THAME & District CAB – Annual General Meeting –
Tuesday 24th July 2007, 7pm ? 8pm, at Thame Adult Learning Centre, Towersey Road, Thame OX9 3NW.
The AGM is open to everyone – Tel 01844 217186 or e-mail thamecab@cabnet.org.uk, RSVP to Tom Fox, Manager.
Thame & District CAB provides a free, independent, confidential and impartial advice service.
THAME Youth Council, in conjunction with 21st Century Thame, will be running a party especially for young people on Thursday, July 12. The evening will include music and DJs to dance to, and there will be a soft drinks bar.
Doors open 7.30pm-10.30pm, and tickets are available from Sapphire Moon,
Hay Fever is expected to hit Thame. But there is no cause for alarm as the only symptoms will be broad smiles, great laughter and a feeling of contentment. For this Hay Fever is the classic Noel Coward comedy being performed by Thame Players at The Players Theatre between 10th and 14th July at 7.45pm. Probably the most successful of all Coward?s plays, Hay Fever tells the bizarre story of a social weekend at the home of the Bliss family. Each of the four members of the family has, unbeknown to the others, invited a friend for the weekend at their country house. The family?s bickering with each other over their predicament, to the bemusement of the four guests, results in a delightful feast of fun and laughter.
Coward based Hay Fever on his experiences spent at the home of a leading actress and her writer husband who he befriended on his first visit to New York in 1921. A big hit on its debut in the West End in 1925, Hay Fever has been popular ever since. In the eighty or so years since that first performance it has seldom been off the stage, being performed somewhere in the world almost every year since.
Tickets for the Thame Players production of Hay Fever, directed by Colleen Tudway, cost between
A NEW five piece band has exploded onto the scene, led by a great talent ? Peter Donegan. The surname is no doubt familiar to the thousands of fans of the late, great ?King of Skiffle? Lonnie Donegan. The great news is that you can catch them at the Festival Dance House Marquee, in Towersey, Nr. Thame, on Thursday, August at 7.30pm.
Tickets are
CLOSES THIS FRIDAY – June 29, 2007
Sunday August 26, sees the return of the popular free live-music festival “Hobble on the Cobbles”, which last year witnessed John Otway’s welcome return to the main Market Square, Aylesbury stage after 28 years.
Aylesbury Showcase have announced that the original Marillion frontman/songwriter, FISH, will headline this year?s event, which will also feature a number of very talented and recognised local and national bands – all of whom will perform across two stages throughout the day.
One lucky band will also perform on the main stage at the event, and be crowned winners of the Aylesbury Showcase Mobile Text Competition.
Over the past six months, bands and music fans alike have been voting for their favourite bands/groups, to chose who they would like to see perform live at this event.
The competition has received numerous votes and nominations including the exciting local bands: King Rat, Domino Theory, Bridgefield, Dream Capture to name but a few. There have even been votes to bring John Otway back for another year ? and one person even voted for Oasis to perform!
The competition closes at midnight on Friday, June 29. So get those fingers texting!
If you would like to vote for your favourite local band ? and give them an opportunity to perform at this free music festival simply text: ASC (followed by a space) and then the name of your favourite band to 60123.
At the time of going to press, the voting is still extremely close. The current top-ten leader board is:
1. Domino Theory
2. King Rat
3. Just Another Reason To
4. Fiem
5. The Shaker Heights
6. Tim Matthews
7. Zavanna
8. The Swamis
9. Livingston
10. Cover Up
To check out, listen to and support any of these fantastic bands? visit the official website at: www.AylesburyShowcase.co.uk
Photo: Marillion frontman/songwriter, FISH
ON Saturday June 23, Chinnor Players are putting on a one-off show to raise funds for the rebuilding of Chinnor Village Hall.
‘An Evening with Chinnor Players’ is a collection of sketches, songs and dances and promises to be an entertaining evening with opportunities to laugh and sing along!
It starts at 7.45pm at Chinnor Village Hall in Church Road. Tickets are available online – Contact: caroline@jwbs.co.uk
or at the Spar shop in Chinnor and cost
BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2008 – This year marks the tenth anniversary of the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award, and the search for new talent is on. Whether you are a soloist, duo or group, BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding Show is looking for young people aged between 15-20 who perform folk, roots and acoustic music from any culture. (Thame’s very own, Wilber was a finalist last year).
This is a great opportunity for young performers to learn new skills from professional musicians, be taught the tricks of the music trade and immerse themselves in making music and song with other like-minded people.
To enter, each group, duo or soloist should send a recording of their performance along with a completed entry form to BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award 2008, Mrs Casey Music, PO Box 296, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3XU. To request an entry form please email info@mrscasey.co.uk or call 01629 827012. Alternatively you can download an entry form from the BBC Radio 2 website at: bbc.co.uk/radio2
Entry forms and recordings must arrive with us by Monday 10 September 2007.
Successful entrants will be invited to a Semi-Final Audition Weekend on 19 – 21 October 2007 in Stratford-Upon-Avon along with up to forty other musicians and singers. Semi-finalists will attend workshops led by high profile musicians Robert Harbron and Benji Kirkpatrick and there will be opportunities to learn about stagecraft, technical support and working in the music business. There will also be plenty of time for socialising and informal music sessions.
During the Semi-Final Weekend, on Saturday 20 October, entrants will perform in a public Audition Concert. The BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award’s top music industry judges will choose which acts will go through to the Final, which will be held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre, London on 7 December 2007.
The winning act will record a session to be broadcast on BBC Radio 2’s Mike Harding Show, appear at three top UK festivals – Cambridge Folk Festival, Towersey Village Festival and Fairport’s Cropredy Convention and receive a year’s free membership to the Musicians Union.
All finalists and semi-finalists will gain valuable performance experience that will help them develop and go on to further success in their music careers.
Previous winners include Tim van Eyken, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award winner and frontman of the highly acclaimed Van Eyken band, Uiscedwr, Bodega, Last Orders and spellbinding fiddle player Lauren MacColl.
Entrants must live in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. For information and full entry guidelines visit bbc.co.uk/radio2, email info@mrscasey.co.uk or call 01629 827012.
THE new folk boom has unearthed some remarkable new talent and Towersey Village Festival welcomes some of the brightest new lights of the folk scene to the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside over the August Bank Holiday weekend (23-27 August 2007).
Be sure to keep an eye out for Van Eyken, Lau, Lisa Knapp, Tom Kitching & Gren Bartley, Ruth Notman, Kris Drever, Roger Davies and Wilber. These artists are part of a move to carry folk forward to a new generation, whilst retaining a firm sense of the folk and roots traditions from which they have evolved.
The Festival Dance House is the place to party with the best in Folk, Roots and Acoustic Music. With major headliners at night, great workshops in the day, a large bar and tasty food at hand you could easily become a resident here and miss all the other good stuff! This year’s incredible evening line-up includes concerts from Seth Lakeman, Oysterband, Peatbog Faeries and The Demon Barbers. If you can’t make the whole weekend, you could still buy a! ticket for one of these great evening concerts and experience for yourself the great Festival Dance House atmosphere.
Tickets are selling fast and the line-up of artists and events just keeps growing. The 43rd edition of this nationally famous event is set to be one of the best yet. With an eclectic mix of dances, workshops, intimate gigs, family entertainment, a delectable array of food stalls, International Trade Market, Craft and Music Fair, and an incredible line-up on the Concert Stage, there really is something for everyone at Towersey.
With a new Towersey Village Festival website up and running (www.towerseyfestival.com), you can now search the site any way you wish – by artist, day or venue. You can find full listings and information about all the events and entertainment on offer at this year’s Festival and keep informed about the latest Festival news. You can book a Full Weekend Season ticket and stay on one of the Festival camp sites (complete with great facilities), or simply come along for the day; the choice is yours. There are still tickets up for grabs so call the Box Office on 01629 827016 or book tickets online at www.towerseyfestival.com.
Photo: Finalist in last year’s BBC Radio Two’s ‘Young Folk Musician of the Year’, Wilber Seers of Thame, who will be performing at Towersey in August.
ARE the school summer holidays stretching in front of you like a vast desert, filled with cries of ?Mum, I?m bored? and ?Dad, can?t we go out?? Well, there is an oasis approaching in the form of the ?Big Summer Camp? from CampSOLL.
CampSOLL will help you turn those ?I?m boreds? into ?wow I had a great day? with a huge selection of activities to keep the children active and entertained. CampSOLL is offering even more fun and excitement over the holiday period with safe, creative and energetic activities run by highly trained staff. You can sign up for full day camps or 1 ? 2 hour sessions.
Anne-Marie, from Soll Leisure, says: “At SOLL we are fully aware of how difficult it can be for parents to keep children entertained in the school holidays. CampSOLL is an excellent opportunity to get the children off your hands and keep them safe, happy and most importantly entertained!?
Activities on offer include:
EXCITING new Thame band, Fee Fi Fo Fum will be playing their debut gig this Thursday, at the Cellar in Oxford.
The duo, consisting of Pascal Ansell (formerly of Shed Sound)on guitar and Max Camp on drums will be supporting Indie rockers, A Silent Film and Diatribe. (A Silent Film are actually a band).
Tickets for the gig, which starts at 8.30pm, are