Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • The World After Copenhagen – Meeting tonight!

    AN evening with Dr Miguel Mesquita da Cunha, 7.30pm to 9.15pm at St Mary?s Church, Thame. Miguel Mesquita has been invited again from Brussels by Lord Williams School to give the key-note speech and act as consultant for the Model United Nations General Assembly at the School and he has kindly agreed to lead a discussion organised by the Men?s and Women?s groups based at St Mary?s.

    Miguel Mesquita has been policy adviser to the EC President and the NATO Secretary General; he has a particular interest in climate change issues although his most recent work has been around EU strategy issues and the Europe/North America axis, strengths and weaknesses of the EU, security, defence, terrorism, etc. As last year, we can expect a fascinating and challenging evening. Refreshments will be available from 7 30pm. All invited. Enquiries to Owen Davies: 214466 or davies2399@yahoo.co.uk

  • Ethical cafe opens in Thame

    A NEW Coffee House/Cafe has opened in Thame, on the corner of North Street and Wellington Street.

    Claire Britton and her partners, all from Thame, have taken over and rebranded what was the Social and later, Ciao Baby.

    Claire and her team have put together a friendly, family-focused coffee house with a range of superb light meals and drinks, all of which are ethically sourced.

    Claire, who formerly ran a catering business from her home, told ThameNews.Net: “We felt there was a need for a child-friendly cafe in Thame, where children could run around and make noise. We intend the run The Well as a business but we want to put something back and so 10% of our profits will be given to charities, both local and international.”

    The Well, which opened its doors for the first time on Monday, includes a children’s play area up-stairs. It is open between 8.45am – 4.15pm, Monday to Saturday.

    Photo: Claire Britton and her staff, outside The Well, in Thame

  • Town council gets tough over annual fair

    THAME Town Council has decided to get tough with the Showman’s Guild, which runs the fun fair that comes to the town every September.
    The council has agreed that the Guild must pay up for the extra costs of organising security, medical cover, safety measures etc, or agree to a new regime where each stall or ride pays individually for the privilege of coming to Thame, as happens between Oxford City and St Giles fair.

    In September last year (2008) the town council took over the responsibility for the running and managing of the fair, as its legal responsibility, incurring extra cost to the council and therefore to the rate payers of Thame.

    A five year agreement between the council and the Guild comes to end in September, before the start of this year’s fairs and a new agreement about who is responsible for what, is currently being negotiated.

    Photo: Copyright Iain Fairweather

  • Thame Mayor voted down on youth memorial consultation

    THAME Town Council will go ahead with a public meeting and a questionaire to determine what form a permanent memorial to the lost youth of Thame should take.
    This is despite a comment by the Mayor, Don Butler, that the council itself should decide and not the young people themselves, a position supported by Cllr Beatrice Dobie.

    A Youth Memorial Working Group of town councillors presented a progress report on Tuesday to the Culture Leisure and Recreation committee, outlining design considerations for the proposed memorial and a questionaire which includes preferences for the use of epetaphs.

    The idea for a Memorial to the young people of Thame who have died, often in tragic circumstances, came from a local resident who was so impressed by the length of time and care taken in maintaining the tribute to Chloe Owens near the Aylesbury round-about where she was killed three years ago.

    He suggested that the council provide a place of reflection and contemplation for the friends and families of those young people who have died.

    The town council agreed that the triangular piece of land on the end of the Memorial Gardens could be used for such a purpose.

    A public meeting to help move the project forward will be held on February 21st (not January 31 as originally reported), in the Upper Chamber, between 10am and 12 pm.

    (Image courtesy of the friends of Cloe Owens, from their memorial video)

  • Award for Thame’s Big Draw event

    THAME’S Big Draw event, held last Autumn in the museum, has won a Drawing Inspiration Award from The Campaign For Drawing.

    The Big Draw was organised by the group of artists from the Thame area, Sparkartists. The Thame event was awarded a prize in the Highly Commended category, and as can be seen from the list of winners below, was in good company:

    2008 Drawing Inspiration Award recipients

    Trailblazers
    The British Museum, London
    Crawley Borough Council, West Sussex

    Winners

    Matravers School (Specialist Arts College), Wiltshire
    ReachOutRCA (Royal College of Art), London
    Ruskin Mill, Prema Arts Centre & Sir William
    Romney’s School, Gloucestershire

    Runners Up

    Barrow Hill Junior School, London
    Courtauld Institute of Art: East Wing Collection VIII
    Goldsmiths, University of London
    Milton Keynes Gallery

    Highly Commended

    Aspex, Portsmouth
    Ordsall Community Arts, Greater Manchester
    Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, London
    Portsmouth City Council, Corporate Initiatives
    Sparkartists, Oxon
    St George’s Primary School, Worcester
    West Walls Studios, Cumbria

    All Award winning events will be represented in the Campaign for Drawing’s annual Drawing Inspiration publication as examples of best practice for
    future Big Draw organisers, and will be presented with their awards at a ceremony for which details will be published later.

  • London Welsh visit Chinnor RFC tomorrow (Saturday)

    IN addition to the first team league match, London Welsh will be sending their Development squad to play Chinnor Second XV tomorrow.
    Kick Off, 2pm

  • Body found in river believed to be missing Thame man

    POLICE searching for a missing Thame man have found a body in the River Thames today (15/01).

    A search was launched yesterday for Keith Manger, aged 42, who was last seen at his home in Cavalier Road, Thame at 1.30pm yesterday (14/1). A body was found by a police search team at 12pm today, in the river near Elizabeth Bridge, Windsor.

    Police officers searching the area around Elizabeth Bridge, Windsor, found Mr Manger’s car, a black Ford Focus, last night.

    The police believe that the body is that of Mr Manger, but this cannot be confirmed until he is formally identified by a member of his family.

  • Thame Show to change to a Saturday

    THE Oxfordshire and Thame Show, traditionally held on the third Thursday in September, is to move to a Saturday.
    However, contrary to a decision made by the show’s management committee to hold this year’s show on Saturday, September 26, the show’s current Chairman, Andrew Duffy, told ThameNews.Net today, that the show will now be held on Thursday, September 17, 2009, afterall.

    Mr Duffy told ThameNews.Net today: “After subsequent soundings of the various sub-committees since the committee’s unanimous decision to hold the show on Saturday, September 26th, it has been decided that the new date would not be appropriate from the point of view of the horse contingent especially, as some very high calible ponies will be involved in the Horse of the Year Show at Olympia around that time.

    “It has therefore been decided that, after much soul searching, the show will be moved to a Saturday in 2010, though the exact date has yet to be sorted out.”

    Mr Duffy explained that the organisers of the Oxfordshire and County Thame Show, to give it its full name, feel that moving it to a Saturday will bring in more people who don’t have to take time off from work to attend, and more families from further afield.

    Last year the show lost around

  • Thame youth invited to have their say on Facebook group 14/01/10

    THE Facebook group is called Talk about Thame.

    AS well as this great initiative by a group of young people from the Thame area, young people will get the chance to air their views at a public meeting next month to discuss issues that affect them.

    The five specific issues to be discussed are:

    Transport – bus times and cycle routes

    Youth cafe or meeting place

    Youth Information – shared information about youth groups and events

    Anti-social behaviour

    Youth engagement with the town council

    The idea for such an event arose from a meeting between Thame Town Council’s Youth Issues Working Group (YIWG), local youth group leaders and young people themselves, at the Guide HQ in October, 2009.

    Young people themselves will run the event and discuss the issues amongst themselves, with the background support of councillors in the YIWG.

    The Youth Event will be held at Thame town hall on February 2, 2010, between 5-7pm

  • Thame Neighbourhood policing – latest report

    THIS, the latest neighbourhood update, has been provided by Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Diane Greenwood:

    The Thame neighbourhood policing team had a good result of removing abandoned vehicles around Thame town centre and would like to encourage the general public to call their neighbourhood policing team to report these vehicles so they can be sorted as soon as possible, as when the vehicles are left they soon attract anti-social behavior.

    In the New Year, the Thame neighbourhood policing team is re-launching a revitalized, Country Watch Scheme across the sector. Farms and agricultural premises will be contacted by local officers, hoping for local farms and businesses to sign up to the scheme. This is a free scheme which is co-ordinated by the police. Members will receive signs which can be displayed in appropriate locations, which will indicate they are members and will also act as a deterrent to any potential criminals.

    The team also now has access to the SID (Speed Indication Device) and during 2009, the SID will be used in numerous locations around the Watlington, Chinnor and Thame neighbourhoods on a regular basis. Anyone who breaks the speed limit will have their vehicle details taken and this information will be forwarded to our Roads Policing department. First time offenders will receive a warning letter.

    The Thame neighbourhood policing team will be doing regular police surgeries during 2009. These dates are listed below:

    PCSO Diane Green ? 14 January in Postcombe from 6pm until 7pm and then on to Stoke Talmage from 7.30pm untio 8.30pm.
    PSCO Jacky Madden ? 21 January in Sydenham from 6pm until 7pm and then at Tetsworth from 7.20pm until 8.30pm.
    PCSO Rebecca Freeman ? 28 Januaryin Aston Rowant, Kingston Blount and Crowell, starting at 6pm until 10.30pm
    PC Mick Goodenough ? 14 January in Chinnor from 6pm until 8pm.
    PC Ian Kent ? 17 January in Watlington from 4pm until 6pm
    PC Russell Hounslow – January 18 – Thame Police Station 11am to 1pm. Come along and discuss any matters that concern you.

    Police surgeries are designed for you to meet your local officers to discuss any concerns or issues within the local community. The above surgeries and future ones will be advertised locally through local parish publications, notice boards and via this newsletter. No appointment is necessary, just turn up and we will be happy to see you!

    If you wish to speak with your neighbourhood policing team, contact 0845 8 505 505.