Murder City

Fans of Midsomer Murders will know that there does seem to be an alarmingly high murder rate in that county. What people might not know is that the central (fictional) town of Causton actually exists in Oxfordshire. In fact it exists in two places. Wallingford became Causton for some of the early episodes, but Thame is probably more familiar to viewers. They do a walking tour which takes you round several of the town centre locations used in the programme. You can pay £10 for a guided tour or get a free map and do it yourself. No prizes for guessing which option we chose, especially as we like to go “off piste” if we see something else interesting along the way.
Which is how I came to discover that Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees lived in Thame and is buried in the churchyard opposite his old house. A popular place of pilgrimage for fans it would seem, judging by the amount of flowers, candles and cards on the grave.
We had been to Wallingford earlier in the day but found it quite disappointing - the whole place just looked tired. Though we do both have strange family links to the place. I had a great uncle who was born there. The family were jobbing builders who travelled around the country in search of work, so there is presumably something in the area that was built by my forebears. Mrs C’s mother had a watercolour of Wallingford Bridge hanging on the wall for many years though we know of no obvious family connection to the place. We were able to stand on the bank of the Thames where the original artist would have stood - we captured the same image in an instant, thanks to digital technology! Our fanciful theory is that a couple of our ancestors had some sort of illicit liaison in Wallingford, the picture is a family heirloom reminder of that. Consequently, Mrs C and I are distantly related and it was fate that drew us together and made us return to Wallingford today. Or maybe not!!
It seems that Thame Town Council cover up their normal brass “Town Hall” sign with the Causton one just before a tour starts, so that souvenir photos can be taken. As it wasn’t there when we finished exploring the town, I’m guessing it doesn’t stay up for long so we were quite fortunate to see it, as there was no forward planning involved as to what time we arrived in Thame!