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  • Book now for children’s rugby camp

    CHINNOR RFC Thame, will be holding its next children’s camp during February half-term and bookings can now be made online.

    This ever-popular skills and education course is a fantastic way for youngsters to develop their rugby in a fun environment. The camp will be held at the club’s Kingsey Road base from February 18-20. Coached by some of Chinnor’s first team players, the sessions will focus on kicking, footwork and tackle technique.

    To book your child’s place, CLICK HERE. The camp costs £75 for all three days, although there is the option of just attending for one day, £30.

    The club is looking for a couple of sponsors for the skills sessions. So, anyone interested in getting involved, should email Head of Community, Matt Goode via community@chinnor-rfc.com.

    Skills sessions will also be held during the Easter holiday (April 7, 8, 9 & April 14, 15, 16) as well as the Summer half-term (May 26, 27, 28).

  • Chinnor win ‘arm wrestle’ of a match with Cinderford

    LAURENCE May held his nerve to land a last-minute conversion and earn Chinnor RFC a thrilling 28-27 victory over Cinderford on Saturday (January 26).

    It proved a real battle at Kingsey Road and the hosts came away with five points when Will Harries crossed in the corner and fly-half May expertly kept his cool to add the vital extras. With Rosslyn Park losing at Plymouth Albion, fourth-placed Chinnor are now only four points behind third in National League 1.

    The hosts led 14-0 inside ten minutes, with hooker Nick Selway scoring both tries against his former club. The first was a ‘pick and go’ from five metres after Pete Laverick had been stopped short, with the second being a more familiar driving lineout, May converting both. However, Cinderford hit back and scored three tries in the space of ten minutes while Chinnor had Josh Hodson in the sin-bin.

    Harry Hone’s unconverted try had reduced the arrears, before Jack Hayes crossed twice in quick succession as the visitors led 19-14 at the break. Chinnor’s response was to dominate the first 20 minutes of the second period and Josh Pieterse drove over, May converting. But Cinderford refused to lie down and a George Barton penalty, as well as George Evans’s try saw them go 27-21 in front with ten minutes to go.

    It looked like it was not going to be Chinnor’s day, but they piled on the pressure and with Evans in the sin-bin, they found space for Harries to go over in the corner, before May coolly slotted over the match-winning conversion.

    Director’s comments

    Director of Rugby at Chinnor, Matt Williams, was full of praise for his Chinnor players as they dug deep to secure what was a dramatic, 28-27 victory at home to Cinderford.

    Laurence May converted Will Harries’s try in the last play to earn the Oxfordshire side a bonus-point win in a physical National League 1 contest.
    Having dominated most of the second half, it was the least Chinnor deserved, but they showed fantastic character to keep coming at a Cinderford side which defended heroically.

    Matt Williams said: “It was a great game, it always is. Chinnor-Cinderford is a match that both clubs really look forward to. We always have a great arm wrestle and it was exactly that. The paying public really enjoyed the game and it went through to the final play when we got over the line.

    “I’ve got to give huge credit to Cinderford’s defence though – it was stellar. They kept us out time after time after time and eventually we got over in the corner, but obviously Loz May had to seriously keep his nerve for a difficult kick. Much credit to Laurence, but also much credit to our team for keeping going until the dying death.

    “Weaker teams would have rolled over and lost and I’m really proud of the boys, they did a sterling job. The result helped Chinnor close the gap to third-placed Rosslyn Park, who lost at Plymouth Albion, to four points.”

    Williams added: “It was a huge win. The last two years Cinderford have come here and given us a good thumping. Backed on from the confidence of last week, to beat Cinderford by one point is all I could ask. To come away with a bonus point win is delightful. We’ve taken ten points from two games now. You can see the confidence and camaraderie in the boys and we’ve just got to keep rolling now.

    “It’s solely about worrying about ourselves and taking each game as it comes, but make no bones about it that was a huge win for us and I’m proud of the boys.”

    May seemed to be the coolest person in the ground when stepping up to convert from the touchline. The fly-half said: “it was great. I didn’t think I’d put enough on it at one point. We’ve got some great personalities at the club and it’s just great to get everyone around (at the end) and that feeling afterwards is just incredible.

    “When we’re winning and playing great rugby, it’s one of the most enjoyable places to be.”

  • Thame Trees 2020 Up-date

    THAME Trees 2020 will be having a stall at the Volunteer Fair at Racquets Fitness Centre, Saturday, February 15, at 12 noon to 4pm, and on Sunday, February 16, between 5pm-8pm.

    By then, the project leaders, 21st Century Thame, hope to be have been able to have secured the purchase of some trees ready for nurturing or planting – whether free or purchased.

    They are hoping to use the volunteers fair  to distribute some trees to residents for planting in their gardens and to distribute some potted and non-potted saplings for nurturing.

    Chair of 21st Century Thame, Sue Martin Downhill, said: “We are also hoping to have set a date for the first mass planting by then, and will take names of those who want to be involved.

    “If anyone knows of people who happen to have self-seeded saplings in their gardens that they might be throwing away, grab them if you can! Talk to people with allotments – are they willing to have a patch to plant some hard wood cuttings ?

    “See you there!”

  • Woman robbed at Thame ATM

    AT around 10.35am on Thursday (23/1) the victim, a 74-year-old woman, was withdrawing money at the Lloyds bank cashpoint in Cornmarket, Thame when an unknown man approached her.

    The man leant across her and told her that the cashpoint was not working. He then left in the direction of Rooks Lane.

    The victim later realised that an amount of money was missing.

    The offender is described as a black man, around 6ft tall, aged between 30 to 40-years-old, of medium build, with black curly hair and a full black beard. He was wearing a black anorak coat and black trousers.

    Anyone who may have witnessed this incident or who recognises the description of this offender please contact us using our online form or by calling 101, quoting reference number 43200025493.

    Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

  • Sign up for the Thame Swimathon!

    ROTARY Club of Thame & District are appealing to the public to come up with teams to attend the eighth edition of Thame Swimathon, the now traditional fun and fundraising event to be held at Thame Leisure Centre on Sunday, March 1, between 11am and 3pm.

    There are about 10 spaces left for teams of between four and six during the 11:00, 12:00 and 14:00 time slot.

    Marius Ciortan, Chairman of the Thame Swimathon steering group, said: “Thame Swimathon is a wonderful event for families, school friends, work colleagues to raise funds for charity, swim for one hour and have fun. To enter it’s as easy as 1-2-3: get a team of 4-6 together, download the Team Entry Form from www.thame.rotary1090.org, fill in the form and then email it to thame.swimathon@btintenet.com“

    The organisers hope that all swimming slots will be booked before the end of the schools’ half term holidays due to start on the February 14. All participants will receive medals awarded by Ann Midwinter, Mayor of Thame, or by Peter Allen, President of the Rotary Club of Thame & District.

    Teams have the option to allocate 50% of their money raised towards the charity of their choice or 100% towards Rotary’s charities. In both cases all monies will be collected by Rotary Club of Thame & District and they will apply for Gift Aid as appropriate. Once this process is completed, Rotary Club of Thame & District will make a donation towards the charity of a team’s choice, should this option be taken.

    Rotary Club Thame & District main charities supported during 2019-2020, are Thame Young Carers, Red Kite Family Centre Thame & Chinnor, and The Maple Tree Children’s Centre Wheatley. The event is possible due to generous local sponsors who kindly cover the swimming pool hiring costs, Thame Leisure Centre and Haddenham Beer Festivals Trust. Aston Hearing Thame kindly supported the event with the cost of producing the medals.

    Volunteers from Thame Inner Wheel, Wheatley Park Interact Club and Phoenix Community Club will be supporting Thame and District Rotarians with the counting of lengths swum by teams.

    Five teams for Barley Hill School will participate in the Swimathon, raising funds for its PTFA – as they have done for the past three years – Thame Swimathon is now one of the main fundraisers for this parents-teachers association.

    Rapid Six from John Hampden School, Thame, Wheatley Park Interact Club and Dippers & Divers will participate again this year. A team from the newly created Phoenix Community Club will be welcomed to attend.

    All the teams would appreciate any support via online donations. The Virgin Money Giving links will be available on the Thame Swimathon page of the Rotary Club of Thame & District’s website www.thame.rotary1090.org and on Facebook via www.facebook.com/thamerotary

  • More Thame residents seeking help from the Citizens Advice Bureau

    THAME’s Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is having to deal with an increasing number, and more complex cases, with less resources and is in need of more volunteers, not just advisors but also receptionists, administrators and IT support.

    In the year 2018-2019, the CAB helped almost 2,500 people, 10% more than in the previous year, of which 800 were residents of Thame – up quite significantly from 630 the previous year. Many of these were people with problems with tax, Universal Credit, debt and women with violent partners. Because Housing Benefit is so low, those reliant on it have only a modest amount of money left after the high cost of housing in the area.

    Although Thame CAB has been managing since the Bureau’s cut in funding from South Oxfordshire District Council, it is now looking for donors from the business community etc to help cover its costs, in this, the 40th year of operations here in Thame. Citizens’ Advice Bureaux were infact originally set up 80 years-ago to help citizens cope with war. The Bureau does receive an annual grant from Thame Town Council.

    CAB Adviser, Sandy Davison receiving a generous cheque from Ilya Teideman of Thame & District Round Table back in May last year, to support the CAB’s Out of Hours service

    The CAB service provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. Anyone who would like more information about volunteering and training with Thame CAB, can email: thame@osavcab.org.uk

  • Councils accused of ‘jumping into the Growth Strategy development trough’

    THE Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has stated that it believes Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State Housing, Communities and Local Government has no right to intervene as he has, and threaten to pass the South Oxfordshire Local Plan over to the county council.

    SEE BACKGROUND STORY https://www.thame.net/archives/59603

    In a statement, CPRE state: “South Oxfordshire District Council is right to resist the Growth Board’s grossly disproportionate Growth Strategy involving excessive development across the County, which the other Councils have gone along with for the money on offer from the Government and against the best interests of their own residents.”

    The campaign group has accused others councils of ‘jumping into the Growth Strategy development trough’.

    The statement goes on: “As we pointed out at the time of the Secretary of State’s original letter of October 9, 2019 (LINK HERE), we do not think he had a right to intervene on the grounds stated. Now, after a four-month delay caused entirely by his own actions, he seems to be searching for multiple grounds on which to base his interference.”

    Meanwhile, CPRE Oxfordshire’s Freedom of Information request to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, asking to see the evidence on which the decision to issue the holding notice was made, has been refused.

    CPRE’s full statement HERE

    NB The Oxfordshire Growth Board has had to review itself following criticism, among other things, of a lack of consultation with the public and stakeholders. https://www.oxfordshiregrowthboard.org/

  • Truly historic win for Chinnor

    DIRECTOR of Rugby at Chinnor RFC, MATT Williams, couldn’t hide his delight after Chinnor claimed victory at Bishop’s Stortford for the first time in their history on Saturday (January 18, 2020).

    A hat-trick of tries from Nick Selway and a Jason Worrall helped the Thame-based side to an impressive 30-17 triumph at Silver Leys. It was a bonus-point victory built around a dominant forward pack, which proved formidable at set-piece. The result lifted Chinnor back up to fourth in National League 1 and director Matt Williams was thrilled to finally defeat Stortford at the sixth time of asking.

    “It was the perfect tonic to last week’s disappointment (the defeat to Rams),” he said. “The boys responded in style. We were brutal at set-piece, when we went to the corner we scored and I thought, knowing what Bishop’s Stortford were going to bring with their attacking flair, defensively we marshalled them well and the boys deserved their five points.

    “It was a very proud moment for me. It felt like the performance we have been waiting for this season and we were in control from start to finish. We’ve now got to push on again, but to win at Bishop’s Stortford means a lot to the club and I think the travelling supporters will have very much enjoyed that victory.”

    James Tyas was a part of the superb forward pack, with Chinnor dominant at scrum time and scoring three of their four tries from driving lineouts. “It was an awesome week with two training sessions in torrential rain,” remarked Matt, “and then to come to Bishop’s Stortford and put in a performance is really pleasing.
    “The pack were brilliant and it just showed the forward dominance that we wanted. We know that our scrum is one of the best in the league and we put a lot of work into it. We want to continue to build on it and have that reputation for being one of the feared packs.”

    Caolan Ryan made his first start at fly-half this season, having spent most of the campaign playing at full-back. As well as kicking ten points, he caused Stortford problems all afternoon and Williams was impressed. He said: “Caolan was class. He got our attacking brand of rugby working really well. To be in a position where we have two outstanding tens in Laurence May and Caolan is a luxury and Caolan really took his chance.

    “But it was a team performance. Our defence, on occasions, has let us down, but the boys really brought it and we took complete control up front.”

    Chinnor are next in action this Saturday, welcoming Cinderford to Thame for a 3pm kick-off.

  • ‘Ambitious aspirations’ from Climate Emergency committee

    SINCE declaring a Climate Emergency on April 11, 2019, South Oxfordshire District Council has established a Climate Emergency Advisory Committee (CEAC) to recommend mitigating actions and to advise its Cabinet on matters relating to climate change – and anyone is welcome to attend.

    If you would like to attend to observe the next committee meeting, go along on January 28, at 4:30pm in Meeting Room 1, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton, OX14 4SB. If you would like to register to speak at the meeting, contact SODC’s Democratic Services team on 01235 422520 or email democratic.services@southandvale.gov.uk. The reports for the committee meeting will be available from January 21, on SODC’s website.

    Carbon neutral by 2030

    Since the CEAC first met on September 19, 2019, it has recommended to Cabinet that the district council becomes carbon neutral in its operations by 2025, and a carbon neutral district by 2030. A motion for the same targets was agreed at Cabinet and Full Council.

    In a letter to local councils about the meeting, SODC stated: “A programme of work has been scoped, with options of projects to achieve the desired targets, and is structured around seven themes: council business, housing, partnership, infrastructure, transport, biodiversity and behaviour change.

    “Once all options have been reviewed, we will prioritise projects based on feasibility, impact, resource required and carbon savings, and this will be drawn together into a coherent strategy for climate change.

    Residents can get involved too!

    “We are committed to engaging with residents and communities, particularly through town and parish councils. The programme of work includes options for how we can do this, such as, engaging with our stakeholders in the decision-making process(es) – for example through a Residents Advisory Group and/or facilitating workshops with town and parish councils to understand local needs. Where possible, we will look to connect with our stakeholders to create actions plans that complement our overarching vision for the district.”

    The district council wants to hear what activities town and parish councils are doing, or projects they are starting, and welcome their views on SODC’s options for working together ‘to support this important and critical agenda’. It is hoped that there will be opportunities for CEAC members to attend town and parish council’s organised meetings to discuss their own approach to the climate emergency.

    Suggestions please!

    If anyone has any suggestions as to how everyone can work together to help tackle climate change, they can contact the CEAC via: haveyoursay@southandvale.gov.uk

  • Thame News round-up

    WILLIAM Wright, 29, of Cotmore Gardens, Thame, has been disqualified from driving after he drove a Volkswagen Golf on Ellesborough Road, Buckinghamshire, with a quantity of two controlled drugs in his system (benzoylecgonine and cocaine).

    He was disqualified from holding a driving licence for 12 months, fined £275 and rdered to pay a victim surcharge of £32 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

    Wild Oxfordshire News

    SAVE THE DATE – Saturday, March 28, 10am – 4.30pm, Benson village hall. More details next month – a Conference for all local environment groups.

    With such pressure for development across the county, the need to protect and enhance our green spaces, and biodiversity has never been more important. Most parishes are now drawing up Neighbourhood Plans and many local groups are getting involved in the process. If you have risen to the challenge of preparing a NP for your parish, or are wondering where to start, go along to the conference to find out more.

    The ‘nuts and bolts’ will be addressed during a series of presentations in the morning and, after lunch, there will be a guided walk around Benson showcasing the achievements that Benson’s Nature Group has already been able to make through the process. By the end of the day, we’ll all know more about getting gains for wildlife out of the Neighbourhood Planning process.

    Wild Oxfordshire needs a Director

    Wild Oxfordshire is currently recruiting for the position of Director. The role will provide an opportunity for an enthusiastic, experienced and committed person to help shape and lead the response to the many challenges that nature faces within Oxfordshire. The job is described as ‘an opportunity to deliver, at a county-wide level, the UK ambition to become the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we received it’

    For further details, a role specification and information on how to apply visit: https://www.wildoxfordshire.org.uk/about/

    Community policing awards 2020

    NOMINATIONS have opened for this year’s Community Policing Awards (CPAs). Do you know someone who has gone above and beyond in their role? Someone who you believe should be recognised for their hard work and efforts over the last year? Could you provide an example of how they have exceeded what is expected of them?

    The CPAs are a chance for people to nominate officers, staff and volunteers who have made a real difference to their community while working for Thames Valley Police. They take place each year at a ceremony held at Eynsham Hall near Witney in Oxfordshire in May and are now in their nineteenth year.

    Nominations for the nine award categories are open until Monday, February 24. To nominate someone for an award visit the Thames Valley Police website to fill out a short form explaining your reasons. LINK HERE

    DATES for your diary – the dates for this year’s TAL Festival, which will be this growing festival’s 10th anniversary, are October 15 – 20, 2020.

    THAME Children’s Cinema’s next showing is The Lion King. Sunday, 26 January, 2.30pm, The Players Theatre, Nelson Street. Tickets £5 each. All profits to the Red Kite Family Centre. Available from: redkitefamilycentre.org/events.

    THAME CARNIVAL 2020 – Saturday, June 13, 2020 – 12 noon – 4pm – Theme for this year, ‘Heart of Thame’ – All parade entries have the freedom to dress as they want to!

    Thame Carnival Organisation needs help!

    If you can help with anything at all, no matter how big or small, please get in touch. The carnival team really needs an Event Lead as after four years, Sue Martin-Downhill has stepped down this year.

    Sue said: “We would love this community event to take place again this year and prove that the “Heart of Thame” is beating strongly.

    “We are also looking for Sponsors and advertisers for this year’s Carnival – please go to the website for more information or to book your spot.” www.thamecarnival.co.uk

    Charities for this Year: Thame & District Day Care Centre, LWS Young Carers and Thame Girl Guiding.