Category: More News

THAME Museum hosted a very unusual quiz recently, and raised valuable funds towards the museum’s work.
Six teams of four, under the quiz-masterly direction of the inimitable Sue Boyle, answered questions about famous Davids, important dates in London’s history and wandered around the museum with a quiz sheet to find the answers to 30 questions about Thame’s own history.

All-in-all, a most congenial time was had by all, including at one point the whole room bursting into song in response to a question about a Cliff Richard hit song of the 1960s.

The winning team was, by quite a margin, a team of very experienced quizzers, named for the evening, Virtue, the slogan emblazoned on one of the team’s teeshirts.

Photo: Sue Boyle, with the winning team, Virtue.

LAST Sunday, September 28, Brill Windmill closed its doors to the public in readiness for restoration work.
Over the coming months, works will take place to ensure that this rare Grade II, listed mill is secured for the benefit of future generations, and a grand opening for the newly-restored windmill is already being planned.

Proposals for the landmark, with timbers dating back as far as 1680, will see the structure?s appearance restored to that of the early 1900s when, in the capable hands of the mill?s last miller Albert Nixey, it was coming to the end of its long working life.

As well ensuring the mill?s structural integrity, it is hoped that the programme of works will allow sails to be repaired, back doors and rear access steps to be re-instated, and weather boards to be replaced. It is anticipated that the inside of the mill will also get its fair share of attention when nationally renowned specialists carefully remove, record and finally re-instate the mill?s ancient working mechanism.

Thanks to funding provided by Waste Recycling Environmental Limited (WREN), Buckinghamshire County Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council, future visitors should be able to see the mill preserved to how it looked when last in operation.

Next year, visitors will get a much better understanding of how these wonderful machines operated and give them a taste of the hard working conditions of millers like Albert Nixey.

Photo: Brill windmill (copyright L.Price)

REPRESENTATIVES of several Friends of the Earth local groups from Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire met South East MEP, James Elles, last week as part of the growing campaign against EU plans to increase the amount of biofuels in our petrol tanks.
During the meeting, campaigners Maureen Dyroff (Thame and Chinnor FOE) and Mike Chadwick (Wycombe FOE) handed over some of the many postcards collected
from local people calling on MEPs to vote against the proposed European biofuels target in October.

Mr Elles said he was aware of the concerns surrounding large-scale biofuels, and was increasingly worried about their effect on food prices and food security. He said he would certainly vote against a 10% binding target, but reserved judgement on whether a reduced or qualified target would be acceptable. He added that he would continue to develop his thinking of this complex subject, and so, would study the FOE briefing material thoroughly. He was open to further information on this complex set of issues and would welcome any FOE contributions to this end.

Background and Friends of the Earth position

A small amount (2.5%) of biofuels was introduced to UK petrol pumps this year. Already there is clear evidence that the race for biofuels is leading to rainforest destruction and rising food prices that are plunging millions of the world’s poorest people into starvation. What is more, when the whole production cycle is taken into account, many biofuels actually create more greenhouse gas emissions than they save.

Despite this, the EU has proposed a target that 10% of all transport fuel be sourced from biofuels by 2020. Friends of the Earth believe this proposal would have disastrous consequences, multiplying the damage already being caused. Instead they have set out how the necessary emissions cuts from the transport sector can be readily delivered by significant improvements to the average fuel efficiency of cars, and the provision of better public transport and safer routes for cycling and walking.

Local campaigner Maureen Dyroff said: ?We will continue to campaign on this important issue as public awareness of the futility of large scale production of biofuels increases.”

ONE lane of the M40 motorway was closed this afternoon following a vehicle fire.
Firefighters were called to deal with an engine fire in a Ford Transit van on the northbound carriageway, between junction six at Lewknor and junction seven at Milton Common, at around 4.30pm.

The lane was closed due to smoke from the fire, but has now reopened.

WHAT is a Good Neighbour Scheme? Good Neighbour Schemes are local voluntary groups which offer a service in their community for those in need of help and support. The people who may need support may be older people, people with disabilities, single parents and young mothers, those temporarily in need through illness or anyone who may be isolated within the community.

The help offered by Good Neighbour Schemes may include:

? Providing transport for appointments or
hospital visits
? Errands, shopping a collecting prescriptions
? Household tasks or gardening
? Visiting or befriending
? Letter-writing or simple form filling
? Helping people after discharge from hospital
? Reading to partially sighted or blind people
? Providing information

Where the scheme is available to the community is well-used and highly valued by the residents.

?I am housebound, but my befriender is wonderful. She gets all the right things. She cheers me up?

?As a single woman without family living near I get quite anxious whenever I get ill, wondering how I?m going to get the prescription, my shopping etc. Knowing that there is a Good Neighbour on my street that I can call if I have to have help gives me real comfort and peace of mind?

Would Your Community Like to Have a Good Neighbour Scheme?

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action is currently running a project Funded by Oxfordshire CC with the aim of supporting local communities to establish new schemes. A limited number of start-up grants are available to allow communities to meet the costs of setting up- buying a mobile phone, public liability cover and publicity material. (These grants will be available on a first-come, first-served basis). For further information please contact Liz on the contact details below.

Funding to Develop Existing Schemes

If your village already runs a Good Neighbour Scheme of any kind, grants may be available to help the scheme extend, diversify or develop. Please contact Liz on the number above.

Establishing a Network of Good Neighbour Schemes.

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action is supporting Good Neighbour Schemes by setting up a Network to enable schemes to share good practice, experiences and advice. To join, please contact Liz on the number above, or alternatively send an email.

Liz Pride on 01865 251946 or email: liz.pride@ocva.org.uk

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action
The Old Court House
Floyds Row
St.Aldates
Oxford
OX1 1SS

THAME town council is considering several requests for memorial benches, including one in Southern Road Recreation area for a 16 year-old nursery worker and another for the late Mike Gibson, to be placed near Cox’s Wood, in the Cuttlebrook nature reserve.

Parts of Thame Town Council’s anti-flooding measures are to include flaying the nettles on one side of the Cuttlebrook in the reserve to allow access for dredging, removing some trees close to the water to prevent branches falling off into the water, clearing and then improving the slope down to the ditch behind the properties in Cedar Close that were flooded in June and asking the residents to stop forming their own paths from their gardens to Cuttlebrook which contributed to the flooding.

The Stones Close allotments (Windmill Road) are to ‘go modern,’ members paying for their allotments 11p per square metre, instead of by the Pole! The town council is to look at clearing backland to form more allotments as there is a waiting list.

More snippets on Monday.

AS part of its ‘Risk Assessment and Implementation Plan,’ Thame Town Council is to include “things that might fall off the town hall”, including bits of masonary (which has happened recently), banners and hanging baskets.

The newly refurbished Southern Road Recreation area is expected to be completed by the end of October, when there will be an official opening. Thame is to be “a model for other councils” apparently, in the way it planned and implemented the scheme.

The town council wants it to be known that the Pickenfield play area is for anyone to use, not just the residents of Pickenfield. It is to look into the provision of equipment for older children there.

Some special paint has been acquired by the Town Council, after the contractor who built the skate park, seems to have reneged on a maintenance agreement. The skate park will now be re-painted twice a year by the town council.

The Youth Issues Working Group reported that it had met young people from the Thame Youth Theatre and the Red Kite Explorer Guides, as part of it commitment to talk to all the youth groups in the town, and had discussed such things as whether they felt safe in the town (mostly they did) and what were their likes and dislikes. Apparently the group learned that many young people will not use Elms Park because of so-called ‘Chavs’ which, said the group, had implications for whether the council should “chuck money” at Elms Park, to improve it, before making sure that young people will use the park.
The council is to consider putting a blog page on the council’s website where young people can put their comments.
The group also heard that young people want to be involved in the Christmas event.

The council is to consult with young people about what they would like to see in the triangular area next to the Memorial gardens, to transform it into a special area of reflection for people to think about their young friends who have died.
A questionaire is to be sent out to youth groups and the schools.

MORE TOMORROW

THAME CHORAL SOCIETY is looking for new members and you could be one of them!
Why not give us a try – you don’t have to audition – just come along and sing.

We now meet at the Methodist church, High Street, Haddenham, on Wednesday evenings 7.30 – 9.30 pm.

Works this term will be by Charpentier and Vierne.

Find out more by visiting: www.thamechoralsociety.co.uk

A LOCAL man who pulled his elderly neighbour to safety from a burning house, has received the fire service’s highest bravery award from the county’s Chief Fire Officer.
Trevor Wood, from Chinnor, was awarded the Chief Fire Officers Commendation for Bravery for risking life and limb to save neighbour Reg Ingram, after a chip pan fire had broken out in his kitchen.

Mr Wood arrived on the evening of January 7, to find Mr Ingram stuck in a doorway with his walking frame, having sustained burns.

He entered the house and hauled Mr Ingram to safety, also closing the kitchen door to prevent the fire spreading before firefighters arrived at the address on Musgrave Road, Chinnor.

Chief Fire Officer, John Parry, awarded the CFO Commendation to Mr Wood last Thursday night, (September 18) for his outstanding courage in the face of adversity.

Photo: Oxfordshire County Council’s Chief Fire Officer and Director for Community Safety, John Parry, presents Trevor Wood with his Commendation.

IF you have a question you can?t find the answer to, the county?s librarians want to hear from you.
Oxfordshire County Council has set up a free service, Oxfordshire Libraries Answers Direct, for people who want help in finding an answer to any question, whether it?s for business, study, compiling a pub quiz or simple curiosity.

Katharine Spackman, the county council librarian in charge of the Information Service, said: ?We began the service in July and initial reaction has been very positive.

?Questions range from the straightforward, such as who was the last England cricketer to score a hundred in his captaincy debut or what is the longest river in Scotland to the highly esoteric, such as whether sounding an air horn in public damages the hearing.

She added: ?People can get a long way on their own using Google and also by using the council?s on-line subscription service, Reference Online to access a host of online reference books. But librarians are trained to find information, so our team can really save people time and often help them find things they couldn?t find for themselves.

?Even if our librarians can?t find the answer, then they know a man who can.?

Contact Answers Direct 0845 600 3119, or email: libraryanswersdirect@oxfordshire.gov.uk or ask at your local library.