Thame.net

Author: Sonja Francis

  • Kick Boxing Win Dedicated To Dad

    THAME Martial Arts experts, Duncan Elliott and Mark Thomas were both back in action on Sunday, March 27, at the Premiership of their sport in Guildford.
    Mark’s Chinese broadsword category came up first. He had been working very hard for the previous two months since the last competition, and this showed as he won second place in a very strong field, only just losing to Sam Green, the current WPKA, World Forms champion.
    Duncan, who is Mark’s trainer, told ThameNews “Mark’s skill has improved greatly and I will be putting him forward for the European championships later this year.”
    Duncan himself was fighting later in the day and was determined to improve on the third place he achieved at the semi-final against a Leicester fighter,winning quite comfortably in the final where he faced Tony Gartside. Duncan had fought Gartside previously,which made the score very close. Duncan took up the story: “I took the lead, sticking to the game plan that I had work on the friday before. However, Tony came back to level the score 4-4, which meant we went into extra time. Once again we both got one point, so it was down to sudden death. I was composed and always felt in control of the fight as I took the lead initially and finished the fight with my tried and tested side kick,back fist combination.
    “I was very happy with the performance and the result and would like to dedicate this win to my step dad who passed away on March 9, aged 79.
    “Ken, this ones for you!”

  • Long Crendon Murder

    A Long Crendon man, found dead yesterday morning, Tuesday, was murdered, say police.
    They were called at approximately 10.50am yesterday to an address in Long Crendon, where they found 36 year-old Patrick Markcrow’s body.
    A 66-year-old woman, Wendolyn Shirlaw Markcrow, also of Long Crendon, has been charged with murder and will appear at Aylesbury Magistrates Court later this afternoon.

  • Two Men Assaulted In Thame

    THAME Police are appealing for witnesses following two assaults in Thame over the weekend.

    At around 11.30pm on Sunday night, March 27, a man was assaulted as he left a pub in North Street, by a large white man aged 45-50 years old, 6ft 4ins tall, with a northern accent. He wore a white t-shirt and cream jacket.

    Shortly afterwards another man was assaulted along the road by two white men both in their twenties. One is describefd as being of medium build with short blond hair, and wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. The other is of slim build with a south African accent and wore a blue fleece.

    Both victims were taken to hospital where they were treated for head injuries before being released.

    Police are keen to speak to anybody who was in the area of North Street on Sunday at the time of the assaults and anyone with information that could assist police inquiries is urged to contact PC Daniel Haggarty 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.

  • Library To Open Longer on Saturdays?

    FOLLOWING an agreement by the county council to fund more opening hours for Thame library, the library is keen to hear comments on its proposal to stay open until 4.30pm every Saturday, instead of closing at 1pm.
    Comments on the proposal can be left at Thame library in Southern Road, Thame, before April 16.

  • Co-op Deny Closing Down Rumour

    THE Company that runs the Co-op supermarket in Thame, today denied that the shop is to close.
    A rumour that the store was to shut has been rife in the town since the closure of the Co-op in Didcot last week.
    A spokesperson for the company told ThameNews.Net: “There is absolutely no truth in the rumour whatsoever. Thame is a successfully trading store and we have no intension of either selling it or closing it down.
    “Didcot was closed because it was badly effected by the arrival of Sainsbury’s in the town.”

  • Warning After Suspicious Incident In Thame

    THAME police are urging the public to be vigilant following a suspicious incident in the town on Monday, March 21.
    At around 8.15am, an 11-year-old boy was walking alone in Queens Road when a black man driving a black saloon car pulled up on the opposite side and shouted to the boy to get into the car. When the boy refused the man asked him again. The boy then ran home.

    PC Russell Hounslow, said: ?I advise school children to be on their guard when walking on their own. In this incident the boy was not harmed and did the correct thing running somewhere safe and reporting it to an adult.?

    The man is aged in his twenties, slim to medium build and was wearing a black hooded top with the hood up.

    Anyone with information that could assist police inquiries is urged to contact PC Hounslow 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.

  • Three Cheers For Jamie Oliver!

    SO says Kaleem Saeed, the Labour Party’s General Election candidate for this constituency.
    In a recent statement, Kaleem said: “Let’s all sign up to his campaign for decent school food, on http://www.feedmebetter.com/getinvolved/sign.php and hope that the health and happiness of millions of our children – and their education – will be rescued from the dire effects of compacted gunge.

    “Jamie’s demonstration on Channel 4, that children across the whole borough of Greenwich could be persuaded to prefer nourishing food, at an affordable price, to the mush they had thought they liked, took huge courage, intelligence, persistence, and leadership – a shining example of the ‘don’t tell me, show me’ spirit of reform – But how could the rest of us have allowed such a ghastly situation to develop?

    “Until the 1980’s school meals used to be cooked from fresh ingredients by skilled women who were proud of their work and highly respected. Then came Mrs Thatcher’s efficiency drives, which made local councils put School meals (and much else beside) out to contract to the lowest bidder. Hospital cleaning and porterage went too, and eventually the maintenance of railway tracks. The tendering system has changed, but the damage takes a long time to clear.

    “Already we have another election, and the Tories are again asking for a chance to make public services more efficient . .

    Stick with Jamie! “

    For further information on Kaleem, and comment on current issues, visit www.henleylabourparty.co.uk

  • End Of The Road For Lord Bill’s First Eleven

    LORD Williams’s First XI are out of the ESFA Uner 18’s competition.
    The team lost on penalties, following a 1-1 score line at full time, and at the end of extra time. One observer told ThameNews.Net: “It was very disappointing as we were the better team but unfortunately could not finish.
    “Centre forward, Alex Jewell had been injured in a previous match for the school and damaged his knee ligaments so was not fit to play. Therefore our strike force was a bit thin as the other forward was not fully fit.
    “Not good news this time I’m but we are proud of them getting this far, the first time I believe the school has reached the semi final.”

  • Requiem Dedicated To Survivors

    THAME Choral Society will perform Brahms?s Deutsche Requiem at St Mary?s Church, Thame on Saturday, April 23, at 7.45pm.
    To sing this great masterpiece requires a great deal of stamina but the choir has given themselves the extra challenge of singing in German as originally written.
    Brahms?s Requiem is unusual in that it is a Requiem to the living ? a Requiem is customarily dedicated to a death ? and for that reason Thame Choral Society has decided to dedicate the performance to the survivors of the Tsunami Disaster on Boxing Day last year. Relief has flooded into the affected areas, but the help to re-stabilise the livelihoods of thousands of people will be interminable.
    Last November the Choir held a workshop under the guidance of Robert Dean of London?s Philharmonia Chorus. Choirs from all over Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire joined in on that occasion and will be warmly welcomed to return to sing again for this very special performance. Also on that occasion, Benedict Nelson, a student from Guildford School of Music, astonished the gathering with an extraordinary talent for one so young. Thame Choral Society is very privileged to offer him the opportunity to sing in his very first professional performance as the Baritone soloist. Our Soprano for the evening will be Cheryl Enever who lives in Chesham and has previously sung with the TCS.

    To complement the Brahms, the programme will also include Mozart?s Horn Concerto no 4, soloist Herrick Hayes, and the Overture to the Magic Flute

    Tickets will be available from Thame Tourist information Office and at the door. For further details please call 01494 488687.

  • Thame Firemen Save Heart Attack Victim

    FIRE Officers from Thame almost certainly saved the life of one of their ex colleagues, when they were first on the scene recently when he suffered a heart attack.
    The fire crew’s action came only days after the launch of a three month pilot scheme which means retained firefighters in three areas of the County, being able to offer defibrillation treatment in the community.

    Firefighters from Thame, Bampton, and Chipping Norton have been trained to administer CPR and/or defibrillation treatment to patients within a small radius of their fire station. Should they be mobilised, it will be after an ambulance and Paramedic crew has been dispatched. However, even arriving only a minute before the ambulance could help save a life.
    Dick Tracy, the Oxfordshire Ambulance NHS Trust’s Community Defibrillation Officer, who has trained the fire fighters in conjuction with the British Heart Foundation, told ThameNews.Net: “When someone suffers a cardiac arrest, their chances of survival drop by up to 10% for every minute that passes so a speedy response is crucial. Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) can double a person?s chances of survival and having a defibrillator close to hand can further increase their chances by more than a third.

    ?Expanding the network of people suitably trained to provide such vital early treatment for cardiac arrest, is something the Trust feels very strongly about. The more people in the community who have this level of knowledge and can use it appropriately, the better for everyone.?

    PHOTOGRAPH: Dick Tracy with Thame Fire Crews outside Thame Fire station with Sharon Wheeler, whose husband, Richard, died after a heart attack three years ago. Money raised from a Memorial football match to be held at Thame United on Good Friday, will be used to help purchase two defibrillators for Thame Fire station. (See Sports News section for full details.