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.

Dartmoor pony on your plate?!

Following the scandals of horsemeat getting into our foods last year, you'd be surprised to hear that there have been recent discussions suggesting that such meat is actually deliberately introduced to our shelves... One conservation group has suggested that the only way to save Dartmoor's hill ponies is, ironically, to eat them. The Dartmoor Hill Pony Association has proposed that the best way to encourage the pony herders to keep their herds is to create a market for their meat. The reasons behind it is simply that they believe the ponies will have a much higher chance of finding a new home at sales if money can be made through their meat. The fear of the Dartmoor ponies disappearing from the hills appears to have driven people to the extreme, stating that the only way of keeping them is to allow their meat to be used for human consumption.

An emotive subject amongst many, it seems highly unlikely that pony meat will become something of a commodity in the UK, especially as ponies and horses are more often seen as companion animals rather than a source of food. However, the view of many societies and conservation groups appears, bizarrely, to be in favour of the introduction of horsemeat in the UK, saying that:

 “As there is so limited a market for ridden ponies, show ponies and conservation grazers, why not promote the free-living Exmoor ponies as a food animal as much as an amenity or aesthetic resource?”

What do you think? Would you eat the horsemeat?! 

Environmental Education

It’s often being said that we need to take better care of our environment and ensure that the next generation grow up knowing about and caring for nature, and most would agree this is the case. But how do we provide this information in a practical way? Environmental education is a key factor in preserving and cultivating the nature around us, and Milton Keynes is on the way to creating something which will hopefully enable this in a big way.

A £500,000 environmental education and visitor centre is currently being built in Howe Park Wood, Milton Keynes, and is set to open in October. The centre will contain classrooms, meeting rooms, an outside decked area and new pond dipping platforms. Set in a beautiful ancient woodland setting, the centre will provide some key steps towards conservation and will help to teach children and adults alike about nearby wildlife and nature and how to help preserve it. Bird and bat boxes will be situated throughout the woodland and boxes for plants and insect homes will also be built. The centre will incorporate low carbon technologies in order to make it even more environmentally friendly, including an air source heat pump and solar panels. This is set to be a great resource for the community, and will hopefully play a big part in helping educate many about nature and how to take care of it.