Thame.net

Category: More News

  • Thame’s kebabs are STILL the best in Britain !

    THAME’S kebab van has retained its crown as the Best Kebab Van in Britain, as voted for by the public, receiving the trophy at last night’s glittering British Kebabs Awards evening at the Plaza Westminster, in London.

    Cllr Anne Midwinter is wearing the blue top, to the left of the Mayor Tom Wyse. The picture includes: Mrs Linda Ataly (2nd left with their two daughters), Resul Atalay- light suit with his two boys, Jason and Josh. Resul’s sister is far right.

    Resul Atalay and his twin sons, Jason and Josh, held on to the Best Kebab Van title they won last year, 2018 being only the second year the Best Kebab Van award has been running in the eight years of the British Kebab Awards. Resul is famous for making his own doner from scratch with fresh, English lamb and chicken, and his homemade sauces, his chilli sauce containing no less than 30 ingredients!

    The awards ceremony was the culmination of a very busy week for Resul and the boys, who were seen by millions of viewers on the Saturday Kitchen Live, TV show on Saturday morning, March 10, interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford  (Listen Again HERE)and cooking for Chris Evans this morning (Tuesday) on his morning radio show on BBC Radio 2. You can listen to Atalay’s mention HERE  (scroll along to 2:03.53 – keep listening through the music!)

    The Mayor of Thame, Tom Wyse, speaking after the event, said: “A great event at the British Kebab Awards 2018; Five Star Thame winners – another great, successful year for the Atalay Kebab Van; a successful beacon in Thame High Street on a dark night!”

    Resul Atalay himself organised a coach to take his family and friends – and this lucky editor – to the Awards nights, laying on food and drink to get the party going before we even arrived! And what a night it was! Music, dancing girls, MPs representing all parties, National Press coverage, a three course meal – including of course kebab meat, free beer from the event sponsors, Cobra and Bira and a real ‘Oscars’ type atmosphere. The two Atalay tables, included Cllr Ann Midwinter, who, with the late Cllr Jane Morbey fought so hard to help Resul get his licence for his kebab van way back in the late 1980s, against some very strong opposition from some in the town. Both tables errupted when the announcement was made that Atalay’s Kebab Van had been voted The Best Kebab Van in Britain again. (Watch the video HERE . Apologies for the poor sound quality)

    As Chris Evans said this morning: “Thame, you are so lucky! With their 35 tonne articulated truck, this is more like a roadshow than a kebab van!”

    The Mayor of Croydon (left) meets Resul Ataly and Tom Wyse, the Mayor of Thame

    Thame’s Mayor, Tom Wyse was also a special guest, and proved a ‘Mayor Magnet’ wearing his splendid chain of office, with Mayors from London and all over the country coming up and introducing themselves to him. Another very special guest was Resul’s sister who is over from his native Turkey for a visit. She proudly took her place with the family and friends on the stage with Resul and his boys, to receive their trophy.

    Whilst Resul obviously enjoyed and appreciated all the media coverage his success has brought him – and the thousands of extra facebook followers, and new customers – he did admit that he’s found the experience exhausting and would probably not enter the competition next year. I have a feeling his many fans might have something different to say when it comes to the nomination next year!

  • World Class squash players inspire Thame’s juniors

    THE ‘Beast from the East’ tried it’s best to disrupt our event, but it wasn’t enough to put the members of Racquets Fitness Centre off making their way down to their squash club to watch a world class squash exhibition match.

    George Parker with the three Glovers: Myles, Alex and Silas

     

     

    On Friday, March 2, two full time squash professionals spent the afternoon at Racquet’s demonstrating their talents against the members, offering up their time to play against the club players. The club welcomed World Number 63, George Parker from Leicestershire and local pro Alex Noakes, who has reached a personal best world ranking of 127.

    The first part of the afternoon proved particularly popular with the young junior players at Racquets, including siblings Myles, Alex and Silas Glover who took the opportunity to play against both professionals. The youngsters tried their best to trick the pros with their sly boasts and delicate drop shots to the front of the court, some of which were a success!

    Myles, 8, commented: “It was amazing! It was hard work because they are so accurate with the ball. I’m definitely going to try to be as fit as them one day!”

    Greer Glover, mum of Myles, Alex and Silas, said: ‘’All three were on a high after playing George and Alex. They had a fantastic time on court and managed to win a few points, which was lovely to see. They have come away so inspired. It’s great for children to realise that professional sports people are regular people who have worked unbelievably hard for a long time and have learned how not to give up.”

    George and Alex, 24 games later, had earnt themselves a short tea break to re-energise before the big exhibition match. Snow-covered boots filled the viewing gallery in anticipation of their owners watching the two pro’s battle it out on court, demonstrating what world class squash talent looks like in real life! The event was livestreamed via the Racquet’s facebook page allowing members who were unable to conquer the icy roads to watch from home, and for some of our other members to keep the bar warm and watch via the bar television.

    As predicted, the game was high intensity and high energy from the very start. Alex Noakes, who had flown in from Barcelona, showed off his athleticism moving quickly around the court, chasing down every ball and looking for any opportunity to attack and put George Parker, based in Leicestershire, under pressure. This was working well for the Thame-born player and caused Parker to play a number of errors at the front of the court. Forcing errors and keeping the ball tight created a 2-0 lead for Noakes, giving him a confident lead.

    The third game saw a complete change in tactic from the world number 63, taking the ball much earlier and adding exaggerated deception to all of his shots. Being difficult to read and removing his errors saw the Leicestershire player fight back to two games all, rewarding the crowd with a fifth game decider. By this stage Parker definitely had the edge and was sending his opponent the wrong way on many occasions. Fantastic touch on the ball created a number of short winners which eventually lead to a 3-2 victory to George Parker. It was a well fought and entertaining match, both players a pleasure to watch.

    Racquets Fitness Centre would like to thank everyone who came down to support the event. Racquets owner, Simon Martin, said: “These two players are worth watching over the next few years. They will soon be seen on the TV in big squash events, especially as George Parker heads into the top 64 of the world. His talent is obvious and is only set to grow. Alex, who is a local Thame lad now training in Barcelona, is also surging up the rankings. We hope that all the juniors who played the pros will be inspired by them.”

    The game can be seen on the Racquets Fitness Centre Facebook page

    SOURCE: Contributed by Chloe Marshall, Head coach at Racquets Fitness Centre

  • Help Clean Up on Thame Tidy Day!

    IT’S that time of year when spring is in the air, so it must be time for Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day! On Saturday, March 17, everyone can do their bit to help keep our neighbourhoods looking attractive and litter-free. If you hate litter, love the place where you live, and want to improve the local environment, why not help clean up in Thame and Moreton on Saturday 17th March?

    Volunteers and the pile of assorted rubbish collected on the first Thame Tidy Day in 2011

     

    Litter is unsightly, unattractive and pollutes our environment. There’s been a government Litter Strategy for England in place since 2017, the local council spends over £500,000 picking up over 1,500 tonnes of litter a year, and there are substantial fines if you’re caught littering – yet litter continues to remain a problem across our country and in our towns and villages.

    Well, we can all do something to combat this problem in our local area! Why not get together with family, groups of neighbours or friends and make Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day a really special day, when we clear our streets of all the accumulated rubbish?

    Rosemary Bryant, organiser of Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day on behalf of 21st Century Thame, said: “We need as many people as possible to come to the Town Hall on Saturday, 17, and help us tidy up Thame and Moreton. Just come along between 10 am and 4 pm, collect litter pickers and rubbish bags from the Thame Lions gazebo outside the Town Hall and get litter-picking!’ (Litter pickers have already been collected for people in Moreton, where the clean-up starts at 10 am).

    Rosemary continued: “If there’s a spot you know that needs a good tidy, why not get a group together and tackle the litter that’s built up there? As one example, we’ve identified part of Lea Park as somewhere we’re going to concentrate on. There’s no need to worry about being on your own, you’ll be pointed in the direction of other groups you can join.

    “There’s another collection point between the two bridges on the Phoenix Trail, where Sustrans will have a stand, handing out litter pickers and bags. There’s plenty to do and the Phoenix Trail will be divided into sections to ensure we clear it all. A group from Chiltern Vale are meeting at 10am to start working on the Hatchetts Lane part of the Trail.”

    Sue Martin-Downhill of organisers, 21st Century Thame, said: “This event would not happen without fantastic support from our sponsors, donors and volunteers. They include Thame Lions, ASM, Unicarriers, Bucks Recycling, MP Printers, Biffa, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Thame Town Council for their assistance in promoting the event. We’re incredibly grateful to them all for their help in making this a very successful event, which is now in its eighth year.”

    Rosemary concluded: “For more details on what’s happening on March 17, just keep an eye on the Thame Tidy 2018 group page on Facebook, or simply turn up on the day and you’ll get instructions on what you can do to help.”

    For more information about 21st Century Thame, founders of Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day, contact Sue Martin-Downhill on 07860 328880 or email her at suedownhill@gmail.com
    Thame Tidy and Moreton Muck-Out Day are being held during the Great British Spring Clean (#GBSpringClean) which is happening nationwide between March 2 – 25. For more details go to www.keepbritaintidy.org.

    In order to maintain high standards of street cleanliness, PSCOs, acting on behalf of South Oxfordshire District Council, can now issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) of £80 (reduced to £50 if paid within 10 days) to anyone over the age of 18 for dropping litter on public land or highways but not picking it up. For more information, LINK HERE

  • Invitation to help revise Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan

    BECAUSE of changes in the district council’s Local Plan, and changing housing numbers, employment areas and infrastructure needs, Thame’s Neighbourhood Plan needs to be revised. Thame Town Council wants as many people as possible to be involved in the new plan and is using the annual Town Meeting to invite the residents of Thame to take part in a Neighbourhood Plan Revision Workshop.

     

    The date for Annual Town Meeting is March 27, 2018, at 7:30pm, at Thame Town Hall, an opportunity for any resident of Thame to be involved in the very earliest stage in the review of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan. Following the formal Annual Town Meeting, there will be a very short presentation on how the Plan has changed Thame and why another is now needed. Small groups of residents will be formed on the night so that the Council can seek views from the community on what needs to change.

    In it’s press release today, the Town Clerk, Graham Hunt explained: “As with the last Neighbourhood Plan, there will be many further opportunities to be involved, but we want to make sure that we set off in the direction that the community wants.

    “There are many reasons why a new Plan is needed. The District Council’s Local Plan is changing above us. The District is close to submitting its Local Plan to the Government for independent examination by a planning inspector. Thame will need to react to the Local Plan and will also need to ensure the proper infrastructure is put in place to support both the new housing defined by the existing Neighbourhood Plan, while also catering for any new housing or employment areas that a new Local Plan might demand. The Local Plan may even define a deadline for a new Neighbourhood Plan.

    “Other notable changes are also happening in Thame. Thame Farmer’s Auction Mart is looking to move to new premises ahead of its lease expiry in 2021. The land left behind will need to work hard to provide for some of the infrastructure needs of Thame. Efforts are being made by the local health service providers to ensure that a new, fit-for-purpose facility can be provided for residents. Lord Williams’s School is working towards relocating its lower school onto its Upper School site. Local businesses and our own monitoring work is telling us that we do not have enough employment spaces in Thame. There have been many speculative approaches relating to care facilities for the elderly.

    “Thame’s High Street has been full for at least two years, a sign that it desperately needs to expand, yet no developer is coming forward with ideas despite the Neighbourhood Plan identifying land for town centre shops. Increasing numbers of residents and visitors, although welcome, are putting pressure on infrastructure, such as parking.

    “Many parts of the neighbourhood plan have been highly effective and some will be carried over unchanged. The next Neighbourhood Plan will need to concentrate more on the specific needs of the people and businesses of Thame. A simple, quick update is unlikely to be sufficient to enable this, and so the Town Council has committed to supporting a full review of the plan.

    “We do hope that many people will attend the workshop to express their initial views,” added Graham Hunt.

  • FREE female squash sessions to celebrate International Women’s Day!

    RACQUETS Fitness Centre in Thame, will be celebrating International Women’s Day tomorrow, March 8  by offering FREE female squash sessions for those women and girls to have a go at the game of squash.

    Girls Squash Session 5pm-6pm,  and Ladies Squash Session 7pm-8pm.  To book a place, email info@racquets-fitness-centre.com or call 01844 261754.
    www.racquets-fitness-centre.com

  • Appeal: Do you have reason to miss Thame hospital’s lost beds?

    SAVE Wycombe Hospital campaign leader, Ozma Hafiz, is appealing for stories from patients who would have been using beds at Marlow and Thame Community hospitals. Overnight beds were closed in April 2017 for a ‘community hub’ pilot.

    She said: ”I’m deeply concerned about where patients who would have used the wards at Marlow and Thame hospitals are. A War Veteran had to fight not to be sent to a care home 30 miles away. I worry for patients who won’t be able to challenge things. Time was also spent in Wexham Park which could have been avoided had he been cared for at Marlow Community Hospital. Closures of beds at Wycombe and Marlow have contributed to a severe bed shortage in Bucks, which has resulted in patients being affected nationally. Beds needed for National Spinal Injury Centre patients are being used by general admissions.”

    Marian Mulady from Marlow said: ”My husband recently died from kidney failure after several months of increasing disability. Had Marlow Hospital still been open that was where he should have been, but as things now are he remained at home with the help of paid private carers and nurse back up from a charity.
    The District nurse team is under great strain due to the inability to recruit sufficient nurses so there was very little support from that quarter.

    “There were times when I felt overwhelmed but we both had to soldier on. The so called ‘hub’ has yet to achieve any community support from demonstrable success whereas the beds are sorely missed.”

    Health campaigner, Linda Derrick, said: ”My best analogy is with lung cancer. It is right that we spend resources discouraging people from smoking. However, we still have to spend resources diagnosing and treating lung cancer for a long time yet. There would be an uproar if we decided to increase resources on discouraging smoking at the expense of resources on treating lung cancer but this is what these transformation programmes are all about. We are cutting essential services before the benefits of the preventative services can feed through.”

    Ozma added: ”How are GPs replicating the daily ward rounds that these inpatients had, when they are currently under so much strain? I also worry for carers, many of them are elderly themselves and have their own health conditions. If we really care about prevention, the overnight beds wouldn’t be closed. I worry for the voices we won’t hear but hope some people will be able to come forward with their experiences. Where are the patients who would have used these much used and needed Marlow and Thame beds?”

    Thame Town Council, Cllr Nigel Champken Woods, recently told fellow councillors said that since the changes at Thame hospital, the number of ‘bednights’ at Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville hospitals had reduced. LINK HERE

    Stories can be sent to savewycombehospital@live.co.uk People are also being encouraged to send their concerns to their politicians and the ‘Scrutiny Committee’ at Bucks County Council.

    NB You can read about the recent changes to services from Thame Community Hospital HERE  back stories  HERE 

  • Thame restaurant admits food hygiene lapses & obstructing inspectors

    A Thame restaurant has been fined £35,000 after inspectors found opened chutneys and naan dough in a rat-infested cellar, and for obstructing hygiene inspectors.

    The Star and Garter restaurant in Thame

     

     

     

    At Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday The Star and Garter in Wellington Street, Thame pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including failure to comply with EU food safety and hygiene regulations and obstructing hygiene inspectors.

    When inspectors visited in March last year, they found evidence of an infestation of rats and the restaurant was ordered to stop using its food storage area.

    But when they revisited the following day, inspectors found the prohibition notices covered up. Later that week officers were satisfied things had improved and allowed them to use the food storage area again.

    In recent weeks, the restaurant has been inspected again and awarded a three-star rating out of the five possible.

    Magistrates were told that the restaurant managers had not taken adequate procedures to control pests and that debris, dirt and grease and rat droppings had been found.

    One of the charges read: “You failed to protect food in the rear storage area from contamination, there was a box of fresh ginger on the floor, next to the box there was a tray a naan dough covered with cling film next to a rat trap.

    “Raw chicken was being defrosted in a dirty sink, and raw chicken was being prepared in the rear storage area where there was evidence of rat droppings on the floor.

    Another charge read: “There were boxes of open salad, prepared vegetables, and open trays of chutney in the cellar, where there was evidence of a rat infestation and the presence of rat droppings.

    “You failed to ensure that the food premises were kept clean and in good repair and condition, in that there was an accumulation of debris rat droppings and extraneous matter throughout the food storage area and an accumulation of food debris, dirt and grease under the cooking range and work preparation unit in the kitchen area.”

    Staff had covered up its ‘Hygiene emergency prohibition notice’, which officers had fixed to the front and rear doors of the restaurant.

    At the hearing on Tuesday, February 27, the company pleaded guilty to all counts and was fined £35,000 plus £2,071 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.

    The most recent inspection, on January 10, rated the curry house ‘fair’ when it came to food hygiene and safety structural compliance.

    SOURCE: Oxford Mail

  • £¼ million grant for Thame Sports Club

    THAME Bowls Club and Thame Tennis Club, which together are Thame Sport Club, are celebrating after learning that South Oxfordshire District Council has awarded Thame Sports Club a grant of £250,000 which will help to provide a new building for the whole community to use.

     

    Thame Sports Club’s clubhouse doubles up as a community building where many other groups meet to take part in a variety of activities including whist, art, wine appreciation and toddler groups.

    The South Oxfordshire District Council Capital grant will make up over 45 per cent of the estimated total project cost of £554,000. The sports club has now raised around 70 per cent of the total cost and the sizeable funding from the council will make it much easier for the club to attract the final 30 per cent.

    The grant was agreed by the capital grants panel and has now been given the final stamp of approval by South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for community services, Cllr Lynn Lloyd.

    Cllr Lloyd said: “I am absolutely delighted that we were able to make such a substantial contribution towards the rebuilding of the clubhouse, which has been a part of Thame for almost a century.

    “However, all those years of use have taken their toll and a full rebuild will make it a wonderful community hub for generations to come.

    “I hope that our contribution will encourage other funding organisations and local residents to support them. I also hope the new building means that people in Thame will continue to have great place to meet for decades.”

    The original part of the clubhouse was built in the 1920’s and is in poor condition, especially the roof and much of the woodwork. Also, because it has little insulation it is expensive to heat during the winter months.

    The club has, in their own words, “…an ambitious project to demolish it and to replace it with a modern pavilion”.

    The new designs could mean that the clubhouse could accommodate indoor bowling which means the Bowls Club could join the local winter leagues, increasing participation numbers during winter months.

    The rebuild committee is aiming to start building in October this year with completion by the end of March next year.

    To see the sports club’s plans on the Thame Sports Club website HERE

    SOURCE: Press release

  • All Thame Schools will be closed today!

    WITH further snow forecast, freezing temperatures and hazardous driving conditions, all of Thame schools have announced that they will be closed today.

     

     

    In a post on the its facebook page, Lord Williams’s School explained: “Lord Williams’s School is closed for all students tomorrow and the Dance Show tonight.

    “We have heard from a number of bus companies, that because of deteriorating road conditions, they are not running services tomorrow. In addition, we have had messages from parents and staff about worrying road conditions currently. With more snow forecast this evening and freezing temperatures there would be significant safety issues for all concerned.”

    The bus company, Arriva The Shires, are recommending that passengers check with its Facebook page for regularly updated travel bulletins: Depot teams will be out assessing roads early in the morning, and Arriva says it will aim to operate all services but the weather may cause delays and disruption in the morning that can’t be predicted.
    https://www.facebook.com/arrivatheshires/ and on twitter @arrivatheshires

    Chiltern Rail have published no bulletins so far, but any disruptions may be reported on the website: https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/ or for more immediate warnings, follow @chilternrailway on twitter.

    Thame and District Day Centre will be closed today.

    Thame Town Council has issued its advice for coping with snow and ice and some useful links. CLICK HERE

  • Theo Paphitis presents Thame photographer with business award

    THAME based portrait photographer, Mark Hewitson, followed up on his Small Business Sunday twitter win when he met Theo Paphitis in Birmingham on Friday, February 23.

     

     

    Mark, who owns Mark Hewitson Photography in Thame, was selected by Theo Paphitis in June 2017, when he sent a tweet to the Dragons Den star as part of his Small Business Sunday initiative. The tweet about Mark’s business was retweeted by Theo to his 500,000 Twitter followers.

    As a result of being part of the SBS family, Mark was invited to attend an exclusive winners event in Birmingham on Friday. As well as attending several seminars, part of the event involved meeting Theo and being presented with his certificate.

    Theo Paphitis, Chairman of the Theo Paphitis Retail Group that encapsulates the Ryman Stationery, Boux Avenue and Robert Dyas brands, revealed at the event that only 0.68% of the 329,000 SBS entries since the inception of the award in 2010 have been chosen as winners.

    Mark said: “Since winning SBS last June, I have seen an increase in both business headshot bookings as well as twitter followers. The event on Friday was a fantastic day which gave me many great ideas for taking my business forward in 2018, and concluded with me chatting to Theo about my business. I feel honoured to be part of the select group of winners of this exclusive business award.”

    Mark has a reputation for creating beautiful family and pet portraits and can be contacted via his website at markhewitson.co.uk or on 01844 278015.

    Anyone looking to be part of the #SBS family should tweet Theo @TheoPaphitis about their business on Sunday between 5pm and 7.30pm and include the hashtag #SBS. Six lucky businesses are re‐tweeted every Monday at 8pm and then reap the benefits of the #SBS networking opportunities.