Category: More News

THAME Police are appealing for witnesses after a break-in at a garage in Kingston Blount, near Thame.
The offender cut a padlock to gain entry to the garage between 9pm and 8.30am on Friday, January 13, and stole a lawn mower, golfing equipment and various tools.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Crime Prevention Officer,Lesley Nesbitt at Thame Police Station via: 08458 505 505 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

THE RSPB?s Big Garden Bird Watch takes place in the last weekend in January, when hundreds of thousands of people nationwide will be spending an hour recording the birds that visit their gardens.

If you want to learn about identifying the birds that you see in your garden and find out how to encourage more feathered friends, go to the Charwood Garden Centre in Stokenchurch on Sunday 29th January.

From 11.30am, Martin Kinkade from the RSPB will be giving a talk about garden birds and Cathy Rose from the Chilterns Conservation Board will be on hand to reveal all about red kites, the birds of prey that are visible from many gardens in the area.

Local artist Barbara Shaw will be exhibiting and selling wildlife prints and collages and there will be special offers on bird food and refreshments in the coffee shop.

?We?re delighted to be involved with the Big Garden Bird Watch?, says garden centre manager Alan Plumtree. ?We?re very keen to promote gardening that supports wildlife.?

A THAME primary school today launched a new school anthem and a House system based on the Knights of the Round Table, to help encourage co-operation and friendly competition amongst its pupils.
The Head teacher of John Hampden Primary School, told ThameNews.Net: “The idea of extending the House system in the school came from the children themselves who asked why they only used the system on sports days. After looking into the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, we realised that, as their great interest in Harry Potter and Narnia shows, children’s imagination can be captured by these great old English stories. When you stop and think about it, the qualities exemplified by the Knights have been those shown by great people of our own age, like Winston Churchill for instance. It is those qualities of perseverance, truthfulness, endeavour and friendship that we all want to encourage in young people.”
Each House, Gawain, Galahad, Bedivere and Lancelot, has its own shield. Three were made in metal by Zeke Moss from the Old Forge in Thame, and the fourth one, of wood, was made by Mr Lilly, one of the pupils’ grandfather.
In a special assembly this morning, the children all showed off friendship bracelets they had made in their House colours, sported coloured shield-shaped badges pinned on their school sweatshirts and sang the new school anthem, with words specially written by teacher, Laura Hockin, to the tune of the old Cubs and Guides’ song, The Quarter Master’s Store.
Two Captains for each House have been chosen and they proudly received each shield’s coat of arms from Mr Haigh.
The House Captains are Evelyn Furness and Jessica Lampit (Gawain), Jade Foulkes and Jordan Coulson(Bedivere), Guy Carter and Emily Condon (Galahad) and Matt Faulkner and Jess Storey (Lancelot).
As well as competing in netball, rounders, spelling competitions etc throughout the year, on Friday afternoons the children will sit with other children from their own House in the dinner hall and, as an extension of the Buddy system, will read together in mixed year groups.
Mr Haigh concluded: “We hope that the new House system will encourage a balance of co-operation and friendly rivalry amongst the pupils and help them to develop all the best qualities to take with them from John Hampden school into the rest of their lives.”

A Red Kite has been spotted in East London, for the first time since the Middle Ages.
The bird was spotted sitting in a Sycamore tree in a garden in Hackney on Boxing day and experts hope that its appearance heralds the return to London of the bird, which was re-introduced in the Chilterns over 10 years ago.
Red kites were considered a pest and almost hunted to extinction by the 1880s.

Photo courtesy of the East London Advertiser

LORD Williams’s Association is looking for quiz enthusiasts to join them for a Quiz Night at Lower School on Friday, January 27.
The event will be a general knowledge quiz, and the organisation is looking for teams of up to eight people to join in.
Contact: e-mail address jrpheby@aol.com, or phone 01844 215058 to book or for further information.
The LSW raises money for various projects within the school. Last year it was able to give funds towards the Maths Alive project, and previous projects have included money to Bodyzone (a student support group), the Duke of Edinburgh Award and even rats for the biology department!
In charge on the evening will be Sue Boyle, a teacher at Barley Hill school who has a reputation for organising fun events.

RESIDENTS in South Oxfordshire can now watch council meetings from the comfort of their own home, or anywhere else over the internet.

SODC has installed cameras in its council chamber to broadcast planning, cabinet and council meetings on a regular basis. Live and recorded meetings will be available via the Council?s web site and viewers can send comments in during the broadcasts which will occur in real time. The council is particularly keen to receive people?s views on the quality and usefulness of the webcasts.

The first meetings to broadcast live are:

Planning Wednesday 11 January at 6pm
Cabinet Thursday 12 January at 6pm
Planning Wednesday 25 January at 6pm

Visit Link
to access webcasts.

Webcasting is the broadcast of video and audio over the internet ? put simply it is the same as watching TV but through an internet connection. By webcasting meetings, the Council aims to provide local residents who cannot attend meetings with an opportunity to play a part in the local democratic process, and to get involved in the decisions affecting their lives.

John Cotton, Cabinet member with responsibility for Information Technology, said:”By introducing this innovative webcasting service, South Oxfordshire District Council is leading the way in delivering better services for local residents.
“Webcasts are an excellent way to give the wider community, not just those who can attend in person, an insight into how decisions are made, and highlight the work councillors undertake on the behalf of local residents. By broadcasting meetings live, the local government decision process becomes more open and transparent.”

A plan to build a new, all-weather synthetic pitch at Lord Williams’s School, will be discussed by Thame Council tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10, at 6.30pm.
The plans include floodlighting.

IF you’re planning to start the New Year by making a few resolutions and you want some ideas on how to make your lifestyle greener – and save money too, try Friends of the Earth’s ten top tips on climate change.

1. Save energy and save on bills by swapping your ordinary light bulbs for energy saving ones. Some use a quarter of the energy and can last up to 12 times longer. If all inefficient light bulbs in the UK were replaced with new super-efficient LED or compact fluorescent light bulbs, it would save almost as much
energy as a nuclear power station produces.

2. Support local farmers and cut down on food miles by getting a vegetable box delivered to your home or buying produce at yourlocal farmers? market (Every second Tuesday in the month in Thame). You’ll receive locally sourced, fresh seasonal produce.

4. Walk or cycle your children to school, which will help to reduce congestion, save energy and get fitter.

5. Install loft insulation – you can cut up to 20 per cent off your energy bills.

6. Visit www.thebigask.com[1] and send a quick note to your MP asking them to support Friends of the Earth’s proposed new law to bring down emissions of carbon dioxide by three per cent every year.
Over 300 MPs already support the proposed new climate change law.(ED. Does Boris Johnson?)

7. Make sure appliances such as TVs and computer monitors aren’t left on standby. The electricity wasted through this in the UK is equivalent to the output of one nuclear power station.

8. Recycle your aluminium cans. Recycling aluminium requires only 5% of the energy compared to making it from raw materials, with the energy saved by recycling one aluminium can being enough to power
a TV for 3 hours.

9. Around a third of our household waste is kitchen and garden waste. Recycle it – many councils collect food waste for composting or provide compost bins very cheaply. As well as taking up space,organic waste which is sent to landfill sites produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas which contributes to climate change.

10. Take a short break in the UK and travel by rail instead of flying abroad. Aviation is the fastest growing contributor to climate change, with a wealthy minority of people taking an ever-increasing number of short breaks on budget airlines. One long-haul return flight can produce more carbon dioxide per
passenger than the average UK motorist produces in a year.

For details of Chinnor and Thame Friends of the Earth, call Maureen Dyroff 01844 352816

IF you?ve had your fill of turkey over the festive period, it?s time to enjoy another bird ? the red kite!

The Chilterns Conservation Board is offering two opportunities in January to learn more about these magnificent birds and walk off the Christmas excess at the same time.

On Saturday 7th January, join a four-mile guided walk in the Hambleden Valley in search of red kites and other wildlife. Meet at 10.45am in the Mill End car park (on the road to Hambleden off the A4155).

On Sunday 15th January, the award winning Litmore Shaw Nature Trust in Ibstone opens its gates once more for a two-mile red kite walk starting at 10am. From Ibstone Common, turn into Grays Lane, continue to the end and park in the stable yard.

Both walks are free, though donations are requested. Booking is essential. Please call Cathy Rose on 01844 355 506.

A new website containing information and resources for people affected by dementia has been launched.
DementiaWeb is an all-age dementia information resource for Oxfordshire which aims to help people with dementia, their friends, family, carers and health professionals find information about dementia and the support care services available to them in Oxfordshire.

The address is: Link