MK Library Events

You may just think of them as a place to borrow books from, but the Libraries in Milton Keynes also have a whole host of activities and events taking place for all the family to get involved with, which you may not have known about. See below for a selection of activities and events taking place over the next month at the local libraries, the majority of which are free and are well worth taking a look at.

Rock and fossil fun day on Saturday 31st January, 11am-3pm. Come along and explore some geological treasures with The Bucks Earth Heritage Group in the event space at the Central Library, Milton Keynes.

Harry Potter book night at Newport Pagnell Library. Thursday 5th February from 4-5pm. Come along and celebrate all things Harry Potter. Dress code is wizarding robes, Harry Potter fancy dress or your best muggle attire! Come and join in the Treasure hunt to test your skills as a Finder or take part in a quiz on the wizarding world. Recommended for children aged 7 and over. Tickets are available from Newport Pagnell Library.

Tuesday 10th February is 'Bring your own book' night at Newport Pagnell Library. Do you have a book you'd love to share with others? This is a new monthly book chat group where you can have an informal chat about what you love to read. Tea and coffee will be supplied.

'Swimming with Ichthyosaurs' on Thursday 12th February from 6.30-7.30pm at Central Library, Milton Keynes. A talk about Milton Keynes' very own Ichthyosaur by Mike Palmer, the Curator at Bucks County museum. He will explore the Caldecotte Ichthyosaur from 150 million years ago to the present day and look at other marine animals which lived alongside it. The talk will be followed by a question and answer session. Tickets are required in advance at £2 and are available from the Library.

Special story times for children under 5 with Red Phoenix Storytelling and Productions. From 2-2.30pm at Newport Pagnell library on Friday 13th February.

'Meet the keeper' at Central Library, Milton Keynes on Thursday 26th February. Mike Palmer, Curator at Bucks County museum, brings a hands-on display of rocks and fossils and talks about a variety of natural history exhibition pieces from the Bucks county museum collections. Come along for free between 10am and 2pm to find out more.

There's lots to get involved in over the next few weeks at the Libraries, for more information visit the Libraries website.

The weekend's events:

Friday and Saturday: 

MK Job Show @ Middleton Hall - FREE

If you're looking for a job, thinking about changing career or want help with your CV, the MK job show is hosting a great selection of employment and training opportunities from some of the most respected International, National, Regional and local employers. There will also be workshops and seminars, making this an event not to be missed if you're interested in improving your job opportunities.

Saturday 24th: 

Olney Rugby Football Club WW1 Commemorative Charity Match @ Olney Rugby Football Club, West Street Olney

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1, Olney RFC are commemorating the sacrifices of many members of Olney RFC during the Great War. From 12 noon into the evening, a selection of events including a welcome from the Chairman, drummers, a minute's silence, Olney ladies v British Army and Olney v. the 1st Btn the Yorkshire Regiment RFC, guest lunch, speeches and then a hog roast and disco in the evening to finish off the day.

Talk: Our Changing Wildlife @ Howe Park Wood, 2-3pm

Come and enjoy a talk about how the wildlife is changing, exploring which British species are decreasing and increasing, and why. For over 16's, meet at Howe Park Wood education centre. Tickets cost £2 per person.

T'Pau: Pleasure & Pain Tour @ The Stables MK

T'Pau is a hugely successful pop/rock band fronted by Carol Decker. Most famous for their tracks: 'Heart & Soul' and 'China in your hand', T'Pau celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2013 with a successful UK tour. Back again, they will be at the Stables MK starting at 8pm this Saturday. Tickets cost £21.50 each.

Sunday 25th: 

Complete History of Comedy @ Stantonbury Theatre 

The Reduced Shakespeare Company presents comedy through the ages, from Aristophanes to Shakespeare and Moliere, Nick Clegg to Charlie Chaplin. 90 minutes of rolling comedy should have you laughing in the audacious and outrageous bawdy show. Tickets cost £17.50, concessions are £16.

Black History Month 2014 at the Cowper and Newton Museum

The Cowper and Newton Museum are running an exhibition throughout October on Black history, as part of Black History Month 2014.

The museum will be looking at a variety of things, place and people over the month, including John Newton, William Cowper, Northants Black history and the slave trade, with a number of historical items to handle. There will also be a focus on Africa today, including the Olney-Newton link and looking at Advantage Africa.

Black History month was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1987, and is an annual observance in order to remember important people and events in the history of African diaspora, the communities throughout the world which descended from the historic movement of peoples from Africa.

If you haven't yet visited the exhibition you still have a few more days to see it. The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10.30am-4.30pm. Visit the Cowper and Newton museum website for more information.

Have a look at the official website for Black History month here.

International Older Peoples Day

From sharing stories of the past to providing endless biscuits and tea, those of the older generation in our lives give us a lot to be grateful for. The knowledge of the past and learning about our ancestors history is important in giving us a rounded view, and hearing stories of having to go through times of war and hardship gives us something to be thankful for living in the UK in this current day and age. All too often, however, the older generation is forgotten and are not appreciated as much as they should be.

International Older Peoples Day is on the 1st October each year and was started in 1990 by the UN in order to help raise awareness of issues facing the older members of society and recognise the positive contributions they make within their communities. People are living longer nowadays, and the estimation is that by 2035 over 23% of the UK will be aged 65 or older. This is a huge proportion of our society, and it is obviously important to make sure each member feels valued and welcome.

You can celebrate this day in a variety of ways, from simply sending time with an older family member or friend, or attend one of the local ceremonies where the day will be celebrated. If you want to join in the slightly wider movement, get involved by posting a selfie with an older person. One of the aims of the day this year is to value and recognise the contributions that older people make to our society, while attempting to change the current dated image of ageing. Older people are often portrayed as frail, and while some may feel frail on the outside, they rarely do on the inside, and so this is a stereotype that needs to be shaken.

The challenge this 1st of October is to show positive images of ageing and celebrate the contributions of older people in society. So get involved, and encourage your grandparents to get involved too, by posting a selfie (you might need to explain what that is!) with someone older than you and using the hashtag: #olderpeoplesday.

Let's make the negative image of ageing a more positive one!

Explore the heritage of Milton Keynes this weekend

Starting today, there's a whole weekend of free family fun in and around Milton Keynes as part of the MK Heritage Open Days, which celebrates its 20th year this year. Milton Keynes is home to a lot of history, and there is much to be learnt and discovered from this central place. Have a look at the website for a full list of what's on, there are numerous open days, tours and events, and we've included just a small selection below...

There have been a few events on today so you may have spotted a few, if not then don't worry you've got a few days left and there are some events on this evening for you to enjoy if you have the time.
This evening there is a talk from Kevin Varty; 'The Great War in 10 Objects' held at Milton Keynes Library from 6-7pm. There's also an evening ramble held at Ouzel Valley Park which costs just £1 or is free if you have the MK Heritage Open Days leaflet. Enjoy a tour with the Parks Trust rangers from 6-7pm.

Friday

Again, there are a great number of free events to choose from, including a number of walks, such as a heritage hunters walk around Willen lake, a railway walk and Stoney Stratford town and riverside walk to name just a few.

The Milton Keynes Museum will be holding open days, which today will include their annual beer festival, from 11am-4.30pm with a selection of real ales and cider and a BBQ. Check this out on any day of the open weekend.

There's also the beer and cider festival at the York House Centre with the 12th Cock and Bull real beer and cider festival from midday to 11pm, again it will be continuing over the weekend.

This evening, head over to Milton Keynes gallery for an hour long film titled 'Milton Keynes through the lens', showing images from the 1940s through to the present day. 7.30-9pm.

Don't forget to check the website for the full list of events.

Saturday

A number of the events will follow through from yesterday, but again there is a great selection of free things to do and see.

Bark in the Park, organised by the Parks Trust, is on from 10-11.30am at Tattenhoe Valley and is a chance to walk your dog while meeting other dog owners. Free with the presentation of the Milton Keynes Heritage Leaflet.

Have a look at the Bradwell Windmill at their open day, where you can see the early 1800s windmill restored to working order between 1.30-4.30pm.

Sunday

There's much of the same at the previous days today, so if you've missed something you liked the look of then make the most of the last day of the event today, as well as a few other items, including the exhibition at Double Tree Hilton Hotel celebrating the history of women's football from 7.30am-10.30pm, and a guided walk around the Homeworld '81 exhibition at 11am showing how the buildings have faded over the last 30 years.

There's a great variety of events and activities taking place over these 4 days of the Heritage Open Days, so you've got plenty of opportunities to get involved in something over the weekend.

Download the pdf brochure here.

History of the WI

The first WI (women's institute) was formed in 1897 in Canada, as a branch of the farmer's institute. At that time, the group brought women together from isolated communities, and offered various training, such as childcare, economics, and the aspects of farming which were traditionally women's roles, such as poultry keeping and small animal care. The first WI to be started in Britain was in 1915, during the first world war where women were encouraged to get involved in farming; growing and preserving food to help keep up supplies.

The WI appealed to women from all walks of life, and helped break down some of the social barriers which previously existed between women who wouldn't have mixed in social circles before. By the 1930s, WI members took part in other activities other than just farming and educating, such as music festivals, dancing, pageants and plays.

During the Second World War, the WI saw the need to remain strong as a group in order to provide support and a sense of stability to women. As a result, the group's meetings continued as per usual throughout the war, and as well as providing support to the war effort through caring for evacuees, the WI's main contribution was through growing and preserving food. In particular, the WI became famous for their production of jam, saving fruit from becoming wasted and helping feed the nation.

Olney District Historical Society

Olney District Historical Society has been around since 1997, and is now key for events, talks and information about the history of Olney; from the time of the Civil war to the present day. The society was created in order to keep the history of the town alive for all generations, for those living in the town currently and for those who have since moved away. Their website contains a host of historical information, including photographs, as well as census data which allows you to search for family members and other people from the Olney area.  As well as people, users can search for maps, buildings and images, providing a rounded history of the town of Olney. Information also includes history about the arrival of the canal, the railway, and the M1 motorway, as well as a history of Bury field common and a variety of local industries.

Tomorrow evening the society are having their monthly meeting, a talk on the garden archaeology of Hampton Court and more, by archaeologist and gardener Joe Prentice. He will talk about the Hampton Court Palace garden, and cover Harrington Falls, Holdenby and Wrest Park. The meeting will be held in the main hall of the Olney centre at 7.30pm, and costs £1 for members and £2 for visitors.

timehop

If you're a bit of a techno-wizz on your smart phone you'll more than likely be aware of a new app sweeping across the screens. Taking a new twist on the social media revolution which we appear to be living in, this app takes us back in time, showing what we posted on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Foursquare on that day a year, 2 years, 3 years and so on, ago.

There's a few ways you can choose to look at this phenomenon, either...

1. We're living in the past too much... It feels a bit like the app has been created because someone out there knows that we all like browsing back through our photos and tweets and messages, and they want to arrange it better to date for us (cheers!)
2. It gives you a positive look back at how far you've come (hopefully!) over the years
3. Acts as a virtual time-capsule, especially good if you've got a bit of a bad memory
4. A way to daily enjoy memories of some of the important events which have taken place in your life (best if you don't over tweet, otherwise you may have to read your random ramblings about your washing machine or new running trainers, come on, we've all seen it!) 
5. and if you are one likely to over share on social media, then it can be a painful (and maybe helpful) reminder of how we spend too much time on social media...although saying that, timehop is a social media app in itself, so maybe there really is no escape!

What do you think? Is timehop a good or bad idea? I've just got it on my phone and I'm ashamed to say a little addicted... oh look I tweeted about being on a train 2 years ago... how exciting! (see what I mean?!)

What's on Saturday 17th May in Milton Keynes

It's the weekend!!... So what's on out and around the Milton Keynes area for you to get involved in? (lots, is the answer!)...

• Friends of St. Lawrence in Broughton are holding a talk on 'Medieval villages of Milton Keynes'. An interesting talk from Helen Jones for all those of you interested in history and maybe wondering what Milton Keynes was like back in the day before it was a city. Followed by tea and cake, tickets are just £8. The event will be held at St. Lawrence church in Broughton, starting at 3pm.
• Over at Yardley Hastings Memorial Hall from 7.30pm (starting at 8pm), there's a cheese and wine evening, including music and dancing to the Gary Wood Swing Band. Tickets are £15 which includes a bottle of wine and a cheese board. Other than that please bring your own drinks and glasses. All proceeds to the Poppy Appeal.
• Olney's community choir are singing at Cowper memorial United Reformed Church, High Street, Olney. Doors open 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Tickets cost £5 with all proceeds going to Advantage Africa. 
• Age UK are holding a family fun day at Age UK Milton Keynes, The Peartree Centre. 11am-5pm. The event will including stilt walking, Samba band, crafts, pizza cook-off, face painting, raffles, refreshments and a plant sale. All proceeds to Age UK Milton Keynes and Festive Road.
• The Cowper and Newton Museum at night: Come and see the museum at night! From 6.30pm-8.30pm, entry is £6, which includes wine and entertainment. Visit the museum and lamp-lit garden to raise money for the summer house. Follow a lantern-lit pathway through the gardens, via a gate to William Cowper's Summer House 'secured for the nation.' Inside the museum with a glass of wine, listen to music and learn more about the summer house's history from a talk by Lisa Gee. 
• MK Cat's protection annual spring fayre is on from 11am-2pm and is being held at the United Reformed Church, High Street, Newport Pagnell.

There's much more on other than this, and if the weather's nice a walk around one of Milton Keynes' many parks, lakes or woodland areas is an easy and enjoyable option for a sunny Saturday afternoon! Enjoy yourself this weekend! 

Past vs. Present: Has Valentines Day lost its appeal?

Valentines day has been around for centuries, so I've taken a look at the history behind it, finding out where on earth the idea started! 

Stories about the origins of the day go back to around AD 250, with tales of ‘Saint Valentine’, of which there is little known. We know that he was a holy priest in Rome, and was executed on the 14th February, which was how Valentines day came about. The actual idea of sending Valentines Day cards seems to have begun in around 1400. The oldest known valentine in existence was from Charles, Duke of Orleans, written to his wife in 1415, whilst he was imprisoned in the Tower of London; possibly not the happiest of messages, but romantic nonetheless.