Category: entertainment and leisure news

RACQUETS Fitness Centre, Thame, presents an Olympic Karaoke Disco, with DJ Lee Richardson.

POSTPONED FROM July 27 – Bear On A Bicycle

PUPILS from Thame’s Lord Williams’s School will be unveiling their much anticipated creative arts project at the Towersey Festival this August bank holiday.

Entitled Epic Wins, and with flash mob‐style happenings, the project was funded directly by proceeds from previous Towersey Festivals.

This August Bank Holiday weekend, enjoy some great entertainment, food and drink at Towersey Festival 2012.

Situated just outside Thame, the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Towersey is home to one of the most popular events in the region. Combining the elements of a successful music festival with a huge village fair, Towersey offers a fantastic range of things to do and see ‐ from chart‐topping bands, to children’s workshops.

A ‘Festival Experience Ticket’ offers visitors access to the Showground on Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday 27 August 2012 and a chance to enjoy a spread of activities, from music and dance, to street theatre and a sculpture trail.

Various stalls offer gifts and goodies, from handmade soaps, unique jewellery and clothing, to garden herbs, while Towersey Real Ale and Cider Festival, well stocked with acclaimed and award‐winning beverages, offers the perfect accompaniment to the array of delicious street foods, courtesy of local artisan producers.

As always, there’s also a range of performances and activities aimed squarely at families, with art, craft, science and circus workshops, puppet shows, face painting, games, singing, dancing, storytelling and more.

Among the many entertainers taking centre stage or mingling through the crowds are Uncle Tacko’s Flea Circus, life-sized Punch and Judy, robots, jugglers, Irish theatre ensemble Armagh Rhymers, and dozens of singers and musicians.

Festival Experience Tickets cost just

ONE of the UK’s most successful independent festivals, Towersey, returns next month with a great line-up of pop chart-toppers and award-winning acts.

Among those making their way to the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Towersey are The South (aka The Beautiful South), who’ll be launching the five-day festival on Thursday 23 August with a hit-filled set featuring such classics as Song For Whoever, Perfect Ten, You Keep It All In and A Little Time.

They’re joined by Bellowhead (Friday 24 August), the raucous English folk 11-piece who’ve racked up a hefty 18 BBC Radio 2 Folk Award nominations since 2005. Taking home seven wins, five were for Best Live Act!

Other acts heading to Towersey’s fully covered Venue 65 stage include Edward II (Saturday 26 August), who mix English dance tunes with reggae; the internationally respected Scottish octet Peatbog Faeries plus famed broadcaster, comedian, poet and presenter of BBC Radio 3’s The Verb, Ian McMillan (Sunday 26 August); and former Idlewild frontman turned folk troubadour, Roddy Woomble (Monday 27 August).

Tickets for individual Venue 65 shows begin at just

This is a community message from Thames Valley Police.
HAVE YOUR SAY MEETINGS – The following Have Your Say Meetings are being held in your neighbourhood:

Wednesday 1 August, at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame, between 2pm and 4pm.

Thursday 9 August, at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame, between 2:30pm and 4:30pm.

Friday 10 August, at the Co-Op Cafe, High Street, Thame, between 4pm and 6pm.

Please come along, this is your opportunity to speak with your neighbourhood officers to discuss any local issues of concern you may have. If you are unable to attend but wish to speak with your neighbourhood officers, please call 101.

Message sent by
Cathie Wiskin (Police, Neighbourhood Policing Administrator, South Oxon & Vale LPA

COMING SOON to Thame Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame, MYRIAD PRODUCTIONS LTD – Classical theatre with a contemporary twist!

WUTHERING HEIGHTS By EMILY BRONT

THAME Players presenst: Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard. From Tuesday 10th July to Saturday 14th July at 7.45pm at the Players Theatre, Nelson Street, Thame.

?This is a brilliant, brilliant play. A play of ideas, of consummate theatricality, of sophisticated entertainment and of heartache fro time never to be regained.? Sunday Times

Tom Stoppard?s hilarious and thought provoking play takes us backwards and forwards between the 19th century and the present day as Hannah Jarvis and Bernard Nightingale try to uncover the truth behind the scandal that took place when Lord Byron stayed at Sidley Park, a stately home in Derbyshire.

The play, directed by Tim Shepherd, runs from Tuesday 10th July to Saturday 14th July. Tickets cost

LORD Williams?s Festival Chorus will be the first amateur choir to perform Karl Jenkins? new work, The Peacemakers at their summer concert in Thame on Saturday (July 14) and pupils from Lord Williams?s School will be drumming up the excitement.

The choir is invariably amongst the first to perform Karl?s new compositions, as their musical director, John Gibbons works closely with the composer. For this performance, the Ealing Symphony Orchestra is being joined by the exciting multi-percussionist Zands Duggan, who played the work with Karl at its Welsh premiere in May. Choir chair, Claire Humphries, said: “Zands has been coaching pupils at Lord Williams?s School to play the percussion parts on Saturday, so tickets for the event are selling fast – helped by the fact that the CD of The Peacemakers went into the Classical Charts at number one and is still at the top after 14 weeks. It just shows how exciting Karl Jenkins? music is.”

The soprano part will be sung by the sublime Russian singer, Anna Gorbachyova, who has now made several guest appearances with the choir to great acclaim. Also on the programme will be Sammartini?s Recorder concerto in F, played by recorder virtuoso Alison Baldwin, and Warlock?s popular Capriol Suite for Strings.

The concert will take place at 7.30pm at Thame Leisure Centre. Tickets cost

A TALENTED young flautist from Thame will be holding a recital tomorrow (Saturday), to help pay for her post graduate studies at the prestigious Royal Academy of Music.

Ex Lord Williams’s pupil, Suzanna Watson, already has several accolades behind her, including the Topwind flute prize won while she was studying at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama. She has played with many major orchestras and ensembles and has recently been awarded a place on the Master of Arts course at the Royal Academy, starting in September 2012.

Suzannah’s recital, A Summer’ Evening Flute Recital, is at St Mary’s Church, Thame, starting at 7.30pm. Tickets cost

YES, it’s that time of the month again! Thame’s First Thursday Music Club, at The Stables (behind James Figg pub)is gearing up for another splendid evening of diverse LIVE music from some of Thame’s most talented musicians.

The Band With No Name (TBWNN) are set to take the 10 o?clock feature spot at this month?s First Thursday Music Club next Thursday, July, 5. TBWNN features Dave Bradley on vocals and rhythm guitar, Kev Lucas on lead guitar, Clive Henry on Harmonica backed by Clive Taylor on drums/cajon and Phil Westerman on Bass.

Having just played Thame Carnival as a loud, Indie Rock outfit, TBWNN have arranged an acoustic set for the night but promise to feature some up-beat rock – as well as a few laid back toons!

Last month?s FTMC event featured Emma Davidmann who returned to Thame from her Brighton base to play to her home crowd. Another 13 acts also performed throughout the evening including 2am Blue, Kerraleigh & Martin and Sir Walter J Wallis.

The July Open Mic event is on Thursday will get underway with the first act around 8.30pm. Sign up for performers is from 7.45pm. Check out the club on Facebook, ?The First Thursday Music Club? or at: www.firstthursdaymusicclub.com where you can find more info, including contact numbers and addresses for the organisers.

PHOTO: TBWNN – One!(Kev Lucas was otherwise engaged when this latest shot of the band was taken – but we all know what he looks like by now!)