Category: More News

A GROUP of privately-owned working farms across south-east England will open their gates to the public this autumn in a bid to “re-connect people to the land.”

Ten farms in Hampshire, East and West Sussex, Isle of Wight, Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and parts of Greater London have agreed to host visitors on free guided walking tours around their pastures, cattle sheds, animal pens, barns and workshops as part of the Rural Development Service’s Regional Farm Demonstration Programme.

The farm tours have been made possible by Tourism South East, the region’s strategic tourism body, and grants of around

THAME town councillors would like it known that all the councillors who visited Montesson, Thame’s twin town in France, all paid the full cost of the trip themselves, and that no cost to the council itself was incurred.
The clarification came after several people had remarked that the trip, two weeks ago, was a ‘jolly’ for councillors.

A new series of yoga classes for beginners and improvers begins in Haddenham on Wednesday, Sept 28, (9.30-11am) and there will be trimobility (9.30-10.30am) and gentle trimobility (10.40-11.40am) on Mondays, starting the 26th.
Other classes starting in Haddenham this month are: drawing and painting (Fridays 10am-12noon); watercolour landscape for beginners ((Mondays 7.30-9.30pm) and intermediate (Wednesdays 7.30-9.30pm); and patchwork and quilting ((Thursdays 9.45-11.45am). For details and enrolment call 0845 0454040

DISCUSSION forums for parents and a question time education event are among the many activities planned across the county as part of a new ‘Learning Matters’ campaign in the county.
Oxfordshire County Council?s Cabinet Member for Schools Improvement, Councillor Michael Waine, said:”Thanks to the hard work and efforts of pupils and teachers, the 2005 GCSE results are moving in the right direction. There is, of course, more work to be done to help young people across the county to achieve their potential.
?Learning Matters has a particular focus on GCSE but also recognises that learning starts at an early age. Supporting our children and young people is shared work and it is through everyone playing a part that we will raise aspirations and thereby achievement in Oxfordshire.”
As part of the campaign, local people will be invited to pledge support to Learning Matters throughout the campaign. The authority says that the Learning Matters pledge is about people committing to play their part in making learning matter and that for young people this is about committing to try their hardest at school so that they can reach their full potential. For businesses, they say, it is about pledging to take part in supporting young people through work experience, enterprise schemes and ultimately as employers.
The authority hopes that the general public of Oxfordshire will get involved by supporting young people through, for example, becoming a school governor, listening to readers, becoming a youth mentor,lending expertise for school productions and other creative projects.

People can make a pledge to support Learning Matters at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/learningmatters and receive information about how to get involved in the campaign.

POLICE in Thame will be joining hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors at the county show in Thame tomorrow (15/9).

Crime reduction advisers and special constables will be on hand to provide people with crime prevention advice and information about how to join Thames Valley Police as an officer, police staff, special constable or volunteer.

Thame?s crime reduction adviser, Lesley Nesbitt, will be attending the event. She said: ?The show always provides us with an excellent opportunity to reach the communities we serve and we do get a lot of interest from a wide range of people. We will be available all day at the Thames Valley Police information stand for the public to come and see us.

?Burglary is one of the top priorities for the Force so we will have a number of leaflets about home security and will be giving advice on how to prevent becoming a victim of this crime.

?People have a genuine interest in what we do and plenty of questions about the way the Force operates, so it is good to be able to be on hand to help with the answers. I?d encourage visitors to the show to stop and chat with us.?

THE Chilterns Conservation Board is launching a new scheme this month encouraging members of the public to donate money towards its red kite awareness raising work.

Red Kites Co-ordinator, Cathy Rose, said: “For the last few years, the Conservation Board has organised red kite walks, talks and initiatives like the very popular CCTV Nest Watch. In order for this valuable work to continue, we need to find more funding. Local people have really taken these magnificent birds to heart and we hope they will be keen to help us promote them and the other wildlife of the Chilterns.”

For a contribution of

AS the children go back to school and students to university, is it time for us adults to think about learning something new?

Thame Adult Learning, based at Lord Williams?s Lower School, has a varied programme of daytime, evening and weekend courses, from Aromatherapy to Web design and lots in between.

Do you wish to brush up your computer skills? Computers for Beginners, Improvers, Digital Cameras, Internet and Email, Spreadsheets and even PC First Aid.

Maybe it?s time to learn a new language ready for next years summer holiday French, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish are offer at Thame. As well as Family French, Italian or Spanish on Saturday mornings.

Would you prefer to do something more creative? Aromatherapy, Watercolour Painting, Silk Paining, Stained Glass, Woodwork or Life drawing may relax you. Learn car maintenance, Map Reading or cookery, or suggest the man in your life goes to ?Men in the Kitchen? on Thursday evenings.

They also have some more unusual subject you may like to consider, Dry Stonewalling, Tai Chi, Assertiveness, NVQ in Children?s Care, Psychology GCSE or As level all starting in late September.

To see the full programme of courses on offer you can collect a brochure for the Town Hall or Library, call Thame Adult Learning on 01844 213400 or the Enrolment Centre 0845 351 0646.

A number of Bernwood Forest Heritage Open Days are planned between today,Thursday and Sunday (Sept 11). There will be lots of places to visit free, including a tour of Haddenham on Friday visiting Tom Bucknell’s tithe barn at Manor Farm, and the two witchert chapels.
Walks start at 10am and 2pm from outside St Mary’s Church and will be led by Alan Rose, chairman of the Haddenham Museum Trust.
Thame Tourist Information Centre or Haddenham Museum have leaflets listing and information about other events.

THAME’S Co-op businesses in Thame re-launched today following a face lift for all three.
The make-over is part of a pilot scheme in 12 towns, following a merger between The Oxford Swindon and Gloucester Society and the West Midlands Co-operative.
Silver balloons were give out to shoppers at the Co-op’s food store, the Funeral Directors and at Co-op Travel, formerly Travelcare, all in the High Street.
Amongst the newly installed up-market features in the travel agent’s is a large electronic display board in the window showing the company’s latest, last minute offers and a touch screen where, even when the shop is closed, customers’ details can be typed in and staff will make contact the following morning.
The Co-op’s slogan, “Business with integrity” is still the partnership’s clarion call, its food stores claiming to be the first to sell Fair Trade goods and non-GM foods.

AN Art exhibition to help support the Chinnor Village Centre, is to be held next Friday, (September 10).
Group member, Sue McCarthy told ThameNews.net: “We are a small social art group of all ability’s who meet twice a month in Chinnor on a Friday morning at the Centre, and from 10am to 2pm on the day, around 40 paintings and drawings will be on show. Admission is free but donations will go to the Centre so please, all come along to support us and the centre.”