Walk to raise money for Ebola crisis

Tomorrow, a small group will be walking 80 miles from St Peter and Paul's church in Olney to Big Ben in London, within a weekend, to raise funds for the Olney-Newton link.

As you may have seen in this month's issue of the Phonebox magazine, we shared the news that Ebola had reached Newton, and consequently they are needing our help more than ever. £500 has already been sent from the Olney-Newton link, and more is sure to be needed soon.

The situation in Africa following the outbreak of Ebola is consequently worse than ever, and so the Olney-Newton link is needing more support. There are now at least sixty families in the link community who are quarantined for Ebola. This means they can't earn money, buy food, or even harvest their own food.

Please get involved and donate to help this great cause by sponsoring this 80 mile walk. They are asking that if you would like to donate towards the cause, that you give via their Virgin Money Giving page by clicking here. Alternatively, you can write a cheque made payable to Olney Newton Link.

Any support you are able to give will be greatly appreciated, thank you.

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.

Service to remember the 250th anniversary of John Newton's curacy

John Newton, most famous for writing the classic hymn, 'amazing grace', is being remembered tomorrow, with a special service being held in Olney to commemorate the 250th anniversary of his curacy in Olney. The service is being held at St Peter & Paul's church in Olney, where he served as curate for 16 years, from 1764. It will be led by the Revd Claire Wood, Vicar of Olney, and is set to begin at 12.30pm. As well as the service, there will also be a presentation on John Newton by the Rev Mike Swales, discussing Newton's life before his arrival in Olney and how he came to be there. All are welcome to join.

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! 

Olney on The One Show!

Incase you missed it- Onley was on BBC's The One Show on Tuesday evening, following the story of John Newton and the famous hymn, Amazing Grace, which was written in Olney. 

If you missed it, have a watch on iPlayer (skip forward to 12 minutes in to watch the part about Olney and Amazing Grace!)

The programme includes an interview with ex-MP Jonathan Aitken who has written a biography about John Newton, titled John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, and fits in some of Olney's beautiful scenery, as well as a performance of Amazing Grace in St Peter and St Paul's church in Olney by the Gospel Touch choir.