Scriptwriting ideas and development workshop presented by The London Film Academy

by Tremayne Miller

Other work commitments saw me not being able to make it to the industry workshop that hiive and creative skillset put on Immersive storytelling

(http://shortfilms.org.uk/events/2017-01-10-industry-hiive-and-creative-skillset-present-360-degrees-best-practices-for-immersive-storytelling),

I did, however, manage to make it to the workshop The London Film Academy put on yesterday on Scriptwriting (http://shortfilms.org.uk/events/2017-01-11-industry-london-film-academy-presents-scriptwriting-ideas-and-development).

The workshop was lead by British actress, writer and academic, Kay Stonham.

Stonham drew reference to two people when she spoke about teaching creativity, the first Linda Aaronson, whose practical guide to screenwriting, The 21st-Century Screenplay she thoroughly recommends. A successor to the author's internationally acclaimed book Scriptwriting Updated.

The second, Edward De Bono, a pioneer in Brain Training, who in 1967 invented the famous Lateral Thinking technique, and dedicated his life to help people around the world improve their thinking ability and creative skills.

Following a three-stage process we, as a group pull together and weed out ideas for a low budget romance to pitch to a producer.

*For more information on the kinds of courses the London Film Academy run, short and long term, please visit their website at www.londonfilmacademy.com

**The 14^th London Short Film Festival runs now until the 15^th January, 2017, for further details please visit SHORTFILMS.ORG.UK

Stonham was a regular cast member of the BBC Jasper Carrott TV comedy sketch show Carrot’s Lib 1982.

She contributed to the Radio 4 comedy shows: The Sunday Format, Dead Ringers and Week Ending, and won the Radio Light Entertainment Titheridge Award in 1995.

In 1995 she shared a Writers’ Guild of Great Britain award with co-writers on the television comedy series Harry Enfield and Chums.

Other TV sketch shows she has been linked to include Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression for the BBC, and Alas Smith and Jones for BBC 2, The Sketch Show for itv, Comedy Nation for BBC2 and TV to Go for BBC.  She was also a table writer for My Family in 2006.

Work for children's and young peoples TV includes: Kerching for CBBC, Girls in Love for Granada Kids, Grange Hill for Mersey Television, Dani’s House for CBBC and Shaun the Sheep for Aardman Animation.

Stonham has a master's degree in Screenwriting for Film and Television from Royal Holloway, University of London and was previously a Teaching Fellow in Screenwriting at Worcester University.

Tremayne Miller is a Film Writer and Critic who guests on LifestyleMK Tuesdays, 7pm with a Film Review slot.  She writes for heyuguys.com 

£2Million Park Improvement Begins at Willen Lake

By Sarah Featley

Willen Lake, Milton Keynes’ most popular park, is receiving an investment of over £2million from The Parks Trust in the first half of 2017. This money will be used to improve facilities for visitors, including the installation of a state of the art ‘Splash Park’.

The ‘Splash Park’ will be joined by a new coffee and ice cream kiosk, with increased toilet facilities, and a new, surfaced car park offering an additional 300 spaces. Additional natural play features will be installed and grass areas within the site will be re-landscaped, improving the space available for play, picnics and events. Furthermore earth bunds will be formed to better screen the site from traffic noise from Brickhill Street. 

Initial tree and shrub clearing work has already begun in preparation for the earth moving and construction works which will start later this month. The development is expected to complete in its entirety by early June, in order to have the full site and all new installations operational for the busy summer period.

During the work the lake, watersports centre and wakeboarding centre, café and play area will all remain open and accessible, but the north bay car park will be closed temporarily and visitors should use the south car park behind the gym, pub and Premier Inn. Further details can be found at www.willenlake.org.uk

This is the first phase of a larger improvement plan for Willen Lake, with a second phase focusing on the café and wakeboarding centre initially planned for completion in time for Summer 2018.

To assist with the implementation of this project and to manage the new and improved site, Willen Lake has employed Rob Wood as its new General Manager.

Rob commented: “It’s incredibly exciting for us all at Willen Lake, and The Parks Trust, to begin the New Year with such a large project. This development will greatly enhance the existing facilities at the site and provide our visitors with even more opportunities to enjoy the beautiful landscape and tranquil surroundings of the lake.”

For more information visit: http://www.theparkstrust.com

The Parks Trust Reflects on 2016 as it Begins a Busy 2017

by Sarah Featley

As The Parks Trust, the charity that cares for Milton Keynes’ parks and green spaces, begins what will be an exciting 2017, it has reflected on its highlights of 2016.

It was a successful year for the Trust, with the acquisition of a number of new parks, as well as wakeboarding centre WakeMK, located at Willen Lake. In addition, The Parks Trust hosted over 300 events in the parks, many of them organised by local groups, with 220 education sessions also held for people of all ages.

David Foster, Chief Executive of The Parks Trust, said: “2017 is shaping up to be a fantastic year for us, with a number of large scale developments planned for our green space.

“As we begin a new year it’s important to reflect on the successes of the last, which is why we’ve compiled our top 10 highlights from 2016, covering everything from the acquisition of WakeMK, the addition of Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve and Stanton Low Park to our green space, and the fantastic work of our operations team. We hope people will enjoy these, and we look forward to welcoming even more visitors to our parks in 2017.”

The Parks Trust – 10 Highlights of 2016

1.    Over 2,300 people enjoyed the 2016 Proms in Campbell Park, led by Damian Iorio and joined by soprano Jeni Bern.

2.    Adam Henson, rural TV presenter, officially opened the Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve in August, which covers 48 hectares of the Great Ouse Valley near Old Wolverton.

3.    The Parks Trust acquired WakeMK, home to three UK champions of the sport, in April.

4.    The essential work of the Operations Team continued, with the planting of 35,000 trees and shrubs, and the resurfacing of 11.5km of leisure routes.

5.    MK Council transferred Stanton Low Park into the Trust’s care. It has one of the city’s best play areas and over 50 hectares of parkland.

6.    In October, The Parks Trust gave a warm welcome to five new trustees; Duncan Mason, Richard Pearce, Gamiel Yafai, Phil Wheeler and Jan Flawn.

7.    The Parks Trust secured support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Big Lottery Fund to restore the historic parkland around Great Linford Manor.

8.    Students from eight schools across Milton Keynes spent the day at The Parks Trust’s Junior Rangers’ Conference, held at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve.

9.    The exceptional growing conditions this year meant The Parks Trust made more hay than ever to feed our sheep and cattle over the winter.

10. The Parks Trust brought its property portfolio management in-house. The rental from its properties goes directly into maintaining the city’s parks and green spaces.

For more information, please visit www.theparkstrust.com

Newsletter w/c January 8th 2017

TALK BACK - NEWSLETTER W/c January 8th

Every Sunday we'll update you on the special shows on Secklow Sounds.

You can get in touch:

T: @secklowsounds
E: radio@secklowsounds.org
Fb: Secklow Sounds Radio

TO LISTEN: CLICK HERE

W/c January 8th 2017,THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST 

SPECIALS ON SECKLOW SOUNDS...

DAILY at 4pm - DRIVE TIME WITH SEAN CALVERT

Get up to date news and information with Sean Calvert and Drive Time, daily at 4pm

TUESDAY January 9th, 7pm - LIFESTYLEMK with Audrey, Gill and Aysha - Failure to Launch

Of course many millennials are still living at home, because it's cheaper and gives the opportunity to save for a deposit...but what about those twentysomethings...or even thritysomethings who haven't yet flown the nest.  Not because they are caring for aging parents, but because that' just what they do.  Are "40 Year Old Virgin" or "Stepbrothers" comedies...or documentaries?

If you've got a story to share or something you'd like to say, get in touch with the LifestyleMK girls:

Audrey: @draudreyt

Gill: @gillian7751
Aysha: @ayshafalco

or email: audrey@secklowsounds.org

TUESDAY January 9th, 10pm - "SOUNDTRACKS” with TONY CARTY  - THE US NAVY

And what did we see?  We saw the sea.

And what don’t we feel?  We don’t feel good! 

Soundtracks: 1 hour Tues 10pm, repeats Thursday 2pm, Sunday midnight and Mon 11am

Catch past shows on Mixcloud

A TREASURY OF FILM MUSIC:

The stock of ALL the past SOUNDTRACKS shows (over 200!) on a variety of topics RIGHT HERE

THURSDAY January 11th - Transition 3 - 4pm 

David Stimson talks business and young enterprise on Thursdays 3 - 4.

The Parks Trust Needs Your Votes to Bag a Share of Bag Charge Fund

By Sarah Featley

The Parks Trust is bidding to receive a cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative, to install BBQ sites in its parks.

Tesco teamed up with Groundwork to launch the monthly funding scheme, which sees grants of £5,000, £2,000 and £1,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to local outdoor community projects.

Three groups in every Tesco region have been shortlisted to receive the cash award and this month shoppers are being invited to head along to Tesco stores to vote for who they think should take away the top grant.

The Parks Trust is one of the groups on the shortlist, with customers able to vote in a number of Tesco stores across the Milton Keynes area (see below list), including the Extra stores in Kingston and Wolverton.

The money will be used by The Parks Trust to create four community BBQ sites at some of its most popular green spaces; Willen Lake, Campbell Park, Caldecotte Lake and Haversham Road. The BBQ sites will hopefully be installed in time for the summer months, and include facilities such as picnic tables, BBQ stones, bins and signage.

Briony Fox, Head of Community Engagement for The Parks Trust, commented: “We’re so pleased to have made the shortlist for this funding and would love shoppers across Milton Keynes to vote for us. These BBQ sites will be much appreciated by our many visitors during the summer – and will certainly give us something to look forward to for when the weather warms up!”

Voting is open in stores from 2 January to 28 January 2017. Customers will cast their vote using a token given to them at the check-out in store each time they shop.

Lindsey Crompton, Head of Community at Tesco, said:

 “We are absolutely delighted to open the voting for January. There are some fantastic projects on the shortlists and we can’t wait to see them come to life in hundreds of communities.”

Groundwork’s national Chief Executive, Graham Duxbury, said:

 “We’ve been thrilled to see the diversity of projects that have applied for funding, ranging from outdoor classrooms, sports facilities, community gardens, play areas and everything in between.

“We’re looking forward to learning the results of the customer vote and then supporting each group to bring their project to life.”

The full list of Tesco stores where customers can vote for The Parks Trust is as follows:

• ·         Walnut Tree Express,MK7 7PB
• ·         Oldbrook Express, MK6 2JB
• ·         Tinkers Bridge Express, MK6 3DD
• ·         Melrose Avenue, Bletchley Express, MK3 6PB
• ·         North Furzton Express MK4 1EN
• ·         Egerton Gate Express, MK5 7HH
• ·         Old Farm Park Express, MK7 8QU
• ·         Newport Pagnell Elthorne Express, MK16 0JR
• ·         Olney Market Place Express, MK46 4BA
• ·         Oxley Park Express, MK4 4TE
• ·         Greenleys Express, MK12 6AX
• ·         Bletchley Extra, MK1 1DD
• ·         Kingston Extra, MK10 0AH
• ·         Buckingham Road Bletchley Express, MK3 5BU
• ·         Heelands Express, MK13 7PN
• ·         5 High Street Woburn Sands Express, MK17 8RQ
• ·         Wolverton, MK12 5RJ

For more information visit: http://www.theparkstrust.com

The Parks Trust Urges Caution During Icy Weather

By Sarah Featley

As the wintery weather takes hold, The Parks Trust, the self-funding charity that cares for Milton Keynes’ green spaces, urges all residents and visitors to its parks to be extra cautious around lakes and rivers.

Smaller bodies of water, such as the Grand Union Canal and the ponds at Westcroft tend to freeze over very quickly during the winter months, with the larger lakes following suit as the temperature continues to drop.

While these frozen over areas may seem like a tempting playground for many, the risks are real; statistics from the Royal Society of the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) show that in the last 10 years over 20 people have died after falling through ice, with young children and males of any age most at risk. Furthermore, over 50 per cent of ice related drownings involved an attempted rescue of another person or a dog.

Flooded areas are also a risk for those in Milton Keynes. The Floodplain Forest Nature Reserve, located behind Old Wolverton, and the car park on Haversham Road near Ouse Valley Park are, like the rest of the river valleys, particularly prone to extreme flooding.

Rob Riekie, Landscape and Operations Director for The Parks Trust, said: “We want to encourage everybody to get outside and enjoy Milton Keynes’ diverse landscape, which is just as beautiful during the winter months. However, the extreme weather we often experience at this time of year brings with it hidden dangers.

“Playing on iced over lakes may seem like fun but you truly will be dicing with death. We urge everyone to admire from the safety of the land and keep off the ice and out of any water, while also keeping an eye on all children and pets.

“There are also many areas of our city that will be prone to considerable flooding after heavy rainfall, and it is vital people do not try to access these, even if they are a favoured or habitual route. Keep safe, look after loved ones and have a great winter!”

For more information, please visit www.theparkstrust.com

Newsletter Jan 1st 2017!!!

TALK BACK - NEWSLETTER W/c January 1st

Every Sunday we'll update you on the special shows on Secklow Sounds.

You can get in touch:

T: @secklowsounds
E: radio@secklowsounds.org
Fb: Secklow Sounds Radio

TO LISTEN: CLICK HERE

W/c January 1st 2017,THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST 

SPECIALS ON SECKLOW SOUNDS...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We wish you all a prosperous and successful New Year!

DAILY at 4pm - DRIVE TIME WITH SEAN CALVERT

Get up to date news and information with Sean Calvert and Drive Time, daily at 4pm

TUESDAY January 3rd 7pm - LIFESTYLEMK with Audrey & Gill- Start Something New (Repeat)

We meet the inspirational life coach and founder of Mumpreneurs Bianca Chappell and our show is full of ideas if you want to start something new this year!

If you've got a story to share or something you'd like to say, get in touch with the LifestyleMK girls:

Audrey: @draudreyt

Gill: @gillian7751

or email: audrey@secklowsounds.org

TUESDAY January 3rd, 10pm - "SOUNDTRACKS” with TONY CARTY  - NEW RELEASES AND JANE WYMAN

Music from New Releases: movies like Passengers and Fences, TV series like The Affair, Penny Dreadful and Mozart in the Jungle and CDs including the latest volume of the Film Music of William Alwyn, plus remembering the career of the actress JANE WYMAN.  Tell ‘em I’ll be there.

Soundtracks: 1 hour Tues 10pm, repeats Thursday 2pm, Sunday midnight and Mon 11am

Catch past shows on Mixcloud

A TREASURY OF FILM MUSIC:

The stock of ALL the past SOUNDTRACKS shows (over 200!) on a variety of topics RIGHT HERE

THURSDAY January 5th - Transition 3 - 4pm 

David Stimson talks business and young enterprise on Thursdays 3 - 4.