Category: Missed a ThameNews story?

THAME High Street has been chosen as one of the top ten of ‘England’s Greatest Places’, as nominated by the British public, and now that voting has begun, the number of votes will determine the overall winner to be crowned ‘England’s Greatest Place’.

England’s Great Places is a competition designed by the RTPI, to celebrate some of our most attractive and inspiring places, and the role planners have played in helping to protect or shape them for England’s communities. The judging panel was asked to choose a winner for each region. A very successful competition was held last year in Scotland.

An eminent panel of judges, chaired by RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) Past President, Professor Peter Fidler, have chosen their top 10 greatest places in England, after members of the public nominated 700 of their favourites as part of England’s Greatest Places competition.

A famous national park, a multi-billion pound regeneration scheme, two cities, a waterfront all feature and a local high street (Thame’s) are on the list.

Janet Askew, President of the RTPI said: “All our finalists are clearly much loved and appreciated places both by local residents and the people who visit them. We wanted to recognise special places like those on the list which are cherished because they have been protected, carefully planned or have been improved by the planning system. I am looking forward to seeing who the public now vote as England’s Greatest Place.”

A delighted Helen Johns, who coordinated, Thame’s recent Great British High Street, bid, said: “It is great news to hear that Thame High Street has been chosen as one of ten finalists in the RTPI’s England’s Great Places Competition. As the judges say, the character of our market town and its High Street have been protected and enhanced over time thanks to exemplary community support and innovative neighbourhood planning. These are the same qualities that have been noted by the judges in the Great British High Street Competition 2015, in which Thame was entered recently. Thame is also being recognised in that competition (details will follow soon) and, without doubt, it is a blend of community support, creativity and determination that contribute to making Thame so special – truly one of the Great Places in England. ”

The top ten Regional winners of the 10 ‘Greatest Places’ are:

Letchworth Garden City, East of England
Peak District, East Midlands
Brindley Place, Birmingham, West Midlands
Kings Cross Regeneration, London
Kielder Park, North East
Liverpool Waterfront, North West
Thame High Street, South East
Bath, South West – joint winner
Bristol, South West – joint winner
Saltaire, Yorkshire

A specially commissioned trophy will be presented to each local authority to mark their award.

Voting is open until Friday 20 November and is very easy. Just Tweet or Instagram your vote for your chosen place to: #RTPIgreatplaces

Full details: LINK HERE

FOLLOWING our report of exciting archaeological finds during a recent ‘dig’ at the site of a new housing development, (SEE LINK), more information about the evidence of human activity dating back around 6,000 years uncovered there, has emerged.

The remains of prehistoric monuments and settlements going back to the Neolithic period were among the exciting discoveries made during a seven month excavation of Bloor Homes’ Thame Meadows site, in Oxford Road. Archaeologists have described the dig, which was carried out by experts from Oxford Cotswold Archaeology, as one of the most significant undertaken in Britain this year, and one that ‘far surpassed’ their expectations.

Rare monument found

One of the most important finds was the discovery of a rare causewayed enclosure dating back to around 3,700BC, one of only 80 such monuments known to exist in Britain. Consisting of one or more circuits of bank and ditch, they are the earliest known monuments made by some of the earliest farming communities and were constructed to enclose areas of open space where communal gatherings to conduct such things as rictuals would take place.

Chris Ellis, Senior Project Officer at Cotswold Archaeology, part of a joint venture with Oxford Archaeology, said: “We have come across an amazing mass of archaeology from 6,000 years of human history, all on this one site. For the sheer density and range of archaeological features and the long period which they span, this has been the most fascinating and exhilarating excavation I have been involved with in my 25-year career.

“To encounter this amount of archaeology on just one development site is almost unheard of, and the discoveries have sparked a great deal of interest among academics. It’s one of the most significant digs to have taken place in Britain this year. Particularly, the discovery of a ‘new’ enclosure in British archaeology is extremely rare, so to discover such extensive remains of one on a relatively small project like this is extremely exciting.”

Human remains

Archaeologists also uncovered the remains of at least three roundhouses from the early Iron Age period (700-400BC), and more than 150 pits, used for storing grain and later disposing of rubbish, some containing human remains where settlers had buried the dead.

Discoveries from the Roman period (AD43-410) include a number of enclosures which housed corn drying ovens, while around 14 small Saxon buildings, dating from the 6th to 7th Century AD and believed to have been textile workshops, were also uncovered. Flint tools, pottery and combs made from animal bone were just some of the thousands of artefacts discovered. 

Chris explained that the site possessed several attributes which had made it an attractive location for settlers through the ages. He said: “People settled here because of the well-drained sandy geology, its prominent position in the landscape and its fantastic vistas to the north and south.”

 

The finds from the excavation will be housed with the Oxfordshire County Museum Service, and it is likely some of the objects will be displayed in Thame Museum.

Gemma Deacon, Sales Manager for Bloor Homes South Midlands, said: “It’s been absolutely fascinating to see the wide variety of items uncovered by archaeologists during the dig. It really is amazing to think that the site contained objects spanning almost 6,000 years of human history. The site has clearly been a popular location for human settlers throughout the ages and we believe our Thame Meadows development will prove just as attractive to house hunters looking for their perfect home in the Oxfordshire countryside.”

The Thame Meadows site is around 9.4 hectares in size and is located to the north of Oxford Road, directly opposite Lord Williams’s School and now that the archaeological excavation is complete, Bloor is about to begin building 203 new homes on the land, the first first of which are set to be released for sale in the winter.

MORE images from the Thame ‘dig’ HERE

A barrister from Thame who dodged rail fares from Haddenham Station into London for two years, avoided being sent to prison today.

But 43 year-old Peter Barnett, a father of three, was given a 16 week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to pay back nearly £6,000 to Chiltern Railways.

He dodged the full fare by getting off at Wembly Station and using his Oyster Card to travel on into London. He eventually gave himself up to Railway staff after first running off when challenged about his story at Marylebone station. The City of London Magistrates Court, where that Barnett was sentenced today, heard that he had previously received a conditional caution in 2010 for a similar offence.

Deputy District Judge, Olalekan Omotosho, told Barnett that his serial fare-skipping was a serious offence and that there was a need, not only for him to be punished for the offences, but that others needed to be deterred from committing similar offences. She told him: “It is a shame, really, because you had it all. It remains unclear why you acted so badly. You let yourself down and your family down, particularly in light of your profession as a lawyer.”

Peter Barnett is now unemployed as a lawyer and according to his lawyer, hopes to do charity work in the future.

CHILDREN from the three Thame primary schools opened last weekend’s Thame Food Festival with BBC One’s MasterChef winner 2013, Natalie Coleman, in a bid to inspire other young foodies to cook.

Lyla Davies, aged 10 from John Hampden County Primary School, Emily Tattersfield, aged 10 from Barley Hill Primary School and Orlagh Roberts and Daniela Gonzalez both aged 10, both from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, took to the stage with Natalie when she gave the festival’s first ever cookery demo devised especially for children.

Natalie, who has recently taken up the role of Ambassador of Central Street Cookery School at St Luke’s Community Centre in London, was first up on the demo stage this year with a 45 minute session just for children. With the help of the four girls, she used her demonstration to encouraged children to learn about food and pick up new skills and ideas that they could try when they cook at home.

As well as joining Natalie on stage, the four children took home a signed copy of her cookery book1, after convincing her and festival patron Lotte Duncan to pick them to take part.

“We challenged the children to tell us why they wanted to cook with Natalie and get a place in the spotlight at this year’s Thame Food Festival,” said Lotte. “We know that children love to cook and that being able to cook is a great thing to be able to do. It’s fun and brings the family together, plus it’s a good way to give children valuable skills for life.

“Helping children gain these skills is also a passion of Natalie’s which is why she chose to cook especially for and with them at the festival,” she said. “Now, more than ever it’s important for children to learn about food and get into cooking right from the beginning.

“We had a fantastic reaction to the competition with all the children and their teachers getting behind it, and had some brilliant reasons making it very hard to pick a winner! In the end we picked four. I have to say that it was truly fantastic to see them rise to the challenge on the day – all of them did a wonderful job and were so excited to be on stage helping Natalie!” she added.

For more information about the Thame Food Festival, please go to www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk

SOURCE: Contributed by Sarah Pracey

 

HAPPY faces, satisfied stallholders, visitors going home with bags of foodie goodies, queues at the cash machines (one running out of money), quality live music all day, VIP chefs demonstrating, home bakers of Thame excelling and glorious sunshine all day – the perfect ingredients for the best Thame Food Festival ever – and that’s official.

The numbers are in, and final figures show that 25,000 visitors thronged to Thame’s High Street on Saturday (26/09), from all over the local area and as far afield as Oxford, London, Holland, Belgium, France, Australia – and Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

Comments on social media from some of the 200 plus food producers that took part confirm that it was “A Fantastic day” – “A resounding success” – “Well done to all the team involved in making @thamefoodfest happen, thank you for a great day” – “Really nice food n drinks fantastic atmosphere!” – “Thank you @thamefoodfest Alison and the entire set up/clean up crew! What a cracking day-cheers people of Thame! You rock!” – And from festival Patron, Raymond Blanc himself: “What a wonderful day & great @thamefoodfest, quality local produce, great ambiance & what a joy to be part of this British food revolution.”

The yumminess on offer included teas, artisan cheeses, oils, beers, specialist breads, curries from India, Tibet; a smoothie bike to power your own choice of ingredients, coffees; BBQ, meats, cakes, sweets and heaps more. Many stallholders actually sold out, including Croome Quisine, Just Rachel Icecream and Zanni’s Bakery and Woodredding Cider. Workshops were available for cooks of all ages wanting to learn some tricks of the trade at cake decorating, and four separate wine talks by The Wine Tipster himself, Neil Phillips, at the Thame Players Theatre.  Neil’s tips included pairing wines with cheese and how to learn to taste wine correctly and how to store and serve wines properly.

Local providers from Thame High Street itself included Newitts, What’s Cooking; a Pop up bar run by The James Figg; Pop up cafe in the town hall, run by Thame Belles WI, selling the wonderful entries in the Big Thame Bake competition, and Belazu’s Popup restaurant at Christchurch in Upper High Street.

An army of volunteers or ‘Thame Foodie Friends’ were on site from 6am in the morning marshalling stallholders to their spots for the day, and generally offering help and information throughout the event to help things run smoothly. The Community groups area included Community stalls promoting the work of Florence Nightingale Hospice, Thame Twinning Association, Great British High Street, Thame Remembers, Thame Lions and Thame Roundtable.

The first ever Big Thame Bake was a triumph and after the judging, all the entries were sliced up available to buy with a cup of tea at the Town Hall Tea Room, once all the winners had been presented with certificates by a procession of celebrity chefs such Adam Johnson – Executive Pastry Chef at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Miranda Gore Browne and more finalists from the Great British Bake Off than you can shake a wooden spoon at, including Frances Quinn, plus Natalie Coleman who won BBC One’s MasterChef 2013 – all overseen by Thame’s own food writter, Jane Hornby (above left with Lotte Duncan) on the interview stage.

The winner of the Business category was John Clegg and Co, Forestry Agents, from Princes Risborough, with Petals of Thame, taking the Runner Up’s certificate, but the overall, Best Baker award went to Vibeke Jepsen, with her amazing strawberry tarts.

Festival patron Lotte Duncan, who like the chefs taking part in the event, and the band of directors and volunteers supporting it, give their time for nothing to put on the free festival, said that this year’s had surpassed everyone’s expectations.

“The atmosphere this year was simply stunning,” said Lotte. “We were completely bowled over by how many people came to Thame and the appreciation they showed for what they found. Everyone who came loved the good food and drink that was on offer, the fabulous producers, the chefs and experts they listened and talked to, and really got into the festival spirit. Everyone was smiling, laughing and having a brilliant time,” she said.

This, the eighth Thame Food Festival, was the culmination of collaboration between community groups, the Thame business community, local organising expertise, busy professionals from the hospitality industry and willing volunteers, that is so typical of the way Thame pulls together and draws in the co-operation of everyone approached, to promote the town for the benefit of everyone who visit, lives and works in the town.

The final word must go to Rob Leonard, who tweets as @Rob_Leonard: “The Thame Food Festival. I think this is where I want to go when I die.”

The bar was set high this year but the ‘can do’ spirit of Thame will no doubt rise to the challenge and make 2016 even more spectacular.

MORE PICTURES FROM THE FESTIVAL HERE  and HERE

NB A set of keys were found that had been left on a stall close to Sainsbury’s, and have been deposited with the Aga shop in Upper High Street)

YES, the event that really has put Thame on the map, will start at 6am this morning when the first of the 200 plus stall holders will drive, bleary-eyed into the centre of the town, ready to set out their stalls in time for the great foodie public from 9am.

This is the seventh Thame Food Festival and it really does promise to be the best yet, with so much more to keep the taste buds excited and the eyes and ears twitching for new ideas and inspiration to take away and enjoy at home.

This year is especially important for Thame, which is a strong contender for the Great British High Street awards, and the team behind Thame’s application will be on The Great British High Street stand (zone D, community stall area) and will be holding a ‘win the cake’ competition. The cake has been specially made by the ladies at A Piece of Cake shop in Upper High Street, Thame, complete with the ‘Great British High Street’ logo and message, ‘We’re supporting Thame’ on it, and the winner gets the cake!

The Big Thame Bake will be happening most of the day in the Upper Chamber of the town hall, which has been transformed into a pop up Tea Room, where Thame Belles WI will be serving up delicious cakes and teas. Or, if cake isn’t your thing (yes, there are those sad souls), grab yourself something to eat from the dozens of fresh food stalls and pop along to the Vintage and Modern Guitars Shop, in the Buttermarket from Midday, and listen to some great live music from the likes of The Phil Astles Band, Hiway51, Sir Walter J Wallis and Matt Edwards.

Full details of demonstration times, talks and workshops, on the Thame Food Festival Website and in the official programme available from the information point. Best way to travel in, is to leave the car at the Park and Ride at Chinnor Rugby ground, and catch the red, Routemaster bus into the town.

See you there!