Category: Business News

THAME’S elderly residents are in for a festive treat this year, thanks to the town’s award-winning butcher M Newitt & Sons.

The family butcher, celebrating 50 years in business next year and supplier to top chefs including Raymond Blanc and Jamie Oliver, is donating tasty turkeys and delicious homemade Christmas puddings for a festive feast for 60 people, organised by Kathy Thomas of Community Christmas Thame.

Tom Newitt, who runs the business with his mum Susan and wife Angie, said: “Community Christmas Thame is doing a wonderful job of bringing some festive cheer into the lives of people who otherwise might miss out on the traditional Christmas lunch.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be playing a part in their celebration and hope everyone who comes along this year enjoys their dinner, especially the Christmas puddings which mum makes to her own special recipe every year!”

Organiser Kathy Thomas is delighted that Newitts have pledged to support the event.

“It’s wonderful that so many local companies, including Newitts, sponsor our Christmas lunch. It’s a nice way to polish off the year, and we know that everyone who has joined us previously has thoroughly enjoyed the event with many lasting friendships being made over dinner,” she said.

This will be the third Community Christmas Thame event organised by Kathy, helped by a growing army of volunteers and local companies including Newitts, The Birdcage pub in Thame, and Thame Welfare Trust.

“Word is spreading about our event, which is open to any of the elderly residents in our community who are faced with the prospect of spending Christmas Day on their own. And we’re also keen to hear from anyone who’d like to help out for a couple of hours, or with preparations, transportation and delivery of meals to those people who simply can’t join us but would like to share our Christmas meal,” said Kathy.

If you would like to join Community Christmas Thame as either a volunteer or a guest then please call 01844 217413 or contact Kathy via the website www.communitychristmasthame.org.uk or Facebook, Twitter or Google+ .

WHILE Thame town centre is fast becoming a shopping destination, due mostly to its unusually high number of interesting, independent shops and cafes, one of the town’s ‘best kept secrets’ is a bedroom furnishing retail outlet on the outskirts of the town, hidden behind a soft play centre.

As you drive along Wenman Road on the way out of Thame, you could be excused for not realising that on your right, beyond Whizzkidz on the corner of Jefferson Way, is Crendon Beds and Furniture whose showroom of stunning bedroom settings is as unexpected in an industrial building as are its prices. For CBF, as well as being the only, official suppliers of ex-showroom or exhibition models for the UK’s biggest name in mattresses, Hypnos, also sells other big name bedroom furnishings like Staples and Wiemann; most of it half price or better.

The company emphasises that the majority of its brands are UK based and its ‘green credentials’ don’t stop there. Crendon Beds and Furniture offers a furniture recycling service – even if you’re not buying from them. Mattress fillings are recycled into blankets to be used by Removals companies, and even the springs from old mattresses and seating are melted down to be reused.

These fantastic savings on beds, wardrobes, chests of draws, as well as on pillows and all the bedding you’ll need, aim to beat any High Street prices, and make a visit to Crendon Beds and Furniture for double beds, single beds, kids bedroom furniture -in fact anything you might be looking for to have your dream bedroom, well worth the short trip.

The extremely knowledgeable and experienced Managing Director, Sean Munro and his staff will show you around and help you plan your bedroom and with a lead time of 10 working days for delivery guaranteed on most products, you won’t have to wait long for the transformation.

To whet your appetite, visit Crendon Beds and Furniture’s fab new website at: http://www.crendonbedsandfurniture.co.uk/ or take a look at their exclusive ebay page: http://tiny.cc/tg33vx for the latest bargains. But as the stock is changing all the time, and let’s face it, it’s best to actually be able to see products ‘in the flesh’ as it were, for major buying decisions, a visit to the local show room at 8 Jefferson Way, Thame, OX9 3SZ, is to be highly recommended.

You won’t be disappointed.

THAME Town Council is inviting local business to consider sponsoring this year’s Christmas festive celebration, with a Santa Convention theme, on Friday, December 5, in the town centre.

Businesses will be able to put their name to one of the many attractions that will be helping to bring the Christmas spirit to Thame, including a family of real reindeer, a miniature steam engine and a lantern parade involving the local schools.

Involvement can be anything from having a company name on the council’s ‘Thank You’ banner, to having promotional signage around the tree throughout December. There is a suitably priced package available for most budgets and all revenues from the sponsorship will be used to maintain the high standards of the attractions that are welcomed to Thame this year and in future years.

For more information about how to get involved, contact the Town Hall on 01844 212833 or email info@thametowncouncil.gov.uk

TOP-CLASS butchers from Oxfordshire are battling to bag honours in the Q Guild Smithfield Awards, their annual high profile product evaluation competition.

A total of 479 products from 54 Q butchers nationwide, virtually half of the national membership, have been entered for this year’s sizzling showcase.

There are eight product categories – sausages, burgers, ready to eat meat and roasts, bacon and cured products, pies and bakery – both hot and cold – kitchen ready products, and ready meals, a new addition this year to reflect the great variety of products offered by Guild members.

M Newitt & Sons, of Thame, is well represented with nine products – Oxfordshire Sausage, Gloucestershire Sausage, Green Back Bacon, Smoked Back Bacon, Long Crendon Black Bacon, Long Crendon Black Streaky Bacon, Steak, Ale & Stilton Pie, Steak Pie and Chicken & Ham Pie.

All entrants will be hoping to pick-up gold awards, all of which will qualify for standalone top-rated diamond awards given to individual product category winners, along with EBLEX awards for the best English beef and lamb products, BPEX awards for the best English pork and bacon products, plus Quality Meat Scotland awards for the best Scotch beef and lamb products.

In addition, an overall Smithfield Awards supreme champion will emerge – and earn the bragging rights that go with this ultimate accolade!

Judging by panels of food and meat industry enthusiasts has now taken place and awards will be announced and presented at the Butchers Hall in Smithfield, London, on Thursday, November 13, by Matthew Fort, food and drink editor at the Guardian for over a decade, author of several award-winning books on food, and expert judge on the popular TV series, The Great British Menu.

Product innovation is a key activity in the Q Guild, whose 110 members across Britain are at the elite end of the retail butchery sector.

Q Guild national chairman, West Yorkshire butcher Brindon Addy, said: “The Smithfield Awards are a true and stringent test of the vast variety of products hand-crafted by our members nationwide, who represent the cream of Great British butchery.

“They have an opportunity to win some of the meat industry’s most prized accolades and this year is one of the biggest entries we have had for quite some time.”

SOURCE: Press release

PEACH PUBS, which runs The Thatch and The James Figg in Thame, won the title of Best Medium Group Pubs & Bars Employer at Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Awards 2014, at a ceremony in London on Monday, September 29.  This was the fourth time the company has won the prestigious national award.

To mark the win, Peach kicked off a game of ‘Best Employers Pass the Parcel’ where each pub and several of its suppliers had to pass the trophies won in the same awards in the last four years, from one pub to the next, photograph or video the evidence and celebrate with a glass of bubbly.

The challenge reached Thame on Wednesday, October 8, when The Thatch manager, Evelin Rae, took delivery of the special ‘Peach Parcel of People’ Awards and rounded her team up for a ‘then there were four’ photo, where everyone raised four fingers to show four wins.

Afterwards she ensured the parcel reached its next destination in one piece – The Fishes at North Hinksey followed by The Fleece in Witney, with everyone trying hard not to drop the parcel – the trophies inside were all made of glass.

“It’s massive to win a Best Employer in Hospitality Award and it means a great deal to me and all the team,” said Frazer Sutherland from Peach, who looks after both the Thame pubs with his two managers. “When we founded the company, we genuinely wanted to make it a special place to work and give people a real say in how the business is run and share in the rewards. Our people come first and we work hard to help them succeed.

“It’s fantastic to have this recognised, more so because these awards are voted anonymously by employees themselves. We are individuals with total enthusiasm for what we do. We make sure everyone learns what they want to learn and gets the boss they deserve. And that makes it fun…..almost every single day. That’s so rare in hospitality.”

Evelin Rae, manager of The Thatch adds, “Peach is a great place to work where you get the chance to work on your dreams and achieve them. Everyone on the team is encouraged to do that and gets recognition for what they do as well as a share in the rewards. I’ve got a great team here in the pub and it’s fantastic to be able to celebrate the award win with them by taking part in this challenge and of course by having a well-deserved glass of bubbly!”

Now in their fourth successful year, Caterer.com’s Best Employers in Hospitality Awards are recognised by employers and employees alike as a respected measure of great employers in the sector. Every year, the awards survey thousands of people who work in the industry to highlight the companies who do the most to attract, train, retain and motivate their people.

Employers of all sizes and from all sectors of the hospitality industry line up to compete but it’s down to the views of the employees themselves to determine who is a winner. More information about the awards can be found at www.bestemployersinhospitality.com

Peach is always on the look-out for people to join its award-winning partners and team. To find out more about the rewarding roles available, visit: www.peachpubs.com

THAT’S the theme of this month’s  The Late Breakfast event on Thursday, October 16, at The Spread Eagle hotel, in Cornmarket, Thame, from 9 – 10.30am in The Eden Suite.

Jackie Fitzgerald of Alchemy Business Coaching, is this month’s speaker, and her presentation is entitled: Uncertainty: turning chaos into opportunity.

More information, including booking details: http://www.thelatebreakfast.co.uk/thame.html

THIS month’s Late Breakfast business networking event sees the return of Speaker, Sarah Fletcher, of Mushroom Souffle, who will talk about LinkedIn and and ways to give your profile a boost.

As usual, September’s Late Breakfast will be in The Eden Suite in The Eden Suite at The Spread Eagle Hotel, 6-17 Cornmarket, Thame, OX9 2BW. The entry fee is £12 (including light refreshments).

To appear on the guest list, book by via http://www.thelatebreakfast.co.uk/thame.html by noon on the day before the event.

A planning application for two new industrial units on land at Cotmore Well Farm, just outside Thame, has been approved by South Oxfordshire District Council.

With 80 jobs expected to be created over the next five years, it is anticipated that the two units, which will be occupied by two companies currently based in Long Crendon, will help sustain the local economy.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the next few months, and the buildings occupied by the Spring of 2015.

THIS autumn, Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, is holding a corporate Racketball tournament and wants Thame businesses to get involved and enter three racketball players to represent each team.

All standards, from newcomer to skilled players are welcome to get involved as, as well as prizes for first place, there will be prizes for ‘Best effort’ and ‘Most entertaining’. The cost to enter will be £15 per player, which includes a light lunch and equipment, and prior to the event, Raquets is offering one month’s club membership for £35 pp, which will include a 40 minute coaching session with one of its team, to prepare for the event; AND this price includes Bar Bites and your first drink at the bar.

There’s only room for 10 teams in the Tournament, which will take place on Friday, October 24, from 3 pm, so contact Martin King at Raquets on 07990074366 or Sue Martin Downhill on 07860328880 if your business would like to take part in this fun event.

WOULD you like to hear more about the government’s recently announced incentive to help small business grow?

If you are a small business, with up to 49 employees, you will want to hear about the pilot scheme that awards vouchers of up to £2,000 to contribute towards your business getting strategic advice in a variety of areas.

A presentation from Christine Rayner of Tangram Ltd, will be the focus of this month’s The Late Breakfast networking event at The Spread Eagle Hotel, Cornmarket, Thame, on Thursday, August 21, between 9am and 10.30am.

Christine Rayner is an accredited supplier of the government’s Growth Vouchers, will look at why your business might be eligible to apply for this type of funding, the benefits you might see and how the scheme works.

The event is in the Eden Suite at the rear of The Spread Eagle Hotel, 16-17 Cornmarket, Thame, OX9 2BW
The entry fee is £12 (including light refreshments)

You can either book to attend at the Late Breakfast website HERE to be listed on the guest list, or just turn up.