Category: More News

FOLLOWING the news that the Thame September fair will not go ahead later this month, and the many comments and questions on social media, Thame Town Council has issued the following update:

“FOLLOWING enquires from residents and businesses and the discussions on social media over the weekend, we are sorry to inform you that in spite of last ditch efforts instigated by the Town Council that the Guild have decided that the Thame Fair in September should still not go ahead. The Town Council sincerely wants the tradition of a town centre fair at the same time as the old Thame Show to continue, but on terms that are fair to both the Guild and the Town. The Town Council must always budget to ensure that it is not subsidising a commercial operation. We know that the Guild has charged their showmen around £32,000 in rent for each of the last 3 years and have put that up by around another £4,000 (12%) this year, more than enough to cover the modest £979 increase (from £27,521) in Town Council charge, the first increase in three years, in spite of ever-rising costs. The amount being charged by the Town Council this year is £28,500 (not £33,900 as publicised by Guild members on social media). The Town Council offered a fully reasonable one-year, rather than four-year, agreement but the Guild would still not sign the agreement by a new deadline of 5pm on Monday 11 September 2017.

“At the Full Council meeting on 15 August 2017 amendments to the Fair Agreement were approved to accommodate specific requests from the Showmen’s Guild. The Guild had the opportunity to come along to this public meeting to address Councillors of any concerns that they had. There were some members of the public and press at that public meeting, but no representation from the Guild.

“There has been much discussion about the costs to the Town Council. The Town Council is responsible for event management, event layout and emergency evacuation procedures and uses independent, accredited, local tried and tested contractors who give the best value and provide an excellent service to the Town and the Guild. Security, safety and clear-up is paramount. The risk of chopping and changing proven suppliers in a high profile town centre event is not outweighed by constant minimizing of cost. This year additional security measures have been required following advice from the police and in light of the current heightened security terrorist threats.

“Fair operations are also different in each and every Town with operational requirements assessed by the relevant authority. One service at one cost in one town is not necessarily appropriate in another. Security in Thame includes the manning of three major and two minor road closure points, along with ensuring relevant and safe access for businesses and residents in a vibrant town centre. Comparing costs only is not necessarily meaningful. It was in April 2008 that the Town Council became the official organiser of the fair with roles and responsibilities defined to ensure that the concerns raised by the emergency services were significantly improved. To that end the Town Council to date have fulfilled these responsibilities with the Showmens Guild.

“It should be made clear that there will be no provisions in place to enable the September Fair to take place this year as the Showmens Guild of Great Britain have refused to sign the one year Agreement.

“In the spirit of partnership the Town Council is hoping to work with the Showmens Guild to enable the October Charter Fair and future fairs to take place.

“Members of the Town Council would also like to clarify further points that have been aired on social media. Thame is privileged that there are other independent organisations that undertake other festivals for Thame residents. This year they have given support to Music in the Park, Thame Carnival, Thame Town Music Festival and Thame Arts and Literature Festival.

“The management of the Show Ground (and events held there) are completely independent of the Town Council which has not been involved in any way in influencing, allowing, cancelling or deciding the location of events held there.”

THE Showmens Guild of Great Britain have informed the Town Council today, Friday September 8, that the town council’s invitation to enter into a new four year Agreement has been rejected by their members.

In a statement, the Thame Town Council said: “The Town Council is disappointed to inform residents, businesses and visitors that the September Fair will therefore not be taking place this year.

“Over the past two years fees have not been increased by the Town Council, however with the operational costs rising to assist with event safety the modest increase of less than £1,000 is fully justified in meeting the operational costs incurred by the Town Council and equates to an increase per stall holder of just £4 per day of the fair.

“Associated road closures for the September Fair will be lifted within the town centre between Thursday 21 and Saturday 23 September 2017.

CHINNOR residents have overwhelmingly endorsed its Neighbourhood Plan, after yesterday’s referendum (07/08/17).

The results show that 95.5% of those who took part in the referendum voted ‘Yes’. In figures, 1742 voted yes, 77 voted No, three votes were unmarked and the turnout was 36.4% of those eligible to vote.

Marius Ciortan, one of the Steering Group members, said: “The village has spoken! This is an outstanding result following two and a half years of hard work by a group local volunteers in the Chinnor Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group, a sub-committee of the Chinnor Parish Council.”

https://www.facebook.com/ChinnorNeighbourhoodPlan

http://chinnorneighbourhoodplan.info/

RESIDENTS of Chinnor are today voting on the Chinnor Neighbourhood Plan. The polling station will be open at Chinnor Village Hall until 10 pm.

The referendum is being held to decide on the question :
“Do you want South Oxfordshire District Council to use the Neighbourhood Plan for Chinnor to help it decide planning applications in the neighbourhood area?”

DOCTORS at The Rycote Practice in Thame, have voted to remain open to new patients, in a ballot currently circulating among GPS asking whether they would support industrial action.

A survey by the British Medical Association (BMA) last year revealed that the majority of GPs find their workload unsustainable, most surgeries are finding it difficult to recruit staff and that GPs are put off being partners (practice owners) by this workload. Last year NHS England published its strategy to support general practice over the next five years called The General Practice Forward View.

The Local Medical Committees (LMCs) from across the country debated the current pressures at its conference in May this year and proposed the following motion;

“That conference believes that the GP Forward View is failing to deliver the resources necessary to sustain general practice and demands that GPC ballot GPs as to whether they would be prepared to collectively close their lists in response to this crisis.”

As a result the BMA is currently undertaking a ballot asking practices whether GPs in England are willing to collectively close their practice lists or temporarily suspend new registrations.

Andy Jinman, Patient Participation Group Chair at The Rycote Practice, writing in the latest Patient Newsletter, explained why the GPs at the Rycote have made the decision to vote against the motion: “At the Rycote Practice we have very serious concerns about the funding for primary care and doubt whether the current strategy will be successful in averting a crisis. However we have voted NOT to take this action as we believe that it would be to the detriment of the population that we are here to serve. The Rycote Practice remains open to new registrations.”

AN inquest into the death of 18 year-old Luke Portsmouth, who was pronounced dead at the scene when the motorbike he was driving crashed in Thame, will be opened next Tuesday, September 5, 2017.

Luke was driving a black Kawasaki ZX Series motorbike along the A4129 Tythrop Way in Thame on August 28, when, according to the police, he is believed to have collided with a lamp post near the skate park at about 4.35pm.

OVER 60’s living in the Thame area are being invited to take a FREE ‘Functional Fitness MOT’ with a team of professionals, to test how fit they are compared to others of the same age.

The tests are very straight forward and include things like standing up from a seated position with your arms folded, seeing how far down your own back you can reach with each arm, hand grip strength, and how long you can stand on one leg! The results will give you an idea of whether you are ‘doing well’ compared to your peers or whether you could benefit from being a little more active. A pack given at the end of the MOT lists some local activity opportunities that you might like to join in with and some online websites for more information.

There will also be stalls from the following organisations to give information and advice:

AGE UK Oxford including the Community Information Network
Thame Leisure Centre including GO ACTIVE
The British Heart Foundation
Diabetes UK
Dementia Oxfordshire
Occupational Therapy

Local activity opportunities for the over 60s include Tai Chi at Christchurch, Thame, Chair-based activities at St Joseph’s Church, Thame, Health Walks from the Thame Barns Centre and Healthy Heart Circuit Classes for the Older Generation at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame.

Thame.Net’s Editor, Sonja Francis, went along for a dummy run with local Physiotherapist, Anita Clayton, to see for herself how the MOT worked and to try some of the fitness tests herself.

“Anita was very friendly and reassuring and explained the tests clearly and what they were designed to test,” said Sonja. None of them were difficult – they’re not designed to test you to the limit or cause any pain, and I didn’t feel judged in any way. Of course, being a middle-aged, fit-ish walker and cyclist I expected to pass with flying colours – which I did mainly, though one of the tests did show a bit of stiffness in my back which I shall now go away and work on. Anita recommended a spot of yoga or pilates.”

The purpose of maintaining as high a level of fitness as possible, and remaining as active as possible as we age, is of course to prevent health problems into the future. Avoiding falls and other accidents caused by losing balance, muscle weakness or medical emergencies like stroke and heart-attack, means less visits and stays in hospital which, not only is good for us, but is good for the over-stretched NHS and the other support services.

The Functional Fitness MOT Day is at Thame Town Hall on Friday, September 15th, from 9.30am to 12.30pm. You can either book by phoning Anita Clayton on 01844 217646 or just turn up.

PUB-goers popping into The Thatch and The James Figg in Thame are being asked to put their change from buying a round – or any cash they can spare – towards Herds for Change, a project aimed at delivering vital and sustainable change in the Mara, Kenya.

The pubs have declared this week Peach Foundation Cow Week, when The Richard Onslow and its sister pubs owned by Peach Pub Company are aiming to raise £250, or more, each to buy a cow for the Maasai community in Kenya as part of Herds for Change, the latest fundraising campaign carried out by its charitable arm, The Peach Foundation.

The goal is to raise £130,000 to buy a breeding herd of eight pedigree bulls and 400 cows for the Enonkishu community in the Mara. The profits will be ploughed back into the community and used to support the livelihoods of local families.

Each cow costs £250 and regulars and new faces alike coming to The Thatch and The James Figg are being asked to donate their change or whatever they can to help raise the money – there’s a special cow money box on the bar for collecting donations.

“This is an opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people living in the Maasai community in the Mara, Kenya, a part of the world where the ecosystem has become increasingly fragile,” said Frazer Sutherland, Peach Partner. “Global warming, lifestyle changes and the mismanagement of land all pose a serious threat to the wildlife and the communities who live in the Maasai.

“Over the years here at Peach we have played a part in supporting the Maasai tribe, the wildlife and the community’s traditional way of life, helping to create a hippo sanctuary and plant a forest. Now, we are moving onto the next important chapter in the bid to safeguard the long-term future of the Mara and its people. We are creating the Peach Herd and raising money to buy cows for the Maasai community, and we want Thame to be able to provide at least one, if not two cows!

“So we’re asking everyone who pays us a visit over the next couple of weeks to let us hang onto their change for the cause or put whatever they can into the cow money box on the bar so we can make Herds for Change a big success and make our mark in the Mara.”

After collecting money to buy the herd, a team from Peach and some of its suppliers will be travelling out to Kenya to buy the cattle and deliver them to the Enonkishu community on September 9. Frazer will be among them.

To make a donation, pop into The Thatch or The James Figg or go online to: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/herdsforchange/

To find out more about Herds for Change and why the Enonkishu community needs help, please take a look at the short video here: Peach Herd 2017 Introduction Video 6 mins YouTube