a near-by field, setting alight 50,000 sq M of stubble and crop.

Forty firefighters from four fire stations, including Thame, Wheatley and Oxford were called to reports of a blaze at the showground in Kingsey Road, Thame, at 4.15pm.

Watch Manager at Thame fire station, Andy Ford, said: “Members of the show staff were already trying to put out areas of the fire and the initial fire crews? priority were the cars. Fire fighters got to work and extinguished the areas around the parked cars and any that were starting to burn.

“The fire spread very rapidly across the field driven by a strong breeze and tinder dry stubble. This spread into an adjacent crop field before it could be brought under control. In all it took around 40 Fire-fighters who worked extremely hard in hot and difficult conditions to extinguish Approximately 50,000 sqm of stubble and crop involved in the fire and 22 cars slightly damaged. All the cars involved had to be recovered, due to the fire spreading under them as they could not be driven away in case of any unseen damage which may have affected brakes or fuel lines making them unsafe to drive.

“As Thame Fire Crews were already at the show they were in attendance very quickly and as a result the majority of the cars involved were only slightly affected by the fire, with only a couple suffering more serious damage and fortunately no one was injured.

“The prompt response by the show staff also played a large part in ensuring members of the public were not injured and the damage to visitors? cars was limited.
The exact cause of the fire is unknown but it is thought an area of stubble caught fire. The current weather is making the risk of fire in our countryside very high. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue have been attending numerous grass and field fires over recent weeks.

“We would urge the public to be extra careful and vigilant in these conditions; the ground is tinder dry and discarded rubbish, bottles, cigarettes and
matches or careless use of barbeques or bonfires can quickly start a fire which can spread faster than people realise. Crop fires in the dry and windy conditions we have been experiencing lately travel
very fast. Access for fire vehicles and crews is not always easy and fire fighters have to work very hard to extinguish a large area using beaters, giving time for water jets to be laid out over long distances.”

LINKS to a film of the fire captured by Radio Oxford’s Phil Mercer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-GE1w3qcaQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knb4z7ovKmM

PHOTO: Owners of cars damaged in the fire review the damage to their vehicles with fire officers.