Thame

Thame is the market town Oxford commuters pick so they can say they live in a market town, and its boat-shaped High Street has been dressing for the part since the Georgians gave it a new front. The railway left years ago, so the station with Thame in its name is in Haddenham, and the old track is now a cycle path for people in very expensive Lycra. The town produced the man behind Boddingtons and then watched him take the beer to Manchester. When John Wesley preached here the crowd got so excited the floor gave way, and the town has been careful about getting carried away ever since.