Phonebox Magazine

Olney WI welcomed Carmen Comerford to their March meeting. Carmen has always enjoyed sewing and after a career as a PE teacher she decided to take a different route, sourcing and producing bags. She also enjoys making quilts and the occasional wedding dress! This year the Bucks, Federation of WI is celebrating 100 years and two of their members will be leading a workshop to make ‘100 bags for 100 years’. All members can join in on the day, cutting, machining, pressing or providing much needed refreshments! To find out more, read the full article on page 35 of your April Phonebox Magazine.

A real community project to support Olney's GP Surgery - can you help??
Trevor Yorke was recently involved in producing an 80-page book of captioned historic photographs of Newport Pagnell in aid of the Brooklands Centre, Newport Pagnell which sold all 150 copies within a day and which raised a substantial sum for the charity. As chairman of The Friends of Cobbs Garden Surgery, which funds many health-related projects and directly benefits everyone in Olney and the surroundin...g villages, he will look at producing a book of old photographs and illustrations of Olney to raise urgently-needed funds for the charity. He is appealing to anyone who has any monochrome or colour images of old Olney however unimportant they may seem - read more on what is needed and how you can supply the images (via email or by lending the hard copy (will be in very safe hands!)) on page 24 of your April Phonebox Magazine.
See More

****KIDS COMPETITION - PRIZES TO BE WON**** Could the kids be using their arts and crafts time to draw a sealife picture?? Or perhaps they can get their research and fact-finding skills to work on telling us which animals these are? There's also a task to find out the names of baby animals in this month's kids crossword...
You can enter online by taking a photo of the entries and emailing competition@phoneboxmagazine.com

Friends of The Children of Orissa A local cost-effective opportunity to help poor children - read all about this wonderful charity based in Filgrave that helps young, poor and unfortunate girls in India. Find out what they do and how you can help on page 42 of your April Phonebox Magazine. www.sochforchildren.org / www.orissa.org.uk

Another lovely message of appreciation seen in Olney, Milton Keynes today - well done to whoever the creator was; it's moments of appreciation like this that help knit us closer together.
Thank you also to the bin man who still collected my rubbish, despite it being left outside the front of my house and not at the usual collection point. I thought I'd missed my chance today! (Mark)

Crowning Glory: The Royal Family's love affair with Aston Martin cars of Newport Pagnell.
A new book that charts the remarkable relationship between the Royal Family and Aston Martin cars of Newport Pagnell launched March 28th. Did you know that Prince Charles has owned one particular model for 50 years and refers to it as “among his very best friends.”?!
Read all about this story, written by local author Steve Larner on page 35 of your April Phonebox Magazine.

Sunday Reading Time We hope you're all keeping busy with lots of stimulating activities - reading is a perfect escape from reality and the news, improves concentration and relaxes you too. Oxfam Books and Music Olney have brought some more book reviews for you this month - Big Sky by Kate Atkinson and The Vengence of Mothers by Jim Fergus. Check out the reviews on page 30 of your April Phonebox Magazine. Available to read online too: www.phoneboxmagazine.com If any of you fancy writing a short Facebook friendly review of one your favourite books or book recommendations for others to try, please share with us! We'd love to hear from you on FB messenger so we can share more great book suggestions!

Do you need a sign like this for your Shop or Business? A3 or A4 laminated. email ron@olney.co.uk - any contributions would be forwarded to the Olney is Kind Foodbank

BUZZ We had the brilliant opportunity to interview Daisy Wood Davis (of Hollyoaks and Eastenders fame) just before the current restrictions were implemented and although our entertainment venues are currently closed, we thought you would still like to read the interview, learn more about Daisy and about the fantastic show that she will be starring in, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. On page 14 of April's Phonebox Magazine - available to read on our website too. Thank you Milton Keynes Theatre for the opportunity to interview Daisy and we can't wait to get back in that audience!!!

This morning we wrote to you about trades businesses. The same thinking applies to our local food establishments (Phonebox Foodie has a bit on this on page 47 too). A friendly reminder to support your local restaurants, cafes, take aways, pubs and caterers. Now more than ever, we must all try to support them where we can. If we take a moment to think about the people behind these small businesses - our friends, our neighbours, our families; it is their livelihood, the way in ...which they support their families (and others too where they employ staff). A fair few pubs and restaurants are continuing to provide a takeaway service, though some have sadly closed for the time being. We want and need these places to continue when things return to normal so we can be there for them now. We all deserve a treat right now anyway, so order in some delicious food for your weekend night/s in or a midweek supper after a long days working from home. For the most up to date information, we suggest visiting your chosen Eateries' website or Facebook page.
See More

Phonebox Foodie Friday A lovely bit of comfort food for lunch today for everybody stuck at home and uses up odds and ends of veg or salad - super easy and easily adaptable, kids can get involved too. Just swap whatever ingredients you don't have with something you do. We made this with a dill chutney because we had no coriander (actually tasted amazing, have we discovered something?!?!?!) spring greens instead of green pepper (bit bubbly squeaky!) and cheddar instead of jarlsberg. Also stuck this in the George Foreman instead of frying but still caked on the butter... Forget the cheese and use oil instead of butter to make this vegan. PS if you didn't manage to pick up bread, just fry these up into little potato fritters and eat them dipped in the chutney.
http://maunikagowardhan.co.uk/…/bombay- chilli-cheese-toast…/

A friendly reminder to all of our readers to support your local businesses and trades. Now more than ever, we must all try to support them where we can. If we take a moment to think about the people behind these small businesses - our friends, our neighbours, our families; it is their livelihood, the way in which they support their families (and others too if they employ staff). They have always been there when we need them...electricians, plumbers, landscapers and gardeners,... carpenters, roofers, stonemasons, aerial installers, plasterers, heating engineers, builders, painters and decorators and so many more, and we want and need them to continue when things return to normal so we can be there for them now. So, if you have any work or projects that you need or want doing, give them a call to discuss. They will be more than happy to help you make a plan, perhaps give a quote over the phone, and plan your work in for later this year.
See More

Local band Tinkers Lane are releasing their much anticipated debut album 'The Noise in Beautiful' on 11th April. Check out page 15 of your April Phonebox Magazine for an interview with the band's songwriter Ian Roberts. He told us, "I try to write songs in many different genres and styles...I want listeners to hear the first few songs and wonder what type of song is coming next, so expect pop, country, latin, reggae and even old style music hall knees up!" The band have shaken things up a bit but maintained their own sound with great sing-along melody. Read the full piece with Ian Roberts on page 15 now - available to read online too: www.phoneboxmagazine.com

Another great one for toddlers, run by local group Toddler Time Music & Movement. They can't run their normal sessions so they're coming to your living room! Unique music mixes to get the little ones bopping! 🤩

🎶🤩For all the little ones out there! Piccolos Music Club based in Milton Keynes are holding some live music sessions on the Zoom App, 'Piccolo's Unplugged' along with lots of YouTube videos too. So for all the little kiddies missing out their classes at the moment, show some support for these guys and have a good sing-along-at-home! 🤩🎶

Are there any local community sport and physical activity organisations that could benefit from this? Check out the announcement from Sport England.

Happy News Alert from Olney, Milton Keynes!
Buckinghamshire town praised for coronavirus community response: A coronavirus support group in the Buckinghamshire town of Olney has been praised for its quick response and outstanding efforts to help those currently most vulnerable as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Olney Covid19 Support Group (OCSG) was launched in mid-March by five local residents who began by establishing partnerships with care providers, businesses and ...
Continue Reading