Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • High Sheriff rewards exceptional young Thame man

    A YOUNG Thame man is to be rewarded for his work with the local Neighbourhood Action group, by the High Sherrif of Oxfordshire.

    These annual awards are presented to local people who have made an exceptional contribution to life in Oxfordshire, and whose actions go largely unrecognised.
    This year’s focused on those who have helped young people in Oxfordshire or who have contributed to making our communities a safer place.

    Among this year’s 14 winners was Alex Feuchtwanger who won is award for his involvement in the Neighbourhood Action group, and for setting up the Definition of Faith youth group in Thame.

    Alex told ThameNews.Net: “”It was a great privilege to recieve the award and I really enjoyed hearing about other people from around Oxfordshire and all the amazing things they are doing. I just want to say a huge thank you to all the people I’ve worked with, since everything I have done has been part of a team effort!”

    The event wwas hosted by Richard Dick, the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Nigel Strick, Head of Community Safety and Trading Standards for Oxfordshire County Council.

    Nigel Strick commented: “I had the privilege to read the nomination forms for this year?s awards and they made humbling reading.

    “It is a real honour to be involved in these awards and hear the stories of the exceptional individuals that work, often voluntarily, to make our county a safer, happier place to live.”

    Members of the award winners? families joined them at the ceremony, as well as the people who nominated them. Guests also include the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Tim Stevenson; His Honour Judge Julian Hall; John Parry, Oxfordshire County Council?s Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety and representatives of Thames Valley Police.

    This is not the first award Alex has won. Two years ago he was presented with a St John Ambulance County Cadet of the Year award by HRH The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace.

  • 24/03/10….Transition Thame – upcoming events, including bee keeping & permaculture

    FOLLOWING the Transition Thame and District’s Open Meeting in Thame town hall on February 27, the group’s next meeting is to choose its short term objectives.

    The meeting is at 8.30pm on Tuesday, March 30,2010 in the Cross Keys pub in Thame.

    The group is encouraging people to support the proposed Community parth between Thame and Haddenham, and has expressed a preference for the Scotsgrove route. For more details see
    LINK

    The Permaculture group is hosting a talk, Intoduction to Beekeeping, on May 5,2010, at the Rose and Thistle, Haddenham, 8pm.

    Finally TTD is asking everyone to Switch off (electric lights) and support WWF?s Earth Hour on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8.30pm. WWF wants a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for one hour ? WWF?s Earth Hour. Show you care about climate change. See – LINK

  • 24/03/10….United extend their lead! (Contributed)

    HELLENIC League Division 1 East, Thame United 2 v Rayners Lane 0. Saturday, March 20, 2010 – MATCH REPORT

    THAME United extended their lead at the top of the Hellenic League Division 1 East to seven points with a comfortable victory at home to Rayners Lane on Saturday and, at the same time, made it nearly eight hours of football since they last conceded a goal.

    Played in damp conditions, it was United who started the brighter of the two sides and could have taken the lead in the 15th minute when a penalty was awarded following a foul on Luke Ricketts just inside the box. Unfortunately for the Thame followers Adam Rhodes?s powerfully hit penalty was well saved by the away keeper low to his left. The respite for Rayners Lane was, however, short lived as Thame continued to press for the opening goal. This duly arrived in the 34th minute when a Steve Newell cross from the right was headed back across the six yard box by Aaron Rogers, where Mark Jones was on hand to score from close range. United nearly doubled the lead five minutes later when a Stuart Barr shot-cum-cross came back off the bar. A short while later Jones then crashed the ball against the bar with a powerful header from a Pete Way cross.

    As it was, United went in to the break with only a one goal lead that failed to reflect their dominance of the play. However, the second half was only five minutes old when United doubled their lead. Adam Rhodes floated a free kick in to the box that got the faintest of touches off Stuart Barr, and enough to deceive the visiting keeper. At 2-0 United were comfortable and had the luxury of playing the game at their own pace and tempo. Whilst Rayners Lane had increasing possession for the remainder of the game, Orkney in the Thame goal was rarely threatened and, on the occasions he we, he was more than able to deal with the threat. United had chances to extend their lead as man of the match Luke Ricketts was a constant threat to the away side, but in the end cruised to another win, their ninth in ten games, and their fifth consecutive clean sheet.

    United now have another big game on Saturday (27th March) when they welcome local rivals Chinnor to Wallingford for a 3pm kick off

    Thame United: Orkney, Newell, Way, N.Rhodes, Cowan, A.Rhodes, El-Kassir, Barr (Baylie), Jones, Rogers (Stallwood), Ricketts

  • An Education at Thame Cinema 4 All – 27/03/10

    FILM: An Education – USA 2009 123 minutes 12A certificate – Directed by Lone Scherfig, starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson.

    NICK Hornby’s adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir is a clever, funny and surprisingly poignant portrait of a young woman coming of age and learning a few uncomfortable lessons. 16 year old Jenny, played with great wit and confidence by BAFTA winner and Oscar nominee Mulligan, is suffocating in the depths of middle class early 60’s suburbia. She is enslaved to her father’s carefully orchestrated vision of a secure and respectable future: educational diligence, homework, attendance at orchestra, polite afternoon teas, and the promise of an Oxbridge education. But the education she gets is not quite what father had in mind: considering herself more sexually sophisticated than her peers, and bored with geeky teenage paramours, Jenny wastes no time succumbing to the charms of an inappropriate, older man.
    What could have been a style-heavy homage to youth and 60’s London is rescued from retro-sentimentality by Hornby’s screenplay – just gritty enough to be slightly unsettling, packing a real emotional punch, with astute observations on class, prejudice, and loss of innocence, and with plenty of sharp, laugh out loud dialogue. And the performances are spot on. Mulligan is fresh and breezy, arrogant and eager for adulthood, but with flashes of child-like vulnerability. Molina is priceless as Jenny’s Dad, fastidiously counting each penny invested in their middle class aspiration; Pike makes a funny and fabulous dumb blonde, and Thompson delivers a delicious cameo as the droll, anti-Semitic headmistress who has seen it all before. A delight from start to finish.

    This Saturday 27th March, 2010 – Doors open 7.30pm Film 8pm. Admission

  • Lib Dems respond to political bias accusation

    Dear Editor, I am very grateful that you published my recent comments on housing plans for South Oxfordshire but I am troubled that this has caused you any difficulty. I hope you will allow me to respond to the letter from Mike Dyer (22/3/10) and in the process exonerate Thame News from any accusations of bias.

    The Liberal Democrats are comfortable with the idea of political debate and we recognise that media organisations like Thame News will publish a range of views without this being evidence of any bias whatsoever. I assume that over the next six weeks you will include comments from the numerous political parties and pressure groups which will be seeking to influence the outcome of the forthcoming election. I shall welcome this and I shall not for a moment assume it to be bias on your part.

    On a personal note could I state that I had no intention of misleading anyone as to my identity but as many of your readers will be aware it is normal for election candidates to only refer to themselves as ‘candidates’ once the election has been formally called. I am honoured to have been asked by South East Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats to be their candidate for Henley constituency and when the Prime Minister leaves Buckingham Palace for the last time in the next few weeks I shall proudly call myself the Liberal Democrat candidate for Henley. Until that time I shall remain a humble ‘spokesman’.

    Yours faithfully

    Andy Crick
    South East Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats spokesman
    23/03/10

  • Timing is everything in politics!

    Dear Editor, I was interested to read that you have been accused of bias in reporting a Liberal Democrat press release. There used to be a saying among old hacks: ?That?s what the man said?. Clearly that was what you were reporting. As I read it, the cause of the annoyance among Conservatives is that the Liberals got in first. Or have I misunderstood that?

    It would be wrong for you as an independent local reporter to sit on a legitimate announcement for any reason other than it is not worth printing and is not news. Timing of announcements is for those doing the announcing, not the reporter.

    I have noticed in the past that you have been prepared to give space to subjects for which you might not have personal sympathy. As I?ve said before, the quality of service you provide this area is what was normal among local reporters everywhere until give-away newspapers took over local journalism.

    As for me, I shall be voting UKIP.
    Regards
    Norman Brand
    Fanshawe Road
    23/03/10

  • New homes approved for Thame

    PLANNING permission for a new development, including new houses and apartments in Thame, has been approved.

    The proposed development is at 17, Thame Park Road, on the old Memec site, next to Limmings Lane, and will include office accommodation and 40 dwellings and apartments together with accesses, parking (below and above ground), landscaping and open space.

    The Developer will be responsible for providing the following:

  • Thamenews.net accused of being politically biased

    Dear Editor, I was heartened to read your piece declaring that the Lib Dems welcome the delay in the controversial new housing proposals, accompanied by a quotation from Andy Crick as ?South East Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat spokesman?, when he is actually the prospective Lib Dem candidate for this constituency at the forthcoming General Election.

    How convenient for the Lib Dems that SODC decided to delay consideration of the Local Development Framework Core Strategy. It provided them with the chance to issue a bland and opportunistic press release identifying themselves with this decision.

    You may be interested to learn that Conservative Councillors at Town, District, and County levels, were equally welcoming of this news as, I suspect, were the elected representatives of other parties, Independent Councillors, local Residents Associations, and the local community at large. It should also be acknowledged that our Conservative Member of Parliament, John Howell, played a part in persuading SODC to delay any decision.

    Your coverage of the Lib Dems’ statement does not reflect expected editorial standards of political impartiality and amounts merely to electioneering on behalf of the Liberal Democrat party. This does not bode well for the forthcoming campaign, and I sincerely hope that in future Thame News Net will resist being taken in by ?spin? and avoid becoming a mouthpiece for any particular faction.

    Mike Dyer
    Thame
    22/03/10

    EDITORIAL REPLY

    ThameNews.Net endeavours always to be be fair and to publish any statement from any local party as long as it relates to LOCAL matters, and have indeed published Conservative party focused news in the past such as LINK

    LINK

    The following is part of an email reply to the above letter:

    “….regarding your comments crediting John Howell MP with influencing the decision to postpone a decision on the Core Strategy, I would remind you that The Local Government Act forbids councils from considering controversial issues in the period immediately before elections. Sensibly, our Conservative run county council – which by the way I consider to do a really good job generally on behalf of the rate payers, have done the right thing.

    “I am sorry Mike but I am not stupid and will not act as a mouth piece for the Conservative’s or any other party.

    “Please tell your party to continue to send press releases about local issues and as I did last election, will publish them to the Council and Politics news section of the website and allow our readers to make up their own minds about what is spin and what is not.” Ed.

    DEAR READER
    What are YOUR views on ThameNews.Net’s coverage of local politics and Council matters? Indeed, are they subjects that a local news website should bother with at all?
    Email: Editor@thamenews.net

  • Youth Memorial Trust quiz raises over

    THAME Youth Memorial Trust, whose recent quiz night raised over

  • Spread the word about Thame Business event – 20/04/10

    THE next Thame First networking event will be held in the banqueting suite of the Spread Eagle Hotel, Cornmarket, Thame, on Tuesday, April 20, from 6-8pm.

    Amongst other Thame business-related topics, there will be an opportunity to find out more about the ithame application which can be accessed at www.ithame.co.uk

    As well as talking to some of the businesses that got involved with the project right at the start, guests will be able to discuss with the ithame founders the next steps in the development of the app.

    PHOTO: The Mayor of Thame, Jeannette Matelot Green with some of the ithame founding businesses, L to R
    Tom Newitt, Simon Ralphs, Simon Martin (Racquets), Andy McDonald,Karl White (Thame Service Station)