Victory in Europe Day Picnic

Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations.

Most former Soviet countries, and some others, celebrate on 9th May, as Germany's unconditional surrender entered into force at 23:01 on 8 May Central European Summer Time; this corresponded with 00:01 on 9 May in Moscow Time.

Several countries observe public holidays on the day each year, also called Victory Over Fascism Day, Liberation Day, or Victory Day. In the UK, it is often abbreviated to VE Day, a term which existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory.

Alex Fox

Maypole Dancing

Maypole dancing is traditional dance performed around a pole, typically during May Day celecrations. It involves dancers holding ribbons and weaving them around the pole, creating a colorful, swirling pattern. The dance is a festive activity that often brings communities together and is rooted in ancient traditions of celebrating the arrival of spring.

The tradition of maypole dancing has roots in ancient European celebrations of spring, with decorated poles and dancing around trees being a common practice. The maypole is a tall, decorated pole, often adorned with greenery and ribbons. Dancers hold ribbons attached to the pole and move in a circular pattern, weaving the ribbons around the pole to create intricate patterns. The maypole dance is often seen as a symbol of fertility and the renewal of nature in the spring. Maypole dancing is still practiced today, often in schools, community events, and at May Day celebrations. The tradition is a vibrant example of how communities celebrate the coming of spring and the return of the summer months.

Alex Fox

MK Fun Run 2025

The Milton Keynes (MK) Superhero Fun Run for 2025 is part of the MK Marathon Weekend and took place on Monday May 5th, at 9:30 AM. It was  a traffic-free, closed-road run just over 1 mile in length, with the finish line inside Stadium:MK. The fun run started after the marathon and half marathon runners had cleared the start line in Saxon Street.

https://www.mkrun.co.uk/

Alex Fox

Bletchley Park

Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. During World War II, the estate housed the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS), which regularly penetrated the secret communications of the Axis Powers – most importantly the German Enigma and Lorenz ciphers. The GC&CS team of codebreakers included John Tiltman, Dilwyn Knox, Alan Turing, Harry Golombek, Gordon Weichman, Hugh Alexander, Donald Michie, Bill Tutte and Stuart Milner-Barry.

According to the official historian of British Intelligence, the "Ultra" intelligence produced at Bletchley shortened the war by two to four years, and without it the outcome of the war would have been uncertain. The team at Bletchley Park devised automatic machinery to help with decryption, culminating in the development of Colossus, the world's first programmable digital electronic computer. Codebreaking operations at Bletchley Park came to an end in 1946 and all information about the wartime operations was classified until the mid-1970s. After the war it had various uses and now houses the Bletchley Park Museum.

https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/

Alex Fox

Easter Bingo

These are some photographs of residents of Camphill Milton Keynes playing Easter Bingo in the social room.

Bingo is a game in which players mark off numbers on cards as the numbers are drawn randomly by a caller. the winner being the first person to mark off all their numbers.

Easter is a Christian festival that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It marks the end of Lent and is a time for Christians to remember Jesus' sacrifice and his victory over death and sin. Many  non-Christians also observe a spring holiday around this time.

Alex Fox

Buddha's Birthday

On Sunday the 6th of April, there was Buddha's birthday at the Buddhist Temple in Willen and people joined the celebration of the Buddha’s birthday. There was a welcome and introduction, invocation and then a scattering of flower petals which were offered to the Buddha. In Japan the date for Buddha's Birthday is April the 8th, but some temples start the celebrations earlier. The festival is different at each temple. The Buddha means the awakened being. He was born as Prince Siddhartha more than two and half thousand years ago in modern day Nepal. When he was young, he was greatly saddened by the sufferings he saw around him and embarked on a journey to free people from pain, disease and old age. 

Through arduous practice, Prince Siddhartha realised through his own experience of enlightenment that ultimate salvation is through freeing oneself from the slavery of his own mind. He became the Buddha –the awakened one and devoted the rest of his life teaching this realisation to his fellow human beings. The essence of the Buddha’s teaching is that true peace begins with making peace with oneself. Clear perception comes when one stops projecting, fantasizing and misinterpreting reality. In my view, this is particularly relevant with the current world situation. Wish more and more people hear the message and make some real efforts to bring lasting peace to the world.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/mkbuddhism

Alex Fox