Buckingham Art For All
AT the AGM on Tuesday, March 3, the committee were unanimously re-elected for a second year.
The demonstration on Glass Painting was a great success and our thanks go to Melanie Mallinson.
Next month's meeting will be on Tuesday, April 3, from 8pm to 10pm at Well Street Chapel, Well Street.
A demonstration of Oil Painting Blending Techniques will be given by Fiona Abel-Smith.

Buckingham Amnesty Group
AS the Annual Amnesty Lecture approaches, our links with the university became stronger.
The lecture itself will attract everyone who applauded the end of the Apartheid in South Africa, everyone who supports victims of oppression and everyone who values a free and honest press.
While the lecture is to be on Tuesday, March 17, our Group founder and current Press and Promotion Officer, John Cornwall, will address a gathering of Law Society members at the university before then, to talk about our history and aims.

Amnesty groups all over Britain are campaigning for the release of a British resident from his detention in Guantanamo.

Like other members in this country, we are sending cards to mark the 73rd birthday of a Japanese prisoner on death row. The man still maintains his innocence after 44 years in prison.

Bicester Local History Society
BICESTER Local History Society will be holding their next monthly meeting at St Edburg's Church Hall, Old Place Yard, adjacent to the Bicester Library, on Monday, March 16 at 7.30pm.
The meeting will feature a talk given by local historian Tim Porter entitled The Black Death.
This will examine how the plague spread and the changes it brought to the economic and social fabric of the area. Non-Bicester Local History Society members are very welcome to attend the meeting at a cost of £2.
Further details can be obtained by contacting Pete Chivers on 01869 600109.

Buckingham Walking Group
DESPITE the wintry weather, our fortnightly weekend walks and monthly Wednesday walks have continued unabated, with only one cancellation due to snow and ice.
On February 21, many of us experienced the first hint of Spring to come on our circular walk from Wiggington to Hook Norton and back in north Oxfordshire.
The snow had melted, the sun warmed our faces and the masses of snowdrops sparkled between the trees.
There are many more attractive walks to look forward to in the current programme, including locations as far apart as Hanslope, Chesham, Welton (near Daventry) and Whaddon.
This weekend, some of our members will be joining a party of French friends from our twin town of Mouvaux, who are crossing the channel to walk with us from Walmer to Dover along the famous white cliffs.
In May we are off for a long weekend in the Peak District to enjoy walking in a different type of terrain.
To find more about us, why not come along to our AGM on Friday, March 27 at 8pm in the Buckingham University's Sunley Lecture Theatre at the end of Chandos Road, when our normal business meeting will be followed by a speaker from the RSPB.
Alternatively, you can ring the chairman on 01280 815946 for further information about our activities.

Brackley Male Voice Choir
THE choir's next concert, organised by the Inner Wheel Club of Banbury, is on March 28 at St John's Church, Banbury, to raise funds for the Samaritans.
Tickets are available from R F Lovett's, Market Place, Brackley.
New members for the choir are welcome.
Practice is on Monday evenings at 7.30pm in Magdalen School Chapel. No auditions or musical experience is required.
Contact John on 01280 704149 for more details.

Netmums
THE Netmums meet-up group is here to help local mums get together.
Whether it be for a coffee and chat while the little ones play, or a night out on the town!
It is run by local mums who are just like you, but if you feel nervous about coming to a meet-up you can always email or call Kelly for a friendly chat.
We meet at the Granary for informal get-togethers for mums to have a chat and kids to play in a relaxed environment.
The next get-together is on Wednesday, April 8 meeting at 10am at The Granary, High Street, Buckingham (The Granary is the function room behind the Grand Junction pub).
Just £1 per family to include tea and coffee, juice, milk and biscuits.
Please bring a toy or two along that your child can play with or is happy to share.
We also meet up at Tumblers in Bridge Street, Buckingham, who are kind enough to offer our group a 10% discount on entrance fees, just tell the member of staff when paying with the Netmums Group.
Parents and under ones are free.
We are meeting at Tumblers today, Friday, at 12.30pm. There is also a chance to bring dad along too, on Sunday, March 29 at 11am.
Email netmums-meetups@hotmail.co.uk or call Kelly Webb on 07979423846 for more information.

Buckingham NCT
THE NCT are holding a Nearly New sale on Saturday, March 21 at Buckingham Community Centre from 10.30am to noon.
There will be a great selection of good quality items at very reasonable prices including toys, books, games, videos & DVDs, and children's clothes from birth to eight years of age.
There will also be maternity wear and equipment including prams, buggies, cots and high chairs. Admission £1. NCT members can enter from 10.15am with a valid membership card.
For further information contact Maria on 01280 816533 or e-mail Teresa at teresa@buckinghamnct.org.uk.

Film Place
THE Film Place is showing Lemon Tree (PG) today, Friday, at 8pm, an Israeli Film with English subtitles.
This film is distinguished by the supremely fine acting and its all-too-topical story of dispute on the Palestinian/Israeli border.
An ancient family lemon grove is tended by a Palestinian widow but its fate is threatened by a security-conscious Israeli minister who moves in next door, and who fears the grove could offer a hiding place for terrorists.
The Israeli Government constructs a watch tower and orders that the grove be cut down.
The widow is determined to fight this violation of her property and takes the case to the Israeli Supreme Court.
Tomorrow, Saturday, you can see Appaloosa (15) at 7.30pm.
It tells the story of a maverick pair of lawmen hired to rid Appaloosa, a mining town in New Mexico, of an evil rancher and his gang.
This is a good, authentic western, beautifully put together with a strong storyline and fine acting from the impressive cast.
Both films can be seen at the Ian Fairbairn Lecture Hall, Chandos Road Building, University of Buckingham.

Buckingham Community Pantomime
THE 25th anniversary year has been a very busy one so far.
Hot on the heels of this year's well-received pantomime Ali Baba came the 25th anniversary dinner.
It was a fabulous evening and it was good to see so many founder members there alongside current members who have all helped make the community pantomime the event it is today.
Congratulations to all involved in the organisation and thanks to all those who attended.
March is the time we start thinking about the next production so please note that this year's AGM will take place on Wednesday, March 18, at the Radcliffe centre at 7.30pm.
There will be wine and cheese available.

Buckingham Wine Circle
ON Thursday, March 19, at 8pm at our next meeting in the community centre, Bill Smart will be presenting Wines of South America.
On Saturday, March 21, Tumbledown Dick Barn Dance Band will be playing at the community centre. Doors open at 8pm till midnight.
This event is open to all and tickets, priced £12 to include a light supper, can be obtained from Pete Coomber at 01280 822824.

Buckingham Fairtrade
THANK you to all who participated in Fairtrade Fortnight - stores who highlighted Fairtrade products, people who bought or tried some Fairtrade produce, those who supported the Traidcraft stalls in the market, at the coffee mornings in Buckingham and Padbury, and at the special 'tuck shop' at Akeley Wood School.
We would also like to thank local people for signing up to munch a banana between March 6 and 7 – altogether 132 people took part in our area!
Nationwide, the total is nearly 378,000 at the time of writing.
Great news breaking this week for Dairy Milk fans – Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation plan to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the nation's top-selling chocolate bar, by end of Summer 2009.

Ardley & Fewcott Gardening Club
THE Club's next event is a Cheese & Wine bring and buy sale.
This will take place on Friday, March 27 at 7.30pm at the Ardley United Sports Pavilion, Ardley playing fields.
Tickets are £5 each and are available from Jean McGarry.
Due to three cancellations, a double/twin and single room are available for our forthcoming trip to France.
We travel on Monday, April 20, returning on Friday, 24. Four night's accommodation to include breakfast and evening meals has been arranged at the La Berteliere Hotel, St Martin Rouen.
Garden visits are to include Le Clos du Coudray, Les Jardines d'Angelique, Chateau Champ de Bataille and Monet's Garden.
On the return journey home we will be stopping at the Chateau de Cocove for a special lunch which includes wine tasting.
For further details including cost, contact Jean McGarry, secretary on 01869 345581.

Lenborough Singers
OUR next concert will be An Evening of Music by Fauré, including the well-loved Requiem, in two weeks' time at Buckingham Parish Church.
In this splendid setting, the concert should be most enjoyable. Refreshments provided.
The performance starts at 7.30pm on Saturday, March 28, and tickets are available now from the Old Gaol Tourist Information Centre (open Mon-Sat, 10am to 4pm), Duke's Music (open Mon-Sat 9.30am to 5pm with half day closing at 1pm on Thurs), from members of the group, or from Guy Hawking on 01296 711147. Tickets are priced £5 for adults, £3 for children or a family ticket for £12.
For our forthcoming performances later this year we shall be hoping to recruit a few more men, particularly basses.
Any interested male voices should contact Guy Hawking on the above number.

Great Horwood Silver Band
A LARGE and very appreciative audience attended the concert given by the Great Horwood Silver Band under their Musical Director Roy Lack on Saturday evening in Buckingham Community Centre.
The Concert started with three pieces by the Junior Band conducted by Clare Martin.
The varied programme included a Cornet duet Swiss Landler arr by Geri Michel Cornet soloists were Tony Hart and Ian Nutt.
Cornet Solo Share My Yoke written by Joy Webb arranged by Bosanko. Cornet Soloist Emma Mainwaring.
Eb Bass Solo The Bare Necessities arranged by Sydney Herbert; Eb Bass Soloist Rhys Stoneman.
The popular Mamma Mia arranged Frank Bernaerts; Largo from the New World Symphony no 9" Dvorak arranged Sydney Herbert; and Tuxedo Junction arranged Darrol Barry.
Following the band tradition the first item in the second half was conducted by bandmaster Simon Martin, who conducted the March Punchinello by William Rimmer
Awards were presented to Tony Hart. Richard Edmans. Lee Hart and William Edmondson.
We would like to thank everyone who helped to make the concert such a success.
Great Horwood is very much a family band and at the moment there are three families with three generations playing in the band .
The next outing booked for the band will be on Sunday, May 17 for the opening of the new recreation ground in Great Horwood.
Visit www.freewebs.com/greathorwood to keep up with the band's activities.

Cane and Able Club
UNFORTUNATELY, the February meeting had to be cancelled due to the snow and ice but we more than made up for it this month.
We were entertained by Sam X, a member of the Magic Circle.
Everyone enjoyed his magic, after which we had refreshments.
We are hoping to have a fish and chip lunch at The Bell on March 23 and are looking forward to our Spring Fund Raising Morning on April 25 to be held in the St Laurence Room from 10am to noon.
We already have a number of stalls booked and hope to raise some money towards our summer outing.
The club is open to all everyone over 60 who would like to join.
We meet on the first Saturday in every month in The St Laurence Room, Winslow from 2.15pm to 5pm.
Our next meeting is on Saturday, April 4, at the St Laurence Room, Winslow, when we will be entertained by handbell ringers.
We are a great bunch of friendly people who would love to meet you.
Just come along or give Brian and Sheila a ring on 01296 712503.
I know some of us who have just reached the 'big 60' think we are too young for a club such as this but we have really good fun and it is worth a try. We see a lot of elderly people walking around Winslow who are not members and it seems a shame they are missing out on the fun.

Buckingham Acoustic Club
WE got off to a slightly earlier start this evening with Liam Cahill entertaining us with some excellent classical guitar pieces which included Ravel's Bolero and Gymnopodie.
The last piece was left as something of a mystery in that it was familiar to many as the theme from the Jack Hargreaves show Out Of Town. The answer is, it is called Memories of the Alhambra and the composer is Tarrega.
Next up was Mike who gave us the Eagles Peaceful Easy Feeling and Guy Clarke's The Cape. Popular duo Bill and Derek collectively known as Riff-Raff performed Heartbeat, Summer In The City and Turning Japanese.
Next up, was Hooley who delighted us with Have You Ever Seen The Rain?
Udo then had every guitarist's attention as he performed a faultless set of fingerstyle guitar and included the rare treat of a vocal accompaniment to a song called The Island.
John Howarth then took to the stage with what is probably the most unusual guitar we have seen for a while. An 11-string fretless guitar! John gave us an interesting variation of Daisy, Daisy called Mucking About With Daisy and was then joined by Mike on bass for a couple of songs, one of which was in the Bluegrass style called Broken Grass.
Our last performer this evening was Alex who played an excellent set which included Steve Earls Guitar Town and an excellent version of Hints by Jose Gonzales.
He was joined by Hooley on mandolin for Losing My Religion.
Join us again next Wednesday at 8.30pm in The New Inn when we do it all again.
www.buckinghamacousticclub.co.uk.

Buckingham WI
FEBRUARY'S meeting was opened by the president Janet Eason-Bassett who welcomed members, including a new member.
The minutes were read and signed, and letters and other business dealt with in the usual manner.
A craft group is gradually forming, although there is a little difficulty arranging a morning or afternoon to suit everyone.
The Bells group appear to be experiencing the same problem - very busy ladies.
Our speaker this month was Vera Moyle-Maton who gave a very interesting talk about her Life As An Evacuee, the experiences from that era of her life appear to have helped to map out her future.
Several ladies had an evening out at the Bull and Butcher then settled down to a serious game of darts. Everyone agreed it was a good fun night out.
Well done, Josie for organising it all for us.
For our March meeting we will be Making Earrings with Amanda Beckett.
March will also be our Meningitis Charity evening, so teas, coffees and cakes will be £1 donation. Our next meeting is on March 18 at 7.30pm at Buckingham Community Centre.

University of Buckingham
THE last lecture in the winter term series will take place on Tuesday, March 17 at 6.30pm and will be given by the University and Buckingham Amnesty Group entitled The World Under Apartheid.
Press freedom, government failures, individual heroism, judicial independence, international outrage and noble leadership are some of the issues that will be presented in this talk. Our main speaker, Maggie Paterson, now edits the Amnesty Magazine, but had worked on the South African daily paper, The World.
This talk will take place in the Ian Fairbairn Lecture Hall, Chandos Road Building, starting at 6.30pm.
As with other talks, admission to the lecture is free and open to all.
There will also be time after the lecture to meet and talk to Mrs Paterson over drinks in the foyer.
For more information, please contact the Publicity Office on 01280 820213. Alternatively you can email publicity@buckingham.ac.uk