What's On

Milton Keynes women are being urged to get the New Year off to a great start by signing up now to Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life 2017.  The charity is calling on women of all shapes and sizes to show cancer who’s boss by choosing their event - Race for Life 5k, 10k or Pretty Muddy – and committing to take part at Campbell Park and Willen Lake this summer.  Although many see January as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter in terms of health and fitness, motivation can slip as the cold weather drags on.  ..

Milton Keynes Council disclosed in December that it plans the building of 6,000 homes by developer Gallagher Estates in the rural area north of the city between the M1 and the West Coast rail line. This development will be part of its new Local Plan which allocates land for house building from 2018 to 2036. The 6,000 homes are expected by 2025/26. The new population of 15,000 to 20,000 would engulf Haversham and have a devastating impact on Castlethorpe, Hanslope, and Little Linford with most of  the countryside disappearing under concrete. New roads – including major dual carriageways – would..

If I said “Bletchley Park”, “Enigma” and “Alan Turing”, I would think many of you would know a little about them, thanks to the work of both Bletchley Park and recent films such as The Imitation Game. Now, what about if I said “Colossus”, “Tommy Flowers” and “Bill Tutte”? I suspect that very few people, even in the local area around Bletchley Park and Milton Keynes, would be familiar with these names. Colossus is, arguably, the world’s first electronic computer ever built and its story is even more amazing than Enigma, but it has received significantly less public recognition. Many..

Imagine blocking out all the stresses and strains of the daily grind, the feeling of complete tranquillity and escapism. Imagine floating on a cloud - that’s the experience you get at Floatation Life. The new family owned business in Crownhill launched in December and is set to bring a new dimension of relaxation to people in Milton Keynes. The Mayor and Mayoress of Milton Keynes were invited to be the first to see the new venture. Floatation Life is one of just a few floatation therapy centres in the UK – the latest trend in alternative therapy through sensory deprivation that allows..

Happy New Year! I hope that you have all had an opportunity to spend some good quality time with you friends and families over the festive period. I would also like to thank all those people who worked over that time to keep our key services running. I was very pleased when the Chancellor made his Autumn Statement as it contained significant commitments that will benefit Milton Keynes. Readers will know that I am a long-term proponent of the East-West rail link so the news that it is to receive £110m sooner than previously expected, together with the Transport Secretary’s..

Ruddigore’s zany plot has it all - the villain who carries off the maiden; the priggishly good-mannered, poor-but-virtuous-heroine; the hero in disguise, and his faithful old retainer who dreams of their former glory days; the snake in the grass who claims to be following his heart; the wild, mad girl; the swagger of fire-eating patriotism; and ghosts coming to life to enforce a curse. Will virtue triumph and can love conquer all? Join the cast from Wolverton Gilbert & Sullivan Society at Stantonbury Campus Theatre from Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 March 2017 to find out the answers for yourself...

A team of six Cambridge Weight Plan Consultants based in central Milton Keynes, set their customers a “clothes raising” weight loss challenge that ran over the past 2 months. As their weight loss meant that they were quickly out shrinking their clothes they created an initiative to donate their clothes to local charity MK Act.  In just 2 months the slimmers managed to shift an impressive amount of weight and dress sizes! Many slimmers even managed to drop more than 1 size during the period thanks to following the Cambridge Weight Plan, which provides flexible weight loss programmes with 1:1..

Make up a team of 4 and tackle a new and unique challenge at the Caldecotte Xperience on the weekend of 18th and 19th March 2017. Test yourselves against a whole range of obstacles and challenges and you’ll learn what you can do and how to work together as a team. It’s hard and its great fun! As you follow a track around the site, you’ll climb, abseil, negotiate the scramble wall, go underground in the caving system, try to strike gold at archery, go canoeing on the lake, run round the lake and finally wade the river on your..

We are looking for new volunteers to join our team as Visitor Experience Assistants, Meet and Greeters, Tour Guides and Buggy Drivers. If you love meeting new people and sharing your passion for historic places this could be the role for you. You will be on hand to assist our visitors throughout their visit and help to support the Visitor Experience team in the day-to-day running of Stowe House. Brilliant customer service is at the heart of what we do and our volunteers leave our visitors feeling refreshed and inspired.  'The Stowe House volunteers are a great group to work..

Bus operator Arriva is launching a quest to find the nation’s favourite driver of the year. As part of its annual Made a Difference awards Arriva is appealing for customers in Milton Keynes to nominate their Arriva Bus Champion. The bus operator is looking to its passengers to shine a light on hard-working drivers who have demonstrated outstanding customer care. Nominations are open until 31 January and the four top-scoring drivers in each region will go head to head in an online vote to find a regional champion to go forward to the national finals. The award is nominated and..

Mary: "The government is closing courts and virtually begging people not to litigate and fight in court, yet it won't reform our out-dated fault-based divorce law. It causes so much trouble, because people do not like being told it is their fault their marriage is over, because they have done X, Y and Z. Mostly they feel it is not their fault, someone else is to blame." Dawn: "Too right, people normally don't recognise themselves in a divorce petition and get furious and want to defend, which of course is an absolute no no." Mary: "Anyway, my M.P. Alistair Bur..

The Parks Trust is bidding to receive a cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, to install BBQ sites in its parks. Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the monthly funding scheme, which sees grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local outdoor community projects. Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and this month shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant. The Parks..

Last year’s Christmas at Frosts Garden Centre was its most magical yet, recent figures have shown. The Garden Centre, which recently completed its impressive £1.5m refurbishment, saw a brand new Santa’s Grotto in 2016 that delivered the region’s ‘best Santa experience’ according to posts on the Group’s Facebook page. Over 40,000 people visited the grotto, which opened on Sunday 6 November and closed on Christmas Eve. During this festive period, Santa saw 21,400 children and each was given a free toy, 18,458 mince pies were handed out to parents and over 20 tonnes of reindeer food was made. It was..

Talented St Paul’s pupils Hamzah and Dawud Malik are making a name for themselves in International Taekwon-Do with both of them winning bronze medals in this year’s ITF World Championships in Brighton where 45 countries competed. The brothers, who were inspired by their dad and by watching martial arts films, took up Taekwon-Do when they were aged just eight and six.  They are both members of the Chand Institute of Taekwon-Do where they train for six hours every week.  Hamzah is in Year 10 and Dawud is in Year 8. Dawud said:  “I like the fighting and the technical side..

As the wintery weather takes hold, The Parks Trust, the self-funding charity that cares for Milton Keynes’ green spaces, urges all residents and visitors to its parks to be extra cautious around lakes and rivers. Smaller bodies of water, such as the Grand Union Canal and the ponds at Westcroft tend to freeze over very quickly during the winter months, with the larger lakes following suit as the temperature continues to drop. While these frozen over areas may seem like a tempting playground for many, the risks are real; statistics from the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)..