Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Road Closure Cedar Crescent

    A REQUEST has been submitted by Thames Water for a temporary road closure of a section of Cedar Crescent, Thame, whilst essential sewer improvement works are carried out.
    A drawing, showing the extent of the temporary road works, is available to view at the Thame Information Centre in the Town Hall.
    For further information, contact Cyril Okonkwo on 01189 236815.

  • Neighbourhood Watch – Ringmaster Message

    THIS is a message about two burglaries in Montrose Way, Thame.
    Between 11pm on September 21, and 6am on Friday, September 22, an offender gained entry to a property in Montrose Way, and stole a Satellite navigation device and a mobile phone. The offender also removed the bulb from the outside light, and discarded it on the the lawn.

    In the early hours of Friday, September 22, another property in Montrose Way, was burgled. Entry was gained through the UPVC front door which had been left open.
    Property stolen included a handbag and its contents, and photographic equipment.

    Anyone with information that may help the police with enquiries, is asked to call 08458 505505.

    To find ourt more about Neighbourhoold Watch in YOUR area, see: LINK

  • Hard And Fast Game For Chinnor Seconds (Contributed)

    Chinnor RFC Seconds – Match Report – Home Leage Game against Barking Seconds – Saturday, September 23
    Score: Chinnor 2nd, 21 Pts vs. Barking 2nd 31 Pts
    Scorers
    Tries: Tom Whelan x 2, Aaron Russell.
    Conversions: Adam White x 3

    THIS game was played by two good sides and in the spirit that all rugby games should be played – fairly but with no quarter given; the hits came in hard and it was played at a fast pace.

    Barking?s 2nd team were a lot stronger than our Chinnor boys have been used to, with their 1st Team playing in National 2.
    Chinnor were forced to defend well for the first 10 minutes, they then settled down and took the game to Barking but were very unlucky to concede a try against the run of play in the 25th minute. That didn?t stop Chinnor from putting pressure on them, and after some great forward play the ball went along the backs for Aaron Russell to score and then converted by Adam White.

    With good rugby being played by both sides, the first half finished seven points each.

    The second half started as the first half finished, with Chinnor taking the game to Barking and with some well worked forward play, Captain Tom Whelan drove over the line to score, again converted by White. The score was then 14pts to 7.
    Chinnor’s lead was short lived as a missed tackle in the centre allowed Barking a soft try and the scores were level.
    A few minutes later Chinnor made an error of judgement in their own 22, and the ball was turned over with no defence and another try was conceded.

    With fifteen minutes to go, Matt Webster was penalised for holding and killing the ball in open play when he was not allowed to get back on his feet. He was not only penalised with a penalty in front of the posts but was also sin-binned for ten minutes and Chinnor were down to 14 men.

    Barking capitalised on the man short by scoring another try giving them a lead of 31 points to 14. Chinnor never stopped attacking and Captain Marvel got his second try converted by White to close the gap to 21 points to 31.

    Joe Winpenney had his first game since having an operation and made a big impact in the second team, so the props in the first team beware!

    All fifteen players had good games with Pete Naylor and Rob Arthur coming up from the thirds to help out, a big thank you.

    Chinnor seconds are really stepping up to this new league with no easy games. All players are trying to get in their respective 1st teams, which are national Three and above.
    Man of the Match was Rob Fenwick.

    Walter McGuicken

  • October Gardening News Letter

    WHAT a beautiful month September has been. I returned from holiday on the 6th and the sun seems to have been shining ever since. The odd drop of rain has helped the gardens and it is lovely to see them looking healthier and greener.
    The down side is the weeds are still growing. October is one of the busiest times in the garden and I have given some tips, below, on what you should be doing. I always think of this month being the beginning of the gardening year.
    I have had a busy time this month. I attended a wonderful seminar at my nursery. As most of you know, they grow almost specifically for designers and it was a delight to walk around the nursery looking at all the new stock. I shall certainly be including some new specimens in my Planting Plans. We were discussing the impact of continuing drought conditions and seeking solutions to this ongoing problem.
    I also attended the results of the New Homes Garden Awards at the Royal Garden Hotel in London last Friday. It was a fascinating day, meeting up with old colleagues and making new contacts amongst the developers. It was a very grand occasion with a champagne reception, reasonable (should have been better!) food and entertainment. We could have done without the latter, which bordered on crass, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. My very dear friend and fellow designer won her category and took the most coveted award of Best Garden of the Year. I?d like to enter next year, but the criteria might be against me. It has to be a
    garden in a new build property and I rarely get to do these.
    If any of you know of anyone moving into a brand new property who would like their garden designed, please do let me know.
    SEASONAL RECIPE:
    Roast Tomato Soup
    2 kilos of ripe tomatoes 2 Cloves Garlic
    Sugar Olive Oil
    Seasoning Stock
    Lemon juice

    Slice the tomatoes in half and place on a roasting tray in a single layer, cut side up. Crush the garlic and scatter over the tomatoes.
    Season well and sprinkle over some sugar, then drizzle over the olive oil.
    Roast for about 30 ?45 mins (180/Gas mark 4).
    Remove from the oven. When they are cooled sieve over a bowl to extract all the juices.
    De-glaze the pan with a bit of the stock or water, to get all
    the juices up.
    Add this to the sieved tomatoes and thin with more stock until you get the consistency you like.
    Add a squeeze of lemon and more sugar until you find the taste you like.

    You can stop at the first stage of this recipe and use the puree
    of tomatoes in stews and casseroles.

    SEASONAL TIPS
    Continue to cut down the stems of perennials. After they have been in the ground for a few years some perennials really benefit from being split. This is the ideal time to do it. Cut them down leaving a few inches of stem and then dig up the clump. Tease the roots apart and either re-plant or pot up. You can be quite brutal using two spades back to back or even a knife if you come across thick roots. If you have autumn flowering perennials, such
    as Asters, leave these until the spring to divide.
    Remember to go and buy those sticks! When you have cut the perennials down, place a stick next to the plant so that you can identify what are perennials and what are weeds next Spring.
    You can still take cuttings from shrubs and September and October are the best months for moving them if need be. If you don?t have time now, leave it until April next year.
    Sew sweet pea seeds in long pots. If you plant them at this time rather than the spring, you will get the earliest flowers next year.
    This goes for other hardy annuals, such as Cornflowers, Nigella and Larkspur.
    Prune back young growth on Pyracanthas to expose the ripening berries.
    Plant spring flowering bulbs, such as Tulips and Lilies.
    This is the best month for repairing and planting new lawns.
    For established lawns the best treatment is to aerate the whole area. There are gadgets available for doing this, but a good old- fashioned method is to use a fork dug into the lawn and wiggled around. This is very time consuming, but worth it. Then scarify and remove the debris to the compost heap. Top dress with a compatible seed mix together with soil or compost.
    Prune roses if you did not do it last month.

    VEGETABLE & FRUIT GARDEN
    The tomatoes are still going strong. Trim the leaves to expose any fruits that might still be ripening. Use cloches to cover any lettuces, spinach and parsley sown in
    late July. Plant spring cabbages and cauliflowers. Sow radishes and turnips to produce ?tops? for harvesting in spring and winter spinach for early winter and spring harvesting.
    Spray fruits such as peaches, plums and nectarines to protect against leaf curl.
    Remove fruit canes from soft fruit, such as raspberries. Cut them down to ground level and tie in the new canes.
    Dismantle climbing frames and store away. Plant garlic for next year?s crop in June/July.
    Continue to store apples. Pick up any fallen fruit to avoid disease.
    Plant up bulbs in containers for next spring, either for displays in the house or garden.
    I have just purchased another black compost bin from the council for the princely sum of

  • End Of Winning Streak For Thame United?

    Bicester Town 4, Thame United, 0
    League Match – 23/09/06
    THIS uninspiring game saw Thame?s worse performance this season. As a result of injuries, holidays, and players going to university, Richard Searl was forced to field two untried players and to name both club chairman, Jake Collinge and himself as substitutes. The gambol could have paid off but Bicester are an experienced side and although Thame?s young side had them beat for pace, Bicester?s seasoned defence prevented them from using it. It was largely due to an excellent performance from goalkeeper, Paul Searl that Bicester did not score more.

    There was little to choose between the sides during the first half hour. Thame?s best chance came after a good move, which saw Graham Jackson put newcomer Jordon Weaver through, but his 20-yard shot was just wide. Bicester went ahead on 30 minutes. Adam Ham hit a shot from the right that Searl blocked, but Hamp was allowed the time to collect the rebound and blast the ball past Searl from a tight angle. Ten minutes later Bicester?s Jody McKay met a corner unchallenged and headed home at the near post.

    Bicester got their third goal 18 minutes into the second half when a cross-field pass found McKay, who finished comfortably from 10-yards. Two minutes later Dave Hocking misjudged a back pass to Searl which Hamp intercepted to make it four. Chairman Jake Collinge was called upon in the 90th minute after Jackson was injured, and his only touch of the match was a good one, but despite injury time pressure from Thame, Bicester finished with a clean sheet.

    Thame United: Searl, Jackson (Collinge), Johnson, Kitson, Hocking, Butler, Weaver, Connelly, Miller (Watkin), Jack, Gibson.

  • Mayor’s Cattlemarket Move Fears

    THAME’S Mayor has expressed his concerns over a proposal to move the town’s cattle market up to the Thame show ground.
    At a meeting of the Town council’s Planning committee last Tuesday, September 19, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods spoke of his worries that increased traffic generated by the proposed move, would turn the A4129, Kingsey Road, “into the Berlin wall.”
    “The plan shows no consideration for the residents of Lea Park,” he said, “who sometimes have to wait for up to four minutes at peak time in the mornings now, to get out onto the by-pass with their vehicles.
    Mr Williams told the council that a full traffic assessment had been carried out.

    The town council decided that: “This is an important application and the documentation is considerable. To allow more time to absorb the papers, and being aware that the District Council would not be making an immediate decision, it was agreed that a recommendation on this application be deferred, pending a special Planning meeting to be held in October.” (Oct 10, at 6.30pm.)

  • Thame Restaurant Extension Not Acceptable

    THAME Town Council has recommended refusal of a planning application for an extention to a Thame restaurant.
    The plan, for a single-storey restaurant extension and alterations to The Old Trout, High Street, Thame, has upset neighbour, Mr Cecil Wiggs. He told the town council’s Planning committee that the proposed new kitchen would be very near his main bedroom, and that he feared the kitchen was bound to produce disagreeable smells.

    The committee’s recommendation for refusal was on the following grounds:
    1. Over-development
    2. Noise and smell pollution
    3. Loss of parking space
    4. Major change to a listed building

  • County Truancy Figures Down Again

    FOLLOWING recent reports that national truancy figures have risen, the number of pupils truanting in Oxfordshire has fallen for the third year running. .

    According to provisional pupils absence data published today by the Department for Education and Skills, in Oxfordshire the unauthorised absence rate in both primary and secondary schools has fallen from 0.64 per cent in May 05, to 0.58 per cent in May, 06.

    The unauthorised absence figure for all schools in England rose from 0.78 per cent in 04/05 to 0.79 per cent in 05/06. This figure relates to the percentage of half-days missed by pupils in both the primary and secondary sector.

    Barry Armstrong, the County Council?s Officer for Attendance and Pupil Welfare, said: “We are heartened by the continued reduction in the levels of truancy from our schools.
    “Our figures are better than the national average and we have one of the lowest levels of truancy in the South East region but we cannot afford to be complacent.
    “While truancy rates continue to fall levels of absence because of illness, holidays and other forms of unauthorised absence continue to be a concern. We have much work to do to impress on parents the importance of ensuring that their children attend every session possible. The links between a child?s level of attendance and their attainment in school are very clear, high absence correlates with poor achievement.
    “The improvements reported in Oxfordshire are an indication of the continued efforts being made by our schools and all agencies working together.”

    Analysis of pupil absence data for Oxfordshire:

    The secondary picture shows the unauthorised absence rate fell from 1.01 per cent in 04/05 to 0.88 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at secondary level fell from 1.23 per cent in 04/05 to 1.22 per cent in 05/06.

    The primary picture shows that levels of unauthorised absence fell from 0.30 per cent in 04/05 to 0.28 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at primary level rose from 0.43 per cent in 04/05 to 0.46 per cent in 05/06

  • Thame Show Domestic Section Winners

    THE winners in the various Domestic Classes of the Thame Show, including cookery, preserves and wine etc., have been announced today.
    COOKERY
    CLASS NAME
    67 Mrs. J. Greenway
    68 Mrs. E Rixon
    69 Mrs. R. Hooper
    70 Mrs. J. Greenway
    71 Mrs. C. Baker
    72 Mrs. R. Hooper
    73 Mrs. D. Messer
    74 Mrs. E. Rixon
    75 Mrs. J. Wiles
    76 Mrs. B. Reilly

    PRESERVES
    77 J.R.Gillard
    78 Mrs. J. Dell
    79 Mrs. J. Boughton
    80 Mrs. E. Rixon
    81 Mrs. E. Rixon
    82 Mrs. F. Quinn
    83 Mrs. S. Hazell
    84 Mrs. E. Rixon

    Men’s Cookery
    85 R. Hooper
    86 Allan Gillard
    87 B. Hoar
    88 R. Hooper

    Wine
    89 C. Hazell
    90 C. Hazell
    91 Mrs. F. Quinn
    92 Andrew Gillard
    93 Mrs. S. Chillingworth
    94 No Award
    95 No Award
    96 R.B. Davis

    Handicraft
    97 Mrs. J. Carey
    98 Mrs. J. Carey
    99 Mrs. J. Carey
    100 Mrs. A. Wilkins
    101 M. Conboy
    102 Mrs. J. Shirley
    103 Mrs. J. Carey
    104 Mrs. A. Wilkins
    105 No Award
    106 Mrs. L. Hathaway
    107 Mrs. M. Ayres
    108 Mrs. J. Lydon
    109 Mrs. M. Ayres
    110 Mrs. H. Conboy

    Floral Arrangements
    111 Mrs. C. Ward
    112 Mrs. B. Baxter
    113 Mrs. K. Jennison
    114 No Award
    115 Mrs. C. Ward
    116 Mrs. C. Ward

    Honey
    117 R. Conibear
    118 H. Jessup
    119 H. Jessup
    120 H. Jessup
    121 S. O’Sullivan
    122 H. Jessup

    Art
    123 C. Messer

    COOKERY NAME
    124 Holly Miles
    125 Kathrine Godfery
    126 Sally Lucas
    127 Hannah Waters

    Art & Craft
    128A Ellen Downey
    128B Thomas Barlow
    128C No Award
    129A Samuel Pickup
    129B Alana Hutt
    129C Alix Green
    131 Jonathan Pickup

    Floral Arrangements
    132A No Award
    132B Ella Green
    132C Sally Lucas

  • Internet Freedom For Man Who Speaks With His Eyes

    A severely disabled Thame man will soon be able to use the internet and email, thanks to the generosity of local people and the organisers of the Thame Festival.
    Bob Davies, the Chairman of the Thame Festival Committee, presented a cheque for