REVIEW: What's on Milton Keynes by Keith McLean

I never cease to be amazed by the breadth of talents that we have in Milton Keynes.

The 2016 MKFoodFest held at Great Linford was a really fun (and tasty) event with over 45 stands offering a vast array of food and drink - the vast majority from the locals.

I was fortunate enough to be there when Pete Winkelman called in and we had our picture taken with Turan T Turan the chairman of the organising committee – what a great job he and his team did.

I am already looking forward to next year’s MKFoodFest.

I was delighted to be asked to support the Junior Park Run that occurs each week at Milton Keynes Rugby Club.

The club, which is for 4 – 14 years old, an average of over 100 runners per week, who each run 2,000 metres.

This is a great way for your children to have fun, make friends and get fitter; this is all free as the group is run by volunteers.

To find out more about the Junior Park Run please visit: www.parkrun.org.uk/miltonkeynes-juniors

Every now and again I come across a unique charity - we have such a charity based in Kiln Farm, Milton Keynes.

The Iheize Foundation collects unneeded text and training books and sends them to several African countries where they are distributed directly to schools. To date over 600,000 books have been sent in eight containers to reach over 1,000 schools and over a million students.

The Foundation’s primary source of books is publishers but it also collects books from various charity shops, such as Willen, as text books are not great sellers.

If you want to know more about the Foundation and see if you can assist visit: iheziefoundation.org

I also recently attended and opened, with Mark Lancaster, the latest MK Job Show in Middleton Hall.

It is always an excellent event and I am really impressed by the way in which local employers are seeking out workers of all ages to fill the gaps that we have in Milton Keynes.

The enthusiasm shown by the people manning over 80 stands encouraged thousands of people to discuss opportunities for starting a first career or changing careers, no doubt a contributory factor as to why our unemployment rate is so low.