LORD Williams’s Festival Chorus will be holding a Choral Workshop for anyone interested in exploring the internationally acclaimed piece The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins this Saturday, 27th September.
Image courtesy of WOW.247.co.uk
“Starting at 9.30am, the all- day workshop at Long Crendon Baptist Church will be a wonderful opportunity for any singers, regardless of experience, looking to enjoy participating in this extraordinary piece,” said John Gibbons, LWFC’s Musical Director.
“In the past, these workshops have proved hugely popular for our members and for anyone else wanting to learn more on the day.
“Dedicated to victims of conflict, The Armed Man shows the descent into war, the destruction it brings, and ends with a hope for peace. In this, the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1, anyone either joining us on Saturday or coming to watch the performance in November, will not fail to be moved and to still feel its pertinence in the 21st Century.”
The workshop takes place ahead of the choir’s main performance of the Armed Man on Saturday, November 8, at The Thame Leisure Centre. Anyone interested can go along, register at 9.30am and join the singers for coffee ahead of the main rehearsal at 10.30am. Cakes will be provided but singers are encouraged to bring along their lunch.
Entry Fee is £10 and Score Hire £2. The session ends at 4pm. For more information please contact Mrs S Claridge, tel: 01844 208629 or claridge31@tiscali.co.uk
THERE’S sure to be plenty to feast on in Thame this Saturday when the town holds its annual food festival and the streets will be laden with good things to eat and drink.
Lotte Duncan and Ken Bruce will both be among the celebrities at this year’s Thame Food Festival
Celebrity chefs cooking up mouth-watering dishes, hands-on workshops and live entertainment, plus terrific street food will all be on offer from 9am to 5pm in the town centre.
The food festival takes over the whole of the town centre so it’s impossible to miss! Stalls are piled high with everything from charcuterie, chillies and cheeses; teas, local ales and ciders and irresistible cakes and cookies – all along both sides of the High Street and Cornmarket, right through to the Upper High Street, with an information point at Montesson Square. For a welcome pit-stop, you can visit the James Figg pub and The Thatch pop-up pub next to the town hall.
The main demo stage, sponsored by AGA, is right outside their shop in the Upper High Street, with Edd Kimber and John Whaite from BBC Two’s The Great British Bake Off getting things off to a flying start at 10am, with Adam Simmonds, Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi, Raymond Blanc, Sophie Grigson, David Mooney, Simon Brown and Lotte Duncan hot on their heels. See the full line-up here http://www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/line-up-on-the-demo-and-interview-stages/
A second helping will then be dished up on the interview stage, sponsored by Belmond Le Manoir aux quat’Saisons, in front of the town hall, where festival patron, TV chef and writer Lotte Duncan will be putting the chefs through their paces. Tom Kerridge from the two Michelin star restaurant, the Hand & Flowers in Marlow, will take to the stage at 12 noon, with BBC Radio Two presenter, Ken Bruce, on at 2.15pm, in between compèring the demo stage.
Watch the chefs from the Raymond Blanc Cookery School battle it out with students from Aylesbury College on the demo stage at 4.30pm and get the latest cookery books signed by their authors immediately after each interview at the pop-up book shop, kindly provided by The Bookhouse, next to the interview stage.
Be sure to book your place at one of the great food and drink workshops by going to http://www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/workshops-and-talks, clicking on Workshops & Talks and then chose from the drop-down list of events. Take the family to the town hall at 3.30pm for sausage-making with Ricky Jeffrey from The Egg House, and come away with your own packet of freshly made bangers!
How about trying your hand at bread shaping with The Cornfield Bakery at 11.30am; pasta making with the CiCi CoCo Cookery School at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 2.30pm; chocolate and wine matching with fabulous chocolates from Rumsey’s Chocolaterie and Neil Phillips, The Wine Tipster, at 2.30pm and round off the day by savouring some superb Champagnes from Jacquart at 3.30pm. Most workshops cost just a few pounds and many are free to enjoy. Make a beeline for either the town hall or the function room above The Swan for the workshops, and both the Stonewold Gallery and the Thame Players Theatre for the talks.
To make way for all these goodies, the whole of the town centre will be closed to traffic for the day but there’s easy access into Thame on foot and you can leave the car at the Thame Showground. Look out for the special Park and Ride signs on all major routes and take the Chinnor Rugby Club entrance into the showground. The full address is The Thame Showground, Kingsey Road, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 3JL and for Satnavs the postcode is OX9 3JL.
Here you can park for just £4 for the day and take the free Park and Ride to and from town. Keep your eyes peeled for celebrity bus driver Ken Bruce, who will be behind the wheel of one of the four London Routemaster buses ferrying visitors to and from the festival between 8.30am and 6pm.
The park and ride isn’t suitable for disabled visitors, but there is parking for Blue Badge holders in the town centre, using the Cross Keys or Rising Sun roundabouts. Simply show your blue badge to the security guard who will give you access to the parking bays.
“Thame Food Festival is a wonderful showcase of local, artisan and unique produce and a truly special day that deserves all of our support,” says festival ambassador Raymond Blanc OBE. “My team and I are delighted to be involved again this year. Come and join us on a grand gastronomic tour to meet incredible growers and producers and be inspired by truly talented chefs. Good food, good wine and good company – you will find it all in Thame. I can’t think of anything better. Enjoy the festival.”
The Thame Food Festival takes place from 9am to 5pm, this coming Saturday, September 27, in the heart of Thame town centre. www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk
REVIEW by Gwilym Scourfield: “Quartet” by Ronald Harwood was chosen by Bernadette Tildesley to launch the improved theatre in Nelson Street. A bold choice! It revolves around four characters with a long history of performing opera together, meeting again in a senior citizens’ home. They decide, after protracted argument, to perform the quartet from Rigoletto as a tribute to the composer (irreverently referred to as ‘Joe Green’) on his birthday. Bold because the play was recently released as a feature film with an iconic cast of Britain’s best actors.
Thame Players’ cast of ‘Quartet’
Brilliant choice! The play is a far better vehicle for Harwood’s main idea than film. The restricted facilities and intimacy of live theatre enable the contrasts in character of these four to trigger our imaginations and identify with their separate personalities perfectly. We have no distractions from impressive scenes or ultra close-up. We see all the characters all the time. It is their relationships and the benefits they have derived from ageing that give the piece its deep meanings. From separate ‘divas’, downplaying the insignificance of the corps d’opera, pushing themselves into the best downstage light, we watch four real people with all their flaws, discovering how to work together. From ‘competition’ to ‘collaboration’ – a journey’s purpose achieved via maturity.
The final scene in full costume shows the triumph of art over reality when they find at last the harmony their real lives have missed; a beautiful theatrical metaphor. What better way for an amateur company to show its advantages over the professional stage: people who come from all walks of life, motivated and united by their love of theatre (not fame or fortune) and launch a new facility?
The four performances were all sensitively characterised and realistically portrayed. Graham Sinclair Jones breathed life into Reginald, a former tenor who had once been married to Jean. Her appearance at the retirement home is the shock that initiates the action of the play. It was a measured, mature, carefully modulated performance which was always totally credible. Jean, played by Colleen Tudway, is the life-wounded diva who excites little sympathy at the beginning of the play and earns our love and respect as she grows through it; very exacting role, calling for sudden changes of pace and mood. Colleen (though a late addition to the cast due to illness) brilliantly assumed these subtleties and was, like her character, stellar.
Cecily, played by Mary Cleare, is a former ‘lively lady’ – a sexual fantasy for Wilfred. Her effervescence is the yeast of the play. She bubbles and sparkles throughout, always just on the very edge of being ‘barmy’. She is adorable from her first line and delights throughout. Just at the climax of the penultimate scene, she ‘loses it’ and her dementia threatens disaster. A measure of Mary’s success within the role is the huge lump in the throat that this brings to the audience. The writer’s skill is in showing how her colleagues, now a united team, gently enable her to take her full part. The poignancy of these moments carries the play to an entirely unanticipated level, emotionally engaging and deeply imbued with wisdom. Wilfred, played by Tony Long, is the clown with the sad soft centre. Tony’s comic timing is fully capitalised upon and his gentle pushing of the pace always rescues the play’s longer moments. However, it is his deep characterisation and the integrity with which he inhabits his character that make his performance so memorable.
Backstage support was, as usual superlative, flawlessly unnoticeable. Bernadette got the best from an excellent cast and Thame Players have christened their new theatre with a thoroughly well-executed play; a delight to watch, with a great deal to consider in retrospect. Joe Green would have been proud to see it!
A star-studded line up of National celebrity and high profile local chefs will be making an appearance in Thame later in the month as Thame’s annual Food Festival takes over the whole of the town centre – and there’ll be not one but TWO chances to see many of them in action.
John Whaite, Great British Bake Off winner
The double-bill planned for this year will see chefs including Raymond Blanc OBE, Adam Simmonds, Sophie Grigson, Jonathan Phang, David Mooney as well as Giancarlo and Katie Caldesi taking to the main demo stage, which will once again be compèred by BBC Radio Two’s Ken Bruce. Between them, they will serve up a mouth-watering selection of dishes and inspiring ideas to try at home.
Two stars of the baking world, ‘the boy who bakes’ Edd Kimber and his fellow winner of BBC Two’s the Great British Bake Off, John Whaite, will be joining forces to do a fabulous double-act on the day, with whisks at the ready at 10 am. Edd will be rustling up some sublime chocolate soufflé tarts with salted caramel from his new book, Pâtisserie Made Simple, whilst John will make an irresistible blackberry and gingernut marshmallow mousse cake.
TV chef, Jonathan Phang, will be cooking up his favourite monkfish curry recipe at 12.30, closely followed by Raymond Blanc who will share his love of simple seasonal food done to perfection in his 45 minute slot, from 1.30pm onwards.
Things really start to hot up at 4.30pm, when chefs from the world-famous Raymond Blanc Cookery School take on their counterparts from Aylesbury College in the fun cook-off, now making its third appearance at the festival.
Mark Peregrine, head tutor and Raymond Blanc’s right hand man in the kitchen, and his colleague Adam Johnson, Development Chef at Belmond Le Manoir, will take on students from the college as they expand their culinary horizons and try to make it 3-1 in favour of the college.
After watching all these great chefs in action, you can then enjoy a second helping by making your way over to the interview stage outside the AGA Showroom on the Upper High Street, where festival patron, TV chef and writer Lotte Duncan will be putting many of them through their paces. Headlining on the interview stage at 12 noon will be Tom Kerridge from the only pub in the land with two Michelin stars, The Hand & Flowers in Marlow, alongside Edd Kimber and John Whaite from 11am, and Monsieur Blanc from 2.45pm.
An all-day programme of food and drink workshops will be running at two locations across town, the Stoneworld Gallery in the Upper High Street and the Upper Chamber in the Town Hall, with sessions on pasta and sausage making as well as bread shaping and wine tasting. Sessions can be booked in advance by going to http://www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk/ Click on ‘Workshops & Talks’ from the main menu where you’ll see a drop-down list of the workshops and events.
Festival patron and celebrity cook, Lotte Duncan, said: “We’ve really got an incredible roll-call of cheffing talent coming to Thame on the day, as well as our biggest ever array of local and artisan food and drink, hands-on workshops and exciting live entertainment. Not only will you get the chance to watch a thrilling double-bill of top chefs in action, you can also get your hands on all the latest cookery books, many signed by the chefs, in our first ever pop-up book shop run by Thame’s independent book seller, The Book House.
“Afterwards you can feast on some amazing street food, have a pint at The James Figg and The Thatch pop-up pub and listen to great live music. We’ve really got all the ingredients for an unforgettable day, so mark your calendar for Saturday, September 27, and join us for a fantastic, free foodie day out!”
The Thame Food Festival takes place from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, September 27, in the heart of Thame town centre.
AN exhibition celebrating 21 years of Thame’s Cuttle Brook Conservation Volunteers (CBCV) and twenty years of Cuttle Brook as Thame’s Local Nature Reserve, is currently being held at Thame Museum.
The exhibition offers a feast of photos, tools, observing-devices, sculpture, models, artworks and artefacts, old and new…Let your imagination meander through the meadows, identify the insects, build the bridges, marvel at the maps, wade in the wetlands and watch the wildlife.
Follow the story, in a timeline from prehistory to the future, then find out about the science and conservation of this special 30-acre haven (just 5-10 minutes walk away from Thame town centre). For children, there are wildlife-sketching, colouring and spotting opportunities.
The exhibition is free, suitable for all ages. Opening times are from 10-4 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and 12-4 on Sundays, until October 8, 2014.
There’s also a special talk at the museum, at 7.30pm on Thursday, September 11, about discovering aspects of the wildlife, biodiversity, trees, woodlands, flowering plants, grasses, birdlife, history, bridges, structures, freshwater-life and pond-life of Cuttle Brook, with poems and a quick wildlife sound-quiz.
Tickets for the talk are £5, or £3 for museum-members, and available at Thame Museum (bookable by phone on 01844 212801).
FANCY a long weekend in France, including a visit the beautiful chateau and gardens of Domaine de Villarceaux?
Thame Twinning Association has an exchange visit week-end arranged to Thame’s twin town of Montesson, just outside Paris, on Friday, September 19 to 21, and there are still a few places left on the charabanc – well, it’s a very modern coach with loo and all mod cons.
So, anyone who lives locally, who would like to head off to France for the customary warm welcome and culinary delights provided by the people of Montesson, can contact: Linda Emery by email: lemery@btinternet.com for details and the cost.
This year, a group of cyclist from the Haddenham Hillbillies cycle club, is cycling from Thame to Montesson, almost 250 miles in just three days, arriving at the same time as the twinning coach party. They are helping to celebrate 25 years of the wonderful and valuable Florence Nightingale Hospice that provides end-of-life care for local people, and raise valuable funds via sponsorship.
You can read more about their challenge and consider donating here:
THE Thame Chamber Choir’s next concert, on October 18, at St Mary’s Church, Thame, will be entitled Looking back: 100 years in Thame, reflecting the quote from Philip Larkin’s poem, MCMXIV, “Never such innocence again”.
Duncan Aspden will Direct, and the tickets will cost £12 (Full price), £10 (concessions), £5 Students (with card) and Children (Under 16) Free. Available from TAL Box Office (Town Hall), CAAOS Computers (Butter Market, Thame) via www.thamechamberchoir.org and on the door.
The Thame Chamber Choir is a Registered charity No. 1091186
IT’S a lovely sunny morning at the first, full day at the 50th Towersey Festival, and there’s something for everyone, including a film presented by Thame Cinema 4 All, In Search of Nic Jones, early this afternoon.
Tony Harrison (Thame Cinema 4 All) and Joe Heap (Towersey Festival) spreading the news at Tuesday’s Market Funday in Thame
Also featuring today is Songs from the Urban Past, in Association with Thame Arts and Literature Festival and later in the evening, there’s music from Jossiene Clarke and Ben Walker from 8.50 – 9.50pm, and The Melrose Quartet at 10.00 – 11.15pm.
You can download the whole programme from The Towersey Festival website here: LINK
PEOPLE living in southern Oxfordshire will get a rare chance to see some of the world’s best cyclists, including Sir Bradley Wiggins, on their doorstep when the Friends Life Tour of Britain passes through the area.
Wiggins and Cavendish pictured during this year’s Tour of California – Image courtesy of cyclingweekly.co.uk
On September 12, the sixth stage of the tour will enter Oxfordshire near Wantage and head through Blewbury, where there will be a mid-stage YodelDirect Sprint, and then on to a category two, King of the Mountains climb at Chinnor Hill.
Due to take part in the tour this year are Team Sky, being led by Wiggins as the former Tour de France winner aims to retain his crown, and the Great Britain National Team alongside many of the world’s top teams including BMC Racing and the world No.1 squad Movistar Team.
Also confirmed, just this Monday, is World-class sprinter, Mark Cavendish who will ride in this year’s Tour of Britain for the Omega Pharma-QuickStep team. He is making a comeback after crashing out of the Tour de France back in July on the opening stage, resulting in surgery for a shoulder injury.
Communities along the route are being to encouraged to come out and see the event, and come up with their own ideas to mark the occasion.
The race will be covered live by ITV4 and British Eurosport, with three hours of live coverage daily, plus a one-hour highlights programme each evening.
The stage goes from Bath to Hemel Hempstead, will see riders enter the county at lunchtime via Chain Hill, skirting Wantage at around 1pm then on via the A417 passing West Hendred, Harwell, and Blewbury.
They will continue along the A329 past the edge of Cholsey up to Crowmarsh Gifford, then via the A4130 to Nettlebed before moving on to the B481, via Christmas Common up to Chinnor, and leaving Oxfordshire shortly after 2pm.
County Councillor David Nimmo Smith, Cabinet member for transport, said: “We are delighted that the tour will be visiting Oxfordshire, having spent many months working in collaboration with the organisers to decide the route, in what promises to be a wonderful day. We are proud to be supporting cycling in south Oxfordshire, having invested a great deal in the local area, improving the cycling network and increasing the opportunity for people to gain access to bicycles.”
Cllr Elaine Ware, Cabinet Member for Economy, Leisure and Property at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We have a great cycling community across southern Oxfordshire so it will be a real treat for us to see this race first hand. With big investments being made to the cycling infrastructure around Science Vale this event will really help to highlight the role cycling can play both as an exciting international sport and as part of our day to day lives.”
Cllr Bill Service, Cabinet Member for Leisure at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We are delighted that this international event will be visiting southern Oxfordshire. Not only will it be a great chance for us to see world class cycling on our door step but it will also be a great chance to show the area off to a large audience. We encourage as many people as possible to get out and see the race and mark the occasion in their own communities.”
NOW in its sixth year, the Chinnor Summer Beer Festival brings the whole village together for an afternoon of top quality local English ales and ciders, great food and awesome live music.
Muttz Knuttz entertain the crown at last year’s Chinnor Beer Festival
Entry is free and this year’s festival takes place from midday to around 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 23, at White’s Field, Mill Lane in Chinnor.
More than £20,000 has been raised for youth-related activities and projects in Chinnor from previous Beer Festivals, sometimes in support of an individual who wishes to undertake a project with community benefits, sometimes in support of local clubs and institutions, or as essential seed money for a larger local project.
Steve Bird, Chairman of the Chinnor Beer Festival, said: “The Festival is now an essential feature of the Chinnor social calendar and it’s been so successful that word is spreading to the local towns and villages. We’re proud to let them see what Chinnor has to offer and show what a great community pulling together can do to help support worthwhile local projects.”
Follow the Chinnor Beer Festival on social media, on Twitter: @chinnorbf or on the Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ChinnorBeerFestival
