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  • Thame news in brief

    LOCAL ELECTIONS, SNOW, KEBABS AND MORE…Want to become a Thame Town Councillor? Town Councillors will be making themselves available nearer May, 2019, when local elections will be taking place for Thame Town Council. The council wants ‘new blood’ and particularly younger people to stand for election as town councillors.

    Publicity and leaflets will be available too, explaining what prospective councillors will be committing themselves to, and how to go about standing.

    Cars struggle along the Chinnor Road in last week’s snow
    (Image courtesy of Tanya from Chinnor)

    HEROES in the snow – Few of us realise just how magnificently the town council’s Maintenance team responded to last week’s snow fall. Despite clearing snow from Thame’s streets being the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council, OCC Highways team only cleared the High Street. One member of TTC’s Maintenance team, realising from weather forecasts that the conditions in the town were likely to be seriously impacted by the snow, arrived at the council’s depot at 6am in the morning to prepare the council’s snow plough.

    Throughout the day, the mainenance team cleared as many of Thame’s residential roads as they could, allowing cars and people to exit and access many of the town’s streets to go about their daily lives. These unsung workers deserve our thanks and appreciation.

    THAME’S Atalay’s Kebab Van is once again up for ‘kebab van of the year’ in the British Kebab Awards 2019.

    Resul Atalay and his two sons, Jason and Joshua, whose state-of-the art kebab van is based in the Upper High Street, will be hoping to retain the coveted crown for the third time in a row! To vote for Atalay’s, visit the British Kebab Awards website HERE

    HOT NEWS! Atalay’s Chicken Shop, in Swan Walk, Thame, will be opening soon – a new venture for the Atalay family and, if it’s run to the same exacting standards of produce and service as the kebab van is, it’s bound to be the best Chicken shop for miles around!

    THE date for this year’s Thame Christmas Lights switch-on will revert to the first Friday in December, and will be held on December 6, 2019.

    The town council has decided that the town’s Christmas lights need a fresh new look and will be going out to re-tender for a new set of lights.

    TOWN Councillors are still waiting for a report from Thames Valley Police, following complaints and a video claiming to show illegal practices by the Kimblewick Hunt. The council says it will wait for the hunt to apply to the council to hold the hunt’s usual town centre meet on New Year’s Day, by which time it hopes to have enough information to make a decision.

  • Look out for a new-look Thame Town Guide

    THAME Town Council is to take in house the production of the official town guide, will which contain much more useful information for residents new and existing, funded by local advertising.

    Previously the more limited town guide was produced by a publishing company who profited from its production, even though the town council had to spend time producing copy and finding pictures.

    Thame’s Market Town Coordinator, Becky Reid, who will be responsible for producing the guid, said: “By having control over the lay out of the guide we will ensure that information (and where relevant adverts) will be placed next to relevant editorial, ensuring targeted exposure for business. By ensuring that customers find out about what is available in Thame, they are less likely to make their way to other destinations to meet their needs. If we can provide this information to them and encourage additional trips to Thame, then the town as a whole will benefit from the inevitable linked shopping trips that will occur, keeping our high street vibrant.”

  • Thame crash victims named

    THE VICTIMS of a fatal crash on the B4445 in Thame have been named, and the inquest into their deaths will be opened tomorrow, February 7th.

    Coroner’s Court, Oxford

    Ben Folley, 21, from Chinnor, and Jill Evans, 58, from Malvern, died following a crash between two cars on the Chinnor Road, between Thame and the Towersey turn, on January 26, 2019.

    Ben was driving a black Mini when the crash occurred around 9.20am, and Jill Evans, as the police reported in their original appeal, was a passenger in the White Golf involved in the crash. There were two other adults in the Golf who were seriously hurt in the crash, and a young boy who suffered minor injuries.

  • Leave No Trace explores living on the margins at Thame Cinema


    DEBRA Granik’s last feature was the film that launched Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone, back in 2010. Her second film shares the earlier story’s concern with the experience of living on the margins, and the moral choices of those who live outside the codes and values and structures that constiute “civilised” society.


    Will is a traumatised and profoundly disillusioned ex-military man, who lives with his teenage daughter, Tom, in a huge national park in Oregon. He has raised her in a manner that explicitly rejects what he sees as the intellectual and moral corruptions of state and society. They live undercover, with only a tent and the rudiments of equipment, reading books and treading lightly on their surroundings, attempting to ‘leave no trace’ on the environment. From time to time, they venture into the city, where Will sells some of his prescription meds for cash with which they get basic supplies.

    Will has taught Tom how to remain invisible from the authorities, but one day she is seen by a hiker, and their cover is blown. The two of them are subjected to the ‘caring’ examinations and ministrations of social services bureaucracy, apparently acquiescent to the demands of child protection authories, all the while planning to escape once again. The tests they are subjected to, and the questions that are asked of them, serve only to prove that in so many ways they are not victims to the miseries that plague many regular lives – Tom is safe, well educated, well fed, she is loved. They sleep well and are content and happy. However, Tom finds that for the first time she has to wonder what it might be like to live like a regular child, to have a home and a pet rabbit, or the company of one’s peers. Might there be another way to live?

    The two must examine their deeply held values and the way they have chosen to live, what is at stake and what is right. To her infinite credit, Granik manages to treat this story with restraint and a quiet introspection, when another story teller might have been tempted towards histrionics and more explicit jerking of tears. The result is all the more poignant and powerful.

    Widely acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, this is one that will stay with you.
    View the trailer here. LINK

    USA 2018, 108 minutes, PG certificate
    Directed by Debra Granik, Starring Ben Foster, Thomasin McKenzie,
    Jeff Kober, Dale Dickey, Isaiah Stone, Dana Millican

    LEAVE NO TRACE This Friday, February 8, 8pm
    Film tickets are available on the door or online- Click HERE

  • Thame Hockey Club is expanding and needs help!

    THAME Hockey Club has undergone vast expansion over the last few years, and as a result, part of Thame Hockey Club’s five year plan, is to have its own astroturf, club house and changing rooms.

    With the housing development currently going on in Thame and surrounding areas, Thame Hockey Club has said that it would be advantageous for it to have a base of its own. In order to take this forward, the looking for a few people to come together to enable it to happen.

    In an appeal today, Becs Gardner, Thame Hockey Club’s Secretary, said: “With the day to day running of the Club, the Committee is at capacity in regards to taking on this project. There should be numerous funding avenues we can tap into, especially as housing developments now have to put something back into the community. If you have any interest helping with this, please get in touch with me. You will of course get full support of the Committee and hopefully within five years Thame Hockey Club will have their own premises and pitch! Exciting times ahead for THC I’m sure you’ll agree.”

    If you feel you can help, or for more information, contact Becs Gardner via email: HERE

  • Deputy Mayor urges Thame residents to visit Local Plan drop-in event

    LINDA Emery, Thame’s Deputy Mayor, has urged residents, businesses and organisations from Thame to go along to the district council’s drop-in session at Thame Town Hall, tomorrow (February 5), to learn more and have a say on the draft Local Plan 2034.

    This plan is important for the district as a whole, including Thame, as it sets out South Oxfordshire District Council’s vision for planning and development in South Oxfordshire for the next 15 years.

    Linda explained: “Thame and its local community will be affected by SODC’s draft Local Plan 2034. By spending just 15 minutes at the exhibition, you could find out what is being proposed for your town for the next 15 years and have a meaningful say on a range of plans from housing targets to health services; from roads to retail.

    “I, along with Councillor Helena Fickling, will be there to listen to people’s views, which I will include in my feedback to SODC’s consultation on the Local Plan 2034.

    “South Oxfordshire and Thame will continue to change. But you can influence what that change will look like. This is your last chance to make constructive comments, which will be submitted with the Local Plan to the government for inspection.”

    SODC is hosting the Local Plan 2034 drop-in event at Thame Town Hall on Tuesday, February 5, from 10am to 2pm. Plans for infrastructure, car parking and the Health Hub will also feature. The exhibition will then remain on display from 2pm to 6pm. For those unable to visit, information on the plan and advice on how to comment can be found by clicking on the link www.southoxon.gov.uk

    The formal public consultation will end on Monday, February 18, at 5pm. The inspection of the plan by an independent government inspector is anticipated in the summer.

  • Four more teams needed for Thame Swimathon

    THE Rotary Club of Thame & District are appealing to the public to come up with four more teams for seventh Thame Swimathon, the annual fun and fundraising event.

    Barley Hill school’s Team Barracudas, pictured after Thame Swimathon 2018

    Marius Ciortan, Chairman of the Thame Swimathon steering group, said: “Thame Swimathon is a great event for families, school friends and work colleagues to raise funds for charity, swim for one hour and have fun. To enter is as easy as 1-2-3: get a team of 4-6 together; download the Team Entry Form from www.thame.rotary1090.org, fill in the form and then email it to thame.swimathon@btintenet.com“

    The organisers hope that the four team slots will be filled in quickly before the start of the schools’ half term holidays on February 16.

    The Swimathon will be held at Thame Leisure Centre on Sunday, March 3, between 11am and 3pm, and all participants will receive a medal awarded by Cllr Ann Midwinter, Mayor of Thame.

    Teams have the option to allocate 50% of their money raised towards their charity of choice, or 100% towards Rotary’s charities, which are ROSY (Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters) and Thomley. In both cases all monies will be collected by Rotary Club of Thame District which will apply for Gift Aid as appropriate. Once this process is completed, the club will make a donation towards the charity of the team’s choice, should this option be taken.

    Marius explained: “The event is possible due to generous local sponsors who kindly cover the swimming pool hiring costs: Thame Leisure Centre, Haddenham Beer Festivals Trust, and Aston Hearing. Most of the medals to be given to participants were engraved by Neil Merritt of Ignite Sport who sadly passed away in 2018.”

    Volunteers from Thame and District Lions Club, Thame Inner Wheel and Wheatley Park Interact Club, will be supporting Thame and District Rotarians with the counting of lengths swum by teams.

    Five teams for Barley Hill School, Thame, will be participating, raising funds for the school’s PTFA. Jo Sackett, Barley Hill PTFA Trustee, said: “We are so thrilled to be involved in the Thame Swimathon again this year; a wonderful event that the Barley Hill children thoroughly enjoy and we raise a pound or two for charity at the same time, fantastic!”

    There will be five teams from Thame Swimming Club, Team Ice Cream of John Hampden School, Thame, and Wheatley Park Interact Club will be participating again this year. A new team, called Team 50, which includes the family of Thame Rotary President’s family, will celebrate 50 years of Rotary in Thame and neighbouring villages.

    The teams would appreciate any support via online donations. The My Donate links can be found on the Thame Swimathon page of the Rotary Club of Thame & District’s website www.thame.rotary1090.org, and on Facebook via www.facebook.com/thamerotary

  • Thame constituent asks MP to explain his Brexit votes

    A THAME constituent has written an open letter to John Howell MP, asking him to explain his voting following the various Brexit ‘deal’ amendments debated in Parliament last Tuesday, January 29.

    Roy Motteram

    Roy Motteram, of Cheshire Road, Thame, wrote:

    “Dear John Howell, I note that on 29th January you voted against a number of amendments that would have ruled out leaving the EU without a deal.

    “I note that at the same time, you also voted against a number of amendments that would have required the government to seek an extension to the Article 50 deadline in the case that Parliament had not come to an agreement over the form of our withdrawal from the EU.

    “You also voted against amendments that would have given Parliament the chance to explore options that might prove acceptable, both to Parliament & the EU.

    John Howell MP, pictured at Thame Cricket Club’s new club house recently

    “Finally you voted for an amendment that instructed the government to return to the negotiating table to identify an “alternative arrangement” that could replace the backstop in the existing Withdrawal Agreement. Since the UK government, its civil servants, the EU negotiators & their technical advisors have been looking for such “alternative arrangements” for over 2 years, I fail to understand why you expect our Prime Minister to succeed in that task within the next 2 weeks. You appear to have voted for an amendment that does nothing other than waste another 2 weeks & further erode whatever goodwill we might have remaining in the
    European capitals.

    “I’m sure that you must have had your reasons for such a counter-intuitive set of voting choices, but they escape me. I sincerely hope it wasn’t just because you’d been told to vote that way.

    “Your job is, of course, to use your judgement to vote in what you see to be the best interest of the nation & your constituents in particular. I hope you take the time to explain your rationale in your next e-briefing, to avoid us jumping to conclusions.”

    Regards,
    Roy Motteram
    Thame

  • Can you play the watering can? Adrian can!

    NEXT Monday, February 4, sees the Forget Me knot Café in Chinnor welcome back comedy man/musician from Thame, Adrian Broadway, complete with his unique sense of humour and some very unusual music instruments that come in all shapes and sizes – including a watering can!

    Always a good session and very enjoyable for all. This will be followed by a visit from Elizabeth Newell from Alzheimer’s support team who will talk to us about what support, services and help there is in our area.

    10.30 – 12.30 all welcome! www.facebook.com/forgetmeknotcafe

  • Best ever Regional Championships for Thame Fencers

    THAME Duellists Fencing Club’s junior athletes were in action on Sunday, January 27, at the Regional Championships which took place this year in in Swindon.

    Thame Duellists gold medallist Rebekah Seed

    As ever, it was an intense event as qualification for the National championships in Sheffield in May was up for grabs, and over a hundred competitors were vying for qualification spots.

    Thame had four fencers entered in the event, with Celeste Cooper Ellis, Hal Seed, Isaac Salle and Rebekah Seed representing the club across the age categories.

    Isaac fought through to 14th in his age group, picking up two wins in the group stage, and winning his first knockout bout before losing to eventual Bronze medallist William Peach of Swindon. Hal went a stage further, before losing in the last eight to a fencer with an awkward style, and finished sixth in his event, picking up his qualification for the Nationals.

    Celeste secured her first ticket to Sheffield with a fifth place finish in her first regional level event, but Rebekah outshone the rest, taking gold in her category. She dropped only one fight all day, and that was in the group stage, finding herself having to face the same opponent in the semi-final, where she took revenge in a tightly fought contest, edging her opponent out 6-5 when time ran out. Her final was also close but Rebekah closed it out with a 10-8 win against Emily Campbell, also representing Swindon.

    Three qualifiers for the National championships is the club’s best ever Regional result. Club coach James Kingston said “I’m delighted with that. There were fencers from eighteen clubs across the region here today and across the events the eight gold medals were shared out between only five; Thame’s fencers have done really well against opponents from much larger clubs.”

    SOURCE: Contributed