Category: entertainment and leisure news

CRENDON Chamber Orchestra will hold its winter concert on Saturday, February 5, at St Mary’s Church, Thame, at 7.30 p.m. The guest conductor will be William Carslake who has wide experience of working with both professional and amateur orchestras. William has worked as Cover Conductor at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, on several productions and is currently working on Swan Lake.

In this concert he is introducing the orchestra to the ballet music for Apollo by Stravinsky. The programme also features the premiere of a suite by Colin Ferris, one of the orchestra?s violists.

The concert opens with Bach?s energetic Brandenburg Concerto No 3, full of rhythm and melody, which ends with an exuberant dance. Anticipating the interval for refreshments, Colin Ferris, then wheels out his collection of Something from the Suite Trolley. The first half closes in contemplative mood with Grieg?s Two Elegiac Melodies. Grieg was inspired by the peasant-poet of Norway, Aasmund Vinje to set his texts as songs, two of which, The Last Spring and The Wounded Heart, he later arranged for string orchestra. The interval is followed by Stravinsky?s tuneful ballet Apollon Musag

THIS week’s film is to be shown on FRIDAY as the Thame Players Theatre is being used for a production on Saturday. The film is WINTER’S BONE – USA 2010, 100 minutes 15 cert, Directed by Debra Granik, Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, John Hawkes,

Adapted from Daniel Woodrell’s novel, and winner of the Grand Jury prize at last year’s Sundance film festival, Granik’s film is a powerfully moving story of loyalty, love and courage. Jennifer Lawrence stars as Ree Dolly, a 17 year old doing her best to give her two younger siblings a decent upbringing in the remote Ozark mountain region of northern Arkansas. This is a community of poor white people, descendents of 18th century settlers, who have lived in tight-knit clannish isolation for centuries, and crystal meth has taken the place once occupied by illicit liquor.

Ree’s father, Jessop, has used the family’s house to secure bail but has failed to turn up for his court hearing and gone on the run. Faced with homelessness, a desperate Ree is forced to turn bounty hunter. But hers is a community long suspicious of the law, and rules of kinship – and the more brutal necessities of shady drug trafficking – mean that people close ranks, enquiries are met with mounting hostility, and veiled threats escalate into violent attempts to subdue her. This is a quiet, cautious film, a portrait of a unique culture that does not resort to clich

THE First Thursday Music Club is celebrating its first birthday on Thursday (03/02/11) at the usual venue, The Stables, behind The James Figg pub in Cornmarket, Thame, and is hoping for stonkingly good turnout to see some brilliant local musicians in action.

Last month the club raffled an electric guitar, a signed Julian Lennon book, a meal for two at the Figg and two Lucas Guitar School lessons.

Check out the wonderful website: www.FirstThursdayMusicClub.com for for details about how to get involved.

SOME tickets are still available for a Valentine’s Day Ball on Saturday, February 12, at the Barns Centre, Thame, organised by a young Thame woman who wants to help build a school in Burkina Faso in Africa.

The Ball has been organized by Laura O’shea who spent five months working in a school in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Burkina is the least educated country in the world, with as few as 10% of women able to read and write. That’s why, since she returned to the UK, Laura has been working with Giving Africa to raise money to build a school there.

Tickets are

SHOWING this Saturday – January 29, The secret in their eyes – Argentina, 2009, 129 minutes, 18 certificate; Directed by Juan Jose Campanella, Starring Carla Quevedo, Guillermo Francella, Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil

ITS Oscar night, 2010, and pundits are expecting the foreign language gong to go to one of two apparent shoe-ins: The White Ribbon and The Prophet. But the surprise recipient of the award was this little known romantic crime thriller from Argentina, a crowd pleasing film noir shifting between the present and 1970?s Buenos Aires, a time of political unrest, institutional corruption, ?disappearances? and white knuckle paranoia. Ricardo Darin is Esposito, a retired prosecutor looking back from 2009 on the frustrations and missed opportunities of his life. He has no social life or meaningful relationship apart from his friendship with his morbid alcoholic colleague, Sandoval.

By way of distraction, Esposito embarks on writing a book: an exploration of an unsolved rape and murder case from the 1970?s, an episode that has blighted his life and become a nagging obsession. The project creates the perfect excuse to engage the attention of beautiful fellow prosecutor Irene Menendez Hastings, another long time obsession of Esposito?s, a woman he has been hopelessly in love with for years.

Together they explore and unearth the events of the past, with shock revelations, and an exploration of the reasons for our hero?s fixation with this very unpleasant series of events. The result is a stylish, time-shifting political drama combined with a will-they-won?t-they romance, a film that combines a sound sense of history with a flair for polished and compelling entertainment.

This might be your only chance for a big screen viewing ? don?t miss it.

TWO new trails have been unveiled in the drive to attract fans of the popular TV series Midsomer Murders to South Oxfordshire.

The trails have been added to the South Oxfordshire District Council?s Visit Midsomer website www.visitmidsomer.com to help raise awareness of the district?s most popular locations. The trails are designed to provide fans with a guided tour of the fectional Midsomer area, including plenty of photo opportunities, as well as highlighting the many other reasons to spend longer in South Oxfordshire, helping to support local businesses and jobs.

Thame, which is included in the Northern Trail, has featured often in MidSomer Murders particularly the 16th century Spread Eagle Hotel, several of Thame’s independent shops and tea rooms, chosen as locations because of their traditional frontages, our lovely 13th century church, the museum, our walking trails and the 700 year old pub, The Bird Cage.

The Southern Trail takes in the Wallingford Corn Exchange and Rotherfield Pappard Primary School, better known to millions as Causton Playhouse and the Badgers Primary School. The Northern Trail includes a visit to Dorchester Abbey Muesum (Midsomer Newton Museum) and Watlington Library (Causton Library). Both trails also include numerous other buildings and landscapes featured in the hit show.

Midsomer Murders draws visitors to South Oxfordshire who want to walk in the footsteps of the characters, drink in the same pubs and explore the gorgeous locations seen on screen. For many overseas viewers Midsomer represents England at its green and pleasant best ? a place of character buildings, village greens and parish churches.

Since launching the website in November, South Oxfordshire has added a Visit Midsomer blog and launched a Twitter account @visitmidsomer which is already achieving positive results. Followers are getting the message out that Midsomer Murders is filmed in and around South Oxfordshire ? not Somerset, as many believe. And local organisations like Wallingford rowing club increasingly are using the blog and Twitter account to share timely information about events and news.

Councillor Bill Service, Cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said: ?Midsomer Murders attracts a global audience in almost 200 countries world-wide. The new trails will help to draw attention to South Oxfordshire and encourage more visitors, and also encourage those living nearby to get out and explore the area a bit more as well.?

?The interest from the TV show brings direct benefit to local hotels, shops and restaurants. According to the latest research for 2009 tourism contributes more than

FUNDS raised from these event and activities for Oxfordshire Mind help provide vital services for people who are experiencing mental and emotional health problems such as anxiety, bereavement, depression, life crisis, loneliness, recovery from breakdowns, panic attacks, post-natal depression, stress and schizophrenia.

Last year there were over 36,000 visits to Mind’s Community Resource Projects in Oxfordshire and every year Oxfordshire Mind aims to raise over

THAME UNITED?S rearranged friendly match against Oxford United, to mark the opening off the new Meadow View ground. Kick off 7.30pm.

Admission is

CRENDON Chamber Orchestra will hold its winter concert on Saturday, February 5, at St Mary’s Church, Thame, at 7.30 p.m. The guest conductor will be William Carslake who has wide experience of working with both professional and amateur orchestras. William has worked as Cover Conductor at the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, on several productions and is currently working on Swan Lake.

In this concert he is introducing the orchestra to the ballet music for Apollo by Stravinsky. The programme also features the premiere of a suite by Colin Ferris, one of the orchestra?s violists.

The concert opens with Bach?s energetic Brandenburg Concerto No 3, full of rhythm and melody, which ends with an exuberant dance. Anticipating the interval for refreshments, Colin Ferris, then wheels out his collection of Something from the Suite Trolley. The first half closes in contemplative mood with Grieg?s Two Elegiac Melodies. Grieg was inspired by the peasant-poet of Norway, Aasmund Vinje to set his texts as songs, two of which, The Last Spring and The Wounded Heart, he later arranged for string orchestra. The interval is followed by Stravinsky?s tuneful ballet Apollon Musag

NEXT Saturday – January 15, PARTIR (Leaving) – France 2009, Catherine Corsini; 85 minutes starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi L