Enjoy a full day of top entertainment and activities at Towersey’s Festival Green, running over the bank holiday weekend.

The annual music festival offers visitors a taste of the full Towersey experience with a Festival Taster ticket – which can cost less than £25 for a family of five or more, with a programme of live bands on the Festival Green, including the colourful The Frumptarn Guggenband, pictured.

They combine brass and percussion with stunning costumes.

Others include Abingdon dance orchestra The Radio Days Big Band, famed for their authentic take on swing music from the 1940s-1960s, and internationally acclaimed street theatre act The Chipolatas, who’ve been wowing visitors across the world for over 25 years.

There’s also a range of drop-in activities in and around The Creative Quarter, as well as Circus Skills workshops, Slackline School, giant bubbles, hula hoops and a Storytelling Tent, featuring award-winning storytellers.

There will be leading dance troupes, choirs, and roaming street performers, as well as several groups from the local area, including Thame Pop Choir, and dance students from Lord Williams’ school.

A myriad of stalls sell everything from hand-crafted musical instruments to unique jewellery and clothing, while various street food outlets is where you’ll find everything from tasty Mexican meals, curries and full English breakfasts, to delicious fudge, tempting desserts and vegan bites.

At the heart of the Green is the Main Bar, which is home to a wide variety of real ales and ciders, from such acclaimed independent brewers as Hook Horton, XT, White Horse, Shotover and Saxbys.

Providing the music are a selection of acclaimed bands and artists including Van Susans, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award 2018 nominated Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne, William The Conqueror (fronted by singer-songwriter Ruarri Joseph), bluegrass duo Bella Gaffney and Polly Bolton, and Frank Turner-approved songster Harry Pane.

Festival Director Joe Heap said: “Our Festival Taster ticket is the perfect way to enjoy just a taste of what Towersey Festival has to offer, giving visitors an affordable opportunity to see some great bands, and sample our improved range of craft beers and ciders.

“It’s fantastic for families too, as there’s plenty to keep younger visitors occupied - from engaging adventures told by some of the UK’s best storytellers, to live shows, to drop-in creative and play activities.”

Towersey Festival Taster Tickets are £12 (in advance) available from Bizzie Lizzie Flower Shop, in Thame, and online, or £15 on the gate. All children (under 16) are free, and car parking is also free. Gates open at 10.30am daily.

A Day Ticket to the main festival costs just £40 (adult), £28 (youth), £18 (child) with under-fives free. With a full Day Ticket, visitors can access all the main music stages and savour headline performances from UK country duo The Shires, The Proclaimers, Richard Thompson, Big Country, and Beth Orton. Younger Towersey-goers can also enjoy a complete range of activities as part of Towersey’s All About Children strand, including workshops, crafts, lantern making and lantern procession, as well as film screenings, talks, and dances, while the festival’s youth programming spans Big Build projects, performances, drop-in activities, and a dedicated social area.

The 54th Towersey Festival runs from Friday, August 24 to Monday, August 27 at Thame Showground. For tickets and more details visitwww.towerseyfestival.com

Transport for Bucks tweeted earlier that the collision was 'serious'.

More on this as we get it

Students across the UK will be picking up their A-Level results today (Thursday).

We’ll be live throughout the day bringing you news and photos from schools across Aylesbury, Buckingham and Thame as they come in.

Three tiny kittens are being cared for by Blue Cross pet charity in Lewknor after they were discovered under floorboards and in the wall of a restaurant that was being demolished.

George Harman and his team discovered the kittens as they were working on the former restaurant.

The builders were carrying out end of day checks on the derelict building which they were set to demolish when they heard tiny cries coming from inside.

The team set about finding where the noises were coming from and on looking down a hole in the floorboards in the building found a tiny black kitten crying for its mother.

When the cries continued the team set about carefully cutting and removing floorboards and half an hour later came across a second kitten some 10 metres away from its sibling.

George Harman, Project Manager at Bellwood Homes, said: “The third kitten was the challenge. We had heard more cries in the room but then there was silence. When it started crying again we managed to trace the noise to a bay window. We removed more and more flooring but we still couldn’t see a kitten anywhere. We could still hear the cries and then we realised they were coming from inside the wall.

“We started to remove each block by hand, gently tapping the blocks with a hammer trying to loosen them without causing any disruption or discomfort to the kitten. We removed 10 concrete blocks in total to find that a third kitten had somehow got into the cavity of the building.”

The whole rescue effort took the team around three hours before all the kittens were safely removed.

George added: “The kittens looked to be in a pretty poorly state with gunk around their eyes. They were covered in cobwebs, dirt and dust and were so small you could feel every bone in their body. I can only imagine that they were starving hungry.”

Sadly there was no sign of the kittens’ mother so George, who was working in Reading, took them into the Blue Cross’s rehoming centre in Lewknor.

The kittens were so young that they initially required around the clock care, having to be bottle-fed every four hours and helped to go to the toilet in the absence of their mother.

Now aged five weeks the trio, who have been named Bill, Elle and Beatrix, are getting stronger by the day and will be going to new homes when they are old enough.

Laura Smart, Animal Welfare Assistant at Blue Cross Lewknor, fostered the kittens at her home.

She said: “When they first came in to us they needed feeding every four hours. One of the kittens, Elle, had a really bad eye which was glued shut and ulcerated.

“After lots of TLC they are all getting stronger by the day. Elle is very affectionate and cuddy and loves laying and falling asleep on her back. Bill is very confident and loves exploring. He walks around my house like he owns it, while Beatrix is really cute – she manages to fall asleep in my hand.”

Blue Cross sees a huge increase in stray cats and kittens being brought into their rehoming centres and hospitals across the country during the summer months. The pet charity is reminding owners to neuter and microchip their cats and to keep their address and contact details for the microchip up to date.

Some 80% of cats brought into Blue Cross for rehoming in 2017 were not microchipped, and the pet charity believes many brought in as suspected strays actually had loving homes but without a microchip or collar there is no way of reuniting the pet with its owner.

For more information on how to help a cat you suspect is a stray in your neighbourhood visit www.bluecross.org.uk/straycat

Over the summer months, the River Thame Conservation Trust has let loose volunteers to find ‘safe havens’ for wildlife on our waterways.

As part of the “Clean Water Quest” volunteers have been searching for the perfect habitats for wildlife in our local waterways.

However some of the results that came back revealed some startling information.

Survey volunteers used simple test kits to check levels of two widespread pollutants, nitrate and phosphate in more than 450 sites from Aylesbury to Dorchester on Thames and surrounding waterbodies.

These two pollutants are often common where farming is involved.

Results showed that out of all the sites examined, only 16% of sites tested were free from pollution.

River Thame project officer Hannah Worker said: “Clean water can support rich and diverse wetland plant and animal communities.

“It only takes a little pollution to cause the loss of much of this wildlife.

“In an intensively farmed area, like the River Thame catchment, where there are many potential sources of nutrient pollution, it is more important than ever to find the clean water places, places free of pollution where our rarer more sensitive species can flourish.”

The report found that smaller waters, such as ponds and headwater streams were found to provide the majority of clean water havens for wildlife.

Ponds were the stand out champions and made up 72% of clean water sites in our area.

The majority of issues in the water stemmed from running water sites, with steam and moving water bodies all found to be full of pollutants.

The Clean Water Quest survey has highlighted the importance of smaller waters in providing clean unpolluted water, essential for much of our wildlife, and how vital it is to extend this clean water network.

This can be achieved through clean water pond creation and by working to extend downstream from clean streams and ditches.

This can be as simple as creating a rain water fed garden and clean, unpolluted ponds thriving with wetland plants and animals such as the one found at College Lake Nature Reserve near Tring in Hertfordshire.

Simple test kits mean local communities can now monitor the health of their local streams and ponds.

This can be achieved through clean water pond creation and by working to extend downstream from clean streams and ditches.

This can be as simple as creating a rain water fed garden pond or as grand as a creating a large wetland complex.

The following people from Aylesbury Vale and beyond have recently been sentenced at magistrates courts in the county.

Wycombe Magistrates Court

Aug 6:

Sean Benford, 31, York Place, Aylesbury: took a motor vehicle/conveyance without the consent of its owner. Ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work within the next twelve months. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £85 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Drove a Honda Civic on Churchill Avenue, Aylesbury, without third party insurance. Fined £120.

Drove a Honda Civic without a licence. No separate penalty.

Ritesh Patel, 33, The Serpentine, Aylesbury: drove a VW Golf on Oxford Road, Aylesbury, while over the alcohol limit. Fined £369. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £37 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Aug 7:

Mohammed Khan, 20, Fairfax Crescent, Aylesbury: drove a motor vehicle in Market Square, Aylesbury without third party insurance. Fined £660, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £66 and costs of £620 to the CPS.

Aug 9:

Colin Churchill, 39, Paterson Road, Aylesbury: damaged the UPVC door at a property in Coldharbour. Fined £206, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £30 and costs of £85 to the CPS.

Aug 10:

Michael Garvie, 37, Fowler Road, Aylesbury: damaged the window pane of a home in Friarage Road.

Pursued a course of harassment against a woman.

Committed to prison for ten weeks because of seriousness of offence. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115.

Sent an offensive message via a public electric communications network. Committed to prison for a further eight weeks.

Assaulted a woman by beating. Committed to prison for a further five weeks.

Christopher Douglas, 38, Brookside, Halton: pursued a course of harassment against a woman.

Ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work within the next twelve months. Ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £85 and costs of £700 to the CPS.

A former Thames Valley Police officer has been found guilty of gross misconduct after sending inappropriate messages to a student during a previous teaching role.

PC Piotr Chmurzynski, an officer in training, started his employment with the force on June 18.

During his initial training with the police, Chmurzynski was undergoing a misconduct process with his former employer, a language academy.

During this process, Chmurzynski denied both in writing and verbally that he sent personal messages to a student at the academy.

Sending the messages would have breached the terms of his employment with Thames Valley Police.

At a further meeting with his former employer, Chmurzynski then admitted sending the messages to the student, and admitted lying when he initially denied sending the messages.

At a hearing last week it was confirmed that Chmurzynski breached the standards of professional behaviour of Thames Valley Police with regards to honesty and integrity, which amounted to gross misconduct.

The College of Policing have been informed and Chmurzynski will be unable to apply to be a police officer with any other force.

Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police John Campbell, said: “Officers who represent Thames Valley Police have a duty to act with integrity and honesty.

“In this case the officer fell short of the standards required and would have been dismissed had he not already offered his resignation.”

Two swimmers from Thame have competed well at national competitions.

Thame Swimming Club members Marcus Birmingham and Lucy Block have been praised for their achievements.

Marcus recently competed at the 2018 Irish Nationals in Dublin, qualifying for the second successive year and putting in a great performance and making the club very proud at what he achieved.

Marcus had qualified for four events, the 100m and 200m butterfly, and the 200m and 400m individual medley.

Marcus improved on a couple of his entry times and managed to finish a very impressive 12th in the 400 individual medley and 10th place in the 200m butterfly, narrowly missing out on the final.

Lucy Block is the first Thame Swimming Club member to qualify for the English Nationals which took place in Sheffield during the first week of August.

Lucy had qualified for three events the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke.

Ian Blyth, head coach, said: “Just to get to the Nationals is a great achievement as only 20 swimmers per event in England can swim in these championships.

“Lucy pushed herself to even higher levels by making the finals for all three events, going on to finish 5th in the 50m event, 4th in the 100m and 7th in the 200m.

“All of these swims were personal best times and this being Lucy’s first big event nationally, she did herself, Thame town and swimming club proud.”

Ian added: “This is a fabulous achievement and shows Thame Swimming Club can produce swimmers at the top level. Well done Marcus and Lucy.”

A Haddenham cyclist has raised more than £2,400 for a cancer charity in memory of his wife.

Neil Dury has been raising funds each year in memory of his late wife Jenny, who died five years ago from cancer.

His latest challenge was his third London-Surrey Hills 100-mile Olympic course ride, which climbed 1,427m.

Unfortunately the ride took place on Sunday, July 29 on the one cold, wet, windy day of the hot summer.

More than 26,000 cyclists endured hours of strong gusty winds and at times torrential rain.

Neil completed the ride, but took 6 hours 59 minutes, including 29 minutes of ‘pit-stops’ - nearly an hour longer than his six hour target .

He said: “It was one of the most miserable rides of my life, but the fantastic support from family and friends has been the reward.

“I am thrilled that my own efforts have raised more than £2,400 for Target Ovarian Cancer and I want to thank everybody who has contributed so generously.”

Any donations can still be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/neil-dury4

Those looking to a green future for Thame should not forget the ‘green corridor’ - the River Thame which flows through the outskirts of the town.

The River Thame has had its problems with pollution for many years but the revival of the river as a good coarse fishery has begun.

The revival project has been dramatically enhanced with the addition of 40,000 one and two-year-old chub to the river. The fish were supplied by the Environment Agency fish farm near Nottingham and marks the second round of restocking in 2018 – the first round being carried out in April.

These fish added to the earlier stocking means that 48,000 fish have been added to the river during 2018 and marks the first year of a five-year plan to restock similar numbers of fish into the river each year for the next five years.

The fish were split into four batches with 10,000 fish being stocked to reaches of the river in Thame, Cuddesdon, Wheatley and Cuddington. This should mean that the whole of the river benefits from this large injection of fresh life to the river. Whilst these fish are relatively small – being 80-100mm long - they will grow on and reach a good size in the next couple of years.

Dave Wales, secretary of the Thame Valley Fisheries Preservation Consultative (TVFPC), said: “The injection of such a large number of fish into the river represents the best chance that the River Thame has had to recover to a good coarse fishery, in over 30 years.

“Whilst I have seen the fish stocks decimated several times by pollution, I am more optimistic now than I have ever been that the fisheries on the River Thame can be revived. Our thanks go to the Environment Agency and their Fisheries Team as the fish are funded by rod licence revenue.”

The latest name to be added to Thame’s autumn literary treat is a former President of Ireland.

Mary Robinson, the 7th President of Ireland and the first female to hold this office, is to visit the Thame Arts and Literature Festival (TAL).

A barrister by profession, Mrs Robinson held the presidential post from 1990 until 1997.

As a former UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and a passionate campaigner to prevent climate change, she will be interviewed about her latest book, Climate Justice.

A TAL spokeswoman said: “It’s a stirring manifesto on one of the most pressing humanitarian issues of our time and an urgent call to arms by one of the most important voices in the international fight against climate change.

“Mary Robinson shares inspiring stories and offers vital lessons for the path forward.”

Former US President Barack Obama said: “As an advocate for the hungry and the hunted, the forgotten and the ignored, Mary Robinson has not only shone a light on human suffering, but illuminated a better future for our world.”

Mary Robinson will be at The Spread Eagle in Thame on Sunday, October 21, at 3.30pm. This event is expected to sell out quickly.

A special event is also announced for TALKids.

James Carter, prize-winning poet, guitarist and educational writer, will be coming to Thame on the Saturday to entertain the little ones with his latest book of poems, Zim Zam Zoom, especially written for performance.

This promises to be a brilliant introduction to poetry for young children from an award-winning poet.

Tickets for Lucy Worsley have sold out online, but there will be more on sale at Thame Town Hall TAL Box Office when it opens on Saturday, September 1.

For details of the full programme, ticket availability and to book, visit talfestival.org

A mum whose young son has brain damage is appealing for other people to host a dining fundraiser for a children’s hospice.

Clare Lawson, from Thame, raised £664 from her ‘Dine at Mine’ meal for Helen & Douglas House when she invited 80 people to her home on Saturday, August 11.

Clare’s five-year-old son Josh, who has brain damage caused by lack of oxygen at birth, has been visiting the hospice for respite care since 2013.

Clare is appealing for people to swap a meal out for a meal in, with their guests donating what they would have spent on a meal to Helen & Douglas House, at the event planned for Saturday, October 13.

Clare holds a fundraising mini festival called ‘Mathias-fest’ every year in aid of Helen & Douglas House and this year she made it into a Dine at Mine meal for 80 friends and family in a marquee in the garden and a bar in the garage, with five families camping overnight.

Some guests were local including Josh’s special friends from sensory groups as well as friends from Essex, Wales and Bristol.

They had a barbecue running all afternoon, with lots of garden games, a blow up pool and bouncy castle - but the main fundraiser this year was their tea-time pizza making.

They borrowed a pizza oven from some friends and provided dough and toppings and then everyone created their pizzas for a donation, with the event running over five hours. Friends also created three home brew beer barrels, which brought in more donations.

You can choose what time of day to hold your ‘Dine at Mine’ meal – breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea or dinner and whether to invite friends, family or work colleagues.

It could be a small gathering at your house for lunch, a girls’ night with beauty treatments or a black tie dinner at your village hall. You can prepare the meal yourself or ask your guests to bring a dish.

The home-from-home environment at Helen & Douglas House helps families create precious memories with their children.

Clare said: ‘Dine at Mine’ is a great way to fundraise. It gets friends and family together, enjoying a good catch up while helping raise funds and awareness for such an amazing cause.

“Helen & Douglas House has been such a massive support for Josh and us as a family. The outreach nurses and doctors have provided invaluable emotional and medical guidance, as they view Josh as a whole person, not just his condition, and know him and our family so well. There are very few places where Josh and his young brothers, Tom and Jake, can come and play together, where they all have fun - all three boys love spending time at Helen & Douglas House. The charity also provides much needed respite so that we can get some rest and spend quality time with Josh’s siblings.”

Lauren Kemp, from Helen & Douglas House, said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to Clare for organising a ‘Dine at Mine’ meal and all her guests who were so generous, which means we can be there for families like hers to provide respite, symptom control and end-of-life care. As a charity we need to raise £3m every year and we cannot do this without supporters holding fundraising events like ‘Dine at Mine’.”

For more details and to download a fundraising pack visit www.hdh.org.uk or call 01865 799166.

Students across the UK will be picking up their GCSE results today (Thursday).

We’ll be live here throughout the day bringing you news and photos from schools across Aylesbury, Buckingham and Thame as they come in.

Secret plans to rescue the Russian Imperial Family, murdered in 1918, will be revealed during the Thame Arts and Literal Festival (TAL).

Dr Helen Rappaport, a historian with a specialism in late Imperial Russia and the Victorians, will duscuss her work ‘The Race To Save The Romanovs’ on Saturday, October 20 at Christchurch, at noon.

Published in June, ahead of the 100-year anniversary of their deaths, the book is an incredible detective story that uncovers the truth behind the secret plans to rescue Russia’s Imperial family.

Drawing on extensive lost and overlooked material in eight languages, the work overturns 100 years of traditional thinking that the failure to evacuate the Romanovs to England in 1917 was all the fault of King George V.

There are many players in this story, several of whose role has never been fully explored till now.

Bestselling historian and Russian expert, Dr Rappaport sets out to uncover exactly why the Romanovs’ European royal relatives and the Allied governments all failed to get them to safety.

Dr Rappaport, the author of 13 published books, draws on an unprecedented range of unseen sources, tracking down missing documents, destroyed papers and covert plots that aimed to liberate the family by land, sea and even sky. Through countless twists and turns, this revelatory work unpicks many false claims and conspiracies, revealing the fiercest loyalty, bitter family rivalries and devastating betrayals.

Dr Rappaport asks questions that haven’t been satisfactorily answered – until now.

The book is published in hardback and ebook by Hutchinson, priced £25. Visit www.helenrappaport.com and to book for the festival visit https://talfestival.org

Around 9,000 revellers enjoyed a sensational weekend of music as the 54th Towersey Festival rocked the Thame Showground.

The sell-out festival held over four days of the bank holiday weekend staged some great performances and standing ovations

Highlights over the holiday included appearances from Scottish brothers The Proclaimers and UK country stars The Shires, both making their debuts at the festival, and guitarist/ songwriter Richard Thompson returning with his Electric Trio.

Crowds were also wowed by five-piece Daphne’s Flight, who earned a standing ovation, and Cornish shanty singers Fisherman’s Friends, whose Jon Cleave also made an appearance for the festival’s Sunday morning newspaper review.

While away from the music, a switch to re-usable cups at bars was warmly welcomed by festival-goers, and was one of several changes introduced this year as part of a longstanding, and ongoing, commitment to reducing the environmental impact of the event.

The festival concluded with its traditional lantern parade, featuring inventive constructions designed and created by visitors, and a sing-a-long of The Beatles’ Hey Jude, led by folk rock band Blackbeard’s Tea Party.

Towersey Festival director Joe Heap said: “We’ve seen such an eclectic mix of artists this year, from the country pop of The Shires, to the UK’s number one brass band, Brighouse and Rastrick, to an acclaimed teaming of Peter Knight and John Spiers.

“We’ve also welcomed appearances by such established folk artists as the 82-year-old Roy Bailey, our Festival Patron who appeared at the very first Towersey back in 1965, to rising stars of the genre such as harpist Mera Royale, who won the BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award this year, and Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne.”

The 55th Towersey Festival will run from Friday, August 23 to Monday, August 26, 2019. Tier One tickets are on sale now, priced £119. The full 2019 line-up will be announced in the New Year. For details and tickets visit www.towerseyfestival.com

Thursday evening music treats are back in Thame after a summer of fabulous festivals around the region.

The First Thursday Music Club gets underway at The Stables, at the James Figg Pub on September 6, with two great acts and the popular open mic session.

After a break following the hugely successful Thame Town Music Festival, The First Thursday Music Club returns with a double bill of fantastic talent.

Following a busy summer where they played Truck Festival and Stivvy Fest, Alphabet Backwards, the Oxford based indie/electro pop band, are appearing.

Straight after them, the magnificent Matt Edwards, together with his All Star, band will be raising the volume with some down and dirty blues and blues/rock.

In addition, Alan Pettifer and Fergus Smith are already signed up to play.

The First Thursday Music Club still offers the opportunity for artists to play live in front of a warm and appreciative audience.

The club maintains the ‘open mic’ section of the evening where slots will always be available in the first hour on a first come, first served basis with player sign-up by 7.30pm.

The club has a full house PA system with keyboard, bass amp, guitar amp and jazz drum kit (bring breakables) all set up on stage and ready to go.

Another eclectic evening is guaranteed for music lovers and admission to the whole evening is free.

People are invited to a one-day singing workshop to learn songs and take part in a concert in the evening.

A new group, ‘Come and Sing Thame”’ is running the event on Saturday, September 15 at St Mary’s Church, Thame.

Participants will learn 14 songs on the theme of Hope and Love, taught and conducted by Helen Swift from Thame Choral Society, Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir and Towcester Choral Society.

It aims to raise money through enjoying singing to help people in need, and the charities are SharingLife Trust, Thame (food poverty) and Wycombe Homeless Connection.

Songs include items by The Beatles, Abba, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Mozart and songs from the shows - Carousel, 42nd Street - plus a newly composed piece, Hope by Stephen Bartlet-Jones, African marimbas with Jan Merrow-Smith and more.

The cost is £20 for everything including music, and audience tickets for the concert are £10. The day for singers starts at 9.45am with registration and the concert is at 7.30pm.

Contact Ralph on 07790 498718 or email comeandsingthame@gmail.com to take part and book to secure a place.

Joining the delights of the many new features at Thame Food Festival next month will be some old faces including a brim full of chef stars and Michelin stars.

Familiar favourites will be delivering fabulous demonstrations including Raymond Blanc, Benoit Blin, Jane Devonshire and Jane Beedle, plus new faces such as Martha Collison and Candice Brown.

These many star chefs and bakers will also be joined by the much celebrated and regular feature at Thame Food Festival - Chris Wheeler.

Chris is the executive chef at Stoke Park Spa and Country Club, set among 300 acres of glorious parkland, lakes, historic gardens and monuments.

He will be featuring on both the Magimix demonstration stage and on the Stoke Park stand where he will be joined by a number of guest chefs showcasing signature dishes using Quality Standard Mark beef and lamb. He will also be promoting his debut cookbook, The Ginger Chef ‘Served Up’.

Another frequent visitor to Thame Food Festival returning is the Belazu Ingredient Company which sources and produces authentic Mediterranean ingredients. Their extensive range of fresh olives, oils, vinegars, Mediterranean vegetables, pestos, nuts and culinary pastes are popular with high-end restaurants and hotels as well as featuring in Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Ocado and independent retailers across the UK. This year Belazu are bringing an array of their delicious ingredients, including a new product line that’s launching in September.

Other familiar friends of Thame Food Festival that are returning include FestivAles with their pop-up pub and botanical gin garden, Aylesbury Waterside Theatre supporting the shuttle bus service, Pinkster Gin with their celebration of all things gin and Bell of Thame with their Clementi Pizza demonstrations.

In its 11th year, this year’s event will be held on the Thame Show Ground on September 29 and 30.

Visit www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk

A memorial match has been played in tribute to a stalwart of youth football in Chinnor.

Tony Lixton, who died almost two years ago, made an enormous contribution to the game and facilities for young people.

His connection to what is now Chinnor Youth FC dates back to the 1970s when he was watching his son David play, and he was asked to join the committee and was elected as chairman.

Over the years, Tony and his committee took the club from strength to strength, becoming one of the first sponsored boys football clubs in the country, eventually changing its name to Chinnor Youth FC, to be inclusive of girls, who were already part of the younger age groups, plus older boys who were not quite ready to join the adult football teams.

Through Tony’s leadership and the support in the background from his wife Wendy, Chinnor Youth developed into the wonderful facility that people in the town can use today.

The club paid tribute last Friday by hosting the first memorial match in his name, playing for the Tony Lixton Memorial Trophy, kindly donated by Wendy.

Many of the players who Tony guided through Youth football, went on to become the mainstay of the open age section, as it is now known, and it is very many of those players that represented the two teams in the memorial game.

The teams, whose average age way over 50, led by Richard Carr (Sports old boys) and Dave Stokes (Exiles old boys), played out a memorable game, ending in a 4-2 victory to the Sports.

It was very fitting, that Tony’s wife Wendy, along with her son David, who played in the game, alongside grandson Tom White, who refereed the fixture and Tony’s daughter Debbie spectating, were all there to help present the Trophy to the Exiles. Of course, this was suitably followed by the raising of a celebratory toast to Tony.

This fixture is now set to become a regular feature of the Chinnor football calendar and the club looks forward to many more young footballers enjoying Tony’s legacy.

The Country Land and Business Association are advising residents to be vigilant ahead of what is described as the prime season for hare coursing.

Hare coursing is a rural crime where dogs are used to chase, catch and kill hares, with gambling on the outcome common practice.

The Fir Cup, an illegal hare coursing event, is reported to have prize money of £6,000 and is organised secretly on WhatsApp, according to Thames Valley Police.

The crime becomes more prevalent at this time of year, following harvest when large areas of arable land are cleared of crops.

CLA regional director Robin Edwards said: “Every year following harvest farmers and landowners across our region brace themselves for a rise in hare coursing.

“We appreciate that police have a range of significant pressures but we want to ensure that tackling hare coursing remains a priority.

“Those involved in hare coursing are hardened criminals – often using threats, intimidation and in some cases violence against anyone who questions or challenges their actions.

“These criminals don’t think twice about trespassing on land, damaging crops and property and give no consideration to the animal welfare of the hares involved.”