Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Plans In The Work House

    Berkeley Homes have submitted a planning application to South Oxfordshire District Council for the redevelopment of the former Rycotewood College.
    The plans are being made available for inspection on Tuesday, January 17, between 3pm and 7pm in the Workhouse building, at the entrance to the site. Representatives from Berkeley Homes will be available to answer any questions regarding the plans.
    The plans include the building of over 100 new homes and the demolition of many of the old victorian buildings, with the exception of the Old Workhouse which is a listed building.

    Copies of the plans are available to view at the One Stop Shop in Thame Town Hall.

    For further information, please call 01235 537457 or contact:
    Gemma Gibbs (Marketing Manager)
    Berkeley Homes (Oxford & Chiltern) Ltd
    Berkeley House
    Abingdon Science Park
    Barton Lane
    Abingdon
    Oxfordshire OX14 3NB

  • Plans For Synthetic Pitch At Lord Bill’s

    A plan to build a new, all-weather synthetic pitch at Lord Williams’s School, will be discussed by Thame Council tomorrow, Tuesday, January 10, at 6.30pm.
    The plans include floodlighting.

  • Thame Badminton Men Stay On Top

    The first match of the year saw Thame Badminton Mens team entertaining Leys C from Witney. Having beaten Leys away, the selectors decided to play Ben Cooper to give him more experience against a stronger side compared with his Aylesbury league experience.

    Chris Charman and Chris Daniels started off their fifth game as the Thame 1st pair against the Leys opening and best pairing. With their contrasting styles complementing each other, Charman and Daniels dominated the game to win easily. The second game saw them easing off and this allowed the Leys pair to make a come back and force setting at 14 all. Switching back on, the Thame pair then won the game and thus the rubber. David Hargrave returned for only his second match of the season to partner Club Chairman Trevor Walker. With both players suffering the effects of recent winter colds, their play was sluggish. The first game saw them miss-timing some of their shots but this did not prevent them from overcoming the Leys 2nd but weakest strength pair. Continuing in this vein of play, they won the rubber by winning the next game. Keith Richards was paired with Ben Cooper but not having played together for 3 months showed. The Leys 3rd pair ran the Thame pair around the court with Richards line judgement out leading to some late decisions on whether to play shots. Losing the first game, the Thame pair realised that they must keep in rallies if they wanted to get the opportunity to win points. This they did and managed to win the second game but they slipped back to lose the final game and the rubber.

    The Thame first pair totally dominated the Leys 2nd to win the first game. However, the second game saw Charman and Daniels easing back which allowed the Leys pair to win more points but not enough to prevent Thame winning the rubber. Hargrave and Walker were now loose after their first rubber and this allowed them give the Leys 1st pair a hard and close fought match which was only resolved after the sides had to set. Unfortunately, Thame were on the losing end. Working hard to overcome the effects of the colds as well as the Leys pair, the Thame pair came back to win the next 2 games to claw back the rubber. After a discussion about their play, Richards and Cooper took on the Leys 2nd pair in a rubber, which if won, would give Thame a winning position. With almost everything that was wrong in the first rubber changed, the Thame pair won the first game with relative ease. To the surprise of the on-looking selector, Richards and Cooper then went on the to win the second and final game 15 ? 0.

    The final game for the Charman and Daniels combination was against the Leys 3rd pair. As in their rubber against the Leys 2nd pair, Thame won the first game easily. Worryingly, they again took the foot off the accelerator to allow the Leys pair to win more points than they should have been allowed. Nevertheless, this was the 4th time in 5 matches that Charman and Daniels have won all their rubbers. Hargarve and Walker were up against the Leys 3rd pair and by now were visibly tired. The Leys pairing were both young and fit and the Thame pair did well to win the game. However, they were pulled back by the Leys youngsters in the second game and lost. Summoning their last reserves of energy and using their greater experience, the Thame pair was able to win the final game. The final rubber saw Richards and Cooper take on the Leys 1st pair. Their improvement from the start of the match continued as they won the first game. However, the Leys 1st pair quickly saw some weaknesses in the Thame pairing and exploited them to the full to win the second game. Although Richards and Cooper tried hard, they could not regain the dominance they had in the first game and lost the game and rubber.

    The Mens team have maintained their unbeaten run and retain their position at the top of their division. Their next match is against Didcot Power against whom Thame had their hardest match of the season.

  • Thame Win Local Derby (Contributed)

    Chinnor 1 Thame United 3 !! Match Report
    THIS eagerly awaited local derby, in the preliminary round of the League Challenge Cup saw the game watched by the largest crowd of the day – 127, with a close encounter anticipated given that Thame United lie 19th in the Hellenic Premier League and Chinnor are in fourth place in the league below.

    It was Thame United who started the brightest with a Jordan Weaver shot deflected for a corner on five minutes, and Ben Clarke in the Chinnor goal saving well from Adrian Smith two minutes later. However, it was Chinnor who took the lead on 10 minutes, when leading scorer Gary Marshall collected the ball on the wide right and hit a powerful shot that caught Goalkeeper Paul Searl out of position. Although Searl got a hand to the ball, the shot crept in at the near post.

    Thame equalised 10 minutes later when the ever dangerous Nathan Jack hit an unstoppable shot from wide right to beat Clarke low to his left. It was 2-1 to Thame in the 33rd minute when, following good passing between Weaver and Jack, Jack calmly placed the ball beyond the approaching Clarke for his ninth goal of the season. By now Thame were beginning to get the upper hand and following a shot just wide from Nick Gibson in the 35th minute, Thame extended their lead a minute later with young centre back Marc Bell powerfully meeting a Joe Da Silva corner to give Clarke in the Chinnor goal no chance.

    With the score 3-1 to Thame at half time, the crowd were looking forward to an entertaining game in the second half. Indeed, it was Chinnor who came out the stronger of the two sides, with Searl doing well to parry a powerful shot in the 50th minute. Five minutes later the Thame centre back Matt Graves was lucky to receive only a yellow card for a heavy challenge. However, in the ensuing fracas former Thame United player and Chinnor chairman, Richard Carr, was sent from the field. He was followed five minutes later by Gary Marshall for a second bookable offence.

    This effectively finished the game as a spectacle, with the Thame side content to play possession football and see out the remaining half an hour. Nevertheless, Jack, Weaver, Da Silva and Sion Kitson all went close to extending the lead, with Weaver also having a good claim for a penalty turned down in the 83rd minute.

    Team:
    Searl, Smith, Watkins, Bell, Graves, Kitson, Connelly, Gibson, Da Silva, Jack, Weaver
    Sub (not used): Hocking.

    The result sees Thame travel to Rayners Lane in the next round of the Cup on 25th November, before which they have important league games away at Harrow Hill this Saturday and at home to Abingdon Town on 18th November.

    The victory against Chinnor was followed by news that Thame United Reserves, who play in Reserve Division 2 of the Hellenic League, had beaten their first division opponents, Didcot Town, 5-2 in the first round of the Chairmans? Challenge Cup, rounding off a winning weekend for Thame United.
    4th November 2006

  • Look Out For Bogus Utility Workers

    LOCAL residents are being asked to be extra vigilant and look out for elderly or vulnerable friends or neighbours, following distraction burglaries in which men have posed as utility workers.
    Two such incidents have taken place in Abingdon during the last 48 hours and in one case, the two male offenders were wearing high visibility yellow jackets.
    Both incidents happened in the early evening, two white males in each case. Although their description did not match, it is know that sometimes a group of people can be working together and travelling an area.

    As a general reminder, always ask callers for identification, do not let anybody in your home (especially outside the usual working day), who does not prove to your satisfaction that they are genuine.

    Anyone who hears or sees anything suspicious should call the police on 08458 505505 or If you think a crime is taking place, call 999.

    Photo: Copyright of Wolverhampton City Council

  • New Travel Perks For Elderly and Disabled

    ELDERLY and disabled people will be able to travel free on local buses from next April.
    The Government has asked all councils, including South Oxfordshire District Council, to allow people aged 60 years and over and disabled people to travel free on local buses. But SODC have gone further and, instead of just allowing free travel within the district area, those who qualify will be able to use their bus passes to travel free to Oxford, Reading, Abingdon, Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough. The passes will be able to be used from 9am instead of 9.30 am as previously and disabled people who need someone to help them use buses can ask for a pass for their travel companion.

    However, the District Council will have to find some additional money to provide this new service and will be reviewing eligibility for its travel tokens by focusing on those most in need. (The Cabinet will be making a decision on travel tokens at its January meeting, using feedback from parish councils and the results of a public survey).

    NB
    Because of a lack of use by local people, the current contract and funding arrangements for the two, linked Dial-a-Ride and Lewknor Taxibus services, will come to an end on January 28.

  • CCTV Cabling Work – Road Closure

    BOTH the Buttermarket, and part of Rooks Lane, where it joins the Upper High Street, Thame, will be closed from January 26 for up to 18 months, whilst cabling for Thame’s CCTV system is installed.
    The alternative route for traffic affected by the Rooks Lane closure is via Upper Hight Street, Nelson Street and Southern Road. No alternative route for Buttermarket traffic will be available.

  • Council To Decide Memorial Garden Improvements

    THAME Town Councillors will decide tomorrow whether or not to spend over

  • Long Crendon Family Homeless After Arson Attack

    POLICE are appealing for information about a serious arson attack on a house in the High Street, Long Crendon.
    Just after 3AM on the morning of Monday, January 2, police were called to the house by the Bucks Fire Service.
    It appears that the fire was started deliberately in a wheelie bin in the court yard and then spread to the house itself.
    Police say that a number of other bins in the area had been set alight around the village on the same night and they are looking into the possibility that the fires were all linked. They are appealing for witnesses of any of the arson attacks to contact them.
    Det Con Malcolm Wheeler, who is investigating the incident, said: “The fire which spread to the house was extremely serious. It is fortunate that the family living there were away at the time and no-one was injured. The end result could have been fatal for anyone who may have been inside the building at the time.
    “The fire has caused a considerable amount of damage, so much so the occupants are unable to go back and have had to find somewhere else to stay.
    “I am keen to hear from anyone with information about these fires and in particular anyone who saw people acting suspiciously around the house where the fire spread during the hours leading up to it.”

    Anyone with information about the fire should contact Det Con Wheeler at Aylesbury CID via the Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505. If you don’t want to talk to police and don’t want to leave your name call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

  • Historic Pub Destroyed By Fire

    A popular, historic thatched pub near Thame, was severely damaged by fire yesterday, January 4.
    Eight pumps, including two from Thame, were called to the fifteenth century, Rising Sun, in Worminghall Road, Ickford, around 1.45pm, to find diners and residents out in the street and a deep-seated fire in the thatch roof.
    Station Officer Andy Ford told Thame.News: “Although at first this seemed to be a small fire in the roof, it quickly became apparent that, as with most thatch fires, the heat had spread throughout the roof. From then on our job became a damage limitation and salvage operation.”
    The cause of the fire is not yet known but it was not thought to be started deliberately.

    Photo: The Rising Sun, Ickford, before the fire.