GinFizz- The secret Clubs in MK

Have you heard of GinFizz? Based in and around Milton Keynes, GinFizz hosts pop-up clubs for a great night out, held in secret locations, which are only revealed to ticket holders!

With a retro-vintage theme, there's fancy dress and themed entertainment, and while you won't know the location until you've signed up, you can be sure to enjoy a great evening of entertainment, food, drink and dancing.

The next event is to be held on Saturday the 25th October, 'The Jump Joint', and will be a night of rockabilly mayhem! Expect fire eating, rockabilly sounds from live band 'The Broadway twisters' and great dancing tunes form the guest DJ's.

Come dressed to impress along the vintage theme if you like (no pressure if not but it'll look great for the photos if you do!) rockabilly, swingers, hot dogs and cool cats, think vintage  and the possibilities are endless! There'll even be a pop-up beauty parlour on the night where you can get your hair and makeup done, vintage themed!

Don't forget to buy your tickets in advance, it's a seated event so buy your tickets together if you want to be seated with friends! There'll be scrumptious platters of food available to revive you through the dancing, and must be pre-ordered on booking your tickets.

For more information and to book tickets visit the website, it's a really unusual event and should be great fun!

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This weekend in MK... Vintage, tea, fashion and cider

Recycle the Vintage

This Saturday, Throwback vintage presents their vintage and retro fair at York House, Stony Stratford. Come along and delve into a selection of vintage and retro items and enjoy musical entertainment- rocking rhythm and blues from Lucille. Open from 9.30am-4.30pm, entry is £1 and children under 12 go free.

Tea party vintage-style 

The Milton Keynes and Bedford group are holding a vintage tea party this Saturday in order to raise awareness for Crohns and Colitis UK. Held at the Summerlin Centre, Woburn Sands. Come along for tea, sandwiches and delicious cakes, served in lovely vintage bone china cups in surroundings decked out 1940's/50's style. Kaley Herrick of Vintage Vanity events will be there to entertain, alongside her lovely waiting staff. Dressing up vintage style is optional, but encouraged! Tickets cost £5 for a great afternoon, open from 2-4pm. Please check that there are places still available before you attend.

Friday-Sunday: Autumn Theatre of Fashion

Come along to the centre:mk this weekend to see some of the latest trends to be hitting the stores this autumn/winter. From fashion shows to pamper pods, demonstrations and workshops, the centre:mk's top brands will be showcasing some great fashion pieces. On top of that is the opportunity to win £500 off your autumn wardrobe, don't miss out this weekend! 

Saturday and Sunday: Cider and Juice Making

Campbell Park Pavilion are hosting an opportunity to learn how to make cider and press your own apples to turn it into delicious cider or apple juice! This is a ticketed event which must be booked in advance and costs £15 for the day, which runs from 10am-4pm.

Time travel this weekend with some great local events

As August draws to a close (where has the time gone?!) were coming to the end of the summer holidays but there's another day filled with fun activities tomorrow, so make the most of it as summer comes to an end (we're still in denial!) and hopefully enjoy some summer sun before the kids go back to school...

Georgian Tea Party
@ The Cowper and Newton Museum, 10.30am-4.30pm
Travel back in time 250 years and feel Georgian for the day! You're encouraged to come in costume if you can, to really get into the mood! Enjoy the fascinating museum and beautiful gardens with some additional attractions...
Barabara Segal, specialist in Baroque dance, a fashionable dance of Europe from 1650-1750, will be performing with her dancers, and you can relax while drinking blended teas  and eating delicious cakes. The teas will be served in order to remember the significance of tea in the 18th century, where women were only allowed to drink it in their homes while men could enjoy it in tea houses.
Tickets cost £5 for adults and £2 for children.

Wicked Water Fun day 
@ Willen Lake, 11am-3pm
Great fun for all the family at Willen Lake tomorrow. There will be a variety of free taster waterspouts from 11am-1pm, on a first come first served basis so make sure you get there early on if you want a go! Come along and try pond dipping, canoeing, rowing and fishing at the lake. It's a free event so why not come along and combine it with a walk around the lake, a play in the park or even lunch by the waterfront?

Open Air Theatre: Alice in Wonderland
@ Willen Lake South, Mini-Bowl, Gates 3pm for 4pm start
This is something great for a warm summer evening, come and see the Cambridge touring theatre perform Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. Filled with catchy tunes and great laughs, it's one for all the family to enjoy. You'll need to bring your own seating, and please bring warm clothes for when the sun goes down! The performance lasts around 2hours 30 min. There will be a children's workshop with the actors prior to the show, for a small charge, spaces are limited so check before you go! The show costs £12 per adult, £8 per child or £32 for a family of four.

1940's weekend: 'Skip down memory lane with our Violet'
@ Milton Keynes museum Saturday and Sunday
If the Georgian era isn't for you and you'd prefer to go back a little in time, then come along to the Milton Keynes museum where you'll be transported back to the 1940's for their 5th wartime weekend. Experience the flavour of the wartime period with music, re-enactors, exhibits and living history displays. Enjoy a trip down memory lane or an education of the past, there'll be vintage vehicles, a vintage tea room, a vintage street of shops and more.

Upcycling in Olney

We've been following the recycling and upcycling themes throughout the Phonebox magazine and blog over the last few months. You'll have noticed in the last issue of the Phonebox magazine we featured a unique gift shop on Olney high street; 'Afterglow', which you can read about here or see the image below.

Upcycling is a particularly creative idea, but you don't have to necessarily be arty to upcycle. There's nothing wrong with jumping on the bandwagon a bit and 'borrowing' already existing ideas to create something. With a personal touch and different base product to work with, it's unlikely that these upcycling items will ever be the same as another. These sorts of gifts are becoming increasingly popular, particularly for those wanting to find something quirky or different to give as a gift. These items are so unique that they have a real personal feel to them and make a great gift.

Saturday 19th July is the Olney Vintage Fair in the Church Hall, Church Street, and could be the perfect place to spark an interest in vintage and upcycling. Vintage and worn-out items can be the perfect basis for upcycling, items which are otherwise worn out and needing a bit of tlc can be given a new lease of life and made to feel more contemporary. Why not head over to the vintage fair and see if you can grab a bargain and turn it into something new? If you like to be different in your home furnishings, why not paint up a plain chest of drawers into something more unique, or turn a trunk into a coffee table? The possibilities are endless! If you've got a good creative imagination then great, if not then don't panic, have a google and you'll be sure to find endless ideas online, or visit to Olney's local upcycling shop 'Afterglow' and let the creative work be done for you. Upcycling is a great idea and we want to encourage more of you to be getting creative and saving from throwing things away, get involved!

Newport Pagnell Carnival- This Weekend!

It's that time of year again, the famous Newport Pagnell Carnival is back for two days, and it's set to be bigger and better than ever! This year's theme is 'Go wild at Carnival' which you can interpret as you wish, but I'm envisioning tigers and bears...

Over 40 floats will be hitting the high street on the Saturday of the carnival this year as part of the grand parade, with a variety of local groups and charities showcasing their work and many in fancy dress. One of the highlights of the Carnival, the variety of decorated floats is always entertaining and interesting, many of them are highly inventive and it's great to see what people are able to create! The parade kicks off at 12 midday and tends to last a couple of hours, giving you the rest of the day to enjoy the other elements of the Carnival. All money raised will be going to a great selection of local groups and charities, so it's a very worthwhile cause.

Other attractions through Saturday include:

• A live music stage for all the family
• Petting zoo- where you can get up close and meet the animals
• Funfair
• Golf simulators
• A great selection of foods
• Bar
• Inflatable play area
• And a vast number of stalls to browse