Category: More News

THAME Classic Motor Club members who spent the recent Bank Holiday driving to Belgium and back, included in their trip a poignant visit to the War Memorial outside Diksmude.
The trip to the Brugge area was the Club’s Annual Continental Trip and member, Nigel Champken-Woods, reported that the weather was pretty kind apart from the trip home on Monday, and that all 10 vehicles that took part returned without breakdown or mishap.
The so-called Trench of Death, shown in the photograph, is a symbol of the fierce resistance of Belgium troops to prevent the invasion of German troops across what was the Belgium section of the Western Front during World War One.
The Trench of Death remained the heart of the Belgian resistance until the successful Anglo-Belgian offensive, the Battle of Flanders, began on 28 September 1918.

THE ex Minister of Thame’s Christchurch, returned to the town on Sunday, to perform a special service to dedicate the rebuilding of the church’s frontage.
The Rev David Sharpe performed the service at the United Reform church to a packed congregation, in a brighter, smarter church which now has a lift for disabled people, a refreshment and reception area and new steps into the main body of the church.
David Sharpe and his wife Marjorie, who was with him on Sunday, moved to Nailsea, near Bristol a year ago. Both of them were valued members of Thame Choral Society and were often to be seen cycling around the town.
David, who initiated the work over five years ago, told ThameNews.Net that he was delighted to see the work completed, and that there was much more space than he had envisaged. He and Marjory are enjoying their new life in Nailsea and as part of the Bristol Choral Society of which they are members, recently visited Poland to take part in a concert.
The work has cost in the region of

THE Police have issued a warning to gardeners to remain vigilant and take precautions against springtime burglary and thefts.

As people spend more time in the garden there are a number of things that are likely to give criminals an opportunity to strike.

One of the biggest risks is of opportunist burglars taking advantage of insecure doors and windows. It takes just seconds for a burglar to enter your home while you are in the garden and search your property, snatch your valuables and your car keys. Ensure any unsupervised doors and windows are secure if you are working outside.

Sgt Ian Holt, Force Crime Reduction Officer, based at Headquarters, said: ?Last year measures taken by householders brought a reduction in burglaries and we hope this can be repeated this summer. As well as making security a daily routine why not this year consider planting some prickly plants or thorny hedging ? a valuable and good looking deterrent to a potential intruder.

?Another risk is the increased chance of unattended garden tools that can be used to break in, most opportunist burglars will not carry tools with them but use those found outside the premises. Spades and forks can be used to lever open doors or smash windows, ladders give access to windows and roofs, and even a wheelbarrow could give an easy step-up for a thief. Where possible, lock tools away when you are finished with them or keep them secured out of sight, although they may have little value they could make it far easier for a criminal to break into your house or shed.

?It is also important to make sure sheds and outbuildings are kept secure to safeguard your possessions and prevent tools being used for other crimes. Buy quality locks that carry a British Standard mark, Sold Secure or Secured by Design logo, install outside lighting, preferably economical bulbs that are permanently on dusk to dawn rather than intermittent floodlights ? but be careful the spread of light does not annoy neighbours. An alarm is always an excellent deterrent.

?Power tools and lawn mowers are often a target in shed burglaries. Security mark them with your name and postcode, there are many products that can be used, choose one that comes complete with a warning sticker as a visual deterrent to would be thieves who increase their risk of the property being identified.?

For additional home security advice visit www.thamesvalley.police.uk or contact 0845 8 505 505 and ask for your nearest Crime Reduction Advisor.

photo courtesy of Thames Valley Police

DISTRICT Councillors for Thame have been allocated memberships of the various committees of South Oxfordshire District Councillor.
Cllr Mike Welply (Con) will sit on Corporate Improvement Scrutiny and Licensing & General Purposes, and sit as a substistute on Customer & Community Scrutiny, Planning and the Community Investment Panel.
Cllr David Dodds (Con), becomes a member of the Cabinet, as well as a substitute on Planning.
Cllr Dorothy Brown (Con) also becomes a Cabinet member, as well as a substitute on Planning.
Cllr Anne Midwinter (Ind) will sit on Planning, the Corporate Improvement Scrutiny committee and the Standards committee, as well as substituting on the Community Investment Panel, Licensing & General Purposes and Customer & Community Scrutiny.
Cllr David Bretherton (Lib Dem) becomes a substitute on Corporate Improvement Scrutiny, Planning, the NNDR (Nationalal Non Domestic Rates) Panel and the Community Investment Panel.

THE District Council is to consider applications for grant aid from both Tiddington and Great Milton.
Tiddington Cricket Club want

THE eagerly awaited red kite CCTV nest watch project has been stuck another blow of bad luck this week.
The project, which shows live images of red kites rearing their chicks in a nest in Stokenchurch was delayed due to members of the public disturbing the nest site. A new nest was located, and the live link was re-established last Friday (May 20), revealing three chicks aged about 10 days to 2 weeks.

Yesterday, regretfully, the smallest of the three chicks died.
?Red kite parents will always feed the biggest and strongest chicks first,? says Cathy Rose, of the Chilterns Conservation Board, who manages the Nest Watch project. ?Added to that, sibling rivalry is intense and the bigger chicks are often very aggressive towards their smaller siblings. Although this news may be upsetting for some people, the positive result is that the parents should find it easier to rear the remaining two chicks successfully.?

The live CCTV footage from the nest can be viewed in the Coffee Shop of the Charwood Garden Centre on the A40 between Stokenchurch and West Wycombe. Call Cathy Rose on 01844 355 506 for more details.

LORD Bill’s pupils welcomed a National Champion sportswoman yesterday, as part of Sport England’s new ‘Sporting Champions’ scheme aimed at inspiring more young people to get fit and play sport.
Londoner Jenny Copnall rides for Gary Fisher in Britain and at International level.
She was the 2003 National MTB Champion & NPS (National Points Series)winner in 2003, both of which she says she intends to win back.
Jenny’s visit was part of the Oxfordshire Top Link Festival, which involved Lord Williams’s feeder primary schools.
Throughout the day, she visited and participated in all the activities and spoke in turn to 15 groups about her life as a professional sportswoman and showed her medals.
Events include Pop Lacrosse, Water polo, Orienteering, Handball, flag making, Athletics, Drama and Rythmic Gym.
All the prizes were donated by local businesses, including Woolworths and The Pied Pedaller, and pupil Mitch Meredith, whose father runs PG Trophies, made 15 of the trophies himself.
The event was organised by the school’s own Junior Sports Leaders, overseen by PE teachers, Penny Lowe and Darren Oxley.
Anyone interested in having a go at mountain biking or who may like to join a local club, can visit www.bcf.uk.com, which lists Downhill and Cross-Country clubs by area.

Street Collection – Saturday 25th June
We will have a stall on Greyhound walk, and people with collecting tins scattered around Thame town centre. Anyone who can spare an hour or two on this date; please get in touch with Owen Davies (01844) 214466.

This year our street collection falls during Refugee Week. (20th-26th June) so the stall will reflect the theme for this year’s refugee week – persecution.

MEXICO; PRISONER OF CONSCIENCE MUST BE RELEASED Felipe Arreaga S

THAME town council’s Planning committee have recommended refusal of a ‘Lawful Development Certificate’ to add a large dormer window and room in the roof space of a house in Queens Road, Thame.
Cllr John Beech said: “This massive dormer window is extremely unattractive and we should not be encouraging this sort of change to this type of property.”
Cllr Beatrice Dobie called the design: “An ugly mishmash,” although Cllr David Laver, now Mayor of Thame for the second time, said that he did not see any problem with the number of windows, which were a particular focus for criticism from some other committee members.
The committee agreed to recommend refusal because the proposed development was Out of Character with its surroundings.

THE new development of flats off Chinnor Road, Thame, is to be called “New Barn Close”, to reflect its history, Thame Town Council’s Planning committee agreed yesterday.