Thame runners will pull on their trainers and take to the streets this Sunday for the annual road race.

The Thame CPM 10km Road Race is now in its 28th year and 1,000 runners are expected to turn out. for what is the town’s biggest participation sporting event.

The race is full so there will be no entries accepted on the day which will start at Thame Leisure Centre at 9.30am carry on through town to Towersey and back along the Phoenix Trail.

There will be a road closure in place at Oxford Road from 9.30am to 9.35am and the ring road from the rugby club to Chinnor Road will be closed from 9.40am to 10.30am.

A number of local charities are running the race including Making Waves for Alex.

A group of neighbours and friends are taking on the race to raise funds for Thame man Alex Wood, who suffered a brain bleed in a rugby accident in October 2011.

Mr Wood lost his sight and much of his speech and movement.

Since then he has been making a slow recovery with his rehabilitation being paid for by a stream of fundraising events.

Housing targets for Aylesbury Vale must be increased, Bucks councils have said.

The Vale of Aylesbury Plan proposes building 6,000 homes and creating 6,000 jobs across the district up to 2031.

However, during a consultation on the plan, Aylesbury Town Council, Bucks County Council, Wycombe District Council and Chiltern District Council have all questioned the housing target.

Aylesbury Town Council’s Steven Mitchell said of the target: “Over nearly 20 years we think that number will prove inadequate. They should be looking at having more housing developments at strategic employment sites.”

Mr Mitchell agreed infrastructure would need to be improved either way, something Aylesbury Vale District Council says is a key part of the plan.

Vale council chiefs originally planned to set the target at 9,000, but were pressured into reducing it to 6,000.

Should the Vale plan be approved, only another 800 homes would need to be built around Aylesbury in addition to those already going ahead.

Responding to the plan, Bucks County Council’s Janet Blake, who is also a Conservative councillor at district level, wrote: “The 800 homes that remain to be allocated in Aylesbury over the next 20 years (and 2,750 in the rest of the district) is not likely to be a sizeable enough figure to deliver additional significant infrastructure, regardless of its eventual location.”

Mrs Blake said the county council could not ‘fully endorse the plan as being sound’.

Wycombe council said the plan is ‘unsound’, suggesting the target be increased or a ‘strong and early plan review’ mechanism be introduced.

Chiltern District Council said the plan does not sufficiently take into account cross-boundary growth and that the housing target should be increased.

The darkest days of a prominent Aylesbury grot spot may be behind it after the Bucks Herald highlighted the issue.

For some time litter louts have been dumping bin bags full of rubbish outside the former Roblin site in the High Street opposite Vale Park.

In May the Herald featured the grot spot and since then there has been noticeably less rubbish building up outside it, although Aylesbury Vale District Council says the cause of the mess has not been identified.

A council spokesman said: “Over the past four weeks the site has been quite clear and we haven’t had any reported issues.

“An AVDC waste supervisor visited the businesses in this area to discuss the different ways they can dispose of their rubbish, including signing up to our commercial waste collection service.

“We hope this will have the desired effect.”

Aylesbury College has been rated ‘good’ in its latest Ofsted inspection.

The report refers to ‘very effective’ governance and leadership and notes that the college is ‘evolving within a larger learning campus which meets many local needs’.

Departing principal Pauline Odulinski OBE said: “This is testament to the efforts of the team here to continually improve and to create for our students a centre of excellence.”

The Vale’s political guardian of the Waterside Theatre says he is ‘very surprised’ at recent criticism of the venue.

Critics claim the theatre’s programme lacks quality shows and there’s too many ‘dark’ periods when nothing is on.

The departure of previous boss Jamie Baskeyfield after only a few months in charge and his replacement by former boss Elizabeth Adlington, who is also chief at Oxford, has also been attacked.

But David Thompson, cabinet member for leisure at Aylesbury Vale District Council, which owns the £47m theatre, said: “I’m very surprised.

“I wouldn’t class it as a B list theatre.

“We have a theatre on our doorstep where from time to time we get pre and post West End shows.

“We get a fairly good cross section of rock, pop, ballet, opera and plays.

“There is always a dark period in between various shows, but I am not aware that the Waterside is in any more of a dark period than any other.”

He is encouraging people to contact him personally with views about the theatre.

Mr Thompson meets every quarter with the operators and said: “We want to increase entertainment for people in Aylesbury.

“If it’s not working we need to know about it because we can have an input into the ATG programming.”

This year shows have included The Mousetrap, Birds of a Feather, Jack Dee and two Friars gigs as well as shows involving local groups and individuals.

More than £500,000 of taxpayers’ money is spent annually on the Waterside but Mr Thompson said he thought the taxpayers of Aylesbury were getting value for money.

Several readers have contacted The Bucks Herald complaining about the Waterside.

Frances King from Aylesbury said: “Go on the ATG websites for Aylesbury, Oxford and CMK and I think you’ll agree Aylesbury comes a pretty poor third.

“Every weekend we search the entertainment sections of the newspapers in the hope of spotting something worthwhile coming to Aylesbury, but rarely is there anything, whereas Oxford, CMK and even Wycombe are mentioned quite regularly.

“Perhaps AVDC made the wrong decision to employ ATG to promote Waterside. After all, it stands to reason, they don’t want to take the bums off the seats of their established Oxford and Milton Keynes venues.

“One thing is for sure, they are not ‘breaking a leg’ to promote our theatre. Things started to look up when Jamie Baskeyfield came on the scene.

“He seemed to be making moves in the right direction, but, woe is me, he was gone in less than six months and Elizabeth Adlington is back in charge.

“This is probably not good news for Aylesbury because she is now head honcho of both Waterside and Oxford – and no guesses as to which venue will benefit most!”

Another reader, who did not wish to be named said: “As a lifelong theatre-goer, West End and regional, I like to support our wonderful theatre, the best thing that has ever happened to Aylesbury in a long time,but with such a dire summer programme I am struggling.

“With so many repeats and some very curious productions I wonder who actually decides what is best for Aylesbury. Who for instance suggested Two of a Kind for a week long run, a Terrence Rattigan long forgotten play resurrected from the archives and not previously performed in the last 40 plus years – I wonder why, and another return to a second-rate musical Save the Last Dance for Me, which if anything like its previous performance could learn a lot from a decent amateur company.”

“Come on ATG give us the good stuff.”

They said of Mr Baskeyfield’s departure:

“He was a people person interested in what locals require and full of enthusiasm.

“How can the theatre possibly be at its best with only a shared manager, who pops in now and again.

“I sincerely hope that the council are in discussions with ATG to ascertain exactly what they are playing at.

“If, in the future, I read the theatre is not doing as well as expected due to attendances, that will be the responsibility of ATG and not the local population, who are crying out for first class entertainment.”The theatre, run by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) has been criticised by Herald readers for its ‘dire’ summer programme and under-use of its facilities.

Elizabeth Adlington was unavailable for comment.

The volunteering efforts of a civil servant have been recognised by the largest civilian occupational charity in the UK.

Thame’s Roy Calcutt has spent the last two years helping to raise money for the Charity for Civil Servants.

While working at the Department for Transport in London, Mr Calcutt has been involved with wine tasting sessions, cake baking and other events which have raised thousands of pounds for the cause.

To recognise his work, he was presented with a certificate of achievement by Una O’Brien, permanent secretary of the department of health and the charity’s chair.

Mr Calcutt, who has worked at the DfT since 2001, said it is rewarding to see the difference the fundraising efforts have made.

He said: “It’s really nice to get the recognition, but there are so many people here who have done work and helped bake cakes and organise things.

“It’s really much more for a lot of them than for me.

“I’m just one person who happened to be the point of contact.

“I have been pretty active but there area lot of other people who have done just as much.”

The charity helps people who work or have worked in the civil service and their financial dependants by offering information, practical support and advice during their working lives and in retirement.

Aylesbury Golf Centre in Bierton will be up and running again today (Monday) after a fire damaged part of its driving range.

The driving range recently underwent a refurbishment but interim manger Paul Mazzetta said the fire only damaged two of its 30 bays.

He said: “It looks worse than it is. Two bays are pretty badly damaged. The rest of it is not too bad, the wind was blowing in the right direction luckily.

“Four fire engines here does give the impression of a bit of drama but it’s all under control.”

Mr Mazzetta said he was relieved that The Barn, which has also been refurbished to use as a conference centre and wedding venue, was not damaged.

“It’s all under control. The business is still running and it has not affected it. The range and the barn had a bit of a refurbishment and thank God it didn’t touch any of that.”

The golf course in Hulcott Lane closed earlier this year due to financial reasons but the driving range was kept open.

Cutting equipment was used to gain entry to an adjoining padlocked storage area to check the fire hadn’t spread.

“This is no dream! This is really happening!”

What would happen if the Biblical apocalypse hit just as a bunch of Hollywood actors were in the middle of a crazy drug and alcohol fuelled party?

Would any of them be taken up by the rapture? And what about those left to confront the grim end of days after the good souls had been whisked off to heaven? The title seems to be pretty specific. This Is The End. Well, is it?

It all begins with Jay ‘Tropic Thunder’ Baruchel visiting his best friend Seth ‘Superbad’ Rogen in Los Angeles.

Seth wants Jay to get to know his ‘new’ LA pals who include James ‘Spring Breakers’ Franco, Jonah ‘ 21 Jump Street’ Hill, Danny ’30 Minutes Or Less’ McBride and Craig ‘Hot Tub Time Machine’ Robinson.

All the actors in the film – those who you have heard of and those you vaguely recognise – play ‘themselves’ in a kind of mockumentary style and to be fair it’s a blast to see them riffing off each other, breaking the ‘fourth wall’ with lines like: “We act so hard but we’re really really not… it’s just acting!”

So in the face of imminent death and destruction, the actors squabble and generally go to pieces, which is highly entertaining watch.

As in so many recent movie comedies the dialogue is extremely profane and the comedy often vulgar, but the spin of seeing the actors supposedly being ‘themselves’ makes up for the off colour material.

The plotline is ripped straight from the Bible’s Book of Revelation where the moral driven home is ‘treat each other well if you want to be saved’ – so there is much to ponder amid the laughs.

The big budget special effects include some gross-out gore, massive flaming sinkholes and a scary giant demon, and these are just some of the trials for the juvenile pals.

A highlight that you may have seen in the trailer is when Emma ‘Harry Potter films’ Watson manages to rob the buddies single-handedly…

There are a ton of cameos, too with people like Michael ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cera, Paul ‘Anchorman’ Rudd, Christopher ‘Kick Ass’ Mintz-Plasse, Rihanna and a superb against-type Channing ‘GI Joe’ Tatum all popping up for their moments of spoofing it up.

This Is The End is a wild, wacky comedy ride that will gross you out, make you laugh out loud and even cause you to contemplate turning to God – and I think you’ll agree that not many summer comedies can boast that.

Police are searching for a man who raped a woman in the back garden of a house after a night out in Aylesbury.

The 49-year-old woman was introduced to the attacker and danced with him in Mendoza’s on Saturday night.

They then left together before getting in a maroon coloured taxi from the top of Market Square.

They got out of the taxi in the area of St Hilda’s Court and St Anthony Close, where he raped her in the back garden of a house.

The man is believed to be of Albanian origin, in his 40s, around 5ft 6ins, slim, with mousey brown short hair. He was wearing a short sleeved top, jeans and black footwear.

Police were called at 2.40am on Sunday morning and officers want to speak to anyone who saw the man in the club, in Market Square, or in the area where the assault occurred. They are also keen to speak to the taxi driver.

Anyone with any information should contact Det Insp Deborah Goff via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

If you don’t want to speak directly to the police, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org

The funeral of bowling stalwart Eileen Adams, 79, will be held on Wednesday July 10.

{http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/more-news/updated-bowling-fans-mourn-death-of-jardines-stalwart-1-5225866|The former Jardines Tenpin Bowling Centre owner died on Monday June 24 after a short battle with cancer.|Click here for full story}

For more than 40 years she ran the centre in Friars Square, Aylesbury, with her husband, Stan, until it closed in controversial circumstances last year to be used as part of the new H&M store.

Former Jardines manager Kevin Pollard, 54, started working at the centre when he was just 15 years old.

He said: “I went straight from school to there. I wouldn’t work anywhere else. Eileen was a second mum basically. When you work with somebody for 37 years you do get to know them.

“I learned a lot from both her and Stan. They helped me in life.”

He added: “Her death is going to shock a lot of people because she was still very fit looking for her age, very active and working right the way up until Jardines closed.

“She was not just doing a nine to five job, we are talking sometimes about 12 hour shifts.”

The funeral will be held at Amersham Crematorium at 4.15pm and anyone is welcome. A decision has not yet been made on family flowers. A wake will follow the funeral at Rivets Sports and Social Club.

A 12-year-old boy has been robbed of his mobile phone by two youths as he rode his bike in Wendover.

The boy was riding along Tring Road when he was approached by the youths, who stole his BlackBerry by forcing his hand open until they could take it.

The youngster did not suffer any injuries during the incident, which was at around 4.45pm on Friday (June 28).

The first offender is white, around 14 years old, 5ft 4ins tall, of slim to medium build, with ginger hair with a fringe to just above the eyes and a gap in his front teeth, which were discoloured.

He was wearing a light grey Adidas tracksuit.

The second offender is Asian, with dark hair and a moustache, 5ft 4ins tall and of medium build.

He was wearing a dark blue hooded tracksuit and black trousers.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 and ask to speak to PC Samantha Stansbie or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A teenager who helped cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to parked vehicles after a drunken night out has today been given 120 hours community service.

Niall Pearce, of Granville Street, Aylesbury was involved in an incident which saw £6,205 of damage done to 17 cars in Tring Road.

The 19 year old, who pleaded guilty to 17 counts of causing criminal damage, was described as ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ by what he did.

Daniel Martin, defending, told Aylesbury Magistrates’ Court that before the incident Pearce had feared he had bowel cancer and had gone out celebrating after finding out it was instead Crohn’s disease.

Mr Martin said: “That is a decision Mr Pearce has come to regret.”

Pearce went with friends to The Bell, Niche and Mirage on the night of Friday, November 16, before walking out of town along Tring Road in the early hours.

As the vehicles were being damaged, five people called the police and Pearce and three others were arrested shortly afterwards.

The damage, which included broken wing mirrors and kicked panels, ranged in value from £17 to just over £2,000.

Peter Bird, prosecuting, told the court it was not clear what damage was done by which person and that Pearce had little memory of what happened.

Mr Martin said Pearce, a student, was one of the most ‘responsible and mature’ people he had represented and that it was highly unlikely he would commit a crime again.

Sentencing, Magistrate Keith Gray said what happened was a ‘very serious matter’ that had affected a lot of people.

Mr Gray said: “We have taken on board the character references which all say that it was totally out of character.

“We can’t dilute in any way the impact that this has had on those people.”

Pearce was ordered to pay compensation of £1,541 and must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

He was also given a community order for 12 months and told to take part in restorative justice.

Alexander Goodridge, of Cottesloe Road, Aylesbury, also pleaded guilty to the same charges and was due to be sentenced today.

However, he failed to appear at court and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Two other men linked to the incident, who both deny all charges, are due to face trial on August 23.

Work has already started on the unit at Broadfields Retail Park and it should be welcoming diners by September.

The restaurant is replacing Pizza Hut, which is now closed.

The chain is looking to recruit and train up to 40 new team members and the job opportunities will be advertised locally shortly before opening.

A spokesman said: “Harvester is the perfect place to bring food, family and friends together and Broadfield Retail Park offers us a great opportunity to bring this to Aylesbury.”

Meanwhile PC World and Currys – which are both owned by the Dixon group – are set to move into a single unit together at Broadfields.

Having a pop at the Chancellor of the Exchequer is about as ticklish a task as shooting fish in a barrel, so I’m not having a go at him. Well, not just him.

But the storm in a teacup fuss about his choice of in-office supper has opened up a whole new world for me.

For those of you who missed it, the minted MP for Tatton and squeezer of the nation’s wallets tried to portray himself as a down to earth man of the people as he worked on his latest cavalcade of cuts by posing for a picture that showed him working at his desk late into the night, a half-eaten burger by his side.

Critics who have little time for a seriously posh privately-educated and deep pocketed career politician slashing services he’ll never need left right and centre were quick to point out that the Chancellor was not chowing down on a fast food serving from the nearest chain outlet, but tucking into a Byron burger.

Now I’m sure I’m not the only person who had never heard of a Byron burger until a week ago – there are a fair few branches in London, a smattering in other major cities, and you can also bump into them in Cambridge or at the Bluewater centre if you are ever forced there against your will.

The biggest talking point last week was that the Chancellor’s choice of burger, from an admittedly upmarket chain, would have set him back just under £10. Compare that to the price of a Big Mac, whined the critics. That just shows how out of touch he is.

Maybe, but if anyone is out of touch here it’s probably me.

I had no idea that anyone would have the brass neck to charge the thick end of a tenner for a burger, or that anyone would be comfortable coughing up such an outrageous sum for a snack.

What’s more, the Byron burger is just one of the items on this particular chain’s mouthwatering menu.

Portion of chips to go with that burger, anyone? That’ll be £2.95, sir.

And that’s just for basic chips – there are posher versions that will set you back £3.25.

There aren’t that many burger joints round my way that will offer you courgette fries, either. Another £3.25, since you ask.

You’ll get some sense of how this isn’t an everyday burger joint when you see that the dessert options include Eton mess, there’s a wine list and you can nibble on olives while you wait if you don’t mind parting with another £2.75.

It’s not something that’s going to weigh heavy on my mind. It’s like caviar and foie gras – I know they exist but they’re not to my taste.

And why should George worry? I dare say that the bill for that burger will be appearing on an expense claim at some time in the future, won’t it?

Looking to bring a bit of Wedding Crashers sparkle to a comedy of modern times, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson team up again in The Internship.

They’re a couple of old-school sales schmoozeres who could sell a barrel load of bacon at a bar mitzvah – but when boss John Goodman decides to shut up shop because all his customers are buying from online alternatives rather than his smooth sales force, they’re left high and dry.

There’s not much call in the modern job market for middle-aged men with little understanding of the commercial possibilities of cyberspace.

But that doesn’t stop them talking their way into internships at Google, who could use some warm product placement PR round about now, what with all those uncomfortable stories about miniscule tax bills and servers opening their secrets to secret service spooks.

Unfortunately, if they want to hang around for more than a brief spell of work experience they have to proof they are a match and more for superbrainy geeks half their age. Can they do it? What do you think?

It’s the first time the two leads have been on set together since The Wedding Crashers made such a mint and there’s no denying that they’re easy to watch in a buddy comedy. If you were expecting anything remotely surprising, though, you had best log on elsewhere.

There are some serious stars on show in Now You See Me, a tight thriller with master illusionists right in the middle of the story.

There’s a quartet of clever stage tricksters, including Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, who round off a showboating display in Las Vegas by somehow transporting a member of the audience into a bank vault where he helps himself to a stash of cash which is then distributed to the punters to punish the bank’s misdeeds. Hoorah for the little guy!

Banker Michael Caine is not amused, as you might expect, and he is even less happy when Morgan Freeman realises that the stunt was just a distraction from what the quartet are really cooking up. It’s a diverting adventure that won’t stay long in the mind, but the novelty of the storyline and the confidence with which the whole thing is presented makes it a decent bet.

In Chasing Mavericks Gerard Butler plays a legendary surfer who rescues a young lad from the sea.

The kid grows up to be obsessed by surfing and determined to tackle the biggest waves around, so the older man reluctantly takes him under his wing to teach him how to achieve his goals without ending up six feet under. It’s based on a true story and the best thing about a fairly obvious tale is the stunning watersports footage.

The first phase of the work is due to take place on Friday, July 5.

Work will take place between the roundabout that leads to Aston Clinton and Tring Hill.

The southbound carriageway out of Aylesbury will be closed from 7.30pm and both sides will be closed from 10pm until 6am.

Bucks County Council said it is doing the work to improve the condition of the road to prolong its life.

The work is weather dependent and may be subject to disruption.

The council said: “The decision has been made to carry out this phase of the works at night to minimise large scale disruption during the day.

“In order to minimise the impact on residents, Transport for Bucks will endeavour to keep the noise levels on the site as low as reasonably possible at all times.

“However, due to the nature of these works, noisy activities may occur at times throughout the period and Transport for Bucks apologise in advance for this.

“Every effort will be made to maintain access for residents, although there may be some delay as the road treatment works pass individual properties.”

The second phase of the work will be carried out in early to mid July and involves a surface dressing treatment being applied to the carriageway.

Advance warning boards will be put on site stating dates and durations before this starts.

A daytime road closure will be needed for this work, which is expected to take one day.

There will be a temporary road surface in the interim period.

To find out more {http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/transport|visit the council website|take me to the council website}.

People are being urged to tune in to discussions on changes to health services in Bucks.

The county council’s health and adult social care select committee will be sitting down with NHS officials to review the progress of the Better Healthcare in Bucks programme, which led to a restructuring of services last year.

The meeting will be held at County Hall in Aylesbury on July 12 and people can either attend or {http://www.buckscc.public-i.tv/core/|watch live over the internet|watch the meeting}.

Select committee chairman Lin Hazell said: “We really would urge people who are interested in the NHS to try to watch this meeting so they can come to informed conclusions based on the discussions.

“Our committee, which is made up of democratically-elected councillors, will be approaching this with an open mind.

“We will listen to health officials, ask questions where appropriate and agree any action required.

“Whatever we decide after this meeting, I can reassure the public that this is not the end of our involvement as we will continue to monitor local NHS services, and our next meeting in September will look at recent concerns over the quality of local hospital services.”

The meeting is due to start at 10am.

The biggest ever line-up at the Thame food festival is set to bring the town to a standstill.

For the first time ever the whole of the town centre will be closed off for the event.

A host of food and drink producers will be showcasing plenty of new goods for people to enjoy, while live entertainment and celebrity chef demos will add extra spice to the day.

There will be more than 100 stall holders lining the streets and, after their success last year, organisers have decided to have two demonstration stages. Visitors will be able to sit back and enjoy talks and demos from chefs including festival ambassador Raymond Blanc, Adam Simmonds from Danesfield House in Marlow and Shaun Dickens from The Boathouse in Henley-on-Thames.

More than 20,000 people attended last year and organisers hope this year will be even bigger.

Festival patron, TV chef and writer Lotte Duncan said: “We’re fortunate that we can attract some of the region’s best artisan food and drink producers, as well as top name chefs and food experts, who recognise the event’s a great local platform for local produce and cooking.

“We’re also in a good place to be able to give visitors, foodies who come from far and wide, a superb free day out, trying and buying good things to eat and drink, enjoying hands-on workshops and street music and entertainment.”

For the event there will be a park and ride from Thame showground.

The festival is from 9am to 6pm on September 28.

For more information go to www.thamefoodfestival.co.uk

A 15-year-old boy has been charged with a burglary in Aylesbury.

A Kindle, a Nexus 7 mobile phone and cash were stolen during the incident.

The burglary took place between 10.30pm on June 14 and midnight on June 15 in Pine Street.

The boy, from Aylesbury, is due to appear at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on an unconfirmed date.

The team responsible for maintaining Bucks’ roads will be available for interrogation on Friday.

Bucks County Council staff, including technicians, will be in Kingsbury from 10am to 3pm.

The aim is to give a better picture of what the council does – including filling potholes, gritting, clearing gullies and managing on-street parking and maintaining street lights.

The roadshow coincides with the start of this year’s road treatment programme.