Former Thame Mayor’s surprise meeting with a Prince

FORMER Thame Mayor, Nigel Champken-Woods and his wife Alison revisited Thame’s twin town in Romania recently, and had an unexpected encounter with a Prince, the former Prince Nicholae, the grandson of King Michael, Romania’s last king until 1947. He died in December 2017.

It was during a reception on the Saturday evening held by Vlad Oprea, the Mayor of Sinaia, in ‘The Casino’ used nowadays as an events venue. Nigel recalled: “With about three minutes notice I had to make a speech, but got away with it! We were next presented to Prince Nicolae of Romania and his fiance Alina Binder along with our host Felicia. It turns out that Prince Nicolae knows Thame as he went to school at Shiplake College just outside Henley-on-Thames. We joked about the rivalry between the two towns especially on the sports field!”

Sinaia is Thame’s Twin Town based in Prahova County, Romania. The two towns have been twinned since 2012, when as Mayor of Thame at the time, Nigel signed the twinning charter. Every September the town holds a festival Sinaia Forever, and it was to share this occassion that Nigel and Alison had been invited to return to Romania.

Vlad Oprea (left) with Nigel Champken Woods

The Thame couple had been welcomed to the Town by Vlad Oprea, who accepted a letter from Ann Midwinter, the current Mayor of Thame, explaining that she could not attend as it clashed with her civic service. Mr Oprea understood and passed his best wishes to Mrs Midwinter and all the people of Thame.

On Friday, September 14, Nigel and Alison they were taken to the top of a nearby mountain by cable car. Since their visit in 2012, this has been much improved by the extension of the Telegondola (ski lift) to the top of the mountain. Nigel said: ” The views from the top are outstanding and must be amazing in the winter. There are 16 ski slopes of varying difficulty to choose from.

“The highlight of any visit to Sinaia,” he added, “must be Peles Castle and the Monastery, which we did on Saturday morning with Dan Manea. Dan Manea, an architect, is another friend of Thame, as he thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Thame, and presentation of his book, Sinaia Land of the Elites during the TAL Festival in 2017.”

Peles was the summer home of King Carol I of Romania and featured by the BBC in a recent Great Railway Journey with Michael Portillo. The Monastery was the first building in Sinaia to offer hospitality to travellers in the Prahova Valley.

Nigel continued: “We also visited Prince Charles’ home in Viscri, not what one would expect! It is however very unspoilt and indeed you can actually stay there. We then went on to Bran, the home of the infamous Dracula’s Bran Castle. Our last full day was again spent with Dan Manea, who took us to the Royal Meadow which is situated in the mountains above Sinaia and Peles Castle. The problem was it is situated at just over 4,000 feet and while we had been driven up, we had to walk down! A fitting end to a fantastic weekend.”

Nigel and Alison were hosted by Felicia and Nicu Mirza at their home in Sinaia. Felicia as member of ASPE, a local cultural association, and visited Thame during TAL Festival in 2017. The Thame couple noticed a dramatic difference of the look of Sinaia’s main street between the visits. Six years previously, all cabling was carried on poles along the main street which has been described as looking like a giant tangle of knitting. This has now been put underground and pavements replaced and widened, cleaning the whole area up.

Nigel concluded: “We would like to thank all involved in our visit. Vlad Oprea and his team at the Town Hall in Sinaia, the members of ASPE who looked after us, Dan Manea our guide and in particular Felicia and Nicu Mirza who welcomed us into their home.”

Anyone from the Thame and neighbouring villages interested in getting involved in family, cultural, or groups visit exchange projects between Thame and Sinaia are invited to get in touch with the Thame-Sinaia Friendship Association on www.facebook.com/thamesinaia or ring/text 07764 854949.