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HARVEST MARKET and SCARECROW FESTIVAL, 17/18 September 2005 The September Farmer’s Market on 17th September had a scarecrow theme with many traders joining in the fun and bringing along scarecrows. This was followed on the 18th by Wolverton’s second Scarecrow Festival. As last year, this was very popular and good fun, and the scarecrows (over 120 of them) were varied and amusing. The Farmer’s Market is held on the third Saturday of each month, from 9am to 1pm, in the Town Hall carpark (opposite NETTO).

WOLVERTON LANTERN FESTIVAL 4th December 2004 A packed day of activities in Wolverton. In the morning there was a special Christmas market on the Square, bringing good local food to the Town. There were craft stalls in Foundation House, and childrens’ activities making candle jars and noise makers for the Festival. St George’s also held a Chrismas Fayre, and the Museum held their popular annual Victorian Christmas event. The evening was dominated by the 16th Wolverton Lantern Festival; this year’s theme was "The Animal Kingdom". The standard of the lanterns was better than ever, with many large and ambitious lanterns. There were four stiltwalkers and two samba bands, with Father Christmas bringing up the rear in the Super Sonnick Cleaner Cart! Bushfield, as usual, made a very good lantern, this time an animal carousel. The flying birds were back again, and there was a large phoenix lantern (based on the Regeneration Bird in the Square). The evening finished at MADCAP, with a Family Ceilidh, which was well attended.

"SECRET GARDEN" EVENT 19th September 2004 To celebrate the completion of the main path system and capping the villa footprints, it was decided to have a Sunday afternoon event. Wolverton Town Band entertained everyone, the "finds" from the Dig were on display, together with an exhibition, and refreshments were served. Full advantage was taken of the amenities of the site by using the quantities of conkers! Traditional conkering and making conker animals was a very popular part of the afternoon. Many people remarked on the pleasant location for hearing the band. Hopefully, this will be a regular event.

HARVEST MARKET (25 September 2004) TOWN WALK SCARECROW FESTIVAL (26 September 2004) Wolverton Unlimited managed to secure Countryside Agency funding to assist with bringing a proper market back to Wolverton. Many people have felt for some time that there are not enough local outlets for food direct from the producers. The funding allows for a couple of experimental markets this year which hopefully ought to establish a commitment for more regular markets next year. The Wolverton Community Orchard Group had decided to have a sponsored walk using the Wolverton Walk Town Trail following the pavement markers and using the WSAH walk guide. It was then decided to crib an idea from Wolferton in Norfolk and have a Scarecrow Festival. The scarecrows would be positioned along the Walk. Once the decision was made to do this, it seemed a better idea to have a Festival week-end and persuade the Market Group to hold the first experimental market to tie in with the Scarecrow Festival. The Market was a fantastic success and the traders were delighted with the results. Members of the Community Orchard Group and WSAH members served refreshments and supervised scarecrow themed children's activities. On the Sunday, Festival organisers were delighted at the number and quality of the scarecrows. There were 106 scarecrows to be seen on the day - including a "mobile scarecrow" on one of the walks! WSAH members led the guided walks at 11.00, 1.00 & 3.00. Community Orchard Group members served refreshments at the Orchard. We were pleased and amazed at the number of visitors. There were about 300 people on the guided walks and about 200 people self guiding. MADCAP opened specially for refreshments. The Wolverton Library staff were fantastic - they volunteered to work on the Sunday for usual library services but also dressed up as scarecrows and had apple pig craft sessions with the children. It was generally agreed that it had been a fantastic week-end and that the Scarecrow Festival had been really good fun. So the answer to the commonly asked question "Are you going to do it next year"? Most definitely!

STYLE GUIDE LAUNCH The "Chimney Pots to Bootscrapers" Wolverton Style Guide was officially launched at a reception held on Wednesday 9th June 2004 in the Albert Function Room at the New Queen Victoria. The reception was held in the presence of the Mayor of Milton Keynes, Councillor John Monk, who made a speech for the occasion. Other guests included John Best, Chief Executive of Milton Keynes Council; representatives from the Conservation and Landscaping departments of MK Council; Wolverton and Greenleys Town Council; the Library; Royal Mail; Alstom; other special guests; and representatives from MK News, MK Citizen, and Anglia Television. BBC Three Counties covered the event on their breakfast show. All households and premises within the Wolverton Conservation Area will have received a complimentary copy of the Style Guide, additional copies of which may be purchased from several outlets in Wolverton. In case of difficulty, or for mail order, email wolverton.heritage@btinternet.com.

DIGGING FOR HISTORY AT THE SECRET GARDEN - THE PLATE! Whilst digging at the Saturday Dig's, we were intrigued to uncover a fragment of blue and white china with a section of picture. This had the caption "Euston Hotel" and showed a section of the top of the hotel. Obviously we were delighted to find this part of railway history and were really hoping to find the missing pieces. Much to our delight, two weeks later, we located the other two pieces which now means we have the complete plate. As can be seen from the photo, the scene is very clear and includes a view of the Euston Arch. There are no markings of any kind on the plate and it is very good quality. So, does any one out there have any insights? We know that Euston Hotel did the catering for the V.I.P.s at the opening of Wolverton Park in 1885. So there is an interesting local connection. This is the only piece with railway connections that we have found so far. The occupants at the villas seemed to enjoy a pleasant lifestyle judging by the quality of their china, glasses and bottles, and the quantity of oyster shells!

ORIGINAL NAME BACK FOR THE QUEEN VIC We were very pleased to find out that the new owner of Zaks, Godfrey Kennedy planned to revert back to the original name for the Queen Victoria. Many residents were sorry when the Queen Victoria name was totally removed from the local pub and music venue, and it didn't seem the same when the "Zak's" name adorned the ornate iron work sign. It seemed like the loss of another element of local history! The New Queen Victoria, as it is now known, has been extensively restored and tastefully decorated. The corner Bar, is now non-smoking and has a good selection of Queen Victoria prints and memorabilia. Morning coffee and Afternoon tea is available. The Albert Function Room is available for hire.

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