Page 82 - Phonebox Magazine October 2015

A Message from the Mayor
It appears that summer has been and gone and the autumn hues will soon be appearing along with the first frosts. 2015 has not been a summer to remember.
Halloween and Bonfire night celebrations have been put on the calendar by the grandchildren so this year is really flying by. The Mayoral diary is filling up now. I spent a while with the sales team at the Age UK Milton Keynes shop in Newport Pagnell High Street the other day. I was introduced to their thematic approach to sales and how the local knitter’s efforts had been used to ‘dress’ the front window display. It is obvious that the charity shops are as keen as any other retailer to provide value for money to their loyal customers and passers-by alike. On the 5th September I spent the afternoon at the famous Newport Pagnell Horticultural and Crafts show. The entries had all been set out and judged by the time I arrived at the appointed time. The quality of flowers vegetables and children’s garden displays was superb. It also showed that the art of lacemaking is still alive in the rural north of Milton Keynes. Further we have some budding artists. I loved the face to face altercation of Chelsea’s Diego Costa and Liverpool’s Martyn Skirtel. It was so true to life. I was able to pick up some tips from the gardening experts that will help me with my allotment. I also know how to grow 3 feet long carrots – in a drain pipe with a very sandy soil! The prizes were presented and some were disappointed that their efforts did not result in a trophy but as they say with the Olympics, it’s the taking part that counts; however one entrant remarked as they packed away their produce “I will have that cup next year,” fighting talk!
The raffle was drawn and surplus produce auctioned. I believe we covered all our costs and the participants are planning for next year ... a superb community event!
The following week it was the Newport
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Pagnell Muster where the townsfolk get out into the fresh air, stretch their legs for as far as they feel able then have a cream tea, or liquid refreshment in a local hostelry. I got together a Mayor’s team comprising of friends and family to participate, including two dogs.
Tesco have indicated that good progress is being made on the sale of their Tickford Street site but no further information has been released.
The infrastructure works for the Kickles Lane Solar farm are well underway. The developers have agreed to provide a community benefit to Newport Pagnell Town Council, firstly in the form of an annual financial gift for the next 25 years – the life of the solar farm; secondly the provision of a sizeable photo-voltaic (PV) installation on the roof of Middleton Swimming Pool at no cost to the Town Council; and thirdly and most
importantly, affording the opportunity to all owner-occupiers in the Parish of Newport Pagnell to have a PV installation at cost price. Representatives of Milton Keynes Council, Newport Pagnell Town Council and the Bury Field Commoners spent a morning walking around this wonderful site exploring how a landscape management could improve both the hard and soft landscape features. We were able to reach a consensus and, subject to funding, improvements should be noticeable over the next year as variety of works, including the sowing of wild flower seeds will take pace.
Well, the mighty Milton Keynes Dons have played their first month in the Championship and are now aware of how high the barrier is. There will be no easy games and in my view they will have to be more attack minded rather than playing purist possession football, as this does not win games! You have to get
Newport Pagnell WI
Medical Detection Dogs
T
he subject for the September meeting was Medical Detection Dogs. Rowland Butt is a volunteer
for this charity, founded in 2008, and came to talk about the valuable work they do and how the dogs are trained.
Another volunteer, Sue, brought along a lovely white ‘cockapoo’ called Thor which she was ‘socialising’. This means that over a period of around 18 months, young dogs are taught how to react to people, and are gradually taken out into busy streets and shops so that they can do their job without being distracted by noise and traffic.
Some of the animals will become assistance dogs and will be placed with people who suffer from conditions like diabetes. The dogs can sense when the person’s blood sugar levels are too low or too high, and they will alert their owner that it’s time to take some medication. These dogs all have a red coat to wear indicating their role so that, like guide dogs for the blind, they will be allowed into shops and restaurants with their owner in order to continue monitoring the person’s condition.
Others become ‘detection’ dogs and will be used by hospital laboratories to sniff samples of urine in order to detect the presence of cancer. This can enable doctors to make a
diagnosis much earlier than by using other methods, and thus enables treatment to start much sooner.
Medical Detection Dogs is a charity funded solely by donation. Rowland had brought along various items for sale, such as pens, shopping bags and tea towels, and business was brisk at the end of his talk, which was enjoyed by everyone.
After tea and home-made cakes, members were able to purchase items from our own Harvest Stall.
The raffle was won by Sylvia Puddephatt and June Weston.
Competition: 1st Pamela Allum, 2nd Miranda Allum, 3rd Angela Hancox.
The next meeting will be the AGM, followed by a talk from Carers MK, and then members describing a treasure from their holidays. Newport Pagnell Women’s Institute meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm. Starting in October, we have a new venue in the café at the rear of the Methodist Church in the High Street. It is down a passageway between the Town Council offices and Chesney’s hairdressers. We are always delighted to welcome new members. For further information please call Evelyn Mison on 01908 615630 or just turn up on the night.