NEITHER Thame United nor Wootton Bassett Town were able to score when the teams met in an uninspiring game at the ASM Stadium last Saturday (05/04), in Thame’s penultimate home league game of the season. Thame’s opponents came into the game a few league places below United and, true to form; the home side had more possession but were unable to convert chances into goals.
After a few minutes play Thame’s best chance of the half fell to Niall Hodgkins who received the ball with his back to goal near the penalty spot, turned had hit a strong low shot which was inches wide. Hodgkins had another half chance after 25 minutes when he met a Marcus Mealing free kick with a header which was just over the crossbar. The teams went in for the break with Thame having played 60% of the game in their opponent’s half, but with neither goalkeeper really tested.
Within minutes of the restart Luke Ricketts met a long goal kick with a lob over the keepers head but unfortunately it was also over the crossbar. The game ebbed and flowed but defences dominated until, with about 20 minutes remaining, Lee Farrow was forced to make an outstanding save from a strong low shot from the edge of the box. Minutes later the visiting keeper made a good close range save from Ricketts. In the last 5 minutes Alex Kedzierski forced another good save from the visiting keeper. The corner count was 9 to United and 3 to the visitors, whilst Wootton Basset had 4 men booked to Thame’s 1.
Thame United: Farrow, P Pykett (I Pykett), Hall, Hercules, Rhodes, Kedzierski, Connelly, West Mealing, Hodgkins, Ricketts.
A young and talented new chef is currently stamping his mark on the James Figg pub in Thame, where the new Spring menu, including his secret recipe for ‘JFC’ – James Figg Chicken, and homemade scotch eggs, was launched on Thursday.
This popular Thame ‘local’ is hoping to impress by turning out some great-tasting new dishes on its pub menu alongside some classic best sellers, all freshly cooked in the kitchen of its award-winning new head chef, 24 year-old Jack Bull. Jack worked for two months putting together the right combination if 15 ingredients, including cornflour, dried herbs, paprika and a few ‘secret’ ingredients for the ‘JHC’ chicken marinade.
The ever popular, James Figg burgers, made only with supplier, Aubrey Allen’s lean, 28 days dried beef, has also been given the ‘Jack Bull’ treatment with just the right proportions of parsley and thyme and wholegrain mustard, and served in a brioche style seeded bun, topped with an onion ring on a stick.
Vegetarians too are catered for at the James Figg, with Jack’s version of the veggie burger made with kidney beans and ‘panco’ breadcrumbs, and a wonderful savoury tart with mushrooms, mature cheddar from the Isle of Mull and spinach. But Jack’s pièce de résistance has to be his handmade scotch eggs, made with only the sweetest meat from the female pig – and with a still liquid egg yolk in the middle.
Before arriving at The James Figg, Jack cooked at ‘the Figg’s’ sister pub, The Thatch down the road in High Street, and before then he was at The Fleece in Witney, another great Oxfordshire watering-hole. After getting his chefs whites at Burton-on-Trent College, he got his first job in a professional kitchen at his local pub, The Dog & Partridge in the historic Staffordshire town of Tutbury where he grew up. He then went on to work at the two Rosette, The Three Queens Hotel & Lodge, also in Burton-on-Trent, where he focussed on food quality and became adept at creating good, honest dishes with fresh seasonal ingredients. This helped him win the title of Young Chef of Tomorrow at the Taste of Staffordshire Young Chef competition in 2010.
To follow on from the great savoury mains, there’s also a choice of tempting desserts to leave room for at the James Figg, such as chocolate brownies made with Valrona chocolate, and a very moreish sticky toffee pudding, as well as good selection of well-kept real ales on tap, including several local brews, to wash down all this good fare, in the welcoming surroundings of the friendly free-house.
“I’m loving cooking here in my own kitchen, with the fantastic support of Goldie the landlord and Frazer Sutherland our boss, who between them give me amazing quality ingredients to cook with – as good as you’d find anywhere, and all the encouragement I need to make the food really stand out,” said Jack. “I cook because I love making people happy with my food. I simply want to bring a smile to everyone’s face by making this the place to find really good quality food at an affordable price that people can eat every day.”
“Jack’s a great chef who turns out plate after plate of really good, fresh food, and we’re really pleased to be launching his new menu,” says pub landlord, ‘Goldie’, Tom Goldsmith. “There’s no shortage of great ideas coming from Jack’s kitchen, with good, hearty food to tuck into whatever you’re in the mood for, whether it’s a pie and a pint, a juicy burger or Sunday roast with the family. Make sure you come and try his food soon.”
The new Spring menu is being served now at The James Figg, winner of the Best Traditional Pub Restaurant at the Oxfordshire Restaurant Awards. Address: 21 Cornmarket, Thame, Oxon OX9 2BL. Tel: 01844 260 166 www.thejamesfiggthame.co.uk
Peter & Trudi receive their certificate from Alexander Wright (Right) Photo by Frank Millar
THE Cross Keys pub and micro brewery in Thame, run by the Mayor of Thame, Peter Lambert, has officially been judged ‘Pub of Year’ for the second time in three years, by the area branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.
The Pub of the Year competition is CAMRA’s recognition of excellence in the pub industry, and the Cross Keys, Thame, has beaten 270 other pubs in the Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe branch area to win this prestigious award.
Alexander Wright, CAMRA’s Branch Chairman, said: “We always have very strong competition for Pub of the Year, but the Cross Keys in Thame was the overwhelming choice of the branch.
“The two runners up, the Royal Standard, Wooburn Common and the Whip Inn, Lacey Green, were pipped at the post by the Cross Keys’ consistent excellence. The pub’s unique character, with an ever changing selection of real ales and friendly, welcoming atmosphere is an irreplaceable asset to the local community. “
An obviously proud Peter himself said: ” I’m genuinely surprised to have won this award again so soon. I’m very touched and proud of my wife Trudi and the rest of the staff, for working hard to keep standards so high.”
The Cross Keys will now go against winners of other branches in the Central Southern CAMRA Region for a chance to compete in the national Pub of the Year competition that will be announced later this year.
THAME Swimming Club had its most successful Oxfordshire & North Bucks (ONB) County Swimming Championships during February and March, with a record number of 35 swimmers representing the Club in at least one or more events, under the inspirational leadership of Head Coach Ian Blyth.
Whilst all the swimmers performed strongly, smashing a number of their personal best times, it was Ella Simms, Marcus Birmingham, Nacho Mendi, Jo Hewett and Amy Haarburger who came home as finalists, finishing in the top eight in the whole county. Nacho Mendi also qualified for the Regional Championships with his 50 metres Butterfly, as did Marcus though unfortunately he will miss out on the ASA South East Regional competition as his birthday is two days too early! Marcus not only achieved top eight positions, he achieved two Bronze and one Silver medal, as well as other finalist medals – a great performance!
Thame’s own Jo Hewett entered three disability events and took three first places, a fantastic achievement. Amy Haarburger made the final in three events and not only PB’d in the heats but also in the finals. Nacho Mendi also made the finals in two events whilst Grace Gilmore received a finalists medal and Ella Simms also picked up a finalist’s medal.
The boys under 14s. 200 metre Free relay team, consisting of James Newton, Kymir Ibragimov, Marcus Birmingham and Ben Williams, came fouth fastest overall, a tremendous effort given they came 15th last year!
The full list of Thame SC swimmers for the 2014 championships was: Manas Bapat, Marcus Birmingham, Emma Borme, Phoebe Brown, Georgia Cahill, Maya Camp, Hallam Cozier, Lucy Day, Ines Devitt, Lydia Devitt, Tabitha Dodds, Hannah Ekerold, Will Finch, Sophia Fisher, Lauren Gibbs, Grace Gilmore, James Goetz, Thomas Goetz, Amy Haarburger, Hannah Hawken, Joanne Hewett, Kymir Ibragimov, Nacho Mendi, James Newton, Rachel Newton, Rory Price, Rory Pridmore, Hazel Randall, Maisie Randall, Elliot Riley-Brown, Florence Savage, Ella Simms, Tally Simms, Rebecca Smith and Ben Williams.
As ever, the county championships could not run without the effort of the volunteers, and Thame SC provided a number of poolside volunteers and also officials for the event. Many thanks to them.
Thame Swimming Club is a competitive swimming club and should you be interested in joining, please contact our Membership Secretary at: secretary@thameswimmingclub.co.uk or see www.thameswimmingclub.co.uk for details of the club and how to join.
AS the older inhabitants of Thame will tell you, what is now the health centre in East Street, was once a field of donkeys. Now, 40 years after it was officially opened by Sir Keith Joseph, the Health Minister at the time, a completely refurbished centre, fit for the modern-day Thame, has been relaunched.
The moment the red ribbon is cut by the Mayor, Peter Lambert
Over the past 12 months, The Rycote Practice and Trinity Health have been working together to redevelop and refurbish Thame Health Centre. This work is now nearly complete and the new surgery was officially opened by the Mayor, Peter Lambert, on Thursday, March 20. As well as the refurbishment of all 20 existing consulting rooms, there are four new consulting rooms, new reception desks for each practice with disability access, new shared waiting areas, additional washroom facilities and a new staff room.
Before the Mayor cut a big, red ribbon to declare the centre officially open, Dr Weir of Trinity Health said: “We would like to thank everyone for their patience during the building work. It has been a challenge to continue to run a full service while walls have been removed and floors have been ripped up. It took longer than we had hoped but thanks to your help we have managed it. We are delighted to see so many people join us to celebrate the biggest redevelopment to the health centre in over 15 years.”
Dr Charles Chubb of The Rycote Practice added: “Thank you to staff and patients for putting up with everything from toilets being out of action to reception desks disappearing overnight! We are very grateful to Paul Wapshare and the construction team for all the work they did overnight and at the weekends to keep disruption to a minimum. It has all been worth it – the results are fantastic. I am very proud to work in the newly redeveloped Thame Health Centre.”
Mr Andy Jinman, who is the Chair of the Rycote Participation Patient Group (PPG) said: “This redevelopment has been possible thanks to grants from NHS England (Then Bucks PCT), the Oxford Deanery (the organisation that organises GP training) and significant investment from the GP partners – in total, nearly a quarter of a million pounds have been invested in improving facilities for the local community.”
Sandra Davidson, who chairs the Trinity Health PPG, added: “It is fantastic that over 15,000 patients, registered at the two practices at the Thame Health Centre, will be able to enjoy healthcare facilities fit for the 21st century. We are delighted that such an important facility for Thame was opened by its Mayor, Peter Lambert”.
Peter himself added: “I would like to add my congratulations to the staff and building team for managing to complete a project of this size whilst maintaining two, fully operational surgeries throughout. Most importantly, on behalf of Trinity Health and The Rycote Practice, I would like to thank all the patients for their patience. The fact that you took the noise and dust and disruption in your stride has made it possible for such a large project to be undertaken at all.
“It is a big achievement and this is reflected in some big numbers involved in the redevelopment: £250,000 + expenditure 12 months in the planning 12 months of construction work 50+ room moves to manage to keep all services running throughout Thousands of metres of pipe work and cable to provide a new heating system and new data network, etc etc.
“But it is not just about the building work… there are big numbers involved in providing the healthcare services that residents in Thame enjoy week-in and week-out:
15,000+ patients 80,000+ appointments a year 10,000+ prescriptions a year Nearly 20,000 telephone calls from GPs and nurses to you – not to mention the number of calls you make to the two practices!”
Also in attendance was Sue Brook who is a patient at Rycote Practice. She was present at the original opening back in 1973. Sue recalled: “The opening event in 1973 was a very formal affair and was attended by about 50 people. Over the years I have watched health services in Thame evolve, and have seen the now Senior GPs progress their careers right from when they started as junior doctors.
The Mayor concluded: “To provide the level of service that Thame requires, the town needs first class healthcare facilities, and this redevelopment is a huge boost for the people of Thame and the surrounding area.”
A spectacular photograph of an aerial view of Thame fair, has been selected to take pride of place on the wall of the refurbished doctors’ surgery at Thame Health Centre.
Nick White’s winning photograph of Thame Fair at night
To celebrate the completion of works to redevelop and refurbish Thame Health Centre, The Rycote Practice held a photography competition to help decorate the public spaces within the building. Patients and staff were asked to submit unusual and thought provoking photographs that reflect Thame and the surrounding area. Hundreds of photos were submitted and a judging panel comprising members of the practice and the Rycote Patient Participation Group selected the winners. All winning and highly commended entries will be turned into large photo canvasses and be displayed around the corridors and waiting areas of The Rycote Practice.
Wendy Court (Patient Participation Group member) announced the winners during Thame Health Centre official opening ceremony last Thursday, March 20. “We were delighted that so many people entered the competition,” she said. “The standard was so high that it created some healthy debate amongst the judging panel! We hope that these photos will be a real talking point for people visiting The Rycote Practice and cheer them up if they are feeling ‘under the weather’.”
All the winning entries can be viewed on the practice website www.therycotepractice.co.uk . The top three prizes were awarded to;
Winner – Nick White – for his picture of the Thame Fair Runner Up – Colin Feltham – for his picture of Kingsey Road Fields Third Place – Peter Matthews – for his picture of a Bull at Thame Show
Cllr Peter Lambert, Thame Mayor, was cut the ribbon to officially open the new health centre, accepted the first prize of £50 on behalf of the winner, Nick White. He said, “As a keen photographer myself I am delighted that several photos from members of the Thame Digital Camera Club will be on display for all to see in The Rycote Practice. I hope this competition will inspire people to take up photography and to go out and explore Thame and the surrounding area.”
Colin Feltham, a patient at The Rycote Practice, was at the opening ceremony to pick up second prize and a cheque for £30. He said: “The opportunity to share favourite views of Thame was a wonderful idea. With so many good images I was really surprised to have come second.”
Karl Savage, Manager of The Rycote Practice, thanked everyone for supporting the competition. “It was great to be able to involve the local community in the refurbishment of The Rycote Practice,” he said. “It will be fantastic for patients to be looking at beautiful photo canvasses instead of un-painted walls for the first time in 12 months! This competition has been such a success we hope that The Rycote Practice Photo Competition might become a regular event – this way we can help keep the practice fresh and interesting for our patients.”
A police helicopter was called out to Chinnor, last Thursday (20/03) to support a police search for the occupant of a car, following a police pursuit of a vehicle.
Thames Valley Police arrived in the village shortly after they were called, at around 13.30 hrs, after reports of suspicious activity in Station Road, Chinnor.
A police pursuit of a car resulted in a vehicle being stopped and two of the occupants being arrested and detained for drugs-related offences. A third occupant of the car fled the scene.
The two people arrested were a 34 year-old man and a 24 year-old woman. It is not known at this time whether the person who absconded was eventually caught or not.
St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Thame will be partially closed on Wednesday-Teachers’ industrial action. Early Years & Yr 1 closed. The rest of the school will remain open.
The industrial action planned by the union is a continuation of protests over pay and pensions that have gone on for more than two years, prompted by Department for Education efforts to change teachers’ working conditions.
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses after a fatal road traffic collision in Thame on Saturday (22/3), in which an Aylesbury man died.
Police were called to A329 Rycote Lane at 11.35am following a report that a grey Renault Laguna estate had come off the road.
The driver of the car, a 69-year-old man from Aylesbury, died at the scene. No one else was injured in the incident and no other vehicles were involved.
The vehicle had been driving north along Moreton Road away from Moreton Village towards A329 Rycote Lane, when the vehicle mounted the nearside verge, just before the junction.
The vehicle continued across the junction before coming to a rest against the perimeter fences of ASM scrap yard.
If you have any information about the collision please contact PC Sarah Davies at Abingdon police station via the 24-hour Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101 quoting URN 542 22/3.
After a few minutes play Thame’s best chance of the half fell to Niall Hodgkins who received the ball with his back to goal near the penalty spot, turned had hit a strong low shot which was inches wide. Hodgkins had another half chance after 25 minutes when he met a Marcus Mealing free kick with a header which was just over the crossbar. The teams went in for the break with Thame having played 60% of the game in their opponent’s half, but with neither goalkeeper really tested.
