A musical weekend!...

It's that time of the week where we give you another great list of what's on this weekend in the local area, it's all rather musical and Christmassy!

Saturday 13th December:

Newport Pagnell and Olney Club Christmas Fair @ The URC Hall, High Street, Newport Pagnell, 10am-3pm.

Free entry. A wonderful selection of local arts and crafts people with something special for those last-minute Christmas gifts.

Olney Village Fair @ The Church Hall, Church Street, Olney, 11am-3pm
'For lovers of original vintage'. Come along for some crafty bargains and items. Entry £1.

Tickford Abbey Christmas Craft Fair @ Tickford Abbey, 2-4.30pm.

A great selection on offer, including Christmas cards, handcrafted Christmas ornaments, hand decorated mugs, edible Christmas treats and more, created by Tickford Abbey's residents and staff members. 

Danesborough Chorus Christmas Concert @ St. Mary's Church, Woburn, 7.30pm.

Combining traditional favourites with a selection of new carols, our Christmas concert will be a feast for your ears and offers plenty of opportunity for audience participation. Tickets cost £10/£8 for adults and £3 for children, including refreshments.

Bozeat Windmill Singers: Unashamedly Christmas Concert @ Bozeat Village Hall, 7.30pm.

Tickets cost £7 and are available on the door.

Carols & Brass @ Parish Church Hall, Newport Pagnell, 7.30pm

The Newport Pagnell Singers and Olney Brass team up to present a traditional Christmas concert with audience participation. Tickets cost £10 and are available from Cambourne Travel, Newport Pagnell or Wilson's Olney.

Sunday 14th December: 

Carol Singing for all @ The R.C Church, West Street, Olney, 7.30pm

A warm welcome to everyone to join the church choir to sing some favourite carols and to enjoy mulled wine and mince pies in the Olney Centre to conclude the evening. Entrance is free, donations to Cafod will be greatly welcomed.

Angels at the Abbey Christmas Fair @ Alston Road, Bradwell Abbey, 11am-4pm.

Come along for some Christmas fun: Santa's grotto, seasonal music and singing, children's activities, mince pies and mulled wine, and numerous stalls offering some great gift choices. Free entry.

GP surgery ratings- How does your surgery compare?

Recent findings have been published online regarding the rating of GP surgeries. Nationwide rankings have been collected and compared, allowing patients to see how their surgery compares to others in the area. We decided to have a look at how some of the GP surgeries in the Olney area had rated...

[The percentage is the proportion of patients who would recommend the surgery, and some of the surgeries also have a 'band' to rate them overall, from data published by the Care Qulaity Commission (CQC), with band 6 being the highest (best rated) and band 1 the lowest.]

Cobbs Garden Surgery, Olney: Band 4, 96.1% - Among the best

Newport Pagnell medical centre: 80.2%

Denton Village surgery: Band 6, 89.1%- Among the best  

Harrold Medical Practice: Band 6, 80.5%

Kingfisher Surgery, Newport Pagnell: Band 1, 34.2% - The worst

Wollaston surgery: Band 6, 67.2% - Among the worst in percentage but among the best in the banding.

It's interesting to see how your surgery compares to others in the area. Equally, if you are looking for a new surgery to attend then this can be a particularly useful tool in helping you make an informed decision.

If you want to have a more detailed look, the percentage ratings were taken from the NHS website, and the bands can be found on the Care Quality Commission website.

Do these ratings surprise you at all? How does your surgery compare?

Fireworks- What's on nearby this November?

There are plenty of events to choose from in and around Milton Keynes this November, don't miss out on some fireworks and bonfires!

Turvey Village Firework Display, Saturday 1st November @ Turvey Village, free parking off Carlton Road. Tickets cost £3.50 for adults and £1.50 for children. Food and refreshments available and will include a BBQ. Gates open at 5.30pm, the bonfire will be lit at 6pm and the firework display will start at 6.30pm.

Fireworks Frenzy, Saturday 1st November @ Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough, Northants.
Fireworks Frenzy is a great day out for all the family. open from 4-7pm, it's a spectacular afternoon and evening of fireworks, live action including 'Podzilla' the monster truck and a great stunt display, a hinge bonfire, fun fair, refreshments and bar, as well as family entertainment. See the website for more details.

Thornborough Bonfire night with torchlit procession, Saturday 1st November @ Thornborough Village.
Everyone is invited to join in the traditional village Torchlit procession which starts at 6.30pm from the Two Brewers, High Street, Thornborough. the procession leads directly up the Nash Road to the venue on the outskirts of the village. Tickets are available from the Two Brewers and outside on the night from 6pm. Parking is available along the High Street and Village Green. Gates for the bonfire and Fireworks open at 7pm.

Spectacular Fun Fair and Fireworks display @ Campbell Park, Milton Keynes
The Fun fair is in town from 30th October- 9th November, and the firework display will be on Sunday 2nd November, at approximately 7.30pm. A great night of fun fair and fireworks!

Olney Town Fireworks, Sunday 2nd November @ The Recreation Ground, off East Street, Olney.
This fantastic fireworks event has added a live one-man fire show, featuring fire eating, music and comedy, ending with a spectacular finale. Gates open at 5pm and the display starts at 6.30pm. Refreshments will be available, including burgers, a licenced bar, hot chocolate, stone baked pizza and real coffee. There will also be activities for the kids, including face painting and a small fair. Tickets are £5 on the gate or £4 if bought in advance, and family tickets are £11 on the gate or £9 if bought in advance.Tickets can be purchased from the Phonebox magazine, Olney Library, C.T Wilson, McColls Newsagents and Stephen Oakley Estate Agents.

Bozeat Annual Fireworks display, Wednesday 5th November @ Bozeat Playing Fields on Harrold Road by Dychurch Lane.
Gates open at 6pm and the display begins at 7.30pm to end no alter than 8pm. Admission charges are £5 per adult and £2 per child.

Ampthill Fireworks, Friday 7th November @ Ampthill Park, Woburn Road, Bedfordshire.
Ampthill Fireworks is an annual community fireworks display, featuring a pre-show of live acts, fairground and various food outlets. The event has something for all the family, with no alcohol or sparklers allowed within the park. Gates open at 6pm, pre-show at 6.45pm, lighting of the Ampthill Beacon at 7.30pm and fireworks at 8pm. Tickets are £6 in advance for adults, £7 on the gate and £3 in advance for children, £4 on the gate. Car parking is £2.

Join Tickford Abbey on Thursday 6th November at 6.00 pm. 

Hot food and drinks to enjoy while watching a spectacular display.  Fireworks will be at 6.30 pm.Address: Tickford Abbey, Priory Street, Newport Pagnell, MK16 9AJ.

Proposed Wind Farm Cancelled

A wind farm which had been proposed to be built near Milton Keynes has now been dropped- after the company behind the scheme 'ceased interest' in it. RWE technology have decided not to develop the proposed Nun Wood Wind Farm near Lavendon and Bozeat across the local authority areas of Milton Keynes, Bedford and Wellingborough. 

Robin Basten, RWE Innogy UK’s regional development manager, said: “It’s with great disappointment we have decided to cease our interest in the Nun Wood Wind Farm development.

“We believe it is a good site for a wind farm and could have made a significant investment to the local area in addition to helping to tackle climate change. 

"As a company we remain committed to developing onshore wind, which is an abundant energy source and plays an important role in helping to secure the UK’s energy supply.”

Those of you against the wind farm will be pleased to hear this news, while the eco-conscious among you may not be so pleased. The reasons for the loss of interest in this scheme is somewhat unclear, maybe we should watch this space to see whether there will be any interest from elsewhere.

What do you think about wind farms? Do you think this is good or bad news? We'd love to hear your thoughts.