Category: entertainment and leisure news

AT tje Holywell Music Room, Oxford OX1 3BN, on March 4, 2011 at 7.30pm. Tickets:

THAME Players will be presenting THE GHOST TRAIN by Arnold Ridley at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, from Tuesday, March 01, to Saturday, March 05, at 7.45pm

Many will remember Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey from Dad?s Army, the culmination of an acting career that lasted over 60 years. In addition, Ridley was a playwright and early film maker and The Ghost Train was one of his early successes.

The Ghost Train is set in a gloomy Cornish railway station in the 1920?s. A group of passengers is stranded overnight, and there is a grisly tale of a train crash and hauntings?.. Will the passengers survive the night, who are the mysterious strangers that suddenly appear out of the gloom to persuade the passengers to leave, and what is the real secret of the ghost train?

The Ghost Train will be performed at The Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, from Tuesday 1st to Saturday 5th March at 7.45pm. Tickets for the show cost

AN artist?s studio made from hay bales and a lion from an asthma inhaler in a Junk Jungle are just two of the unusual things to see during Oxfordshire Artweeks later this spring. Other surprises include a life-size rhino being decorated at Oxford Castle (though thankfully not a real one) and a garden of mystery and suspense in Wallingford.

Oxfordshire Artweeks will run from 7th-30th May, and this year sees more events than ever for both art aficionados and everyday enthusiasts with a series of art films in the city; a festival of illustration with acclaimed children?s illustrators Tony Ross and David McKee; and performances of Ballet in Small Spaces to complement an exhibition Drawing the Dance, Dancing the Image at The North Wall, Oxford. There?ll also be more of Artweeks ever-popular trails in the city, in the Cotswolds and elsewhere in the county.

More than a thousand artists from professional painters and serious sculptors to enthusiastic photographers and classes of school children will open up around 500 venues for free, and exhibit everything from classical paintings and sculpture to jazzy jewellery and funky furniture so there?ll be plenty of surprises for adults and children alike. Visitors will have the chance to see the art produced in their own communities, to ask local artists about their inspirations, techniques and materials, and even have a go themselves.

You can pick up an Artweeks guide from libraries and local information points from April or visit: www.artweeks.org

Artweeks is celebrated across Oxfordshire in partnership with local arts centres, museums, and other Oxfordshire organisations, with support from Designers Guild.

Artweeks is Oxfordshire?s largest visual arts festival, a three-week celebration in May each year of the county?s artistic and creative talent, and the UK?s oldest and biggest Open Studios event.

Almost 1000 artists open the doors to their homes and studios and welcome the public to see their creations and watch them work. In 2010 over 107,000 people visited nearly 500 venues across the county.

All exhibitions are free.

Oxfordshire Artweeks 2011 is organised into three geographical areas:

South Oxfordshire Exhibitions: Saturday 7th – Sunday 15th May

North Oxfordshire Exhibitions: Saturday 14th ? Sunday 22rd May

City Exhibitions: Saturday 21st – Monday 30st May

Special events take place throughout April, May and June.

The Oxfordshire Visual Arts Festival (Artweeks) is a non profit-making company, limited by guarantee and owned by its members. Everyone is welcome to take part and there is no selection process for artists wishing to participate.

Artweeks vouchers: new for 2010
A convenient way to buy fabulous art and crafts for family and friends. Vouchers can be purchased from the Artweeks office in

RACQUETS Balls & Squash Camp – February 22 and 23. For all juniors 7-15 yrs-old; ALL WELCOME.

Time: 10am to 3pm – Call 01844 261754, or visit Racquets’ website: Link

TOWERSEY Festival has topped its biggest line up to date with legendary songwriter, Billy Bragg, one of the best known and best loved artists of his generation.

With a career spanning 20 years, his music is a fine blend of poetry and political comment, with a dash of romance. Without preaching, he delivers ?Socialism of the Heart?, he?s an everyman, a modern day Woody Guthrie. He has collaborated with some of the music scenes finest from Johnny Marr of The Smiths and protest folk singer Leon Rosselson, to REM, Kirsty MacColl and more recently, Kate Nash.

A big Bragg fan once said: ?His concerts inspire me to be better at life!? And that is just what his shows deliver; Inspiration!

?I don’t choose what to write about; I don’t choose my subjects; they kind of choose me.? Billy Bragg

And Bragg is just the start. Towersey also plays host to monster folk rockers Oysterband, the newly reformed and legendary Home Service, the beautiful voice of Cara Dillon and the multi award winning Lau.

But more than just a mighty line up of artists, Towersey is where you can truly escape the stresses and strains of modern life. It?s where partying, dancing, singing and playing are balanced in equal measure with relaxing, sitting back and letting the music come to you. It?s where young and old, families, singles, friends and neighbours gather together and share a unique experience and a bank holiday weekend that they never forget.

Line up so far:

Billy Bragg, Oysterband, Home Service, Cara Dillon, The Spooky Men?s Chorale, The Burns Unit, Spiers and Boden, Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, Lau, 17 Hippies, Karine Polwart, The Demon Barbers, Saltfishforty, Coope, Boyes and Simpson, Emily Portman, Alasdair Roberts, The Old Dance School, Brian Peters, Tickled Pink, Toothless Mary Bryony Griffith & Will Hampson, Geckoes, Random, Pat Ryan, James Findlay and many more!

PLUS Street Theatre, Huge Real Ale Bar, Array of Festival Food, Poetry, Storytelling, Workshops, Craft and Music Fairs, Visual Art & Sculpture and surprises round every corner.

SOURCE: Press release

CHINNOR RFC Half Term Rugby Camp – 21st & 22nd February;

THE camp is a fun and safe environment aimed for either club players wanting to learn new skills or new players wanting an introduction to rugby. Players need to be aged 5-12 yrs and will be grouped accordingly.

Packed lunch, drinks, warm clothes and change of/wet weather clothes will be required.

Cost: 1 day

THAME Wombles in Thame are holding a cake sale to help raise funds for the members of SAFARI, a group of special needs adults in the town, to go to the coast to meet up with the RNLI.

Sat.19th Feb: 10.30am-1pm at THAME TOWN HALL
Tea/coffee and home made cake:
All PROFITS TO THE R.N.L.I.

THAME WOMBLES STALL: Hand Made Jewellery and Craft Items: All proceeds to Thame Wombles.

UNITED RESPONSE INFORMATION TABLE:
Find out about support for adults with Learning Disabilities.

Haddenham in Transition AGM – 8pm – Rose & Thistle Pub in Haddenham.
More information about Transition Towns

OXFORDSHIRE band, The Freemantle, is on its way towards winning the UK’s biggest original music competition.

Members of The Freemantle wowed the judging panel when they sailed through the audition stage of Live and Unsigned. They will be competing against the most talented bands and artists in the country at the Regional Final showcase of Live and Unsigned 2011 ? all in a bid to be signed.

The Freemantle battled against hundreds of other bands auditioned to secure a spot in the live shows and now has the opportunity to prove that they are the best in the region. Acts that made it through auditions will now take part in a live Regional Final Showcase in front of thousands of spectators and a professional judging panel, including judges from Kerrang, NME Radio and Radio One. The best bands from their Regional Final Showcase also get the opportunity to play support slots with a selection of major headlining acts.

Anthony Whitehead, front man and songwriter for The Freemantle said: “We are unbelievably excited about getting through to the Regional finals, and are so glad that all our hard work over the last year is finally paying off and we are extremely proud to be representing Oxfordshire in this nationwide Competition.”

The Freemantle was formed in the summer of 2010 with the poetic song writing of Anthony Whitehead, the melodic and intricate guitar mastery of Matt Stevens and the powerful driving force of Olivia Flint on drums. The band is a cross between Indie, Pop and Rock and drawing influences from such bands as Bombay Bicycle Club, The Smiths, The Doors, Kings of Leon and many more. The Freemantle has an original and defined sound dealing with such subjects as life and death, fear and hopes, dreams and aspirations as well as love and the very substance of human emotions.

Live and Unsigned is the biggest original music competition in the UK for unsigned bands and artists. Attracting over 50,000 entries in the past five years, it has set itself apart from its predecessors by offering and promoting originality. It?s now established as the definitive music competition for original acts and it?s open to all genres of music from Heavy Rock to Rap.

Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live & Unsigned said: ?Live and Unsigned is all about originality, live ability and credibility. We don?t accept demos or submissions and everyone auditions live. We?ve got some fantastic prizes up for grabs this year in a

THE theme for this year’s Thame carnival will present the widest range of opportunities for residents and businesses to pull out all the stops in dressing up and parading in the most elaborate and imaginative ways.

The theme for this year’s carnival on Saturday, June 18, is to be Mardi Gras, which promises once again to be the highlight of Thame’s community events calendar.

Information about how to get your club, organisation or business involved in Thame’s Mardi Gras, can be obtained from Town Councillor Nicola Dixon, via the town hall.