Hello from Milton Keynes, UK

[Ampus991]

Greetings to y'all, and good to be on board. My name, or rather moniker, is Ampus and it looks like I'm the newest member: 1483, which, as I have a historical bent, reminded me immediately of Richard III, the king who had a hunch he'd be buried under a car park (hoots of cars and derision?).

Briefly then, I dress as a man, with a penchant for skirts, who presents himself as someone with gravitas; so, no wigs, make-up, bras or heels (I always wear panties for comfort and ease but they're out of sight), and fairly stringent requirements for skirts, including the stretch test: must be able to negotiate 2 steps going upwards in them without discomfort.

I'll post as and when I can meaningfully contribute. Meanwhile, if there's anyone living within, say, 25m of MK who'd like to meet up ifor a chat, I'd be up for it. I haven't seen any other skirt wearers thus far.

[denimini]

Welcome to the Cafe.
I would be interested to know your other stringent requirements for skirts, the stretch test is a good one.

[bikesaurus]

Welcome! It's good to see people newer than me

[Uncle Al]

Hi Ampus991 and
I seem to remember another member from Milton Keynes but can't place his name.
Maybe another 'Old Timer' here will be able to enlighten us

Again, welcome and enjoy the conversations around the Potted Palm.

Uncle Al

[Myopic Bookworm]

Hi, welcome. I very rarely get to Milton Keynes, but once the summer holidays are out of the way, I could imagine making a trip as far as Bicester, so perhaps that might be a venue for a chat over a cup of something.

[Barleymower]

I could make it as far a Bicester for a fellow MIS.

[Brad]

Does anyone know the history of the name Milton Keynes? Was he a real person? Ive also read that its a planned suburb. Does anyone have more information?

[Ampus991]

denimini wrote:
> Welcome to the Cafe.
> I would be interested to know your other stringent requirements for skirts,
> the stretch test is a good one.

Well, solid muted or dusky colours; length 45 to 60 cm, so nothing too short or below the knee; material black denim in preference to ubiquitous blue, plain cotton, (especially) needle cord; at least 2 pockets and if 4 then the back ones should be deep enough to contain nearly all of my phone and wallet; and preferably belt loops and a front zipper. I probably get 60:40 from charity shops (love serendipity) and online reductions.

[bikesaurus]

Does anyone know the history of the name Milton Keynes? Was he a real person? Ive also read that its a planned suburb. Does anyone have more information

My knowledge of Milton Keynes is limited to what I read about it in the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett:

Note for Americans and other aliens: Milton Keynes is a new city approximately halfway between London and Birmingham. It was built to be modern, efficient, healthy, and, all in all, a pleasant place to live. Many Britons find this amusing.

[trainspotter48]

Regarding the name of Milton Keynes, there would appear to be a number of other settlements in the area with 'Milton' in the name. Milton Keynes just happened to be the one the government decided to develop into a 'New Town'. (It's not so new now!!).

[geron]

My knowledge of Milton Keynes is limited to what I read about it in the book Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett:

Note for Americans and other aliens: Milton Keynes is a new city approximately halfway between London and Birmingham. It was built to be modern, efficient, healthy, and, all in all, a pleasant place to live. Many Britons find this amusing.

I buzz those great writers for deviation: MK isn't a city, but was planned as one of England's New Towns in the 1960s. My brother lives there. It is noted for its geometric street pattern (a perplexing innovation at the time), for its iconic concrete cows by the roadside (H3 Monks Way), and for the somewhat manufactured-sounding names bestowed on many of its districts (Stacey Bushes etc.). But Stony Stratford is genuine -- it's an ancient settlement on Watling Street, the Roman road which connects Dover via London with North Wales.

[Kirbstone]

There is a little village very near MK called Wavendon, where the famous jazz musician Johnny Dankworth Lived. His widow Cleo Laine still does, I think. His sister Avril ran Summer music camps for children divided into two age groups: 8-13 and 14-18 in their grounds, gently sloping with a great view North towards the midlands. They had built a little performance theatre on site, known as 'the stables', which in more recent times has been entirely rebuilt, with the loss of much of the camping site used by the music camp children.

Our four progeny attended these camps for years in the '80s-'90s and we also assisted ourselves, camping on site. During these lovely memorable times we familiarised ourselves with MK, remarkably well planned and user-friendly as an expanding town. One very interesting concept building there is the central large church, built neutrally and used by several different denominations, depending on the booked time of day/sabbath.

Tom

[pelmut]

A fortnight ago I visited the south-west corner of Milton Keynes to see Bletchley Park, which was where enemy ciphers were broken during WWII.  Sadly the Bletchley Park site has become a tourist rip-off with almost nothing left to justify the entrance fee, but all the interesting stuff is now in The National Museum of Computing a few hundred yards up the road.  That is well worth a visit, with working exhibits demonstrated by enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable staff.

[rode_kater]

A fortnight ago I visited the south-west corner of Milton Keynes to see Bletchley Park, which was where enemy ciphers were broken during WWII.  Sadly the Bletchley Park site has become a tourist rip-off with almost nothing left to justify the entrance fee, but all the interesting stuff is now in The National Museum of Computing a few hundred yards up the road.  That is well worth a visit, with working exhibits demonstrated by enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable staff.

I can second the recommendation for the National Museum of Computing. I mean, Bletchley Park was cool and it's nice to see all the stuff in context, but the NMoC next-door (which it didn't realise existed until I saw the sign) blew my mind. If you have any interest in the history of computers it's absolutely worth a visit.

[geron]

Bletchley Park was cool and it's nice to see all the stuff in context, but the NMoC next-door (which it didn't realise existed until I saw the sign) blew my mind. If you have any interest in the history of computers it's absolutely worth a visit.

To fly off on yet another tangent, another museum in England that you might enjoy is the global telecoms museum in Porthcurno, Cornwall,
https://pkporthcurno.com/
This occupies the site where the first international telegraph cable -- to India -- was brought ashore in 1870, predating both the telephone and radio communications. By the outbreak of war in 1939 it was the terminus for 14 undersea cables -- and today there are also six optical fibre cables for digital communications. A few weeks ago I visited the museum (skirted, of course, so you have a precedent) with my wife, and we both found it absolutely riveting.