Category: entertainment and leisure news

THERE’S so much going on in Thame this festive season, that the ‘Christmas In Thame’ Facebook page has come up with a wizard idea to help you keep track – The Thame Advent Calendar.

Each day of advent you can find out about something happening in Thame that you can take part in to help get you into the Christmas Spirit. From gift fairs and wreath making; Christmas Jumper Parties to carol concerts; fun runs and quiz nights there is something for everyone.

So HO HO HOp on over to the Christmas In Thame Facebook page to find out more… or, keep your eye on Thame.Net’s EVENTS page for regular updates. If you would like a paper copy of the Christmas goings-on, pop into Thame Town Hall from November 27, to pick one up.

FOLLOWING its recent highly-praised concerts in Oxford in June, and as part of the TAL Festival in October, Thame Chamber Choir, together with its children’s choir, TCC2, now presents its annual Christmas Concerts in St Mary’s Church, Thame, on Saturday, December 16.

As in recent years, these include the very popular family matinée at 4.30 pm, specially intended for families with young children, followed by a full-length concert at 7.30 pm. Both will feature a blend of old favourites and pieces with a modern twist, with traditional refreshments (including mulled wine and mince pies), familiar carols to sing along with, and a beautiful candlelit atmosphere.

Tickets are available from the Book House, Thame, or on the door, and are free for children under 18.

THE Forget Me Knot Café in Chinnor, has had a very successful autumn programme, with a wonderful Tea dance hosted by local musician Ian English, and Chiltern Music Thereapy attending to run a session as per attached picture where we had all ages, with babies and toddlers enjoying the session as much as everyone else.

On Monday, November 27, we will have Heidi from Kiddledivy come along, with lots of energy and some great instruments, then Monday, December 10, is our Christmas session, and we are very lucky to be entertained by the children of Mill Lane School in Chinnor, followed by a visit from father Christmas and a Christmas lunch put on by the Chinnor Village Centre.

Forget Me Knot Cafe runs to provide information, peer support and activities which aim to put people with dementia, old age, mental health, loneliness and their carers in control of their lives so they are able to live well and enjoy life. For more infomation contact Michele info@holisticmassageuk.co.uk, or telephone: 0777973209 or visit our facebook page on www.facebook.com/forgetmeknotcafe.

SOURCE: Contributed

THAME-Sinaia Friendship Association, in collaboration with Thame Youth Memorial, are organising a fundraising wine tasting event at Thame Town Hall, on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30 pm.

Malcolm Dent, event organiser and a fan of Romanian wines, said: “This is a good opportunity to taste Romanian wines produced in wineries in the Subcarpathian Hills bordering the majestic Transylvanian Alps, also known as the Carpathians.”

Some of the wines originate from Sinaia’s county, Prahova. The wines will be served with an assortment of cheeses including Romania’s famous Telemea, pates and savoury biscuits.

A slide show with photos of Sinaia, as well as of the wineries will be on display.

Tickets can be booked in advance at £10 per person by ringing 01844 215 178 or 07764 854949. Tickets can be purchased on the day at £12 per person.

Participants must be over the age of 18 to be able to attend. Proof of ID will be required.

For more information about the twinning between Thame and Sinaia, visit www.facebook.com/thamesinaia

THAME and District Lions Club will once again fill the streets of Thame with Father Christmases in aid of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity. on Sunday, December 3.

Participants are invited to wear anything Christmas-related, from Santa suits to Christmas jumpers, and bring all the family to run, jog, walk, scoot or push a buggy or wheelchair round this easy, 3km route through Thame Town Centre. You could even walk the dog round!

“Research has proven that a Festive Fun Run is good for your ‘elf’!” says organiser Ken Bennell of Thame & District Lions Club. “…And raising money for a cause like Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity is definitely good for your soul. That’s why we do this every year; because people love it as part of the town’s festive calendar, and because the money raised really helps people suffering with terminal illness in the local community.”

Family entry is £30, or it’s £10 per adult, £7.50 per child under 16 years and free for children under two. For an extra £1 donation, entrants will be entered into a prizedraw to win a VIP Panto Meet and Greet Experience for four people to meet the celebrity cast of Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, which is Aylesbury Waterside Theatre’s pantomime this year.

The deadline to register online is November 30, at 12pm, or you can enter on the day. For more information visit www.fnhospice.org.uk/festive-fun-run

SOURCE: Contributed

THERE seems to be a quiz night almost every night somewhere in Thame, and the town’s love of a quiz as a way of having fun, testing your general knowledge, consuming lots of nibbles and bring-your-own booze, and by the way, raising funds for good causes, has been in evidence over the past week.

CONGRATULATIONS to Saturday Strollers for winning the quiz held at Thame Barns Centre last Friday, November 3. Over 90 people attended the quiz in aid of two local charities, Sobell House Hospice, based at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, and SeeSaw which provides grief counselling for children and young people in Oxfordshire.

Karen and Patsy, Managers of the Barns Centre, were delighted to learn that the evening had raised £850 which was split equally between the two charities. The quiz master, Terry Austen, devised some interesting rounds including sweet tasting, music and identifying dog cartoon characters.

Elaine from Sobell House spoke about the work they do in the hospice for patients and their families, including John Thomas, the previous manager of the Barns Centre who died recently. Alison spoke about the money she was raising for SeeSaw through a coast to coast walk in memory of her daughter Megan.

During the evening a raffle took place, with prizes many of which local companies, including Travelodge, The Thatch, Bizzie Lizzie, Brother’s Hair Salon, Wren’s Butchers, Co op, Sainsbury’s and The Works Ice Cream Parlour in Aylesbury, had donated.

The next big event taking place at Thame Barns Centre is a Christmas Fair and Café on Friday, November 24, from 9.30am – a chance to pick up some usual presents from the 20 local craft stalls coming along on the day.

‘Twinners’ Quiz

ON the same night, Friday, November 3, the Thame and District Twinning Association attracted 16 teams to their annual quiz, held in the town hall, and raised £70 for The Stroke Association, and around £350 towards hosting friends from Thame’s twin town of Montesson, in France, when they visit Thame in May, 2018.

Sue Boyle was the quizmaster and the winning team was AD Hoc.

The twinning association is currently very excited about a friendship arrangement that is in the early stages of its formation, between the pupils of John Hampden Primary School and a primary school in Montesson, with the aim of the children pairing up to email each other as pen friends, to help with learning each other’s languages.

SHINKAI’S mesmerising, dazzlingly beautiful film broke box office records in Japan for months after its release, and heralded his arrival as the new crown prince of Japanese animation.

YOUR NAME – Japan 2016, 106 minutes, 12 certificate – Directed by Makoto Shinkai, Starring Kana Hanazawa (voice), Etsuko Ichihara (voice), Ryûnosuke Kamiki (voice), Mone Kamishiraishi (voice), Masami Nagasawa (voice), Ryô Narita (voice)

It tells the story of two teens from different parts of the country: Mitsuha is from a remote and traditional rural community, constrained and frustrated by the demands of a conservative community and its attendant ancient rituals. Meanwhile Taki lives in Tokyo, leading the kind of sophisticated urban life that Mitsuha dreams of having for herself. One morning, inexplicably, they wake up in each-other’s bodies, just for a day, an event that happens repeatedly and at random. They have to endure the humiliations – and unexpected pleasures – of learning to live not only as another person but as another gender. They end up communicating with each other by leaving messages on smartphones, instructions and reminders that soon become something else, a deepening emotional connection between two people who have never met.

On one level, then, this is a funny, heart-warming and poignant examination of longing and identity, of gender and first love. But Japanese animation resolutely eschews the narrative conventions that might be expected of Western cinema: our protagonists are also enmeshed in a tale of ancient magic, spectral goings-on, natural disasters and time travel, rendered in spectacular and thrilling animation.

If you are unfamiliar with Japanese anime, then this film is like nothing you have seen before – and if you are a fan of the genre, then this is exemplary. Either way, expect to be wowed. View trailer here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU47nhruN-Q

This Saturday November 11, 8pm – Doors open 7.30pm
Film tickets are available on the door or online- Click HERE

IT’s almost Pantomime time and Thame Players are planning this season’s production, Cinderella, a universally appealing story. With the pantomime addition of a faithful friend called Buttons, a fairy godmother, the traditional Pantomime Dames as the ugly sisters, a pantomime horse and singing and dancing, the festive fun is complete!

This year’s pantomime was written by Ben Crocker who comes from a theatrical family and is the son of actor and pantomime script writer, John Crocker. He saw his first pantomime at the age of three and has been hooked ever since!

Tickets: £9 (£8 concessions) Dates:
Friday, December 1, at 7:45pm
Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd at 2pm & 5.30pm
Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th at 7:45pm
Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th at 2pm & 5.30pm

CHRISTMAS is fast approaching and the Town Council will once again be launching a treasure trail around the town centre for the young and young-at-heart, throughout November.

In the lead up to Christmas Lights Switch-On on Friday, December 1, 24 Snowflakes have been hidden in shop windows around Cornmarket, Upper High Street, North Street, Buttermarket, Swan Walk, Greyhound Walk and High Street. You can start hunting high and low from Wednesday, November 1. All of the Snowflakes are numbered you can also use #SnowflakeSearch on social media for clues.

The first entry out of the hat with all the correct answers will get the chance to push the plunger on the town’s Christmas lights, plus there are prizes for the runners up. To enter the competition download an entry form from www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/christmas or pick one up from the Town Hall Information Centre, write down all the shops which have one of our numbered snowflakes in their window and return your entry form to the Town Hall Information Centre by 4pm on Thursday, November 30.

More information about this year’s Christmas Lights Switch-On event is available at www.thametowncouncil.gov.uk/christmas