What is the meaning of Candlemas Day?
Candlemas is celebrated on 2 February and marks the return of light, a symbol of protection and prosperity. This Christian festival commemorates the presentation of Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem, referring to him as the light of the people of Israel.
July 19th 2022
Today Ally and I were back working together again. We were
also joined by Sharni, one of the Media Ops team. Our planning yesterday
evening indicated that tonight’s hotel was on the way from our first drop-off/pickup
and to our second drop-off/pickup, so we would be able to stop off there
mid-day for some lunch. Or so we thought!. We left the Hotel at 8:45 for, what has to be
the closest collection point and drop-off, the International Centre literally
next to the Holiday Inn. The BB segments were around the grounds so whilst Ally
was putting them in position I was able to sit relaxing seated in the comfy
chairs in the air-conditioned reception area of the Centre. The air
conditioning was very welcome as it was it was already very hot, and was to get
much hotter.
As we were to be the next Pickup shuttle we departed from
the Centre in the convoy positioned behind the Medic’s Defender and made our
way to the Harper Adams Agricultural University, and the appropriately named
Poultry Drive. Although we had a police escort, it was not blue lighted, a
number of cars and vans managed to get themselves in the convoy. The police
motorcyclist would then attempt to ‘weed’ them out.
After completing our pickup shuttle duties, and no BBs
wanted a lift, we were free to make our way to tonights hotel Yarnfield Park. We
were somewhat disappointed when we discovered what Yarnfield Park actually was
though. It was a large commercial training centre, with rooms in accommodation
blocks and a central admin block with the canteen (not restaurant) and dining
hall - very much like halls of residence
at University! What was interesting though was its history. Between 1939 and 1941 a massive ordnance and
munitions facility was built on 1,200 acres of land near the Staffordshire village
of Swynnerton. Seven hostels to house the munitions workers were built in the
nearby village of Yarnfield. Three of the hostels were taken over by the GPO in
1946 to become a training school for telephone engineers. In continued to be
owned by BT until 2010 when it became privately owned. The BT company Openreach
still has a training facility at Yarnfield Park.
After having something to eat (crisps and fruit) and a
coffee it was time to leave to carry out our afternoon duties in Leek, where
once again we were dropoff and pickup at the same place. It’s very unusual to
do both roles at the same location. In Leek the BB route was through the centre
of the town, the roads had been closed as it involved driving the wrong way round
the one-way system, working back to the council offices. At the end of dropping
off the BBs to do the pickup it would have been necessary to go around the
route again, the roads would have reopened which would have made things rather
tricky if not impossible without breaking the law. Luckily none of the BBs
needed picking up as it was only a short walk back to the council offices.
The Sat Nav chose an interesting route from Yarnfield Park
to Leek which involved driving through a ford and past a garden with a giant
fibre-glass or plastic swan that had been used as feature and planted full of bright
flowers. This was really huge – the sort of thing that water parks have as pedalos
for people to ride in.
We returned to Yarnfield Park, the crew evening meal and planning tomorrow's activities.
These are some photographs of one of the drama groups in Camphill Milton Keynes performing a play called 'Stone Soup' at the Chrysalis Theatre.
Stone Soup is a European folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys, and exists as a moral regarding the value of sharing. In varying traditions, the stone has been replaced with other common inedible objects, and therefore the fable is also known as axe soup, button soup, nail soup, and wood soup.
The Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival takes place at Willen Lake and up to 48 teams compete over the 200m race course, watched by several thousand spectators. As well as the exciting races, a wide range of bankside entertainment, food stalls and fun activities guarantee a fabulous day out for all the family!
The Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival is mainly aimed at corporate groups who are looking for a great team building day out whilst supporting and raising money for a charity of your choice. Upon entering, you can choose to upgrade your entry package to include a donation to the charity of your choice or you can simply raise funds in your own way!
