A retired fire officer from Thame, Edwin Gordon Hussey, known as Gordon, sadly passed away on Christmas Day.
Gordon, who lived at Ridgway, Kingsey Road, Thame, with his wife, was 83 and had been ill for a while.
The funeral will be held at St Mary’s Church, Thame, on Friday, January 8, 2010, at 3pm.
Family flowers only, though there will be an opportunity for charitable donations. Refreshments will be available afterwards at the Barns Centre, Thame.
THAMES Valley Police has confirmed that the 32-year-old woman involved in a serious collision in Tackley on Sunday, December 20, 2009, died on Christmas Eve at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
The woman, from Southdale Road, Oxford, was involved in the collision on the A4260 at Tackley, between Kidlington and Deddington. Her name has not yet been officially released by the Coroner.
At about 4.20pm, the silver Ford Ka the woman was travelling in and a silver Renault Clio were involved in a head-on collision.
The 15-month-old boy involved in the incident remains in a critical but stable condition at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision or who has any information to contact PC David Mitchell via the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don?t want to speak to police or leave your name, call the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
THAME’S Youth Memorial Garden will be formally dedicated this Sunday lunchtime, 3 January (12.30 ? 2pm) at the Memorial Gardens in Thame Upper High Street.
Intended as a place of reflection and remembrance for the lost youth of Thame and district, the garden has been refurbished by Thame Town Council and is now open to the public.
Sunday?s dedication event will be opened by Nichola Dixon, Deputy Mayor of Thame, and John Howell MP and other local dignitaries will be attending. The formal dedication will be made by David Wybron, Head Teacher at Lord Williams?s School, who personally knew some of the youngsters who have died in recent years.
Helium balloons will be on sale, which can be tagged with personal messages and released during the reading of a poignant poem following a brief period of silence and reflection, and the sale of charity wrist bands will accompany a street collection and the launch of a fund raising raffle.
Before the dedication there will be cameo street entertainment by local youngsters, intended to entertain but also to demonstrate the diversity of modern youth and their decency, compassion, community spirit, and respect for the friends they have lost.
Mike Dyer, Chair of the Youth Memorial Trust, said: “We hope that the people of Thame and the surrounding villages will turn out in large numbers, whatever the weather, to show their support for this unique project to ensure that those who died too young are never forgotten.”
A design competition has also recently been launched to invite proposals for a memorial to be installed on the site, and the design brief is available for download at www.thameyouthmemorial.org.
AN exciting local project is gaining momentum. It?s called TransitionThame and District and it?s for everyone who wants to be part of it. Numerous other transition groups are springing up right across the U.K. as well as in other parts of the world. In a nutshell Transition Towns are communities getting together to find ways of offsetting the effects of twin challenges soon to face us.
We?ve in fact started to experience on the world stage the effects of one, Climate Change, and there is another villain in the wings–known as Peak Oil. Put simply this term means that we?re reaching the point (some scientists think we may already be there) when world oil production will start to decline, and continue to decline; and when supply goes down the price goes up, and up. Considering the innumerable uses we have for oil,from keeping us warm to transporting our food as well as ourselves, and how dependent we have become on it ,clearly our lifestyles are going to know some changes.
That?s one side of the coin?the other bears the Transition logo. This movement aims to help communities move to a much lower dependency on oil without the changes being massive, while retaining those things which we value like warm homes, good food, health provision and social activities. The key principle is to create communities which are more resilient to change, and more self-reliant, where skills are shared and resources pooled.
Thame and the surrounding villages are already vibrant communities, and Transition Thame and District is up and running, though still in its infancy.
NEXT EVENT
Transition Thame and District is pleased to announce it’s next event in Thame. We will be holding a permaculture evening at:
8pm Wednesday 20 January
Upstairs at the Cross Keys, 1 Park St, Thame
(‘Has any pub ever been improved by so much in such short a time’ D.Roe Camra Newsletter editor)
Come along and find out what permaculture is, how to apply it in your garden and how the principles can be used in many other areas of life. We will be screening a film showing it’s application and high productivity at various sites in the UK followed by a discussion about how it can be used to grow more food locally.
If you are excited by what you?ve read and you think you may like to join our steering group, do get in touch with me at valdavies@cooptel.net
There is plenty of information on the web about Transition Towns. We do not have the resources to have a proper web-site, but information can be found on
http://transitiontowns.org/Mulling/TransitionThameAnd District.
The main Transition Network web-site is http:// transitiontowns.org/
For a recent presentation by Rob Hopkins, father of the transition movement see: http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/696
It only remains for me to wish you all a very happy and healthy New Year.
Valerie Davies
Tuesday 12 January, 9:30am – 3:15pm:
Eco Schools Course II .
Interactive session exploring how your school can work through the Eco-School Award Scheme.
A GROUP of market traders arrived in Thame at 1 am this morning – to make the market place safe for Christmas shoppers.
Led by Mike Smith, who runs a veg stall at Thame Tuesday market, the gang of traders fixed an old snow plough to a lorry and cleared away the snow that had fallen over night, then using shovels and their hands, spread salt and sand on the ground to melt the remaining ice.
Today is expected to be Thame Tuesday market’s best trading day of the year, as local people flock to buy their Christmas vegetables and last minute presents for the big day on Thursday. And thanks to Mike and his big-hearted mates, they can shop safely without fear of slipping or falling over.
PHOTO: Mike Smith doing a roaring trade this morning, on the last market day in Thame before Christmas day.
STATUS: Press release from Thames Valley Police; THE emergency services in Thames Valley continue to work hard to deal with problems resulting from snow and ice.
Thames Valley Police can advise that all the motorways and most of the primary routes are now clear, with the exception of the A4146 in Milton Keynes, and the A41 between Aylesbury and Hertfordshire. Work is continuing to clear these routes.
All vehicles that had been abandoned on motorways have now been removed and there will be a cost to owners for the recovery of their vehicles.
Although there has been a slight thaw today, motorists are warned to drive with extreme care. The Met Office is forecasting that temperatures will fall below freezing again tonight, and driving conditions will be hazardous. If you do have to travel, please follow the advice for drivers on the Highways Agency website.
The rest centres that accommodated people last night have now been closed.
There have been power outages in West Berkshire, affecting 14,000 people across West Berkshire and parts of Hampshire, and Princes Risborough, in Buckinghamshire, affecting 900 people.
The fire service has advised the people affected to use torches rather than candles. If you do use candles, don?t walk around with them. If you decide to light an open fire, please use a fireguard.
Emergency calls for police, fire and ambulance services should be made in genuine emergency situations only. If you feel unwell, make use of NHS Direct. Only call an ambulance if advised to do so.
The public are advised to tune into local media broadcasts for updates on the situation in their area and what facilities may be available for stranded or vulnerable people.
If you need to contact Thames Valley Police for specific advice please call 0845 8 505
A CHEF has admitted killing a Thame teaching assistant as she was out walking her dogs.
Sally Garwood, 34, from Aylesbury, worked at the Autism Resource Base at Lord Williams’s School in Thame, and was stabbed to death at Quarrendon playing fields near her home, on July 11, 2009.
Robert Cusworth, 25, also from Aylesbury, who was a complete stranger to Sally Garwood, admitted murder when he appeared at Reading Crown Court today. He will be sentenced on January 29, 2010.
Det Supt Rob Mason, the senior investigating officer, said: “Sally Garwood?s murder was an attack on a defenceless young woman who was walking her dog. She was an active member of her church and a much liked and respected teaching assistant at Lord Williams?s School in Thame.”
THAME Amnesty Group presents A Heap of Stones, a further, further evening of words and music with Bruce Alexander and Adrian Thompson, devised and presented by Patrick Collins.
The Thame Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, on Sunday, January 17th 2010 – 8pm.
Tickets
MORE than 100 members, friends and supporters of Thame and District Day Centre enjoyed their annual Christmas lunch at the Oxfordshire Golf Club last Wednesday, December 16.
Day Centre Manager, Gill Coleman, said: “This event and the venue are a highlight in year for our members.
“There were smiling faces all around at the highly energetic ? and hilarious – humour of the Frantic Theatre Company, a one-man music hall entertainment which performs everywhere from living rooms to theatres.”
She told her members: “You are the reason I enjoy my job because you always come to the centre looking forward to the day and with something new to tell me.”
Thame and District Day Centre meets on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Thame Community Hospital and provides day care for about 50 frail or elderly people from the area.
Gill and the Chair of the Trustees, Brenda Prosser thanked their Golf Club hosts for making the day such a happy one. They also expressed their thanks to volunteers, trustees and supporters for their ongoing work for the centre.
PHOTO: Thame and Distrrict Day Centre members the entertainment