The IF is a ten day festival of family events, music, comedy, cabaret and food and drink.
I've manged to get to just three events out of hundreds (if you also include the Fringe).
Hurry to Middleton Hall (outside John Lewis) where you'll find this amazing space-age space.
It's a luminarium. Inside you're cocooned; immersed in light, colour and sound.
It's a warm and calming experience. We went as a family and could have stayed for hours. The boys loved it. They had a map each and led us around the 'rooms' where we sat, layed or rolled around.
I also went to Kaffe Matthews: The Lock Shift Songs where you lie on a sonic bed and listen to and feel a journey along the Grand Union Canal from London to Milton Keynes. This was another awesome sensory experience.
A few of my friends from Rock Choir sang on the recording. Again, I could have stayed longer. The bed was extremely comfortable and I really didn't mind sharing with a stranger...
Finally, on Monday, Andy and I went to see Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds perform a set in the Stables Spiegeltent at Willen Lake.
The Bad Shepherds play punk songs on folk instruments and they are amazing live. While the banter between the songs was amusing, this trio are seriously good musicians. I was blown away by their versions of 'Down in the Tube Station', 'The Sound of the Suburbs' and 'Once in a Lifetime', among others. I had a lump in my throat listening to 'Ace of Spades', as Ade introduced it by saying that it was Rik's favourite song.
The IF runs until 27th July.
Other reasons to love living in Milton Keynes:
MK Dons Football Club
The sausage and cider festival
The Stables at Wavendon
Milton Keynes Museum
The wildlife
The well-planned new city
Furzton Lake
The Concrete Cows
The 'Beach'
The green open spaces
I live in Bedford, and work in MK. Growing up, I thought there was nothing more to MK than the shops. Over the years of working in the town, however, I've discovered there's so much more to it. I particularly like the theatre, which has had many excellent productions.
ReplyDeleteSame here, I thought MK was just shops and houses - before I spent any time here. How wrong can you be?
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