PURPLE Dreams Productions will be returning to The Players Theatre on October 16, kicking off their ‘Next Stage’ tour with Love Games, written and directed by critically acclaimed Tobias Nicholls.
“When Isaac Williams set off to catch his usual bus, little did he realise that he’d meet the most important people of his life ….. quickly falling for kind-hearted Sophie, he finds himself fighting for her affection with rival suitor Chris. It’s not until Sophie’s feisty friend Zoe shows up though that it becomes apparent that everyone is playing ‘Love Games’.
This saucy comedy offers plenty of love, lust with laughter, and lies.”
Buy tickets online HERE and from Spear Travels, in Greyhound Walk, Thame 01844 217228
Tickets £10 Concessions £9
Tobias Nicholls
“Tobias Nicholls is 35 and has lived in Norfolk for most of his life and has spent all his working life in the theatre, either off stage, covering everything from steward through technical and to general manager, or on stage as an actor –writer which is his first love. As well as his work he had also formed Purple-Dreams as an ‘am-dram’ group and through the quality of his writing and acting won many awards both as an actor and for his original scripts.
“In 2011 he left his day job at the theatre, turned Purple-Dreams into a professional touring theatre company and has taken his writing talent to entertain a much wider audience by touring theatres. Now into the third year of his self-funded tours, the journey has taken them from Essex to Bridlington across country to Cumbria and back with many places in between, and as well as being critically acclaimed as a ‘rising talent’ he is gaining the reputation of delivering high quality audience entertainment.
The plays range from comedy’s through to much darker dramas but in all of them there are twists and turns in the plot which keep you guessing right to the very end. Tobias is the creative director and writes all the plays as well as directing and acting in them. When he is not in theatres he and Purple-Dreams do T.i.E. and pantomimes in schools, and away from the group he has also been doing film and TV work.
Writing about Love Games, one critic wrote: “The gags just keep coming” and another described it as “..a treat for those who love theatre.”
FOLLOWING the success of last year’s joint quiz hosted by the Thame and District Twinning Association and Thame United FC, the event is to be repeated on Friday, October 23.
The Quizmaster will be Brian West, whose last high level appearance was at the Mega Thame Quiz in aid of the Thame to Thame Nepal earthquake appeal.
Start time if 7pm for a 7.30pm at Thame United Football Club, Meadow View Park, Thame OX9 3RN. Teams of six, £5 per person. Proceeds to be split between Thame Twinning and Thame United FC. Bring your own nibbles and buy drinks from the bar, and there will be a raffle.
Contact Linda: 07805 229556 / lindaemery@btinternet.com to book a table.
AT Last! After chasing the band for over three years, Thame’s First Thursday Music Club (FTMC) is proud to announce that the Old Country Union will be the feature act at The First Thursday Music Club at The Stables (behind The James Figg pub) in Thame, next Thursday, October 1.
Old Country Union are made up of hugely experienced and talented musicians with long track records in the business. Based in Tring, they produce a sweet, hummin’, strummin’, good-time sound with a set made up of their own compositions from their CD “Home Brew” – together with a selection of classic acoustic rock covers.
The band comprises Simon Blanchford (bass and vocals), Tim Sweet (lead guitar, vocals and harmonica), John Greville (drums) with their charismatic front man, Frank Walsh providing the lead vocals (and rhythm guitar). Together, they produce a very tight sound of made up of sweet guitars and vocal harmonies that will be appreciated and loved by all.
In addition, at least 15 other artists and bands will be appearing in the Open Mic section in front of a crowd of around 200. Entrance, as always is completely FREE! First time amateurs through to full time professionals, and any genre of music, are welcome. The club has a full house PA system with keyboard, bass amp, guitar amp, cocktail drum kit all set up. Just turn up and plug in! Player sign up is between 7.30 pm and 7.45pm.
“WHATEVER corner of the planet I end up in, I will never find a kebab which tops Atalay’s,” says Thame born and bred foodie, Dominic Stanway-Williams, who sets off this weekend with a one-way ticket to Bangkok. He is determined to scour South East Asia high and low for the best grub the continent has to offer and will be documenting his discoveries along the way.
But even before leaving English soil Dominic believes he has already found one dish which will not be topped and swears that no matter where he goes, he will not find a better kebab than those served up at Thames’ very own Atalay van.
Dominic Stanway Williams with one of the famous Atalay Thame kebabs
Dominic’s love of food stemmed from cooking with his mother as a child, and it has been ever present since then with jobs on the Waitrose delicatessen and as a sous chef in the Spread Eagle hotel. His passion fuelled a food blog throughout his time at university but he’s now looking to take this one step further with his new website: ‘The Flavour Trail’ which he will use to detail his experiences throughout Asia. Below is a review taken from his site about one of Thame’s most popular takeaway options:
“The common kebab provides a great, greasy divide in culinary opinion. To some it epitomises the depths those unconcerned with fine-dining will sink to in pursuit of sustenance; to others, it marks the end all of comfort consumption, the titillating climax to an evening on the tiles.”
“The Ataly kebab van which frequents the Oxfordshire town of Thame is anything but divisive.”
‘It’s 7pm on Friday evening and despite the wealth of Chinese and Indian takeaways on offer it feels like half the town have turned out. Looking around it’s clear that my peers are by no means ending their evenings but in are fact exuding a collective and very sober yearning for high-quality, week-concluding nosh.
‘The sundry of accompaniments before me shames even the most chic of deli counters, typified by a lovingly-made chunky chilli sauce I’ve told tales of across the land. A flatbread is toasted against the grill and packed with steaming shavings from the rotating spit alongside my chosen ensemble of sauces and salads. The potent aroma that’s been tantalising everyone in range is finally delivered directly to me and I raise the paper package to my nostrils as if smelling a fine cigar.
The first bite sends a torrent of flavour down my gullet, a joyous fusion of peppery cabbage, creamy garlic sauce and velvety lamb cut with a tangy coriander kick. By the second bite I’ve surrendered to a dreamy meaty comatose state, one which I hope will never end’.
Will Dominic find that opinion-changing kebab? Or will the flavours of South East Asia keep him sufficiently distracted? Find out on his website ‘The Flavour Trail’ at www.ontheflavourtrail.com which will be going live any day!
LEADING members of Thame’s Inner Wheel and Rotary Clubs recently rrepresented Thame at the ‘Sinaia Forever’ Festival in Romania. The event was organised by Thame’s twin town, Sinaia, in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania over the weekend of September 4 to 6. The delegates were recommended by Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association, since none of the Thame Town Councillors were available to travel during that weekend.
Thame delegation with Vlad Oprea, Mayor of Sinaia
June Bateman and Lynn Singer, from Thame’s Inner Wheel Club, together with Erroll Bateman and John Singer from Thame Rotary Club, had the chance to meet delegates from other European towns twinned with Sinaia which include Athis Mons of France, Kusadasi of Turkey and Dimona of Israel. They also visited the world renowned Peles Castle, built by King Carol 1st of Romania in the 19th Century, the beautiful 17th Century Sinaia Monastery, as well as George Enescu’s Memorial House with interesting information about the famous 20th Century composer and musician.
Erroll Bateman said: “We were delighted we were able to represent Thame on a three-day twinning visit to Sinaia in our first ever trip to Romania. Thame’s twin town is a surprisingly beautiful mountain resort. Our Romanian hosts were most hospitable and generous.”
Erroll added: “We had an enjoyable and informative meeting with Vlad Oprea, the charismatic Mayor of Sinaia. He and his town council team are very keen to develop further the friendship and exchanges among the people of our twinned towns.”
The series of visits to Sinaia have continued this week, since Graham Baker, traditional blacksmith of Gommes Forge is representing Thame at Sinaia’s “Unity through diversity beyond borders” international crafts workshop among other traditional craftsmen from Romania, Macedonia and Turkey.
Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association will organise a public talk where the recent visitors to Thame’s twinned town will share their travel experiences and twinning opportunities at Thame Town Hall’s Upper Chamber on Monday, November 23, at 8 pm.
Thame and Sinaia have been officially twinned since 2012 when the two town councils approved the Twinning Charter which can now be viewed inside Thame Town Council’s Information Centre.
To suggest people exchange projects or to find out the latest about Thame-Sinaia Friendships Association, please visit www.facebook.com/thamesinaia
THAME Food Festival is preparing to serve up a double helping of deliciousness as it unveils not one but two fantastic line-ups for the demo and interview stages this year.
Frances Quinn
Saturday, September 26, will see an amazing array of cheffing talent taking to the AGA Demonstration stage in the Upper High Street, hosted by Simon Brown, AGA Demonstrator and cookery presenter on QVC, the home shopping channel.
Getting things off to an inspiring start at 10am with a cookery demo especially for children to sit at with BBC One’s MasterChef winner 2013 Natalie Coleman, who will be encouraging budding young foodies to experiment with different foods and tastes and giving them brilliant ideas to try at home.
Breton baker Richard Bertinet, owner of The Bertinet Cookery School in Bath, takes over at 11am to share his passion for bread making and creating faultless bakes time after time. Things take on a distinctly Italian feel at 11.45am as husband and wife team Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi cook authentic Italian dishes inspired by their travels, cookery schools and restaurants Caldesi in Campagna, Café Caldesi and La Cucina Caldesi Cookery School. Join them for plenty of buono gusto.
The irrepressible David Mooney is back at 12.30 with his take on gorgeous gastro pub food fresh from his growing pub empire the New Moon Pub Company, before handing over to home-grown talent Lucie Greenwood at 1.15pm. Lucie cooks delectable treats at The Milk Shed in Weston-on-the-Green and will delight with some of her favourites.
The heat is really turned up in the afternoon with the start of the festival’s annual live cook-off between The Raymond Blanc Cookery School and Aylesbury College. Will the students pull off a coup this year improving their 2-1 score, or will Monsieur Blanc’s team win the day? Take your places at 2pm to find out.
Hot on the heels of this trilling challenge comes Thame Food Festival Ambassador himself Raymond Blanc, who will bowl everyone over with his love of cooking with the best, seasonal produce as he creates a truly wonderful dish at 2.45pm.
If you’ve been gripped by baking and the tension in the bake-off tent, don’t miss some of the faces you’ve seen battling it out on TV in an extra large helping of baking brilliance starting with Great British Bake Off Winner 2013 Frances Quinn and her extraordinarily imaginative bakes at 3.45.
A fabulous double act ensures the day ends on a high as two more talented bakers step into the limelight at 4.30. Luis Troyano (Great British Bake-Off finalist 2014) and Miranda Gore-Browne (2010) will show you techniques to take a bake from every day to show stopping and share their love of great home baking.
Book-ending the action across town in the High Street meanwhile will be the interview stage sponsored by Barr Kitchens where festival patron Lotte Duncan will be putting the big names through their paces. Natalie Coleman is the first to share her experiences about what it’s like to win MasterChef, how it’s changed her life and what she’s done since, at 11am.
Richard Bertinet will be back at 11.45 to talk a bit more about baking and why he loves nothing more than sharing his passion with others, and then at 12 noon it will be time for the big reveal of our own home-grown baking talent. Join Frances Quinn and the other Great British Bake-Off celebs to see who rose to the challenge to be Thame’s best baker in the Big Thame Bake.
At 12.45, Sophie Grigson will return from a shopping spree at the festival with a basket laden with goodies she’s found. Lotte and Sophie will tasting and giving their verdict on the pick of the stalls.
At 2pm it’s time for The Big Thame Bake – Fully Risen, a whole batch of celebrity bakers on the stage in one go. Don’t miss Frances Quinn, Luis Troyano, Miranda Gore-Browne and Howard Middleton. This is your chance to quiz them on what it’s like to be on the show, working with Paul and Mary and as well as all things baking.
Finally, you can listen to the incredible tales of culinary adventures and a life creating one of world’s ultimate gourmet boltholes, Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, as Raymond Blanc joins Lotte to talk about just some of his many passions.
If you want to have a hand in making all of these good things happen, the organisers would love to hear from you. The festival is looking for volunteers to get involved on the day, with tasks such as helping to clear pots and pans from the demo stage, the odd bit of washing up, some general fetching and carrying and other important, behind the scenes jobs on the day. It’s fun and means you get to see another side of the festival, as well as helping to make the day run as smoothly as possible.
So if you’d like to find out more on how you can do your bit to make it a memorable day, please contact Alison Isherwood at alison@thamefoodfestival.co.uk. The Thame Food Festival takes place from 9am to 5pm on Saturday 26th September 2015 in the heart of Thame town centre. For more information, to book any of the special festival events and to sign up for the Big Thame Bake, please go to www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk.
WITH just over a month to go, the Thame Arts and Literature Festive (TAL) Festival Box-Office is in full swing and tickets are going fast.
LiTTLe MaCHiNe – Famous poems as you’ve never heard them
The team at Thame Town Hall (Tues, Thurs, Fri & Sat (9.30am-4.00pm)) is ready and waiting to take your orders. Pop in and say ‘hello’ or booking on-line at www.talfestival.org
Full details of the talks, workshops, poetry, cinema, music and other events taking place during the TAL Festival, can be found on the website LINK HERE. Meet Vince Cable, Hilary Boyd, Helena Lederer, Will Gompertz, Steve Darlow and a host of others.
A NEW Social Sewing Group has been set up at The Barns centre in Thame, running every Thursday, 10am till 1pm.
Sew Patchwork is a hand sewing patchwork group for all abilities Beginners welcome! For further information call either Theresa on 07919918545, or Sue on 01844 212742.
SEPTEMBER has always been an outstanding month in the Oxfordshire countryside with harvests being brought safely home, trees and meadows taking on their autumnal colours, skies offering a full palette of hues, musky bonfires lingering in the evening air and a more general welcoming calmness for visitors.
September this year, however, promises to be even more outstanding!
The UK’s AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) Family has come together to organise a 10 day programme of events to help people enjoy and be inspired by the UK’s AONBs. Starting on Saturday, September 19, and continuing through to Sunday, September 27, the events can be found on http://landscapesforlifeevents.org.uk/. There are over 80 and counting!
As Jill Smith from the National Association for AONBs explained: “Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty are some of the most beautiful and cherished landscapes in the UK. They are vibrant landscapes which offer a wealth of opportunities for everyone to enjoy them. They are Landscapes for Life in so many different ways.
“Outstanding Week is an opportunity for you to get involved and get out into our AONBs’ outstanding landscapes to enjoy country shows, dark sky discovery nights, walking festivals, archaeology walks, wood fairs, foraging and local food festivals, wildlife walks, coastal and marine days, thatching courses, drystone walling competitions, charcoal making, bioblitz, inspiration through art and music and many, many other activities.
“Events are being organised throughout the country so please join us for an Outstanding Week!”
See Twitter with #outstandingweek and @naaonb & @aonbfamily for new events to enjoy each day.
THE organisers of the 51st Towersey Festival can relax at last, in the knowledge that the move to the Thame Show Ground has paid off, and despite some soggy nights for campers and squelchy days for the punters, the crowds flocked to the festival over the August Bank Holiday, to enjoy performances by some of the biggest names in acoustic and roots music.
Joan Armatrading held the audience in awe on Sunday, August 30, with her rich, sensetive lyrics and mesmerizing musicianship
As well as a stream of talent on the Bar stage, organised and run by Thame’s First Thursday Music Club (follow LINK for bags of pictures and videos of artists), the festival featured sell-out headline appearances from Bellowhead, making their last official UK music festival appearance, and Grammy and Brit Awards nominated, singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading (Photo by Phil Sofer), as part of her final solo world tour.
Attracting around 8,000 revellers, the festival included stand-out shows from Oxford’s Stornoway, Show Of Hands, Sally Barker and trio Simpson, Cutting and Kerr.
The move to Thame Showground, close to the previous site in the village of Towersey itself, gave the organisers an opportunity to improve visitor access, upgrade on-stage production and introduce several new elements, such as a dedicated Creative Quarter.
Towersey Festival Director Joe Heap said: “We’ve been really blown away by the positive feedback we’ve had from our regular festival-goers. They really enjoyed the mix of familiar Towersey attractions and activities, such as lantern-making, with the new elements. We saw loads of fantastic performances across the four days with Grace Petrie and Rob Heron And The Tea Pad Orchestra among the many highlights. The new Creative Quarter also proved extremely popular with visitors and was a great addition to the site.
“Our 50th festival last year was incredible, and that sense of celebration, of Towersey Festival being something very special, has continued.”
Concluding, Joe added: “We’d like to thank everyone who helped us make Towersey Festival 2015 such a roaring success, from the countless performers to many visitors, but especially the teams of volunteers who worked so hard to make the festival happen.”
The 52nd Towersey Festival will run from Friday 26 to Monday 29 August 2016 at Thame Showground, Thame, Oxfordshire. A limited number of ultra-early bird tickets will be on sale online for just £99 for the full festival from 4 Sept 2015. For more details, see: www.towerseyfestival.com/tickets
