A team from Thame, the newest team to enter the competition and rank outsiders, beat off strong competition to reach the final of UK’s Top Backgammon club competition.
Thame backgammon club team collecting their trophies after competing in the UK Backgammon Federation Tournament
Last weekend, 24 backgammon clubs from around the UK competed in York for the honour of being the UK’s top. Some of their opponents ranked in the top 25 players nationally, and have many years of tournament experience, whilst the majority of the Thame team have only been playing for a few years.
Backgammon is one of the world’s truly great games, and can be traced back over 5,000 years. This exciting game is a unique blend of skill, strategy and luck; and no two games are the same. It takes a few minutes to learn the rules and years to become a Master. Thousands of people play in the UK, both socially and competitively, and there are regular events to suit everyone’s skill level.
Backgammon is a friendly and social game. You will find a warm welcome at any UK club, and especially at ThameGammon. If you’d like to learn to play, or have played before and want to meet new people and hone your skills, why not join us?
We meet every second Thursday of the month at the Mercure Thame Lambert hotel, 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start (Wycombe room)
THE Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council has written to the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Committee asking them to stop investing in fossil fuel companies.
Image courtesy of Fossil Free Oxfordshire
The Leader, Cllr Sue Cooper, sent the letter to the Committee for the Local Government Pension Scheme for Oxfordshire, which administers pensions for more than 200 employers and thousands of staff – including those of the Vale of White Horse District Council.
‘…inappropriate that the Oxfordshire Pension Fund maintains links with companies whose very purpose is the extraction and sale of carbon intensive energy’
This announcement follows a decision by full council last month to outline the council’s opposition to the investment and also to establish a climate emergency advisory committee.
Cllr Cooper wrote: “Given the challenge of limiting the effects of climate change, we believe that it is inappropriate that the Oxfordshire Pension Fund maintains links with companies whose very purpose is the extraction and sale of carbon intensive energy. Moreover, these investments are not in alignment with either South Oxfordshire’s or the UK’s declaration of a Climate Emergency.”
‘….there are sustainable alternatives’
Cllr Cooper continued: “These non-renewable energy corporations are the primary drivers of the climate crisis that is threatening our planet, with research showing that none of the ten largest publicly listed oil and gas producers are on track to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“We would argue that there are sustainable alternatives to investing in fossil fuel companies and, therefore, call on the Oxfordshire Pension Fund to explore the reinvestment of its funds into appropriate renewable energy companies.
“Furthermore, in consideration of the lack of action taken by these non-renewable energy corporations to address the issue of climate change and transition towards renewable energy, South Oxfordshire contends that the Fund’s stated defence of its fossil fuel investments – that this gives them influence as shareholders – is untenable. We, therefore, ask you to acknowledge that this approach has failed to bring about the real change required to limit catastrophic global warming.”
NB The UK Government’s own pension fund has taken the first step towards fossil fuel divestment. Parliament’s pension fund trustees are to reconsider the rules of their investments to take account of the risk of climate change.
NOTE – Thame Town Council’s own Draft Environment Policy, which includes an item on the council’s future policy towards fossil fuel investments, is due to be discussed at the next meeting of the Policy and Resources committee in November.
AFTER eight years, struggling to get parking restrictions in place along the narrow spur roads off Ludsden Grove in Thame, it looks as though the residents’ pleas may soon be answered.
The roadway at these two locations is so narrow, that anyone parking there restricts the breadth of the highway so much that vehicles passing have to mount the pavement; a particular problem on bin-emptying day.
Many residents have signed a form expressing their support for the implementation of double yellow lines to prevent the opportunistic parking in the two spur roads.
Mr Nigel Champken Woods, a resident of one these spur roads, at the Southern end of Ludsden Grove, told town councillors at a meeting of the the Planning and Environment committee last Tuesday (13/08) that the problem of vehicles passing and parking on the pavement was causing its structure to break up – a potential hazard for pedestrians, particularly those with walking aids.
Cllr Ann Midwinter, who also lives in one of the affected spur roads, said that she feared that an ambulance would be unable to get to the houses in an emergency because of cars parking along there opportunistically.
The committee voted to support the implementation of parking restrictions on the two narrow spur roads at the southern end of Ludsden Grove, although there was some concern about actual enforement.
It was hoped that, now the county council had the required support of the town council, the implementation of the Parking Restriction Order would soon follow.
IT has now been officially announced that a project to move Lord Williams’ Lower School in Towersey Road to the Upper School site in Oxford Road, creating one large school, is no longer on the cards.
Retiring Headteacher, David Wybron, told Thame.Net today: “The strategy moving forward will be to improve the facilities on our two separate sites through all the means open to us.”
‘Too risky’
Mr Wybron explained that the key reason for the change in direction is that the Local Authority (Oxfordshire County Council) no longer supports the project as it feels that there is too great a risk in terms of the investment necessary to support the costs of planning, including a possible bridging loan (so that new buildings at Oxford Road could be finished before moving students from the Lower School). Also, the local authority was anxious about the school’s ability to satisfy Sport England requirements for two rugby pitches.
Frustration over sports pitches
“This latter reason has been a source of frustration for us for many years,” said Mr Wybron, “and despite huge efforts by the school, we have not been able to satisfy their requirement for two rugby pitches to be replaced, even though this would have no effect on the sporting activities of the school.”
Better for commuting staff but the community not behind the scheme
“The single site aspiration was a good opportunity to provide more learning time for our students, to improve access to extra-curricular activities and to end staff commuting. It has been frustrating that local bodies have not been able to help us solve the rugby pitches problem. However, I have felt for some time, that the Thame community was never really behind the scheme and perhaps few people will be disappointed by this decision.”
New site for housing may be needed
The Towersey Road site will no longer be sold for housing as was intended by the Thame Neighbourhood Plan (now in the process of being revised) and reserve sites, also allowed for in the TNP, will now have to be considered for any new development, depending on the numbers of future housing planned for.
Mr Wybron concluded: “As we celebrate another year of excellent A Level results, I can understand why many in the local community do not want such a change, because the school continues to deliver a first class education to the young people of Thame and the surrounding villages.”
THE wait is over and students at Lord Williams’s School in Thame have much to celebrate following the release of results today for A Level and Level 3 courses.
The pass rate was 98% with 43% of passes at A*/A and B grades. The percentage of A* grades has doubled from last year, and students have again secured places at universities of choice, including Oxford and Cambridge.
Retiring Headteacher, David Wybron, commented: “It is a great pleasure to join with students and their families in celebrating so many success stories and at all levels. We know they are going to achieve impressive things in the future. I would also like to thank all the members of staff who did so much to inspire and support them in their studies.”
Head of Sixth Form, Johnny Hammond added: “Congratulations to all our Year 13 students who have worked with such commitment to achieve their grades. We are really proud of their achievements and all their hard work has really paid off. This talented year group, under the leadership of Miss Lowe, contributed an enormous amount to the school and to the local community. They are all in a fantastic position to embark on the next stage of their lives, whether that is at university or in employment.”
The following students achieved A* or A grades in 3 or more subjects: Helena Bernstein, Sam Black, Niamh Bourke, Ben Caiger, Jonathan Dadson, Frances Dixon, Josephine Golds, Emma Gutteridge, Anna Harper, Megan Keen, Harvey Lord, Joshy Lyon, Finlay Murray, Lucy Nicholls, Jasmine O’Reilly, Alfie Richards, Tommy Richards, Joseph Siddy and Max Spokes.
CONGRATULATIONS to the ‘incredible family’ of Thame’s Quizmaster supreme, Sue Boyle, who were chosen to be The Stroke Association’s fundraiser of the week!
The Stroke Association’s announcement reads: “Sue, Phil and David Boyle started fundraising for the Stroke Association, after David had a stroke on Christmas Day back in 2012. He was 20 years old. The life-changing stroke left him unable to speak or move the right side of his body. But David’s strength and determination, meant that just five years later he able to take on his first Resolution Run with the support of his family.
“Three years on and the family recently took on their third Resolution Run with their ever-growing team of family, friends and loved ones (this year, the team spanned all the way to Blackpool’s Resolution Run!). And it doesn’t stop there; each year they raise a quiz for our Make May Purple campaign, which raised a whopping £1,186 taking this year’s total fundraising to over £2,500!
“We can’t thank Sue, Phil, and David enough. Your support and the support of your team is vital and helps us to continue to rebuild lives, just like David’s.
FOR the first time in over 20 years, an Oxfordshire County Cricket match will be hosted at Thame Town Cricket Club.
Cricket at Church Meadow, photo coutesy of Mark Lord
Oxfordshire 1st XI Men’s team will be playing a three-day match against Cheshire, from Sunday, September 1, to Tuesday, September 3. Play will commence at 10:30am each day, with a lunch interval from 12:50pm-1:30pm and a tea interval from 3:50pm – 4:10pm.
Oxfordshire compete in the Western Division of the Minor Counties Cricket Unicorns Championship along with Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Cornwall, Devon, Herefordshire, Cheshire and Wales. They are currently second in this division and aiming for the top spot, to play in a final against the winner of the Eastern Division on September 15. The winner of the final will become Minor County Champion 2019.
Thame specially selected
Thame Town CC was selected by Oxfordshire Cricket Board to host the match following the development of their new pavilion and continued improvements to the playing surface at Church Meadow, located in the centre of the town, next to the 13th century, Grade 1-listed, St Mary’s Church. Thame Town CC have players in the Oxfordshire squad hoping to make the team and play at their home ground.
Matt Swain, Chair of TTCC said: “We are delighted to host this Oxfordshire County match for the first time in over 20 years. During the last five years we have invested a huge amount of time and effort to improve our facilities to a level at which Minor County cricket can be played, and we look forward to welcoming both teams to the club.
Everyone from Thame is invited!
We would like to invite everyone from Thame and the surrounding villages to come and support their County Cricket team and enjoy a drink at “one of Britain’s loveliest Cricket venues” (as reported by The Cricketer magazine, February 2019) The club – and most importantly the bar – will be open to everyone throughout the three-day match, and on the Sunday we will be having a two-course lunch event on the first floor of the new pavilion. To book a seat for lunch please contact chairman@thamecricket.org.uk as there is limited space available”
Growing membership
Thame Town Cricket Club has over 280 playing members, including 180 juniors from ages 5 to 15. We have five adult teams that compete in the Home Counties Men’s and Women’s leagues, plus the Cherwell Cricket league. The club is a voluntary organisation which has England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) accreditation and 22 ECB-qualified, volunteer coaches. The club is always keen to welcome new volunteers and if you would like to help please contact enquiries@thamecricket.org.uk
LINK HERE for a roundup of Thame Cricket Club’s latest Big Weekend of Wins!
A new council committee in South Oxfordshire that will help tackle the climate emergency is due to meet for the first time in September.
At its July meeting, South Oxfordshire District Council agreed unanimously to establish the specialist committee to advise the council on how it can tackle local issues affected by the climate emergency.
The new Climate Emergency Advisory Committee will be working to ensure the council meets its responsibilities to respond to the climate emergency that the Council declared at a meeting in April 2019.
Committee to meet in public
The committee is a politically balanced group of 12 councillors and will meet in public to advise the council’s Cabinet on matters relating to the climate emergency.
This new committee will make recommendations on how the council can reduce damage to the global and local environment through its policies and practices. It would also aim to work with and advise and influence partner organisations.
Contributing to national and countywide targets
The committee will research ways in which the council can contribute to national and countywide targets on climate and energy issues and identify sources of external funding relating to the climate emergency.
Cllr Sue Cooper, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “Having declared a Climate Emergency, this was the next step. The committee will try to find ways that council services across South Oxfordshire can contribute to carbon reduction targets and minimise the damage to our environment.”
‘..a united front to face a challenge of this magnitude’
Cllr Sue Roberts, Chair of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, said: “I am pleased to be working in a committee that represents all political groups on the council. We need a united front to face a challenge of this magnitude. The committee is supported by dedicated staff and will cut across all areas of the council’s operation and influence. I have started work with officers, sketching out a brief to take to the committee and officers are developing a work programme. I would like to see us working towards targets for a zero-carbon council and a zero-carbon district.”
Your chance to speak
The first meeting has been scheduled for Thursday 19 September at Cornerstone Arts Centre in Didcot, starting at 6pm. The agenda will be published on the council’s website on Wednesday 11 September. Members of the public are welcome to attend and can speak at the meeting about any of the items on the agenda by registering in advance.
THE Beacons of the Past project team are calling for the public to help identify potentially thousands of newly revealed archaeological features in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Cholesbury hillfort, in multi-directional hillshade imagery. Data and imagery copyright CCB
Beacons of the Past is a National Lottery funded project to discover more about Iron Age hillforts in the Chilterns. Recently, a bespoke LiDAR survey (a type of airborne laser scanning) was made of the Chilterns, the first of its kind in this area and the largest high-resolution archaeological survey ever flown in the UK. Encompassing 1400 km2, the survey offers the potential to reveal thousands of new archaeological sites across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire. Now the project team is asking for the public’s help to view and interpret the results of the data gathered by the LiDAR visualisations; in many cases these will be people who may have spent decades exploring the Chilterns landscape or those who live in it, and who will bring a unique perspective to the project.
Hidden history
Dr Ed Peveler, Landscape Heritage Officer for the Chinnor Conservation Board-based project, said: “This is a fantastically exciting project, and I can’t wait to see how people interact with the LiDAR data. This is a dataset which unveils so much history in our landscape, and frankly is just huge fun to play with. People are going to be finding things hidden in plain sight across their usual stomping grounds”.
The team will offer comprehensive training and tutorials to teach LiDAR interpretative skills, allowing users to decipher the results of the data and enter the findings on an online Portal..
Increased understanding and appreciation of our local landscape
Project Manager Dr Wendy Morrison explained: “This will enable anyone in the world to discover new archaeological features in the Chilterns from their computer. Encouraging people from all walks of life to engage with a resource that is usually accessible to a handful of researchers will open up the landscape for greater understanding and appreciation, and when we appreciate and understand a place, we begin to take more active roles in caring for it.
“Funded by a £695,600 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and a number of partners such as the National Trust, Chiltern Society and local authorities, Beacons of the Past is providing a real focus for community and public involvement through techniques such as remote sensing and survey, practical excavation, and research, as well as a programme of events and educational activities.”
How will the results be used?
The results will be used to engage communities with their heritage, through work in schools, with youth groups, public talks and workshops. The new discoveries will be made available to the relevant Heritage Environment Record officers in the four counties and will also help heritage managers, archaeologists and policy makers to consider how they look after the Chilterns landscape.
Stuart Hobley, Area Director London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The Chilterns is full of ancient history but there could be still much more left to discover. Thanks to National Lottery players, this project is an incredible opportunity to get involved in making new discoveries and to, potentially rewrite the history of this beautiful landscape.”
How to become involved
With full training offered, the Online Citizen Science Portal can be found here: chilternsbeacons.org and is accessible on smartphones, tablets and can be used while visiting sites.
THAMES Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following a burlgary in Shabbington, near Thame.
Between 1am and 1.45am on Wednesday (7/8), offenders damaged and opened a window of a property in Crendon Road. The victim, a man in his forties, who was in the house at the time heard the offenders and shouted at them to leave.
A car cover was stolen (not a CAR as stated in the original report.
One of the offenders is described as a man, approximately 5ft 10ins tall and of medium build. He was wearing a dark coloured hooded top with the hood up and a dark coloured scarf that covered his nose and mouth.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Emma Francis, based at Aylesbury police station, said: “I am appealing for anyone who may have witnessed this to please come forward.
“I would also urge any for motorists who were in the area at the time to check any dash-cam footage in case it may have captured something that could assist with the investigation.
“Anyone with information can contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference ‘43190242235’ or make a report online.
“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”
