What's On

Willen Hospice is calling on local ladies to put their best foot forward for this year’s MK Midnight Moo, taking place on 14 July 2018. The ladies only 10 mile walk starts and finishes at intu Milton Keynes at midnight and is open to walkers of all levels, whether they walk in pairs, teams, or on their own. The charity launched its flagship fundraiser this week, along with supporters including lead sponsor Specsavers Milton Keynes - Centre. Willen Hospice Chief Executive Peta Wilkinson said: “I am so excited to be launching this year’s MK Midnight Moo! It’s a really popular..

Shoppers at intu Milton Keynes will be ‘well chuffed’ to learn that the hugely popular Christmas Express train will be staying in the shopping centre, until at least the summer.  Launched at the start of the festive period, the little locomotive has taken over 4,000 children and parents around intu Milton Keynes on a magical journey down the boulevard, past the ‘frog clock’, around Oak Court and back again. Now, due to popular demand, the centre management are delighted to announce that the train, now called the intu MK Express’ will continue offering its service until at least the summer. ..

The founder of The Bus Shelter MK, Tom Davis, was given a cheque for £4,000 last week by intu’s chairman, John Strachan and Alexander Nicoll, corporate responsibility director.  Each year, all 14 intu shopping centres across the UK are invited to enter a charitable community initiative they have supported during the year, for the chance to win the ‘chairman’s prize’, with a top prize of £4,000. intu Milton Keynes entered The Bus Shelter MK, which the centre launched and helped by raising close to £60,000 to date. Everyone at intu Milton Keynes and The Bus Shelter MK were delighted to..

Willen Hospice received a Christmas boost this week when local volunteer fundraising group, The Friends of Willen Hospice, awarded the charity a cheque for £20K. The generous donation, which takes the total they have raised for the Hospice this year to £45K, was presented at their annual general meeting. Friends of Willen Hospice is a 10-strong committee, with several volunteers who are dedicated to fundraising for the Hospice throughout the year. They do so in various ways including selling raffle tickets, holding tombolas, social events, and attending local fetes and fairs. Liz Sparham, Chair of Friends of Willen Hospice, said:..

Lakeview Lodge Care Home in Newton Leys recently celebrated some success, as Chef Managers Ian Powell & Colette Hawkins swooped three awards in a national cooking competition, organized internally by Country Court Care. The competition was called Meal Showreel and aimed to showcase some of the wonderful food cooked for residents residing within a Country Court Care Home, Lakeview Lodge Care Home in Newton Leys being one of them. To enter the competition was simple, Chef Managers had to take photos of their food and submit them to Country Court Care. Chef Managers had a choice between three categories for..

The Parks Trust, the self-financing charity that manages and maintains over 6,000 acres of green space across Milton Keynes, is getting ready for one of the highlights of the city’s festive calendar – the annual Christmas carols celebration. This year, Carols will be held at the MK Rose, located in Campbell Park. The event starts at 3pm on Sunday 17th December 2017. Bedfordshire singer Louise Sian will open the show and the carol singing will be accompanied by MK Youth Brass from Community Learning MK: Music Faculty. All are welcome to the Carols at MK Rose event, which is free..

Around 350 donation appointments in Milton Keynes remain un-booked for December* Help to fill the stocking this year – make and keep a date to donate People in Milton Keynes are being urged to give blood this December to ensure hospitals can continue to treat patients over the festive season.  NHS Blood and Transplant is asking donors in the city to book an appointment to donate before Christmas if they haven’t already done so and to keep their appointment if they have already made one. Donors who need to cancel their appointment are being asked to give at least three..

The Milton Keynes Business Achievement Awards (MKBAA), presented by Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership (MKBLP) and in association with Interdirect and Evolution, has seen a record number of entries for 2018.  New judges Ben Turner, Ian Revell, Dr Josie Fraser and Ben McDonald will join veteran judges Sir John Southby Bt, Jon Corbett and returning judge Carole Mills, as they take on the huge task of picking the best entries for the final. The panel is an impressive cross section of MK organisations.  Following the success of last year’s two stage entry process, we have further streamlined entries for 2018...

A campaign celebrating the stories of the OU's diverse student community has won two national social media awards.  The #Iwas campaign was announced as winner of the Best User-Generated Content category in the The Drum’s Social Buzz Awards and in October the campaign won Best Audience Engagement Campaign category at the UK Social Media Communications Awards. The campaign drew on the experience of the OU’s broad depth of students and alumni who took to social media to demonstrate the value of flexible distance learning and the role it can play in addressing the UK skills through the voices of its student and..

It was a case of ‘honours even’ after Milton Keynes-based business owners – and firm friends – Ben Peters and Iain Row went head-to-head in the BizTech Bright Sparc awards last week. Both had been entered in multiple categories, and in one of the categories, Best Technology Collaboration, they both made the shortlist. “When I saw the shortlist, I was stunned,” said Ben, who runs Telematics Pro, a company which focuses on reducing company driver risk and improving fleet operating costs. “I was delighted to make the cut, and then to find I was up against Iain made it all..

Cotels, a leading provider of serviced apartments in Milton Keynes, Northampton and Luton, has officially launched its brand new serviced apartment concept, 7Zero1, at 701 South Fifth Street in Milton Keynes. Marcia Gomez, Managing Director of Cotels said: “We’re incredibly excited to have launched this new flagship venture, showcasing the best of Cotels with our fresh branding, stellar customer service and unique serviced apartment offering.” “Led by feedback from our existing guests, we have created 7Zero1 with a strong focus on wellbeing and fitness. This trend is as prominent as ever, particularly amongst business guests looking to combat the negative..

Incredible composure, confidence and professionalism on and off the stage, were just some of the positive and encouraging comments Denbigh students received, following their performances of ‘Richard III’ and ‘Measure for Measure’ at this year’s Shakespeare Festival. The Venue in MK was where Denbigh played to a packed audience, alongside Walton High and Loughton School, who staged and acted in ‘A Comedy of Errors’ and ‘Macbeth’. At the end of all of the performances, the casts were invited on stage to receive feedback from one of the Shakespeare Schools Foundation actors. Of Richard III, he congratulated the students on their..

The countdown to Christmas has officially begun at Woburn Sands because Santa’s grotto is now open! But the festivities don’t stop there because their real ice rink launches next week, on Saturday 25 November! This year, the real ice rink is bigger and better, and it is open seven days a week until Sunday 7 January! Plus, it is situated under an all-weather canopy, so customers can skate come rain or shine. Each skating session lasts 45 minutes and starts on the hour however it is recommended that all customers arrive 15 minutes before to get skates fitted. With push..

Eight young people took over four of the top jobs in Milton Keynes for Takeover Day on Friday 17 November. Each young person was the winner of the council’s Takeover Day competition and this year they spent the day as either the Mayor of Milton Keynes - Cllr David Hopkins, Local Police Commander - Superintendent Yvette Hitch, MK Council’s Corporate Director for People - Michael Bracey, or MP for Milton Keynes South - Iain Stewart. The Takeover Challenge is a national event led by the Children's Commissioner for England and offers children and young people the chance to work with some of the..

Lakeview Lodge Care Home has teamed up with the Community Christmas campaign to offer Christmas lunch to elderly people from the local community of Bletchley, who would otherwise be on their own on Christmas Day. “This will be a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new friends, creating bonds in the community that will last well beyond the single day. We are delighted to be involved with the scheme, I’d hate to think that someone living just a few doors away from us would be alone on Christmas Day” Said Home Manager Cheryl Rolt. Community Christmas..