Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Montesson Runner Triumphs in Thame 10K

    ONE of the visiting team of runners from Thame’s twin town, Montesson, came second in the annual Thame 10K last weekend.
    Stephane Vautier, was beaten by Gary Harris of Headington Road Runners by only 49 seconds.
    Thame Runners hosted a buffet and drinks reception for the french visitors at the Thame Barns Centre on Saturday night during which the Thame Twinning Assocation and the Mayor, Cllr David Laver were both present to greet them.

    The Montesson runners stayed at a local hotel and indicated that they will be sending Thame Runners an invitation to a cross country event in Montesson next
    November.

    A record 754 runners completed the CPM Thame 10km course while 154 children competed in the fun run. Under cool conditions, especially compared to the 33 degree heat of the previous Sunday, Gary Harris of Headington Roadrunners finished first in 32.57. This just 9 seconds faster than Stephane Vautier of Montesson AC who battled with Gary for the whole course. Stephane was one of eight runners from Montesson, Thame?s twin town and just north of Paris, who came over for the weekend to participate in the Thame 10km.
    First Lady home was Jennifer Pyper of Alchester Running Club in 39.04. Dave Hartwell picked up the First Thame Resident trophy and the race saw some ex-Thame residents return to take part: Sally White winning the Ladies Veteran category for HandyCross while Duncan Cooper ? many time winner of the event ? finished a credible 8th.
    (See yesterday’s link for full results)

    Children?s Fun Run
    7-10 Year Olds 1.25 Km Guy Dickinson
    11-14 Year Olds 2.5 Km Luke Ricketts

  • Thame Police Seek Information

    THAME Police would like information regarding the following incidents which have occurred in the Thame area over the past week or so:

    JIMMY FIGGS, Thame – between 11.50pm and 12 mid-night, Friday night June 24, mobile phone and door key stolen.

    SEDGEMOOR DRIVE, Thame – overnight June 23/24, between 10.50pm and 5am, plant pots and hanging basket smashed.

    CROSS KEYS PUB, Thame – criminal damage to Mercedes car, June 17/18 between 8pm and 12.30 mid-day, off-side rear door kicked and dented.

    WHEATLEY – Library, Oxford Road, June 29, between 12 and 5pm, credit cards stolen from wallet from pocket of jacket left on back of chair while owner visited the toilet.

    THE BELFRY, Milton Common – Thursday, June 30, between 1.30am and 02.08 am, number of vehicles broken into – masked offenders smashed windows.

    Anybody with information about any of the these incidents can contact the police enquiry line on 0845 5850 5505, or Crime Stoppers anonymously 0800 555111

  • Thame Players Present ‘The Hostage’ (Contributed)

    THIS Brendan Behan play is to be presented at the Thame Players Theatre, in Nelson Street, Thame, from July 5 to 9, at 7.45pm each evening.

    Farce? Musical? Tragedy? Comedy? Theatre of the Absurd?

    The Hostage by Brendan Behan almost defies description, but it is magnificent entertainment, even though the basic description of the plot at first seems somewhat daunting.
    Written in 1958, the play concerns the fate of a young cockney soldier, taken hostage by the IRA in Northern Ireland and brought by them to an old house of doubtful reputation in Dublin. This is where the action of the play takes place and here we meet an assortment of characters from Colette, a young blonde whore, Patrick, who runs the house and is a veteran of the 1916 uprising, to Monsewer, the kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing, Anglo-Irishman, a real eccentric.

    Brendan Behan based all his plays and characters on real events and people. He held court in the bars of Dublin and was always ready to entertain everybody with stories and songs, even dancing a jig.

    Tickets for this Thame Players production of The Hostage can be obtained from Thame?s Tourist Information Centre in North Street, or by telephone on 01844 212834.

  • Thame United Devastated

    THE following statement was issued earlier today by Thame United Football Club:
    “Members of staff at one of the town?s longest established organisations, the 121 year-old Thame United Football Club, were devastated this week (yesterday) when they received a visit from bailiffs acting on behalf of H M Customs and Excise. These Bailiffs had been instructed to remove goods and property in lieu of an unpaid VAT bill.
    The club, which apart from its sporting and social activities hosts many local organisations including St Johns Ambulance, Thame U3A, Inner Wheel, Thame Boxing Club, the Oasis church, old peoples? activities etc., therefore anticipates a traumatic few weeks while it attempts to recover.
    In the long term the club is determined to continue with its role as a major contributor to the community in Thame but in the meantime, it earnestly requests the support of its many customers and suppliers during what will undoubtedly be a difficult time.
    An Extraordinary General Meeting of members has been called at the club for Wednesday, July 13, where the future direction of the club will be decided.”

    Sandy Saulsbury, the club’s Operations Manager, told ThameNews: “This certainly has not been a very pleasant experience but we have cleaned up and it?s the Dunkirk spirit here.
    “We are continuing to trade and opening tomorrow(Saturday) night. However, we are not taking any bookings and are taking legal advice as to how to proceed and will therefore know more next week.”

  • Thame 10K – Results

    Click here
     to link to Thame Runners’ website for full results.

  • New Library Service Book Marked

    Library users across the county, including Thame, are taking part in an innovative joint promotion between Oxford Inspires and Oxfordshire County Council.
    The cultural development agency has joined forces with the Council, one of its five stakeholders, to produce 50,000 bookmarks, to be distributed through libraries in July.

    The colourful bookmarks are printed on both sides, one side promoting Evolving City, the cultural programme taking place in and around Oxford in 2005, which is coordinated and promoted by Oxford Inspires. The other side publicises the Oxfordshire Library Service?s new telephone and online book renewals services, which allow users to renew their books at any time of the day or night, and to access a range of other library services through the Internet.

  • Disability Advice Pack For Business

    FOLLOWING a survey carried out by Oxfordshire County Council, businesses are being offered advice packs regarding making provision for disabled people following the new Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
    Under the Act, since October 2004, service-providers have had a duty to make reasonable adjustments for people with disabilities. If they don?t do this, then people with disabilities who feel they are being discriminated against could take a civil action against them.
    The survey, which was carried out in Banbury, but could apply to any town. It showed that while some businesses in the town provide excellent facilities, others are less enlightened, despite the advent of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
    The service-provider cannot wait until a person with disabilities complains before making adjustments. Under the Act the service-provider must anticipate the needs of people with disabilities.
    Easy improvements could include putting D-shaped handles on doors, creating larger parking bays for blue badge holders or even just training staff to be more considerate.

    Marks & Spencers, Debenhams, Woolworths were three retailers identified in the survey as providing an excellent service to people with disabilities.
    Both Marks & Spencers and Debenhams offered special changing rooms, wide aisles, lifts with raised lettering on the control buttons and they had very helpful staff.
    Woolworths was easy to get around because of the red flooring which people with poor sight can use to find their way through the store easily without walking into shelves.

    However, some other shops featured changing rooms for people with disabilities that were full of stock or had such cluttered aisles that they were difficult for people to negotiate.

    The survey ? carried out last summer by Julia Houghton, a day service worker from the Greenwood Day Services for older people with learning disabilities, and service-user Ruby Smillie – was mostly carried out in the Castle Quay shopping centre, but the duo also visited other services around the town, such as doctors? surgeries, dentists, pubs and eating-places.

    Following the survey, a team led by Pauline Turner, manager of Greenwood Day Services, Banbury, met officers from Cherwell District Council.

    For more information about making shop and services more accessible to people with disabilities please ring John Gregory, access officer at Cherwell District Council, on 01295 221630.

  • Thame United Shock!

    AT around 2pm today, bailiffs moved into Thame United Football Club’s premises in Windmill Road, Thame.
    Everything is being taken away including equipment belonging to other local organisations like the Oasis Church and the Thame Bridge Club who use it for their activities.
    The club has been in financial difficulties for some time and has tried on several occassions to do a deal with housing developers to enable them to move to another site near Lord Williams’s Upper school. However, planning permission to build homes on the Windmill Road Site has been turned down.
    Club officials were unavailable for comment this afternoon except to say that they planned to hold a committee meeting this evening to decide what to do.

  • Robbery Victim Attacked With Pool Cue

    Police are appealing for witnesses following an attempted robbery in Wheatley yesterday, when a man was repeatedly hit in the face with a pool cue.
    At around 11pm, four men aged in their early twenties were at the top of Church Road, near to the telephone box, when they were approached by four males. One of the offenders was carrying a pool cue and when another demanded the men to hand over their mobiles and they refused, he repeatedly hit one of the men in the face and head with the cue. Another man was also injured.

    Det Con Carron Chesterman, of Thame CID, said: ?This was a vicious, unprovoked attack. The men were heading home from The Railway pub where they had spent the evening.

    ?The man who was hit with the pool cue went to the JR2 Hospital where he received 19 staples in his head and received treatment to injuries to his nose and jaw.

    ?I appeal to anyone who saw a group of youths in the area with one carrying a pool cue in Wheatley last night, or witnessed the incident to contact police immediately.

    ?The offenders were seen leaving the scene of the incident in a red car and a turquoise car, possibly a Metro.?

    The offenders were white and aged in their late teens. The youth carrying the pool cue was around 5ft 6ins, medium build and was wearing a light coloured tracksuit.

    One was around 5ft 10ns, skinny and was clean shaven. He was wearing a light coloured Adidas tracksuit top and trousers and a black baseball cap.

    Another was around 5ft 6ins, medium build and was clean shaven.

    The fourth offender was around 6ft, medium build, with brown gelled hair with a centre parting. He was wearing a white track suit with blue and purple stripes down either side of the torso.

    Anyone with information that could assist police inquiries is urged to contact Det Con Chesterman at Thame police station, via 0845 8 505 505. If you don?t want to speak to police and don?t want to leave your name contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

  • Thame Delicatessen Robbed

    A THAME shop became the victim of a walk-in thief yesterday, when almost