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THAME Barns Centre has sent off in style one of the town’s great characters, and the man who has contributed so much to the success of what has become one of Thame’s most popular venues.

Staff and friends joined John for a party at the centre last Friday evening to say ‘thank you’ to John Thomas who retires having been Manager there for the last 10 years.

A substantial collection had been made towards John’s retirement gift and a donation was presented by Rosalie Gibson, one of the Trustees, towards one of John?s hobbies – cycling.

Rosalie made a fitting speech of thanks to which John was the first to lead the applause and to which he was delighted to respond in his own inimitable way, as well as wishing the new Manager, Karen Clark, and the Events Co-ordinator, Patsy Baker, every good wish for the future.

John had a career in construction before he came to the Barns Centre in July, 2001, at which time the Centre was in need of final completion and ?some atmosphere?. It has since become home to numerous regular user groups such as Keep Fit and Yoga, Ballroom Dancing classes, Toddler Groups, Historical Society and Martial Arts to name but a few.

In 2003, the Commercial kitchen was finally commissioned for use and the Centre was registered as a Food Business. Since then, the venue has hosted and catered for hundreds of receptions such as Weddings, anniversaries, parties and wakes as well as hosting the Twinning Celebrations with Montesson and Thame Town Council Civic functions. Businesses both local and from far afield regularly use the venue for meetings and corporate days.

An immensely popular, fortnightly afternoon Tea Dance was held May 11, at which The Dancers showed their appreciation for John and The Centre.

“We all wish John, and his long suffering wife Val, a long and happy retirement!” concluded Karen Clark, who follows in John’s footsteps.

FOUR countries, one week, 45 lifts, thousands of students clad in bright green T-shirts, free lunch, police and a day off in Gibraltar. Welcome to Hitch 2011 done Thame style.

George Millo, ex Lord Williams pupil, has just returned from hitchhiking his way from Manchester, where he now studies, to Morocco. He and two girl friends, Jo Withers and Natalie Chard, along with many other university students, made their way to North Africa as part of the Links Community Development Hitch charity.

The event is held annually to raise money for five African countries to help with their education system. LCD challenges students to hitchhike from all over the country to either Morocco or Prague. To take part each student has to raise

YOU can follow the progress of Thame’s George Millo and friends, as they hitch-hike to Morocco for charity. Follow this link: http://bit.ly/g9TLGl (George’s group is number 183)

DESPITE the current troubles in North Africa, a Thame undergraduate intends to hitch-hike to Morocco to raise money to raise standards in African schools.

During the Easter break, George Millo and two of his friends intend to hitch-hike all the way from Manchester where they are studying, to Morocco, a distance of over 1500 miles, to raise money for the charity Link Community Development.

Last year George spent two months volunteering in primary schools in Kenya so he’s seen first-hand how much of a difference LCD’s work makes to the local communities. “I think it’s a really worthwhile cause and I’m glad to be helping,” George told ThameNews.

“I’ve never hitch-hiked at all before, let alone something this ambitious, so it should be an interesting experience – and hopefully fun too!”

George explained: “LCD works in five separate African countries to improve the quality of their schools and educational systems. As well as building new school buildings, LCD works on all levels from national to local governments and school authorities to train teachers, improve facilities and supplies, and create closer links between parents and their children’s schools. LCD’s work makes a real, measurable difference to the lives of thousands of poor children and their families, and any donation no matter how small is greatly appreciated!

“LCD have been running the hitch for twenty years now, and it’s their single biggest source of income – since the first Hitch in 1992, 5500 people have taken part, raising over

AN Oxfordshire school librarian?s first novel has just been published, but to spare the blushes of her mum, she wishes to remain anonymous beause of its ‘racy’ content.

Ex-IT Manager, mother and now School Librarian of a prominent local school, Bea Turvey, her pen name, lives in a small Oxfordshire village and has finally achieved her dream of writing a novel but because of the inclusion of some sex scenes she will not be able to enjoy the recognition that will come with its international publication!

Not only is she wary of being exposed to students? comments and staff critique, but her greatest fear is that the book will somehow make its way to her mother?s pile of must-reads! Therefore, she is writing under a pen name in the hope that it will keep her secret for as long as possible. The threat of exposure makes her anxious, she says.

“We all put our parents through hell as we grow up but this is beyond anything I?ve ever done before. My mother is extremely strait-laced: doesn?t drink, smoke, swear and is deeply religious. A book like this would shock her senseless,” says Bea Turvey.

Bea’s E book is called Banished and is a typical beach-read-romance with a hint of danger. An excerpt is available at: http://canwritewillwrite.com/Bea_Turvey.html

Banished came out on March 10, 2011, published by Can Write Will Write.

MANY will have been saddened to hear the news of the recent death of naturalist and horticulturalist, Victor Scott at the age of 82. Over many years he had given fascinating talks accompanied by amusing anecdotes of his travels, to many local organisations, on plants, birds and animals he?d seen and photographed in Britain and around the world.

One of his major occupations more recently was to lead Natural History tours all around the world for some major companies.

As a teenager, Victor learnt Czech and became good friends with members of the Czech government, who were in exile in his home village of Aston Abbotts and in nearby Wingrave during World War II. He retained his contacts with the Czech government and in recent years helped organise an annual Czech day in the two villages. He also gave guided tours of buildings in Aston Abbotts associated with the Czech government, and many also benefited from open days at his lovely garden.

Contributed by Christina Jeffery

ENGLISH food expert, cookery writer and presenter, Lotte Duncan, has chosen the Oxfordshire village of Chinnor, near Thame, to launch her very first cafe and deli venture and, like Lotte herself, this establishment promises to be distinctive, warm, welcoming and just a little off the wall – in the nicest possible way.

As well as selling both British and Irish charcuterie and cheeses, and organic milk, ‘Lotte’s Kitchen’ will sell seasonal fruit and veg and the basics all the year round so local villagers will still be able to buy their everyday fruit and veg as sold before the current proprietors, ‘Fresh Fruits’ decided to retire. And, fear not for the wild-life of Chinnor; Lotte has promised to carry on selling the bird seed and nuts that so many villagers have come to rely on in the winter months for their feathered friends.

Cookware, gifts and demos

There’ll be a lot more to Lotte’s Kitchen though than food, drink and hospitality. For she also intends to sell cookware and giftware, and regular food and cookery demonstrations and tastings, Lotte’s real forte, will be a regular feature.

Relax and enjoy – every day of the week

The front part of the shop will be mostly taken up by Lotte’s cafe which will be open between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday, and 9am – 5pm on Saturdays for breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas. On Sundays between 10am and 4pm, Lotte will be open for All-Day brunches, waffles and healthy options like Cynnamon rolls.

Lotte is very keen that ‘Lotte’s Kitchen’ becomes a destination place where people can go to relax and enjoy themselves, either just for a coffee, or to sit with the newspaper on a Sunday and enjoy brunch.

Service with a smile

“People will be just as welcome,” said Lotte, “whether they buy a carrot or sit down for lunch. We want Lotte’s Kitchen to be a real home-from-home where everyone will be served with a smile – and any staff member who doesn’t will be sacked!” she says. Lotte insists that every member of staff will have tasted and tried everything themselves and so will be able to provide relevant and accurate information about all their products to customers.

Looking to the future, Lotte will be aiming to provide veg boxes and extend to selling English wines.

She aims to be open for business on or before April 30, the weekend of the royal wedding.

Find out more about Lotte Duncan by visiting her website: http://www.lotteduncan.com/index.html

FROM the pen of John Hope, co-author of the successful, For Cats series of books, comes Nine Lives, a charming and captivating tale of nine cats who all have their turn at supervising two generations of a particularly lucky family of human beings. Told through the eyes of Bunni, a small but feisty, largely Siamese cat, we are gradually initiated into the secret world of feline culture.

We meet Lord Tabithat, the god of all cats, and are entrusted with knowledge of Khat Lore, the tradition and wisdom of countless generations of cats. We learn how cats count, tell the time, measure distance, and generally interpret the man-made world around them.

Bunni carries out her task so well that, at the end of her life, Tabithat sends her back as a Phirish ? a spirit cat ? to continue the good work she started. We accompany her and her humans on great adventures and share her every move and every emotion as she is faced with one final, daunting special assignment that she must complete before she earns her right to relax in Tabithat?s afterlife. You?ll be craving to get to the last page to find out whether she succeeds!

The book is available now on Amazon UK for

ADVOCACY at its heart is really very simple. It is making sure people get their wishes and choices heard and taken into account on matters of importance to them.

People can find it difficult to be listened to for all sorts of reasons ? communication difficulties, health problems, anxiety and others. However as a volunteer with Oxfordshire Advocacy, with training and support, you can help them to ensure that their voices are heard.

We run three general advocacy schemes- OSTAS for people who need support with a short term issue, CAPOLD for those with learning disabilities and ADAPT for people with dementia.

Volunteers attend a training course which is accredited. They then have a CRB check and provide references. Once the training and application process is complete, we will give you opportunities to be an advocate, provide expenses and continued training and support. Oxfordshire Advocacy provides a service throughout Oxfordshire so you can decide which areas you would like to volunteer in.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer advocate or want more information, please do contact us or have a look at the website for more information. We have an initial Volunteer training course planned for the 3rd, 4th and 11th February 2011.

We would love to hear from you!

Rebecca Norris (Volunteer coordinator)

Email: oadg@oadg.org.uk
Website: www.oadg.org.uk

SOMETIMES when people move house, they find themselves receiving letters pursuing debt from the house?s previous occupants. The first thing to remember is that it is not your debt and you are not responsible for it.

What you can do:
? Ignore them, they can’t do anything.
? Contact the company pursuing the debts in
writing and explain that the person they are
chasing for payment no longer lives at this
address and has no connection with you.
? Point out in the letter that harassment is a
criminal offence and that you will take
further action if it does not stop.
? If the debt is in the previous occupant’s name
and they have left a forwarding address you
could pass this information on, (it’s their
debt not yours!) but you’re not under any duty
to do so.
? Use a call-barring service or change your
phone number and go ex-directory.
? Keep a record of any harassment, including
dates, times and content of any telephone
calls, and keep copies of all correspondence.
Report the matter to the police if debt
collectors threaten or intimidate you
? Write a formal letter of complaint to the debt
collector and original creditor, if you know
who it is
? If this still doesn?t work, take your
complaint further to the trade body they
belong to (the Finance and Leasing
Association; Credit Services Association or
the Consumer Credit Trade Association all have
Codes of Practice for their members).
? Speak to trading standards – they may have
other complaints about same company – and
inform the Office of Fair Trading, which
regulates debt collection
? Don’t suffer in silence. Contact your nearest
Citizens Advice Bureau – for contact details go to www.adviceguide.org.uk An adviser can intervene on your behalf with the company and help you to complain.

FOLLOWING the huge success of the film, Slum dog Millionaire, many of us have some impression of what life in the slums of India are like for those who have to live there. But for Eddie Francis, who lived and went to school here in Thame, his recent visit to Kolkata (or Calcutta as we are more used to calling this, the second most populous city in India) the reality came as both a cultural and an emotional shock. But it was an experience he will never forget and one that has cemented Kolkata firmly into his heart.

Here is Eddie?s story, a story of poverty, disease and hardship in many ways, but one of a place nevertheless where hope, pride and possibilities for the future are never too far away thanks to charitable organisations like The Hope Foundation with whom Eddie works to raise funds:

IT hit me the second I stepped out of the airport and into the hordes of expectant locals waiting excitedly for the return of their families, neighbours and fellow villagers; each one of them jostling for a bit of rail to cling to whilst they peered through the doors into the arrivals hall. This is a city where, for many, flying is still a big deal!

I choked in the smog, bewildered by the humidity, heat and sensory overload that smack even the most seasoned visitor in the face, as the frenetic buzz of this overcrowded metropolis swallows you up and holds you in its talons until you leave. Our trolley of bags was whipped away from us by a small gang of street kids who had perfected the English phrases they needed for their work. Once I was reassured that our bags were not at risk, we headed over to our jeep and driver, attracting an ever-increasing clamour of personalities eager to cash in from us, for we were the only white faces in sight. Kids and mothers with babies surrounded us, palms cupped expectantly for ?rupees or your local money sir?. A couple of pounds lighter in the pocket, we made it into the jeep, hands ? and in one case a stump ? still prodding us desperately through the open window before the driver whisked us away.

I was in Kolkata with The Hope Foundation, a charity I have been promoting and supporting for eighteen months, to see how the money raised is being spent. I?d heard all about it, seen the pictures and watched the videos so I thought I knew what I was in for. Boy was I in for a shock!

Wedged into the back of the jeep, we left the airport and clattered, hurtled, honked and squeezed our way through the most insane traffic I have ever encountered. ?Clapped out? buses, pre-war yellow taxis, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, hand drawn carts, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians and cows fought for poll position in a never-ending rally of one-upmanship. Most vehicles don?t have wing-mirrors here, and even if they do they are folded in. Here the horn is king where brakes seem like an ego-denting last resort. On the footpaths families go about their daily business, cooking, washing, cleaning and sleeping, making a living in whatever way they can. The poverty here is overwhelming; unavoidable, blatant and unforgiving yet a sense of pride runs through this city amongst those who have so little. To survive with literally nothing in this heat and humidity amid relentless smells and smog that makes a blue sky impossible, seems unimaginable.

The poorest children all over the city are left to fend for themselves, scraping a living on the roadside and in the slums; competing with dogs, pigs and other animals for tit-bits. Children who are entitled to a state education are put to work by their parents out of necessity for food is the obvious priority. Existing in the squalor, filth and the stench of the roadside and slums, often subjected to abuse and at least harassment ? this is the harsh reality of existing in absolute poverty in an apartheid of the richest and very poorest in the second-fastest growing economy in the world. These forgotten communities have been left behind and they need our help. It is our moral duty to do what we can to affect even the smallest change for the better to even just one person?s relentlessly impoverished life – a life that is incomparable to anything to be found here in the West.

Cocooned by the faded colonial glamour of our hotel, the Tollygunge Golf and Country Club, we immediately relished the serenity and the respite from the chaos of the city. Over breakfast we set about drawing up an agenda for the week. The Hope Foundation runs or supports 64 projects around the city so our choice wasn?t exactly limited, although the mind-blowing spectrum of work undertaken by the Foundation would only become apparent to me as the week went on.
Throughout our all- to- short week, we met children with heart-breaking stories and unimaginable pasts; illness, abuse, abandonment, separation, destitution and death touch the souls of so many. The Hope Foundation gives these children a route out of this unimaginable existence, and a better future to look forward to.

Diep is 3