THE Met Office has issued a severe weather warning for tomorrow due to Storm Brian. This warning covers the Thames Valley with high winds expected from 4am tomorrow (21/10) with the peak forecast between 12pm and 5pm.
It is anticipated there will be average winds of 40mph and gusts will be up to 60 to 70mph.
A statement from Thames Valley Police states: “We anticipate the weather could result in damage to buildings as well as some disruption to road networks. This will lead to a significant increase in calls to the police force, we are therefore reminding the public to only to call 999 in an emergency so those in need can be responded to quickly.
“An emergency is classed to be an immediate threat to life or property. In a non-emergency situation, call 101 so we can ensure we respond appropriately.”
A Planning application has been approved for Change of Use, from a betting shop to 40 Upper High Street, Thame, to health and sports therapy consulting and treatment rooms, for The Practice, currently in Thame High Street.
DATE for your 2018 diary; The Mayor of Thame, Cllr Tom Wyse, will be holding a Charity Concert by the London Welsh Male Voice Choir at St Mary’s Church on February 17, 2018. This will be a ticketed event and further details will be released next month.
AN Artists and Makers Fair will take place on October 21, 10:00am – 4:00pm – Free entry, at Town Town Hall. Twenty talented artist and makers including potters, painters, glass artists, jewellers, a chocolatier, illustrator Stacey Barry and Ros Long of By Hand Books, Indian quilts, photographers Catherine Shute and Stuart Feurtado. More information here: https://www.visitbuckinghamshire.org/event/artists-and-makers-fair
Some people have not yet returned the Yellow Letters sent out last month by South Oxfordshire District Council asking residents to confirm the details of the people living at each address.
The council needs this information to make sure everyone who is eligible to vote can do so in future elections. Households must confirm their details, even if they haven’t changed. This is a legal requirement and by not responding it could lead to a £1,000 fine. Where possible people can do this online – it’s quicker and easier and saves time. Visit: www.householdresponse.com/southandvale and use the reference code included in your yellow letter.
THE popular ‘Pop Up Thame’ nights are planning a Tex-Mex Evening at Towersey Village Hall at 7.30pm, on October 27. Full details at: http://www.popupthame.co.uk/20171027-tex-mex-evening.php Only £15/adult, £10/child – includes live music with A Little Bit Country.
ALTHOUGH Thame has escaped the more extreme results of the Tropical storm affecting the North and West of Britain today, experiencing nothing worse than some blustery winds, residents have been reporting and photographing a strange phenomenon in the sky.
Throughout the day, the skies have turned grey casting an eerie, yellowish light all around, while in the sky, the sun has been visible at the same time, though appearing as a pinkish/orangish/redish disc in the sky.
The phenomenom was captured on camera by Sarah Tack, who photographed the sun at various times thoughout the day. Here’s her composite picture:
Stages of the sun throughout today in Thame (October 16, 2017)
The strange and rare light has apparently been caused by dust from thousands of miles away, including the Sahara desert and from forest fires in Portugal, drawn up into the air by hurricane Ophelia.
Click for the full, French experience! THAME school children were given a real taste of France on Wednesday (October 11), when John Hampden Primary School organised a marché francais to give the children a French market experience and for them to sample different foods.
In the school hall French accordion music played in the background while children managed the stalls which included a boulangerie, patisserie, café, animaux (soft toys) and a salon de beauté.
This was a market for the whole school, where the children, staff and parents were able to sample a variety of foods from Petit Beurre biscuits, Camembert, Pains au Chocolat, Saucisson Sec, Sirops and much more from stalls for which pupils in KS2 had designed posters, and managed the stalls. The children were all prepped in advance to try out their basic French greetings andsome key words that they had been learning.
Younger pupils in KS1 visited the market having learned some French words and expressions in their PE lessons as a cross-curricular way of learning. The market was open for an hour after school and money was successfully raised to go towards a school funded project.
The teacher responsible for French at John Hampden School, who initiated the French market project, Laura McRonald, said afterwards: “Merci to the staff and parents and local residents for supporting the first of our French projects for this academic year. It was a huge success raising over £280 for the school after just one hour’s worth of trading! All the children got to sample a variety of French themed food stuffs such as sirops de Grenadine, Menthe, fromages, saucisson sec, pâté, crepes, patisserie, tricolor face paints, tricolor hairspray and tricolor finger nails.
“The soft toy stall was very popular along with the café serving hot drinks. The event was well attended and we ran out of food! But we do have a few bottles of sirop to sell which, if people are interested, can be bought for a contribution of £2.50 per bottle. Staff and volunteers were invaluable in assisting with the event on the day.
“Fun was had by all and we will surely to organising another French themed event at some point in the future.”
French is taught to KS2 pupils at John Hampden School, where a school correspondance exchange with Thame’s twinned French town of Montesson, is being set up.
PEOPLE in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are being reminded that they only have until midnight on Monday, October 23, to submit their comments on the proposed plan for future housing.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils have published a draft joint plan which sets out how they propose to meet the challenge of delivering thousands of new homes over the next 14-16 years.
Anyone who needs help to complete the survey, or would like a paper copy, can contact the councils’ housing team on 01235 422451 or email housing@southandvale.gov.uk
Cllr Lynn Lloyd, Cabinet Member for Housing at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Delivering the new homes required will be a significant challenge and one we will only meet if the public sector, local communities and the house building industry work together. We’ve already received a good response to the consultation but it is important that we receive the views of as many people as possible to ensure the new strategy is suitable to help us meet the wide variety of needs.”
About the proposed strategy
The number of new homes proposed in each district is set out in each of the two councils’ adopted and emerging local plans. The Joint Housing Delivery Strategy will work alongside these local plans, to guide how these new homes will be delivered and ensure that the types of homes provided meet the various needs of their communities.
The draft plan describes a new way for councils working with partners to get new homes built. If it is adopted, the councils will ensure that the required number of new homes, of the right type to meet local need, will be built at the right time in the locations allocated in the respective local plans.
A member of The Thame & District Day Centre was today treated to a presentation and celebration after reaching her 100th birthday, on Sunday, October 8.
Violet Bottom (centre) with Thame Day Committee Member, Claudia Baker and the Mayor of Thame, Cllr Tom Wyse
Claire Brandish, Violet’s daughter, wrote the following profile of her mother’s life:
“Violet was born in Leeds on October 8, 1917, and is the last remaining of ten children.They were a very close family although they didn’t have a lot of money as her father was a coal miner. Mum worked as a dressmaker all her working life, other than during the war, when she became a welder building tanks. She made beautiful wedding dresses for lots of her family and friends, including mine, and was still dressmaking well into her 80s.
“Mum moved to Thame with my husband, children and I when she was 70, and has lived with us ever since. My father had passed away four years earlier. Mum joined St Mary’s church and the U3A Which helped her to make lots of friends in Thame. She still attends a balance exercise class in Aylesbury which she loves and has recently joined The Thame and District Day Centre, which she really enjoys. The staff are wonderful and she takes part in lots of activities, has a nice lunch and her nails painted by Victoria. It’s good for us all to know that she has somewhere to go to socialise and enjoy herself.
“Mum had a party on her birthday with family and friends and she particularly enjoyed receiving a card from the Queen!“
Violet herself told Thame.Net that she and her husband ran a wet fish shop in Leeds in their younger days, and was presented with a framed photograph of the shop by the staff at the Day Centre and a bouquet of flowers. She put her long life down to leading a quiet life – including lots of reading, not being a drinker or a smoker but keeping active.
A THAME lifeguard and swimming instructor has been sentenced by oxford Magistrates court, after pleading guilty to being in possession of indecent images of a minor.
Kieran Evans, who worked at Thame Leisure Centre, was told he would be placed on the Sex Offenders register for five years, and was given 150 hours of community service. He was also ordered to complete a sex Offender Treatment Programme, his Mobile phone and laptop ordered to be destroyed, and he was ordered to pay court costs. He was sentenced on Friday, October 6.
THE Headteacher of Lord Williams’s School in Thame, David Wybron, has accused Thame’s MP John Howell, of giving a false impression of the financial situation in our schools.
John Howell canvassing in Thame
In response to an article published in John Howell’s name in a local paper, on September 29, MP Welcomes new funding for schools, Mr Wybron sent the following response to the paper, a response which to date has not been published:
“It may seem surprising for parents/carers to read John Howell’s article in the Thame Gazette last week, appearing as it did, less than a week after the launch of our School Fund Appeal. I am concerned that a false impression was given of the actual state of school funding.
“Whilst an increase in funding is welcome it falls well short of the amount we need to cover our present and future running costs. A 3.4% increase in 2018/2019 does not cover the 8% real terms cut in funding by 2019. The actual picture is as follows:
Per pupil funding has not increased since 2012.
Since 2009 we have had to deal with a 17% reduction in our Sixth Form funding. That is approximately £250,000 (when government sources speak of “The Schools’ Budget” this does not include Sixth Form funding).
The money transferred from the Local Authority to this academy, to run services hitherto run by the Local Authority, has been removed completely since September 2017.
From April 2016 the school’s National Insurance contributions increased by 33% from 10.4% to 13.8%, adding approximately £150,000 to our staffing costs.
Teachers’ pension costs are expected to rise in 2019, potentially adding £135,000 to staffing costs.
The ending of the pay cap for public sector workers is likely to make the funding situation worse by 2018/19. For example, a 1% salary increase for staff in 2018/19 would add approximately £100,000 to our costs.
‘Be more transparent’
“Whilst we soldier on,” continued Mr Wybron, “I would urge our politicians to be more transparent about what the ac
tual situation is like. Cuts in funding affect all aspects of our work. An example of this is the situation regarding access to specialist provision for some of our most vulnerable students. There is severe underfunding of specialist provision in Oxfordshire and schools throughout the Local Authority, including Lord Williams’s, are having to ‘patch’ up provision themselves, at significant extra cost.
David Wybron
‘Write to your MP’
“I would urge parents/carers and Thame residents to speak up for local schools and to write to local MPs. It makes it very difficult for schools to plan for the future with any confidence. In the case of any pay award next year, it is vital that it is fully funded by government. If it isn’t, then the good news mentioned in John’s article, counts for very little.”
A YOUNG man from Thame, who has himself experience of depression, is organising a ‘Mental Wellbeing Meet-up’ in Thame.
Dominic Stanway Williams
Dominic Stanway Williams explained: “There is nothing currently to support people who are struggling with Mental Health issues in Thame, and I’m really keen to get something up and nrunning and reach out to as many in the local area as possible.”
The first meet-up is this Tuesday, October 10, at 7:30pm, in the upstairs function room of the Cross Keys pub in Thame. More information can be found on the Facebook page: http://bit.ly/2xU7ihE
THE organisers of the Thame Food Festival report that the move to the Thame Show Ground, and the festival’s new, two-day format, have proved to be a ‘winning formula’.
Alice Middleton’s winning cake
Thousands of visitors travelled to the showground over the weekend of September 30 – October 1, to sample the wares of 180 stalls, and to watch demonstrations from celebrity chefs, including Raymond Blanc, and stars of the TV Bake Off programme. The overall winner of The Great Thame Bake was Alice Middleton, from Thame, who was presented with a Magimix, the festival’s main sponsor, by Jane Devonshire. The attractions included a pop-up pub and restaurant, Gin garden and specialist dog treat stalls for the four legged show visitors, with demonstrations and fun Dog Shows by locally based, national charity the Hearing Dogs for the Deaf.
Why the move?
Though many people took to social media to say how much they had enjoyed the festival and welcomed the move, not everyone was so up-beat. Just as many people said that they missed the buzz and atmosphere of the festival when it was held in the town centre, and others resented having to pay the £5 entrance fee for each of the two days. The festival organisers had given as the main reason for the change of venue, that the crowded atmosphere in the town centre as the festival has grown over the years, was uncomfortable for many visitors and even dangerous for some. Also, the cost of running the festival meant that it was no longer viable as a free event, it was explained.
Lotte Duncan
‘So pround’
Lotte Duncan, Patron and organiser of this year’s food festival, said: ““It was so fabulous to see all the hard work of everyone come to fruition. And as part of British Food Fortnight, I am so proud that yet again alongside our main sponsors and feature stalls, we have given the opportunity for small artisan producers to showcase the wonderful diverse and delicious range of foods inspired from around the world; but produced here in Britain.”
Does the festival benefit the town?
Sonja Francis, a founder-member of the original Thame Food Festival, commented: “I’m glad for Lotte and her hard-working team that they felt that the festival move was a success for them, and I’m pleased that so many people enjoyed their visit. I’m sure it was all jolly nice, spacious and exciting. But my personal disappointment at the move is that the festival no longer benefits the town itself, which was it’s original intention.
“Unfortunately, over the last few years, the food festival grew away from it’s original raison d’etre which was to promote Thame’s food and drink offer and to support small food producers etc within a 30 mile radius of the town. As such the stalls and visitors were manageable and those that came were interested in supporting small and local producers.
Room for a ‘fringe’ ?
Joe from Deli @ No.5, offers cheese, cake and beer to the hard-working band, Swervy World, who entertained shoppers on the Thame Food Trail
I hope that next year’s Thame Food Trail (a toe in the ‘fringe water’ this year, organised by 21st Century Thame) will be expanded so that more businesses in the town benefit too. Some food and drink establishments have already indicated to me that they want to do more in the town next year. Most cannot afford to transfer their businesses to the show ground, especially for two days.
“The food festival now is a different beast – I’m not saying less good, but very different from its origins. I’m sure there’s room for both the main festival and a fringe event linking the town once again to the festival, if there is sufficient interest among the town centre food and drink operators. Time will tell.”
