Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Thame Tennis Club – Match Results

    LAST weekend (Feb 25) saw Thame Ladies 1 take on Chesham 1879 in Division 3 of the Aylesbury League and, with strong play on both sides and despite a very close tally of 38 games won by Thame to Chesham?s 40 games, Thame lost the tie by 3 sets to 5.
    Team: F Pidgeon, S Thompson, D Munro (c), and R Knight.

    In the same League, the mixed team in Division 4 took a 5 sets to 3 win at home to Cheddington. In a very competitive match which was completed in heavy rain, first pair, Ann Green and John Patrick, won 3 of their 4 sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3, 2-6. Second pair, John Ansell (c) and Terry Merry, took half a point against Cheddington?s first pair with a score of 4-6, 6-6, but brought their total up to 2 points with a win against the visitor?s second pair 6-2, 6-6.

    However, the team?s fortunes were reversed last weekend with an away loss of 2 sets to 6 against a strong Quainton team. Lynn and Adrian Broadway won their first match 6-4,6-2, but were unable to overcome the Quainton first pair in the next match, whilst Pip Barfield and Colin McGregor went down to the hosts 1-6, 1-6 and 2-6,0-6.

    Meanwhile, in the Thames Valley Winter League, the Ladies team were away to North Oxford 4th. In another rain interrupted match, team captain Ann Gornall, partnered by Jenny McLeod beat Oxford?s second pair 6-4, 6-4, and then won a tie break against their first pair 7-6. However, they were unable to achieve a clean sweep, losing the final set 2-6.
    Beryl Plater and Louise Wilkins lost to the host?s first pair 2-6, 2-6 but came back from losing a tiebreak in their second match to take a set 6-2. This achieved a draw for Thame of 4 sets all which secures a safe position in their division.

  • First Win Of The Year For Thame United

    LEAGUE MATCH 23/02/07 – Thame United 5, Harrow Hill 2
    THAME United recorded their first win of the year last Saturday when they recorded a double over Gloucestershire-based Harrow Hill. The game was crucial for both teams as they are both fighting relegation. Whilst Thame are by no means out of the danger zone, a defeat would have meant almost certain relegation.
    The match was preceded by a one minutes silence in honour of Thame United supporter and Trustee, Steve Summersbee who sadly passed away last week.

    This vital game was played in heavy showers on a waterlogged pitch which at times had the consistency of glue. The first 20 minutes saw chances at both ends but Thame were gaining the upper hand when after 21 minutes Adam Rhodes hit a good cross from the right which beat Andy Read, the Harrow goalkeeper, and was then turned into his own net by veteran defender Paul Frowen. On 30 minutes, following a period of Thame pressure, Harrow were awarded a free kick in front of the Thame goal. Whilst the initial kick was blocked the follow up shot was heading for the left hand corner of the Thame goal before Thame goalkeeper Lee Farrow got a hand to it, but only succeeded in pushing the ball into the path of oncoming striker Eddie Weyman who finished well from 5 yards. The teams went in 1-1 at half time after a sometimes scrappy first half.

    Eight minutes into the second half came a moment of controversy. Nathan Jack hit an astounding
    ‘supersonic’ shot from 25 yards which hit goalkeeper Read near the left post of the Harrow goal, hit the hoarding surrounding the pitch and bounced back onto it. What was in doubt was whether the ball had passed into the net before hitting the hoarding or had hit it to the side of the goal. With Thame players celebrating, the uncertain referee consulted his linesman, and a goal kick was awarded. It seemed that it was not to be Thame?s afternoon.

    Things got worse for Thame when with 60 minutes played goalkeeper Farrow was carried from the pitch with an injured ankle and defender Dave Hocking donned Farrow?s yellow jersey. Thame regained the lead however when 8 minutes later Ant Dawson netted from close range, following a corner. On 72 minutes Weyman equalized again for the visitors following a good run on the right when he struck a 10 yard shot which gave stand-in goalkeeper Hocking no chance. With 15 minutes remaining a long pass from Jack found substitute Ben Connelly who laid on an inch perfect pass from the right for midfielder Greg Boult to score from 10 yards. The outcome was still uncertain, and Hocking was tested, but, with 9 minutes remaining the talented Jack hit one of his superb trademark, left footed, 30-yard thunderbolts and Thame were 4-2 ahead. In the 86th minute another perfect pass from Connelly found Dawson who finished confidently from 12 yards. At times it was touch and go but eventually it was Thame who deservedly took the points.

    Thame United: Farrow (Kitson), Smith, Hocking, Higgs (Ansell), Eason, Boult, Saulsbury, Rhodes, (Connelly), Jack, Dawson, Moore.

    Thame United visit Hereford based Pegasus Juniors next Saturday (3rd March). This will be another vital match as currently there are only 3 points separating the teams albeit Pegasus has played fewer games. Thame?s next home game is on 10th March when Bicester Town are the visitors.

  • Thame Councillors Regret Loss Of Registration Service

    THAME Town Councillors are angry over the removal of the weekly Registration Service from the town hall.
    Cllr David Dodds called the move “a cost cutting excercise” and said that he felt particularly sorry for the bereaved who now would have to go elsewhere to register the death of their loved ones.
    “This is nothing short of an appaling diminution of the service,” he said.
    Cllr Owen Davies said that the move, which will see the service transferred to a computerised service, was discriminatory and asked: “Why should there be one rule for Henley (which keeps its Satellite Registration Service) and another for Thame?”
    Thame’s County Cllr, Nick Carter, said that he had lobbied hard against the move, but regrettably, had lost.
    He explained that a national computerised system was to begin within the next month and that Oxfordshire had no option but to implement the new system which, he said, would be cheaper.
    “The decision is painful and contentious,” he said, “but that’s the way it is.”

    Cllr Carter was the only one to abstain from the vote, which saw all other councillors support Cllr Dodds’s Motion “That this council regrets the withdrawal of the Registration Service from Thame.”

  • Bring Back Thame’s Saturday Morning Waste Skip !

    A THAME Councillor has asked for the return of the local authority waste skip that used to visit the Cattlemarket car park, Thame, every Saturday.
    Cllr Owen Davies was questioning District Councillor, David Dodds, at a meeting of the full town council on Tuesday (20/02). Cllr Dodds was giving his regular report on SODC matters, as a member of the district council’s committee responsible for waste disposal.

    Cllr Davies was concerned about the increased number of vehicles ‘trundling around’ Thame’s streets collecting waste from individual properties.
    Cllr Dodds replied that figures have shown that more green waste has been recycled since the new scheme came into operation. But Cllr Davies said he still thought there was a need for the large, weekly skip.

    When concern was raised about some confusion among residents about what could and what could not be recycled, it was reported that stickers were available from the town hall, showing pictorially what could be put in the green boxes.

  • Thame Deli Supports Children’s Charity

    UMBERTO DELLA VALLE, who owns and runs the prize-winning delicatessen in Greyhound Walk, Thame, has added his support to a charity that aims to help children in Ghana.
    Umberto, who has two young daughters himself, has been a big sponsor of TACCO since it’s inception. The specialist Italian food shop in Thame, organised fundraising for TACCO recently and with generous donations from his customers, presented a cheque of

  • Thame Toy Shop Petition

    THE Mayor of Thame, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods, is to write to a young Long Crendon boy who organised a petition among staff and pupils at his school to ask for help in saving Thame’s toy shop.
    The boy, a pupil at Ashfold School, said in an accompanying letter to Thame Town Council that his fellow pupils would have to travel much further to find a toy shop once the Pied Pedaller closes next December, and that this would be very bad for the environment.
    The mayor told fellow councillors at their meeting on Tuesday, (20/02)that he would reply to the boy telling him that he was glad to have heard about the shop’s ‘stay of execution’ and that he hoped the shop owners would be able to find some alternative accommodation in Thame in the meantime.

    Background

    Over six years ago, the owners of Pied Pedaller sold the building in North Street to Oxfordshire County Council who then leased it back to the toy company.
    That lease was due to end in June this year but the company asked the county council if it could vacate the building by February 24, for financial reasons. (Toy shops generally depend on the money they make on the run up to Christmas to carry them through the rest of the year, an advantage Pied Pedaller would not have had by closing in February.)
    Then came the news that an agreement had been reached for the shop to remain open until the end of the year until demolition work would begin, so that the property did not sit empty for several months.

    Caroline Taylor, who is in charge of library services for the county council, has apparently told the town council that the new library is expected to be opened around June, 2009.

    A planning application to replace the Pied Pedaller with a new library for Thame, currently being discussed by Oxfordshire County Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, will be for demolition of the existing building and its replacement with a new, purpose build library.
    The estimated cost will be

  • Evacuation After Gas Leak Fear

    MEMBERS of Thame Choral Society and Thame Youth Club, were evacuated from their premises at Lord Williams’s school, Thame, last night, after a strong smell of gas was reported to the emergency services.
    As a safety precaution, everyone was sent home, but no British Gas or other emergency vehicles were seen to arrive on site.
    No further information as to whether the incident was a hoax or a genuine emergency is known at this time.

    Earlier in the evening the school had been full of visitors for an Upper school parents’ evening but most of them had gone home by the time of the incident.

  • Pre-Inquest Meeting On Thame Drowning

    A PRE-INQUEST hearing into a drowning at the Thame Leisure Centre has been arranged – three and a half years after the incident.
    See full report from the Bucks Free Press.
    cut and paste this link:
    http://www.thisisbucks.co.uk/display.var.1205010.0.nathan_drowning_preinquest_due.php

  • Tackling ‘The Thame Shuffle’ And Other Parking Problems

    THAME Town Council had a demonstration last night of the problems facing town centre businesses battling for parking spaces with visitors and town centre residents.
    Speaking in support of an appeal by a Transport Working Group of the 21st Century Thame Partnership, Mr Pramindar Mankoo, who runs a hair clinic in Upper High Street, was ‘interrupted’ by the alarm on his mobile phone. The ploy graphically demonstrated he said, what fellow business people have to deal with several times during their working day. To avoid getting a parking ticket and having to pay a fine, they have to move their cars between the three hour parking in the Market place, and the two hour parking opposite, currently policed by a traffic warden – an activity labelled ‘The Thame Shuffle’ by Working Group member, Mr Gary Ambrosini.
    A dedicated business parking area, for which perhaps annual permits could be purchased for a modest price, could be part of the solution, suggested Mr Ambrosini.
    The group were presenting the results of a survey and subsequent report called Parking For All, which included highlighting the current difficulties facing residents and workers in the town, and what they saw as a likely exacerbation of problems once so-called Decriminilisation of parking comes in around April 2008.
    At that time, traffic warden Peggy Long MBE, who also spoke to the council, will be out of a job, and the control of parking will be managed by the county council, probably using private wardens – which, if the experience of other towns who are already under the new regime is anything to go by, will not be as flexible towards residents or businesses.

    To help town centre residents, it was suggested an extension of the current residents permit scheme for those people living in the town centre, could cover other residential streets near by with parking restrictions, including North Street, Nelson Street and Park Street.

    Town councillors in general, with one or two notable exceptions, were appreciative of the work put in by the group and accepted that there were problems and possible solutions.
    It was resolved that residents parking would be tackled by the Planning committee working with both OCC and SODC, as well as the Transport Working Group, and that the problems of Commuter parking would be lead by Thame First, formerly the Thame Chamber of Commerce.

    Photo: Courtesy of BBC

  • Have YOUR Say About Policing In Chinnor

    THE residents of Chinnor are being encouraged to go along and have their say at a public meeting next Tuesday, February 27, at the Village Hall, starting at 7.30pm.
    People are encouraged to go along and tell the police and other local agencies what issues they feel need tackling in their community to make them feel safer.

    Sgt Martin Jubb, who is responsible for implementing Neighbourhood Policing in South Oxfordshire, said: “Unfortunately this meeting has been cancelled twice due to extraordinary weather conditions but we are hopeful that the wind and snow will stay away this time!
    “It is important to come to your local meeting if you possibly can, so you can have a say in what the priorities should be for police and partner agencies in your community.
    “We are also conducting surveys in the area for people who can?t make the meetings.”

    Neighbourhood Policing, a new approach to community safety, is being gradually rolled out across the Thames Valley. The initiative aims to encourage better communication between police, other agencies responsible for community safety and the communities they work with. Officers and other public agencies will respond to the issues which directly affect residents, with the aim of reducing and detecting crime, increasing reassurance and reducing the fear of crime.

    Sgt Mike Todd, in charge of the Chinnor neighbourhood, added: “This is a genuine two-way dialogue with residents where they can choose the issues they want us and other agencies to address.
    “Residents will be involved in the whole process from deciding the priorities, the problem solving process, to taking action. This will help us make good links with the community and improve our community intelligence networks.
    “I hope the meetings are very well attended and people take this opportunity to have their say about what issues they want to see tackled locally.”