Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Conservatives will put hospital & GP services at risk says Labour candidate

    THE Prospective Labour Party Candidate for the Henley Constituency, which includes Thame, is Marketing Director, Richard McKenzie, 44, who lives in Reading.

    Richard Mckenzie is currently studying for an MA at Reading University. He is married to Kathryn, a teacher, and they have two daughters, the oldest of whom attends The Henley College.

    Richard has stated that he believes the constituency deserves a full-time MP who will work hard to represent the views and interests of all the electors, whether they are in the thriving market towns, the lively villages or the housing estates.

    “Labour leadership, experience and judgement have ensured the economic recovery is on course,” he said. “The Tories will put it at risk through unconvincing, ill thought-out policies.

    “This constituency has benefited vastly from Labour investment in frontline services such as the NHS, the fairest healthcare system in the world. We have some of the finest hospital and GP services in the country. The Tories will put them at risk.

    “Thousands of our constituents have benefited from nursery provision, tax credits and the Child Trust Fund. Over 20,000 residents receive Winter Fuel Payments and more than 2,000 young people have been helped by the New Deal. The Tories will put them all at risk.

    “I urge the electors of South East Oxfordshire to think very carefully before voting for the other parties. Your needs and your children’s will best be served by voting for the party with the soundest and fairest policies to see us through this most challenging period – the Labour Party.”

  • 20/04/10…Suspicious phone call warning – South Oxfordshire

    POLICE officers in the Thame and Watlington area are warning people not to release personal or sensitive information over the phone after a woman received a suspicious telephone call at home last night (19/4).

    At 7pm a man claiming to be from Neighbourhood Watch phoned and introduced himself. He asked her if she knew about the scheme and then asked her age and details about her home security. The woman did not give out any information as she suspected it was a fraudulent call, and reported the call to police.

    Neighbourhood Specialist Officer, PC Ian Kent, said: “Neighbourhood Watch would not call you and ask for sensitive information.

    “If you do receive a similar call, do not give out sensitive information like this, particularly over the phone as you cannot verify the caller?s identity.

    “If you are in doubt, end the conversation; try using 1471 to get the caller?s number and report the call to the police.?

    Anyone who believes they have been targeted by this caller or have any information or concerns about it should call 0845 8 505 505.

    If you don?t want to speak to police or give your name, call the Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

  • 30/04/10…..What’s on in Tetsworth? (for rest of 2010)

    30th April – Beetle Drive, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    14th May – Quiz Night, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    11th June – Quiz Night, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    19th June – Fun Day, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    17th July – Beer Festival
    11th Sep – Flower Show, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    9th Oct – Jumble sale, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    15th Oct – Quiz Night, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    26th Nov – Quiz Night, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall
    4th Dec – Craft Fayre, at Tetsworth Memorial Hall

  • 20/04/10…First major trophy for Chinnor RFC Under 13s (Contributed)

    CHINNOR RFC U13?s won their first major trophy on a hot and hard day at the Oxon 10s tournament, hosted by Wallingford RFC on Sunday, April 18.

    The first match versus Oxford Harlequins was the toughest, with Chinnor hanging on during a five minute spell of powerful play from Oxford with Thomas Strathdee, team captain, making an awesome cover tackle to prevent the first score going to Oxford.

    After this the Chinnor boys really got going and managed to run in four tries and take the first game 22 ? 0. Chinnor then faced Bicester who proved tough opponents. However, Chinnor made the crucial gaps to run in two tries and win the match 12 – 0. The next opponent in their group of five was Chipping Norton. Chinnor had now found their rhythm and ran in five tries to take the game 22 ? 0, thanks to some excellent work by the forwards and hard tackling by the whole team.

    The last group game was against Banbury which saw both teams looking a little tired in the heat. However the team started very well, running in three tries, two by Jack Ellis who scored in every game, to give a 19 ? 0 lead at half time. Banbury came back and scored two tries but Chinnor held on to win 19 ? 12. Chinnor won their group, played four, won four.

    Chinnor played the runners up from the other group, Henley, in the semi final. Chinnor got off to a flying start and were 19 ? 0 up at half time, again great work by the forwards in tackling and recycling the ball quickly giving the backs space to run with real menace at the Henley defence. This continued in the second half, with the whole team showing great commitment in the tackle on the hardening ground. Chinnor scored another two tries with Henley getting a consolation try making the final score 31 ? 7.

    Chinnor played Oxford Harlequins in the final, who had beaten a strong Wallingford side in their semi. Chinnor again started the strongest with Jack Ellis opening the scoring. Then the Chinnor forwards took over with a remarkable maul that they drove from their own half to the opposition try line creating a five metre scrum from which Chinnor scored a try. Chinnor dominated the rest of the match with a simple, powerful game of solid tackling and quick passing and went on to score another four tries to win the game 34 ? 0.

    The squad:
    Thomas Strathdee (Capt.), Charlie Krabbe, Iestyn James, Adam Caldwell, Reggie Hubbocks, Samuel Hook, Jack Ellis, Finn Tapping, James Millett, Harry Lowe, Ben MacIntosh, Berkuk Kumdah, Nathaniel Heather, Fred Swift, Tom Bellars

  • 20/04/10….Missing girl last seen at Haddenham & Thame station

    Thames Valley Police is appealing for the public?s help to trace a missing 21-year-old woman from Aylesbury.

    Aisha Azram, from Essex Place, was last seen after being dropped off at Haddenham and Thame Parkway Station on Friday (16/4).

    Aisha is 21-years-old, about 5ft 6ins, with a medium build and black hair. She sometimes wears glasses. Aisha was formerly a student at De Montfort University in Leicester.

    She said she was going to visit friends and it is believed she may have travelled to the Birmingham area.

    Anyone with information should contact Thames Valley Police via the 24-hour Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

  • Market trader sold bogus recyclable bags ‘in good faith’

    A Thame market trader, who sold bogus recyclable plastic bags, has claimed that he sold the bags in all good faith after buying them from a wholesaler.

    The stallholder said that he saw a niche in the market and researched the bags before buying a quantity of them from a wholesaler.

    He has since committed to refunding any Thame market customer who bought the bags, and South Oxfordshire District Council has told him that if he can source genuine biodegradable bags, the council will list him as an official sales outlet.

    SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council recently urged residents to check their food sacks after the market trader was caught selling normal, uncompostable plastic bags carrying the text: “This bag is fully biodegradable and 100% compostable.”

    Council waste contractors, Verdant, caught the trader selling the bogus bags after collection crews noticed several food waste bins in Thame were contaminated with the plastic looking sacks.

  • 19/04/10…Conservative candidate attacks Governments ‘green’ targets

    CONSERVATIVE election candidate, John Howell, has attacked the Government for its handling of renewable energy, questioning its ability to hit its target for the UK of 15% by 2020. So far the Government has achieved a cut of half the target, 6.6%.

    Brushing aside Government assurances that the target would be met, John Howell pointed to industry warnings that not enough was being done by way of encouraging technology and skills in this field.

    In a statement released yesterday (18/04/10), he said: “Ministers refused to be honest about by how much they will miss the 15% target. That is a shame since the UK gets more of its energy from fossil fuels now than it did in 1997.

    ?I have set out in our policy document ? Open Source Planning ? how we can develop broad public support for renewable energy by making local communities active participants in as well as beneficiaries of renewable energy. We have to go with the local grain in this and not stick to Labour?s central targets and regulation. On-shore wind farms, for example, are not going to be appropriate in all settings.

    ?Ultimately we are not going to be successful in getting more energy from renewable sources unless we develop broad public support. That?s why it is important to look at the possibility of community ownership of renewable sources, to allow local communities that host renewable projects to keep the additional business rates which arise for six years and to see whether local residents can benefit from discounted energy prices as a result.

    ?Here in the constituency we have excellent examples of imaginative projects such as the hydro-electric power project at Goring a concept to which the River and Rowing Museum in Henley was able to devote a seminar recently. I am a longstanding supporter of this and was pleased to be invited to be a patron of the Goring and Streatley Sustainability Group.?

    NOTE: The parliamentary exchange can be found in Hansard at 8 Apr 2010: Column 1173

    ED. It is VERY hard to find on the Hansard website so here is the exchange as printed in Hansard:

    12. John Howell (Henley) (Con): What his most
    recent estimate is of the proportion of electricity
    generated from renewable sources. [325619]

    The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy
    and Climate Change (Mr. David Kidney): Provisional
    2009 data on electricity generation were published in
    the March 2010 edition of Energy Trends. This showed
    that, after excluding an estimate for non-bio degradable waste use, 6.6 per cent. of electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2009. In 1997, the equivalent figure was 2 per cent.

    John Howell: From the answers earlier on renewables,
    it seems that the Government do not share the pessimism
    of a number of independent commentators who have
    said that not enough has been done byway of technology,
    and particularly by way of developing skills, to achieve the 2020 target. Will the Minister say by how much he estimates we will miss the 2020 target?

    Mr. Kidney: I certainly will not, because we will not
    miss the target for 2020. The hon. Gentleman should
    watch and learn as all the new renewable capacity,
    including the immense amounts of offshore wind generation that are already planned in this country, takes effect. On skills, I had the great pleasure last week of launching, on behalf of the Government, a consultation on the subject of skills for a low carbon economy, with the opportunity there to transform the economy of this country and create millions of new jobs in a clean, green and prosperous UK.

  • Costa Coffee coming to Thame

    THE coffee house franchise, Costa Coffee, has been granted change of use planning permission to transform a former shop in Thame, into a coffee house.

    The former shop at 9 High Street, Thame, is what was the Bump and Beyond baby wear shop, the building being owned by the Newitt family.

  • 16/04/10…End of year report by Thame’s mayor

    AFTER what she called an amazing year, the Mayor of Thame recalled the highlights of her time in office at Tuesday’s Thame Annual Town Meeting.

    It has been a very full year, she said, with something on almost everyday. She recalled the open day at Stones Close allotments, where there are now 35 allotments, where she was shown a marrow heavier than herself!

    She told the audience of around 60 local people that the two of the main highlights of her year in office were the opening of the newly built Meadowcroft residential home for the elderly by HRH The Duke of Kent, and the ceremony to award Arthur Staggs an honorary citizenship for his work with the French Resistance during the war, when he was tortured by the Gestapo and survived. She made special mention of her Mayor?s Cadet for the year, 15 year-old Elliott Webb who read out a poem written by Arthur Staggs himself about his life.

    Cllr Matelot Green also recalled the fun she had with BBC Presenter, Ken Bruce during the Christmas lights event, and said that the most impressive achievement she had seen during her year was to see Thame Football Club secure a new home and the see the team promoted!

    She expressed her hope that the rugby club would go through when they play in the Oxfordshire semi finals tomorrow (Saturday, April 17) and said that she was delighted that the skate park was thriving and had formed its own committee to take the skate park?s future development forward.

    The Mayor also mentioned the new library, saying: ?I know that there have been various opinions about the design but the facilities will be the most up-to-date.? She said that she was impressed that Thame market had managed to keep going throughout the recession and that there was only one empty shop in Thame now, compared to many more in both Marlow and Henley.

    She mentioned her two charities, Helen Douglas House and Thame Young Carers, who will both benefit from her Civic dinner at the Spread Eagle on Saturday, April 24. She said that she had been surprised to learn that there are 24 young carers at Lord Williams?s school that go home from school and have to look after either a parent or siblings, and as a result, will lose part of their own childhoods. She feared there were others too embarrassed to come forward for help. She thanked the rugby club, Booker Tate and the football club who had all donated money.

    The absolute highlight of her year, said the Mayor, was the Four Mayors? Concert at the Cornerstones in Didcot recently, where the four, current lady Mayors in South Oxfordshire performed to raise money for the four towns. She had taken along members of the Thame Youth Theatre which had help ??put Thame on the map!?

    She concluded by thanking her husband, James, for his support and encouragement, the Town Clerk, and Rosie Knight for ?keeping me organised on my journey and smiling through!?

    PHOTO: The Mayor of Thame, Jeannette Matelot Green and her Mayor’s Cadet for her mayoral year, Elliott Webb

  • Two thousand visitors expected for first Thame Literature festival

    PLANS for the 2010 Thame Arts and Literature Festival (TAL) are moving on a pace, and Steve Bannister told local residents gathered for the Annual Town Meeting on Tuesday that there will be everything from romantic fiction to paleontology!

    ?We want the festival to be exciting, affordable and accessible,? he said, ?and immerse Thame in all things bookish.? Authors lined up to attend include Nick Barratt, the Genealogist behind the TV series, Who Do You Think You Are, and Colin Dexter, the creator of Morse, who will talk about his new books on cryptic crosswords.

    The 30 events will include a Play in Day event in which local people can take part in writing, putting together, acting and finally performing the musical, Easop, written especially for the festival by him and Steve Bannister, pub quizzes and art shows. Sadly, Chris has broken his leg and so Steve will be stepping into the breach as Director.

    Watch out for the amazing Literary Thame, historic walk where characters will come to life with the help of the Thame Players, Thame Youth Theatre and Thame Museum’s David Bretherton, described as: “An encounter with Thame’s literary past….literally.”

    ?We have been astonished by the enthusiasm from both town councillors and local businesses,? said Steve.

    The event is expected to attract 2,000 visitors and takes place between June 25-27, 2010.

    PHOTO (Courtesy of webvwire.com): Inspector Morse, the character created by author Colin Dexter who will be taking part in the first, Thame Arts and Literary Festival