Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Council rejects 13 new homes in Cornmarket, Thame

    THAME Town Council’s planning committee has recommended refusal of an application to build 13, mews style cottages behind a Thame shop in the Cornmarket.
    The committee rejected the application, to build on land behind ‘The Money Spinner,’ on the following grounds:

    i) No access for emergency vehicles.
    ii) Over-development for such a narrow restricted
    site.
    iii) Unsympathetic to the area.
    iv) No parking

    The application will now go before South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee for their decision.

  • Bonus scheme agreed to reduce waste (from: letsrecycle.com)

    THE Oxfordshire Waste Partnership (OWP) has agreed a new bonus scheme to increase recycling in the county and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

    The new deal will supplement existing recycling credits within the county. Under the new scheme the county’s five waste collection authorities (WCAs) face performance bonuses or penalties, depending on how much waste they collect for landfill disposal.

    The OWP has agreed annual residual waste targets through to 2020, which have been set to ensure that their Joint Waste Strategy targets are met. Each WCA receives the same residual waste allocation per household per year. If a WCA betters its target, then it receives a bonus payment for each tonne below that target. Equally, if a WCA exceeds its residual waste allowance then it pays a penalty for each tonne above its target. The bonus and penalty payments are set at half the value of a recycling credit.

    WCAs will continue to receive a recycling credit for every tonne of waste that they recycle or compost, but from April 2009 this will be overlain by the new bonus and penalty scheme. Wayne Lewis, OWP Coordinator said: “We’ve worked hard to develop a system that provides greater incentives for WCAs to reduce waste, while also trying to keep things simple and affordable.”

  • Thame couple rescued after sleeping through smoke alarm

    A THAME couple had a lucky escape on Saturday when fire officers found them fast asleep in bed as their smoke alarm failed to alert to them to the fact that their kitchen was on fire.
    A Thame fire crew was called to the flat behind the Cornmarket, by a hairdresser who saw smoke billowing from the window and heard the alarm going off, as she arrived for work at around 8am on Saturday (26/04).
    Station Officer, Andy Ford said: “Failing to rouse the occupants, we kicked the door in and ran up the stairs and found an oven, containing the remains of oven chips, on fire and a couple motionless in the bedroom.
    “One of them was so motionless that we took his pulse.
    “It would appear that they had put the chips in the oven early in the morning and had returned to bed having had a late night, only to fall fast asleep again.
    “They were extremely surprised to be woken up by four firemen crashing around their flat!
    “Hopefully, this couple have learned a very valuable lesson about the risks of attempting to cook after a night out.
    “Cooking is one of the biggest causes of fire in the home.

    “It was very fortunate for them that this didn’t happen during the night or even on a Sunday morning when the smoke might not have been spotted by anyone.”

    Fortunately, the fire was quickly dealt with and no one was injured.

  • Reader’s letter

    DEAR Editor, having read your reports of the Town Meeting I agree with Mike Welply’s praise of your thorough and wide-ranging service. I have long thought that in doing this Thame News does what local newspapers traditionally did before the advent of free newspapers.
    I do not imply criticism of newspaper journalists who are probably not numerous enough or for whom the time and column inches are not available for them to get to grips with their areas. Community links and the plethora of volunteer and organisational groups to be found anywhere and not least in Thame are what make life worth living and, in reflecting them in our town, Thame News is also richly nourishing them. I hope that increasing numbers of people discover, read, value and use Thame News.

    I write from experience, having spent a lifetime in the middle reaches of journalism and learned my craft in the weekly newspapers of forty years ago, when my job depended on going out and getting the stories to fill my pages. It was those stories which made people buy and read the papers.

    Norman Brand

  • Three awards for United’s Adam

    THAME United?s annual awards dinner took place at the Thame Tandori last Saturday evening, and Adam Rhodes took all three ‘Player of the season’ awards. The winners were:

    YOUTH TEAM

    Most improved player ? Zak Wiggins
    Player?s player of the season ? Luke Ricketts
    Manager?s player of the season ? Matt Gibbs

    RESERVES

    Most improved player ? Tommy Hoskins
    Player?s player of the season ? Adam Rowley
    Manager?s player of the season ? Oliver Gasgoine.

    FIRST TEAM
    Most improved player ? Sam Cowan
    Player?s player of the season ? Adam Rhodes
    Manager?s player of the season ? Adam Rhodes
    Supporter?s player of the season ? Adam Rhodes

    Both the Chairman?s supporter of the season, and the players’ supporter of the season award went to 11 year-old George Collingwood. Congratulations went to George and his father Tony, who, earlier in the day, had earned over

  • Thame Amnesty newsletter

    CAMPAIGN: Human rights activist, Hu Jia, has been charged with ‘inciting subversion’, in what appears to be the latest attempt by the Chinese authorities to silence domestic activists? public criticism of China’s human rights record.
    Hu Jia has been denied access to his lawyer, members of his family and medical treatment, including necessary daily medication for liver disease resulting from Hepatitis B infection.
    His wife, Zeng Jinyan, is still under house arrest with their newborn baby. She is not permitted to leave their home and her telephone line and internet connection have been cut.

    Update: 3 April 2008
    According to reports activist Hu Jia has been convicted of “inciting subversion” and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison as a wave of repression against activists continues.
    Send an appeal to the Chinese authorities to release Hu Jia immediately:
    WU Aiying Buzhang – Minister of Justice
    Sifabu
    10 Chaoyangmen NandajieChaoyangqu
    Beijingshi 100020
    People’s Republic of China
    Fax: 0086 10 65292345

    CHINA CAMPAIGN
    There is concern that, despite commitments made by the Chinese authorities that hosting the Olympic Games would be an opportunity to develop human rights, the last 7 years has seen few substantial reforms taking place.

    Get involved by sending for the China Activists Kit which gives information on the campaign, individual case sheets, plus guidance on letter writing and postcard campaigns.
    The kit can be obtained by emailing: china@amnesty.org.uk or activism@amnesty.org.uk

    Is there anyone out there who would like to take over the Thame Amnesty website? Please get in touch with Owen Davies.

  • Spread Eagle, Thame, supports food fayre & festival

    FOTHERGILL’S BRASSERIE, at the Spread Eagle, Thame, is running a special, event during the festival week in June, to support the Food festival.

  • Thame Players to present John Osborne masterpiece

    THAME PLAYERS will be presenting John Osborne’s masterpiece, The Entertainer, on between May 8 and 12, at the Players Theatre, Nelson Street.

    The Entertainer was first performed in 1957 at The Royal Court Theatre, with Laurence Olivier in the role of Archie Rice which he made famous, both on stage and on film. At the time Olivier was living with his wife, Vivien Leigh, at Notley Abbey, just outside Thame. He was at the same time having an affair with Joan Plowright, who later became his wife, and who played the part of Jean in The Entertainer. Osborne sent the first act of The Entertainer to Olivier who accepted the Archie Rice part as soon as he had read it.

    Osborne took many of the characters and situations from life, chiefly his relatives. He said of his research for the play, ?Music Hall was on its last legs but there were still a few halls in and around London for me to visit, and not yet quite defeated by grey, front parlour television.?

    The original production had trouble with the Lord Chamberlain. On Britannia he said ?Nudes are allowed provided they are motionless and expressionless in the face of the audience.? He also required the song ?The old church bells won?t ring tonight ?cos the vicars got the clappers? to be changed to ??.the vicar?s dropped a clanger. How times change!

    Thame Players will perform The Entertainer, the story of an ageing, second rate stand up comic as their next production. The play is being directed by long serving member of the Players, Bernadette Tildesley and the demanding Archie Rice role, with its stand up routines and comedy songs, is to be played by Peter Sawyer.

    Performances will begin 7.45pm each evening and the tickets, which cost

  • Man sentenced for knife-point robbery

    A MAN has been given three and a half years imprisonment for a knife point robbery inside a shop in Thame.
    James Scott, aged 32, of no fixed abode, appeared at Oxford Crown Court last Monday (21/4) where he was sentenced in relation to a robbery that happened on February 15, inside The Chocolate Box news agents in North Street, Thame.

    Det Con Arran Cliff, who led the investigation, said: ?On this occasion a woman was threatened by a man wielding a knife. As he ran out of the shop a traffic warden recorded the registration plate of his vehicle and the police were able to make the arrest. The sentence handed down sends a clear message that violent crime will not be tolerated in our area.?

  • Compliments and ‘brick bats’ from Thame town meeting

    THAMENEWS.NET itself came in for some praise at the annual Town Meeting last Tuesday, when a resident asked if the council had any influence over the local paper’s lack of Thame news content and poor delivery record.
    Agreeing that the paper was, “a disaster for news”, ex town and district councillor, Mike Welply complimented ThameNews.Net on its regular coverage of local news and events, and requested that the editor consider including an opinion page expressing the editor’s own views in, what he called, “a more robust manner.”
    The local Thame Gazette reporter, who was present at the meeting, said that she “had taken on board” the comments expressed.

    Other questions from the floor included:
    ? A request for more litter bins on Lea Park from Mary Stiles. Cllr David Dodds said that this was a district council matter and informed the meeting that the district council was currently looking at re-cycling litter bins for the town centre.

    ? The poor quality of the accoustics in the town hall was drawn to the attention of the coucil (as can be vouched for by the Editor and others, who struggle to hear what’s going on during council meetings, especially since it adopted a circular configuration for the tables which means that many councillors have their backs to the public and press seating). The mayor said that the matter was being “dealt with.”

    ? In answer to a question from Mary Stiles about the decision not to include a Zip wire in the new plans for the Southern Road Recreation area, councillors re-itterated that they had made their decision on “Best Value criteria” and the Clerk added that the new scheme would include “four pieces of new and exciting equipment from France for the over 16s.”

    ? A resident from Chiltern Vale thanked the council for the new bus shelter at the top of Oxford Road, and asked if the seat could be re-instated at Spring Path. Apparently there is some dispute over whether it is the responsibility of the town, district or county council.

    ? Following a question from the floor about improving the situation for residents’ parking in the town centre, the town council said that it is now addressing the situation.

    ? Congratulations were given to the council from Mr Nigel Ayres for a “magnificent job” of work at the re-designing and planting of the Memorial Garden.

    ? The last question of the evening came from Mary Stiles who wanted clarification as to whether the money taken from the council’s swimming pool fund to buy the museum was a loan or not.
    Cllr David Dodds said that, as the money was “for community use,” it was “a legitimate use of the fund.”