Thame fair trolls should apologise, suggests councillor

NEWS that the September fair, which has been held in the town centre for generations, would not go ahead after all caused a social media storm, with harsh words being exchanged between fair supporters and those against the fair being held at all in the town centre. A town council officer even received threats of violence.

Thame Fair – Image copyright of Sonja Francis

According to a report discussed at last week’s Community, Leisure and Recreation Committee meeting at Thame Town Countil, representatives of the Showmen’s Guild later apologised ‘for the unjustified criticism of the Town Council via social media and their miscommunication within their organisation, which had resulted in the cancellation of the September fair’. This apology was publicly repeated on social media on the evening of Friday, September 22, 2017.

‘Members of the community should apologise’

Councillors called the social media response from both the Guild and some members of the community ‘appalling’ and ‘deplorable’ with one councillor, Cllr Mike Dyer, stating: “The Showmen have apologised but members of the community who bad-mouthed the council and spread misinformation, have not!”

An agreement was reached that the October Charter Fair would go ahead, which it did, and the Showmen involved have apparently reported that they are very satisfied with the turn-out for the fair, particularly on the Saturday.

‘Amalgamate the two fairs’

There was much discussion about one suggestion from Cllr Peter Lambert, that the two fairs should be amalgamated into one, as he felt the current situation meant that the town ‘is disrupted twice’. But other councillors were of the opinion that the two fairs were different, with the Charter fair offering smaller rides for younger children, whereas the bigger rides at the September fair attracted an older audience, and anyway, pointed out Cllr Nigel Champken Woods,  the two fairs are operated by two different groups of Showmen. “I think we would have all sorts of problems with social media if we suggested that,” he added.

‘We should not be bullied by social media’

Cllr Mary Stiles said: “We should not allow ourselves to be bullied by social media and make a decision but I don’t think it is a good idea. The fair is disruptive but it is traditional and is something people look forward to.”

Council left out of pocket

As a result of the recent debacle over Thame’s annual, September fair, between The Showmen’s Guild and Thame Town Council, the council has stated that it now has a £1,600 hole in its budget.

The costs incurred by the town council were for security arrangements, first aid provision, street cleaning arrangements and the issuing of resident parking permits, all of which they paid upfront for on the expectation that a new three-year agreement up for renewal, would be signed by the Guild in time for the fair to go ahead. It was not, as the Showmen’s Guild decided that the terms of the new agreement were not acceptable to them.

Though discussions are underway, no agreement between Thame Town Council and the Showmen’s Guild has yet been signed but councillors say they are optimistic that the September fair will go ahead in September 2018.

You can read the full town council report discussed by the CLR committee HERE