Market welcomes Princess Royal

TWENTY fives years after she had visited Thame to officially open the refurbished Market House, HRH The Princess Royal, again visited Thame on Tuesday morning (17/02), to commemorate 800 years since Thame’s Tuesday market received its first Royal Charter. (SEE LINK)

Escorted by Chris Hurdman, better known locally as ‘Mr Sweets’, Secretary of the Thame Market Traders Cooperative (TMTC), Princess Anne strolled through the market in beautiful sunshine, meeting stallholders and shoppers. Accompanied by an entourage of dignitaries, including Bernard Taylor, the Deputy Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, Chairman of South Oxfordshire District Council, Cllr Ann Midwinter, Thame’s MP John Howell, the Town Clerk Helen Stewart and the Mayor of Thame, Cllr Jeannette Matelot Green, Princess Anne chatted with a selection of stallholders beginning with Michellle Diffey, Chair of Thame SAFARI (Self Advocacy for Adults Requiring Independence) and her charges, who were manning the Community Stall, selling handicrafts that they had made themselves. The princess then moved on to The Local Producers’ stall where she was introduced to Mrs Amanda Hopcroft and her team, who chatted with Her Highness about the products they sell that are produced and made locally.

The royal visitor then met Kezia Ball, one of the newest stallholders at Thame Market, who has been selling cheese and other delicatessen products for just one year. Other traders lucky enough to be introduced to Her Royal Highness were Pat Worthington, whose family greengrocery stall was started by her father 38 years-ago. Amongst the youngest market traders singled out for a chat were Emily and Alice Chilton, the fourth generation to be selling foam sheeting and other foam products at the market, helping their father whilst continuing their studies.

Ian Clooney, the Picture Framer, has been a familiar sight at Thame Market for 20 years, again, working at a business started by his father, 40 years-ago. The princess seemed interested to know whether he framed the work of local artists as well as the prints his sells from his stall. Ian is the Treasurer of the Thame Market Traders Cooperative.

Nearing the end of her guided tour, stopping to chat along the way to shoppers, and to young Byron Gee and a group of other young people who regularly help the market traders set up and dismantle their stalls before and after school, the princess met Egg Trader, Michael Broun, Chairman of the TMTC. He in turn introduced the princess to another long-term regular and Thame character, Terry Guest.

After a quick word with the fish stall owner and some of his customers, the princess met Tony Long and fellow thespians from Thame Players, who were dressed in costume promoting their summer production, The Taming of the Shrew, in July.

Then, finally, the highlight of Her Royal Highness’s visit, and the main purpose of the event. After an introduction from the Mayor of Thame, and a short history of Thame Market and a humorous explanation of some of its traditions from Chris Hurdman, the princess then unveiled a commemorative plaque outside the Market House in Montesson Square, a moment captured by the many cameras and caught on film to be shown later in the evening by the local BBC news channel.

For Chris Hurdman’s 11 year-old daughter, Evie, the princess’s visit was a day she will never forget, after she had the honour of presenting Her Royal Highness with two books about the history of Thame Market, including local photographer, John Comino James’s book of photographs, ‘Nearly Every Tuesday’. Another little girl, who will have very special memories of the day, is three year-old Emily Louise Smith, daughter of Mike Smith, a fruit and vegetable stallholder, who helped present Her Royal Highness with a huge basket of fresh fruit and produce – so heavy that when the princess lifted it, the handles of the basket broke and Her Royal Highness almost dropped it! But Chris Hurdman, who had been the perfect gentleman all morning, was quickly on hand to rescue the situation and the basket was handed over to a young naval cadet who had the job of carrying it all the way down the Buttermarket behind the entourage, to the town hall, where the princess took a short refreshment break before bidding the town farewell and leaving in her car.

All the organising team from the town council, the police officers, air cadets and everyone else who had worked hard to make Her Royal Highness’s visit such a triumph for the town, were able to relax with coffee and biscuits up stairs in the council chamber, and congratulate each other on a job well done, and to share in the pride and pleasure of the market traders and the town for being honoured with a visit from a member of the monarchy, which has itself, like Thame’s market, survived for over 800 years.

Except of course, that Chris Hurdman and his members had to go straight back to work – serving the people of Thame and the surrounding villages as their predecessors have done for eight centuries.

LINK for more photographs