Category: More News

THE Beacons of the Past project team are calling for the public to help identify potentially thousands of newly revealed archaeological features in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Beacons of the Past is a National Lottery funded project to discover more about Iron Age hillforts in the Chilterns. Recently, a bespoke LiDAR survey (a type of airborne laser scanning) was made of the Chilterns, the first of its kind in this area and the largest high-resolution archaeological survey ever flown in the UK. Encompassing 1400 km2, the survey offers the potential to reveal thousands of new archaeological sites across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. Now the project team is asking for the public’s help to view and interpret the results of the data gathered by the LiDAR visualisations; in many cases these will be people who may have spent decades exploring the Chilterns landscape or those who live in it, and who will bring a unique perspective to the project.

Hidden history

Dr Ed Peveler, Landscape Heritage Officer for the Chinnor Conservation Board-based project, said: “This is a fantastically exciting project, and I can’t wait to see how people interact with the LiDAR data. This is a dataset which unveils so much history in our landscape, and frankly is just huge fun to play with. People are going to be finding things hidden in plain sight across their usual stomping grounds”.

The team will offer comprehensive training and tutorials to teach LiDAR interpretative skills, allowing users to decipher the results of the data and enter the findings on an online Portal..

Increased understanding and appreciation of our local landscape

Project Manager Dr Wendy Morrison explained: “This will enable anyone in the world to discover new archaeological features in the Chilterns from their computer. Encouraging people from all walks of life to engage with a resource that is usually accessible to a handful of researchers will open up the landscape for greater understanding and appreciation, and when we appreciate and understand a place, we begin to take more active roles in caring for it.

“Funded by a £695,600 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a number of partners such as the National Trust, Chiltern Society and local authorities, Beacons of the Past is providing a real focus for community and public involvement through techniques such as remote sensing and survey, practical excavation, and research, as well as a programme of events and educational activities.”

How will the results be used?

The results will be used to engage communities with their heritage, through work in schools, with youth groups, public talks and workshops. The new discoveries will be made available to the relevant Heritage Environment Record officers in the four counties and will also help heritage managers, archaeologists and policy makers to consider how they look after the Chilterns landscape.

Stuart Hobley, Area Director London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The Chilterns is full of ancient history but there could be still much more left to discover. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project is an incredible opportunity to get involved in making new discoveries and to, potentially rewrite the history of this beautiful landscape.”

How to become involved

With full training offered, the Online Citizen Science Portal can be found here: chilternsbeacons.org and is accessible on smartphones, tablets and can be used while visiting sites.

THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burlgary in Shabbington, near Thame.

Between 1am and 1.45am on Wednesday (7/8), offenders damaged and opened a window of a property in Crendon Road. The victim, a man in his forties, who was in the house at the time heard the offenders and shouted at them to leave.

A car cover was stolen (not a CAR as stated in the original report.

One of the offenders is described as a man, approximately 5ft 10ins tall and of medium build. He was wearing a dark coloured hooded top with the hood up and a dark coloured scarf that covered his nose and mouth.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Emma Francis, based at Aylesbury police station, said: “I am appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this to please come forward.

“I would also urge any for motorists who were in the area at the time to check any dash-cam footage in case it may have captured something that could assist with the investigation.

“Anyone with information can contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference ‘43190242235’ or make a report online.

“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

EARLIER this morning (09/08/19) crews from Thame fire station were called to a vehicle on fire in the Howland Road/Pearce Way area of Thame.

On arrival, crews were faced with a well developed car on fire that had spread to a nearby shed as well garden fencing. Crews wearing Breathing Apparatus and using a Hose Reel extinguished the fire.

THAME Town Council has refused permission for a mobile Steam Car Wash, which was to be based in the Upper High Street Car Park, where the kebab van is.

After questioning the man who wanted to run the Steam Car Wash, Mr Mikos, councillors agreed that the Upper High Street Car Park was not an appropriate location for a Steam Car Wash, feeling that it was not practical to move machinery around the car park and between vehicles, and that there was potential for other parked vehicles to be damaged. It was also felt that, Although the operation would generate an income stream for the council, permitting such an operation, would set a precedent for other schemes.

It was suggested there may be more appropriate locations in the town, e.g. the Cattle Market site.

THE permanent mass of waste bins outside Prezzo and Coluco (previously Jack and Alice) in the centre of Thame, may soon be a thing of the past, following lengthy correspondence between Thame Town Council, the two restaurants and Oxfordshire County Council that has gone on for over two years. See LINK

Thame’s Town Clerk, Grahame Hunt, told councillors at last night’s full council meeting, that although OCC have asked him for more evidence of the correspondence he has had between the two establishments, there was some good news.  A planning application being submitted by Coluco ‘will deal with their bin issue’.

Christmas lighting

THE town council has agreed a new Christmas lighting scheme for Thame, having retendered for a five year contract which will be in place for 2019/20 festive season, with installation commencing in November. The cost of the lighting scheme is around £19,000 per year, the five-year contract being worth £95,000.

Partnership agreements, which are entered into with property owners who agree to have Christmas lights on their property, will need to be renewed for the contract.

Celebrity visitor to Thame sheep market

JEREMY Clarkson paid a surprise visit to Thame’s Sheep market on Friday, where he was spotted being filmed selecting and buying some sheep, for a new TV series Bought a Farm, which will be aired in 2020 on Amazon Prime.

He lives on a small farm near Chipping Norton where, according to Farmers Weekly, he currently grows wheat, barley and oilseed rape.

Environment policy delay 

AFTER a debate on the town council’s draft Environmental Policy at its meeting on Tuesday was stopped on a technicality of Standing Orders, the proposal will now pass back to the Policy and Resources Committee, before again coming before the full council at a later date. Read the Draft Environment Policy HERE

TUESDAY, August 20, 2019, will see the official launch of a new Ultrasound service at the Day hospital, at Thame Community Hospital.

Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and Thame Hospital league of friends will be hosting the grand opening of this service to an invited group of guests, before opening the service to the public.

The service, which will be run by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, has been created with the support of the League of Friends of Thame Community Hospital and will offer diagnostic services closer to home, ensuring that the local community will have access to the same standard of ultrasound provision available at larger hospitals.

A Spokesperson for Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust said: “Patients who live in Thame or are local to Thame will benefit from having their Ultrasound services within the heart of the community. We are very grateful for the League of Friends’ generous donation and support for making this possible.”

Each year, the Trust carries out over 90,000 ultrasound examinations, a procedure that uses high frequency sound waves to create an image of part of the inside of the body, such as the heart, and babies growing in the womb.

A climate activist from Thame was in a group of seven people from across the UK who pleaded not guilty before City of London Magistrates court on Friday, to a charge of obstructing the highway,  during a week of Climate change protests in April, that brought traffic in central London to a halt.

John Francis, 70, a retired Chairmaker, along with his fellow defendants, took part in the peaceful, mass protest organised by Extinction Rebellion, that centred around a pink boat, positioned in the middle of Oxford Circus. It was while sitting on the ground under the pink boat, that Mr Francis was arrested.

During the six day protest, around 1,000 people were arrested.

The trial of this group of seven will take place on November 19, 2019.

THE Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association will be welcoming four residents from Sinaia, Thame’s twin town in Romania’s Carpathian Mountains, who will be representing their town at TAL Festival between October 17-21, 2019.

The Association is appealing to Thame’s residents who have a spare room and are able to host one of the guests to come forward. Marius Ciortan, secretary of the Thame-Sinaia twinning group, said: “This will be a great opportunity to meet people from our twin town and find out about their lives and literary hobbies.

“Most of our Thamensians who hosted Sinaians in the past, have been invited to visit Sinaia and they thoroughly enjoyed their stay there. They have been made to feel so welcome! So much – that they returned to Sinaia to see their Romanian friends a few times after their first trip there.”

The group of Sinaians will be giving  a talk about the former Queen Marie of Romania, grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Queen Marie was a great art collector, writer of important memoirs, as well as of poems and stories for children. The talk will take place at Thame Town Hall on Sunday, October 20. Tickets are free and places can be booked via TAL’s website: https://talfestival.org/

All four Sinaia guests are members of ASPE, the socio-cultural association which supports the twinning between Thame and Sinaia and is one of the main liaisons in Sinaia of Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association. Octavia Ghiocel-Floricica, is a Romanian language and literature teacher, Chinese culture expert, and contributor to Sinaia Excelsior newspaper.

Felicia Mirza, an English language and literature teacher, ASPE vice-president, contributor to Sinaia Excelsior newspaper, will be representing Sinaia for the second time at TAL, following her participation in 2017 with ‘Sinaia – Land of the Elites’ event lead by Dan Manea, local architect. Cecilia Francu, is one of ASPE vice-presidents, member of the theatre, literary club and choir of ASPE.

Finally, Marius Bratosin, ASPE President, founding member of Sinaia Photo Club, editor of the Excelsior newspaper, will be looking also to forge links with Thame’s Camera Club.

Anyone interested to be a host should get in touch with Marius via telephone: 01844 353 606 or via the Association’s FB page: www.facebook.com/thamesinaia

AN inquest at Oxford Coroner’s Court on Wednesday heard how 21 year-old Ben Folley from Chinnor, lost his life when the Black Mini Cooper he was driving, veered onto the wrong side of the road on a bend on the B4445 Chinnor Road, and collided with an on-coming car. A woman travelling in the back of  the other car with her grandson, also died.

Brian Evans, the husband of the  deceased woman, Deputy Headteacher, Jill Evans from Malvern, described how, from the front seat of their VW Golf where he was a passenger, he became aware of a small car coming towards their vehicle, on the wrong side of the road about 50 yards away, just before impact.

A black box in the Mini recorded Ben driving at a safe 58mph, and the other car was thought to be travelling at a similar speed. Statements from forensic vehicle examiners detailed to the court that the VW had no defects but that in examining the Mini Cooper, investigators found the rear nearside tyre was underinflated prior to the crash.

Forensic collision investigator James Henderson said further examination found that the tyre was “severely under inflated” at the time of the crash, and was likely to have been driven in that condition for “a significant distance”.

Ben’s father, Martyn said in court that his wife, an experienced driver, had driven the car in the days before the crash and had not noticed any issues with the tyre pressure.

An internal indicator designed to make drivers aware of potential flat tyres had not been lit. Mr Folley said that had his son seen such an alert he would have dealt with it immediately or asked a member of his family to do so.

When Ben Folley, who was found to have no alcohol or drugs in his system, went to navigate the bend this would likely have led him to lose control, investigators said.

The cause of death for both crash victims was multiple injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

Reading aloud in the court, Ben’s mother Sarah said the family were ‘totally devastated’ and said her son “wasn’t a speeder, drinker or risk taker. He was a calm gentle boy,” she said.

“He was a bookworm, a quiet lad, he wasn’t a drinker, he loved his family. He was very sensible, and was a worrier. If he thought anything was wrong [with the car] he would have asked for help.”

THAMES Valley Police is releasing CCTV images of three men who may have vital information in connection with multiple burglaries, including two in Thame.

At around 1.30pm on Monday (29/7) offenders have knocked on the door of a property in Southern Road, Thame. to discuss guttering with the home owner. They have subsequently entered the property and conducted a search. It is unclear if anything was stolen.

At around 5pm on Tuesday (30/7) three offenders forced entry into the rear of a property on Wellington Street, Thame. Once inside the property a search has taken place. It is unclear if anything was stolen.

Between 1.45pm and 4.45pm on Monday (29/7) offenders have forced entry via the rear patio doors at a property on Fernhill Close, Tiddington. An amount of cash and personal belongings were stolen.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Chris Gibson based at Abingdon police station, said: “I am appealing to anyone who recognises these men to come forward as I believe they may have vital information about these offences.”

You can contact Thames Valley Police with any information about these offences by calling 101 quoting reference number 43190233770.

Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously via their website or on 0800 555 111.