AN escapologist from this year’s Britain’s Got Talent TV show, is to perform at Thame’s Christmas event.
Merlin Cadogan, dubbed the Modern Hudini, will not however be trying to escape from a tank of water whilst tied up and pad-locked in chains, but will juggle fire balls at the switching on of the Thame Christmas lights event on Friday, December 4, 2009.
BBC 2, radio presenter, Ken Bruce, who lives at Towersey, will be MC for the event.
Photo: courtesy of http://talent.tv.com
THE first of a series of regular Greening Campaign meetings is to be held at Thame Town Hall.
The meeting will be held at 7pm next Monday, October 26, 2010, when a presentation about the campaign will be given. Afterwards there will be an opportunity for residents to choose simple steps for their community to take to save energy, CO2 and money.
The Greening Campaign www.greening-campaign.co.uk was set up in response to the threat of climate change ? a global problem which needs to be tackled at every level, including local communities.
The idea is to motivate people to reduce their energy consumption in a community response to what is a global problem. The campaign aims to encourage and support local people and businesses to take easy and straightforward steps to reduce energy consumption and waste and, in so doing, to make financial savings whilst benefiting the environment.
Social landlords, Soha Housing which runs and manages over 5,200 properties in Oxfordshire, is sponsoring the Greening Thame campaign alongside Thame Town Council and Brothers Hairdressing, Thame.
Soha tenant David Everiss, said: “Personally I believe that we must all play a part in slowing the climate change no matter how small the contribution. We cannot act like an ostrich. There is a change in the climate; every one my age must have noticed the change.
“They can remember the colder winters of say 50 years ago. If by turning down my heating a degree and putting on a jumper, turning off the lights when there is absolutely no necessity for them to be on. If that helps just that little bit, it takes so little effort from me. Fine!!!!!
“Of course there are residents who need to keep their heating at a comfortable temperature. They should be encouraged to keep themselves warm. Now that I am a Soha resident they are responsible for insulation of water pipes and the roof space and for this I am thankful.”
THE Mayor of Thame, Jeannette Matelot Green, has given her personal support to the scheme to take thermal images of local homes and building to show just where heat energy is being wasted.
Jeannette said: “I am happy to have a thermal image of our flat taken because improving home insulation will not only save on heating bills but will also help to combat global warming.
“I would encourage others to do the same as there are grants available for home insulation improvements and it would be useful to know just bwhere the problems lie.”
Transition Thame, and District and Thame & Chinnor Friends of the Earth will be providing free home insulation images this November using equipment loaned by South Oxfordshire District Council.
How it works:
? Thermal images have to be taken after dark and when the building heating is on. They show up where heat is escaping from houses (red and yellow areas in the image above) and therefore where insulation could be improved.
? With your permission, an image of your house will be taken one evening between the 13th and 27th of November and you will then be invited you a meeting in Thame on the 3rd of December where all the images will be available and free advice on insulation from the Energy Saving Trust will also be on offer.
? Should you wish to take away and keep the image of your home there will be a
A MEMORIAL to young people who have died prematurely, is to be officially opened on Sunday, January 3,2010 (NOT 4TH as previously reported) at 1pm.
The clearing of the space, in the right-hand corner of the Memorial gardens at the top of the Upper High Street, new seating and ornamental stone work has recently been completed, and when sufficient funds have been raised, this memorial will provide a plaque of remembrance for each individual person who has died, as desired by their loved ones.
More information about the idea of a youth memorial, its history and progress is available on a new Thame Youth Memorial website:
www.thameyouthmemorial.org
ARE you interested in finding out why customers choose to visit Thame, and in understanding customer demands and what it means for your business?
Then come along to this Market Towns networking event, at the Spread Eagle Hotel, 16-17 Cornmarket, Thame, OX9 2BW, 8am to 12pm.
You should attend if you are interested in:
* getting a greater understanding of who visits Thame, Wallingford and Henley, and their motivations
* finding out how developing your town distinctiveness can improve business performance
* gaining greater understanding of the current economic climate in each town and what you can do to maximise your business
* sharing best-practice and build links with other towns; and
* looking at new ideas and how they can be implemented.
Key speakers: Nick Quail from QandA Research. QandA Research provides a full range of market research services to meet business needs.
Representatives from Miller Research. Miller Research (UK) Ltd is a specialist research and evaluation consultancy company, focusing on projects related to the learning, skills and labour market agenda.
There is also an opportunity to visit exhibitor’s stands, take part in workshops and network over breakfast and lunch. To register an interest please email caroline.wood@southoxon.gov.uk or telephone 01491 823313
Photo: Visitors to the town stop by one the stalls at the recent Thame Food Festival.
Dear Editor – In the eight years my wife and I have lived in Thame we have found our postmen always to be friendly, reliable and an asset to the area in many ways. In fact that?s been true of postmen everywhere we?ve lived. It?s a reassuring sight ? I write only as a resident ? to see the red bike parked opposite our house and know the postman is on his way.
In a radio programme I heard a postman from some other area talk about a computer system in which, he said, a post round is tracked, with a little chap on the screen walking up and down garden paths and putting letters in letter boxes. The computer decides how long it takes to walk the round and, then, the human postman has to keep up the speed dictated by the screen. The system is reportedly called Pegasus ? but I thought Pegasus was a horse!
According to the postman on the phone-in, allowance is made for the delay caused by eight packages, which require a ring at the bell. The caller said he could have dozens more than that (I forget the figure). Another caller pointed out that dogs could cause delays.
Postmen, with a friendly word or a passing chat, can brighten people?s day. I don?t think the computer allows for that either.
Which all means that, although I have no knowledge or grasp of the issues involved, I would not blame any of the postmen and women I have met for going on strike. Because I have met them.
It also means that any comment-loaded headline like one in a national paper today which called the postal workers ?Lemmings? is unjust and unfair.
Yours sincerely
Norman Brand
Fanshawe Road
THIS is a Ringmaster message from Thames Valley Police sent on behalf of Oxfordshire Trading Standards.
Trading Standards are warning people in South Oxfordshire of a company who are leaflet dropping then cold calling offering to do anything from small jobs to house extensions. They generally appear to be targeting elderly residents.
When calling, they state they are a company from Swindon who have a number of builders looking for work, then quote a cheap price. A number of complaints have been received, some from Wallingford, Goring & Benson. An expert is of the opinion that some of the work is of poor quality.
If someone is cold calling in your area who state they are from a Swindon company offering cheap work, please contact the Doorstep Crime Team at Trading Standards on 0845 051 0845 option 1 or 2, thank you.
Message Ends.
Chinnor Oxen (Vets) XV 22pts v Andover 3rd team 3pts: MATCH REPORT – October 17, 2010.
Fielding a number of changes due to unavailability of a number of vets stalwarts, the Chinnor Oxen borrowed a number of the 4th team players, as their match was cancelled this week. This brought a youthful flavor to the senior team at Chinnor. At one stage fielding the oldest and the youngest player that Chinnor put out this weekend on the same pitch – some 42 years between Bas Corpe and Elliott Bevan (17) and Doug Humphries(59) meant that the opposition were confused as to exactly who they were playing.
Experience and size were definitely on the side of the visitors, which seemed to tell in the first 20 minutes, despite Andover?s pressure and dominance during the first 20 minutes they still only came away with one penalty kick, Tony Howells, Steve Bridges & Lukas Schmidt doing a sterling job in defence to deny a score.
When in possession the ?Veterans? of Chinnor looked masterful, with John Vaughan and Dave Wells forming an experienced and solid 10/12 partnership as a stable platform to launch attacks using the youthful outside centre/wing combination. Indeed, Bas Corpe should have scored a hatful if it hadn’t been for a couple of last minute tap tackles.
Chinnor?s luck came after about half an hour when a kick ahead left Andover’s Full Back with a red face as the ball bounced for him to collect only to bobble between his legs for a speedy Dave Wells to pick up and dot down under the posts, collecting the conversion meant that the Vets went 7 ? 3 ahead. A late penalty goal for Chinnor left the scores 10 ? 3 going in to the break.
The 2nd half saw more of the same with Winger, Jason Lang showing some pace to outsprint Andover?s defence to score in the corner. By this stage the visitors were wondering what they had to do to gain and retain possession as the Chinnor back row were turning the ball over at will, not to mention the hooks against the head taken by Mike Wiltshire in the scrum despite conceding a couple of stones per man.
Try of the match came in the 2nd half when Messers Vaughan and Wells worked their magic in the mid field to send the ball out to Bas Corpe who using his speed and footwork to either dummy or outpace pretty much the whole of the Andover back line to sprint some 60 ?70 metres to score under the posts.
Our thanks go to the ?guests? Elliott Bevan, Bas Corpe, Guy Woodesdon, Lukas Schmidt, Matt Lock, Gordon Fennell & Jason Lang, Rob Atkin, Elliott Bevan, Steve Bridges, Ken Catchpole, Bas Corpe, Tim DeGlanville, Gordon Fennell, Tony Howells, Doug Humphries, Jason Lang, Matt Lock, Kenny Lue, Jeremy Philpott, Dave Ratcliffe, Lukas Schmidt, Craig Smith, John Vaughan, Dave Wells, Mike Wiltshire, Guy Woodeson, Paul Wright
Man of the match: Steve Bridges
MATCH REPORT – Maidenhead 17 pts V Chinnor 52 pts; Away match – Saturday, October 17, 2010.
THIS was a good performance by Chinnor against a spirited, but occasionally disjointed, Maidenhead outfit. Toby Prescott made a welcome return to the Chinnor ranks following serious injury in the first game of the season.
Sam Jones came in at No 6 and a late change saw Ben Farr come in for Pip Seymour who could not shrug off a heavy cold.
The home public-address system welcomed Maidenhead onto the field with the prediction that this would be their first win of the season. This appeared to have the required effect as with the home crowd roaring their support, Maidenhead did not allow Chinnor a touch of the ball before scoring first with a well executed move resulting in a chip into the large in-goal area where the speedy Alex Cannon won the race to the touch down.
Chinnor levelled the score in the 12th minute by creating a large overlap with Richie Williams going over. Following some good approach work, by the back -row in particular, James Serrano was afforded the space to go over in the corner and put Chinnor ahead in the 21st minute. James Cathcart fell short with his two conversion attempts from wide out into a deceiving wind. Chinnor went further ahead with a sparkling try by Ben Farr in the 33rd minute.
Maidenhead had been camped on the Chinnor line for some time with a succession of forward drives failing to breach a stout defence. They then opted for plan B and spread the ball across their three-quarter in front of the Chinnor posts. A misplaced pass was grabbed by Alex Wallace, who passed the ball onto Ben Farr which took him on an arcing run to score under the posts allowing Cathcart the simplest of conversions. To their credit, Maidenhead came storming back with a try from Simon Standfast when Chinnor failed to secure the ball straight from the restart. So, with a seven point interval lead and the breeze at their backs, Chinnor looked in control.
The second half tended to be one-way traffic except for the occasional foray into Chinnor territory. Ben Farr went over for his second try when he pinned his ears back to go over for the archetypical wingers try in the corner. It was now all Chinnor with their youngsters to the fore. Sam Jones, as well as running strongly with defenders hanging off him, snaffled up all the loose balls. Anything on the ground near to him was inevitably a Chinnor ball. Ben Farr increased the Chinnor lead when the increasingly influential Toby Prescott exploited a gap to put him over.
It was then the turn of the forwards to get in on the act when Sam Black burst through the middle to put the supporting Joe Winpenny in for a try. An intelligent chip by James Cathcart in his own 22 gave Farr the opportunity to score his fourth try. Before scoring though, he had to compete to take a high bounce swerve around the first defender, wrong foot the full-back and outpace the covering defence -a wingers job really!
Chinnors final score came in a bizarre manner when, from the resultant restart, with his team lined-up on one side of the field , the ball was was kicked to the other side of the park, did not travel the required eight metres, the couple of Maidenhead players in the vicinity ignored it allowing Richie Williams a free catch, to then run half the length of the field without a hand touching him to score. James Cathcart who was now well on song with his kicking made this his 6th conversion. A touch of sloppiness with poor first-up tackling allowed Maidenhead in for the final try by by Simon Standfast who did not stop working hard all afternoon.
Many positives came out of the game for Chinnor. The individual performances of Sam Jones and Ben Farr; Toby Prescott became better as the game progressed, giving the team much impetus; Sam Black and Harry Jackman complemented each other in the second row with Joe Pickett; Alan Cawston and Joe Winpenny a solid front row; James Cathcart had his best game of the season to date with both his place kicking and kicking out of hand back to his high standard.
Chinnor’s first up tackling needs to improve. You do not get a second bite of the cherry against better sides. Big game next week. 1st XV vs. Old Patesians, K:O 3:00pm
Onwards and upwards.
LEAGUE GAME – Saturday, October 17, 2009: Thame United 3, Penn and Tylers Green 2 – MATCH REPORT
Thame United should have won this home game comfortably as they were by far the better side. Defensive errors in the last 30 minutes however, gave the visitors two goals, and although Thame took the points, the score was unnecessarily close.
Thame dominated from the start. Their first goal came after six minutes when they were awarded a free kick just outside the penalty area on the right. Aaron Rogers, who had a particularly good game, took the kick and found Mark Jones who cleverly headed the ball down, pass the keeper from 5-yards. Seven minutes later, it was 2-0, again from a free kick. This time the infringement was central, just outside the area. Adam Rhodes took the kick and with a deceptively short run up, placed the ball in the top left of the goal.
At this point, the visitors had not mounted an attack, and a high scoring home win looked on the cards, but although Thame created several more chances, they were fruitless, and it was still 2-0 at half time. Such was their control however, that Thame keeper Lee Orkney was virtually untested and Thame had forced 11 corners to the visitors’ one.
The first part on the second half was similar with United putting together some good moves. Thame?s third came six minutes after the restart when Rogers played the ball from the left to the more central Stuart Barr, who took the ball to the left by-line and hit a perfect cross to allow Ben Connelly to head home off the underside of the crossbar from close range.
Although Thame continued to have more possession, they lost concentration in defence and allowed visiting striker, Ricci Putnam the space to run at goal unmarked and slide the ball pass the oncoming Orkney. On 76 minutes, yet another defensive slip allowed substitute Dan Craggs to gather a long ball and hit a 20 yard shot pass Orkney. In the last few minutes, the home side looked more likely to increase their lead than concede any more. Just before the final whistle, visiting central defender Dan Arnett received a straight red for a bad tackle.
This was the first league game in two months where Thame have failed to keep a clean sheet. The defensive problems need to be addressed quickly if they are to stand any chance of promotion.
Thame United: Orkney, Barnett, Meredith, Higgs, Hocking (El Kassir), Cowan, Connelly, A Rhodes, Jones (Braun), Rogers, Barr.
United visit Holyport next Saturday, The next home game is on 31st October when Milton United, who have only lost one game this season, are the visitors.