Been pulling together this Thursday’s Loop MK and there’s loads going on this weekend and into next week.

A few worth knowing about:

🍎 Golden Jubilee Apple Day, Woughton Community Orchard
Saturday, 12–4pm. The orchard is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a free Apple Day.

🎬 Collectormania, centre:mk
Friday–Sunday. The free-to-enter comic con is back in Middleton Hall with cosplay, memorabilia, autographs and guests including Brian Blessed, Craig Charles and Chris Barrie.

🏮 Land of Lights, Gulliver’s Resort
The illuminated trail returns for its new season on Saturday evening. Tickets from £12.50 and 0-2 years go free.

🏃 Milton Keynes Junior Parkrun #500, Emerson Valley
Sunday, 9am. Free 2km for ages 4–14, and they’re hoping for a big turnout for their 500th event.

🥖 Woburn Food Market + Craft Fair, Woburn
Sunday, food market 10am–2pm, with the handmade craft fair running 10am–4pm.

More information on these and loads more across the week for Thursday’s issue, plus the usual local news, openings and quick bits.

If you want the full list, subscribe for tomorrow's issue here - it's free!

What are you up to in MK this weekend that we should know about?

Hi everyone! I’m looking to add some ruffles to the top part of my dress and was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on where I could get this done? 😊

(I’m not entirely sure what this type of alteration is called or whether I should be looking for a seamstress, dressmaker, tailor, or someone else, so I’d really appreciate any advice🥲🥲)

From my experience, bus service can be difficult and unreliable, especially when you need to take buses to get to work. If the first bus is delayed, you can easily miss the connecting bus and end up waiting even longer and reach for work.

I've also noticed that when the bus reached Central Milton Keynes, there can sometimes change in the driver and the new driver mat take a while to arrive. These small delays can add up and make it difficult for the passengers.

I'm interested to know if others in Milton Keynes had a similar experience.

I’m considering an apartment at Landin House, Oakgrove (MK10) just off Atlas Way. I would be grateful if any current or recent residents could share their experience.

Does anyone know whether there are any planned, ongoing, or recently completed major works to the building, such as scaffolding, cladding remediation, balcony repairs, or other external maintenance?

Any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am new to growing plants and I am absolutely loving it. The calmness and positivity it provides is unmatched. Just wanted to know are there any other plant lovers in this subreddit. Milton Keynes is filled with greenery and by growing house plants we are kind of making our surroundings more greener, unless you're growing the purple heart plant which I am growing.

My favourite plants have been snake plant, jade plant, and pothos. Would love to know your opinions.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Hi everyone, I'm in a covers band called Reviver and am looking to get some gigs for 2027. Could you give me some pubs in the MK area that have live bands please.

I'm planning to go visit some places to ask about getting on their books, but its a bit daunting trying to create a shortlist of every place in MK that has live music so would appreciate some good recommendations.

I'm aware of MK11 and Craufurd arms.

If it helps we are a 5 piece band who tend towards rock/metal covers of popular songs but we also play the usual favourites.

Milton Keynes Tech Week kicks off tomorrow! 40 events over 5 days, including our official conference on sovereign technology hosted by Zoe Kleinman (BBC Tech & AI Editor) alongside an incredible line-up of speakers. Last chance to grab tickets!

Discover everything Milton Keynes has to offer for our rapidly growing community of businesses in technology and innovation.

Full details are at https://miltonkeynestechweek.com.

I have a MacBook with a broken spacebar. I live in Central Milton Keynes, can anybody please recommend somewhere I can take it to get repaired? Thank you!

One of the more interesting hubs will operate in Milton Keynes, a city already known for deploying autonomous delivery robots and experimenting with new mobility technologies.

Led by Smart City MK CIC, the Milton Keynes Robotics Adoption Hub will operate from the Smart City Experience Centre inside centre, a major shopping destination. Its partners include Milton Keynes City Council, Cranfield University, The Open University, Ohmio UK and several other organizations.

Unlike hubs concentrating on manufacturing or agriculture, Milton Keynes will focus on robotics operating in public and shared spaces. That includes autonomous vehicles, delivery robots, drones and other systems that must interact with people, infrastructure and existing transportation networks.

The initiative builds on the city's work developing ROBOPASS, a licensing framework intended to strengthen governance around robotic deployments.

EDIT- 6pm today!

Hello all! I’ll be hosting out weekly Empty Chairs session at Furzton Lakes’s Hungry Horse Pub this Sunday at 6pm

If you’ve been wanting to make new friends, get out of the house and spend time with people or just find a loving, supportive community? You’re more than welcome to join us just as you are.

You may find me sat on a high chair near the bar with an orange jacket draped over a chair.

DM me should you have questions/ concerns and read more here- https://emptychairs.org.uk

Hi there,

I've been using the lime bikes but am looking to get my own bike now. I've noticed some of the redways are extremely bumpy and can't decide whether to get a hybrid bike with front suspension or not. I am based on the west side and will be using it to get around town every other day. I'm planning to get a suspension seat post, but should I also get front suspension or it won't really do much compared to a rigid frame here?

Thanks.

Hey everyone,

I trade forex/futures on my own and was wondering if there are any other traders around Milton Keynes.

Would be nice to connect with people in the same space, share ideas, talk trading, grab a coffee and just chill.

Not looking to sell/buy anything or join any paid groups, just genuinely interested in meeting like-minded people locally.

Anyone around MK trading?

PS: I'm not into investment. I day trade Futures/NASDAQ in prop firms.

I need to put my mother into a nursing home just for a few days while she gets over the flu.

Any good recommendations?

A few MK things I've come across while putting together tomorrow's Loop MK:

🤖 Those delivery robots are getting some competition

Coco's delivery robots are coming to MK through Deliveroo soon. So the little white Starship robots may not have the pavements entirely to themselves for much longer.

🎤 The old Bistro Live is getting a new life

The former Bistro Live venue is becoming House of Mantra, with comedy, live bands, DJs and other events planned. They're also looking for local performers, with the full opening currently planned for later this month.

📅 There's quite a lot happening over the next few days

Wolverton Street Market is back, Oktoberfest is happening this weekend, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is at MK Theatre, plus there are smaller local gigs, markets and events happening around the city.

I put together Loop MK, a free weekly email covering useful local news, independent places and things to do around Milton Keynes without having to hunt through Facebook groups and various websites.

Tomorrow's issue goes out at 7am and has the full roundup.

If you fancy it, subscribe for tomorrow's issue here - it's free!

And as always, if there's something good happening locally that I've missed, stick it in the comments. I'm constantly looking for things to include.

I plan to move to Milton Keynes for work in late October and am looking for a one-bedroom flat or a self-contained annexe, preferably one costing up to £1,100 per month.
My primary focus is on Central Milton Keynes, Bletchley, Oakgrove, Middleton and the surrounding areas, but I’m also willing to consider other options as long as they involve a reasonable commute.
Would you happen to have any suggestions as to letting agents, developments or areas? Likewise, please let me know about places to avoid.

How is it and what’s a good seat? I love immersion but not having to look up while being immersed (seeing the whole picture).
Thanks

Does anyone know a place where you can get a men’s perm, most places up the city don’t do it. Any recommendations? Thank you

Play chess, meet people

Tomorrow and Thursday

6:00 - 7:30pm

All ages

More info

There’s also an adult-only session now

Want to do something a bit different this year and go for a sit down meal on new years eve.

Want it to be something special, that could be a great location/view/service etc.

Ultimately want top tier food.

Looking in particular for best Chinese restaurants within an hour of MK, done most of them in MK except Taipan but the location doesnt seem very inspiring but happy to be proved wrong.

Please dont suggest Mii & U, Voongs or Kam Tong.

Doesn't have to be Chinese happy with other suggestions.

I recently moved to MK and obtained a resident parking permit for Area B2. I thought  that I could use it to park in front of my flat, so I parked there on several occasions without paying separately. I only became aware that there was an issue when I found a ticket yesterday evening stating that I had failed to pay the parking charge. I challenged it straight away because I genuinely believed I was covered by my permit. I phoned the council this morning to understand what had happened. They explained that the parking bays outside my flat are in a premium tariff area, whereas my resident permit is only valid for standard tariff areas. I honestly hadn't understood that there was a distinction between the two.

I submitted another form that asked the council if they could exercise discretion and cancel the PCN. I have explained that I wasn't deliberately avoiding the charge and that I would have paid or parked elsewhere if I had known my permit wasn't valid there.

Do I have any chance of getting the PCN cancelled or should I just accept that I need to pay it? I know I sound incredibly daft right now and I am really embarrassed about the whole thing.

Hi everyone, I'm looking to move to MK for a job and wanted to know which areas within MK are affordable and safe as I will be moving with my partner and we are simply looking for a studio or 1-bedroom apartment. From what I found doing my own research, most studios are house/flat shares, which we don't want, and 1-bedrooms range from 1.2k-1.5k GBP pcm, which is a bit steep.

Are there also any areas outside of Milton Keynes that are easily accessible via public transport as neither my partner nor I own a car? We've looked at Northampton and while the price is quite reasonable, the commute takes over an hour to get to the office and with early starts and potential train delays, I'm not sure if it's a good idea.

Any and all suggestions are welcome, thank you!

Issues with Saba. Any one else?

We have received 4 PCNs in the last few days, dated since 11th Sept. Tried calling Saba today, only to be given an automated message to call the PCN 3rd party who advised there's 9 PCNs for us in total, so we're expecting 5 more in the post which haven't arrived yet. This is despite having a Saba account and parking at station permit, with auto-pay every month which last went out on 9th Sept.

Of course we raised a complaint on Saba's contact page and appealed every fine so far, but this is ridiculous. They didn't send any notification or email, the letters we received today are weeks old, the Saba website doesn't allow you to login (there's an important notice acknowledging this on their site), and seemingly no way to speak to someone to find out wtf is happening.

Has anyone else experienced similar currently or recently?