ON Monday, 5th March, between 09:30hrs and 12:45hrs, a property in Queens Road, Thame, was burgled. Entry was gained by forcing a rear window and property was stolen.
If you have any information relating to this message, please call the police on 08458 505 505 and quote URN 536 of 05/03/07.
BARCLAYS Bank retired member of staff, Rosalie Gibson from Thame, recently took part in a fund raising event at the Lace day held at St Mary’s church, Thame, in aid of conservation to the North clerestory
windows.
The total amount raised on the day was
Despite the appalling weather, Chinnor Under 10 A?s took the fight to Witney last weekend, with some superb opening runs by Matthew Smith, James Millett and Iestyn James. Good driving from Ben Chapman and solid ball skills from Sam Edwards and Charlie Proctor gave Matthew the chance to ground the first try.
Working as a team, Thomas Strathdee and Harry Lowe scored the second and third tries and Liam Evans the fourth. The second half got underway with scorching run from Charlie K and a fifth try from James. Another run from Charlie K led to Harry scoring the sixth and final try, with the final result a convincing 30 ? 0.
Chinnor Under 10 B1?s back and forward play was equally inspiring against Witney, with strong driving from forwards Ollie Bevan, Henry Leggett and Matthew Karslake, and Thomas Bellars striking deep into enemy territory with an impressive run, giving Henry the chance to score the first try of the match. Adam Pipkin ran the ball down the field, taking four Witney players with him, before popping it out to Matthew K who bulldozed his way through the opposition to score the second. Jack ?Gazelle? Gibbons made a scorching run down the opposite wing, well supported by Matthew Donnelly, and scored the third. The second half started with a lovely try from George Kent, ably supported by Cameron Matthews and Sam Hook, and a fantastic run from Andrew Kay, spinning off tackles like a pinball in a machine. A well-deserved win and a final score of 20 ? 0.
It showed true grit, strength of spirit and a love of the game when Chinnor Under 10 B2s took on Witney in the driving rain for the last match of the morning. Thanks must go to Callum Wright, who valiantly joined the opposition due to short numbers. Theo Keeping, Tomas White, Chris Hopgood and Harvey Goddard put the pressure on in the scrum, and a blistering run from Finn Tapping gave Chris Wright the chance for the first try. Chinnor then developed an eerie fascination with watching the ball roll around loose on the ground, giving the opposition two tries in quick succession. Jake O?Neill and Ben Macintosh (in his first match with Chinnor) tackled well, and Joseph Lynch was strong in support. Harry Stansfield equalised with a great running try in the last minute of the match bringing the final score to a freezing, sodden 10 ? 10 draw.
Match Report – Chinnor 2nd, 24 Pts vs. Ealing 2nd, 17. March 03, Home league Game.
Tries: Jaike Carter x 1, Danny Burns x 1
Conversions: Adam White x 1
Penalties: Adam White x 1
CHINNOR Seconds took another top class scalp when Ealing Seconds underestimated a team from the sticks (their words), beating them 24pts to 17 and destroying their chances of winning the Canterbury Shield League on a day made for rugby. This was another great win after beating Havant one of the top teams 2 weeks ago 26 points to Nil.
Two very passionate teams played the game; in the spirit rugby should be played, hard and physical with no quarter given.
Chinnor came out fired up for the game and were in Ealing?s face from the start. They were very unlucky not go ahead in the first minutes as a result of some great defence by Ealing. Finally 15 minutes into the game they got their reward with a well worked try by Jaike Carter, after some fantastic play by the forwards & backs duly converted by Adam White. It took till the 25th minute for Chinnor to add to the points tally with a successful penalty by White.
Chinnor were unlucky to concede a try in injury time and the first half finished 10 points to 5 in their favour.
Chinnor kept the pressure up from the start of the second half and went further ahead in the 10th minute after some great work again by the forwards, with scrum half Danny Burns going over the line and converted by White resulting in Chinnor increasing their lead 17 pts to 5.
The next twenty minutes saw Ealing put Chinnor under a lot of pressure and although Chinnor had a number of opportunities, Ealing were the ones to add to the score board, first with a try and then with a converted try in quick succession. Thus resulting after 30min with the score being level at 17pts a piece. After this set back the Chinnor boys dug deep making the last 10 minutes nail-biting rugby. At no point in this period did the Chinnor boys on the field look worried and with 4 minutes left on the clock were rewarded with a well earned second try, once again by Carter and converted by White. Chinnor finished the game winning 24 points to 17. All 19 players had a fantastic game played with great heart and spirit, which made it impossible to choose a man of the match.
The consensus of the Chinnor crowd is that this was one of the best games seen at the club, with the other accolade coming from Ealing stating that the Chinnor 2nd team on the field was 95% players from their first team, however flattering was totally untrue, maybe they would like to see our team sheets for the season but thanks anyway.
A big thank you to the match day sponsors Bank of Scotland, we really appreciate their support and what all sponsorship does for Chinnor RFC
Walter McGuicken
Second Team Manager
“A significant proportion, about 57%, of the private sector jobs in the County are provided by small businesses. The small business sector is therefore a crucial element in the Oxfordshire economy. There has never been any significant study of how the small business economy works at the local level. The Oxfordshire Branch of the FSB has therefore engaged academics from both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University who are active in the Oxfordshire Economic Observatory, to undertake just such a study. They have undertaken an analysis of the small business economy in Oxfordshire with the aim of identify the main issues facing small businesses and to recommend strategies for resolving them.”
See full report. Link
Photo: Courtesy of ism Insurance Inc.
LEAGUE MATCH – Saturday, March 3; Pegasus Juniors 1, Thame United 2; Match Report By Bob Dixon
THAME United made the long journey to Hereford on Saturday and returned with a well deserved three points after recording a 2-1 win, a score line which belied Thame?s overall superiority.
Leading Scorer, Nathan Jack, netted both Thame?s goals in the ninth and 65th minutes and thus deserves the headlines, but the victory owes much to a committed and spirited performance from all 13 players used during the game.
In an evenly balanced opening half, Jack put the visitors in front after nine minutes crashing home a trademark, left-foot shot from just outside the box. The lead lasted for a mere ten minutes however, when, from a rare Pegasus attack, Daniel Sobocinski lobbed an equaliser.
Skipper, Greg Boult, almost regained the lead three minutes later but his crashing drive scraped the cross bar. Shortly after this, Thame?s left back Dave Hocking received a bad knee injury and was replaced by Joe da Silva.
The remainder of the first half proved uneventful but after the break, Thame came out fired up with the intention of dominating the half and, on 55 minutes, James Saulsbury came close to scoring his side?s second goal when after his initial attempt was blocked, his follow up shot from the edge of the penalty area brought a fine save low down from keeper Bryn Watkins.
From an isolated Pegasus raid Thame?s stand in keeper Ed Farmer (replacing broken leg victim Lee Farrow) was called into action on 64 minutes when he pushed a fierce shot from substitute Liam Jones round the post. From the resultant corner Thame regained possession and the ball was knocked on to Jack who burst through to score calmly from 12 yards – this time with his right foot.
Adam Rhodes almost increased the lead when his well struck free kick from 30 yards was pushed over by the keeper and then on 71 minutes, came one of the few controversial incidents of the game. Goalkeeper Watkins appeared to take Nathan Jack?s feet from under him but to the total amazement of the Thame camp, referee Davies awarded a free kick against the Thame striker.
Thame continued to dominate the rest of the game creating further scoring opportunities most notably Darren Moore?s 85th minute effort but in the end had to settle for 2-1.
It is now three league games without defeat for Thame and Mark West?s side now look forward with optimism to home games with Bicester on Saturday (10 March) and troubled Hounslow Borough the following Tuesday.
Thame United: Farmer, Smith, M Higgs, Eason, Hocking (Da Silva), Boult, Saulsbury, Rhodes, Jack, Dawson (Connelly), Moore.
RYCOTEWOOD COLLEGE may not be in Thame any longer, but its association of ex students and teachers held
a very successful AGM and annual dinner at the Spread Eagle recently.
The most significant aspect of the meeting, was the decision to extend membership of the association to any student completing a course at the Rycotewood Centre, Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, Oxford. It was felt that the courses available, are basically those that were offered at Thame and that therefore the ex students from Oxford are as much ex Rycotewood
students as those of us that attended the college at Thame.
Stewart Sloan, the Honorary Secretary of the Rycotewood Association said: “We look forward
to increasing our membership with new blood! We also welcomed ex student Chris Hyde, who is the head of the Rycotewood Centre, onto our committee for
2007/8 along with all the 2006/7 committee.”
Some 32 ex students and guests enjoyed an excellent dinner, during which a raffle raised
ON Thursday 1st March, between 16:00hrs & 20:45hrs, a property in Grenville Way, Thame, was the target of an attempted burglary.
It is thought that the offender/s used a dustbin to get over a garden fence and then tried to gain entry by using an unknown instrument to force open a ground floor window, but a security lock prevented entry.
If you have any information relating to this message, please call the police on 08458 505 505 and quote URN 1369 of 01/03/07.
ON TUESDAY, March 6, John Benjamin, the Antiques Roadshow jewellery specialist, will be at the Swan at Tetsworth, near Thame
John will take the audience through 18th century jewellery in the age of the faceted stone in an illustrated talk. Contact 01844 281777 or visit www.theswan.co.uk
GREEN BOXES AND THE STORM OF JANUARY 18.
Dozens of green re-cycling boxes seem to have gone into orbit, during the massive wind storm on January 18. Did you loose yours?
It was either the wind, or a thief who, according to SODC, has been stealing large numbers of boxes throughout the district. A special delivery of 40 boxes left us bereft of supplies within a week, such was the demand. The thieving of these boxes around the district has been so severe that Grundon has run out of stock on a number of occasions, but they are doing their best to maintain supplies.
Electoral Register
The latest published electoral register has now been out for nearly three months. As there are District Council elections in May, you may wish to check that you are registered. To find out, please ring the Electoral Services Department at SODC on 0800 389 5560 or email: elections@southoxon.gov.uk.
A Good record
A recent assessment of all counties throughout the country has revealed that residents of Oxfordshire send the lowest amount of waste to landfill. Many people are very conscious that further improvements can still be made, and this is important, as other counties try to catch us up. It?s an ongoing battle.
SODC Council Tax ? the big freeze
For the second successive year, SODC looks set to agree a further freeze in its council tax.
On 8th February, the Council?s Cabinet looked at budget proposals for the year 2007/8. These were presented to the full Council on 22nd February for ratification. And the budget was approved. The outcome is that there is a freeze on rates for the next financial year, as over