Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Council to look again at costs of town centre fair

    ALTHOUGH Thame councillors have congratulated themselves on a vertually trouble-free fair last weekend, they have been warned that they will have to look at the cost implications again before next year’s fair.
    Last weekend’s was the first fair that the town council has had to be responsible for the event’s Health and Safety. In taking on that responsibility, the Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, told councillors at a meeting of the Culture and Leisure Committee on Tuesday, that she personallly spent 80 hours of work in the run-up to the event and that her Projects Officer, Cassie Pinnells, who was on site at 7am on Saturday morning, spent 62 hours involved with the fair.

    Committee members heard that despite 15,000 people coming into the town for the fair, there was one arrest for possession of a dangerous weapon, one incidence of anti-social behaviour and one heart attack. The police had got wind of a massive group having signed up on the social networking site, Face Book, intent on causing trouble at the fair and had prevented any trouble.

    Several councillors remarked on how clean the town looked after the fair had left, and paid tribute to the success of the planning by all concerned.

    NB More notes of interest from the Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee meeting, on ‘Other News’

  • Thame Culture, Leisure & Recreation ‘snippets ‘

    AS part of its ‘Risk Assessment and Implementation Plan,’ Thame Town Council is to include “things that might fall off the town hall”, including bits of masonary (which has happened recently), banners and hanging baskets.

    The newly refurbished Southern Road Recreation area is expected to be completed by the end of October, when there will be an official opening. Thame is to be “a model for other councils” apparently, in the way it planned and implemented the scheme.

    The town council wants it to be known that the Pickenfield play area is for anyone to use, not just the residents of Pickenfield. It is to look into the provision of equipment for older children there.

    Some special paint has been acquired by the Town Council, after the contractor who built the skate park, seems to have reneged on a maintenance agreement. The skate park will now be re-painted twice a year by the town council.

    The Youth Issues Working Group reported that it had met young people from the Thame Youth Theatre and the Red Kite Explorer Guides, as part of it commitment to talk to all the youth groups in the town, and had discussed such things as whether they felt safe in the town (mostly they did) and what were their likes and dislikes. Apparently the group learned that many young people will not use Elms Park because of so-called ‘Chavs’ which, said the group, had implications for whether the council should “chuck money” at Elms Park, to improve it, before making sure that young people will use the park.
    The council is to consider putting a blog page on the council’s website where young people can put their comments.
    The group also heard that young people want to be involved in the Christmas event.

    The council is to consult with young people about what they would like to see in the triangular area next to the Memorial gardens, to transform it into a special area of reflection for people to think about their young friends who have died.
    A questionaire is to be sent out to youth groups and the schools.

    MORE TOMORROW

  • Advance notice: Morse creator to talk in Thame

    THAME Players, in association with Clive Conway Celebrity Productions, is to present “An Audience with Colin Dexter.”
    The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame.
    7.45pm on Sunday 5th October

    A fascinating evening of anecdotes and reminiscences from Colin Dexter is in store for the audience at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame on Sunday 5th October at 7.45pm.

    The irascible author of the Inspector Morse detective stories will talk about how the legendary Morse was created, about the filming in and around Oxford, about John Thaw and the other stars in the show and how the author insisted on walk on roles in many of the episodes, just like Alfred Hitchcock used to do years ago. He will also answer questions from the audience in the second half of the show.

    Tickets for the show cost

  • Chinnor second team’s ‘cricket score’ against shield rivals

    THE glorious weather on Saturday was more fitting for cricket than rugby. However nobody foresaw the cricket score that Chinnor 2XV were going to amass against their Canterbury Shield League 2 rivals Barking.
    The outcome of this game was always going to be of interest because, last season Chinnor came second best in both home and away fixtures. This year the two clubs faced each other on the same day as the First teams were meeting in National Three south.
    The gauntlet was thrown down by the 2nds in the eight minute when skipper Rob Fenwick stole the ball at a Barking line out inside their 22. The ball was quickly fed to eventual man of the match James Serrano to power over for the first of his three tries. In all Chinnor scored 4 tries in the first half with only a successful penalty in reply from Barking. Chinnor led 26 ? 3.

    The emphasis of the team talk at the break was to step up support and team work to complete the job. Consequently the Essex side could not live with Chinnors speed of play, handling and decision making orchestrated by Harry Sutton playing out of his normal position at fly half. Even an unusual sin binning of Chinnor new boy Tom Jones failed to let Barking grasp a hold on the game.

    The second half saw a further six tries and five conversions to complete the rout at 66-3. Two of the tries came from the elusive outside centre Tom Sheel. Skipper Rob Fenwick touched down under the posts, after a particularly smooth piece of interplay between pack and backs demonstrating great support play and handling skills.
    A great result and after last week a superb team effort.

    Steve Halson (Picture Peter Matthews)

    Photo: Serrano

  • Josh is ‘volunteer of the month’ (Contributed)

    JOSH Rose from Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame has been awarded “Junior volunteer of the month”.
    Sue Downhill from the club says, “Josh has been a great volunteer. He has encouraged a lot of teenagers to continue in the sport who we might have lost without such a ?cool? coach”.

    Josh will be starting university later this month, in Leicester; and we wish him every success in his studies.

    Also, Cath Wood from Witney has won the adult award for her tireless effort and dedication (over many years) to the Junior section of the Oxfordshire Squash Racquets Association (OSRA) . If you’ve been to a junior tournament or squad then the chances are that Cath has organised the venue and run the event!

    A sincere and huge THANK YOU to both Cath and Josh.

    If you know of a deserving individual that you wish to nominate for either the junior or adult volunteer of the month award, then please contact your area manager. The awards are a national programme run by England Squash to recognise the hard work of volunteers helping with Squash and/or Racketball.

  • Do you like to sing?

    THAME CHORAL SOCIETY is looking for new members and you could be one of them!
    Why not give us a try – you don’t have to audition – just come along and sing.

    We now meet at the Methodist church, High Street, Haddenham, on Wednesday evenings 7.30 – 9.30 pm.

    Works this term will be by Charpentier and Vierne.

    Find out more by visiting: www.thamechoralsociety.co.uk

  • Thame council acts on investment failure

    AFTER seven years with an under-performing investment portfolio, Thame Town Council has decided to move its funds into a cash account.
    At an extraordinary meeting last night, councillors voted unanimously to transfer the remaining

  • Windmill Road planning decision may not stand

    A RECENT decision to approve outline planning permission for houses on the old Thame United site, may now not be legitimate.
    It has been revealed that two residents of properties close to the the site in Windmill Road, Thame, have said that they were not notified about the Planning committee meeting at South Oxfordshire District Council on September 17, and so were unable to make representations against the development.

    The district council has now to decide whether or not to bring the application back to the planning committee to be re-considered.

    The following are the conditions on which the outline planning permission was granted:

    “a) Oxfordshire County Council to secure financial contributions towards education, libraries, waste management, museum services, social and health care and highway improvements
    b) South Oxfordshire District Council to provide for 40 per cent affordable housing, payment of a recreation contribution and a community facilities contribution and alternative provision made for the Football Club and subject to the views of Thames Water and the Environment Agency and the following conditions:

    1. Approval of reserved matters prior to commencement
    2. Submission of reserved matters within three years
    3. Commencement within three years or two years of
    final approval of reserved matters
    4. Tree protection
    5. Restrict hours of work usage during construction
    6. Reserved matters application shall include a
    scheme for the provision of public art.

  • Award for fire hero who pulled neighbour to safety

    A LOCAL man who pulled his elderly neighbour to safety from a burning house, has received the fire service’s highest bravery award from the county’s Chief Fire Officer.
    Trevor Wood, from Chinnor, was awarded the Chief Fire Officers Commendation for Bravery for risking life and limb to save neighbour Reg Ingram, after a chip pan fire had broken out in his kitchen.

    Mr Wood arrived on the evening of January 7, to find Mr Ingram stuck in a doorway with his walking frame, having sustained burns.

    He entered the house and hauled Mr Ingram to safety, also closing the kitchen door to prevent the fire spreading before firefighters arrived at the address on Musgrave Road, Chinnor.

    Chief Fire Officer, John Parry, awarded the CFO Commendation to Mr Wood last Thursday night, (September 18) for his outstanding courage in the face of adversity.

    Photo: Oxfordshire County Council’s Chief Fire Officer and Director for Community Safety, John Parry, presents Trevor Wood with his Commendation.

  • Does sounding an air horn in public damage hearing?

    IF you have a question you can?t find the answer to, the county?s librarians want to hear from you.
    Oxfordshire County Council has set up a free service, Oxfordshire Libraries Answers Direct, for people who want help in finding an answer to any question, whether it?s for business, study, compiling a pub quiz or simple curiosity.

    Katharine Spackman, the county council librarian in charge of the Information Service, said: ?We began the service in July and initial reaction has been very positive.

    ?Questions range from the straightforward, such as who was the last England cricketer to score a hundred in his captaincy debut or what is the longest river in Scotland to the highly esoteric, such as whether sounding an air horn in public damages the hearing.

    She added: ?People can get a long way on their own using Google and also by using the council?s on-line subscription service, Reference Online to access a host of online reference books. But librarians are trained to find information, so our team can really save people time and often help them find things they couldn?t find for themselves.

    ?Even if our librarians can?t find the answer, then they know a man who can.?

    Contact Answers Direct 0845 600 3119, or email: libraryanswersdirect@oxfordshire.gov.uk or ask at your local library.