NOMINATIONS are still open for the Community Policing Awards 2019. Now in its eighteenth year, the Community Policing Awards provide an opportunity to recognise the work of officers, staff and volunteers who have made an outstanding contribution to their community over the past year.
PCSO Diane Jackson serves tea to Thame’s senior citizens Christmas party in 2015, when Diane won an award.
Do you know someone in the Thame Community Policing team who has gone above and beyond in their role?
Someone who has made a difference to you or our community?
If you can answer the above questions, please nominate for the Community Policing Awards.
There are eight categories this year:
Community Police Officer 2019
Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) 2019
Special Constable 2019
Diversity Champion 2019
Cadet 2019
Volunteer 2019
Community Volunteer 2019
Problem Solving Award 2019
You have until Monday, February 25, to nominate your local hero. For more information, visit the Thames Valley Police website HERE
THIS fixture offered both sides a great opportunity for silverware this season and it was Thame United, eight times winners of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup, who hosted Ardley United FC in this knockout encounter on Tuesday (05/02/19).
The game started slowly with Thame attempting to keep the ball all over the pitch and Ardley easing into the game. It didn’t take long until West was adjudged to be fouled in the box and Thame were awarded an early penalty.
Ben Sturgess stepped up confidently and placed the ball to the GK right side. Thame had a half chance shortly afterwards to double their lead when a cross by Peake-Pijnen was headed by West but no one was able to put it into the net. Ardley began to fight back and Hill was forced into a reaction save following some great one touch passing inside the box by Ardley. They showed further threatening attacks down the right side attempting to hit early crosses into the box. Thame did respond when Lynn made numerous runs down the left and eventually was able to hit a powerful cross into the box which was headed wide by West.
In the 26th minute of this, the first half, a lapse in concentration led to an easy through ball, played behind Gledhill, being shot past Hill by Ardley’s Bryan. Ardley continued their dominance and Essex had to resort to a diving header from a long cross field ball to avoid a one-on-one with Hill. Ardley took the lead on 32 minutes when a deflected shot from inside the box from Gillett left a fully stretched Hill with no chance to save the shot. Ardley’s tactic of playing the ball behind the defence was evident and they continued playing this way through the first half which saw Smith make multiple runs and dribbles.
HT Score – THAME 1 – 2 ARDLEY
Thame did respond in the second half and nearly equalised shortly after kick off, following a ball over the top by Sturgess which was intercepted by Lawrence before an incoming Tack could get to the ball. Goss had been substituted at half time which led to Tack moving to a more attacking position. One excellent creative attack was when Thame’s Martin chipped a pass over the back line and West’s shot hit a defender and went out for a corner. There was a claim for a penalty by Ardley when Smith went down in the box but he was booked for diving by the referee.
At this point Thame’s defence began to appear more robust with players dealing with balls in the air comfortably and Ardley being limited to shots from outside the box. Half way through the second half, Thame’s Peake-Pijnen produced a drilled cross towards goal which was anticipated and dealt with by Lawrence. A Thame mistake at the back when a header towards Hill was short meant a gambling Bryan was able to get to the ball before Hill and head it over him to make it 3-1.
Thame finally pulled a goal back on 68 minutes when the ball was bouncing around the box. But a determined West got to the ball two yards out to make it 2-3. Thame continued to be awarded corners and free kicks in the last 15 minutes but were unable to find an equaliser. Ardley continued to slow the game down and defend in numbers and happy to attack on the counter and managed to hold out for a huge victory.
FT Score – THAME 2 – 3 ARDLEY
Ardley will be relishing the semi final cup draw in the hope of drawing one of Oxfordshire’s big clubs. Ardley defended with heart and determination in the second half and their forwards were threatening on the counter attack, proving they have quality finishing within the side. Thame on the other hand face a tough trip away to Kempston in the league on Saturday, February 9, and aim to stop the current run of three successive defeats.
*** STARTING LINE-UPS ***
Thame United FC – Hill (GK), Tack, Lynn, Essex, Gledhill, Tutton, Martin, Sturgess (Capt), Goss, West and Peake-Pijnen
Subs used – Ashworth and Murray
Ardley United FC – Lawrence (GK), Griffiths, Moore (Capt), Giles, West, Jenkins, Gillett, McKiernan, Smith, Bryan and Harris
Subs used – Woodall and Yusuf
*** MAN OF THE MATCH sponsored by Figaro’s Barber in Thame ***
The Thame United Man of the Match selected by Figaro’s Barber was #11 Matt Peake-Pijnen.
*** NEXT GAME *** AWAY @ Hillgrounds Leisure, MK42 8SZ Saturday 9/2/2019 Kick Off 15:00 – Kempston Rovers v Thame United EVO-STIK Southern Division One Central
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.
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.”
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.
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 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
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.
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
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.”
