Category: entertainment and leisure news

TODAY, Friday, create your own afternoon tea concert and get ready to watch a one-off live stream of the ever-popular Rumsey’s Tea Concert. It’s the perfect way to ease into the weekend.

While you relax in the comfort of your home, you’ll be able to have your cake and eat it as you listen to the wonderful music from Kate Billimore and the popular string quartet, Bagatelle, while sipping a cuppa and tucking into a slice of something delicious! In the past their repertoire has ranged from Bach and the Beatles to Grieg and Gershwin, Elgar and Elbow.

This exceptional fund-raising, pre-festival event is part of the annual Thame Arts & Literature Festival (TAL) – called DigiTAL for this year as the Festival will be going virtual, launching online on October 15.

“Every year tickets for Rumsey’s Tea Concert sell out in record time” said Yvonne Maxwell, TAL Festival Founder. “This year, we didn’t want to disappoint. So we teamed up with Rumsey’s to not only put on a live, socially-distanced concert, attended by the first 16 lucky people who booked for this unique event. We also decided to live stream it so everyone can still enjoy the music.”

So this Friday, wherever you may be with internet connection, you’ll still be able to experience virtually this amazing concert, played live from the lovely setting of Rumsey’s Chocolaterie in Thame.

As an extra tasty treat, not only will you be able to watch the Tea Concert from your home, if you take your ticket into Rumsey’s Chocolaterie in Thame they will give you a 50% discount on any cake you may wish to buy for your home viewing. Total indulgence!

Rumsey’s Tea Concert, Friday, October 9,  4.30pm
To book tickets for this Friday’s Live Stream
For full details of events and to book go to www.talfestival.org

FOR the most part, 2020 has been a year of isolation. Lockdown life has meant that those desperate for a touch of culture have had to resort to watching plays on YouTube, tuning in for Grayson Perry’s Art Club and exploring galleries through their computers. 

While there is something engaging about ‘walking’ through the Guggenheim whilst sitting at home in your pyjamas, nothing can replace being able to view pieces of art in real life. Thame Art Crawl 2020, running from Thursday, October 15 – Sunday, October 18, will provide you with this opportunity.

This fabulous pop-up annual art event will showcase a wealth of creative local talent in windows and venues around Thame’s town centre. There will be paintings, pottery, photography, fused glass, sculptures and more, from 18 different artists, spread over 15 locations. So get the dates in your diary to enjoy four days of tangible culture on your doorstep.   

There will be an event map available from Thame Town Hall Information Centre and fitch & fellows in the Buttermarket from Monday, October, 12. You can find out who is exhibiting and where by visiting the website www.thameartcrawl.com. Follow the event on Instagram and Facebook @thameartcrawl for regular updates and details of any changes to the event in the situation we face a local lockdown.

SADLY, Towersey Festival had to be cancelled this year due to the Pandemic, but that didn’t stop the creative people that run the festival every year, from pulling together a unique substitute – a Homemade Towersey.

Home-Made Towersey 2020 featured friends and relatives of Festival Director, Joe Heap, leading the festival with dancing, music, circus skills, the famous lantern making session, and general all round Towersey fun, with Towersey fans all over the country joining in, by camping out in their gardens, and sharing photographs and videos throughout the day. The day was rounded off with an online performance from the indomitable Rusty Shackle.

The spirit of Towersey Festival was kept alive despite the limitations besetting all live events. If you missed Homemade Towersey, or indeed took park, many of the videos and photographs shared throughout the event can be seen once again in this beautiful video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crD1i2z7Ikc&feature=youtu.be

Check out details for the line-up and dates for Towersey Festival 2021, on the website: https://www.towerseyfestival.com/ and keep up-to-date with plans for 2021 by following the Towersey Festival Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Towerseyfestival/ 

FANCY a curry in a safe, spacious, socially-distanced setting? Well, Chinnor RFC Thame is the place for you!

On the last Wednesday of every month, it will be Curry Night in the Marquee at Kingsey Road.

Starting next Wednesday – August 26 – you will be able to sit in the comfort of our relaxed venue and enjoy delicious home-cooked food.

Providing a set menu every time with a vegetarian option, the club will be offering a large variety of curries from all over the world, which means it will be a different experience every time you visit the Club for a curry.

Food will be served from 8pm and priced at £10 a head. To book a table of up to six, email bars@chinnor-rfc.com.

All meals will be cooked by the club’s ‘wonderful Head Chef.’ See below for the menu for next Wednesday.

For £10 you will be served:

Tamatar Gosht – a lamb tomato curry from Pakistan
Murgh Makhani – an old Delhi-style chicken curry
Pilau rice
Aubergine green bean vegetarian dish
Naan bread
Raita
Mango Chutney
(vegetarian option available)

A club spokesperson said: “We are working hard to ensure Kingsey Road remains a safe place to visit and we strictly follow the government guidelines at all times.”

THIS month sees the return of the Midsomer guided walking tours of Thame, four months later than intended, delayed because of Covid 19 restrictions.

The government has since given the tourism and hospitality industry permission to re-open, so Midsomer Tours will be recommencing from Wednesday, August 19, and every Wednesday until the season ends on October 28. 

Tour organiser Tony Long, commented: “Following government advice, we are delighted that the ever-popular Midsomer Tours can start again. We will be ensuring that the now smaller tour groups comply with social distancing guidelines. Participants may wish to wear face masks, but none of the locations involves being indoors, so this is not necessary. Hand sanitiser can be provided on request.”

The Midsomer guided walking tour has become a great success since it launched in 2017. Knowledgeable tour guides take small groups on an hour-long tour around Midsomer filming locations in the town used in episodes of the popular ITV series Midsomer Murders. Thame is one of the most frequently used filming locations, with 22 locations in the town centre. Amongst landmarks featured are Thame Museum, Thame Town Hall, Market House, Rumsey’s Chocolaterie, the Spread Eagle and Swan Hotels, the Coffee House, and the Black Horse Pub & Brasserie. 

Midsomer Murders is still going strong after more than 20 years. Tony added: “Over six million people watch Midsomer Murders in the UK, and millions more worldwide. It’s one of our biggest TV exports, and when people see it on TV, they want to come and visit the beautiful towns and villages of Midsomer, such as Thame. When they are here, they spend money in our restaurants, pubs, hotels, and shops – which has got to be good for the town and its economy, especially following the lockdown.

“We hope people will join the tours, because the more people there are taking part, the more funds we can donate to worthy causes at the end of the season. Last year we donated over £2,000. The guides themselves don’t take any income, and any funds left go towards next year’s promotion.”

• Tours can only be booked online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/thamemidsomer. Tickets are £7.50 per person. Groups will consist of a maximum of five people plus the guide, in line with government guidance. If a tour is full, we are able to offer a second tour for five people on the same day. The second tour will be led by a second guide and will start off five minutes later than the first tour.  
• If the advertised tour times don’t fit in with your itinerary, tours can be arranged for groups of up to five people on other days. For more information, contact Tony Long, tour organiser, at thamemidsomertours@gmail.com
  

THAME & District Classic Motor Club held their first meeting since March, on July 30, at the Thame Snooker Club.

  The club was able to do this as it was held out-doors so that members could socially distance and judge each others’ cars in the Annual Pride of Ownership competition. Each member gets to vote for their favourite car. 

And the winners, out of 17 entries, were:

1st Geoffrey Mansfield’s 1931 MG M (Winner of a rosette and a bottle of wine), 2nd David Brown’s Armstrong Siddeley Typhoon and 3rd Roger Withers’ MGB GT V8

Covid-19 restrictions permitting, Thame & District Motor Club’s next next meeting will be at the Snooker Club  again, on September 24, at 7.30pm.

The club meets every last Thursday of the month at 7.30pm, at the snooker club, except August and December, and new members are always welcome – you don’t have to have a classic motor,  just an interest.

ACTING was a dangerous, even violent, profession back in the sixteenth century, according to Bruce Alexander, the well-known actor and patron of Thame Players’ Theatre Company, in a new video just released on YouTube.

In the video, The Death of Big Knell, Bruce tells the dramatic story of how William Knell, a leading actor with the Queen’s Men, met an untimely death in Thame. The Queen’s Men were formed in 1583 at the express command of Queen Elizabeth I and were responsible for providing entertainment at court. Among their leading actors was William Knell, dubbed directly an ‘Absolute Actor’ in the phrasing of the time – he would undoubtedly have been equivalent to a Hollywood star in today’s terms! 

Because the Plague was raging in London, the Queen’s Men decided to go on tour in 1587, with their first stop being the prosperous market town of Thame. They were performing The Famous Victories of Henry V (a precursor to Shakespeare’s play Henry V) at the White Hound Inn – thought to have been where the War Memorial Gardens now are in Thame. Following the afternoon performance, a fight broke out between William Knell and another actor, John Towne, as a result of which Towne was injured but Knell was sadly killed. It seems that violent occurrences were not that uncommon among actors at the time: the famous playwright Ben Jonson, initially working as an actor with the Admiral’s Men, was briefly imprisoned for killing a man in a duel in 1598, but subsequently freed using a legal ploy.

The Queen’s Men travelled on to Stratford-on-Avon after this episode and it’s rumoured that, being a man down, they went back to London taking the young William Shakespeare with them. Whether this was true we shall probably never know. When you watch the video, you will hear there was another connection between William Knell and Shakespeare – you’ll have to look to find out what it was! 

The Death of Big Knell can be viewed by going to the Thame Players’ website www.thameplayers.co.uk and clicking on the YouTube button. 

NB Bruce Alexander is probably best known for his portrayal of Superintendent Norman Mullett in the ITV series A Touch of Frost, where he plays the superior to David Jason’s Jack Frost. Other TV appearances include parts in Love & Marriage, Doc Martin, EastEnders, Midsomer Murders and Gentleman Jack, while on radio he has played in the BBC dramatisation of Le Carre’s novel The Honourable Schoolboy, among many others.  He has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company for over a decade, playing parts in plays such as All’s Well That Ends Well, The Duchess of Malfi, The Merry Wives of Windsor and more. He has also worked many times at the National Theatre. He is one of two patrons of Thame Players Theatre, the other being Sir Tim Rice. Bruce is currently writing a history of Thame. 

THAME Players Theatre Company has been performing in Thame for over 75 years, and this week a new book about the history of the company, That’s Entertainment, is being released. 

The book has been written by Tony Long, an active member of Thame Players for nearly 40 years, and covers the development of the group from its earliest beginnings to the present. 

The first performance staged by the group under the name of Thame Players was in 1944. Throughout their history, Thame Players members have become ever more active and ambitious, progressing from just one or two productions a year to five of their own productions a year today – more than 30 live performances. The theatre in Nelson Street is a former church hall that has been owned by Thame Players for over 40 years, and is also the venue for some 30 visiting shows each year, including musical acts, comedy and drama. It also houses Thame’s only public cinema, run by Thame Cinema For All. 

The book is illustrated with dozens of photographs from the earliest post-war performances through to Dick Whittington, the most recent pantomime, performed in December 2019. Incorporating a 1984 account of the first 40 years written by Bob Norman, That’s Entertainment tells the story of Thame Players from the post-war years, through the period when productions were staged in venues such as the Town Hall and the Wenman School (now Lord Williams’s Lower  School), to the times when Thame Players first leased the Players Theatre in 1977 and subsequently acquired the freehold in 1997. 

The book also recounts the substantial development work that has since been undertaken, including the installation of raked seating, a bar, a foyer, enlargement of the stage, improvement of lighting and technical facilities, and much else besides.  

Tony Long said: “We are justly proud of our history and our theatre, which has developed into the modern, well-appointed venue we have today. The Players Theatre entertains over 10,000 people a year from the local area and farther afield and is also used by community groups. None of the achievements would have been possible without the generous support of our town and district councils, local businesses, grant bodies, members and friends of Thame Players, and the many volunteers who keep the theatre running. Having achieved this much in the first 75 years, we look forward to the continuing success of the group in future years.”

Cllr Ann Midwinter, Mayor of Thame, said: “Thame Players and the Players Theatre are together one of the jewels in our crown. They have occupied this position for over seventy years through their members’ dedication and hard work. Embracing the challenges of modern technology along the way, they continue to provide live entertainment in a well-equipped theatre that benefits the people of Thame and surrounding area. I am sure the live performing arts will prosper in our town for years to come, building on the foundations laid by Thame Players.”

That’s Entertainment will be for sale at £6.99 per copy through various retail outlets in Thame. For details of outlets stocking the book please email thameplayers@gmail.com or call 07881 688895.

The Players Theatre, home of Thame Players, is currently closed due to the coronavirus lockdown restrictions and all shows have been cancelled until at least September, pending further government advice.  Updates will be announced on the Thame Players’ website www.thameplayers.co.uk.

A FIRST for Thame, as Thame Arts & Literature Festival this October goes virtual – Welcome to DigiTAL

As it is likely that social distancing regulations will still prohibit large public gatherings this autumn so, if visitors are unlikely to go to the Festival in person this year, then the Festival will go to them!

“We love making TAL Festival happen,” said  Yvonne Maxwell, TAL Festival Founder. “Last year over 4,000 visitors came to Thame to enjoy our friendly and inspiring festival. We didn’t want to disappoint and cancel this year, especially during these very difficult times for the arts. So after much thought we decided we could make TAL Festival happen if we went digital.”

DigiTAL Festival 2020 will go live on October 15, 2020, and continue until Sunday, October. 18 and registration for the four-day virtual festival will be open from Sept 1.

 “We’re really excited about this brand new venture and already have a stunning line-up of authors, brilliant events, expert interviewers and hosts ,“ added Yvonne. “The majority of DigiTAL Festival will be live talks, interviews and performances, with a mix of some pre-recorded events. We hope to capture as much of the vibrancy and life of our normal physical festival as possible.”

At each author event, visitors will be able to purchase the author’s signed book at the click of a button, directly from the Book House in Thame.

You can click straight to the Book House site from TAL Festival’s website at talfestival.org where you can also find up-to-date information on all the upcoming entertainment from now until the festival starts.  

 “We are not limited by geography this year and hope as many people as possible from both near and far will join us on our virtual DigiTAL Festival platform this October,” continued Yvonne.

Become an official TAL Festival supporter

“Like all Arts-based events TAL Festival’s future depends on its supporters. Whilst we are determined to bring the best digital festival we can this year, we need your support to ensure we can get through this difficult time.

“We would like to invite you to help us achieve this and to become an Official TAL Festival Supporter. 

Our website (www.talfestival.org) gives details on how to become an official TAL supporter.  

“We’re aware that many organisations have asked for help, and whatever anyone can spare will be greatly appreciated. We’ve built a unique experience in Thame over the last ten years and really hope that we’ll be able to do so for the next ten.”