FORGET about Brexit! Thame and District Twinning Association’s 15-year friendship with Montesson, France, is as strong and enduring as ever. The group is currently taking bookings for it’s annual weekend away in Thame’s twin town, and has some spaces still available on the coach.
Members of Thame & district twinning Association man their stall at Thame Food Festival 2015
The weekend is from Friday, September 16, to Sunday, September 18, and costs just £100 per person – which includes all travel costs, accommodation, meals and a Saturday trip to somewhere really special in France.
If you would like to know more, contact Linda Emery via: Lindaemery@btinternet.com
BENOIT Blin, fresh from from BBC’s Creme de la Creme and Head Pastry Chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons is coming to the Thame Food Festival on September 24, for the second consecutive year.
Benoit Bin
He will be judging in The Big Thame Bake and appearing on the Baking Stage to demonstrate his famous pastry cheffing skills.
Food festival Patron, Lotte Duncan, said: “All the chefs and bakers who join us are one of the reasons we are getting bigger, better and more famous by the day! They give their time for nothing and we appreciate all they do. Without them the day wouldn’t have the same buzz or atmosphere. And we all LOVE Benoit in the Thame Food Festival office! In fact, we may have a small crush on him! Happy Days!”
Benoit has been Raymond Blanc’s Head Pastry Chef at the award winning Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Great Milton for over 20 years, where he leads and trains a team of 13, looking after all the dessert and bread preparation.
Benoit has most recently been a judge on the BBC2 Bake Off Crème de la Crème programme joined by fellow experts, Cherish Finden and Claire Clarke MBE. The show tested the skills of some of Britain’s finest pastry chefs, whilst demonstrating their passion and creativity in this wonderful industry.
He was awarded the most prestigious Pastry accolade in the UK, with the title of Master of Culinary Arts, MCA, in 2005. In 2009, he was recognised as Pastry Chef of the Year. Also, as President, Benoit lead the UK pastry team to the coupe du Monde finals in Lyon, January 2011 and is now the Chairman of the UK Pastry club which has been created to find and support future UK pastry teams whilst developing the pastry skills in the industry.
GOOD news for Thame’s bargain-hunters; The Florence Nightingale Hospice Shop in Cornmarket, Thame, is to celebrate its first birthday with a half-price sale on Tuesday, July 19, Thame Market day – and there will be a cake sale and a tombola at the shop.
Shoppers, staff and volunteers at the official opening of the Thame Florence Nightingale Hospice Shop
“We are very grateful to our shoppers here in Thame for their support, both in shopping with us and also for donating so many lovely things for us to sell,” said Rachel Trendell, the Thame Shop Manager. “We’re delighted to be celebrating our first year, and hope that everyone will come and celebrate with us and enjoy a bargain and a piece of birthday cake at the same time!”
All the profits from Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity Shops go towards providing specialist palliative care to patients, and support to individuals and families coping with life-limiting illnesses in the local area.
FOLLOWING a very popular and successful Thame Carnival in June, the event has raised £3000 for local charities.
The Headteacher of John Hampden Primary school, Mr Hankey, lead his school in the carnival procession
A cheque for £2000 will be winging its way to the young team behind the Megan’s Bench project; £300 will be going to Barley Hill Primary School PTFA; £300 to St Joseph’s Primary School PTFA,;£300 for John Hampden Primary School PTFA and £100 for E Fotherby World Challenge.
Lord Williams’s Association – the PTFA of Lord Williams’s School – raised over £700 from the Pimms Tent and many other community groups sold burgers, ran games stalls and a variety of great fun activities this year, raising valuable funds for their own groups.
Kieran Blanco, who has been leading the Megan’s Bench project, has thanked all the people who came to Thame carnival 2016 and for all the people who helped run this years carnival, especially in the later months running up to the event. He posted on the Thame Carnival Facebook page:
“Megan was my best friend throughout my childhood and I am really pleased to hear that the carnival team has managed to raise £3000, and is willing to donate £2000 towards Megan’s bench. I would also like to say on behalf of Megan’s friends and close friends that they are all pleased and very excited about your kind generous donation towards the bench. Thank you guys. I will be looking forward to helping you out for next year’s carnival.”
WHO could have predicted that a new housing development in Thame would reveal an archaeological site of immense national importance, with evidence of continuous settlement in Thame spanning a period of 6000 years ?
Roman coins found at site F in Thame (Image courtesy of John Moore Heritage Services)
From a Neolithic henge, and a causewayed enclosure through to Iron Age roundhouses and a ritual burial, moving on to a Roman well and sunken featured buildings from the Saxon period, all supported by artefacts in the form of tools, coinage, pottery and human remains.
All of this was unearthed in 2016 on the old pig farm to the north of Thame, known as site F in the Neighbourhood Plan, through a joint excavation by Oxford Archaeology and Cotswold Archaeology, who are now bringing their findings to a public exhibition at Thame Town Hall.
On Saturday, July 23 (10.30 – 4.00) maps, plans, photographs, and actual artefacts from the site will be on display and archaeologists who worked on the dig will be on hand to explain the significance of the site and to answer any questions. The last admission will be at 3.30pm
All are welcome to this free event which will feature two introductory talks in the morning, followed by an afternoon for browsing, object handling, and children’s activities, making a unique opportunity for Thame residents to get hands-on with local history.
The Catkids Theatre for Kids cast, based in Thame, recently played to packed houses at Thame Players Theatre with a double bill of their summer musical production, Turn Your Radio On.
The show – filled with music, dancing and laughs a plenty – is based around the emergence of rock and roll in 1950s Britain as youth culture starts to find its voice; and the Catkids certainly found their voice with a series of upbeat songs which has the sold-out crowd tapping their feet and clapping along in delight.
Confident, word-perfect lead roles were backed up by tight musical numbers and beautifully delivered one-liners as the well directed musical kept the scenes rolling along at a high tempo and the entertainment turned up to ten.
All the months of rehearsal paid off, as director Lexi Cheesman reflected: “The cast were all superb and did all the people working so hard behind the scenes proud. All the children get so much out of being involved and its lovely to see, especially when performances go so well.”
From it’s rock and roll, the focus is on next Catkids’ January’s pantomime production.
THE First Thursday Music Club will see Papa Truck, the British Bluegrass band, with signature songs of the Chiltern Hills, back at the at the Club’s monthly extravaganza at The Stables, behind the James Figg pub in Thame, on July 7.
Papa Truck
Papa Truck are working hard this summer performing all over the UK, culminating with an appearance at Towersey Festival in August. These five will have you grinning from ear to ear and tapping your foot to their original songs. Bluegrass may originate in America but the band have made the genre their own, mixing inspiration from the people, places and sounds around them.
Other artists and bands performing at the club include 2am Blue and The Band With No Name.
As has been the case since the launch of The First Thursday Music Club over six years ago, the club still offers the opportunity for artists to play live in front of a warm and appreciative audience in the “Open Mic” section of the evening where slots will always be available in the first hour on a “first come, first served” basis with player sign-up starting at 7.30pm. The club has a full house PA system with keyboard, bass amp, guitar amp and jazz drum kit (bring breakables!) all set up on stage and ready to go.
Another eclectic evening is guaranteed and entrance, as always, is FREE to all!
Thame Players are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death by staging an open-air production of Macbeth next month. It will be set in the gardens of the privately owned Edwardian house, The Elms, accessed from Thame’s Upper High Street, and follows their highly successful open-air Much Ado About Nothing there two years ago.
Ryan Whitney and Abi Tester who are playing Lord and Lady Macbeth rehearsing at The Elms
Chris Parker, the Director, is taking the play back to its historic roots in eleventh-century Scotland. He explained: “I believe this production will offer a breath of fresh air for those who prefer their Shakespeare set in its original period. It will be authentic, including costumes and weaponry consistent with that period. I see Macbeth very much as a thriller, taking the audience on a nail-biting journey into the dark realms of human nature, complete with witchcraft and supernatural elements. At the same time, the impact of human frailty and lust for power are laid bare, as the characters are caught up in a tempest of their own making.”
Chris is well-qualified to direct Shakespeare, having previously produced several other Shakespeare plays at open-air locations such as the Chiltern Open-Air Museum, Chalfont St Giles. He has been involved with Shakespeare projects at the Old Vic, Leeds Castle, and St John’s Smith Square, and has worked with the late Cedric Messina as well as at the Globe Theatre with Sam Wannamaker. For Thame Players, Chris has directed Present Laughter, How the Other Half Loves and Blithe Spirit.
Macbeth is played by Ryan Whitney, and his emphasis will be on exposing the sinister nastiness of the Scottish king. Ryan has played both amateur and professional roles, including King George in The Madness of King George, Caliban in The Tempest, and Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Lady Macbeth is played by Abi Tester, whose experience with powerful, emotionally charged roles includes playing Joy in Shadowlands and Doňa Rosita in Lorca’s Doňa Rosita.
To ensure the audience experience is as pleasurable as possible, Thame Players will be providing undercover seating for all and are encouraging audience members to bring a picnic to eat in the grounds, and additional refreshments will be available. These will include locally brewed beer, wines, hot or cold drinks, and delicious food provided by local caterer, Kirsty’s Kitchen, from whom picnics can be ordered in advance via email: kirstyskitchen@gmail.com
Open-air productions like this are costly to stage and Thame Players are lucky enough to have the support of headline sponsor, Rectory Homes, as well as other local businesses, whose contributions will ensure that Macbeth is a memorable production – a breath of fresh air in every sense.
Macbeth will be held at 32 The Elms, Upper High Street, Thame OX9 2DN from Tuesday, July 5 – Saturday, July 9, inclusive. Evening performances will be at 7.45pm and a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday (doors open from 6.15 pm daily and from 1pm on Saturday). Tickets cost £10 and £9 (concessions) from Spear Travels, telephone 01844 217228, or you can book online at www.thameplayers.co.uk
THAME’S familiar community spirit was illustrated in bucket loads last weekend when the day after the best Thame Carnival for years, the persistent rain threatened to overshadow the annual Thame Round Table Duck Race.
Hundreds came out, appropriately dressed to deal with the worst weather and watched as around 1800 rubber ducks were launched from Thame Bridge to start the race. As always, Captain Ducky was on hand to interrupt proceedings in his amazingly crafted, paddle powered pallets, with Pirate Peter trying not to sink his bath/boat contraption!
‘Splash’ the pirate, aka Peter Butt
One of the race organisers, Tim Lancaster, explained the proceedings: “The pirates helped the ducks along their way, entertaining (we hope!) the crowd as they followed the flow down river, with a mixture of terrible jokes and collapsing watercraft!”
Fellow organiser, Neil Shorter, continued: “The Duck Race is always a highlight of the year for our members to run, whatever the weather. We are grateful to the people of our community that came out to support us; even we, ourselves struggled to want to come out in the rain!
“It was all worth it though, as over £3,500 was raised, all of which is donated to local groups and charities.
“We would also like to thank all the friends of Thame Round Table,” Neil added, “including the Fire Service, Peach Pubs, Helpful Hirings and KnowledgePoint for sponsoring and supporting the event.”
Winning tickets were:
1st- 1727
2nd- 962
3rd- 509
Seesaw.org.uk, are one of Thame Round Table’s charities to benefit from their activities. Seesaw is an Oxford based grief support Charity, providing support specifically to young people that have lost family members.
SO tweeted Thame style guru, Katy Dyer; Quote: “What a fab day at @ThameCarni2016 – definitely the best I’ve been to!” Judge for yourself and view Thame Carnival 2016, in colour LINK HERE and for the black and white photography fan, LINK HERE
And the winner is…Kubota
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