Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Thame United mid- table at season’s end

    LEAGUE GAME – 26/04/08 – MATCH REPORT – Thame united 2, Henley Town 1.

    THAME United rounded off the season with a deserved win against sixth placed Henley Town, last Saturday. As a result Thame finished the season mid-table, in 10th place. In many ways, this game summed up the season, as with better finishing, they could have won by a much wider margin.

    The opening exchanges were fairly even but then Thame started to control the game. Matt Graves almost put Thame ahead in the 11th minute when he cheekily met a kick by the Henley goalkeeper with a superb volley, from the half way line, which just went wide. Thame piled on the pressure and forced three successive corners. The home side took the lead in the 34th minute when Luke Ricketts played a great ball over the defence into the path of Matt Leach. Leach collected the ball and ran at on the visitor?s goal before hitting the ball pass the oncoming Henley keeper. It was one-way traffic and Adam Rhodes, Sam Cowan, and Matt Ansell all had shots deflected or saved. Just before half time, Leach put a good chance wide. The teams went in for half time with the Thame goal largely unthreatened.

    Henley came out fired up for the second half, changed their formation to play with three strikers, and as a result immediately put Thame under pressure. They were however vulnerable on the break and Thame almost increased the lead when Ricketts made a superb run on the left and hit a cross creating a difficult heading chance for Leach, but he failed to make contact. The unfortunate Leach missed a good chance a few minutes later when he did well to win a 50/50 ball near the half way line and ran at goal, but then seemed to trip over the ball. A visiting defender collected it, played it to striker Lorenzo Medford who made a run of the left before passing to John Donegan, who finished well from 10 yards. It was therefore 1-1 with 25 minutes to play. Thame came back and Adam Rhodes got on the end of a Ricketts cross but his goal-bound header was cleared off the line. Ben Connelly made Thame?s winner in the 77th minute. The tenacious Connelly picked the ball up at the half way line and beat two defenders before crossing from the right by line to Ricketts who met the ball at the far post, and headed to substitute Paul Searle, who in turn headed in from close range.

    The last 10 minutes were full of incident with both goalkeepers forced to make good saves but it was however Thame who took the points.

    Thame United: Higgs, Thompson, Graves, N. Rhodes, Hocking, Cowan, Connelly, A. Rhodes, Ansell (Watkins), Leach (Searle), Ricketts.

  • Letter received following Mary Blyth’s charity swim report

    Dear Sonja, Thank you for mentioning Cicely’s fund and Mary’s swim. Her donations website is:
    www.justgiving.com/maryblyth

    Henry Blyth

  • Park Street closing for maintenance

    OXFORDSHIRE Highways will be carry out maintenance of the surface water drainage system in Park Street. In order to gain access to the system, drivers are requested not to park in Park Street between 8.30am and 3.00pm on Wednesday, May 7.
    Any vehicle parked on or near the surface water gullies will seriously hamper operations, and will therefore restrict the efficiency of the system, if not cleansed. Thank you in anticipation of your co-operation.

  • Latest Haddenham news and events

    21st-27th April Bike to School Week. Car drivers are warned to look out for more cyclists than usual on Haddenham roads next week. Haddenham Cycle Training is promoting next week?s Haddenham Bike to School Week, to encourage children and parents to cycle to school at least once during the week. They are hoping to organise cycling activities at all 3 village schools including an organised ‘cycle snake’ to Haddenham Junior School next Thursday from various meeting points in the village, followed by a free Bikers’ Breakfast and raffle, sponsored by Haddenham Cycle Training, for all the children who cycle or scooter to the school on that day ? even if they do not take part in the cycle snake.

    Sat 26th Come and Sing. Ring Sheilagh Armitt (291720) to book a place (

  • New trains spotted passing through Haddenham & Thame Parkway

    YOU may have seen new trains, in a two-tone silver-grey livery, running through Haddenham station recently. They belong to a new train company ? The Wrexham and Shropshire ? which is carrying out practice/training runs in preparation for a new service between Marylebone and Wrexham which is due to begin on Monday, April 28.
    The trains will not be stopping at Haddenham and Thame Parkway but passengers will be able to access the service at Banbury (with five trains going north on weekdays starting at 8am, four trains on Saturdays, starting at 9.28am and three trains on Sundays starting at 10.25am) and travel to Birmingham International, Wolverhampton, Telford, Shrewsbury and Wrexham.

    The last train leaves Shrewsbury at 6.53pm on weekdays, 6.08pm on Saturdays and 5.56pm on Sundays. Journey time from Banbury is around two hours.

  • World championship medal for Great Haseley Master

    RICHARD HARDING, from Great Haseley, achieved 4th place in both the 100m and 200m backstroke events at the XII FINA World Masters Swimming Championships which have just finished in Perth, Western Australia.
    75 year-old Richard, an ex-motorcycle racer and an enthusiastic member of Thame Choral Society, was swimming in the hotly-contested 75-80yrs age group.

    Richard was one of 209 members in the British Team which has achieved many medals and records already in the event which finishes later in the week.

  • Thame grandmother to swim for Zambian vunerable children (Status: Press Release)

    MARY Blyth, a 77-year-old grandmother from Thame, has taken up the challenge set by Cecily?s Fund of covering 10,000 miles to raise money for children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia, Southern Africa.
    As part of its tenth anniversary celebrations, Cecily?s Fund aims to raise money and awareness through sponsored walks, bike rides, runs and swims covering a total of 10,000 miles, the approximate distance of a route from Oxford to Lusaka, Zambia?s capital city. The campaign was launched in December last year, with a troupe of Oxfordshire Scouts, Beavers and Cubs taking part in the debut walk on World AIDS day.

    Mary has responded to this challenge with enthusiasm and will contribute one amazing mile to the grand total by swimming 64 lengths of the Jubilee pool in Thame.

    Cecily?s Fund was founded in 1998 in memory of Oxfordshire teenager, Cecily Eastwood, who died in a road accident the previous year whilst volunteering with orphaned and vulnerable children in Zambia.

    Caroline Horne, Cecily’s Fund Manager, says ?It is wonderful that Mary has responded to our 10,000 mile challenge with such enthusiasm. The money which is raised through her swim will make a vital difference to so many children in Zambia. It costs just

  • More ‘snippets’ from Thame annual town meeting

    FOLLOWING on from yesterday’s report about the annual town meeting on Tuesday (22/04), here is a summary of the rest of the meeting, including news from the NAG (Neighbourhood Action Group) plus the need to invigorate the Thame and District Twinning Association:
    ? The NAG aims to ‘engineer out’ problems of anti-social behaviour i.e. Elms Park (which is one of itspriorities) – the police want to close off access atthe rear of the park and have only one entrance so that they can ‘trap’ those misbehaving, who
    sometimes escape from the police when they arrive.
    ? Reasons identified by NAG for the above problems in Elms park, boredom, access to alcohol, absence of a fear of consequences, lack of patrolling (though, PCSOs are engaging with the youth there said Peter Butt, Facilitator of the local NAG), lack of
    surveillance – discussing the possibility of sharing a mobile CCTV unit with other towns.
    Wants clear signage of the rules in the park, and proposed council employs a park warden.
    ? The three main priorities for the NAG are, lack of youth provision (ED interesting, considering the lack of progress with a youth shelter or motorcycle track (the latter, said the Town Clerk, because the land currently being used unofficially by the
    youngsters, is privately owned and because it is on an old rubbish tip, would need money to make suitable), under-age drinking and vandalism.

    ? Thame Twinning Association – want to get more young people involved; Nigel Champken-Woods emphasised that people should not be afraid to get involved just because they are unable to host visitor from Montesson themselves; he said that although the organisation is currently almost skint, the group will find money somehow but the main priority is to “inject more life” into it.
    “Unless we get more support,” he said, “we will struggle to carry on.”
    ? He invited anyone interested in finding out more to go to the AGM at the town hall on May 22, 7.30pm.

    Open Questions:

    ? County Cllr Nick Carter, promised to look into the possible installation of lights or even moving, the Zebra crossing outside ‘Sapphire Moon’, following a submission from the floor that it is dangerous.

    ? District Cllr Ann Midwinter said that SODC had discussed the ending of the post of Health Walk Co-ordinator, which ended in March. Mary Stiles, who raised the question, praised the work of the organisation but feared that further walks were
    unlikely to be organised.

    MORE ON MONDAY

  • Town hall fills for annual town meeting

    AROUND 100 people squeezed into Thame town hall on Tuesday for the annual town meeting, to hear from the leaders of different sectors of the community and hoping to ‘chew the fat’ over local issues.
    The Mayor, Cllr David Bretherton presided over the meeting, most of which was taken up with listening to presentations from, in turn, Andrew Duffy, Chairman of Thame Show, Alun Rowe, Chairman of Thame First (formerly the Chamber of Commerce), Peter Butt, Facilitator of the local Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) and Nigel Champken-Woods, Chairman of the Thame and District Twinning Association. Although the speakers did take some questions after their presentations, less time was set aside at the end for questions from electors to town, district and county councillors, which meant that the meeting ended just as the voters were becoming really engaged in asking the questions they had come to seek answers to.
    However, some ‘snippets’ of interest gleaned from the meeting, in no particular order, include the following:

    ? The Mayor’s Civic Ball last Saturday raised

  • Chinnor Are Champions ! (Contributed)

    SATURDAY, April 19 – DIVISION 3 – FINAL – Home match
    Chinnor 25 pts v Oxford Harlequins 13 pts. MATCH REPORT

    JUST twelve months ago, Chinnor came limping out of National League Division 3, South. They arrived back in South West 1 licking their wounds. Although there was talk of going straight back up, the more conservative rationalization was that the Club should avoid at all costs going into free-fall. There is an abundance of examples of cubs doing just this.

    Chinnor did not want to become just another on the conveyor belt, destined for the lower echelons. However, with the retention of many of the squad who had experienced National League last year and the addition of star returnees, Zane Winslade and James Cathcart, the acquisition of Owen Gustafason, Andrew Maguire and Trevor Powell, the emergence of many promising young players like Pip Seymour, Bob Baker, Sam Black and Ben Hewitt, combined with the inspirational Matt Hutchings as Captain, they were well equipped to be in a position to challenge.

    So, after a positive start to the season, winning four of their first five games on the road, they started believing. Some 16 games later they found themselves playing at home in the last game of the season, against arch rivals Oxford Harlequins, who had beaten them twice in the season, the latter just two weeks ago in the County Cup Final, wanting a win to give them automatic promotion back to National 3. A script writer’s dream, particularly if the end result was a win.

    The biggest crowd of the season turned up at Kingsey Road for the game. With the wind blowing strongly in a South Easterly direction, Harlequins won the toss and invited Chinnor to play with the elements in their favour. From the kick-off it was evident that Chinnor had done their homework and decided to mix things up, particularly with their defensive alignment and this, along with the intensity of their play, saw them dominate the early exchanges. The referee made his intentions quite clear when, in the seventh minute, he sin-binned both Zane Winslade and Paul Delange for an off the ball incident. Although Winslade was yellow carded, in his two seasons at Chinnor no one had ever seen him throw a punch before, this in itself was an illustration that Chinnor were not going to be intimidated. Some six minutes later James Cathcart put Chinnor ahead with a well stuck penalty goal. With Harlequins spilling the ball from an attempted threequarter move, the alert Trevor Powell gathered a friendly bounce to run some 20 metres and score at the posts. With Cathcart converting this and, by virtue of Harlequins constantly infringing, kicking four more penalties from varying distances the last from 50 metres out, Chinnor held a 22 point advantage at half-time.

    They were not home and dry by a long way as they had to defend into the wind in the second half.
    It was felt that the first twenty minutes of the half were important becausee, if Chinnor would not concede any points during this period, then their task would be that much easier. Although Harlequins were well on the offensive during this period, the Chinnor defence held firm. With Frank Jones kicking two penalties in the 60th and 65 minutes, Harlequins were creeping back into the game and when Kenny Sewell took a quick tap penalty in the 71st minute to put Paddy Soper in next to the posts with Jones converting, it became nail biting time for the home support. However, Cathcart calmed the nerves when in the 74th minute he kicked another penalty to leave Harlequins needing to score twice in the last five minutes. This they could not achieve which left Chinnor both worthy winners and champions at the final whistle.

    As Matt Hutchings has so rightly mentioned, the team spirit of the side has carried them through at vital times during the season. Yes, there have been some outstanding individual performances from a group of very talented players but it is what they have done collectively that has won the day. Add to this the coaching, the physio’s, the administration, the video work and subsequent analysis, all with just the one focus, then you have a recipe for success.

    A couple of observations. Firstly the argument that we should stand still and be satisfied with a mid table spot in South West Div 1, season after season is patently flawed. Maidenhead just missed the play-offs last season and are relegated. Reading mentioned that this Division is within their comfort zone; they are relegated. Secondly, we must always have ambition. Next year we must not be content with finishing just outside the bottom three we should be looking at a mid table spot and then consolidate.

    Finally, a little nostalgia. When Chinnor RFC was founded by Frank Angel, Cyril Perry and Marcus Cann some 46 years ago, would they ever, in their wildest dreams have thought that one day Chinnor would be playing London Scottish, Rosslyn Park and Richmond?Frank, after many pints and the odd whisky chaser maybe. Its a great achievement and I am sure that they would be justifiably proud. Well done you three.

    By Kenneth Vaughn